Changing or changed?

I hardly blog nowadays on the pretense I'm too busy with work that I have more things worth spending my time on. While chatting can be just a way to pass time I think it's more so important to do so now that everyone's so geographically diverse.

People say internet opens all possibilities to communications, but it also to some point destroys the essence of it. We can see someone online on our contacts list, and that could just be a dear friend whom you've not spoken to for some time, but you take for granted cause you assume he/she'll be online the next time too. Time goes by the procrastination becomes a habit and no one really talks anymore.

Now when I go online and I stare at a long list of contacts. All of a sudden I realise everyone feels distant. I believe when we get too one track minded on the present things will come to pass and be only seasonal, where nothing is everlasting.

Something I received in my mailbox which really made me ponder for a moment:

The Charlie Schulz Philosophy

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip.

You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them.
Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers.
They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies..
Awards tarnish..
Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special!!
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials...
the most money...or the most awards.
They simply are the ones who care the most

"Everybody's changing and I don't feel the same" - Keane

Or it could just be me changing?

Back to School (Again)

How does it feel sitting for a test after ages of not doing one? Sort of dreadful: the same old routine all over again. Ensuring you did sufficient preparation and the anxiety if you pass or fail since this time around the stakes are higher too.

Classes can be pretty dreadful too, with long 8-5 hours and the presence of some obnoxious people adds to the bane. This is also the first time in my life I’m encountering a bona fide bimbo! She will shriek when she gets excited, talks with that irritating bimbo slang, bitchy, overconfident and guess what, she’s blonde. To do her just, as a saving grace she’s friendly.

Yet, I don’t know if a bimbo is worse, or someone who could just ramble on and on at the speed of light. Two of the combined: they really make a team. My ear drums are at their limits and I’m looking forward to a seat rotation.

Subject matter’s pretty interesting actually. Instructor’s pretty cool: a paunchy man who looks a little like Hitler, who is after all a little sadist. All in all, school’s still good whereby you still have the dominant control over your time.

Ultimately, do I miss uni? Honest answer: yes, but not the studying. The friends, the company, the crazy moments, the blitheness, and if uni was in a more urban area I think I’m really going to miss my student life greatly.

Puuuuuutttttt

I was told this explains me PRECISELY. No denial. LOL

Stay Cool.....

This is absolutely indispensable to cool your burning cheeks, and anywhere else you need cooling.

I’d now think extreme cold is more treacherous than the extreme heat, because this chunk of ice took much longer than I expected for the desert heat to melt down. Thus imagine what an iceberg could do.

Land of the O-mans (and ladies)

Just to retain the allusion to the country's name, the plural of man is mans.

An eye opening experience. People as warm as the weather. Food which is ironically better to my liking than Thai. The experience here cleared all preconceptions I had before I came to Oman.

It almost feels surreal to thread the desert and be out in the sweltering summer heat, or even to see a camel saunter by, and to top it up, a desert BBQ.

I was dead wrong to think that I need not a single dime in the desert because there's a barber and a convenience store out here.

Water here is inherently hot. In UTP I had to first jump under the shower head due to the chill, here I jump too but due to the heat, and being extra cautious to not overheat one particular part of the body. There's absolutely no need for a water heater here. My brother would relish in this. I always rebuke him for blasting the water heater back home.

Education level here I believe is of higher standard. Most of the folks here hold a diploma or a higher diploma and they can well get a good paying job. Not to mention very good English command of the people here. There really is not difficult at all to make yourself understood.

Owh and have I mentioned about a joke cracked a fellow local Omani: as of now, there are 300 dicks and 1 pussy here on camp. Poor kitty cat.

Living in containers, despite well furnished and air conditioned for the first week is fine, but the subsequent weeks, I think I'm getting sick of it. Initial weeks in the desert are fun, too long I think I'll go bonkers. Nonetheless I know I will miss my stint here. It's after all the human nature to be contradicting, yeap, grass (sand) is always greener (finer/browner?) on the other side.

A Revival, from the Desert

It's been a long while, almost eternity. Few reasons to be motivated to blog: Dean had a customised picture link to my blog which was totally awesome, and the fact that we've all since graduated the best way to keep ourselves abreast with the progress of peers is via a blog.

A lot happened since June, with a lot to gain and lose. A whole new exciting world to explore, a lost family member, months long HK like lifestyle due to major renovation and the dire need for sampatness. I officially miss the karaoke sessions singing at the top of my voice, the regular (not even occasional) Coffee Bean cakes and muffins, purposeful hunt for food and all the outdoor expeditions.

Everyone's moving on, embarking on their own respective journeys. Opportunities to hang out now becomes so rare that even chatting online becomes difficult. These are the times when solid friendships are being put to test, or times we have all taken for granted now being being cherished more than ever. My only wish is for convocation to be as complete as it can be. A final gathering. An official close to a great chapter in life.

On the Lighter Note

Welcome back to this long neglected blog due to some turmoil currently experienced by the moderator/author. This post is an eye candy for those recurring readers who have not (yet) given up interest in this blog.

How to 'Save Face', the Chinese Way

An American, a Japanese and a Chinese went for a hike one day. It was very hot. They were sweating and exhausted. When they came upon a small lake, they took off all their clothes and jumped into the water, since it was fairly secluded.

Feeling refreshed, the trio decided to pick a few berries while enjoying their freedom. As they were crossing an open area, suddenly a group of ladies from town appeared.

Unable to get to their clothes in time, the American and the Japanese quickly used their hands to cover their privates. But the Chinese covered his face while they ran for cover. After the ladies had left and the men got their clothes back on.

The American and the Japanese asked the Chinese why he covered his face rather than his male regions.

The Chinese replied, I don't know about you, but in my country, it's the face that people recognize!

Brood Yes, Then Learn

Last week was helluva week, from the pinnacle of KL Twin Towers to the deepest trench in UTP. My emotion graph for the week mimics our KLCI: erratic. I was high, way high in the beginning, dipped a little, picked up, dipped again, then went plunging into the black hole, and picking up again.

I learnt that your dearest person can either lift you up the most or bring you down the most too, but only little to that person's notice. Nevertheless, it came in this pang of realization on the importance of saying the right thing at the right time, even when I might think it is innocuous, it may mean entirely differently to someone else.

Two interviews I've experienced, priceless. Both were of different approaches, but they ultimately lead to the same conclusions:

• Be confident. Speak with conviction, fast or slow in whichever demeanour of yours, yet beware, not too slow till it's inaudible or too fast like a Volvo on the Autoban.

• Be yourself. When you try to be someone, you end up giving contrived answer and when you're being quizzed further, you'll start to contradict yourself.

• Be resolute on what you seek. Employers are not there to recruit irresolute people who would just jump ship when they feel like it.

• Learn to develop good communication and listening skills. Be clear, concise in your choice of words. Never ramble like and old granny. Learn to listen and obey instructions too, cause a bad listener won't be a good follower, neither a leader too.

• Talk to your interviewer with humility and respect, but nonetheless, not with fear and inferiority cause that will only portray diffidence.

• There is no one right approach for all scenarios. Try to be attentive and identify the ambience and adapt to it.

As for me, I rekindled my interest for technical jobs. The excitement stirred up in me from the interview by one of the most technical companies in the oil and gas servicing line just flourished imperceptibly. While a comment given by the interviewer in a separate interview made me realize despite my interest in non technical line, I might just perform better in the technical line.

Gear up for Earth Hour 2010!

Who's up for Earth Hour? I am. I gladly comply with it. Not only I'll turn off my lights, I'll go without any electrical appliance as much as I can for an hour. Just assume there's a blackout. Besides it's not like our utility is that reliable after all, with intermittent uncompensated blackouts.

I was in Melbourne for Earth Hour 2008 and Milan for Earth Hour 2009, the support which it garnered from the public was just encouraging. They even have a countdown to Earth Hour in a public venue, being celebrated on a scale as large as your New Year's Day countdown. Take a look at some of the cities across the globe during Earth Hour.

This year's Earth Hour together with @yiewdean, @Ai_Ting, @PhuongNguyenNT and @jiaminjiamin, we'll all be running the Energizer Night Race. I couldn't think of any better way to experience Earth Hour than to just run with a headlight running on minimal power.

Murphy's Kitchen Law

Kitchen cause two of these events unfolded in the kitchen, only 15minutes apart.

I wanted to keep this bottle cause I find it peculiar and I've not seen it in the market before:

According to my cousin there isn't Starbucks in India, and this is all they have, retailed in their supermarkets. She found it retailing in a supermarket in Ampang when she returned. It was pretty OK, with the aroma still contained but it's a tad too sweet for me so I prefer a cuppa freshly brewed instead of prepack.

So just being one of my bad habit I thought of keeping the bottle, which I knowingly, cause I was too lazy to remove it from the rack where the bottle stood after washed, knocked if off, shattered it while trying to reach for something further in the rack. So much for keeping it when I only made a mess to clean. My cousin reproached by asking why was I so careless, I blamed it on the cluttered rack.

In resignation I then went on to chomp down some biscuits to quell my hunger while watching TV. For no apparent reason I lost grip of the bottle of cookies and it crashed to the floor. Another mess to clean and my cookies are gone! My cousin then chimed in: Now there's nothing in your way to cause that crash unlike that cluttered rack.

The hunger and thirst from my run only exacerbated my temper. At least my saving grace was a perfect excuse to not do the dishes for the night lest I break more stuff, and turns out it was my dad who broke the ear of a mug. LOL.

My Two Lost Pennies on The Lost Symbol

As expected, Dan Brown has a flair for delivering a twist in his writings, though this time I think has been toned down. The inclusion of certain technology such as Noetic Science and the breathable oxygen liquid were pretty intriguing, while technology used in the CIA was rather fascinating, assuming they are facts and not fiction.

The Dan Brown effect is still pretty good in this novel of his, not failing to keep readers on tenterhooks, well at least for most of the part. I have to admit at some point it feels as if Brown was rambling on, especially in the final 60 pages of the book. That I think was cause of a fleeting climax, from the way the villain was exterminated to the way he ties up the loose ends. I always have this tendency to compare it to Angel's & Demons which was a brilliant masterpiece. The last 60 pages was a bit dreadful to finish, especially when I was in a rush to finish the book prior going to bed and wasn't interested in a plain nonchalant discussion between Langdon and Peter in the absence of any threat or villain just to tie up those loose ends.

Nonetheless, it's still a good read and despite knowing how the movies are always a let down, I would still love to watch it to verify my imagination. Dan Brown in my opinion is still an exceptional author in his own league.

On a scale of 5, I'll give Lost Symbol a 4/5, BUT on a DAN BROWN scale, I'll give it a 3.5/5.

Remission

After a week of toiling, I'm going into remission. Sounds misleading with that austere tone right? I'm supposed to be happy that I finally alleviate myself of this huge load called the Final Year Project/Thesis. I'm just too tired to respond gleefully after the past nights of burning the midnight oil.

All I'm thinking of now, is to reward myself with a well deserved meal despite skipping swimming today after a long session with my supervisor. This is really letting my hair down (though I have none to be let) due to it's non conformity with my exercise-food intake ratio.

Garrgh. I'm supposed to be jovial rather than austere. Entertainer for hire, anyone? And ANY form of entertainment.

Trust Your Gut Instinct

Industrial Automation and Control Systems lab is 9am to 11am today, but it was de facto 9am to 12.15pm, lunch break then 1.30pm to 3.30pm. The staggering long hours? Here's why.

This was the given connection diagram for a closed loop control system:

My first time in 3.5 years of study, I'm seeing a T circuit. Cool. So how to connect physically? I interpreted it as such:

"Hmm, I'm not too sure myself, but do this:" was the response of the teaching assistant

Then I replied: "Huh? Doesn't this means that the Controller, Reader and the Resistance unit are all in parallel, like this:"

Teaching assistant: "Not too sure, just connect the T circuit first, then jump the terminals to the Resistance unit."

Hooked everything up, assuming that the black box Resistance unit has some special connection hidden. Double, triple, quadruple checked, swapped terminals, still not functioning. Fiddled, meddled with the Controller not working still. Swapped controller unit, futile. This experiment seemed forlorn we almost relented.

Just when all hope was gone, the TA showed us a circuit diagram from his manual, or his previous lab report saying the connection should be like this. We then realized something was not right. The resistor was blardy in series with the power supply and temperature transmitter while in parallel with the Controller and Reader, which was this:

This is an epitome of how something simple turned complex. Next time, I shall learn to trust my instinct and bother to try it out instead of taking others' words for granted.

Quote P 2

Visit here for preamble.

Then and Now

Over lunch at Citrus, with Jiamin, Jeremy and Phuong, she said I was stand offish and too judgemental then, hence we did not know each other so well.

That was 4 years ago. Today we are sitting on the same table bantering away. And the Aiting who laid dormant is now out of her 'shell', literally.

Happy 22nd EAT!

Valentines Day Movie

Finally got to watch the movie which Ipoh decided in her own wisdom to not show. On a scale of 1 to 5 for a romantic comedy, I'll give it 3.5/5.

The Plus:

There weren't any chummy cheesy fairy tale love story. That really allowed me as an audience to relate better to the movie. Not to forget the star studded cast. Even if the plot was crappy I think it was worth paying to watch the stars =\. Best part though, was how the scriptwriter intertwine the lives of all the characters in the movie, demonstrating how they cross paths at the ending which really did the trick.

The Minus:

HOW DID THEY CAST TAYLOR SWIFT TO BE A BIMBO CONTROL FREAK?!! I was really expecting some average school girl like how she was depicted in her You Belong With Me video kind of character who stumbles upon love in high school. Instead she's this showy, lowbrow dancer (note not cheerleader) doing her bimbo dance every other time during her TV interview in her scene, not forgetting how she likes sticking her tongue down Lautner's throat too. Comedy wasn't exceptionally great, but it wasn't lame or banal. I was perpetually entertained by it.

There were some messages from the movie which really rang through. When you love someone you really love them warts and all, not only for their likeable traits. Valentine's Day isn't all about romantic love alone, it's a celebration for any form of love: friendship and also parental. And to cohabitate or get married? I think it's cohabitation from what I perceive. Ultimately, two is always better than one, was what the movie was essentially about.

22-22/2

Aiting's 22nd on the 22nd of February which makes 5 twos (5D number people). It was considered one of the most successful surprise party in my history.

Initial plan was to watch Valentines Day movie, then Phuong suggested to celebrate her dear's birthday too. The plan then elaborated from a movie to karaoke from 11am to 3pm followed by movie till 5pm back to back.

Being half an hour late Aiting was already ranting about my impunctuality. Little did she know that I arrived earlier and sneaked away to look for her cake with Dean, while she and Jiamin were purchasing tickets. Dean then went ahead to preclude any suspicion and I made a delayed entrance (won't matter anymore since I was already late) with the cakes lit up. Her dumbfounded expression was priceless.

Dean: (Sternly)Give me the remote

Phuong: Ok lo...

If you think that was only it, think twice cause that's exactly what Aiting thought when she blew out the candles. She went "OK, back to karaoke!". That was only appetizer with the main course coming right up:

It was an ingenious gift from Hampshire Designs, a custom made calender with collection of pictures of Aiting from over the years, with monthly selected quotes either uttered by Aiting or pertaining to her. Hampshire Designs takes orders for any form of customized gifts (free advertising here, LOL).

Bon Apetito e tanti auguri!

Valentines A Year Ago

A year ago I was in Rome with this four dudes:

Thinking of beholding sights to catch some love in the air in the amorous city of Rome, we headed out to the allegedly hottest hangout place of Rome, Campo di Fiori on one of the coldest night in 2008-09's winter.

Half an hour meandering about Campo di Fiori onwards to Trastevere, there wasn't even any love making sight 'on display'. While it was cold enough and we wouldn't settle for an unfruitful outing so we feasted on none other than:

GELATO!

Our hands could barely withstand the chill so we finished it in haste. When we were done, it was our internals showing signs of rejection sending chills down our spines. After deciding to call it a day we headed home, only to find ourselves barely making it for the last bus home (we ran as fast as our feet could carry us hailing the last departing bus from the terminal).

Valentines 2009 was a memorable one, indeed.

Valentines 2010 is the first day of Chinese New Year. This time around, Rome was showered with snow few days prior to Valentines. Oh and did I mention that it was about 40 years ago it last snowed in Rome?

View from office balcony.

Shucks, can't the snow come a year earlier?

Valentines 2010 is spent playing mahjong with family members in this sweltering heat of CNY (talk about polar opposite weathers).

Come ah, hong zhong, pak pan, fatt choi, dong, nam, sai,pak!

The Rampaging Ox

Yeap, since the Ox has to be brought into the pen while the Tiger is brought out from the zoo, it seems to be belligerent, rampaging. And it only seems to be doing so on Thursdays. Someone else got the taste of it too, but I'd say indeed a costly one. My only complain for this Thursday is NO VALENTINES DAY MOVIE, which I was so hyped about (Taylor Swift where art thou), though I'm glad I did not mistakenly frighten another wrong person on my way to class.

Looks like this Ox leaves us no choice but to send our Matador to manhandle it.

There's a personal 'bull' which I just successfully subjugated, which is this:

I don't do Photobooth mugshot, but I just felt obligated to today since I managed to get my Progress Report done so that I can have the whole of next week off in conjunction with CNY.

(YES this is downright gloating here)

Booh...Oops...Sorry

4 Feb 2010, 8.57am

I was on the phone when I saw this girl who resembles Sharon Pau. The same hairstyle, the same way of carrying a water tumbler by its ears on her flank, and I would say the same proportion of figure too. Upon hanging up the phone I prowled towards her.

8 hours before, 3 Feb 2010

It was Pinky's birthday celebration (Happy Birthday, and thanks for putting up a poker face pretending you were surprised). I had to take a mugshot for my resume but all the photo studios were closed, a spill over effect from the wretched dentist on Pasir Putih Rd. Hence the next best was DIY which Aiting offered to help edit in class at 9am. That left me with the impression we had Operations Management at 9am, which is a common class.

Present

As I approached I whispered in the most ghastly hush I could manage: "Sharon Pau". She shrieked and as she turned, I realized, oops, I got the wrong person. So in a very nonchalant manner I apologised saying I mistaken her for my friend. We kinda played it cool and I got to know that she's in EE from 2nd yr 2nd semester as fate has it. Talk about surreptitiousness.

I only realised my class at 9am was Electrical Machines II and not Operations Management when I checked my schedule for the venue of the class. I laughed my way to E.Machines class blaming this encounter on Aiting.

How to be in someone's good graces?

I quote Bha Phuong who quoted Ha: Nha Trang's Mud Bath.

"thanh.phuong2708:

lol, Ha's chatting with me. He was tellin that Mr X is scary

then i said, dnt wori, he's gonna like u, coz all my Chinese frenz like u. Wat tricks did u use on them

then he said: next time i will ask Mr X to go mud bath in NhaTrang"

Good Things Come In Threes

OK, I know this is the second post of the day but I wanna do justice to this theme (pretty fickle eh, with theme changing 3 times in a month).

Credit to Dean who found this awesome theme which I relate greatly to. So far I had 2 very memorable trips, which both I've travelled in trios. They say two is a couple three is a crowd, but I beg to differ. Two indeed is a couple but three 'makes everything look easy' (insiders joke, again).

Also the previous theme was too desperate as a mac wannabe. Too sleazy though it really was nice too. This is to remember all the great times by and for more yet to come.

Back to 'School'

Yeah. We are young adults still being treated as kids in this 'school' called Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS. Returned for my final semester to find the internet fettered, just like China. Talk about freedom of information, speech and globalization. All google related sites and tools are blocked, yes which includes gmail which is totally unacceptable considering how indispensable google is.

Now there’s some way to bypass proxy which given us freedom, which eventually reflects on the point that the more a society or individual is restricted the more they would rebel and find loopholes to sneak through, just like religion too.

On a lighter note I was impressed with Tesco’s song selection. They actually played an Italian song which I like while I was doing groceries there. Got over-hyped I had to message Bha Eeo about it when she mentioned Kee Hui might have been the DJ.

Wasn’t only me who got hyped over something. Bha Eeo is the other who is raving about her discovery of Freemason temple in Ipoh and Penang to the extent she said this:

"mcb lee tze yang

there's a building in penang i always passby

also a masonic temple!"

Not forgetting also folks who like to perpetually sai meng. One keeps saying how jealous he is cause we get to come back to uni while another keeps saying how ‘unfortunate’ he’s not in EE so he does not have so many lectures.

Final semester has been the time most of us have been waiting earnestly for, but now that it’s here, I know I will miss how we will be able to gather frequently to hang out. I was conspiring with a few other friends to flout a few laws before we graduate:

1. To drive from Pocket D end all the way to Chancellor’s Complex in a convoy.

2. Camp in the IRC and remain unnoticed even on the next day.

Looking forward to the hiking (more trekking like) trip this coming Saturday with Dean and his buddies, while Bha Eeo despite so much coaxing chose mee suah over us it, allegedly also claiming she doesn’t wanna abandon her darling roomie.

Pool

My brother and I decided to go for a swim in Shah Alam but to find the pool closed to our chagrin upon arrival. Oh well, I'm still too pumped from Vietnam to fret about it.

Another pool related thing which totally slipped my mind was this awesome concept introduced by Aiting called, well, the Pool. It's a collection of ante put in by all members of the group. Payment related to shared items like food, accommodation and transportation will then be made from it. Saves the hassle of producing loose change and money handling too. Kudos to Aiting the treasurer.

I Left My Heart in Vietnam 2 (Too)

WARNING Long winded post ahead!

In a nutshell it was a blast, which is already an understatement. Our experience was priceless. I had many firsts in Vietnam, many discoveries, encounters and many bonds either strengthen or formed over the duration of the trip. For photos visit Dean’s Facebook.

The Destination

Saigon (I still prefer Saigon over HCMC cause it does not sound aesthetic) is a bustling and thriving city with motorbikes outnumbering cars by at least 3 times they seem to be swarming like ants. Traffic is crazy. I dub it humans left to their own devices which is actually safer than one might think. Accident rates are lower than Malaysia (surprise surprise).

Dalat is similar to Cameron Highlands, but much larger (it’s a city and not only a one road town), with colder climate and great sceneries. Many lakes and valleys dot the outskirts of the city, not forgetting the huge Xuan Hong lake smack in the centre of the city which spans 5km in radius. Strawberries here are dirt cheap and yet still tasty.

Nha Trang is a beach city with great night life and smorgasbord of activities such as island hoping, water sports, diving and spa. Coffee and food here is undeniably the best of the 3 cities, or it could be attributed to our host’s discernment in choice of restaurants and food.

The Experience

Wouldn’t be a blast without Phuong, Kim Chi, Mai Chi, Ha, Huong, Nam, Zui, Zum (if I got the spelling right). Hospitable, accommodating hosts with such great hearts. A million of Cảm ơn to them. I have to hand it to them, with me now conferring the title of Hosts of the Year to Vietnam. People there are so friendly and contented with life. Their apprehension is so blatant when they try to swindle you. Totally different from my encounter with overseas born Vietnamese in Melbourne.

Ate, slept did almost everything we could to our heart’s content yet we under spent. What’s more pleasing than to be in the blacks? Being able to divide costs by 5 (1MYR = 5000VND) was so much better than multiplying costs by 5 (1EUR = 5MYR). 7 days and 7 nights only cost us RM600 (with change!).

We were intrepid enough to try dog’s meat and ducks embryo, not forgetting our crash course on motor biking without licence.

Pampered ourselves in a mud and mineral bath, tasted so much Vietnamese food till we fell deeply in love with it, did an island hoping tour which culminated with a floating wine bar where we sipped wine while drifting in the sea.

Owh not forgetting Edrea and our wretched duck ride in the Valley of Love. We went in circles to get ashore cause we got a lemon duckie, but ended up being rescued after the others managed to convince the operator there really was a problem with our duckie. Not forgetting all the wacky stuff we did on the Lang Biang, on the beach and on the sleepers train. We actually spent more than an hour at it on the train!

Street food was fun, clean, yummie and very affordable. Had my best sour soup and sapodilla juice in my 23 years of life, not forgetting how Dean got converted to be a coffee lover after our insistent shot of coffee everyday. The chance of lunching in Kim Chi’s place just like how the locals do – priceless.

Post trip

Midway we were already contemplating on our Northern Leg (Hanoi, Sapa, Hue, Hoi An). That’s how much we love Vietnam. Phuong is already prebooked (no escaping).

It was hard to part, from Vietnam, and even in KL Central. As much as we enjoyed each other’s company we will also miss them dearly. Curtain officially closed in 1U’s Camp 5 where we went for rock climbing a day after our return.

I felt very rejuvenated from the trip returned with elevated spirit level and better skin thanks to the tanning and the mud bath! Great way to kick start 2010. To those who say Vietnam is no fun, come talk to Aiting, Dean, Edrea or me. You will instantly be a convert.

“A toast to Vietnam” (insiders joke).