Melaka

Visited Melaka last weekend. Cannot remember when the last time I was there. My memory of Melaka was a large open field, Mahkota Parade, the Stadthuys, taking chicken rice at one of a row of stalls facing the sea and a very crowded Jonker Walk.

I was indeed pleasantly surprised to see many changes in Melaka. The city is more lively with heavier traffic; many new buildings have sprouted in and around the city; apart from the famous historical places, there is a number of new tourist attractions and trishaw rides have been popularised.

Believe me, you can actually see the whole city all in one day!! I just did..........

Took the Duck for the first time. Rather a bumpy ride as the duck waddled slowly round part of the city before entering the Straits of Malacca. It went a bit further out to sea then made a U turn and headed back up to where we splashed in and ended the tour at where we started.

Next, went up Menara Taming Sari for a panoramic view of the city. The observatory cabin revolved 360 degrees as it elevated to the top of the 110 meter high tower and submerged down to the ground again in just 7 minutes.

After a quick lunch at the nearby Pahlawan Mahkota, headed straight for the Sadthuys. What attracted me most here was the bunch of flamboyantly decorated trishaws and taking a ride seem to be the in thing with tourists. Hahaha... had a go at it too. It was sort of a guided tour with the trishaw rider sharing the history of Melaka as he peddled along.

In the evening, enjoyed a leisure cruise down the Malacca River. The 45 minutes cruise was accompanied by an entertaining and informative commentary.

Of course nobody leaves Melaka without tasting its signature food.......Chicken Rice Ball. Dropped in at Hoe Kee Restaurant in Jonker Street to taste this Hainanese dish. Personally, I find the chicken and the rice a little bit too salty.

A stroll down Jonker Walk after the meal ended my day tour of Melaka.

See, I have seen the city from the air, from the sea and on land.

Choosing Numbers

Last Sunday, we had a guest pastor in our church. Like to share an interesting part of his sermon with all of you.

He touched on choosing vehicle registration numbers. He said that as Christians we are not particular with numbers but for the sake of reselling the vehicles later on, we have to avoid certain unfavourable numbers otherwise it will be very difficult to get takers for the vehicles. He recalled an incident whereby his church had decided to change his car for him. He was asked to choose the numbers. At that time the alphabetical order was almost ending of PKC. Without a second thought he answered PKD 162. The reason? PKD 162 represents Psalm of King David chapter 16 verse 2, which says....." You are my Lord, apart from you I have no good thing ".

He went on to say that Chinese people loves the number 8 and having more 8s for vehicle number, the better. But if you refer to Psalm 88:8 - " You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape ". This verse is not so ideal!! On the other hand, Psalm 44:4 - " You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob ". This verse is more meaningful.

I think if I am ask to choose the numbers, then I will most certainly pick P_ _ 1506 because this verse sums up all the psalms.
Psalm 150:6 - " Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord ".

Hahaha... what is your vehicle number? Just for kicks, search through Psalm and see what it says!!!!

Taiwan

Spent a week's holiday in Taiwan. Touched down at Taipeh International Airport night April 10. Started round island tour the next morning, travelling by coach down to Yeliu, Chiufen, then by train to Hualien and coach again to Taitung, Kaohsiung, Taichung and back to Taieph. Left Taipeh afternoon April 17.

Quite a relaxed tour. Really enjoyed the local food, the scenery and shopping at the night markets. One thing that impresses me most about Taiwan is the cleanliness of the country.

I would like to share with you 2 incidents which happened at the Taipeh International Flora Exposition site.

Incident 1: Ann and I were sitting on a bench enjoying the breeze. At the other end of the bench sat a Taiwanese family, father, mother, grandmother with a toddler on her lap and a 4 year old girl. They were having their lunch. Suddenly the girl dropped her packet of fries. It spilled all over the ground. Instantly and without a word the mother squatted down and diligently picked up the fries and disposed them in the appropriate thrash bin. They then continued with their lunch like nothing has happened.

Sorry to say this but if this has happened in Malaysia, I can tell you for sure that the whole family would have moved to another bench, leaving the fries on the ground for people to step on and make a mess of the place. Worst still, the mother would be screaming at the child!

Incident 2: Ann and I were waiting for our friends near the main entrance when I noticed a coin purse on the ground. My first thought was to pick it up and take it to the information counter but I changed my mind. Ann and I then moved a bit further away and observe. Crowds of people passed by, saw the purse but just ignored it. Nobody picked it up. After about 5 minutes I saw a teenage boy running from the opposite direction towards the purse, picked it up and ran back to where he came.

Again, sorry to say that if this has happened in Malaysia, the purse would have disappeared in a split second!!

I wonder whether it is a good idea to ignore lost properties and let owners come back to search for them. Perhaps it is the culture over there. Whatever, these 2 incidents has certainly reflected the civic consciousness, integrity and honesty of the Taiwanese.

green.grocerasia.com

Welcome to the pre launch of green.grocerasia.com

Yes, this is my website. Still have some photos to upload though. Will be very pleased if all of you can spare a few minutes to visit green.grocerasia.com and give me your feedback. And most certainly will be happiest if you can support as well!!

So, hope to hear from you, ya?

Online florist

Hi, I am starting back my flower business. This time no more adhering to strick mall rules and regulations! Recalling those long operating hours in Tesco and only 4 off days allowed per year give me the shudders!!

This time I am starting an online florist business. A florist friend has agreed to joint venture with me. He will take charge of the flower arrangements and delivery and I will take care of the website. ECheong setup this website for me and is now teaching me how to manage it. The site is still under construction. I have yet to upload more pictures and many write ups to complete. Very busy these day..... glued to the computer I mean!!

So guys, will inform you as soon as my website is ready so that you can start ordering flowers from me.

MPSP

Talking of MPSP reminds me of a few photos of the building which I have taken just before I retired end June 2006. I keep this album in Multiply.com. All of you are welcome to visit my site.


In my opinion this is a beautiful building and I really admire it. Whenever I am around the vicinity, my eyes will always go in search of it. Recently I needed to go back to MPSP to settle some personal matters at the Human Resources Department on 14th floor. After a lapse of 4 & 1/2 years I find everything inside the building looks almost the same as before. However, I also discovered something rather amusing here.......


Entering the public car park is like driving into a desert! There is not a shady spot in sight!! None. The few stunted trees are the same height as when I last seen them in 2006!!! It cannot even give shade to a small bicycle! Hahaha... where is the problem? Is it to do with the soil? weather? wrong choice of plants?

Rapid bus

Remember my blog "Misinformed" published in July 2010? I had an embarrassing time when I was told by the bus diver that I was not eligible for the concession.


Yesterday morning I decided to have a try again requesting for the concession. I was supposed to meet Ann and Regina at their work place for lunch. So I decided to take the bus there. First I took the Rapid to KOMTAR. I had my IC and a RM1 note ready in hand and showed them to the bus dirver on boarding the bus. He glanced at my IC, nodded his head and gave me the bus ticket. From KOMTAR I boarded another bus to Pulau Tikus. I showed the driver my IC again and gave him RM0.70. He accepted.


Hahaha.... confirmed!! I am now eligible for concession fares even though there is still another 4 months to my birthday. This means they only consider the year.