Broga Hill

Taking a break from my Bali trip postings, I present to you my Broga Hill expedition. My friends and I went to Broga on Sunday 2oth February. We agreed to meet up at the petrol station at 5.00 morning. I slept only for 3 hours, and woke up at 4.30 to be on time. We only left there at 5.30. I really really dislike people coming late. Not satisfied! I don't understand why people can't be on time.

After that we drove there and reached around like 5.50 - 6.00. We were supposed to climb up and look at sunrise, but then it didn't happened that way. :x The way up was like jay walking, seriously. And i thought it would be fun, but not really fun only la. It's not hard going up, the a little hard part comes at the very last stretch before the top. It's steep, but nothing to be worried about.

The view on top

Jump shot

All of us together

Remember I said going up wasn't a problem? The problem is with coming down because it's steep, and it's slippery. And there are many people coming down. Of course there were many people going up as well, which I do not like because it slows down the progress, but coming down is a pain in the ass la.

The amount of people, and the steepness

I slipped a few times while coming down. But managed to come down safely. The coming down part is really nonsense. So many people slipped and without help from other people, they might have very well gotten themselves hurt. Good thing the people there are good and willing to help. I helped too :p

So after coming down, we went to a temple, and then brunch. After coming back, I wanted to have a nap after showering. But someone has to tempt me go play volleyball. Therefore, no nap. I thought I could go play from 3 till 5 and then come back Pandan Indah to play some more with my gang, but no... they started at 5 and I only know of it after i reached there. boo hoo..

Am i gonna climb broga again? NOPE! Not worth it.

God Bless~

Bali Trip Day 2

So here comes part 2

We woke up in the morning and had breakfast. We woke up pretty early as it will be a long journey today visiting many places.

Morning having breakfast

This is how our hotel looks like in the morning.

So first of, we went to watch a supposedly very famous Balinese dance, touted as the 'best dance in Bali so far' by our tour guide. We reached there at 10, just as it was about to start. Awesome timing.

Balinese dance

The dance consists of 5 chapters, all telling a single story and it's a really long dance. About an hour or so. And it's pretty hot there cause there's no fan. :x

We then went to a batik painting factory. To see how batiks are made.

Freehand painting batik. Very nice drawing

The batiks there are so expensive. No money to buy.

After the batik factory, we went to a souvenir shop, where the things there are also very expensive. While the girls are looking at the souvenirs, me and Lam do what? Camwhore lo. XD We weren't supposed to take any pictures in the shop, but oh who cares. XD

Bored

After that, we went for our lunch

This is the restaurant where we ate our lunch

The place is really nice, and it's windy. Nice background for us to sink our teeth into the food. Although the food isn't really awesome (none of the Balinese food is awesome), but the scenery made up for it.

This is our lunch

The nice backdrop accompanying us

Jian is the boss. Don't mess with him. XD

Group photo at the restaurant. The surrounding is nice ^^

Group photo again

After lunch, we went to another few places, namely an art gallery. Many things happened here, which I would leave it amongst ourselves, for the sake of protecting our dignity, and privacy. XD

In front of the gallery

After we were done with the gallery, we went to another factory, this time it's gold and silver.

It seems like no matter one goes, Bali has beautiful sceneries eh.

We went for massage after that and it's my first time experiencing full body massage. It's not cheap, but aiyah, everyone says Bali massage good right. So give it a try. I do not think that it's awesome, just so so. First time kena eat toufu until like this. :x

Only 4 of us went massaging. Mr. Lam did not go and he himself went for a walk. He took some shots of the beautiful scenery he found.

One of the scenery

Me and Jian only did 1 hour of massage, while the girls did 2 hours. So when our one hour was up, the 3 of us walked around the area. Mr. Lam asked a shop owner on the price of the painting, and it was cheaper than the factory we went earlier. He just wanted to know the price, but the shop owner got desperate and asked for a 'harga pass'. Sticky situation.

Advice: Don't bargain, unless you intend to purchase. Can get pretty scary.

When the girls are done, we hop onto our van, and head for our final destination for the day, which is Jimbaran Bay, where we would have our dinner by the beach. On the way, it started to rain, which means we couldn't eat outdoor like we planned.

But once we reach there, the rain stopped. Yay! We managed to secure a spot by the beach. The dinner is bad. to me it's bad. not tasty, and the crab seemed to be 'expired'. I didn't even makan the crab. :x

The girls

The guys

After dinner, went back to hotel, and discussed whether we would go for a night walk. Lam was still feeling uneasy because of his stomach, so only the 4 of us went.

We bought 4 bottles of Bintang beer and walked to a beach, which was supposed to be pretty near our hotel. It wasn't near actually, and we were like drunkards, walking while holding to our beer bottle. lol. It was my first time drinking so much beer actually. I don't drink beer cause it doesn't taste nice.

When we reach the beach, we were like.. woo hoo, we finally reach after walking for quite some time. But we weren't that pleased with it cause there's no wind. Strange cause the waves are huge. We were pretty worried that we would kena rompak, but Bali is a pretty safe place. Even at night, the place is pretty lively. I haven't seen any Mat Rempits around. lol

After that we walked back and tidur.

God Bless~

Bali Trip Day 1

Owhkay owhkay.. it's time for me to blog about my Bali trip. I suppose some people have been waiting too long. I apologize.

So, the five of us went to Bali Jan 21st till Jan 25th. This post will detail the happenings on the first day, Jan 21st.

All of us got up really early in the morning and met up at KL Sentral to take a bus to LCCT. We were there on time and managed to get breakfast.

Sitting by the railing enjoying our breakfast and last meal in Malaysia before boarding

While in the plane, the two ladies told me horror stories about plane taking off and landing, saying that it's a little bit bumpy. Nope.. no such thing. Since it's my first time, I took a photo of how I am supposed to be sitting in a plane first time.

I was supposed to pose a frightened face. But I think i failed.

Finally managed to sit in a plane. Yay!

We were wondering what would happen to us if let's say our tour guide won't be there to pick us up. Really gg.com liao. When reach airport, there was our tour guide. So we weren't lost sheep after all :D

The van which drives us around for the 5 days

We reach about lunch time and our first stop was a restaurant name Malioboro, which has the specialty of ayam tulang lunak (literal translation: soft bone chicken). The bones can be eaten.

The money we spent on our lunch. Pretty expensive (if you could see the picture clearly)

After lunch, we went to our first destination, a coffee factory. Explanation about the types of coffees are given and we were given sample of coffee to taste. Tasted the luwak coffee which is the most expensive in the world. Tasted really strong.

Group photo at the entrance of the factory

Note: Mr. Lam drank the coffee and it affected him

So after visiting the coffee factory, we went to a tourist destination, Pura Luhur. It's a temple and we need to wear some things (waist bottom) in order to respect the place. It's a really really beautiful place.

Scenery from the cliff. In actual, the place looks nicer in real

Us by the cliff

Group photo

Group photo. The temple is at the back (above Mr. Lam's head, see?)

We have to walk our way there, but it's not that bad.

Nice view and weather

After that, we went to Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park. *At this point*, Mr. Lam's tummy is getting worse. This is where they are building a huge giant statue of garuda and Mr. Wisnu. lol

Group photo before going into the statue area

The guys.

Nice right? the background I mean, not the model. XD

After photo taking outside, we went inside, and took more photos

This is Mr. Wisnu, and it is still in completion

This is the Garuda. And it's also in completion.

Jump shot. Many more jump shots on the way.

We were fortunate enough to witness a procession at the time we were there.

We stayed for a while and see the whole dance.

This is the Balinese lion dance.

After that, we walked to the end of the park towards our restaurant for dinner.

Along the way, took photos.

If you can see clearly, I was trying to imitate the sculpture on the wall

In front of the restaurant

Now the drama starts.... *Drums roll* we were all seated at the restaurant and it's still pretty early. about 6 only. none of us were hungry, so we went out took some photos and chill. Came back in, everything seems normal.

Mr. Lam said his tummy is upset, wanted to go shit earlier, but the toilet was jam packed, so he didn't. When he reached the restaurant, he vomited and then surprisingly he fainted.

WE WERE LIKE.. OMG!!

placed him lying down on chairs, then tried finding the tour guide, as he wasn't inside the restaurant. ran out to find him, but i couldn't find him, then when i went back into the restaurant, he was there with what seems to be the Bali's version of 100 Plus. Cocoa Power! XD

After a while, he slowly regained back his composure, and guess what's the first thing he did when he wakes up?

Checks his hair to see if it's messy. =.=;

Arranges back his hair

You don't believe me?

Another proof. He needs two hands and is using the iphone as a mirror.

Gao lat not? XD

After all the drama mama, everyone was more settled down and was eating. The singers were asking us for song dedication. Shyuan requested for a song (i forgotten the name), but it's a love song. Then the band asked Shyuan to go dance.

Then takkan she danced alone right? By right, Lam was the one who should dance with her, but not feeling well ma.. so the 3 of us guys lat ta li lat, ta li tam pom to determine who should go dance. And the result is... Lam dance with her.. ahahaha.. it would have been so wrong if it's me or Jian. good thing. :p

Post-pengsan, pergi menari.

Then we finished with our dinner and headed back to our hotel to CHECK IN. yeap.. at night only check in. took bath, then after a while of conversation, tidur. Enough drama for the day.

God Bless~

Humanistic or Behaviorism?

I am starting to worry what would happen to my children when I have them. Should I subscribe to humanistic or behaviorism?

If the little kiddo misbehave, do I explain to him/her that what he/she doing is wrong and therefore subscribing to humanistic school or should I beat and scold, subscribing to behaviorism school?

Initially I thought that I would not use punishment to discipline my kids, learning in class that we should educate them properly by explaining to them things (therefore modelling good behavior and not aggressive behavior), punishment is not as good as reward so on and so forth.

However, I think my thinking is a little different now. Children remains children. Sometimes, it is useless to explain to them because they do not (or have not) learn how to see from other people's perspective. Sometimes they are just stubborn and at other times, manipulative. So what happens when explaination doesn't does it's wonders? Scolding la. Or beating.

Example: Child sees a toy and refuses to let go. Demands to buy it. So what to do? Explain? If that doesn't work? The all mighty limit setting! ahahahaha.. If they are just plain stubborn, then how?

Recently I read an article written by an Asian lady on why Asians managed to raise typically successful kids as compared to Westerners (in the article, it is specified as U.S. people i think). In the article, the Asian lady (a Chinese) detailed how she scolded and belittled her daughter (7 years old) for failing to practice a piano song. Her husband (which is an 'ang moh') said that her behavior is too much, but she insisted on doing it her way. The daughter tried time after time and failing to play, she threw tantrum saying she would not want to practice the song. The mother FORCED her to play, with threats and for a few weeks stood on her ground. Finally, her daughter managed to learned it, performed in school and got praised for her performance.

That's not the point. The point is that at the night after she manages to play the song for the first time, both mother and child bonded in bed, laughing at how one had treated the other. Her ang moh husband, after seeing how his daughter performed so well on stage, gave his wife the thumbs up.

The problem (according to her) about Westerners parents is that they give up easily because they are too afraid of hurting the kids self esteem. This fear made them give in to almost anything their child wants. When the child throws tantrum, the parents give in. Praise is given to half done jobs for the fear of hurting self esteem. This made them contented.

It is actually very different from how Asian kids are being brought up. If one comes back and scored 90% in an exam, the Western parents would be proud, and probably frame up the paper. For the Asian parents, they will ask (or maybe scold) as to where the other 10% is. This in turn made them strive harder to achieve so called perfection and this never contented feeling drives them to work hard CONTINUOUSLY. Of course, it can be argued that scolding of children even when they get 90% would simply discourage them, but i suppose looking at history, the former case seems to be more of the typical outcome.

So humanistic? or behaviorism? I really think that punishment is a must in disciplining children. I might not think so then, but now it has changed. Why do I say so? Because with punishment, children learns fear, and they need to learn it so that they do not break the rules. It is like pain. If we do not know pain, we won't be avoiding painful things. We might jump from buildings to buildings, got cut and yet know not that it's taking our life slowly. Same like fear. If they do not know fear, they might do things which in reality might harm them and that is bad.

Taking time for self actualization? Bah. Give way for behaviorism. One thing important is that behaviorism must always be accompanied by explanation. Whether or not the child understands is secondary, but as the message is repeated, the child will learn to understand why certain behavior is unacceptable as they grow, and never repeat the same behavior. Understanding is important too, but it only comes when one ages.

God Bless~

When I was small, and Christmas trees were tall

20th Jan 2011

When I was young, and Christmas trees were tall

Last night before I went to bed, suddenly there were flashback of my primary school time, specifically when I was getting my UPSR results. I remember that they called all standard 6 students to the canteen and announced the results, those who got 5As.

It was pretty nerve wrecking u know. I don't really remember how I felt, but i suppose it was anxiety, coupled with happiness when I heard my friends being called out one by one. When names are being called out, students have to lined up in front, it's like the teachers wants to purposely let other students know that 'these' are the good students. yea, of course it's a kind of praise, but what about those students who are not in these category? how do they feel?

finally my name was also being called out. i walked to the front and lined up as well. i remember i shook hands with all those who were lining up that day, congratulating each and everyone of them. I don't know what i was thinking. if it was me now, I think i wouldn't do such a thing. what would the person i shook hands with think? maybe they would think that

'what a show off.. need me to remember that u also get 5As?'

hahaha.. yea thinking is getting more complicated now. don't know whether it's good or bad.

am going to bali tomorrow.. i hope it would be a safe journey, coupled with lots of laughter, happiness, joy and relaxation. although i doubt the last 1, but it's a hope. hahaha

Don't asked me why, but time has passed us by

God Bless~

Songs

Just to shout out the songs that I love most this year. The song might not be launched this year, but yea, this is from my point of view

1) Chao ren bu hui fei (Superman don't know how to fly) by Jay Chou

Talks about pressure from every side of the world. Do this, you will be judged, do that and still will be judged. It's like everything you do, it will be negatively looked at.

Like for example being a student. You don't do well in studies, people say u stupid. Do dang smart, other students don't like u and outcast u, see u as a nerd. On average, people will say you not outstanding enough.

Expectation is so high that it's almost impossible to achieve. Which leads to.. a person having low self esteem.

Bu yao wen wo ku guo le mei, ying wei chao ren bu neng liu yen lei

Don't ask me whether I have cried, because Superman can't shed tears

Moral of the song: Do what you want and it's ok to not achieve the society's expectation because it's ridiculously ridiculous. As long as you reach your own expectations, you should be proud of it.

2) Mei na me jian dan (Not so simple) by Huang Xiao Hu

Talks about how it's not easy for 2 person to come together. Each having their own personalities and differences.

This song is especially flavorful during emo time. lol. it really reflects the reality of love life as compared to all the fairy tales and the lovey dovey stories being portrayed by mass media.

Moral of the song: Love is not easy. Sacrifice is a must in the equation.

3) Just the way you are - Bruno Mars

Very lovey dovey song as compared to the harsh reality of no. 2. I like it because it gives hope and it's lovely la. It's good if I got someone to sing to, but then i don't. sucks to be me. XD

Happy New Year

God Bless~

Graduation Volleyball Journey Post

Since I have a graduation post for my studies, takkan I don't have a graduation post for my volleyball life throughout college right? My volleyball life has been very colourful during my university days.

I remembered when I went to college the first few days, I went to Department of Student Affairs (DSA) and asked the person whether there's a volleyball club in HELP. He said NO. I was disappointed. :x

But during my first year in Psychology, the volleyball club is being established by A-levels people. And so starts my journey. They initially played at Bangsar Sports Complex and there's where everything started. The first time I went, I still remember vividly some of the faces, most prominently, Sufan. He was the first person which caught my attention because his skills were above the rest. I think he had the same reaction to me too. Ok, this bit is probably my perasan-ness. XD

We played on a weekly basis, and rain or shine, there will be people. Seriously. hahaha.. then I brought in Ying Zhou when I got to know that he plays volleyball during MC 100. We were in the toilet discussing about it :p

At that time, it was just playing for fun, as there were no tournaments yet. In 2008, the president of the volleyball club said to me that I will be taking over the club. i was like @@. why me? ahahaha. So yea la, i did took over the club, and the first big thing was to bring in people to play for Masiswa 2008, which would lead eventually to MAPCU 2008.

Masiswa 2008

Belle, Alvin, Vi Yi, Verene, Candice, Ronaldo, Jun Hao, Farey, Ying Zhou

MAPCU 2008

Kaven, Wei Leng, Xinrou, Verene, Dee May, Ian, Belle, Chiann, Alexis

Panjang, Me, Vi Yi, Candice, Crystal, Annis, Khye Lie, Shamiso

After 2008, then I started to enter and find more competitions. It's fun, and college pays for it. What's not fun about that? XD Many competitions I joined, both open, invitation and closed. Normally don't win la.. but play for the fun of it ;p

Beach Volleyball in Cyberjaya 2009

Ah Phat, Me, Ai Li and Ying Zhou

Beach Volleyball in Sunway 2008

Tai Siong, Zheng Zoe, Stanley, Shawn

Ah Phat, Gee Chong, Thean, Kar Wai, Me, Sze Yah

Friendly match with one of the Singapore Uni 2009

Kay Chong, Lionel, Ying Zhou, Shin, Me, Yan Jiong

KC, Jun Hao

MAPCU 2009

Saed, Candice, Me, Alvin, Sek Meng, Ying Zhou, Xiao Zou

Lionel, Jonathan, Candice, Krystel, Yean May, Crystal

Xinrou, Vi Yi, Kaven, KC, Kay Chong, Khoi Yit

MAPCU 2009

Sek Meng, Saeh

Ying Zhou, Mark, Me, Xiao Zou, Lionel

Khoi Yit, Kay Chong, Jun Hao, KC, Jonathan, Alvin

Sports Carnival 2009

Alvin, Ying Zhou, Me, Khoi Yit

Ai Li, Kaven, Ian, Kelvin

Sports Carnival 2009

Ian, Me, Alvin, Kelvin, Ai Li, Kaven

Fuiyoh. Dive! XD

Sports Carnival 2009

I can jump that high? Maybe net low lor hor? :p

Telematch 2009

Denise, Lionel, Sek Meng, Ying Zhou, Kay Chong, Xiao Zou, Me

Ian, Xinrou, Yuinnie, Shin

Jun Hao, Candice, Maggie, Vi Yi, Yean May, Alexis, Khoi Yit

Titiwangsa 2010

Fadzly, KC, Kay Chong, Me, Ying Zhou, Aevent

Li Huei, Shin, Krystel, Candince

The two red girls are not our team ok. XD Wei Fen and Yean May

Titiwangsa 2010

Li Huei, Me, Aevent, Kay Chong, Shin, Candice

KC, Ying Zhou

MAPCU 2010

Mark, Saed, Shin, Kevin

Alvin, Xiao Zou, Aevent, KC, Me, Sek Meng

MAPCU 2010

There are many more competitions which I joined and did not put any photos here like TARC-Digi 2008, 2009 and 2010. lol.. I also joined Kepong team to play at UPM Open. Oh i so memalukan mamalia when play with them. ><

Besides playing ball, we also got kam ching kam ching 1.. some of the many outings that had happened

Karaoke. They LOOOVE singing songs.

Taman Pertanian

Taman Pertanian

Steamboat at Yuen

Now that I am done studying in HELP, i suppose my life volleyball will be less colourful. hmmm.. memang stress dealing with those monkeys. :p but these are all cherished memories~

Yours truly

God Bless~