Haziah says "Lets save some moneyh!"

For someone who knows me in person and not through this blog, this is definitely like a BIG JOKE!!!

I'm never the thrifty type; a compulsive shopper with monstrous appetite and never say never to having fun.. I can't even let a 2 days holiday passed without me going somewhere! Okay.. RED ALERT!! I just realize that my saving is below my self-ordained buffer level! Mati la ni... (-_-")

At the end of my previous post I said I was going to make a strategic money saving plan.. Well, I went to check the balance of my accounts and they were deadly! I didn't notice that I've withdrawn too much of 'em moneyh! T_T  So, I went to search for money saving tips and here are my  conclusions \(^^)/

1. Have multiple saving accounts (Did that :))

Usually people would have like 2 or 3 saving accounts. One for the salary, the other one for monthly saving and the other one is for investment like ASB. But I found one married couple blog who endeavor to save $60k so that they can quit their jobs and travel around the world. They have their own way of naming the bank accounts which I think amusing :P

• Travel account - This is solely for the travel. Have to be extremely disciplined and withdrawal is not allowed at all! (Got one already!)
• Oh SH** account- I like this one. Got one already but have never thought of naming it like that haha. This account is for an Oh SH** moments where you suddenly need to use some money such as need to replace a punctured tire or something like that :P Withdrawal is STRICTLY for the Oh SH** moment.

But there's one thing about having multiple saving accounts. If you're the kind who can't pile up lots of money in any of them, then you'll get a very insignificant amount of dividend at the end of each year. For this, I would suggest the ASB loans like the one in Maybank. You might get the money in 5-20 years time, but this helps increase the dividend and it's a secured saving where you know in 5-20 yrs you have 10's of thousands in hand.

2. Be consistent! (Still trying..)

This is quite hard but I'm still trying. Some of my salary are automatically credited into one of my accounts and I've two secured savings where I've to pay a certain amount of money monthly. The later are untouchable until the next 5-20 years. These are the only way that I can be consistent. Bonuses usually goes to Oh SH** and travelling to make me reach my goal faster (^^) YOSH!

3. Make it hard to withdraw money! (Trying...)

No ATM cards for travelling account please... Only passbook. Definitely will think 2-3 times before you go for a withdraw.. Think about the hot scorching equatorial sun, no parking space, the long queue and the doomed saving! 

I did something hurm which is quite out of the norm in Malaysia. In the west you see people literally freeze their credit cards in a block of ice. I don't do that because my credit card is my precioussss *Gollum hissing sound* but.. I slid my Oh SH** ATM inside the space in between the wall  and the heaviest furniture in the house haha (^^) I know that's a little bit crazy but I tried to put it inside a locked drawer but at the end of the month I usually retrieve it to withdraw some money. So, this strategy should work because I don't feel like removing all the stuff to get the card in monthly basis. O ya, I also disabled any online transaction for that account muahahaha abis la ko Haziah!

4. Drive safely...

I just identified what could be the biggest investment of my youth~ ME CAR! When I badly punctured my tire in April, I'd to pay RM 200 for a new one and then I paid RM 35 for a pair of new wiper. Expensive! Plus the mortgage and I'm paying for my mom's car mortgage as well. Plus the annual insurance and road tax.. Yes this is the biggest investment so I want to drive safe so that I won't invest more than I should...

5. Cutting expanses on hobbies..

Well, I made new schedule for my hobbies. I'm reducing the number of times for climbing.. 3 times per week on weekdays so that I can save on fuel as well since I can go straight from work. 3 times per week for running to replace climbing because running in the park is free (^^) Twice a month dining out*eating is my hobby* Movie night during dining out, if possible.. Finish all the books before buying a new one.. Everything mentioned is effective starting from June \(^^)/

6. Save on coins

Some may think coins are insignificant. Actually it is!! I've a tall cylinder shape coin box that I daily put coins into. Well, banyak penipuan berlaku because I definitely will say no if the cashier ask, "Ada duit pecah?" even though I actually have around RM 3 worth of coins inside my purse. Why is it significant?? Lets see, every time my coin box is full, I usually get more than RM 150. And It is usually full every 3 months, so that's 4 times a year. So, roughly 4 x RM 150 = RM 600. See! the coins alone can give me RM 600 per year. It is significant \(^^)/ The most that I've saved in the coin box in 3 months was RM 210


7. Shop during sales and in outlets that offer you rewards!

Need not to tell this because every girl does this. I love branded shoes for their comfy but I won't buy them unless it is 70% off. Sometimes people say something like, "Kaya nya gg pakai kasot Sembonia!' Dengan bangga nya jawab "O, saya beli RM 50 jak masa sale!" (^^)v

And another thing about credit cards..some banks offer really good rewards! I once saved RM500 when I bought my preciousssss *another Gollum hissing* washing machine because I accumulated lots of points when I shopped in stores that offers reward points! I'm the kind who love to shop with credit cards when buying expensive stuffs because I don't feel safe having lots of cash in my hand heee tapi lepas tu cepat2 la bayar because credit card's interest is daunting!

So that's it for my money saving aspirations and strategies.. Semoga istiqomah \\(^^)

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Bucket list!!!!!! \(^^)/

My 'old' wish list

I made that three years ago. None has yet to be realized but... mostly will be realized hurm.. by next year \(^^)/ except for number 4 & 5 since I only played paintball once since I graduated and I don't know who I can go with to climb the rest of G7 whose peaks I haven't conquered. So.. I've made a mental list of things that I wanna do and places I wanna go and now I wanna put it here  :)

1. ICELAND!!!!!!!!!

Most of the things that I wanna do basically can be done here. I did my research and estimated the whole budget. The package rate for the activities are alright but the flight tickets are pricey! I've routed the trip; most probably gonna spend around 3-4 days there. And now it's the watchful waiting time; waiting for the best deals from MAS and easyjet (^^) yosh!

What I wanna do there? Surprisingly, they have almost everything. From glacier, to wild rapids and even whale watching!

Image Credit: http://www.slideshare.net/

2. New Zealand

I bet this should be almost everybody's dream destination. It's the beauty of nature, I guess. Lets say even if I did most of the activities that can be done here already, I will do it again :)

3. Kilimanjaro (^^)

 I remember being offered to join an expedition to Kilimanjaro a few years back. Cost around RM 3k - RM 5k but I'm not so sure what was included with that price. But I was only a student back then who has no saving by the end of every semester and my parents definitely won't approve it especially if it involves their money haha Now, I have more freedom to make my own decision. Here, I just wanna enjoy the scenic landscape and watch the animals run free in the safari. The chances to see them wild animals are higher in Africa since they don't hide behind thick bushes. Z repeatedly said this during our trip in Kinabatangan hahaha

4. Fujiyama, Japan

I've always fond of this snow-capped yama . It wasn't in my list until Z mentioned it was one of Karl P's destination in 'An Idiot Abroad'. There was also an offer to climb Mt Fuji during my study but similarly, it was financial matter that hindered me from going. So, yeah, now that money is no longer an issue, I'll definitely going to Fujiyama if I've the time to. Did my quick research. You can't climb it all year round so the trip should be best between June and July *June and July should be longer. It seems to be the best time everywhere!*

5. Hawaii, Bora bora & Galapagos Island

This should be my ultimate dream destination since it is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and is far off from being a budget destination.. I don't mind if this comes to reality in my forties or even fifties because this is pure relaxation destination especially Bora bora. Hawaii seems to offer lots of adventure so maybe in my forties I should be able to go there Em.. Sabahan and Sarawakian seem to be stronger in their forties. I remember my mom beat me in a marathon when she was 45 *malu tu sampai sekarang* and I once saw one Sarawakian lady did >10 push ups and she should be in her late forties as well.. so I hope I'm that strong by the time I'm in Hawaii :P There are direct flights from Japan to Hawaii and Hawaii to Bora bora :)

6. South America (^^)

I'm planning to go during the World  Cup 2014. Gonna watch one game and then off I go for my ultimate South America exploration \(^^)/ I still have no idea how I'm going to save for this but I will do it! YOSH! The flight ticket alone cost RM 8K! Mati la ni.... But lets say I can't make it in 2014, I'm okay to postpone it to another year

I actually have a long list! But I'll stop up until here. I didn't include Jordan & Israel because I need to join a tour package for that and that's a big turn off.

You know, I really hate it when people say, "Ko ni melancong je. Pi Mekah x mau.." It's really annoying.. To me going to Mecca is entirely spiritual and it is something that I want to do with the whole family and not with friends. Plus, I don't think the intention to go to Mekah is something to brag about because it is ENTIRELY spiritual and generally speaking, every Muslim wants to go there! So, scram you who said that to me!

Hurm.. Now... thinking of strategies to maximize my saving... Adios!

*okay, semua gambar kawasan pergunungan*

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Exploring Sandakan: Sepilok and Kinabatangan

I just can't let the precious 2 days Keamatan holiday passed without a real plan. Movies? Karaoke? Urgh.. Cliche'~ So.. I text Z about a month ago whether she has a plan or not. And fortunately she doesn't! I text her at lunch and voila bought a 2-way tickets to Sandakan before dinner (^^)

So, what were we up to in Sandakan??

Visit this fella!!!!!

Okay, the details. On the first night we spent a night in a budget hotel, watched The Amazing Race latest season finale and slept very late! Woke up late.. Had pancakes a.k.a tumpi for breakfast and it was 9.30 a.m. when we were already set for Sepilok. Z asked the receptionist how to get a taxi to Sepilok. We got a very demotivating answer instead. Not helping! 

"Feeding start pukul 10 pagi. Xsempat ni nak pegi sana"

"Xpa.. Kami try jak la.."

"Tapi taxi die RM  40 tau.. Mahal~"

*Urgh! we are okay with that because we really wanna go & the driver from the lodging where we're staying tonight will fetch us there* (-_-") dalam hati~

So, malas mo dengar kenegatifan itu, we just went straight to the taxi station and went straight to Sepilok. Taxi driver tu lagi postif! "Sempat ni.." Dengan muka selamba :p

We arrived in Sepilok at about 10.15 am. Paid RM 50 for taxi. And the entrance ticket is RM 5 for adults and RM 10 for cameras *masih x bole accept kenapa camera selalu lebih mahal dari orang!*. They provide a free spacious locker for bags.

We were late. The feeding already started. We walked slowly towards the feeding area at first. But then one of the ranger passed and said the Orang Utan is almost done eating, so I literally sprint! haha Luckily he was still there.

We were surprised to see only one Orang Utan. We thought they were all extinct. Later, we found out that Orang Utan are solitary creatures. They like to be alone rather in group. In Sepilok, there's about 150 Orang Utans left.

GG: Patut la dorang di ancam extinction.. Nda bekerjasama..

The pic on the left is a tree on which another Orang Utan is resting inside a temporary nest. We can't see him at all from the bottom. But he's there. I saw his hands haha

On the left is a female Macaque with her baby. The Macaque came to eat after the Orang Utan left. They came in a huge group. There was one huge Macaque who I think is the leader of the group. Very intimidating looking. You can see his pride as he strut on the deck towards the feeding area. 

Seriously minta puji!

So after that, we went straight to Kinabatangan which was about 1.5 hours drive from Sepilok. The scenery along the way was boring. Palm plantation all the way.. There were some gravel roads and we have to use a boat to go to our lodging because the road was blocked by a truck. The above is the small jetty to our lodging

Me, in front of our twin sharing room

We were surprised to find out that we were the only guest that day. In the middle of nowhere and we only have each other. Z, "Haziah, kalau kita ni sbenarnya mangsa penculikan pon kita xtau ni.. suda la lose connection~" 

This is the pic of our room. I was so impressed with the toilet that I can't resist taking the picture :P

But, I say, the toilet in Sepilok is the cleanest and the most fragrant toilet that I've ever been into in my entire life. Siap air-conditioned! when I entered, I was confused "eyh?? toilet ka ni??" (@_@)???

After putting our bags and prayers, we went for the evening river cruise \(^^)/

We saw this small shack floating on the river with a narrow wooden bridge connecting it to the river bank.

Z: eyh?? tandas ka tu??

The question left unanswered~ Mystery~

There were other resorts along the river. According to one of my staff, we got a very good price for a one-night package. Hers was a 2-night package that worth almost a thousand ringgit

There were some wires like this one for the primates to cross the  river. A friend of mine once saw the Orang Utan hanging on it. During our time, it was the Macaque. 

Before I came, I was expecting to see something like I saw in Pangi. Untouched.. But Kinabatangan forest actually suffered too much deforestation before that they have to do reforestation program a few years back. They call the project something like "The corridor of life" Sangat kesian. The jungle is only a few metres thick; definitely less than 200m thick because you can always see the palm leaves among the trees!

It rained heavily that evening but we insist to continue the cruise. Terpaksa jadi tele tubbies. We even stopped once to pile out water from the boat.

Tips: Continue your cruise even if it rains because the animals will come out after the rain stops! 

The above pic is actually a tree with lots of hornbills on the branches. Sorry camera x canggeh :p

The Proboscis monkey love the rain! We saw lots of family sitting on tree branches like this :)

That night, during dinner, we were still hesitant about going for the night trekking. I was just lazy and want to rest and Z don't want to wear this ugly looking leech socks that was given by her sister

Z said to me on the first night when she showed me the socks "Aku rasa ni bukan stokin bha.. Xda rupa pon. Mungkin aku kena prank ni.."

Then when we were in Sepilok, we burst into laughter when we saw it was displayed and worth RM 30 per pair. It really exist!

Macam kasut Son Goku kan?? Just it's white instead of black :P

So, what did we see? We saw sleeping birds!

This was my first time seeing the birds asleep so I have no idea they put their heads under their wing when sleeping. Siap tanya soalan bimbo lagi..

"Kenapa dorang x balik sarang untuk tidur??"

Okay, sarang hanya untuk bertelur (-_-")

This is a dove

Ayam hutan

And I don't remember what species this is :P

Bergaya dengan leech socks and boots!

The next morning, we went for another river cruise. Nothing much except that we went into this narrower part of the river and found a family of Proboscis monkey searching for food. They panicked when they saw us and ran off, jumping from one tree to another. One was too panic that he fell! Kesian sangat.. Tapi x mati la. We saw him jump onto a tree after that.

Z, "Mungkin dalam mind setting dorang, kita pon tengah cari makanan ni.."

And we found this beautiful plant (^^)

We left Kinabatangan at 8.30 am and went straight to Sandakan English Tea House which is set on top of a hill overlooking the deep  blue sea. I like the garden (^^)

And after after that we went to Agnes Keith House which is in the same compound. Paid RM 2 for the ticket. It's free for students

We spent two hours inside the house. Very spacious and beautiful inside. We read through the histories and watched a video about Sandakan. Back in the 30's, Sandakan was the major town in Sabah. It was destroyed badly by the Japanese in 1945 and was fully restored in 1948. :) Sangat cantik la pulak zaman colonial British :P

At the end of our trip, we made some conclusions..

Lelaki yang x suka komitmen = Orang Utan

Orang Utan is a solitary being. They like to be lonely and only calls the female to eat fruits on a tree when they feel like mating. 

Lelaki yang family guy = Proboscis Monkey

They always move about together as a family and the biggest one is usually the leader of the family.

All in all, I think if Kinabatangan is not looked after, it'll become a mere legacy. I salute those who fight for its protection; that's a very noble cause. After all, protecting all creatures on earth is the duty of the khalifah :)

PS: We saw an Orang Utan making his nest during the river cruise too! (^^)v

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