Happy Chinese New Year 2016

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR, 恭喜发财, Kung Hei Fat Choy, Kiong Hee Huat Tsai to my dearest friends and family, fellow followers and supporters!!!
I'm glad that you're glad to see me making appearance in my long abandoned blog once again. Thank you all, thanks for still having faith in me :p

I hope 2015 treated everyone well. We shall pray for more prosperity and wealth in this exciting new Fire Monkey year. Ah kong, ah ma, auntie, uncle, sister, brother stay forever young, handsome / pretty and healthy as always. The past twelve months have been a life changer for me but I do feel very much grateful for every lesson learned and the light and love that continues to guide me.

"Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching."

Explore the Beauty of Ipoh: MU Rooftop Bar and Gunung Lang Recreational Park

Haze is getting worse today with API (Air Pollution Index) spikes up to as high as 134. Sad to know that the reading has finally elevated from moderate to unhealthy range. Public is urged to minimize / avoid outdoor activities if possible. Most of the people around me are sick and I, myself feel uncomfortable in breathing as well. So peeps, do drink plenty of fluids and keep your mask on whenever exposed to the haze please. The last thing I want is seeing more people getting sick.

Now, my road trip to Ipoh continues...

Qing Xin Ling (清心岭) Leisure & Cultural Village Ipoh

We embarked on an unplanned trip to Ipoh just last weekend. It was a long weekend in celebration of the 58th Independence Day of our home country - Malaysia. I concerned a little bit at first as it was raining cats and dogs along the journey. The haze itself was bad enough I thought. But thankfully, miracle does happen and my prayer was answered. No more rain when we approached the old town of Ipoh. Tummies were well fed right before the walking and sweating begin.

Leehom at EcoWorld Starlight New Year 2015 Concert Tour (星光耀世新年巡回演唱会) Penang

EcoWorld Starlight New Year Concert was a blast last night!!! Held at Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre (SPICE) or formerly known as the Penang International Sports Arena (PISA).

You know what? It's not often you get free admission to see live performance by international celebrity like Wang Leehom 王力宏. Yes, totally, absolutely FOC!!! The event planning, stage design, lighting and everything else were a huge success. Thanks EcoWorld and all the sponsors for making it happen! There were also entertaining performance by Melody Tan 陈永馨 (The Voice China's finalist), Daniel Craven (world-class magician / illusionist) and Najwa Latif (Malaysian singer and teen idol).

Cameron Highlands: Lavender Garden and Time Tunnel Museum (金马仑时光隧道)

Hello October! *gasps air* Is it normal for one to wake up in the middle of the night with a mind full of work-related issues or even dream about work in one's dreams? Well, the answer is clearly a big NO! It is not normal at all!!! I fear that I may be slowly slipping into depression, eventually loose my sanity and...

Don't be silly, Christina! *double face slap* Stop the negativity. That's not my intention of creating today's blog post really. Instead, Imma spread you guys some love and positivism.

Keep smiling, no matter how hard the situation is =)

One Night in French Themed Village(法国村)

First of all, thousand apologies for not being active in the blogosphere lately. I can hear my blog screaming for an update already since my last blog post in the beginning of September.

I was diagnosed with dengue and got admitted in the hospital for one and a half week after that. Too cruel to be true huh? How can a person get dengue twice within just twelve months?!!! I know, I'm super "lucky" =x

Looking at the bright side, I've had plenty of sleep and rested my body well enough (could hardly see a red vessel in my eyes the day I discharged). My skin is so moisture now, thanks to the intravenous therapy with high sodium chloride inputs and I lost weight! Hahaha!!! All the pain and suffering were at least worth something, right? I wouldn't say it was worthwhile 'cuz there is no way on this Earth I will ever wanna endure the same painful experience for more than twice.

Anyways, let's have a look at my one night in French Themed Village. I'm sorry for the poor quality images. Wish I had a better camera with me that time.

Colmar Tropicale (French Themed Village) Bukit Tinggi

Revisiting Bukit Tinggi after almost a decade yielded me different feelings and joys. First time was with fam, second with friends. Nothing much has changed to Colmar Tropical, the french themed resort in Bukit Tinggi except the cold weather. It sure did get hotter over the years.

Cameron Highlands: MARDI Agro Park

Thursday, the busiest and most hectic day out of the week. While waiting for my sis to come home and go for baddy, I decided to write up a quick post about our MARDI Agro Park visit at the Cameron Highlands.

Good time management huh? Time is never enough when you need it most, so better use it wisely.

It was out of the blue that one of us suggested to come by here in the afternoon. Baked in the sun and sweated like a pig. Minus the sweat and sunburn, it's nevertheless a tranquil family-friendly park for people of all ages to enjoy.

Cameron Highlands: Strawberry Moment Dessert Cafe and Strawberry Farm

It's officially one week since I started this new job of mine. Everyday of my working life is filled with nothing but more and more unfamiliar terms and abbreviations. Lots of self-studying going on for sure, and I'm fighting hard to load them all into my brain at once.

Working life is never easy, so is starting over from rock bottom, venturing myself into the world of EMS or CM they call it. New job, new life, new challenges.

As the quote goes, “For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” I have lost my freedom and the luxury to travel in my case. What could I possibly gain? White hair and wrinkles  -____________-  Let's hope not!

On the way driving up Cameron Highlands, we stopped by at the Strawberry Moment Dessert Cafe for some sweet treats. Here's pictures of me while my hair is still brown. They better stay brown.

Cameron Highlands: Gossip Corner Restaurant and Desa Anthurium Apartment

My head is as heavy as a bowling ball now. Headache, sore throat and stuffy nose please, please, go away! I don't wanna be haunted by sickness throughout the entire Hungry Ghost Month.

I kinda miss the weather up the hills already. It was unusually cold and windy on the first day of our arrival. We checked-in into our accommodation, washed up, then headed out straight for a very late lunch in Tanah Rata. My poor tummy was screaming for food =s

Cameron Bharat Tea Plantations and Cameron Valley Tea House

Waking up to fresh cold air, dressing up pretty and wearing a warm smile on my face. Everything was exceptionally beautiful in my eyes that morning.

With flat and empty tummy, we were keen to have an abundance of breakfast delights at the Uncle Chow Kopitiam to kick start our day, but who would have guessed that the coffee shop could be so packed with customers lining up for tables? We switched to Sakura Kopitiam at last, and the waiting time was FOREVER!

Skip the unpleasant breakfast experience. The next destination on our schedule was tea plantations. Yay!!! We settled for Cameron Bharat Tea Plantations since the traffic condition towards and in Brinchang was absolutely terrible.

Ipoh Old Town: Sekeping Kong Heng and Plan B Cafe

Ipoh Old Town is as happening as ever, specially now during public holidays and long weekends. With its ideal location situated in the heart of most major cities and tourist attractions, it would be a good call to stop by to taste some local specialties and to do a little bit of sight-seeing before traveling further up or down the peninsular.

We were heading down south that day, in our case, from Penang to Cameron Highlands for a 3D2N trip. Speaking of Ipoh, we'll be there again tomorrow for dim sum breakfast, feel free to wave and say hi if you happen to bump into me =)

Sunday Hike: Youth Park to Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera)

The last time I hiked up to Penang Hill was almost a decade ago, when I was hmm *clears throat* like a flower in bloom. I still am, alright? After all these years =p

As a casual jogger who hasn't jogged in a long while, I did not intend to go full force or try to accomplish anything at all. It was wholly about having a good sweat and friendship bonding with my fellow friends on a lovely Sunday morning.

Breakfast is important. A good breakfast fuels you up and gets you ready for the day. Our master plan, therefore, was to have a quick fix at Sunrise McDonald's prior heading to the departure point in Youth Park. I got no appetite really, with just 4 hours of sleep on the night before.

My Birthday aka Rose Valentine’s Day

Nothing big or fancy for my birthday celebration this year. Just a decent Japanese cuisine I had with siblings on the actual day of my birthday. Sis gave me a few options: Spanish, Japanese, Italian or Western and I picked Miraku Restaurant in G Hotel.

Thank you, guys. Thanks everyone of you for the greetings and birthday wishes. =)

Made In Penang Interactive Museum (美因槟廊)

On one of the weekends during Chinese New Year, we visited Made In Penang Interactive Museum, located right next to VIA.PRE Italian Restaurant in Pengkalan Weld. It was after breakfast when we came with a huge crowd of people gushing in and out with their cameras.

Entrance fees as following:

• RM10 for kids, students (with student card) and senior citizens (60 and above).
• RM15 for mykad holders.
• RM30 for non mykad holders.

Art is Rubbish / Rubbish is Art by Ernest Zacharevic

We paid a visit to Ernest Zacharevic, the famous Lithuanian street artist's first solo art exhibition, "Art is Rubbish, Rubbish is Art" yesterday. Yes, we were in luck to still be able to witness part of his amazing artwork with our own eyes. No admission fee necessary.

Venue: Hin Company Bus Depot, Jalan Gurdwara, George Town, Penang.

(Opposite the Hotel Continental)

Date: Jan 17, 2014 to Feb 14, 2014

Time: 12pm to 8pm daily

Gift Exchange Christmas Dinner 2013

Weeeeeeee, first post of 2014!!! Times flies, it sure does. Glad that I had been enjoying my freedom to the fullest since the very day I touched down in Malaysia. No regrets. Life's too short to live with any regrets.

I spent my emotional past few days reviewing my old blog entries, only 72 in total for year 2013. Yeah, a lot less productive compared to the year before. So much ups and downs to endure in the journey of finding myself and what I wanna do with my life. Forgive me, for not being able to share every single detail with you.

 2013 was a nightmare yet full of excitements and wonders.

• February: Dyed my hair brown for the first time.
• April: First golf experience.
• May: A luxurious birthday celebration in Brisbane.
• May: Had Dequervains Tenosynovitis aka repetitive injury on my left thumb.
• June: First whale watching experience on the Gold Coast.
• July: Farewell-ed friends in Queensland, moved down to Sydney.
• August: Family road trip to Tioman Island.
• September: Started using WeChat and got hooked up ever since. 
• October: Diagnosed with dengue and admitted days in the hospital.
• October: Met up with an old "new friend" and attended friend's wedding in KL.
• October: 23 hours train voyage to Bangkok.
• November: Experienced the worst food poisoning that lasted days with abdominal cramps.
• Months of never-ending exploring the Pearl of Orient.

I had three gift-exchange Christmas dinner last year. LOL, "last year" sounds far, far way but it was merely less than two weeks ago. One with newly met friends, one with family, one with badminton buddies. Gift exchange with family was indeed the most unforgettable as it was never our tradition to celebrate Christmas.

VIA.PRE Italian Restaurant: Christmas Eve Dinner

First of all, Happy New Year's Eve and Happy 2014 in advance to my dearest family, friends and everyone who reads my blog out there!!! 2013 has been a tough year for me, tougher than I could ever imagined but I made it through alive and kicking. It's all good, Christina. It's all good.

I was not in mood that night on the Christmas Eve. Damn emo as Mr. Choo wasn't here with me to celebrate. Just like today, counting down on the loneliest and most hollow New Year's Eve. #ForeverAlone Been using this hashtag way too frequent lately =(

Due to time and work issues, we changed plan to dine out at VIA.PRE in Weld Quay instead of busying ourselves preparing Christmas Eve dinner at home. Pretty good feedback I've heard about the Italian restaurant and hence the visit. Reservation was made earlier before we left the house. It's disappointing how reluctant they were to set up our table until we got there.

Pesta Chingay, Lion & Dragon Dance Parade 2013 at Esplanade Penang

It was a happening night last night along Jalan Padang Kota Lama and in front of Penang City Hall. There was this annual Pesta Chingay, Lion and Dragon Dance Parade going on between supposingly 7.30pm to 11pm, but it got delayed somehow.

The carnival hasn't even started by the time we arrived -________________-

We arrived late and the time was almost 9. So we decided to walk around a bit, picked up some fruits from the nearby hawkers where my random, silly act sparked everyone into laughter *burst out laughing*, luckily there were only three of us. Then tardily, we strolled back to witness the opening of the carnival.

Gala House Restaurant & Cafe: Girls Gathering

Gala House is one of the latest addition on Muntri Street downtown. On a not-so-busy Wednesday evening, we came with a bunch of girls, they're my sister's girlfriends, technically. With the intention to celebrate one of the girl's birthday. Eating, chit-chatting and exchanging lame jokes. LOL. It was fun indeed although I couldn't quite catch-up.

We walked in to be seated on this table outside the cafe, it was drizzling a bit and the acoustic duet version of Miley Cyrus's "We Can't Stop" was forever looping in the background. Grrrrrr, I guess they really do love that song A LOT. *pulls hair*

We later requested to move to a warmer spot after placing our order. I mean, I wouldn't mind sitting outside if it was warm and breezy but definitely not when it's chilly and rainy. Furthermore, it has better lighting and dining ambiance inside. Friendly staffs, and lovely presentation and plating are also a plus.