My many Firsts

There are many firsts in Sarawak.

1. First time travelling all alone just for work. 
Usually I am with my entourage of make up artist ....and....creative designer......Okay, Okay, usually whilst work-travelling, I am with at least a colleague who would give me much comfort in a foreign land. But this time it's entirely different. Pretty much given the freedom to independently run my 'show'.

Just to let everyone know (and am proud of it), my room+apartment suite in Miri is bigger than my own Puchong apartment!!! SUPER huge! What a waste staying alone. Next trip, I will be bringing my own "entourage". Mum??

2. First time supervising a huge project on my own.
All I had to do was to courage-up and do what MAN does at sea. When I said MAN, it's a 99.9% MAN's world out there. I am probably the only lady on board every day, and man after man comes by to tease you. It's a pleasant kinda 'tease': saying how small or cute I am in big construction boots, if I need a place to rest, they offer me theirs; many offered to bring my bags, etc...When you're in a man's world, a lady is the luckiest babe in the world!

I am the Queen of the World!

But not quite a queen yet...

...because the job is not easy and it's literally dirty. Of course I get to 'cheat' a little in my job and 'bluff' tired, and MAN will come help me. But naturally, I did everything I was supposed to do myself, all by myself. I need to learn too how to do things hands on and do not like to be identified as a pure laboratory geek. But no doubt it's a harsh, harsh, harsh environment out there and I ain't kidding. The job requires both brains and brawn. More of the latter:

i. It's hot and sunny and humid out at sea.

ii. I am in coveralls, which makes me sweat like a pig.

iii. The sea may not be as calm as you think. Sometimes, the boat rocks really hard and you go nausea. Thank God I have some boat diving experiences, in which my body is quite accustomed to.

iv. The job is about oil crude that comes splashing out from some well-head. Soooo oilly!! My face, my hands, my neck...sooo oilllyyyyy!!! I spot new pimples on my face daily.

v. And you always ask: "What smell is that?" 

vi. "You mean I just pee/poop through this HOLE and you can see my sh*t and poop falling into the sea?! 'Nice'" I'd rather kap-see some times.

My gloves. Sooo oilyyy!! *gellliii*

I am barred from revealing this but can't help it: We were bored to death, so we went fishing and had a great catch. A convenient hobby heh? (This photo is not photoshopped)

3. First time going offshore platforms...and what more, 2 weeks!
I am a lady who works in a laboratory all the time and heard of the 'wonders' of how oil is being drilled and produced offshore, but I was petrified when I got here. It's harsh. One of the harshest conditions I've ever been (besides Bangkok's Chatuchak market :P). Nevertheless, the view is picture perfect and I've got this few shots with my new Canon. Of course, the next time I wanna go with a helicopter. It should be way better and faster than a boat.

Going offshore takes a toll on your body. The environment is harsh, plus the daily boat trips that you make (waking up at 4.30am and only get home by 9:00pm) gets you so tired, you just wanna sleep the night off. If  this is someone's life, I do not want to be that 'someone'. It's not even life. I'm going to use this as a one (or two) off experience.

I should request for a heli ride next time. Faster, but is it safer(?)

  

At night, the lights are extraordinarily brilliant: I am like "WOOOOOaaaaAAHHH" again.

By the time I arrive at the Wharf, it's already sun set. 

4. First time tasting the recommended Kolo Mee.
Nothing to shout about; nothing special. Plain whitish noodle with soya sauce. So, that's all for my food review. The End.

5. And of course, First time setting foot in the massive state of Sarawak.
Let's just say I've been to EVERY state in the whole of Malaysia (yes, even Perlis when I was working for BERNAS to check on some paddy fields and neighbour Brunei for a short stay), but never before til now that I've stepped foot in the vast state of Sarawak. I thought I may visit Kuching for my first trip to Sarawak, but turned out to be Miri instead. Gladly, many claimed Miri is more 'happening' as it has more entertainment value (hush hush: karaoke, china-dolls, pubs, disco, seafood, etc.) in comparison to Kuching.

If you want to make a comparison, I should say Miri is like Kuantan. But unlike our Pahang sister, Miri started off from nothing to a rich, buzzling city because of...yup, you've guessed it: oil. The Grand Old Lady was where the first oil was produced, and though it's no longer producing and being made a museum, the city and population is still sustained by the industry. Hotels are mostly made up of oil&gas staff working here, while the outskirts have fishermen, boat-makers, boats for rent, etc...Tourism is a thriving industry here. As I've mentioned before, the vast "entertainment value" and freedom it offers attracts people from nearby Brunei and other quieter cities (e.g. Bintulu) especially in the weekends.

I will be back to Miri for sure to follow up on the project. Then it will be a different blogpost the next round as it will include more reviews of Sarawak food which would interest more readers, I guess. Nearby Niah Caves and Taman Negara shall be my next destination too if I were to return, which sadly did not fit into my tight itinerary during this trip.

Ivy-out!

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