Selamat Hari Kebangsaan ke -49

Hari ini, pada 31 haribulan Ogos.. negara kita Malaysia merayakan Hari Kebangsaan yang ke 49. Saya mengambil kesempatan ini untuk menulis dalam Bahasa Malaysia sempena Hari Kebangsaan. Setiap tahun menjelang Hari Kebangsaan, lagu Sudirman Arshad (1954-1992) yang bertajuk 31 Ogos 1957 akan kedengaran dan mengundang di sanubari setiap rakyat Malaysia.

Tanggal tiga puluh satu
Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Merdeka! Merdeka!
Tetaplah merdeka!
Ia pasti menjadi sejarah

Tanggal tiga puluh satu
Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Hari yang mulia
Hari bahagia
Sambut dengan jiwa yang merdeka!

Mari kita seluruh warga negara
Ramai-ramai menyambut hari merdeka
Merdeka!
Tiga satu bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Hari mulia, negaraku merdeka!

Apa yang anda sekalian lakukan pada Hari Kebangsaan?(kepada abang-abang, kakak-kakak, adik-adik, makcik-makcik, pakcik-pakcik, nenek-nenek, datuk-datuk and semua rakyat Malaysia - di mana jua anda berada ketika ini, samada di kampung halaman tersayang atau tanahair tercinta ataupun di rantau orang). Sebilangan besar rakyat Malaysia sudahpun mengibarkan Jalur Gemilang di rumah atau di tempat kerja ataupun di atas kenderaan mereka (samada kereta atau motorsikal) sejak beberapa hari yang lepas.

Adakah anda bersetuju dengan saya bahawa tidur ataupun berehat di rumah pada hari yang indah ini merupakan pilihan yang bijak. Kita boleh mengambil kesempatan ini untuk bangun lewat ataupun bergoyang kaki di atas sofa sambil menikmati kopi O Teh C (tapi aduhai.. janganlah menggoyang kaki terlalu kuat, kalau tak, nanti kaki ter-dislocate, susah pulak). Walaupun Hari Kebangsaan merupakan hari cuti umum, tetapi bukan semua orang dapat bercuti pada hari ini. Ada segelintir kecil masih perlu bekerja dan berkhidmat untuk negara. Remembering those days...

Segelintir pula akan memasang TV (tekan sini and tekan sana.. ). Alamak... semua rancangan TV tempatan menayangkan rancangan yang sama - iaitu Perarakan Hari Kebangsaan ataupun National Day Parade. Mereka yang berminat boleh terus duduk di hadapan TV menikmati rancangan tersebut yang "menyeronokkan". Mereka yang tidak berminat pula boleh meneruskan agenda lain seperti memasang komputer dan pergi online ataupun keluar berjalan-jalan dan kononnya menikmati udara segar. Saya tidak akan memilih opsyen ini kerana saya tidak suka mendekati atau melawat tempat yang penuh sesak dengan manusia. Lagipun susah mencari tempat letak kereta dan perlu berhimpit-himpit dengan orang lain ketika berjalan. Sungguh menyusahkan. Lebih baik tinggal sahaja di rumah, berbaring atas sofa sambil minum segelas minuman sejuk dan menikmati penyaman udara... sambil-sambil bermain dengan anjing..Bukankah ini lebih menyeronokkan daripada berhimpit-himpit dengan homo sapien yang lain?

Mmmmm... sekiranya saya dilahirkan 30 jam lebih awal, Hari Jadi saya akan jatuh pada Hari Kebangsaan :) Bagus kan kalau hari jadi jatuh pada hari kebangsaan. Boleh menikmati banyak keistimewaan :D

Selamat Hari Kebangsaan ke-49

6 Random Facts

Tiba-tiba dua orang tagged me for the same meme today.. Zeroimpact (aka Boiboi) followed by Plinkie.. to write 6 random facts about myself (6 only meh??? Want to write more boleh tak?) & then pass this on to 6 helpless victims.. Luckily this is a simple tag.. Bukan suruh saya tulis esei atau pantun :P

Mmmm.. where to start?

1. I don't drink coffee (or put it this way.. I seldom drink coffee). I prefer drinking milk and tea than drinking coffee :P
2. I enjoy travelling. My next destination will be.. Sabah?
3. I can listen to the same song over & over again.. or playing the same cassette in my car daily for months - I'm still using cassette player, no CD player.. duh :(
4. I can get pretty impatient when I am on the road. I'm not talking about wreckless driving here.. I hate slugging behind those unker or auntie driver (or whoever ) who drive like tortoise on the road or those moron who doesn’t have any sense of direction. I don't swear or curse when I am behind these drivers but I will just grumble inside my heart :P And ... I miss my motorbike
5. I'm a flexible person.
6. I am who I am. I won't try to be what others expect me to be. And do not expect me to live up to your expectations :P

Err... Need to tag 6 helpless victims.. Simply choose 6 loh, see who are the unlucky ones.. hahahha.. I syiok-syiok tag.. The victims wanna or don't wanna do also never mind (hahahha, cos I'm flexible :P)
1. Winn - U can ask Lucas to do for u if u are busy.. I liu u :)
2. Cynthia - I sayang u mah ;)
3. May - I sayang u too
4. Carcar - I sayang u "three"
5. Ben - will u include io ka chng or yao piku as one of your random facts?
6. Simple American - Wanna know more about u :)

Fear of Needle?

Are you afraid of needle? I hope not. It's just a small "prick" and it won't really hurt. I just had my blood test and fasting lipid profile or cholesterol level (TC, Tg, LDL, HDL level) checked (after endless servings of sotong aka squids over the last couple of weeks besides crabs/prawns and other high cholesterol stuffs). Mmm.. My cholesterol level is still very well kept within normal limit despite all those high cholesterol stuff I took few weeks ago :) Have you checked your cholesterol level lately? If not, it's time to do so. Remember.. needle prick doesn't hurt. I'm not afraid of needle and I hope the same goes to you too :)

There are quite a number of people out there who are afraid or phobia of needles. Frankly speaking, I'm amused each time I see those well built macho and muscular guys closing their eyes or looking away or covering their faces with the other hand when being pricked with needle for blood taking purpose. The more extreme one, will shout like a kid. If they are little kids, then it is understandable. But these are adults !!

Aiyoh... blood taking is nothing major. Although some unlucky one might need to be pricked few times during the blood taking process cos of small, non visible or non palpable veins or blood vessels (Hahahaa, blood taking needs skill too), but the pain is so transient and only last for a brief duration. What to scare of? I know I know... different people have different pain threshold :P

Happy Birthday, Pink Cotton

On this special day (28 August) more than two decades ago, a cute, adorable, sweet and lovely little baby piglet girl was born in a far faraway land..... This baby girl is somehow different from all the other babies cos she likes pink-coloured stuff, including pink-coloured cotton. Proven she is unique and different from the others. And she claims she never drew on the wall when she was small time.. So good girl geh? (Do u believe that? :P)

Here, I would like to take this opportunity to wish Pink Cotton ~ Many (x100) Happy Returns and A Smooth Year Ahead, and not forgetting the all the Hugs & Kisses :P

Happy Birthday Pink Cotton

Selamat Hari Jadi Kapas Merah Jambu
生日快樂 ~ 粉红色棉花

(which reminds me of... 粉红色的棉花糖 or pink cotton candy/candy floss)

Skull, anyone?

Anyone here interested to display skulls in your house? You don't have to be a headhunter for that purpose.. For those who are interested, you can get one (or more) from Sarakraf Pavilion, Kuching, Sarawak :)

These skulls are available for sales ..

And last but not least... watch out for this "unlicensed" part time voodoo lengchai witch loctor (just kidding lah, Ah Ben.. Don't kecik hati) :P

Puisi Merdeka

Semalam saya keluar pergi makan,
Lepas makan tak pergi jalan-jalan,
Balik rumah terus dapat kejutan,
Ini Angel bagi tag tanpa amaran.

Beberapa hari lagi kita sambut kemerdekaan,
Dah 49 tahun Malaysia capai kebebasan,
Sudahkah anda kibarkan jalur kegemilangan,
Kalau belum cepat-cepat kibarkan.

Kebanyakan rakyat Malaysia setiap pagi,
Makan nasi lemak sebagai sarapan pagi,
Kalau tak roti canai pun jadi,
Bagaimanalah kolesterol tak meningkat tinggi.

Segelintir orang pula makan roti,
Makan bersama telur rebus dua biji,
Dan tak lupa kaw kaw punya kopi,
Itulah sarapan rakyat Malaysia sejati.

Susah sungguh nak tulis pantun ini,
Tak ingat sudah garu kepala berapa kali,
Garu sampai rambut pun berdiri,
Saya rasa di sinilah saya berhenti.

Sebelum saya terlupa pula,
Hari ini Hari Jadi kakak saya,
Semoga dia gembira sentiasa,
Maaflah saya tak dapat temankan bersama.

Tapi sebelum saya mengundur diri,
Izinkan saya tag Butt yang bijak bestari,
Dan juga Pink Cotton yang amat disayangi,
Tak lupa juga Red Sponge yang comel sekali.

38888

Redsponge told me she wanted to participate in this "28888 contest" in the past but couldn't manage to do so. So I decided to put this up again (for the 38888th visitor) for her sake just for fun... Should I announce the pressie for the 38888th visitor here ? The prize is fabulous !!! ---> None other than a kiss from our Pink Lady, Pink Cotton.. (I get "permission" from Pink Cotton liao (paksa-rela permission, not sukarela LOL) .. However she hopes she can become the 38888th visitor, so that she doesn't have to kiss anyone can kiss herself :P

The counter is located at the bottom of the page for those who want to participate. By the way, 38888 = 生发发发发 or 生發發發發 and definitely not 三八八八八 :P

p/s: Pink Cotton, please don't piak me again with mineral water bottle, okie ?

*Updated*
Pink Cotton was pretty sad excited yesterday night, thinking she can save her kiss, but who knows.... This morning Sengkor gives us a "surprise".. Presenting Sengkor, the 38888th visitor with his screenshot below.

Sengkor, you can claim your "prize" from Pink Cotton. Hope you enjoy the prize :D

思念

你最近有没有思念某某人? 你的最爱? 丈夫或妻子? 男朋友或女朋友? 父亲或母亲? 兄弟姐妹? 好朋友? 或任何人...

思念一个人是一件美丽但哀伤的事
寂寞的思念
是否会有一种不知身在何处的惆怅和恍惚
你有没有因为思念而哭泣?
你有没有因为寂寞而哭泣?

巫启贤的《思念誰》轻轻的萦绕和荡漾在我耳旁...

你知不知道思念一個人的滋味
就像喝一杯冰冷的水
然後用很長很長的時間　
一顆一顆流成熱淚

你知不知道寂寞的滋味
寂寞是因為思念誰
你知不知道痛苦的滋味
痛苦是因為想忘記誰

你知不知道忘記一個人的滋味
就像欣賞一種殘酷的美
然後用很小很小的聲音　
告訴自己堅強面對

你知不知道　你知不知道
你知不知道寂寞的滋味
寂寞是因為思念誰

Kiasu Drink

This is the weird, kiasu drink - 5 Layer Teh C Peng. I used to have Teh C when I had my meal in Kuching. I came across the 3 layer Teh C Peng last year. (brown sugar/palm sugar + evaporated milk + tea). And now they came up with something new, which sounds more canggih - 5 Layer Teh C Peng which comprises Brown/Palm sugar, Wheat grass syrup, Evaporated Milk, Cincau and Tea. Errr... Weird taste. I definitely won't order this drink again in the future. This will be the First as well as the Last time :) I still prefer the normal Teh C (tea with evaporated milk & sugar). Simple is good, and Simple is still the Best ...

Luckily the mouth watering popiah saved my day. I love the popiah (from one of the food stalls in the Lao Han Jia Food Court (老行家) or Expert Foodcourt in Jalan Song, Kuching). This popiah tasted much (x5) better than the ones I had in Penang. Love the crunchy little chucks of peanut inside the popiah. Love the taste. Finger Chopstick licking good.. Tasted superb when dipped with the accompanied sweet sauce. RM 1.70 per popiah but definitely worth the money.

Pssst.. Pink Cotton, I won't piak you with this yummy, mouth watering popiah :P Cos it is wasteful to do so. I will piak u with other cheaper not so delicious popiahs. LOL

Cats/Kittens for Adoption

(Photo courtesy of Robin)

If you are a meow-meow aka Cat lover and if you are in Singapore or somewhere nearby and you know someone who would love to have a pet kitten or a pet cat/or more, please visit Robin's post - Cats for U. All donations in the form of food, kitty litter, toys, shampoo and medicine are mostly welcomed. No cash donations please....

The Bamboo Bridge (Kampung Benuk)

Another highlight of the Bidayuh village in Kampung Benuk is the Bamboo Bridge. Reminds me of the Canopy Walk. This is more challenging and more interesting than the Canopy Walk ;)

The initial part of the Bamboo Bridge. Still looks pretty okie ...

Underneath the bamboo bridge is the river..

Half way crossing the bridge, I noticed one white dog crossing the river below the bridge.. So, I pointed my camera at the doggy. Upon seeing this, the dog stopped and looked at me instead. (I guess the doggy was thinking.. "Apalah ni, tak pernah tengok anjing melintas sungai keh?")

This is the challenging part, located halfway of the bridge.. The narrow bamboo bridge..
*Hold Deep Breath.. Don't panic.. Stay Calm... * And most importantly, secure the camera :P If the camera drop down inside the river, then really jialat loh...

Anyone interested to take the challenge?
Winn Winn, did you run across this bamboo bridge in the past?
Carcar, are you interested?
It was fun though..

Kampung Benuk (Bidayuh Village)

Kampung Benuk is a Bidayuh Village located in Penrissen area, Kuching; approximately 15 minutes drive from Semenggoh Wildlife Centre. We dropped by Semenggoh Wildlife Centre earlier on to check out the Orang Utan but since the feeding time was at 3 pm, so we proceed to the nearby Kampung Bidayuh instead. There is another Kampung Bidayuh located further away - the Anna Rais Bidayuh Village.

The friendly dog welcomed us to the Bidayuh Longhouse in Kampung Benuk.

The Bidayuh (Land Dayaks) Longhouse - One of the well-preserved traditional bamboo longhouse.


The narrow staircase. Mmmm.. I guess... this is not suitable for visitors wearing high heels ;)

The Bidayuh use bamboo as building material for their homes.

The raw latex

Rubber sheets being dried to perfection under the hot sun.

More rubber sheets..

Sarawak Pepper

One of the groceries store inside the village located next to the Paka Mini Museum. We stopped here for a drink. We were pretty dehydrated cos of the hot weather (walking under the hot sun at 12 noon) :P

Last but not least, the cemeteries in Kampung Benuk.. This is not the end of the tour in Kampung Benuk yet. :)

My First Post in Chinese

受了Ah Winn 的影响 (有样学样 - 好的, 坏的, 我也照学... 哈哈 ), 所以今天我决定用华语写post.(因为我吃饱无事做). 这也是我第一次用华语写post. Banana/香蕉人, 我希望你们也迁就一下吧.

今天天气非常热. 最好是躲在冷气房子里面 - 吹吹冷气, 听听音乐, 玩玩电脑, 上上网. 但我又可怜我的小狗 Ah Boy. 所以我决定带它到附近的花园步行.. 因为天气太热, 我只带它到外面走走半小时就回家..

写了那么久, 只有写了那么一点点.. 真的是很失败.
写华语真的很麻烦, 很辛苦, 也很浪费时间. 所以我还是用回英语写post 比较好 (哈哈... 我承认我懒惰用华语写post. 原谅我吧) :P

Let Sleeping Dog Lie?

Today I felt tired, and so was my dog.. (but I think he felt sleepy more than tired..)

Ah Boy slept soundly on the chair.. zzzZzzzZZzzz.... I kaypo, so I took photo of him sleeping... Mana tau I disturbed him pulak.. So he opened his big round eyes to see siapa kacau him..

Doggy telling me this with his body language "Apalah you kakacaucau(= disturbing), let me sleep in peace lah.. You have nothing better to do meh?" LOL Really paiseh.. cos kena scolding by dog pulak :P

Tea Kiosk

Ah Ben and I had ais kacang and fruit rojak in this old Tea Kiosk (with extension) nearby the Sarawak Museum Old Wing in Kuching, Sarawak.

The Miniature ABC or ais kacang. Wanna know why Ah Ben's cough take so long to cure? Cos the notti boy still ate ais kacang and drink iced cold drinks despite coughing :P

Fruit Rojak. Nothing fantastic and the taste was plain. No kick ;) The one we had in another place one week earlier on tasted much better :)

Meet the Taukeh :)

Something special and unique about this tea kiosk.. You get the chance to enjoy the "scenic" view when you makan here, which is not available elsewhere ..... Guess what issit about?

None other than viewing the Graveyards when you enjoying your meal (which is located opposite the Tea Kiosk). You won't get the chance to do this very frequent, do you? ;)

Pitcher Plant... Rice

I chatted with Agus, my Bidayuh friend this evening and we talked about dog, cat, Sarawak, Bidayuh house, kayaking & durian, pitcher and not forgetting pitcher plant rice....

I told Agus that I passed by Padawan (not far away from Kuching city) and stopped by Pitcher Plant & Wild Orchid Garden, but too bad the place was closed that day. (Take note the place is closed every Monday). Anyway, I came down from the car and had a peep inside the garden.

This was the photo of one of the Pitcher Plants inside the garden (I took the photo from outside the gate). Haha, I didn't want to go back empty-handed. Die-die also must take one photo of the pitcher plants !!!! LOL Agus asked whether I will post the pitcher plant photo and here it is... :)

Pitcher Plant Rice (Photo courtesy of Fish Fish )

I read about Pitcher Plant Rice twice in the past from my friends' posts. (The first time was from Fish Fish's blog and the second time from Kristopher's blog). Kristopher said he was like sua ku to his in-laws cos he never eat pitcher plant rice. Mmmm.. I guess I'm equally as sua ku as him cos I never tasted the pitcher plant rice before too, hahhaha... I read from Fish Fish's post that Pitcher Plant Rice is available in Serikin Market in Bau, Sarawak. Anyone interested?

Pitcher Plant Rice ( Photo courtesy of Kristopher )

Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, Sarawak

We arrived at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre (located 20 km south of Kuching) around 12:15 pm (to see Orang Utan, what else?) but found out we won't be able to see Orang Utan at that moment. Tourists can only see the Orang Utans during feeding time - 9 am in the morning and 3 pm in the evening. So we proceed to Kampung Bidayuh located nearby instead.

We came back again before 3 pm. This was the first time I visited the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre - the sanctuary for a number indigenous endangered wildlife of Sarawak, especially Orang Utan and Hornbills. We still have some time to walk around the area since it was only 2:45 pm.

The crocodiles. And frankly speaking, they look like dummies and their eyes look like guli. The crocodiles very hor liau, cos can stay still like muppet. Pura-pura bodoh waiting for unsuspected victim? :P

This crocodile even more keng chau.. Open mouth big big buat apa ? I looked at it for several minutes and it maintained the same posture. Dunno he stayed that way for how long liao. Really siao siao..

Tristania Whiteana Myrtaceae or Selunsur Putih. Tree with white barks.

Time to see the Orang Utan. This is the few hundred metres nature jungle trail I took to see the Orang Utan. The photo below shows the nature trails with plankwalk.

There are several Orang Utans with "identities" in the Centre - they have names. The Orang Utans here are rehabilitated before they were sent back to the rainforest, which is their natural habitat. The Orang Utans and the other wildlife will roam around freely inside the rainforest, but will return back to the wildlife centre during feeding times. They are clever, aren't they? ;)

We managed to meet up with 2 Orang Utans that day. Daniel & another orang utan (can't remember his name).

This is Daniel. He was busy having fruits feast on the feeding platform.

The other younger Orang Utan (? name) grabbed one papaya and few bananas. Take note the bananas he carried in his mouth and the papaya on his right hand. He scared to have meal together with Daniel???

p/s: I prefer watching the Orang Utan having their meals in Taiping Zoo :)