It's been more than a week since my last update. So busy making preparations to induct my new team in India - training material, scheduling, teleconferences, etc.. No time to update. So just some erratic, illogical ramblings for today
Right after I posted the blog on the hill trek during Prophet Mohd's birthday holiday, I got a spike in readership - almost 200 just for that one day. My normal hits was between 2 to 5 a day. Not sure what happened.
I also noticed that quite a few people stumbled onto my blog because of the piece I wrote on the Shinji Tanimura song - Subaru. In fact, one sweet looking girl - Steph Iiwa even emailed me for the mp3 of the song. Hey... if that's what it takes to make new contacts, I ain't complaining. Looks like Subaru runs in a lot of people's mind - addicitve??
I am going to be camping in Gurgaon, India (near New Delhi) for the next 2 weeks to welcome my new team, orientate them, rag them and what have you. Hope they (and I) survive the ordeal!!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Food tasting/ testing
And to end the Holy Thursday, We went to Oriental Restaurant in Jaya 33 to taste and test the food that was to be served during Madeline's wedding dinner in June. It was also an opportunity for Madeline's father to meet up with the future in-laws. On our side, mum, wife, Alex and myself were there. Yin San and father made up the Tham side of the family.
On the Hiew side, there was of course Vincent's parents, youngest brother and girlfriend. Including Vincent and Madeline we made up a dozen.
We started off with tidbits while waiting for everyone to turn up. The steamed groundnuts were savoury. When everybody was ready, the first dish was served.
It was center pieced with Jellyfish and squid, tofu on the side, with steamed chicken and roast duck. Next, the traditional shark fin soup was served. Nothing to rave about. The suckling pig followed. 
Vincent's mum had reservation about this dish. Seems to be cruel to kill of the piglet just to satisfy our needs. This was followed by a Garoupa, which had it's flesh taken off, basted and fried with a touch of wasabi. The rest of the fish was deep fried. The meat was rather tasteless and most of us agreed that this may not be suitable for the wedding nite. This dish will be changed.
It was center pieced with Jellyfish and squid, tofu on the side, with steamed chicken and roast duck. Next, the traditional shark fin soup was served. Nothing to rave about. The suckling pig followed. Vincent's mum had reservation about this dish. Seems to be cruel to kill of the piglet just to satisfy our needs. This was followed by a Garoupa, which had it's flesh taken off, basted and fried with a touch of wasabi. The rest of the fish was deep fried. The meat was rather tasteless and most of us agreed that this may not be suitable for the wedding nite. This dish will be changed.
Then came the steamed freshwater prawns. It was very fresh. The meat had a twang to it. But Vincent's mum did not like the rather fishy taste. So this dish will also be changed. It will still be prawns served prepared and served differently. The next dish was a genuine fake vegetarian dish. Typically, this dish would be authentically vegetarian, but this one was served with roast pork . Interesting!! The main course ended with glutinous rice.Appetizers was Chinese pancakes and some kind of dumpling finishing off with a double boiled cold, pear sweet soup.
Burp!!!!!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Hill Trek on a holiday
Today is a public holiday on the occasion of Prophet's Muhammad's birthday. We made plans to go hill trekking with Amy and her wards at 7.30am. As it turns out the young ones (Jaecie and Jinn Wuen) rather sleep longer during the holiday. So it was just Amy joining us. We had not been to this hill trek before. There was an article in the Chinese papers with very vague directions on how to get there.
After a couple of wrong turns and asking people where the entrance to the hill trek was, we managed to find it. It is located at the back of the Bukit Ketumbar condo. The start was relatively easy.
Tree roots made natural steps in the trail. At some sections, some kind souls had tied ropes to help trekkers to hold on tight as they made their way up and down the slippery slopes.
If I remember my science classes correctly, the mini jungle is essentially a secondary forest. Lots of bushes at the lower levels, with lots of sunlight poking through the foliage. Very early on in the trek, we learn one basic rule of courtesy - greet everyone going up or down with a good morning or "cho sun" (Cantonese for good morning).
We met some hikers bringing along their dogs for the trek. Cute!! (sorry no photos - couldn't whip my camera out fast enough). Even met some familiar faces who were there the first time.Here is Sister Lydia and friend from the church.
As we made our way up, one can take time to reflect on the power of nature. You could still see civilization peeping through the foliage.
There was a nest (termite??_ along the path. 
And this big boulder - split in half by 3 saplings over a long time.
By the time we got down more than an hour later, we were pooped.
Took a break at the mamak stall with teh tarik and roti canai. Just had to snap this silly cockerel whose alarm clock seems to need calibration. 
At 10am, it was still happily crowing away.
After a couple of wrong turns and asking people where the entrance to the hill trek was, we managed to find it. It is located at the back of the Bukit Ketumbar condo. The start was relatively easy.
Tree roots made natural steps in the trail. At some sections, some kind souls had tied ropes to help trekkers to hold on tight as they made their way up and down the slippery slopes.If I remember my science classes correctly, the mini jungle is essentially a secondary forest. Lots of bushes at the lower levels, with lots of sunlight poking through the foliage. Very early on in the trek, we learn one basic rule of courtesy - greet everyone going up or down with a good morning or "cho sun" (Cantonese for good morning).
We met some hikers bringing along their dogs for the trek. Cute!! (sorry no photos - couldn't whip my camera out fast enough). Even met some familiar faces who were there the first time.Here is Sister Lydia and friend from the church.
As we made our way up, one can take time to reflect on the power of nature. You could still see civilization peeping through the foliage.
There was a nest (termite??_ along the path. 
And this big boulder - split in half by 3 saplings over a long time.
By the time we got down more than an hour later, we were pooped.
Took a break at the mamak stall with teh tarik and roti canai. Just had to snap this silly cockerel whose alarm clock seems to need calibration. 
At 10am, it was still happily crowing away.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
My personal reward finally arrived
After waiting since August 2007, my Camry 2.0G has finally been delivered. It is everything that I had wanted.
A day outing at Genting
6 days of school holidays has already elapsed and I have still not taken the young one for a holiday. So when Alex's friend said they were going up on Saturday, we decided to make a day trip to meet up with them and let the young ones have some fun together. Their maid followed us in the early hours. We started at 7am, took a stop for breakfast and were at the theme park by 8.08am. The rest of the Ng family arrived after noon.
Alex and Jaecie had fun doing many of the rides at the outdoor theme park. Like the bumper boat rides.
And waiting for the baby chair rides
It was a long day and we had numerous breaks throughout.
And Amy and Jingwen (Mun Mun - who is also on my Friendster) got all wet with the flume ride, but the evening in Snow world was just as interesting - cold and wet.
After dinner with the Ngs (their treat), we left for home at about 10am. Fog was thick, visibility was poor until Awana. I had never been in such a situation before. I had to drive at about 10 to 20km/hr. Arrived home safely at about 10.45pm.
Long day...............
Alex and Jaecie had fun doing many of the rides at the outdoor theme park. Like the bumper boat rides.
And waiting for the baby chair rides
It was a long day and we had numerous breaks throughout.
And Amy and Jingwen (Mun Mun - who is also on my Friendster) got all wet with the flume ride, but the evening in Snow world was just as interesting - cold and wet.
After dinner with the Ngs (their treat), we left for home at about 10am. Fog was thick, visibility was poor until Awana. I had never been in such a situation before. I had to drive at about 10 to 20km/hr. Arrived home safely at about 10.45pm.Long day...............
Thursday, March 13, 2008
A new Western Food Outlet near UCSI - Taman Connaught
Nicholas and Julian decided to put into reality an idea that they had - start up small businesses, get someone to take over that business and have profit sharing. Essentially, they provide the start up costs, get the business going and then hand that over to people who would like to run their own business but do not have the seed money to start.
Their first effort is this Western Food outlet in Taman Connaught. It is just a stall nestled within a bigger restaurant.
This outlet is about 5 or 6 shops away from the Al Rajhi bank in Taman Connaught. For a limited time only, they would be having a promotional offer of 50% off the second order.
We patronized their outlet on their third day of operations.
Lee Chiew ordered Lamb Chop and 
I ordered Chicken Chop. Alex went for the fries that came on our plates.
Initial taste was savoury and acceptable.
The cooking crew needed to be careful of presentation. The salad that we got were a little tatty and not as fresh as I would have expected. 
Nick said that they were struggling to get the lettuce ready. They also needed to be aware that when the meat is cold, it would need a slightly longer period of cooking. Other than that - quality was good. Sauce was just right.
There was also a couple of distinguished customers when we were there.
Keep it up guys and good luck!!
Their first effort is this Western Food outlet in Taman Connaught. It is just a stall nestled within a bigger restaurant.
This outlet is about 5 or 6 shops away from the Al Rajhi bank in Taman Connaught. For a limited time only, they would be having a promotional offer of 50% off the second order.We patronized their outlet on their third day of operations.
Lee Chiew ordered Lamb Chop and 
I ordered Chicken Chop. Alex went for the fries that came on our plates.Initial taste was savoury and acceptable.
The cooking crew needed to be careful of presentation. The salad that we got were a little tatty and not as fresh as I would have expected. 
Nick said that they were struggling to get the lettuce ready. They also needed to be aware that when the meat is cold, it would need a slightly longer period of cooking. Other than that - quality was good. Sauce was just right.
There was also a couple of distinguished customers when we were there.Keep it up guys and good luck!!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
A new day dawns on the Malaysian political landscape
Polling in the 12th Malaysian Elections were over yesterday and counting of the votes was slow and laborious. Mainstream media like RTM1, RTM2, TV3, NTV7, online news portal like NST and the Star were highlighting mainly barisan national wins. By 1am (before I called it a day), PAS had already strengthened their grip in the state of Kelantan.
But the best news was the fall of Penang to the DAP/PKR/PAS loose coalition. It looks like Lim Guan Eng would get to be Chief Minister of Penang. Contrast this with earlier announcements by outgoing Chief Minsiter Koh Tsu Koon, who was talking about announcing the new CM for Penang a couple of days after the election results. In any event Koh Tsu Koon and the 3 potential CMs were defeated in their seats.
Kedah has also fallen into the hands of the PKR/S coalition.
This morning, more good news - Perak and Selangor had also fallen into the opposition coalition. It looks like PAS would form the state governments of Kelantan and Kedah. DAP would form the state governments of Penang and Perak and PKR, the Selangor state government. In most other states, BN's representation has been reduced.
Samy Vellu lost Sungei Siput (damn - he deserved that. Long overdue!!). Sharizat lost to Anwar's daughter and the Minister of Misinformation also lost his seat. Can't understand how someone who cannot communicate on live TV could have been Minister of Information. I would like to see what the previous (and possible current) Chief Minister of Malacca has to say now about the need for Chinese and Indian votes!
But BN still retains the federal government albeit without the 2/3 majority which had allowed them to roughshod constitutional changes in the past 50 years.
Dare we hope that the Judiciary will become independent as is expected, with any and all changes and appointments made by the judiciary and not the executive. Islam Hadhari can also go fly the wau for all I care. The past 4 years of Islam hadhari had worsen the religious rights of the non Muslims.
With this nightmare (for BN), maybe UMNO will kick out the sleepy head and his SIL this coming August .
Crossing my fingers.
But the best news was the fall of Penang to the DAP/PKR/PAS loose coalition. It looks like Lim Guan Eng would get to be Chief Minister of Penang. Contrast this with earlier announcements by outgoing Chief Minsiter Koh Tsu Koon, who was talking about announcing the new CM for Penang a couple of days after the election results. In any event Koh Tsu Koon and the 3 potential CMs were defeated in their seats.
Kedah has also fallen into the hands of the PKR/S coalition.
This morning, more good news - Perak and Selangor had also fallen into the opposition coalition. It looks like PAS would form the state governments of Kelantan and Kedah. DAP would form the state governments of Penang and Perak and PKR, the Selangor state government. In most other states, BN's representation has been reduced.
Samy Vellu lost Sungei Siput (damn - he deserved that. Long overdue!!). Sharizat lost to Anwar's daughter and the Minister of Misinformation also lost his seat. Can't understand how someone who cannot communicate on live TV could have been Minister of Information. I would like to see what the previous (and possible current) Chief Minister of Malacca has to say now about the need for Chinese and Indian votes!
But BN still retains the federal government albeit without the 2/3 majority which had allowed them to roughshod constitutional changes in the past 50 years.
Dare we hope that the Judiciary will become independent as is expected, with any and all changes and appointments made by the judiciary and not the executive. Islam Hadhari can also go fly the wau for all I care. The past 4 years of Islam hadhari had worsen the religious rights of the non Muslims.
With this nightmare (for BN), maybe UMNO will kick out the sleepy head and his SIL this coming August .
Crossing my fingers.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Another new house ready!!
As I approach half a century of existence this year, I am preparing for my next half century. Retirement age in Malaysia is officially 55 at this time. The company I work for has set the retirement age at 60. So I still have at least a decade to go before I will be forced to retire.
Since a decade ago, I have been planning my retirement. I have been using part of my provident fund (EPF) to invest in mutual funds. Returns has been better than EPF. I withdrew about 200K and manage to return 300K back into my EPF account with another 150K still invested. This was over a period of 10 years with investments made every 3 to 4 months as is allowable by the provisions of EPF rules. I always tell my other investors that long term investments should be done with long term funds. I am probably my own best customer as I am also a Unit Trust Agent/ Consultant. Others who invest through me provides me good pocket money.
In addition, I have also been buying properties in order to get a regular stream of income from rentals. I am currently staying in a double story corner link with a garden (total land area of 3300 sq ft). Still owe the bank on this one - but this is the property against which all my other real estate investments has been made. An apartment in nearby Taman Connaught is rented out to students studying in UCSI. Another apartment in Malacca is on a 3 + 2 year lease to a holiday resort.
And today, the keys to my fourth property was handed over. Certificate of Fitness has been issued and theoretically, the house is almost habitable. I just need to add security grills, lighting and fans. And I will put it on the rental market. This is another landed property located in Denai Alam within the Bukit Jelutong township that was developed by Guthrie (now Sime Darby). With a land area of 1400 sq ft, it is large enough for a small family with 2 to 3 kids.
When I compare this with the first landed property that I purchased when I was 21 years old, what a difference in terms of workmanship, finishing and planning. The first house I purchased was 18 ft by 70 ft (land area), a double storey link house, low ceiling (you can actually touch the fan when you stretch out your arm!!) and cost me RM43.5K (about US$18K at that time). Today's house cost me about US97K, is 20 ft by 70 ft double storey link. Allowing for inflation and the depreciation of the Malaysian Ringgit, the cost is still reasonable.
But what impressed me was that the developer put in most of the things that new owners would want to add when they get the keys to the new house. Well.... not the actual stuff, but the preparations for adding those stuff. They had
- the wiring installed for an autogate so that owners do not need to hack the floors if they want to install this. (autogate is still not common in Malaysia)
- 3 phase wirings so that if you want to install airconds in every room and the living and dining rooms, there is sufficient power for all that and more. My current house that I am staying in has only single phase and if i wanted to air conditioned the whole house (4 bedrooms, living room and dining, I would need to switch to 3 phase wiring).
- Junction box for the phone lines. This may seem like a simple thing to do, but most developers do NOT put this in. The phone lines have also been wired to the living rooms in both upstairs and downstairs.
- water heater points in both the upstairs bathroom.
just to name a few.
Workmanship was above average - only one broken tile was noted in the defects report. I will need to wait for water to be connected to test the flooring for water levelling , leaks and so on. A visit shall also be made after a heavy downpour to check if there are any roof/ ceiling leakages.
Other than that I am almost tempted to relocate there - except that it would be very far from my current social circle.
Anyone need to rent a house???
Since a decade ago, I have been planning my retirement. I have been using part of my provident fund (EPF) to invest in mutual funds. Returns has been better than EPF. I withdrew about 200K and manage to return 300K back into my EPF account with another 150K still invested. This was over a period of 10 years with investments made every 3 to 4 months as is allowable by the provisions of EPF rules. I always tell my other investors that long term investments should be done with long term funds. I am probably my own best customer as I am also a Unit Trust Agent/ Consultant. Others who invest through me provides me good pocket money.
In addition, I have also been buying properties in order to get a regular stream of income from rentals. I am currently staying in a double story corner link with a garden (total land area of 3300 sq ft). Still owe the bank on this one - but this is the property against which all my other real estate investments has been made. An apartment in nearby Taman Connaught is rented out to students studying in UCSI. Another apartment in Malacca is on a 3 + 2 year lease to a holiday resort.
And today, the keys to my fourth property was handed over. Certificate of Fitness has been issued and theoretically, the house is almost habitable. I just need to add security grills, lighting and fans. And I will put it on the rental market. This is another landed property located in Denai Alam within the Bukit Jelutong township that was developed by Guthrie (now Sime Darby). With a land area of 1400 sq ft, it is large enough for a small family with 2 to 3 kids.
When I compare this with the first landed property that I purchased when I was 21 years old, what a difference in terms of workmanship, finishing and planning. The first house I purchased was 18 ft by 70 ft (land area), a double storey link house, low ceiling (you can actually touch the fan when you stretch out your arm!!) and cost me RM43.5K (about US$18K at that time). Today's house cost me about US97K, is 20 ft by 70 ft double storey link. Allowing for inflation and the depreciation of the Malaysian Ringgit, the cost is still reasonable.
But what impressed me was that the developer put in most of the things that new owners would want to add when they get the keys to the new house. Well.... not the actual stuff, but the preparations for adding those stuff. They had
- the wiring installed for an autogate so that owners do not need to hack the floors if they want to install this. (autogate is still not common in Malaysia)
- 3 phase wirings so that if you want to install airconds in every room and the living and dining rooms, there is sufficient power for all that and more. My current house that I am staying in has only single phase and if i wanted to air conditioned the whole house (4 bedrooms, living room and dining, I would need to switch to 3 phase wiring).
- Junction box for the phone lines. This may seem like a simple thing to do, but most developers do NOT put this in. The phone lines have also been wired to the living rooms in both upstairs and downstairs.
- water heater points in both the upstairs bathroom.
just to name a few.
Workmanship was above average - only one broken tile was noted in the defects report. I will need to wait for water to be connected to test the flooring for water levelling , leaks and so on. A visit shall also be made after a heavy downpour to check if there are any roof/ ceiling leakages.
Other than that I am almost tempted to relocate there - except that it would be very far from my current social circle.
Anyone need to rent a house???
Sunday, March 2, 2008
India visit Feb2008
This update is in addition to the previous writeup on Gurgaon.
With double digit growth, much of India's infrastructures and economy is undergoing changes. 10 years ago, I was in Noida and saw a narrow 4 storey general provision shop which we would have called a mini-market in Malaysia. This shop had the billboard stating - HYPERMARKET!!.
Around the same time in Bangalore, there was a local superstore called Kemp. It was about half the size of our Globe Silk Store housed in 2 levels.
Today, many shopping malls are coming up around Gurgaon. 
Ambience Mall, which is located just after the toll gate from Delhi to Gurgaon boasts of 1km of shopping per floor!!
Ambience Mall, which is located just after the toll gate from Delhi to Gurgaon boasts of 1km of shopping per floor!!Chinese restaurant (of the Hakka variety) are sprouting up like mushrooms everywhere. But truth be told, their menu is more Thai than Chinese. I think Indians are still not able to differentiate between Thai and Chinese. . Chinese styled outlets are the rage at the moment. Here is one of an outlet I saw all over Delhi -
Yo! China
Yo! ChinaDelhi airport even has a McD outlet. On the menu..... 
Veggie burger WITH cheese!! (prices in Indian Rupees)
Veggie burger WITH cheese!! (prices in Indian Rupees)20 years ago, I saw full page ads of guys looking for horoscope compatible partners and likewise with the gals. Hardly see that anymore in the papers these days.
Delhi airport seems to be undergoing a long renovation. It was in a similar state one year ago. While waiting for my plane to take off, I had to amuse myself looking at the only bright spot in the departure lounge - the aquarium. 
They even have a starfish with colors of the pootu!! 
Nemo was having fun crawling amongst the anemone. 
There is one anemone which made me think it has halitosis (bad breath lah). 
Compare that with a regular anemone.
They even have a starfish with colors of the pootu!! Nemo was having fun crawling amongst the anemone. There is one anemone which made me think it has halitosis (bad breath lah). Compare that with a regular anemone.I'll be back in a month's time!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)