Travel

A Flora Paradise

It’s like a paradise of flora here… Our eyes got captured by the 3 huge hot air balloons, floating in the air. It’s also my first expedition with my Canon EOS1000D. Once we got out from the car, we were too excited but to dash to the field where the big balloons were. Looking around, we realised that there were a lot more photographers, professionals or amateurs, handling their own gadgets, trying to get the best angle for their pictures. I got intimidated a bit as mine is just a "beginner" set. But I think I’m good enough to have my own DSLR. So… whatever!
 
We then walked around and reached the indoor area. Walked in and were welcomed by a breeze of cold air. So cooling in the closed tent. There, stood tall was the flower tower and a cute little flower tapir. There was also an area with the underwater world theme. Paradise of birds was just next to the underwater area. I don’t get it quite well. Why was the kuaci seeds rhino got fixed together with the birds? Maybe a kuaci rhino can fly kot…?! 😛
 
After that, it’s the burning outdoor again. We didn’t bring any umbrella. So, we walked around under the hot sun. There were numerous stalls of art and painting demos. The area I liked most was the orchid farm area. The orchids were extremely beautiful and of all species and varieties.
 
After walking around for quite some time, we reached the 1Malaysia theme park, with a huge number "1" and replica of KLCC Twin Tower as well as a fish (dunno what it represents)… Next to it, we found my favourite flower – HIBISCUS! But those there were not as eye-catching as those in Cameron Highlands… Oops! So, where were we actually? With all those flora and flowers I mentioned, I bet some of you might think that we were in Camerons but we were actually in Putrajaya! Yes! It’s the FLORIA’09. The Flora Festival held in Waterfront, Precinct 2, Putrajaya.
 
Those interested, you guys can drop by anytime ’til 9 August 09. So, be quick!
 
IMG_0207 IMG_0255  
IMG_0222  My breakfast… 
IMG_0272  Look at those photographers below the balloons… 
IMG_0329 Flower Tower! So high!!! 
IMG_0342  Little flower tapir… Cute kan? 
IMG_0363 IMG_0383 IMG_0537
IMG_0410 Painting demo… 
IMG_0419 Beautiful painting! So colourful… 
IMG_0477 花… Orchid lah… 
IMG_0638 Bunga raya aka hibiscus… 
IMG_0649 Orkid hutan?! Looks like a crab to me…
IMG_0601 Walking flora… aka flower boys?!
IMG_0555 The loving couple… Jangan jealous…! Hehehe…
IMG_0685 The photographer… aka Dixon Thum… Muahaha!!!
Nature

Natural Fertilizers

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Look at the picture above and notice those things pointed with red arrows? Well, this is how I fertilize my plants in the garden. I use all-natural fertilizers like fruit skins and egg shells. The great news is… my plants grow bigger and healthier… My aloe vera grew bigger!
 
Try it at home… It’s a healthier way for all of us… and also to the environment.
Health & Wellness

First Time Running in Putrajaya

It’s my first time running in Putrajaya. Participated in the Men’s Health Run 09 with my usual running partner, CF and 2 other newbies, Jeff and Khoon. Ip, Mein and May ran in the fun run. Got quite a lot of free goodies but not as many as last year. Anyway, I found that it wasn’t easy to run in Putrajaya and i dislike the traffic there. There are some points that the organizer could take note for improvements :
 
1) Traffic – Although there were a lot of traffic police there to take care of the flow. But, I find it disturbing with all the cars queuing so long and some even horned while we were running and puffing. That’s not good!
 
2) Water stations – The workers who take care of the water stations were quite slow and I had to stopped for awhile to wait for a cup of water. That’s not good!
 
3) 7UP Revive – This sponsor was particularly "stingy". When I reached the finishing line, it was still early but there were no more cold 7UP Revive for us. Who took them all? They should have prepared more… for the sake of creating brand awareness to the people there. That’s not good!
 
4) Lucky draw – No lucky draw this round?! That’s not good!
 
My initial target was to get a medal in this run. There were only 75 medals for grab for each category. However, sad enough, I did not manage to get one. However, I managed to conquer the full 11.5km in 1 hr 12 mins. That’s not a bad record! But, could have been better. Try again next year…
 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         4 of us in Category A…
 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         They were in Category F (Fun Run)
 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         Smart runners…
 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         The "super" pair…
 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         Loads of goodie bags!!!
 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         The "unofficial" spokesperson for Nature’s Valley???
 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         Sausage 1901…
 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         Grab ’em all!!!
 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         Me and the crowd…
 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
 
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA          OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
My Personal

Quit!

Have you ever wonder what will happen IF you quit your job?
 
What will happen to the house loan?          What will happen to your family?                What should you do after quitting?               Who is going to pay for your food?        What is going to pay for the petrol?                            No more KFC?                       No more nice clothes?        No more fancy restaurants?          No more MONEY???
 
Basically, everyone dreams of sitting down and relaxing at home. Shaking legs and doing nothing would be the ultimate bonus! Having time to fly around the world. Gosh… how I wish this can happen to me…!
 
There are so much thoughts I have in mind when I think of the question above. I really don’t know what will happen next. So much responsibilities and burden to consider. I believe everyone has their one responsibilities as well which kept them continue working although most of them do not like their jobs. So, no matter how bad you think your job is, be strong. Keep reminding yourself that you need the job to earn a living, for a better future, for your family and for yourself. This will make you feel a lot better.
 
But to tell you the truth, I’m looking forward for the day when I need not work but just lay back and relax (+ shake legs + do nothing) without worrying about money. Wouldn’t that be great?
Food & Drink

Dining at Basil, Bangsar Village

pano_basil
It was Friday and as usual, the road was jam all the way after fetching Mein from Universiti LRT Station. So, I used another road to go home. But still, traffic was static. So, we decided to go out for dinner first and go home thereafter to avoid the traffic. Went to Bangsar Village (1 & 2)… Nothing much there. Quite hard to find food with decent price. Even went out to Jalan Telawi but couldn’t get anything desirable. Went in back to Bangsar Village and saw Basil. There’s a bunting staying some promotions and discounts for CIMB card users. Since Mein is one, so, we went in to give it a try.
 
We order a tomyam seafood for 2 pax with 2 plates of rice, a bowl of water chestnut dessert and a glass of warm water. I liked the tomyam pretty much. But Mein & I felt that its not enough milky (tak cukup lemak). The dessert was OK. I liked the one from Little Penang more.
 
The atmosphere there was soothing and comfortable. Everywhere was decorated with colourful fresh flowers. The price was reasonable too.
 
I rate Basil :
Food : StarStarStar
Environment : StarStarStarStar
Price : StarStarStarStar
Service : StarStarStarStar
 
Image003 Image010
 
Image012 The menu…
 
 Image016 Tom Yam Seafood for 2 pax!
 
Image013  Their slogan : Hospitality with A Heart… (quite true)
 
Image020 Our glass of warm water…
 
 Image023 Image027 Water chestnut dessert…
 
Image024 And accidental snapshot… Nice or not? Hehe…