Mena's Wedding

Mena was my bestest buddy during my time at INTI College but now we are both busy with works and our own life. So last Friday was her BIG day...finally! She has been going steady with Raja since our college days and I must say that Raja helped us a lot with our Multimedia Project...bardly hell...still get B+ only for the subject...so much hard works! That's beside the point, I'm really happy to see Raja & Mena finally becoming husband & wife.

I took leave on Friday and drove down to Ipoh with Simon...how ironic...considering the fact that I didn't really like him, I still go down to Ipoh with him...heck, since Mena only invited both of us from INTI College. Of course she invited others but they can't make it becos the wedding dinner is on Friday...everyone's working...sigh. So kinda give face to Mena, I still go with Simon...

Things got better when driving down to Ipoh, my aircon compressor "kong" and therefore, it is journey with windows rolled down...what's better to have stormy and rainy weather to go along with it? It was raining and we can't wind down the windows and have to bear with the stuffiness for most of the journey.

Finally we arrived at Hotel Casurina and it was a very grand wedding dinner compared to any other Malay's wedding that I have been to. Little that I know that Raja is actually the nephew to Sultan Perak and Sultan Perak was the guest of honour that night. Everything is very formal as the emcee has to speak using "bahasa istana" you know those patik, ampun tuanku, etc. Sultan Perak arrived and everyone has to stand up to show our respect. Then the lovely couple walked into the hall and I must say that Mena looks really stunning!!! I don't remember seeing her being so beautiful, what happened to my eyes all this while? They walked through the yellow carpet to their dining table...royal treatment for both of them as well as they are seated next to the Sultan Perak.


Here comes the newly wedded couple

The dinner starts at around 9pm and we were being entertained with some dances and singing. There was this guy named Sabri something, he was doing some stand up comedian stuff and some singing of oldies in which he changed the lyrics to Bahasa Melayu and it was kinda funny...kinda remind me of Sam Hui :P


Mr.Sabri doing his things


The couple seeking Tuanku's pardon before cutting the cake



Nowadays people are getting more advanced...it is not unusual to received cakes or chocolates as door gifts but the chocolates that I received during Mena's wedding is something I have never seen before so I'm kinda impressed with it...see it for yourself : )


They can print faces on chocolates...amazing...so who wants themselves to be eaten by someone else? Funny

Overall, the dinner was okay and we rushed home at 10.30pm and reached Klang at around 1am, just on time for a nice nap after a long day hehehe.

One is Such a Lonely Number?

As of 11:43pm Wednesday 27th September 2006, I am officially single again. We have broken up due to my selfishness of not being able to accept her for who she is. I tried to accept but in the end I failed so I guess we shouldn't waste each other's time and therefore I ended the relationship. Part of me is feeling relieved and part of me is feeling guilty. I am feeling relieved because I'm able to let go the relationship as I don't want to hurt her more than I already have and I am feeling guilty because I hurt someone that I care for. I know for her, it doesn't matter if I hurt her intentionally or I'm feeling guilty for hurting it just hurts the same for her and for that I'm really sorry. I just feel like I am the bad guy here but I still think that it is the best option available to me as there is a Chinese's saying which goes "Short suffering's better than Long suffering" so I just know it was the right thing to do.

So it has been 3 weeks now, I feel different initially as I always have something to look forward to do during the weekends for the past 2 yrs & 9 months but I think I have more time for myself now. I guess it is time for me to work on my 2006 resolutions since I have been "bringing forward" my resolutions from previous years and I hope that I don't have to bring forward this year resolutions to 2007. I would love to shed some extra weights that I have built since I joined Shell. I would also like to improve myself by taking some courses in management, so far I have been recommended to take MBA or Six Sigma - I'll need to look for more information on those 2 before making any decisions but I know those courses would cost a bomb so I really have to give it a hard thought. Any suggestions?

Well, I am looking ahead for new chapters in my life now and for now I can't tell if "One" is such a lonely number or not so I guess only time will tell. I’ll let love finds its way back to me but for now I just want to enjoy my single life. I am feeling positive about the future that lies ahead of me.

KK Trip - Did I Conquer Mount KK? Finally

I know some of you hv been eagerly awaiting for my final part of the KK trip. I read some of the comments from my unhappy readers as well. This blog is not dead just that I took some time off to settle some personal issue of my own (which I would share in my next update).

Ok, back to my KK trip and yes, I know you still wanting to know if I managed to conquer mount KK, well then read on. From KK, you will need to drive about 1.5 hours to get to Kinabalu Park whereby the mount KK is located. At first, Chee Wee & I wanted to take taxi to get there but then the taxi driver is charging us RM150 for 1 way. OMG! That's RM300 for return trip. So we decided to rent a car & drive there. We have asked around & everyone been telling us that it is quite easy to get there becos there's only 1 way to get there & that's why! So to cut the long story short, we arrived at Kinabalu Park & register ourselves at the counter, pay for insurance RM35 per person, climbing permit RM5 per person and RM70 for a mountain guide.

At 10.50am, we started our journey going up & it is a 6km climb to reach Laban Rata where we would crash for a night before continuing the journey to the peak. We used the Timpohon trail instead of the Mersilau trail. The latter is a longer trail (8km to Laban Rata) compared to the former & knowing that this is my first time, I wouldn't want to test my limit as I think 6km uphill would be tough leave alone 8km. While in KL, I don't even bother to walk/run for 1km & now I need to climb 6km uphill - help me God!



We started well, we reached the 1km checkpoint quite fast and thereafter I started to struggle, I barely walk more than 20 steps before stopping to rest. Chee Wee was still going strong but he waited for me. We kept going & we had a hard stop at 3km checkpoint & started to replenish our energy, I took 1 packet of Power Gel & bread and continued the journey after that. I felt much better after that...I managed to reach 5km checkpoint without too much sweat - I guess the Power Gel is working well for me. We reached Laban Rata at around 3.30pm and it was windy & cold up there. We hung around & took some pics & went for makan. The foods are quite expensive there, nasi goreng cina costs RM12 becos they need to pay some poor Kadazan guys to carry the Gas Cylinder & walk 6km up to Laban Rata. Actually we can pay these people RM6.60 per kg to carry our stuff but we didnt bring much stuff so we just carry our own stuff. 1 Gas Cylinder is about 50kg, I would imagine the restaurant in Laban Rata has to pay RM330 for them to carry the Gas. Well, of cos they could get some discount though but I really respect these Kadazan people who can carry 50kg & yet walk 6km up becos 5kg would be a BIG problem for me oledi :P





After makan, hung around the empty land outside the restaurant, took pics & enjoyed the breeze. It started to get very cold & windy at 6pm and then we finally checked in to our little hut (Waras Hut) which is slightly below the Laban Rata restaurant and it has NO heater!!! F*king BIG mistake by Chee Wee. Never ever book hut/room in Laban rata without heater!!! I was shivering the whole time & hid under the thick blankets & slowly getting tired. I almost felt asleep & then "KNNCCB" betul becos another group of ppl who used the Mersilau trail arrived at our hut & was "cry father, cry mother" (making hell of a noise) there. After that I can't sleep becos there was a fat bastard in my room who snore non-stop the whole night. The best part is that when he woke up, he said, "damn, i can't really sleep yesterday, too cold". WTF!!! Been snoring the whole night & said he can't sleep???


Laban Rata Rest House




I Believe I Can Fly???



Since I cant sleep & it was blardy cold then, I woke Chee Wee up & we both warm ourselves up at the kitchen. We turned on the stove to keep ourselves warm until 1.30am & then we started packing for our uphill climb.

We walked up to the Laban Rata restaurant and reached there at 1.45am & waited until 2.10am to laid our hands on some foods. I can't eat much though, feeling tired, sleepy, weak & moody at that time. All I am thinking was let's do this & get it over. At 2.50am, we started our journey, it's another 2.8km to go. I was thinking I managed 6km so what is 2.8km? There is where I was very wrong, the 2.8km uphill is very steep & there road is very rocky - at times you will need to pull yourself up using the rope provided. I remember most of the parts are about 45 degree steep and few parts are 60 degree steep. I was sneezing, feeling dizzy & sleepy while walking up because it was very cold & I didn't get enuf sleep. After 1km, I felt like giving up, I was telling myself that I should be at home lying on the couch watching my fav movies rather than be here to pay & suffer!!! Then Chee Wee conned me, he told me 500m ahead, the road will be less steep & really easy to walk...I trusted him but deep down I know he is trying to motivate me as I look up I don't think there will be any part of the journey whereby it is not steep. But then for every 5-8 steps I took, I'll have to stop & rest as the air is quite thin & I'm really tired. Long story short, after 2 hrs of cursing & walking, we finally reached the peak. Little wonder why they call the peak of Mount KK the "Low's Peak".

There is nothing at Low's Peak except for a mahjong table size platform with 2 signboards that say it is Low's Peak. Everyone is busy getting on that tiny platform to take pics. There was a big group of Korean there & they are busy posing, changing formation, changing camera, etc. to take pics there while many of us are waiting for them in the cold. It was 2 degree celsius then & with the strong wind blowing, it was really really cold. After waiting for about 15 mins, we finally got the chance to stand on the platform & take pics. At that moment, I just remembered everyone in South East Asia is below my feet...hmm what a great feeling but it is being spoilt by the cold weather & my tireness.


I Got It Made!

Soon after that we rushed down becos it is really cold up there. On the way down, I took the time to enjoy the view there as it was really beautiful & since I wont be going there again (remember the suffering???), I might as well enjoy the breathtaking views there :P







After 2hrs, we reached Laban Rata & rested 1 hour there before continuing our journey downhill this time. We took almost 4 hrs to get back down to Kinabalu Park. I have mentally prepare myself for uphill climb but I totally ignore about downhill. In fact I found downhill is more challenging than uphill as I can't feel my legs half way coming down. Going downhill is more dangerous as it is easily for you to slip/twist your ankles as the rocky road was quite slippery & uneven. Overall, it was a good experience & I managed to prove to myself that I'm quite fit considering the fact that I didn't train up for the climb yet I managed to conquer Mount KK - yeah, that's my bragging right at least until you managed to conquer it then we will talk :P

Proof of My Bragging Right :P