Just came back after a weekend getaway in Singapore. Perfect remedy for weekday stress! But very very… very BAD strain on the pockets. Spent a bomb on shopping again. Sigh.
It’s really ironic how I told myself that this year’s Chinese New Year clothes shopping is only going to be on a miniscule level.
But just when I thought I could stick to that, I completely blew it when I touched down in Singapore – Double sigh. Bought a pair of stone-washed skinny jeans from Topshop, not the usual blue denim tones but black instead. Walked into River Island for the 1st time and discovered it was quite a big hit in Singapore!
Walked out with more purchases ouch!
I bought meself a high-waisted skirt in Topshop simply because I fell in love with the colors. No shades of red this time but one with a deep purple and blue contrasts. Pretty!
Yes I know the price tags are dangling -_-
Cotton On was next, bought myself a bodycon print skirt from there.
Walked PAST Forever 21 and withstood the temptation of entering as I knew it was my danger zone. Completely off limits for me unless I want to fall in a pool of debt or end up stripped for cash. No sirree! But I failed big time in Somerset 313.
There was 4 levels of Forever 21 goodies there! pic from rockthetrend
4 levels of Forever 21 4 levels of Forever 21 4 levels of Forever 21 4 levels of Forever 21 4 levels of Forever 21 Imagine, 4 storeys of lovelies suited for the fashionista in you. Gosh!
But what was SO MUCH BETTER was the rooftop garden at Orchard Central! Baby brought me up there all the way to the *can’t remember which floor* but it was the highest one. From there, we overlooked Orchard and all the high-rise condominiums around its vicinity
This is us trying to snap a decent picture at the balcony overlooking the city. Angle’s perfect, color is fine and whatnot but look what ruined the photo completely :
I became a man with a macho moustache -_-
As we wandered deeper and around the rooftop garden, we came by a wall which reminds me of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The entire wall was enveloped with lush greeneries and potted flowers and other plants!
Us by the not-so-concrete-anymore wall
There were lotsa restaurants there and some which I reckon is fine dining, considering the impeccable setup as well. Indoor water features include mini fountains with lillies inside! There was also a playground at the rooftop garden with bright colorful statues:
Trying to squeeze ourselves into the picture with the playground!
Other days of the week was spent baking cookies. Yup! I’ve got a keen interest in baking cookies already. In fact, I’ve begun to harbour the love for baking delicious morsels last year. The only setback was that I never owned an oven to burn down the house nor experiment with.
See the gingerbread man wannabe? *coughs*
The recipe we used was the one I looked up on Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies, sans the pecans as YingZi’s pre-braces condition disallowed her to crunch on hard bites. Anyway, it was long and grueling to mix the entire batch of batter together – thanks to the oatmeal & semi-melted chocolate!
We didn’t have a blender in the house so no blended oatmeal! It just adds the extra crunch to it once it’s fully baked ๐
I buttered the baking tray and off we put it into the oven. The smell was extremely invigorating! Ya know, that chocolatey fresh-from-the-oven smell you get whenever someone’s baking?
Yup that’s the one ๐ But let’s just hope it tastes as good as it smells!
We couldn’t wait to sink our teeth in those loves!
After less than 20 minutes and laid down to cool, it was ready to be eaten!
Yes I know, it doesn’t look too fancy-pancy or neatly rounded with perfectly proportioned corners. It’s irregular, lop-sided, mishapen but call it whatever you want, it’s your TASTEBUDS that takes control ๐
So shut your eyes and open your mouth wide
we loved it! So did YingZi’s mom ๐
I had it for the next morning’s breakfast, the following day’s breakfast and even during the journey back to Malaysia!Wanted to bring some for my friends to try ’em but it was all swarmed by ants the very next morning as I stole some for midnight snacks but forgot to shut the lid FML
Anyway, I had a fab time in Singapore! Loves ๐
Didn’t bring my DSLR this time because the luggage was enough to drag a horse down. So this is technically my 1st holiday without bringing a camera.
But no sweat, baby bought me this very novel Nikon camera necklace-charm with blings on it! Love it lots, really special (although it can’t take real photos) ! Never seen it anywhere before.
Now I can still lug a DSLR around even when I’m not carrying my real DSLR with me ๐
Don’t feel like offering apes food anymore! So ungrateful LOL ๐ But it’s amusing maximus to see it’s tiny adorable face acting oh-so-scary though
Watch the face at the end!
I was offering the little monkey some nuts and the puny thing made a scary face at me! Totally reminds me of the ‘Dramatic Chipmunk’ here below. It’s the best 5 second clip on the internet. Don’t miss it!
Hmmm.. but what about my monkey? ๐ It’s facial expression should totally beat the chipmunk’s flat. Like helloooo? The monkey bared it’s teeth with its eyes wide open unlike the chipmunk who just stared into space.
Hmmm.. now if only I had that sound clip… *biggrin*
These videos were shot while I was at the Langkawi Wildlife Center, which was previously known as the Langkawi Bird Paradise. In the next video, I was basically video-ing the funny antics of two different species of similar birds, the Parrot and the Kakatua.
In the next video, I was basically daring myself to touch the two Parrots. They looked kinda hostile, especially the bigger blue and yellow one. I understood from the caretaker that the bigger parrot can be quite malevolent when it comes to visitors. O_O
Sorry, was speaking in the Malay Language almost the whole time as I was talking to the caretaker there. For the benefit of my non-Malaysian readers, here’s what I said :
“May I touch them?” “Will they peck me? Will it be very painful?” “I’m just afraid of the pain”
“Don’t peck meeeeee!” “What about the big one?” “Oh that one’s fierce” “Then will it hurt if it pecks me?” “Yes” “Okay, I don’t wanna touch it anymore”
“What about this bird?” “Yeah go ahead” “What bird is it?” “It’s an eagle.” “O_O eagle? Okayyy.”
“Okay I’m really scared. But it’s cute! Look it wants to peck me already -_-“ “Why isn’t it out in the wild?” “It’s been tamed already”
So, I’m proud to say I’ve touched and stroked the mighty eagle! ๐ And had a kakatua perching on my arm
Just a recap, I had the opportunity to venture on a sponsored trip to Sabah, Borneo courtesy of Mayflower Holidays. Oh and, I brought one of my girl friends Jacquelyn along with me to experience the adventure too!
Okay so we finally got our bums up at 6am in the early morning to live our last moments in the wilderness of Borneo. Packed up with a heavy heart and headed to the lobby for our breakfast.
Right after breakfast, we headed down to Sepilok, where the very popular Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Centre was located. The rehabilitation process has 5 steps – admission, quarantine, nursery, outward bound school and survival training. Itโs time to check out those Orangutans yo!
Sepilok is where orphaned and injured Orangutans are nursed to return and fend for themselves back into the wilderness. This rehab is a primary lowland forest, a fine showcase of Borneoโs remaining rainforest โ almost like the real one yet very user-friendly too!
When we entered, there was a rather grim looking security guard holding up a โSILENCEโ signage of which he waves at peopleโs faces, should they be making unnecessary loud noises. This is because noises of people chattering or children screaming might frighten the Orangutans away.
We first spotted Mariko, a very emo looking Orangutan. (Okay in fact, I canโt tell the difference between an Orangutan, a Gorilla, an Ape, a Monkey and a Macaque initially. I only knew they differed in size but actually they have different facial features!)
Okay it was time for feeding! The dude climbed atop the platform and emptied a whole bucket of bananas for the Orangutansโ consumption. Being the smaller and faster species, the Macaques and Monkeys managed to steal some away before they ran away in fear upon seeing the gigantic Orangutan CID.
CID’s the tailo! Don’t mess with him
It was so amusing how they โwarnedโ each other that CID was coming and they hid behind the tree after that, occasionally snatching some bananas away.
Look at CID’s mouth stuffed with bananas!
More and more Orangutans swung from tree to tree to grab their share of the bananas.
Just before we left, I was extremely tempted to purchase this Orangutan plushie. But it costed a bomb so yeah. See, adorable anot?? It’s schmiling too!
And we then drove to the capital. I insisted we try out the reflexology there! I practically LIVE for reflexologies. Love love love the feeling of pain at your soles, followed by a relaxing-relieving feel when it’s all over.
Reflexology by the blind in an outlet called Hing Loong
They were sssooooo good and the price was so much more affordable than the exorbitant-will-cut-your-wallets-into-a-thousand-pieces ones in KL
We had a good lunch after that, courtesy of Sandakan Hotel. The decor was pretty simple and clean. Oh, they had chillies at the table too. Sorry had to camwhore – was waiting quite a bit for the food to arrive. Muahaha
with Jacque and Gary enjoying their conversation =P
Hereโs what I ate, a Beef Steak burger and of course, drank the very popular Sabah Tea that came in abundance here!
I bought like, innumerable boxes and packets you canโt even imagine.. oh and, I placed a packet of it into Grandpaโs palms while he lay on his deathbed. Because one of it was meant for him T_T But guess he had to go.
Anyways, Jacque and I went shopping for pretty trinkets and souvvies back home. *cough* Believe it or not we even headed to the market and explored the town! To buy fruits of all things lololol.
Here I was at the T-Shirt store. One T-Shirt was freaking more than 50bucks FML. But I shut my eyes, took a deep breath and paid anyway. ๐
My new Borneo Headhunters Tshirt!
Our next stop was the Sim Sim Water Village. I was in awe the moment I arrived. It resembles a fishing village, no? So serene too.
I darenโt cross the flimsy looking bridge made of nothing but near-chewed up planks and nails! What if it gave way beneath us?
But I guess I was just paranoid, given the fact that the villages walked up and down without a care in the world with their children skipping on it too!
So I faced skywards and walked the plank. (hohoho pun)
I walked right to the very end of the bridge and began to take in the view from there. Pretty breathtaking, if you’re the type who yearns to be one-to-one with nature.
TEABREAK! SPOTTED SOMETHING HILARIOUS THAT I JUST HAD TO TAKE A PICTURE OF. DON’T ASK HE WHAT HE’S DOING. I’VE NO CLUE!
LOL
I casually took a seat atop the wooden bridge and made myself comfortable there and then. Parked my butt there in the middle of the “road”! Hmm.. ya can’t do that in the city lest you be knocked down by a 10-tonne truck.
And guess what!? It wasnโt that bad after all. It was rather fun to see the sea beneath you with each step you take. I was relatively fascinated by the likes of the villages of Sim Sim Water Village. Their humble abode was built on wooden stilts with bits and pieces of concrete!
But I envied the way their lifestyle. So carefree, with nothing standing in the way of them and natureโs wonder. Waves washing hard against the boulders, flocks of birds fleeting by, cool and airy breeze caressing your cheeks, violet hues and warm shades of vermillion streaked across the sky in the evenings.
Beautiful. Why do we urban folks give up all these for technology?
Loves.
Jacque and I played with the thingamajig that made music. Reminds me of a wooden makeshift piano! Thatโs her videoing me when I just HAD to play with the thingy.
Found myself chit chatting with the villages and apparently, they barely know much about KL City where I come from. All they knew was that it was nothing close to the lush greeneries they have here. Which I do admit โ was partially true.
Just a few hours before departure, we killed time having fun in the War Memorial, which was the site of the original Sandakan Prisoner of War (POW) camp.
PEOPLE DID DEATH MARCHES THERE OMFG with approximately 500 deaths. Okay, โnuff of the depressing and bleak facts.
On the other hand, it was like a very huge park with a water lily pond!
Gary then led us up the staircase, where more interesting things were sitting prettily waiting for us. Haha. It was quite a long walk with mozzies in the evening but fear not, we were armed with mosquito repellant and long pants!
Pretty cottage-like building We got our visual map/guide from there!
Inside the war memorial was full of artifacts and mechanical inventions. We took interest in the Boiler, which was reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelly tall! It was to generate electricity for the Sandakan POW Camp.
Okay, here’s our height difference.. if you must see.
I don’t even come close!
We also spotted the excavator. It’s something like a trenching machine was used by those Japs to use during construction of the airfield.
Reminded me of a tractor-like-digging thing. Very rusty and ancient-relic looking yo! Meet Ruston Bucyrus. Whoa.. even the names sounds like some suave Englishman’s.
Got so tired of jumping after 100 failed attempts (ok lah, I was exaggerating)
Soon enough, it was time to say goodbye.
We lugged our stuff and once again, headed off to the Sandakan Airport. However, there was a little complication towards the very end. Our MAS flight was delayed for another few hours! But our tour guide, Gary, was gracious enough to accompany us for dinner.
We chit chatted the evening away and reminisced the memories of our past 2 days. Goodbyes were never meant to be sweet. Before we knew it, our flight was called and we had to bid farewell.
Goodbye Sabah! It was amazing knowing you and your wondrous nature. If you havenโt checked out Episode 1 [here] and Episode 2 [here], then you must!
Since there are quite a number of you who asked me HOW you guys can experience the same holiday like I did for 3 Days and 2 Nights, Imma let you in on some good deals! It will cost you only RM980 per person.
Okayyyyyy did that scare you? Haha fret not!
Because from today till March 2010, the promotional rates for a similar trip like mine will cost you only RM582. Thatโs like, almost half priced.
But then again, since you guys are so awesome and supportive as always, get in touch with me and you will get additional discounts ON TOP of those promotional rates I mentioned.
So waste no time in experiencing an amazing holiday like mine, in the wilderness of adventure and relaxation! Hey itโs not everyday you get a holiday valued at One Thousand goddamn bucks for only RM500 plus. So quickly ask buzz me more about it if youโre interested!
Donโt say I didnโt tell you about this promo! : )
Wheeeeee! Finally have the time to sit down and blog. Can’t believe I was in the car for 70% of my entire day today. Delivering CDs of event photos to a few clients and so on. Oh and it doesn’t help that I got lost in Cheras! Argh.
Anyway FML cases aside, Imma share with you my 2nd day of my travel escapade to Sabah! 1st day – [here]
Before I continue, I would like to acknowledge my sponsors Mayflower Holidays and Discovery Travel River Lodge. Without them, I wouldn’t have been thrown out to venture the unknown and this trip wouldn’t be made possible!
The day began with my waking up early in the morning – I’m so not a morning person!
My guest and good friend Jacque and I quickly got up and headed towards the main lobby of the lodge to have our breakfast. Yummy! It was prepared ala American breakfast set.
We set out for our morning river cruise, to spot the early birds and other wildlife on the speedboat again with our lifeguard Gary Solacito. This time round, we took the Teneggang Creek detour
And managed to see a Great Egret and the Oriental Pied Hornbill! They were flying really swiftly and looked really regal perched up high above. Sorry, it was incredibly faaaaaarrrr and impossible to catch them in a solitary position so this is (unfortunately) the only picture of the latter yeah.
So much for bird spotting! Hee.
Anyway, we kept seeing so many birds and some of them were really huge! Whoa I wonder what they feed on in the wild. Hmm… that’s not all. Here’s some really beautiful flower buds and full-bloomed flowers :
before
after!
The cruise along Teneggang Creek took some time and we finally arrived at another detour to the Ox-Bow Lake. Check out the “entrance” to it!
Looks like 2 pillars guarding or marking the territory
And here we are!
As we kept going deeper and deeper into the depths of the lake, we stopped by something that really is a wonder in the wild. It’s really pretty, no? The lake was almost crystal clear and freezing cold! Yeah I dipped my finger inside for the fun of it ๐
Such a scenic view!
We continued cruising the creek and lake for more flora and fauna. Hmm truthfully, I never regretted setting off so early in the morning. Should we have not, we wouldn’t have managed to see certain animals which are only active in the morning as well as the fresh morning dew on the lush greeneries.
Couldn’t resist shooting the lil spider!
Such beauty should be shared! ๐
As we c ontinued the cruise, Gary Solacito suggested that we go jungle trekking in the mangrove. I was initially very interested but alas, he mentioned that our shoes weren’t suitable to withstand the insanely thick mud and if we did go ahead, we would have to leave Sabah with one pair of shoes less.
AND I WASN’T GONNA SACRIFICE MY PAIR OF CROCS! Hee.
To make up for it, Gary and our speedboat captain then stopped by the river bank and dropped us off at a slightly-less-muddy ground to check out some insects and other creepy-crawlies.
Yes, creepy-crawlie Exhibit A.
I tell you, I reckon I’ve woken up the entire Borneo rainforest with my loud shrieks of revolt when I volunteered to place that wriggling leech on my hand.
God knows how hard I had to hold a straight face It was literally inching its way all over my arm! Dammit hahaha ๐
Then again – an experience well endured. First was the giant roaches now the leeches! What next? LOL. Anyhoozers, after a few hours out in the early morning, we decided to head back to the lodge as it was beginning to get very sunny.
Teenaged boys catching fish for a living Man you should see their well sculpted bodies at such a young age! Totally beats our overweight Michellin young kids here in the city
Here’s one very interesting catch I spotted! It’s a silverish looking prawn with extremely pink eyes! No need for coloured contact lenses yo. But ermm.. it looks really angry in the picture.
Like, GTFO kinda angry. Okay prawn, I shall leave you in your crummy old cage in peace.
Ahhhh home as last! When our speedboat arrived at the makeshift jetty to our lodge, we jumped off, thanked Gary & the captain and made a dash to our rooms for a much needed rest – and more sun block lotion!
Doesn’t our cabin look really cosy here? It is just as comfy inside too ๐
Okay, I gotta admit. I didn’t exactly get much sleep. Like, who on earth can still sleep after being out for almost 5 hours exploring the wilderness in the morning sun? Totally gets your adreanalin going bonkers already!
So I took more pichas for you! Wheeee This is the lovely view from our cabin balcony
After we slapped on some mozzie repellant (thanks Jacque dearie!) and sunblock, it was time for lunch already. Wonder what Chef M made for us today?
Simple yet mad-tasty! Technically, if you’re hungry EVERYTHING tastes amazing. Human are psychotic like that ๐
After lunch, I spent some time with the adorable tabby cats around the cabin. Both of them were extremely tame! I wonder if they have names but I’m just gonna call them Mufasa and Aura.
Don’t ask me why I named them so, because if I named them Mickey and Minnie you would ask the same thing ๐
Meet MY PETS for the day!
I was madly in love with these beautiful yet tame felines. Jacque can totally vouch for that. I was practically sprawled all over the wooden flooring just to play,romp and take pictures with them.
Now, it’s quite obvious why I’d get a black cat tattoo-ed on my shoulder blade ey? I adore cats. And even that is an understatement.
But they don’t adore me as much. Se e? They fell asleep in my arms. ๐
But too bad, I don’t need reciprocal love from cats! Muahahahaha so here’s more of these meows. Just because I love them so.
I bet right now mom will already be puking her gall out She hates cates LOL
One day mom, just one day Imma have 9 cats and you’re still gonna have to live with me! ^_____^ I know you love meeeee. Kakakaka
Next on our itinerary was mountain biking! Dammit, I don’t even remember the last time I rode a bike. Oh wait scratch that, I think I was chased by stray dogs the last time I did. Gahh.
THIS TIME AROUND I WAS CHASED BY A CHILD
Ohmy so terrified Im shaking in my shoes. -_-
Okay mebbe kids ain’t so bad after all. Provided they don’t wail or whine nor crap in their pants and make a huge scene after that. They are actually adorable – and fast learners! *cough*
I TAUGHT THEM THIS! WOOTS ROCK ON KIDDOS m/
We then went exploring past the main trunk road and riding all the way towards another village altogether. Needless to say, I almost fell off the bike countless times so yeah.
Spotted a colony!
But it was a long endurance mountain bike ride as certain parts of the roads have a very steep inclination so lets work out those thigh muscles yo! We rode past farms, plantations, deers (yes I swear I spotted one walking aimlessly by the roadside), cemeteries, wooden houses, brick houses, construction sites, schools and eventually pulled over by the river.
Hand crafted toys are such fun too! In your face, Toys R’ Us
With the locals
I was very fascinated by the likes of the children diving in one by one into the river, completely fearless of the murky waters deep down below and the existance of crocodiles or so I’ve heard.
No this is not a picture of me robbing the child of his candy
Did I mention that the logs and planks laid to float were extremely mossy and slippery? Better watch your step lest you fall straight into the river!
This was the last picha taken before I slipped right into the river! Arghh I was muddy all the way home ๐
Back at the cabin, we took our showers and chit-chatted. I soon set out to lie in the middle of the grassy riverbanks admist the glowing rays of the evening sunset. Who could miss that? I certainly never would.
Evening sunlight is love
Yup, I began frolicking in the grass enjoying the breezy atmosphere of Borneo. Never had sucha relaxing evening in the city. This is just mad awesome here in Sukau Village
For a second there, I think I fell asleep right in the middle of the grassy field. I suppose if we did that here in the city, it would be far too dangerous. Soon, the sun began to set and I did some photography by the makeshift jetty with a very hunky young English gentleman which Jaque and I thought was reeeeeeeeelly cute!
Yes, the picturesque scene of the evening No pichas of the dude! ๐
Dinner buffer was served and the batch of tourists from the United Kingdom joined us for the meal. We made friends and I got to know that they were on a 3 week trip around Malaysia. Pretty cool ๐ Makes me think of my bff there in UK! Miss her much.
M then cleared up the tables after dinner just before I took a picture ๐
Somehow, Jacque was yearning to go fishing all afternoon. I never really took the interest… until, nightfall. *cough cough*
I wonder why. HAHA!
Stay tuned for Episode 3 the finale! Hope you’ve enjoyed Sabah today with meeee
OMG sorry! I’ve been really really busy, gosh. Was out the entire day yesterday and today. In fact, I just came home from Visiber’s ‘Bible of Numbers’ Grand Launch and Gala Dinner. Traffic was merciless after the event. Argh! Can’t do much for today too but I promise you swell updates soon! Yes, 2nd episode about my adventures being thrown into the wilderness of Sabah rainforests and river cruising too.
Day #2 coming up next! Here’s [Day #1’s entry] if you haven’t already saw it ๐ Yes I spent an entire day with giant cockroaches and bat poo in a cave.
Kthxbai. I’ve got 500+ photos to filter and touch up now to submit to Martell V.S.O.P tomorrow! Won’t be getting much sleep tonight I reckon ๐ Anyhoozers, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy so I cracked up some stuff!Got really tiredof skimming through the entire batch of photographs that
I decided to take a break and create some LOLcats fun. So you’ve seen 2 of my 1st set already. More to fun to come soon! (yes at the expense of those poor felines which I shot :P)
Hope ya like it! xoxo
Oh randomly, after asking on Twitter for some opinions on a GO or NO GO this afternoon, I decided succumb to majority and bought a really adorable retro black & red hairband bow.
Hi! Welcome to TheJessicat.com - an urban lifestyle blog established since 2005, written from the perspective of a Malaysian blogger. Discover the latest and all that the city has to offer! Do bear with her occasional rants & musings though. Happy reading! โค