VENUS'S SHOE

Paphiopedilum rothschildianum

This species is considered by many cultivators of Venus's shoe to be the most beautiful Paphiopedilum orchid ever. P. rothschildianum is a robust Venus's shoe: its thin leaves reach lengths of 16 -24 in / 40-60 cm ; the erect flower spike is up to 18 in/45 cm long and bears 3 or more sparsely arranged flowers that are up to 5.2 in /13 cm in diameter . Their decorative effect is enhanced by the fact that they all open at the same time . The white upper sepal is covered with dark -red stripes , the greenish petals point straight down and they are adorned with brown -and - purple . The species has always been among the greatest gems of any orchd collection . It should be grown in the same way as other representatives of the genus. It blooms in the fall and is still reported to grow in the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, Sabah.

KEK LAPIS SARAWAK

SARAWAK's LAYERED CAKE

It is said that the layered cakes were commercially introduced by Indonesians about 20 years ago. Originally the Kek Lapis was during the Dutch colonization in Indonesia. But of course, kek Lapis Sarawak has been modernized and uniquely designed by the Sarawakians, as it is traditionally the main staple for the Malays as they celebrate Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. The cakes are interesting and beautifull and it is almost always colourful. It can be kept stored in the refrigerator and can last for six months.

BUBUR PEDAS SARAWAK

SPICY PORRIDGE....

Spicy Sarawak’s Broth, usually taken during Ramadan month. It consist of thin sliced beef, midin, Bean curd Sticks, long beans, young corns, potatoes, dried Black Fungus, shallots, garlic, shrimp paste, fresh chilies, dried Prawns, green chilies, red chilies, lemon grass, turmeric leaves… and the secret ingredient…. Bumbu Bubur Pedas. All the nutrients in one bowl that one can enjoy after a hard days at work....And this is what I call “COMFORT FOOD”.

UNUSUAL PICTURES @ MT.KINABALU

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Picture (1). A hairy leaves that I took a snap shot from Mt.Kinabalu. Very unusual looking never before I've seen anything like that.


Picture (2). Found the foot print on Mt.Kinabalu last Aug while descending from Low's Peak. No one had seen this print except for me & my sister Steph. It was a big footprint and I'm not joking. If you happened to go there, try looking for it. Surely it'll still be there. I guess I was lucky to have seen it.


Picture (3). An unusual plant called "Pantlingia Lamrii" (found out the name from the Kinabalu park museum). Elevation : 1500-2000m. It is belonging to the family of orchids (Orchidaceae). I'm so lucky to have seen it.

MYR SA-CHENG KOH.....

Darn it's terribly true and so darn tragic....

Can a family man with Salary RM3,000 survive in Malaysia Let's do some simple calculations here. In Malaysia, the average family income is RM3,000 /month (where father works, mother doesn't). I understand there are many families whose monthly income does not reach RM3,000, but, to make things simple, let's take RM3,000 as the figure. Ok lah, right? Okay, let's start rolling with a family which has Papa, Mama, 1 daughter and 1 son. Ngam-ngam .... Calculation starts...

Electricity and water bill : RM100 (No air-con, No home theatre, No water heater ... ok?)
Phone bill ( Telekom) : RM100
Meals for a happy family : RM775 (3 meals on RM25/day, RM25 for 4 persons...?)
Papa makan / teh-tarik during working hrs : RM155 (RM5/day, RM5 ... can eat what?)
Car repayment : RM400 (A proton saga aeroback, 7 yrs repayment)
Petrol (living in city, traffic-jam) : RM300 (go to work, bring son to school, only can afford
one car running)
Insurance : RM650 (kids, wife and myself)
House repayment : RM750 (low cost housing repayment for 30 yrs, retired still have
to work to pay!)
Tuition : RM80 (got that cheap meh? i don't think so)
Older children pocket money @ school : RM20 (RM1/day, eat bread?)
School fees : RM30 (enough ah?)
School books and etc : RM100 (always got extra to pay in school)
Younger children milk powder : RM50 (cannot have the DHA, BHA, PHA one, expensive) Miscellaneous : RM100 (shampoo, rice, sauce, toilet paper)

Oh wait!!! I have to stop here, so... No Astro, no movie @ cinema, no DVD, no CD, no online, cannot KFC, cannot McDonald, cannot go Park walk during weekend (petrol expensive), no chit chat on phone with grandparents, and etc...

Let's use a calculator to total up... WALAO EH! Sh*#! RM3,610 already...

EPF belum potong, income tax lagi........oledi RM3,610 .... How to survive lah tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekalian ??? Our minister asked us to change lifestyle? How to change? Don't eat? Don't work? Don't send children to school and study? Besides that, I believe in Malaysia population, there are millions of rakyat Malaysia which still don't earn RM3,000/month!!! (forwarded email from a friend)

BREATHING THERAPY...it helps

Left nose, right nose breathing therapy. Our nose is for inhale and exhale but actually they are different, you can feel the difference, right side represents the sun, left side represents the moon. When we are having headaches, try to close your right nose and use your left nose to do your breathing, about 5 min, headache will be gone. If you feel tired, do it the opposite round, close your left nose and breathe through your right nose. After a while, you will feel your mind is fresh again.

Right side belongs to heat, so it gets hot easily, left side belongs to cold. Most females breathe with their left nose, so their hearts gets cold easily. Most of the males will breathe with their right nose, so they'll get angry easily. Do you notice the moment we wake up, which side breathes faster? Left or right? If left is faster, you will feel tired. So, close your left nose and use your right nose for breathing, you will get refresh quickly.

This can be taught to kids, but the effect will be better if applied by adults. This is a natural therapy,unlike medicine taking for long term will get side effect. So, why not try it out.

MT.SANTUBONG

THE TREACHEROUS SANTUBONG – 3/June/2007
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The Gunung Santubong is located at the center of the Damai peninsula north of Kuching (45 min driving distance) on the South China Sea coastline. There are two access to the trail: the first, a bit difficult to spot but somewhat shorter, is on the main Damai road exit at about 1 Km past the junction to the Santubong village; the second further down the road (close to the Holiday Inn Damai Beach resort) is well signalled through a gated hallway.

The trail starts through a medium slope through heavy rooted jungle terrain and about mid way turns into a series of almost vertical walls (8-10 meters high) well equipped with fixed nylon ropes and wooden ladders. There are 6 check-points along the trail. Bring trekking poles (very handy on the way back), a pair of sturdy gloves and a supply of black garbage bags. If you are in the mood, you can help to carry down the piles of scattered garbage that unfortunately uneducated masses take up during the popular weekend trips.

Our journey starts at 7.30am from the Green Paradise Café (the longer route). This route actually goes thru the jungle passing thru the water fall, beautiful view though but lesson learnt here is that if you are equipped for the summit better take the shorter route. The route thru the jungle took us about 2 ½ hours to the junction, from the junction it takes another 2 ½ hours to the summit. The beginning of the journey was quite tolerable but the more deeper and higher it goes the terrain was treacherous. Going to the summit really requires one to be strong, mentally and physically. When I looked back at my journey to Mount Kinabalu years back, seems like it was much easier then Mount Santubong. Congratulations to those who had reached the summit of Mount Santubong, I salute you for your determination and stamina to hike to the summit.

Another lesson learnt, bring along plenty of bottled water and energy food to keep you going for miles and miles up.

Leave nothing but footprints and sweet memories to cherish.

(Elevation (feet) : 2658ft Elevation (meters) : 810m Latitude : 1.7333 Longitude : 110.333)

MT. KINABALU

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Picture (1), the tiny black dots (that looked like ants) are actually climbers walking their way to the Low's Peak. Every step counts the determination of one person's achievement to the peak.

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Picture (2) was taken from the highest peak of SEA Low's Peak. We are actually above the clouds, and it was an extraordinaire the most beautifull & refreshing site I've ever seen in my life.

MT.KINABALU ADVENTURE

Aug 6, 2007 was the day my sister, Stephanie and I reached the peak of Mt.Kinabalu (4101m) the highest mountain in South East Asia. Mt.Kinabalu is located in Sabah the land below the wind. The view was breath taking, feels like you're on top of the world. Weather was fantastically nice and cool, blue skies and even the sun was shinning but you don't really feel the heat. It took us 6 hours to reach the peak from Laban Rata. My sister and I took time enjoying the scenery and the fresh air, even how tired we can get but the determination to reach the peak is our destiny to achieve the wonderous of what God's creation can offer. The feeling of achievement to reach the highest mountain in SEA was tremendously overwhelming, beyond words. Lastly what I really want to say is, we came, we saw and we conquer. (photo of me at the peak of Mt.Kinabalu / Photo of Steph & I behind is the South Peak).

MY VEGE PLATTER @ HOTEL ZENTRAL, AUSTRIA

Potatoes, beans, peas, baby carrots, spinach, cauliflower & an egg (sunny side up...almost well done). I had this for lunch while I was on summer vacation in Austria .....and they kept saying...there are no kangaroos in Austria, well said....alright back to my platter.....This vege platter was served to me while my stay at the Hotel Zentral, Kitzbuehl, Austria. When I pre-ordered for my vege platter, never thought it could looked like this. It was an easy cooked meal, boiled (well the egg was fried obviously) & baked it in the oven, sprinkled with lil' salt & pepper, pour a lil' olive oil and garnished it with some herbs. Thus, it was a very healthy menu indeed. Nevertheless, I finished my vege platter cleaned.

PITCHER PLANT (MONKEY CUP)

Pitcher plants are carnivourous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over evolutionary time. Nepenthes, a native of Southeast Asia and Australia, forms pitchers (cups) that hang from trees. Its pitcher is similar to that of the North American pitcher plant in that it relies on a pool of water to trap its prey. It has a most unusual leaf that first looks like a normal leaf, then develops a tendril at its tip, and finally the tip of the tendril develops an amazing pitcher. It gains support by twining the tendril around another plant. The trap, like our own pitcher plant, lures its prey into the pitfall trap by a combination of decaying odors and sometimes a red coloration. As the pitcher develops, it swells and droops due to its weight.

(photo of pitcher plants were taken from Mt.Kinabalu - 4-8/Aug/2007)