happy christmas to one and all

santa is not the reason for the season

jesus IS reason for the season

on a clear day you can see all the way to genting

view of the ambank camel from luna bar

i seldom venture into the city proper. i could probably count the times when i've been driven there since coming back to the valley. oh, and there was that one time when i drove there all by myself one early sunday morning for the nike 101010 challenge - on 10th of October this year. (gettit?, gettit?? :)) hence, you will get a blank look from me if you mention roads like jalan tunku abdul rahman etc. and all the other traffic congested thoroughfares that most ppl are familiar with. i'm quite happy sticking to congested thoroughfares like nkve, jln university, especially since they are not likely to flood when during one of those monsoon downpours.

given that we live at low altitudes and just above the equator, the skies are seldom 'not cloudy all day'. add to that the general pollution created in the valley and the ash clouds from our pyromaniac neighbors - it is not often that we have clear night skies. on the night that i took this picture with my iphone (hence the poor resolution) we were atop a building called menara pan global at a hip rooftop hangout spot called luna bar for an event to celebrate the achievements of several young men who had been awarded the honor of being first among equals by a men's magazine called clive. phew. what a chock-load of information in one sentence. :)

so there we were, partying with other beautiful hip young people of the valley. as we were sipping our drinks and drinking in the gorgeous view, i noticed a ring of light in the horizon that was so otherworldly and mesmerizing that it held my attention for a whole 10 seconds. or something like that. then, turning to lilian who was standing next to me, i pointed it out to her and we both stood there trying to figure out what it was. in the end, we both agreed that it had to be a spaceship. what else could be so exquisite. ...?

ring of light just above the city skyline

twin towers side view

paradise in our backyard

at the end of october, we went on a mini-getaway to the banjaran - a 'wellness' resort in ipoh's backyard, literally. once there, you feel as though you've been transported to another world. there's something quite enchanting and about banjaran. like a lost paradise, but with every creature comfort. part of the reason it's so tranquil and quiet is because it's very exclusive (only 25 villas - and adult only) which makes it the perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of city life.

each villa has it's own plunge pool and jacuzzi so there's no need to leave its privacy to enjoy the hotsprings since it's water is pumped directly to each jacuzzi - but there's so much to explore outside. the resort, beyond the villa is a playground fashioned entirely of elements natural to the site - the hotsprings and limestone caves. if you like water, like me, you'll absolutely fall in love with this place. we spent hours going from cave to hotspring to icy cold tub to naturally heated pool, to cave, to keiko fish pond, to cave, well ... you get the idea. the caves were transformed from their original states into a meditation cave, a crystal cave, a sauna cave, wine cellar, etc. yet detailed sensitively so that they appear 'natural'.

for our stay, we took advantage of the malaysian international gourmet festival pacakge - which included a spa/massage treatment and 6 course dinner w/ wine pairing. stay and dine packages are great because there's no need to drive home after the meal so you can eat and drink to heart's content. and what a superb meal that was. everything consumable is organic as are the spa products and many of the vegetables and herbs are grown on the resort itself. hope that pomelo offers a similar migf package again next year. it was a truly memorable getaway. :D

what have u been up to lately?

at what point does one cease to be able to claim they returned to the country 'recently'? i still tell people i recently repatriated. well, we have crossed the 7 month mark which means we've been back for more than 1/2 a year already. imagine that!:)

running

2 weekends ago we took part in our 2nd half marathon, PBIM. which we'd signed up for even before we returned to the country. i never would've thought that i would be a runner in my mid thirties - and yet, here i am about to run another half marathon in s'pore this weekend. it's been said that people are now turning to running and other such fitness crazes to get through their mid life crisis (instead of buying a ferrari ...). well, i can't deny that running is a rather crazy sport. and certainly, many things about the PBIM run were insane - such as the starting time (3am), the fact that it rained heavily during the run; and yet it has got to be the most enjoyable, exhilarating races i've taken part this year. i ran across the PENANG BRIDGE and BACK damnit! hmm. have lost count of how many runs i've taken part in exactly - a glance in the t-shirt drawer says probably half a dozen or so. klang pacers, new balance 11k, nike 101010, kl stanchart, new balance 15k ...

(this pic was taken after the KL stanchart - back in june - couldn't find any good pics from recent runs)

salam raya!

first day of eid celebrations here in the valley. we went shopping at masjid jamek last nite for baju melayu for okm. no prize for guessing what color the outfit is ... i didn't see anything i liked unfortunately. everything was just too colorful for my taste.

this morning we SLEPT IN. mmm... and this was followed by an ultra leisurely breakfast at pjstate - seafood congee cooked in a claypot, toasted egg sandwiches, popiah, wantan mee and ice milo. yummy. after brekkie, we went to see baby niece and dropped by the gasing house to collect some more stuff. this house resembles a storehouse more than ever now. :P

we've moved!

i am writing this post to commemorate moving into 'new' digs! via maxis broadband connection! (okm is using the digi one) still don't believe how difficult it was getting something as simple as an internet connection. in the end it worked out, but not without sweat and tears which is another blog post in itself. :P

friday was our first night here - decided at the last minute since we had gone to see the macc stand-up comedy show at pjla, around the corner from here. it was only the previous evening that i'd gone on a buying spree at the panashop and got a whole bunch of kitchen appliances. and last night, i had a bunch of gal friends over for a movie and game (satc!). it was a wild - we had cosmo mocktails, chocolate, popcorn and the most delectable carrot cake cupcakes. ;)

this place has been ready for us to move into since we got back from the US but i guess we took our time ... and we finally set the weekend after my inlaw's perth trip for the BIG move but the early arrival of baby niece illyssa precipitated a series of events which led to us leaving the nest earlier. (i have a niece now!)

the house currently is a mess from all the unpacked boxes. (it's hard to believe the amount of stuff people accumulate over the years - even non-shoppers like us!) i think it will be a while before all our stuff find 'homes' in our home. nonetheless, it wonderfully liberating to finally be able to organize - and also do mundane chores like laundry - which i adore. :)

karipap-date: 15 aug 2010

hi there. it's been such a long time. been back almost FOUR months now! what can i say? life in the valley is HECTIC. we've not even caught up with all our old friends yet.

what have i been up to? well ... there's work - yes, i started working. and other stuff that's been keeping us occupied. and one short weekend trip away to an orang asli settlement by tasik bera, the largest natural lake in the peninsula ... actually more of a peat swamp forest than a lake. 

this weekend, we were supposed to go climb mt KK but it was not to be. anyways. .....................

it's been a pretty relaxing weekend. i've enjoyed it. leisurely. very very nice. got to see parents who are visiting from sydney. and we finally unpacked our stuff from the US! registered for digi broadband internet. i bought a washer last week. slowly ticking stuff off the list of things to do before we move. (another locale, but still in the valley)

week 2 happenings

trip to teluk intan was nice. and short. sadly grandma didn't recognize me. boo. her excuse is that she's 95. oh well. she really enjoyed playing mahjong with okm and didn't bring up great grandkids. phew. she's got more than she can count or remember anyways. :P

got our iphones finally. okm took about 1/2 hour to settle his. (at mid-valley digi). took a whole lot longer to get mine - because turned out i had an outstanding bill with celcom. for $8.75. such a puny amount ... u'd think they'd hv written it off after 6 years. but no, so i had to go to the celcom office (pkns building) and suffer their 'wonderful' customer service (argh!) to pay up to get my good name removed from the blacklist. ... then with the release letter in hand, we headed over to the digi outlet in SS2 (should've gone back to mid valley) - and waited in line for about an hour before i was able to buy my new phone. ...

had dinner with cousins and then drinks at wine bar after on friday nite. somehow it seems wrong to pay upwards of USD40/bottle for a non-occasion when i'm used to paying USD16/bottle for celebrations, and under USD10/bottle for regular dinner wine. so cheapie me enjoyed the barossa valley cabernet sauvignon at vintry but would rather have teh-O-ais limau any day. :P

the following day, saturday, we had banana leaf rice/dhosai at kana - with some of okm's secondary school friends (s'pore). later, we had tea with neil at coffee bean. no starbucks for us if we can help it, nosiree! - it's gonna be local coffee shops or locally owned chains or franchises, and as a last resort, the coffee bean ... we were also there thursday nite at the bsc with carolyn. saturday evening, we had an early mother's day dinner at formosa since san was going back to shanghai on sunday. update on food event mentioned in previous post: our pizzas were a hit ... my nephew isaac is 6 years old and a foodie in the making had 4 slices and wanted more (but they stopped him b'cos we're trying to control his weight)

have met some really nice runners in the neighborhood. oldies but goldies. some of them are also running in the 15K this sunday. will be nice to see some familiar faces. collected our race packets on saturday - i'm in the junior veteran category. (age 35 and above) haha. which means that i have an extra 5 minutes more to complete the race than those competing in the women's open. :D

ended the week on a 'high' with a hike to gunung angsi with our fellow mount KK climbers. pic below is of us at the summit - just before it started to pour ... we made it back to the car completely soaked through - even my shoes (ugh) and then being malaysians, instead of heading straight home to clean up, went to have 'famous' kuala pilah loh shi fun. ... :P

week 1

been back for a WHOLE week minus 12 hours now ...! a little breather before we head to grandma's later - a day trip to teluk intan - be back tonite. and will have to get some pizza dough going. we're making pizza for the family tomorrow ... went grocery shopping last night - happy to discover that we can get a whole range of organic food and vegetarian staples quite easily. i wonder if i remember how to cook. seems like it's been forever since i cooked anything. haha. life here couldn't be more different from life back in durham. at least we've managed to keep up with our running. and thank goodness for that. been waking up early enough to run in the mornings. short 5 - 6K runs. it's cool(er) in the mornings but still very humid. i'm completely soaked through by the end of the run. okm's weight differential before and after run is 5lbs.

i feel as though i've been on fast forward mode this past week. it's been somewhat of a sensory overload. not in a bad way. but still quite overwhelming. the humidity, the traffic, the crowds, the fOOd, family, reconnecting with old friends, meeting new ones ... not sure when things will slow down. miss my peaceful life in durham. okm of course has taken like a fish back in water. i'm still treading. trying to hold out a little ... will be awhile before i find my legs. ...

shall be staying with okm's parents for the time being. they have wireless internet now which is great - and we will be getting our iphones tomorrow! we got wheels too. i think the transition back to kl has been pretty smooth so far ... stay tuned folks! :)