Happie NIU Year!

What a Chinese New Year; a year of the Ox?! I'm really not sure how fun it is to have this water-ox bringing flood to few areas in Sibu. My Sibu house wasn't flooded but the front lane was and still is today. As the normal family tradition, we don't normally go out visiting on the 1st day of CNY. And at the same time, I guess it's a tradition for many others too, who don't go out on the 1st day too. So everybody ended up as usual, of what the tradition teaches us, just to stay at home, being with the family, and all the bla bla bla. On the same day, we sent my sis & family to the airport as they needed to go back to Australia catching the afternoon flight.

My nephews & niece + my other cousins.

Left: I learnt 1 important skill; how to transport a baby trolley to the escalator the correct way. Right: Timmy's favourite toy, Labah-Labah Manusia!

Sushi @ Sushi Tie. Ermm.... slightly cheaper than Sushi King, I prefer S.King though...

Timmy was so cute; he liked Ava so much that he wanted to bring her back to Melb. This is how he asked my sis in law, 'Can I bring Ava back to Melbourne please?'. Guess what my sis in law answered him? - U ASK JIU JIU!

Ok, 1st day's gone. Now, on the 2nd day, we start to see rain coming in. Boo...the front lane got a little flooded. Little flood won't stop the Foochow to come visiting. So, we started to see different relatives and friends coming for a visit. Not many, just a few came in the late afternoon. We managed to go for a quick visitation to the close relatives since my 2nd brother & family had to catch a flight to Miri in the afternoon. Interestingly I managed to meet up with Ah Wei, Ah Yieng and of coz Ah Khai, the organizer of the short meet up at Sugar Bun, just opposite the Sibu Gateway. Right after that, they visited my place, then Ah Wei's, Ah Yieng's and finally Ah Khai's. It was our 1st time visiting each others' houses; small group, yet it was quite fun.

We were supposed to meet up with Alex & other gang at 10pm that night. However the water level rose so fast that we had to cancel it. Anyway, here comes the 3rd day of CNY and it was time for me to leave. I took a boat, praying hard that the sea would not be rough. Thank God, though it was raining, the sea was rather calm. However, that didn't excuse my head to spin yea. I learnt a lesson; doesn't matter what condition the sea is, always take the Pill! According to Cting, it's magic. Well, I guess if the pill works for her, surely it will work for everybody.

Mom's cooking, not as much as before but they are still the best!

Well, this is one of the quietest CNY ever. I counted, we had less than 10 families visiting us this year. All because of the flood. Well, maybe that's a good thing too; helping mom to save some angpows expenses. I ended up carrying few tibbits home hehehe... just too much junk food left over. Looking back now, I did spend good times with my family. It was the 1st time my nephews and niece spent their CNY in Sibu and it was great for them to see all the amazing fireworks, though it wasn't as great as before. And that included my dear bro in law who was so excited. I told him that he was just like a big kid, especially when he stood beside his children.

One of the most exciting to see in Sibu during the CNY is the Fireworks! Bro bought some of these 'stuff'. Watch how we burn 'money' in just 10 seconds...

Bro got so excited and decided to burn ALL of the fireworks in 1 night since my sister & family were leaving on the next day. You guys gotta see this man...something must be really wrong with this bunch of Firecracker. It burnt in less than 1.5 seconds and got my bro burnt a little.

Look at his new Nike shirt!

This is classic! Sometimes, it does make sense why the government decides to ban Fireworks... but then.. but then.. u know, sometimes we just have this 'can't-help-it' attitude hehehe...

Well, I'm back to Kuching now, started teaching today and gosh, the rain started last night, has never stopped even for a second till now. If it keeps raining, I'm sure I'd have to stay at home again tomorrow... let's see what God would do yea..

Indonesia, Truly Asia; You ROCK!

December 2008 was a year I'd never forget; that was the time I travelled the most in my life! 1st to MNC, then to Bali on the next day, then to the Singapore Youth Camp the next day, then rushed back to Kuching for Christmas, then flew to Jakarta & drove to Bandung and then flew back. Phew...it was quite a hectic month, however I really enjoyed it though :@) The Jakarta trip was somehow a sudden decision. I have never thought one day I'd land in this land. Many people would have negative views about Indonesia in particular Jakarta. Some say it's worse than K.L, etc. Well, to my surprise, it was quite a different experience to me. The whole trip though was very short, was a very pleasant one. from the moment I landed in the airport, till I reached Bandung, I just love it! Thanks to George, Greg & in particular their parents for their 1st class hospitality. I did witnesss the rich and the poor; how gigantic some of the houses are and how tiny & run down the shacks are.

See the difference?




Found this house amusing-FULLY protected-in another word, it's like beng jailed!


This is the 1st mall that I went to. It's called ITC. What do they have? Tonnes of CLOTHES!!! It's SO scary...VERY scary!



Their very own 'Starbucks' called Bagawan Coffee-taste great!


One amazing thing about Jakarta; you have learn how to park your car illegally legally and NEVER pull the hand brake. Due to the limitation of parking space, they have to park their vehicles, blocking one another and if you are blocked, you have to laern how to PUSH the car to give way to your car... interesting huh?!

Well, I was ready to accept the fact that the traffic was bad. Well, it was indeed THAT bad. We drove from Jakarta to Bandung for 1.5 hrs and guess how long did we take to get back in the evening? 4+ hours! The whole stretch of the highway was packed with cars. You gotta be well trained to 'cut' here and there, otherwise you might not be able to get home.

A typical Jakarta street. While we were on the way to shop, there was a HUGE fire taking some houses down!

Nice mall hey!


Amused by the metal bambo design.

You will never know what this is; typre pump!


Awwww.... so sweet... George says his brother is so 'manja'...

Hey, they have 'Tut-tut' too. I think they cal it 'Bazai' here. On the right, this is George & Greg's old school.


Cute gas tank!


Tofu is a simple food but this is really really nice!
Even the horsey love to have blonde hair?

One tip for those who love shopping (for those who dislike shopping too). You gotta love the shopping scenarios in Indonesia, in particularly Bandung. O man, there were SO many factory outlets which offer GREAT stuff...GREAT stuff...GREAT stuff... man, even at this moment of writing, I still can feel the urge to shop more!!! Man, I've made a promise to myself that I'd not buy anything else in Kuching anymore, unless I really have to! I tried the local Sudanese food and man, they are the BEST that I've ever tasted!!! YUMMmmmMMMmmmMMmmmmMMmmmmmmmYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! Arghhhhh.... man! You can't miss all the Great Food there! It was just simply AWESOME!

This is Divine!

One of the most rewarding trip to Jakarta/Bandung was the 'Puncak'. It is a site for a dead volcano. Though it was declared as dead, the steam / smoke still very much visible from the top of the mountain. This is the 2nd volcano that I've seen, after the 1st one in Bali. The view was Awesome! You gotta to be there to see it. Can't tell much from the pictures though. One tip: DO NOT go there too late! When we were on our way down at about 1pm, the Q was literally few kilometres long!!! I've never seen such a LONG LONG Q in my whole life!

Stalls being set up along the way, they are quite interestingly interesting!




Hey, that was REALLY close!


Even Uncle could't resist the temptation to try jumping-it was fun!

Very skillfull people!


This horsey reminded me of Joshua in Bali.
Don't you think the Ninja is cute?


Auntie's Tart Susu is the best man!

Guess what are these?


Breakfast in the car!

Another interesting place before reaching the 'Puncak' was this place called Lembang. The weather is cool there and they could plant strawberry there! You gotta try the Fried Tofu there! It's SO simple yet it's SO nice... oh mannnn... you guys MUST try!

I was shivering; It was quite windy & cold!

Lunch after 'Puncak' & before SHOPPING!

Avocado ice blended...heaven!


Sudanese food-Ichiban!






Moved on to another spot for more shopping!


I think Igloo copied this!


Yummy pudding; I dislike the choc chips though...



Uncle can be naughty too!


Nice open-concept of the washroom!




I never know little fish could be used to make money; this is called Foot Therapy-letting your feet to be 'eaten' by the fish to clear whatever that is toxic in you. Eww...


Nice cafe outside the mall.


I thought this was interesting; a small coffee kiosk with cute chairs.


Time to sleep, after a long day!


The 2 brothers love to 'bully' one another; the expression of their love.

My final day spent at a place called Anchol. It's another version of the 'Wordly-worldly' stuff; Sea World, Movie World, etc etc. Day time was a little miserable for me, since I dislike to be exposed to the sun. Hey, we hardly find any shades!

Hey, Welcome to Lala land!

Interesting structure

Interesting semi-circle foot pier linking from one side to the other.





Love the structure of the cafe; must be really nice in the evening.



The biggest whatever thingy that you call this!




Hey, I drove!!!


This is HUGE! Looks like Heng Wei?


Ahem...George, this looks familar, don't you think so?


A brother told me to try the 'Wendy's' burger. I was TOO full to try that HUGE burger. Instead, I got myself Smoothies...


Just before I flew, we met up with George's friends. They are very friendly people.

Indonesia, truly Asia? I can't disagree more man... love it love it love it!

View more pictures here:
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