Adventurous Weekend Outing (B)

can I eat now?

The dinner consisted of:

1. Peppery Soup
   
2. Four Heavenly King
3. Stirred fried brocolli, cauliflower & greens
4. Fried Eggs
   
5. Cockles
6. Clams
7. Prawns
8. Chicken Satay
9. BBQ Sausages
10. BBQ Chicken Wings
11. BBQ Lamb
12. Fruits
    

We're so statisfied with the dinner. At the same time, we had hard time finishing the food. There's so much food to eat. We ain't big eater. But the food was awesomely delicious! Thank you so much, Adeline!

the girls

Before going for the night trekking with a bunch of schoolkids from Singapore, we decided to play some mental game. It's Mahjong time! But, we didn't gamble, just to play some games to pass the time.

This was actually my first time playing Mahjong in an open air environment. Normally, it's played indoor, for afraid of being caught gambling and sent to lock-up.

En Helmi was once agian leading us during the jungle trekking, together with another two assistants. We were first walking through the oil palm plantation. However, owls were never found. Sigh......

Then it was a trek up the slope with extra attention needed, so that no one would get themself hurt.

Since we were with a group of schoolkids, it did remind me of the time I went camping with my society-mates during my secondary school era.

We were actually regretted for joining this as we didn't see much other than a few fireflies and wild boars path. The girls were thinking of quitted half way. But, they still managed to finish the whole trekking. Applause!!!

night jungle trekking

Once we reached somewhere slightly flat, the schoolkids had some briefing and discussion with theirs teachers. On the other hand, we were having chat with the guides. At some time, we were interupted by a few leeches. Yes, they did suck blood!

We then back trekked through the path we used just now. Yes, the girl were screaming for not quitted earlier. They felt conned.

Unfortunately, the slope was slippery as it rained. Therefore, some minor accidents happened. Checking the weather forecast beforehand was indeed important, expecially for outdoor activities like this.

The whole journey lasted for about 90 minutes, back and forth.

Once back to the rest house, we were then served the supper - fried sweet potato and warm soya bean milk(but added ice by us). This was what called the first class service! That's what the BN should learn!

As it's still quite early to call it night and go to bed, we decided to continue the Mahjong game we had abandoned earlier. The cooling climate made playing Mahjong outdoor an wonderful experience!

We then went to bed at around 2am. The running stream water was making me hard to fall asleep at first. At the end, it turned out to be an effective lullaby.

Gonna wake up early tomorrow for water rafting!

Good Night

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

(to be continued ......)

Adventurous Weekend Outing (A)

Last weekend, I went to Mukim Teja, a hidden village in Gopeng, about 30 mins from Ipoh, together with my Cadet Reporter mates - KL, KY and KY's mates - YW, WT & JA, for a short weekend break.

It's a 2D1N outing and we were going to stay at Adeline's Rest House; RM138 per person, accommodation + 5 meals. What's a good deal, right?

The hut that I stayed in

Stop imagining people bathing by the river; digging holes to do 'business'; sleeping on the bamboo flooring with mosquitos circulating! There's nothing like that! Mattresses and pillows were provided. Modern bathroom and toilet were found.

Inside the hut

We arrived there around 1pm , after nearly 30 mins drive from Ipoh. Once we reached the town of Gopeng, we passed through the kampungs & orang asli settlement. Towards the end of the journey, the road became windy and narrow. Luckily, no other cars came from the opposite side and my driving skill wasn't tested much.

One of the canteen

After checking into the 'hut', we were served the lunch. We expected only simple meal. But, Adeline's a excellent cook!! It's good food!! It could easily defeated some of the hotel buffet meal.

For sure, we weren't going to spend the day there doing nothing. RM130 person for water rafting; some of us found it expensive. However, after much suggestion and persuasion by Adeline, we decided to do caving at Gua Kandu later and white water rafting along Sungai Kampar the next day morning.

so clean...

Led by the experienced guide - En Helmi, we went to discover what's hiding inside Gua Kandu. Personally, I found doing this was much tougher than caving at Gua Tempurung, another cave nearby. On the hand, it's dry in there so we didn't get wet.

the great guide - En Helmi

It's used to be the hiding shelter of the Malayan Communist members. Some drawings and writings on the wall proved that. When all the torch lights was switched off, we saw nothing at all. I really couldn't imagine how the communists could stay there for such a long time.

JA, YW & WT - in the cave

We found some uncommon creatures inside the cave, for example, the cave spider. There're porcupines too, but we could only find their spines with fungus growing on. Bats! Their shit and urine stung the whole cave. Unpleasant smell!!

Cave Spider

Since we're in a limestone cave, there're stalagmites and stalactites everywhere. Of course, there're some in funny looking weird shapes. It took such a long time to form them. Moreover, it's a proof of how old's the Earth. It made me thinking that human were in fact small and insignificant!

Me & KY - under the lion head

Besides, crystal stone were found in the cave too!! Too bad, we didn't bring along any equipment to knock down some. Tempting to pack some home??

some action in the cave

En route to the exit, we had to crawl, duck, slide, climb, jump, cross ...... etc. Some mini accidents occured. Fortunately, no one got injured badly. A big applause should be dedicated to our wonderful guide!

abseiling

After exiting the cave, we got to do some jungle trekking before going back to where we came from. But, due to the rain, the slope became slippery. There's where everyone of us slipped and fell. Just couldn't think of what would happend if there weren't ropes for us to hold on to. Maybe we would just roll down the slope!

we reached the exit!!

Then, we requested En Helmi to bring us to the river for some wash up. The water was so cooling. It's always fun to play with water by the river. I'd never done for such a long time!

so dirty...

We had some time chit-chatting with En Helmi. He used to ride motorbike everyday from Gopeng to Prai for work and was once kidnapped while on business trip in Manila. OMG! He then quitted his job with the multinational company and became a freelance guide. He said he wanted simple life.

Well, people nowadays have become materialistic and forgotten what's the true meaning of life!

It's time to have dinner! So, we headed back to the rest house to bathe and change. No one wanted to eat in such a filthy state.


(to be continued ......)

100

Wow, this is my 100th post!!

I know, I know. As compared to most of the bloggers out there, this is nothing.

I will try the best to blog more so as to catch up with you guys one day!!

Happy blogging!!!

北越背包行点滴（七）

506号房

在房间小休一下，便到酒店的餐厅吃午餐。

虽然团费包三餐，但我也没有乱点食物。我指点了一碟蔬菜蘑菇炒面、热红茶加蜜糖和一支小瓶矿泉水。

炒面刚送到，还蛮大盘的。

女侍应看到我写汉字，说我是中国人。我告诉她我是马来西亚人。转个身，她就递上一瓶越南辣椒酱，果然是有见识哦！

因为不辣，所以我把近半瓶给用了。跟Kg Koh招牌辣椒酱根本没得比。

我也吃得饱饱的，对这一餐也不抱怨什么了。饭后过还刚送上桌呢！

接下来的行程也就是自由活动。我打算到街上走一走，感受一下当地人的生活。顺便找个地方换越南盾和上网。然后，再去休息。

出国旅行，没必要把自己身子弄‘残’。应该适时的缓和一下、充一充电！

Bac Ha 小镇

在吃完午餐后写的

Amguulan

终于看了《快乐男声》阿穆隆被淘汰的那一集。我总觉得他还可以走得更远，可惜，事与愿违。但值得庆幸的是，他现在的发展还不错。希望他的歌声能尽早被传颂到新马区，让更多人被他的好嗓子感动，并认识这位草原王子！

阿穆，唱着在被淘汰前的最后一首歌——《思念母亲》

犹记得去年12月的某个星期天中午，我在沙发上随之拿起遥控器，瞄着电视屏幕，频频地转换频道。突然就转到WaTV!，刚好播着07年《快乐男声》的第一集，长沙唱区的海选。荧幕上，看到主持人在访问着一位参赛者。这名参赛者也顺利晋级下一圈。

能锁住我注意的，不是他的长相或歌声，而是那参赛者的名字——阿X目。（那时候不记得“阿穆隆”）过后才知道，原来他是蒙古族。我对蒙古族的认识少之又少，除了听过成吉思汗等等的历史、吃过蒙古烧烤，其他的都非常陌生。

过了不久的另一个星期天，差不多的时段，我又转台转到WaTV!。那一集是长沙区的决赛，10进1。阿穆隆自弹自唱，虽然听不懂他唱些什么，因为是蒙古语，但他的歌声依然深深地吸引着我。这证明，他是用心地在唱。可惜的，他以一票之差，不能晋级到最后一轮的PK。不过，他入围突围战，还有机会进入全国赛。

突围战——成功！

之后，某一天，突然心血来潮，到互联网搜索关于阿穆隆的故事。知道他后来的了第八名；他的后援会叫“阿童木”（AstroBoy）；他有个妹妹交查娜，参加过《超级女声》；他参赛前是在酒吧驻唱的；他的单曲——“思念母亲”，非常红；他加入种子音乐，是光良的同门师弟；跟许茹芸合唱《男人女人》；他正在拍戏——《八十一格》等等。

当然，也到youtube和土豆网，几乎看完所有跟阿穆隆有关的视频，尤其是他在《快男》的比赛片段。最惊讶的莫过于他形象的改变。我个人认为，他现在更像一名时下偶像。但是，就是觉得他变油了，失去了参赛时那种独有的魅力。或许，当艺人，有时候就是身不由己、不能忠于自己。人前显贵，人后受罪。

他变了！不是吗？

我太喜欢《思念母亲》这首歌了！还记得我在这里写了一篇《发现一把好声音》，并翻译了《思念母亲》的歌词。没想到，这尽然可以被神通广大的阿童木给发现，在百度的贴吧和种子音乐的留言讨论广泛讨论。互联网的世界，真的是太巧妙了！

这几个星期，都在追看着《快男》。个人认为，阿穆隆独特之处，在于他是无法被取代的。其他的参赛者，或多或少还存有一些线上艺人的影子。黄韵玲也说过，阿穆隆是非常国际性的。各花入各眼。反正，每个人都是在投其所好而已。有没有市场价值，还需一段时间才可以评得出来。

阿穆隆，加油咯！（P/S: 阿穆隆的BLOG）

北越背包行点滴（六）

下一站——老街

不到早晨六点，火车就抵达老街(Lao Cai)了。下了火车，一直都有人问是不是要去沙坝（Sapa）。我想他们是要做生意，载游客去那里吧！

可是，我不去沙坝，而是先去北河（Bac Ha）。况且，我也预定了观光团，全包，美金三百。

与我的导游Dao会合后，先去车站对面的餐厅享用早点——越南道地清汤河粉加猪肉，和一杯芒果汁。

河粉汤蛮淡的，所以要配辣椒吃。奇怪的是，辣椒不是和酱油搭在一起，而是酸柑。没有咸味的衬托，但有点酸的，挺开胃的！

早餐——清汤河粉、芒果汁

在吃饱后写的

**************************************************

Basok先生 & Ford Everest

司机先生名叫Basok。他将会驾着一辆崭新的Ford Everest四驱车，载我到每个观光景点。

去Cancau市场的路，有的是柏油路；还有石路、泥路。颠簸的路程，近三小时后才结束。幸好，沿途都有不错的风景：稻田、茶园等。导游问我要不要停车拍照。我说不用。因为我更希望能把所看到的都全摄入脑袋里。

Cancau市场

Cancau市场，是花苗（Flower H'mong）族群逢星期六聚集的市场。他们一早就从各自的村子，长途跋涉到这市场买日常用品、衣服饰物、家畜、一整星期的粮食或与朋友聚一聚。

穿在各女生身上的民族服饰，五颜六色、绚目夺丽，非常显眼。

逛了一会儿、拍点照片，便离开到Bac Ha的旅馆。

到了房间，把背包抛下，立刻冲凉去了。昨天一整天都没洗澡、刷牙、剃胡子，现在非得把自己弄得干干净净不可！

在我背后，家畜等着被买卖

花苗族妇女

在Bac Ha Sao Mai Hotel 506号房写的

北越背包行点滴（五）

在走回去旅行社的途中，看到一间网吧。二话不说，一屁股坐下，手指像小鸡从笼子被释放出来觅食般、纷纷起舞似的在键盘上“乱打”。

先是把今天的照片上载到google photos。接着，就到circles99向各位老友报告行踪。然后，就像往常般地发group emails给Warwickians，叫大家去浏览我刚上载的照片。

临走前，当然是去查吉隆坡交易所的综合指数、Facebook，还有ABC的最新成绩。

在等着被送去火车站时写的

**************************************************

火车站……后门

大家都得越过轨道

月台不见了？

现在，我在火车厢房内的上层床位，不舒服地弯着腰，写着这一篇。

很敬业的旅行社职员，把我从旅行社载到火车站，再带我找车厢和床位。服务真得很周到！大马人民何时才能有哲一种一流的服务思维呢？

要搭这一班火车，奇怪的事，为什么要到后门？而不是大大方方的走进火车站的大门口呢？

这里根本没有平常看到的月台。乘客都得越过火车轨道，才看到与轨道几乎相同高度的月台。

不过，厢房看起来十分“富丽堂皇”！从来没想到会是这样的。这一次还是我第一次“睡”火车呢！

同房的另外三位房客来了。原来是大韩民国子民。且希望他们仨不是“鼻弦乐”演奏家。

美轮美奂

我的床位

在2号厢16号床位写的

Olimpik Di Beijing

This is the Malaysian version of the 2008 Beijing Olympics theme. In fact, I like this version more than the Mandarin version.

Setiap yang bertanding

Berkawan dan seiring

Menanti gemilang detik

OLIMPIK!!

Mendaki puncak cita

Dengan tekun usaha

Tak mudah berputus asa

Di bumi indah ini

Berkemayan olimpik

Kita berganding tangan

Mengeratkan perhubungan

Olimpik di beijing

Menyatukan kita

Langit indah beijing yang terbentang

Menyambut mesra kedatangan

Welcome to beijing

Dengan hati yang terbuka

Untuk dunia yang aman dan sentosa

RAP:

Menanti cita-cita walaupun apa sekali halangan dia

Dari manapun kita

Tiada yang berbeza

Semuanya bersaudara

Yang kalah dan yang menang

Jadikan pengalaman

Yang penting semangat jua

Di bumi indah ini

Berkemayan olimpik

Kita berganding tangan

Mengeratkan perhubungan

Olimpik di beijing

Menyatukan kita

Langit indah beijing yang terbentang

Menyambut mesra kedatangan

Welcome to beijing

Dengan hati yang terbuka

Untuk dunia yang aman dan sentosa

Belated Bangkok Trip Travel Log 4

We got bored of the complementary breakfast at the service apartment. Therefore, we decided to meet up with Chaiwat on the last day morning for breakfast - the authentic Thai meals.

He brought us to a road side mini food court, around the Siam Paragon area. Cheap food, for sure! It was, however surprisingly, his first time to that place. 

Thai breakfast

someone's trying hard not to get the shirt dirty

We then went to walk around in Siam Paragon. Chaiwat was kind enough to lead us to visit his friend's jewelry shop. We of course didn't buy anything. So pai seh! 

the Girls, in Siam Paragon

By noon, we knew it's time for us to head back to the apartment to pack and check out. On the way back, some of us went to pick up their tailor made clothing.

We wouldn't forget to bit farewell to Chaiwat, our awesome guide & host in Bangkok. Take care ya!

the girls & the host - Chaiwat

the Guys

That's the 4 days 3 nights year end trip we spent on Bangkok, the Capital of Thailand. It's a nice weekend break destination. 

Most of us were actually suffering from the post-vacation-syndrome; aka no-mood-at-work. It showed how enjoyable the trip was! 

Where to next, guys???

in the Airport

For more photos from this Bangkok trip, click here.

北越背包行点滴（四）

终于跟司机先生道别了。反正也剩下没多少个有看头的景点。

吩咐他把我丢下一间咖啡店。付了钱、握个手，他也就笑笑脸地乘风而去！我想，他也很久没捕到一条向我般大的“水鱼”。哈哈！

旅游指南有提过，说河内靠载客为生的骑士比游客还多。他们当中，有些可能一整天都在“拍苍蝇”！因此，是可以好好的跟他们杀价。

就像今早那位骑士，一开狮子口，来个30,000越南盾。我说10,000，不可以就掉头走。开个20,000，我也不理他。最后，他也唯有收下10,000。

因为我真的迷路了，所以在去胡志明陵墓 / 一株庙 / 巴亭广场的途中，有骑士开个20,000盾，我立刻答应。第一，我不想再走“冤枉路”；第二，路程比今早的长一些。如果还向早上那样，还为累坏，我一定会坚持己见，不到10,000心不死。

说到电单车，我发现在河内有一种服务，就是专门帮骑士把电单车停好。我想这群“带客厅Motor”的，应该可以从中赚到少许的tips！

在河内，才真正体验到何谓“马路入虎口”。比雅典、雅加达、曼谷或吉隆坡的交通，更为严重、没秩序。行人过马路，一定要胆大，不用理会路上的交通工具就是了！司机、骑士，都会自然地避开行人。若你是胆小一族，恐怕你半小时后也过不去马路的对岸！

在咖啡厅写的

摄于咖啡厅某一处

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晚餐，在同一个咖啡厅解决。在这间同样因装潢而显得高级的咖啡厅，点了一份清而不淡的越南沙拉。因为不想让身子在旅程的第一天就给操坏，所以晚餐不食肉、不吃肥腻的。

在同一家咖啡厅写的