Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The Year End Drama

Just came back from the awesommmmmmmmeeeee Youth camp 2008!

Gosh! I have so many posts that i dunno where to begin..There's....
- A whole day of fun with my form 4 gals last Sunday.

- Christmas day,where i went to midvalley and later to PGRM for 'A Christmas Reflection' musical.

- Christmas eve : the day my family's poor puppy died.Cleo was only 2 years old!

- 'B Real' Youth camp 2008, 27th-30th Dec.Where God really restored my first love for Him.

- Langkawi trip with my mates.

-My participation in the Youth Force christmas caroling performances at Leisure Mall, Renaissance hotel, PJ Hilton, DAP and Kids Kingdom.

Tell me, where should I begin? adui adui..
The thing is, i don't think i'll be able to post all of it..But i do have an idea!
I can link the related blogs..my friends' that is. And u guys can check em out there. =)

*****

A whole day of fun with my form 4 gals last Sunday

Do check out Claudia's blog..she posted loadsss of pics! And some really silly videos of us doing silly things as well.

You should also check out Erica's colourful blog. The post is entitled
21.12.08 ~* Baptism x Cg celebration

And also Su Zanne's and Chermaine's. I think most of the form4 CG gals posted about this so called celebration, which is more like a ' Torture-our-leaders' day. Haha. But despite having to drink yucky stuffs like curry powder mixed with tomato sauce, i still thank God for the wonderful time of fellowship with all of them.
All of you are really an amazing bunch! Love you all with all my heart~

Honestly, I really thank God for placing me in the form 4 cell group this year. At first, i was a bit apprehensive about it..cuz i didn't know any of the gals..nor guys. But as weeks and months passed, i discovered stronger and new friendships with both the other leaders and the gals as well. Some of which grew very close over time. The age gap was not an issue at all. Really praise the Lord for all of them which has been such a great blessing to me.=)

Although I am really sad i won't be with this group of sweethearts again next year...i was so sad i cried okay... But, i am also reminded that God's ways are higher than mine. He surely has a reason and purpose for posting me to the Form 1 CG next year. =)
Am just looking forward to the plans He has for what is to come.I'll accept it gladly and do my best to look after the lil' sheeps.

Do want to continue keeping in touch with the form4 gals though! If you are reading this, make sure we don't lose touch okie. =D Sms me, call me out to yum cha anytime..haha.

*****

Langkawi Trip with my mates

Woohoo! Been wanting to post this up for ages..but time did not permit. It was a superb trip with Ariel, Vivian, Josh , Jiun Ee, Kuan Nien and Kok Wai. You guys really made the trip to Langkawi all the more sweeter.haha. Did so many things together...played our hearts out..chatted into the wee hours of the morning..and ate like a glutton. Err..kidding la. But we really ate scrumptiously especially for dinner. hehe. Thank God for everything. =D

Check out
Ariel's long & detailed post abt this trip. It's written in chinese though. Nevermind if you can't get it..just look at the nice photos we took.It's worth a look! Am missing Tanjung Rhu's sunset and beach alreaddddyyyy...

Alternatively, you can try
my facebook albums. =) There's Part I, II and III. Slowly see la okay..haha.

******

'B Real' Youth Camp 2008, 27th-30th December

Introducing......the bi-annual Charis youth camp.This year's was held at Bayu Beach Resort, Port Dickson. The same place where youth camp was held in 2004. Certainly brings back sweet memories..

Pastor.Elijah Kong
was the speaker this time and i must say he is truly an anointed and dynamic minister of God! (not to mention he looks way younger than the pic featured in our camp booklet.hahaha.)


It is in this camp where God restored my 1st love for Him.

It is in this camp where i grew closer with the form 4 gals, especially after staying in the same room with Chermaine, Claudia, Amanda, Ginny and not forgetting my beloved Yi Li whom i've known for a long time. And after all the pillow talk and night chats..we discovered so many things about one another.Haha. Some of which shocked me to the core!!

All of us gathered in room 306 (ours is 307) every night,where Beatrice, Erica, Su Zanne, Cassandra, Cherie and Arwyn stayed.
It was reaaaaally fun..although i felt so tired every night..we slept about 2-3 a.m daily...and for Ginny and I, we had to get up at 7a.m to go for worship practise while the others slept till 8.30! LOL. However, im not complaining, cuz serving God is a joy and privilege. But in the morning, i was always energized and all ready to receive more of God's Word. =D

Do check out Claudia's blog again for more interesting videos and photos and more of what its about.From a different perspective. =)

On a more serious note, I want to thank The Lord for refreshing my spirit during this camp.After an entire year of stress with STPM and challenges, one can't help but feel dry and de-energized at the end of the year...But it is in this perfect timing that God brought me to this camp to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and just to sit at His feet and absorb all the love that He has to offer me.

The altar call sessions were powerful. I responded unhesitatingly to each of it because i knew i needed to encounter the Lord even more than ever before.The last thing i want is to miss out on what God as in stored for me! And praise Him, He graciously allowed me to experience Him in each of it.. Tears rolled uncontrollably every time, and on day 3, I was filled to the brim with the laughter of the Holy Spirit. I just couldn't stop laughing eventhough i knew it was quite an embarrasing sight and others might think im crazy. But at that point of time, i could only focus my thoughts on Jesus and Jesus alone. Now that i'm back in KL, I am aware that temptations lurk everywhere and challenges are aplenty.. But i just want to continue to hold on to the promises of God and hide His Word tightly in my heart. And be a candle in the midst of darkness.

I'll always remember this:
The bigger the problems, the bigger is the victory in Christ!

On a cheekier note now..haha..us gals posed like model wannabes on the last day, before checking out of the hotel room. Haha.

Take one.
Malaysia' Next Top Model.
Not.


Take two.
The hand-on-cheek pose.

Take three.
The 'Jealousy'. Haha.

Christmas Caroling at Renaissance Hotel, 24th Dec

Some pics to do the talking..







Really thank the Lord for an opportunity like this~ Not just singing carols,thrilling the audience, but more importantly, as a testimony to everyone that God is love.

Have a blessed new year everyone!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

A trip to the Land of Smiles

Heya all!
I know i've been neglecting my blog for quite awhile eversince my exams ended..that's cuz i have been rather busy travelling,going places,church activities and all..never really rested until now.Lol.As a matter of fact, i just came back from an entire day spent at church having fellowship, games,food, and loads of fun with my form four CG members.(The pics will be up in facebook soon! =D ) Hence, the delay in updates. My apologies yea. Just came back from Langkawi two days ago..that part will be in another blog post. hee hee. Busy right? =P

Alritey, im spilling all about my trip to Thailand---the Land of Smiles! Keep ur ears..i mean eyes.. opened okay.=)

Day 1 (9th Dec)

My family and I departed for the airport at around 5 a.m in the morning.Super early right. And i only slept like less than 4 hours the night before.Haha. Thankfully, i got to catch a nap in the cab. (that rhymes..ha) So we checked in all the luggages and bla bla bla...skip the boring part which i think no one wants to read about....fast forward to..........

us in the airplane already. That's my bro and sis.=))

Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. The place where the thai protests took place. Our trip was nearly postponed but thank God we managed to go there as scheduled. Surprisingly, Thailand is not "messy" and chaotic as seen in the newspapers. Eveyrthing seemed perfectly normal. Again, really thank God there were no problems during our visit there,lest we get stranded.

11.00a.m+

We checked in at Holiday Inn,Silom. It was really nice of them to allow us to check in so early..cuz that's not the norm for most hotels..A really fantastic first-class hotel with awesome rooms to boot..as you'll soon see..



Part of the reception area.


We booked two rooms.One for my parents and sis, the other for my bro and I. The great part is that the rooms are linked.It's the first time im seeing a a plasma tv in a hotel room.=P Really cool i'd say.


My queen sized bed. My bro has another one at my left. The pic is kinda blurry though..using hp cam..














The washroom's basin area. So classy and elegant,i like.=P


The bathtub! Really loved it. Too bad i didn't get to use it cuz i was always so exhausted at the end of the day.Lazy to wait for the water to fill up the tub and all..might as well just get a quick shower instead.

Aha. This is a better shot of our beds.=D

The study table.=)


The hall way leading to the door.Posting these pics really brings back memories.Haha.


Kitchen area. Not very huge but good enough to make a cup of coffee or maggi mee. =)

Oh ya..they have a really cool weighing scale too! One that gives you an exact reading of your weight.I know gals' weight are suppose to be confidential, but for the sake of this interesting pic, i shall just pretend to ignore it.Haha. But i can tell you I'm happy just the way i am.=)))


Time for a cuppa coffee before heading out for a long day's walk.

Well,what can i say? A 5 star hotel will always be a 5 star hotel. It's simply a class of its own. Thanking the Lord for His special treat for my beloved family.=)

2p.m+
Our first stop.
An art gallery located just down the streets of our hotel.Simply amazing! They have loads of classic art pieces..some originals..some replicas of the real stuff..but equally as ''real''.( Check out my facebook for more pics..kinda difficult to upload everything here actually.)

Dropped by at an ice cream kiosk which sells reaaaaaally tasty ice-creams with waffles! Sorry no pics of ice creams here! haha. But mine was a minty chocolate one.=P


Stopped by the over-frequented food chain.McD. Haha. Just to get a quick bite..cuz the weather was rather chilly and we all started getting hungry.


They have this thingy called Mc Cafe,although I'm not sure what it sells.Looks pretty interesting though. And taro pie..
a yam flavoured pie which was also found in Hong Kong.Wonder why they don't have it in Malaysia??

4.30p.m+


Arrived at a place called Jim Thompson's silk factory. (He was an american entrepreneur and the founder of thai silk industry.) And later we headed to his house..which was turned into a tourist site after he got lost at Cameron Highlands for many many years and was never found until this very day. Some believe he didn't lose his way cuz he has been there before..so it still remains a mystery as to why his body was never found. Err..if u wanna know more about him..click here then. hehe.


One of the very exquisite furnitures.This looks like those olden days bed used by chinese people..those we see alot in chinese dramas..haha. Bro posing.=D

Next up, we went to Jim Thompson's house.Entrance fee was RM30 per person. It was really huge and carefully maintained..mostly made of teak wood.Too bad we couldn't really take photos in there.We had a tour guide who explained the meanings of each part of the house and its furnitures to us. There were some really priced possessions such as a 100 over years old buddha statue of blessing which Mr.Thompson bought from Burma.There were also terracota like statues whose hands were unfortunately broken.. and loads more.

Overall, it was a meaningful visit.At least i got to discover something new.=D Honestly speaking, i have never heard of Jim Thompson until i went to Thailand. Haha.

Mum, bro, sis and mua at the terrace.
The garden is reaally beautiful too! Very well maintained.
7p.m

Siam Paragon
The largest shopping mall in Bangkok, or is it in Thailand? i forgot. Anyway, they call it the world class shopping phenomenon and i guess that's true. You have everything luxurious from Hermes to Chanel to high street fashion such as Zara. Surprisingly, i couldn't find Topshop! Then again, Malaysia doesn't have H&M yet.( a label i'm so eager to explore)



Oh..on the way there we saw this really AWESOME Christmas tree made out of guess what? Coca-cola cans!

Couldn't resist taking pics with it.Nyehehe.

They even have car displays..not the Proton kind okay..haha.. its Lambhorghinis and Lotus and Aston Martin we're talking about here.

and that's Zoe posing with a Lambhorghini.(if i am not mistaken) For guys..and even gals who are mad about cars..u can admire more of the same kind in my facebook once i'm done uploading.

Did i mention the toilet in the mall is really sparkling clean and niceeeee?

****

We were really hungry by then..and decided to go to this restaurant called MK restaurant which was highly recommended by dad's friend who tried it before.



Mainly serves steamboat. Perfect for the chilly weather.^^ (it's about 22 degree celsius in Bangkok..Just the perfect temperature actually.Not too humid and not freezing cold either. In fact, its one of the things i love most about Bangkok---the WEATHER! )


Feasting time!!! Slurrrrrp ;P

First time seeing green mee? It's a rather common dish in Thailand though.They normally serve it with four main seasoning---fish oil, chilis, vinegar and even sugar, all of which you are required to pour and mix yourself. I think my family and i ate more than 5 rounds of the same kind of dishes during our stay in Bangkok..except that the mee is brownish-beige in colour.(something like wantan mee's mee..except there's no black gravy..more lika Hakka mee actually.)
Really delicious and best part is, its also cheap.

*****

On the way out from Siam Paragon, i saw this really funny Ronald McD showing a 'Sawadee Khap' gesture. hahaha. Simply adorable man!

9p.m+
Outside Siam Paragon, there were so many pretty lightings and decos. All set up for the yuletide season! Really warms my heart to see families and friends gathering around,taking photos of one another..and enjoying the occasion.=)

Dad was the photographer again..so he's not in da pic. Love you all! muacks! <3 style="text-align: left;">
****

We took an MRT back to our hotel. A very interesting train ride cuz we got lost the first time..stopped at the wrong station but thankfully with the help of our ''tour guide'' a.k.a my dad, we managed to navigate our way back to Silom. Haha. One of the best part of travelling with my family apart from the fellowship is that we have dad as our tour guide. The only tool he uses is his eyes for observation and maps. I'm seriously impressed with his sense of direction even in a foreign land. Even during Hong Kong last year, he brought us to many places which we would otherwise not have been to if we followed a tour group. Plus, tour groups can be quite a hassle cuz you have to wait for one another and they usually rush through the stops for the sake of covering more places. That's not really a holiday already isn't it? Holidays are meant to be savoured and enjoyed. hehe.


10pm+

Suan Lum Night Bazaar
Another shopping haven where you can get loads of stuff for a cheaper price as compared to those in shopping complexes. Here itself, i bought a pair of gold-white sandals and two dresses, plus a red waist clincher. Yippie! haha. I just get so elated when it comes to shopping..as with most girls.haha.

Don't have any pics cuz i was too occupied with shopping..haha..part of the reason..and another..cuz my hp camera can't take good quality pics when its dark.You can google it if you wanna see how the place looks like..It's unlike our night markets..More sophisticated in a way..cuz each shops occupy a small corner in a long shop lot, with a narrow walk way in between them. The arrangement is quite innovative.

That's the end of day one at Bangkok! Tired.
Fell in love with the cooling weather already~

Day 2(10th of Dec)

Today, we're gonna take a boat ride via the famed Chao Phraya river to the many piers along the way..


On our way there, we managed to buy some fried bananas which didn't look like bananas. At first, i thought it was some kind of thai delicacy.=/ It tasted weird..the texture is also not to my liking..
*****



We just had to take a pic in the boat.=D Excited wert..

We had a total of about 10 piers to choose from, but dad wanted to stop at Maharaj pier first to see the Grand Palace where the King used to live.

I tell you, it was majestic! It baffles me to think that people in those times could build such state-of-the-art architectures.




The intricate finishings on the wall of the palace.


A closer look at it.


This is not the real Angkor Wat of course..its just a mini model.Pretty cute huh.


That's yours truly. ;P
Sawasdee~

After Maharaj pier, we waited at the jetty for the next boat to arrive.This would bring us to Kao San area--- a western budget travellers haven. Almost everyone here are caucasians except for shopkeepers and people who operate businesses here..asian tourists are rarely seen.That's why travelling on our own is really fun.. we get to explore the less frequented places by tour groups.=)


We stopped by a roadside kiosk which sells really aromatic coffees! It's a wonder they have this kind of kiosks in Thailand..a sight I don't recall seeing in Malaysia.



After that, we bought some roti canai-like food from this stall.


A very ingenious way of wrapping the roti canai.

Didn't really take many pics in Kao San..But i can tell you it's a really unique place.The budget motels only costs around RM39 per night. Wow right?
Went on my shopping spree again, and bought a rainbow coloured dress and a few t-shirts.=P

*****

After Kao San, we took a boat to Yaowaraj pier to visit Chinatown!
One of the most popular items you can get at Chinatown is the crazily cheap jewelries and accessories cuz all the shops are wholesalers. =)

My mum, sis and I shopped till we dropped! And they were so many varieties which made it harder to choose from. In the end, we just grabbed whatever we felt was pretty cuz my dad and bro was starting to get really impatient. Guys are really not shoppers...=/ Haha

Later, we sat a Tuk-tuk back to our hotel. Yay! Finally get to ride on a Tuk-tuk! But pity the man who drove us cuz 5 of us had to cramp at the back..must've been heavy.But thankfully tuk-tuks are engine operated so its not so bad. hehe.

Kinda forgot where we had our dinner but that's the end of day two already!

Day 3(11th of Dec)

Highlight of the day is going to Pratunam area for shopping and Platinum fashion mall for even more shopping! weeeeeeeee!


Just had to take a pic in the toilet before heading out. Haha.


We headed first to Pratunam area for more shopping today! It is something like Petaling street but the stuffs are muccccch cheaper cuz they are basically wholesalers. Bought two waist clinchers here and loads more. Honestly, like most of us already know, Bangkok is a real haven for shopaholics. Most of the boutiques in places like Bangsar import stuffs from the wholesalers here and sell it for double the price.So i might as well just purchase as many as possible here..haha.

Next, we went to one of the coolest shopping malls ever! Platinum Fashion Mall. Can hardly believe it! They actually have something called a fashion mall? I can hear shopaholics like me screaming already. =P


The stuffs in there are also at wholesale prices. And i happened to see loads of shops selling stuffs which i've seen in Malaysia! So this is where they get their stocks from la...

Sis and I bought these gorgeous bracelets at a steal!
I also bought a patent bag and a dress and stuffs..really shop like gila..=P

Didn't really get to take much pics cuz the place was crowded and i preferred to concentrate on my shopping instead.Hahaha.

=)


Day 4(12th of Dec)

Our final day at the Land of Smiles. Sad sad.
In the morning, we walked to a place called..i-forgot-what..and we had our brekkie there.


One thing i discovered about Thai people..They REALLY love their King. Practically everywhere i go, i see posters and drawings and pictures of the King.
This shot was taken in the stall where we had our breakfast.

On our way back, my coffee-loving parents decided to stop by at a shop which sells really yummy coffees as we soon discovered..



My cup of latte. Great taste! (like the fern leaf too.)
And this only cost like 40 baht..which is equivalent to RM4.


Am gonna miss this tasty orange juice! 100% orange-made ya know.


One final shot in front of the toilet mirror before checking out.

While waiting for our cab to the airport, dad decided to treat us to buffet lunch this time.

Caesar salad.

Didn't take much pics of the food..but you can check em out in my facebook.Most of the pics are there.

Saying my goodbyes to Holiday Inn.Your service is really top notch~ thumbs up!




My family =))) Notice that bro and dad were wearing the same t-shirt colour.haha.

Zoom zoom and away..back to KL!

Gorgeous sunset.(pic taken from inside the plane)

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Really thank the Lord for such a wonderful trip to Thailand. Will definitely want to visit it again! And thank Him too for keeping us safe in our going in and coming out.=)

Be prepared for a pic that might really scare you........
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The power of a shopaholic =P
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Featuring...the stuffs i bought from Bangkok.....



That's alot. But the total price of the stuffs i bought are even cheaper than the total of two Topshop dresses.
And another thing i learned----how to bargain! haha.I've never really had the guts to bargain before this..but in Bangkok..i did alot of that.Yay! a tiny accomplishment.^^