Venturing the Land of the Free (I)

"A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." (Proverbs 16:9)

I went to Thailand a month ago with my family. It was a planned last year. So on the 29th of June, I took a leave from my classes, packed my things and made my way early in the morning to Alor Star Airport. My flight was an early one. From the airport, I flew to LCCT-KLIA to meet my family. It was a long-awaited trip so you know how excited I was then. Meeting up with my family after 2 weeks and going for a vacation together was memorable and fun.

An 'isolated' airport. As it was o645 in the morning, there were only few passengers at the airport. I recalled that other than me, there were 2 families and two business men.

Took this amazing view during my flight from Kedah to KL

Managed to grab some food to fill my growling stomach (I didn't have time to take my breakfast before my flight)

And so, after an hour flight, I reached LCCT and waited for the arrival of my family from Kuching. It was quite a long wait so I decided to connect to wireless connection and surf the net. Doing so make the time flies even faster. Soon, I met my family and boarded the afternoon plane to Bangkok. The journey to Thailand took us 2 whole hours. It was quite tiring for me as I didn't have much sleep the night before. I almost slept the whole way but I managed to take some photos. As we neared Bangkok, there were lots of paddy fields down below(I think the number of paddy fields in Kedah is only 1/8 of the paddy fields that I saw at Thailand). We were totally taken back by the view. It was wonderful. It was even better when we managed to pass the Menam Chao Phraya River. This too, runs for miles and miles.

Chao Phraya River, the pride of Thailand

When we finally landed, we were again amazed by the size of the airport. No offense, but if you think KLIA is big, the Bangkok airport is like...I think 3-4 times bigger. No doubt, Thailand is a hot-tourism spot for tourists ad it has to accommodate millions and millions of passengers every year. This means that approx. hundred of thousands of passengers probably 'embark' the airport every day. To cut everything short, these are the pictures of it:

This is only a semi-quarter of the whole-lot of passengers that I could capture with my camera.

Part of the arrival hall

Just look at the complicated yet creative works of many experienced architects and workmanship

The taxis in Bangkok are the cars that we always thought are the 'rich people' cars in our country. So think twice when you see a luxury car in our streets.

We then took a cab to our hotel in city. One tip for those who plan to visit Bangkok: Before calling a cab, translate the name of places you want to go into Thai (ask at the airport information counter or management). Most of the taxi drivers can't read and converse in English. Try to learn some basic Thai language too to make life easier.

The view of the city from my hotel room.

After unpacking our luggage and getting ourselves freshened up, we went to China Town nearby. It was congested with people and the air is very polluted. On the road, vehicles zoomed passed us and 'Tut Tuts' (I'll explain what's this is in one of my latter posts) roared by us. We quickly got our way from the busy streets into a another street where vendors selling a variety of goods and food and shops are located. We were shocked when we saw that they actually sell real guns and food like fried beetles and such. I wanted to try the food but due to the shortage of time, I didn't manage to cause we there were other better food to try. There were lots of places to be explored at China Street. The small walking path didn't even stop cars from passing through. We had to take care of our valuables as we reckoned that there were pick pockets around.

Preserved food

Unusual fried food

Try guessing what this is

China Street

A taxi trying to 'resist' the 'back flow of humans' through a narrow street

Hawker stalls with great food all the way to the back

Top: if I'm not wrong, it is beef+pig intestine soup (couldn't recall the proper name)

Bottom: Thai noodles, it tastes totally delicious (a must try)

China Street's night life

As there are too many photos and things to write, I have to divide them into a few posts. So till then, I have to get back to my work in and will update again when there is time to spare. Please continue to pray for me and take care.

God bless. Jesus loves you.

Olympics 8/8/2008 - Destination China

See the five pandas? They are the official mascots for this year's Olympics

The world's biggest and oldest sports event held once in every 4 years is now here (opening ceremony tonight). This time, it is held in China. To make this event a success, the Chinese have spent millions, probably billions of dollars to upgrade its sports facilities, hotels, roads, buildings, and such - in hope of making China a more recognised country around the world and to boost up its tourism industry. Security is reinforced and it is made compulsory for the Chinese citizens to study and learn some English to enable themselves to converse to those sportsmen/ women and tourists from overseas.

The athletes come to compete for one of these, and also to bring glory and fame to themselves and their respective country

These buildings are some of the Chinese hard-efforts to organise the many sports events:

The 'Birds Nest'

The 'Egg'

The 'Water Cube' (left) and the 'Birds Nest' (right)

So, what do you think about all these preparations? In my opinion, the Chinese had really done a great job and it was truly a worth investment.

It was a WOW for me when I first saw these magnificent buildings (I bet that the same goes to you too).

Till then, God bless.

Status: Uni. student (Part 2)

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way should go; I will guide you with My eye." (Psalm 32:8)

And so, it all started with my flight from Kuching International Airport early on a beautiful morning on 17th June 2008. My destination is Penang International Airport, and to get there, I transited through KLIA. For now, let the pictures do the talking.

Passing the Penisular's coastline

Landed: KLIA

Boarded this plane to Penang

Approximately after 5 hours(transit hours included) of flight, I finally reached Penang and my taxi driver drove me to my uni which is about an hour 1/4 drive away. As expected , there are lots of paddy fields along the roads in Kedah (the ricebowl of Malaysia). I caught the first glimpse of my uni when my taxi reached to a more developed area. It was huge at first sight. The admin. and the faculty buidings stood tall in the distance.

Along Penang bridge

The cafeteria from my room window

My hostel block

Night falls upon the boys hostel

The girls hostel in the distance

Cut, cut, cut...(the registration, orientation and stuff)

As promised, I took some pictures of the falculty and sports complex. Here they are...

The Dentistry, Engineering, IT, and business buiding

Sports complex: holds an olympic sized pool and other facilities

Gym

Basketball court: the guy(right) is Richard

Tennis court

The food here actually taste not bad (although some say otherwise). We should be contented (compared to what I heard from other unis and colleges).

One of the sets of breakfast

One of the sets of lunch (lots of rice in Kedah)

And here are some of my batch mates who came from different states around the country...

Best friends

A lunch at Pizza Hut

Sitting (from left to right): Kirath, Rachel, Ai Ping, Sherlyn, Yvonne, Ang

Standing (from left to right): Tiffeny, Alvis, Bong, Sing, Richard, me, and Rome

Girl in the middle (doing the peace sign) : Elaine

This is me, Rome (in blue shirt) , and Joe (far end) at the library (taken a month ago)

About two weeks ago, my friends and I had a trip to Seberang Perai and Penang. We stayed at Tiffeny's house for a couple of days and had lots of fun visiting places and did some shopping. Oh yeah, we also watched X-Files and tell you what, most of my friends and I agreed to give it a rating of 2-5/10 after watching it, so you should know how 'terrific' the movie is. These are some of the pictures taken.... memories....

Let's get rough!!

Poses of the Year

I also grabbed the opportunity to get my hair cut in Seberang Perai. It has gone really thick and untidy after so many weeks since my last hair cut. So this is it, my new hair style (the recent me):

Just woke up at Tiff's house early in the morning

As usual, assignments and lessons are pouring in and the days are getting busy here. Please continue to pray for me and take care.

God bless. Jesus loves you.

Busy, busy, busy (Part 2)

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10

It's been 10 days now since I last blogged. Assignments, projects, and studies are all combining into one, so you can feel the heat and tense atmosphere surrounding the campus. At this point, I must say again that time reeeaalllyyy flies. I've already been here for 1 month. Getting use to campus life and the food. It has also been raining these days (normally during the evening). Showers of rain came pouring down, drenching those who are still doing outdoor sports and outside their hostels. It is actually quite troublesome for the students who want to go take their dinner. It's really a pity for those without their umbrellas.

My campus also had it's sports day today, in which many other universities joined. It is a big event for my uni as we are the host for the games. Early this morning, buses from the upper region universities of West Malaysia came into the campus. There were lots of new faces. Food stalls were set up, selling a variety of dessert and food. I think the temperature outside now is about 33 deg. cel. As expected, many people rather stay in their comfy apartments and hang around in the library area.

I'm also currently attending a Methodist Christian Youth fellowship and the church service held at a chapel in Bedong. There are students from my batch joining too. The main church is much further away from my campus. The fellowship consists of the students of AIMST and we are joining the Youth Fellowship at the main church in September.

Overall, my time here is quite tight and my blogging has to wait (on hiatus, maybe).

Till then, please continue to pray for me and take care.

God bless. Jesus loves you.

My 18th Birthday!

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. (1 Thessalonians 3:12)

As the clock (clocktower) stroked 12 midnight to signify the beginning of the 8th day in July, my group of friends sang the birthday song to me at the cafeteria. After the song, the whole cafeteria was boomed by claps and shouting from my seniors and fellow classmates. As you can see, students here normally celebrate their birthdays at the cafeteria and there are usually lots of students hanging out or studying there. So we will share the birthday celebration together. We then had a simple supper to celebrate. It was really touching and was one of the joyous moments in my life. At that moment, I then thought about how time flies so fast. I celebrated my birthday last year back in my hometown when I'm getting ready to sit for my exam. And now, I'm here in Kedah this year with a new group of friends. It's like it had just happened yesterday. I am 18 now and had just gone through 17 years of my life. I received a present and lots of wishes from my friends. Thank you guys! I love your present and thank you for everything!

Again, before my lecture started this morning, some friends of mine 'announced' my birthday to the lecturer. So, as expected, the whole class (approx. 140 students) sang a birthday song to me (previously, we also sang to our birthday boys and girls). Frankly speaking, it was quite a shy moment but it's an unforgettable experience. It's wonderful to see everybody happy and glad. It was really a beautiful moment.

In all, thank God for everything and please continue to pray for me that God will continue to guide me according to His Will and strengthen my Faith in Him through Jesus Christ in the days to come.

Till then, take care and God bless. Jesus loves you.

Back to uni.

Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His face continually. (1 Chronicles 16:11)

There's no other better word to describe except that time sure flies. In a blink of an eye, my 5 days in Bangkok are over. So I'm back to my uni now and getting my hands on the assignments and homeworks (and also classes) which I missed during the past few days. In the last posts, I mentioned that I'll try to update more on my campus life in Thailand. But the problem is that to use wireless internet connection in my hotel back in Bangkok, I got to pay for it. To use the internet in the computer room, users have to pay 150 baht per hour (and that's the promo. price. If you are guessing, it's around RM15.) I think it's the same for wireless internet users (those who want to online in their own room). It's quite expensive so I decided not to spend that money.

Once again, I have to delay the posts regarding my Thailand trip and campus life. Anyways, to add some preview about my Thai trip, the food was great, the prices are reasonable, the people are friendly (particularly those who are involved in the tourism industry), and the best part were the places that I visited. I went to the temples, palace, museums, beach, and more. The scenery is beautiful and there are lots of things to buy. In all, Bangkok is a place where you can go visit. It's really worth it (lots of experience).



Till then, I may and may not post for a while now. Please continue to pray for me and take care.



God bless. Jesus loves you.