About time I add new updates to my Personal Blog! 🙂 I got back from Sydney, Australia on Valentine’s Day and just reached home in Johor Bahru only the day before.

I’ve been taking photos and videos with my camera while I was away at Sydney for one whole week, although I will be mentioning only the highlights of the trip.

First up, I want to thank Aurelius Tjin for showing me around the city, and providing lounge for the week. Saved me a small fortune from lodging into a hotel since cost of living there is very expensive! Thanks again! 🙂

This is Aurelius btw…

View From The Sydney Tower

Standing at 305 metres tall, view from up there was truly amazing! At the peak of the tallest building in the city (and 2nd tallest in the entire Australia), I could view the surroundings in 360 degrees.

Sydney Internet Marketer’s Meet Up

This place is really beautiful and enchanting! No wonder it’s called Darling Harbour. 🙂 Aurelius had organized a local Internet Marketer’s meet up for the second time here, and I attended the informal session as a special guest. 😉 Sure, I came a long way!

I have to hand it to them that after meeting many other individuals in this field, the Australian Internet Entrepreneurs are truly in a league of their own. It was not only a humbling experience but reminds me gently that I still have a lot more to go in learning the ropes of doing business online!

Thanks and it was nice meeting you guys and gals!

Blue Mountains

Was ready to head to the Blue Mountains with Aurelius, Frank Bauer and Colin Klinkert. I picked up the local papers (I usually collect at least one newspaper from each country I visit) and the first several pages were talking about none other than the bush fire going on in Victoria and several other parts of Australia.

At that time, the death toll reached 93 and thousands more were homeless after having their homes decimated by the bush fire and arsonists. Several other places were noted to be on alert including Blue Mountains itself! (Fortunately when we got there, it was cold and misty!)

Going Down The Hill on a Bed

Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Thanks to Derrick Siu (whom I just met at the meeting) he knew of an insider who could help get me a discount to climb the Harbour Bridge for just AUD140++ instead of AUD189 (or AUD216 on weekends). Pricey yes, but the 3.5 hour experience was truly breathtaking!

I have to admit, I am afraid of heights. And I was having second thoughts about climbing the bridge. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 metres (twice the height of the Opera House) and is the 4th longest bridge in the world. It had been there since 1932.

But our tour leader Mellisa is really great at what she does! It was assuring to know that she had climbed up and down the bridge 3,000 times and has 9 years of experience and the manner she handled the safety procedures were professional. 🙂

So we spent the first 30 minutes getting equipped and ran through basic training through a simulation and after that we spent the next 3 hours climbing up to the summit of bridge and back.

Paddy’s

30 minutes drive from the heart of the city. This place is the equivalent of Malaysia’s “Pasar Pagi/Pasar Malam”. Things sold here are generally cheaper than if bought in the city and most of the merchants are Asians – like Chinese, Japanese, etc.

More Photos (that don’t fit anywhere else)

Hope you’ve enjoyed reading and looking at the photos! 🙂

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! 🙂