Feb 15, 2013

SMSL '03: Pulau Papan All-Girls trip (^^)

Waiting for my next trip to come is unbearably daunting. Currently having fever; partly because lack of adventure (-_-") Anyway, I went back to Labuan during CNY; was lucky enough I was not scheduled to work during the long holiday. And guess what, we went to Pulau Papan and hiked 2/3 of the island! YEeeeHhaw!!! \(^^)/



I was the one who'd urged the girls to wake up early for a jog along the beach of Pancur Hitam that morning. We end up walking against the wind, chattering and imagining a trip abroad together. Then RM came up with the idea to go Kayaking in Pulau Papan. Having nothing else to do for the rest of the day, all of us agreed to have it a go. Many of us never set foot on the island anyway and that includes me.

We went back to our homes to pack clothes for change; just for precaution if our clothes ever get wet. Went to buy some snacks and drinks without even checking whether there's boat transfer to the island or not.

GG: Kalo xda boat, apa la kita mo buat dengan food ni?? Yakin diri banar kita ni
RM: Picnic di kompleks sukan aing tah hehe

And luckily we can charter a boat to the island at a reasonable price; RM 80 for return transfer. Since there were 5 of us so it cost us RM 16 per person.

Nothing much on the island. A family was having a picnic and there were guys playing football on the sand. And no kayak, of course. The facilities were left untended; there was no water in the toilet and the chalet looks abandoned. However, the beach and water are exceptionally stunning. It was clean and clear. There were no rubbish afloat. Absolutely stunning. For a moment, I don't even remember I was only a few minutes away from Labuan.

We walked slightly uphill towards the direction of the firehouse and voilla it's no longer there though the signage said a new firehouse was reconstructed in 2004. So we continue to walk to the back of the island; to the side that faces the ocean and where you can only see docking ships and the horizon. Here are some of the pictures.. It's even more beautiful when you're actually there than in these pics..






Actually there's a nicer walking trail that you can use to circle the whole island on foot, but then we chose to walk along the shore where we had to traverse on rocks and someone's tracksuit got severely torn :p


I think it got torn somewhere here.. That's Labuan on the background. Very close indeed..



When we reached the front beach, there were some Australian tourists who've just arrived with a VIP boat. They called us to join them for a drink tapi tau2 jak la apa drinks dorang hehe so we politely denied the invitation and went straight to the jetty to wait for our boat and Ya Allah! the boat ride back was atrociously jumpy that I think if I didn't held the side of the boat strong enough I would've been thrown out of the boat. Well, the sea is known to be more rough in the evening and we know that very well. Served us right for choosing to go back late haha


Ini semua konon. The smiles were for the sake of picture-taking. Realitinya, kami menjerit sampai part where  there were mild ripples and at that time of the day, mestila near the docking point baru ada mild ripples kan..


It was less bumpy if you're sitting at the back like these girls.. (-_-")

I didn't apply any sunscreen so yup my skin suffered another sun burn. But at this rate, I succumbed myself to sunburn. I, now, refused to be shackled in the common societal expectations where being fair is beautiful. My sun tanned skin is the most instant prove that I've been enjoying my time outdoor, under the sun! Chewah.. :p





Feb 5, 2013

SMSL '03: Kundasang All-Girls Trip (^^)

I think I haven't been at home on most weekends this year.. Last week I went diving with Z in Sapi Island. We did 3 dives there; at Clement's reef, Ron's reef and Coral Garden. The visibility was not that clear but I think the corals were beautiful though we only encountered few marine life compared to the ones we saw in Sipadan *duh! memang la x bole compare, Haziah..* The fish were not in large schools. But I saw Nemo and his dad with his other kin! haha Haziah, mungkin kamu patot mula mengenal nama ikan ~


I didn't take many pictures during this trip.. And I 'murdered' my smurf cam (encik waterproof Nikon) during the last dive. We were suppose to dive not more than 10m.. But I think we actually exceeded the depth because my camera suddenly stopped functioning; dark screen all the way~ Sedey jugakla.. But got myself 2 new cameras within less than a week (-_-") I can't live without a camera!!!! Bought 2 because I also broke my Sony camera in Indonesia last December... And the cheaper one is for my other family members to borrow hakhak kedekot!



Then we treat ourselves with this cozy room for us to spend the night after the dives.  This was sort of like our trip to Gayana last year.. Some activities at the sea and a pinch of luxury.. Pure relaxation that is.. And then we also treat ourselves with scrumptious Italian cuisine at our all-time favourite Italian restaurant!


And this weekend was spent with SMSLian girls in Kundasang (^^)
*At this age, I should already be using the word woman.. but then that's too boring~ And that word makes us sound like a bunch of old ladies on a trip~*


What I love about my batch is; we actually belong to different cliques when we were in school, but after we finished, we got closer to each other. And regardless from which clique we are from, when we have reunions, we'll chat endlessly and laughed like mad! Boys and girls alike! *Still feels it sounds wrong if I use men and women.. Hik!*


JF and I left for Kundasang a bit later in the evening than the others. I was busy preparing food while waiting for JF, who was driving from Beaufort. I was too carried away that I forgot to pack my sweater into my bag! Bijak~ Pigi gunung, nda bawak sweater. So... I end up buying this red jacket haha Cost me RM 25.. Bundle maaaa~ hehe


That night we had grilled chicken (Thank you Ricci for the recipe..), grilled lamb and bolognaise spaghetti 


And in the morning, we had nasi lemak berlauk ayam and kambing grill and coleslaw which was suppose to be served the night before but I forgot to take it out from the fridge hehe (^^")
 The girls were so suspicious.. They thought I was strangely 'semangat' in preparing the foodies. Hehe they thought I was in the middle of practicing to become a good cook for a husband.. What da..!?
I always love to cook. I love to try new recipes and let my family taste them. But this particular interest is not something that I usually talk about because I'm not confident with my own cooking haha I don't think they are that delicious (^^")


We had a beautiful view of the mountain during breakfast too! We stayed at the D'izz homestay Kundasang, recommended by Ricci. Cost us RM 350/night and well worth it! It's not too big nor too small. There are 3 rooms; one master room with King size bed, one room with queen size bed and one with two single beds. There are 2 bathrooms and a kitchen equipped with a rice cooker, a toaster, an electric kettle, a fridge and a stove. They also have plates, bowls and cutlery. And there's a huge TV with Astro in the living room. We simply love our stay!


Initially, the others wanted to go to Poring to have a dip in the hot spring bath tubs but JF and I were planning to have a look at the Mesilau trail which is infamously known as the more beautiful part of the mountain. So, finally, the rest thought it was a better idea to go to Mesilau since most of them are going to catch a ferry back to Labuan later.


It is beautiful indeed! We stopped twice to take pictures before reaching the Mesilau Nature Resort; where the climbers start the ascend from Mesilau trail. There's a very nice stream flowing just below this hill that we are standing on in this picture. The water was ice cold!


The stream.. Gambar bajet itu wajib :p


And after that we went to the Kundasang War Memorial.. Baru prasan one part that I missed on my previous visit..


I didn't know that the war cemetery in Labuan are real graves until I saw this that day (-_-") I mean, I thought it is just like a memorial that they made to look like a real grave. I'm gonna bring my niece and nephew there this weekend to have another good look at that place. Well, I think the last time I set foot there was when I was in primary school, when I less appreciate them hehe I love bringing my nephew to places like that because he's the curious type and I enjoy explaining things to him. Tapi kadang2 malas jugak mo jawab hahaha


Testing bakat fotografi


Waited under these roses for about 5 minutes for the Union Jack to flutter.. But it didn't.. So I cropped the pic haha



The 'Death March' trail...


And the beautiful ladies.. (^^)


Can''t wait for our next meet up! O0o0o0 AS (left) came all the way from KL for this small reunion! Sangat terharu ok!


Reunions make me feel 17 again! Ahax!









Jan 26, 2013

Sudikah kau menjadi suami ku (-_-")

First and foremeost, today is a public holiday.. Salam Mailidurrasul everyone *though I'm scehduling this post a little bit later*.. I've no plans today.. Was planning our coming trips just now, stopped for lunch and now I feel like rambling... Heee~

Tension no. 1

The beginning of the year is always challenging.. I feel like I need a getaway right away!!! This is the time to summarize everything that was done last year, do revision and improvise for this year. Sampai satu tahap, when I'm done with my work in the ward and finally have time to do the documentation stuffs, I'll just stare at my computer; as if my brain refuse to function~ (-_-")

Tension no. 2

And, for this week alone... I was asked "Bila mau kawen?" for more than 5 times by different people!!!  (-_-") Hurm.. I'm more or less immuned to that question these days. Laughed out loud when asked and gave the same answer each time. But one conversation with a school friend was quite elaborate.

AR: So korang bila mau kawen
GG & RR: Uhuk uhuk uhuk
AR: Seriously jangan lambat sangat.. Kite da 27 da weyh...
GG: AR,  masalahnya ktorang nak kawen dengan sapa skang ni? Cuba ko gtau aku..
AR: Haha.. Tak salah kalo pompuan initiate dulu..
GG: Ko mau aku wat macam mana? Approach potential husband atau orang yang aku suka then tanya "Sudikah kau jadi suami ku??"
AR: Remind me not to ask you this question anymore, Haziah hahaha

Naaa.. surrender terus c AR hehe

Tension no. 3

And this morning when I was studying hard for our next trip, everything written on the screen was indecipherable.. alien to me (-_-") That I've to fully utilize mr google translate  tapi akhirnya makin bingung.. Usually, I can do my travel research a whole day long; sampai muka jadi oily dan lupa makan. But today, I retired early..


Happy no. 1

But those were just trivial matters.. Not stressful enough to ruin my 2013 heee There were many happy things happening in my life too! Besides getting my diving licence, I got myself a pair of new futsal shoes! Mercurial Vapor Superfly ape tah (^^) Woho! Haziah kaya beli Mercurial!!! RM 300++!!! WRONG!! My feet are small so I got the junior size soo0o0o0o0 murah seja!! \(^^)/


Wore it during our futsal game last week.. Haha I aged... I don't play as well as I used to.. Was out of breath in less than 10 minutes after the game started.. Bikin malu~ Anyway, it was a fun game. I can do it every week but please.. no more tournament for the aging me~


 Then came my school mate's wedding. Manage to recruit some of the girls.. Had a great karaoke the night before and on Sunday, we drove all the way to Sipitang for our friend's wedding (^^)

Wedding tips: Jangan buat masa cuti skolah.. Nanti banyak clash.. dapat hadiah or duit pon sikit :p


 Then some of the guys are in town, so another reunion on Monday night. Makan seafood eventhough we've been warned about the red tide. Alhamdulillah, we were not poisoned hehe


 And last but not least, I want to share this pic that I got from FB


Sangat bagus.. Applicable.. Kalo bab kawen I'll take the #6, 2nd point, Amazing thingscan and do happen when you least expect them.. Sebab, saya malas nak fikir sebab saya rasa I can do nothing about it.. Kalo bab travel bab mengejar cita2, I'll take #1 to #10 (^^) InshaAllah~