Creatures of Pulau Kapas

Crystal clear waters around the island harbors plenty interesting creatures but none as amazing as this two headed Siamese mermaid[men ?].

Test jual kuih...

Saja jerr bagi Maria tercabar...

Gunung Nuang

A dear friend introduced this place to me. An excellent venue to get back to nature, get some exercise and be away from the hustle and bustle of city life. From the federal highway head towards Kajang via Cheras. After the first toll past Plaza Phoenix turn left and then left again at the Police Station. Drive straight until the road ends at the foot of Gunung Nuang which is also where the Hulu Langat Dam is located.

Register at the guard house and pay the RM1 fee. From there on start climbing on old fire tracks. The vegetation will change from pine forest to bamboos to thick vegetation. Your lungs will be on fire as it tries to acclimatise to the clean fresh air. Once it does, it felt good and you will most likely got your second wind. One and half or two hours later you will reach the base camp. From there another half hour will be Kem Lolo on single track passing the old dam on the way up which is flanked by a high waterfall. After Kem Lolo will be Kem Pacat after which another few hours will take you to the peak. I have only been up to Lolo and am still trying to get at least to Pacat. The peak will require an overnight trip or at least a whole (literally) day outing.

Wear comfortable shoes and make sure the soles does not give out as it has to go through mud and water too. Mine does and it was a struggle getting down on shoes with broken soles. To be safe carry a pair of slippers or sandals in your bag. Bring enough water, one half liter in a Camelbak is enough to get me up to and down Lolo. Some food would be good too. I like chocolates but it cause a friend to use the huge public toilet...

Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa

Chance took us to Taman Melawati this morning, on the way we stopped at a nicely decorated outlet of Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa Kampung Baru. Excellent colour scheme of white, green and wooden elements. As I recall the food they serve - in the original place many years ago - was delicious. Its nice to see that they have moved up a notch in the ambiance department. It felt good sitting in the new place. I love how they presented their menu, toppings instead of accompanying dishes that you chose to go with your nasi lemak. Very Mc Donald like, modern take on an old Malaysian favourite. From then on the experience went downhill.

It was not crowded yet the service was slow. Orders were taken yet delivery was wrong. Four drinks for five person ? A mistake perhaps. The food took ages to arrive, something we could not understand. Its not as if they have to cook anything as all the items are already prepared and it just had to be ladled into plates and served. When it arrived the taste was disappointing. Its obvious that shortcuts were made in making the "sambal", supposedly the star of a nasi lemak meal. There's a slight burnt bitter taste which should not be there. We had sotong [squid], kerang [cockles] and spiced fried chicken. The sotong is not bad, the rest is just food, nothing special.

The worst bit came when its time to pay. The base nasi lemak is RM3, sotong additional RM5 making a plate RM8 ! In total a meal for 3 adults and 2 kids (sharing a plate) costs us RM51. Yes, we are paying for the ambiance but the food was not up to par and that makes it painful. I pity the investors whom I am sure have spent tons of money on the renovation. I wish they would go a bit more, get back the old recipe, get rid of the shortcuts and above all provide better faster service. I really wish for them to be as successful as all those imported food chains.

Note: These pictures were not taken at the outlet.

Vung Tau, Viet Nam

A resort town about one half hours away by hydrofoil or two and a half by road from Ho Chi Minh City. It was rather quiet when we were there because its off season. Rooms are quite expensive [so the locals told me - about USD70/80 for a 3 star hotel] but foot reflexology is cheap at only USD7 for 70 minutes which includes hands, shoulder and head massage.

There is only one Halal restaurant in town near the Rex Hotel. Quite good. Main attraction here is the arts and crafts specifically model ships of all shape, size and vintage. The price has increased though as one that cost USD20 years ago is now USD200 [according to a friend].

Open spaces

Road pictures taken at speed - only the first road picture was taken from behind tinted windscreen.

Low Light D700

More low light shot from the D700 and flare from the Sigma.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

About 1 hour 45 minutes after departing from KLIA we landed in Ho Chi Minh City airport. A much shorter flight than from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu. From the airport to the city center took about 40 minutes for an amazingly short distance. Reason, traffic which consists of bikes and more bikes criss-crossing in a discipline that I have never experienced before. Discipline, because throughout the chaos there were no accidents. Cost USD8 for 5 adults and a mountain of luggage in an MPV.

Hotel room can be had for as low as USD12 per night. Nice clean and comfortable. Within walking distance to all the interesting places in town. Shoppers will go nuts. Malaysia seems to have quite an influence as some signage used in the shops were in Malay. Art and crafts are abundant. Replicas and original works abound. Bargaining is a must though. Always ask for the price before committing to any purchase. One of our colleague was charged USD10 for 3 coconuts which he graciously accepted as he stepped out of the market tired and parched. When its time to pay, the bomb was dropped, its too late as the coconuts were already consumed.

Halal food is quite easy to find. Mainly Muslim Indian in town and a Champa Malay inside the compound of the city mosque. Find the mosque and you will find the halal food.

Personally, the best thing is that, even as a wayward tourist wandering the city, I feel safe. Safe in a sense that even though the street peddlers are persuasive and will follow you around, you will not be harmed and that the eyes of the authority is looking out for tourists like you. Contrast this against the feeling of wandering around Petaling Street or the back lanes of Chow Kit at night.

Its a very nice city. However, I will not go with known shoppers (wife, aunties etc.) as I am certain they will go bonkers on all the cheap and varied wares on offer at the complexes, shops, markets, night markets, road stalls and peddlers of all sorts ...