PBIM 2012 Prep Updates and Adidas Adipure Motion Quick Review!

Penang Bridge Internation Marathon 2012 - 10km run prep updates

So yeah the most anticipated Penang Bridge Run (PBIM 2012) ever ( at least for me) is going to happen in 2 days time. My prep so far has been absolutely crappy. Yay!

Asides from hiking (twice) and maybe about 2 jogging/walking activities and let's not forget to mention the frigging unintended 6 hours hiking trip (20km return trip) up a hill some weekends ago, so that's pretty  much my prep for my 10km run this coming Sunday. I could come up with thousands of excuses to not going all out for this run unlike how I prep myself for the 10km SCKLM 2011 or was it 2010? I can't even remember when was the last time I actually really ran. :)

Penang Bridge International Marathon Singlet Women 2012

The best part about joining Penang Bridge Marathon for this year is because it is the final year everyone gets to run on this 'old' bridge as they are going to change the marathon to the newer bridge for next year. I used to just lived like almost literally right across the bridge for a couple of years and yeah it was part of the 'dream' to run the bridge some day. Hence, that some day is going to happen pretty soon and I am  simply excited for just registering and I already got my race pack and all. So this is something big alright. To top it up again, it's all happening in November - like my favourite month of the year. Yeah, it's going to be so much fun running with 2 other friends who have done not much of a training what so ever, so we are just going to enjoy maybe doing some fast walk together. :)

Adidas Adipure Motion Women - Quick Review

Adidas Adipure Motion Women Shoe

Oh, I also got myself a new running shoe - Adidas Adipure Motion,  specifically for this marathon or was it because I was just being tempted with shopping for the sake of using a 50% discount voucher ( final price down to MYR300 instead of MYR399 ) that my friend got and at that time it made perfect sense to get a shoe that you will not really run much on it. A quick review on this Adidas Adipure Motion, the one I got is of course the purple color women shoe. Truthfully, it was a bit of a pain on my toes (both feet and later on only on the left foot, I think) for the first few weeks wearing the shoes. So the reviews are true when they say you will need a bit of a longer time to get used to wearing this Adipure Motion mainly because the front of the shoe keeps on pulling on the big toe and that can be painful at least for me although it wasn't even an issue for my friend who got herself the same shoes too. Then again, it will all depends on each individuals.

After weeks of getting used to wearing things simply just got better with the feet. No more issues on big toes getting pull up because maybe the shoes has stretched up a little bit following the shape of my feet. This Adipure Motios is really great, comfy and very light just wearing it without the socks on. I even tried running once without the socks, although the feeling was great but after about 4km my smaller foot, the left one started to rub a bit too frequently with the shoe and I ended up with a tiny blister. Otherwise, I think it's a really cool and great running shoe.

I'm going to end off here before I'm going through more of a running prep rant rather than updates. Off to bed now and maybe I can dream about some last minute training to get me through the 10km. All the best to me and I hope we will have great fun, nice weather, safe run and travel.

Photo Travel : Lake Tekapo, South Island, New Zealand

Lake Tekapo, South Island , New Zealand - Simply Amazing! Need I say more?

Lake Tekapo, South Island - New Zealand

Driving all the way from Christchurch, you will pass across Lake Tekapo if you are heading towards Mount Cook. In my lifetime, I have never seen anything this amazingly beautiful and it was one of those many 'Nat Geo' moments that one can expect to encounter if you are going on a road trip around New Zealand.

In The Spirit Of Giving : Let's Support The Islamic Relief Organization

Oh my! I just checked the Archives link and I've realized I didn't write anything for July. Woops...time surely flies...

I don't really have much to write about at the moment...maybe I do...like a lot of it, it's just that putting them all down seemed a bit of an effort. ;)

Anyways, since this month is the holy month of Ramadhan and it is one of the best time for us to give as much as we could to charity, I have a little request for everyone who is reading this post (if you don't mind) to take a little bit of your time to watch this short video (7:30 minutes) by the Islamic Relief Worldwide organization.

About Islamic Relief Worldwide

Islamic Relief raises funds and awareness to help poor communities around. This youtube channel is a way of increasing awareness and understanding about our work and the people we are dedicated to helping. Support us by promoting us on your social networks, or by donating online at our website. For more info see www.islamic-relief.com
*taken verbatim from Islamic Relief Worldwide YouTube Channel

Hence, for anyone who is always or have been looking for ways to give to those who are in need, do grab on this chance to do just that by visiting the Islamic Relief links above.

Alternatively, for people residing in Malaysia, you can do your bits by supporting the Ramadan Relief fund by visiting this link here: Islamic Relief Malaysia - Make A Donation!  or you can visit their FB page for more info of the works they are currently doing : https://www.facebook.com/IslamicReliefMalaysia

" 8. And they feed for the love of God, the indigent (poor), the orphan and the captive, 9.(Saying), "We feed you for the sake of God alone : no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks. 10. We only fear a Day of distressful Wrath from the side of our Lord." - Al Quran, Surah 76 - Al Insan (verse 8-10)

Penang Bridge International Marathon 18 Nov 2012 (PBIM) - Coming Soon!

Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) on 18 November 2012 - here I come, Insya Allah :)

Finally, I had paid and registered for yet another 10km event this time around for PBIM which is going to be held on November 18, 2012. For the time being, I am really excited that I actually made the attempt to at least register for this event because only God knows how long I've been saying to myself that I should run at PBIM.And I'm doubly happy because I managed to encourage a few of my friends  to join the 10km event as well. So double yay to that!

It's still a long way to go for the event day and I'm thinking to only start with proper training right after Ramadhan which will be somewhere in September. My last 10km run at SCKLM 2011, I "ran" the 10.6km course in 1:25:45 which was a fairly okay timing for someone who only trained for a month before the event and only ran 10km once before the big day.

 My net time

When I did the 10k, I was doing a mix of jogging, fast walk, big step fast walk and a final sprint towards the finishing line. So that was my definition of a 'run'.

However, this time around I'm targeting to finish in about an hour or less. So my plan is to train a 5 km course for the first month, set a good timing for that around 30 minutes and continue the next month, gradually increasing the km until I reach the 10km mark with a good timing. With that said, I may need to get a proper running shoes since the one I'm using is a trail running shoe which is more suitable for trekking or off-roads. I'm really excited to get back my running stamina and simply enjoy running.

Oh the best part about running in PBIM is that we get to run on Penang's Bridge! Like isn't that a load of fun. For anyone who is interested to join up the event you can choose from these different categories : Fun Run, 10KM, Half Marathon, Full Marathon. I did the registration and payment via online and do visit www.penangmarathon.gov.my, click here for more information and to sign up for the event. The last day for registration will be on the 15 October 2012 with a late registration fee which is going to cost you more than if you do it now. Hurry up, do sign up and Penang Bridge Marathon here we go!

Photo Travel : Feijoa Fruit From New Zealand

Feijoa Fruit

I had my first ever taste of this fruit - the Feijoa during my previous trip to New Zealand. It was also the first time I have ever heard of such a fruit. Apparently, if I can remember this correctly, Feijoa tree is a pretty common garden plant for people living in the North Island of New Zealand ( I think :)).

We received a bag full of feijoas from some friends right out from their backyard and of course they do sell them at the supermarket as well. As for the taste of it, I think it is a bit like the kiwi fruit but with a different texture and a slightly more tangy, sour taste. Some feijoas can be really sweet too and I think I would prefer the sweeter feijoas version a lot more.

In New Zealand, when you buy kiwi fruits, it will come in a pack with a special spoon which makes it easy for you to cut the fruit in half and scoop the juicy kiwis with the tiny spoon. Similarly, that is the way you cut and eat your feijoas too.

 Kiwi and the spoon

For more about Feijoa, read more here from Wiki.

*Note : In Malaysia, I've seen Feijoa fruit being sold at Cold Storage for a crazy price tag. If you are curious to what Feijoa tastes like, probably you should try to get it. Even if you are a Kiwi living in KL and is missing home badly, probably you should buy it too. :)

The Hike to Ijen Crater, East Java – Indonesia (Part II)

After a long day on the road and finally settled for the night at Catimor Homestay, on the next day, we finally began with the hike at 6.04 am which was as bright as 7ish am in Malaysia time. The track was in fact way better than the bumpy, crazy road we took last night. Haha. Signs of volcanic soil was pretty evident around the area as the soil was black and I assumed it got to be very fertile indeed.

Black volcanic soil and the beginning of the steep hike

After a short while of walking on a fairly flat land, the 45 degree angle trekking began for the next 2 km onwards. As long as you keep on a slow but steady pace, you will get there in no time at all.

The baskets of sulphurs carried by the miners

The steep trekking would not be as difficult as you might think as you will be entertained or rather distracted with some baskets of sulphurs the miners had left along the path and also the WC (water closet) signboards can be found pretty easily too. When there is an urge for nature calls, be happy enough to make use of the 100% environmental friendly toilet (WC) which in another word – peepee by the bushes :)

WC - the bush toilet

After some photo snaps, persistent walking and breaks along the way, we made it to the Pos Penimbangan ( the sulphur weighing area) in about 53 minutes. We had a short break for more tummy fillers on chocolates, apples and water and of course an opportunity to snap more photos.

Post Timbang Candi Ngrimbi - sulphur weighing post/ canteen for mining workers

Sulphur carvings souvenirs selling at the weighing post

A short while later, off we went for another 1km trekking towards the Ijen crater. The track was rather flat at most times and it was easier to walk rather than the previous 2 km track. As for photo shooting, this is the time to start utilising your cameras as there are certainly a lot of beautiful shots you can come out with around this area.

The landscape changes at this point

We certainly took our time on the photo session and a group of us got to the crater last. There was simply no rush really as I felt that you need to take the time to be in the moment and appreciate everything while you were there.

Ijen Crater - the Lake view on the right side

Finally, we arrived at the top of Ijen crater. There weren't really a lot of people around and the sulphuric lake was not totally visible due to the clouds which was alright for us because we were hanging around there for quite sometime waiting for the clouds to make way for more views of the amazingly beautiful lake.It was in fact probably one of the best days to be up up there since the wind was blowing further away from us. Hence we were free from having strong smelling sulphur odour sticking to our clothes and the only time I had actually sensed a bit of sulphur lingering in the air was only for a short few seconds when the wind blow during our short hike up. In short, we were a lucky bunch and thank God for that.

Truthfully, I thought I could just hang around up there a whole lot more and that was why the three of us got left behind snapping more photos of Ijen crater and its surrounding. I would say I could never get enough of the whole view and the fact that it was the second volcanic mountain we had climbed in two days time, the feeling was just incredible. It is hard for me to put down words on how things are like and this is exactly the kind of thing you need to experience for yourself to truly appreciate the nature of the environment.

Sulphur with the constant smoke gushing out of it

If you look closely, you will see outline of the lake at the far left of the picture. On better days, the lake will be in high visibility at this point

After what I felt like a short while up there at the peak of Mount Ijen, we finally made our way down. The last 2 km descend could be hard for you knees and the trick is the hike down on a zig-zag, make small quick steps and take a lot of rests so that you don't strain your knees too much which I needed to be careful about.

Thankfully, we all made it down safe after 3 hours 46 minutes at 9.51 am totally in good shape but obviously famished yet again. Next, right after a quick toilet run and warming down ( I had my warmed up in the hotel room actually hehe), we were served with the Indonesian speciality menu which was yet another Indo Mee and more tea for our second breakfast of the day.

All in all, I would say the track up Ijen crater was reasonably easy as long as you are slighty fit and it was safe but still do be aware of any volcanic eruption news or warnings just to be on the safe side. For our trip, we had a guide with us who was actually the same girl we had guiding us throughout the trip and us being Malaysians and she an Indonesian, I think all of us enjoyed each others company. Hence on that note, it was a good trip after all.

We bumped with another group of Chinese Malaysians from KL too during the hike down and yeah, it was good to see some familiar faces there. :) The next burning question is would we travel all the way the crazy road to make it down to Ijen Crater again next time? As for this moment now, I will have to pass on that idea but then again, who knows I may make a comeback if the timing is right and the company is good. :)

Trip to Ijen Crater, East Java – Indonesia (Part 1)

The road trip to Catimor Homestay, Jember

Travel time on the road from Madakaripura Waterfall to Catimor Homestay which is located at the coffee plantation took about 9 hours ( I think so ).

We were back on the road again after the waterfall at about 1ish pm and we headed straight towards Ijen.

We had lunch at a restaurant along the way at about 3-4pm and by then we were famished. Some of us had Nasi Ayam Penyet, one person had Cat Fish Rice while myself and another friend got ourselves Nasi Bebek – which was a 'not so smart' choice. Hehe. But then again, we were super hungry and you just have to chow it down man!

Nasi bebek, Indonesia

Maybe somewhere around 6pm in pitch black we began to travel through the rough, gravel road which seemed to be out of nowhere. We were heading straight to the coffee estate and surprisingly in the dark, there were big lorries passing through the road, one stray dog and even people with overloaded motorcycles commuting on that very same road. Did I mention it was pitch black and it felt almost like we were in a jungle somewhere?

Arrived at the Rest House somewhere around 9ish pm, we got our keys to our rooms, shortly after we feasted on a lot of things on the dinner table.

After dinner, I showered while my roommate collapsed on the bed out of exhaustion. She had a hard time with all the crazy, rocky motions in the car (motion sickness) and she hardly had anything for dinner. While being me, I just can't really sleep and started repacking my bag, drying up the wet clothes from the waterfall and doing other nonsense instead. I slept for maybe 2 hours or so and woke up just before the alarm rang at 4am. Great!

Breakfast was a choice of black coffee ( not Luwak Coffee though) or tea, one hard boiled egg and a bread sandwich of butter and chocolate rice – which was not technically everyone's favourite but we (some of us) chowed it down anyway. My roomate got with her a Maggie Cup – Chicken flavour and I ate a bit of that too. :)

Next, we checked out of the hotel, loaded bags into the car and after a short drive through the coffee plantation and one guard post later (which the driver 'gave' some money and one hard boiled egg. There were probably about 5 to 6 guard posts that we passed through since last night and imagine the amount of 'token' the driver had paid which was of course billed on us. Simply unbelieveable!

Arrived at the entrance of the park – Taman Wisata Alam Kawah Ijen. The registration counter was closed and the crater is supposed to be closed anyway – at least it was closed for the suplhur miners. As long as we, visitors do not get down to the crater, we 'should' be fine and safe.

Next, the beginning of the hike up towards Ijen Crater which will continue in the next post.

Photo Travel : Madakaripura Waterfall, Probolinggo, Jawa Timur, Indonesia

Madakaripura Waterfall in Probolinggo, Jawa Timur ( East Java) has to be one of the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen up until now. For those who make a visit up to Mount Bromo, I would really recommend for you to add a visit down to Madakaripura Waterfall in your next itinerary.

[caption id="attachment_2896" align="aligncenter" width="540" caption="Madakaripura Waterfall - view from afar"][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_2899" align="aligncenter" width="540" caption="Madakaripura water pouring heavily"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2901" align="aligncenter" width="540" caption="Super murky water and the camera lens got a bit of water on it. Murky water = leave ASAP because water level is rising and that's dangerous!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2902" align="aligncenter" width="540" caption="It's getting cloudy, murky water, heavy water flows - few more last snaps to go and leave quickly people!"][/caption]



Madakaripura Waterfall - it is simply beautiful. I know the camera work here isn't really fabulous but we are really thankful for the waterproof digital camera that Miss M brought along with her other camera. All in all, it was a great short trip to the waterfall. Maybe in total we spent about 15 minutes max around the waterfall and since the weather wasn't looking good, the water getting totally murky and the amount of water falling from above was immense, it was a good call that we didn't spend a lot of time around the waterfall and thankfully we all got back to the car safe and well.

*** Note:

- If the water level would have been on a safe level, the water at surrounding the waterfall will be in a hue of green-ish blue in colour. Even though we brought along a so called guide, he didn't mention a single word about getting out of there quickly what more briefing on the track. Hence, do come with some basic river or water level knowledge along with you.

- The walk towards the waterfall is fairly easy. It takes probably about 30 minutes or so ( wasn't really timing the walk) to get to the waterfall. However, do be aware of local men who would be asking to guide you (with a fee of course) or some men who seemed to be really nice to help you along the way (wading through the streams) because in return they will be asking for some money. In our case, our tour operator had already assigned a person to guide us which in my opinion was totally unnecessary.

- Do come prepared to be extremely drenched  and there will be locals trying to rent to you umbrellas. So yeah, you can come equipped with a raincoat, proper sandals, umbrella and a waterproof casing for your camera or a waterproof camera. Water is also essential and make sure you pack that in your bag.

- Safety first and it was certainly one of those ' heaven on Earth' moment as you reach the waterfall.

 

 

10 Things You Need to Know about Mount Bromo, East Java, Indonesia | Mt.Bromo, Jawa Timur

10 Things You Need to Know about Mount Bromo, East Java, Indonesia are :

[caption id="attachment_2859" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Mountain on the left with a bit of smoke at the top is Mt. Bromo. Picture is captured from Mount. Penanjakan."][/caption]

1. To tell you the truth, none of us knew about Mount Bromo until we were told about it while going for our maiden hiking expedition at Mount Kinabalu, Sabah. A fellow hiker, Akmar introduced to us to this absolutely beautiful and picturesque view of a volcanic mountain called Bromo or Mount Bromo straight out from her iPhone. We wow-ed over Mt.Bromo right at that instance and we told ourselves, we really need to go there and we finally made it there after 2 years which was on April 30th, 2012.

2. To get to Mount Bromo, you need to fly into Surabaya, East Java (Jawa Timur), Indonesia and take a couple of hours of car ride to Probolinggo province ( I think) and then exchange into a jeep to get you higher up the rough road condition up the mountain. When I say "rough road condition", brace yourself for a super bumpy, almost roller coaster-like jeep ride. It was awful and if you needed to pee, forget about it. You will almost certainly pee in your pants with all those crazy bumps and bounces.

3. Akmar did mentioned that you can hike Mount Bromo by going on a horse ride and that's exactly what we did. It cost us about IDR 90,000 (approx. MYR30 or USD10) for both ways going up and down the volcanic mountain. I can't remember the exact duration we were on the back of the horse but it felt really long maybe about 15 minutes one way. Since it was our first time riding a horse, it was the most awesome thing anyone could have ever done in their life. At that moment, it wasn't really about the fact that we were literally hiking an active volcanic mountain, but we were more excited with the whole idea of going horse back riding.

[caption id="attachment_2861" align="aligncenter" width="1600" caption="Mt Bromo horses with their guides and the jeeps"][/caption]

The horse riding episode is certainly something one should look forward to doing at Mt. Bromo and no worries for first timers, the horse is guided with his owner and just make sure you sit up straight, go along with the rhythm of the horse, hold on the rope tight and simply enjoy the ride and view!

4. Make sure before you get on the horse ride or if you can't care for horse adventure and splurging money are not in your agenda, just be sure to clear your bladder before you begin your hike. There is a toilet right at the parking area with a typical standard fee of Indonesian toilet run - IDR2000. Bring your own TP or wet wipes if washing with water isn't your thing and the toilet is in okay standard.

5. The weather at Mount Bromo is just nice but it can be very dusty to go all the way up the mountain. It only get worse when you will be hiking right next to people on horses because there is only one track to go up and down. Your best choice of clothing is to wear a long sleeve shirt and pants, sunglasses ( to keep the dust out of your eyes) and a bandana ( to function as a mask) or get yourself a proper mask to cover your nose. Do not be surprised when you blow your nose right after this hike, you'll be seeing black dusty ashes coming out from your nose. So do make sure, you remember to clean up the nose right after. Haha.

[caption id="attachment_2863" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Mount Bromo and it's very much alive smokey crater."][/caption]

6. The horse ride will only take you to about 3/4 of the way up. The rest of the way, you will need to take the dusty ashen stairs which was fairly okay, not difficult to climb. You will have the view of the Bromo Crater right at the top and be careful right up there. There is no divider to protect you from falling down into the crater so don't get all too excited with the camera works and do watch your steps.

7. I would say, all around 360 degrees view from the top of Mount Bromo was absolutely amazing. The place is totally barren and almost desert-looking with grey ashes covering pretty much everything.

[caption id="attachment_2862" align="aligncenter" width="540" caption="Mt. Bromo view from the top facing away from the crater. If you look closely on the front of the picture, you'll see the trail of people climbing the stairs."][/caption]

*picture by Miss M

8. You can avoid the stairs when you are descending down from the mountain by going all adventurous, trailing down the mountain and kick more dusts all over you just like this guy in the picture below :

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Mt Bromo"][/caption]

* It's no doubt risky and whatever you do, safety first!

9. You will be bombarded with the many local folks who will come up to your face with bunch of Bromo tshirts for sale. You can however, choose to say no and walk away as quickly as possible or ended up buying a bunch of tees which will be way too small for your size. The last I checked, L size is equivalent to the standard S size. So make sure you check the size out first before buying.

10. Despite the cost for the horse ride was just IDR 90K, I'm pretty sure you will want to give the guides an extra tip for all their hard work or probably just something extra for the horses too. Their job is really tough and going through that kind of working condition everyday, climbing up and down the mountain multiple times a day while breathing black volcanic ashes day in and out is really one heck of a job to do.

[caption id="attachment_2860" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Mt Bromo"][/caption]

All in all, if you are looking for a chance of a lifetime to experience stepping foot on one of the most beautiful and scenic volcanic mountain ( in my rating that is), Mount Bromo located just a couple of hours away from Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia is the place you certainly need to go.

*Note: Surabaya is just a couple of hours away from Bali. I personally think adding Bali as your next travel destination after visiting Surabaya by travelling via land using train, ferry and van is totally going to be one heck of a road trip and you should seriously consider doing just that.

Stuffs You Need To Know at Indonesia Immigration

Just earlier this month, I had my very first visit to Indonesia and of course, being totally foreign to it ( not really actually because being Malaysian, we are some what used to Indonesian), I was really looking forward to begin my short adventure in Indonesia.

Our very first encounter with anything Indonesian began right at the door of our airplane. Since it was a flight going into Indonesia, for all the obvious reasons, all the flight attendants were clearly Indonesians. There was a bit of a loud conversations going on in Indonesian right at the entrance of the airplane where there was a bit of a mixed up about where to store the baby's stroller in the aircraft. At that point, I realized that Indonesian speaks super fast and I wonder if the stewardess was being loud or angry or everyone in Indonesia just talks that way, which I doubt it is. That short drama done with, we found our seats and the plane took off.

Since we were travelling on a budget, most of us didn't check in our bags and that saved me about RM40 for the total ticket price. But actually, that is not even an issue that I'm trying to bring up here. The next thing we knew, we were queuing on the Foreigner lane at the immigration. I read some travel tips on some websites which mentioned that for smooth process at the immigration, try to look for immigration officers that doesn't look like he's going to eat you (which can be tough to come by if you are going into Germany), he or she looks nice and friendly or if you can catch him/her flashing a smile to that person at the counter, then probably that is the lane you should be queuing up to.

I randomly picked a woman officer behind the counter probably because it was the only two lanes available anyway and you have to pick one. While at the queue, I saw some people putting their four fingers on the fingerprints detector while others didn't do that which was something odd and new to me. Probably I haven't travelled that much to places in South East Asia that the idea of having your all five fingers on both hands saved in another country's immigration database is something that I got me saying in my mind, " Man, these people are serious dude!".

Then it comes to my turn. Apparently, for anyone who is a first time visitor into Indonesia, it is mandatory to do all the five fingers on both hands fingerprints detection inclusive of a face image too. There is an instruction card placed just above the fingerprints detector machine but the immigration lady was obviously hustling everybody and there's no way for you to read the instructions properly at the counter.

First, you will be asked to put your 4 fingers of your right hand minus the thumb at the detector which I dutifully did. Of course my hands decided to slip out of the detector and the next second, the lady was repeating in an irritate voice for me to put my hands back again. Next was the 4 fingers of your left hand minus the thumb and then, both thumbs together ( I think or was it separately, I can't remember) and finally look at the tiny camera at the counter. And then I thought I was done but no.

Our first destination was addressed at this place called Malang which you had to fill up on the form. Confidently, seeing that I'm a Malaysian, the immigration lady spoke Indonesian to me. Thankfully, I understood her questions and told her that we are staying overnight at Malang because we will be at Bromo tomorrow morning. She also asked if the next person behind me is my friend and of course it wasn't. My friends were lining up just behind that woman and of course I was too eager to get through the immigration that I had walked away and only realized that probably I should mentioned that the other two behind the line, we are travelling together. Anyway, all of us got through fine at the immigration, grab our bags and off we go looking for the rest of the gang who had flown in on an earlier flight.

This post could go on again about the how you will be literally shoved a bunch of telephone sim cards at your face right at the entrance of the airport. Just a reminder for you, these people are pretty persistent about selling their stuffs and yes, they will want to hang around you even you have clearly said, you didn't want a sim card. So the best options is to simply ignore them until they flee for their next victims (oops, customers).

So there you go, if this is your first time visiting Indonesia, do expect those fingerprints and face detection right at the immigration counter. Just in case you do not speak Malay or Indonesian and didn't have the time to read the instructions for the fingerprints detection, I hope this post will help.

How to Look Good In A Passport Photo

How to look good in a passport photo eh?

The answer to that is a 50-50 chance that you'll turn out good or bad. If you are having a bad hair day and you still decided to snap the photo anyway, the chance is of course you'll have the worse photo ever and maybe you need to have a retake. Ouch, what a waste.

I've found a couple of tips over the internet certainly useful in order for you to get the best photo for your passport.
Here are the few things that I could remember and I think will work:

1. If you haven't had a haircut for months, go do that and make sure your hair stylist do a really good job and march to the photo studio right after your done with the hair.

2. Make sure you communicate with your photographer. Some of them are more keen to snap a picture of you, crop, print, ask for your money right away. Good photo studios will snap a couple of pictures with the camera, show you the pictures and you can decide to choose (or they will suggest) on the best pictures. After that, they will take the time to crop and probably do a little editing (just for brightness and probably contrast of the picture) and then they will print. If ended up with a lousy photographer, I doubt you can hope much on getting a well decent looking picture.

3. If you think you don't need a haircut because you still look okay and you have no bad hair day whatsoever, then do make time to spruce yourself a little bit just before you head to the photo studio. Going straight to the photo studio right after you were running out errands under the hot sun, looking all oily and sweaty, is not really a good idea.

4. Last but not least, this is something I'd like to add up myself. Go to the photo studio with a good spirit. Haha. With a good, happy and positive mindset, you'll have a good time and hopefully the photographer will capture the best photos for you and everyone shall be happy.

If all things fail and you think you have a lousy photo for the passport, don't hesitate to retake those photos again. You don't want to get stuck with the same not so nice photo on your passport for years to come. Happy taking photos and hope it'll turn out great or at least looking decently nice for you.

100% Beef Burger Tortilla Wrap Recipe

[caption id="attachment_2833" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Ready to eat tortilla wrap cheese burger"][/caption]

I made this super yummy and healthy ( I think) 100% Beef Burger wrapped with tortilla a couple of weeks back. The size of the burger may look small but it is full enough for my stomach.

Making the 100% Beef Patty

To make this burger patty is super easy.All you need is a food processor in the kitchen and let it grind down to a mince and season the minced beef with some mix herbs, salt and pepper. Make and shape the meat into a round patty and let is sit for a bit in the fridge. If you want a cheesy burger, make a tiny hole in the middle of the patty and squeeze through whatever cheese you have on the fridge ( I used cheddar cheese) inside the patty. This will make a nice melted cheesy burger that comes oozing out from the middle of the patty.

If you don't have a food processor you can get some minced meat from the supermarket and hopefully they are 100% meat. Most burger patties are made with a combination of 80% meat and 20% fat and with the fat comes flavour. However, if you can have 100% beef, why not go for it right?

How to cook your burger? Steam it!

Get a non-stick pan or a grill pan or any kind of stainless steel pan will also do. Heat up the pan and oil the pan a little bit. Cook the beef patty over the hot oil and pan, let it brown a little bit. Since the patty is going to be rather chubby, you need to properly cook the insides, hence you'll need to cover the pan with a lid. Let the patty steam for a couple of minutes and turn sides and remember to steam with a lid again. Both sides looking nice and brown, smelling delicious and it's done!

Wrapping the burger with Tortilla and vegs

[caption id="attachment_2831" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Tortilla wrap with 100 percent beef burger onion rigs and vegs"][/caption]

Heat up your tortilla over the pan and when it's done, toss the cooked patty in the middle of the round tortilla. Toss a bit of vegs or salad of choice and since I love everything hot and spicy, I pour a good portion of Extra Hot Nandos Peri Peri sauce over the burger and mix with another sweet and hot sauce (Lingam's sauce - only found in Malaysia, I think) and fold the sides of the tortilla to the middle and it's ready to eat!

[caption id="attachment_2832" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Top view of the 100 percent cheese beef burger tortilla wrap with oozing melted cheese coming out from the patty"][/caption]

Oh, I also sliced a whole onion into thin slices and separate them into individual rings, toss them over some flour and fry. You'll get yourself some really crunchy and sweet onion rigs. Put it as toppings for your burger patty and Enjoy!

This is a super easy recipe, fast to make and as always I only spend max of 30 minutes in the kitchen to whip up an awesome dish. Happy cooking and eating everyone!

Fish and Chips with Smashed Peas Recipe

Fish and Chips with Smashed Peas Recipe



I haven't posted anything food recipes related for a long time and seriously there is no set focus on this blog. Never has that been the intention anyways. So, back to the Fish and Chips with Smashed peas recipe, I got someone who asked me for the recipe and here goes.

Ingredients :

A bag of Dory Fish ( 3-5 pieces in a bag, depends) . The thing about frozen dory in a bag,  it has a fishy smell. For those with sensitive nose and taste buds where you can't stand the fishy smell, the trick is to soak the dory in a bowl of water and flour mixture for sometime and drain the water afterwards.

Frozen peas ( a bag of 500g) or mix it together with broad beans ( which is like RM 8 for a bag of 500g, in my standard that is freaking expensive, but broad beans are delicious)

Butter or Cream

Flour

Coke/Sparkling water

Salt and pepper

To make the fish batter :

Originally this is a beer battered fish. But the version I made is the non-alcoholic version and I swapped the ingredients with coke instead. You can also use some sparkling water for the batter.

Wipe the fish dry with a kitchen towel because you don't want the oil to go all crazy when you start frying something with water on it. Lightly salt and pepper the sides of the fish.

Meanwhile, mix a bit of coke ( about 3-4 table spoons, depends on you really) with the flour. Mix the two ingredients well.

Then toss the fish into the coke and flour batter and make a second coat by tossing it around plain flour ( do it on a separate plate) and finally deep fry the fish until golden brown.

Next you can fry the chips and I specifically choose a big cut fries because that's how it's eaten. Never have I seen anywhere in the UK that fish is served with those skinny cut fries. It's a big no! :)

For the Smashed Peas  :

Over a boiling water, throw in the peas along with some cloves of garlic. Boil them until they become soft enough to mash. Drain it out and mashed it straight out from the pot. In that case, you'll have less things to wash. Throw in some butter or cream, pepper and salt to taste and mashed everything together. I prefer them to be slightly chunky and it looks more rustic that way.

Plate everything up. Being Asian, I love to dip the chips with something hot and my choice of a ketchup is Nandos Peri Peri Extra Hot chilli sauce which you can buy either at Tesco or Giant for about RM 10. Originally, the chips are eaten simply with salt and vinegar or HP Sauce. But I doubt HP Sauce is Halal and  it is not even spicy so Nandos Peri Peri Extra Hot chilli sauce is the best bet.

It is a very simple recipe. Don't bother much about staying low on the calories here. Hehe. Another tips, if you have a frozen fish and chips, best to thawed them in the microwave under low heat because you'll get the most of the frozen ice bits of the fish and chips, ready for the super hot frying oil.

Techy Rants for YaszAmzah.com - Theme change and plugins issues

Let's get techy shall we. I've been facing a bit of an issue with this site but it's nothing I can't fix. I'm pretty positive about that. Here are the things that have been coming up lately :

-I don't like my blog theme anymore.

- I have been having issues with the plugins and I have still yet to fix some minor error because of it. One small attempt to update a plugin, wrecked the whole admin page out. I couldn't get into the admin page, had to rename files, disable stuffs, rename again and then out of the blue, some things decided to duplicate itself and thus more digging into the functions and not some much success there. Probably I just need to install/enable the deleted plugin again and see what is going on there. It's all about trial and error now. Which I like and enjoy doing but of course it's so time consuming.

- I have realized that my years of studying different programming languages was worth the time and effort. After all these years, I can still understand codes and no doubt that PHP is one of the easiest language to learn.

Programming is fun and exciting. I should do it more and I couldn't help feeling a bit 'smart' just from tweaking  a few lines or two although most of it was just commenting out some lines I didn't want. Haha. But most importantly, I feel that I do understand most of the codes and it's functions. Understanding them was as easy as reading a novel and for that I'm amazed of myself.

- I need a new wordpress theme. What is the latest and nicest one out there now?

Okay enough tech rants for the day. I wonder who will read all these. Anyways, suggestions for the theme are most welcome. Thanks!

 

 

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.