Labels: holidays, Islam

Labels: holidays, Islam

Of course its not the highlight of the trip. I would be performing the umrah (a 'minor' haj, pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca). I would get to circle the Kaaba (below) seven times (tawaf) and most probably shave my head bald (halq).

Yes, I am nervous.

Am I ready? I have a lot of friends asking me that.

Well, it is a big deal. Visiting the holy city, the cradle of the Islam civilisation. Going back to my roots. To the roots of Islam.

"Are you sure you are ready?"

"I don't think you are ready..."

Well, SHUT it.

I'm not sure. And who are you to doubt me?

I'm leaving it all to God's grace. And maybe, you should too.

So instead of doubting me, congratulate me.

Labels: holidays, Islam

Labels: holidays, YouTube

Labels: holidays, personal

The movie seemingly solidified the stereotypes of the different nationalities. Moroccan officials are corrupt. Americans are jackasses who think that the whole world are against them. Mexicans are treated badly by the Americans, plus they live in smelly dusty slums. And Japanese schoolgirls are horny, very horny.

And Babel has nude scenes. A lot. And some Sharon Stone's Basic Instinct moments too. Well, its surprising cause I rented the DVD from VideoEzy. Yes, VideoEzy. Shouldn't all this be censored? I'm not complaining, I'm just concerned that this kind of DVDs might get into the wrong hands, children's. It has full frontal for God's sake. Well, the only warning was this really small sticker showing Mature 18. Anyway, the movie sucked, a lot of babeling.

Bloggers Note: Happy Easter to all my Christian friends and readers. I got this new episode of South Park for all to enjoy.

If you can't watch the video, click here.

Labels: holidays, loser moments, movie

Labels: family, holidays, Malays, personal

Opps... I meant to put this

Labels: Britney Spears, holidays, Hollywood

Labels: holidays, loser moments, personal

Labels: holidays, personal

Labels: holidays, rubbish

• Get a cap score of at least 4.5 next semester to make up for my average first semester.
• Dance in NUS's 'Dance Blast' (finally, after shelving that idea last semester).
• Do well as a member of TAS (The Architectural Society) and probably organise the next FOC (Freshmen Orientation Camp) as the 'Head'.
• Get a girlfriend (****priority****).
• Get a job during the June holidays.
• Save money $$$$$$$$$$.
• Go to Dubai in June. Maybe Australia too. And Thailand in December.

And like tradition (What tradition? I have been blogging for only a year), here are my hopes for 2007.

I have none.

2007.

Hopeless.

Kidding.

But seriously, the world is coming to an end. Sooner than we expect it to be. And if we don't do something about it, we are all going to die by 2020 maybe. Just look at the weather patterns now. Everything changed. Everything, every disaster, is much more drastic. More unimaginable earthquakes. Hurricanes and tropical storms are stronger and bigger than usual. Unusual rain storms strike everywhere.

The recent regional rain is so bad, there are floods in Singapore (despite the effective drainage system here), Malaysia (said to be its worst national disaster, with hundreds of thousands evacuated) and Indonesia (plus, Aceh was struck with another earthquake)!

The weather patterns are so screwed up globally that it recently snowed in some parts of Australia (when it is supposed to be summer down under). Plus there was also snow in the middle east!!! In Jerusalem!! So weird.

In addition to that, winters in Europe and North America are relatively warmer too. Even New York City was not spared; it had its first snow-less winter in 150 years. And Scandinavian countries have comparatively more snow-less mountain peaks now, thanks to the global warming.

People. Wake up!

We need to do something!!!

Sigh...

I sound a bit insane, I know. I just hope that there will be a 2008 for me to write my resolutions again. Lol.

Labels: holidays, natural disasters, new year resolutions, personal

Labels: holidays

Labels: holidays, Malays

Labels: holidays, Malays, religion

Labels: holidays

Well, the rides were the same. But gone were the queues for the rides (due to the fact that we there on a Tuesday and it wasn't a public holiday in Malaysia, unlike during the Christmas holidays when I went the previous time). And to a certain extent, we need queues in the world.

Well, within 2 hours, we were done with all the rides in the outdoor theme park (seriously all the rides). We were also able to ride some of the rides twice or thrice. I was the most daring amongst the four (surprisingly...) so I had to coax and force the rest to take the huge roller coaster and the space shot with me (though in the end, some, I will not mention names, chickened out). Well, I was game for everything, even to the extent of going on the rides alone even. Somehow, I miss

The guys and I tried all the rides, no matter how lame they were. The 'haunted' pirate ride wasn't even haunted with a single soul lah... We even tried the 'Tea Cup' ride, which turned out to be the worst and dizzying ride of all!! Haha, that was a lot of fun. And the T-Rex on the Dinosaurland ride was like... dying... LOL. I was just trying to squeeze every single cent worth of the RM42 entry fee...

Somehow, up there in Genting, I was constantly hungry, buying snacks at every shop I see. I dunno why, probably because of the higher metabolic rate or wadever in the colder atmosphere up there. I was a pig, an annoying one at that, I will repeat the same thing, "I'm hungry, can we grab a bite?" Well, I promised myself that I was gonna hit the weights in gym, straight away after coming back to Singapore.

The next day arrived, we took a cable car down to the station at the foot of the hill (now that was scary as hell!) We had to trust our lives on a thin wire connected to our gondola by a thin hook-like thingy. But the view was breath-taking.

But we did visit the Petronas Twin Towers and attempted to shop there. The prices were equivalent if not more expensive than in Singapore. The other guys bought jeans and stuff at a discount but the clothes which we on sale were not really much to my liking. We took a lot of pix at the park-cum-water fountain in front of the two towers. I even humiliated myself by asking (in really 'broken' Malay) a Malaysian dude to help us to take a group shoot but ended up being teased for my limited vocab (hardly the proudest moment in my life, I am such a stupid kentang!).

Then we spent the rest of the day shopping at KL's Chinatown, Petaling Street (which was a stone's throw from our hotel, the Ancasa Hotel). It was really crowded with locals and 'ang moh' (Western) tourists alike. All was fine until I almost came to blows with a shopkeeper (a stupid misunderstanding which ended up with him grabbing me by the arm, and swearing). The cheek of that asshole, his filthy hand on my arm. How can you force someone to buy something if you are no longer interested? So much for 'the customers are always right'. That shook me up a little bit and it totally spoilt my mood to shop. Empty handed (except for Weiyong who bought shoes), we went up to our rooms to retire for the night.

The next morning started promising with a great (free) breakfast and then a taxi ride to Bukit Bintang (the city's shopping

We went on Friday for your info. And initially we joked that it was gays' night (of course it wasn't) but when we entered and the ratio of guys to girls were like 4 is to 1, we were scared... haha... But it was really just a normal night. We were disappointed that guys actually outnumbered the girls.

Totally disappointed with the lack of excitement and girls in the club, we left at 1 am (as promised, we gave it an hour between 12 to 1 to see if the party will pick up, which didn't). That was the first time in my life leaving a club that early! Weiyong's picture really sums up our Zouk KL experience. LOL...

We then took our coach back to Singapore. And we had the whole bus to ourselves. Haha, we felt like VIPs. There were 2 drivers and 3 of us, plus another two unidentified passengers (I'm guessing local travellers who paid extra, illegally of course). It was the only sense of luxury I felt in the entire trip. Sad but true...

So boring... Yawn...

Latest Update: A sourvenir from KL, chicken pox. That's why this entry took 5 excruciatingly long days to be completed then published.

Labels: holidays

Labels: holidays

I will ORD (goodbye SAF, hello CV World) on March 16th and I'll start my tertiary studies in August. Furthermore, I will turn 21 on 11 September (so old...so adult...woohoo R(21).) Its a huge step (more like a jump to me...) I am so nervous facing these changes, these challenges ahead... So I have come up with a list of things I will want to do or hope to achieve this 2006.

This will be my New Year's resolutions for year 2006...

• ORD without any glitches i.e. no extras before D-Day, fingers crossed.
• Use lesser vulgarities (should be more civilised now...dammit)
• Decide without regret which course I want to go in Uni (even decide which university to go to - NUS or NTU??).....I'm so fickle-minded (my friends are so not surprised)
• Have a healthy body (I've been going gym like often now) and complexion (thanks to the dermatologist and proper diet), so metrosexual rite? I scare myself....
• have long long hair (flowing~~~....rite....)
• have a job before I start Uni (any lobangs anyone?)
• revise on my 'A' levels subjects again (err.. differentiation, blood circulation, probability, periodic table, transpiration, reactive metals, er... my English?)
• buy a completely new wardrobe (Uni no more unforms leh...)
• contradictory to above, I need to save money for my uni course (only God knows which course)
• have my driving license before I start school (I just applied for my BT today, 30/12/05, still a long way, I know.)
• have a girlfriend (to stop rumours and teasing that I bat for the other side... sheesh..... I know I have been single for a long time.... a LONG time...too long...)
• lose my virginity (haha.. Kidding. Lost that along time ago.... rite......LOL)
• start being nicer to strangers starting with my one-night-stands (OK, this is pushing it too far... LOL), seriously, I should smile more often to other people. Be more pleasant and friendly. Make more friends. Why stop with people...
• I'll be kinder to animals. I am going to start rearing colourful marine fishy with colourful sea coral and colourful wiggly anemone and a small clown fish (named Nemo) and and....err..
• pick up a physical sport like soccer (rite....)
• Ok, maybe watersports. I have always wanted to scuba dive (is it a sport?) or wake boarding.
• stay clear from smoking (I admit, I have tried it once in a while...) and drinking (despite pressures from my friends to drink, I am still sticking to my guns) and sex (rite....OK fine stay away from porn....sigh...)
• and finally I hope I can be closer to God (and start praying again). Amin...

On a more serious note:

I hope 2006 will be a peaceful year (not only in my life but in the world).

Though in 2005, we were not as much affected by war and terrorism (except for the 2nd Bali bombings... damn those lunatics) as we were in 2004 and the years before, Mother Nature seemed to really hate us humans this year (what a bitch... really). The year 2005 started solemnly with the Boxing Day earthquake and its devastating tsunamis across the Indian Ocean, the bird flu outbreak in Eastern Asia, the Malaria outbreak in South East Asia, Hurricane Katrina in the USA, the heat wave in Europe, the massive earthquakes in the Indian Himalayas, now floods in Indo-China...

I hope with all these disasters, a silver lining will emerge, all countries will now put aside their differences to work together and help one another, united (sounds corny, I know).

There are more (corny but serious) things I hope 2006 can bring...

I hope hunger and poverty will be a thing of a past.

I hope everyone can have access to clean portable water.

May the sleeping developed countries see and respond to the plight of the third world countries.

I hope there will no longer be supression of people's rights and freedom. Everyone is entitled to do what they want, say what they want, watch or read what they want, report news without fear or biasness, marry whoever they want (same sex or inter-racial) or practise their faith freely without prosecution or discrimination.

I hope a cure for AIDS and other (currently) incurable diseases will be found. Hopefully, no more young child will become an orphan or victim to these diseases.

I hope there will no longer be the need for war. And terrorism is no longer a threat. Everyone can travel and live freely without fear or suspicion.

I hope Tomkat will just break up. And Jennifer Aniston will just agree to polygamy with Bratt Pitt.

I hope...

I hope 2006 will be great.

just great...

Happy 2006 Everyone.

Labels: holidays, new year resolutions, personal

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital, home to the world-renowned Petronas Twin Towers and also to a good friend of mine. And also the setting to the worst holiday I ever had so far.
Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the place that spoilt the holiday for me but it was the company i had throughout the 4 days there.

Trouble started when i heard that both my sisters would not be joining me in the trip (one was working, the other in Bintan). So, it was me and my folks. And my Uncle's family...

I believe I would make a great dad one day but definitely not now. My two youngers cousins.
How loveable those pests were. Did I say pests? Opps... I'll elaborate later.

My nightmare holiday started in the wee hours of Friday. At the traffic congested 2nd Link (we should have a 3rd Link, duncha think?).

3 hours or so later, we reached KL. Lost, hungry and sleepy, we drove on and on around and around the (frustratingly confusing) road system there looking for our hotel. To make matters worst, the traffic congestion was so bad, we were travelling at some parts at almost 100 metres (not kilometres) per hour!

Countless wrong turns later, we reached our destination. A cheap budget hotel.
It was close to the shopping district (it was the only thing on my mind) but seriously in need of a revamp (more like they should demolish it with tonnes of explosives and just build a much needed carpark over the ruins). But who is to complain, it was the only hotel we could find at that time with available rooms (what happened to our reservations you might asked? well, there's an unwritten rule somewhere that allows hotels to forgo your reservations if you are late for 5 hours or so...)

After settling down in our 'square-ish' cell (I mean room), it was time to shop and unwind. But God was cruel when He unleashed heavy downpours one after another, leaving us stranded in our hotel rooms.
So no shopping that day. I was so looking forward to going down to the bazaars of Masjid India (Indian Mosque) or Pertaling Street (KL's Chinatown) and the shopping belt around KLCC (the twin towers shopping centre).

Did I spend the night out at the happening night scene that night?
Let me ask you this - who the hell could I go out with?
So no clubbing that night. I was so looking forward to going to the much-talked-about KL's Zouk.

A surprise awaited me the next morning. We were heading up to Genting Highlands.
My sixth sense was tingling like crazy, with so much rain, I wouldn't be surprise that it would be wet up there too.

I hated to be right.

It was constantly pouring. I froze my butt up there. Fortunately, we had fine deluxe suites (not by choice though, again the only available rooms) in a very posh hotel at the foot of the Genting hill (or izzit mountain?).

Where did the entire population of Malaysia go to on Christmas Day?
The answer apparently was Genting Highlands. It seemed that the whole Malaysia was there, shoulder to shoulder in the indoor theme park (to escape the rain outdoors).
Suffocating in the sea of bodies and lost in the snaking queues, I gave up the idea of playing a single game or ride. I went up Genting Highlands with 100 RM in my wallet, I came down with the 100 RM.

Two days same story. Nothing. Damn I miss those good old days when Genting was less crowded and less well-knowned with less hotel rooms (i.e. to say lesser tourists capacity) and better maintained rides and attractions (Filthy with a capital F).

Not forgeting the 3 nights of interrupted sleep (thanks to Daddy dearest's snoring, how did my mum stand it for the past 30 years?).

So that was my holiday (did i forget to talk about my annoying cousins? Nah.. i'll leave it to another story).

It sucked!!!

Labels: holidays, personal

Labels: holidays, Islam

Labels: holidays, Islam

Of course its not the highlight of the trip. I would be performing the umrah (a 'minor' haj, pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca). I would get to circle the Kaaba (below) seven times (tawaf) and most probably shave my head bald (halq).

Yes, I am nervous.

Am I ready? I have a lot of friends asking me that.

Well, it is a big deal. Visiting the holy city, the cradle of the Islam civilisation. Going back to my roots. To the roots of Islam.

"Are you sure you are ready?"

"I don't think you are ready..."

Well, SHUT it.

I'm not sure. And who are you to doubt me?

I'm leaving it all to God's grace. And maybe, you should too.

So instead of doubting me, congratulate me.

Labels: holidays, Islam

Labels: holidays, YouTube

Labels: holidays, personal

The movie seemingly solidified the stereotypes of the different nationalities. Moroccan officials are corrupt. Americans are jackasses who think that the whole world are against them. Mexicans are treated badly by the Americans, plus they live in smelly dusty slums. And Japanese schoolgirls are horny, very horny.

And Babel has nude scenes. A lot. And some Sharon Stone's Basic Instinct moments too. Well, its surprising cause I rented the DVD from VideoEzy. Yes, VideoEzy. Shouldn't all this be censored? I'm not complaining, I'm just concerned that this kind of DVDs might get into the wrong hands, children's. It has full frontal for God's sake. Well, the only warning was this really small sticker showing Mature 18. Anyway, the movie sucked, a lot of babeling.

Bloggers Note: Happy Easter to all my Christian friends and readers. I got this new episode of South Park for all to enjoy.

If you can't watch the video, click here.

Labels: holidays, loser moments, movie

Labels: family, holidays, Malays, personal

Opps... I meant to put this

Labels: Britney Spears, holidays, Hollywood

Labels: holidays, loser moments, personal

Labels: holidays, personal

Labels: holidays, rubbish

• Get a cap score of at least 4.5 next semester to make up for my average first semester.
• Dance in NUS's 'Dance Blast' (finally, after shelving that idea last semester).
• Do well as a member of TAS (The Architectural Society) and probably organise the next FOC (Freshmen Orientation Camp) as the 'Head'.
• Get a girlfriend (****priority****).
• Get a job during the June holidays.
• Save money $$$$$$$$$$.
• Go to Dubai in June. Maybe Australia too. And Thailand in December.

And like tradition (What tradition? I have been blogging for only a year), here are my hopes for 2007.

I have none.

2007.

Hopeless.

Kidding.

But seriously, the world is coming to an end. Sooner than we expect it to be. And if we don't do something about it, we are all going to die by 2020 maybe. Just look at the weather patterns now. Everything changed. Everything, every disaster, is much more drastic. More unimaginable earthquakes. Hurricanes and tropical storms are stronger and bigger than usual. Unusual rain storms strike everywhere.

The recent regional rain is so bad, there are floods in Singapore (despite the effective drainage system here), Malaysia (said to be its worst national disaster, with hundreds of thousands evacuated) and Indonesia (plus, Aceh was struck with another earthquake)!

The weather patterns are so screwed up globally that it recently snowed in some parts of Australia (when it is supposed to be summer down under). Plus there was also snow in the middle east!!! In Jerusalem!! So weird.

In addition to that, winters in Europe and North America are relatively warmer too. Even New York City was not spared; it had its first snow-less winter in 150 years. And Scandinavian countries have comparatively more snow-less mountain peaks now, thanks to the global warming.

People. Wake up!

We need to do something!!!

Sigh...

I sound a bit insane, I know. I just hope that there will be a 2008 for me to write my resolutions again. Lol.

Labels: holidays, natural disasters, new year resolutions, personal

Labels: holidays

Labels: holidays, Malays

Labels: holidays, Malays, religion

Labels: holidays

Well, the rides were the same. But gone were the queues for the rides (due to the fact that we there on a Tuesday and it wasn't a public holiday in Malaysia, unlike during the Christmas holidays when I went the previous time). And to a certain extent, we need queues in the world.

Well, within 2 hours, we were done with all the rides in the outdoor theme park (seriously all the rides). We were also able to ride some of the rides twice or thrice. I was the most daring amongst the four (surprisingly...) so I had to coax and force the rest to take the huge roller coaster and the space shot with me (though in the end, some, I will not mention names, chickened out). Well, I was game for everything, even to the extent of going on the rides alone even. Somehow, I miss

The guys and I tried all the rides, no matter how lame they were. The 'haunted' pirate ride wasn't even haunted with a single soul lah... We even tried the 'Tea Cup' ride, which turned out to be the worst and dizzying ride of all!! Haha, that was a lot of fun. And the T-Rex on the Dinosaurland ride was like... dying... LOL. I was just trying to squeeze every single cent worth of the RM42 entry fee...

Somehow, up there in Genting, I was constantly hungry, buying snacks at every shop I see. I dunno why, probably because of the higher metabolic rate or wadever in the colder atmosphere up there. I was a pig, an annoying one at that, I will repeat the same thing, "I'm hungry, can we grab a bite?" Well, I promised myself that I was gonna hit the weights in gym, straight away after coming back to Singapore.

The next day arrived, we took a cable car down to the station at the foot of the hill (now that was scary as hell!) We had to trust our lives on a thin wire connected to our gondola by a thin hook-like thingy. But the view was breath-taking.

But we did visit the Petronas Twin Towers and attempted to shop there. The prices were equivalent if not more expensive than in Singapore. The other guys bought jeans and stuff at a discount but the clothes which we on sale were not really much to my liking. We took a lot of pix at the park-cum-water fountain in front of the two towers. I even humiliated myself by asking (in really 'broken' Malay) a Malaysian dude to help us to take a group shoot but ended up being teased for my limited vocab (hardly the proudest moment in my life, I am such a stupid kentang!).

Then we spent the rest of the day shopping at KL's Chinatown, Petaling Street (which was a stone's throw from our hotel, the Ancasa Hotel). It was really crowded with locals and 'ang moh' (Western) tourists alike. All was fine until I almost came to blows with a shopkeeper (a stupid misunderstanding which ended up with him grabbing me by the arm, and swearing). The cheek of that asshole, his filthy hand on my arm. How can you force someone to buy something if you are no longer interested? So much for 'the customers are always right'. That shook me up a little bit and it totally spoilt my mood to shop. Empty handed (except for Weiyong who bought shoes), we went up to our rooms to retire for the night.

The next morning started promising with a great (free) breakfast and then a taxi ride to Bukit Bintang (the city's shopping

We went on Friday for your info. And initially we joked that it was gays' night (of course it wasn't) but when we entered and the ratio of guys to girls were like 4 is to 1, we were scared... haha... But it was really just a normal night. We were disappointed that guys actually outnumbered the girls.

Totally disappointed with the lack of excitement and girls in the club, we left at 1 am (as promised, we gave it an hour between 12 to 1 to see if the party will pick up, which didn't). That was the first time in my life leaving a club that early! Weiyong's picture really sums up our Zouk KL experience. LOL...

We then took our coach back to Singapore. And we had the whole bus to ourselves. Haha, we felt like VIPs. There were 2 drivers and 3 of us, plus another two unidentified passengers (I'm guessing local travellers who paid extra, illegally of course). It was the only sense of luxury I felt in the entire trip. Sad but true...

So boring... Yawn...

Latest Update: A sourvenir from KL, chicken pox. That's why this entry took 5 excruciatingly long days to be completed then published.

Labels: holidays

Labels: holidays

I will ORD (goodbye SAF, hello CV World) on March 16th and I'll start my tertiary studies in August. Furthermore, I will turn 21 on 11 September (so old...so adult...woohoo R(21).) Its a huge step (more like a jump to me...) I am so nervous facing these changes, these challenges ahead... So I have come up with a list of things I will want to do or hope to achieve this 2006.

This will be my New Year's resolutions for year 2006...

• ORD without any glitches i.e. no extras before D-Day, fingers crossed.
• Use lesser vulgarities (should be more civilised now...dammit)
• Decide without regret which course I want to go in Uni (even decide which university to go to - NUS or NTU??).....I'm so fickle-minded (my friends are so not surprised)
• Have a healthy body (I've been going gym like often now) and complexion (thanks to the dermatologist and proper diet), so metrosexual rite? I scare myself....
• have long long hair (flowing~~~....rite....)
• have a job before I start Uni (any lobangs anyone?)
• revise on my 'A' levels subjects again (err.. differentiation, blood circulation, probability, periodic table, transpiration, reactive metals, er... my English?)
• buy a completely new wardrobe (Uni no more unforms leh...)
• contradictory to above, I need to save money for my uni course (only God knows which course)
• have my driving license before I start school (I just applied for my BT today, 30/12/05, still a long way, I know.)
• have a girlfriend (to stop rumours and teasing that I bat for the other side... sheesh..... I know I have been single for a long time.... a LONG time...too long...)
• lose my virginity (haha.. Kidding. Lost that along time ago.... rite......LOL)
• start being nicer to strangers starting with my one-night-stands (OK, this is pushing it too far... LOL), seriously, I should smile more often to other people. Be more pleasant and friendly. Make more friends. Why stop with people...
• I'll be kinder to animals. I am going to start rearing colourful marine fishy with colourful sea coral and colourful wiggly anemone and a small clown fish (named Nemo) and and....err..
• pick up a physical sport like soccer (rite....)
• Ok, maybe watersports. I have always wanted to scuba dive (is it a sport?) or wake boarding.
• stay clear from smoking (I admit, I have tried it once in a while...) and drinking (despite pressures from my friends to drink, I am still sticking to my guns) and sex (rite....OK fine stay away from porn....sigh...)
• and finally I hope I can be closer to God (and start praying again). Amin...

On a more serious note:

I hope 2006 will be a peaceful year (not only in my life but in the world).

Though in 2005, we were not as much affected by war and terrorism (except for the 2nd Bali bombings... damn those lunatics) as we were in 2004 and the years before, Mother Nature seemed to really hate us humans this year (what a bitch... really). The year 2005 started solemnly with the Boxing Day earthquake and its devastating tsunamis across the Indian Ocean, the bird flu outbreak in Eastern Asia, the Malaria outbreak in South East Asia, Hurricane Katrina in the USA, the heat wave in Europe, the massive earthquakes in the Indian Himalayas, now floods in Indo-China...

I hope with all these disasters, a silver lining will emerge, all countries will now put aside their differences to work together and help one another, united (sounds corny, I know).

There are more (corny but serious) things I hope 2006 can bring...

I hope hunger and poverty will be a thing of a past.

I hope everyone can have access to clean portable water.

May the sleeping developed countries see and respond to the plight of the third world countries.

I hope there will no longer be supression of people's rights and freedom. Everyone is entitled to do what they want, say what they want, watch or read what they want, report news without fear or biasness, marry whoever they want (same sex or inter-racial) or practise their faith freely without prosecution or discrimination.

I hope a cure for AIDS and other (currently) incurable diseases will be found. Hopefully, no more young child will become an orphan or victim to these diseases.

I hope there will no longer be the need for war. And terrorism is no longer a threat. Everyone can travel and live freely without fear or suspicion.

I hope Tomkat will just break up. And Jennifer Aniston will just agree to polygamy with Bratt Pitt.

I hope...

I hope 2006 will be great.

just great...

Happy 2006 Everyone.

Labels: holidays, new year resolutions, personal

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital, home to the world-renowned Petronas Twin Towers and also to a good friend of mine. And also the setting to the worst holiday I ever had so far.
Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the place that spoilt the holiday for me but it was the company i had throughout the 4 days there.

Trouble started when i heard that both my sisters would not be joining me in the trip (one was working, the other in Bintan). So, it was me and my folks. And my Uncle's family...

I believe I would make a great dad one day but definitely not now. My two youngers cousins.
How loveable those pests were. Did I say pests? Opps... I'll elaborate later.

My nightmare holiday started in the wee hours of Friday. At the traffic congested 2nd Link (we should have a 3rd Link, duncha think?).

3 hours or so later, we reached KL. Lost, hungry and sleepy, we drove on and on around and around the (frustratingly confusing) road system there looking for our hotel. To make matters worst, the traffic congestion was so bad, we were travelling at some parts at almost 100 metres (not kilometres) per hour!

Countless wrong turns later, we reached our destination. A cheap budget hotel.
It was close to the shopping district (it was the only thing on my mind) but seriously in need of a revamp (more like they should demolish it with tonnes of explosives and just build a much needed carpark over the ruins). But who is to complain, it was the only hotel we could find at that time with available rooms (what happened to our reservations you might asked? well, there's an unwritten rule somewhere that allows hotels to forgo your reservations if you are late for 5 hours or so...)

After settling down in our 'square-ish' cell (I mean room), it was time to shop and unwind. But God was cruel when He unleashed heavy downpours one after another, leaving us stranded in our hotel rooms.
So no shopping that day. I was so looking forward to going down to the bazaars of Masjid India (Indian Mosque) or Pertaling Street (KL's Chinatown) and the shopping belt around KLCC (the twin towers shopping centre).

Did I spend the night out at the happening night scene that night?
Let me ask you this - who the hell could I go out with?
So no clubbing that night. I was so looking forward to going to the much-talked-about KL's Zouk.

A surprise awaited me the next morning. We were heading up to Genting Highlands.
My sixth sense was tingling like crazy, with so much rain, I wouldn't be surprise that it would be wet up there too.

I hated to be right.

It was constantly pouring. I froze my butt up there. Fortunately, we had fine deluxe suites (not by choice though, again the only available rooms) in a very posh hotel at the foot of the Genting hill (or izzit mountain?).

Where did the entire population of Malaysia go to on Christmas Day?
The answer apparently was Genting Highlands. It seemed that the whole Malaysia was there, shoulder to shoulder in the indoor theme park (to escape the rain outdoors).
Suffocating in the sea of bodies and lost in the snaking queues, I gave up the idea of playing a single game or ride. I went up Genting Highlands with 100 RM in my wallet, I came down with the 100 RM.

Two days same story. Nothing. Damn I miss those good old days when Genting was less crowded and less well-knowned with less hotel rooms (i.e. to say lesser tourists capacity) and better maintained rides and attractions (Filthy with a capital F).

Not forgeting the 3 nights of interrupted sleep (thanks to Daddy dearest's snoring, how did my mum stand it for the past 30 years?).

So that was my holiday (did i forget to talk about my annoying cousins? Nah.. i'll leave it to another story).

It sucked!!!

Labels: holidays, personal

1. Pre-ordered Hari Raye...
2. Selamat Hari Raye Everyone!!!
3. Arabian Nights
4. Mother's Day
5. 200th Entry
6. Babeling...
7. Reunion 'Camp'
8. Happy Pig Year
9. So Overated.
10. Call me Haji Shazi.
11. The First for 2007.
12. Goodbye 2006!!! Goodbye 2007?!!
13. Happy Holidays.
14. The Festive Joy Horror
15. Yay yey, Hari Raye!!!
16. Gone to Kuala Lumpur
17. My Boring Holiday
18. Year Of the Bitch!
19. New Year Resolutions
20. My Horrible Holiday