Love it, Bob!

Currently infatuated with one song that I can play it over and over and over again...

As much as I like Jason Mraz's "I'm yours", I seem to be more attracted to this other song in his album. I am going to share with you the lyrics... I googled and I realised Bob Dylan wrote and sang this original song (1981 -- same age as me!!). So yesteryear!!!

It is adorable. Realised how they came up with the names, and how it perfectly rhymes... Brilliant creation. Love it, Bob!

Man Gave Names To All The Animals Lyrics
By: Bob Dylan

Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, in the beginning.
Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, long time ago.

He saw an animal that liked to growl,
Big furry paws and he liked to howl,
Great big furry back and furry hair.
"Ah, think I'll call it a bear."

Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, in the beginning.
Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, long time ago.

He saw an animal up on a hill
Chewing up so much grass until she was filled.
He saw milk comin' out but he didn't know how.
"Ah, think I'll call it a cow."

Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, in the beginning.
Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, long time ago.

He saw an animal that liked to snort,
Horns on his head and they weren't too short.
It looked like there wasn't nothin' that he couldn't pull.
"Ah, think I'll call it a bull."

Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, in the beginning.
Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, long time ago.

He saw an animal leavin' a muddy trail,
Real dirty face and a curly tail.
He wasn't too small and he wasn't too big.
"Ah, think I'll call it a pig."

Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, in the beginning.
Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, long time ago.

Next animal that he did meet
Had wool on his back and hooves on his feet,
Eating grass on a mountainside so steep.
"Ah, think I'll call it a sheep."

Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, in the beginning.
Man gave names to all the animals
In the beginning, long time ago.

He saw an animal as smooth as glass
Slithering his way through the grass.
Saw him disappear by a tree near a lake . . .

Superbanana pie

That's the word I use for it - Superb. And thus the name Superbanana pie.

I caught a glimpse of the recommendation on TV a few weeks back. Being a fanatic of food with banana (just likewise with chocolate and rum balls), I decided to hunt the place down. I googled and coincidentally found the place they were talking about. One week later, I went down to Katong just to hunt for this specialty - banana pie.

I happened to also read someone's blog entry that they do sell rum balls too. It could be my lucky day! I met another dessert-crazed human being like me, and off we went. From the hawker centre for chicken macaroni, to french marshmallows (guimauve) and then banana pie and rum ball. Though I do love desserts, I am not borned with a sweeth tooth. Guimauves are a nice try but definitely I won't go gaga over it, because they are too sweet for me!

When I first bit into the banana pie, it nearly took my breath away! Not too sweet, filled with generous portion of banana chunks, and being freshly served out of the oven does help! It was warm and crispy, crust very nicely done... How wonderful if I could have a scoop of ice-cream on top of it - that'd be heavenly. I could taste the grated coconut they used in it too, unlike other pie that filled it up with cream or flour, this definitely sound like a healthier option. What more is it tastes exceptionally good! So be being banana pie crazed, I bought 2 more for takeaway, it costs S$2 for a piece or S$20 for the whole pie!

Oh did I not mention their lovely rum balls too? Slightly a little bigger than size of a marble, it looks too teeny for the price of S$1. I almost thought they must have missed out "3 for.." in their tag. After putting the whole marble-sized rum ball into my mouth, I finally understood the reason for the price. I could get drunk with 10 shots of rum balls - honestly. And one of the best rum balls I have tried in Singapore - swear to that!

Dona Manis, I'm certainly coming back for more!

p.s: Pic is finally up, wonder why blogger is screwed up on firefox.

Kota Kinabalu (iv) - Spooked

On Monday night, it was the second night I slept ALONE in the 12 beds dormitory in Hamin Lodge. It was eerily quiet and I was not used to it. The first two nights I had a filipino auntie on the opposite bed who spoke to me in heavily accented English. After she left, it was clear that no one else stepped into this room except me as they never cleaned my room. I was disgusted but it was just one more night left so I decided to bear with it. They didn't have any other dormitory with other people and so I couldn't move to another room, I was stuck basically. Sometimes I wondered if I was really alone... a few times, the bamboo door of the cabinet would suddenly swing open, but I just took it that it might be a bit loose. I was brave but when I was there alone I actually felt timid. It was this kind of spooky.

I actually felt great to wake up in the morning and get out because I didn't want to spend too much quiet time in the room itself!

Woke up at 5.30am, it was the day to head out to Kinabalu Park. We have gotten a car rental, all ready to drive up the mountain! Poor B had to drive 2 hours there, and poor me had to navigate with a clear mind at 6am. The map was lousy and the signage in Sabah was very poorly done... but we managed to get by with a bit of luck. We didn't lose our way, got to the park and realised the weather was a bit too cool for our dressing! LOL. It didn't matter much since we would be trekking and then we would be heated up pretty fast. We did 2 connecting trails. Afterwhich I decided no more, they went ahead for another while I found a convenience shop and bought myself a Berry Twist ice cream. How cooling! An ice cream up the cooling mountain, that would wake me up!

In Sabah, after the admission fee to an attraction, you had to still pay for more admission within the place. It's ridiculous! Why don't they charge an one-off fee! They made us want to skip so many things just because they wanted to make the tourists pay for every single thing. We skipped the Botanic Garden (Mountain Garden) because we wanted to head to Poring Hot Springs which was 45 mins away. So we left...

At Poring Hot Springs, we were really starving so we had to lunch at the only restaurant in this place. It was a buffet, we didn't have any other choice but 35RM for a wide range of selection sounded reasonable. I particularly like the wings and mini burgers. Then we did the Canopy Walk which is pretty challenging, it's so high up and you are practically walking on a plank held on by strong ropes! We didn't take any pictures because they would charge each of our camera a fee! But I was glad we didn't want to take the cameras because we would be too damned nervous to take it out during the walk anyway! We went around to see the hot spring area and missed the butterfly park because we wanted to visit the tea planation. But sadly we didn't have enough time as we needed to get back before 6pm. It was already 2pm and tea planatation was probably another 45mins away.

So we headed back. Both the girls dozed off when B was driving, poor him! He got lost and had to wake me up eventually. The map reader. So there I was, and we managed to get back into the city just in time for a nice hot shower before returning the car. The car got into a little accident (scratch) earlier during parking but all is covered, so everything was fine! Phew!

A last dinner by the coast, followed by a Green Tea donut... mmm, it didn't make my stomach feel better! LOL. I also made a trip down to the bakery to buy home a few of the chocolate balls! After some last minute souvenir shopping and an hour of card games, we knocked out. No more spooky night finally... I woke up earlier the next morning to pack, had my breakfast before we cabbed to the airport where we bought ourselves a last sinful meal in Kota Kinabalu - KFC!

Back home to Singapore on Tigers. All in all, a nice relaxing but muscle aching trip! I'm happy I get some sun, have a bit of a tan now!

Kota Kinabalu (iii) - Things not right

When they are not right, they are obviously wrong...

We were there over the weekend, fortunately we were able to see their Sunday Street Market down Jalan Gaya. Weather was pretty awesome that morning. B's girlfriend was unwell so we went ahead. There were a lots of things on sale from food, clothes, animals, customised name decor, antiques, junks to souvenirs. I chanced upon this stall which sold jade and gem stones based on the chinese horoscope and the superstitious me couldn't help but got stuck there shopping for gifts for myself and family. Half way through the market shopping, the weather changed and started to pour. I lost B but I told him to meet at the entrance should we lost our way. So I went back for him, put on my disposable raincoat and we headed back.

The girlfriend got better, and suddenly the weather too! So we decied to go ahead with our initial plan of visiting a nearby island - Manukan island. Supposedly it's famous for its clear waters with plentiful fishes. I forgot to get the white bread (only have the flavoured ones), so couldn't feed them :(. The boat ride there was very bumpy, the sea was so choppy that our bums were furiously bumping on the seat all the time. Ouch! Besides that, sitting in front of a mini speedboat didn't make it better, I felt like I would be thrown out of the boat anytime. Scary shit.

We enjoyed a chilled time playing cards, laying and sitting there doing nothing... having our little picnic. I love collecting shells so I went around for some ;) They didn't have a sign that says I can't (or I never happened to read that one on this island!).

The following day, we were out in the sea again. This time, for snorkeling. The tour company picked us up in a jeep and after a somewhat less bumpy ride, we arrived at Gaya island. The sea was still choppy and that freaked me out - I'm seasick! I couldn't wait to get out of the boat when we reached the terminal... and I know something wasn't right. We were given a short briefing, and then the equipments to snorkel. We were in wetsuit, fins and snorkel masks. They decided to take us to Sapi island since it was pretty choppy at Gaya island as the water visibility was very poor.

Off to Sapi. Another shaky ride. When I got there, I somehow predicted the snorkeling in the choppy sea would be a disaster for me. But we have paid and we were all going ahead with it. The visibility wasn't much better, plus the strong waves actually threw me against the shore (Ouch! Ended up with multiple small scratches!). The shore had many small rocks and corals so not very safe to walk with bare feet, but getting into the waters with fins wasn't any easier. LOL. Managed to get in with a snorkeling instructor whom was by my side the whole time (Thank God for that!), because I really couldn't imagine with those currents, where I would end up if I was to do it alone! He brought me further out with the safety ring, I didn't panick but I wasn't feeling right. I looked down and saw the beautiful fishes so close to my face, I almost could touch them. However I couldn't breathe properly with the mask, I realised I was seasick when I decided I wanted to head back to the shore. I threw up and I decided that was the end of it for my snorkeling. It was too choppy for a seasick person like me :(

I took a little nap along with B's girlfriend while the rest went out for the adventurous snorkeling in choppy sea. Then we all headed back for a nice lunch. B got restless and decided to trek to the highest point at Gaya island... Feeling that I didn't do enough that morning, I decided to go along but B's girlfriend made the right choice to skip it. The track was tough and old, no one has done it for a long time. Everywhere was covered with dried leaves and path was blocked with fallen trees. I was so glad when I finally made it back down - Christ's, that was tough! After that, I went on my own little self-exploration when the tide went down... I could even walk under the bridge which we walked this morning and was still covered with waters.

After this, we went back for a shower before a dinner by the coast. It was a great feeling especially after such a tiring day! Satay - yum yum! But my stomach didn't feel right that night, wonder if it was still the seasickness that morning or the food the night before. I threw up but after medicine and sleep, I felt okay the following day.

Kota Kinabalu (ii) - Fun hell yea

At the beginning of the trip, things went smoothly... except for the weather which annoyed me the whole time! I hate walking under the heat and humidity the whole day (imagine doing that in Singapore too!).

We were heading to the bank, when I asked a kind gentleman for directions. Coincidentally, he was heading in the same direction and offered to take us there! How kind! Before we parted ways, again I asked him about getting to Times Square (where we are heading later). And to our surprise, he would be on the way back to his office and could drop us off along the way! Almost couldn't believe the luck, he's an angel! Thank you mister, you left me a very good impression of Sabah!

And so we managed to get to Times Square where we sorted out our snorkeling and water rafting tours. Both excellent. I am glad I read those reviews before we got there because what we got was quality service. We started water rafting the following day as we had a rough plan what we were going to do the next couple of days.

Sunset in Kota Kinabalu was spectacular, especially when you dined just by the coast!


Water rafting really gets me going... I was looking forward to it the whole time. With Exotic Adventure, it was genuine fun and I felt taken care of, especially when the currents swept me away, at least 2 of the instructors came to my aid... They also specifically asked if I was okay when I was down in the waters. They came up with some "evil plan" to make us capsized or at least get a few of us into the waters. Unfortunately I was too witty for them, I realised their master plan and avoided it at all costs, instead my friends fell into the waters! But it was still great fun... If I'm ever back for the Padas river water rafting, I would still go back to them! Thanks Ronald & Angelo.

Shopping is average in Kota Kinabalu, just like in other parts of Malaysia but they didn't have many malls and the only decent ones were Warisan Square (my favourite) and Centrepoint. Warisan Square is cool and hippy, it's divided into multiple blocks and you can walk through them on level 2, they also have many individualistic shops and bigger brands.

They have a couple of markets there. One of it is Central Market where you can get some dry food (and I think clothes, household stuff and a ready hawker upstairs). Another is Filipino Market for handicrafts which I felt is a tourist trap, overpriced and not original (they are imported anyway) - can't be bothered to bargain. Then there's the wet market beside the car park which gets all lively and busy when the sun goes down. Looks like they do their "marketing" during night time! Walk right through the fishmongers and fruit & vegetables stalls, you get to a sheltered area where you can get grilled seafood, BBQ wings and coconut drinks. We dined there once, even though they charged us a touristy price, it was still pretty affordable and still cheaper than Singapore.

I also visited this bakery, Multi-Bake, near our hostel and found their version of rum balls named chocolate balls because they are without the rum! I love them... could have them almost every single day ;)

Food. Waistline. Caution.

Kota Kinabalu (i) - Hell of a start

When everyone hears about Kota Kinabalu, they think about mountain climbing & trekking... and I was there for something else. Some people might find it a boring holiday destination if they're not trekking, but I assure you there's more to it, at least good enough for a weekend getaway (I'm sure my travel companions both will agree). We did have a good time :)

For your information, Kota Kinabalu is resided in Sabah, East Malaysia and it's a separate island away from Malaysia (West) itself. It's connected to Sarawak/Indonesia just down south.

Below's a short journal I wrote on the flight:

6am. I woke up, a sleepy head.

Dad was awake (like always). He did the usual naggings,"Did you bring this, did you forget that?" I washed up and in no time was ready to leave. Everyone else was soundly in bed, sister got up briefly to say goodbye and went back to lala land.

I bought my breakfast and headed to the airport via train. Unlike the past few times, I just flagged a cab, this morning I saw the morning rush. The train, filled with students on the way to school, had unusually few travellers on the same journey as me.

Got there in time; my travelling companions were on their way. I took my time to finish my breakfast, put on my hoody and tried to soak myself in the holiday mood. But it didn't come. That feeling. It didn't this morning too. I felt unbearing to leave the last few times, at the same time, it was usually packed with excitement. But this time, I didn't feel the later. I need to replenish it somehow.

Three different passports, one common destination.

I'm travelling with a couple (my 1st time). I haven't met B's girlfriend but sure enough she's easy to get along - a great start! The last holiday left me drained, tired and fearful of new companions. But I know this time, I didn't have to worry. I'm writing this an hour into the flight, we've another hour more to go. Now it's time to take a nap... till later.
...
...
...

I didn't get much sleep during the flight. Some time before we landed, we met some air turbulence and then later on we had a 10 - 20 metres drop which freaked most of the passengers out. I was stunned, prepared for the worst and held on tightly to my safety belt. "That's it! Are we crashing?" That went through my mind. Some people screamed and shrieked! When we finally landed with a crash landing (Thanks Pilot! :S), the cabin was filled with relief and laughter. We were safe.

A very general impression of Kota Kinabalu after arriving for some hours. Friendly. Considerate drivers. Hot & humid (like Singapore). Traditional. Poor and rich contrast (slums, kampung houses, houses on stilts via wooden houses up the mountain via terrace house/modern flats).

Somehow I'm not sure if the wooden houses up the mountain belong to the wealthier people, as it means they will have to drive down to city (have to own a car at least)... and the availability of bigger space for a bigger house.

I lost him... for eternity

Something that everyone should try once in your lifetime? Lose a phone or a wallet.

If it's a couple of years back, I think I would take it very hard... Almost 10 years back, my wallet was stolen back in school. Even though I still didn't know who the culprit is (but I kept having a vision it was someone in my class), the kind thief had the decency to return the important stuff which of course posted no value to him. I got back my identity cards, bank cards and library card. Wallet was gone, so were the cash and my ez-link card (our transportation pass).

Some days ago, shortly after arriving back in Singapore from Kota Kinabalu... I realised I lost my mobile phone (my little white man). He's gone. I searched for him frantically on the train, couldn't believe I have lost him. I didn't know how it happened but the thing is it has happened... What can I do? I figured there's no point crying over spilled milk after a fruitless attempt to ring my own number. At that point of time, hope sank, heart sank. The next best thing to do is to curse that person who has taken it away!

When I got home, the first thing I did was to call the airport's Lost & Found, but then I realised if someone has taken it or stolen it, it will never come back. Then I rang SingTel to suspend my line. I'm so disappointed why Singapore didn't implement the disabling of the phone with IMEI number! What's the use of having an IMEI number, f****** useless! And when I finally managed to get myself back on my feet, I lodged a police report. I have also informed the airline... and now probably see if I can get any sort of compensation from travel insurance.

Everyone else is saying,"Time to get a new phone." But let me grieve over him first. The 2 years together had been turbulent, especially the first couple of months trying to get him fixed. After that, he seemed to be a very fine companion, always there when I needed him, especially waking me up every morning. That's probably the only thing I am not used to now, no more familiar ringing tone... now I have a human clock - my sister.

I miss that blue light that lit up everytime I pressed his buttons,
I miss how easy he connected to my lappy everytime I on his bluetooth,
I miss how he hanged around my neck and followed everywhere I go,
I miss the sms-es I saved inside, I know I lost them,
I miss all the contact numbers I stored inside, I know they're gone forever,
I miss him, the little white thing.

For now, I'm not contactable, mobile-less and radiation-free. I am quite pleased with the peacefulness at the moment.