Sunday, July 15, 2007

NO more new post here

Well some of you may have noticed that there were no post.

The reason behind it was I was attempting to renovate this blog by combining 4 blogs into 1, and that proved to be a HUGE headache.

Instead I found it easier to just import the entire blog away.

If you are still interested, the address is http://lordsfl.wordpress.com

I have found wordpress to be a much better place to host as it does not have as many ads and also no annoying pop-ups.

Cheers, see ya soon.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Day 1 of trip. Siem Reap

Today as I type this it has been one heck of a tiring day.

Early morning we took the bus to the KLIA LCCT and then thankfully it was a non-delayed Air Asia flight to Siem Reap.

Slept most of the way heh as I was still somewhat sleep challenged.

Arrival in Siem Reap gave us a nice surprise, Malaysian citizens no longer need to pay that US$25 entry visa. Yay for once a Malaysian passport does net some benefits after all.

We had a Land Cruiser pick us up from the airport and bring us to the hotel which is known as the Khemera Angkor Hotel. This is a NICE hotel as the rooms are HUGE and clean. This one is no backpacker joint though.

Enough about the hotel, we decided to go for lunch, silly us to ask the driver of the vehicle to bring us somewhere for lunch. Ended up being ferried to one of those 'rip-the-tourist' type places. OK it wasn't bad, but I am sure there are better places.

The next was a drive into the main city area. The city area is built upon a grid system. Very well planned actually. But unfortunately it is littered with peddlers of all kinds especially little children who are out to get your money.

We found this place that I was hoping to go to called the Blue Pumpkin. This is a nice little cafe run by a frenchie which is quite good. The drinks are good, food above average but what is best is the chairs :D Will post some photos later.

After the walking around, we took a trip to the Tonle Sap lake, this is one of the largest flood plains in south east asia. It is actually extremely dirty. Personally I wouldn't recommend this trip as there isn't much to see. It can be somewhat depressing as well to see all the little children living in such terrible conditions.

The boat ride will bring you along some floating villages and also will show you some of the harshest or rather poorest living conditions there can be. Homes that have to be dismantled due to floods.

The one thing that did interest me was whether there was any wildlife left in the lake. But no one would know the answer.

It started to pour like cats and dogs towards the end of the journey and we were lucky we came in an SUV instead of the motorcycle buggies.

We headed back to the hotel for a shower and then dinner at Viva, this is by far the best Mexican food I have had since leaving USA. Seriously speaking, it is damn bloody good. I am sure I will be coming back again before I leave :)

Then it was massage time. It was quite good, somewhat a mix of a Thai and Chinese style. You either love it or you hate it. Personally I like all massages so it doesn't matter hehe.

Then it was time to go to sleep, for tomorrow I shall go see the Angkor Wat.

Sunday, April 1, 2007

A short weekend away : Cameron Highlands.

Been rather tired lately, especially with the heat of the sun and also constant gardening which just doesn't seem to stop.

Decided to go out of town for a bit, just for that much needed break.

Needed some cool clean air for a bit. Usually it will mean one of the highland resorts. Guess this time it is not too different.

Cameron Highlands it is again. Drove up on Friday afternoon and arrived just before dinner and in time for a round of scone and cream. Staying again at the usual joint at this place called Cameronian Inn, it is a decent place. Fairly clean, decently priced and for the most part quite convenient to move about as it is in the smack of Tanah Rata. Plenty of food nearby and even in the Inn itself you can get food, but I would recommend going for a walk to the town centre for a better variety..

Friday night our usual joint called OK TUCK in Brinchang was closed, so we decided to try for some KFC. I suggest you give it the wide berth next time. I know I will be.

Saturday, got up to a late start as usual. But still had some time to do some sight seeing. Started out at this cafe called Uncle Chows, in the new shop lots in Tanah Rata. This place is opened by a retired couple from KL. Most things are quite good. Prices are reasonable for the quality you are getting. Then it was to KHM Strawberry Farm in Kampung Sedia. It is a nice place to have ice blended strawberry juice. I like mine with no sugar :)

After that it was the trip to the peak, it is called Gunung Brinchang. It is exactly 666.6 feet above sea level. Basically this is the highest point of this highlands. Normally it is a very peaceful place to be. But this time there seemed to be some gathering here by some government agency. Place became a nightmare :(

But as always the drive up here is nice. It is not difficult to do, even if you have a small engined vehicle like a Kancil. Just make sure it is well maintained, especially the cooling system. The roads aren't the best, that much I can tell you as there are HUGE potholes on the way up.

Dinner, was a quick trip to OK TUCK for my steamboat. Somehow I love to have steamboat here. In reality it is nothing special. Just the cold weather makes it taste better or rather the heat does not aggravate you as much. However their vegetable dishes tend to be better. In my opinion that is.

Sunday the same ole usual thing.

Then it was home.

Good weekend. Next trip will be less than 3 weeks time. Destination has already been decided, in fact trip has already been paid for.

You will be hearing about it soon enough

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Operation Clean Up Gardens.

The exterior of the townhouse has started to become a total mess lately.

Much of the garden work I did has somewhat overgrown to be a forest like environment. Then there is the weeds which seems to be an everlasting and enduring problem around here.

First step is to get that weeds taken care off.

The first 2 flower beds aren't too difficult, just do some smart placing of the plants and repotting should do the trick.

The back possess a different problem all together.

BUT for now I will concentrate on the front.

Changing the pond to a bigger one will be the main priority. Then instead of soil surfaces will move towards mulch based surfaces. The idea will be plentiful but minimalist. No more bushy hedges, just clean neat greens.

The first flower bed, decided to change it to be palms and some general ferns with this money plants hanging on top.

Second flower bed opted to retain the general bamboo them with pine and various ferns to be hanging down. Soil area to prevent the weeds will be purely pebbled up. Now I hope there is enough pebbles around.

It will be a slow project though which I am sure would only be finished sometime when it is nearing my time to jet set again.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Place where I keep on coming back.

I do tend to have a fondness for living in hotels it seems and obviously the more expensive the better.

My favourites tend to be small luxury boutique hotels especially those you find in Britain. But right now am staying at the executive club floor of the Mercure Roxy in Singapore.

Since leaving Australia, it has been just a few days. The weekend most did nothing, then on the Monday had to go to get my passport renewed. All was set and the next day headed for Singapore. This time decided to come by express bus. Took the dual deck (though the bottom deck is just an area where they store baggage. Journey was decent.

Had a Thai buffet at Marina Parade, was alright but nothing special. Also had a go at the Tony Romas which is quite good just leaves you with an ever faithful thirst for water or anything sweet (come to think of it, most foods in Singapore does tend to do that to you)

I am as I write this blog wondering where we should head to next. Thinking somewhat of going to Thailand for the sole sinister reason to massage :D But since politically the place is somewhat of a disaster am unsure if that is the best of place to go to right now. Also somewhat rather go to a place that is a lil out of this world and you know a place that you can somewhat see some real history. Perhaps East Malaysia, but it is so freaking expensive to do anything within Malaysia and flying to the other part of Malaysia is not a cheap affair. Maybe another trip to China? Why not........ but I have already been there and would like to see someplace different. Hmmm Cambodia?

Ahh enough of this dreaming for now. Gonna go enjoy the perks of living on the executive floor.

By the way it is wonderful :D Especially when you don't have to pay for it :D :D :D

Friday, March 9, 2007

Goodbye Australia.

Well the day has come that I will say goodbye to Australia.

Somehow I still felt somewhat like a tourist today, surprising since I've spent so long here and this is the first time I have actually done the touristy stuff.

Today after packing up, I decided to take a walk to the CBD area.

Then I decided to jump on the city circular tour.

First one was to Bondi Beach.

It was somewhat cold this morning. But it was still an interesting area. My guess is at the height of summer this must be the best place to be.

My breakfast at Bondi beach was a grilled Lobster with a piece of grilled salmon and chips. Damn it was bloody good.

Bondi itself isn't really anything special, generally just a huge happening real estate developement.

The next stop was the city circular.

My impression on Sydney isn't really fond. It is one of those places that seems too old to be new, yet too new to be really old. In terms of old factor, Tasmania seems to be better.

Architecture and skyline seems somewhat like an eyesore. It has somewhat of the multistyle of the mix of old and new, just it doesn't blend in as well like say those in London or England in general.

Had a nice good lunch today, lamb shanks and mashed potatoes.

Amazingly I never took a single picture since I left Tasmania. Now I wonder why is that. Perhaps my interest in photography is wanning. Perhaps there just isn't anything significant I would like to snap on.

Anyhow, after lunch I decided to take a stroll back to the hostel, packed up the car and made my way to the airport.

The airport in Sydney isn't really anything to shout about per say.

Decided to do some last minute shopping and bought what I been hoping to buy for a long time. An iPod. Decided on the 80GB version, hope it somehow does not become a white elephant like all other small electronics I have ever purchased.

Anyways, it is time to board now. I will remember my time in Australia and Tasmania for all the happy moments I had and for the relaxed lifestyle there was. Someday I will definitely want to return for the sole reason that it is a nice place to be, however I am pretty sure things would be different from what I knew it to be.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Goodbye Tasmania.

Somehow I am feeling somewhat nostalgic.

The last few days I been traveling around Tasmania.

Mitchell and me had been driving around at Cradle Mountain as well as Lake St Clair National Park.

This is a beautiful region. Reminds me a lot towards my time in Montana.

I will post more pictures on this place later.

Left Tasmania yesterday after a drive through Queenstown, Stanley, Devonport and finally Launceston where I flew on to Sydney.

Picked up a car at the airport and drove on to Redfern. After throwing the bags into the hostel it was onwards to the Chinatown district.

Looking for food in Sydney after hours is actually quite a challenge, but thankfully the Chinatown had sufficient choices around.

Had a quick bite of a yang chow fried rice and then took a drive to the ANZAC brigdge (just for kicks)

Today in the morning since I had nothing better to do, I took a drive to Blue Mountain. It is okay. But after coming from Tasmania and previously spending time in Montana this place is somewhat lame. Plus most things are quite expensive here as well.

Later on took a drive to Canberra. Interesting scenery getting there.

One thing for sure, driving here can involve some tiresome long journeys due to the relatively low speed limits here.

I can't believe tomorrow will be my last day in Australia, 10 days short of being a year in Australia.

Somehow or rather I am somewhat glad that it is over, but at the same time I am somewhat sad that I am leaving. Granted if I wanted to stay on, the choice is always there. But just somehow I feel that I could achieve more by returning to England.

Someday I shall return, but somewhat I feel that it would be a long while before I return as I would like to see new places and perhaps my next port of call will be somewhat further from Australia. My aim now is to be again closer to Europe.