Hugging a Gaharu Tree in Gopeng

On the way from Kampar to Batu Gajah, we were attracted to the "Great Wall of Gopeng" in our GPS. Whether it's the entrepreneur's marketing strategy or his unintentional entry in the GPS, we were indeed amazed to find something totally unexpected inside the Great Wall of Gopeng- A huge plantation with hundreds and hundreds of Gaharu trees - Gaharu Tea Valley.

While waiting for the trees to mature in the next 10-20 years, the entrepreneur has this idea of allowing visitors to see and hug a 20-year old Gaharu tree at RM10 per person. Hugging a Gaharu promises well being of one's life. Somehow, this turns out to be a good business strategy !

Cendol, Perak

We intentionally looked out for cendol wherever we went. Of all, we found the cendol at the Restoren Ansari Famous Cendol at Jalan Chung Thye Phin in Taiping (Coordinates: N 04d51'10.9", E100d44'19.5") to be the best among all we had tasted.

Next in our list is the Li Cendol which is set up in a mobile pick-up truck in Bukit Mertajam. The Malay lady store keeper who could speak Chinese was just too happy to be our photographer after knowing we came all the way from Sabah.

James Cendol in Setiawan which we very much wanted to try was unfortunately not opened due to the long CNY break.

Though in a much more pleasant setting, the cendol we tried in Teluk Intan in The Store Supermarket somehow could not match the "standard" of those roadside cendol outlets we tasted!

We also tried the cendol at "BM Best Cendol" in Bukit Mertajam along Jalan Danby. Unfortunately, no photo was taken. The cendol was nothing fantastic. We did not have good experience at this place due to confusion over the price as printed on their bill board as against the verbal price quoted after eating.

Lumut

Lumut turned out to be more than Lumut Naval Base that this place has been known to me. Visiting Lumut during non-peaked season enabled us to have the whole hotel literally to ourselves.

We were the only customer to enjoy the steam boat in the hotel restaurant. The good thing was that as senior citizens, I needed to pay only half price at RM14.00.

Breakfast by the poolside.

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KK which has abundant Bakau mangroves within its 20 Km radius should learn from Lumut to put in place infrastructure to promote this for eco-tourism and education purpose.

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Raja Permaisuri Bainun Bridge - an interesting structure to behold.

Australian Tennis Open 2012

Against all odds and contrary to the choices of my family members, my predictions of men's singles semi and final and women's singles final were all correct.

Rafael Nadal preferred over Roger Federer.
Novak Djokovic preferred over Andy Murray.
Novak Djokovic preferred over Rafael Nadal.

Victoria Azarenka preferred over Maria Sharapova.

Can't imagine the amount I would have won if given a chance to bet ! :)

New Discovery - Food Outlets

Using the space below a flyover for food court is indeed cool and a good idea to optimize land utilization. This one is found just in front of Armada Hotel in PJ.

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Before moving on to Perak, trying out the dry Bak Kut Teh at Yap Chuan Restaurant in Puchong was worth the detour. This dry Bak Kut Teh apparently is the invention of a 14-year boy of this restaurant.

http://blog.axian788.com/?p=334

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From Puchong to Lumut, we passed through this famous rice producing place called Sekinchan. I always thought that Sekinchan is a Malay word. To my surprise which I only discovered a few minutes ago, this is in fact 3 Chinese characters meaning "suitable for planting" or 適耕種.

Bird nests harvesting is also a big business here.

Will 2012 be Better ?

2011 ends with the demise of two known figures: Kim Jong Il of North Korea and Vaclav Havel of Czech Republic with vast contrasting characters.

Havel was remembered with these compliments:

"Mr. Havel was a model of a man longs to live in truth and in harmony with his inner conscience, and who is not afraid to suffer for that".

"It is time to remember Havel and some of his moral appeals which are absent from today's politics - it's all about business and money....................."

So very true, nowadays finding a politician who joins politics NOT for business opportunity and money is a rarity and practically non-existent.

Nathan the Aqua Boy

Nathan's New Skill

Is it genetic ?

In Nathan, I can’t help but see striking similarities to his uncles, Sam and Paul. The way he smiles, tilts his head, or places his hands - it all feels so familiar, as if I’ve seen it before years ago. It’s truly amazing how certain traits, gestures, and even expressions can quietly pass from one generation to the next!

Uncle Sam.

Uncle Paul.

Little nephew Nathan.

The "pai-kia" pose - Guess who?

Left: His mom.

Our Birdie Visitor

A unexpected visitor dropped by one Sunday morning on 26 May to utilize our bathroom window ledge for a new home. This is probably due to the quietness and serenity of this large house.

 

It started off with one egg at day 1

2 eggs at Day 7If Nathan is big enough, he would say, " I want to see, I want to see......."

All Because of Nathan

The 2011 CNY family reunion was possible: Thanks to little Nathan.

From Singapore
From Newcastle
From Sabah Malaysia
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louloulou

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At Cicerello's Fremantle

At Indiana, Cottesloe
At Old Swan Brewery

At Xintaindi Restaurant, Northbridge

At Jus Burgers, Subiaco
At Mash Brewery, Henley Brook
At Ciao Italia
Ramen, Dosukoi Japanese Noodle & Booble Tea, Fremantle Market
Little Creatures Brewery, Fremantle
At Sandalford Wines

At Oatover Winery
At Northbridge Chinese Restaurant
By our own home-grown chef
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Waiting for fireworks display, Australia Day 26 Jan
Hay Street, Perth City

King's Park
Fremantle
Sandalford Winery