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iHave iPhone 4

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maxis iphone launch

Yes, I was one of the people who went for the much anticipated iPhone 4 when Maxis launched it at Gardens, Midvalley.

I arrived there at about 10:30 pm on Thursday 23rd September and there was already a huge queue of people waiting to be the first in Malaysia to get their grubby paws on the iPhone 4. (The video is actually a tour of the inside before the crowd shots)

panoramic queue

The iPhone 4 is due to be released at the stroke of midnight so all the Apple fans were there in droves!

maxis iphone vip party

I was there early so I could go around and check out the scene. There is an area inside where the features of the iPhone 4 is displayed and explained.

ibooks

iBooks! I would so totally love this since I read a lot.

maxis cakes

Check out the Maxis cupcakes!

violinist

The Maxis iPhone 4 launch had no shortage of entertainment – I really liked this violinist who played at the lounge.

I’m revealing my age here, but I love this song! It’s Rednex’s Cotton Eye Joe. smirk

food

There were also food and drinks galore. I love this lamb kebab they had. It tasted delicious with the dip that went with it.

group shot

We were hanging out at the lounge until the press conference was slated to start.

launch

The end (of waiting) is nigh! w00t!

The Maxis people launched the iPhone 4 right on the stroke of midnight and we went to the rooftop to catch the official launch.

queue

I managed to get my iPhone 4 at about 2 am. I hear some people had to wait till 4 am and wore their next day office attire to get it. smirk

vip

iPhone 4. I haz it! I got the micro SIM last weekend and the initial impressions I have of the phone is very positive. I’m lovin’ it. Full review coming up soon!

entertainment

It feels good to be the first in Malaysia to get my hands on it.

iphone4

The only downside to it is that I have to beat back all my friends who want to buy it off me. 🙁

Get it yourself la can! Go to Maxis, they have stock. I want the iPhone 4 to complete my collection of smart phones!

Adventurous OR Suicidal?

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propeller

I am a very adventurous person by nature. I make it a point to do something that feeds my inner adrenaline junkie every time I’m on vacation. The last one was a week ago – I went cliff diving in Ton Sai off Phi Phi Islands.

The cleverly crafted piece of text that piqued my interest:

Cliff jumping is fairly new to Tonsai Bay. There are cliffs from 6 to 16m that are ideal for cliff jumping due to the depth of water below. Organized tours can be found at Ton Sai, but please be informed that this is not a particularly regulated activity and can cause injury to people including ear ruptures, and muscle / back injuries.

(Source: Wikitravel)

Unregulated? Potential for injury? BRING IT ON!

cliff%20diving

Well, I kinda messed up my second cliff dive coz I had to climb out into a tree branch. The foliage made it hard for me to see and I’m a little wary about heights (which is part of the fun!). I landed in a very peculiar position and have chest pains to this very day.

It hurts when I laugh or cough or inhale too deeply.

A gem from Wikipedia:

Hitting the water flat from 10 m brings the diver to rest in about 1 ft. The extreme deceleration causes severe bruising both internal and external, strains to connective tissue securing the organs and possible minor hemorrhage to lungs and other tissue. Very painful and distressing, but not life-threatening.

I went to see the doctor since I jumped from twice that height but my ribs are all intact. Just some minor bruising of internal organs and stuff like that.

I wanted to go for the 30 feet jump but our guide didn’t let me. I suspect he wasn’t confident about climbing up as well since the rocks are RAZOR SHARP. I probably won’t be sitting here writing this if I messed up that dive or if there’s rocks underneath (it’s a very unregulated sport).

God forbid that happen since I am not exactly very good with savings as well so the hospital bills will kill me if the jump didn’t. I basically live from paycheck to paycheck. I spend a lot on unnecessary stuff and poor planning makes me particularly susceptible to paying more than I need to:

Exhibit A

rm 90 parking

I shouldn’t have drove to the KL Sentral car park while going on vacation

Exhibit B

ticket

Parking tickets are always a problem with me

There are Exhibits C-Z (so much that I fear I may have to start with renaming it Exhibit A1) which just illustrates the poor choices I make.

Like losing RM 35,000 in a casino. That is one of the more epic ones.

20k%20chips%20genting

The thing is, I used to save before the 35k loss. How do you think I even had RM 50,000 to lose within one week? (first instance was Auckland)

I just can’t save after that due to my spending habits so I figured I could kill two birds with one stone and get back on my feet.

I’ll start being careful with my money and as an important aside to that, being more careful with my life. I’m starting to feel very insecure with my lack of savings should anything happen.

I always catch a lot of flak from my friends due to my lifestyle and I figured it was high time to take back at least some personal responsibility. A quick Google search turned up a host of results from various financial institutions but one in particular stood out. The Great Eastern’s CHAT calculator got me thinking about financial planning and protection due to the scenarios given. It really gave me pause. I’ve never thought of insurance as a priority in my life since I’m kinda blasé about personal safety.

car bumper

My rear bumper has been hanging since a month and I have to periodically shove it back. I’m really afraid that it’ll just fly off while I’m driving on the highway one day and hit a car behind. It’s not exactly something you can drive away from considering your rear bumper has your license plate on it. smirk

It really is rather dangerous both to myself and others. Some of you would be familiar with my colorful and rich history but it’s not something I recommend for other people. There are consequences. I wish I had started saving earlier so I wouldn’t be in this predicament right now – I can’t even fix my bumper due to lack of funds.

A lot of people live vicariously through me and that’s fine, but there are a lot of takeouts (or life lessons) you can learn from my mistakes. I know hindsight is 20/20 but I wish I had taken a closer look at Great Eastern’s range of insurance plans earlier on in my life…as a safety net.

The protection, medical and retirement calculators would be useful for me while the education calculator would be good for my children. Yes, contrary to popular belief I really want to settle down, have kids, watch them grow and send them for a nice education.

adventure

CHAT is a financial analysis tool that uses different scenarios to enlighten people like you and me on the importance of insurance. To be honest, my self-reflection only came after this as there is so many unexpected things that can happen in your life.

BTW, if you’re quick, you’ll get to watch a movie on them coz they’re giving away 1,000 movie ticket vouchers. 🙂

Why drink and drive when you can indulge and fly?

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arrivals

I must admit, I usually go to the airport just in time to catch my flight. I never even notice most things there – it’s just a transit point for me to get to my destination.

alcohol

I might grab a beer before the flight and I’ll definitely get cigarettes and alcohol if I’m flying international. That would be the extent of my airport experience. smirk

probiscus monkey

I was at Kota Kinabalu International Airport for an entire day last Saturday. I flew in on the first flight and flew out on the last flight back to KL. Here are my experiences while I was there:

The Terminal

Dining at KKIA

Stink or swim

kk view

This is the furthest I’ve ventured from the airport. The concept of this trip is supposed to be like The Terminal where you live inside an airport. I can definitely see that happening – there are toilets for your showers, food outlets for your dining needs, and perhaps you can even work part time. Heh!

famous amos

If, for some reason a civil war broke out in your home country while you’re mid-flight and your passport isn’t recognized anymore, I can safely say that yes, you can survive and even enjoy living in an airport.

kufong theraphy centre

Anyway, enough about that. KKIA has more offerings that I ever thought existed…like this massage place called Ku Fong Therapy Center. I went there to check it out coz I’ve been running around the entire airport and it was pure bliss.

herbal foot spa

The herbal foot spa involves submerging your feet into water mixed with herbal powder and cleaning it. You’ll also get a full massage up to your thighs – very nice after a tiring day. smirk

The foot scrub treatment is a pedicure of sorts. It lasts a full hour and it totally invigorated me for more exploration.

massage

Stephanie was kind enough to offer me a complimentary back massage for 30 minutes but unfortunately I had to turn her down since I had a limited time to shop.

cosmetics

Shop? Huai Bin? Yes, you heard me right. There are a lot of duty free items that everyone can get – perfumes and chocolates are available for purchase even if you’re flying domestic.

jack daniels

Naturally, I went for liquor filled chocolates. I’m a huge fan of these things – they’re not chocolates per se but pralines. Mmm…

chanel

Perfumes and chocolates in duty free costs A LOT less than what you’ll find in retail. It’s a good reason to grab some when you’re at the airport. My friend asked me to buy a bottle of Chanel for her.

cafe de jesselton

I headed over to get some food next – there’s some awesome coffee to be had at Jesselton Kopitiam at departures with a GREAT view of the runway.

jesselton kopitam interior

That’s the best part – you’ll see if your plane has arrived just from that coffee shop.

jesselton kopitam tenom kopi

Mr Kay was very kind – he noticed that I loved Kopi Tenom so much that he gave me some for my trip back!

jesselton kopitam crew

It was good talking with him about how F&B in airports work and the clienteles’ different preferences in food.

runway view

The view of Kota Kinabalu from the terminal is breathtaking. I’ve been here twice – once to conquer Mt. Kinabalu and the other time just to relax at the islands.

travel and tours

Hey, if you find it appealing you can always head out one of their tours!

bonia

I bought quite a lot of stuff at the airport, including a jacket from Bonia that I thought looked really cool on me.

handicrafts

I also got chocolates (for myself) and perfumes for friends.

ck collectors bottle with speakers

I really like this limited edition CK one/be that comes with built-in speakers (!!!).

giant fish

The Malaysia Mega Sales is also running now so you get twice the bang for your buck! There will be additional rewards and prizes from now until the 16th of September. Spend a minimum RM 250 and get an entry to Indulge & Win Contest + a RM10 on the spot voucher which you can use immediately. If you’re a Mastercard holder you get double the chance to win (2 entry forms) in the Indulge & Win Contest. Spend RM 350 using MasterCard and get all those and an additional nifty Recycle and Indulge green bag! All purchases made using a Mastercard will get 20% off!

curry chicken

No worries if you’re not a Mastercard holder – you’ll still get the RM 10 voucher to spend as you like! Plus you get 15% off everything too!

indulge till you fly form

The entry form is for the Indulge & Win contest which starts from now until 6th January 2011. Just spend RM 250 and above on anything at the airport (spas, shopping, dining) at KLIA, LCCT, PIA, KIA, KKIA or LIA and win fantastic prizes. You must submit the form with a maximum of 3 cumulative receipts totaling RM 250 on the same day. Mastercard owners will get twice the number of entries!

sabah pearl

Now to the prizes!

They’re giving away 10 pairs of First Class Indulgent Holiday Packages comprising of:

– Two (2) first-class return air tickets to Cape Town, London or Sydney
– Three-nights complimentary stay at one of the following five-star hotels
   – The Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town
   – The Landmark Hotel in London
   – The Blue Hotel in Sydney
– Top-of-the-range local holiday experience at any one of these destinations
   – Full-day Safari at Fairy Glen, Cape Town
   – Afternoon tea at Langham, London
   – Seaplane tour of New South Wales Coastline
– Every package consist of indulging dining and spa experience

indulge till you fly girl

OMG! Wish me luck coz if I win I’m going to choose Cape Town! 🙂

indulge and win entry

Get more details about the Indulge & Win contest here.

You know you want to join. How can you resist? smirk

Stink or swim

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souvenior

You need souvenirs when you’re on vacation right? No, not her, you can’t take her back. :p

alam sensasi girls

I mean real souvenirs – and those souvenirs shouldn’t be your garden variety items which anyone can get so you’ll want to get something that reflects the culture of the place you’ve been too. Alam Sensasi has got it covered.

masks

Masks to scare people with?
Check!

sabah tea

Sabah tea?
Got it!

alam sensasi

“I was here” t-shirts?
Got ya covered!

You can even choose:

stink

S(t)ink

or

swim

Swim

Quite witty right? Right? Erm…can I at least get a sympathy smirk?

drums

Local drums?
They haz it! Large or small whatever rocks your boat.

gamat soap

There’s even Gamat (sea cucumber) soap that claims to cure just about any dermatological condition…

sabah pearl

…and other items like Sabah pearls. I was told these are pearls harvested from oysters from the seas around KK.

They even have more esoteric items like local gongs if you feel like lugging it back home with you.

That’s part of the local retail experience you get. Perfect for last minute souvenir hunting.

books and magazines

There is also the obligatory bookstore to save you from boredom during long haul flights (Kota Kinabalu International Airport flies to places like Korea and Taiwan, to name a few).

I love this local seafood store too. It’s called Dried, Frozen Seafood & Bird’s Nest Shop. Very straight to the point, they believe in pragmatic naming, none of that vague artsy fartsy creative stuff. 😉

dried frozen seafood and birds nest shop

It brings the fresh seafood of Sabah back from where you’re from. The best thing is that everything is flash frozen so you can bring it back!

sabah abalone

Sabah is famous for its fresh and cheap seafood – they have abalone going for RM 50 in packs of 2-4 (depending on size). That is REALLY cheap and I wish I bought some but my freezer is a little full right about now.

huge fish

There’s even large (HUGE actually) cuts of fish which you can bring back and claim you caught it while deep sea fishing in Kota Kinabalu if you’re so inclined. smirk

nice girl

This is the girl that was manning the Indulge & Win contest. She’s really friendly and helped me a lot in filling out the form.

I submitted my forms and now I hope I win. BTW, here’s a tip for you – the answer is 5 for the number of international airports MAHB handles. 😉

i with a cute chick

I’m with a cute chick. smirk

Dining at KKIA

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tenom coffee black

REAL MEN DRINK IT BLACK!

asian delights food

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Eating in airports is usually a last resort. It doesn’t have to be though, airports have grown in leaps and bounds when it comes to food. It’s not just your usual fast food joints anymore with a 30% markup.

golden arches

…though the Golden Arches does have a presence here.

asian delights

Kota Kinabalu International Airport has a wide range of local and international food to suit all palates. Their F&B repertoir is quite impressive. I guess it’s coz of the unique nature of this airport – a lot of Koreans fly in, as well as Caucasians coming to conquer Mt. Kinabalu, brave the white water rapids after and go diving in some of the best spots in the world.

asian delights staff

I had a late lunch courtesy of Mr. Kay, who manages both Asian Delights and Jesselton Kopitiam. The former is located at at Arrivals while the latter at Departures. I managed to glean some interesting information from him – what the Koreans and Japanese prefer vs what Caucasians and the locals prefer.

asian delights interior

He also related a really funny anecdote about the sensitivity of the smoke detectors in the airport. It’s for safety reasons and that’s why they have two different outlets here.

asian delights eating

Asian Delights has proper cooked food while Jesselton Kopitiam doesn’t due to the regulations on cooking in the Departures area (what they call Airside).

tenom coffee milk sugar

Anyway, I had the famous Jesselton Coffee a.k.a. Kopi Tenom which is famous in Sabah. It’s rich and aromatic and it’s available at both outlets. Kao, I like. Give me this to Starbucks any day! (which also has a presence here)

curry chicken

This is the curry chicken. It’s one of the dishes that Mr Kay recommended. I like the thickness of the gravy. It’s unlike Malay curry – it’s cooked local style so it has uniquely Sabah flavors to it. I ended up scooping up the gravy with my rice. It’s really good.

asian delights sambal chicken

Their other specialty is the sambal chicken. This one is spicy and very reasonably priced. The version with rice is priced at RM 12.90, as most main dishes are. We had just the dish alone with side orders of rice. He wanted to get me to try the beef rendang as well but I was so full at that point that I simply couldn’t fit anymore food in!

tenom kopi

The highlight of this place is definitely the coffee – be sure to try the famous Tenom coffee. It kept me awake the entire day!

cute chick

I went shopping after that (more on that tomorrow) for the Indulge & Win contest. How can I resist, especially with the awesome prizes (and the cute chick manning the booth). 😉

The Terminal

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Greetings from the Land Below The Clouds! I’m in KKIA (Kota Kinabalu International Airport) right now, doing a Tom Hanks. smirk

kkia

I’m just staying here for the day though unlike the unfortunate protagonist in the movie. Anyway, I’ve been wondering around the airport and discovered an interesting thing. You CAN buy duty free goods despite flying domestic but it’s limited to perfumes only.

There are plenty of duty free stuff to buy over here.

Stuff for me

alcohol

A variety of ethanol based beverages including the new Absolut Acai Berry. It has replaced the Flavors of the Tropics Travellers Edition as their latest version. I was like a kid in a candy store. I like checking out the higher end single malts that I know I cannot afford. One can drool though. :p

Stuff for the kids

chocolates

Chocolates galore! It’s much cheaper than what you would get from retail prices. There’s large range to choose from. Actually it’s not just for kids, a lot of adults enjoy chocolates too. Except Aud.

Stuff for people who need therapy

perfumes

Britney Spears? Geddit? Okay, sounded a bit lame over there. :p

ck miniatures

Actually, they have a wide range of perfumes, and I got a CK miniatures collectible perfume.

Stuff for me again!

liquor chocolates

No prizes for guessing what kind of chocolates I like. Heh!

In addition to duty free, there are a lot of other items you can get like jewelry.

couple rings

This woman was trying to get me to buy a couple ring. She offered me 70% off the price tag which is a very, very good deal…

…except I don’t have a girlfriend. Heh!

888

I was quite tempted to get this RM 888 bracelet though…you know, since the proprietor was kind enough to slash off the price and I might need it as a gift to me future girlfriend. smirk

jewelry

Okay, I’m off to get a massage right now.

Hmm…that doesn’t sound right. Future girlfriend segueing into a massage…

Let me clarify – it’s a foot massage! Foot reflexology so I can…er, learn techniques to get brownie points with the other half. smirk

Splish splash I was taking a bath!

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sony cybershot tx5 underwater photo

It’s very difficult to pose properly underwater due to the natural buoyancy of our bodies. /science teacher mode

ice

I highly applaud this group who practiced their underwater shots until they got it spot on.

sony cybershot tx5 my water moments

I was at the My Water Moments with TX5 event at Mali Cove, Sunway Lagoon on the 7th of August. I had to wake up really early and dragged myself out of bed but it was well worth it!

sony bas

Sony events are always awesome and this one was no different.

me aud tzia

Here’s Aud and Tziaa!

jestina

Jestina! w00t! The water was very enticing with the heat so I was very tempted to take a dip. You know how I am with temptation, it always wins. >.<

yuen karen

I went for a swim before the event started and Yuen Yee and Karen was kind enough to oblige carrying my t-shirt back to our table (since I neglected to take it off before I went into the water, that was how appealing it was).

friends feet

Feet friends! Jesus walked on water. You can too! =D

sony cybershot tx5 event

My Water Moments was organized for Sony Cyber-shot TX5 owners as well as bloggers and the Nuffnang contingent was there in droves!

crowd

It aims to highlight the features of the camera by a series of games and I must admit, most of it was very creative!

me karen

Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink! =D

temperature proof

The first game highlights the temperature proof feature of the digicam several working TX5 cameras was placed in a box of ice cubes and the groups who managed to get the most in a set won. There was a lot of frantic digging around the ice for this activity as well as abuse meted out to the digicams in the spirit of competition…

throwing cams

…but have no fear! The second task was actually THROWING the TX5 INTO tubes from a distance of three meters. These tubes are color coded, matching the colors of the cameras and you’re supposed to throw the right color into the right tube. The digicam is shock proof so this was also partly to demonstrate that.

The third task illustrates the dust proof characteristics of the camera a lot of the cameras was placed into a box filled with Styrofoam and you have to dig out 10 of each color.

dust proof

I saw some of the groups being overly enthusiastic and throwing the digicams to the floor but each and everyone survived.

pure win

The digicams I mean, the participants obviously are still alive and kicking. 😉

event

The fourth task is one of the more interesting ones.

sony cams underwater

You’re supposed to dive underwater and grab the water proof TX5 which were floating under the water. I took this video with my very own TX5 and check out how trippy it is:

The digicams were floating around and moving with the currents in Mali Cove so it’s not easy to actually do this. I tried and I got a bad case of eye irritation from the chlorine in the water. It’s still a damn good video though and one of my best from this session. 🙂

pose station

The fifth and final task is at the Underwater Pose Station (where everyone can pose underwater and get a free photo developed). This is rather challenging as you have to be creative and defy gravity, er, I mean buoyancy by staying underwater long enough to come out with a great group pose.

Consider this the Top 5 Things You Can Do With The TX5. smirk

people

A lot of groups in teams of 5 participated – kudos to the winners for they worked hard for it.

food

Lunch was provided and it’s a proper catered lunch instead of packed stuff there’s rice dished out, chicken curry, vegetables, an omelet with generous ingredients, and honey chicken. I loved the cake and ice cream provided as dessert too.

winners

We had a lot of fun at the My Water Moments with TX5. I liked how they blended the features of the camera into games which reflects the characteristics of it. The food was good, the games were great, and the crowd was awesome!

My only beef with it is my failed JAWS attempt. No one even noticed me. FML max.

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