Skywatching - Sunset on Petagas Beach

Petagas Beach, Sabah

Cameron Highlands - the local flora!

This is a close-up of tea leaves before harvest.

I had, for the longest time wanted to go to Cameron Highlands. Think 15 years. Haha.

Each time I wanted to go, there was always something or other that got in the way!

So, last weekend (Friday 13th to be sure!) I arrived in CH! At long last!

I was surprised for one, at how bustling it was. I suppose I had always imagined CH to be quieter... in an English country-side kind of way. What I found instead was something busier and bigger. Not in a bad kind of way though.

I'm glad I came when I came. Before it gets too big, too commercial, too not-so-quaint anymore.

There is even a Starbucks on main street! And I got two bags of used coffee-beans to use as fertiliser! Haha. They were giving away bags and bags of them. For free. What a great idea.

We drove to the Boh Tea Plantation early Saturday morning;

1. for a spot of tea. Nah, not really. We'd had breakfast in town and were still quite full.
 
2. because that's what one does when one is in CH... it's one of those you haven't been to the place if you havent done such and such kind of thing.
 
3. to take pictures! yes! oodles and oodles of them!  Tea plantations are so scenic! Unfortunately, none of my scenery pictures came out nice enough to show on here. Point and click you know. And the weather wasn't too kind for that kind of camera. I am so jealous of my travelling partner. He and his camera make no less than stunning pictures!
 
Here are some flowers that caught my eye.
 

 

A flower that looks like it would be equally at home on a wet sandy beach or at the bottom of the sea in a place called Bikini Bottom! And I christen this flower Patrick :)

A georgeous lone pink rose! So pretty that all the day's light decided to focus their attention on it.

A fly decided to pose for a bit because the white of this Anthrium showed his glossy black off perfectly. Well, my point and click can only do so much...

This georgeous thing flirted shamelessly. Take my picture! Take my picture! She said. What else could I do? But submit to her demands.

This is how Patrick looks like profile view.

I couldn't decide which picture of this red flower I like best, so I decided to put both up.

These both wanted to be posted. :)

Phew! This is the fifth time I'm editing this post. Can't seem to get the positions of the last four pictures right :(

Whatever comes out, I'm not going to fuss anymore :)

Wat Maisuwankiri

I was in Kelantan again last weekend. For only the second time in almost 15 years.

The last time I was there, it was only for a night. And I wasn't really impressed.

It was December and the entire state (or so it seemed at the time) was under water! Of course I had to go during the Monsoon right?

Anyway, so it was with mixed feelings going again last weekend. It being the start of the Monsoon and all. Haha. What's that phrase? A glutton for misery?

Well, it was either South of Thailand or Kelantan. Both places that we havent really been there done that to. I was kind of jittery going to South of Thailand as the car wasn't in my name. What if the border police stopped us? What if they weren't satisfied with my papers? What if my car didn't pass their pollution test? or something this? or something that? urrkk.

Anyway, so we flipped a coin and Kelantan it was. Well, I did will the coin to flip for Thailand. It went for Kelantan instead. First it was heads Kelantan, tails Thailand. Then  it was best two out of three. And I wanted to do best three out five. But my travel partner put his foot down. The coin has spoken! OK la.

I was pleasantly surprised and glad we went to Kelantan. :) It is still underdeveloped relative to the rest of the country, but the weather was beautiful and we got to visit the wats! (And we will be driving or riding to South of Thailand sometime soon, maybe before Xmas or early next year! woot!!)

In so little words... the wats are amazing! Here are some pictures from Wat Maisuwankiri.

The monk was texting. I think he subscribes to one of those A Meditation a Day kind of thing.

This old house reminds me of my grandmother's place. Ah, her place was not as grand looking as this, but it evoked the same kind of feeling of home, of coming home. Miss her a lot. She passed away in 1983. RIP nani.

The balcony has a Romeo and Juliet-ish feel. A la Asian. I imagine me sitting at the window, dreaming and smiling at the moon and I hear a soft singing from below. I look down and there he is. A smile. That smile. His hands on his heart. Fall for you. Just for me. Especially for me. Only for me. :) Corny? Who cares. :)

intellectual property

Seriously. @_@

OK so I did not write "all copyrights reserved" on this blog. Doesnt it go without saying though? Unless I give explicit permission to use freely?

I just found out that a travel company has used one of my blog entries to promote traffic to their site.
And there was no way to contact them.
And I mind that a lot.

Seriously.

There's nothing right about that.
They could've asked permission and I would've said yes but do link back to me.
An acknowledgement is always cool, right?

Honestly. Some people. Or should I say some @#$%^& idiots.... Did I spell that right??