Gong Xi Fa Chai!

I am taking this opportunity to wish all my Chinese friends Happy New Year. Hopefully, the year of the Ox will bring more lucks to all of us.

1st Trip 2009 : Cameron Highland

I have always been longing to travel to Cameron Highland ever since I work in KL. It is just that I don't have the opportunity and guts to drive up there alone. The thought of driving up the steep hilly road with deep gorge on almost every edge and corner just scare me of, seriously! Hence, I have been procrastinating the trip until last Sunday, when all in a sudden, a close friend of mine has successfully coaxed me into following him to the hilly mountain town.

We started the journey quite late in the evening due to some unforeseen circumtances. We left KL at around half past 5 in the evening when it was raining heavily. As we were driving at night, we have decided to take the Simpang Pulai Exit, an hour extension to the journey but in the interest of safety plus not being familiar to the road, we reckoned that was the best decision. How lucky we were, the journey was as pleasant as the cold breeze that caressing my semi wrinkled skin when we reached The Herritage - The Hill Resorts - a 4 Star Hotel according to the website ~ except I forgot to check the year it was conferred such a rating!

The hotel was chosen after I have done quite an extensive research on the possible hotel candidates through the website. I was quite prepared to make the best decision for all of us based on facts provided by a website found on the Internet. How wrong I was! From the outside, I would say that the hotel is quite impressive. The tudor design makes the ambiance as English as my eyes could see. Don't judge a book by it's cover. That is how much I could advice you. The room sucks big time and it has no resemblance of even a 3 Star Hotel ~ The room has only one misserable queen size bed with old and smelly duvett that gave me rashes for few days. The bathroom, well, I should not elaborate more except mention one word - Mildew!. It was all over the wall and the thought of writing it here already make me want to puke! The only good thing that I could recall is the friendliness of the staff. The food ~ oh yeah, another interesting topic to talk about, they only achieved C Ratings and I was not even surprised judging by the sausages served which is on par with that of Ramly's Burger. Not that I don't like Ramly's burger, it is just not matching my expectation of a 4 Star Hotel that I have envisaged when I made the reservation. The waitresses were not even trained well to handle food and I encountered one waiter who even use his bear hand to transfer food from the Baine Merry to the plate. How yucky is that!

I could write a book about this hotel, especially when they are charging me an exorbitant amount of MYR210 for such facilities. Luckily my MAS ID gave me that rate or else I would have to fork out more money for a one night unpleasant experience there. Well, enough said. Now, let's talk about the Tanah Rata town. It is a sleepy town with hardly any interesting night activities except the enjoyment of watching Malaysian wearing snow cap in Malaysia while eating "Satay" by the road side Gerai and also the existence of the only kool coffee place available ~ Starbucks! At least! Other than that it is so quiet even your heartbeat could cause a ruckus when you are grasping that cold air.

To be continued......

2009...I have no expectation!

The curtain of 2008 has finally dropped and leaving behind those sweet and bad memories. Some will linger through your mind as you usher the new year while some will just vanish without a single trace.

When I looked back, there were so many sorrow that I have to face in 2008. On the contrary to my expectation when I welcome 2008. I was full of zest and eagerness. I was expecting a good year for my career as well as the well being of everybody that are close to me. How wrong I was!
First, the news about the transfer of my Boss to one of the subsidiary. Then the merger of my unit with the eCommerce Project Group. Next, my decision of not joining the team in the merger. It was followed by the transfer of my Big Boss to other division. It all happened almost on the same breath. It was a rude awakening for me and I was really hoping that I was just drowning in a temporary hypnotic trance that will be gone by the time I wake up.

At the same time, I was involved in a Faraid hearing of my late mother's real estate. It is still not settled due to some objection by my step dad. The hearing will continue on 12 Jan 2009. For the sake of my late mother's dignity, I will fight till the end. I am just hoping for the best for both myself and my step dad. At least when the dust settles, everybody including me can move on with our life.

Oh! Did I mention that I also managed to get a tenant for my Apartment in Seri Maya? A Korean family. Finally, the rent that I receive will help to ease the burden of having to pay the monthly installment with the bank. I really have to tighten my belt for almost first half of the year and I hardly go shopping. I hardly go anywhere because I have to install cabinets, lightings, air-conditioning, mosquitoe's net and etc.

So, for 2009, I don't know what to expect. I just pray for the best despite the anticipation of worsen economic situation. I just hope that my life will be more organised and I will have additional money to enjoy life. For a start, the good news I received was the signing of the new Collective Agreement for the MAS Manager's Association which will make me 8.5% richer by January 2009. That is a good start for the year! I will continue on praying and I know there will be a silver lining in every dark cloud!