Dreamy Taiping, Sinful Penang

Today is my last day here in Penang. I will be going back to Sabah tomorrow. And i will have only 2 days rest before flying to Beijing. I told myself over and over before, that i am not cut for travelling and travelling is definitely not my passion. And yet, every time i swear not to travel again, i pack my bag and fly the next day. The truth is, i just want to get away sometimes. I'm not running. I just needed a break.

So, back to my visit to Taiping. Taiping was just as how i remembered it used to be. Old, quiet and small. And i meant that as a compliment. If i was given a choice to pick a place of where i would want to spend my old age, Taiping would be my only pick.

Why did people stop constructing building like this?

Road to the zoo.

Never once i took a bus or taxi while roaming around Taiping.

My sister and i, walk the entire time!

I mean, how are you suppose to enjoy your vacation if you don't slow down, right?

Taiping lake.

After 3 days in Taiping, i went back to Penang by bus. To reach Penang from Taiping i have to take bus at least 3 times and 1 ferry ride. Penang in my point of view, has changed so much. The last time i was here was 7 years ago. And my oh my, Penang wait for no one.

Though, one thing remain unchanged in Penang and that is it's room for gluttony. I saw a few tourists walking around the hawker center with food leaflet in their hand trying to find which is which. Words of advice, leave the paper and indulge in the moment.

Calories, what?

My last days in Penang i stayed in this new hotel and paid for the room

with sea view. So much with the sea view, huh?

But never mind the sea view. Cause the Queensbay mall is just 2 minutes away!

My new leather satchel. Kaufmann, of course. Greed has won over me.

This is a necessity. It's not greed at all. Remember i told you that my feet got blisters almost everywhere due to heavy walking in Taiping? Now that journey is over i need to reward myself with some Hush Puppies.

Anyway, i think that conclude my Taiping-Penang journey. I need to go to bed early tonight cause i have an early flight tomorrow. Cheap air tickets always associated with odd times for flying. So you get what you paid.

Can't wait to get home. Will be reunited with the new family members. Kimi's kittens. I will post pictures of them soon. So stay tuned.

Waiting and waiting

It's only been half a week my time in Taiping and yet, i can't wait to go back to work. In the last few days i felt like i have walked more than 100 miles. There's blister at every corner of my feets. And i need to buy me a pair of new sneakers. Now waiting for the next bus to Penang. When i thought i'm all beat up, still my feet takes another step forward. But i think it's good for me because when my body drained out of energy, my mind will shut down as well.

Another half an hour more waiting.

The tempest

I almost pulled Liz Gilbert's stunt last night.

Will talked about it after my mind and my heart agreed to call it a truce.

I got a move

.. like Jagger

Help! I'm infected by this song.

My feet can't stop moving.

It's already in the bones.

News Flash!

I become a grandma today.

My cat Kimi just give birth to 4 beautiful kittens.

No photos taken of the event. Not because slimy new born kittens are gross but rather i'm so superstitious. I used to hear people saying that you're not suppose to take photos of the new born kitten or they will not survive the 1st week. And i did not just heard that from one person but almost everyone around me know that. So why gamble?

I'm so happy for Kimi. Now, she's lying in her bed licking her babies like she already have been doing this many times before. Her husband Forest standing far away from her, guarding the door and looking confused.

O, this is truly indeed a happy day.

Oops..

I did it again.

It's just one of those stupid-ness which i just cannot help but commit again and again.

Remember last April where my supposedly trip to Philippines then to Osaka cancelled due to volcano scare? Well i refuse to accept defeat easily. Just because i failed before, doesn't mean that i can't, right?

So, just now i bought another air tickets directly to Osaka for April next year. Go visit AirAsia website, they are currently having promotion for next year flights to Japan.

Am i not afraid that i'm gonna cancel on this one too? No, i'm not. Because this time it will be different. I will be going alone and i don't plan to tell anyone about this trip. Yeah, i don't wanna jinx it again. Well, except for my mother. She's allow to join me if she wants to. Our last trip to Japan together was during fall 2009, and i can tell that she's would definitely want to go back there someday.

It's settled then. Next year on my birthday i will woke up being 31 in Osaka. I have a good feeling about this. Birthday won't feel like a judgement day in Osaka. Maybe i should reward myself a trip at every birthday. After all i've done a good job on living my life in all those years, right? At least i didn't commit any crime.

Anyway, as i was saying, it's just one of those things, you know. I just need to see the sakura bloom once before i can draw my last breath. Yeah, one of those things.

ABBA's week

I realized that i'm in a terrible mood in this few days. I'm so stressed not by works but rather by tonnes of family problems. I swear that at some points i ALMOST wishes that i was never born into my family. But then, i wouldn't want that too.

So in order to balance my mixed feelings, i chose to make this week is all about ABBA music. Who doesn't love ABBA right? I chose ABBA particularly because it reminded me of my father. My father and i, we have the same taste in music. My brothers and sister doesn't get this kind of music. When ever my father bought a new CD or Karaoke CD, he will eagerly showed me his purchase and i will usually be the one who will listen or sang through all the song list. I never heard my father karaoke-ing even once, so i figured he bought all those Karaoke CDs for me.

Besides ABBA, my father and i also share same passion for music by Michael Jackson, LOBO and Elvis Presley. He even told me that he was inspired to named me after one of Elvis Presley song. That's right, my first name is the title of Elvis Presley's song.

Anyway, this week is all about ABBA. So i chose this song to be my ringtone.

Usually every time i heard my phone rang i felt like smashing the phone to the wall. At least now when the song Chiquitita playing, i would know that everything is going to be alright.

So when i want to get back on track, i just listen to I Have A Dream, and just like that it will nourish back your weary soul and heal your wounded spirit.

Those 2 are my power song. And i do believe that a song can bring walls down.

to the Milky Way and back

Yahoo featured photos of Milky Way by photographer Eric Hines.

And here is my favorite.

Seems like looking at the end of THE journey.

Lauren Kate's Passion

I finally get a hold of my own copy of Lauren Kate's Passion yesterday after 2 months of waiting. First, i placed an order of the book at Amazon but after 2 months of waiting the book never arrived. So i give up, lodge a complaint to Amazon and thankfully they refund my money back. And by early August the book already started hitting our local bookstore. So i quickly place my online order and i get my copy the very next day.

And on top of it, i get a signed copy! A signed copy of Lauren Kate's book! I'm so thrilled and happy. I couldn't stop telling everyone around me that i get a signed copy of the book.

I was actually looking for the a hardcover copy instead of paperback. But then, that doesn't matter cause i get the signed copy one. Did i already told you that it was a sign copy? Haha. Can't stop myself from parading this book.

See, i told you.

La la la la...

Happy day ahead.

Taiping and i

I'm planning my trip to Taiping. At the end of the month, while others celebrating Hari Raya and Independance Day, i will be travelling around Taiping with my sister.

At first i thought of spending only 1 day in Taiping and the rest of the holiday in Penang. But then i thought to myself, i practically lived 2 years in Penang, nothing i want to see that i haven't seen. My logic talks to me that i should spend more time in Taiping since i have travel great distance and apparently fly through the South East China Sea just because i wanted to see Taiping once more. In the end, Taiping won over Penang. I have a lot of great memories in Penang, but i feel that great memories are to be reminisce and not to be re-lived. So, i'm spending only a quarter of my time in Penang.

One thing that makes Taiping a bit more interesting than the other old towns in Malaysia, is because of it's "First 40s". Means, Taiping has the first school, first museum, first prison, first railway, and many more. And i intent to visit at least 50% of that First 40s. So, i can imagine there's gonna be a lot of walking on this trip. I have no trouble of walking long distance. And also my definitions of travelling would include a lot of walking. But i'm worried about my sister. I know for sure that i had to face a lot of sulking in this trip.

I discovered Taiping by accident. I was studying in Perak that time, and it was 1 month before exam week. I was under a lot of stress and i don't handle stress that good. If you'd see me at that time, you would thought that i am an institutional mental patient on the lose. I'm a mess. I would woke up in the middle of the night, went to sit in the park alone at 2 am, jogging at 4 am and finally continue my sleep at 5.30am. And day time was no better. I hated being in my dorm, i would rather spend 10 hours sitting in the library rather than relaxing in my room. My room mate, one of the most beautiful girl in the campus, was no fun to be with. She is what i called "Grade A" kind of girl. She's pretty, smart, nice, and down to earth. And you think that is one jackpot combination? NOOOO! You're dead wrong. Remember Barney Stintson's crazy scale? Well that applied to her. For one thing, she is a control freak. Her version of normal is, 6.30am wake up and take a bath, 7.00am breakfast, 7.30am off to campus, 8.00am - 5.00pm study, 5.30pm go back to dorm, 6.00pm take a bath, 6.30pm getting ready, 7.00pm dinner, 8.00pm - 10.00pm study, lastly, sleep. And did i mentioned that she's a church goer? We are room mate for 3 years, and during that time never once i missed church. And all that thanks to her. I can take the hell damnation but not her Sunday morning lecture. Sound scary, right? That's why i called my dorm room an army camp. But i never hated her, she is still special to me, in fact i consider her one of my best friend.

Anyway, i have strayed away from the main topic here. Let's continue. So that day when i had enough, i told myself that i should get out from that room. So i went to the nearest bus terminal, i thought of strolling around town, but when i saw the ticket booth lining there i decided to change my original destination. I had one glimpsed of each destination and finally i chose Taiping. Bought the ticket and board the bus. There was no worry because that time my mind was not there to do the worrying. Once on the bus, i actually bumped into one of my classmate who are apparently going back to his home town. There's no doubt it was surprise on his face. After a few minutes of awkward silence he finally ask the question.

"What the hell are you doing in Taiping?"

I told him that i was just looking to blow out some steam.

"Alone?"

"Yup, it was last minute"

"Where's your bag?"

"Don't have"

"How long are you gonna be there?"

"Few days, maybe"

"How are you going to change? Where are you gonna stay?"

"I will look for hotel and buy new clothes once i get there"

"Oh, okay then. Enjoy yourself. Don't forget to check out the lake"

"Thanks, i will"

Once we reached Taiping, my friend and i say goodbye to each other. He got to catch another bus and i start my hotel hunting. Once i secured one, i went out to buy toothbrush, pair of undergarments, and a t'shirt. So that night i spent the night alone, in a hotel room and away from all the things that i'm hiding from. Next morning i woke up early took my breakfast and then head for the lake. As i stroll along the lake, peace come to me in no time. That time, i realized that trouble is just distraction, anger just a feeling and stress is just what i created on my own.

After few hours at the lake, i went back to the hotel, checked out, and boarded on the next bus to campus. I was ready to go back because i've found out where i went wrong. I was too focus on hating the world that i forgot to stop and smell the roses.

So, that's why Taiping will always have a special place in my heart. I was lost once, but i found myself back in Taiping.

Happy Fasting

to all my Muslim friends.

One thing i love about fasting month is the food bazaar. I practically drool all the way when strolling in the bazaar. Even the smoke smell delicious in the bazaar. And no sour face to be found in the bazaar, even though they haven't eat a single grain of rice and drank a single drop of water since dawn. The bazaar only short of one thing, and that is parking. No parking! I literally have to walk miles to reach the bazaar. Okay, i exaggerated that a bit. Well, maybe a lot. Anyway, i hates walking more than a hundred feet away. But still, that doesn't stop me from coming.

Anyone hitting the bazaar with me this evening?