A Few Things I Learnt Recently

Lots of things occupying my time recently. Besides, the hot and dry weather is giving me a constant headache and hence I’m going to keep this short.

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Painting is an expensive hobby. It definitely isn’t for those with a very tight budget. We’re talking about actual paints, medium, brushes, canvas, varnuish, etc. Poor exchange rate and limited brands here means we pay a lot for something that’s affordable overseas.

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Sushi Zanmai has great sushi! I’ve always wondered what the fuss was with this place – people lining up at all hours of the day just to eat shopping mall sushi. Now i know. Of course, you can’t compare it with high end places like Kampachi or Sagano, but for that kind of pricing, well worth the wait in the line. So its bye-bye, Sakae.

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10K is really far. I’m sure for my friends who run 21k and 42k regularly, 10k must seem like a warm up jog. I’m currently doing 7k (on a good day), so I’m getting there. As a personal challenge, i signed up for the Adidas King of the Road in September. Life’s all about trying new things, right?

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iPad is cool! Hasn’t frozen on me once yet, so they’ve one up on my Android device.

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They’ve apparently stopped manufacturing LCD monitors in favour of LED. And they cost more, too.

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A new UK-based chain of gyms is coming to Malaysia in a big way. That will surely give some healthy competition to the 3 big boys here.

Meet the New iPad

Yes, I bought the new iPad. It’s called the new iPad, right?

I’ve never owned an Apple product, believe it or not. The closest I got was my old Apple clone computer back in the 80′s running Applesoft. Well, that doesn’t really count, anyway. But don’t get me wrong. I’ve always been impressed with their products and Steve Jobs. But for some reason or other (usually functionality and pricing), i’ve not bought their products. the iMac is only for architects and designers. The MacBook is expensive. The iPod – well, so much for a mini-Walkman? Wasn’t really moved by the iPhone.

So on a whim, i plonked RM1499 for the new iPad. That’s the 16G wifi model, cheapest one. I first called the Apple Store nearest my place, they said ‘no stock’. So i went online and bought it. Comes with free engraving, but still i had to wait ’5 to 7 working days’.

The next day they sent me a DHL tracking number. I was surprised the iPad was shipped from Shenzhen in China, i thought they would have stock in KL and shipped locally. So for the next few i kept checking the shipment (ah, the trials of online shopping…) Late Friday night the shipment arrived in KL! I had scant hopes I’d get it by Saturday, but seeing that traffic wasn’t really moving THAT Saturday (that CLEAN event), I had the wait over the weekend.

Come Monday afternoon, the iPad arrived to the delight of my wife (she had no idea i bought it). This was after a major cock-up by DHL – yes, you WILL be getting a letter of complaint, copied to Apple.

So we’ve been using it for a week now. I’ve gotta say, out of the box, this is the easiest gadget to use. Minimal setup, fully charged, no puzzling registrations. So how’s the new Retina Display? Dunno, haven’t explored it yet. Still busy playing Harbour Master and Cut the Rope.

Where to Buy Water Miscible Oils (WMO) in Malaysia

When i was still doing watercolours last year and had wanted to migrate to oil colours, I did a lot of research into the different brands and types . As it turned out, I discovered Water Miscible Oils (WMO).

What are Water Miscible Oils? Also known as Water Mixable Oils or Water Soluble Oils (WSO), they feel and work just like regular oil paints, except through recent scientific breakthrough, their chemical composition has been slightly modified to be able to be solublecand mixable with water. In case you didn’t know, for the past 400 years, oil painters have been mixing oils using alcohol-based thinners.

When i first found out about this new type of oils, I immediately decided start looking for them in Malaysia. So why is Water Miscible Oils such a big deal compared to regular oil paints? Wel, there are two reasons – health and practicality.

Oils, as you know, cannot be cleaned or dissolved with water. If you have ever tried to remove car engine grease or house paint from your hands or clothes, you’ll know what I mean. So oil painters use alcohol-based thinner to mix their paints and turpentine to clean their hands and brushes. But turpentine is not only foul smelling, inhaling too much of it over long periods of time (especially in a poorly ventilated room) is bad for you. Some people claim it can cause cancer, but the smell alone is enough to make most people nauseous.

Secondly, trying to clean oil off brushes is no easy task. But with WMOs, you can wash all your brushes and palette with good ol’ tap water. No greasy hands and disgusting smells.

So what types of WMOs are available in Malaysia? Let me be honest with you – any type of fine arts supply store is difficult to find here in Malaysia. But as far as I know (after visiting all the art stores in Klang Valley) there only 3 brands available locally – and only one is decent. That decent brand is actually one of the better brands in the world – the Cobra series from Royal Talens. It is also the only brand that is sold both in boxsets and loose tubes. Cobra is sold in the new upgraded Cziplee Bangsar (one of the best art stores in Klang Valley) and the two art supply shops in Taman Melawati. One is called the Art Store, the other I forget. Its very nearby each other, anyway. The oher two brands are only available in sets, not in loose tubes. Art Friend in Gardens MidValley sells Marie brand while Popular carries Reeves (their website makes no mention of this product). I wouldn’t recommend these two brands unless you’re really really tight on budget and don’t mind paints that are difficult to work with.

The importance of the availability of loose tubes cannot be understated. Obviously, some colours are used more often than others, like Titanium White and warm colours. What happens if you have a box set and 1 colour finishes? Buy another boxset? No, that’s why you need to buy loose tubes of different sizes.

So having said that, the downside is that WMOs are generally more expensive than regular oils. One small tube of Cobra costs more than RM30, more than twice the price of normal oil paints. So a starter selection of 10 colours (black, white, 4 warms and 4 cools) would already set you back more than RM300. Besides, having only one choice of brand means you’re stuck to that range of colours.

Well, if you’re looking for more brands, you can try your luck ordering online from (good luck getting hazardous chemicals past customs) or getting someone to bring them back from overseas (good luck getting them through immigration). Be that as it may, some of the other brands you can check out are.

Holbein Duo Aqua
Windsor & Newton Aqua
Lukas Berlin
Weber wOil
Grumbacher MAX

So, am I using WMOs? Unfortunately, no. When i first went round shopping for WMOs, I couldn’t find them. So I decided to go with regular oils. Now’s a little too late for me to change, since I’ve invested quite a lot already. Besides, the prices of WMO are still super expensive.

So there. If you’re interested to go for it, check it out.

Vacation in Paradise – Koh Lipe Last Day!

Last day of our dream holiday.

Our speedboat is set to leave Koh Lipe at 10am, so my family got up really early to get to the beach before breakfast.

Early morning presents a lot of sights we don’t see later in the day. Like people exercising in the cold morning wind.

Even the usually bustling Walking Street is quiet.

After a hearty breakfast, i check in at the immigration and soon we board the boat. In slightly under an hour, we’re back in Langkawi, Malaysia again.

Goodbye, beautiful Lipe. See you again in 2 years time, hopefully. We already miss the cool clean waters, the powdery fine sand, the beautiful corals and fish, the relaxed atmosphere, the friendly people. We promise to return. Hope you’ll stay the same.

Vacation in Paradise – Koh Lipe Day 4

(This is part of an ongoing travelogue. To start at the first post, go here)

Day Four! Times passes really fast when you’re on vacation. No plans today except swim and relax the whole day. But also wanted to try kayaking. The last time i kayaked was probably in Perhentian, more than 15 years ago?

First things first. Hannah jumped into the water. She met the same Thai kid from our island hopping yesterday.

Alyssa didn’t go swimming. She was camerawoman and spent most of the time lying on the deck chair.

This is our kayak. Doesn’t look very safe, leh. Anyways for RM20 an hour, or RM60 for the entire day, you can kayak all around the island. Obviously, the 2 of us aren’t going to make it around the entire island (apparently you can do it in 1.5 to 2 hours). But we decided to try to go as far as we could anyway.

Thats us setting off from Pattaya Beach. We reckon it would be easier to go towards Sunset Beach first.

Man, it was tough. Firstly, going west, we were paddling against the current. Secondly, about 30 minutes in, we realized we didn’t bring water to drink. We made it as far as Serendipity Resort at the very tip of Sunset Beach (at least we can say we MADE it to Sunset Beach, haha). We had to go ashore and ask the nice guy at the restaurant for a free cold drink (we didn’t bring money). By the way, Serendipity is an awesome resort with their own private beach. Stay here, if you can afford it!

After that WY took the kids kayaking. Only one person was actually doing the paddling.

After the strenuous morning, we went around looking for lunch in the blazing heat. Someone wanted to eat burgers, so we went to Spidermonkey, recommended by some websites.

Turned out to be a huge disappointment. The place was steaming hot, and flies kept attacking our food. Plus the burgers were dry.

Man, we should have gone to Elephant Books across the road. Its this cafe where you can also exchange old books and play guitar with the staff who can also teach you Thai songs. Well, anyway, lesson learnt. Avoid Spidermonkey.

Then a slow walk back to the resort, including a short visit to the convenience store to get ice cream. It was a hot day, okay?

In the evenings the bars and restaurants layout these mats and divans on the beach. At night, patrons like to lie down on the mats while enjoying beers and finger food, with reggae or dance music blasting from the restaurants. Kinda relaxing. Didn’t try it, too. I’m kinda adverse to feeding mosquitoes.

We spent the rest of the day dozing off. Just before sunset, we took a long walk to the last beach yet to be explored, Sunset Beach on the western end of the island. It was quite a distance to walk, plus with my sunburnt feet, we decided to hire a ‘taxi’. It’s really a three wheel motorcycle with and attached seating area at the side, the kind of like the ones Germans used during the Second World War (without the attached machine gun, of course). For 100baht, it saved us half an hour of walking.

Sunset Beach is very secluded, with only about 2 or 3 resorts there. It was a good thing we took a taxi there, the turning off into the beach is really tough to spot, especially when it gets dark.

Unfortunately, no nude sunbathers were spotted.

Sunset Beach, though, lives up to its name. Beautiful sunset.

At the end of the beach is a rocky outcrop that separates a private beach and summer palace owned by the Princess of Thailand.

This is one of the bigger resorts here. We had wanted to have dinner here, since reviewers raved about their grilled fish. But it looked a little too kampung styled for us, so we decided to walk back to main road to catch another taxi back to Walking Street.

Unfortunately, we encountered 2 problems. First, there didn’t seem to be any taxis plying Sunset Beach at that hour. Secondly, it had started to drizzle! Usually, my family doesn’t mind braving heavy rains, but unfortunately we were carrying a camera (without the bag) and I couldn’t run with my burnt feet… so, my wife ran back to Walking Street, while i speedwalked. The kids mostly complained.

It wasn’t all that heavy, but we went in the first okay-looking restaurant we saw. It happened to be a little Spanish tapas restaurant called The Box. Thing we a little pricey there and being a tapas place, they had small portion. So we just had some cold drinks and tried some of their tapas, while waiting for the rain to stop.

After the light dinner we went to try this pizza stall called La Italia that only did take away. Some websites called it the best woodfired pizza in Lipe, but while it was good, i thought La Luna was still far superior. But it was interest to walk along the street eating this pizza slice like the Americans do. Being our last night in Lipe, we spent some time shopping for some tees and souveniers.

That night we walked out on the beach since it was cool after the rain. The beach side bars were in full swing, there was even a fire dancer.

Finally we got back to the resort for some supper – Mocha float with tiramisu. Our katoey waiter/waitress was quite sarcastic!

Tomorrow, last day and goodbyes.

Vacation in Paradise – Koh Lipe Day 3

(Check out Parts One and Two here)

Up bright and early on Day 3, coz today’s the day we go island hopping. We spent some time yesterday afterday checking out the prices at a few of the tour / dive shops. All of them offer the same two packages, but with slightly varying prices. Tour 1 is more suited for beginners and families with children, Tour 2 goes further out to sea and more challenging sites.

We picked the shop offering the cheapest price, it was also the one with the friendliest owner. The package cost us THB1600 (RM160) for 4 people, inclusive of lunch, not inclusive of fee for entry into the Tarutao National Park. Ko Lipe sits on the edge of the vast park which has protected reefs and dive sites. The island hopping tour takes you to about 5 places around the surrounding islands. It starts from 9.30am to 4pm, and they really use the time to the max, so for RM160, it was really worth the money.

But first, brekkie at our resort. Gotta load up on the carbs for the long day.

All the tour participants gather at the beach before set off. All the tour operators work together to optimize the number of tourists per boat. In total i think there were 7 or 8 boats going out that day.

Our longtail boat consists of us, a middle age couple from Penang, a father and 10 year old boy from Thailand (mother and younger daughters stayed back on Lipe) and a young Swedish girl named Malin. We got to know Malin, she’s travelling alone across Southeast Asia, much like Elizabeth Gilbert in ‘Eat, Pray, Love’.

Beautiful clear waters everywhere, as we set off.

This is our boatman. Speaks a little Malay. Excellent swimmer, very experienced at sea. He even dived to the ocean floor once to save my snorkel that fell off.

First stop – Jabang / Koh Hin Nam. At first getting into the 16m deep waters right was a little scary, we were panicky a bit. But the next few stops were better.

Then we went ashore to Ko Hin Nam. On this particular beach and only on this island, the stones are of this very strange shape.

Third stop was about 2 km out to sea, where there were fantastic corals and fish. Here because of the strong currents, there were ropes attached to buoys for everyone’s safety, making it much easier to snorkel.

Lunchtime was on Ko Rawi, one of the two large islands around Ko Lipe. Lunch was rather simple, packed fried rice with watermelons. We ended up feeding the watermelons to the fish. Just hold it underwater while snorkeling and all kinds of large fish will come and nibble aggressively at it.

Both the large islands, Rawi and Adang are uninhabited, but there are dozens of excellent snorkelling and diving sites around them. As it is on Lipe, the beach and water is beautiful.

Fish gathering under our boat.

After lunch we had a long time to snorkel just off the beach.

After lunch there was another dive spot off Adang.

On the way back to Lipe at about 4pm, the sun was mercilessly hot. I didn’t realize it, but we were extremely sunburnt, despite our sunblock. Not only that, the top of my feet were also burnt, something i would suffer a lot for in the next few days.

After reaching back to Lipe, the kids got MORE beach time. Me, i headed back to the room, took a shower, nap, and propped on bed reading my book.

We took an early dinner, saw a couple doing wedding shots on the beach. Really, what’s this shorts and sweater look?

We went to La Luna, just off Walking Street. Run by an Italian who married a local, this was perhaps the best Italian restaurant i’ve been to. EVER.

Then we took a slow walk back, stopping by to try the local Pancake as recommended by Hui Ling.

Next: More fun in the sun.

Vacation in Paradise – Koh Lipe Day 2

(This is the 2nd part in an ongoing travelogue. Check out the first part here.)

Before coming here i was worried if the nights were going to be a little boring here as there isn’t much to do. But that problem never arose. Every night after dinner we were usually too tired and went to bed by about 10pm.

Second day was a free and easy day here. Let’s face it, other than go for island hopping (which we did on Day 3), there isn’t much else to do except:

1. swim,
2. lay on the beach and relax,
3. eat,
4. relax some more.

Our hotel Bundhaya is a great place for couples and families to stay. Its one of the few with resort facilities, most the others are catered towards backpackers and young people who don’t mind roughing it out.

This our own chalet. Quite charming. There are limited family chalets here, so make sure you book early.

The whole resort is garden themed, ensuring that all the chalets don’t get any blistering sunlight at any time during the day. I really like the concept. The downside was that our unit was quite deep in, walking the distance 8 times a day when you’re sunburnt is no joke.

This is one of their more expensive chalets, with glass walls. Not much privacy.

Our stay came with complimentary breakfast. The choice is limited, but we had no complaints. Best thing about it? Bacon.

In the morning and afternoon, we did the same thing – swim and relax.

As for food, lunch was at Pee Pee Bakery – where they made French pastry and bread fresh every morning.

We also had ice cream back at our resort.

At night, lots the restaurants fronting the beach will put up a seafood grill, with the food fresh from the sea on the same day. We tried Lavoy, which is attached to the popular bar Mellow Mango. For about RM50, we have a set meal of Massaman, grilled white mackerel, fried calamari, vegetables with cashew and rice.

And Day 2 comes to an end. Another fun day awaits tomorrow.

Vacation in Paradise – Koh Lipe Day 1

I first heard about Ko Lipe at the end of 2010 when my colleague was went there for week during Christmas / New Year. His report to me was ‘YOU MUST GO THERE’. It was so good he went there again for the same period last year. To be honest, if not for him i would have never have heard of this place, and most people i meet haven’t no clue where Ko Lipe is either.

Well, basically, Ko Lipe (‘Paper Island’) is a tiny paradise island in the Andaman Sea in Southern Thailand. To get there you can take a 1-hour speed boat from either Langkawi or Mainland Thailand. How small is the island? Very small. Takes about 5-10 mins to walk across. When the speed boat arrives, a guy opens an immigration shack to stamp your passports. On the island there are no roads, no cars, no banks (an ATM was introduced just a few months ago) and intermittent electricity. Originally inhabited by the Chao-lei (sea gypsies), now the island is home to one walking street with shops and restaurants, about 20+ resorts (ranging from huts to 4-star resorts), and the villagers, and thats about it.

Most of the tourists here are Europeans. I saw some groups of Malaysian and Thai families, but I would say 95% of holiday-makers here are whites. According to my colleague, some of them spend 3-4 months living here, reading, writing a book, or just living the dream life.

So our journey started with good old AirAsia from LCCT to Langkawi. At this point I still had AirAsia in good stead (more on this at the end of my trip). We had lunch at the Airport (no McDonald’s!!! So we had to eat Marrybrown) and straight off to Telaga Harbour.

Telaga Harbour is nice and all, but why couldn’t they make the waiting area bigger and indoors? The speedboat was delayed 40 minutes so we had to wait in the sweltering midday heat.

Aaaaand finally we were off. Takes an hour from Lgk to Lipe.

Here we are at Ko Lipe. The first thing that strikes you is the crystal clear waters and clean beaches.

There isn’t a jetty anywhere on the island, but the ferry will come right to the beach if the tide is high. if not they’ll ferry you with longtail boats. Right there I learnt my first Ko Lipe lesson – don’t wear long pants or shoes. you’ll need to jump into the water and walk the last 1 meter in ankle high sea.

When you arrive, an immigration guy will in a shack will stamp your passport, and then you’re free to enjoy!

Bundhaya / Pattaya beach, one of the 3 main beaches on the island. This is the most popular and beautiful one.

We stayed at Bundhaya Resort, conveniently located next to immigration. It’s the only place that has a cheap family room. Plus it has air-conditioning.

One of the many friendly locals enjoy the sun and beach.

After checking in we took a walk down to the only pedestrian street on the Island, aptly named Walking Street. The are many local and foreign restaurants, a few convenience stores, a pharmacy, internet stations, and diving shops.

We walked all the way to the other end of the island to Sunrise Beach. This the longest stretch of beach on the island, a little quieter compared to Pattaya Beach. But facing east, the afternoons are shaded here.

On the way back we stopped for our first meal in Lipe – Dinner at Fino’s. Due to the low density of tourists here, even at peak season all the restaurants and beaches are not crowded.

Fino’s serves great Italian food. But a word of advice tho. Bring mosquito repellant everywhere on Lipe. The mozzies here are HUGE. and their bite itches like crazy.

It was dark when we walked back to the resort. At night the seafront restaurants start up some fresh seafood grill, and the bars lay mats on the sand for patrons to lie and drink beer while enjoying the seabreeze. Very cool.

End of our first of five days here on Paradise. To be continued.

Beach Holiday

When i was a kid, we never ever went for a beach holiday. Not even for a day trip.

The only time i could remember was the 3 times i went for church camp in Port Dickson. This was in the early 80′s, when Port Dickson still had nice beaches and green forests. I remember the beach games they organized, and the taste of salty water when i went for a swim. But any Malaysian can tell you, the Straits of Malacca beaches are nothing much to shout about, regardless what our tourism brochures tell you.

One time after SRP 2 friends and I took a mini-road trip to the East Coast to meet some new friends we recently met in a youth holiday camp. My most vivid memory (other than the tastiest onion oil porridge my host’s mother made) was the beach in Teluk Chempedak. This was in the late 80′s, when Teluk Chempedak still hadn’t turned into the nightmare carnival it is now. My Kuantan friends were laughing at how I was amazed by the sand scouring beneath my feet whenever the tide rolled in.

Things improved a lot when i started working, and much later with AirAsia appearing.

But of course, I’ve never lost my amazement of the beach since.

Anyway, for those dreaming of your next holiday while cooped up in your dreary office, check out this list of Top Ten Best Tropical Islands by my favourite travel blogger. Out of the ten islands on the list, I’ve been to 2. I’m going to another one more next week. Two more islands are do-able (hopefully) while the remaining five are probably beyond my (financial) reach…

But one can dream.

What to Look Forward To in 2012

You know, its that dreary time of the year when the festivities are over, you’ve spent all your bonus money,and the next public holiday isn’t for 3 months. What does 2012 hold for the rest of us?

2012 London Olympics
If the London Underground workers’ strike doesn’t cripple it, that is. Am i going to watch any events? Not likely. Who’s going to win the 100meters? I dunno, are Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis still running?

Worst. Olympic Logo. Ever.

The Hobbit: The Movie: The First Part: An Unexpected Journey
Really? its two movies now? I remember it was a thin book, like 300 pages. Still, I think it’s gonna be good. Man should watch the LOTR trilogy again.

Euro 2012
Or as it is commonly known, “the-World-Cup-without-Brazil-and-Argentina”. But the more important questions will be “Which unfortunate English player is going to miss the penalty in the quarterfinals again?” and “is Rooney going to break his toe again???”

the 13th General Election
A lot of mud will be slung. Assuredly. As my mother-in-law would say, “Don’t go out ah? Sure got trouble one. Make sure to stock up canned food, ah?” (try imagining it in Cantonese)

On a related note,

The US Presidential Elections
Something like our elections, but with less slinging of mud. No need to stock up canned food either. I’m thinking the candidate with the least weird name should win. (Mitt? Barack? Try googling ‘Santorum’)

End of the world
If the Mayans were correct, it will all come to an end on December 12th. Should I cancel my pilates class for that day? Or maybe this was what actually that happened…