I travel around quite a bit. I tend to season my vacations with a healthy sprinkling of adventure since I’m a huge adrenaline junkie. I’ve gone bungee jumping, skydiving, snowboarding, and cliff jumping in various parts of the world and I pronounce it GOOD. 🙂
However, it’s not just the things that raises your heart rate that appeals to me – I love immersing myself in culture and experiencing new things. That is adventure to me as well – novelty seeking and wanderlust.
I often find myself planning for the next trip as soon as I come back. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be off somewhere when you’re reading this.
Hell, I’m going on a road trip tomorrow and another one this weekend so chances are I’ll not be at home. The wanderlust is never sated in me. 😀
I update a lot while I’m away as well (much to the chagrin of my wallet) – anything from the usual social media suspects to sending an MMS of Stonehenge to my bff. Yes, I actually did that.
You know how data roaming can be a bit tricky at times?
I’ve got a question for you:
1. You’re in Australia using your postpaid line to stay connected on Twitter, Facebook and your blog
2. There is a 3 hour time difference and you’re flying off early tomorrow
3. When do you deactivate it?
I’ve always wondered – do you get charged for another day when the clock strikes 12 midnight in Malaysia or Australia local time?
It’s a Cinderella conundrum and something I plan to find out once and for all with Hotlink’s Prepaid Data Roaming. They’re the first in Malaysia to offer international data roaming while you’re on work or vacation somewhere else in the world. They’ve got 150 countries covered and counting!
I reckon it’ll be very useful while traveling. You know how much I love doing that.
Hotlink is running a contest called Bloggers without Borders where bloggers are divided into three categories – Food, Adventure and Fashion and we’ll get the chance to go to Manila, Bali and Bangkok respectively.
However, we have to earn that privilege and here’s where you come in. 🙂
Vote for me and suggest an activity you would like me to do. I’ll be heading down to Bali so there’s a lot of water sports going on there.
Here’s my video. I had a lot of fun doing it – enlisted the help of a random stranger who wanted to borrow my phone coz he forgot to bring his, behind-the-scenes stuff, driving with no hands (don’t try this at home) and other shenanigans.
I even got a haircut before making that video. 😉
I’ll be constantly updating and will be in touch if I get chosen to go to Bali so vote for me! I promise you, I’ll be game to do anything. Heh! There isn’t much I wouldn’t do actually.
Want me to jump of a plane without a chute and do a tandem harness in midair? Just ask me to. (Really, please, I would love to do this)
Want me to jump off a cliff? Yes, sir! (or ma’am)
Trust me, if you vote for me, you’ll get the chance to ask me to do stuff and see me tweet, Facebook and blog using Hotlink’s Prepaid Data Roaming JUST FOR YOU. No one else will be as fun and adventurous as me so you might as well get your friends to vote for me as well. 😉
I remember back when I was studying in Christchurch, NZ it became something of a trend to call “shotgun” if you want the front seat beside the driver. I know, it sounds silly but we were all 15 back then (with some older kids) and 15 is the age when you can get your driver’s permit over there.
Anyway, there are RULES to calling shotgun – you can’t do it, say, as soon as you exit a car. I can’t remember all of them but basically a valid shotgun call is when everyone is heading off and you’re actually in the car park.
Well, it was during those high school years that I first started taking KLM for Singapore – New Zealand flights. I had to to spend the night in Changi when I came back coz it was cheaper to transit in Singapore than KL.
I have been to a lot of places since then including two sojourns to Europe earlier this year. The last Europe trip I went on was basically a backpacking trip, from London all the way to Latvia and Georgia. The only place (besides London) that I visited twice in a row was Amsterdam. I love the city and all it has to offer! 🙂
Well, KLM is the national airlines of the Dutch and they’re having this awesome contest where you can win a trip for two to Jakarta. The mechanism is pretty simple – it somehow reminded me of my adolescent shotgun anecdote.
I swear this has gotta be the best contest ever. It’s not a popularity contest so everyone gets an equal chance. It’s more like a lottery!
(except with WAY better odds)
Basically, you have to Like the KLM Malaysia Facebook page and wait for the game to start. Once it begins, you’ll be able to see 1-3 planes. Each plane has 400 seats and ONE of those seats is the winning ticket. The Golden Ticket if you will…
…and if you happen to be lucky enough to tag that particular seat, well, you’ll be like Charlie and off to the destination you’ll go, courtesy of KLM. You’ll get to bring along a friend as well!
Now who’s gonna turn down a trip for two – especially if there’s a myriad of destinations to choose from. It’s as easy as it comes, kinda like playing Bingo, except again with better odds. 😉
I read something in a book about practical jokes when I was a kid. I didn’t know it at the time but it was actually a psychology experiment. Basically what the book tells you to do is to stand in the middle of a crowded place and start looking up – at nothing in particular. It goes on to postulate that people would either pass by and take furtive glances at what you’re looking at or plain stop and stare with you.
It’s universal and also called “rubbernecking”. You’re basically inciting curiosity just by actively participating in something.
Anyway, the reason I suddenly remember that good ol’ book of mine was coz I was at Sunway Pyramid with Bonnie last weekend. There was this installation with boards, a dune of molded sand and a letterbox with a background vista. It was an ambient structure and no one even paused to glance at it…
…until we started to fool around and camwhore with it. It’s quite interesting to see how people stop, gape and start to want to participate. It went from a stone cold installation when we first got there to a hot one where we even had to queue to take more shots with it. Funny how it just takes one to get the ball rolling eh?
This is an AirAsiaX Perth contest where you take a photo with the installation in the most creative way possible to stand a chance to win a trip to Perth for two. The theme at Sunway Pyramid is sandboarding in Kalbarri and there is a picture of two girls in a default pose, which most people (that came after us) emulated. I reckon we could do much better (or at least Bonnie could, with her flexibility).
1. De facto pose
2. Cheesy dual camwhore
3. My #fail handstand. Sorry AirAsiaX, I nearly destroyed your structure when I fell down. 😉
4. Bonnie does a headstand – she’s into capoeira which comes in very handy for this. I, on the other hand, is very good in looking nonchalant. Heh.
5. Our piece de resistance! This is the one I’m going to submit. Bonnie is doing the Escorpio (Scorpion in Brazilian Portuguese) in the foreground to enhance the ambient installation – she is in fact, a prop in this pose. She’s the scorpion in the sand dunes in Kalbarri, Perth while I am dusting imaginary sand off my flip flops while sitting on a sand board.
There are installations in 1 Utama, Pavilion KL and Sunway Pyramid and all you need to do is to pose with the installation and email it to get a chance to win a trip for two to Perth. If you have terrible bearings, the first thing you should do is to approach the information counter and have them point you in the right direction. If you’re not comfortable with posing in public spaces, hey, be like Nike and Just Do It. I guarantee you there will be people looking and wanting a piece of the action once you get started.
Who did you think took our pictures? Random strangers posing with the structure who helped us with our photos once they were done.
I think our submission is pretty good. I really hope we win this contest. I swear, we spent almost an hour there doing various poses. We even came in the appropriate attire. I didn’t destroy the structure from a bad fall and Bonnie emerged intact without having to put on a neck brace. 😉
Try and beat our awesome poses by going to one of the installations. Check out the Perth contest post on the AirAsia blog for more details! We really want to win the contest but we’re confident our submission will be a pretty formidable one anyway. #winning
I remember my first trip to New Zealand – my entire family went with another family for our first landing (one of the prerequisites to get a Permanent Residency). We arrived at Christchurch and rented a caravan large enough for our family of 4 and their family of 4 and did nothing except go to prospective high schools to prepare for our education there two years later.
The first few days were a drag – we went to several schools before deciding on either Burnside or Riccarton high school. Next was the search for a home stay since we were minors and my dad finally settled for one right behind Riccarton High School (which was the one we ended up going to).
The rest of the time however was marvelous – we spent a couple of days in Christchurch, swung down to Dunedin (primarily to prepare me and my sister for medical school – she made it, I didn’t), met with the steepest road in the entire world before heading to the North Island.
We pretty much toured the entire NZ in 3 weeks just by driving. My favorite place would be Rotorua – the air smells like sulfur and everything is more expensive than other towns but I loved the mud baths and our motel even had its own private spa!
I was also an adventure fiend back then and went for this precarious ride called the luge (and got teased mercilessly by the other family’s twin sisters for pronouncing it loo-gee) where I nearly shit my pants by intentionally steering down “Advanced” instead of “Beginner” and careening down the side of a hill with sheer cliffs and nothing but centrifugal force to avoid you from tipping over.
I got out all wobbly legged and was properly chastised for heading down the Advanced route when I’m not supposed to.
I also went bungee jumping – AJ Hackett originated from New Zealand, but to be honest, the luge experience scared me more than the bungee jump coz I was supposed to steer but I didn’t know how to.
Fast forward two years and I found myself studying in Christchurch. My parents decided on RHS primarily coz it had a low ratio of Asian students compared to Burnside. They are firm believers of fitting in and immersing yourself into another culture, which I guess rubbed off on me during my travels.
I joined the drama club (best thing that happened to me) and had a leading role in the end-of-year school play Peer Gynt. I also got kicked out of school for disciplinary issues but we shall not be discussing that today. 😉
The year that I spent in Christchurch was a lot of fun. The temperature drops down to the negatives in winter and despite being only 15 years old, I was very active in the rave scene. I can be seen at Ministry most weekends, which is where most of the good raves are found. I love eating fish and chips loaded with ketchup during the colder days of the year and explored every nook and cranny of the city (as much as a 15 year old who hung out with uni students who could drive did).
Christchurch is a beautiful city and although I’ve been to Auckland late last year to see my mom, sister and niece, I still prefer Christchurch to Auckland. It’s like how I love Melbourne but can’t get into the groove of Sydney.
It’s a perfect place with quiet spots like Church Corner with its quaint dairies (a grocery store of sorts where you can get hot food and drinks) and yet with a vibrant night life, if you know where to look. You can even hang out in the city square where there is a huge ass chessboard with equally gigantic pieces.
Christchurch is also great as a base to REALLY travel around New Zealand. Just rent a car and explore the South Island before hooking back up north.
It’s been ages since I’ve been back to Christchurch and I’ll really love to see how much it has changed (and perhaps see my old principal, whom I had a lot of run-ins with and show him I didn’t turn out to be a total delinquent after all ;)) so it was great news when I heard that AirAsia X is now flying to Christchurch from an amazing RM 499 one way!
Man, you gotta give AirAsia X kudos, they’re adding more and more destinations exponentially – it really makes travel much easier at a great value!
You can also get the chance to win an awesome 7D/6N holiday in New Zealand courtesy of AirAsiaX by participating in the Faces Go Places contest on their Facebook page. Just upload a photo of your face to their Facebook application, which has a variety of activities you can match an expression to. Add a caption and share it with your friends to get votes. It’s that easy!
This is my maniacally excited face. Heh! The Faces Go Places contest is where it’s at. Come on then, give us your best shot mate! 😉
I went to the launch of the Tupperware One Touch Airtight Challenge a couple of days back. It was held in Aquaria, KLCC. I was there quite early and Joanna spotted me from the registration counter. I was interested in what Tupperware was unveiling since I heard it was going to be something unusual.
I met Christine and Ee Ling inside the cordoned off area. I was talking to Ee Ling (Senior Manager of Marketing Communications & Corporate Affairs) about the Tupperware brand. Somewhere during the conversation, it was mentioned that they have added new colors to the containers to counter the “aunty” image of Tupperware.
I was surprised – that is news to me! I’ve been living with Tupperware for ages – lunch boxes and water containers when I was in primary school – it has always been a premium brand to me. Heck, I was telling my girlfriend that I’ll be attending a Tupperware event and her first reaction was to get all excited and ask if they’ll be giving away Tupperware containers as door gifts.
I told her I didn’t know, maybe, maybe not. It turns out that Tupperware WAS indeed kind enough to give us some. I’m sure that’s going to make my girlfriend very happy. Heh!
You know, back in the days way before man roamed the Earth (and people and to walk 3,000 miles to go to school – one way) people used a lot of interesting but ultimately slap dish ways of maintaining freshness. I call this period of darkness BT (Before Tupperware).
One of the common things that my grandma’s generation does is to use a serviette (or a piece of newspaper) to “seal” a container tighter – this container usually being a cream cracker aluminium tin. They were big fans of recycling and reusing stuff back then. 😉
It’s all well and good but it doesn’t work very well – the mee sua (longevity noodles) that was given to me for my birthday started going a bit off. It won’t keep very long, unless it’s in a REAL airtight container, not something an old Martha Stewart playing MacGyver thought up several generations ago for making a semi air tight container. 😉
Anyway, back to the Tupperware One Touch Airtight Challenge launch, have you ever wondered why the snacks you put inside Tupperware never goes stale? It’s airtight! In fact it’s so airtight they’re putting a Samsung Galaxy Tab inside it and submerging the Tupperware in a glass aquarium!
Karen of Tupperware went down in SCUBA gear for the launch of the Airtight One Touch Challenge. She was accompanied by two other divers who were feeding food to the fish in the huge tank in Aquaria, KLCC.
The Tupperware One Touch container she’s carrying in this video has a Samsung Galaxy Tab inside it! It’s switched on and fully functional. It’s meant to show the air tight capabilities of the Tupperware One Touch container.
There was a banner unfurled underwater and turtles slowly gliding past us – it really was a grand launch. 🙂
We were brought on a tour around Aquaria, KLCC and reached another area of the aquarium where there will be a permanent fixture of a Samsung Galaxy Tablet inside a Tupperware One Touch container. The unique thing about this is the placement of the container – it’s inside an aquarium in DEEPFOREST.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab is fully functional – I tried calling it from my cell phone and it rang with my number on it! It’s going to be there for about two months and it’s there for a reason. More about that later!
Tea was served after the launch and we headed back with goodies galore from Tupperware. We received a box of One Touch airtight containers and I’ve already put it into good use!
I bought some of my favorite cookies – this one is replacing Tim Tams as my favorite due to its slightly more complex coconut flavor. It’s two biscuits sandwiching a chocolate center. Arnott’s Kingston biscuits, which I hated when I was going through university in Melbourne but have grown to love now.
The problem with buying cookies is that I can’t finish them in one sitting (but chips is another matter) and if you just put it in the fridge, it goes a bit off and absorbs the other smells in your refrigerator. 😡
It’s just not meant to be stored that way…which is why the packages have “Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place” printed on it. Now that I have the Tupperware One Touch containers, I can indulge without having to worry about finishing the entire pack or risk it going bad.
This allows me to make great discoveries like this Italian delight. Forno Bonomi Savoiardi Ladyfingers is awesome! It tastes great when you dunk it into hot coffee – the entire biscuit rapidly absorbs the liquid like a sponge. You can even make a no-bake tiramisu with the biscuits when you’re bored of eating it.
I also included my current favorite brand of chocolate chip cookies (from the US of course). This is Pepperidge Farm Sausalito Milk Chocolate Macadamia with whole macadamia nuts in a chocolate chip cookie. It’s not cloyingly sweet…in fact it’s rather bland (in a good way) compared to most choc chip cookies – you can taste the subtle flavors – definitely a product for adults.
…and my current favorite snack – Burger King’s onion rings! It’s also made in the USA and it’s quite expensive at RM 9. However it tastes REALLY good and somewhat like the real onion rings from BK. Of course, onion rings from BK would be cheaper but it won’t be as crunchy as this!
I have the gene that causes me to eat a whole bag of chips so putting this into a Tupperware container makes the excuse “Oh it’s going to go stale if I don’t finish it so I might as well eat the whole bag” moot. 🙂
I like how the One Touch containers are stack-able too – it really saves space – the snacks and cookies go into one cupboard and the noodles go into another.
I’m loving it!
Do you want to win your own Tupperware hampers and Samsung Galaxy Tabs? Just type <TupperwareAirtight>space<Your Name> and send to 012 783 0790. It’s a regular cell phone number, not one of those short codes where you have to pay though your nose to text. I like the consideration given – you only pay the regular SMS charges that your cell provider charges! 🙂
Every 100th SMS received will get a Tupperware hamper full of products worth RM 50 and a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy Tab! There are three (3) Samsung Galaxy Tabs to be won. The contest ends on the 31st May 2011 and you can actually see it happen in real life if you head down to Aquaria, KLCC!
Just go to the DEEPFOREST section and look for the aquarium with the Tupperware One Touch container with the Samsung Galaxy Tab inside. It’s fun to text and see your SMS appear. 😉
The number you’re looking for is 012 783 0790. Head on over to Tupperware’s Facebook page for more information on the contest!
PJ Life Arts is showing a comedy play called The God of Carnage and I’ve got two pairs of tickets to be given away thanks to Nuffnang! I’ve always loved the theatre and performances – it’s not “just live movies in real 3D” (as a film critic quipped) – it’s much better than that!
I’ve acted in a play during my high school in New Zealand and it takes a lot of practise, improvisation and quick thinking if you mess up your lines. I have a lot of respect for the people who do this and you’ll be pleased by the cast in The God of Carnage – Lina Teoh, Will Quah, Maya Tan and Megat Sharizal will be the leads in this production!
This is a play that everyone can relate to – the competition, the bottled up anger and the thinly veiled jealousy forms a large part of our daily interactions with others. The script just adds a dose of humor to all of that. You can read the synopsis here.
This show is rated 18-PL so please (as the popular sign on bars go) “B 18 or B Gone”. 😉
Show: The God of Carnage Date & Time: 25th April 2011, 8:30 PM (Monday) Location: PJ Life Arts, Jaya One Ticket Giveaway: 2 pairs (4 tix) worth RM 60 each for two winners
We all need a bit of laughter in our lives. There will be two winners – just like there are two families in the play – who’ll get to watch this for free! The winners will get two (2) tickets each so you can bring a friend along. 😀
Nuffnang will contact you to confirm your attendance and hand out the tickets for this 1 hour and 30 minute comedy. I’ll be passing them the details of the winners from the contest on sixthseal.com. As such, kindly ensure that your email address in the comments is correct so I can get in touch. Join us in watching The God of Carnage at PJLA!
Just share a funny story or incident involving your family by commenting before 6 pm on the 22nd April 2011 (Friday). The two funniest comments will win these tickets! 🙂
Well, for those of you who don’t know, I’ve just gotten into a relationship over Chinese New Year. It was a bit of a surprise to even my friends coz I was busy most of the time while I was back in my hometown. I’ve not been in a serious relationship for a long time so I’m glad all my friends are really supportive and happy for me.
I think being in a relationship is awesome!
Sure, it’s not smooth sailing, but nothing ever is.
Awesome. It’s one of the words I tend to overuse but in the right situations there is nothing else that can substitute this adjective.
I’ve been up to quite a lot of things that would fall into the “awesome” category this year. It has been a very fruitful 2011. I spent NYE on a plane to London for almost a month long vacation in Europe.
I managed to catch Wicked the Musical (wicked is synonymous with awesome btw ;)) in West End.
I spent several days in Amsterdam – it’s my second time there within 4 months and I still love the place to bits. The tolerant and easy going nature of the Dutch makes this one of my favorite cities. I love chilling out at one of the many coffeeshops there too.
Meeting new friends while backpacking throughout Europe was an awesome experience for me too. You get to see things from different cultures and some of the people you meet makes such an impact that you keep in touch even after you’re back.
I also went down the road less travelled and took a flight to Georgia. Now that was one of the highlights of my trip. It’s a post-Soviet country and there’s a bit of saperatist rumblings in South Ossetia but in general, Georgians are a very friendly lot.
In fact, I’ll say they’re hospitable to fault. I met people who bought me lunch and drinks and were curious about where I came from. Apparently, not many Malaysians visit Georgia. I think their hospitality in the face of poverty is downright awesome.
Moving forward chronologically, I spent about 2 weeks in Sibu for Chinese New Year. It’s the place I was born in and even though I never spent much time there since I went to New Zealand for my high school at the age of 15, I still consider it my home.
The best part about Chinese New Year for me is the reunion dinner. I look forward to it every year and I’m thankful that my grandma is still around. She is the poverbial thread that binds us all. She’s getting along in the years and it always makes me happy to see her and give her a huge hug.
You know, hugging is not something that the older generation of conservative Chinese embrace (pun not intended) but my grandma has taken to it with a passion that surprised even me.
Ever since I started giving her hello and goodbye hugs, she’s been wonderfully touched and even took to giving me affectionate carresses and pecks on the cheek. I wouldn’t have imagined she would ever do that, but it’s surprising how much she likes it and more than a little heartwarming that it has become part of our family tradition. 🙂
My sister came back with her husband and my niece in tow this Chinese New Year, which was part of the reason I spent so much time back in Sibu. The last time I saw my niece was in the middle of last year when my mom had her lung cancer operation and she was a wee little thing back then.
She’s all grown up now – she’s a year old and for some reason she’s all smiles and laughter when she sees me, which makes me deliriously happy. Heh!
My niece doesn’t like strangers to hold and touch her but she’s taken to me and it’s an feeling I can’t explain when she gives off her baby coos and holds out her arms to be picked up. I love hugging her – she’s small, soft and she smells like milk. 🙂
She’s awesome!
Do you know what else is awesome? A trip to Italy for 8D/7N, exploring over 11 cities plus a 3 hour ride in a Ferrari in Tuscany! All you need to do is to grab a Sunkist pack with the word “Awesome” and take a photo with it. You can upload it on the site or MMS it to 016 339 9950 and type . Start sharing your photo and get people to vote for you and you might be on your way to Italy!
There’s also a RM 500 prize for weekly winners and you can snag RM 100 just by being the highest weekly voter so there’s another good reason to join the contest. Sunkist is awesome!
I think I’m awesome too! Everyone should feel this way. I read this article about control – if you let what other people think about you affect your mood, you’re basically giving up control of your emotions to others. Think positive and be awesome! 😀
Surf over to Sunkist Daily Dose of Awesome for more details on how to participate. There are other amazing prizes up for grabs so hurry up and join the contest before it’s too late. I love Sunkist coz I’m always a bit lazy when it comes to eating right so it provides me with all the vitamins I need to be…
AWESOME!
…and please be awesome too and vote for my photo here.
I’ve always been a big fan of the Terminator franchise. My first experience was with Terminator 2: Judgment Day. I was just a kid then and the movie fascinated me. I managed to find the first Terminator while in uni and caught Terminator 3 when it came out. I also follow Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles with what some might call religious fervor.
Naturally, I’m looking forward to the next installment in the Terminator series. Terminator Salvation is both a prequel and a sequel (Jesus, the intricacies of time travel) and the trailer suggests that this movie would be nothing short of outstanding.
Set in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor is the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright, a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.
Nuffnang was kind enough to allocate 15 pairs of tickets for sixthseal.com to give out to my blog readers. Just comment and tell me your first experience with the Terminator franchise and you’ll get a chance to win a pair of tickets. This is the Terminator Salvation screening so you get to watch it two days before everyone else!
Date: 26th May (Tue) Time: 9.30pm Venue: Cathay Cineplex Damansara (Cineleisure @ The Curve)
I will be using random.org to pick winners so it’s not the first 15 or anything like that. I will shoot a video of myself using random.org to ensure transparency. However, this being sixthseal.com, I am going to give out 3 pairs of tickets (of the 15) to the first three people that can answer this:
Q: In Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, John Connor is seen breaking into an animal hospital. What substance was he after?
Hint: I posted about it on my blog in 2004. I used to have a prescription for this. It’s not in common use nowadays. If you can find the post in question, veritas takes off his (rather dusty and old) hat to you. 🙂
It’s okay if you don’t know the answer, just comment and you can snag the 12 other pairs of tickets. Bring your date and be the first in Malaysia to watch the movie!
15 pairs of tickets to the Terminator Salvation await you! See ya at the screening!
#winning 
