Dolphin 1 was strumming his guitar and singing "Where have all the tunas gone?".......when his satellite phone rang. He was a little annoyed to be disturbed. He balanced his guitar on his tail and took a look at the caller id. Eh, this number seems strange and it is not in his phone book. He was contemplating not to pick up the phone, after all the charges for satellite transmissions can be expensive. But he decided to take another look, and he realised the call could be from New Zealand. New Zealand? He thoguht to himself. Could it be Miss Dophin 7 whom they just met some time ago? Thinking that it might really be her, he was so excited and just as he was about to answer the phone, the phone went dead. Arrrrgh. The battery was flat, and he has forgotten to charge it! Feeling angry with himself, he tossed the guitar aside and started looking for his phone charger, and secretly wished the phone will ring again.
Dolphin 1 waited for a while. The phone did not ring again. He decided to call Dolphin 2.
Dolphin 2 - Heellllo. Dolphin 2 here (in a seductive tone)
Dolphin 1 - Hallo! Why you sound so sexy today? Your girlfriend called ah?
Dolphin 2 - Ooops, did I sound so sexy just now. Sorry ah. *Blush* No lah, I where got girlfriend. You are the
one with many girlfriends leh.
Dolphin 1 - Yah yah yah, I am the playboy and you are the good boy.
Dolphin 2 - Just kidding lah....so what's up. You sound a little uptight.
Dolphin 1 - Don't know lah. Just now I received a call. I think it was from New Zealand. But my stupid phone battery went flat before I could answer the call.
Dolphin 2 - Never mind lor. Just wait a while and the person will call again lah, if it is urgent enough. Eh? New Zealand? Are you saying it could be Miss Dolphin 7? *Dolphin 2's eyes gleamed*
Dolphin 1 - I am not sure lor, but I have hardly received any calls from New Zealand before, so it could be lor. I hope Miss Dolphin 7 is not in some kind of trouble.
Dolphin 2 - Hope so too. Maybe she is just calling to say hi. Just wait a while lor.
Dophin 1 - Yah, I....hang on, I think there is a call coming in.
Dolphin 1 swapped to the second call and a sobbing voice could be heard on the other end.
Dolphin 1 - Hello. who's that? Is that you Miss Dolphin 7?
Miss Dolphin 7 - Yes, Dolphin 1. I have been trying to reach you for some time. *sobbing in between* Why have you not answered my call?
Dolphin 1 - I am so sorry. What happened? Why are you crying? Wait, I will get Dolphin 2 to listen in as well. I am on the other line with him.
With a few quick pushes on some buttons, Dolphin 1 managed to get Dolphin to have a conference call with Miss Dolphin 7.
Dolphin 2 - Miss Dolphin 7, what happened? You are in some kind of trouble?
Miss Dolphin 7 - I am also not sure what has happened. Dolphin 99 has gone out for a week and has not returned! He has never stayed out for so long without telling me. I am very worried.
Dolphin 1 - Alamak, maybe he is out for a fling? *hee hee*
Dolphin 2 - Stupid Dolphin 1, don't be so insensitive! Miss Dolphin 7 is already so worried and you make this kind of remark.
Dolphin 1 - Sorry sorry, just kidding.
Miss Dolphin 7 - Dolphin 1 is still the same, naughty as before. I do not know what to do. I am thinking of....wait...I hear someone at the door. Maybe Dolphin 99 has returned.
*Arrrrrrrrrrrgh, there was a loud scream, apparently from Miss Dolphin 7*
Dolphin 1/2 - What happened Miss Dolphin 7?????
*Nothing was heard from the other end. The phone went dead after a while*
Dolphin 1 - Hey Dolphin 2. I think Miss Dolphin 7 is really in trouble. I am making a trip down to New Zealand. You want to come along?
Dolphin 2 - Errr...I am kind of stuck with something now....
Dolphin 1 - But Miss Dolphin 7 is in trouble. She may need our help. If you are not interested to help then I will go on my own.
Dolphin 2 - OK. OK. I will not let anything happen to Miss Dolphin 7, you know that.
Dolphin 1 - OK. You quickly settle your stuff and meet in an hour. Bring your sword, in case we need it.
Dolphin 2 - All right. See you later at the usual coconut tree by the bay.
Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 met up as agreed by the coconut tree and swam at maximum speed towards New Zealand. If they go real fast and non-stop they might take about 2 days 2 nights. Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 kept swimming, without even speaking a word to each other. They were both very worried that something has happened to Miss Dolphin 7.
After 2 days and 1.5 nights, Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 finally arrived at Kaikoura, New Zealand where Miss Dolphin 7 is. As they arrived, they noticed there was a small funeral wake just outside her house. Gosh, something bad has really happened, they thought to themselves.
Miss Dolphin 7 - Seeing Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2, she rushed forward to give them a big hug. I am so glad that both of you are here. I am really at a loss of what to do now, and she just kept on crying and crying on the shoulders of both Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2, switching shoulders every few seconds.
Miss Dolphin 7 went on to sob for 33 minutes and when she finally managed to compose herself, she began to tell her story.
Dolphin 99 went off to hunt for tunas with his brother Dolphin 88. They were expected to be away for 3 days. After 1 week, they have not returned and so Miss Dolphin 7 started to get worried and called Dolphin 1. Then while they were on the phone and someone came knocking on the door, Miss Dolphin 7 went to open the door, hoping it was Dolphin 99. But it was Dolphin 88, his whole body bloody, bruised and almost mutilated at his tail. That's when Miss Dolphin 7 screamed and fainted. She managed to regain consciousness after 7 minutes but Dolphin 88 was almost breathing his last. Dolphin 88 revealed that while Dolphin 99 and him were out searching for tunas, they met a pink Sperm Whale who seemed to have just arrived in this area. The Sperm Whale attacked both of them. With the size of 20 to 1, the dolphins were of no match to the Sperm Whale. The Sperm Whale swallowed Dolphin 99 in one gulp and Dolphin 88 was badly injured when he tried to save Dolphin 99. He was about to say where the Sperm Whale was spotted when he suddenly dropped dead! So Dolphin 99 is still missing.
Dolphin 1 - We have to hurry and find Dolphin 99. Although he has been swallowed by the Sperm Whale, he might still be alive. He should be able to survive in the whale's stomach for 3 days 3 nights, which means we only have about 1/3 night left to find him. We have to set off immediately. Lets go Dolphin 2!
Miss Dolphin 7 - Wait, Dolphin 1. I cannot allow both of you to sacrifice yourself for Dolphin 99's sake. He could be dead by now, and you guys are certainly no match for the Sperm Whale.
Dolphin 2 - Don't worry Miss Dolphin 7. We may be small in size, but I believe we are smarter than the Sperm Whale. How smart can a pink Sperm Whale be anyway?
Dolphin 1 - Don't worry about us. We will be willing to do anything for you. We will bring Dolphin 99 back, dead or alive.
Off they went, Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 hastily swam into the pacific ocean again. They were already tired from the long journey but they were determined to find the pink Sperm Whale. With strong flips of their tails, they began to search the icy waters for the pink Sperm Whale. What a color for a whale, they thought to themselves.
Dolphin 1 - There it is! A pink Sperm Whale. Lets approach him quietly.
But they were soon spotted by the pink Sperm Whale, who slapped his giant tail on them. But both Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 managed to spiral themselves out of reach of the tail. It was a close shave.
Dolphin 1 - You stupid big bully and sissy pink Sperm Whale. How dare you attack us? Who are you and why have you come here to create trouble?
Pink Sperm Whale - I am Pinkie, the one and only sissy pink Sperm Whale in this ocean. Sissy am I, but I am fast and strong, and love to eat silly dolphins like you two.
Dolphin 2 - Pink Sperm Whales should belong to the underwater world and not out here to terrorise others. You have swallowed my good friend's husband. We are here to take revenge!
Pink Sperm Whale - Revenge? Just the two of you? HAHA....I am laughing my toes off...ooops I have no toes....I am laughing my fins off.
Pinkie suddenly slapped his big sissy tail in their direction again, and this time almost knocked the two of them out.
Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 quickly regained themselves and Dolphin 1 thought of a plan. He whipered to Dolphin 2 and just as Pinkie slapped his sissy tail again, Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 did the strongest leaps they have ever done in their lives and landed themselves onto Pinkie's back. They quickly wriggled to the blowhole of Pinkie, lodged them in it and started tickling the innerside of Pinkie's blowhole. Being ticklish, Pinkie started to squirm. He tried to blow both Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 out of the blowhole but the two dolphins were firmly lodged in it. The tickle became too intense that Pinkie gave out a loud sneeze, throwly Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 high into the air, and from his belly, out came many other dolphins that he swallowed the past few days. In mid air, Dolphin 1 shouted to Dolphin 2.
Dolphin 1 - Quickly Dolphin 2, draw your sword!
Dolphin 2 - Dolphin 2 drew his sword which was held onto his back with waterproof double-sided sticker. He thrusted the sword into Pinkie's eye as he descended and Pinkie gave out a loud wail and quickly splashed away into the deep ocean.
"Dolphin 99, Dolphin 99, Dolphin 99....." Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 called out to the dolphins who were spewed from Pinkie's belly. Here I am, Dolphin 99 groaned in a low voice, as he was trying to keep himself afloat. Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 quickly swam over to help Dolphin 99. He was badly injured too. Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 then took turns to carry Dolphin 99 on their backs. Their fireman lift training has come to good use. Both Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 were dead tired too. When they finally handed over Dolphin 99 to Miss Dolphin 7, they collapsed in exhaustion.
Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 awoke later, and there were many other dolphins surrounding them. All of them, including grandma and granddad dolphins have come to thank Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 for saving the lives of their children and grandchildren who were swallowed by Pinkie. Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 drank some tuna soup and were soon recharged again. The entire town hailed them as heroes and carried Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 up high. Miss Dolphin 7 was so happy that her beloved Dolphin 99 has returned safe and sound.
Back at home, Miss Dolphin 7 couldn't stop thanking Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 for almost sacrificing their own lives to save Dolphin 99. She gave them a longest and sweetest hug, and that made Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 felt so good.
Miss Dolphin 7 - I can't thank you enough. But how did you manage to save Dolphin 99?
Dolphin 1 - HA. A tickle usually does the trick!
Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 stayed over at Miss Dolphin 7's house for another week. They had a great time together. Soon Dolphin 1 and 2 had to leave for home. Even before they arrived home, words have already got around about their brave act and the dolphin community has been blogging about them for the past week. Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 arrived home with their heads lifted up high. A tickle really does the job! HA.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Politically Correct?
Remember Dolphin 1, the crazy and playful dolphin? Remember he went to visit Emperor Penguin 1 when the latter's great great grandma passed away? Yes, the one where he met Miss Dolphin 7? HA. He still misses her but that's not the point.
Dolphin 1 received a call from Emperor Penguin 1 on his waterproof satellite phone.
Dolphin 1 - Haaallo
Emperor Penguin 1 - Hey Dolphin 1, how are you?
Dolphin 1 - Is that Emperor Penguin 1? Hey, nice of you to call me. I am feeling great! You leh?
Emperor Penguin 1 - Me ah? OK lah. But right now I am having a little dilemma. Can I go and visit you?
Dolphin 1 - Huh? What dilemma? Visit me for what? Girl friend problem ah?
Emperor Penguin 1 - Wah Dolphin 1. How you know girl friend problem? You are only half right. It is something like girl friend problem but then it is not my girl friend problem lah. I wish I have a girl friend that gives me problem to start with!
Dolphin 1 - Huh? Then whose problem is that?
Emperor Penguin 1 - My Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa lah, the Emperor of the Emperor Penguins. You see, he has many wives and concubines, and I am just one of his many grandsons. He said yesterday that he wants more children but most of his wives and concubines have already given birth and used up their birth quota liao. So now he needs more concubines.
Dolphin 1 - Wow, your Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa very the can leh. He must be at least 35 years old? So old still want to have more concubines?
Emperor Penguin 1 - HA, he is really the can. It is true that he has been very fit all these while. He still blades regularly and takes part in swimathons to the South Pole last year! But then I disapprove of him taking more concubines. He is already so old. He should be relaxing and enjoying life.
Dolphin 1 - Why he suddenly thought of having more children? Not enough meh?
Emperor Penguin 1 - Not sure lah. I heard 2 days ago he was blading again and then nearly had a fall. Then my Emperor Penguin Papa jokingly said that my Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa must be getting old. Then he seemed not happy and now announced that he wants more children and therefore more concubines.
Dolphin 1 - Hmmm...so you are not happy about his intention and so want to come visit me, to show your displeasure?
Emperor Penguin 1 - In a way yes. All my other siblings and family members have already sent congratulatory cards to Royal Emperor Penguin 1. All except me. I have instead written him a note to tell him that I am going to the South Pole to visit Blue Whale 1, but actually I want to come and visit you first before going to say "Hi" to Blue Whale 1 together. So what do you think?
Dolphin 1 - HA. Not a very wise choice leh. Everyone is congratulating your Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa but you are planning to visit me and Blue Whale 1? Sure or not?
Emperor Penguin 1 - Yes, I am sure. I just object to my Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa's decision to grow his harem. He is already so old.
Dolphin 1 - Exactly! You kept saying your Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa is old. Your Emperor Penguin Papa also said he is old. Have you realised that he made the announcement to grow his harem not because he is desperate for love. He simply wants to show everyone that he is not old???
Emperor Penguin 1 - *silent*
Dolphin 1 - Oooi, you there? You heard me or not? As your good friend I am giving you this advice. Your Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa is afterall the Emperor of the Emperor Penguins. He doesn't want to be thought of as old. He wants to continue to rule the Emperor Penguins for many more years. Instead of giving him your encouragement, you are coming to visit me? You must be going nuts!!! You come over my side I will ignore you.
Emperor Penguin 1 - *remain silent* *starting to feel guilty*
Dolphin 1 - Still keeping quiet? Don't agree with me? I leave it to you. If you still want to visit Blue Whale 1, you go ahead on your own. Don't come and look for me.
Emperor Penguin 1 - OK OK. Dolphin 1. I understand your point and accept your advice. I will also send my Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa a congratulatory note. In fact I will not get one from LivingRoomMark, but instead will make one personally. Thank you for your advice. I guess I learnt a valuable lesson of politically correctness today. No matter how much I disagree with his plan, I must understand why he is doing it. Afterall he is the Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa. I should give him the due respect and support.
Dolphin 1 - I am glad you can think that way. Let me know how many concubines your Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa take it this time round. HA.
Emperor Penguin 1 - OK. I will. Thanx once again.....
Dolphin 1 hung up the phone and resumed his reminiscence of Miss Dolphin 7.....That is another story all together.
Dolphin 1 received a call from Emperor Penguin 1 on his waterproof satellite phone.
Dolphin 1 - Haaallo
Emperor Penguin 1 - Hey Dolphin 1, how are you?
Dolphin 1 - Is that Emperor Penguin 1? Hey, nice of you to call me. I am feeling great! You leh?
Emperor Penguin 1 - Me ah? OK lah. But right now I am having a little dilemma. Can I go and visit you?
Dolphin 1 - Huh? What dilemma? Visit me for what? Girl friend problem ah?
Emperor Penguin 1 - Wah Dolphin 1. How you know girl friend problem? You are only half right. It is something like girl friend problem but then it is not my girl friend problem lah. I wish I have a girl friend that gives me problem to start with!
Dolphin 1 - Huh? Then whose problem is that?
Emperor Penguin 1 - My Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa lah, the Emperor of the Emperor Penguins. You see, he has many wives and concubines, and I am just one of his many grandsons. He said yesterday that he wants more children but most of his wives and concubines have already given birth and used up their birth quota liao. So now he needs more concubines.
Dolphin 1 - Wow, your Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa very the can leh. He must be at least 35 years old? So old still want to have more concubines?
Emperor Penguin 1 - HA, he is really the can. It is true that he has been very fit all these while. He still blades regularly and takes part in swimathons to the South Pole last year! But then I disapprove of him taking more concubines. He is already so old. He should be relaxing and enjoying life.
Dolphin 1 - Why he suddenly thought of having more children? Not enough meh?
Emperor Penguin 1 - Not sure lah. I heard 2 days ago he was blading again and then nearly had a fall. Then my Emperor Penguin Papa jokingly said that my Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa must be getting old. Then he seemed not happy and now announced that he wants more children and therefore more concubines.
Dolphin 1 - Hmmm...so you are not happy about his intention and so want to come visit me, to show your displeasure?
Emperor Penguin 1 - In a way yes. All my other siblings and family members have already sent congratulatory cards to Royal Emperor Penguin 1. All except me. I have instead written him a note to tell him that I am going to the South Pole to visit Blue Whale 1, but actually I want to come and visit you first before going to say "Hi" to Blue Whale 1 together. So what do you think?
Dolphin 1 - HA. Not a very wise choice leh. Everyone is congratulating your Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa but you are planning to visit me and Blue Whale 1? Sure or not?
Emperor Penguin 1 - Yes, I am sure. I just object to my Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa's decision to grow his harem. He is already so old.
Dolphin 1 - Exactly! You kept saying your Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa is old. Your Emperor Penguin Papa also said he is old. Have you realised that he made the announcement to grow his harem not because he is desperate for love. He simply wants to show everyone that he is not old???
Emperor Penguin 1 - *silent*
Dolphin 1 - Oooi, you there? You heard me or not? As your good friend I am giving you this advice. Your Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa is afterall the Emperor of the Emperor Penguins. He doesn't want to be thought of as old. He wants to continue to rule the Emperor Penguins for many more years. Instead of giving him your encouragement, you are coming to visit me? You must be going nuts!!! You come over my side I will ignore you.
Emperor Penguin 1 - *remain silent* *starting to feel guilty*
Dolphin 1 - Still keeping quiet? Don't agree with me? I leave it to you. If you still want to visit Blue Whale 1, you go ahead on your own. Don't come and look for me.
Emperor Penguin 1 - OK OK. Dolphin 1. I understand your point and accept your advice. I will also send my Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa a congratulatory note. In fact I will not get one from LivingRoomMark, but instead will make one personally. Thank you for your advice. I guess I learnt a valuable lesson of politically correctness today. No matter how much I disagree with his plan, I must understand why he is doing it. Afterall he is the Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa. I should give him the due respect and support.
Dolphin 1 - I am glad you can think that way. Let me know how many concubines your Royal Emperor Penguin GrandPaPa take it this time round. HA.
Emperor Penguin 1 - OK. I will. Thanx once again.....
Dolphin 1 hung up the phone and resumed his reminiscence of Miss Dolphin 7.....That is another story all together.
Friday, November 04, 2005
Why we attend funeral wakes????
Dolphin 1 swam quietly up to Dolphin 2 and tickled him. Dolphin 2 had a fright and screamed at Dolphin 1.
Dolphin 2 - Oooi, what are you trying to do? Tickle me like that. I may get heart attack you know?!
Dolphin 1 - Hee Hee. Sorry lah. Just playing a fool with you. Why are you resting at this hour? It should be tuna feasting time leh.
Dolphin 2 - Aiyah, I am on diet. Recently put on a lot of weight, so want to skip a few tunas. You also better watch your diet.
Dolphin 1 - I am not too worried. I have enough exercise swimming round the whole world. See my belly. 6-pack ok?
Dolphin 2 - Yah lah, yah lah, show off. So what's up?
Dolphin 1 - Actually I am on the way to a funeral wake. Want to come along?
Dolphin 2 - What? A funeral wake? Whose?
Dolphin 1 - Oh, that Emperor Penguin 1's great great grandma passed away. So I am on the way to the North Pole to pay my last respects.
Dolphin 2 - What? North Pole? All the way there? Aiyoh, very far leh.
Dolphin 1 - Come with me lah. Who knows we might meet Miss Dolphin 7 at the funeral wake, and you can slim down at the same time by swimming all the way there!
Dolphin 2 - Errrr, ok lah. On lah. Lets go.
Both Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 swam happily towards the North Pole. It took them 3 days 3 nights to arrive. The funeral wake was still on. Both Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 went to take a look at the Emperor Penguin 1's great great grandma, who of course was lying there on the ice bed motionlessly.
Dolphin 2 - Hey, you know Emperor Penguin 1's great great grandma very well ah that you have to come all the way to the North Pole to pay your last respects?
Dolphin 1 - No leh. This is the first time I am seeing her. Why?
Dolphin 2 - What? You are seeing her for the first time? You mean in her whole life (glanced at the board that says 40 years old) of 40 years you have never met Emperor Penguin 1's great great grandma before?
Dolphin 1 - Yah, I have never met her before.
Dolphin 2 - So why did you come all the way here? It was a tiring journey leh.
Dolphin 1 - To pay my last respect lor?
Dolphin 2 - ????? To pay your last respects even though you have never met her before? Then yesterday when we passed by another funeral wake of a killer whale's grandpa off Kamchatka, how come you never dropped by to pay your last respects?
Dolphin 1 - But I don't know that killer whale's grandpa mah! (Feeling a little annoyed)
Dolphin 2 - Exactly! You also do not know Emperor Penguin 1's great great grandma right? But you swam three days three nights to come all the way here to pay your last respects???!!!
Dolphin 1 - Shhhh. No need to get so agitated. I will let you know the real reason on our way home, OK?
Dolphin 2 - You better have a good excuse.
Dolphin 1 went to Emperor Penguin 1, gave him a big hug and consoled him. Emperor Penguin 1 was feeling very sad. He was his great great grandma favorite great great grandson. His great great grandma doted on him a lot, always bringing him to play ice bowling and iceberg surfing. Now he has to learn ice hockey from his great great grandpa, who seems like about to "go" anytime soon too.
After offering the sweetest words of "Tomorrow will be better" to Emperor Penguin 1, Dolphin 1 bade him farewell. Just as Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 were about to leave, they spotted Miss Dolphin 7! Both their eyes popped out. Miss Dolphin 7 is still as beautiful as ever, and Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 reminisced those times when the three of them spent their early childhood years together.
Dolphin 2 rushed forward and gave Miss Dolphin 7 a big dolphin hug while Dolphin 1 flipped over and landed a dolphin kiss on the soft puffy cheeks of Miss Dolphin 7. Miss Dolphin 7 was very surprised but happy to see both Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2, and gave them her special dolphin tail greeting. The three of them stayed over at the funeral wake for a while before leaving the North Pole. Miss Dolphin 7 is now happily married to Dolphin 99 and are putting up in the beautiful sea off Kaikoura, New Zealand. Wow she certainly came a long way.
Dolphin 1 - Shall we escort you back to Kaikoura?
Miss Dolphin 7 - Well, I would love to have you guys come along with me, but it is going to be a long journey.
Dolphin 2 - No problem. 7 days 7 nights also no problem.
Off they swam, through the icy cold waters of the North Pole. The three of them seemed to be reliving their childhood days, jumping and splashing as they headed south.
Dolphin 2 - Hey Miss Dolphin 2, ask you. Why did you travel all the way up to the north pole to attend the funeral wake?
Miss Dolphin 7 - Oh, to offer my condolences to our good friend Emperor Penguin 1 of course, and at the same time, since I would be there, to pay my last respects to Emperor Penguin 1's great great grandma.
Dolphin 2 - See, Dolphin 1. So what excuse you have?
Dolphin 1 - Actually it is the same reason lah. Normally we attend a funeral wake is to show our face to the friend lah. Most of the time we also do not know the friend's relative who passed away, like the great great grandma in this case. But normally we would tell people that we go and pay our last respects, but in actual fact we go there to show Emperor Penguin 1 that we care and support him during this time of bereavement. I know it sounds very hypocritical but this is life.
Dolphin 2 - Wah lau, like that also can ah? Then you make me swam 3 days 3 nights just to show face? But then hor, it is ok lah. At least I had a chance to meet Miss Dolphin 7 and I think I have already lost 3 kilos!
Dolphin 1 - ?????!!!!!
Dolphin 1, Dolphin 2 and Miss Dolphin 7 swam, chatted, and told each other many stories. Both Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 missed Miss Dolphin 7 a lot and were very sad when they soon passed Cape Reinga after swimming 6.5 days. They knew soon they have to part with Miss Dolphin 7. Swimming on, they soon reached Kaikoura and bade Miss Dolphin 7 good bye, with tears flowing from their eyes. They wonder when they would be able to meet Miss Dolphin 7 again.
Another funeral wake perhaps????
Dolphin 2 - Oooi, what are you trying to do? Tickle me like that. I may get heart attack you know?!
Dolphin 1 - Hee Hee. Sorry lah. Just playing a fool with you. Why are you resting at this hour? It should be tuna feasting time leh.
Dolphin 2 - Aiyah, I am on diet. Recently put on a lot of weight, so want to skip a few tunas. You also better watch your diet.
Dolphin 1 - I am not too worried. I have enough exercise swimming round the whole world. See my belly. 6-pack ok?
Dolphin 2 - Yah lah, yah lah, show off. So what's up?
Dolphin 1 - Actually I am on the way to a funeral wake. Want to come along?
Dolphin 2 - What? A funeral wake? Whose?
Dolphin 1 - Oh, that Emperor Penguin 1's great great grandma passed away. So I am on the way to the North Pole to pay my last respects.
Dolphin 2 - What? North Pole? All the way there? Aiyoh, very far leh.
Dolphin 1 - Come with me lah. Who knows we might meet Miss Dolphin 7 at the funeral wake, and you can slim down at the same time by swimming all the way there!
Dolphin 2 - Errrr, ok lah. On lah. Lets go.
Both Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 swam happily towards the North Pole. It took them 3 days 3 nights to arrive. The funeral wake was still on. Both Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 went to take a look at the Emperor Penguin 1's great great grandma, who of course was lying there on the ice bed motionlessly.
Dolphin 2 - Hey, you know Emperor Penguin 1's great great grandma very well ah that you have to come all the way to the North Pole to pay your last respects?
Dolphin 1 - No leh. This is the first time I am seeing her. Why?
Dolphin 2 - What? You are seeing her for the first time? You mean in her whole life (glanced at the board that says 40 years old) of 40 years you have never met Emperor Penguin 1's great great grandma before?
Dolphin 1 - Yah, I have never met her before.
Dolphin 2 - So why did you come all the way here? It was a tiring journey leh.
Dolphin 1 - To pay my last respect lor?
Dolphin 2 - ????? To pay your last respects even though you have never met her before? Then yesterday when we passed by another funeral wake of a killer whale's grandpa off Kamchatka, how come you never dropped by to pay your last respects?
Dolphin 1 - But I don't know that killer whale's grandpa mah! (Feeling a little annoyed)
Dolphin 2 - Exactly! You also do not know Emperor Penguin 1's great great grandma right? But you swam three days three nights to come all the way here to pay your last respects???!!!
Dolphin 1 - Shhhh. No need to get so agitated. I will let you know the real reason on our way home, OK?
Dolphin 2 - You better have a good excuse.
Dolphin 1 went to Emperor Penguin 1, gave him a big hug and consoled him. Emperor Penguin 1 was feeling very sad. He was his great great grandma favorite great great grandson. His great great grandma doted on him a lot, always bringing him to play ice bowling and iceberg surfing. Now he has to learn ice hockey from his great great grandpa, who seems like about to "go" anytime soon too.
After offering the sweetest words of "Tomorrow will be better" to Emperor Penguin 1, Dolphin 1 bade him farewell. Just as Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 were about to leave, they spotted Miss Dolphin 7! Both their eyes popped out. Miss Dolphin 7 is still as beautiful as ever, and Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 reminisced those times when the three of them spent their early childhood years together.
Dolphin 2 rushed forward and gave Miss Dolphin 7 a big dolphin hug while Dolphin 1 flipped over and landed a dolphin kiss on the soft puffy cheeks of Miss Dolphin 7. Miss Dolphin 7 was very surprised but happy to see both Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2, and gave them her special dolphin tail greeting. The three of them stayed over at the funeral wake for a while before leaving the North Pole. Miss Dolphin 7 is now happily married to Dolphin 99 and are putting up in the beautiful sea off Kaikoura, New Zealand. Wow she certainly came a long way.
Dolphin 1 - Shall we escort you back to Kaikoura?
Miss Dolphin 7 - Well, I would love to have you guys come along with me, but it is going to be a long journey.
Dolphin 2 - No problem. 7 days 7 nights also no problem.
Off they swam, through the icy cold waters of the North Pole. The three of them seemed to be reliving their childhood days, jumping and splashing as they headed south.
Dolphin 2 - Hey Miss Dolphin 2, ask you. Why did you travel all the way up to the north pole to attend the funeral wake?
Miss Dolphin 7 - Oh, to offer my condolences to our good friend Emperor Penguin 1 of course, and at the same time, since I would be there, to pay my last respects to Emperor Penguin 1's great great grandma.
Dolphin 2 - See, Dolphin 1. So what excuse you have?
Dolphin 1 - Actually it is the same reason lah. Normally we attend a funeral wake is to show our face to the friend lah. Most of the time we also do not know the friend's relative who passed away, like the great great grandma in this case. But normally we would tell people that we go and pay our last respects, but in actual fact we go there to show Emperor Penguin 1 that we care and support him during this time of bereavement. I know it sounds very hypocritical but this is life.
Dolphin 2 - Wah lau, like that also can ah? Then you make me swam 3 days 3 nights just to show face? But then hor, it is ok lah. At least I had a chance to meet Miss Dolphin 7 and I think I have already lost 3 kilos!
Dolphin 1 - ?????!!!!!
Dolphin 1, Dolphin 2 and Miss Dolphin 7 swam, chatted, and told each other many stories. Both Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 missed Miss Dolphin 7 a lot and were very sad when they soon passed Cape Reinga after swimming 6.5 days. They knew soon they have to part with Miss Dolphin 7. Swimming on, they soon reached Kaikoura and bade Miss Dolphin 7 good bye, with tears flowing from their eyes. They wonder when they would be able to meet Miss Dolphin 7 again.
Another funeral wake perhaps????
Thursday, September 22, 2005
What a life.....
Dolphin 1 was *swimming* *jumping* *spiraling* *twisting*, and he remembered his good friend Piggy 2. The last he spoke with Piggy 2 was through his waterproofed satellite phone and the latter was crying his hearts out due to some problems. Dolphin 1 had advised Piggy 2 to look for crazyjarjar to “borrow” a coconut tree to lean and relax. Dolphin 1 wondered if Piggy 2 managed to borrow the coconut tree, and if Piggy 2 is still relaxing at one of the coconut trees!
Dolphin 1 whisked up his waterproofed satellite phone and called Piggy 2, who picked up the phone almost immediately.
Dolphin 1: Hi Piggy 2, how are you?
Piggy 2: I am fine thank you?
Dolphin 1: Alamak, how come we sound so ‘formal” to each other. So you are fine ah. That’s nice to hear. So what have you been doing? Still leaning against a coconut tree?
Piggy 2: As a matter of fact I am leaning against a coconut tree, and relaxing too right now. But of course I have not been leaning here since last month lah. I came over here a few times and found that it was good. Crazyjarjar was kind enough to “lend” me this coconut tree indefinitely, as long as I needed it. Crazyjarjar said he has plenty of coconut trees to spare, so he wouldn’t mind lending me one tree, especially when you Dolphin 1 recommended me to him. So thanx a lot Dolphin 1.
Dolphin 1: Hey, nice to hear that you have been relaxing and have a permanent coconut tree, courtesy of crazyjarjar. Yah, that crazyjarjar is my great friend. He is a nice guy but sometimes a little crazy. So which coconut tree are you at now. Maybe you can give me your exact coordinates and I can use my satellite to look for you
Piggy 2: Wah, you are so advanced. Satellite some more? I am at 1 deg 10 min N 104 deg 30 min E. Look out for that coconut tree which is almost balding and slanting above the beach towards the sea.
Dolphin 1: Good spot leh. Somewhere on the northern coast of Bintan! Hey, you on holiday ah? So envious.
Piggy 2: No need to be envious. You can come visit me if you want. You can swim much faster than me. I am sure you can come over now if you want to.
Dolphin 1: Well, I am not too far away. Just had some tunas and so it might be good exercise for me to go meet you. See you in a short while.
Dolphin 1 swam, and with strong and swift strokes, he soon saw Piggy 2 really relaxing below a slanted coconut tree, with a glass of red wine and some peanuts! HA. Since when have pigs started to drink wine and eat peanuts? But then, since when do Dolphins have satellite phones? :p
Dolphin 1: *Shouting and Waving* Ooooi Piggy 2…….I am here!
Piggy 2: *sipping his wine and crunching a peanut* looked up and saw his good friend Dolphin 1. He was very happy to see Dolphin 1 *snort snort*
Dolphin 1: Hi Piggy 2. Nice to see you again. It has been quite a while. But I am glad to see that you are enjoying life now.
Piggy 2: Thanx to you Dolphin 1, I find time to relax and now I am feeling great. Amidst the hustle and bustle, we must really find time to relax leh.
Dolphin 1: Yeah, you are right. For me, I have lots of opportunities to travel round the whole world. I get enough exercises and can eat all the tuna I want. I also visit many interesting places like Alaska and New Zealand. Fun right?
Piggy 2: Yeah, good for you. Being able to relax here is good enough for me lah.
Dolphin 1: So, if I may ask, how is that problem of yours? Settled already?
Piggy 2: What problem? HA. No lah, there are many ways of handling a problem. It may not be the best way but I think it is appropriate for now. So I have put the matter aside and not let it affect me too much. After all, why do we want to bog ourselves down with so many problems all the time? If we adjust our expectations a little, things may become very different and reach a more acceptable level.
Dolphin 1: You are probably right. So you are putting the problem aside and not solving it directly?
Piggy 2: Could it be that putting a problem aside is actually one way of solving it? Ponder ponder.
Dolphin 1: Hmmm….hey, it is almost dusk. Lets not talk about your problem any more. Can I have a glass of red wine too?
Piggy 2: Sure, *takes wine glass and pour wine for Dolphin 1*. Cheers, and let us sit back, think of nothing except to enjoy the beautiful sunset and the wonderful red wine.
Dolphin 1 & Piggy 2: *sip sip red wine* *relax* *ummmm*......
Dolphin 1 whisked up his waterproofed satellite phone and called Piggy 2, who picked up the phone almost immediately.
Dolphin 1: Hi Piggy 2, how are you?
Piggy 2: I am fine thank you?
Dolphin 1: Alamak, how come we sound so ‘formal” to each other. So you are fine ah. That’s nice to hear. So what have you been doing? Still leaning against a coconut tree?
Piggy 2: As a matter of fact I am leaning against a coconut tree, and relaxing too right now. But of course I have not been leaning here since last month lah. I came over here a few times and found that it was good. Crazyjarjar was kind enough to “lend” me this coconut tree indefinitely, as long as I needed it. Crazyjarjar said he has plenty of coconut trees to spare, so he wouldn’t mind lending me one tree, especially when you Dolphin 1 recommended me to him. So thanx a lot Dolphin 1.
Dolphin 1: Hey, nice to hear that you have been relaxing and have a permanent coconut tree, courtesy of crazyjarjar. Yah, that crazyjarjar is my great friend. He is a nice guy but sometimes a little crazy. So which coconut tree are you at now. Maybe you can give me your exact coordinates and I can use my satellite to look for you
Piggy 2: Wah, you are so advanced. Satellite some more? I am at 1 deg 10 min N 104 deg 30 min E. Look out for that coconut tree which is almost balding and slanting above the beach towards the sea.
Dolphin 1: Good spot leh. Somewhere on the northern coast of Bintan! Hey, you on holiday ah? So envious.
Piggy 2: No need to be envious. You can come visit me if you want. You can swim much faster than me. I am sure you can come over now if you want to.
Dolphin 1: Well, I am not too far away. Just had some tunas and so it might be good exercise for me to go meet you. See you in a short while.
Dolphin 1 swam, and with strong and swift strokes, he soon saw Piggy 2 really relaxing below a slanted coconut tree, with a glass of red wine and some peanuts! HA. Since when have pigs started to drink wine and eat peanuts? But then, since when do Dolphins have satellite phones? :p
Dolphin 1: *Shouting and Waving* Ooooi Piggy 2…….I am here!
Piggy 2: *sipping his wine and crunching a peanut* looked up and saw his good friend Dolphin 1. He was very happy to see Dolphin 1 *snort snort*
Dolphin 1: Hi Piggy 2. Nice to see you again. It has been quite a while. But I am glad to see that you are enjoying life now.
Piggy 2: Thanx to you Dolphin 1, I find time to relax and now I am feeling great. Amidst the hustle and bustle, we must really find time to relax leh.
Dolphin 1: Yeah, you are right. For me, I have lots of opportunities to travel round the whole world. I get enough exercises and can eat all the tuna I want. I also visit many interesting places like Alaska and New Zealand. Fun right?
Piggy 2: Yeah, good for you. Being able to relax here is good enough for me lah.
Dolphin 1: So, if I may ask, how is that problem of yours? Settled already?
Piggy 2: What problem? HA. No lah, there are many ways of handling a problem. It may not be the best way but I think it is appropriate for now. So I have put the matter aside and not let it affect me too much. After all, why do we want to bog ourselves down with so many problems all the time? If we adjust our expectations a little, things may become very different and reach a more acceptable level.
Dolphin 1: You are probably right. So you are putting the problem aside and not solving it directly?
Piggy 2: Could it be that putting a problem aside is actually one way of solving it? Ponder ponder.
Dolphin 1: Hmmm….hey, it is almost dusk. Lets not talk about your problem any more. Can I have a glass of red wine too?
Piggy 2: Sure, *takes wine glass and pour wine for Dolphin 1*. Cheers, and let us sit back, think of nothing except to enjoy the beautiful sunset and the wonderful red wine.
Dolphin 1 & Piggy 2: *sip sip red wine* *relax* *ummmm*......
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Some Flowers
Just to share some pictures of flowers taken during my Mt KK trip last month.
Rafflesia - World's Largest Flower (kind of ugly looking cos it is already in its 6th day - going to wither)
Ginger Flower
Not sure what flower this is....anyone has an idea?
Hibicus
Rafflesia - World's Largest Flower (kind of ugly looking cos it is already in its 6th day - going to wither)
Ginger Flower
Not sure what flower this is....anyone has an idea?
Hibicus
Monday, September 19, 2005
Mid-Autumn Festival 2005
A bunch of us gathered to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival at Bishan Park last Saturday. It was a last minute decision to go there, instead of other darker places. The moon was shining brightly as we arrived. We set up "camp" at one open spot and started feasting on some of the mooncakes, fruits and yam that some of us brought along. It was a warm evening, with little wind, supposedly good for those parading with their lanterns.We chatted, took photos and decided to play with our lanterns. We started lighting all the lanterns we had (more than 10 of them) and hung them on the tiny tree nearby. We ran out of space to hang and ended up hanging them on another tree. We had lanterns of different shapes, sizes and characters. There were a batman, bee, butterfly, seal, dinosaur, bunny etc.
The strange thing that night was that none of us actually walked around with the lanterns. If we did, I am sure it would have been nicer. Then some of them took out sparklers to play, and while snapping some pictures, we had some great ideas to take some nice pictures and ended up with these.
In between we were "attacked" by lots of supposedly mozzies. Quite a number of us suffered bites on our legs. I wonder why only our legs got the bites. Anyway, so far all of us seemed ok. No dengue. HA. We packed up at almost midnight and proceeded to a nearby Mac to chill out. We needed the aircon. Not a very exciting Mid-Autumn Festival I must say.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Running Dogfishes!
One wet day, Triggerfish was swimming and swimming and Clown Fish was also swimming and swimming but hurriedly. They nearly bumped into each other.
Triggerfish: Hey Clown, tell me a joke?
Clown Fish: Whoa, sorry Trigger. No time, no time. Shhhh, don't tell anyone that I am here. I sense that someone has been tailing me for the past few weeks.
Triggerfish: What are you talking about? Someone tailing you? Someone with legs or what?
Clown Fish: No lah, not someone with legs, but something white white in colour.
Triggerfish: White? As in the FIWs?
Clown Fish: Shhhh, not so loud. I do not know lah. What is FIWs? But I think it is the dogfish lah.
Triggerfish: Aiyoh Clown, FIWs are *whisper* !!@#$%^&*() Got that? But dogfishes are not white what. They are usually brownish and spotted. Oh yah, their bellies are white! You mean now they are walking on their tails while tailing you? Wow!
Clown Fish: Not sure lah. Very scary leh. I wonder what they are up to? Of all fishes, why me? I am such a cute clown fish, except that I don't tell jokes or work in the circus.
Triggerfish: Maybe it must have been something you said or did recently? Did you anyhow say things or not?
Clown Fish: No lah, I didn't say or do anything to deserve this what. But......oh, maybe that day....aiyah.....
Triggerfish: What what? What that day? What did you do?
Clown Fish: Stupid me lah, that day I commented that dogfishes are not allowed in our underwater pub because dogfishes drool, and they smell bad. Stupid right?
Triggerfish: Aiyoh, why you so clown? Eh, you are a clown what. But why you say such things openly? You know the dogfishes will surely take revenge. Now you are dead meat.
Clown Fish: Aiyoh, don't scare me. You always like to scare fishes.
Triggerfish: Yah yah yah....wait.........I sense something is coming. Sheesh....I see shimmering white in the distance, and it is walking towards us. Quick, hide behind me.
Clown Fish: *Trembling in fear* Don't tell me the dogfishes are here.
Triggerfish: I see them now. The dogfishes are here, and they are really walking on their tails. What is the world coming to? Sheesh, they are running towards us. They can even run too. Oh no, running dogfishes! I think I also better scram from here.
Clown Fish: Hey Trigger, wait for me........
The scream of Clown Fish was cut short and turning back, Trigger saw that Clown was no more, short of the 6 floating parts of his dismembered tiny body. *sob sob*
Watch out fishes. The dogfishes (that run) are here!
Triggerfish: Hey Clown, tell me a joke?
Clown Fish: Whoa, sorry Trigger. No time, no time. Shhhh, don't tell anyone that I am here. I sense that someone has been tailing me for the past few weeks.
Triggerfish: What are you talking about? Someone tailing you? Someone with legs or what?
Clown Fish: No lah, not someone with legs, but something white white in colour.
Triggerfish: White? As in the FIWs?
Clown Fish: Shhhh, not so loud. I do not know lah. What is FIWs? But I think it is the dogfish lah.
Triggerfish: Aiyoh Clown, FIWs are *whisper* !!@#$%^&*() Got that? But dogfishes are not white what. They are usually brownish and spotted. Oh yah, their bellies are white! You mean now they are walking on their tails while tailing you? Wow!
Clown Fish: Not sure lah. Very scary leh. I wonder what they are up to? Of all fishes, why me? I am such a cute clown fish, except that I don't tell jokes or work in the circus.
Triggerfish: Maybe it must have been something you said or did recently? Did you anyhow say things or not?
Clown Fish: No lah, I didn't say or do anything to deserve this what. But......oh, maybe that day....aiyah.....
Triggerfish: What what? What that day? What did you do?
Clown Fish: Stupid me lah, that day I commented that dogfishes are not allowed in our underwater pub because dogfishes drool, and they smell bad. Stupid right?
Triggerfish: Aiyoh, why you so clown? Eh, you are a clown what. But why you say such things openly? You know the dogfishes will surely take revenge. Now you are dead meat.
Clown Fish: Aiyoh, don't scare me. You always like to scare fishes.
Triggerfish: Yah yah yah....wait.........I sense something is coming. Sheesh....I see shimmering white in the distance, and it is walking towards us. Quick, hide behind me.
Clown Fish: *Trembling in fear* Don't tell me the dogfishes are here.
Triggerfish: I see them now. The dogfishes are here, and they are really walking on their tails. What is the world coming to? Sheesh, they are running towards us. They can even run too. Oh no, running dogfishes! I think I also better scram from here.
Clown Fish: Hey Trigger, wait for me........
The scream of Clown Fish was cut short and turning back, Trigger saw that Clown was no more, short of the 6 floating parts of his dismembered tiny body. *sob sob*
Watch out fishes. The dogfishes (that run) are here!
I wonder
I have not blogged for quite a while. Since I came back from KK trip, which followed immediately with my national service, I have been feeling a little "lethargic" to blog. But I have been keeping up with other forums and news though. Now comes two bloggers being charged for sedition, over some supposedly racist remarks in their blogs and other forums. What is the blogging scene going to be like in Singapore? I wonder........
Thursday, September 01, 2005
National Service finally over!
HA. I have finally completed my national service today, after a "gruelling" 2 weeks. Totally drained out. *yawn* Now I need to get myself back to office mode. HA. I was told I have completed all my high-key in-camp trainings and am unlikely to be called up for any more next year. Hmmm, not sure if I should be happy about that or not......
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Mount KK Trip
I wrote this short report about my KK Trip in my DiveTrek website and decided to put it here as well.
This trip was one with mixed feelings. Well, we enjoyed ourselves in many ways like roaming the town, shopping, eating, staying at nice resorts, trekking through beautiful scenery, conquering the summit etc, but I guess for some of us, the extremely cold weather while going up to the summit was a big MINUS!
Ours was a relaxed trip compared to the other group (Ernest was in the other group). Theirs was a 6 day trip while ours lasted 9 days. So we had a lot of time to relax before and after the trek. We spent the first two days roaming KK Town, doing some window shopping, exploring the corners of the town, finding out accommodation for the remaining of the trip and looking for nice foods to eat. The local hawker centre near to the sea serves lots of barbecued seafood. We nearly tried the BBQed trigger fish!
One interesting thing we did the second night was to "lay an ambush" at the airport for Ernest's group to arrive. Besides Bee Leng and I, the rest of my group did not know that Lip was joining us a day late. Lip made some last minute arrangements and finally managed to get her leave approved, air ticket booked and bag packed in the last minute. We made a simple vanguard sheet to welcome the group coming out of the departure hall. It was a pleasant surprise for most of us.
Ernest's group "chionged" to KK Park to stay the night while my group continue to relax in the town. For them, they trekked up the mountain via the Mesilau trail to the base camp the next morning and stayed the night at Gunting Lagadan Hut. They rested for that evening and conquered the summit early next morning. They then proceeded all the way down the mountain via the Timpohon trail and stayed the night at Poring Hot Springs Resort. They then returned to Singapore the following evening.
After leaving KK town (we had roasted duck, char siew and wanton noodles for breakfast), we proceeded to stay the night at Mesilau Resort (after settling administrative matters at the KK Park HQ). The resort, situated at about 2000m above sea level was nice and the air was cooling. We had some nice meals at the restaurant, including steamboat in the evening. We also had a fruits feast (consisting of mangosteens, langsat, rambutans, jambu, bananas, oranges and tomatoes bought from a roadside fruit market along the way) that night.
After an early breakfast, some warm up and a briefing by our guide, we set off on the Mesilau trail. The Mesilau trail is more scenic but longer than the Timpohon trail. Indeed the trail was quite nice as compared to the other trips I had gone so far. The trail is more open and most of the time, instead of trekking under shady boring trees, we were able to see many nice scenery along the way. There was one part where we stood on a ridge with deep valleys on both sides. It was cooling and sunny at the same time, and the feeling was good. We were hoping to meet Ernest and his gang at the intersection of the Mesilau and Timpohon trail, but guess they were too early for us.
We took our time to complete the trail. By the time we arrived at base camp accommodation for the night(Waras Hut), it was like 9 hours have passed since we started early in the morning. I guess our speed was a little slow but we took a lot of photos and rest along the way, contributing to the long hours. Nevertheless, we were glad to have reached our accommodation, as most of us were hungry, tired and cold by then. We had dinner at the main lodging restaurant (Laban Rata Hut) which served basic food like noodles, rice, bee hoon, soups and spaghetti. We had our fill and retired early for the night.
As we were in no hurry to conquer the summit, we slept in a little bit. After checking out and had our late breakfast, we proceeded to check in at our next accommodation for the night - Gunting Lagadan Hut (where Ernest and gang were the night before and a short stroll from Waras Hut). Some rested in the room while some (including me) laid on the rock outside the hut gazing at the clouds floating by. My face is like Justice Bao now because of that short 2-hour tan! The clouds hovering around the mountain were very beautiful. They looked like candy floss and you wished you could stick your hand out and pull some to your mouth. Those clouds above us kept changing patterns too, due to the strong wind. It is one of the nicest mountain treks for me so far.
We had the usual simple dinner and sat outside the hut to relax for a while. The night scene was beautiful too. Suddenly as we shielded our eyes from the bright lamp that was just in front of the hut, and looked up to the sky, we realised that it was flooded with stars. We took many pictures and then proceeded to rest early, as we had to wake up at 1 am the next morning to begin our ascent to the summit. I guess all of us managed to catch an hour or two of rest before the alarm sounded all too early. We had a quick simple meal of instant noodles and milo. We were all very excited and revving to go, even though I sort of had butterflies in the stomach. After a short warm up, we were the first group to go up the steps towards the summit. The sky was very dark and the stars were smiling down on us. They seemed very near and within our hands' reach. But we had no time to talk to the stars as the summit was on our minds.
Soon many other groups passed us. As usual, we were slow and steady and was trying to enjoy the night trek in the cool morning. We were quite warmly dressed up with long johns, T-shirst, sweaters and jackets. I think most of us had at least 5 layers on. I found out later Lip wore 8 layers! We soon cleared the 700+ steps and came to the part where we had to clear some wall face with the help of the rope. It was easy and fun for me. In fact for most parts, you don't really need the rope. Anyway, clearing the wall face in the dark was not that exciting, as we were not able to see what was beside us. We were told by those who have been there before that coming down was more fun, because we could see the "danger" we were in. Anyway, up and up we went.
Ooops, "Is it raining?" Oh yes, it started to drizzle. We were ascending up into the clouds and the wind was picking up. Wow, it was getting cold and visibility at one point dropped to a mere 5 m! Even with our powerful torchlights, we could only see a few metres ahead. The wind was very strong that there were quite a few instances when we were almost blown off our feet. We were soon soaking wet. Somehow I wonder why we did not don our raincoats. Perhaps we thought it was a passing cloud and that our windbreakers would be able to hold out the rain. But we were wrong. Within the next hour, we were all shivering and teeth were chattering. The climb had begun to be tough. We slowly made our way up, taking more frequent rests due to the cold and the thin air. All we see ahead were distant torchlights of other groups. Soon we could see the final part of the mountain slope that would bring us to the summit. But each step we took was agonising as it was freezing cold.
Nevertheless we pushed on. Some of us contemplated to turn back, but I am glad we did not. We dragged our heavy feet and our weak shivering bodies, and slowly made our way bit by bit up the granite rock face. We saw many people passed by us but they were going in the opposite direction. Yes, they had gone up to the summit and are hurriedly going down to keep themselves out from the cold. We were still struggling. Hey, we are about 100 m from the summit.......jia you....I shouted.....Yes, the summit was in sight. Our objective is just ahead. We could see it clearly. We could even smell it. But we could not touch it. The last 100 m was not easy, but knowing that the summit is nigh pushed us on. We scrambled onto the last rock and finally we hugged and kissed the signboard that says "Taman Kinabalu Low's Peak (4095.2 m)". Yeah, we have finally made it to the summit. We snapped a few quick photos and quickly descended from the summit.
The journey down the hill took much shorter time but no less grueling. While the rain had stopped, the wind was still blowing continuously and we were soaking wet inside. I still remember my teeth were chattering throughout and I nearly went into spasms. But we survived and were finally back in our accommodation! We took a while to defrost, rest and change. We had a quick lunch and were soon ready for our long descent. Our guide, having seen our pace so far, was worried that we would take too long even in the descent. But we prove him wrong and by 5 pm we were already down at the Timpohon gate, 2 hours faster than expected. We have to pat our own backs for that.
We waited for our van to pick us up, went over to the KK Park to collect our certificates and soon we were on our way to Poring Hot Springs Resort. It is situated at a nice quiet place next to a running river. Surprisingly, it was very warm that night, perhaps to compensate for the cold we suffered in the morning. We gave Edwin a surprised birthday celebration at our room after dinner. We originally planned to do it at the summit but there was no way we could light the candles then. HA. So it was a double celebration for Edwin - conquering the summit for the second time, this time on his birthday.
After breakfast at a local coffee shop (nice curry noodles), we took a walk into the woods to check out the world's largest flower - the rafflesia. It was already in its 6th day of bloom and was almost going to wither. As such, the color was not very appealing, but at least we had a chance to catch a glimpse of how it looked like. We then checked out from the resort, but proceeded to check out the canopy walk after leaving our luggage at the resort reception. What?! More climbing? We had to walk upslope for about 30 minutes to reach the canopy walk and some of us were mumbling adn grumbling to ourselves. But the walk was well worth it as the canopy walk turned out to be very nice. It had a length of about 157m and at the highest point, it was about 41 m. The canopy walk is divided into 3 sections, with each end built on the platform on top of giant solid trees called the King of Trees (Raja Kayu). I tested its hardness by banging my head on the tree trunk. It was really hard. I am not called crazyjarjar for nothing. HA. The canopy walk posed a challenge to Lip, but as always, she emerged triumphant and managed to do some "dance" on the walk at the end.
From Poring we proceeded back to KK Town. Edwin left that night while the remaining 6 of us stayed back to explore the town. It was a tiring two days as the town was actually quite small. We contemplated to do a 5-island cruise but scrapped the idea because we wanted more time to rest our tired bodies. We ended up just shopping and eating. Lip was our champion shopper, as usual :p
I believe we were all glad to be back home, after a long and tiring KK trip. We penned down our feelings of the trip in a little blue notebook where all the happenings during the trip were recorded in detail. So if you ask me why I said I have mixed feelings about the trip, I guess the main reason would be that the weather during the ascent to the summit was bad, and that sort of spoilt all the fun as I could not take any pictures at all. We could not celebrate Edwin’s birthday at the summit and take a proper group photo with our banner which we had painstakingly drawn up for ourselves. If the weather had been good, I am sure I would have somersaulted and jumped from rock to rock on the mountain slopes. We would have nice pictures and memories of the mountain. I don’t plan to go back up the mountain again, but it looks like I might have to make another trip, just to take those pictures.
Anyway, overall it was a great trip. The group trained together before the trip and conquered the mountain together. I want to congratulate ourselves for being one of the few millions who have conquered that mountain. While it is not a comparable conquest like those who conquered Everest, I am sure it was a great achievement for us, especially those who have conquered the summit for the very first time. If you have not been there, I would highly recommend you to make a trip there. Oh, just make sure you go in the drier months (Jan to Jun) but no guarantees though.
Everest awaits………hahaha…just kidding.
This trip was one with mixed feelings. Well, we enjoyed ourselves in many ways like roaming the town, shopping, eating, staying at nice resorts, trekking through beautiful scenery, conquering the summit etc, but I guess for some of us, the extremely cold weather while going up to the summit was a big MINUS!
Ours was a relaxed trip compared to the other group (Ernest was in the other group). Theirs was a 6 day trip while ours lasted 9 days. So we had a lot of time to relax before and after the trek. We spent the first two days roaming KK Town, doing some window shopping, exploring the corners of the town, finding out accommodation for the remaining of the trip and looking for nice foods to eat. The local hawker centre near to the sea serves lots of barbecued seafood. We nearly tried the BBQed trigger fish!
One interesting thing we did the second night was to "lay an ambush" at the airport for Ernest's group to arrive. Besides Bee Leng and I, the rest of my group did not know that Lip was joining us a day late. Lip made some last minute arrangements and finally managed to get her leave approved, air ticket booked and bag packed in the last minute. We made a simple vanguard sheet to welcome the group coming out of the departure hall. It was a pleasant surprise for most of us.
Ernest's group "chionged" to KK Park to stay the night while my group continue to relax in the town. For them, they trekked up the mountain via the Mesilau trail to the base camp the next morning and stayed the night at Gunting Lagadan Hut. They rested for that evening and conquered the summit early next morning. They then proceeded all the way down the mountain via the Timpohon trail and stayed the night at Poring Hot Springs Resort. They then returned to Singapore the following evening.
After leaving KK town (we had roasted duck, char siew and wanton noodles for breakfast), we proceeded to stay the night at Mesilau Resort (after settling administrative matters at the KK Park HQ). The resort, situated at about 2000m above sea level was nice and the air was cooling. We had some nice meals at the restaurant, including steamboat in the evening. We also had a fruits feast (consisting of mangosteens, langsat, rambutans, jambu, bananas, oranges and tomatoes bought from a roadside fruit market along the way) that night.
After an early breakfast, some warm up and a briefing by our guide, we set off on the Mesilau trail. The Mesilau trail is more scenic but longer than the Timpohon trail. Indeed the trail was quite nice as compared to the other trips I had gone so far. The trail is more open and most of the time, instead of trekking under shady boring trees, we were able to see many nice scenery along the way. There was one part where we stood on a ridge with deep valleys on both sides. It was cooling and sunny at the same time, and the feeling was good. We were hoping to meet Ernest and his gang at the intersection of the Mesilau and Timpohon trail, but guess they were too early for us.
We took our time to complete the trail. By the time we arrived at base camp accommodation for the night(Waras Hut), it was like 9 hours have passed since we started early in the morning. I guess our speed was a little slow but we took a lot of photos and rest along the way, contributing to the long hours. Nevertheless, we were glad to have reached our accommodation, as most of us were hungry, tired and cold by then. We had dinner at the main lodging restaurant (Laban Rata Hut) which served basic food like noodles, rice, bee hoon, soups and spaghetti. We had our fill and retired early for the night.
As we were in no hurry to conquer the summit, we slept in a little bit. After checking out and had our late breakfast, we proceeded to check in at our next accommodation for the night - Gunting Lagadan Hut (where Ernest and gang were the night before and a short stroll from Waras Hut). Some rested in the room while some (including me) laid on the rock outside the hut gazing at the clouds floating by. My face is like Justice Bao now because of that short 2-hour tan! The clouds hovering around the mountain were very beautiful. They looked like candy floss and you wished you could stick your hand out and pull some to your mouth. Those clouds above us kept changing patterns too, due to the strong wind. It is one of the nicest mountain treks for me so far.
We had the usual simple dinner and sat outside the hut to relax for a while. The night scene was beautiful too. Suddenly as we shielded our eyes from the bright lamp that was just in front of the hut, and looked up to the sky, we realised that it was flooded with stars. We took many pictures and then proceeded to rest early, as we had to wake up at 1 am the next morning to begin our ascent to the summit. I guess all of us managed to catch an hour or two of rest before the alarm sounded all too early. We had a quick simple meal of instant noodles and milo. We were all very excited and revving to go, even though I sort of had butterflies in the stomach. After a short warm up, we were the first group to go up the steps towards the summit. The sky was very dark and the stars were smiling down on us. They seemed very near and within our hands' reach. But we had no time to talk to the stars as the summit was on our minds.
Soon many other groups passed us. As usual, we were slow and steady and was trying to enjoy the night trek in the cool morning. We were quite warmly dressed up with long johns, T-shirst, sweaters and jackets. I think most of us had at least 5 layers on. I found out later Lip wore 8 layers! We soon cleared the 700+ steps and came to the part where we had to clear some wall face with the help of the rope. It was easy and fun for me. In fact for most parts, you don't really need the rope. Anyway, clearing the wall face in the dark was not that exciting, as we were not able to see what was beside us. We were told by those who have been there before that coming down was more fun, because we could see the "danger" we were in. Anyway, up and up we went.
Ooops, "Is it raining?" Oh yes, it started to drizzle. We were ascending up into the clouds and the wind was picking up. Wow, it was getting cold and visibility at one point dropped to a mere 5 m! Even with our powerful torchlights, we could only see a few metres ahead. The wind was very strong that there were quite a few instances when we were almost blown off our feet. We were soon soaking wet. Somehow I wonder why we did not don our raincoats. Perhaps we thought it was a passing cloud and that our windbreakers would be able to hold out the rain. But we were wrong. Within the next hour, we were all shivering and teeth were chattering. The climb had begun to be tough. We slowly made our way up, taking more frequent rests due to the cold and the thin air. All we see ahead were distant torchlights of other groups. Soon we could see the final part of the mountain slope that would bring us to the summit. But each step we took was agonising as it was freezing cold.
Nevertheless we pushed on. Some of us contemplated to turn back, but I am glad we did not. We dragged our heavy feet and our weak shivering bodies, and slowly made our way bit by bit up the granite rock face. We saw many people passed by us but they were going in the opposite direction. Yes, they had gone up to the summit and are hurriedly going down to keep themselves out from the cold. We were still struggling. Hey, we are about 100 m from the summit.......jia you....I shouted.....Yes, the summit was in sight. Our objective is just ahead. We could see it clearly. We could even smell it. But we could not touch it. The last 100 m was not easy, but knowing that the summit is nigh pushed us on. We scrambled onto the last rock and finally we hugged and kissed the signboard that says "Taman Kinabalu Low's Peak (4095.2 m)". Yeah, we have finally made it to the summit. We snapped a few quick photos and quickly descended from the summit.
The journey down the hill took much shorter time but no less grueling. While the rain had stopped, the wind was still blowing continuously and we were soaking wet inside. I still remember my teeth were chattering throughout and I nearly went into spasms. But we survived and were finally back in our accommodation! We took a while to defrost, rest and change. We had a quick lunch and were soon ready for our long descent. Our guide, having seen our pace so far, was worried that we would take too long even in the descent. But we prove him wrong and by 5 pm we were already down at the Timpohon gate, 2 hours faster than expected. We have to pat our own backs for that.
We waited for our van to pick us up, went over to the KK Park to collect our certificates and soon we were on our way to Poring Hot Springs Resort. It is situated at a nice quiet place next to a running river. Surprisingly, it was very warm that night, perhaps to compensate for the cold we suffered in the morning. We gave Edwin a surprised birthday celebration at our room after dinner. We originally planned to do it at the summit but there was no way we could light the candles then. HA. So it was a double celebration for Edwin - conquering the summit for the second time, this time on his birthday.
After breakfast at a local coffee shop (nice curry noodles), we took a walk into the woods to check out the world's largest flower - the rafflesia. It was already in its 6th day of bloom and was almost going to wither. As such, the color was not very appealing, but at least we had a chance to catch a glimpse of how it looked like. We then checked out from the resort, but proceeded to check out the canopy walk after leaving our luggage at the resort reception. What?! More climbing? We had to walk upslope for about 30 minutes to reach the canopy walk and some of us were mumbling adn grumbling to ourselves. But the walk was well worth it as the canopy walk turned out to be very nice. It had a length of about 157m and at the highest point, it was about 41 m. The canopy walk is divided into 3 sections, with each end built on the platform on top of giant solid trees called the King of Trees (Raja Kayu). I tested its hardness by banging my head on the tree trunk. It was really hard. I am not called crazyjarjar for nothing. HA. The canopy walk posed a challenge to Lip, but as always, she emerged triumphant and managed to do some "dance" on the walk at the end.
From Poring we proceeded back to KK Town. Edwin left that night while the remaining 6 of us stayed back to explore the town. It was a tiring two days as the town was actually quite small. We contemplated to do a 5-island cruise but scrapped the idea because we wanted more time to rest our tired bodies. We ended up just shopping and eating. Lip was our champion shopper, as usual :p
I believe we were all glad to be back home, after a long and tiring KK trip. We penned down our feelings of the trip in a little blue notebook where all the happenings during the trip were recorded in detail. So if you ask me why I said I have mixed feelings about the trip, I guess the main reason would be that the weather during the ascent to the summit was bad, and that sort of spoilt all the fun as I could not take any pictures at all. We could not celebrate Edwin’s birthday at the summit and take a proper group photo with our banner which we had painstakingly drawn up for ourselves. If the weather had been good, I am sure I would have somersaulted and jumped from rock to rock on the mountain slopes. We would have nice pictures and memories of the mountain. I don’t plan to go back up the mountain again, but it looks like I might have to make another trip, just to take those pictures.
Anyway, overall it was a great trip. The group trained together before the trip and conquered the mountain together. I want to congratulate ourselves for being one of the few millions who have conquered that mountain. While it is not a comparable conquest like those who conquered Everest, I am sure it was a great achievement for us, especially those who have conquered the summit for the very first time. If you have not been there, I would highly recommend you to make a trip there. Oh, just make sure you go in the drier months (Jan to Jun) but no guarantees though.
Everest awaits………hahaha…just kidding.
In-Camp
Started my 2-week in-camp training as part of my yearly national service again this week. Reported to my base yesterday morning and discovered that a few of my fellow national servicemen are sort of completed their training quota. There has been some changes to the number of in-camp trainings we had to do and thus the quota has been reduced. I would told this might be the last in-camp for me. Not sure if I should shout hurray for that or not. A few new guys joined my team, so I had to "orientate" them.
As with previous years, in-camp training is very "xiong" ("tough")........but I still find time to blog :)
As with previous years, in-camp training is very "xiong" ("tough")........but I still find time to blog :)
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Backside Pain Ah ???!!!
Dolphin 1 was *swimming* *jumping* *spiraling* *twisting* and *oooops* clashed into Dolphin 2 who was also *swimming* *jumping* *spiraling* *twisting* from the opposite direction.
Dolphin 2: *rubbing his long nose* Aiyoh, Dolphin 1, why you anyhow jump here and there? Knock me until so painful leh.
Dolphin 1: Sorry Dolphin 2. I wasn't sure where I was heading. I simply *swim* *jump* *spiral* and *twist*. Not exactly going anywhere.
Dolphin 2: Why so listless? What happened? Want to tell me?
Dolphin 1: Tell you also you may not understand. It is about my friend Piggy 2 lor.
Dolphin 2: What's wrong with that moody Piggy 2 again? How come he always got so much trouble?
Dolphin 1: Aiyah, he went to climb Mount KK last week, then come back so *xian xian*. Not sure what exactly happened. I asked him, but he kept mumbling to himself. I only could hear him keep saying "always my fault...."
Dolphin 2: Huh? "Always his fault...." What is he talking about? They all cannot go up the mountain because of him ah? If not then why always his fault?
Dolphin 1: Not sure lah. You ask me I ask who? Let me call him now with my waterproofed satellite phone.
Dolphin 2: OK lor. Since I am quite free now, I will wait for you lah. You talk to him first while I look for some fishes to eat.
Dolphin 1: *talking to Piggy 2* You don't cry lah. What's is there to cry about? Just tell me what happened lah.
Dolphin 1: *still talking to Piggy 2* "Hmmm", "Orrrh", "Errr", "Ooook", "Aiyah" Like that also cry. Pigs like to cry meh? OK, I tell you what. No big deal lah. Just go look for crazyjarjar, and "borrow" a coconut tree for you to lean. You sit under the coconut tree, then think think think.....then think think think some more.....then take one deep breath (don't forget to exhale) and you will be ok liao. Trust me. I kid you not. Oh yah, remember to sms me which coconut tree near the sea hor. I can go and visit you mah.
Dolphin 2: Wah, you talked so long to that Piggy 2. So what's his problem this time?
Dolphin 1: Yah yah yah, and you happily go and eat your tuna. No lah, he went to Mount KK, actually very fun one. Scenery very nice, weather very nice, and they climb climb climb everything also very nice. You don't see that Piggy 2 climbing on 4 legs hor actually can climb quite fast. He quite fit one.
Dolphin 2: Everything nice then still so sad?
Dolphin 1: Aiyah, you don't interrupt lah. Let me continue. Quite long story leh. You be patient can?
Dolphin 2: Eh? How come this sounds so familiar? Orrrh, that Piggy 1 also asked Piggy 2 to be patient right? Ok lah, I will be patient else also become real patient.
Dolphin 1: That's better. OK. Then they climb climb climb. Then not sure what happened hor, Piggy 2 fell ill leh. He had diarrhea, fever, runny nose, cough, headache. He also vomited and his backside also pain leh. Terrible right?
Dolphin2: Waaah....like that how to climb some more?
Dolphin 1: Yah lor....but his friends very good lah. Took very good care of him, nursed him back to health.
Dolphin 2: Wow, his friends very good hor. I think if others, will leave him by the road side to rot ah :p
Dolphin 1: Yah yah yah, you so bad-hearted. His friends all very good one, will surely help.
Dolphin 2: So help already good right, how come still got problem leh?
Dolphin 1: Yah lor, strange right. But then Piggy 2 said difficult to make everyone happy lor. Piggy 2 do something or don't do something other people also not happy. I told him go sit below a coconut tree and relax lah. This Piggy 2 gave a loud *Haiz - Always my fault..." then he hung up. I hope he will sms me which coconut tree near the sea he will be at then I can go visit him.
Dolphin 2: Waaah, very confusing leh. Why pigs got so much problem one?
Dolphin 1: Don't know lah. I thought pigs just eat sleep and be merry, but this pig quite active one, everything also do, so maybe got more headache lah.
Dolphin 2: Why can't pigs be more like dolphins? Swim here and there, got tuna eat tuna, no tuna eat sardines lah. Left brain headache, then switch left brain off, since still can think with right brain. HA....dolphin good right?
Dolphin 1: Yah, yah, yah, keep singing your own praises. If both brains headache you switch both off right? You backside pain then you know.
Dolphin 2: Hee Hee, ok lah, got to go. Don't forget to let me know when Piggy 2 sms you on which coconut tree he is at. Maybe I can go see if his backside still pain or not :p *grin*
Dolphin 1: !!!!!!!
Dolphin 2: *rubbing his long nose* Aiyoh, Dolphin 1, why you anyhow jump here and there? Knock me until so painful leh.
Dolphin 1: Sorry Dolphin 2. I wasn't sure where I was heading. I simply *swim* *jump* *spiral* and *twist*. Not exactly going anywhere.
Dolphin 2: Why so listless? What happened? Want to tell me?
Dolphin 1: Tell you also you may not understand. It is about my friend Piggy 2 lor.
Dolphin 2: What's wrong with that moody Piggy 2 again? How come he always got so much trouble?
Dolphin 1: Aiyah, he went to climb Mount KK last week, then come back so *xian xian*. Not sure what exactly happened. I asked him, but he kept mumbling to himself. I only could hear him keep saying "always my fault...."
Dolphin 2: Huh? "Always his fault...." What is he talking about? They all cannot go up the mountain because of him ah? If not then why always his fault?
Dolphin 1: Not sure lah. You ask me I ask who? Let me call him now with my waterproofed satellite phone.
Dolphin 2: OK lor. Since I am quite free now, I will wait for you lah. You talk to him first while I look for some fishes to eat.
Dolphin 1: *talking to Piggy 2* You don't cry lah. What's is there to cry about? Just tell me what happened lah.
Dolphin 1: *still talking to Piggy 2* "Hmmm", "Orrrh", "Errr", "Ooook", "Aiyah" Like that also cry. Pigs like to cry meh? OK, I tell you what. No big deal lah. Just go look for crazyjarjar, and "borrow" a coconut tree for you to lean. You sit under the coconut tree, then think think think.....then think think think some more.....then take one deep breath (don't forget to exhale) and you will be ok liao. Trust me. I kid you not. Oh yah, remember to sms me which coconut tree near the sea hor. I can go and visit you mah.
Dolphin 2: Wah, you talked so long to that Piggy 2. So what's his problem this time?
Dolphin 1: Yah yah yah, and you happily go and eat your tuna. No lah, he went to Mount KK, actually very fun one. Scenery very nice, weather very nice, and they climb climb climb everything also very nice. You don't see that Piggy 2 climbing on 4 legs hor actually can climb quite fast. He quite fit one.
Dolphin 2: Everything nice then still so sad?
Dolphin 1: Aiyah, you don't interrupt lah. Let me continue. Quite long story leh. You be patient can?
Dolphin 2: Eh? How come this sounds so familiar? Orrrh, that Piggy 1 also asked Piggy 2 to be patient right? Ok lah, I will be patient else also become real patient.
Dolphin 1: That's better. OK. Then they climb climb climb. Then not sure what happened hor, Piggy 2 fell ill leh. He had diarrhea, fever, runny nose, cough, headache. He also vomited and his backside also pain leh. Terrible right?
Dolphin2: Waaah....like that how to climb some more?
Dolphin 1: Yah lor....but his friends very good lah. Took very good care of him, nursed him back to health.
Dolphin 2: Wow, his friends very good hor. I think if others, will leave him by the road side to rot ah :p
Dolphin 1: Yah yah yah, you so bad-hearted. His friends all very good one, will surely help.
Dolphin 2: So help already good right, how come still got problem leh?
Dolphin 1: Yah lor, strange right. But then Piggy 2 said difficult to make everyone happy lor. Piggy 2 do something or don't do something other people also not happy. I told him go sit below a coconut tree and relax lah. This Piggy 2 gave a loud *Haiz - Always my fault..." then he hung up. I hope he will sms me which coconut tree near the sea he will be at then I can go visit him.
Dolphin 2: Waaah, very confusing leh. Why pigs got so much problem one?
Dolphin 1: Don't know lah. I thought pigs just eat sleep and be merry, but this pig quite active one, everything also do, so maybe got more headache lah.
Dolphin 2: Why can't pigs be more like dolphins? Swim here and there, got tuna eat tuna, no tuna eat sardines lah. Left brain headache, then switch left brain off, since still can think with right brain. HA....dolphin good right?
Dolphin 1: Yah, yah, yah, keep singing your own praises. If both brains headache you switch both off right? You backside pain then you know.
Dolphin 2: Hee Hee, ok lah, got to go. Don't forget to let me know when Piggy 2 sms you on which coconut tree he is at. Maybe I can go see if his backside still pain or not :p *grin*
Dolphin 1: !!!!!!!
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Some KK Pictures
Not in the best mood to come up with a KK Trip report except to say that it was a trip with mixed feelings. While I did manage to reach the summit, the weather on the way up and down was very bad and no pictures were taken at all! The consolation is that in between, before and after the conquest, I managed to snap some interesting pictures.....
A nice shot of a chameleon having lunch
A red indian hiding behind the tree?
Nice silvery tint caused by light reflection
Budding red leaves - young and vibrant
Silver fern - head of a ram?
Moss on the tree - Christmas already?
Ever-flowing waterfall
How good if we could walk on the clouds?
Is that a spaceship? Nope, just a cute piece of cloud!
Catch the twilight rays of the sunset
Can see the stars?
Silver Fern - interlocking rams' horns?
A pretty moth?
I feel so naked
Butterfly hovering on flower
Will write more when I am in the right mood, else it would be more pictures. Standby.
A nice shot of a chameleon having lunch
A red indian hiding behind the tree?
Nice silvery tint caused by light reflection
Budding red leaves - young and vibrant
Silver fern - head of a ram?
Moss on the tree - Christmas already?
Ever-flowing waterfall
How good if we could walk on the clouds?
Is that a spaceship? Nope, just a cute piece of cloud!
Catch the twilight rays of the sunset
Can see the stars?
Silver Fern - interlocking rams' horns?
A pretty moth?
I feel so naked
Butterfly hovering on flower
Will write more when I am in the right mood, else it would be more pictures. Standby.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Back from Mount KK Conquest
HA. I am back! :) Yeah, I conquered Mount KK. Stood on top of South East Asia for a few shivering minutes. It was a tiring trip. But I should be well rested now. More reports and photos coming up.....need time to settle in :)
Friday, August 05, 2005
KK here I come!
The day has finally arrived. I would be flying over to Kota Kinabalu later this evening for my Mount KK conquest. Am getting a little excited. Climbing any mountain is like climbing Mount Everest to me. Every mountain conquered is a conquest, no matter how high or difficult. Besides Mount KK is the highest mountain in South East Asia, so that to me is already not too bad an achievement, but HA, let me conquer it first :p
I had this funny dream last night that I was trekking some mountain, and had to bash through jungles and cross raging torrents. Instead of using a rope to help me cross, I was swimming across the level 3 rapids! HA. At some parts the sights were so beautiful and I realised I did not have my camera with me. I had to go back to grab my camera but I never managed to because I woke up! In the dream I was wearing a blue windbreaker, exactly the one I would be wearing for this KK trip, and it was completely waterproof (in the dream, I mean :)) HA, I must be getting very excited.
The plan is for us to relax in the city for 2 days before proceeding to the Park HQ. We would spend the next 2 nights up on the mountain and will likely attempt the summit twice (sounds like Everest conquest eh?). But who knows, we might try the South Peak instead if the first attempt to Low's Peak was successful and the sunrise fantastic :D Weather reports forecast scattered thunderstorms but I hope we will not be at those "scattered" locations. We will pray hard :) We will relax another few days in the city before returning.
I would be away for over a week and am unlikely to update my blog. But I will return with lots of beautiful pictures for sure. So do come and check my pictures out at the end of next week :)
I had this funny dream last night that I was trekking some mountain, and had to bash through jungles and cross raging torrents. Instead of using a rope to help me cross, I was swimming across the level 3 rapids! HA. At some parts the sights were so beautiful and I realised I did not have my camera with me. I had to go back to grab my camera but I never managed to because I woke up! In the dream I was wearing a blue windbreaker, exactly the one I would be wearing for this KK trip, and it was completely waterproof (in the dream, I mean :)) HA, I must be getting very excited.
The plan is for us to relax in the city for 2 days before proceeding to the Park HQ. We would spend the next 2 nights up on the mountain and will likely attempt the summit twice (sounds like Everest conquest eh?). But who knows, we might try the South Peak instead if the first attempt to Low's Peak was successful and the sunrise fantastic :D Weather reports forecast scattered thunderstorms but I hope we will not be at those "scattered" locations. We will pray hard :) We will relax another few days in the city before returning.
I would be away for over a week and am unlikely to update my blog. But I will return with lots of beautiful pictures for sure. So do come and check my pictures out at the end of next week :)
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
So boring!
Piggy 1 was walking. Piggy 2 also walking. Then Piggy 1 met Piggy 2, then Piggy 2 met Piggy 1, then Piggy 1 and Piggy 2 both met, then Piggy 1 and Piggy 2 talked. So boring!
Piggy 1 - Hey, how's the going?
Piggy 2 - What going? Please speak properly. I don't understand your "chim" english!
Piggy 1 - Aiyah, I am just asking how you are. So how are you piggy 1?
Piggy 2 - Like that lor. Very moody today.
Piggy 1 - Why always moody? Moody your middle name ah?
Piggy 2 - No lah. Getting very pissed off at work with my colleagues. Then they also started the ERP along CTE. I don't drive along CTE in the evening lah, but the ERP diverted many cars to where I travel daily. So now my side also jam and soon they will plonk an ERP gantry there too! *grrrrrr*
Piggy 1 - Aiyah, doesn't matter lah. Patient ok.
Piggy 2 - yah yah yah, always want me to be patient. Soon I will become a real patient!
Piggy 1 - Ok lah, don't say you already. Hey why don't you sell your car and take public transport instead. Our public transport system is world class leh.
Piggy 2 - World class? Sure or not? I have not travelled on a public transport for quite some time so do not know world class or not. All I know is that fares keep going up and these transport companies insist of earning more, when most other people are earning lesser.
Piggy 1 - Yah, cheap world class, LTA say one. It seems that everything is Singapore also world class leh.
Piggy 2 - World class! You have not seen what world class means lah. But then I must admit that setting up the COE and ERP systems are world class indeed! What better ways to milk the cows! *Moooooooooo* (Get your stinking hands off my teats)
Piggy 1 - Aiyoh, why talk about cows again. Wait the cows whack you then you know.
Piggy 2 - OK, OK, OK. That's why I use piggy here mah. But then there is one piggy out there who may be unhappy also. Aiyoh. Cow cannot, maybe pig also cannot. Maybe use dinosaur then no one will complain.
Piggy 1 - Why you always so critical one? Why can't you be a good boy and just do what they tell you to? Get into trouble then you know.
Piggy 2 - The most get deported to Sentosa lor. Eh, in a few years time got IR leh. Not bad to be deported there. Better start polishing up my skills.
Piggy 1 - OK don't talk about this sickening topic. Will make you mad. Hey, you going to climb Mount KK soon right? When hah?
Piggy 2 - This Friday lor.
Piggy 1 - Wow, then you should be very excited right?
Piggy 2 - Not sure leh. I a little apprehensive. Not sure whether can conquer the mountain or not. It will be very cold up there and sekali I get mountain sickness also. Piggy 1 - Never mind lah. So many people have done it. I am sure you can do it. Jia you ok!
Piggy 2 - Hope so lor. Still have not finished packing yet. My back pack now like weigh a tonne!
Piggy 1 - Aiyah, no pain no gain mah. At least you conquer Mount KK liao can claim that you have conquered one of the highest peaks of the world right?
Piggy 2. Guess so lor. Not sure big deal or not. I have already conquered Singapore's highest peak many times liao!
Piggy 1 - KK got things to buy for me or not?
Piggy 2 - Not sure leh. Never been there. Maybe got bird nests. You want bird nests? Those with blood one?
Piggy 1 - Yeee...don't want. Just get me some local goods can liao.
Piggy 2 - OK, OK, OK. Will take some pictures for you to see.
Piggy 1 - Thank you. *Hug Piggy 2*
Piggy 1 hugged Piggy 2, then Piggy 2 hugged Piggy 1, then both Piggy 1 and Piggy 2 hugged, then Piggy 1 puked, then Piggy 2 puked, then Piggy 1 and Piggy 2 puked. Then Piggy 1 walked away, then Piggy 2 walked away, then both Piggy 1 and Piggy 2 walked away.......
Piggy 1 - Hey, how's the going?
Piggy 2 - What going? Please speak properly. I don't understand your "chim" english!
Piggy 1 - Aiyah, I am just asking how you are. So how are you piggy 1?
Piggy 2 - Like that lor. Very moody today.
Piggy 1 - Why always moody? Moody your middle name ah?
Piggy 2 - No lah. Getting very pissed off at work with my colleagues. Then they also started the ERP along CTE. I don't drive along CTE in the evening lah, but the ERP diverted many cars to where I travel daily. So now my side also jam and soon they will plonk an ERP gantry there too! *grrrrrr*
Piggy 1 - Aiyah, doesn't matter lah. Patient ok.
Piggy 2 - yah yah yah, always want me to be patient. Soon I will become a real patient!
Piggy 1 - Ok lah, don't say you already. Hey why don't you sell your car and take public transport instead. Our public transport system is world class leh.
Piggy 2 - World class? Sure or not? I have not travelled on a public transport for quite some time so do not know world class or not. All I know is that fares keep going up and these transport companies insist of earning more, when most other people are earning lesser.
Piggy 1 - Yah, cheap world class, LTA say one. It seems that everything is Singapore also world class leh.
Piggy 2 - World class! You have not seen what world class means lah. But then I must admit that setting up the COE and ERP systems are world class indeed! What better ways to milk the cows! *Moooooooooo* (Get your stinking hands off my teats)
Piggy 1 - Aiyoh, why talk about cows again. Wait the cows whack you then you know.
Piggy 2 - OK, OK, OK. That's why I use piggy here mah. But then there is one piggy out there who may be unhappy also. Aiyoh. Cow cannot, maybe pig also cannot. Maybe use dinosaur then no one will complain.
Piggy 1 - Why you always so critical one? Why can't you be a good boy and just do what they tell you to? Get into trouble then you know.
Piggy 2 - The most get deported to Sentosa lor. Eh, in a few years time got IR leh. Not bad to be deported there. Better start polishing up my skills.
Piggy 1 - OK don't talk about this sickening topic. Will make you mad. Hey, you going to climb Mount KK soon right? When hah?
Piggy 2 - This Friday lor.
Piggy 1 - Wow, then you should be very excited right?
Piggy 2 - Not sure leh. I a little apprehensive. Not sure whether can conquer the mountain or not. It will be very cold up there and sekali I get mountain sickness also. Piggy 1 - Never mind lah. So many people have done it. I am sure you can do it. Jia you ok!
Piggy 2 - Hope so lor. Still have not finished packing yet. My back pack now like weigh a tonne!
Piggy 1 - Aiyah, no pain no gain mah. At least you conquer Mount KK liao can claim that you have conquered one of the highest peaks of the world right?
Piggy 2. Guess so lor. Not sure big deal or not. I have already conquered Singapore's highest peak many times liao!
Piggy 1 - KK got things to buy for me or not?
Piggy 2 - Not sure leh. Never been there. Maybe got bird nests. You want bird nests? Those with blood one?
Piggy 1 - Yeee...don't want. Just get me some local goods can liao.
Piggy 2 - OK, OK, OK. Will take some pictures for you to see.
Piggy 1 - Thank you. *Hug Piggy 2*
Piggy 1 hugged Piggy 2, then Piggy 2 hugged Piggy 1, then both Piggy 1 and Piggy 2 hugged, then Piggy 1 puked, then Piggy 2 puked, then Piggy 1 and Piggy 2 puked. Then Piggy 1 walked away, then Piggy 2 walked away, then both Piggy 1 and Piggy 2 walked away.......
Monday, August 01, 2005
Shitty Day
I was out for lunch just now with a few JC classmates at one non-airconditioned food court in Ang Mo Kio. We were happily enjoying our food and chatting when suddenly I felt something dropped on my shoulder. Immediately I knew something "bad" has dropped on me. True enough it was bird shit and the bird (mynah) was still perched proudly on the metal bar above. I went to the toilet to wash up but only managed to clean some of it away. I decided to ignore it and even went to take a quick look at my regular camera shop which was just next to the food court.
When I finally got back to the office, I realised that besides the shit that dropped on my shoulder, there were two other big patches of shit/urine on the back of my white shirt! I believe a lot of people might have been staring at me while I was walking around the place. Arrrrrgh. I have no choice but to return home to have a change of clothes. A shitty day indeed.
When I finally got back to the office, I realised that besides the shit that dropped on my shoulder, there were two other big patches of shit/urine on the back of my white shirt! I believe a lot of people might have been staring at me while I was walking around the place. Arrrrrgh. I have no choice but to return home to have a change of clothes. A shitty day indeed.
More paintings
Enjoyed the stick figures? Here are some more pictures which were drawn and painted.
One of the original stick figures
One of the original stick figures
Stick Figures!
Last weekend was the final weekend just before our KK Trip. However, I did not involve myself in any training at all as I was engaged with work and night classes. I guess it would be a nice break for the body just before the actual trek.
While working on something to encourage ourselves for the trip, a few of us got together and started to have fun drawing and painting some stick figures. Here are some of the masterpieces that resulted from the fun sessions. I won't tell you who these stick figures are. You would have to guess :)
The cool one!
A ladybird? Wonder who this represents?
The playful one?
The mischievous and energetic one?
Sleeping Beauty?
Kawai? Cute Cute one?
The sweet and demure?
Whoever we are, we had a lot of fun!
While working on something to encourage ourselves for the trip, a few of us got together and started to have fun drawing and painting some stick figures. Here are some of the masterpieces that resulted from the fun sessions. I won't tell you who these stick figures are. You would have to guess :)
The cool one!
A ladybird? Wonder who this represents?
The playful one?
The mischievous and energetic one?
Sleeping Beauty?
Kawai? Cute Cute one?
The sweet and demure?
Whoever we are, we had a lot of fun!
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Did you milk a cow recently?
Imagine you have many cows that produce milk daily. Each day you milk all the cows and earn some money from the milk. Then with the money earned you buy more cows so that you can milk more cows and earn more money. So after a while you have a lot of cows that earn you lots of money from the milk you milk the cows of. Soon some cows grow old and they no longer produce as much milk. Also you ended up with too many cows to milk. So instead of wasting your time to milk these old cows on your own and milk so many other cows, you decided to get someone else to milk the cows for you, in return for some money.
Unfortunately, the someone that milks the cows is not an animal lover (not that you are a animal lover too), and he probably hates teats too (how about you?). So he milked the cow day-in-day-out until the teats of the old cows dried out, and worse still, some of them die from manhandling. Haiz....do you regret letting that someone milk the cow, or do you say "Well, it is ok lah, since the cows are going to die anyway.....afterall they are just cows......and I still earn some money" Ponder Ponder.
Unfortunately, the someone that milks the cows is not an animal lover (not that you are a animal lover too), and he probably hates teats too (how about you?). So he milked the cow day-in-day-out until the teats of the old cows dried out, and worse still, some of them die from manhandling. Haiz....do you regret letting that someone milk the cow, or do you say "Well, it is ok lah, since the cows are going to die anyway.....afterall they are just cows......and I still earn some money" Ponder Ponder.
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