Protecting the environment - Penang's way

I had a big shock on my first night in Penang last week. I went to Queenbay Mall for dinner, and then to the hypermarket to get some fresh fruits and drinks ...my stock of foods while staying 4 nights at a nearby hotel hehehe ..anyway, when i paid for the stuffs at the counter, I was told that it is their "no plastic day" ..meaning, no plastic bags being given to carry my things ..luckily I had a bag with me, so i stuff most of the things inside it - my 6-pack of Milo, 3 cans of Nescafe Mocha ...but my Innershine pack and my bunch of grapes cannot fit it! I had to carry them just like that ....

It was then I saw the signs saying that it is a "no plastic day" every monday, tues and weds there ...i think it is great! I mean it may have inconvenienced unwary tourists like myself, but in the long run, it would help to protect our environment ...less plastic bag to throw away ...less pollution and so on ...

What more can I say? WAY TO GO PENANG!!!!!

Dinner at Batu Feringgi, Penang

My sister and I went to Batu Feringgi to meet up with my friend, Fendu & his rombongan Cik Kiah. Since we arrived a bit earlier than scheduled, we just walked along the Batu Feringgi Night (sidewalks) Bazaar ...just looking around and playing tourist. Lots of people there and it was a tad too crowded for me ...decided to have dinner there, and just went in to one of the sidewalk cafe ...i cant really remembered the name ...it has the word "sunset" in it :-)

Anyway, we ordered light meals only as we had something  earlier while touring round Little India (see posting in my other blog).I ordered tandoori chicken set - it comes with nan bread & fries ...it was ok. I likes it ...

and my sister ordered Kashmiri Nan, with a dash of honey ...a tad too sweet for her taste (her words!) ...

but our biggest mistake & regret was ordering mango lassi ....it did not have any mango taste at all ...both of us didn't finish ours! I really regretted ordering that one ...it tasted like milk and i kept remembering the fresh cow milk that I saw being sold at Little India earlier ..and felt like throwing up!


and after dinner, we met up with Fendi & the gang ...

had fun catching up, but it was too short ...just like a meet & greet session, and then everyone went their own way ...especially us - having to go back to the hotel to pack coz we were leaving the very next morning ....

Hawkers at Gurney Drive, Penang

My sister and I went to explore the hawkers' area at Gurney Drive last thursday nite ..it was pure food heaven! the smell is absolutely awesome ...lots of food that we were actually spoilt for choice ...there are two separate section: the Chinese area and the Malay area ...we went to both just to savour the aromas and explored to see what was on offer ....

see, how happy my sister was???  she was looking for her favourite stall ....we stopped and bought some apom as well ...this one has banana filling!

The place was very crowded ...with both locals and the tourists ...everyone seems to be happy with their food..and tables were laden with lots of different foods ...my sister and I are not exception ...that night we had asam laksa, pasembor, satay ...and some apom and some seafood ...and that is just for two people!!!

the pasembor was nice ...we had to ask the guy to wrap it up as takeaway coz we couldnt finish it all ...we had it for supper that night ...heavenly!!! below are some pictures taken there as well ...really an awesome place...especially for food lovers ...

Got the photo!!!

Continuation from the last posting. The very next day, I spoke again to Prof. Terry ...and i got Dr Wong to take our picture! hehehehe ....at least I have a photo with him.

He is a very kind and considerate gentlemen. Gave me very good advice and some ideas for my future research. all in all, makes me a very happy person at the Conference LOL.

meeting my idol ...

I have been reading this guy's books or ages ..he is the expert in the field and obviously had published lots of books and journal articles ...and guess what, yesterday I met him in person ...AWESOME!!! I didn't take any photos as I don't want to embarrass myself :-)

Terry McGee (on the far left in the above picture) is a renowned expert in the field of human geography, and he has been doing extensive research on urbanisation in Malaysia and South East Asia ...and to have the opportunity to sit and listen to his key note address and roundtable discussion is really great ...it is the highlight of this Conference for me ...although when I first sending in abstract for the Conference, I did not know that he is to be one of the key note speaker ...and I am glad that I am attending this conference ...

Conference in Penang - the sessions

Yes, the main reason that I am in Penang right this moment is because of a conference. It is a 3-day event, officially commencing yesterday at the Conference Halls in USM ...these are some of the photos during the official opening ceremony yesterday ....

and my paper was presented straight after the opening ceremony ....no pictures I'm afraid coz I was sitting up front and I forgot to ask someone to take my photo ...the presentation was a success, I think...i got lots of feedbacks which I found very illuminating and definitely will be used to improve my paper ...

Unfortunately, I was unwell yesterday ..so, after the presentation and meeting a few people - that's the whole point of a conference - sharing ideas and networking - I went back to the hotel. My head was throbbing and I think it was due to the late night (preparing for presentation slides), no breakfast (the queue for taxi was rather long so I choose to queue instead of having breakfast) and the very hot & humid weather in penang ...all these were making me quite ill yesterday ...spent the rest of the afternoon in bed ....

But today is a new day ..i made sure I had enough sleep the night before and having breakfast at the hotel before I went to USM ....and I fared much better than yesterday ...although the heat and humidity is still the same! Heard and attended some insprising lectures and keynote addresses today ....and one of them is from Prof Banton - he is in his late 70s by the way but still very agile and sharp! I hope to be like that when I am older ...growing old gracefully and all that ....and some photos of today's session ...

So, tomorrow is the last day of the Conference ...and after that I'll be meeting my sister ...and having a day off on Friday to enjoy Penang ...we are planning to visit the reclining Buddha, the Kek Lok Si Temple and, of course, savouring other mouthwatering foods of Penang! Looking forward to that :-)

Penang Foods ...

I just love it ...the food are awesome ...mouthwatering...and yummy. After two days in a row of having my dinner at Queensbay Mall's food court (having mee ekor tikus and cendol), my colleague and I decided to try another food court at the Mall ...it is on the 3rd floor and known as the Queen's ....lots of choices there, ranging from claypot dishes to curries ...noodles and so on ...

i had Laksa Penang tonight ...and it is only RM4.50, compared to the RM9.00 ++ at Old Town Kopitiam ..sucks isn't it?

and my colleague had a serving of Hokkien Mee....i never had this before - so, perhaps I will try it before I leave Penang ...

and I also tried Choon Piah (which turns out to be a popiah!) ..this one is also quite tasty ...crunchy on the outside, and full of fillings on the inside - fillings of chicken meat, carrots and sengkuang...

As a result, I am stuffed! But really had a great time ...eating and shopping ...it is relaxing after spending the whole day at the Conference Centre! See how tired I am ... I had a hectic day today ...but tomorrow is going to be the last day - so i can't complain too much LOL

Inter-Faculty Bowling Competition

Last Sunday was the day of the bowling competition ...our slot was on Sunday at 4pm ...and the team colours are black and red ..we had such a great fun ...with our shouting, and clapping and encouraging each other ...but I felt no pressure at all - which I really like!

Elena and I putting on our bowling shoes ...and getting ready to bowl...go go go ...

and of course, whatever it is ...competition or not ..posing is a MUST hahahaha ...

The teams didn't win anything that day ...but Bemen won an individual prize for the best high score in a game category ...scored 220 in a game ...he was the man of the day! Congrats again Bemen ....

and more poses with the prizes ...which, unfortunately are not ours hahahaha ...

Old photographs

Saw these in my photo folder while I was going through my laptop ...this is a photo of my late paternal grandfather ...we were looking high and low for his photos over a year ago, when dad wanted to replace his faded picture on his tombstone...sadly, we can only locate 2 of his picture ...and both of them are now in my dad's album. Coz when my grandmother passed away, we cant seem to locate his old photos - dont know what happened to them ...(Note: my grandfather is the one who is sitting down)

my grandfather passed away when I was in primary school. I remembered him as this really nice, cool grandad ...always took me and my brother with him if he went to visit my uncle...always kind to us...and very very proud of us...up to the point that he put up our kindergarten drawings in our longhouse! and bragging about how clever or cute his grandkids are :-) bet he would be as proud as a peacock if he is alive today ....

and this is an old photo of my dad ...hehehehe taken when he was doing his training in KL ...the "old KL" as he often said ....like father, like daughter ....coz when I saw his album..all I see are him having fun! and lots of sightseeing-type photographs ....and perhaps, in the future, my nephews will be looking at my photos album and blogs and think about the same thing!!!

this is my mum ...taken in her village ....she said she was trying on a new dress here ..a present from her uncle :-) see, she is even wearing a bracelet there ...homemade bracelet, she said ...nice!

Brunch @ Old Town Kopitiam

It has become our weekend routine - Al and I would go out for brunch somewhere - and this is solely for the purpose of ensuring that he eat something! He is such a picky eater ...and i find that by taking him out of his normal environment actually makes him more "adventurous" in terms of trying new stuffs ...in particular, eating different kind of things ...

The weekend before I took him to Old Town Kopitiam ...my mum joinned us that day while dad stated at home with Airell...mum had her favourite chicken hor fun, and I had my assam laksa ....

Al, as usual, had his kaya & toast ....he did well in the sense that he ate all the toast excepts the bits that had lumpy butter on it ...and he was well-fed that day! While waiting for me to finish eating, he was already bored ... so, it was time to get his book out ..and to let him read ...

I am running out of ideas on how to encourage him to eat ... he would absolutely refuse to eat anything solid on most occasions ....he would drink the soup from mum's chicken noodle but will not touch it is there is a piece of hor fun or a single rice inside the spoon!

I am lucky!

I am one of those lucky ones ...the one who come home at the end of the day, to find that dinners are served ..and the welcoming party is out there waiting for you ...Yes, i got it all ...my two adorable nephews will be lining up the doorway to greet me when I come back from work ...waiting to be carried, or hugged or kissed ...i love them to pieces!

and, mum or dad - whoever cook that particular day - will ensure that the food is ready on the table...i mean, how pampered is that! I love my parents to bits as well ...and I know how lucky I am to have this really great relationship with them ....

Talking abour ready-dinner, last nite mum cooked sweet & sour fish ...

and dad made a bowl of pamelo salad, thai style .....

Makes a huge difference, right? To know that you have someone who always support you :-)

last bowling practice

Today we had our last bowling practice before the competition this weekend ...it was a bit dissapointing for me coz i did rather badly today ....but i also gain valuable tips about "adjusting the arrow", "knowing your direction" hehehehe ...am not gonna elaborate though ....

anyway, the competition is this weekend ....my mantra is I am joining this for fun and for the 5% marks for evaluation ...so, I will HAVE fun ...gutter balls or strike - the intention is to have fun ...

Little guest: Amber Ann

There photos are courtesy of Haslina's new camera Sony HX1....I had the pictures for a while now but didn't have time to upload it to the blog (till today). Amber Ann (Elena's cute daughter) came to the office last month and we had a photo session :-)

 

 

This is what happen when someone got a new camera ...and there was no one else around, except for friends!

She is so fair ...and very diplomatic when answering the aunties requests/ questions ...

Gardening @ weekends

Two weekends ago, my dad took some time off to do a bit of gardening. He saw that our dragon fruit tree has been growing wild and really overgrown ...we have noticed it for some time but didn't have the time to do anything ...unt

and some branches even go over the fence onto the neighbour's yard ...

and, as always, he has a little helper ....who loves to run around and follow him everywhere ...

after trimming the overgrown branches, and re-arranging some of the branches, it is time to put more support for those branches ...using tree branches and nylon strings! and the overall results are ....

This was the first plant that we bought and planted here when we moved to this house ...it's dad's pride and joy! Plus it has been bearing lots of fruits ...yummy, juicy red-flesh dragon fruit ...