Jia Yih

God's wonderful creation - natural wildlife (Oamaru 2011)

2011-11-27T20:44:00.001-08:00

Moeraki Boulders

Oamaru town

fearless!

a beautiful church in Oamaru

lots of sheeeeeep~~

huh? daboo?!

Yellow eyed penguins- only found in NZ

sealions! don't get too close or they'll chase you!

sealion : ??!

a little blue penguin hiding inside a burrow

Early Birthday celebration 2011 with Eric

2011-11-22T04:06:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Kathleen, KaChun and Yee Huei for organizing such a wonderful event for us.

may God bless you all always =D

Mirror Lake (2011)

2011-10-05T01:57:00.000-07:00

A trip to Blue Pool, Haast Past, New Zealand

2011-09-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

July snowing in Dunedin

2011-09-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

CNY 2011

2011-09-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

"caroling' in CNY 2011

2011-09-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

the 1987ish

2011-09-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

SEM in early 2011

2011-09-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

Dad's Birthday (early 2011)

2011-09-29T09:03:00.000-07:00

感谢神所赐的一切!

父母是上帝给的美好礼物！

Asian beginners playing Siku( South American instrument)

2011-01-24T04:24:00.000-08:00

During my stay in the Chalets, Cromwell while I was working...an Uruguay taught us how to play this amazing and wonderful Latin American instrument called the siku... the siku is an Amerindian instrument.

we're playing Sounds of Silence and Lambada

My Birthday 2010

2011-01-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

Library camping 2010

2010-11-21T02:16:00.000-08:00

end of the second semester potluck plus play saboteur

2010-11-20T13:05:00.000-08:00

Saboteur!

End of the year potluck and birthday celebration for Jocelyn

2010-11-13T18:32:00.000-08:00

Mahjong group

Saboteur group

One of the potlucks during the second semester 2010

2010-11-13T18:29:00.000-08:00

Picnic at Woodhaugh, end of the semester picnic 2010

2010-11-09T19:40:00.000-08:00

Hari Raya Open House and End of the semester dinner

2010-11-09T15:14:00.001-08:00

karaoke in Dunedin for the firs time in 2010!

2010-09-18T15:39:00.000-07:00

I have not stepped foot into a karaoke ever since I got back to Dunedin in February 2010!

One of the only few karaoke places in Dunedin called K World apparently closed down in the beginning of the year but it was reopened again..so I thought it's best if i invite some of my friends along to sing it all out!

It was great because everyone gets to sing and enjoy...after a week of stress and homework.

(the quality of the pictures may not be that good)

it's not only singing, but dancin' as well for these people..hehe

Second semester mid-sem break 2010 (Tasman Lake)

2010-09-12T04:49:00.001-07:00

During our trip, we've seen a lot of mountains and lakes, but I truly believe that Tasman Lake is a one of a kind of because it has icebergs on it! and it looks BEAUTIFUL!

Second semester mid-sem break 2010 (Wanaka)

2010-09-06T17:53:00.000-07:00

It's been 2 years that I have not been to Wanaka, it's nice to see this beautiful town again with a population of 3000!

Wanaka lake is of course the must go of Wanaka....it's just beautiful.

Second semester mid-sem break 2010 (Queenstown)

2010-09-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

I've been to Queenstown exactly 2 years ago along with my best pals in my first year, the awesome foursome( PeiJia, Vera, Felicia and Reseena)..and I remember this place very well...I can even tell where our backpackers is without looking at the map...

It's really a beautiful place where all visitors to NZ must travel...

Second semester mid-sem break 2010 (Hayes Lake)

2010-09-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

My second semester mid-semester break 2010 was spent by going on a trip along with Mark, Vivian, Kowa and Yun Lan to Queenstown, Arrowtown, Wanaka, Mount Cook, Lake Tekapo etc.

I have been to most of the places but I do not mind at all returning to these places as they are incrdibly beautiful and tranquil!

Most of the pictures are credited to Mark Adrian Chong.

Lake Hayes is incredibly clear, it's almost like a mirror reflecting the sky and the mountains...

Earthquake in Christchurch 2010

2010-09-03T23:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcKaqEKePiA&feature=sub

Apparently there was an earthquake that struck Christchurch around 4.30am early in the morning and the tremor reaches Dunedin. Many of my friends were able to felt it and some of them were woken up by it. However, I did not feel it at all for I think I had a deep sleep last night.
It seems that the damage in Christchurch is considerable with a few damaged buildings and roads as well as destroyed cars.

Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo

2010-09-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

John's and KaChun's birthday

2010-08-10T02:23:00.001-07:00

KaChun's flute

John's birthday

KaChun's birthday

my cooking...

March 2010 mid-term break trip

2010-07-13T22:38:00.000-07:00

Some of the locations that I went during mid term break of the first semester 2010 was...
Oamaru,
A Salmon farm,
Maori heritage site,
and a lake(name forgotten) that with unusual blue colouring.

salmon, yum yum

I hope I can get it free

Oamaru

Christchurch (March 2010)

2010-07-12T01:32:00.000-07:00

Apologies for not been updating the blog for such a long time...
This time I'm just going to post a few pictures of mine travelling around in Christchurch on March 2010.

Cathedral Square

Christchurch Cathedral

T.rex skeleton

inside Christchurch Cathedral

inside cathedral

statue of Christ

Christchurch museum

Christchurch botanic garden

triceratop's skeleton

新年年初二 2010

2010-04-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

These are the pictures taken during the second day of the 'highly anticipated' Chinese new year.
Went out with my cousins in the morning for a movie and lunch, then we went for dinner at Grace's house, where all the cousins and relatives of my mother's side were present.
After eating, chatting and playing, I went to look for an old friend (WONG 'HA CHOO'! )who's currently working at KL. He does not come back to Sabah often, so it's a nice opportunity to meet up and chat.

cousins

the food!

a 2 year old boy that can spell almost every single English words!
it's not just ABC! impressive!

my grandma

Wong Ha Choo~

he likes the band, dressed up like chefs.

After Sports day, last tropical beach enjoyment in 2010..XD

2010-04-16T04:07:00.000-07:00

Last afternoon in Sabah was spent in Rasa Ria Beach Resort, with a bunch of youth from KK church.
It was really really hot as I remember, and we managed to catch some crabs and hermit crabs. Someone actually killed the hermit crab shown below by ripping its legs off. ><.
Was looking for pondok and the nicest pondok was taken, A! but luckily we found another one.

hermit crab up close

Sports Day aka last morning in Sabah 2010 (20/2/2010)

2010-04-07T03:53:00.000-07:00

My last day of summer holidays 2009/2010 .
Had a great last workout with these church mates of mine.

last night in KK 2010

2010-03-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

It was 20th February 2010, I spent my last night with the 1987s friends from Tuaran.
I met most of these friends when I went back to study in Tuaran during secondary school time.
I had a great time with them, and thanks for paying for my dinner, namely Lee, Siao Di, and Donald! you guys are always in my heart brothers! XD
The next day, I took a flight back to NZ, study again...oh man...hope to see all of you in Sabah next time!

teriyaki!

siao dee

retake 2010

group

this friend made my day

Lee, da boss~

Donald Duck

KcD

First day of Chinese New Year 2010

2010-03-12T14:20:00.000-08:00

The first day of Chinese New year 2010, as usual, my uncle would invite all of the Chungs to promenade hotel to have dim sum breakfast together.

团圆 2010

2010-03-09T17:04:00.001-08:00

Chinese New Year is one of the most anticipated celebrations every year...
I like CNY because firstly we can get to receive ang paus! also because we're able to sit and gather together with friends, family and relatives.
I'm just gonna post some pictures taken during the Tuan Yuan, which is the day before Chinese New Year. During Tuan Yuan, most Chinese would go back to their hometown and gather with their family as well as relatives to have a reunion dinner.
In the case of the Chung's, we have a rotation system that decides which house to celebrate the Tuan Yuan, and it's at my house this year.

Chung's descendants

all of the Chungs

Jones and his wife

satay during CNY? unusual eh...XD

Before Christmas 2009

2010-03-09T02:04:00.000-08:00

carolling at Gaya Street by SEM

Traditional Sabahan house decorated with Christmas ornaments. XD

Chen Sin Reunion CNY 2010

2010-02-25T14:23:00.001-08:00

It all started with a school picture...
Someone posted a school picture during the time of primary school time in Chen Sin on facebook, and it sparked a reunion party. I was not particularly from Chen Sin(I was from Chung Hwa KK!), but then my participation is justified because of the close relationship with those folks that used to study in Chen Sin, many of them I met in church, secondary school, etc.
I'm pretty much mainly responsible for organising the reunion XD, by helping Lo Pei Yee to create an invitation page in facebook, we're able to estimate the numbers of participants as well as pinpointing our location(Promenade Hotel), date and time.(
I remember I was sick at the time, which was bad because I got sick in the middle of Chinese New Year!
I also ate a lot of desserts, which I have not done that for so long~~ Oh no~
It's nice to see faces that I have not seen for a very long time as well as familiar
faces that I see...Well done, let's organise one next year!

New puppies

2010-02-25T14:04:00.000-08:00

During my 3months long holidays back home, my dad brought back 2 new puppies as our new pets. At first, I thought they were Golden Retriever but then after careful observations, it's appears that these 2 puppies' hair are too short to be golden retrievers.
But there cute and cuddly nonetheless, and I gave them showers occassionally because their fleas got onto my body when I was playing with them. It was itchy and horrible!

not related, just the cats and my cousins' shop.

Weight Loss attempt and experiments

2010-02-24T14:26:00.000-08:00

Weight loss has been my goal since I was 13 but I was unable to achieve and maintain it well.
Yes, there were times when I managed to lost much weight but I was not resolute enough to maintain an ideal body weight.
Thus, various diet experiments had been conducted ever since just to bring down the weight.
In the process, I realised that skipping meals or going on a starvation diet won't help much and it could actually make you retain fat!
In the end, who would have thought that a scientific approach to weight loss is actually the best way to lose weight.
My friends saw my success and were interested in my method so he embarked on what I did and this is the result.

2010

2009

2010

2008

Hopefully my method will make changes in his life! XD

2010-02-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

During my 3 months long holidays in Sabah, I had hanging out with my very good friends Angela, Ei Ling as well as Keng.
As we all know, there's a place to play archery in 1Borneo and we played over there before.
Although the bows and arrows are not the traditional ones, it's still entertaining enough for me.

Bulleyes!

Angela's very first time to eat at a Japanese restaurant? XD

Paintball ( 10-1-2010)

2010-02-23T13:28:00.000-08:00

Since there are quite a lot of pictures to be posted, I'm not gonna post it chronologically...
I'm just gonna post anything that I feel like posting XD
I and Shu Ying organised a paintball event for both Tuaran and KK church, and I believe it's quite successful and the participation had been very satisfying. Plus, there were lots of spectators as well.
The worst thing was that the coward Ding Yi Hao did not show up even though he's the person that I wanted to shoot the most with my paintball gun. XD

Back again in Dunedin, NZ 2010

2010-02-23T13:08:00.001-08:00

Once again I'm back in Dunedin after my 3 months holidays...
It's been quite meaningful to me and at the same time quite meaningless as well.
There's lots of things going on in this brief 3 months holidays and I really enjoyed and appreciated it.
Thanks to the friends that kept me company for so long, had fun and joy with you all.
Finally, my new semester starts and all moods of having fun have to be destroyed and focus on my maybe-last year(if I'm not doing honours) of studying in the University of Otago.
I'll be posting pictures that have been taken during my 3 months long holidays in Sabah.

Lastly, I do miss my family, relatives and friends...all the best and may God bless ya all!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas has always been one of my most anticipated celebration annually.
Christmas 2009 was great and I liked it XD.

Christmas band XD

solo~

dancing performace

talking on stage

forgot this guy's name...lol

ending performance

photo session

so chai Ding Yi Hao

Carolling and Christmas decoration 2009

2010-01-08T18:35:00.000-08:00

December 2009 had been a very busy month because there were lots of events during that time.
there were carolling, Christmas, as well as youth camp to name a few.

my house

slicing turkey and lamb

too hungry?!

sausage-like body shape

decorating

My cousin, BahLiang's wedding(10.12.2009)

2010-01-04T23:08:00.000-08:00

My cousin named Chung Sean Leong got married at the age of 24..XD.
Best wishes to him and his wife, may they live happily ever after.
These are the pictures taken at the wedding dinner which was held at Hai Wang Cheng.

siao di

jun2

my cousin

my wai po

Birthday 2009

2009-12-11T18:41:00.000-08:00

My birthday was celebrated at church along with Jimmy Lim.
Thanks to everyone for organising such a great party for us, prepared delicious food, drinks as well as the birthday cake. I believe we really had a great time.
Also, thanks to those who bought me birthday gifts.

My birthday was celebrated at church along with Jimmy Lim. Thanks to everyone for organising such a great party for us, prepared delicious food, drinks as well as the birthday cake. I believe we really had a great time. Also, thanks to those who bought me birthday gifts.

Back to the Land Below the Wind

2009-12-11T18:22:00.000-08:00

Once again I'm back to my beloved state of Sabah. It's really warm and humid over here and it took me 2 weeks to get used to the weather over here. I kept sweating and desperately wanted to stay in an air conditioned room. I want this summer holiday of mine to be a meaningful one, to be a constructive one, to be able to help others, to be able to have fun with others.

Home sweet home

9 cats in the house!

Still remember me!

Bryan n Myke.

Malaysia, here I come!

Mark

my nephew in Auckland.

my cousin sister

One Tree Hill, Auckland.

Benjamin.

Hari Raya Open House and Malaysian Cultural Night 2009

2009-10-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

I attended the Hari Raya open house organised by various Malaysian clubs and societies.
It was fun because I get to meet friends that I have not seen for a while, and most importantly the food was great! they served satay, rendang, chicken curry and all sorts of desserts in authentic Malaysian style!
Also, there was a Malaysian cultural night plus mooncake festival organised by Toroa and I attended that one as well, it was great too, I get to eat lots of mooncakes and kuih batik. Yum yum...

too delicious..

even Americans love it...

phew...tasty, rendang, curry, and roti jala

Laksa

apparently, Fung was satisfied with the food and the atmosphere.

Wira looking younger and younger

the Sabahans...

the Sandakan boy who is studying health science...

Malaysians!

fan kuat a while...to Da Fu's China

Mid-Autumn Festival in NZ 2009

2009-10-03T05:39:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I was invited to Fung's flat to celebrate the annual mid-Autumn festival. I was excited to go because I know there'll be mooncakes to eat, but there were actually more food being served! We had Malaysian-style chicken curry, Bah Kut Teh!!!, canned tropical fruits and of course mooncakes.
I was quite surprised that many of my American friends do not know what durian is, nor they know anything about rambutan, mangosteen, lychee, longan and so on! hahaha, but we, the Malaysians educated our American friend, Peter with all these nice food that we have.
It was quite a good night, and we were actually reviewing each mooncakes that we ate, sort of like food critics... haha.

expensive mooncake!

Fung's flat

the chef, Fung Yin Hsien

Doing what we would have done back in Sabah in this particular day.

Bah Kut Teh~~~

chicken curry

tortoise-like shaped mooncake?

tasty Bok Choy

Peter's loving the mooncake...ahaha

Peter: Rambutan? huh?

More natural disasters! Earthquake in Padang, Sumatra and Typhoon Ketsana heads west towards Vietnam

2009-09-30T21:16:00.000-07:00

After typhoon Ketsana struck the Philipines, causing flooding and havoc, after the earthquake and tsunami that struck Samoa that cause lots of losses, As if everything is going to be back in normal....No! that's not it!

Typhoon Ketsana from the Philipines went west to Vietnam, causing flood and death in the interior region of that country. If Ketsana went South, that would have meant that Sabah is going to be facing some major catastrophe! Thank God it did not!

Also, Earthquake struck the city of Padang in Sumatra, Indonesia, officials estimate that the death toll is going to be at least a thousand!

Pray for peace and safety of these victims.

footage taken in the Philipines when typhoon Ketsana struck Manila,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWxyI-Hsyp8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdwoc7XCvsg

Typhoon Ketsana, Earthquake in Samoa, and tsunami approaching New Zealand.

2009-09-29T23:09:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the capital city and the outlying areas of the Philipines has been hit hard by the typhoon Ketsana, flooding 80% of entire Manila city. The flood is quite unbelievable and I would not have got a clue what to do if that happens. Cars were floating around and people was on the roof of their house. I also heard that Sabah felt the effect of the typhoon. For instance, heavy rain and strong winds was felt during that time.

Luckily, my friends that just went to Manile went back 2 days before the typhoon struck. When I told one of the more ignorant one among my friends who went to Manila, how lucky he is to have come back earlier. His reply was, I was in KK now, that's not my business anymore. That shows how ignorant he is. haha.

Today, a major earthquake struck Samoa today and triggered waves of tsunami heading towards the direction of New Zealand. I was like oh dear, not another tsunami warning again.But then in the end, the warning was cancelled. Hopefully, New Zealand will never be hit by any disaster, the same goes to my beloved Sabah.

Tramping ( North Island Trip 2009)

2009-09-03T07:09:00.000-07:00

I did a little bit of tramping with my friends during the trip and the places actually reminds me of The Lord of the Rings and Braveheart!

from the high grounds!

the Kingdom of Rohan!

Highlander!

Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas being crazy!

Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli!
Gimli :A dwarf cannot lose to an elf!

In this pic, my friend Sam actually looked like a giant looking at the other 3 little people.

Nature II (North Island Trip 2009)

2009-09-03T07:01:00.000-07:00

they call that a lake, while it looks more like a sea

jump from this cliff then you're done

lake~ or sea?

fish!

Nature ( North Island Trip 2009)

2009-09-03T06:42:00.000-07:00

I wonder why scenery in NZ is so nice?

crazy hair

Gandalf the Brown?

Ah!!!!

wuhoo~

Fung's meditating

Napier ( North Island Trip 2009)

2009-09-03T05:22:00.000-07:00

During my trip, I went to Napier as well.
Napier is an interesting town because it's known for its Art Deco architecture.

mao shi zhuo..

NZ flag!

inside the hostel

Criterion Hostel, Art Deco style

quite empty on Sunday

this is for my friends that I went for a trip with approximately a year ago.

嘉毅

monkeys in NZ?

Hobbits?

chilling at the beach

Beehive and Te Papa Museum ( North Island Trip 2009)

2009-09-03T04:44:00.000-07:00

Two of the most important buildings in Wellington are of course the Beehive and Te Papa Meseum.
Beehive is actually the parliament building of New Zealand. you'll know why it's called Beehive.
and Te Papa is the national museum of New Zealand, it's huge! never seen museum that huge before!

the Beehive

Maori carvings

Wong Ha Choo

Entrance to Te Papa

a very rare specimen of Colossal Squid! the largest invertebrate ever known!

seem rotten a bit...

badass Pete

Maori structure

entrance

balik South Island

Believe it or not, those 2 creautres as big as depicted once lived in NZ.

Kiwis~

oh~ that's how New Zealanders know when there's an earthquake

katak!

Malaysian Restaurants in Wellington! (North Island trip 2009)

2009-09-03T04:28:00.000-07:00

out of topic~

oops, out of topic 2

There's nothing more entertaining than to look out for Malaysian restaurants around Wellington...LOL. jk jk.

Wellington Ze Capital of NZ! ( North Island trip 2009)

2009-09-03T04:09:00.000-07:00

As usual, my blog does not normally filled with words and writings. I just want my pictures to do the talking, I just want to share what I've seen via my camera! Sometimes you see people blogging and they wrote a lot stuff and it's kinda funny at times.
Get to the Point! Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is one of my favourite cities! It reminds me of Hong Kong in a smaller scale. For me, Wellington provides urban lifestyle with all the high-rise and skycrappers around but at the same time it's a small city. Love it.
Pictures tell the rest!

Wellington view from Victoria University of Wellington

I know wearing that sunglasses is not cool, but my eyes were swollen that caused by allergic reaction.

downtown Welly~

Night view of Wellington

symphony of traditional and modern

Wellington's tallest?

floating ball? defying logic and science?

float metal ball~

crewmen

chilling~

just got back from Mid-term Break trip, 2009

2009-09-03T03:02:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the mid-term break trip to North Island.
I, Peter, Fung, Sean and Sam went for a trip to the East Coast part of the North Island.
It's kind of like a road trip and here's a clip of what we sort of did in the trip.

大马之夜

2009-08-09T03:38:00.001-07:00

I just attended the annual Malaysian Night on 8th August 2009.
It was about the folktale of Si Tangang which I believe most of us have read about it during their secondary school time but honestly I did not read it at all when I was in school..LOL.
I think they did a great job in their preparation and performance by putting in the rich and diverse cultures of Malaysia into the show...various cultural dances and performances were being performed such as Malay dance, Indian dance, Chinese dance, Silat Martial Arts, Dikir Barat etc.
But it makes me think that there should be some performance that reflect the full extent of richness of Malaysia cultures by performing Sabah and Sarawak performances such as Sumazau/Sumayao, magunatip, and playing the Sape musical instrument etc. Maybe more Sabahans should come over and study in this university to make this possible! haha..
I did not any pictures because I did not bring my camera so I kind of 'described' about it already.

the poster

vouchers from the lucky draw, 2 vouchers each has the value of NZ$25 to the Rainforest Malaysian restaurant! never gotten so lucky before.

Sabah + Sarawak

Sabah + Sarawak + someone from Selangor 'kacau2'

The Sabah boys

Abang Wira with the Sabahans

Abang Wira!

Fung's Birthday(11th July 2009) and Political discussions

2009-07-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

The university's second semester started 2 weeks ago but I find it much more difficult this semester to cope up because of the difficulty of the papers I'm taking this semester. Hopefully, I'm able to cope up. In this post, I'll just post some pictures taken at Fung's birthday as well as pictures taken from our friendly political discussion meeting that we called it the Forum of the Deep South. Fung's my pal from the same Malaysian state as me, which is the beautiful state of Sabah. The discussion meeting is a gathering of selected individuals interested in politics where political discussions are being... discussed.

Fung's bday

Happy Bday...

the happy birthday song player...

dinner before the discussion.

future Japanese Prime Minister..he looks like a younger version of Junichiro Koizumi.

crazy looking faces.

Potluck dinner at Kotahi

2009-07-20T04:05:00.000-07:00

Recently, I was invited and joined a potluck dinner at Kotahi flat in Toroa International House. The residents in Kotahi is Hamwira, Henry, Sebastian, Sam, and Owen. As usual, I could not resist it when I saw so many variety of food being served, so I ate quite a lot.^^
Thanks to Kotahi residents for helding such a nice potluck event, so kind of you guys...organise more of these events ok? haha.

Sam said Sabahans don't know about Roti John, I seriously did not know it until I ate it during the International Food festival..LOL

Diversity! Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, USA, Indonesia, and India! but Sabah rocks harder!

Kai Yuan and Henry Auguestine...

They say we look alike...

Yuji Nakane, Hamwira, and Alvin the entertainer.

eat eat eat~

take more!

Potluck = everybody brings their own dish and we eat together.

experienced Earthquake in Dunedin, New Zealand

2009-07-15T03:02:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable, for the first time in my life I felt an earthquake!
As usual, I was lying on my table using my laptop. suddenly, the table was kind of shaky then I thought it was my body somehow 'twitching'. then I get my body off the table then and still sat on the chair, but my body was still shaking which made me thought that my butt was actually 'twitching'. Then I heard some strange sounds, I looked around then see all my tables, cupboard, and clothes are actually shaking. Thus, I concluded that this was really an earthquake.
Although it's an earthquake, the intensity appears to be low and there will not be any damage to the buildings and structures around New Zealand. I was informed that the epicenter of the quake was at Fiordland and there's tsunami going on all over the West Coast of New Zealand. Fortunately, the West Coast is sparsely populated.
This is indeed one of a kind experience for me, because so far I believe Sabah is safe from any earthquake or major disasters. Let's hope Sabah remains safe!

Satisfied, second semester starting soon

2009-07-03T10:33:00.000-07:00

I'm satisfied with my semester 1 results. Thank God. But I will have to maintain or improve my grades so that I can take on Honours programme. Hopefully, I will be given such option because an Honour degree will always look so much better than a mere degree. Also, it could actually shorten the period of study if one is taking Master degree or actually skip Master and go straight into P.H.D or Doctorate if you've done really really fine.
Still have a long way to go, have to be patient, have to be hardworking, have to be disciplined, have to manage time well.
Moreover, I'm going to start my next semester on 13th July 2009, I hope that this time I will put extra effort on study and get improvements on my grades! May God be with me!

How far is New Zealand?

2009-06-25T20:07:00.000-07:00

Before arriving in NZ, I always thought that New Zealand is geographically quite close to Malaysia. In my memory, It would be Sabah, then below Sabah would be the Indonesian Isles, then below the Indonesia Isles would be Australia, then below Australia would be NZ! but I was wrong, It's further than expected. I've taken a snapshot from google earth to show u exactly how far NZ is from Sabah. It's not below us but lean further to the right, it took around 10 hours to fly there! Thus, I'm dunno how many thousand miles from home.

伟大的父亲

2009-06-21T05:09:00.000-07:00

You raise me since I was born, you educate me, teach me and guide me, you taught me the love of God, you taught me morality and being a good person instead of a person who solely aim for greed, you are strict and tough for my own good, you are not materialistic nor arrogant,
you are humble and yet respected, you are gentle and kind-hearted to everyone, you sacrificed so much for me, there's nothing I can do to repay, you are my dad and I love you. Thank you for everything.
Happy Father's Day

Tea break during Exam preparation

2009-06-19T23:22:00.001-07:00

it's nice to sit back and relax during stressful examination time, but not too long until it affects your grades. once in a while during the exam weeks, I would go to the coffee shop and order a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and some desserts. I'm quite impressed by the way they make their coffee and the taste is nice too. I heard New Zealand is the world's number one in coffee-making. In comparison to the 'kopi diam' we have in Malaysia, they just somehow put the powder and sugar and then stir it and ta dah! kopi o ping, milo ping done. New Zealand has complex methods of doing it with those sophisticated coffee and espresso machine at their disposal. But everyone should also note the starkly different price you have to pay when you order NZ coffee/hot chocolate and Msia's kopi ping/ milo panas.

hot chocolate with decorative patterns on top of it.

Fishing King

2009-06-18T00:16:00.001-07:00

This friend of mine is very funny, The picture below was taken 2 years ago, he was caught 'fishing' while attending church, hahaha. There's one instance where I had my first accident, I hit a buffalo and when he heard about that, he was just laughing and mocking me. Plus, he was like a loudspeaker or broadcast, because of him the whole world knows that I hit a buffalo. Then next week, he had a major accident around Kingfisher residential area. LOL...so with pleasure, I returned the favour.
But this friend is cool and generous, always act like a boss or the guy in charge. hahaha..I hope he see this.

丁老板'钓鱼'。

Snowing in Dunedin! 2009

2009-06-16T01:51:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 11am today, then I checked out the news, there's an article about snowing in Dunedin. At first I was suspicious, I thought only those hilly areas will snow most of the time, but then I looked outside my window, wala! snowing! but there was more snow early in the morning than at noon. aw...I miss the moment where I can make a snowman...haha.

Reminds me of Russia...but it's Dunedin, NZ duh..

Happy Kaamatan/ Harvest Festival

2009-05-29T04:52:00.000-07:00

I would like to wish all Sabahans a very happy Kaamatan or simply known as the Harvest Festival of Sabah. Although I do not normally celebrate it but after living outside of Sabah makes me think of Sabah once in a while and this festival is only celebrated in Sabah. As far as I'm concerned, the harvest festival is normally celebrated by the KadazanDusun ethnic group, they will have festivals lasting days and drink and dance for days! They will also held the annual beauty pageant of Unduk Ngadau during this time.
For me, I would normally join some family camp around this time at some resorts and you can get to hear some traditional music being aired in the resorts(weird). Also, those Sumazau dances will be performed at resorts or possibly at the shopping centres.
So for those non-Sabahans, if interested in Sabah please pay a visit to Sabah and enjoy our hospitality and beauty of our state. LOL..sounds like promoting! but yeah,haha.
These pictures have little relation to the festival but these pictures have been taken in Sabah and would like to describe Sabah with these few pictures.

Sabah, a land of freedom( my house)

A land rich in cultures ( unicorn dance)

A land of uniqueness ( Tarap, bet all non-Sabahans never heard of it)

A land where modernity meets nature ( Kota Kinabalu, the state capital)

A land of struggle for political autonomy and better future ( poster from PKR, LOL!)

A land of unity ( at Kundasang)

A land of beautiful marine ecology (ok, it's just a tank, but there are really lots of beutiful coral reefs out there for touritsts to visit)

A land of celebration ( I think we're celebrating Lee's birthday)

A land of peace and tranquility( my house)

A land of splendid scenery ( Mount Kinabalu)

A land of natural beauty

A land abundant in food ( Ah Moo and Siao Di)

A land rich in various kinds of cuisines( Ding Lao Ban enjoying his lunch)

A land of diversity in food ('GiLeen' Diam at Tuaran)

A land of long lasting friendship ( old classmates at TumBui's birthday)

A land of leisure and entertainment ( banana boat at Pulau Manukan)

A land of harmony ( form 6 )

A land of diversity in life ( a stick bug))

A land of surprises ( rare insect)

A land abundant in floral diversity ( the Rafflesia)

A land of hospitality (Traditional Murut Longhouse)

That's the Sabah I saw through my lens but of course it does not show everything(especially the Orang Utan and Pygmy elephants), but ....

Kotobian Tadau Tagazo Do Kaamatan! everybody!

Plus....I celebrated my Kaamatan outside Sabah in a Malaysian restaurant in NZ.

Ice skating: My first time 2008

2009-05-25T03:49:00.000-07:00

These few weeks have been boring and nothing much to do except looking at books, do some exercise, sleep, and go to lectures. Maybe that's the reason I'm here for instead of playing around all the time. Nonetheless, it reminds me of my very first ice skating experience last year and I would like to share with you all.
As you know, Sabah doesn't have a real ice skating facility, so I got the chance to ice skate in NZ with the 'awesome foursome'(PeiJia, Vera, Felicia, Reseena) as they called themselves. The 'awesome foursome' is a very adventurous group and I had fun hanging out with them.
They went back to their own respective country already and I will never forget them for all the fun and entertainment they brought upon me. TQ o'some 4'some.

yay, first time!

Fizee with the move

the 'awesome foursome' and I.

Happy Mother's day

2009-05-09T05:43:00.000-07:00

I would like to wish my mother and mothers around the world happy mother's day.
I know being a mother is not easy, being mother provides us with care, nurture, love, and teachings.
Being a mother have to face with their children's rebellious behavior and disobedience.
Although I would hardly express my gratitude to my mom, I would like to say thank you for everything.

bought this box of chocolate to show my gratitute to my mom. Unfortunately, I cannot bring it back until I finished this year's study. then, beh tahan will finish all the Hershey's chocs in it. have to replace it then.

Happy Mother's Day

In loving memory of our grandpa

2009-05-08T18:01:00.000-07:00

My grandfather just passed away today(9/May/2009) at 7.30am Malaysian time.

He was already in the hospital for quite a few days and was in a very critical condition. my sister and cousins told me that he was suffering and could not talk even thought he knew what was happening and he wanted to say something. He murmured something like..I'm thirsty, 我很辛苦.

I was told that he was strong, few people could have lasted that long with such condition, he struggled to stay with us for a longer period of time, he has a strong will. I remember my dad told me that grandpa was diagnosed with some disease when he was 59, when I was 1 year old. doctor told him that he had half a year to live. surprisingly, He lived until today which is about 80 year old. God's blessings are abundant in him.

My grandpa was a loving person, always with a smile. When I was in my primary school, he was still strong, always plowing the soil, planting vegetables. conditions changed when I was in my form 6, I noticed my grandpa was not as tough looking as he was suppose to be. and today God has taken him from us. May God be with him always. We love you grandpa.

I'm so sorry that I was not able to make it to visit you in your deathbed.
I hope I could have say the last few words to you.
May you be at peace, God be with you grandpa.

They celebrated his 80th birthday on 30th April, then his medical condition got worse and he left us less than 10 days later. I did not manage to say a word before he left.

November 2008, along with my mom, grandma and my cousins, he was there in the airport to bring me home.

November 2008

February 2009, the last picture of my grandpa I've taken before I go back to Dunedin.

Kena Saman by New Zealand Police

2009-05-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

Last friday, I was chilling out at my friends' flat after working so much on assignments, I almost fainted. It was at Toraa, along with Peter and Fung, we chit chat about politics, geography and the tv shows we were watching. we did that until 2am then I and Fung decided to go home.

My house is 15minutes away from Toroa if I walk, so usually I would bike over which save so much time. I bought this second hand bike for NZ120(rm250)and does not have any lights installed.

On the way home, I saw a car in front of me and he flashes the car lights at me, then I thought they must be some kind of drunks trying to disturb me, so I biked faster to avoid them. surprisingly, the car began to chase me, then come close to me. I was like, are you kidding me? go home drunks! then they began to shout at me, saying : " hey, PULLOVER!".then I look clearly inside the car, they were Policemen! Oh my Gawd...then I stopped immediately.

That really 'made' my day when she told me you have no lights installed, you know it's dangerous to do that? I was like, I don't have the slightest idea that you have to put lights on for a bike, Malaysia doesn't do that. she was like...you gotta be kidding me!
then she complained about my helmet being too small for my head, then I told her, I've searched for a bigger helmet in the entire Dunedin, but I could not find one because my head is just too big to fit into a helmet. then she was like ".....................".
so she said fined me NZ55(rm110)for that.

Everyone must have thought kena saman is just for cars, but in NZ, I kena saman because I bike and my bike does not have lights installed!!
Never have I been saman in Malaysia or anywhere, I thought my very first saman is gonna be given when I was driving, It was not, It was biking!!!

Thus, NZ$55 just fly away like that, plus I just bought 2 lights, one for the front, one for the rear. which cost me around NZ$70(rm140). oh my Lord.

The moral of this story is that, we have to be careful of the police that's gonna appear anytime to fine ya. It also shows that Malaysia and New Zealand is different in strictness and types of laws and rules applied. People also ask if you can 'discuss' or give some 'kopi O' to the police, I believed NZ being one of the cleanest country in the world in terms of transparency and corruption would not fell into that, I may masuk lokap if i try to bribe them. Also, by principle I would never bribe a police even in Malaysia.
Find it interesting to share with you guys, so yeah..hope you guys enjoy the story.

Trip to Southland of New Zealand IV

2009-04-19T04:34:00.000-07:00

This will be my last post for my trip to Southland. first stop Invercargil, it's one of the southernmost towns in the world, nothing much to see and it's smaller than Dunedin. at night, there's not much you can do and it's not a good idea to go out because there would be lots of drunk people out there. After Invercargil, we went to Bluff, the place is sparsely populated but is renowned for their Bluff Oysters. Bluff Oysters are delicacy for the Kiwis and it taste good too...my friend Peter loves it so much that he wants to come back here for the festival in May. We also went to Te Anau, a tiny town to tramp and walk around, the lake over there is really nice and pretty. We lived in freestone backpackers, it's basically a hut without much stuff and I just experienced the life of the pioneers of American or NZ colonists.haha. too much to describe so I just stop here...and let the pictures do the talking.

incredibly beautiful lake in Te Anau.

Peter's collection

last supper for out trip

that's the hut

Hobbit's feet outside of out hut.

Deep fried Bluff Oysters, Peter's favourite

that's the car that we drove around in our trip,it costs them NZ1500(rm3000+) to buy this car. so cheap!

bedtime.

Bluff's market.

Takahe, Lazarus taxon...

The Lord of the Rings!

smoked salmon over there

Trip to Southland of New Zealand III

2009-04-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

I also went to Milford Sound during the trip, Milford sound is simply one of the most beautiful places on Earth..at least for me. It has splendid scenery and nice flora. the place really look like a scene in the movie The Lord of the Rings, where the Gandalf, Frodo, and the Elves depart to the undying lands. LOL...TLOTR fan! Beautiful as it was, however, there're these sandflies that spoil the mood because these flying insects are more annoying the normal housefly..they fly around you and they bite! Despite that, it's still a fun trip where you can tramp, you can go sightseeing etc. Maybe, I'll come back to Milford Sound or the neighbouring Doubtful Sound someday for the cruise or kayak because we did not get to do because of the weather and we did not book in advance. enjoy the pics.

Welcome to Milford Sound

No, Peter!

Milford Sound

rainforest around Fiordlands, remind me of Malaysia

nice stream

crystral clear water

drink it!

tramping time!

senka ppl behind me!

let's tramp!

Trip to Southland of New Zealand II

2009-04-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

In this 5 days trip, I went for tramping, living in small huts or lodges, a feeling that you're a pioneer trying to survive in a new and splendid environment. Just wanna stress again that the scenery in New Zealand is just incredible and beautiful! The only thing that I regret is that the places are too rural and lack of communication system such as an effective internet connection, nice computers and a working phone! hahahha...but overally, It's a nice trip and what an experience to behold.

in the barnyard

sayanging doggie

walking along the road surrounded by sheep and deer.

take pic in the middle of the road

argh, cut wood for fire, pioneer!

doin push-up in the middle of the road

I'm outside of Minas Tirith!( a city in The Lord of the Rings)

feeling happy

yay/

Trip to Southland of New Zealand

2009-04-16T05:28:00.000-07:00

耶和华看顾他的羊群。

I went for a 5 days trip to Southland of New Zealand which include Invercargil, Bluff, Te Anau, Milford etc. It was a nice trip because I get to see those breathtaking scenery that I can only see in The Lord of The Rings! some places are exactly like The Lord of the Rings! It's all about sceneries in this trip and places there are sparcely populated. Some pics for you guys to view..

Somewhere along the Southern Scenic Route.

beaches along Southern Scenic Route

Pretend to meditate

look at the scenery at my back!

nice sea!

nice sunshine, divine view

in Te Anau

Lake in Te Anau

ducks

quack quack quack, ap ap ap

Christchurch and Toroans

2009-04-05T04:34:00.000-07:00

Last week was another usual week, except for some interesting time with Toroans and a trip to Christchurch. I invited a bunch of Toroans for lunch at Chopsticks101, a Malaysian restaurant which mostly turned out. They reminded me of being a Toroan once and I kinda miss being a Toroan..haha. On saturday, I went to Christchurch with Peter, Wira and Yanika because they wanted to look for secondhand car. I joined them for fun and check out their car as well. It was a 5 hours ride to Christchurch! they bought the car for NZ1500 which is around rm 3000++...quite cheap for a car eh? I makes me wanna buy one too, but nah, there's no place to go anywhere, most places in Dunedin are within walking distance. Moreover, I got a bike too! enjoy the pics!

Toroans, students from all over the world.

Malaysian food. I ordered Singapore noodles.

cheesecake, I think I'm gonna gain weight soon.

Cathedral Square in Christchurch

nice statue

Sushi, love it love it

It's eating time

hungry Peter

Christchurch

joyful Peter got his car for NZ500, sharing between 3 persons

Ke-rais-che-rch

some landmark in Christchurch

within Christchurch cathedral

the art

it's an Anglican cathedral

Christchurch Cathedral in Christchurch

playing chess, huge ones

Cathedral square

St.Clair Beach and third Otago Peninsula trip 2009 by cycling!

2009-03-31T18:18:00.000-07:00

I went for a cycling trip with a bunch of friends from Toroa International House to the Otago Peninsula as well as St.Clair beach. This was the first time that I actually cycled to the Peninsula by bike! the 2 previous trips I joined were by cars. The trip was long because bikes will never be as fast as cars but still it's one of a kind experience. at the end of the trip, we did some barbeque and had some dinner at some playground. fun, pictures below and enjoy.

our cycling trip starts here at the 'tombstone' of Universitiy of Otago

New Zealand!

Peter and I

hey! that's me over there!

everyone with helmet on.

St.Clair Beach

chilling out at the beach

navigating the huge map we have here

Barbecue! Alvin's a great chef

yum yum

Lambchop

ah! trying to eat Peter's food.

the sun was tooooooo bright!

Peter, Alvin and I

An Introduction to my fellows: Moo! Foo! HaChoo!

2009-03-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

Another Introduction to my friends eh? Yeap, Today, I would like to introduce 3 of my friends. They are Foo Tun Vui, Moo Herh Tien, and Wong Ha Choo. I've been with them my whole teenage life sharing many life experiences and interests.

2005

2005

2008

2008

Let's start by introducing this 'butthole'! hahaha, just kidding...This guy below here is called Moo Herh Tien. we called him ah Moo which is sort of like a cow or something... I first met him in cyber cafe! back then we're game freaks! but I'm not anymore, but still is! However, despite playing so much games, he's still able to cope with his homework and studies which I find impressive. and yes he's a smart student! got himself in to Matrix and local Uni which I will never have a chance to do so! sometimes funny, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes crazy...that's Ah Moo! keep up the good work Moo, God be with ya!

enjoying his coconut...so happy

handsome bah

Another 'butthole' would be Foo Tun Vui, we would normally call him TumBui or Tanpui if you know what I mean... Actually, I've known this guy since we're in kids because we went to church until now. He's super slothy, super relax, super slow, and sometimes I really get annoyed by his care-free behaviour as if he's not going to care if the sky falls down. can stay at toilet for 1 hour, always late for church and other activities, and very stubborn! But anyway he's still my good pal. Ladies and gentlemen, Foo Tun Vui aka TumBui.

He doesnt normally sing in Karaoke, as if he just pay to listen to us singing.

teaching his cousin bad gesture.

sleep sleep sleep

bad guy

Last 'butthole' would be Wong Ha Choo, what a funny English/Malay for him..Ha Choooo! sneezing! so I suggested to him that you should discuss with your parents to change your name..hahah..just kidding. I first met this guy at form 1 when I return to Tuaran for study.
He seems to know more about politics, history, and general knowledge compared to other ignorant Tuaran teens, but I'm better than him anyway! mauhahahaha... despite all these knowledge, he's also another snail-like person, slow, late and always sleep in class. so I love to disturb him in order to stimulate him to be a faster person. We went to National Service together as well and he's even slower than ever! so, I continue to disturbed! until one day, I gave him a scar on his arm that he will never forget( not my fault!). that's it for Mr.Wong.

werewolf!

mr.gay at the beach

what happens if the moon is full?

Note: guys there are lots of posts here, make sure you take a look on every single post available, would be nice! thanks!