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Trip Photos Uploaded

Tuesday, August 31, 2004

As promised, I've uploaded the pics from my Bangkok trip. Below are the links to each album. Alternatively, you can click on the blog title of my previous posts. :)

Penang

Sammi Cheng: Concert

Bangkok
posted by Ivan, 4:47 pm | link | 0 comments |

Bangkok: Day 3

Monday, August 30, 2004

Final day in Bangkok. Ugh.. I think I'm getting attached to this place. Haha. The flight was in the afternoon, so we did a last minute shoping in Pratunam. This is a retail/wholesale market whereby, if you buy > 3 similar items, the price is really good. After that, it's off to the airport.

What an an enjoyable holiday. I've only spent around RM750 (US$197) for air fare, accomodation, food, transportation and shopping for 3 days 2 nights. Could be cheaper. Overall, it's a nice place to go to. Everthing is good, the food, the friendly people ,and the shoping. Yeah, I'm definitely planing on to Bangkok again. :)
posted by Ivan, 6:45 pm | link | 0 comments |

Bangkok: Day 2

Sunday, August 29, 2004

Another early day as we prepare for a tour to the floating market, which is located 1 1/2 hours drive from Bangkok. We had take another 20 minutes boat ride to get there. The floating market looks really good with a hive of activity going on everywhere, mostly with tourists. The stuff you get here are not really different from those available in Bangkok and the prices are almost identical. So why bother coming to the floating market? It's something different and for the atmosphere.

In the afternoon we went to the grand palace, which is another tourist hive. Nothing much here really except for photo opportunity.

It's back to MBK for more shoping. This time however, we went to Siam centre which is next and connected to MBK. In the evening, we went to backpackers haven, Khao San road. IMHO, this is the most happening place in Bangkok. You can get almost anything here! Shirts, shoes, books, tattoos, pubs, Starbucks!, internet café, massage parlour, hair braiding... You get the idea. There are lots of foreigners here and surprisingly, I find prices here the most competative in Bangkok.

For dinner, we went to Yaowarat Road in the chinatown district. Here's where you can get cheap seafood stalls by the road side. Yummy food after a really long day.
posted by Ivan, 10:45 pm | link | 0 comments |

Bangkok: Day 1

Saturday, August 28, 2004

Arrived in Bangkok at 8:45am. However, we only managed to check in to our hotel at 11:30am due to bad traffic en route. The weather was ok, similar to that of KL, but a little more humid.

Karin's friend brought us for lunch in Kalpapruek Restaurant in Silom. It's a litle cozy-nice retaurant and we ordered small thai dishes to try. Finally authentic thai food! Hehe. After lunch we took the train (BTS) to Siam Square where we had desert at Mango Tango. Lotsa Mango dessert there. Heard this place is quite popular with HK tourist.

Later we spent almost 3 hours at Chatuchak weekend market. I would say this is a female shopping paradise! We didn't have much trouble getting bargains as Karin's Thai friend settled the bargaining part for us. Following that, we spent another 2 1/2 hours shopping in Mah Boon Krong Shopping Centre (MBK). This place houses little shops which sells stuff at a reasonably low price. However, most of the stuff here are price-tagged, so you can't really bargain. We noticed that both of these places sell almost identical stuff but Chatuchak has more variety and able to bargain more.

It's been a long walking day for me and I can't believe Man Utd drew with Blackburn 1-1. Yeah, you can get EPL anywhere in Bangkok. Hehe. Everyone expects Man Utd to win by a 2 goal margin and a cleansheet. Looks like another bad season.
posted by Ivan, 11:47 pm | link | 0 comments |

Sammi Cheng World Tour

Friday, August 27, 2004

I'm blogging from Singapore right now via my pocket pc. Cool! I just got home from Sammi Cheng's world tour concert which was held in Singapore's Indoor Stadium. The concert was pretty good with Sammi giving an energetic performance.

The concert started with her singing some of her more upbeat songs (nope, I don't know any of her song names). The tempo of each song decreases as time progreses. The lighting and effects of the concert was pretty well done, with what you expect from these concerts. However, there were several technical glitches on stage where she had to change microphone and a component for the curtain came lose. But those problems were dealt with swiftly and professionally. For me, the high point of the concert was when she picks three member of the audience to sing with her on stage. It was quite funny and entertaining. Overall it was a well done concert.
posted by Ivan, 11:50 pm | link | 0 comments |

Off to Bangkok!

I'll be off to Bangkok for the long independence day weekend with Yeen Chin, Karin and Maria. :) Yay! Finally, time off! I'll try and pocket blog (never really tried it before) and hopefully get some nice pics for you guys. Anyways, See you on Tuesday. :)
posted by Ivan, 11:00 am | link | 0 comments |

Movie review: Alien Vs Predator

Just got home from the Alien vs Predator. For the first time, the 2 most interesting sci-fi movie species battle it out on the big screen. The story starts with when a billionaire named Weyland hires a team of archaeologists, scientists and security to investigate a "heat bloom" in Antarctica. Leading the group is an reluctant expert adventurer named Alexa Woods who feels the newly assembled team are not properly prepared for the mission. Underneath the surface, the group discovers a pyramid that at first looks to be the work of an ancient race. The group soon finds that they are traped in the middle of a hunt, a sort of war for sport, between two highly advanced and dangerous races.

IMHO, the story wasn't so bad considering the fact that the writers have to come out with a plot to enable these two species to meet. However, if you're expecting tonnes of action and suspense (like the previous Alien movies), you'll be totally dissapointed. You won't get to see any Aliens or Predators in action for the first 1/2 hour. After the long anticipation, the first battle comes. I wasn't dissapointed.. at this point. Things just went downhill for me after that. The later battle scenes were filmed in such a way that you feel like you're watching COPS. The special effects were good but it couild have been much more better. Overall, it's a so-so movie with an ironically correct motto, 'Whoever wins, we lose'. How true. Give this a pass unless you're a big fan.

Ratings (Scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the highest)

Cast : 2
Sound : 3
Picture : 2
Storyline: 3

OVERALL : 2.5

posted by Ivan, 2:30 am | link | 0 comments |

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Oooo.. went to the airport again this morning to send my sis off to Singapore for work. She'll be there for a minimum of 2 years. Things will be pretty quiet at home as I won't have anyone to disturb anymore and thus, less quarrels and arguments. Guess I'll be missing that. Happy or sad? hehe.. I guess it would be abit of both. Anyways my lil' sis, all the best in your work and God bless.
posted by Ivan, 1:51 pm | link | 0 comments |

Rowing Controversy

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Here's an interesting news from the Olympics. Controversy has enveloped the Australian rowing team at the Athens Games when Australian Olympic rower Sally Robbins stopped rowing with more than 600m to go in the final of the women's eight at Lake Schinias. Robbins let go of her oar and lay back on a team-mate as the crew struggled to the finish line. The crew finished last of the six finalists, after being placed third at the halfway mark.

After the race, it has emerged one of Robbins's crewmates threatened to throw her out of the boat and several others launched tirades of abuse, accusing her of "giving up".

I can't believe having this kind of behaviour in a high-level event like the olympics. Imagine the team training for the past four years only to get screwed by one whiner who's emotionally and physically drained. The crewmate only threaten to throw her out. If it was me, she'll be swimming back to shore. muhahaha... c'mon, she made the team lose a medal. At least there is satisfaction in the throwing. :P
posted by Ivan, 3:22 pm | link | 0 comments |

muahaha... experiment!

Monday, August 23, 2004

Went shopping for my glasses today with a friend of mine and on the way to the car park, I was thinking of doing something I've not done for quite a while. Hehe.. You guys can try this if you got lotsa time to waste. Anyways, I told my friend that both of us start looking up at something at the top of the complex (you can see all five floors of the complex from the concourse) and we'll see how many idiots will start looking at what we're looking. Effortlessly, ppl walking pass us started looking up. Hehehe. it's quite funny.. cos it's like almost immediately they'll look up for a couple of seconds and look at us to see what we're looking at. Just a little funny experiment to try. :)
posted by Ivan, 9:23 pm | link | 0 comments |

Finally, Man Utd wins!!

Sunday, August 22, 2004

9Whew.. I was beginning to lose faith with Man Utd this season. Yesterdays' game was so-so with Man Utd dominating most of the 90-minutes against the newly promoted Norwich City. It's actually quite frustrating to watch the game as Man Utd has ample chances to score but they just could not put the finishing touch to it. David Bellion opened Man Utd's goal account with a header 10 minutes before half time. IMHO, the highlight of the match was Alan Smiths' volley in the goal. Genius!! The game ended in 2-1 in Man Utd's favour. With a team like Norwich, I was hoping for a 4 goal margin. But with many Man Utd big guns on the bench, this is the best they could do, for now...
posted by Ivan, 9:56 pm | link | 0 comments |

Easy solution.

Saturday, August 21, 2004

Anyone having trouble finding a solution for a certain problem? This might help.

When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they discovered that ball-point pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat this problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 million developing a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300C.

When confronted with the same problem, the Russians used a pencil.
posted by Ivan, 10:53 pm | link | 1 comments |

hmm...

Friday, August 20, 2004

Strange.. I'm actually feeling quite sad to see Aravind leave for his studies in Australia. Reuben was saying he felt the same way to. Probabaly it's the fact that we'll never see him in Malaysia again. I mean, we've seen so many ppl come and go abroad for studies and we were feeling cool about it cos we know that we'll see each other again. Well, that was like 3 years ago. Probably it's the age thingy. It's like the older we get, the things we do and look for are more permanent, thus the feeling of sadness. muahaha.. I really don't know what I'm rumbling about. Just what's on my mind now. :)
posted by Ivan, 11:58 pm | link | 0 comments |

Why Malaysia uses English for IT.

Why does Mahathir insist on the use of English for maths and science in schools? Because globally at this moment, people use English as basis of information technology language.

How dangerous it is if we're trying to use it in Bahasa, especially in schools? See example below.

*hardware = barangkeras
*software = baranglembut
*joystick = batang gembira
*plug and play = cucuk dan main
*port = lubang
*server = pelayan
*client = pelanggan

Try translating this:
ENGLISH : The server provides a plug and play service for the clients, using either hardware or software joystick. The joystick goes into the port of the client's equipment."

BAHASA : Pelayan itu memberi pelanggannya layanan cucuk dan main dengan menggunakan batang gembira jenis keras atau lembut. Batang gembira itu dimasukkan ke dalam lubang barang pelanggan."

;)
posted by Ivan, 2:57 pm | link | 0 comments |

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Time flies. Today my pal Aravind will be heading for Adelaide, Australia to further his studies for 2 years. Arab, if you're reading this, hope you have good time there but spare those aussies from your arab-charm. :)

I still remember those time when we were looking for a job the same time and basically we were trying to compete who gets a job first. haha.. funny. I reckon I got to know him much better when we went to gym together and those 'lepaking' session watching the world cup.
Anyways, thanks for the good times dude. Have fun!
posted by Ivan, 2:51 pm | link | 0 comments |

Lesson for the day: Cheap Parking in NY.

Thursday, August 19, 2004

A Chinese man walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer. He tells the loan officer that he is going to China on business for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000. The bank officer tells him that the bank will need some form of security for the loan, so the Chinese man hands over the keys to a new Ferrari parked on the street in front of the bank. He produces the title and everything checks out. The loan officer agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. The bank's president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the Chinese for using a $250,000 Ferrari as collateral against a $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank then drives the Ferrari into the bank's underground garage and parks it there.

Two weeks later, the Chinese returns, repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41. The loan officer says, "Sir, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multi-millionaire. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow $5,000?" The Chinese replies: "Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there when I return?"
posted by Ivan, 2:14 pm | link | 0 comments |

Free toll!!

Monday, August 16, 2004

"...Samy Vellu said instructions had been given to all highway concessionaires to close toll booths five minutes before and five minutes after midnight to commemorate National Day on Aug 31..." -thestar.com.my

Muahaha.. if you time it just right, you might be able to use the road for free. But, I doubt it. Knowing Malaysians, you'll probably be stuck in a jam somewhere trying to menuever your way through it using the emargency lane.
posted by Ivan, 1:29 pm | link | 0 comments |

Let the games begin!!

Sunday, August 15, 2004

Ahh.. what a weekend. The olympics, the English Premier League and Formula 1!! Looks like an interesting month ahead with the best-of-the-world competing with one another for the glory of the Olympics. Well. events that interest me would be swimming, track and field. I reckon the aussies will dominate the pool while the yankies will the track and field.

Looks like Man Utd will be heading to another bad season. They lost to the newly rewamped Chelsea squad by one goal. So far, I think the trouble with Man Utd is in the midfield. There is no one creative enough to fuel the Man Utd attacking engine. We shall see what will happen as the season progress. Hopefully the injured Ruud, Saha and Ronaldo will be back to get the Man Utd engine going again.

Sighh.. Looks like Ferrari has done it again. Winning the constructor's title with the nearest contender, Renault 111 points away. Schumacher has made history again with a record 12th win of the season. Looks like nothing will stop him from winning this year's driver's championship.

posted by Ivan, 9:25 pm | link | 0 comments |

Higher toll on Sungai Besi Expressway

Friday, August 13, 2004

Beginning this Sunday, motorists will have to pay 30% more in toll charges when they use the Sungai Besi Expressway. A car driver will now have to pay RM1.30 instead of RM1 previously.

Yikes, now we know where the RM 20 mil will be coming from. :P

posted by Ivan, 3:20 pm | link | 0 comments |

Lesson for the day: Giving 103%

Thursday, August 12, 2004

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?

We have all been to those meetings where someone wants more than 100%. How about achieving 103%? Here's a little math that might prove helpful. What makes life 100%?

If
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Then,
H A R D W O R K
8 1 18 4 23 15 18 11 = 98%

K N O W L E D G E
11 14 15 23 12 5 4 7 5 = 96%

But,
A T T I T U D E
1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5 = 100%
And,
B.S. = 103%

SO, it stands to reason that hard work and knowledge will get you close, attitude will get you there, but B.S. will put you over the top
posted by Ivan, 1:49 pm | link | 0 comments |

Slow slow week...

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

It's been a boring week so far with nothing interesting to ramble about. Well, let's see what's news in Malaysia.

1. ATM to be relocated in Police Station - The police finally listens to the public by making it more convenient for the public to withdraw money and paying their summonses and the same time. :P
2. Cracks found on KL highway - The highway costing RM238.8mil has been closed pending expert consultation on the safety of the highway. Umm.. can we get a refund on the toll? :PP
3. Habitual snatch thief ‘led a luxurious life’ - Investigations revealed that the suspect had been 'earning' some RM10,000 a month. According to their neighbours, the unemployed couple renovates their house every month and returns home with loads of shopping bag whenever they come home. Yup.. be suspicious of your neighbours! :PPP

posted by Ivan, 11:36 pm | link | 0 comments |

EPL: Man Utd 1 vs 3 Arsenal

Monday, August 09, 2004

Sighh.. looks like another bad season from Man Utd. Arsenal won convincingly, donminating the match especially during the second half. Man Utd's Ruud Van Nisteroy, Ryan Giggs, Ferdinand and Ronaldo were noticeably missing from the starting line-up. This could be a fact for the lacklustre performance of the team. Arsenal were more creative in their attacks and they took their advantage well against Man Utd's defence which were full of holes. Regardless of the outcome, it was an entertaining match. We shall see how Man Utd perfrom next week when they take on Chelsea.

Do you think you can do better than the EPL managers? Join the Yahoo! Fantasy Football and show off you skills. Hahaha.. sounds like an ad but it really is fun if you get a group of friends and form a league. You can then trash talk the guy who's at the bottom of the ladder.
posted by Ivan, 4:21 pm | link | 0 comments |

Stitches and EPL!!

Friday, August 06, 2004

Whoah.. finally, I've removed the stitches for the wound of the wisdom tooth which was taken out a week ago. Whew.. it wasn't as bad as I expect it to be. :)

Now I can eat abit more stuff as I am able to open my mouth abit wider. hehe.. can't hardly wait to eat some juicy steak. sighh..

After 3 months in the waiting, the English Premier League will start again this week with the charity shield as the curtain raiser. Manchester Utd vs Arsenal!! Can't wait, hehehe.. weekends won't be such a bore anymore. Hopefully Manchester Utd will fare much better this season.

posted by Ivan, 4:25 pm | link | 0 comments |

Lesson for the day... Love, Chance or Choice

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Here's something interesting for the day, read on. :)

When we meet the right person to love when we're at the right place at the right time,

That's chance.

When you meet someone you're attracted to, that's not a choice.

That's chance.

Being caught up in a moment (and there's a lot of couples who get together because of this) is not a choice.

That's also a chance.

The difference is what happens afterwards. When will you take that infatuation, that crush, that mind-blowing attraction to the next level?

That's when all sanity goes back, you sit down and contemplate
whether you want to make this into a concrete relationship or just a fling.

If you decide to love a person, even with his faults, that's not a chance.
That's choice.

When you choose to be with a person, no matter what,
That's choice.

Even if you know there are many people out there who are more attractive, smarter, and richer than your mate, and yet, you decide to love your mate just the same,
That's choice.

Infatuation, crushes, attraction comes to us by chance.

But true love that lasts is truly a choice.

A choice that we make.

Regarding soul mates, there's a beautiful movie quote that I believe is so true about this: " Fate brings you together, but it's still up to you to make it happen."

I do believe that soul mates do exist.

That there is truly someone made for you.

But it's still up to you to make the choice if you're going to do something about it or not. We may meet our soul mates by chance, but loving and staying with your soul mates is still a choice we have to make.

We came to the world not by finding someone perfect to love...

BUT to learn how to love an imperfect person perfectly...



posted by Ivan, 1:59 pm | link | 0 comments |

Cravings...

Monday, August 02, 2004

hahaha.. this is so funny.. i've been eating congee for the past 5 days and suddenly I have a huge craving for solid food. What I did next was unbelievable, went looking for recipes.. haha.. yeah, I used to cook while studying in Australia and looking for recipes was part of the cooking routine. Anyways, I found some really good e-recipe books, namely one by Jamie Oliver. Yep, the naked chef. Have anyone seen his show? It's just amazing how he cooks, makes cooking look so cool and simple.

I stumbled upon this site, called Recipezaar. A really good comprehensive database of recipes from around the world. Hahaha.. yeah, was a little desprate for nice food a couple of days ago. Anyways, hopefully I'll recover in the next couple of days. Still can't rally eat anything 'cos it still hurts when I try to chew on something solid. yumm.. I'm gonna try the peanut butter banana sandwich when I'm better. :)
posted by Ivan, 12:58 am | link | 0 comments |