Al Fatihah...

Heartfelt condolences to the family of Faizal, a nieghbour of mine who passed away on Tuesday during his posting in the UK. From what we heard, he was diagnosed with acute leukemia's and succumbed to it after a very short hospitalisation. Arrangement has been made to bring him back to Malaysia. To Umi, Sabrina & Adam, semoga rohnya dicucuri rahmat dan ditempatkan dikalangan orang yang soleh dan beriman.

Grrrrrrrrr....D**n Mat Motor

There I was, minding my own business, on the way to send my mrs. to work, joining the main artery road towards KL when I saw, in my driver's side mirror, a motorcyclist swerving in & out of traffic. Thinking that he was a bit too fast to be swerving in & out, I saw he was struggling to control his motorcycle and then suddenly, BANG....he hit my side mirror, become unbalance on his scooter but manage to regain his balance and without any signs of remorse or even any form of apology...leaving me with this .....

The mirror bit has been ripped clean of the plate, lying somewhere on the KL-Seremban highway, just off Sri Petaling exit. The damage is estimated to be around RM 400 (chop shop) - RM 1000 (new) as they don't just sell the mirrors, but the whole motorised assembly. I was hoping I could source only the mirror by itself, but it would have to be quite an effort. So in the mean time, I could revert back to the boring old side mirrors (lucky I still kept those).

To the Mat Motor (WPW *7*7) who inflicted this damage, I hope what comes around goes around...

ps... I might need help to trace the plate number & slap him some lawsuit for property damages
( or send some muscles to bash the daylight out of him )

Pulau Perhentian Trip

For the last school holidays, Jools & Me have planned a family trip to Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu. This is to cater for the kids, whilst the parents could do things at our leisure. But prior to the trip, I was struck down with the flu, but still went ahead with the plan regardless. March was considered a off peak season where the seas have calmed down a bit from the annual monsoon, but was told that the best time to go there is during April - September.

We left KL on Thursday 18/3/07 at around 7.15am in Jools brother'S Naza Ria. The whole drive towards Kuala Besut took about 6 hours, under the guidance of GPS. This is my first time using a full-blown GPS with autorouting and I'm impressed. Now how do I get it past the mrs. without her knowing? (looks like it's gonna be a trade off between in-car DVD or GPS).

The posse at Kuala Besut Jetty for lunch

The boat ride to Pulau Perhentian took 30 minutes by speed boat, mind you some of us in the party regretted having a heavy lunch. Nevertheless what awaits us at our designated accommodation managed to take away the sea sickness.

The chalet at Fauna Resort

The kids was so excited seeing the fine, white sandy beach that everyone wants to have their change of clothes so that they could hit the beach. The tiredness from the long drive was soon forgotten. The chalet is located at Teluk Dalam and the beach there was shallow.

Making sandcastles

Crystal clear water

Bluish and shallow beach

Inviting for a swim

The first day was spent on the beach in front of the chalet. The second day we have arranged for a snorkeling trip at various spots on the island. We are guided by Lim@Cheng & what an outstanding guide he was. There's not a lot of pictures taken during the trip using our digital camera for the fear of wetting it, but I've bought a disposable underwater camera and now awaiting for the prints. (It'll be in part 2)

Testing out snorkeling gear

The snorkel boat ride

One of the snorkeling location, the boat looks like floating in mid air

We've been taken to a spot where's the depth is about 8-10 meters deep, and you could see the seabed and all its inhabitants clearly. Colourful fishes swam around us, with various shapes and hues. Theres a spot near Perhentian Island Resort, where the clown fish (nemo) could be seen i their anemone. They also took us for turtle watching, where it was really exciting to see the majestic turtles swimming about without any care in the world of people snooping about taking their pictures. We were also taken to Shark's Point, where the black tip sharks swims in between us. The sharks proved to be too fast for us to even snap a picture of them. Part of me felt anxious knowing that there where at least five sharks near us at any one time and they would easily out swim humans and they are strong and sleek creatures. And the snorkelling was fruitful too, apart from seeing the magnificent sea inhabitants that we came for, Jools amhaged to find a watch and snorkeling gear as well. ( He found it, but Lim was the one retrieving it )

I felt that the trip to Perhentian was great. Where could you find the pristine, white, fine sandy beach, untouched corals and sea life, crystal clear water. Wouldn't mind doing it again. There no feeling of being rushed, no land based motorised transport on the islands and you have to bet by the water taxis / boats. Also there's not a lot that you could do at night except enjoying and soaking up the nature.

We left Perhentian on the first boat out Saturday and we headed towards Bachok, where Jaz's aunt lives. The journey took about 3o mins from Kuala Besut. The ladies have set on shopping in KB, so the dads have been left to be in-charge of the brood. The house was set facing the sea and nicely done, ala resort. There a big compound so the kids was let loose there and we managed to walk about on the beach. The host were very warm and hospitable, welcoming us to their home. To Hans & Makcik *, thanks for having us. We headed back to KL at around 3 pm, reaching home at midnite with stops along the way.

Resort style bungalow

Facing the sea

Plenty of shades and coconuts

Wakaf to relax

Look dad! A Starfish!

Aiman & Kazima

Hope that I could make it back to Perhentian again. Now planning to go back for Open Water certificate sometime in June/July. Cant wait to organize it.

A great read

At the recent MPH Warehouse sales, I've managed to get this book which I reckon is a good read :

I'm not good with book reviews but you can find some about if if you google it. For me it represents the hardship of growing during the during the 1930-1940, with a father who would spend every penny earned (either by working or on the dole) drinking it away, and tragedy after tragedy that struck the family. It seems to me that it could be summed up by the Malay proverb, "sudah jatuh ditimpa tangga".

It is recommended for those who like a good story, albeit no gun totting henchmen or cloak and dagger operatives, but excellent to have kept me riveted.

Another pair of Crocs sighted

Bandar Kinrara - Another pair of Crocs have been sighted in the vicinity of the suburbs, this time it was reported to be bigger than the ones sighted. Eyewitness reported that this pair is more muscular looking than the previous sighting, with a more natural tone to it.

This discovery confirms the theory that even adults have been smitten by Crocs and its not only for kids. It is reported that the owner would take the newly found pair for some sun, sand & se* at a paradise island soon. ~ retuers~

Revenge of the Sith(ck)

The flu & coughing took a turn for the worse, I'm up all night last night. Hence a visit to the GP and here I am, resting at home on MC. This tend to happen when we have something nice/grand planned around the corner. Just hope that I could overcome this before the trip on Thursday. Now curled up on bed but still not able to doze off......

p.s. Had a farewell lunch for a colleague yesterday. He's leaving the company for greener pasture in O&G industry in Sarawak. T*o, wishing you all the best in your future undertaking.

p.s.s Was a bit disappointed upon learning that I was not considered for further stages of interview for a position that I applied, anyway it goes to show that I still have a lot to learn in my new job function.

The sandbars are back

What do you get when you have a touch of flu and cough? Sleepless nights....Here I am at 4.30 am, breaking sweat and coughing like nobody's business and I can't sleep...It has been two nights in a row now and even though I feel tired,I still couldn't get a decent 40 winks...

With the recent weather patterns, the mighty Pahang river behind my mrs house has became shallow and sandbars are emerging. Normally, this is the time where we would go down and mandi sungai and play on the sandbar. On a good day, you could almost walk across half of the river, which is almost 200 metres in width. We used to play on the sandbars, some kickabout, kite flying or collecting shellfish (etak), but with the flu & all, I didn't get the chance to do it during the weekend that we were there. Plus, I need to recover fast enough for the upcoming Pulau Perhentian trip, which is going to be this coming Thursday.

So I will try to catch some sleep or I'll be groggy in the morning.....

Najihah & Soffee's Wedding

It was a simple affair. The weather was hot and scorching, with hints of rain coming but never materialized. The akad nikah ceremony was held at the nearby surau, with my father-in-law himself doing the solemnisation. The reception was held afterwards, with traditional Pahang dishes - Daging Opor, Daging Kari, Nasi Minyak etc.

Najihah is the sixth of seven siblings, with only two boys in the family, hence she was the last one that my father-in-law would give away. The groom hails from Selendang, which is about 20 km away from Kuala Rompin.

The bride before the akad nikah ceremony

The groom waits patiently prior to the ceremony

Three sisters - Tik, Lah & Jihah

Akad nikah in session

The band of son-in-laws

To Najihah & Soffee, welcome to the world of matrimony.

Fun At The Pool

This week we went to the pool after a long break....this is to train for the next upcoming snorkeling break that we're planning during the school holidays...I know now that I'm way behind in the fitness category, what used to be a breeze lap now turns into quite an ordeal....also thinking of ordering an Aquapac so that we could use the existing digital camera for some wet shots....hopefully it will arrive in time.

What I did this weekend : -

• Attended 2 birthday parties and 1 aqiqah kenduri ( to the chagrin of my dad :- takkan takde songkok? ) also piling on the food..chocolate fountain, briyani, satay, cakes, nasi dagang, wahh..so much calorie added
• sent the mrs. for a follow up test, & I happened to be taking a call when her turn came for the blood drawing, hence mini me stepped up to the plate and comforted his mum..
  
• Happy Birthday to my lil' sister who turns 18 yesterday....pity we didn't find any iPod shaped cake....
• also got some books to read at the MPH warehouse sale, loads of book at great reduction (loads of people and it was hot under the makeshift tents)
  
• loaned my beginner golf set to my brother who's being 'racuned' to do the 'corporate' thing....at least if he takes it up, we gonna have kakis in the family
  
• finalised the short snorkeling trip with Jools.....looking forward to it
• looking for info on some home fitness equipment, so that the two of us could have some exercise during the weekdays whilst waiting for the normal weekend jog around the taman..hehehe