SHILA H.

9 May 2011 at about 6.45pm local time, my hubby and I was to be picked up at the lobby of Victoria Hotel, Melbourne. I was excited, apprehensive, happy, butterflies in the stomach, you name it, I got it. Why? Because we are finally in Melbourne? Yes and No. More so because for the first time since 1979, I'm meeting face to face with Shila H!!
Our first reaction when the lift door opened was to 'size-up' the individual. Then, the familiar smiles across the lounge. All of a sudden, I felt chills. 
And then we hugged, despite the layers of clothing, I felt a tremendous amount of warmth, love and happiness from Shila. Shila H, for the record, the feeling was mutual. 

The ladies - lousy cameraman!! 

Immediately, I felt so so warm in the midst of early winter. Though we've been apart for over 3 decades, but the feelings we had remained intact despite the years. I felt like a teenager all over again. Within seconds, we were chattering endlessly. A quick hubby and her daughter intro, we were back to catching up for the lost years.
Frank (Shila's hubby) and son Luca was waiting for us in the car nearby. We were treated to true Italian (3rd generation) pizza. It was sumptuous and we over indulged as Frank being a true Italian expected a 4 hr dinning experience, he ordered food fit for 10!! Italian hospitality - Thanks, Frank! You are a gem! Unfortunately, due to long night flight and a full day's Melbourne tour, rocker57 and I were tired.

The guys - freezing cold!!!

Despite the short 2 hours dinner, I felt I'd not missed out on Shila's missing chapters in my life as we caught up with each other. We tried to catch up again when rocker57 and I return from Hobart but it was not to be so as we had to have an early night to catch an early flight home.
Shila H, I thank you for your hospitality. I miss you. Take care, love you!! See you in June, 2012!! Hugs XXX


 

CONVOY TO PENANG - LAST TRIP WITH KAWA-BABE

Convene at Subang Avenue

My first convoy trip, so so excited!! Reached Subang Avenue with Rocker 57 for briefing at 9am. Supposedly to leave by 10am after briefing. Excitement wan when we were made to wait for over 2 & half hours as Singapore and Johor bikers were LATE!!! Arrghh...I dislike tardy people! When the bikers finally ROARED in, my adrenaline went overboard! We are finally leaving...YAY!! We finally left at 11.45am!! Almost 3 hours since we "reported" in. Minutes later, all was forgiven, I was awed struck with the roaring sound of 60-70 bikers revving!! It was fanta-bulous!!

We had police escort from Subang all the way to the hotel in Penang!! We practically STOPPED traffic as we rode along the 300 plus kilometer ride. Despite minor traffic conjestion along the highway, the rest of the journey was super smooth particularly from Butterworth to Penang. Due to the huge group, we bypassed all traffic lights & junctions. Kudos to the traffic police and Marshalls for a super duper smooth ride. It was incredible & remarkable!!

Queuing at toll into Penang Island

Penangnites stood along the way to witness the ROARING bikers riding into their tiny island. It was a sight to behold! The grand entrance into Penang was so impressive, it's etched in my heart forever. I felt so so VVIP for the short 15-20 mins ride from mainland to Penang.

Pit stop at R&R

For the entire journey, we made 3 'pit' stops to refuel, the first was for the benefit of Singaporeans and Johoreans who has traveled far to join us, the other 2 stops were lunch & refuel. We arrived at the hotel 40mins past 5. We checked in to 1926 Heritage Hotel, Burma Road. An old quaint building but close proximity to eateries.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the convoy, basking in the 'limelight' with the other bikers. Met some of Rocker57 biking 'kakis' and made new acquaintances with other bikers as well. 

Arrival at 1926 Heritage Hotel

All the bikes were 650cc and above - Honda Gold Wings (which I learnt costs about RM180,000 each!! WOWZA!!!), Honda CBR & others Honda brands, Yamahas, Kawasaki ER-6n, ER-6f, Z1000SX & GTR1400 and also Suzukis among others. Amongst the group, there were a handful of feisty lady bikers too. They maybe petite in size but mighty strong racers once 'released' on the road!! Salute, dear two-wheelers sistas!! 
The organizers though were ill prepared for the 3D/2N expedition. It was disorganized. Participants weren't aware of what's in-store for them as there was no proper agenda briefing. Even room allocations were done haphazardly and distribution of T-shirts was carried out without our knowing. Luckily, Rocker57's kaki took on our behalf. Else, we only have these photos for remembrance :)
My deepest disappointment was not being able to witness the Penang Bikers Expedition (main attraction of the trip) which was to be held the next day. Unfortunately, we (just Rocker57 and I) had to travel home due to prior commitment - sigh....it was truly a sad ride home the next morning when I see groups of convoy bikers racing towards north where the action IS while we lone riders were heading south to where home is.....      

MY SCHOOL MATES

It took 31 years for someone to take the initiative to gather all our schoolmates together in 2010. Thanks to Christina Siow & two other schoolmates, they jointly created a group page for us in Facebook, we are now finally connected! The initial objective then was to gather 79 out of 260 schoolmates. And guess what? we achieved our objective!! For more info, please log on to:

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=%2F2010%2F7%2F9%2Fcentral%2F6622104&sec=central 

There were numerous informal reunion over the years, but the official FB reunion was held on 12 June 2010. It was an 'atomic' blast!!! We were so loud and elated that even the Chief Minister of Negeri Sembilan who was dining at the same coffee house couldn't resist the attention we were garnering that he had to dropped by to enquire! Well, that's one VIP gate-crasher!! HEHEHEHE...
The group has blossomed to a healthy 108 membership! Since 12 June, 2010 we have had 3 more gatherings (Sept 2010/Feb & June 2011). Below, recent pictures of our gathering which was held at Cinnamon's, One World Hotel.

15 of those who were 'early birds'

We brought the "house" down with our laughter, joys and antics. There were names guessing, size comparisons, who has more wrinkles & spares, nucleus family enquiries, etc. I bet the hotel guests in One World felt tremors from about 1-5.30pm last Saturday. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we have already planned for Dec 2011!! 4 hours seriously ain't enough for catching up, so this time, its ladies night out! OVERNIGHT, that is!!

Full attendance with some last min. surprises.

Frankly, if you were to asked me, I felt as if we are still in school. It's as if we had never left because we girls just simply picked up from where we left and just 'added on' to our new chapters in life. Awesome!!
I treasure each reunion as I never know who I'll meet and simply because I for one believe in living for the present. For we know not what the future holds. Every hug to me means so much. I can feel my schoolmates feelings, passion, depth of friendship from each hug...yes, ladies - it shows. So the next time you hug me....hehehe...I'll rate you accordingly!!
As I sit here typing away, I've already planned what's in-store for the upcoming reunion. Oh... I feel like a teenager all over again...the feeling is so invigorating and intoxicating, I wish we can have it TOMORROW!!
To all my other schoolmates who aren't connected, please look out for us. You seriously do not know what you've been missing! To those who are reading this and know my schoolmates, please ask them to contact me or check out our group at ConventSeremban79@groups.facebook.com

We are having a grand reunion in June 2012. Come join us and be connected!!

GOODBYE KAWA-BABE

Goodbye babe!!

Today, I pen my goodbye wishes to Kawa-babe as we'll be trading him for his bigger brother...TAaaaDAAAAaa the new Kawasaki Z1000SX this weekend!
Yaaaay!!!!!... it's great to ride on a new bike, but sigh - pockets very much lighter because its more expensive. More than twice Kawa-babe's price OTR!! And for just a few hundred cubic capacity more plus ABS! Well, well... what would I know, right? Yeaa...its a man thing.
Men! They rarely splurge on things but when they do.....KABOOOOM! Huuuuuuuge dent to the bank account!! (sob, sob...there goes my LV, Ferragamo, Gucci, Jimmy Choo's, etc ---hehehe..not that I'm an ardent collector, just lamenting....blah blah blah)
Before we finally part ways this weekend, Kawa-babe'll take us for his last tour of duty. We are off to Penang - Pearl of the Orient for a 3D/2N convoy with 40-50 other bikers. We, however will cut short our trip due to previous commitment.
In the past 13 months, Kawa-babe has taken us countless times to Seremban, thrice to Ipoh, twice to Melaka, once respectively on separate occasions to Port Dickson / Bukit Tinggi / Janda Baik/ Bentong/ Kuantan/ Kuala Kubu Baru / Cameron Highlands and around Klang Valley. Some are day trips while others are overnight(s) stay.

Kawa-babe has taken his master to more places than I can remember as Rocker57 rides almost every weekend! (pssst 98%!! Only doesn't ride when traveling overseas or in sickness). And these are all solo trips, while I stay at home battering my laptop - FaceBook, what else!!
Here's the first closed-up pix of Rocker57 on Kawa-babe (though he insists not to be featured) but I feel that Kawa-babe deserves a good sent off. This picture was taken 13 months ago when Kawa-babe first came home.
New owner will be very pleased because Rocker57 takes really good care of his beloved bike, second to only me!!! Hahahaha...Seriously, he treasures his bike and his rides. I've come to love riding over the past 13 months but still lazy to don all the apparels as they are bulky, heavy and very tight fitting (has to be tight fitting due to strong wind when riding plus mainly for safety reasons). But once I'm on it, I'm transported to my 'dream world'.
Goodbye Kawa-babe, thanks for the wonderful & memorable rides. We hope you'll find a good owner who'll take care of you as good as Rocker57. Adios, babe!

RIDE TO KUALA KUBU BARU (KKB)

Heard a lot of Kuala Kubu Baru, yet to visit the place. When my former college mate Ryan invited my hubby and I to join his riding buddies sometime late March 2011, we quickly jumped onto the bandwagon.
Journey started at 6.30am! We gathered at the Shell petrol station opposite Giant Hypermarket in Kelana Jaya. Six bikes - Ryan rode the Virago, Rocker57 & Fred : Kawasaki 650 & 750cc; Philip, Ho and Chan (err...I think that's his name...) 2 Honda models 1,000cc {forgotten the model...sigh, signs of ageing, can't escape that!! Ahhh...) and a red Ducati Monster 850cc. 
And moi - the 'beautiful' rose amongst the thorns - Ahem! My first ride with a 'gang' obviously I had to wake up earlier to 'don my mask' to look presentable. Rocker57 is still questioning me (yup, till today) why I need to make up whenever we go riding. He says we should look rugged not all dolled up. Well, Rocker57, I wanna looked like a dolled up rugged rider, can??!! (psst...frankly, he doesnt give two hoots what I do as long as I'm happy). Our pact? Easy pissy...he tells me what time we leave and I'll work backwards to get ready! Frankly, sometimes when the weather is too hot and humid or when my hormones go haywire or when the mood goes nutty, I go 'naked face' with just moisturizer and sun block.
The morning was cool and breezy, I truly enjoyed the ride and watching the dawn of a new day as we rode towards KKB from Kelana Jaya. We arrived KKB for breakfast just before 8.30am. KKB is a quaint colonial days small town, to me that is. I love the fresh air and simplicity. The folks are friendly and I believe they can easily spot newbies like us visiting their town. With the loud exhaust pipes bursting from the bikes, we certainly created a 'roar' when the entourage arrived!
After breakfast, I hopped onto Ryan's Virago for a 'test ride'. I felt uncomfortable maybe because the bike was too low, there's no place for me to hold when we went through some bumpy ride and I couldnt cuddle Ryan like how I would cuddle Rocker57....hehehee. Our primarily visit to KKB was to see the KKB reservoir. And so here it is:

Kuala Kubu Baru Reservoir...beautiful

We took our time to take in a breath of fresh air and to soak in the beauty of a place a short ride from city centre. I also 'stole' the opportunity to snap a couple of pictures of the bikes parked along the long stretch of asphalt road.

Soaking in the scene and resting

Rocker 57 amongst the bikes

The trip was short, but nothing short of making me happy and the fact that we've started to look forward to joining groups for short or long outings. Psssstt..come closer, here's the thing. After the trip, Rocker57 actually took the initiative to register in a biker 'club' and now, we are scheduled to ride to Penang late June for an overnight outing. I'm so looking forward to meeting new friends and the ride with Rocker57 and kawa-babe.
Till the next blog...hasta la vista!!

What I find unique in Yangon.

There are just too many temples and pagodas to visit in Yangon alone. After visiting 3 temples (main attractions), even a devout Buddhist will scream for help!! However, the temple that attracted me most was the Shwedagon Pagoda. It stands at 366feet high with a perimeter of 1,420ft all encased in GOLD!! The main attraction isn't the gold but the 76 carat diamond that sits at the top of the pagoda! (Yeah..start calculating the cost...I knew it!!)

Simply magnificent. Felt so peaceful & blessed just being there.

Uniquely, standing at different places (specific points) in the temple, one can actually see the different shades of the diamond with the naked eye after dark! Standing at one point I saw only red, move a few inches away and the color changes hues...amazingly awesome!! Shwedagon Pagoda is said to contain relics from 3 earlier buddhas and 8 strands of Gautama Buddha's hair!! The Pagoda is believed to be over 2,500 years old (refurbished over the centuries - obviously...DUH!!).
Unique eating concepts that I and my tour group find hard to digest (both literally and realistically) The picture on the left was taken just outside a postal/IDD shop. While the one on the right was taken just outside the Myanmar embassy. Mind you, these are regular sights when you go around Yangon.

Commonly found along the streets

Miniature chairs are common sights!!

The 3rd unique thing is the flower I purchased outside the entrance to see & pay respect to the largest reclining Buddha structure in the world. I've never in my life seen a flower like this one, have you? (right) It looks to me like a small burger with anemone sitting atop the burger and protected by petals! 
Fourth is the manner medication/supplements are dispensed in pharmacies...they are sold in loose forms(blister packs!!!) Sold as if you are buying sweets!! Also, a pharmacy 'pops' up within a shopping mall just like any other cosmetic counter!! So so peculiar!

pharmacy within a shopping mall

The final uniqueness I found was the very place that Freedom Fighter Ang Sang Suu Kyi was house arrested for 15 years! Deprived of so many amenities and access (internet particularly) I would have DIED of boredom had I been house arrested (in similar conditions). Below, Ang Sang Suu Kyi's father's house where she stayed for 15 long lonely years minus her nucleus family. We weren't allowed to stay long, so I took what I could. I deeply appreciate and respect her more after what I've learned she has gone through. She's has fought for her people relentless yet in a subtle manner that is so humane. Terrorists should take some lessons from her, perhaps then we'll all have a more peaceful place to live in!!

Ang Sang Suu Kyi humble abode

Main entrance - fences made fr bamboo!!

 

YANGON, Myanmar

Street fruit seller. Would u eat this??

Prior to my trip to Yangon in late Feb 2011, I'd expected it to be similar to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. What a shocker it was. It was far worse than HCMC. On hindsight, it was Malaysia's situation some 4 decades or more back. I thanked the one up there and the Malaysian government for their foresight to bring Malaysia to where it is today. Having said that, the cost of living in Yangon is too far fetched! 4 decades ago, we could get a decent meal for about RM 50sen but the same meal in Yangon costs USD3.50 (equivalent to RM11+ at that time of FOREX)!! To be fair, locals eat from stalls (picture below) for a steal.
Apart from the cost of living, I do like the people in Myanmar. Majority are Buddhists. They are honest, hard working people and very humble. Their honesty is contagious. A close friend of mine told me that her boyfriend of many years confessed that he has been a smoker for 8 years and not just a social smoker after his trip from Myanmar!! I take my hats off for the guy to be candid about it, it took loads of guts since this close friend is very against smokers!! In any case, the relationship is still intact :)

Roadside food stall

Cigarette Seller - common sights

Here are some pictures depicting normal lifestyles in Yangon. They do have shopping malls but selection of goods are limited. Despite the lack of modern technology and amenities, people here are contended and happy. 
Our mobiles are rendered useless as access is ZERO!! Our guide says they can only talk on the mobiles and nothing else,what 3 or 4G!! No SMS, MMS or surfing on the go - they're still on analog!! When he saw the iPhone 4, he was so awed he somewhat treated the phone as if it is a diamond studded Rolex and promptly return it to the owner lest he damages it!! To get a SIM card to activate your mobilephone costs USD300!! Our guide's phone was the 2nd analog generation I've ever had - phone and SIM card total cost? USD600!! I could easily get his type of phone in Malaysia for RM150 or so. We should all be blessed with what we have for we know not how / what others are deprived of, I do now more so after the trip.
Also, if or when you do go to Myanmar, key thing to remember is they only accept clean USD. Tattered, torn or marked notes are politely returned as their national banks will reject them. Be prepared to have a big wallet to hold their currency Kyat...millionaire in no time. Our exchange rate then was 84,000 kyat for 100USD!!
In this trip, I've learned humility and to appreciate more in life. Will I go back to Myanmar again? Maybe when they are more developed because we dare not eat anything other than those served in hotels' restaurants or larger restaurants hence limiting us to explore our taste buds. Overall, an eye opener trip for me.