Rafting Trip on Slim River

Nov 21st. My first rafting experience! Sg. Slim aka Slim River.
Rapids! The first thought on my mind before embarking on a wet adventure, filled with spills and thrills. Razia has done it several times spanning from Kampar to Sabah and for that reason, I wanted her on the same raft for some measure of comfort! This trip was organized by our very outdoorish friend, David Jr. whom some of you might know from his blog (malaysia-asia) on holidays, outdoors and food!

Our adventure started with a rendezvous at the Rawang R&R for "hot" nasi lemak and teh tarik. When they said "hot"they really meant it! Not referring to the spicy-ness, but the piping hot little green packets going for RM1 each! The tantalizing sambal with coconut milk rice really kicks off a fun day with friends. Then, an hour's drive to Kg. Ulu Slim where the Hot Springs are located. We would be couriered into the Ulu Slim Forest Reserve toward our starting point on the river via 4WDs. Really fun ride slipping in the mud and experiencing mud terrain tires take on the terrain! Certainly will wake you up. You'd come across some Orang Asli Kids along the way, all eyes aglow spectating us "city folks".

The guides will dispatch essential safety gear i.e. helmets and life jackets to all rafters new and experience. A safety briefing will commence prior to assigning teams into the rafts, about 5-6 persons per raft. Teams are taught paddling techniques and certain manoeuvres on the raft. For e.g. "boom boom" means everyone much secure their paddles and crouch in steep drops and "jump jump" means everyone must bounce around to coax the rubber dinghy into moving out of obstacles and tight spots! Our guide's name was "Juice" an east-Malaysian from Sabah.

Generally, this river's difficulty level stars from Grade 1 to 3. Essentially:-

Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering.
(Skill Level: Very Basic)
Grade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering.
(Skill Level: Basic Paddling Skill)
Grade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger.
May require significant maneuvering
(Skill Level: Experienced paddling skills)

(Read more about on wikipedia)

Pretty soon everyone was on their way. I was in a raft with Razia, Derrick's dad (Uncle Chong) (a man in his 60s and whose always clamoring for outdoor stuff!) and two other paddlers. Juice manned the head of course!

Soon, I realised that overturns and being flung out of the raft was a real possibility! On the arrival of the first drop (Grade 3, I reckon), we were briefed and was told that the moves involved everyone dropping down into the raft on cue from our guide. It was more like a subtle S-shaped dropped. We were the first raft to set course. On the way down, we rammed the rock and the apex of the "S" and that's where I got flung out of the raft!...losing my paddle at the same time. Somehow, instinct took over and as I fell, I managed to grab on to the raft's lifeline where my fellow rafters hauled me in. My eyes were closed most of the time, not because of fear, but to prevent my contact lenses from being flushed out!

We landed on the banks after a few yards from the drop to watch the other rafts try the same thing. The guides were really good at what they do, all standing on each side of the banks with rescue lines just in case!

The whole session took roughly 4 hours to complete the 1.5km route.

Nearing the end of the trip, Juice forewarned us that he would tip the raft over just for "the heck of it"...well, actually, since we hadn't experience a capsizing raft! So, about 150 yards from the termination point, he maneuvered the raft into a short fall and had us trapped in a vortex a bit. There, everyone was told to lean to one side and told to keep pulling at the lifeline to lift one end of the raft up! One two three! Everyone was in the water! The raft tipped over so fast I had no time to avoid the falling dinghy! The last thing I saw before I was in was a big green tube dropping on my face! Razia and Uncle Chong was under the raft and made their way out. In fact, I was feeling under the raft for my fellow rafters and found Uncle.

At the end, we made our way out of the water whilst watching the other raft being ditched! They had gotten stuck in between some rocks and there was just no way to get it unstuck but for a bailout!

After drying ourselves partially, we did lunch back at the village (which is provided in the package) near the Hot Springs before retiring for the day.

My New "Old" Ride

The deal came through just days ago. My good friend David Lai finally parted with her after the loan documentation and the transfer forms were signed.

The Audi A4 B5, 1.8 litres, turbo-charged! Power on demand with a demeanor of a compact executive! I can't believe I'm in possession of it right now. During my early days of practice, the dream of driving the car with the "4-rings" began to spawn. I've always seen myself in this car. Just something so right about it.

It's a well thought of car. Probably over-engineered, just like the Mercedes Benz W124 generation.

A little wobbly at first, but nothing more than replacing the shock absorbers and tires and completed with a indispensable wheel alignment and balancing. She ploughs through the freeways now. The ride is a tad bit bumpy; can't help it with the 215/40/18 profile, but she's much stiffer now after implementing the pair of Eibach Prokit springs in the front. Then again, nothing unusual to me since my Proton Waja had a similar feel. I kinda like a stiffer ride somehow. It's a more planted feel on the road, especially as she roars through corners effortlessly.

A few things about this automotive marvel in the 90's which really tickled my fancy:-

• The center console comes with an ergonomically placed and adjustable armrest, making driving a pleasure when I can rest my left arm firmly on the plush leather.

• Leather seats!
  

• The delivery of power thanks to the light-pressured turbine is useful for getting out of tight situations or beating the lights before they turn!

• It doesn't guzzle fuel. I get about 420 kilos on a full tank (before reaching the reserve tank) and roughly about 18 cents to a kilometer on RON 95 gas!
  

• The ride is silent and comfortable, even for a 2001 manufactured car!
  

• The multi-display in the dash at a glance tells you the fundamental readings like fuel/100km, engine temp and oil temp. Not to mention the volt meter which most cars I've driven lacks.

• It's a 5-speed automatic transmission which shifts quite seamlessly. The fuzzy logic systems ensure that descends are controlled and acceleration comes in a jiffy!

• The adaptive or variable sensitivity steering instill confidence in any driving condition or speeds.

• The climate control air-conditioning is remarkably adaptive and keeps the cabin cool enough for me in this hot and humid country

• The 90's look of the exterior and interior of the car. Never loses it's appeal.

The Audi is in between the choices of cars which I had in my mind. I was torn between a used 2.0 litre car Japanese car for a little bit more kick whilst running it on a budget and newer continental cars which are renowned for their safety and handling but costs significantly more. Looks like this one came in between. I am contented!

The car is going in for a full check-up on Saturday. Lest I am a bum, I will continue the efforts David expanded to maintain the Audi to make sure she's in tip-top condition!

One Leaves, One Stays

Our colleagues took Kam Thai (that's me on the left) and Izalia out for dinner the night before.

Venue: Madam Kwan's at the Pavilion.
Both finished their long and arduous pupillage as a necessary
'rite of passage' into the ranks of lawyering.

Whilst Kam Thai harbour dreams of joining the AG's Chambers,

Izalia decides to stick around with us

Lip Jeen (left), a young lass joined us not too long ago.
She works under Fon Lin (right) on a regular basis,
sponging up the knowledge in conveyancing practice

Juk Chee and Christine Chan. Our two youngest lawyers on board.
JC is my right hand in shouldering the banking litigation portfolio.
Christine is also coming of age.
Both of whom I love to throw my weight around on. :)

Lan Fang and Jian Min, the corporate department's dynamic duo.
Where there's one, the other is not too far away.

Ordering food is never an easy task for lawyers...

...thanks to a certain Sankar Supramaniam who'd take
ages to decide on his choice to tickle his fancy.

I have to say it was nice of Tuck Hau to organise this dinner.
He's now the youngest pupil in the firm and is almost certainly seen
dispatched to the library for research every day.

Here we have Fon Lin demonstrating the legendary
chicken wing-in-flight fist!
I think she's camera shy...

Poor straw after Lip Jeen's gnawing prowess. Poor girl probably
to stressed up with her Ethics examinations the next day.

Desert time is always my favourite! It always proves the
theory that "there's always room for desert"!
The banana fritters with ice-cream was
Sankar's choice of a sweet tooth indulge.
Observing the phallic symbols, I couldn't help but to diss him ,
"Where God did not give you in length, he gave you in duplicity"

I personally picked out the Sago Gula Malacca.

Madam Kwan makes them really good.
The sago beads do not clump together
and the coconut milk is so rich.
I knew I was sugar high as I was trying to get Kam Thai to give
his farewell speech, I asked him "Any last words?"
Rephrasing didn't help either especially when it came
out as "What do you have to say for yourself?" I
decided to shut up and enjoy the rest of the
evening with this bunch of psychos!

Balinese Dining: Bora Asmara

I first heard about this place when Stanley Tai invited me to his wedding dinner (which I couldn't attend) last weekend. ~ A Balinese restaurant I never knew was tucked away in Kg. Sg. Penchala all this while. This resplendent set-up has been around for some years now. ~ I've been reading blogs of various food connoisseurs with mixed reviews from pricey o downright tasteless food. ~ "A matter of different taste buds". ~ I think the adage of the proverbial meat and poison best applies here. Razia and I decided to please our palates last Sunday (I was in the office at that). Speaking of which, this is place is ideal for couple dinings. ~

This place greets your arrival with the sound of a 'gong!' I felt awkward being subject to a small taste of a royal entrance. The ambience is of the place appeals to me. Ambient lightning with al fresco seating (2 air-conditioned dining halls too if you prefer), by the pond with the soothing sound of water or a more private setting in the bisek-bisek (private little huts) with floor seating. I thought the facade was brilliant!

A soothing glass of Saloma, a concoction of water melon juice, lychees and topped with whipped cream is always good to tantalize the tastebuds and on a humid day like last weekend, I can't think of a more cooling beverage. ~ Perhaps a touch of lime juice and a dash of mint leaves might have left it a more "balinese" tasting drink. Then again, that's me.

The ikan tiga rasa (3-taste fish) deep-fried garouper and topped with sweet, sourt and spicy sauce and garnished with capsicum, coriander and onions was certainly interesting, although I thought the chef could have layed off the flour a bit. ~ The fish was fresh. I didn't ask, but I think they could have used this preparation for chicken breast or soft-shelled crab.

The pandan chicken was tasty and not too bad, but I am partial to the ones served at Ampang Yong Tow Foo in SS2. ~ To avoid having a 3rd protein dish, we ordered kangkung belacan (watercrest stir fried in fermented fish paste) which for me is almost mandatory when having rice meals in reastaurants.

After cleaning out our plates, you could expect a 'mexican' quartet serenading you with Elvis Presley's "I can't help falling in love with you" armed with an accostic and a base guitars, a bongo for percussion and a bass cello.

All in all, I'd give Bora Asmara a 7.0/10 for decent-priced food, friendly & prompt staff and ambience (at night, that is). Not particular impressed with the limited parking space out front. The variety seems interesting but my taste buds tells me it's not as authentic as it's made out to be. Definitely a place to have a quiet and enchanted evening away from urban areas though.

If you're interested to savour the culinary offers at Bora Asmara, here is the address and contact info:

Bora Asmara
Lot 2933,
Kg. Sungai Penchala
Jalan Damansara
60000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 - 77260964
Fax: 03 - 7726 9064
Email: baraombak@gmail.com

(To get there: enter the Penchala link on the LDP after The Curve, Drive another approx 1.5 km and bear left. Go down the ramp and keep left at the lights. Take the left and another left at a T-junction. A mosque will be on your right at the junction. BA is approx. 600m from the T-junction from which you turned in)

Surrogates

Synopsis:

FBI agents Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) and Peters (Radha Mitchell) investigate the mysterious murder of a college student linked to the man who helped create a high-tech surrogate phenomenon that allows people to purchase unflawed robotic versions of themselves – fit, good looking remotely controlled machines that ultimately assume their life roles – enabling people to experience life vicariously from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

• Razia simply described it as "a stupid movie!"...

• Surrogates rated 40% on the "Tomatometer" with a resultant consensus that though the flick sports a slick look and feel, Surrogates fails to capitalize on a promising premise, relying instead on mindless action and a poor script...

• Movie aficionados and bloggers gave it slightly more than a 5 over a scale of 10 because it's a Bruce Willis flick.
  

• For me, possible one of the biggest waste of opportunity to hit the box office given the plot had so much potential, unfortunately, the development was immensely unimaginative and lack originality.
  

FBI agents (BRUCE WILLIS and RADHA MITCHELL) investigate the mysterious murder of a college student linked to the man who helped create a high-tech surrogate phenomenon that allows people to...

This author opines that Surrogates was a result of a lack of two-critical elements in a good movie... a capable director and a good script writer. Although Willis did a fair job in developing Agent Greer's character alongside Mitchell and Rosamund Pike who played his wife, the production of the movie seemed to be an afterthought and a poor attempt at reinventing the same theme.

For me, it was inescapable the movie appeared to bear striking similarities with:

• Matrix where human minds are plugged into in a CG generated world whilst their bodies are used as batteries to power machines which have taken control of the world. The Wachowski brothers commendable work of blending surreality and action gave us the slow-mo panning sequences and gravity defying scenes.

• Terminator mechanized humanoids with grafted human skin on metal endo skeletons programmed to wipe out humanity. The theory of uprising machines over man has always played into our imaginations.
  

• I Robot with the exception the robots here,called surrogates are manipulated by their human owners through a hive network.
  

• would you think of A Nightmare on Elm Street? I could not help it, especially when people who get slain in their dreams actually end up dead! Of course the protoganist in that horror flick was a poorly dressed and badly burnt psycho, but the premise of the linked mind and body experience is nothing so new.
  

If only this silver screen rendition was directed and written by M. Night Shyamalan, Bruce Willis may have had the saving grace of being paired with eccentric director and even if the movie fails to hit the box office marks the audience would have been more forgiving.

Surrogates was an utter waste of time, tasteless and un-original.

2 Birthdays, Several Colleagues and A Dozen Donuts! and Cupcakes

October 5th, my nutty colleagues took it upon themselves to
celebrate my birthday, which was a day before.

A dozen donuts, a candle and a bunch of nutty colleagues makes the
perfect ingredients to make
an uneventful evening, well...eventful!
Observe the macho indian (Sankar) standing outside my room,
trying not to appear to be indulging but still partakes nevertheless!

No surprise to mine, Yee Boon just has to mutilate something...

Fon Lin, Lan Fang and Juk Chee

Observe Juk Chee with her note pad.
I was having a discussion with her actually when
the rest of my colleagues walked...no... barged in :)

Jian Min, Tuck Hau and Lip Jeen (our two pupils) and of course, Mr. Tan's belly...:)

Nothing like having some nice bottled tea to wash down those scrumptious donuts...

Fon Lin, Tuck Hau, Kam Thai, Lip Jee (b girl), Jia Min and Juk Chee

October 6th. Lip Jee's birthday celebration.
Different room, different cake(s) but same office crowd
(with the exception of indian who was occupied with boss).
Creative! A dozen cupcakes of sorts this time.
The girls penchant for sweet things really showed this week!

Yee Boon demonstrating the correct way to execute the
one finger salute!

Sweet confectionary but most important, sweet friends!

Birthday Boy Sankar

A Wedding and A Fancy Dress Birthday Party

Congratulations James and Angie!

I found myself attending two celebrations last night...

The first being James Ang and Angie Choong's wedding dinner at the Hotel Equatorial. I first met James whilst handling recovery litigation for RBS. James had just taken over one of the files from a previous officer (then still ABN Amro). As time went on, James' family approached me to handle probate and personal matters. One fine day last week, I got a call from James telling me his wedding is on the 26th of Sept; Saturday!

When I first arrived at the hotel's lobby, I thought I was going to be bored out of my mind not expecting to know anyone there. Then, a familiar face. Waris Kamal (a banker with RBS dealing with Mergers & Acquisitions) and Yuen Ling (another banker with RBS who still keeps in touch with one of the partners of the firm). Waris was unmistakable as the guy whose crotch I accidentally shot in a paintball game! hehe

I had to say the 8-course dinner at the Golden Phoenix Restaurant in the hotel was good. I particularly enjoyed the onion sauced chicken, an uncommon dish unlike in most 3rd course Chinese dinner where the poultry's preparation would be dry..

Next...Abi's house to celebrate my young lawyer friend, Keneshwaran Kandiah who in good spirit of things, decided to organize (with Abi, his significant other) a fancy dress birthday party!

Birthday boy got his I-Phone 3Gs!

I haven't been to a fancy dress party in ages! It's hilarious seeing my friends donning costumes at parties, something we all used to do when we were 15!

"Happy Birthday Princess!"
(don't ask how that name stuck with him)

Ken was in a Roman general costume but a Maximus Desimus Meridius he ain't. :) Abi was I think Charlie Chaplan. Ravin (seen with Ken above) was "the Godfather", but without the Tommy-gun.

Dee Wei was in a Jedi outfit flanked by his reluctant apprentice, Alex Netto. Koki grew wings of an angel and Mina (Sarah) a viking goddess or some kind. Naturally, yours truly was a Starfleet commander just having beamed himself into the festivities!