Finding Honey on The Moon

When it comes to money talk, everyone will have all the reason to support his/her spending. The issue of spending a huge amount on the car registration plate number has been hogging the limelight recently. I guess even if the winning bid was won by any rich business man, people will still talk about it. The fact that we are bickering on other people's spending is purely down to one word. 

Jealous?

You see, to some people money is the yardstick to gauge one person status in the society. Rich people are often rank top in the society. Don't agree? Nowadays, majority of successful people are often linked with wealth. Will you know who is Mark Zuckenberg if he invented Facebook yet earn nothing? I know him because of him being the youngest billionaire. People often get famous because of wealth. Of course, there are other way of getting famous but my topic is focusing more on money effect.

When money comes in your life, the next word that linked to it is usually 'spending'. I have known one uncle from Hong Kong who told me, hard earned money must be spent. Treat yourself good, son! You suffer so much to save and die the next day without even enjoying a single penny of your wealth. Wouldn't that be a pity?

That is why most of us are pampering ourselves with some vacation every once or twice a year. That's too thanks to Mr Tony Fernandez for making this possible. Some of the people thought by going vacation, you will spend a lot. That's not true. Traveling is considered a luxurious thing to do back then and the frequency of you doing it is like every 5 years once.

Therefore, when someone get to do it on a reduced period, comparison of the previous scenario often make one feel guilty of traveling. So the question is are we too pampered on ourselves? Aviation industry has taken a huge leap. Tickets have became so cheap that the taxi fare you pay to get you to the airport is even more expensive than the flight ticket itself. Tourist nowadays are tech and spend savvy too. Youngsters especially often opt for cheap accommodation. Joining a tour is out of their plan as tour organised back then give you no option by staying at least 4 to 5 stars hotel with all meals provided. Sometimes, tips are automatically included.

But a little bit more research thanks to internet, blog and forum who share their experience on the best mode of transport and cheap food to go for, tourist are more daring to hit the road themselves with "Lonely Planet" book on one hand and map on the other.And English being the international language and the fact that there are more educated person, conversation is no longer a barrier among the tourist with the locals.

That is travelling. But how about spending on phone with all this smartphone frenzy? I got my first phone when I studied in university. Even then, many of my friends still rely on public phone. And that phone followed me to my first job. Since then, I've seen the transformation era of phone. People keep changing phone when there's a new model launched. The trend is you buy a phone for RM2000 plus. Use for one to two years, contract ends and you sell the 'old' phone via EBay for half the price and buy another new model. 

"This is to keep updated with technology", exclaimed one of my friends.

Yes I do agree that the phone technology is so advanced that it would be silly not to keep up with the flow. I have no ill feeling towards those who keep changing phone nor did I have grudge on those who laugh at my prehistoric-throw-at-dog dumbphone.

I would like to have a Samsung Galaxy SIII or even an IPhone 4S but the feeling is just not there yet. Reason? Mainly it's too pricey. Another thing is the telco package that we have to sign up. For someone who use less than RM 20 a month on phone bill, it's difficult to commit to a post paid plan which I know I won't be fully utilising it. Last but not least, the main reason is the data package offered in this industry is not matured yet. Imagine that you are lost in the middle of no where and would like to search the company's telephone number to ask for direction. You stuck there for 10 minutes only to load the Google page. And further 10 minutes to get your search result. The fact is the telco in Malaysia is not on par with those in UK or Hong Kong yet.

OK, you can get better plan or connectivity from another plan/ telco but then again it costs you a slightly premium price for that slightly extra speed. Everything is money. I visited my sister in law recently in Australia. I noticed she just got  a new phone and was instantly hooked to it. One year back when I met her in Hong Kong, I told her to change her old Nokia. She was saying that she don't feel there's a need for it. When she got back in Australia, she got a contract for a smartphone package. Good connectivity, great call plan plus a free smartphone. The telco plan is so cheap there that the monthly subscription fee you are paying is 80% on the phone itself.On the other hand, it is the reverse here. 

Having said that, getting one smartphone is a matter of time but just when and which? Ice Cream or Frutti Tutti?

Journey To The East

Huh?

Gila ke? Are you nuts?

Highways at night got ghost!

Why so stupid?

That was the reactions I received when I told everyone on my driving journey to Redang Island. Yup, I drove all the way from KL to Kuala Terengganu. I started the trip around 2am. Come to think about it, driving can be tiring yet exciting. Of course, I can take other options like plane or bus. But these options do not allow me flexibility. What can you see in a plane besides the sky that confined by a small windows? Air stewardess might be an option but I would rather choose the nature scenery than somebody's faked expression. Traveling by car is cheaper when you consider the hassle of hiring taxi or public transport upon reaching your destination.

Parking my car near the ferry terminal is just RM5 per night. Safety? Em. Kuala Terengganu MB changed all the state official cars to Mercedes Benz. You think your Saga car will attract them? Don't look down on the people there. They are much richer than you think, ok?

I stayed at the Redang Beach Resort. The resort is more to Chinese style. So you can expect the foods are more Chinese halal style. The Redang Island is quite big. Staying at Redang Berjaya Hotel does not mean you will get the best in any aspects. All the tourist attraction spots are shared. The difference you will find in Redang is the food and accommodation provided.

Redang Island is just like any other beaches. Of course, it is much cleaner than your Port Dickson.

I would say this place is more to relaxing purpose. Re-energise your mind. Get away from your hectic work life.

The sand is fine and white. One step on it will leave your humongous "big foot" print on it. However, in my opinion I felt the island is overly exploited. Pollution is one of them. If they continue to let the mass influx of visitors each year, it won't be long when the beach becomes yet another Port Dickson. Come to think about it, when someone apply blocks of gel to their hair and then another bottle of sun block before they plunge into the water, what's the difference of petroleum leaking from a tanker? To serve a warning, if you think you can't get away from the sun, then don't go to the beach. Go buy yourself a fully covered swimming suits! Not only are you polluting the scenery by wearing bikinis but also the marine creatures too because of our selfish acts of snorkeling with sun block!

Redang Island is famous to some of the Hongkies because of the shooting location in the movie "Summer Love". It starred Richie Ren and Sammi Cheng in this romantic comedy.

The inn in the movie was actually demolished after the shooting, but was re-erected for tourism purpose. Don't get it wrong. Nobody can stay overnight in this inn. And they don't serve "More More Tea". It's actually a souvenir shop nowadays.

The scenery at dawn is so captivating. Actually the sunset is same everywhere. Just that sometimes, we didn't pay attention and appreciate the beauty of nature. The only time we do that was during the holiday because that's the time when are totally detached ourselves from work. The snorkeling experience was something new to me. It was a bit scary at first because you are experiencing something that won't normally see in your world. You are visiting fishes and their homes. Balancing with the safety jacket was another problem I faced.

Upon reaching the land, we decided to travel around the city of Terengganu itself. In KL, you normally go to this KLCC, Mid Valley or One Utama. Here, you see a different shopping mall of our parent's era. We went to this Pasar Besar Kedai Payang. Your KL Central Market.

The food court there doesn't serve you faked foods. What do I mean? In KL, you eat nasi lemak prepared by Indonesian, Chinese, Indian or Bangladeshi. Here, they serve the authentic local foods prepared by the genuine local people.

Teh Tarik : RM 1.00 ( Staying in KT does not mean low cost of living)
Nasi Lemak : RM 1.50
Authenticity: Priceless

The people here is very kind. In one occasion, our car blocked a lorry from coming out. We had to reverse but the road is so narrow and we took some time to get our way out. They didn't honk us madly like you normally encountered in KL. They waited patiently until we managed to squeeze our way out.

After some shopping in the city, a local shop owner inform us about Crystal Mosque not far from the city, the latest attraction. It was not planned in our list. That's the beauty of free and easy. You chat with the locals to find out more of the area there.

The so-called Crystal Mosque is actually inside the Islamic Heritage Park. Well, after I visited the place, it became hot topic of yet another investigation of improper fund handling by the state government. The cost of construction is approximately RM250 million.

Inside the park, it actually contains 21 replicas of the famous mosques from around the world. Some of the mosques are so weird in design that you can't believe it's actually a mosque. Look at the mosque down here. It looks more like a tower. How in this world, people commune inside such a narrow structure?

The mosque in China is actually a pagoda. Looking into these structure struck my mind that there are people who think and believe differently in their life. Living in China does not mean all the people there are Buddhist. People are free to practise their religions. It's good to know that.

Of course, the one that captivates me the most is Taj Mahal.

Walking around the park in the afternoon is definitely a not good idea. You can die of dehydration. You can even see mirage!

Keropok Lekor is one of the delicacy in Terengganu. My mom forbids me from eating it because she claims it was made from cheap fishes being blended together. This area called Losong is the hub if you intend to taste some keropok lekor.

I always thought keropok lekor is deep fried, but to my surprise there's boiled keropok lekor for those who don't prefer oily food. To me both the fried and boiled has it own flavor. The most important is the chili sauce used to dip together with it.

Never in my whole life, I've visited so many mosques. Tengku Tengah Zaharah Mosque (Masjid Terapung) is built on a floating platform located in the city. I don't think the structure is floating as it claimed. It's logic engineering. It's just sitting on some piles.

Those days, Terengganu has another tourist attraction spot in the name of Rantau Abang. There was a time when a great number of giant leatherback turtles came to Rantau Abang to lay their eggs.

But because of the spirit of Malaysia Boleh, the locals here have brought the art of eating to another level of boleh! I was only able to see these turtles in a museum near Cherating while on our drive back.

No more "hai kui".

Driving along the coast line of Kuala Terengganu, you can witness the petroleum refinery station. There is one claim that only Islamic country has petroleum. Just look at South East Asia for example. Only Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia which are Islamic countries have petroleum *borrow a quote from Ripley* Unbelievable? Believe it!