In remembrance

This post is dedicated to both my parents, dad and mum who left me recently. It has been incredibly tough for me to journey without them. Both gone too soon for me but I wish them both well and I believe that they will always be looking after me from above.
I would like to also thank those who stood by me through this period and I have to say that without you all, it would have been even harder. 

My Father : Foo Soo Kim, Born 2 June 1941, Departed 2 Sept 2014
An incredible man with very few words but has shown me much love in his own ways. A man who worked all his life, to my dad, work always came first and family was second in line.

  

My Mother : Kung Lay Eng (Fondly known as Helen), Born 7 Sept 1949, Departed 6 Oct 2014
My amazing mum who was always there for me, no matter how small was the matter. One who stood by us all the time, one who provided the love and care for us at home.

 

Eulogy in memory of my mum....

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for making time to come and walk this last journey with mum. She would want me to say thank you to all of you and wish the very best to all of you. 

Both my parents were amazing. We, my brother and I are both lucky to have them as our parents. 

We grew up like in any other typical family where my dad was the sole provider and my mum concentrated to raise us and made home a family. Every morning we had breakfast on the table and every meal was provided for. We were both given the best of what they could offer. For that we are very thankful. We now have to journey without both of them but I know we will continuously be guided by them.....

To some of you, you will remember my mum as a very strict no nonsense person

To some she must have been a loud person

To some she must have been bad tempered

To some other she would have been very sociable

And I believe to all she is well known to be a hard headed and decisive lady. 

To us she was a very dependable person who was always there for us. She was always caring and always ready to listen to us and she listen to understand and not listen to reply. She was truly our pillar at home.  We were taught strong values and the importance of family, faith, hard work, kindness, forgiveness and love. 

The last one year has been many ups and downs for mum. As she battled with cancer she has shown me how strong willed she was and how positively she looked at life. God has also shown me how graceful He is as He was always there for mum, shielding her from pain, guiding her what to do and finally taking her home. Although she will be forever missed, I am comforted that mum is at peace now. 

I will always treasure our days and hold you in my heart. I love you mum.   

It has been a while....

It's been a while since I last blogged.... Mainly is because I have been juggling my time which seems never enough!! 

So what have I been up to?

I got baptized in December! I 'heard' the calling finally and knew I had to do something. This was on December 15th.... The beginning of a new path in life.....

And I finally tried diving!! It's quite an amazing experience from not knowing how to swim to being able to dive! I had my certification dive in July last year at Pulau Redang.... Thereafter in November I went to Koh Lipe with a group of friends and dived there with Koh Lipe divers... Will blog more about the trip later....

Overall I have to say that comparing the two places I have dived in, Malaysia waters seems to be richer! Though there were some unique life that we saw at Koh Lipe while snorkeling. Yeah you bet! I think it was better to snorkel than dive at Koh Lipe....

End of last year I had a turn of events in my family where my mum was taken ill...

She was diagnosed with cancer with a large growth..... Now she has already undergone 5 cycles of chemotherapy and if God willing I will still have her with me for many years. 

My mum is quite an amazing woman.... She is very strong mentally and she is taking it one day at a time. So for those who are reading this, please keep my mum in your prayers. May God continue to lay his healing hands over her so that she may not suffer nor encounter pain..... Amen

2012 Aug 2-7 Hanoi, Halong Bay, Cat Ba Island & Ninh Binh - Part 3/3

Our last excursion in Hanoi is to Ninh Binh..... Going on a Hoa Lu - Tam Coc tour (USD 19). Tam Coc is often known as Halong Bay on land as the scenery is similar to Halong Bay. Frankly I prefer this place to the infamous Halong Bay where its over populated by people and pretty polluted too...... all too soon, we may not even have Halong Bay to enjoy anymore!

The travel to Ninh Binh takes about 2 hours with one stop.
The place has more to offer and one may even do an overnight trip to this place. There are public buses available to Ninh Binh but we have opted to go on a tour instead. This so to "save on timing" as we only had one day.

It started to rain!

Boat ride on Boi River

Gone are the days where we use hands to row.. they are skillful!

Amazing scenery

This completes my little travel diary in Vietnam

2012 Aug 2-7 Hanoi, Halong Bay, Cat Ba Island & Ninh Binh - Part 2/3

We went on a 3D/2N Halong Bay Tour + Cat Ba Island the next day - USD 129

There are many tours available for this and we settled for this one http://www.odctravel.com.vn/halong-tours.html

Travel to Halong Bay is approx 3.5 hours.
The tour company will pick you up from whichever hotel you are staying in and travel by "mini van" to Halong Bay... there will be one stop along the way.
The package includes all meals during the journey and pick up / return back to hotel. It is a full 3 days tour whereby you only get to return by 7pm or so on the third day.

The itinerary for this is :
Day 1
8.30am pick up from hotel and travel to Halong Bay
Lunch and dinner on board (cruise starts)
Activities - Cooking class, Squid fishing + Lazing around
Overnight on board

Day 2
Breakfast and lunch on board
Dinner at Cat Ba Island
Activities - Visit Caves, Beaches (not clean) + a peak (good view)
Overnight on Cat Ba Island, Hung Long Hotel

Day 3
Breakfast at Cat Ba Island
Lunch on board
Travel back to pier and return by land to Hanoi

Our cruise ship

The room, electricity available from 6pm to 7am

Upper Deck

Sunset on board

Kayak into the "hole" - if water level rises and we are inside it means we are trapped :)

Smaller boat to take us to shore

Arriving at Cat Ba Island

Hung Long Hotel at Cat Ba island

Just too many people at the beach (Cat Ba Island)

- To be continued - 

 

2012 Aug 2-7 Hanoi, Halong Bay, Cat Ba Island & Ninh Binh - Part 1/3

Yesterday I was asked - when was the last time you went on a holiday and I thought and thought and thought - I can't remember!
It seemed like so long ago...... only in the evening the thoughts of Hanoi came back. So here I am writing my travel diary in Hanoi.

Transfer to Hanoi City from Airport and Vice Versa
There is a public bus (#17) available which costs VND 5000 (RM 0.80) for a 2 hour ride into the Old Quarters of Hanoi (Air conditioned, mind you!)
In Vietnam the currencies accepted are : VND & USD
Usually VND is used when you purchase / spend in the streets. Hotels / hostels / tour usually takes USD currency.

Go to the 2nd floor of the Terminal and proceed out the doors. Turn left and walk down the ramp. The bus will pick up at the end of the ramp.

Looking back towards the airport from the ramp

The long ramp down - the bus stops at the end of the ramp

 

This is where the bus will stop near the Old Quarters - from here if you are staying at the Old Quarters, it should be accessible by foot. That's the colour of the bus

In Hanoi City
Hanoi city itself has nothing much (for me) - what one can possibly do in Hanoi is visit the Hoan Kiem Lake which is within walking distance to the Old Quarters of Hanoi and also the West Lake which is the largest one in Hanoi.
The other attractions include :
- Mausoleum
- One Pillar Pagoda
- Temple of Literature
- Hanoi Hilton (Hoa Lo Prison)
(Which I did not do any of them..... just did not feel like walking and tiring myself out)

 

Hoan Kiem Lake

One other thing which is highly recommended is the Water Puppet Show (The Puppets are performing in a little pool of water) - and this you will need to buy tickets in advance. This is at the Thang Long Theatre across from Hoan Kiem Lake and the tickets are for VND 100,000 (RM 15)

All the roads in Hanoi begins with the word "Hang" - see pic below.
Its very easy to navigate yourself around Hanoi as the road names are all clearly displayed.
The second word after "Hang" denotes what the street is famous for in the local dialect.

 
 For food, one should not miss:
- Beef noodles
- French food 
- Bread (even those sold on the streets are good!)
 

I can never get enough of beef noodles :)

This was the place that sold the beef noodles near the hostel

Cool down time!

On the streets

And we could not get enough of this too! (Chicken noodles)

Massive ingredients! Only open for dinner and by 9pm all sold out!

This is where we ate the chicken noodles

The "kitchen" is not visible on the streets... this is what you can see and many many tables and chairs + lots of people. (the locals). One can't help but to stop and try!

Accommodation
I stayed at Hanoi Hostel at Hang Vai street - the cost per nite for a double room with attached bathroom was USD 16 (RM 50) inclusive of breakfast.
The room had a double bed plus a single bed in it with white sheets.
The owner's name is Mike and together with his staffs, they made my stay in Hanoi a pleasant one.

- To be continued -

 

Endau Rompin (Pahang)

Date : 25 to 26 May 2013

This post ends my quests in Endau Rompin.
My previous trips can be found here:
1. Selai via Bekok town - details can be found here An Outing in Endau Rompin (Selai)

2. Peta via Kahang town - details can be found here Endau Rompin (Peta)


How to get there :
As it was a weekend getaway for me, my travel time was from Tanjung Resang in Mersing to entrance of the park, 45 mins.
From Mersing town head towards Kuala Rompin.
Before arriving at Kuala Rompin, there is a road sign which says turn left into Endau Rompin National Park.
This road follows the Felda Selendang Road and it will lead right to the entrance of the park.

Entrance to the National Park (Pahang)

Campsite for the night

Start by descending down the stairs

Hanging Bridge

Beautiful Rock Forms

Sri Mahkota Falls with a nice big pool (maybe about 12ft deep)

My coffee fix at the fall