Come Around Sundown Album by Kings of Leon - The Review

This album "Come Around Sundown" by Kings of Leon is simply the best. I know this is a bit of a super late review because it actually took me that long to finally fall in love with this album. After countless times of repeats on this album, I have to say that I really actually fall for the easy listening and laid back tunes. And simply listening to the strums of the guitars got me day dreaming about the day that I can actually play the guitar for real. I've been saying to myself that I need to go for lessons but that is yet to happen. I'm hoping to have a super good looking guitar teacher to get me started with the lessons. :)

Anyways, some of my favourite songs from Come Around Sundown are :

- The Immortals

- Pony Up & Birthday - these two songs I believe complements each other because "Birthday " sounds like a continuation of "Pony Up"

- Mi Amigo

and last but not least : Radioactive

If the only song that you ever listen from Kings of Leon is "Use Somebody" :

httpv://youtu.be/gnhXHvRoUd0

I think it's about time you should start listening to their Come Around Sundown album. I'm not technically a super big fan of Kings of Leon and no, I have no idea of their latest singles or albums if there's any. One thing I know for sure, Come Around Sundown is definitely worth the listen. A double thumbs up from me!

Climb Mount Kinabalu And Raise Funds For SHELTER - Home For Children

This is a very special post and I am hoping we can all get the words out and reach out to as many people as possible. Recently, Gary the PR guy of SHELTER - Home For Children(Malaysia) , contacted me if I would like to help them out again to promote on their Climb of Hope Charity drive. Apparently I had somewhat mentioned about the SHELTER's charity climb two years ago in this blog which I've totally forgotten about and of course I am more than willing to give them a bit of a promotion once again.

 

For this year 2012, the SHELTER is targeting to raise about MYR 100,000 to improve the standard of education amongst the children in the shelter home. Anyone from the public is welcomed to participate for this Mount Kinabalu climb by filling up the registration form here.

 



Basically, you will be joining the Mt. Kinabalu climbing package organized by SHELTER and the fees (inclusive of  climbing fees, accommodation, flight tickets, land transfers, meals for all days) are MYR 2010 (for Malaysians) and MYR2300 (for Non-Malaysians). It is a 4 days 3 nights trip on 25 - 28 April 2012 ( Via Timpohon trail).

In addition, participants need to help seek donation from either companies, organizations or various individuals for a minimal amount of MYR  2000 each or more in hope to raise up to RM100, 000  fund for this campaign.

If you have been looking or thinking of doing something really amazing this year, this could probably be your chance to make "that something amazing" happening for yourself and for others too which in this case it is for the kids.

The climb is open for a maximum of 30 participants and closing date for registration will be by the 29th of March 2012. For further info, you can contact :

Edwin Jalleh : +60 0122574305
Brian Cheong : +60 0123510575

[caption id="attachment_2745" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sunrise at Low's Peak, Mt. Kinabalu - a dome looking clouds *picture by Azleena"][/caption]

I had climbed Mount Kinabalu back in 2010 which you can read more about my experience at Low's Peak, Mount Kinabalu here. The experience was simply amazing and one of the best things I had ever done in my life. I would say Mount Kinabalu is a mountain for everyone. The track is relatively easy to climb. All you really need is a bit of stamina to get you going and of course the strong drive in your mind to keep pushing it further. It is all about the motivation and a good mindset. Also, as we all know, Mount Kinabalu is located in Kota Kinabalu , Sabah and if you are a Malaysians, I would strongly recommend you to visit Sabah. Believe me, you will fall for the nature beauty of Sabah and also for the beautiful people as well. Then again, if you are up for an experience of a life time and making a change is something you are looking to do this year, do sign up and participate for this campaign for the children.

 

Foodie Road Trip : Pak Man Mee Kuah Ketam To'kun, Bukit Mertajam| Penang

My friends from Penang highly recommended this place : Pak Man Mee Kuah Ketam To'kun located at Bukit Mertajam, Penang. The best time to eat Mee Ketam To'kun is by noon, especially after you had a bucket full of sweats hiking up the very steep hill of Bukit Tokun, BM.

This is going to be a picture treat for everyone and so let's the pictures do the talking!

[caption id="attachment_2716" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pak Man Mee Kuah Ketam To'kun, Bukit Mertajam. Mee Ketam sales begin at noon."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2717" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Mee Kuah Ketam Pak Man - the whole menu and respective pictures"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2718" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The prep station"][/caption]

We got all the time in the world to snap everything around the shop because the Mee Ketam has not arrived yet and so we waited patiently for about 30 minutes for the dish to come. Apparently, the whole cooking process was done elsewhere and the next thing we knew, we saw a couple of Pak Man's workers pushing a tricycle cart right from the street.

[caption id="attachment_2719" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The kuah mee ketam and everything for the whole dish coming in a tricycle cart! This is really old school!"][/caption]

These are some of the things that came out from the cart :

[caption id="attachment_2720" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The secret and most important ingredient - Kuah Mee Ketam in a big pot!"][/caption]

The whole kuah pot is transferred here to keep hot



And the Mee Kuah Ketam will not be a Mee Kuah Ketam without the Ketam (Crabs)

[caption id="attachment_2722" align="aligncenter" width="168" caption="Crabs for the Mee Ketam Tokun"][/caption]

Alright, when is the Mee Kuah Ketam Pak Man picture coming??? Okay, here goes :

[caption id="attachment_2723" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Finally, Mee Kuah Ketam Special Pak Man! Yum!"][/caption]

If you look closely at this picture, this is a complete meal and only order Mee Kuah Ketam Special, priced at RM 7 if you are dead hungry. The pasembor, potato , half an egg, noodle, crab, prawns and the kuah (gravy) are going to make your stomach full. Despite burning hundreds or perhaps thousands of calories hiking up Bukit Tokun earlier that morning, I was struggling to finish this mee ketam up. Probably it was the pasembor combo of this meal that makes it hard to finish since I'm not a big fan of pasembor. Hehe.

Other dishes that the gang ordered were these :

Mee Goreng Ketam

[caption id="attachment_2724" align="aligncenter" width="168" caption="Mee Goreng Ketam - the gravy comes separately in a bowl"][/caption]

and Mee Goreng

[caption id="attachment_2726" align="aligncenter" width="168" caption="Mee goreng. Obviously, the one who ordered mee goreng was our Penang friend who probably had eaten a bit too many of Mee Kuah Ketam at Pak Man. Hihi."][/caption]

Last but not least, the end result of our little Mee Kuah Ketam Pak Man session :

[caption id="attachment_2727" align="aligncenter" width="168" caption="Messy plates with crab shells, prawn shells and the hard to finish carb - potato from the Pasembor."][/caption]

If I have to rate Mee Kuah Ketam Pak Man , I'm going to give it : 4/5

With RM 7 (Mee Kuah Ketam Special) - a plate with a medium sized crab, 2 prawns, pasembor and the generous amount of gravy, I think it is really worth the money. If you are a big time fan of mee kuah, this is something you have to try at Cherok To'kun, Bukit Mertajam, Penang. I have to say the gravy has an acquired taste that was completely new to my palate because I'm the tomyam/ laksa/ bihun sup daging fan.

Directions to Mee Kuah Ketam Pak Tam : I have no idea of its direction so you going to have to do a bit of homework for that. Although I can bet that if you ask around from locals, they can give you the direction because this place is THE place locals will go for a mee ketam fix.

Pak Man Mee Kuah Ketam is something to look forward to when you are down in Penang. Make sure you give this place a little hunt and try out the dish. It will be worth all the effort.

Sg. Chiling, Kuala Kubu Baru | 20 Quick Tips on Camping and Hiking at Sg. Chiling

I have recently visited Sg. Chiling at Kuala Kubu Baru (KKB) with a bunch of friends for an overnight camping, BBQ dinner and hiking towards the waterfall. We didn't know what to expect from the whole trip and the only guidelines we had were purely from various blogs. Hence, I figured the 20 Quick Tips I'm going to list down below will help out for all of you first timers who are thinking of arranging a trip at Sg.Chiling, Kuala Kubu Baru.

The 20 Quick Tips that you need to know if you are planning for a camping and hiking trip at Sg. Chiling are:

1. The place is open for visitors only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8 am until 6 pm.

[caption id="attachment_2703" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Sungai Chiling Fish Sanctuary Regulations KKB"][/caption]

2.  It's a great place for day trips, BBQ and picnics by the river.
3. Cooking is not allowed at the waterfall although there are still people who will sneak a portable gas stove in their bags.

[caption id="attachment_2706" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="A healthy breakfast we whipped up at the camp site using our portable stove"][/caption]

4.  After 3 pm you are not allowed to go hiking up until the waterfall due to safety reasons since it will take 1 hour to the waterfall and another hour back down. Nevertheless, you can still take a dip or picnic around the river near the entrance or the river by the roadside.
5. Entrance fee is RM 1 for each person which you will pay at the registration counter.
6. If you would like to camp, usually you don't need to book ahead of time. You can just walk in to the registration booth and pay up RM 10 deposit per person. I think the place is huge enough to accommodate a lot of campers. So no worries. There were only 5 groups of campers with minimum of 5 people per group the day we were there. Most day trip visitors will leave the place the latest at 7 pm. The RM10 is a deposit for you to maintain the cleanliness of the camping site. If you are coming with a large group, you can give a call to this number : Yusri 013-3089463 and arrange for camping site bookings.  The number was given to me from the lady at the registration counter.
7. Fishing is not allowed at this fish sanctuary. It is a sanctuary for ikan kelah and these fish are obviously protected here.
8. There is a toilet, surau, a couple of wakaf and a designated camping site at this place. Camping is at your own risk. I don't see any guards around but it is generally safe to camp here since most campers are friendly and nice.
9. It takes about 5 minutes of walking from the entrance (roadside) to the registration counter. No cars/motorbikes are allowed to enter beyond the gate at the entrance. If you are camping and barbecueing this calls for heavy duty load carrying on your two shoulders. Multiple trips are required if they aren't many people to help you to carry your countless number of stuffs.

[caption id="attachment_2707" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="5min walk through this path. It's fairly flat."][/caption]

10. The best shoes to go around this place is a zap on sandals or slippers. You can wear shoes but then again it will be soaked wet. Also be prepared to get wet right after the suspension bridge from the registration counter. For short people like me, the water level reached up until half of my body during the 6 river crossings. If you have a waterproof bag, it is highly recommended to swim across rather than wade through the current. It's faster and safer to swim across actually but you will be drenched which shouldn't be a problem.
11. You have to keep the place clean and bring back whatever trash you have made from your picnics. The huge dumpster is located near the parking lot just before the entrance. In short, you have to carry your rubbish back out yourself.
12. Don't expect to have a sparkling clean toilet or shower room. This is afterall the jungle and why bother showering when you have the nice, cold river to dip in! None of us showered because it was freaking cold. Oh, a couple of guys actually jumped into the river at night for a quick dip and just under 5 minutes, they were already back at their camps.The water was COLD!
13. Do mind the wild dogs if you are camping. Make sure you clean up your camping site after the massive BBQ cook out you had during dinner. You don't want to have the dogs sniffing down your rubbish and trashing the whole place out. They dogs didn't roam around the camping site but I did hear a couple of them barking from afar about 4ish – 5ish in the morning.
14. Be nice to your next door campers. We were literally gawking over the bunch of guys who bbq-ed with a couple of bamboo sticks and the next thing we knew, a guy came up out of the dark and offered us food! Hehe.

[caption id="attachment_2705" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="This is rice cooked in bamboo over the charcoal fire. The guys offered us this bamboo rice and some grilled chicken. Yum!"][/caption]

15. Return the gesture of your kind next door campers by offering them your portable cooking stove when you see them cooking burger patties with their bare hands over the small fire they made for breakfast. Hehe.

[caption id="attachment_2704" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Trusty portable stove"][/caption]

16. It's best to pack up the camp and put everything back in the car if you are planning to go hiking to the waterfalls in the morning. You will be wet, tired, hot and it will be noon by the time you come back down from the waterfall. The last thing you want to do is to pack up your tent and stuffs. At this time, you will look like crap, sunburned, wet and you'll be dead hungry!
17.This place is safe for all ladies campers and hikers although being typical Malaysian people will still question why they aren't guys who are accompanying you girls. Unless you are camping with guys who are a true campers, they are worth to drag along with. If the guys had never made BBQ fire in their entire life, don't bother asking them to tag along for company. Haha.
18. There are no monkeys at this place. Thank God! I just don't fancy this creature that much although some find them utterly cute. Hmm...
19. If you are lucky you will get leeches but we didn't. Instead we saw a huge spider. It looks poisonous but maybe it's not. I really don't know.

[caption id="attachment_2708" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Spider during trekking towards Chiling Waterfall"][/caption]

*photo by Marl
20. The ikan kelah is a load of fun to play with. They are bunch of smart fish and you will be lucky if you can catch them with your bare hands. Don't bother trying to scoop them out with a pathetic plastic bag. We tried that, the bag broke instead. Hehe.

There you go 20 Quick Tips that you will hopefully need to know about camping and hiking at Sg.Chiling, Kuala Kubu Baru.

For more information on driving directions to Sg. Chiling - read here by DeXXy.Net

Note : To get to the waterfall, cross the suspension bridge, make a left turning and go through the rocky and wet path. You can take the right path but I think it will take you on a much farther route.