Strictly for the adrenaline junkie : White water rafting with Riverbug

You know what, if you are a true adrenaline junkie at heart, you will love to head on and do that crazy pumped up activity over and over again. It can never get old and that's exactly what I am (an adrenaline junkie at heart ) and  what I've done ( doing the things I love to do repetitively, haha). I can't believe it that I've done white water rafting at Sg.Kampar with the Riverbug crew for the 3rd time now! Like OMG!

[caption id="attachment_1121" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="You gotta lift the boat first before you can hit the water. Dang the raft is heavy."][/caption]

The real reason Sg.Kampar seems to be the perfect white water rafting destination for me was because:

1. It's near to home, thus it is convenient and feasible. Moreover it's an excellent day trip outdoor adventure for me.

2. After going for my second run of white water rafting at Sg.Kampar, I was asking for friends to go with me for white water rafting (wwr) at Padas, Sabah right after the whole gang came down from Mt.Kinabalu.  I was disappointed to find out that only Bullert was keen enough to go all crazy with me with this wwr and because of other issues, we decided not to go for white water rafting at Padas just yet.

3. I was doing some crazy planning for some fun outdoor holiday and on the itinerary I included white water rafting at Padas but I was let down again when we had to scrapped Sabah out from our holiday destination. Thus, to further not to disappoint myself and to quench my thirst for some kick of awesome adrenaline, I agreed for yet another round of white water rafting at Sg.Kampar with the Riverbug crew. This time around I was going with my sisters and my brother in law.

I can tell you one thing about any outdoor adventure activity which is every single trip is going to be unique, different and new to you regardless on how many times you have gone through the same river or track or jungle path. This time around I was literally praying to have yet another new experience for my white water rafting trip. My prayers were answered and I got this:

At one of the rapids, for no reason at all, I got thrown out from the raft and went straight on into the fast flowing white water. I remembered opening my eyes and saw water bubbles all over me. The next second, I was being tossed up and down like a helpless rubber ball scraping along the way rocks from the front and back. I also began to swallow more water and eventually was gasping for air so bad that I was literally making that deep breathing sound and I kept trying to breath until all the water spurted out from my lungs. In the split seconds, I saw our raft floating by me but I couldn't get hold of it until I turned and saw the kayak rescue guide on my side telling me not to panic and to hold the little steel at the back of his kayak. It scared me shitless! Haha. After being hauled back on the raft, I was finally breathing properly and it scared me the most not because I got thrown into the rapid. It was primarily because I couldn't breathe for the few seconds being tossed in the water. Imagine yourself not breathing? That's like close to dying! Hahaha.

Nevertheless, it was one heck of a ride and I loved it for the adrenaline and for making me close to drowning. A whole new experience altogether although I must say, it wasn't the first time that I had drowned and being rescued of course. =).

[caption id="attachment_1122" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Check out that Mat Salleh. He's expressionless. Haha"][/caption]

Another extra thing that we got to do besides the normal banana boat, body surfing and team body surfing, the Riverbug crew asked if we would like to have a go at kayaking. All the three members in my raft went for it except for me because I was still traumatized and shaken after the fall and the fact that I wasn't being able to breathe like 15 minutes ago. Haha. All in all, it was a fun day, good to see the crews back again and I'm hoping that soon enough I can get my ass trotting for white water rafting at Padas. Let's make that happen in this future shall we.

Check out the video below too!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjFFa4l0Oqk

Animals Anecdotes 10 : The return of the Alpha dog

I'm pretty excited to check out this new alpha male dog in the pack. Out of the blue, this male dog returned back to his bitches just a couple of weeks back. Someone speculate that he is the rightful father of Brownie ( the brown puppy dog) and is the former mating partner of Maggie. At the moment there seem to be a slight rival and competition to win the heart of this Alpha dog between both Maggie and Silver - the bitches. There is also  a solid evident to believe that currently Alpha is mating with Silver. Haha.

I've yet to have a look at this particular Alpha dog and the fact that he returned back to his pack after such a long time is really amazing. On the other hand, that will mean, there are more mouth to feed these days. I will sure to capture some pictures if I'm lucky enough to spot this Alpha later today. And, Alpha is not a bad of a name to call this male dog. So Alpha he shall be called from now on.

You are my diamond by Tiesto

If you haven't already known, I am a big big fan of Tiesto and of late I've been spinning songs from his Myspace. I have to admit that I wasn't really into this song - You are my diamond, not after having to listen to all the songs in Tiesto's Myspace list for the gazillion times. Yes, I haven't been listening to anything else for the past couple of weeks except for Tiesto! Haha!

I'm going to share with you You are  my diamond song from YouTube and also the lyrics. I only started looking for the lyrics and finally come down to really listen to what Kianna is saying only today! Oh, Kianna is the featured artist for You are my diamond.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn9hQ0ltM7c

You are my diamond lyrics- Tiesto featuring Kianna

I don't need a ring to show me what your loves worth
don't need fancy things to show me what your loves worth

you are my diamond, when I am with you I shine
I'll be with you everyday so everyday I'll shine so bright


I am a rich girl when I am with you I know
you are my whole world and I will never let you go
I cant explain how you light me up inside
I radiate and thats not something you can buy

you are my diamond, when I am with you I shine
I'll be with you everyday so everyday I'll shine so bright
you are my diamond, when I am with you I shine
I am with you everyday so everyday I'll shine so bright

oh oh oh ..
oh oh
oh oh
oh oh oh
oh oh
oh oh

all my life I've been looking for love
I thought I'd never find it
all my life I've been looking for you
I just didnt know it

you are my diamond, when I am with you I shine
I'll be with you everyday so everyday I'll shine so bright
yeah you are my diamond
my diamond
my diamond
yeah
yeah
yeah
yeah

you are my diamond
you are my diamond

you are my diamond
you are my diamond

*note: The only way this song relates to me is that yes, I've found my diamond which is the thing that I'm really passionate & love and I am working my way to work it out despite all odds by any means and at any cost. =). Life is essentially not just about pursuing that ultimate love of your life, it is more than that. It is about finding your purpose in this life, the life at the present. If you haven't figured your purpose in life just yet, why not take a couple of minutes now and think about it.

Why do I always feel more tired after coming back from a holiday?

Have you ever been in a situation where you had an awesome 1 week holiday and upon arrival at home you are totally flat out, looking more exhausted than the last time you left the house for the holiday? AND you even have the nerve to call in sick  from work the very next day because your  body is aching all over you. If your answer to that question is Yes, you may be asking  "Why do I always feel more tired after coming back from a holiday?".

I have come out with a list of things that you might have done during your supposedly 'relaxing holiday' that you had eventually overlooked on the amount of energy you had poured on those 'fun-relaxing' activities during your holiday. Here goes the list :

1. Your idea of a relaxing holiday will never be a relaxing holiday like sitting around on the beach, swimming in the ocean, dining out, sleep and repeat process for the next couple of days because you ARE the type of person who don't know how to relax except to relax by going for crazy outdoor adventure holiday i.e : scuba diving, white water rafting, jungle trekking, mountain trekking, etc. Basically anything outdoorsy goes for you and if adventure ain't going to be in your itinerary, you will be at lost on what to do during your much needed 'relaxing holiday'.

2. The amount of time you literally spent in your hotel room is roughly around 6-7 hours tops. You only go inside the hotel room once to chuck your bags upon checking in and have a quick visit to the loo and out again in seconds to catch a ferry to an exotic, beautiful island. The next time you will be back it will be close to midnight, you are feeling all sticky, dirty, sleepy and the only things you have in mind are shower and sleep so that you can wake up early to catch the tour bus for your next adventure starting around 8 am the following day. If you are constantly on the move for more than 12 hours during a day, you are for sure to exhaust yourself on every other day during your long holiday.

3. After all those crazy outdoors you happily  have done for the first couple of days of your holiday, I bet you, you will either have bruises, muscle aches and the most common problems will be a bad aching feet. The remedy for this is to try to give yourself a break from the heavy outdoor activities at least for a day or simply walk-in to the nearest foot massage parlor if you have extra cash to burn.

4. Holidaying is no fun without having to really indulge big time on some really good food especially seafood! If you love food and you love seafood more, try to restrain yourself from overeating and take caution especially when you eat those super delicious fresh oysters. I had my share of 'seafood binging' because the price was wickedly cheap and in return I was down with a bad diarrhea and vommitting due to food poisoining the very next day. One thing I know for sure, it is no fun and no less exhausting having to make many trips to the loo during your holiday. So it is best to avoid yourself from overeating or over indulging on really delicious, cheap food during your holiday.

5. Emotional stress with your holiday partners. No doubt you are bound to arguments during your holiday especially when trying to decide on things to do that everybody will enjoy doing. It will get even more tiresome if you have  kids on tow with you and they begin to fight or get cranky for some reason. Thus this will lead to that emotional stress and eventually will exhaust you throughout your holiday. The best resolution to avoid emotional stress due to arguments during your holiday is to really prepare on your itinerary and learn to relax and don't take things too seriously if plans don't go your way because you are after all on a holiday and not on some mission that you have to make it happen during the holiday.

All in all, I feel that these 5 major points are the main reason to why you will always feel tired after that much deserving holiday. Whatever it is , at the end of your holiday, either if you feel exhausted or rejuvenated + exhausted, a holiday will always be one of the best things you could have done to yourself. It is all about having fun and enjoying the moment regardless on how exhausted you will be because all will be worth the effort. If you are going on a holiday pretty soon, have a jolly good one and try not to worry much on the aftermath of your holiday. Happy holiday!

Ouch no posts for over a week. Here's the reason why?

It has been very unfortunate that I can't really keep up with blogging on a daily basis, well  at least that's what happen last week. I have been busy hanging around with the family and we had a little 'holiday' of our own not so far away from hometown and truth be told I was being lazy to write some of the best things that had happened for the past one week. I can assure you readers that a lot of interesting things were going on and I really can't wait to blurt them all out in my future posts.

Meanwhile, I am still researching on ways to really monetize this site and the last I checked, there is a long list of them that I seriously need to do for the monetizing process. Other than that, I have less than 6 months to go to achieve that 'personal mission' of mine and I still believe that I can do it and will make it happen regardless of anything. Also, since I last step foot on the peak of Mt. Kinabalu back in mid May this year, I had only done once - a 4 km+  jog and another 1 hour hill hiking which happened only just recently. Imagine that, I wasn't technically doing any proper exercise for the past 2 months after I made it up one of the highest mountain in South East Asia. Despite the lack of exercise, I do think that in overall I am still fit and have visible muscles on my biceps and legs, so I'm still in good shape, so to speak. Hehe.

Alrighty now, enough of the reasoning and do watch out for posts on YaszAmzah.com!

Island Retreat at Pangkor Island

One of the nearest place for me to enjoy a quick island retreat is to head straight to Pangkor Island. It is a mere 20 minutes drive for me to get to Lumut Jetty. Only recently, visitors who wish to travel to Pangkor Island can enjoy an all new ferry trip from Marina Island, Teluk Muroh. The trip from Marina Island to Pangkor is said to take only 15 minutes instead for the close to 30 minutes ferry trip from Lumut Jetty.

The major attraction at Pangkor Island besides the crazy cycling round island trip that I do, is of course the beach and the water activities. To date, believe it or not, although I am local ( I'm from Sitiawan), I have only been to Pangkor Island only 3 times. Haha. You see, the locals don't really appreciate the best things they have in town so most people would rather go oversea to enjoy the beach. What more being typical of us Asians, we don't like to get our skin all 'dark' or the English term will more likely be 'tan'. But believe me, I'm not one of those 'scared to be dark Asian people'.

Although I would love to write more on those sea activities around Pangkor Island, I think you would enjoy it more from my pictures I took like a year ago. Enjoy!

[caption id="attachment_1089" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pangkor Island on the ferry"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1090" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Teluk nipah, Pangkor Island"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1091" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Pangkor Island on a hot afternoon day"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1092" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Snorkeling buddies at Pangkor Island"][/caption]

How to tie a bandana on your wrist?

I don't know about you guys, but I really enjoy wearing a bandana every now and then especially during hiking because it is a light , cotton cloth and can be easily kept inside the pocket to wipe out your sweat. Well most of the time, you'll see people wearing the bandanas on their heads. However, you can vary and style the bandana on your wrist too.

The primary reason why I like to have a bandana handy on my wrist is because it works as good as the usual sport sweatband. If you don't know what is a sweatband, it is one of those cloth band that you see most tennis players have on their wrists during game. It is one quick way to wipe those perspiration out from your forehead and face during play.

So now, if you don't have a sweatband but you always have an extra bandana around, you could always make a handy sweatband out of your bandana. Personally, I learned to wrapped the bandana on my wrist by watching this awesome "How to tie a bandana on your wrist ?" video by Kandee Johnson.

Check the video out here and I'm quite sure that it is a pretty cool thing to have a super colorful bandana on your wrists during your hike, jog or in anything at all that you do. Try it out soon if you haven't had a bandana tied on your wrist yet.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blGVpJNnpaE

Ah, you know what you just have to keep writing...

At the moment, I'm thinking about many things. There are:

1. Where should I go to spend my RM200 AirAsia ticket voucher?

2. How the heck should I redeem my voucher when I don't even know what is my membership number?

3. I've been thinking and talking about getting that darn scuba license since like forever and when the heck am I going to get it?

4. Why can't I just go on and travel alone, get that scuba license all alone?

5. I miss most of my friends right now...

6. I wish I have a light bulb thingy sticking out from my head and from there on, it sparks brilliant ideas and I can make something work

7. By hook or by crook, I need to gather and save that amount of $$$ by December

8. I think I should migrate out of the country like soon...

9. I need to start jogging tomorrow and continue aiming to clock 10km non-stop, which by now, I think  I have to start over again with just 5km  non-stop.

10. I want to experience Padas WWR so bad ...

11. Is life all about traveling? That's why I've resorted to not have a car by now! =)

Tiësto vs Diplo - C'Mon

C'mon is currently my favorite song from Tiesto. I can spin the same song over and over again. C'mon simply gives you the vibe and energy to keep you moving while at work. Yet another great one from Tiesto. =)

You can either listen and watch from youtube:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gujB7A5ycew

or just tune in to Tiesto on MySpace Music Streaming:

http://www.myspace.com/tiesto

It's Summer Holiday, at least for people from the West!

Hi peeps,

July is the month for holiday and it is officially summer holiday for people living the in Western countries. Personally, I really can't wait for our little family holiday this month because I know that everyone really needs a break. If you are by any chance going to spend the next couple of weeks of your summer holiday down in Malaysia (that's where I'm at), let me share with you a little thing or two on things you can expect from Malaysia.

First is the weather. July 2009 was so different from July this year. It was crazily hot, humid and dry during this time of the year in 2009. However, the weather is constantly changing thanks to global warming and other factors only God knows what and because of that, this time around the year, we've been getting constant showers on certain days and it is all gloomy,windy and all in all a perfect weather not to hot or too chilly for the holiday. Despite that, we do get really extremely hot days and hot days are usually a sign that it will rain later on the day.

So, if you are going to spend most time outdoors ( on the beach or jungle), do gear up with enough sunblock lotion, a hat, sunglasses, light clothing and a rain coat (in case it rains). For clothing, personally I like to try wearing a nice cotton long sleeve shirt over a t-shirt if I'm going to spend most of the day under the hot sun. Since I'm not a big fan of lathering sticky sunblock lotion on my exposed body, the layering shirt helps to reduce the 'biting' effect on my skin from the UV rays. The sun rays can really hurt your skin and you can literally feel it gnawing or burning away on your epidermis.

And that pretty much a little thing or two that I wanted to share with you holidaymakers. Happy holiday and have a great one!

Animals Anecdotes 9 : They finally have names!

Hey! I know it's yet another Animals Anecdotes post because that's what I have written so far but no worries, this is a pretty short post. So here goes...

If you have been keeping up with my Animals Anecdotes series on the dogs, the latest on them is that we got them names. The names are as follows:

Big brown female – Maggie (after Simpson's mom - Maggie)
Big black female – Silver (like the Silverback gorilla who is very black just minus the silver at the back =p)
Small brown female – Brownie or Bronie
Small black female - Blackie

Animals Anecdotes 8 : What's small and poops a lot?

The question for the day is,” What's small and poops a lot?”. It is an animal. It is very small, almost the size of your fist. It has a beak, 2 set of eyes on each sides, mostly black in color with a little touch of white strip and yes it has tiny claws. Moreover, it is noisy and is currently busy looking after its young. When it poops, there will be a taint of white dot and a little black all over the gate, the floor out at the front yard and that particular spot on the car where the car radio aerial stands at the back of the car.

Got it figured out already or you are still clueless?

The answer to “What's small and poops a lot ?” is none other than a BIRD! I'm suspecting (only suspecting because I don't learn a lot on birds) that this one is a pair of Magpie Robin or probably it is more than 2 birds because there are 2 nests on the trees. It gets pretty annoying to see the white-black dots on the ground and it is taxing to spray it with water everyday. I wonder how long they will make this home their home ...