Friday, December 3, 2010

Langkawi Nature Discovery Tour - A trip review

I participated in Langkawi Nature Discovery review trip on 20-Nov, 2010. This review trip is part of 'Travel with a Green Heart' campaign organized by penang.cc (Penang Community Center). It is a free day trip to Pulau Langkawi. This trip also made possible by Langkawi Coral Sdn. Bhd. So, thanks for the sponsorship!

Here is the review of the trip.

We met up with our tour guide of the trip, Jeff, at 8.15am and boarded the cruise at around 8.30am. The whole trip to Pulau Langkawi took nearly 3 hours. At around 11.15am, we arrived at Kuah Jetty at Pulau Langkawi.

After the arrival, we were taken in a van to the first destination of the trip - Royal Langkawi Yacht club for lunch. The club provides a nice and breezy environment for family lunch or just small group of lunch gathering. The restaurant of the club is named Charlie's Place.
RLC

This is the view looking out from our table during lunch. It was a sunny day and all of us cannot wait to have a good lunch here! Before the lunch is served, we were all over the restaurant to snap photos of this new place.
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The lunch was also provided for this trip for free. We were served with Tomato soup, beef burger, chicken burger, club sandwiches, spaghetti, nasi goreng, fish and chips. We decided to share out the dishes so that all of us could taste each dish. If you ask me to give a score for the dishes there, I would give 5 out of 10. The taste of the dishes did not give me any surprises, i.e. below my normal expectation. I would only come here for the view and not the food next trip, given a chance in the future.
food-1

After lunch, we spent about 40 minutes on the road to go to the latest tourist attraction of Pulau Langkawi - Langkawi Cable Car. We  arrived at the Oriental Village where the base station of the cable car system is located. I was told that the cable car would bring me to the top of Gunung Mat Cincang to enjoy the panoramic view of the surrounding forest. Unfortunately, after we arrived at the base station, we were told that the cable car system was having some technical issues which required 2 hours to be fixed. This destination was supposed to be the highlight of this trip. I was really looking forward to the cable car ride. 
This photo below was the only scene that I can see from the base station before heading for next destination. I cannot remember when was the last time I go up a cable!
Cable cars

This Oriental Village is a duty free shopping haven. The tourists can shop for souvenirs and clothing there. The architecture of the buildings in this village is specially designed and built around a man-made lake. Thus, it would be nice to stroll around the village at the evening hours.
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So, with a disappointed heart, we continued with the journey. Jeff gave a choice to choose whether we would like to visit the Underwater World first before going to Kilim Geoforest Park or the other way round. If we choose the latter, then we would not have time for a short shopping. Eventually, everyone agreed to take the former option as we did not think that shopping is a must. So there we go. We headed for Underwater World.
The road trip to Underwater World from Oriental Village was like taking forever. I lost track of the turns which we went through. But along the way, I can still see that many parts of Pulau Langkawi are still underdeveloped. Probably, it should be kept that way to preserve the greenery. As we were going through the winding roads, I can see the greenery (padi field) as shown in the photo below.
Greenery outside

After about 40 minutes of driving and taking a few short-cuts (according to the driver) along the way, we finally arrived at Underwater World of Pulau Langkawi.
LGW_8990

Before entering the aquarium, we were told that we only have 50 minutes before the van leaving for next and last destination. 50 minutes are actually too short a time to completely viewing all living things inside the aquarium. I could only manage to read a few names and description of the marine life. So for those who are into marine life, I would think that 2 hours would be sufficient here.
Fish-1

Giant fish!
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After the aquarium, we went on to the highlight of this trip - bat cave and fish farm visit, eagle feeding and mangrove tour at Kilim Geoforest Park. This photo below shows the jetty where we boarded the boat to bat cave and fish farm.
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Bat cave tour in pitch dark cave. There must be thousands of bat hanging in the cave. The smell in the cave is quite strong.
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In between the cave and fish farm, we were fortunate to see some eagles swooped down on its prey. The sight is quite unforgettable to me. I think those eagles do not how to prey now because the tour operators there would feed the eagle everyday.
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Fish farm tour. One of the participants in our group had the chance to feed the archer fish with bread sticking on her pinkie. She was thrilled when the fish jumped out of the water to get the bread.
Archer-1

Fish farm-1

Moments before we were supposed to board the cruise back to Penang, we were told that we can spend 10 minutes at the Eagle Square. Hence, all of us hustled across to the square to snap photos in front of the eagle. This photo is like one of the must have photos when you visit to Pulau Langkawi. 
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I guess the trip back to Penang is the experience I would never forget for a long time to come. The interior of the cruise was freezingly cold because of the air-conditioner. The cruise operator told us that they cannot turn down the air-conditioner. So, for the 3-hour cruise trip back to Penang, we were trying to wrap around ourselves with the towel we brought and we were still shivering. Luckily, we were allowed to go out to the top of the cruise to experience the cool evening breeze.
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It has been a long while since I last saw a nice sunset like this even though it was a bit cloudy. Thank God for this great creation!
We arrived at Penang at around 9.15pm.
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From this trip, I have some suggestions for those who would like to visit Pulau Langkawi.
1. Unless you can find something interesting to do during the 3-hours trip in a boat, I would suggest that going there by flight is definitely a better option. The other option is go to Kuala Kedah and take cruise from the jetty at Kuala Kedah.
2. This day trip tour is quite rush for those who prefer leisure tour. For those who do not have much time to spare, you might want to opt for this tour as this tour brings you to most of the must visit destinations of Langkawi.
3. Check the weather before going for the cable car tour. The cable car would stop operating if it is too cloudy and the wind is too strong.

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Monday, November 22, 2010

Sneak Peek: Langkawi Nature Discovery review trip

I participated in Langkawi Nature Discovery review trip on 20-Nov, 2010. This review trip is part of 'Travel with a Green Heart' campaign organized by penang.cc (Penang Community Center). It is a free day trip to Pulau Langkawi. After the trip, the participants have to submit a blog post sharing about the trip review within two weeks.

So, please stay tuned for the trip review!

Langkawi Nature tour

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Sunday, November 14, 2010

祂在我心里动了善工!

14號星期天的早晨, 当我在驾着车去教会时,我想是圣灵感动了我使我做了以下的祷告。 那时, 我是不由自主地哽咽着说着这个祷告.
做了这个祷告之后,我就在心裡說着:"今天, 我要为那些侍奉的人祷告."

其实, 从我家到教会是需要经过四个交通灯的. 可是当我一路上駕著車一面在做这个祷告时, 我发现我所经过的每个交通灯都是绿灯的.

到了教会后, 我就吃了早餐后去参加晨祷.

当晨祷就要快结束时, 像往常一样我们都会替當天侍奉的人祷告. 这时我就听到Bro. Leng 在前面叫着:"我们请Bro. Tang 出来为今天侍奉的人祷告." 那时, 我真的一面摇着头一面走着出去, 我心里说着:"上帝, 今天我真的服了袮!". 袮當真的有聽我的禱告!

所以,我就站在前面重複了我在車子裡所作的以下禱告:

“亲爱的上帝, 今天我很高兴欢喜能够为那些侍奉的人做祷告. 不管那些在台前台后为袮侍奉的人, 我都要为他们祷告. 祈求袮赐给他们在为袮侍奉时一颗喜乐的心. 使他们在侍奉时都能够向袮高歌. 这些侍奉的人都是渴慕與袮親近的人, 他们都是希望经过侍奉袮而能有属灵上的成长.”

“亲爱的主啊! 我也要为那些还未能够侍奉袮的人来代祷. 祈求袮亲自來差遣他們来感动他们, 亲自地告诉他们使他们知道要在袮的葡萄园的哪一个岗位来侍奉. 祈求袮也赐给他们勇气使他们能够勇敢地站出来为袮侍奉.”

“亲爱的主啊! 如果那些为袮侍奉的人在侍奉上遇到困难或是挫折时, 祈求袮派天使为他们开路; 祈求袮跟他们说不要灰心. 因为, 能够侍奉袮是我们的荣耀. 我们要将这荣耀归给袮!”

“我就将这些人都交托仰望袮. 祈求袮亲自的来引领他们.”

“这祷告都是奉耶稣得胜的名祈求!”

從這一個事件看來,我真的是可以感覺到聖靈在我心裡動了善工。那是多麼奇妙的感覺!好期待下一次聖靈的充滿!


GPD_6990

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Saturday, November 13, 2010

CSL Spice MI700 Droidpad review

CSL was doing a promotion on its latest Droidpad (Spice MI700) now (from 11-14 Nov 2010) in Gurney Plaza, Penang. On 13-Nov, they did a product introduction for 20 bloggers in Penang. I was lucky to be one of the 20 bloggers who participated in this event.

OK now, let's talk about this new gadget. Naturally, I will compare it with iPad, the hottest gadget in town at this moment.

As the name suggested, it is powered by Android 2.2. This device is your tablet PC and mobile phone in one go at RM1599. If you buy the set during the promotion period, you will get a bluetooth headset, 4GB memory card for free and an extended 6 months of warranty.


Here is my verdict of this device.

Pro
- Price competitive. Only RM1599.
- It is both WIFI and HSDPA 3.5G capable. You cannot get this feature combination on a iPad at this price.
- Built-in GPS chip-set. (But I wonder if you need to this feature if you are using it in a Starbuck.)
- Able to make phone calls. You cannot do that on a iPad!

Con
- Smaller screen. Nowadays, people wants both big screen and also portability.
- low screen resolution compared to iPad.

This is the real device here! It comes with 7in full capacitive touch screen.
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It looks cool! Cooler than iPad? Your choice!
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Quite thin. 179.4mm to be exact. Weight is 410g. I feel it is light enough when I hold it in my hand. It also comes with a pouch.
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Everyone gave 100% attention to the product introduction. Some did not forget to snap photo of the new kid on the block for their blog I think.
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This proved that you can take a decent photo with this device. It comes with a 3.0 megapixels with auto focus!
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The green giant of the show who trying hard to attract the crowd. A gal attraction.
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The most exciting (and nail biting) moment for the bloggers. We had to pick one blue bag from the ladies if we answered a question from the MC. There is one MI700 Droidpad in one of these blue bags. The chance was 1 over 20.
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Ya, I was not the lucky one who walked away with the Droidpad. This lady is. Congratulation to her!
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Monday, November 8, 2010

A photo gallery is born

This is a project which I intended to start about 15 months ago. My goal is to fill up the side wall of the living room of my apartment with the travel photos I shot. I got this idea from the internet. The photos were actually framed up about 13 months back but I left them lying on the floor doing nothing other than collecting dust. It's shame really! Few weeks back, my brother finally helped me to buy an impact drill from his company which enables me to drill the wall with holes to hang up these photos. Drilling holes on the wall is not as easy task as it seems to be. I spent about an hour this afternoon to hang up these photos. There is one more larger photo which I did not manage to hang it up because I was running out of the hook. Next round, I will probably frame some photos with white frame or silver frame. And maybe I should just stick to white and black frame. Anyway, I am sure I will fill up the wall within next 6 months. The cost of framing one photo is not cheap and it depends on the length of wood needed. So, I can only afford to frame 3-4 photos in one round.

Finally, I have a photo gallery of my own!

Some description of photos:
Top left photo - Het Steen in Antwerp, Belgium
Bottom left photo - Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, Belgium
Top right photo - Gran Place or central square of Brussels, Belgium
Bottom right photo - Albufeira beach, Algarve, Portugal.


A photo gallery is born.

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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

借口

在人生的十路口的你, 如果前面的路全都是红灯, 你还会一直的往前走吗? 还是, 你停下来等红灯变青灯呢?
如果, 红灯代表你现在在生活上所遇到的难题, 十路口代表你需要做的选择, 你会呆在那里什麽也不做吗? 还是你会找另外一条出路或者做个转弯?
有的人会呆在那里唉声叹气,然后什麽都不做。
有的人会想尽办法来寻找出路。
有的人会在这时装备自己,来等待下一次的机会。
如果你真的不知道要如何才是好,请祈求上帝赐你一个心思意念吧。

最重要的是请不要为自己找一个停滞不前的借口.


All red.

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Monday, October 25, 2010

Hong Kong Revisit

It was as if I was meeting an old friend who always give me a mixed feeling whenever we meet. Hong Kong is a destination where I familiar with yet, every time I visit her, she renewed herself to welcome me warmly. This time, more and more shopping complexes had been built in the hope of quenching the insatiable appetite of those shoppers compared to the last visit I made to this city. Thanks God because He has answered our prayer of good weather. We had good weather during this trip although the weather forecast reported that there would be scattered rain for the whole trip. Light rain only came on a day before we left. Humidity was good also compared to the time when I was here last September. As a metropolitan and key finance center of Asia, Hong Kong has naturally attracted a lot of people from different countries in the world to work and live here which created a diversified culture here. So, in order to feed these people, a lot of restaurants which serve authentic food from different countries are opened here. All these have made Hong Kong a food haven. However, I still love the local Hong Kong food more than anything else., especially the dim sum and desserts. So, it is also about food every time when I make a visit. The other favorite activities I enjoy doing there are window shopping and watching people. Watching people is a natural thing to do here since Hong Kong packs about 7 millions people in such a small and limited land and you would see a crowd any way you turn your head. Nobody can get away from doing shopping when in Hong Kong. I am no exception but I only managed to buy two cotton t-shirts for HKD150 in this trip. I also wondered how this could be possible. :D
OK. Enough of nonsense for now. Let's see the photos I took during this trip. I only picked a few for your viewing pleasure. I might be making next trip here very soon at one of these weekends to get myself out of Penang again. Who knows?!

To view the complete set of photos, please go to this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/tang_sk/sets/72157625162438846/


Star Ferry

Look at me!

From Hong Kong with love

兰芳园

I got style.

HK1_8592

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鸡蛋仔

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Love the food there

When is the next trip?

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Saturday, September 18, 2010

Just Heading Out

Just heading out for fresh air and also for food. It is weekend!

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I love wantan and sui kao! There is only one stall in this coffee shop which is selling wantan mee. We gave it a try. The wantan mee is not too bad.

wantan.jpg

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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Spring is here.


This is
spring in my heart. What is the season in your heart?


Spring is here.

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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Merdeka!

Sejahtera Malaysia!

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

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Saturday, August 28, 2010

I have a dream!

I have a dream!

I have a dream!

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Saturday, August 14, 2010

我該多做的一件事。

當我們長大了後, 我們陪媽媽的時間就越來越少了。

看著媽媽一天一天的老去,我經常都意識到我該多做的一件事就是陪媽媽吃一頓飯, 陪媽媽多一點。

幾個星期六前,家裡只有我和媽媽吃午餐。 然後,我就帶了她去靠近碼頭的一檔著名的牛肉麵吃午餐。

那牛肉麵一碗RM7.00

那杯新鮮較成的荳蔻水一杯RM2.50.

牛肉麵的湯頭還不錯!

Saturday lunch

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