Let Us Help Protect Our Turtles

Turtle watching is an experience not to be missed. It's not the same as watching documentaries. Being up close and personal with a turtle (or a few) is a life-changing experience.


This is the first time we were in Cherating at the right season. You could be picked up at your hotel, for RM50 each, or you could find your own way to Pantai Teluk Mak Nik (D'Monica Bay) at Kemaman, Terengganu and pay only RM30 per person. We opted for the latter, since Teluk Pantai Mak Nik is only a fifteen-minute-drive from our hotel in Cherating.


For the fee, you get to watch the turtles laid their eggs (I was lucky as there were four turtles that came to nest on the beach that night) and helped to release the hatchlings into the sea. 

A turtle heading back to the sea after it has laid its eggs

78 eggs from turtle with tag no. 8991

I could hear the explosion of breath and quick inhalation as the turtle laboured and expelled its eggs. After the turtle has covered its eggs, the ranger removed them and took them to a sanctuary where they will hatch in 40 - 45 days' time. Once hatched, they would be released back to the sea. The turtles we were asked to help release that night was only a few hours old.

My hatchling

Hubby's hatchling

Some were going in the wrong direction....one even crawled towards me.

The odds are stacked against their survival. Out of one thousand hatchlings, only one or two survive to reach adulthood, at 25 years. They get caught in fishermen's nets, under a boat propeller, or preyed upon by fish, crabs, birds and humans  We can't control the other factors, but we can say NO to turtle eggs and soup. There are many other eggs and meat, why consume turtles and their eggs??!!


They eat mainly sea grass, seaweeds and jellyfish. When humans throw plastic bags which are washed into the sea, the turtles mistook them for jellyfish, ate them and died. So, please do not throw any plastic bags at the beach or riverbanks as they will be carried into the sea. Let us help protect our gentle, defenceless turtles.


Other topics on Cherating:
1) Mangrove river tour
2) Payung Cafe
3) Suria Cherating, The Good and The Bad

Cameron Highlands Apples

You would be forgiven if you thought "Oh no, she got conned again with another dodgy apple from Cameron Highlands" (see Conned: Hybrid Guava Apple It Is Not). Forgiven, but wrong.  

My first thought when I walked into a farm and saw these plants was "What are these? Eggplants??" I wasn't alone in thinking that. A woman very authoritatively told her husband and kids that those were definitely eggplants. However, I wasn't as hundred percent sure as she was. And hubby was certain those were not eggplants. So I went and asked one of the farmhands. He said those were apples. Apples?? Yes, Cameron Highlands' very own apples. Are they sour or sweet? Sweet. They taste like honeydew. Ohhh.....

The farmhand said all the riped ones had been plucked. Being someone who loved to try new things, I didn't want to go home without getting some. After badgering him, he said if I saw any that was yellow with red stripes, I could pluck those. But I'd have to keep them in room temperature for about two days for them to completely ripen, otherwise they won't taste good.

Ready to be plucked, and should ripen in two days

We only managed to find six apples that could be plucked. I guess there must have been a lot of tourists that visited during the May 1st holiday, as this is not the peak season. 

Today, three of the apples ripened and they exuded a rich honeydew smell. After chilling them in the fridge for a few hours, we sank our teeth into them. And......they were wonderful. Very juicy, juicier than regular honeydew, and sweet, those apples taste exactly like honeydew. The skin was a little funny, though. Felt like plastic. I couldn't peel them with a peeler, but after I had cut them, I could peel it off by pulling at the edge and dragging it off in one neat tug. Another hybrid??!! But the farmhand did NOT say it's a hybrid apple-honeydew......

The apples were very juicy and sweet

Pantai Morib

Last Sunday hubby and I decided to take a 90 minutes' drive to Pantai Morib. There are two routes to Pantai Morib, although there may be others that I'm not aware of. One is via Klang while the other is via Banting. We took the latter as Klang is a more-travelled route for us, and would not have offered as much 'adventure'.

A seaside town in the Kuala Langat district, Pantai Morib's shoreline spans about 3km

Seagulls and their eggs nest....

In the early afternoon, at low tide, the water edge of the sea is about 500 or 600 meters away from the shore. Many visitors walked out to the water edge. Some came back with live snails and baby crabs in their palms while others collected seashells.

A visitor paying homage to Hitler? No, hail Hitler it is not. It's just hubby flying a kite. The kite is right behind and above his head!! LOL.


You see, Pantai Morib is windy enough to fly kites and many kite vendors sat under the casuarina trees selling kites. Hubby got one for RM3. He managed not to get it entangled in the tall trees, unlike some, and brought the kite home proudly as a souvenir. He plans to fly it from our balcony one day! *gasp*

The water ripples reflected under the setting sun as the tide returned to shore, at around 5:45pm.

People were seen rushing back to shore, while some were still caught in what had become the middle of the sea. 


We left at about 6:30pm, and had a lovely dinner at Banting.

Bukit Merah A Must For Animal Lovers

Over the weekend we took a 3 days/2 nights trip to Bukit Merah Laketown Resort, an eco-tourism destination that fronts a 7000 acres of fresh water lake and houses the only conservational Orang Utan Island in Peninsula Malaysia. It also has an Eco Park with a platform enclosure where you can walk around and interact with the animals there.

Our room @ Laketown Hotel

Waterfront Chalet

Traffic was light on the highway, and we arrived at three-ish on Saturday. We had set out late, and compounded to that we had to make several stops along the way, caused by an iced coffee taken at an earlier rest stop not agreeing with my tummy.


After we checked-in, we had a late lunch at Cafe Le Lac. Hubby ordered a beef sandwich while I had Mee Goreng. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the food is rather good, especially since our complimentary breakfast for the next two mornings would be at the cafe. And the chef didn't fail to deliver for the next two days. You see, it has been my experience that aside from KL, Penang and JB, chefs at resorts or hotels in other parts of Malaysia do not possess too much culinary skills.  

(I forgot to take photos of the buffet breakfast)

That said, despite the culinary skills of the chef, a couple of guests chose to eat nothing but nasi lemak for each and every meal. They must have bought the resort's promotional package.


At the Orang Utan Island, we discovered hubby's long-lost cousins, Uncle Mike, Adam, Sonia and a baby in the Infant Care Unit. Do you see the family resemblance?  :D

Uncle Mike (Adam and Sonia were up in the trees)

Baby orang utan in a diaper and hugging a bolster in the Infant Care Unit

The Eco Park is probably one of the most enjoyable part of our visit. While exploring the reptile park, I bumped into an iguana on the loose. Needless to say, I was both horrified and delighted at the sight of such a beautifully ugly creature, which took into its head to advance on me even as I backed away.... 

I also learnt something else.....parrots are intelligent, great in sports like football, basketball, bowling and cycling while otters make excellent trash collectors. Below are a couple of my favourite parrot tricks.

You might want to check out the links below:
For a fictitious promotional package  >>> Tongue-in-cheek promotion
For room rates and other info >>> http://www.bukitmerahresort.com.my/

Who Goes To Genting?

What do you do to amuse yourself in the car on an outstation trip, especially if you're not the driver?  Some women I know are very helpful, volunteering their services as co-drivers, telling their husbands to brake, slow down, or go faster before the light changes to red. Some act as eyes for their blind husband, telling them there's a car on the left, stay on the centre of the lane, and so on.


Me, I'm not so helpful. I prefer to entertain myself by doing what I call a random survey of who the travellers are. Or to be more accurate, where the travellers are from. I take note of the registration plates, and categorise them into their respective states, eg., A is from Perak, J is from Johor, and so on.


My latest 'project' was counting the cars on my way out of the car park at Genting today, from Level B5 at First World Hotel (where we parked our car) to the exit of the car park at Level B9. I started doing that as there was a traffic jam inside the car park and I was bored.


So, who goes to Genting? Where are they from? Most of them are from KL, Selangor, Johor, Singapore, with a handful from Penang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Melaka in that order and two from Kelantan. I was mostly surprised to find that 33% of the cars were from Johor with 8% from Singapore. I would have expected them to go to Resorts World Sentosa or Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, instead of driving 5 hours or so to Genting Highlands. 


Hmmm.....I'd love to find out more about their demographic profile.....yeah, I'm quite nosy.  :)

African Singer Sings in Cantonese and Hokkien in Genting

If you've never heard an African sing in Chinese, Cantonese or Hokkien, don't worry, you're not alone. Neither have I, until two days ago. Tony, our buddy who's a weekly Genting visitor, has been telling us about an African singer who can sing in Chinese, Cantonese and Hokkien beautifully, with perfect pronunciation. 


Last Sunday, we had a chance to witness this 'phenomena'. Phenomenal because it's not usual to come across an African who sings in Chinese language or dialects, and he could do both.

Phillip is an African who has lived in Hong Kong for the past twenty-five years. He is married to a Chinese, and has a 3-year-old boy. I would describe him as a very entertaining performer. He likes to interact with the crowd by getting off the stage and going onto the floor. He even remembered Tony, telling him in Cantonese "wa yin tak le" (I recognise you). Tony, if you're reading this, I'm not sure if it's a compliment to be recognised as a weekly Genting visitor....LOL. 


So, if you haven't seen Phillip in action yet, do drop by at Genting before May 9, 2010. His shows are at:
- Celebrity Lounge (the stage at Hollywood): 5:45pm and 10:30pm
- International Room (for silver card members): 6:45pm 
- Starworld (at First World Hotel): 7:45pm
(Daily performances except Tuesdays)


He will be flying back to Hong Kong on May 9, and won't be coming back, so don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, brought to you courtesy of Genting.....the show is FREE, in case you don't know how to read between the lines!  :)


Here's a little 'snippet' to show how the audience in Genting appreciates Phillip's rendition.....even the show manager is not immune.......  


Many thanks to the show manager who very kindly allowed me to record & photograph the show, and gave me the additional info on Phillip.

Lastly, I'll be back in Genting on Friday, on the Labour Day Eve, to watch Phillip and the fireworks display. While playing Three Picture, I was dealt with just that.....3 picture cards. I didn't even know that I had got a free room until a very kind player next to me told me that. Neither the croupier nor the floor supervisor (not sure what his official title is) observing the game told me that I was entitled to a room, nor was there any notice displayed to that effect. Had that fellow player not told me, I would not have known. 

A Diary Entry of A Trip To Penang

Dear friends and readers,


The post below is meant as a diary entry for myself, to serve as a reference on where to stay, where and what to eat in Penang as I don't trust myself to remember these details when I next make a trip to the island again. And I do so want to go to those same places and eat those same things again.


As such, I have not taken care with the sentence structure, nor attempt to make it interesting. So, if you find it dull and boring to read, my sincerest apologies. This is merely a diary entry, and well, a diary entry is never terribly interesting to anyone else but its writer, is it?  :)


---------------------------------
Penang - 16th to 18th February 2010


We went to Penang on the third day of Chinese New Year.  The road was smooth from KL to Penang, but not so on the other side. Traffic was at a standstill jam for those travelling from the North to KL.


We stayed at Flamingo By The Beach, formerly known as Crown Prince. It's next to Sandy Bay Paradise at Tanjung Bungah. For those who love the beach and water sports, Flamingo is highly recommended. 


The water sports available there are:


1) Water jet ski - RM60 for 15 minutes
2) Paragliding - RM120 for 5 minutes


And the hotel facilities include a jacuzzi & spa besides the regular swimming pool. 

Hotel entrance at night

Hotel lobby

Hotel room with a balcony that looks out to the sea and hill

The pool 

The jacuzzi and pool bar

RapidTransit bus #101 stops right in front of the hotel, at 10 to 15 minutes' interval. It travels between Teluk Bahang and Jetty. A ride from the hotel to Batu Ferringhi is RM1.40 per pax. The last bus back to the hotel leaves at 11:15pm from Teluk Bahang.


Batu Ferringhi Food Court
We enjoyed the hokkien mee (Penang Prawn Mee), Ee Fu Mee, grilled fish and home-made spring rolls (it's served fried with a dipping sauce). Opens at night.


Song River, Gurney Drive
Not to be missed is the otak-otak, fried oysters and chee cheong fun. The fried koay teow is not too bad either. Opens at night.


A coffee shop @ Pulau Tikus (directly opposite the police station, next to Kedai Kopi Kwai Lock)
The mee goreng and fried koay teow is excellent. Hubby ordered the assam laksa which he enjoyed as it was not too sour. And the coffee, in hubby's opinion, is excellent. I ordered some strange drink which I don't remember its name or its taste. I called it "The Forgettable Drink". Opens for breakfast & lunch.


Another coffee shop @ Pulau Tikus (behind Kedai Kopi Kwai Lock)
The curry mee here is one of the best I've ever tasted. The mee goreng is horrid, one of the worst I've ever had. Opens for breakfast & lunch.


Coffee shop @ Tanjung Bungah (behind CIMB Bank & Maxim's, next to the market)
We've never failed to return to this nondescript little coffee shop each time we're in Penang for its wantan mee (dry version) and curry mee. It's probably one of the few remaining places in Penang where a plate or bowl of noodles is RM2.50.


What we'd like to try, but never succeeded, is their hokkien mee. It's always sold out when we're there. I'm sure it must be very good, as people just queue up to order it. Opens only for breakfast.

Time Tunnel @ Cameron Highlands

NB: This is the 3rd installment of my Sojourn in Cameron Highlands

1st part: Sojourn in Cameron Highlands

2nd part: Hotel Cassa dela Rosa

4th part: Where To Eat @ Cameron Highlands
-----------------------------------------

Since our last visit to Cameron Highlands in September 2007, a new attraction has been added. Time Tunnel is a "must see" if you're interested in what Cameron Highlands looked like in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, all the way to the present. 

The entrance fee is RM5 per adult, and there are a fair bit of memorabilia which could have been bought from the flea market at Amcorp Mall. Well, at least the black & white photo of Tanah Rata in the 1930s was purchased there.

However, if you're expecting a true museum of antique items, you'll be disappointed. The items collected and displayed in Time Tunnel only date as far back as the early 1960s.

When I first stepped inside the premises, I was like, "Wow! An antique dentist's chair!" to which my hubby said, "No, darling, it's an antique barber's chair!" Gosh, I felt so embarrassed at my lack of knowledge... :)

Dentist's chair? No, barber's chair

Me: Your grandfather, darling? 
Hubby: No, an aborigine, but might be your grandfather

I thought I saw this "mode of transport" in use by some hypermarket staff??

Austin J (Junior) Forty - a pedal car

Austin J (Junior) Forty by Austin Motor Company, Great Britain. There were some 32,000 of these cars produced in 1950 - 1960. It is made from sheet steel surplus metal from Austin Birmingham. Work was sent to a purpose-built factory in Wales, where disabled miners worked on the "Joycars" as part of a rehabilitation program. It has battery-operated headlights and the bonnet opened up to a detailed engine.

Cents were in paper notes, then, not in coins. One cent must have been able to buy you quite a bit of stuff.

Parit Waterfall in early 1960s....snow blanketed the place for 45 minutes

A funny A4 printout I saw.......there were many other such funny printouts.

4th part: Where To Eat @ Cameron Highlands

Hotel Casa dela Rossa in Cameron Highlands

Note: This is the second part of my sojourn in Cameron Highlands
1st part: Sojourn in Cameron Highlands
3rd part: Time Tunnel @ Cameron Highlands
4th part: Where To Eat @ Cameron Highlands
------------------------------------


We stayed at Hotel Casa dela Rossa, which means Castle of the Roses, located between Brinchang and Tanah Rata. Our reservation was made through a travel agent, and we got the room for RM162nett per night instead of the published rate of RM320nett per night.

Location-wise, it is a superb location, very quiet and peaceful, away from the towns in Cameron Highlands. And the service is excellent, with a team of friendly and efficient porter, receptionist and bellman. The room is clean, although it has a rather damp, mildew smell.

My only complaint is that the sauna has been closed down, and the hotel has not seen fit to update their list of facilities in their website.

That said, it is still one of the better place to stay, as most of the hotels in Cameron Highlands, including Equatorial and Smokehouse, are rather old and their rooms are shabby and in need of refurbishing.

View from the road

Honey, I'm home......

This corridor is reminiscent of the movie (and book) The Shining by Stephen King

The double room on Diana Floor, Garden View

The garden

3rd part: Time Tunnel @ Cameron Highlands

4th part: Where To Eat @ Cameron Highlands

Sojourn in Cameron Highlands

NB: This is the 1st part of my sojourn in Cameron Highlands.
2nd part: Hotel Casa dela Rossa in Cameron Highlands
3rd part: Tunnel Tunnel @ Cameron Highlands
4th part: Where To Eat @ Cameron Highlands
----------------------------

Some people like holidays with lots of hustle & bustle activities like shopping, going from one tourist destination to another. Others prefer a quiet, relaxing holiday where you can just hang out in your pajamas and be a bum all day long. I belong to the latter category.

Since I hate flying with a passion (I still remember those 18-hour non-stop-puking flights when I was a student in UK --- I even used up all the airsick bags in one particular flight!), I could only go to destinations where I could drive or take the rail.

So, it's always either to the beach, the jungle or the mountains when we need to unwind and relax.

Cameron Highlands was the voted place as the last time we were there was in September 2007. Aside from strawberries now being one of the largest export industry in the country (tea has taken a backseat), there weren't much changes.

The trip did, however, inspire me to do a write-up on Where To Eat and some interesting sights, which I shall break into separate posts for my easy reference in the future.

2nd part: Hotel Casa dela Rossa in Cameron Highlands

3rd part: Tunnel Tunnel @ Cameron Highlands

4th part: Where To Eat @ Cameron Highlands

Zhang Ti @ Genting

The Arena of Stars, Genting, is one of the most happening place that I know of. They hold more concert events per month than any other place that I know.

It was only a day before that hubby and I went to the Michael Learns To Rock concert in Genting, and the very next day, we went up again, this time bringing my mum along for the Zhang Ti concert.

My mum idolises Zhang Ti and she kept talking about Zhang Ti throughout the journey. According to her, Zhang Ti started coming to Penang to perform way back in the late 1960s, and she and her late sister-in-law (my Ah Kim) would go to his concerts.

Despite being in his 60s, age hasn't slowed him down one bit. His voice is rich & powerful, resonating across the fully-packed arena. I found myself asking my mum disbelievingly throughout the show if he was always this spontaneously hilarious. It's hard to believe someone could so spontaneously fit words into tunes. He's a singing stand-up comedian!!

Apparently he is lengendary for answering questions posed by the audience with songs or making up songs on topics selected by the audience on the spot with his unique brand of risque humour. And his rapport with the audience is amazing.

There was good-natured ribbing all round, with some really outrageous topics/questions selected by the cheeky audience, such as:

1) Zhang Ti, please sing a hairy song (this is one of the funniest & probably naughtiest)
2) Zhang Ti, one minus one equals two
3) Zhang Ti, how many fathers do you have
4) Zhang Ti, please sing a mute song (another extremely hilarious performance)
5) Zhang Ti, please sing a Japanese song

Except for a couple, the requests were accompanied with money, mostly RM50 to RM100, although one man gave him as much as RM500, and another gave him a RM5 Genting's casino coin. The latter has probably lost all his money at the casino, and that's all he had left. :)

And....Genting might not be over the moon to hear this, but the RM5 casino token was worthless....Zhang Ti sang two sentences, broke off abruptly, and said, to the roars of approval from the crowd, "I've earned my money. That's all you're getting for a RM5 casino coin." :D

Below is a video of the Japanese song request. My apologies for the shakes in the camera....I was laughing so hard that I couldn't keep my camera steady. Pay attention to the "Japanese" in the words....

Enjoy...........

Michael Learns To Rock @ Genting

Quick note: This is the only photo I could upload successfully. There appears to be some problems with the server, and all other photos and videos were not uploaded successfully, despite my having tried to do so for the past three days.


Michael Learns To Rock, the band that PAS Youth tried to ban from coming to Malaysia, the concert that Nasrudin termed as "a festival of sin" finally took place last Saturday night at The Arena of Stars, Genting. And they brought a lady with them, someone called Randi (not sure of the spelling) who played the bass guitar.

I wish I could upload some of the videos I took, especially the new songs from the album Eternity, and their one and only rock song, to quote Jascha Richter. And boy, I say this in all sincerity, Michael Has Finally Learned To Rock. If you were there, and saw a lady who couldn't sit still but kept moving to the beat of the music, that was me.

At one point, I think it was the song 25 Minutes, while Jascha Richter & Mikkel Lentz left the stage and worked the crowd, the audience lost it and mixed the song up with All Out of Love by Air Supply. The crowd was happily singing "All out of love, I'm so lost without you....." until Jascha ran back to the stage and got the crowd back to the right note. Talk about being confused. Or maybe the fault is not theirs, for Air Supply will be in Genting on 4 October 2009.

And......remember the song Take Me To Your Heart? The one which sounds like one of Jacky Cheung's songs? According to Jascha Richter, he was riding in a cab in Shanghai when he heard this song being played on the radio. He didn't understand a word, but he loved the music. And so, he wrote his own lyrics for it.

Since I am unable to upload the video I took, I'll post their studio recording I found on Youtube. It's a very beautiful piece of music, with an equally beautiful lyrics (they did a better job than Jacky Cheung).


One thing I must say about Michael Learns To Rock is that they are very obliging. When they came back for the encore, they performed quite a few songs, instead of just one or two. A truly amazing performance.

On a different note, driving back at night from Genting has always been very life-challenging. I hope the management would do something about the exit from the 9th floor of Genting Highlands car park (the one adjoining the Genting casino). It is extremely foggy at night, and if one does not know that there is a divider in the middle, one would have driven into it.

And it doesn't get better after this exit. The road leading down to the main road is curved and with visibility reduced to just the front end of your car, you won't even know what hit you. I remember my school in London would close when it got that foggy.

So, to the management of Genting, it would mean a lot to your regular customers if you could install some reflectors or tiger-eyes to aid the motorists when the fog descends on the mountain. Thank you. :)

Related post:
Michael Learns To Rock in Malaysia Again

Michael Learns To Rock in Malaysia Again

Calling all Michael Learns To Rock fans!!! They're here again....and....AFTER twenty-one years, they're STILL LEARNING how to rock at Genting Highlands on 5th September 2009. :)

For the benefit of those younger than me (ahem!), Michael Learns To Rock was formed as a cafe-band in 1987 by a group of high school Danish students, Jasca Richter, Kare Wanscher and Mikkel Lentz.

A year later, Soren Madsen joined the group and they entered the city's annual talent show. The group won and they suddenly found that they had to stick with their hastily formed name, even 21 years later.

They tried changing it to MLTR, but later switched back to the original name. Maybe, just maybe, if they had consulted me, and renamed themselves Michael Has Learned to Rock instead of MLTR, it might have met with better success?? :)

Anyway, Soren Madsen left the group in 2000, and the trio decided to continue without him.

So, what are you waiting for? All Michael Learns To Rock concerts are a sell-out, so get out of your seat now and get your tickets at any Axcess outlets or book them online from Genting's Online & Reservation & E-Ticketing.

See you there.......thanks to Genting. :) :) :)

25 minutes


That's Why You Go Away

Liu San Jie at Genting

Last Sunday we went up to Genting for the much awaited musical, Liu San Jie. The pair of tickets were complimentary from Genting.

The last time I was there for a concert from my mum's era (Catch Ling Po at Genting), the crowd was mainly from her age group, men and women of 60 years old and above. I expected it to be the same for the Liu San Jie musical.

True enough, at 7:15pm, the crowd started waddling in, oops, I mean, walking in. :) Some were my mum's age while others were older. However, this time round, I can't lay claim to being the youngest audience as there was a handful of guys and gals in their twenties.

By 8:15pm, except for some late-comers, nearly all the seats at the Arena of Stars were filled. Our former Health Minister Dato' Chua Jui Meng, one of the VVIP (Very, Very Idle People??), was there, too.

I must say the performers, especially the lead singer who played the protaganist Liu San Jie, were good. They put up a contemporary show, combining the old folk story with some modern dance movements.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that the lead singer is better than the actress that played the same role in the 1961 movie. She has a better voice than the 1961 actress who was a bit shrill. And she is definitely far better looking, too. Quite an eye-candy for the old men there. :)

It is no wonder that all the tickets were sold out and Genting had to extend the performance to one more night, on Tuesday, due to demand.

My only "complaints" are that the stage setup was not more elaborate, and that the part of the match-maker sent by the tyrant, Mo Huairen, was a bit dragged out. I found the match-maker's performance a little draggy and exaggerated.

But all in all, a most enjoyable performance. Thanks for the complimentary tickets, Genting. :)

The arrival of the audience

The audience

Some late-comers

The curtain call

Related post:

Spot Check at Uncle Lim's