Holidays Milestone in November

Holiday milestone achieve all in one month! November.

But NOT forgetting my holiday trips to Bangkok in May and Chiang Mai in August.

Entering November, it started with a Beijing business trip which I missed-out because my Chinese visa has expired and I was not-in-time to renew it due to the absurd short-notice for the trip. I don't miss Beijing though. What I missed was the thousands of Enrich points that could be collected from this trip. Not entirely a loss, as I felt restless knowing that I will be going onto the equivalent of the doomed flight MH370 (albeit now a different flight code). And with MH17, who dare say lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place?

1. Melaka over-night
Being denied Beijing, Melaka trip was next. I was excited because husband good friend from UM, Janice, was getting married. We were there over the weekend and were so lucky to have Siow Nee  and the bride & groom themselves(!) to bring us around jalan-jalan cari makan. I love the chendol in Melaka more than that of Penang all because the santan at the former is more lemak. I had satay babi (just next to Melaka river), Donald and Lily's mee rebus (many fresh cockles) & rojak.The last makan stop was the longest queue ever coconut shake at Klebang,15 minutes car ride off Melaka city. Of course, hubby and I took our own time out roaming Jonker street to have lunch and coffee. Certainly a memorable trip.

Janice and Ivan

Mee Ketuk at Donald and Lily



Fresh cockles at Donald and Lily

The infamous satay babi near Melaka River

Klebang's infamous long-queue, sweaty but worthwhile coconut milk shake and other Malay delicacies.

2. Grand Lexis, Port Dickson
Just the next morning(!) after returning from Melaka, I had to board the company's bus to Grand Lexis, Port Dickson for a short team-building event there. The water villa was huge and unsuspectedly beautiful beyond words. The catch is that each villa has their own swimming pool! Yes, private swimming pool in your room. How about that for a Monday! My roommate ended up making a day trip (her baby's ill), so the entire king-size bed was mine. Mine!! I highly recommend this hotel to whoever wants to have a relaxing vacation with a family of maximum five.



One of the Water villa with a view of the ocean and from the floor.

Each room has its personalized pool and open shower.

Since this is a team-building, there were games and surprisingly, I had a marvelous time. They were all indoor team building games, and one of it was a Trading Game where we trade with other 'countries' based on commodities selling prices, information of the countries and collaboration, etc.

Another game was a Masterchef Black Box Challenge, where my team (out of 40 teams) got 2nd placing!  We had access to a small kitchen, and just cook whatever was given to us, and we cooked a perfect Curry Chicken and Pengat Pisang (which I contributed the most) and Pineapple juice in 1 hour to win second placing. We were commended and honoured with a 4 star certificate by the real Head Chef of Grand Lexis. I was proud because it felt like you could even please the hellish Gordon Ramsay with your normal Pengat Pisang (I watch too much TV). Should I lose my chemist job in Petronas, I am pretty sure I could make it as a chef of Pengat Pisang and Curry Chicken :-P. Naturally, hubby don't quite believe my achievement.


This Cert means more to me than any sports achievement. Because it's rare that I get to show off cooking skills openly.

Oil platform with Lego building blocks - one of the exciting Team Building game.

3. Penang
Upon retuning from Port Dickson, the same weekend itself, Hubby and I drove to Penang for his inaugural Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) at the Second Bridge. This is the first time PBIM is held at the new bridge. We stayed at Equatorial Hotel which room is soo comfortable, I didn't want to move out of the bed. Hubby and I loved the swimming pool, and we had a short dip to relax both our minds and body. I did not run, but since I played supporter this time, I need to wake up as early as 4am to wait at the finish line for my hubby, which I estimated would finish at 6.30 am sharp. So, there I was taking the shuttle to the finish line about 10km away, and spotted Ling Ling in the same bus! What got me surprised was that she is running 10km, like for real..

We did savour some Penang cuisines at Bayan Lepas, courtesy of hubby's bosses and managers which were also runners and doing various distances at PBIM. We joined them for some great chit-chat and at the end, went to bed early with stomachs full (even I carboloaded). Hubby woke up 11 pm to catch the 12.00am bus to the starting line for Full marathon. Crazy! I am so proud he did sub-5 hours this time. Guess what, I missed my husband at the finish line. Just tooo many people finishing the same time as him.

At the end, he found me instead at the supporters line. Hah!

Ohh-chien

Frantically looking for my hubby, I was already glad this nightMARE wasn't him.

4. Turkey Honeymoon
And then, not even 2 days later, we board an Etihad plane, on business class(!), to Abu Dhabi (transit), and then to Turkey for our honeymoon. That shall be a 8 days trip, which I shall describe in my next blogpost. Wait up!


Four holidays in a row. Who needs a breather when it comes to holidays. And nope, not tiring at all.

Bangkok - a gift to parents

I knew I would return to Bangkok one day for a shopping spree. The last time I was in Bangkok was with my bestie Jonie during Hari Raya Year 2005. This time, I bought the trip for myself and my parents as a gift, or let's just say...for the heck of it. Tix are cheap to Bangkok with Malindo. Unlike rival AirAsia, Malindo has free 20 kg luggage per person and also tidbits/water are served on board. Prices are lower than AirAsia. In short, Malindo is a budget airline with better on-board perks.

Selfie with parents= groupfie

One day before we depart, the military junta in Thailand took over (coup d'état) the country's "temporary government"  after the fall out of the previous prime minister. There has always been demonstrations or protests here and there in Bangkok and this seemed like a usual daily scene, and to me, this is democracy. In fact, the military take over is actually a 'good' thing (not for democracy per se), but to remove demo from the roads as some demonstrations can turn violent (e.g. scores of deaths recorded in Jan 2013). Also it this military wants to set the record straight between the opposition and the temporary government so that democracy can be installed again (i.e. election) in the kingdom. But all sides won't give in.

Headlines on the day of our arrival

Sounds serious, but this demonstrations and coup d'état over the several decades in Bangkok has never hampered tourists coming into Thailand. In fact, the only impact of the coup is that a curfew between 10pm - 5am was implemented to prevent illegal demonstrations on the roads. Tourists only suffer a shorter nightlife (which is what Bangkok is famed for), but otherwise, nothing much has changed. I see ZERO army on the roads at the area Sukhumvit where our hotel is, and 1-2 army guys at Chatuchak market area. Otherwise, life goes on in the city. To the people of Bangkok (Thailand), tourism is no.1 contributor to its GDP and no local would want to hurt their tourism. Oh well, probably Hatyai is the exception.






Bangkok is tourist-friendly and English, albeit it's Thai sing-song slang, is used widely. We made into various shopping malls, and of course the Chatuchak market where shopping is easy-breezy. The exchange rate Ringgit-Baht is quite alright, but mind you, luxury goods in Thailand is not worth buying. All luxury good in Bangkok is as expensive as in Kuala Lumpur. So are the cuisines and food. Conversion shows that a bowl of beef noodles is RM5.00, which is similar to KL rate. Using the Big Mac as the benchmark, their BigMac set is slightly more expensive than in KL.

Chatuchak market needs no explanation!

Beef ball noodles with raw vege

Can't get this delicious milk in KL. I drank so many bottles in Bangkok. Crazy fats.

Using Viator.com, we booked a tour to the infamous but super commercialized and touristy Floating Market at Damnoen Saduak, 100km off Bangkok. Recently only I realized that Viator has many great deals and very reliable site for tours at any nation around the world. We love the tour guide which was very good in English, which the whole journey enlightened us about the country, tourist traps and the political situation in Thailand.

Our half-day tourguide designated by Viator.com

Selfie

She's cooking my Pad Thai

Authentic but quite pricey pad thai at floating market

Back to the floating market - it was indeed a verry touristy area, but since we started the trip early we arrived early at the location with a lesser crowd. It was a very interesting experience for me, and my mum (who initially wanted to have this tour) had a good time buying and eating at the floating market. Yes, pushy sellers are everywhere but they are actually making an honest living, so what's there to complain? Our tour (consisted of 5 ppl including myself), also made a detour to the coconut processing factory, and also the wood-carving factory. All interesting stuffs!



If there's a thing to complain, it's the sunny and hot weather in Bangkok. My Accuweather warned me of sunburn at the average daily temperatures of 36-37 degCelcius in Bangkok. We sweat like a pig at any hawker/outdoor eateries. I really like Bangkok's shopping malls esp. Siam Paragon. 4 days in Bangkok: I went there 3 days to eat, shop and walk. The curfew only affected us in terms of BTS and shopping malls' early closure. Actually we are not affected at all by the curfew, as my old man always wants to rest early at the hotel as he is....oh well, OLD. Nightlife is totally not his thing.

Kyo Roll En is this Japanese dessert cafe in SiamParagon that has a long queue, we thought we need to try what's the hype all about!

Kyo Roll En is famous for their cream Swiss roll with a Japanese twist- green tea

The food is a fusion of: Swiss roll, green tea gelato and honey, snowball dessert,s and frozen green tea candy. Sooo delicious. No regrets! 

They hold hands and hug whenever they go with no embarassement. My parents as a great example of lovebirds at golden age.

Another round of my fav dish in Thailand - PadThai.

Our hotel also upgraded us to a super large room with large beds due to the low tourists turn-out that week and/or cancelation upon hearing of military coup in Bangkok. Oh, what silliness....no way any demonstration can affect us. If you can imagine, you are protesting in say...Dataran Merdeka, and I am sitting in my house in Puchong, what fear do I get? Exactly...NONE. Plus, the protest/demonstrations are mostly centred at the vicinity of government buildings, which is pretty far off our hotel.



Bangkok, albeit the unbearable heat, is a great place to eat. I dare not recommend luxury shopping for us Malaysians (due to prices almost similar for luxury goods), unless you are looking for some specialty Thai brands like Naraya. The bags at Naraya is so sweet and cheap there, I bought so many 'til I drop.



Farewell Bangkok. Next vacation is with my beloved Hubby. Can't wait to go, post and boast!

Life-changing 2013

Happy New Year 2014!

Last year 2013, I didn't have time to recap the moments of the entire year. I was so caught up with events in December that I kinda forgot all about blogging.

In short, 2013 was one of the greatest years in my life (well, I said that every end of the year, don't I?). Hmmpph. But really, 2013 was not only great but was life-changing. I have gotten my long awaited double promotion, and long-awaited chance to be married. Sounds desperate, but I am not desperate. I do work hard for it. Stuffs sometimes just happen and it goes in your favour. God's will.

Highlights:
1. I was being proposed to by one of the most amazing guy on earth (ok lah, exaggerate a bit here), but I love him; my family and relatives adores him; we share the same passion. etc. And with that, came a diamond ring. If you know me well, naturally I don't really care how many carats it was, but the 2-weeks secret proposal effort did make me cry, and that was all that matters. Read it all here.

2. Malaysia General Election clogged up almost all conversations in the office, coffeeshops, homes, etc. during first quarter of the year. Read my thoughts and experiences in one of the most dramatic and 'dirtiest' GE of all times.

3. My birthday was also my ROM. There was I, signing my name off. Sounds morbid but it was actually my mum and dad's dream to see me married off, as many would have said: Ivy might never get married cause her character is....(insert masculine adjective(s) here).... Of course, the myth was debunked.

4. We signed up for a wedding photography package and made Cameron Highlands our outdoor location shoot. Thanks to Jacky from Bridal Collection and some luck with the cooling weather and sunset, we've got ourselves some breathtaking photographs. At the same time, we really had lots of fun doing the whole shoot, and it was sooo cooling. No sweat, literally! Read the experiences and my current take of weddings here.

5. Fong has gotten a new double-storey link house for us to begin our lives together, and so we worked hard, day and night to personalized our pad. With much money thrown in, I think we are both happy to get ourselves a place in Klang Valley, where many young people could only dream of - a landed property. A lot of sweat poured in into doing our own painting, fixing of own cabinets, knobs, hinges, with no help of an ID. From there, I found that Fong does make full use of his PE in civil engineering - such a great handyman and has much knowledge in renovation, he could be a salaried Renovator himself. Plus, I remembered going IKEA 5 times in one month.

6. Just like every year ...*ZzzzZzZzZ*....I had to prepare for my naik-pangkat assessment. This year, I did it! Promotion! Smiling from cheek-to-cheek when my payslip arrived just the other month.

7. I went to Beijing twice for meetings and another for a business attachment. Me being me, I make sure I explore the city like a tourist, but on the other hand, going to many roads less traveled. I try to absorb in as much as I could about the country, while maintaining my own cultural integrity, also making every trip a time for self-discovery and a learning process. From there, I never had the same thought about China ever again. Funny, but I love China, and my colleagues were jokingly asking me to 'balik China' again as I was bragging about my VIP treatments in Beijing, oh well....so much better compared to my treatment as a chinese in my own country.

Photos of my 1.5 months business attachment will soon be posted on my PICASA. Here are some sneak peeks:

8.  My appraisal/performance this year scored me another promotion and consequently, a long-awaited salary upgrade that brings to my face, a larger smile. That makes it a double-promotion this year alone! I worked my ass out this year (harder!) and finally, finally...phew...got noticed.

9. Achieved the best full marathon time ever with at 5hrs 24 mins in the SCKLM. And I could proudly say that I ran this race alone. I gave myself a pat in the back before retiring from races for the rest of this year 'til my wedding in March 2014.

10. I have gotten myself a beautiful sister-in-law (Ipoh girl mahh), as my elder brother tiba-tiba preceded me in getting married. I said "tiba-tiba" because it was Fong and I who announced our marriage first, but their wedding was done earlier than ours. I am so happy for them both and wish them both the best as husband and wife. At the same time, our family moved into our new bungalow in Tambun. My parents were so proud this year alone; it shows in their faces every time I go back to Ipoh.

I pray that this year 2014 would be another memorable one for me. This will be the year of my wedding, and I have great hopes for my career to be a Certified Chemist (just in case you didn't know, I am a biologist working my ass off as a chemist). This is also the year where our government will be imposing the GST and has had many items increase in prices including electricity, water (ice!), food, toll, etc....in response to the bad results they obtain in GE(?). Some sort of revenge, eh?  Meh, I am not surprised that our federal government is retaliating. Hah! Happy BN (Barang Naik) year of 2014.

God bless and lots of hugs to my loyal readers.

The Road less traveled - Oilfields off Tianjin

A stop to Dagang town, off Tianjin was part of the China business trip we made in September '13.

The oil township of Dagang is quite a sight. The town is self-sustained by oil-industry and almost everyone who resides in Dagang has some job/career based on O&G (that's Oil and Gas for you FOBs, not the Obst&Gynae). To make comparison, Dagang is like Miri but the former is smaller. In Malaysia, we only have off-shore oil reservoirs, hence I was amazed by Dagang's vast land dedicated to countless on-shore injection pumps. From horizon to horizon, you can only see injection pumps working, pounding on the wells to extract crude.

One thing that caught my eye was the wind power. The wind in China is strong, and that is why they capitalize on this energy and technology. Even as I am now in Beijing composing this blogpost, the cold wind from the north is strong. And this is only the beginning of winter.

Look how they transport the blades of the fan for maintenance. I initially thought it was some Sci-fi UFO parts found and openly taken to a military base.

We stayed at the hotel in Dagang owned by the oilfield company itself. Likely, they own every building in this area, and make this town self-sustained in terms of food, lodging, job provision, entertainment and leisure.

We were served with a banquet day and night. It seems that the food in Beijing is generally bland, and if they's not bland, they are either too sour or salty or sweet. It's always at the end of the spectrum, rarely in between. Though we were provided with a range of food from eggplant to scallops, only some looks typical Malaysian. Malaysian Chinese food is influenced by southern China cooking while up here in the north, it's different. Rice is seldom served. Carbohydrates are obtained mostly with noodles or corn. I might never get used to the taste here. Anyway, China is so huge and therefore from one province to another, the food preparation and types varies drastically.

A banquet is still an understatement. Probably this is how the Chinese people treat their guests - freshly cooked food that doesn't stop coming from the kitchen to the table, alcohol that keeps refilling itself (think Hogswart) and yum-sengs that seemed to be like an never-ending wedding toast. The dining hall is brightly lighted and the table was huge as if for King Arthur's knights to commune.

Damn....I hate the yum seng time. They make everyone speak, so there I was, speaking Mandarin, carefully.

Our Chinese partners made us all give a toast, in Mandarin or English. My bosses gave me that shot, giving me the you-are-chinese-so-say-something-on-behalf-of-us-lahh (or was it: don't-jatuh-our-air-muka ?) eyes, so I was kinda compelled to toast in Mandarin. I spoke about 'fate' that we are here today, and thank you for being a great guest in my first every visit to China (all in Mandarin). Voila! I didn't know where that came from! (my own mouth, of course).

Scallops with chili toppings

Sotong

A mutant of prawn and crayfish

Omelette with chives

Duck tongue - quite interesting texture there!

Attempting a Word-of-the-year: Selfie

When China and Malaysia meet, it's always because of the brilliantly Made-in-China goods, if not, for badminton. During the banquet, our China counterparts kept talking about badminton and the one-sided battle between Lee Chong Wei and their beloved Lin Dan. I remembered the Chinese guy said (in Mandarin), that if he could, he would love to bet his money on Chong Wei in beating Lin Dan because both had the same skills set, but what the former lack is 'heart' or mental-strength. Enough of talking, we did the 'walking'. We were all given badminton rackets each and started flexing our muscle....against the formidable Chinese.

Hah! The surprising moment is that Malaysian (led by an avid badminton player himself - my boss) beat the Chinese in 2 games. The Chinese are younger, but my boss practices and plays badminton almost every alternate day although he's like almost 50 years old. He probably lacks the stamina, but had the upper hand in terms of skills. 

I had a great game myself, pairing up with my bosses. Before coming to Beijing this November (I still am here in Beijing!), I have been practicing badminton with my lovely colleagues in PERMATA every Wednesday and glad to have had my skills brushed and rustiness reduced. At least I wasn't intimidated of my Chinese opponent, as I have joined badminton tourneys before. Though a friendly match, the matches were still 'sengit'. Indeed we all really had a lot of fun and I can see that Chinese are most delighted to meet their formidable foe from Malaysia as well. I love badminton even more after this trip in September.

If there's one word to describe this short trip, it is the word: Memorable. And as far as 'memorable' goes, I think this is one photo that I can't get out of my head for a long time because, I it was RED, OVERSIZED & RIDICULOUSLY CUTE:

Ivy-out!