Looking Back At Year 2010: From Sibu to Putrajaya

Year 2010 will soon be remembered as one of the toughest year I have to endure. It somehow helped to develop a stronger character within myself

It all started in February this year where I am due to leave my hometown in Sibu for the nation's Federal Government Administration Centre in Putrajaya. I took a risk by stepping out of my comfort zone and enter an unknown territory (at the same time experience some culture shock even when I'm still inside my own country). However, I still consider myself lucky as Kuala Lumpur International Airport is not far away from Putrajaya and it is just a 2 hour flight away through the South China Sea to reach home. It could be more worse if I were to be in other States.

I was homeless for about 3 weeks since arriving in my new workplace. Due to this depressing situation, I almost gave up at the time. Pack my stuffs and just go home seemed to be the best solution at the time. However, a few good Samaritans from my workplace showed up and help me settled in.

Chinese New Year this year was also rather gloomy for me as I was not eligible for any leave and I got to spent like 3-4 days at home before returning to work. The first few months here was one of the lowest point in my entire life.

The very existence of this site was also in jeopardy initially as I am not too sure at the time whether I can sustain it or not. Luckily, the site prevailed and been injected with more fresh inputs from the various places I was able to visit during my tenure here.

The most excruciating pain I have to endure the whole year would be been away from my family and wife for the most part of the year which lead me to make a commitment to fly home every month at any cost. Been away and alone kind of taught me to appreciate what I still have.

I am still blessed throughout the year as I still able to celebrate important occassions with my family and wife. This somehow kept my sanity intact.

Next year should present itself with more challenges for me as I might face with another chapter of my life. As for this site, there should be more new palces to be explored although the postings frequency might be reduced.

Thanks for reading and visiting my site all year long. Your contributions had led me to keep this site afloat.

Have a nice weekend and year ahead!

Proton Innovative Cars Exhibition

Last week there was an exhibition on some pretty funky cars at the Complex D, Block D9 concourse in Putrajaya.

On closer inspection, the exhibition was organized by the Ministry of Transport which showcase the innovative cars created by the Proton's employees.

I am attracted to this car which looks like a gull with its doors up. All the vehicles here are powered with clean source of energy such as natural gas.

Some visitors might mistaken this vehicle as "bat mobile" with its prominent fins at the rear.

Some of the other cars which were on display. Most of the cars were modified extensively on the exterior casing from its original model such as Perdana, Gen 2 and etc.

This car (nicknamed Rhino Beetle) on the other hand was awarded the winner for the Proton Innovation Design in 2009. It has a spacious interior and run on 6 wheels.

Having said that, the exhibition has a hidden message to the civil servants here. It is aimed at educating the civil servants to "innovate" in their delivery system and problem solving skill in order to achieve a better overall result and performance.

My 2010 X'mas in KL

I celebrated Christmas this year in KL to get a better picture of the atmosphere at the nation's capital on the eve of Christmas day.

Almost all the bars and pubs in the city's hot spot were packed to the brim. Shopping malls closed at 10pm and we got no place to hang out to kill some time while waiting for midnight. Hence, I decided to retreat to my favourite drinking place, Bavarian Bierhaus.

As predicted, the place was not packed at all. Just nice for us to have a peaceful drink and snack before the countdown.

I drank Franziskaner and Hoegaarden. The place ain't noisy and it's just my kind of place to unwind.

We ordered charred pork steak (RM 41) as supper rather than dinner. Nicely done with the apple topping. The restaurant never let me down when it comes to pork dishes.

The traffic in the streets to KL started to crawl at snail pace towards the midnight. It would be a nightmare to drive at this hour.

The most happening place would be the area around Pavilion Mall and Bintang Walk.

Party revelers were spraying snow flake (which in fact is a soap bubble) from an aerosol can at each other. For the record, my face was sprayed unexpectedly by some stranger and luckily it didn't affect my vision as it was a direct spray to my eyes.

The Bintang Walk was virtually filled with people and we had a very tough time just to negotiate our way back to the nearby hotel where we spent the night.

Let's not forget the rubbish left behind by the revelers. Tons of those snow flake spray cans were left lying around the street.

X'mas Decoration At Alamanda

After seeing the X'mas decorations around KL malls, it is time I showcase the decorations at my "second" hometown in Putrajaya.

Alamanda is the sole shopping complex in Putrajaya where majority of the residents here don't really celebrate Christmas. However, the management still able to put together some decent decoration for the festive season.

The main theme is the giant shoes with a few figures in Santa costume. It occupies a portion of the area at the main concourse.

It ain't complete if it did not come with a X'mas tree. The decorations here came a bit late as compare to other malls in the KL and Selangor. If I remember correctly, these decorations were only set up early this month.

Merry Christmas everyone!

X'mas Decoration At The Gardens Mall

Moving on to the Gardens Mall after visiting the vibrant decoration at the adjacent Midvalley Megamall, I found the X'mas decorations here are more conventional.

It depicts the winter season which is usually associated with Christmas. It ain't eye catching but still provide a nice setting for the festive mood.

The decorations are neat and it is quite a pleasant stroll while admiring its ambience.

X'mas Decoration At Midvalley Megamall

Midvalley Megamall really outdo themselves this time around in term of X'mas decoration. I am just amazed with the scale of it.

The concourses (North, South and Centre) are virtually turned into a toy land. Obviously, the target group would be the children.

Giant figures and dolls are at every corner. I will definitely having a time of my life here if I was a child.

I would rate their deco as one of the best this year in Malaysia. It's a lot of fun and ain't boring