Christmas at Genting

So how did you guys celebrated Christmas this year?

Hmmm since we are not Christians, we did not go to the church, but had lots of fun too. Me, Jan, Jacky, May, Jason and Elly decided we should do something different this year. Well not to say we have never been to Genting or anything, but I guess what mattered most was the company we had.

Things started quite slowly as Jason had to commute from Seremban back to his house at Kota Perdana. So we waited until slightly past 8pm, off we went. We were supposed to meet each other at the toll just before we drive up. Little did I know about the severity of traffic jams along MRR2 during that hours, and because of that, my friends had to wait for like half an hour or so at the toll. *Sigh*

We stopped at Gohtong Jaya for a quick meal. Food and price was ok. The road leading to Genting was long winding but thank God, it was surprisingly smooth all the way. Guess it was because of the current global market crisis, most of the people preferred to have a moderate celebration. Or was it because of the recent Bukit Antarabangsa mishap that saw hundreds of people left homeless claimed 6 lives. I dunno.

We had a tough time looking for parking as most of the parking bays were FULL. Nevertheless, we found ample parking lots at level B7A, First World Hotel. Pheewwwww. Made our way to the Genting International Showroom as the Xmas Countdown Party was organised there. Reached there at approximately 11:30pm, just in time for the countdown I guess. Got our drinks, etc and also a nice table. Lotsa people seen enjoying themselves, probably already on the 'high' side. There were also sexy santa rinas dancing on the stage during the last minutes approaching Xmas Day.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

That was how we celebrated Christmas this year. Made our way back to KL after the casino and Burger King. Reached home at 4am. ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Gathering Pace

Eventhough me and Jan are lawfully married now that we have gone through our ROM on 080808, we are still not regarded as an item under the Chinese tradition. Nevertheless, we will be going through our traditional chinese wedding ceremony in Melaka come this 6th Dec 2008. Jan's family will be throwing a dinner in KL on the 29th Nov 2008 and while the Melaka dinner will be on the 6th Dec 2008. Come to think of it, the dates are just around the corner!

For the last couple of months, we have been busy running around, getting stuffs done and everything. Most of it, we have been visiting our bridal shop almost every weekend. Surprisingly, we had some pleasant experience going through the photoshoots and shared some light moments with the photographers, make up artistes and everyone there, after learning that most of our friends went through rather nasty times with their photographers and sales agents.

Anyway I managed to take below 'sneak preview' pic while viewing our wedding photos the other day. Quality is poor as I snapped it directly from the 4R sample photo.

And below will be our wedding car couple bear decor we bought from Lovely Lace. Spent some time in Midvalley before finally settling for this. Jan also suggested we get the couple ring pillow which was quite pricey, but what the heck, it's a once in a lifetime thingy. :D

Raya Holidays - Ipoh Trip

Guessed most of you must have had long holidays during the recent Raya break. Me and Jan went back to her hometown in Ipoh for a good few days.

It was in conjunction with the 9th Emperor (九皇爷) celebration. It was an annual event widely celebrated in Ipoh. There was this huge famous temple organising lots of activities during the nine days of celebration. I had the opportunity to meet YB M.Kulasegaran, Member of Parliament for DAP Ipoh Barat. My FIL, DAP Ipoh City Councilor, was invited to join the DAP leaders for a visit to this temple. And so he brought all of us together.

We were treated like VIPs and was shown around the crowded temple and was introduced to lots of people there. Just before we left, we were treated with vegetarian dinner at the temple, with lots of dishes. It was a nice experience.

A trip to Ipoh wouldn't be complete without treating ourselves to one of the famous dim sum restaurants. It was especially crowded during public holidays. The same goes for ipoh nga choi gai. All the famous places were crazily crowded. I was lucky as my MIL cooks really good nga choi gai si hor fun. Yummy!!!

Pics pics pics...

The garden at the back of Kek Lok Tong cave temple, one of the many cave temples in Ipoh, but perhaps the most spectacular of them all

Entrance to Sam Poh Tong cave temple

YB M.Kulasegaran and FIL trying their hands in baking Guai Bao (tortoise bun)

Jan and her sisters love the custard

I specially love Ipoh nga choi...

Snoopy, one of the dalmatians at Jan's place

Taipei Trip

I was in Taipei for work few weeks back. Didn't have the time to blog about it until today.

Taipei is one of my favorite cities in the world. You could easily get super duper yummy food with just a short taxi ride away. If you are more adventuruous, you could always hop on to Taipei's MRT, a common mode of public transport in Metropolitan Taipei, really convenient!

My DHL colleagues in Taipei was a wonderful bunch. They even brought me on a motorbike ride in the city of Taipei! Really treated me well. I did not have to worry for my lunch as they brought me out for lunch everyday.

One of the many meals worth mentioning was the beef noodle. The soup was really special, and if you want to add more soup to your noodle, you have to pay like RM10+ for it. They told me their soup was kept and cooked in a big pot for years.

Below are some of the pics taken there. Didn't go to many places as I was all by myself in Taipei. Managed to visit the various crowded night markets there.

The Mercedes Benz Limousine that picked me up at the airport

Some of the older buildings in Taipei

Sheraton Taipei Hotel I stayed in

The young and trendy at Xi Men Ding

People mountain people sea at Shihlin Night Market

Entrance to Hwahsi Night Market

O-ah mee suah at Shihlin Night Market

Slurrrppppsssss...beef noodle in Taipei

Anwar Menang Besar

I believe this is music to the ears for the majority of us. The landslide victory for DSAI in the Permatang Pauh by-election would ensure the Sept 16 masterplan is still well underway.

The Permatang Pauh residents have sent a strong message to the government that there has been no change since the March 08 general election and that they voted for a better Malaysia, for themselves and for their children.

What may come is left to be seen, but personally I believe, majority of us Malaysians would want to see a change for our country, a change for the better.

Are you ready for the change?

Our R.O.M. 080808

Friday 080808 marked another historical milestone for us. On the day the Beijing Olympics 2008 officially began, me and Jan tied the knot in a Mass Marriage Registration Ceremony at Thean Hou Temple. Together with the other 227 couples (there were 228 couples in the morning session), we said "I DO..." and exchanged wedding rings in the Thean Hou Temple's hall, traditionally decorated for the 080808 Mass Wedding event.

Event started with the arrival of Brides and Grooms at 7:30am. When all has arrived and taken their seats, the Marriage Registration Department Officer gave a welcome speech and it was soon followed by a Photography Session where all the 228 couples took a group photo together right in front of the temple.

Everyone was then led into the hall again for the next event, Benediction by the Monk. The monk gave a superb speech shortly after and even cracked some jokes, much to the amusement of all on the floor. After quite a lengthy yet interesting speech, came the Solemnization Ceremony where couples sworn on the oath, exchanged vows and wedding rings and the grooms then kissed their brides.

The final event of the day was the Marriage Certificate signing ceremony where couples were called onto the stage to pen down a lifetime contract, witnessed by the Marriage Registration Officer together with the couples' witnesses.

My cousin brother Kay Han and my sister Cindy took the trouble and joined us as our witnesses on our historical day. Jan's parents and sisters from Ipoh were there with us too. Many thanks to all of them who made our R.O.M. much more meaningful and colorful. To our close friends and relatives who called and texted us on our ROM, thanks a bunch.

Some of the pics taken during our R.O.M 080808 yesterday.

不到长城非好汉

The title says it all, "Not a great man if you don't visit The Great Wall"

That was why, we took all the trouble and opportunity to step onto the once-considered, 7 wonders of the world, or is it still one of them, not sure though. It was drizzling and it somehow proved a challenging task for us.

We also visited the Forbidden City (crazily huge), Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square!

We also visited The Place, a place where you find lots of youngsters hanging out at night. They have a super gigantic screen right on top of your head with plenty of audio visuals to entertain visitors.

A picture speaks a thousand words. Enjoy some of the pics taken during my visit to some of the interesting places around Beijing.