I have been going around Malaysia this month! In the southern part, that is. I’m considering this a warm up before I fly abroad for more travel and adventures this year, starting with my business/holiday trip to Sydney, Australia on dates 7th – 14th February. I still aspire to visit Shang Hai (China), Thailand, perhaps revisit Iran, and another country throughout this year, thus completing the my travel goal for 2009. 🙂
But first, here’s the line up of places I’ve been to this month…
Kuala Lumpur: Forex Class
Nothing special about going to PJ/KL since I do come here now and then anyway. But I couldn’t pass up this time’s trip because I was going to learn the basics of Forex (Foreign Exchange). So I attended a Forex class by Mr. Aman a.k.a. Orange Roshan. I’m far from being pro right now, and I’m still learning the ropes.
Genting Highlands – Revisited
Hey what do you know? I went back to Genting Highlands again! This time I went with Ladan. We visited the Indoor and Outdoor park in the same day, and of course tried out the daring rides which I had to pass up when I was with my mom a month ago. 🙂
Come to think of it, I’ve been to Genting Highlands every end of the year since 2006! I’d better be elsewhere at the end of this year!
Relatives Visiting Us in Johor Bahru!
My relatives from Klang came over to our place in JB to spend the Chinese New Year holidays with us. Admittedly, I’m not close to them (and I was in for a surprise last year when I found out I actually have more relatives than I even know!) and the one who has been in constant touch with them is Mom. My relatives speak in Hokkien or Mandarin, whereas my sister and I are the only “bananas”. 🙂
So because I know very few relatives, I got only 2 ‘ang pows’ this year. LOL I’m so miserable with my social life… 😛 I think I’m getting too old for red packets too.
We also drove to Desaru, which is approximately 100km away from my home.
That’s Uncle Goo Goo, one of my uncles from Klang. You know what’s really strange? I still don’t know his real name until now!
Hui Yong, or affectionately known as Ah Yong, is our cousin and she’s turned 13 this year. She’s academically bright and scored 7As in the final UPSR exam back in Primary school. This is where reading a lot of books paid off. 🙂
Her younger brother, Yu Hui, is her contrast though. Hmm… I’d say he’s like me in one respect: he spends a lot of time playing games at the computer. 🙂
Aunty Ling Ling, Uncle Goo Goo’s wife.
Uncle Hean Hean is the closest relative to my family. He had been there to help us pull through the toughest of times, and there never was a time he had failed us. And even though he wasn’t financially secured then (he’s way much better off right now) he never allowed his limitations to stop him from helping us out.
That’s me, enjoying the water splashing through the shore. 🙂
Ah, they thought a corpse just floated ashore so they buried me!
Visiting Our Relatives in Singapore
Our trip to Singapore wasn’t planned initially but when we got news that Uncle Mike was just discharged from the hospital after having a heart attack, we decided to come over and visit him. The new immigration was more hectic and tedious than before because it’s a 15 minute maze inside the new complex, and the causeway traffic towards Singapore was bad.
(Oh btw, if you attempt to walk from Singapore to Johor Bahru via the causeway you can be fined up to RM200 or walk back and take a public transportation! That shows you the level of intelligence of the Malaysian government *ahem*)
So anyways, we reached Singapore and paid Uncle Mike a visit. I haven’t seen him in years, and my Singaporean cousins longer.
Uncle Mike had to rest for few weeks before he could go back to work. I was surprised to see Shaun and Amber at home though, knowing that they are usually out every time my Mom visits them albeit sparingly.
I used to play with Shaun when we were younger. I haven’t seen him in many years since then and now… wow, he’s all grown up! I used to be taller than him but when I met up with him, he asked “Edmund, have you shrunk?” LOL Shaun is currently serving the army in National Service.
The way I remembered, the last time I saw Amber was when she was still a baby and kid. She’s going 15 in a month and I admit I was embarrassed to stand next to her. People can’t help but compare how tall she has grown… and how short I have been for such a long time. Hahahaha!! 😛 (yeah this height comparison goes on all the time sometimes I wonder what they eat, or what I’m not eating) 😛
One Day in Malacca
With all of my relatives except Uncle Hean Hean going back after the CNY, he stayed on for another less than a week. I had always talked about going to Malacca since 2007 – but never came around doing it in spite of the short distance… so no excuses this time, we paid Malacca a visit! 😀
Even though it was just after the CNY celebrations, most of the shops were still closed on a weekday. The coast was almost clear on our way to Malacca from JB… until we were in for a surprise: it was a traffic orgy in Malacca! *honk honk*
We reached Malacca in less than 3 hours, and spent another 1.5 hours squeezing through the unexpected jam. Nonetheless, Malacca is a nice and clean state. 🙂 Small wonder that many of the girls from Malacca are pretty.
Okay that wraps up my adventures in the Southern part of Malaysia. 🙂 I still haven’t been to Sabah or Sarawak yet in my life (and no the flight transition in Sabah doesn’t count) – I’d better include in my ‘must go’ list of places too! 🙂