Quote of The Day : People Can Give Up On You, But Never Ever Give Up On Yourself

Quote of The Day : “People can give up on you, but never ever give up on yourself.”

Life can be tough and hard on you when the people you admire or look up the most tend to give up hope on you. You lost hope and you feel down, upset with just about everything. This happens a lot of time in life where people can and will give up on you but never ever in any circumstances for you to decide to give up on yourself. People can fail on you but if you decided to fail or give up on yourself, you will never get anywhere.

Therefore, this is a quick tip on how you can handle situations like this so that you can always rely and give hope to yourself. In return for all  those words that people tell you that "you can't and it is impossible for you” , what you can do is to take those words, I know it is hurtful and hard to swallow as a motivation for you to keep on going. Those words which at most times are pure negativity can be YOUR FUEL for you to achieve bigger things in life and to prove them wrong.Take those words as a challenge and keep on working to make things work for you and not for them.

Hence, never give up on yourself when others seem to give up and fail on you. Be resilient and keep on going.

I have personally seen success on myself whenever people have doubted on me and even probably lost hope on me. I also have a lot of successful friends who are now high achievers because we have been given up on and time and again we have proved them wrong. If right now, you think you want to throw out the towel and give up because others are giving up hope on you, I hope you are reading this now and I want you to not give in just yet.

Dig deeper, work harder, make vital changes, make mistakes and learn, keep on hoping and going and never ever give up on YOURSELF. Let's make things work people and all the best in the things that you are working for!

 

 

How To Make Masala Chai

How to Make Masala Chai :

This is a recipe I picked up from one of the cooking shows over at Travel and Living Channel (TLC). Chai essentially means tea and Masala Chai is a perfect combination of spices mixed over a boiling water of black tea.

Here are the ingredients needed to make your very own Masala Chai at home :

• loose black tea is much preferred than one of those in the tea bags


• a couple pods of green cardamoms


• some slices of ginger


• a couple of cinnamon sticks


• some black pepper corns

Methods :

• Heat some water in a pot until it comes to a boil


• Then, pour in all the ingredients mentioned above : black tea, cardamoms, ginger, cinnamon sticks, black pepper corns and turn off the heat.


• Let the tea and the whole mix steep for a couple of minutes ( probably about 5 minutes)


• Add sugar and milk


• Sift and pour over a cup and enjoy your Masala Chai

As long as you have all the basic ingredients handy around the kitchen pantry, Masala Chai is really dead easy and simple to make. Best of all it is way cheaper than the one in the coffee shops. With the combination of cardamoms and ginger, that is a sure way to release heat and gas out of your system. Moreover, the pepper corns brings out a bit of heat in the chai and I think that gives this Masala Chai a bit of a kick with an overall taste of spice and flavour in a milk tea.This recipe on How To Make Masala Chai is a difinite must try for all you tea lovers out there and happy drinking!

Coldplay - Paradise From The Album Mylo Xyloto

Paradise is simply awesome, man! If you are big, big fan of Coldplay, do check out their new album, Mylo Xyloto coming soon this October 24. At the mean time, enjoy Paradise by Coldplay :

Coldplay - Paradise

http://youtu.be/1G4isv_Fylg

Paradise Lyrics by Coldplay :

When she was just a girl
She expected the world
But it flew away from her reach so
She ran away in her sleep
And dreamed of
Para-para-paradise, Para-para-paradise, Para-para-paradise
Every time she closed her eyes

When she was just a girl
She expected the world
But it flew away from her reach
And the bullets catch in her teeth
Life goes on, it gets so heavy
The wheel breaks the butterfly
Every tear a waterfall
In the night the stormy night she'll close her eyes
In the night the stormy night away she'd fly
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/coldplay/paradise_20980626.html ]
And dreams of
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh
She'd dream of
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh

La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
And so lying underneath those stormy skies
She'd say, "oh, ohohohoh I know the sun must set to rise"

This could be
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
This could be
Para-para-paradise
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh
This could be
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
This could be
Para-para-paradise
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh

Quote Of The Day : Setting Priorities In Your Relationship

I have decided to finally start with a Quote Of The Day, once a week at this blog. So yeah, let's get this started.

Quote Of The Day : Setting Priorities in Your Relationship

"If you spend too long holding on to the one who treats you like an option, you will miss finding someone who treats you like a priority." - Unknown.

I suppose this quote speaks true to its meaning when it boils down to any relationship that you are currently dealing with. It could be  a relationship between you and another person, between you and your commitment to yourself, relationship between you and your family, relationship between you and your belief or God, relationship between you and other living things in this world and pretty much any kind of relationship that we possibly could be dealing with at the present time.

In any relationship, the best way to make things work for you or for both parties is to simply prioritize on what matter the most and never ever take things as granted or taking things as an option. Therefore, for matters to work,  do set your priorities on them ( it could be in a form of executing plans, attending to issues, making important things come first and etc.) and constantly value the relationship at hand. I believe prioritizing is a way of putting a high level of commitment, trust and work on things. Set your priorities, know what are your priorities and make that relationship work!

Funny Travel Stories : Morning Toilet Run - View From The Train In India

A bunch of us friends were travelling on a 12-hour plus train journey through India. Sleeping overnight in the Sleeper Class an equivalent to the Third-Class Coach was horrible for me. Suffice to say, I didn't get much rest throughout the night. I woke up the next day waiting anxiously to get out of the train but we had still a few more hours to go until we reached our destination.

At around 7 am , the train traversed the local village and a couple of us including myself were sticking out our heads out of the window to breathe in the cool, morning air. At that moment, it was a blessing to breathe in something so refreshing until we were greeted with something absolutely shocking. Brace yourself people...

The train passed through a big field and we spotted a couple of grown men walking on towards different areas of the field. Most of them dispersed towards the far end of the field which was 'unfortunately' the nearest to the railway and obviously nearest to us peering over the window. Still eyeing closely on these men (which by the thought of this now, was the a huge mistake) and utterly clueless on what they were doing, we saw one after another, back facing our way, stripped down their trousers, baring directly towards us their now bare, naked bottoms and hastily squatting down amongst the tall grass in the open field.

We grasped in total shock, by now already figured it all out that these men were apparently doing their daily morning toilet run out in the open field. Before we knew it, we saw more grown men casually lowering down their pants and more naked butts flashed our way during that short frame of time. Now come to think of it, it could possibly be a good few minutes that the train travelled through the morning 'toilet rush hour' at the open field.

That was certainly a weird and rather unpleasant way to be greeted in the morning. But hey, we had a good laugh right after that and how often do you get to see that kind of 'view' during your travel? So yeah, that was totally bizarre in a funny way, depending on how far you can take 'grossness' in this life. Next time if you are down in India and travelling by train, do look out or more like watch out for this 'morning toilet run'. Haha.

 

 

My New Favourite Radio Station : Radio Mozart

Radio Mozart is incredibly awesome and it is presently, my  new favourite radio station to listen to.  I can't believe that I haven't listen to them a long time ago. You can listen to them via Media Player, iTunes, Facebook or go directly to their link. I feel that their music are more soothing than any pop or rock songs. You simply can't go wrong with true classical music and Mozart is definitely one of the best music to listen to.

For more of Radio Mozart , click here

or simply listen below!

Photo Travel : Great New Zealand Road Trip - Let's count the sheep!

This is quite possible one of the best views that anyone can look forward to if you are on the Great New Zealand Road Trip driving around the  South Island, New Zealand . We travelled by car heading down south from Christchurch to Mount Cook. Along the way, we were greeted by breathtakingly beautiful mountain views and thousands of acres of green fields filled with among them the grazing sheep.

[caption id="attachment_2417" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Photo travel : Great New Zealand Road Trip - Can you count the sheep?"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2418" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sheep grazing at the open field in New Zealand"][/caption]

The sheep are obviously having a great time at the open field and I got to say that they are the luckiest sheep in the world for having to live in that view and environment every single day! If you are travelling down to New Zealand, do make sure to make a stop by the roadside and capture these beautiful view for yourself.

 

I guess I am perfectly normal ...

I've realized one big thing in this blog, I don't allow myself to spill out my personal thoughts and probably once in a blue moon, I should do just that. Something that I think I'm going to do just about now. Sometimes I do feel like I'm totally focusing on solely writing about travels and the outdoors and probably I don't connect much to you readers. But then again, do I need to feel connected with you guys? Haha. Anyways, anyhow, I'm feeling perfectly happy for the past couple of days which I blame totally on hormones and nothing less. And of course, I'm blessed and thankful for all these lingering in the air 'happy hormones'. :)

Also, I guess I am perfectly normal to sometimes feel this way, the way I am insanely loving this song by Colbie Caillat called I Do. When I say I love it, I do spin the song on repeat for the gazillion times until probably for the next few days I'll just get over it and start listening to other tunes. No matter what, in between switching to songs like this to my usual trance/dance music, I will always ended up sticking by to Colbie because somehow or rather, her lyrics seems true to what I may feel during the moment. So yeah, this is me getting down and personal ya'll! :)

Colbie Caillat - I Do!

http://youtu.be/E0oyglKjbFQ

Animals Anecdotes : The Cow Whisperer

On our Great New Zealand Road Trip back in April this year, we drove through the beautiful country side and somehow making our way through farms thanks to the 'shortest route' option from the GPS. Along the way, we saw this particular cow grazing by the fence right next to our car. Hence, we slowed down the car and decided to make a little chat ala 'Cow Whispering' with this cow.

The one saying "Hallo" is my mum while I make the initial 'moo-ing' sound in attempt for a response from it. What do we know, we got a pretty 'conversational moo' from Mr.Cow ( I am not sure of its gender though. Pardon me for the lack of knowledge on this one. Hehe)

Of course, fun and awesome things needed to be captured on video and I made a video for this Cow Whispering Moment! Hope you will enjoy watching it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhn9lbtGpu4

Photo Travel : Teh Botol Sosro, Indonesia

Teh Botol Sosro - you couldn't get any more Indonesian than that!

[caption id="attachment_2389" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Teh botol Sosro Jasmine Tea - Indonesian popular drink"][/caption]

Teh Botol Sosro is loosely translated as Bottled Tea ( Teh = Tea, Botol = Bottle;  Indonesian is easy to learn huh? ). When it boils down to the exact taste of Teh Botol it is actually a Jasmine Flavoured Tea, best to drink it cold and this Teh Botol is like a much better version of the typical Iced Lemon tea. The smell of Jasmine in the tea is pretty strong and for that I love this Teh Botol hands down.

If you would like  to discover just a miniscule taste of Indonesia, I guess having a sip of Teh Botol can kick start your adventure, journey and discovery of Indonesia. And yes, Teh Botol Sosro is a MUST beverage to taste if you are visiting Indonesia or if you can ever find one in your nearest Indonesian grocery store around your place. It is THAT good and if you love flavoured tea like yours truly, having a go at Teh Botol is a definite must. It will not let you down. :)

I couldn't stress this more - Teh Botol Sosro : You couldn't get any more Indonesian from that drink! I simply love it.

Foodie Road Trip : Nasi Kandar Line Clear, Penang Road - The Best Ever!

The latest of the foodie road trip, brought me to the island of pearls - Penang Island, Malaysia. Penang is THE place to head down to up north the peninsular Malaysia for the melting pot, totally only found in Malaysia, super delicious varieties of food! One dish you must always have a try in Penang is none other than the Nasi Kandar. Among one of the best Nasi Kandar in the city center of Penang is Nasi Kandar Line Clear.

[caption id="attachment_2369" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Nasi Kandar Line Clear at Penang Road - By far the one of the best Nasi Kandar in Penang! A must place to eat in Penang."][/caption]

This tiny restaurant is located along Penang Road just a couple of walk away from the Chowrasta Bazaar. It is basically sandwiched between another nasi kandar restaurant ( Nasi Kandar Yasmeen) and a shop lot. The easiest landmark to get to Penang Road is to head for Komtar - the tall white tower which is visible from the ferry ride towards Penang Island as you are approaching near the jetty.

 

[caption id="attachment_2370" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Nasi Kandar Line Clear is part of Penang's Heritage Restaurant and it has been in business since 1930"][/caption]

Line Clear has been serving its totally delicious nasi kandar and arrays of curries along with it since the 1930. Any businesses that have been going on for that long is a sure way to tell that it got to be good and yes they are among one of the best in town.

 

[caption id="attachment_2371" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Line Clear lunch hour queue"][/caption]

Nasi Kandar Line Clear is opened 24 hours around the clock and the dishes are cook hot and fresh on site. I couldn't get a picture of the food selections because of the lunch hour queue. In general you can choose to have plain rice with any choice of food/curries that you like or you can opt for the briyani rice. Some of the selections always readily available on the menus are super huge fish head curry, honey chicken, fried chicken, kurma, black chicken, curry chicken, mutton curry, fish curry, fried fish roe, selections of fried vegetables, eggs omelette and many more.

[caption id="attachment_2373" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Some of the dishes we picked up - Curry Chicken, Honey Chicken, Fried Chicken Mamak Style, Huge Spicy Red Prawn"][/caption]

My favourite choice for an awesome plate of  Nasi Kandar will usually be half plain white rice ( I always order half because the portion of rice is really huge), honey chicken, fried cabbage and the best of all is to request for 'kuah campur' - literally translated as 'mix gravy/curry' where you pour every single curries available on your plate of rice. By putting the 'curries' all the way on the plate, you get to taste the different flavour of spices, sweet, sour, and most importantly it's hot and spicy just how we Malaysians love it. We love our food hot and spicy man! And to quench your thirst and to overcome the heat of the nasi kandar, my pledge to you is to always order a 'teh tarik ais' (iced pulled tea). Penang's mamak style teh tarik ais is simply the best. It's cold, sweet, and a milky tea. Quite mutually agreed by many as the best combination to have with a plate of nasi kandar!

There you go , a little review of Nasi Kandar Line Clear only and only available by the roadside of Penang Road in Penang Island! If you are down in Penang Island, do hunt down for Nasi Kandar Line Clear. Ask around the locals for direction if you are lost and they may even give you other tips on better and new nasi kandar places to hunt down to!

I'm On A Meat Eating Diet Streak!

For the past couple of months, I think I have successfully lost a 'big' amount of weight and when I say 'big' it is actually a small figure comparatively to other normal, average people. The reason is simple - I am one of those people skinny people who struggle to gain even a kilo and losing even just a precious kilo can pretty much leaves me feeling lethargic and less energetic in a whole. Thus, for the sake of gaining quick kilos, I have decided to start eating more meat. And yes, I am officially on a meat eating diet streak! Welcome Read Meat!

By far, I have been taking in sugary soda drinks, lots of chocolates and chocolates cookies, cookies of all range, oily crisps and the best part of all less and less vegetables although I have managed to squeeze in a single fruit portion into the daily diet. Haha. So far, I am not seeing any increase on the weight and I wonder how far this is going to eventually 'hurt' my stomach.

Anyways, at the moment I am loving my meat and I shall have some hopefully delicious, juicy, tender and it melts in your mouth, 1 day old marinated steak for dinner tonight. Oh man, I'm salivating just thinking about it. Until more food updates to come and happy eating!

Spaghetti Crayfish Recipe in 30 Minutes

It's time again for a quick cook up for just 30 minutes.Trust me this is one super delicious meal you can whip up for lunch or dinner today. Let's get started with the Spaghetti Crayfish Recipe:

1. Get you hands on some fresh crayfish or some freshly cooked ones.

[caption id="attachment_2353" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Get your hands on some freshly cooked crayfish. We got one from a lady selling seafood along the coastal, sea view road from Kaikoura, New Zealand heading up north."][/caption]

 

2. The choice of pasta is totally up to you. For this version, I was actually using egg noodles because I just felt like it.Haha. You see cooking is fun and just go about with what you feel like having for the day and cook around it. Follow the cooking instructions for your pasta usually written on the cover of the pasta bag and it shouldn't take more than 12 minutes or so.

3. For the pasta or spaghetti sauce, these are the things that I used:

- I'm Asian and I love it spicy and hot, hence the red chilli is a must have. Chopped it up small for the extra kick of heat in the sauce and the other extra ingredient is to add on a couple of tea spoons of spicy curry powder. The curry powder I used for this dish is Vencat Curry Powder and you can get it readily available in most stores around New Zealand. I couldn't stress how much I adore this particular curry powder.

[caption id="attachment_2357" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The fiery Vencat Curry Powder!"][/caption]

- Diced some onions, tomatoes, celery (optional)

- Tomato puree or one of those tomato spaghetti sauce in the can or bottle

- Italian herbs or mix herbs (any kind of herbs of your choice)

- Cut up the crayfish into smaller pieces and keep the head too because that's where the sweet crayfish juices will come from

4. To make the Crayfish Pasta Sauce, simply heat the pot, pour some oil in and saute the onions, diced tomatoes, diced chilli and herbs. Next throw in the tomato puree / tomato spaghetti sauce and add in a bit of water. Just as the sauce started to boil, throw in the diced crayfish and the head. Throw in everything, don't even miss a leg of the crayfish. Haha. For taste, add on some pepper and salt. And you are ready to serve!

The end result of this Spaghetti Crayfish in a quick 30 minutes cook up looks like this:

[caption id="attachment_2354" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Any kind of noodles or pasta will work too! This one I used egg noodles instead. The most important part is the spaghetti sauce with the crayfish in it!"][/caption]

And the close up version of the Crayfish Pasta Sauce! Yum!

[caption id="attachment_2355" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The killer crayfish pasta or spaghetti sauce"][/caption]

Cooking pasta is really easy and if you happen to have crayfish available around you, you should try out this Spaghetti Crayfish Recipe. It is simply divine! Ah, I'm drooling just writing about this. Give this recipe a try and happy cooking!

Traveling Malaysia During Ramadan Month in August 2011| Food Bazaar Malaysia

The weather in general all over Peninsular Malaysia as of right now August 22 is wet, raining and cooling. I think most of us, well at least for me, I have been anticipating for some rain to come pouring to counter the hot weather. They also say that when it rains, it is a sign of blessing. Well I think it is true!

I'm not so sure if the rainy season is starting to kick in which explains the amount of rain we have been getting lately since the last couple of days. Most probably it is that time of the year again, when it rains, it pours. If you are traveling around Malaysia at this time of the year, please remember to at least have an umbrella handy and be prepared to get wet. There are still a lot of places for you to visit especially for this month, it is the month of Ramadan where the majority of Muslims in Malaysia is fasting for the whole month.

Being Malaysians, we love our food and at this point of the holy month, there will be a lot of food bazaars or what the local calls it as "Bazar Ramadan or Pasar Ramadan" and with these food bazaars around, it is the best time ever to sample delicious arrays of local food. The bazaars are located in most townships and it will be opened usually around 3pm until about 7+ pm just before the time where people will break their fast. These Bazar Ramadan all around Malaysia is the place to go to for FOOD and generally pretty much everyone (of different races and religions) in Malaysia will be doing some major food hunting down at these bazaars because it is the only time of the year where you get to feast and find certain type of food that you don't usually see on normal days being sold on the street.

Food prices are generally cheap, there are a lot of varieties that will drive you nuts and you will be tempted to buy a whole lot of food but you will certainly enjoy the chow down. :) Besides that, by the end of this month, after a long full month of fasting, the Muslims will be celebrating Eid or what the local will call it as "Hari Raya Aidilfitri" and usually there will be a lot of open houses going on for the next one month where everyone is welcome to pay a visit and have a big feast. There will be a lot of eating great food involved and if you are a foreigner traveling down in Malaysia by end of this month, do watch out for some major 'Hari Raya' Open Houses that the Prime Minister will usually host for everyone to come and eat free delicious Malaysian food on the first day of Eid.

So there you go, there are still a lot of things to look forward to in Malaysia at least in the food travel categories despite the rainy weather that has been pouring for days now in this month. It is a happy celebration of food for everyone in Malaysia now and of course a holy celebration for those Muslims in this holy month and that is more than enough reason for you to come over and travel in Malaysia this month. :)

Animals Anecdotes 27 : The Army of Ants

I stumbled upon these army of ants while I was hiking up a hill and these ants kept on marching in rows of what seemed like multiple rows of little black dots. They were literally 'streaming' through the jungle going up and down the hilly path and there were like hundreds or possibly thousands of them. When you are hiking in the jungle, watch out for these troopers especially if you are hiking in Malaysia. The last thing you wanted to do is to step on these black ants and I'm pretty sure they can sting you hard. So, do watch out!

[caption id="attachment_2339" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Highway of black ants in the jungle, Malaysia"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2340" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Army of Ants streaming their way through the jungle floor"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2341" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Black ants troopers heading to the tree"][/caption]

 

7 Random Interesting, Quick Facts About Kuching, Sarawak

I'll make this a short intro or more like a no intro at all. So here goes the 7 Random Interesting, Quick Facts About Kuching, Sarawak that you may want to know and probably agree at how interesting they really are. Let's get on with it ...

• I overheard a remark made by a fellow Brit on our shared van to Kuching town which was “Kuching is WAY greener and cleaner than Penang Island”. That I totally have to agree hands down.

[caption id="attachment_2327" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="A postcard picture of a cool dude of the ethnic people of Sarawak talking on the phone . This is yet another random interesting facts about Kuching, Sarawak. Mind you, Kuching is pretty urban and modern though, you don't get to see much of people dressing up like this in Kuching town. :)"][/caption]

• Kuching town center is pretty much 'walkable' provided that you walk around with good shoes, sunblock, sunglasses, hat/cap/umbrella because Kuching's heat is like “sweat dripping by the buckets kinda heat” and drinking up water throughout your 'walkabout around Kuching town' is a definite must!


• Main Bazaar Street is packed with shops after shops of Kuching's antiques and handicrafts. If you are into Arts and Galleries, it is a must to drop by “Artrageously Ramsayong Art Gallery” located at this Street. You must take a look at the intricate weavings of the bemban mats weaved by the local ethic people and appreciate the amount of effort being put behind the making of those intricately delicate and yes, outrageously beautiful mats.

[caption id="attachment_2328" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bemban Mat with Aeroplane design"][/caption]

• Kuching Waterfront which has an awesome view of the Sarawak River is pretty interesting by night time and there will be a lot of food stalls opened in the evening too. Do watch out for a man dressed in traditional Iban attire (nothing much really, just a tiny little 'underpant' with a long piece of beautifully weaved cloth covering the front), with lotsa interesting tatoos too, playing a Sape ( something like a guitar) and it's totally live music. You can drop him some tips and enjoy listening to him play some excellent tunes with his Sape. Oh, he got things amped up a little bit because he'd plugged his Sape with an amplifier. So if you hear some sort of traditional music playing around the waterfront, go hunt for its source and you may find him there.

[caption id="attachment_2329" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Iban guy playing Sape at Kuching Waterfront * excuse the picture quality of my low pixel camera phone :)"][/caption]

• I've never seen this anywhere but only in Kuching where they actually sweep up the street along the waterfront using a huge, fallen tree leaf and at first I thought it was a joke, but no really, the cleaners who cleans up the fallen leaves use one of those huge tree leaf to sweep up the street. How more eco-friendly can you get than that? Way to go Kuching!


• Sarawakians are so nice, warm, chatty and friendly where you can literally smile and walk up to a person and have a nice conversation over things. Trust me they will be more than happy to talk to you and help you if you ask for any especially when they find out that you are out of town-ers.


• The people are so friendly they kept on asking if I was from Kuching which was really odd and there came to a point where a friendly old lady literally came up to me and striked up 'interesting yet partly interrogative questions about my A-C ...haha' . Also, the lady cleaner at the Kuching Waterfront was really nice she was part sweeper, part Kuching tour guide at least to me and really you will be very happy and all smiley when you are in Kuching or anywhere around Sarawak. The local people are really that nice! :)

Suffice to say that I'm really glad I've finally stepped foot at Kuching. Sarawak is the largest state in Malaysia and of course, I'll go back down to Sarawak to explore more of the rainforests and the national parks. Hopefully, the next time around I'm down in Sarawak, I can learn up more Sarawakian slangs which I did learnt a few from the friendly 'old lady' and probably blend well with the locals again. It couldn't get any better when complete strangers simply open up to you during your travel. It makes traveling simply worthwhile.

Foodie Road Trip : Food You Must Have A Try While in Kuching, Sarawak

One major thing that I always seemed to look forward to during my travel is to hunt down for some of the best local cuisines and try them all as much as I could. One my first ever trip to Kuching, Sarawak about last month, I pretty much have some basic ideas on what are the food that you must have a try while in Kuching, Sarawak and listed below are some of the local dishes that I had tried, tasted and enjoyed in Kuching. So let's see what they are!

• Laksa Sarawak version Planet Sambal. Planet Sambal is a restaurant located at Jln Padungan which is "within walking distance" from let say Kuching Waterfront if walking is your thing and you seriously do not mind walking under the hot sun for about 40 minutes or probably more. Hehe. Yeah, I love to walk and it is so worth it to walk this far and accidentally bumped into this shop for a pretty good Laksa Sarawak. Although I was anticipating the curry to look curry-ish red instead of the one I had which was kinda greyish looking curry. The taste is excellent which is something I had never tasted before.  I could taste the distinct taste of the 'kerisik' - stir fry dessicated coconut and the laksa is very fragrance topped with generous amount of shrimps and other little bits of vegetables which is an excellent combo!

[caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Laksa Sarawak at Planet Sambal Kuching"][/caption]

• While in the restaurant, I saw a few locals eating this bowl of white gooey stuffs called Linut or Ambuyat which reminded me of sticky glue and I couldn't resist myself from not trying it out and so I ordered one for RM3.50, I think. It came in a pretty big bowl, it's all white and sticky, pretty tasteless, warm and I think it's best eaten warm and I had to ask the waiter how I should I eat it. Haha. So you just swirl the sticky sago around your fork and dip it with the sambal belacan and swallow it down your throat. I attempted a couple of swirls, dipped in sambal and swallowed hard and I rest my case. I would say, it was an interesting food to eat. Hmm...

[caption id="attachment_2309" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Linut or Ambuyat with sambal belacan"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2310" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="(bottom to top) Laksa Sarawak Biasa, Linut, Laksa Sarawak Special - Planet Sambal"][/caption]

•  Planet Sambal also have a new dish listed which is the Laksa Lobster Sarawak. I was stuffed with my Laksa Sarawak and the Linut, so I had to pass on this one although it really look tempting and delicious. You should try it out if you are in Kuching at least at Planet Sambal, Jln Padungan. :)

[caption id="attachment_2314" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Laksa Lobster from Planet Sambal"][/caption]

• The next day, during our breakfast hunt, we walked down along Bishop Street and found probably the only Malay coffee shop opened along the street and one of us ordered Laksa Sarawak. Look closely, you will notice that this version of the laksa is different from the one I had at Planet Sambal. I would say, this is very curryish and suited much better with our tongues. Or probably we are used to having this type of red curry Laksa before, hence we concluded that we prefer and like this version of the Laksa Sarawak. But still, I would suggest you to try out the Laksa at Planet Sambal because it sure is different.

[caption id="attachment_2315" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Yet another version of Laksa Sarawak located along the narrow street of Bishopgate"][/caption]

•  We also tried out on other seafood which are pretty cheap in Kuching comparatively to seafood prices back in KL. The picture below, I wanted to show you that I tried out what the local calls it as 'Midin' - a stir fried fern or for the rest of us Malaysians it's better known as 'Pucuk Paku'.

[caption id="attachment_2316" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Midin - some kind of 'fern' that is usually eaten stir-fried or in Malay it's called 'pucuk paku'"][/caption]

•  While at Sarawak Cultural Village, we went to this Sago processing area and out of the Sago flour, you can make this lovely, sweet, light cracker called Tebaloi. It's an excellent food for snacks.

[caption id="attachment_2317" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Tebaloi - Sago Crackers made from sago flour. Really yummy and great for a light snack."][/caption]

•  This is the famous Ayam Pansuh or Manok Pansuh - chicken cooked in bamboo which I didn't have the chance to try. Haha. Maybe next time though.

[caption id="attachment_2318" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Ayam Pansuh or Manok Pansuh - chicken cooked in bamboo"][/caption]

Among other things you should have a try while you are in Kuching are these :

• Umai - A choice of either raw prawns or fish,  looks really yummy and the picture is beautifully captured by http://jamesjg.com/food-and-dining/umai

• Kek Lapis Sarawak - colourful, layered Sarawak cake. There are a lot of varieties and you can buy them best at Kampung Boyan. To get there take the 'bot tambang' at Kuching Waterfron for 5o cent one way to cross the Sarawak River towards Kampung Boyan. There will be shops selling a lot of these Kek Lapis there. You can also buy 'Terubuk Ikan Masin' - freshly salted fish from this area.

• Mee Kolok/ Kolo Mee - I haven't had the chance to try it but there are two version of this Mee Kolok - halal and non-halal.

• Fresh, cheap seafood at Top Spot Seafood Centre. There are a lot of stalls to choose from and the seafood centre is opened at night.

So there you go a list of food you must have a try while traveling in Kuching, Sarawak. That's a wrap for Foodie Road Trip as for now. :)

Mount Kinabalu - Low's Gully Rock Climbing | The North Face Borneo Big Wall Expedition 2009

I was browsing through Via Ferrata, Mount Kinabalu Facebook page the other day and I stumbled upon this incredible video footage of a bunch of guys, not just typical guys, they are the pros of rock climbing going on a Borneo Big Wall Expedition at Low's Gully,Mount Kinabalu, Sabah. Not only that they are the pioneers and it was the first ever ascents anyone had ever done. These guys are truly hard core climbers and they have the guts yo!

Check out the video and you'll be awed watching it especially when it comes to the part where the guy jumps from one side of the rock face to the other. Incredible!

The North Face : Low's Gully - Borneo Big Wall Expedition 2009 (climbers : Alex Honnold, Conrad Anker, Mark Synnot, Jimmy Chin, and Kevin Thaw )

http://youtu.be/3XmHz4UDtWc

Animals Anecdotes 26 : Sally The Deaf Goat Missing In Action

This is something that don't happen everyday and it is really fun to share this anecdote. One fine day, this particular female goat, nicknamed Sally, decided to take a little breather and seek shelter from the blazing sun under the tree in front of the house. At this point, it was obvious that Sally had gone totally MIA from the rest of her pack. Little that I know that she was slightly under the weather but I kinda figured that something was a wee bit wrong with her because she tend to wobble as she walked and she was slightly blurry and looked rather confused.

[caption id="attachment_2289" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sally, the deaf goat resting in the middle of the street"][/caption]

After a bit of coaxing ( more like shooing her to go home), Sally decided to make a wobbly move and the next thing I knew, I didn't see her around anymore.

[caption id="attachment_2290" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sally finally decided that she gotta make a move from sitting right in the middle of the street."][/caption]

By noon, the weather took a turn from blazing hot sun to a heavy downpour. Around that time, I thought I saw a flicker of Sally taking shelter from the rain right at the neighbour's front gate and a few minutes later, Sally was gone again. By then, I was thinking, oh well, probably she ran off from the rain and had figured her way home. But no, I was wrong.

Two days later, the neighbour must have heard some noise coming from the drain in front of her house and there was Sally trapped in between the narrow hole of the drain. She was saved and looked absolutely exhausted.

[caption id="attachment_2291" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sally the goat saved from her fall into the drain. With her hearing problems, she is totally off balanced. Hence, she fell into the drain."][/caption]

One thing turned into another, someone tracked down Sally's owner and apparently Sally has been sick with some hearing problems. Due to that, she has problems to keep herself balanced and to keep up with the rest of her pack.

[caption id="attachment_2292" align="aligncenter" width="262" caption="Sally finally reunited with her owner. She had been gone for 3 days and they thought that they'd lost her. Lucky Sally, someone tracked down her owner!"][/caption]

Sally was finally reunited with her very happy owner and they took her home with the motorbike. Such a lucky gal, Sally the goat! I wonder how it must have been for Sally for the past 3 days living trapped inside the drain. For a goat, I could bet you that it was probably one of her biggest adventure ever in her life. I hope Sally has recovered from her hearing problems since then. :)

Rainforest World Music Festival 2011, Kuching Kicking Off Fri, July 8 2011

Oh yeah, the most anticipated Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF 2011) in Borneo - Kuching is kicking off tomorrow - Fri, July 8 2011.  I'll be flying down to Kuching tomorrow morning and I'm getting very excited! :)

It is going to be both my first time heading down to Kuching and joining the Rainforest World Music Festival. Double the excitements there ! I am expecting  to have a jolly good time throughout the three days event and hopefully I get to meet a lot of awesome, interesting people along the way too.

Another major thing to look forward to at the festival is the fact that  I'll be camping for three nights  in a row!  Man, you don't get to camp often, so I figured, why not be a true music festival go-ers and do it the best way which is to camp. I'm pretty sure fellow campers are really fun people to be around with. :)

For the love of music, discovering new cultures and traditions from the Sarawakians, stepping foot for the first time on another beautiful land of Borneo - Sarawak and for a good weather no matter what the weather forecast has predicted and yes, for a safe flight, good times and meeting interesting, unique and equally beautiful people, let's the party started tomorrow!

It's still not too late for you to come and join the rest of us at this Rainforest World Music Festival 2011. I will only get my festival tickets at the door so come on down to Kuching and join us from tomorrow until this weekend. The more the merrier, ya'll! If you are coming along, see you there!