Overcoming Inferiority Complex

This was a long awaited holiday.
Much of 2008 was like a gush of wind that left no prints and no impression. It was a year that I wished more pleasant things would have happened in my prime 20s.
So I made a promise to myself, if I were to stay in Malaysia and drool over the life of almost all my friends earlier in my life who has gone out and settled down in greener pastures, I have to do something to overcome the inferiority complex.
A good holiday a year is a must.
This year's choice is: Japan.
A land of rules and regulations.
A land of beauty and perfection.
As much as you think your parents are responsible for how you look like now, they pledge to differ. From the simplest form of disguise with layers of wrapping for gifts to perfect picturesque landscape and city scenery, they have succeeded in creating near perfect outlook of everything to their definition of beauty. And boy, I am impressed on how much they can do! Everybody in the society puts a foot into making this happen too! A perfect society.

So perfect that they declared the imperfects are not welcomed from the underachieving nations such as Malaysia. It took me one month to gather all documents from a resident friend in Japan, 3 separate letters from my employer, statements from banks and a guarantee from my friend in Japan that any crime will be charged on her if they can't catch me to get a bloody visa to enter the country! She was expecting a baby in 2 months from my visit. I am honoured to have her trust. "No unnecessary visits to Japan" in the future is definitely going to influence my choice of holiday destination in the future.

A land of dream come true for women!
Japanese women are best depicted by sakura, ah yes...the famed sakura in Japan.
They are so soft and gentle, so pure and perfect. The petals wither in the winds yet stay strong and in perfect composure for each picture taking sessions. So fragile outwardly, but willful inwardly.
The most intriguing fact is that Japanese men pass all of their monthly wage to the wife, with the wife issuing the man a monthly salary to spend. The rest is up to the discretion of the woman where and how she'd spend the money. It's mind boggling how this practice went on for centuries until now. But yes, you'd know the answer if you ask me whether it's on my wishing list, muahahaha!
Then again, rumours also state that it is common to find men having extra-marital affair. I'd rather earn my own gifts then...


Japanese men? well, let's put it this way, the food is more interesting! :)
I know, the film stars are ever so enchanting, it's just not the case in real life.
The impression I got was drunk middle age men in coats getting back from work in the train and subway everyday, while reading hentai in the train.
The maguro you see in this pic (forget the men), leads us to food.
Obviously the highlight of the trip!





This was the best meal of my trip.
Yummy!!
The best sushi I have ever had in my life. After this meal, the feeling was like a wholesome meal of nasi kandar. No more food for the day.
Just to make sure you guys reading this don't miss out the fun :P, the tuna, salmon, salmon roe and uni (sea urchin), is topped with fresh hairy crab from hokkaido. Ah, I had to wait for 1 hour in the queue to get into a cramped tiny sushi parlour for this beside the tsukiji market. From the looks of it, I am sure you can understand that it was worth it! This was as fresh as 1 hour old!

The last tree with sakura blossoming was found by this lucky girl before she headed back to the daily bore of work.
Ok, honestly, I don't mind going back to this place for holiday when Air Asia flies to Hokkaido.
I am just hoping that with my previous good track record (except spending a lot of money there, which obviously cannot happen *grin*) in the country, obtaining a visa would be easier the next time.

Outdoing myself

I believe everyday is a day earned in life, a gift from God and I would live everyday doing things I want to do and live with no regrets.
Last weekend was one of those moments. Friends including peng seng, peng soon, eric, chun seng, ah mark have initially invited for a ride from Kampung Raja in Cameron Highlands to Kuala Lipis in Pahang and back. That turned out to be a ride from Kampung raja-habu-bertam valley-betua-raub (one day, 166km)-frasers hill (20km uphill climb)-kuala kubu baru-tapah-brinchang-kampung raja (240km) in 2 days!
the first day was a climb up to brinchang before going down to kuala lipis. 166km was already a feat to me as the longest ride i have ever done on any bike was 130km...i have never been so free about drinking carbonated drinks my whole life, never felt so guilt free gulping down gallons of coca-cola and 100plus! reaching raub at 3.30pm was not bad at all! there was already much pain to have to sit on the seat by then. the two cheeks of the buttock felt like they've been slapped 200 times by the imperial court guards of the olden days.
the night at raub was a sweet sleep, but only to have to wake up again the next morning at 4am to prepare to start for the ride back at 5am. it was a ride we were getting ready to ride from moonlight to moonlight as the gang decided to take frasers hill and tapah to go back up to cameron highland.
I could still vividly remember the climb up to cameron highland (60km) via simpang pulai 4 months back. every communication tower was a torture, every km in the last 10km was like struggling to stay alive suffocating in a water sealed tank.
I don't know why i have agreed to do this route this time around, I thought I was crazy to believe I could do it but I know I have friends who will help me around me. For that alone, I had the courage to go with them. For the words that they have said, I went ahead. Things like going this way would be an easier way than the orignial route, to think only to the next town to reach instead of dreading the next 240km that we have to complete in the day, to have the determination to complete what we have started gave me so much strength and energy to go on and on and on...of course...with the support of lots and lots of coca-cola and 100plus all the way!!
the weather was so hot in the midday travelling from KKB to tapah...scorching hot sun forced us to kidnap an ice cream man and finished up all his ice creams for the day in his little chilled box sitting on his motorcycle out of no where in the highway after tanjung malim!!
the 84km climb up to cameron is the last leg of the challenge. The stars came to watch us by the time we set out from 14th miles up the tapah way. the next town to come was Ringlet. After Ringlet, we had to continue to climb up and up and up to brinchang and to EQ (equatorial hotel) and down and up and down and down and up back to kampung raja. It was already 10pm by then. To be back, with no cramps all the way, no puncture with my sleek tyres through the offroad in bertam valley and all through...it was hell of a great ride with a bunch of great friends.it's God's gift!
There's really no limit to what you can do with your life....it's whether you want to take the challenge.

The Beginning

This is the beginning.
The end of my posting in Alor Setar, the coming of a new chapter, new place, new home, new housemates...to the better or worse? it's a choice made.
The past 3 months was a fantastic experience. I attended a Malay wedding, a Malay wake, and a Malay New Year. Bathing in the friendliness of local Malays and their way of life that emphasizes on family ties , religion and good practices, I have a wish to make:
Let all human kind consider more about other's well being, less of our own individual agenda and greed to create a pleasant world for every each of its inhabitant. Let everybody be part of the family.
Let's hang a smile on everyone's face.