United Kingdom Adventure: Nottingham

Oh Oh Oh!!!!! In a flash, I have been in the United Kingdom for 3 months! 9 more months before I return to my lovely home country, Malaysia! Hahahaha, anyhow, here is it! The houses in Nottingham look as above - red bricks with chimney!!!!!! So far, this area is quite peaceful and very near with University Park of Nottingham. 

To the city, I can see that the city council of Nottingham actually seems to be quite like a mini white house of USA. The architecture in UK definitely is an eye-opening to me because it is very hard to find such buildings in Malaysia. This seem-to-be peaceful old market square often hosts different events! Now, it houses the Wonderland of Christmas Market which I might be covering in the future, hopefully!!!!

Oh yes, looking the cars here in UK! I was so lucky to bump into a wedding at the city council! The black car for the bride and the red bus for the guests! Such a beautiful event !

Yup, this is the city of Nottingham with nice food and beautiful buildings! In the next post, I will be covering the Nottingham Castle! Oh yes, there are too many castle in Nottingham. Till then, tata (^^)

My First UK Blog Post - A View from My Window

This year was crazy - 2014. The workload was okay but the uncertainties were definitely high. So, after years of dreaming to study in overseas and all, I finally had my wish came true as a Ph.D student. Hahahaha, kinda old to keep on studying, but gonna keep going on!

It is of course a great opportunity, since I am running off to United Kingdom (UK) for a year. So far, everything treats me okay, except for the weather - reasons >>>the temperature difference between morning and evening can be > 10 DegC. Yes, for this reason, I have suddenly suffer from minor migraine - which in my entire life, this is not an issue. I can't stay up late in UK, can't boil midnight oil>>> maximum drop-sleep time is 1145pm. @@

Anyhow, the groceries here and food here (I mean from supermarket) are quite affordable in the sense that it won't kill off your wallet at the end of the month. No car for me, good for diet! Hahahaha, people here are quite polite until it is frightening at one point. And, at Nottingham here, I feel quite cosy. It is a city with nice buildings and architectures and great food. 

As for the utility bill, it is still quite a weird arrangement. For water bill, we prepaid an estimated water usage for 6 months @@. As for electricity bill, we need to submit our own tariff reading, else they will calculate based on past record. This is a whole culture shock to me (^^).

This sums up my current life. I have been so busy with research etc. At one point, I was so phobia of writing even a single word. It actually took me a lot of determination to write this post and select the fine pictures above. 

Never thought that this post is actually 9 months apart. Great that my posts productivity declined greatly, because I am living a real life or Am I? By the way, my bloglink also changes over here to xjion89.blogspot.co.uk . Guess because I am in UK. Hahahahaha. Keep in touch and keep supporting my blogs. 

Cheeeeers, 

xjion a.k.a Jay  

PappaRich, Averagely Rich @ Kajang

"We must accept finite disappointment but we must never lose infinite hope", by Martin Luther King, Nobel Peace Prize Winner 1964.

My buddies from Uni. It was such a long time since we gathered for dinner. This was already more than a year ago, I guess. The longer people stay together, they do develop similar behaviour. LOL, even the same camera-shy pose!

PappaRich is not a unfamiliar name and located at Kajang KTM area! As a "last" dinner as Uni-friends, we went to this restaurant for closure (sound overly-serious). On the way to Kajang KTM, you will see definitely see this place. I like it for the ambient and spacious parking area.

We ordered some nasi lemak, nasi ayam, etc. To our slight disappointment, they looked almost the same except for the side dishes (fast food?!). The taste was ok only, yet, the price was above average. Anyway, it was more like we are enjoying the company/ environment rather than the food. 

The drink was quite nice with jelly (^^) And, the bak guo dessert was slightly sweet. Overall, everything was just average, but, definitely a good place to gather!

Libra Star Cruise Adventure Part 2

"A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men", 

by Roald Dahl, British novelist, author of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

As inspired by the quote, the adventure continues on the Libra Cruise so as the exploration. We further wondered around the outdoor. The pool and the Jacuzzi looked so inviting. There was even a short-distance jogging track here. Go for night joggers (^^) 

Apart from exploring the cruise's compound, there were even shows available from Hokkien singers, English singers, etc. For the children, I bet the most attractive show in the cruise would be the MAGIC show! It was combination of humour and tricks (^^) Perhaps not much youngsters there, the disco was totally empty!!! For the adults, you will find a lot CASINOs in the cruise!!!!!

As you can see the outdoor facilities, there were many sport facilities! Yup, totally suitable for sport junkie!!!!! Basket ball court, sprint track, etc were quite favourable! A final walk around the decks of the cruise statisfied our curiosity before heading to bed.

Without realising that the cruise had docked, it was another beautiful morning! The breakfast was another complimentary buffet! Yup, again, it was a variety of food! What another amazing meal (^^) 

We climbed to the highest deck again to have an overview, it was truly beautiful(^^)!!!! And, surprisingly, there was photoshot going on near the pool area with sexy bikini girls (@@).. Another exploration indeed....

After leaving the cruise, we set on a short trip around Penang. What a pleasant town with nice food! My mom was totally craving for the cendol ice there. So happen, I knew the location of the stalls. A nice bowl of cendol ice ended our journey in Penang prior heading home to Ipoh (^^) 

Overall a chill trip with no hassle was simply enjoyable and relaxing (^^) 

Libra Star Cruise Adventure Part 1

Nope, this wasn't the Libra Star Cruise! It was the Logo Hope - Floating Book Fair/ Store that aims to educate people and to help needy people around the globe!

Anyway, the story in this post is solely about Libra Star Cruise. To cut the long story short, I won a pair of tickets, more precisely, a room! Therefore, I ajak my mom to join me on this cruise adventure for a night stay on the ship!!!!!

We drove to Penang to board the cruise which was located at the famous jetty - Swenttenham Pier. Yup, what a shallow me! I didn't even there was a pier named after Swenttenham - a very famous name appeared in Sejarah! Anyway, Penang was awesome (^^)

As you can see, the cruise ship was quite nice in  the exterior! Numerous entertainment facilities were available - swimming pool, CASINO, gym, restaurant, etc.... Of course, just to remind you all, despite the room was free, we still need to pay for the sea tax or something. It was not cheap though. 

After all the hustle and bustle checking in, we finally arrived our lovely room! It was kinda small though. But, it was comfy enough for both me and my mom! And, the shower was amazing (^^) To our surprise, most of the crews were from China !!!! 

There are several restaurants in the cruise ship! We tried the 4 Happiness restaurant 1st for our dinner. The food was quite okay (^^). Crazy variety of Chinese food, Malay food, Western....We were totally satisfied! After 1 hour + of dinner, my mom and I roamed freely checking different decks (^^)!!!!!

Then, we arrived at the pool outside. We just sat there and chilled while listening to the live band singing English oldies! Of course, occasionally we were "harassed" by the waiter to order drinks. But, it was still enjoyable!!!!!

The Story to be Continued.......

Lost World, Another Adventure!

 After the Kellie Castle trip, we headed straight to Lost World Tambun. As local Perakian, it was the first time for all of us to visit this hidden location. The entrance wasn't that cheap and you also require to prepare extra cash for the renting the "pelampung". We were so not prepared financially at all, have to "korek" from our pockets.

The interior was well-design despite it was still considered to be quite small compared to other theme parks. From street food to greenery mountain to mini-zoo, the concept was quite astonishing to fully utilise the nature in this area. Another interesting part of the theme park was hotspring integration. But, let me reassure that not every day is suitable for hot spring bath in Perak. The weather was blazing hot to an extend that we were boiled in the hotspring - double jeopardy@@ Recommendation: Check weather to ensure it is not too hot.

You can even spot some swans there ! Both black and white!!!!!!

How do you don't love the nature in Perak. However, recently on my way back to Ipoh, I can see a lot of hills being exploded and exploited for the granite/ lime stone. My guess was due to the virtual high demand of housing properties in Malaysia, more concrete materials are required.....Hopefully, government can properly control and ensure over-exploitation is preventable. 

Denso Youth for Earth Action 2011 Memory Edition 1

Up to date, 2011 was my favourite year of all time as it was the year of freedom and chasing dream. Hahaha, perhaps, it was the year when I was still a dreamer youngster (^^). Anyway, it was summer 2011 when we received an email from our lecturer about the Denso Youth for Earth Action (DYEA). It is a programme  that truly embeds environmental awareness into the youths of today! You can find more information and even participate if you are interested at (here)!  However, I think this year is already closed. So, for those who are interested, you can prepare for next year (^^) For the winners, you can even join a foreign programme too, in JAPAN  !!!!! Despite I wasn't a winner that year, I really gained a lot of precious experience and enthusiasm in environmental conservation!

In day one, it was all about ice-breaking with the other 19 participants. They were all unique and special individual who were truly "green-minded". The 1st session was at the Denso Company, Bangi to introduce and educate us on environment preservation and conservation. After that, we moved into the Equatorial Hotel, Bangi!!!!! Yes, it was quite a nice hotel (^^).!!!!

In day 2, we were arranged to visit Denso plants itself. The operation and management was simply impressive with the detail of work involved. Below shows the microphone devices used while touring the plant (^^). Of course, the adventure didn't stop there. In the later part of the day, we went on another meeting/ visit to Department of Environmental (DOE), Putrajaya!

Two years ago, I was still not that familiar with Putrajaya. But, that time visit, it was an eye-opener tour because the architecture was simply astonishingly-designed. The meeting with DOE's director and personnel was quite fruitful too. The debate and discussion on environmental issues were quite a lesson to everybody involved!

I am so proud to be a part of DYEA 2011

Zanmai SuShi @ The Garden (^^)

Located at a luxurious premise, Sushi Zanmai is totally easy to find. Yes, it is just next to Midvalley, The Garden! That day, my friends and I went there on normal day; surprisingly, we needed to queue up (@@)~ Yes, it was that popular!


Finally seated, the ambient was nice despite the crowd. The decor was quite artistic too with Japanese style.

I ordered the most economic chicken Don, not really. hahaha~ Of course, it was accompanied by the famous steam-egg (Don;t know in Japanese) The green tea was bottomless yet (^^)


Here was what my friend ordered. The cold mee, 1st time, I tried it. It was really cold @@ ~ Not really that suitable for old people who prefer warm food. Nonetheless, it was worth a try ~


Since we were in a Sushi store, it would be quite odd not to order some sushi!~ Yes, they were all awesome! I totally like the california roll, it was really a fulfilling day for me` (^^)

The Vanishing Petaling Street (消失中的茨厂街)

I still remember the debate on the MRT construction at the Petaling Street area. What is the outcome? Anyhow, after the news, I basically went there to have a walk down memory lane. (Yup, quite a sentimental guy I am). It is funny that people don't remember what they said, I do. 

Well, this is the price of development. Whether Petaling Street will be a history or not, we'll see. During my undergraduate life (foundation year), I always went past this area to reach Puduraya (Even Puduraya underwent an extreme makeover (HERE)). Because the stupid and naive me, didn't know that Plaza Rakyat is just beside Puduraya. Therefore, after taking KTM to KL Sentral, me and my coursemate will take the LRT to Pasir Seni. From there, we dragged our luggage with the rush to buy the earliest ticket back home. Those were the days. Now, I believe I am too old to carry 4 BAGS per person already..Hahaha~

On our way, we often passed by a Chinese temple, but time restriction ceased our step into the temple. But, this time around, I decided to take my own sweet time and have a final look (don;t know whether the temple will be affected or not though). You can see the joss stick, releasing the fume of worship. 

The golden dragons are guarding the temple. Too bad the temple was under construction and renovation, therefore, didn't get to take a lot of photos that time (><).

Hopefully, this heritage can be conserved for many years to come. Anyhow, recently, very hardworking in finding a job. No easy to find a job even though I am a graduate in Master of Engineering, kinda stress and sad ~ Jobstreet maybe a good source of employment, but the competition is horrific~~~~ 1 fresh graduate position, 4000 people applied, this is insane (@@)

It Is Time To Say Hi To Kota Kinabalu (^^)

In less than 12 hours, I will be on my way to Sabah - The Land Below The Wind (^^)

Totally Exhausted, because just had a Perak Free and Easy Tour (^^)

Tatata, see you guys soon (^^)

BRUCE LEE is definitely cool - perhaps an Idol to almost all the boys in the world once? (^^)

Paper Chicken（纸包鸡）(Serdang) 2 @ Liang Ya (梁雅）

4 years ago, just after I had finished my foundation studies, I packed endlessly before leaving Semenyih for a long holiday. 4 years later, I embarked on a similar journey; but the main difference was that I most probably would leave Semenyih more than a holiday?. 

Anyhow, the ritual was almost the same - packing and then, lunch at Serdang. Since it was just nearby, I decided to have the final luncheon there once and for all. Reading back my post (here), it was plain funny that I was utterly naive with child-like language. Yet, I still treasured the old me because it made me feel special?~ Moreover, the photos were taken using my Nokia 5300 which I used during my foundation time (Yeah, only 2 MP). It was such a nostalgic moment, everything seemed to be fresh and enlightening! Omg, I sound so old (^^)

So, this time around, I will explain more on the dishes we ordered.Basically, this restaurant (near The Mines) and on the same row as TM Serdang serves Hakka delicacies for don't-know-how-many-years.


 This was the meat combo. Basically, it has two different style of cooking.   The restaurant also got this ginger garlic fish, quite okay!  This was quite nice too - The Fupei with vegetable combo (^^) Healthy~  Hakka people also known to prepare some of the finest yang taufoh in the world..hahahaha, there were mixture of various type of "yang" vege, eggplant, chilil, ,,,,,etc~
Lastly, it was the most famous dish in the restaurant - Paper Chicken. With the chicken being wrapped using special paper along with other ingredients, this dish was rather special because the chicken was still quite smooth. Therefore, in Serdang, this restaurant is always a must-go for my parents.