Visit Perak 2012 - Pulau Pangkor.

Do you know next year will a Visit Perak year? If not, then you must living in cave. You are lame.

So, in conjunction with Visit Perak 2012, I am launching my very own Perak Tour and and tell you how amazing actually Perak is! Yeah, clap clap. Kaboom kaboom (This is the sound of fireworks, just so you know my launching is super happening).

Well, even 2 weeks before the new year arrive, my tour had actually kicked off. Me and buddy went to Pangkor Island! Even there's not much excitement as Pangkor is near to my home, I still can't deny Pangkor is still one of the island with many beautiful beaches around. Yay, Pangkor! See how excited I am!

To get there, you can either use Marina Island to get on a ferry or from Lumut. Marina Island is a new place without much happening around, though the distance to Pangkor is quicker, which a ferry only take about 15 minutes to get there with safer parking space and less crowd. Compare to Lumut, which a ferry needs 45 minutes to Pangkor, limited parking and crowded jetty. However, I still chose Lumut as for my buddy, this is his first time to Pangkor. By going through Lumut, there's more to see, more to shop and during the 45 minutes trip, you can enjoy more time on the ferry going through Naval Base. 

Pangkor is rich with many chalets and hotels. Most of them are not that expensive. You can find a lot at Teluk Nipah and Bogak Beach. I selected a chalet at Teluk Nipah as that is the place for water activities that I've planned the next day. During this school holidays, usually the price would be a bit expensive compare to non peak seasons, but still, the chalet only cost me RM95 which is rather cheap. I would strongly suggest you make a reservation before you came since the peak season would invite so many tourists that these chalets usually will be fully occupied.

We had drizzle at noon by the time we arrived, so we got ourselves to a nearby kopitiam near the jetty where now the commercial area is located. With new renovated shops houses, these place looks sophisticated with many choices of souvenirs, clothes, satay fish and dried seafood.  We didn't get ourselves dried seafood there however as I had other places that I would recommend later. When the sun re-appear, we went to the Dutch Fort. There's nothing much here, but visiting this place is a must if you're in Pangkor. Missing this place is like you're not going to Big Ben when you're in London. Yes, this is the big ben of Pangkor. The iconic place o Pangkor I would say.

By the way, we got ourselves a rental motorcycle. You can book it when you buy your ferry ticket in Lumut, and it only cost you about RM35 for a day rent. It is so much easier to move around when you  have your own transport. And after getting ourselves around Pangkor on the bike, stopping by at the Bogak Beach where currently there is a lot of water activities compare to my previous visit and the fishermen's village, we got back to Teluk Nipah and had a little swim as it get a bit cloudy.Teluk Nipah is the IT place for Pangkor. The beach is beautiful, peaceful and calming. Watching sunset the side of the beach is priceless.

The next day, to avoid ourselves to get sunburn, we got ourselves out to the sea as early 7.30 in the morning. Then by 8.30, we went for kayaking for 45 minutes, and it only cost us RM10 per person. Cheap eh? Right after that, we went for a boat ride to snorkeling area. Only RM15 per person with no limit time. The place was a little bit crowded, but definitely worth it. After 1.5 hours snorkeling, the beach boy whom got us there took us around with his little boat to an awesome ride around Teluk Nipah. With that, both us only spend RM25/person for water activity. This is super cheap alright.

We got back to our chalet at noon, checked out and went to Pangkor Gallery ( a new place ), with some artifacts, old records, photos. You'll get to know new things on Pangkor which even I did not. Next we went to the seafood factory near the chinese village. This is the place I propose to get your shopping on seafood. This factory is rather cheap with variety of food. From fried seafood, seafood snacks to satay.

We finally got on a ferry after queuing up for almost half an hour as many were going back as well. As what I can conclude, it is a beautiful island and totally affordable for you to come over with families. So spend some time and have a visit to this fascinating place, Pangkor.

Don't Let Me Go.

Well said.

Public Service Is Not That Bad.

I was in Putrajaya last 2 weeks for a meeting and as usual, I arrived about 1 hour early. With nothing else in mind what to do while waiting, I decided to renew my identity card (IC). These days we Malaysians call it Mykad. The last time when I renewed mine was 10 years ago, I was 16 then. However, regulation stated that we need to update Mykad when we reach 21. So I was fined RM20. No complaint though.

The service at the Registration Department was super quick. There is a procedure flow at the entrance that you would never get confused what to do next and I spent only about 15 minutes there to get my things done. 

My Mykad was suppose to be ready the nextday, however, as I would be back to Ipoh, they sent it to the registration office there, and 2 weeks after, I got my new Mykad! 

 Tadaaaa! See, our public service is not that bad, so stop being so negative.

Super Mad.

I am super mad that I don't know where to start. Someone was really trying to get on my nerve today and this would be a surprise to most of my colleagues as most of them never knew the other side of me. Yes... I am the angry bird. Not this red one, but the super black one. Seriously...

So please don't test my patience as I know that both of us would be VERY sorry for what I would have done. I would make you suffer like that stupid green monster that stole the eggs. Duh!

Ok, Jaffrey, jangan marah-marah. Dalam Islam tak digalakkan untuk kita marah pasal nanti hilang pertimbangan waras pemikiran.

Daripada Abu Hurairah r.a. bahawasanya seorang lelaki berkata kepada Nabi s.a.w.“ Berwasiatlah kepadaku, “Lalu Nabi s.a.w menjawab: “Janganlah engkau menjadi seorang yang pemarah.” Orang itu mengulangi permintaan beberapa kali, Nabi s.a.w menjawab:“Janganlah engkau menjadi seorang yang pemarah.” - Hadith 

Riwayat al-Bukhari

Astarghfirullah Halazim...

Lunch At A Legendary Place.

I went to for a site visit the other day at Tanjong Malim, Perak. And on our way there, we stopped by at a restaurant, which was recommended by colleague of mine who was joining as well.

What makes this place so interesting is that, it opened exactly at 1.00 pm, and my friend said it would be closed at 2.00 pm, which made that restaurant opened only for 1 hour! And people will start to queue early before 1.00 pm to get in early! Giler lah.  

The place is not that fancy, buruk je... nama kat papan tanda pun tak ada... but clean, and the customers came with luxurious cars. And of course, the food is not disappointing. Ada ketam masak lemak, rendang ayam kampung, ayam goreng, ikan keli... Fuh. Marvelous lah! 

Too bad, the place does not have a name. Weird kan? Papan tanda pon tak ada. So tak boleh laa nak bagi direction ke nama tempat. But if you're lucky, you'll find it. Best.

Are The Americans Blind?

[The Jews] knowingly perverted [the word of Allah], know of nothing except lies ... commit evil and become engrossed in sin. [Surah II, v. 71-85]

My Awesome People.

I've just realized that I never did describe my awesome Geng Pakciks in any of my posts.

Well, we are a group of gang with 11 people. Actually how we called ourselves 'Geng Pakciks' remain mystery till today as it started during our 3rd year when everyone of us starts to call each other 'Pakcik'.  We got to know each other in 2004 when we were studying in the same school of our beloved University. 

Ierwan was my roommate. Nine was Ierwan's former lecture mate during matriculation, so Ierwan introduced me to him on the first day, and we became close. Then I got to know Nizam, my groupmate in Bahasa Malaysia class, and Haidi was his roommate, and I got to know him as well after that. Then Para and I became close when we started to plan for barbeque for our batch months after that. Para introduced me to Peje, and we studied Electronic Devices together on the next sem (which I ended up having that subject with the worst grade, but this not to blame you, Peje :p ). Amin was Peje's closest friend as they were roommates during matriculation. Nazul was joining the group later as he was in the PALAPES, which he turns out to be like a brother to me till today. Kechik was staying at the other college, but still, he hang out with us, doing assignments together, and as he was a PALAPES as well, he was transferred to our place the next semester. Amir was the latest to join, as he got close with Ierwan the next year, and we manage to get him on board. And there it goes, how 11 of us met.

Being this important to me, the 11 of us hang out together on my birthday and during our 3rd year, I started to call this event as 'Annual Grand Meeting of Geng Pakciks'. And I believe that was the birth of this Gang. We went for trips, to Perlis, to Perak, Penang, Malacca and many other places. We hang out most of the time, at dinner time, games, lectures, classes, doing assignments.

Being with these people, brings out the best out of me. They gave me confidence and joy. I feel secured and safe. Everything is 'literally' shared and I don't really mind spending more and I know they feel the same way too. With simple words, we are being ourselves when we were together. Full stop. That makes us, us.

After 7 years, 4 got married, the others will... hehe, but still, we remain close.

We sees and e-mails each other always. Even now we have our own fund for future trips and also a trust fund for presents and gifts, representing us. Being in the group kept us close. Geng Pakciks make us feel obligated that we are a group of brotherhood.

...And I am genuinely proud and thankful to be part of them, Geng Pakciks.

Harimau Malaya.

All of a sudden, our national football team, The Harimau Malaya has become a proud brand to the Malaysians. Everyone was talking about them, on the radio, television, at work, on the street. The newscaster even wear the national jersey, the 1st time in history of 26 years! Harimau Malaya is the new IT thing!

Even with an unacceptable lost, the Malaysians still love them. The media is playing a big role on this. The propaganda on branding them is just sensational. Almost everyday I can listen to the radio discussing on their greatness.

Of course, this is a really cool good thing. We need to be proud of our brand, don't we? And this is how it works. The media. It's a powerful tool to tell people what they should do, what they should think.

Harimau Malaya is the NEXT BIG THING! Be prepared.

Tik Tok.