The Lazy Diver

Diving is one of those things that tempt me like crazy. My sheer stubbornness to go diving betrays my own need for a moderate lifestyle. But why do I need to change my exciting life (wow!) to a so-called "moderate life" (blehh!), when I can de-stress, relax, and build relationship with my colleagues and bosses in a dainty secluded island, right? (ok, not what you think). Sometimes I bitch-slap myself to ask if I really need to go for a dive trip cause diving is a very expensive sport (and dangerous), but I tell myself that if I keep thinking about this I will NEVER go for one. So believe it, I went for Lang Tengah w/o much deliberation and hey...did not regret it. :)

We started our journey approx. 10.30 pm from Karak in a convoy of 4 vehicles. I get the to sit the super-cool Pajero, built for invading jungle trails which belongs to an ex-colleague. This ex-colleague is now doing full time leisure-, teaching- and commercial diving. Yup, the guy with the white hoodie printed 'DIVE', that's him. He's also into 4WD challenges, which make him one of the most adventurous guy and well-prepared-for-any-dive-trip I've ever met.

Luggage bag is a no-no in dive trips - cause it doesn't make you look like a diver, and I am like "WTF!?"

From Maran jetty, we took the ferry to Redang-Lang resort. Once we had lunch, the evening itself, I went for a shore dive. After the dive, I relaxed upon the beautiful sunset and have short chat with my colleagues. Reading a book (Girl Who Played with Fire series), I gazed far toward the horizon, to catch blinks blinks of ray seeping into the sea (hehe, I suck at descriptive essays) :P

Silhouette of the resort during the height of the afternoon sun, surrounded by crystal-clear water

Cute garden display with encouraging words.

Now, this IS very 'encouraging'!

A tame bamboo shark hiding from us.

Preparing for one of our dives

 I did 7 dives in total for this trip. There's nothing to shout about in all dives - no weird creatures, did not spot any turtles. Maybe because I've seen sooo many odd creatures in my previous dives in Bali, Indonesia (manta rays, pipe fishes, cleaner shrimp and lobsters) and Perhentian (turtles, nudi branches, etc.) that the sea creatures in Lang Tengah look quite hmmphh 'normal'. Not that I am complaining, but I think I've seen way too many Nemos and their anemones, even trigger fishes to say that Lang Tengah is different.

Actually, it's not what you see in those dive spots which makes you go crazy-happy, but the relaxation and the sense of belonging and mindfulness in this earth - our planet which is under-explored, mysterious and awesome! I applaud James Cameron and his submarine (and his desire to explore and learn) going down to the deepest trench in this earth - The Mariana Trench. As a scientist myself, I love to understand and document some rare species, but that might come after I makan-gaji more first and 'collect' enough money to feed my curiosity, :P (well, let's see....I am not earning like a hollywood superstar)

After one of our dives.

Air hostess pose. Everyone hates my luggage bag, as it doesn't epitomize a diver. WTF

There's no future dive trips being planned yet. But each time you return from one, you hope for the next. Addiction. Thank God money (and time) is the limiting factor, if not, I might go for one every 6 months. :P Well, fingers crossed, I thought of going for a dive trip to Thailand...and maybe log in 2-3 dives with Fong, can? can?

Fishes all lari because LAZY DIVER sitting and taking up lots of seabed space.

JOM! Be a lazy diver....asyik nak relax je...

Double Hill

I've gotten my pre-valentine treat at Cameron Highlands, a place where flowers bloom and strawberry business thrive. 'Strawberry business' in my dictionary is not limited to strawberries growing in soil, but it also refers to merchandises that LOOK like strawberries, e.g. strawberry-shaped pillows, magnets, pencils that has strawberry prints, strawberry fondue, strawberry clothings, tea-infused strawberries, etc... Travesty! Gosh, they are everywhere in the whole of Camerons. Urrrgghhh....!

Don't let this 'beautiful' fruit trick you

I hate strawberries and I am not kidding. The Malaysian breeds are rarely sweet, in fact they are super sour. This fruit is only beautiful skin-deep. Before you know it, they are grown with white-fluffy fungus, Rhizopus nigricans, with post-harvest 'leak' (I learnt this in my Ph.D. years of fungal res.). The only piece of strawberries I can consume are processed strawberries - in the form of jams and ice-cream. Nahhh, not even whip-cream on strawberry can change my mind abt this fruit.

What made my impression of strawberries worse - the hideous English:

Haiyoor...England so worse!

The main objective (omg, too much of scientific research makes me so skema lately) of this trip was to hike up two hills (thus, Double hill) where lies the most amazing stretches of tea plantation: Sg. Palas BOH tea plantation and HABU tea plantation. The former is at Brinchang, while the latter is after Ringlet. And of course, to spend time with Fong away from the buzzling city :). If you didn't know, I have been very stressful at work lately. I need some kinda time-out.

Flowers, yes, flowers are more my type

These are definitely not lavender, but they are so pretty!

Bharat tea plantation, off-Brinchang.

After checking in to Equatorial, we headed to Tanah Rata for lunch. During my Ph.D. years, I spent 5 days living in Tanah Rata to study the pesticide levels of produces here, hence I thought I was pretty familiar of Tanah Rata. But that was 2007. There wasn't Starbucks then; I was surprised to see the coffee outlet being out-of-place in a tea-dominant area and teh tarik stalls! Hah, I spot only kwai lows and backpackers patronizing Starbucks at that time...See!

I do not know, but I feel that this Starbucks is kinda out-of-place

Wasting no time, we head to Lord's Cafe to filled up our stomachs before the hike. Back then, this place was called T-cafe. infamously known for their classic scones & jam and creamy (strawberry?!) cakes. Pies here is a must-try too. I ordered scones, while Fong shared his strawberry mousse cake with me. It was disappointing to know that they do not serve main entrees anymore here. Wonder why.

Lord's cafe lived up to its name as it does have a Christian feel in here. Loads of posters and encouraging verses from the Bible hung on the four walls of the cafe. Books/magazines are ample, contributed by backpackers stopping for a meal.

At Lord's cafe

Finished scones.

After that quick brunch, we make the foothill of Sg. Palas BOH plantation, Brinchang. The primary reason we don't want to drive up was because I've experience a literal heart attack the last time I came up here with my Kelisa with my ex-classmates. Was driving up to Sg. Palas with my Kelisa, and yet, I was pressured to passed those huge busses and other vehicles coming down. The gap between me and the edge of the ridge were mere inches!! I remembered I was being honked and honked and honked and was compelled to brave through the horrendous traffic flow. And that was with a tiny weany Kelisa we're talking about; imagine going up with a Honda City! Historically I doubt there were any car that fell over the edge before, but it takes a heart of a lion to get up there. I was a squishy insect that time. 

Nevertheless, a hike is lots better cause:

1. It's mere 2 km

2. It's cooling!

3. The view was fantastic

4. We both love exercising, Fong's from Menglembu. A tar-road hike-up = Kledang hill.

This is why we didn't want to drive up to Sg. Palas. Traffic in standstill for a moment. The road up/down fits 1 car and 1 car only.  Don't fall off the edge!

Rest for a while

Check point no.1 - white roses decorating the guard post 

He doesn't mind a pose. Plantation worker harvesting tea

Ethical spraying: Good agricultural practices by BOH. FYI, you'll need  7 days after spraying pesticides before you harvest your produce.

An old smoke house bellowing ...well, smoke. Well, it's a rare sight (my first), cause in Malaysia  you don't see fireplaces working on a sunny afternoon!

Arriving at destination. Sg Palas BOH plantation

A short break and hydrate before we hike down before night comes.

Early in the morning, even after finding out that Whitney Houston has passed (was shocked!), we were still enthusiastic and getting ready to do the next hike at Habu. But first, I can't help but to play a game of pool after spotting four(!) pool tables at the hotel's lobby.

When you see pool, you play pool.

Alright, so we reached Ringlet and just after Ringlet, is another older BOH plantation - Habu. Habu is a little complicated and roads towards Habu is kinda hidden amongst the intensive agriculture. You have to drive up to Habu....and the hike starts from Habu tea house to Malaysian Nature Society (MNS: check point 1).  I've done this before in May 2011, so this route is pretty familiar. Probably 1.5 km. You can go another 4km to the peak of Habu, but time does not permit.

At Habu tea house.

Habu plantation as backdrop.

Was wondering what the white spots were. Zooming in showed hardworking plantation workers doing their tea-thing. Harvesting?

MNS check point 1. This place is filled with tall trees forming a shadowy canopy, giving the divine sunlight a slight penetration.

On the way back from MNS, we spot two millipede doing their thing. They were bergolek-golek in proximity with each other. My take was that they were having sex. Ohh, I mean, mating.

Huge millipede. There were a pair (but not another was not photographed). Yes, mating.

We arrived at KL in the evening and were blessed to have each other, sharing the same passion. Bought like tonnes of vege and flowers, til today also still cannot finish. As my boss would say: Objectives were met.

My blue Guess? pumps

Best-est ever V-gift!

How thoughtful ...I've yearn for this since October 2011 (Graduation day).  And you remembered!

Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Tronoh

Due to a colleague resigning from the company, I was carefully selected to replace her in overlooking the finishing of a project. My colleague has been monitoring the multi-million dollar project at UTP and her resignation (pasal kahwin lorr) is a huge lost to the company due to her extensive knowledge on project for about a 1++ years already. The problem is that: she's the only scientist who knows how to synthesize the material hands on, and yup...you've guessed it: NO ONE ELSES knows how. Hence, I believe that in the future, we shouldn't let any knowledge be passed down to a single person. This is what happens when he/she resigns from the project/company - panic strikes!

And so, I, of three candidates were selected by my project leader to be attached to UTP, Tronoh. I was the most obvious candidate cause 1. I am Ipoh, Ipoh-mali 2. I am single 3. I am a genius :P  My boss orally assured me that three months is all it takes, max (but now I am not so sure anymore).

I've not been to UTP. I've heard that it's one modern campus stuck in the middle of two small dainty township: Tronoh and Seri Iskandar, Perak. I've passed by UTP several times on my way to Setiawan or Lumut but have not stepped foot in its vicinity. I did not want to judge, but on mid-Dec 2011 when I first came to UTP for the first time in my entire life - it actually felt good.

Macaques and beruks often sighted here in huge numbers (20-30s).

UTP is really green. It's within those hutan-hutan virgin yang belum disentuh lelaki (opps, I mean, manusia). Macaque monkeys and big beruks communing, chatting and scouring for food near the campus is a common sight. I once drove pass the jungle side of the campus and had a clear sight of at least 30 monkeys communing in a clearing of the jungle. I simply thought: there's going to be a planet-of-the apes revolt some day in Malaysia! I can sense it!

Library at the Chanselor's Hall

As you enter UTP from the main gate (Lumut road), you can see a huge UFO-like structure ahead on your far left. That's the Chancellor's Hall. The point is, there lies the building of the library. The architecture for the library is pretty amazing to me because it resembles several oil rig platforms, graduated in form. Books are visible from the outside, stacked in the most pleasant manner to the eyes. The library is spacious and high-tech machines are all in place for students to borrow or return books. Of course, I've been into the awesome National Library of Singapore, but UTP's library, IMHO, has fight. This is because at night, this library is brightly litten resembling a mini Eiffle Tower....really!

View from Block 15 - I think that's Civil Engineering Block in the pic

Modern Structures of UTP buildings in the middle of Perak's green lung

Despite being there for more than a month, I am still most impressed of the modern structures and the conducive working (studying?) environment here. It's serene and pleasant to be walking the corridors of the faculties. I personally adore the arrangement of the buildings where it is not too symmetrical, yet functional in many ways. And there's my personal fav: the glass walls of almost 60% of each building; well, may contribute to global warming, but a service to architecture. Transparency to me is important because it assures that knowledge is to be promulgated and disseminated.

The connecting stairscase linking one faculty to another.

One structure that complete overwhelmes me, which to many means nothing, is the stairs. I huge open staircase exist in every two blocks complements the 'transparency' concept this campus meant to convey. I hang out around here often (yes, stairs!) cause I get better phone reception than any other area :P  Oh, I can assure you that the toilets here are clean... but they aint transparent! :P

Spot a few ppl doing LSD runs in the morning. Wow!

I would love to run around this campus to train my runs. It would be around 5km to run the whole campus, I guess. But ummm....I have to wear long pants and no singlets. So, forget it! I am still under strict regulation for dress code in-campus.

I was provided with accommodation in-campus. It's a guesthouse. BTW, if you didn't know, the UTP campus was previously a USM campus. Ok, let's make it clearer: this location was where USM campus was located before PETRONAS took over and throw in their billions and make it their own university. I am actually staying in a old guesthouse which belong to USM previously. Ain't that nice the guesthouse; hence I prefer to go back to the comforts of my own home in Ipoh and drive 32km daily to Tronoh to work.


So, I drive daily to work in UTP. Life's been pretty easy peasy in this dainty, small place. UTP is a great place - it's relaxing, and if you're a student, it's a conducive location to study. Some times I had to remind myself I am there to WORK, and not study.

Tronoh is where the Chinese ppl are, while Seri Iskandar has mostly Malays in its population. So, demographically, you know where to find your food. If you want chinese food, go to Tronoh while Seri Iskandar has all sorta traditional Malay and mamak stalls. Cheaper than Ipoh, but not cheap comparatively to other ulu townships (it's pretty kampung lah, u see). I usually stop by Tronoh to savour the wan ton mee or soup noodles before heading to work. My lunch is usually malay nasi campur with chicken Vanggey. BTW, there's a new Tesco and Secret Recipe (whoa!) now at Seri Iskandar. :P

I love the sight of dawn on the way to Tronoh.  I do enjoy the slow drive to Tronoh daily too as it is never, never as hectic as KL. BUT ummm...like I've said many times to many ppl: Love the campus, hate the township.

Traffic light turning into Tronoh town

Coffee Dilemma

The Coffee Dilemma

A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning.

The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee".

The husband said, " You are in charge of the cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee."

Wife replies, "No you should do it, and besides it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee."

Husband replies, " I can't believe that, show me."

So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and shows him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says:

"HEBREWS"

And here I go...complaining again.

Yikes. It's Year 2012!

I am already beginning to feel what a start of a new year is like: school begins and cars, busses clogging up the streets before and after schooling hours. The volume of cars increases tremendously. I have to wake up earlier than usual to get to work; McD and KFC is filled with mothers or uniformed students buying fast food during lunch. And their uniforms stinks...worst than some BO!! Betcha you guys concur with me...you've smelt that sweaty stink somewhere before.

Then, before you can even count to the Twelfth Day of Christmas, shopping malls have hightened their decor and music for Chinese New Year. Ooooh, I love some of the jingles, it does set up the mood, but at some point I am irritated. Too much of CNY music can be super annoying (too much of any thing is not good). And also I get irritated because I have not shopped for anything yet and my salary is finis.....hmmpph...let's not go there!

Last year ended with a note of surprise: Boss posted me for <3 months to UTP. Love the campus, hate the township. Anyway, I come back to Ipoh probably every single day to make full use of my RPGC membership which I've been paying since 21 for nothing all this while - to gym, swim and dine. That's my daily triathlon regime. I almost sold my club membership (thank God I didn't) and I really am happy with my decision not to.

Rationale to come back everyday to Ipoh:

Tronoh (UTP) --> Ipoh = 30km + overtaking huge trucks and lorries + old Kancils (0:40 min)

Puchong --> Office(Bangi) = 32km (LDP, Putrajaya) + RM1.60 toll + usual traffic (0:40 min)

Running on the roads (near my house, near the hills) is more dangerous in Ipoh than in KL. Ipoh is too quiet to run and if you do meet something or ~one on the road, they are either stray dogs or robbers. My mum said lately Ipoh has been very very dangerous with loads of snatch thieves in motorbikes. Robbing maids and old people while walking, even watering their plants or taking out the garbage. Puchong is relatively safer: I feel like middle class just as anyone else; there are many people running on the roads; the streets are sooo busy, happening and filled with people; no thief would wanna rob a sweaty, fugly runner in front of 2 primary schools pack with kids, rows of restaurants, hawkers stalls and Otai burger stalls. The only risk I face in Puchong as a road runner is....being knocked down by a car. I don't bring money while running in Ipoh, which makes it worst: I've nothing to give the robber which in turn may ignite his anger (I suppose) and murderlize me.

(Wow, I have great imagination.)

Polo Ground, you said? No way. So many kids running around and many walkers clog the pathways that it is not conducive for real running. Kids popping out of bushes or graveyard is pretty hazourdous to me! Not that I am a fast runner, but do not want my brains to work hard trying to scheme ways to manuever and overtake people. What do I think about when I run? -  I don't like to use my brains while running and I prefer to think of nothing.

And irritation no. 2: Why is everyone so kaypoh in Ipoh? People in Ipoh like to peek. I don't wanna generalised but while washing my car, there was this lady who was walking by - then paused like 10 seconds - stared at me straight to the eyes, then continued on. After that, came a car with a couple and a cargo of kids, was driving thru quite quick but then slowed down abruptly to peek into my house (and me). Err, caring? Or just kaypoh? Or maybe I was naked washing the car? But I wasn't naked. Confirm.

On a positive note. Life's sooo relaxing here (til it becomes boring), with the magnitude of good food, I couldn't ask for more. I deserve this. I've been working hard all these while :P  In terms of career, I got out of my comfort zone in KL and...straight into another comfort zone. From a bed of roses to a bed of fluffy feathers.

Complaining makes life interesting, doesn't it? A good friend keep telling me I complain just about anything and everything. Couldn't agree with him more - I do like to complain even if...life have been fantastic!!

(...as long as I don't complain as much as those ppl in Singapore :P)

Ivy-out!

A Year of Reckoning

The world as you know it will end in 21 Dec 2012. This movie depicted the so-ever-frightening events that ensue before the world ends (sh*t, I am going to drown in some tsunami). Well, well, if you did not know yet, 2012-12-21 doomsday is actually a projection of some Mayan people and their calendar. Okay, whatever it is, before I die I certainly would like to set my life straight-er and yes, pretti-er. Therefore, I would want to make two resolutions because 2012 has eleven months for me to spare, so why not make the best out of those months:

Resolution no. 1: Less spending on my credit cards  (Straighter)

Resolution no. 2: Clock in more sleeping hours (Prettier)

Hnmmphh, suddenly setting resolutions doesn't quite sound appropriate, does it? Cause it's going to be the End of the World for Christ sake!! Which means: the more important thing to do is to readjust my Bucket List:

1. Be successful in my Professional career 

2. Run the full marathon - 42.2 km 

3. Finish the Pulau Kapas-Marang International Swimathon - 6.5km open water

4. Married to a great man who believes in love...and errmm diamonds

5. Visit Paris, Austria, Sipadan and the Vatican (City).

6. Owner of a red Mini Cooper.

7. Owner of a cafe serving top-notch brew.

8. Own a pair of Jimmy Choo's

9. Attend a red-carpet event of Hollywood celebrities & shake the hands of Brad Pitt.

10. Leave a legacy

Wuahahaha...I am laughing at myself.....because...let's not take the end of the world too seriously, yahh ok?!

"Blessed Christmas & Happy New Year 2012" to all my readers! 

Make sure whatever you wish for comes true (that is, by 2012)

SUPERsports.

My previous post, I blah blah about my career, but let's move on from that. Today, I wanna talk about one of my many hobbies - sports.

I am no runner, no swimmer by birth. I was borned into a short family. Not that my parents are hobbits, but mum & dad ain't that tall. The only one thing that mum said when I was pulled out from her womb is that - I was TOTALLY Bald. She concluded that I may be a good swimmer when I grow up because I was born aerodynamic. She took back those words after spotting my first strand of hair at age 2.

So, being short and plump, I had no obvious potential. Dad could only praise me for being super diligent and hardworking in sports :P (what!??!?!). I can practice whole day-whole night cause I know if I don't, I can never beat those tall, strong girls. I performed pretty well in  swimming at MASUM (University Games) at age 23, and found out that I can backstroke quite well (never liked backstroke when I was younger). I am now running my own small swimming business whereby my niche is teaching kids and ladies.


Running wasn't in my blood til I was 18. From swimming, my coach was determined that there's still an "age group" for old swimmers like me (18 is veteran already when it comes to swimming): it's called Triathlon. My swim coach and his gang of Ipoh Roadrunners were avid triathletes thus introducing me to the sport. Actually, my first ever long distance run was during sport trials at high school where I ran err.....200 m track and panted like a fucked up puppy. At that time I simply thought that if I could swim well, I could run well. Well, duh! Didn't realised they weren't the same set of muscles used in running and swimming (I don't like studying human anatomy). So started learning and practice running. My first REAL long-distance running, 10km, was at Ipoh RoadRunner's run. From then, I progress to triathlon and biathlons by waking up 5am in the morning to swim and run at Ipoh Swimming Club almost every other day (I was 19 years old). I remembered winning a pair of Brooks running shoes after being in podium position for a small biathlon event.

Swimming took over my life and life was all about swimming. I forgot all about running but not until I entered university and was being ragged by seniors to run the WHOLE of UPM campus. And guess what, I came out top of the pack. Actually, I have a very good stamina, and not because I can run fast. In 2009, I entered my first 10km run at SCKL after several years of hiatus. I have a log book of all my runs. Not only scuba diving has log book, ok? 

My log. Running races since 2009:
1. Standard Chartered KL Marathon - 10km - 26 June 2009 <--- first LDR after 6 yrs hiatus
2. Energizer Night Race - 10km - 27 March 2010
3. New Balance Pacesetters  -15km - 16 May 2010
4. Standard Chartered KL Marathon - 21km - 27 June 2010
5. Ipoh International Marathon - 21km - 18 July 2010 <--- hometown run!
6. Penang Bridge Marathon - 21km - 21 Nov 2010 <--- Super-duper Thunderstorm and got sick after that.
7. Malakoff - 12km run - 19 Dec 2010 <--- Killer hill almost at the end of the route. Gila
8. Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon - 21km - 20 Feb 2011 <--- first ever International run - super-duper cold (11 degrees)!
9. Menara KL Towerthon - 2058 steps (24 floors) - 7 May 2011 <--- I did super well. Name at first page of the results page.
10. New Balance Pacesetters - 15km - 5 June 2011
11. Standard Chartered KL Marathon - 21km - 26 June 2011
12. Centro Run, Klang - 12 km - 23 July 2011
13. 7th Pacemaker Relay (PAR) - 14 Aug 2011
14. Siemens Run - 10 km - 25 Sept 2011 <--- worst ever 10km run. Ran super slow and dunno why.
15. Adidas KING of the Road - 16.8km - 2 Oct 2011
16. PJ Half Marathon - 21km - 20 Oct 2011<--- super hot sun. I got super headache after that.
17. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore - 42.2km - 4 Dec 2011 <--- broke my FM virginity
18. Malakoff - 12km run - 18 Dec 2011

Me in Pink cotton Victoria Secret shorts. First run after 6 years of hiatus - SCKL 2009.

Penang Bridge Marathon 2010 - Super heavy thunderstorm during the run cause me to get high fever after that.

Race pack collection at Victoria Park, Hong Kong

Running through Hong Kong Island. If Singapore was super-crowded, then Hong Kong's run was super-DUPER crowded and super COLD. So can't complain much abt Singapore, yeh.

New Balance Pacesetters 15km 2010, Putrajaya

Hey, ECP, I am going to challenge you again next year! FMV at Singapore 20111204

What's next for me in running? I have yet to plan any races for 2012. Nil. Zero. This is because I am giving running a short hiatus. I am concentrating on major runs, and not to participate in too many minor runs which may cause me to get jaded. If you know me well enough, I get jaded with things pretty fast. By choosing a few races to enter I want to ensure I don't lose the excitement in running or try not to do anything TOO MUCH. I tak nak jadi muak.

Possibly, the Sundown Marathon at Singapore (May 2012) is next. My running coach @Teh Boon King said that I might be facing the challenging ECP again (cause Singapore so small, sure use ECP wan, where else?). But deep down inside me, I feel like facing ECP once again to challenge myself and make a comeback this May.

SUPERB life!