Fish Avenue

It was during our trip to Seremban and they suggested to go Penang. No one dared to commit until 3 days before the trip, the other girl said she has booked a home stay unit near Gurney drive. Supposed to be 5 of us, but one of the guys stood us up! Hmm...... So, 4 of us still went ahead as Andrew said didn't want to spoil the holiday because of one person.

This is again, another eating trip. We ate all the way during our trip. I wonder how many kilos I've put on after the trip!

Since this is the first time for the other 2 friends, we stopped at Bidor to have the famous duck noodles. It was almost 3pm when we reached KL. We went to Batu Ferringhi and Hard Rock Hotel. It's newly opened. I was so excited when I saw the Michael Jackson statue at the entrance! Hahahaha! The hotel gives a very comfortable look and feel. The swimming pool nearby the beach is huge! It stretches alongside with the hotel. The rooms on the ground floor all having private exit to the pool. We didn't want to get stuck in the traffic, we parked our car in the condominium that were staying and walked to Gurney Drive to have our dinner. It was only 15 minutes walk. The food in Gurney Drive was bad, still edible but bad. Last year Andrew and I got fooled once, this year with another 2 friends, we got fooled again. Hahahaha.

On the second day, went to Kek Lok Si again. The Guan Yin statue is finally done. Pretty spectacular. We were eating the whole afternoon. Then we headed to Khoo Kongsi. This place never fails to fascinate me. Every time stepped inside it just like stepped into a warp hole, taking me back into the old days. How they used to live their life, their history, their family tree, their clan, their ways......

Went up to the Penang Hill on the third day, wasn't a good experience. The tram was moving like a snail, took 45 minutes to go up and another 45 minutes to come down, not forgetting the waiting time. The tram to go up was so crowded with people! It was hot and noisy. I was grumbling all the way up! LOL! Luckily it was lesser crowd when we came down, had some space to breathe. Penang Hill has nothing much. The view is okay, you can see the Penang bridge from above. But that's it. If you wanted to go, perhaps you should try to go in the evening. I'd bet the night view would be much nicer. There are a lot of spiders on Penang Hill! They're everywhere!

My second trip to Penang was great. We even went to Tambun for some seafood dinner. Get to know a new friend through my friend, what a friendly couple.

Last year, Penang was my last trip of the year. This year, again Penang is my last trip of the year! What a coincidence!

After watching Avatar in the morning, we went to Seremban with Andrew's friends. His friend insisted us to tag along and they didn't even mind to wait for us to finish the movie. How sweet.

This trip was purely an eating trip. Hahaha. They even got the map and addresses for all the places that they wanted to go to taste the food. :)

First stop, beef noodles. Somewhere near the Seremban hospital, now I couldn't remember its name. Anyway, this is the shop. There's this beef noodles in Seremban wet market, but I heard from Melissa that the one in the market taste better. Andrew and I are not a beef person, but since we were there with the group, we had to adapt. No point yelling "eww I don't eat that" and making everybody feels awkward. No harm eating it. :) The beef noodles taste unique, it's dried with the gravy. The beef is a bit too hard though. Overall, it's special and good. I love the beef balls though!

After the beef noodles, they wanted to go for the Hakka Mee. I've been there before with Melissa and the rest. Hmm... This time my friends don't really like the Hakka Mee. They were saying the noodles are too oily.

I missed the Cendol, so I went ahead to have one! :D But this time was an Indian lady, didn't see the Indian uncle. And this lady wasn't friendly. :( My friends too had one, but they didn't really like it. LOL! It was a hot day, I just wanted something cold.

We headed to Port Dickson to see the sea and feel the breeze. Aww...... It was nice to set foot on PD again. The sea of course isn't as nice as those in the East Coast, but it's good to get away from the city and feel the sea breeze.

For dinner, we headed back to Seremban. It wasn't my first time to this restaurant Sun Yat Sing also, been there few times. Hahaha. Love the Marmite crab there. Again, my friends didn't find the dinner great as they were expecting something else. Only Andrew and I were enjoying the dinner! LOL! 2 of us were eating away like nobody's business. Hahaha.

It was one great eating day!

I didn't know about the movie until I saw the trailer while sitting in the cinema waiting to watch the movie 2012. Since then, I could read about its news almost everyday and everywhere. It is James Cameron's another billion dollars golden movie. No one could or would have missed it. Just like the Titanic 1998.

As usual, am not going to write the whole story of the movie, you could get the full length story in Wikipedia. James Cameron is so creative and talented. I wonder how he came up with the story. You have to have wild and great imaginations to write such a beautiful story and characters.

I couldn't take my eyes off the screen, not even for 1 second. How long since the last time I enjoyed such a great movie? There wasn't a single boring moment in Avatar. Everything looked so fantasy yet so real. There were times I felt that the Na'vi is real and we human aren't.

The movie once again shows that human is cruel and greedy. We only take, but never give.

I'm going to watch the movie again, to soak myself in the fantasy world of Pandora again. To SEE the Na'vi again. "I SEE YOU."

This is another thing that I've forgotten to post. A rare opportunity for us indeed. I've been in KL for 10 years, and this is my first time to the KL Tower.

It was about a month earlier Andrew received the invitation from his friend, that the wedding reception would be held in KL Tower. Andrew was reluctant to attend, but I told him that this is the golden opportunity for us to go without giving ourselves a bunch of excuses to postpone the visit time after time. He was so totally agreed with me! LOL!

To view the KL Tower right under it, I can only say that it is magnificent! The feeling was so overwhelming. It's different from standing below the Petronas Twin Towers. The Twin Towers may leave you in awe of the structural design, but the KL Tower is nothing of that. The tower gives me a feeling of I'm living in the little-man's world that everything else is SUPER huge! I feel so tiny! And Twin Towers have never left me feeling that way. I wonder why.

Took this right below the KL Tower. See what I mean of that height and size?

The wedding reception was a bit different from those that I've been to. The couple used the Black Eyed Peas' "Tonight's Gonna Be A Good Night" as the march-in song! That certainly liven up the atmosphere. They even had a little pop dance performance with a group of friends! The groom is a SINGER! He can sing so well. He was more like the performer of the night. Hahaha.

Everything was good except the food and service. The red wine was of super good grade.

Don't know when we will come back again. Guess not, once is enough I think.

The wedding favor.

See this cute bottled water!

There's 2 choices of ice-cream as desserts, durian and jack fruit. This is the jack fruit ice-cream, it's delicious.

The view.

上个月，我的几米珍藏又多了一本了。:)

纪伊国书屋的优惠卡上个月是最后一个月了。那天看见只剩最后一本！当然是快手快脚的把它买了啊。

书里边的画都是黑白的，但是并不会觉得枯燥。每一页都是满满的细节。真不知道几米是怎么把它们画出来的。佩服，佩服。

故事诉说一位老太太和动物园里的毛毛兔重逢，勾起了以往的回忆，共度了一个愉快的下午。虽然我用十分钟就把书看完了，但是那份感动却是那么的强烈。让人真的有点想哭。故事很短，有点意犹未尽。

糟糕了，真的深深地爱上几米了。

I noticed that I have totally forgotten to post this up as I promised earlier! Terrible me.

Nicole invited us to her house again, for another session of eating and Wii-ing. :) So, it was Halloween. We didn't have any party to go to, Nicole's house would be the perfect place then. Hahaha. Thanks to Nicole for cooking us such a nice and hearty meal again. :>

Photos speak a thousand words. :)

Ginger onion chicken wings. Yummy!

Sweet potatoes with raisins.

Banana muffins and raspberry chocolate chip muffins.

This potato salad is super yummy!!!

There, there...... Cheese!

Wii time!!! LOL!

We were having so much fun. Can't wait to invite them over to my house when the time comes! :D

Later in the evening, we went to the cafe downstairs to have our dinner, together with our hubbies. The food wasn't bad, in fact it was pretty good. They all come in big plate! Good for big eaters. Hahaha. My camera's batt went dead on me in the afternoon, had to take photos using my iPhone. Ish...... Didn't take a photo of the cafe.

Another one in the cafe. Hmm...... All of us looked tired here.

If you think that I've abandoned my blog, worry not, I have not. It's just that recently I have not had the time to really sit down and let my thoughts "run" wild on the keyboard. I have been going home late, either waiting for Andrew to finish his shift or having fun somewhere. Work has been crazy too, always have my lunch late. On top of it, I am organising a Christmas party for the company. Christmas is coming and we still have so much to do.

Went to a few wedding receptions for the past 3 weeks. Last week was the one in Seremban, my colleague's wedding. It's been a long time I have not been to a Malay's wedding. To see everything in such a perfect coordination of colors, simple yet elegant, it made me realised that Malay wedding is not one bit less tedious than us Chinese wedding.

Since I was in Seremban, made a stop at Melissa's house. She has always made effort to come to KL to meet us. Since I was there, it is just that little effort for me to make to pay her a visit. So nice to see her family again, especially her niece! She grows so fast! Love her big eyes, kept staring at me but she's scared of me. Hahahaha......

I am very tired, mentally. I know I still can do more with my body, I can still shop, movie and meet friends. But my mind is so tired. It's like every bit of brain cells are drained out from my head. Sometimes I just couldn't think of anything anymore. But my job requires me to think, all the time! That is the most tiring part, trying to squeeze some juice out from that poor dried coconut. LOL!

I need a vacation, and it's coming. Long weekend next week, going back to Terengganu. Would be spending my Christmas with hubby and friends. Best of all, the long awaited Taiwan trip is around the corner! Argh, trying to plan our own itinerary is killing us softly. That, needs a lot of brain juice too! How I wish I could just go there, get a map and walk wherever I like. Like how I did in Hong Kong. But this time it involves a big group of people, proper planning is needed. I can't be asking a group of people to walk like headless cockroaches with me. Hahahahaha!!!

I expect to put on some weight in Taiwan. So, now I am determined to shed some kilos off before I put them back on in January. Hahaha. My aim, 4kg to lose! Gosh, I can't believe I've put on so much weight since this January. What on earth have I been eating?!

Now, waiting for Andrew again. He's at the outsource center today onwards, for a week. Told me that he was so busy today, didn't even have his lunch and make any trip to the washroom! That is ridiculous! He didn't even have time to talk to me. Sigh...... Karma, I believe. Hahaha. I am always the one who told him I'm "busy, talk later". :P

That's all for now. Did I read like I'm writing crap again? A bunch of gibberish that makes no sense? Forgive me.

Another wave of boredom and randomness hit me. My well of creativity is running dry and I could find no way to replenish it. Blame it all on my laziness, I hardly read lately! That Dan Brown which I proudly possess 2 months ago, had only opened twice, chapter 2. I just couldn't believe it myself. Where has my reading interest gone?!

Got an SMS from Angie, the CDs that I mailed over have finally reached. But she has yet to collect them from the post office. I just can't wait to see her again when she comes back. She is such a cheerful and strong lady. You could literally feel the warmth of the sunshine whenever you talk to her, suddenly all the matters that's troubling you are now gone. Nope, I'm not joking. Well, you'll just have to meet her to believe it.

Different school of thoughts, nurtured different type of people. Hence, our behavior and attitude differ. Many a time I find it difficult to deal with people who behave so much different from me. They probably feel the same way too. Well then, why should I torture my mind thinking about it? Okay, now I ironed out my own wrinkled mind. Good!

Last Sunday, went to Mid Valley Megamall with Andrew. Out of nowhere, a strong dizziness chose the best time to surface. The feeling was scary and yet funny. No, the world wasn't spinning around me, no black out and I ain't no see any star above my head. But I was like going to collapse towards the left side. Funny isn't it? The funniest was, I asked Andrew "was it earthquake? How come I felt dizzy?" Hahahahaha! This evening, whilst walking on my two poor feet to KLCC, it came again. I saw (yes, I saw) that I was walking towards the left side of the pavement and my body was slanting towards the ground! I stopped for a few seconds and it all went back to normal. Luckily I didn't fall. I don't know what happened to me. This dizziness is something that I have never had before.

It's late, again. Perhaps I should sleep early. HA! Knowing me, that would never happen unless I am very, very tired.

Alrighty, good night.

就这样，我身为人妻也有一年又一天了。昨天也没特别庆祝，日子如常。

2009年就快结束了。感觉有点害怕。怎么日子过得那么快？是谁偷偷的把时间的齿轮给转快了？

在清理照片时，看见一些去年和网友们见面的合照。一时之间，一股暖流飘进了心里。嘴角不自觉地往上扬。这种感觉，这种发自内心的微笑，是一种幸福。

当时大家都好兴奋终于要见面了。一群女人聚在一起，七嘴八舌的，好不热闹。好令人怀念。。。现在大家各有各忙的，以往的一群人再也迁就不到彼此的时间。那种聚在一起，没有猜疑、没有隔阂的时光，看来是很难再重温了。现在大家只能在彼此的“脸书”上留言几句，让对方知道“我没有人间蒸发”。哈哈哈哈。

那段日子是快乐的。只能叹息好景不长。

 

In the blink of an eye, I am legally married for a year, this coming Sunday.

How do I feel? Hmm... Time waits for no man. That's what I feel. Oh, and I feel grateful to have such an understanding husband. He's no perfect man, but none of us are perfect. Guess I could never ever find another man that would take in all my craps willingly. Oops, correction: I shall never look for another man anymore. LOL!

Though we're married and been together for so long, there is not a day we feel less loved. We quarreled, threw tantrums, got angry with each other, had countless cold wars... But they all stopped the very next day. I've heard people said "don't sleep on an unresolved matter, solve it there and then". Well, that is bullsh** at times. Sometimes the arguments heat up, both parties just simply have to cool down and stop talking. Many times after a good night sleep, I simply just do not remember what we had argued or I'd realise it's just some small matter that needs no further attention. Why sweat over the small stuff when there are bigger things you have to focus on? One of the bigger things is, be happy.

After all, we've known each other for so long. The likes and dislikes, which buttons to push and which not to push further, we know them well. But "accidents" do happen. Hahahaha! Hey, we're no perfect couples. :) A lot of times we got pissed off at each other, but those are sweet moments too. Often we laugh out loud together recalling our reactions back then. Yes, we do talk about it later after we both cool down. :)

I do nag at him. Oh please, every woman nags, ok. Don't tell me you as a woman never nag. :p I too grumble about him with friends. No matter how happy we are, we tend to have things that we need to get them off our chest sometimes. Nope, nothing others can do or have to do. Listening will be more than enough. Don't you agree? By the way, Andrew nags too! You'll never believe me if you never see it. And you would never see it as he only does that to me when no one else is around. LOL!

So, how are we going to celebrate it? Well, being Ashley and Andrew, we ain't really into celebrating all these. To us, we can celebrate it any day we want. Everyday is a Valentine's day because we are still in love each and single day. And everyday is an anniversary, because we are still together every single day. Hence, no point to celebrate only ONCE on every 365th day. :) We shall celebrate love, not the DAYS.

The day we sealed the "deal". :)

It was few months ago, when I saw Mandy, my lovely cousin (actually, Andrew's cousin :)) posted on her Facebook wall that she was looking for a photographer who could help to freeze her dancing acts. I replied "ME" half-heartedly, expecting that she would want someone who has more experience rather than some amateur like me. My heart was jumping with joy when she asked me when!

We decided Sepang Gold Coast for our shooting location. I've never been there, I did not know how it was going to be. But ballet on the beach? That would be something different. The day has come, Mandy was so disappointed that she couldn't find her perfect white dress. :) When the session started, we all found that the moves looked more like yoga instead of ballet. So, I decided not to shoot any still poses anymore, more dancing and prancing and running, gracefully. I was feeling a bit guilty to have asked her to repeat so many times. Glad that Mandy was such a sweetheart to play along. :)

Happy that the photos came out Ok. But I could do better next time. There were some twisting moves which I couldn't get them right. All of us wanting to have another round in the near future. :) Can't wait!

I am happy with myself, trying many different things. 2009 is a good year, as I expected earlier this year. Seeing that it is going to end real soon, I am pretty anxious about the new year. Whatever it may bring, I'll have to gear myself up to face them. Like all the ballet dancers, no matter how nervous they are, they never fail to smile, hold their heads up and dance gracefully. It is similar to a swan, so gracefully floating on the water but nobody could see their feet busy treading under the water.

My favorite.

Here's the "working man", helping us with the bags and all, and not forgetting taking some behind-the-scenes photos and videos!!! I was laughing so hard when I saw some of my ugly 'working' pose.

This isn't my first time to shop online. I totally understand the risk of buying online and I can take the risk so long as I am careful in selecting my purchases. If the goods received were way too much different from what I saw on the website, it would then be the first-and-the-last time for me to buy from that seller. No point in cursing the seller for cheating my money. After all that is the risk I took and I have to manage it, not let it manage me.

Got my clothes on Tuesday. I was so excited opening the package! Hahaha. Ooohhh...... They look nice! Oops... One little problem with the clothes. First sweater, it was supposed to be grey with PINK trims, but it is white. Second sweater, it was supposed to be open-button sweater, but the one I got is a pull over sweater! Okay, they may be big problems to some people. To me, well, I'm okay with it, they're just small details that varied from the photographs. Other than those details, I find that the quality is good. Well, that kind of comfort me. :)

So, people out there, if you ever wanted to purchase online, make sure you can handle the risk and the possible discrepancies later. If you can't, online purchasing is definitely something which you should not even TRY, or THINK.

Here's some photos on the differences.

Where have the buttons gone? Who ate the buttons? LOL!

The one on the right is what I received. See the different?

Many of us remember Phuket as an island of paradise, shopping, relaxation and tranquility. After the tsunami hit in year 2004, a day after Christmas, many now are in awe of how a small town could rebuild in such a short time.

My first time to Phuket, with my colleagues. It was a company trip, kind of to motivate and reward every one of us as we did not get any increment or bonus this year. Every one was excited about this trip, except me. Anyway, I'm glad that I went. Didn't enjoy much of the sea and beaches, but I did enjoy the Phantasea show and the shopping. :D The snorkelling trip was nothing, corals are all dead, fishes are of not many variety and it was crowded. You are bound to hit on someone wherever you swim.

Had our lunch in Koh Phi Phi island. The tour guide told us 3000 people died here. I couldn't believe that this is the place where more than 3000 people died in the 2004 tsunami. Looking at it, you wouldn't know that it has such a tragic history. The island is still full of people. Most of the buildings are newly built after the tsunami. There is even a tsunami evacuation route now. Too bad I forgot to take a photo of it. The tour guide told us he was on a boat when the tsunami hit, the sea receded about 1km and he found it weird. When the wave came, he could only feel the boat rising up and down and nothing much. He didn't know what happened on the shore until he returned at a later time. He said he was lucky to be on the boat and survived.

There is still a lot of development going on in Chalong and Patong beach. You can see that most of the buildings are freshly painted. Well, 5 years after the tsunami, they basically rebuilt everything from scratch.

On the second night, we went to Jung Ceylon shopping complex. We were late, they closed at 10.30pm. So, we wandered along Bangla Road. So many things to see, but not much that you could buy. Then we were in this street where all the pubs and discos are there. Thai girls dancing on the tables, pole dancing, men asking you to visit their clubs...... It was so happening there!

We then walked all the way back to our hotel, Andaman Beach Suites, all of us felt our legs were giving up on us. LOL! That was a long way to walk! We nearly got lost too. Fortunately saw our tour leader on his way back too. :D A tips to share, do not ever walk alone in Bangla Road, walk in a group! Not even if you're a guy.

We all woke up early on the 3rd day, to go to this Premier Outlet in Phuket town. Geez, Nike is cheaper by 30%!!! Got myself a pair of shoes. I regret now that I did not buy the backpack which is selling RM80++ here and it was selling at RM60 there!

Am thinking if I should go Phuket again middle of next year with Andrew. Just for shopping and walking around. :P

In LCCT airport.

Gems Gallery

Chalong Temple

Mind FM!!!!

The giant durian in fruits market.

It's a pity that I didn't get to go for a ride on that, no one wanted to go with me. :(

View from our hotel room! Nice!

Going for the Phantasea Show.

The buffet dinner in this restaurant was awesome! International standard. No regrets!

Getting ready heading to Phi Phi Island.

At Koh Phi Phi Don.

Sunset at Promthep Cape, we were late and it was cloudy, missed the sun.

Last dinner in Phuket.

When we reached the Phuket airport, we were shocked to see all the queues!!! The security check at all 4 entrance were full of people and the queue was so long even by the road side. Crazy!!!