KL Bird Park

How do you like holding a colourful bird friend while it’s feeding? What about having one sit atop your head?

trying hard to be natural when the feathery friends are clinging on

Jean, my childhood friend, bless her, has a Sogo member card which we enjoyed getting 2 free child tickets when we buy 2 adult tickets. Adult tickets cost RM17 / pax while a child cost RM13 / pax. A good savings there. We even did a good thing by giving away one of the free child tickets since we had enough for ours. “Good deed of the day” Checked!

fish a crowding when food's a coming!

The kids enjoyed feeding the fish ( am so glad I had a big packet of fish food with me, don’t ask why I carry that around) and we enjoyed the bird show. Saw the hornbill feeding. Hmm….the birdkeeper fed them raw meat and cut papayas. Went very close to peacocks who were too shy to show us their magnificent fan. Just be mindful of the timing as these feeding and shows go by schedule.

Ended up in Jalan Dang Wangi for a timely Nasi Briyani lunch. Yum!

they are so tame to feed comfortably while clinging on to a complete stranger!

Daytrip - Pulau Ketam

It was a long weekend, where Labour Day and Wesak Day gave a good stretch from Friday to Monday holiday. So, the city dwellers like us, always looking out for some adventures, decided to visit Pulau Ketam.

It’s been ages since we’ve been there and it’s been developed, so we’ve heard. Started out from Petaling Jaya about 11-ish. It took us about 45minutes to reach the jetty. It’s a good idea if you take the KTM as it is right in front of the jetty terminal. You can park in the terminal parking lots but you will find that the sign closes off, saying it’s full. You should ask the guard as he will allow you to drive in, provided there is still space available. They just don’t allow everyone to drive in, because they don’t want you to park overnight.

oh don't be shy now...straight ahead to the jetty

A breeze to buy the ferry tickets (RM7 per way) as you walk towards the jetty. A bad experience is, that while queuing for the wait, we notice loads of people just walking pass us to the front of the line. As the gatekeeper passes us, we asked him why are these people cutting the line? Apparently, there’s an “illegal” type of boat which is open air and you do not need to queue and wait! What?! That cost RM10 per way and if you don’t want to wait, just go straight to the front and board the boat, pay to the ticket collector on the journey. So, we decided to stick with our air-condition ferry which we assume is legal, safer and better.

look at the queue. the small boat is an "illegal" ride

After a 40minute wait and an hour’s boat ride, uneventfully. We reached Pulau Ketam. Everyone’s famished by now. I walked pretty fast ahead to look for a restaurant hoping to beat the crowd coming behind me. Hah! It was easy to get seats and easy to order as we already know what we want. We want crab! Among others, of course. We ordered a dish of Kam Heong Crab weighing 1.3kg, Siong Tong La La, Vegetables(Caan’t remember the name), Buttered Squid and Sweet Sour Fish. We were pretty hungry, so we thought it was a good meal overall. Note, we were pretty hungry. The bill……..RM 194.50 That’s hefty, even for a KL seafood price. Hmmmph….just bear in mind, you are the contributing factor for Pulau Ketam to survive and thrive, so don’t take it too badly.

Time for a look see. Slowly, we stroll through the street and when we turn the bend, only then we realise that, we’ve reached the island centre. Restaurants line the street both sides, with hawker stalls, mainly fried oyster and lala. Be careful, as there are plenty of cyclists, that’s the best way to get around by renting one. Through the street, you come to a local temple and open space of concrete landing, perhaps some shows go on occasionally here. We turned back and stroll leisurely, finding another coffee shop for tea time.

hotzzzzz......the open square at the end of the busy street

Close to 4.30pm, we decided to leave, as the last ferry out of there is 5.30pm. If you do come to Pulau Ketam, do consider staying at the riverfront hotel which is the 1^st building you will see when you enter Pulau Ketam.

Dimdex 2010 @ Doha

On 27th March 2010, for the first time, I landed in one of the desert regions of Middle East - DOHA. I suppose, I would never journey there if it was not for the sake of business. Again, I have much to thank my employers, don't I? 

Once landed, we made our way to the immigration line. For visa application, we applied on the spot at the counter, paying US Dollars. Thank God, they accept credit card, otherwise, we would not have enough to pass through. It's a simple airport, security was not tight. We made our way to the waiting lounge, supposedly to have the hotel pick-up waiting, but alas, arrangements was not done well on their part. 

Doha isn't a big place, moving around is not difficult, cabbies do know their way around. In fact, daily we took different cabbie services, I do notice that most of the drivers probably just landed in Doha not long ago. Probably, this is one of the easiest jobs to get. 

The main thing about Doha, the locals - being Sheikhs or the commoners, actually do not work. Yes, you read right. Who you see working, are all foreigners. Majority of them are Philippines, Indians and migrants from nearby countries such as Algeria. They are basically very friendly people, that's what I can say for the foreigners, as I require their services most times. About the locals, I can't comment much. 

It is indeed a rich country, developing at a very fast rate. New buildings are being constructed at the same go. It goes to show, the revenues they have is abundant. 

Being a desert land, they have constructed a green mirage in the city centre. Green, healthy turfs, bright coloured flowers and palms line the long stretch of seaside curve along the Central Business District. Away from there, you will begin to see stretches of sand dunes here and there, otherwise occupied by residential and commercial buildings. 

Skyscrapers in the making

Beautiful Algerian girls

A 2 star hotel standard, not bad

View from my hotel window. Looks like a war zone out there

Dimdex 2010 was held here

City night life

Hotel entrance

Hotel lobby

One of my favourite graphics - either you see it as a mournful robotic face sideways, otherwise, it is just a plain camera

The Souk...the only night street bearing lines of cafes and restaurants for the fun seekers

cape town

taken from the runway at ysterplaat airbase. you can see table mountain  from  most angles wherever you are in cape town

one of the best places i got to travel for work was cape town, south africa in september 2008. now i can understand why i've been hearing about retired people traveling to south africa for their holidays. it ain't cheap, that's for sure, yet it is totally worth the value you pay. as for me, how bless to enjoy this place without needing to pay a cent :) i'm not trying to "sai meang" in chinese meaning show off, yet i can't help it. haha

it was a wonderful business trip, starting from the flight from kl, it was almost an empty plane except for our group about 30+ pax and some others but we had most of the rows to ourselves. it is reasonably easy to drive in cape town, we rented our own vehicle for the daily transfer from hotel to the airbase where our work is conducted. transport is not easily available especially where we stayed. it is within a residential community, homes converted into lodge, so there wasn't enough rooms to accomodate all of us. though staying apart, it wasn't a problem to get from 1 place to another. daily breakfast was mostly cereals, oats, bread, milk, juices, upon order, eggs, sausages. 

the weather was chilly, when it became windy, it's literally bone shaking. having a heater in the room is very important. the people are generally friendly and easy to get along with. it's a melting pot of different cultures. in fact, i was informed by our local guide and friend, mr. mansoor that the early settlers were from indo/malay region, so you will expect to see many tanned skin residents, besides the caucasian and afro. it is generally safe to go out, but there are streets and areas which are advisable to not be visited late in the day, if you must, to go in a group. 

it's a good time of year to go cape town, the weather is lovely, the people are relaxed, even the whales are easily spotted. so, i would say, it's one of the more memorable trips i've had. 

no culture shock here

view from on top table mountain

trudge up cape of good hope for the breathtaking view of surrounding oceans. worth every pant :p

showing the direction of home 

great souvenir ideas

very african style souvenirs, but one of the more popular ones, is ostrich egg

penguin in africa?! yes, you are seeing correct. within touch distance too

cape of good hope and table mountain entrance

cosy lodge in a safe residential area

one of the reasons to be here

glorious table mountain

whale can be spotted from this distance

simon's town quayside....richman's playground? being there makes me feel luxurious already

more souvenirs these sort of carvings always gives me the creeps

table mountain from our lodge balcony. ain't it great to travel at no cost, best still, with wonderful colleagues keeping you warm :)

it wasn't all play, ok? you are seeing results of hardwork. Russia.

India.

Brahmos from india

the little township built by early malay settlers

on the move again, bye cape town. 

the park at alam damai

there's a park with a very western feel to its name called "The park at Alam Damai" about 1minute drive from home or i could opt to walk across the main road, it's a well hidden treasure for the residents of alam damai. 

i like to think that this is my park, i come here every evening for the past 3years, except for the occasional business trips which brings me away from home. it's a cosy place with a reasonable compound for various activities. a 100m cemented track for joggers and cyclists, lots of spacious ground for the boys to have their evening football game, a children's playground with an assortment of play tools, seating gazebos strategically placed at different spots in the park, lots of bench along the track in case you need a rest, 2 ponds which i've seen tortoises and small fish being fed every evening. 

i thought i should write about my park, as it has served me so well, through ups and downs. when i was unhappy, i walked myself happy along those tracks, sit on the grass enjoying the cool evening breeze, overlooking the streets and houses. when i was happy, i released my adrenaline walking through those tracks too. it's a place i look forward to be after work, when i could not, there will be tomorrow, because i know my park will be waiting. 

especially like how the branches extend out to the pathway. lots of shade

i thought this is a good place for jamie and jools to roam since this is a No Dog Allowed park, we could make use of the lower end where no one goes

kids love race down the slope on their bicycles from the upper right side all the way down to the left where it ends on a  field

the field. football games every evening

my favourite shades. sunnies not required :)

nice gazebos, romantic as well