Pragmatic Revelations » Holidays

CNY 2009 Lion Dance

Adrian Hoe — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:10:55 +0000

Last year, I took quite an amount of photographs without video. This year, I decided to take video and photographs to make some DVD home movie for the family. The video was actually taken by my niece, Lilian. Not bad for her first time taking video. Here’s a digest version of the vIdeo I made for my blog. Pay attention to the way the lion played with the firecrackers. Dangerous though, but never see this in the southern part.

A good head start

Adrian Hoe — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 15:46:31 +0000

Happy New Year 2009 buddies!

It seems like a good head start for me. Everything I planned for today seems to be smooth sailing although I am having one problem which I do not know why it happens. I guess I will need to toy with it and/or hack it to learn why it isn’t behaving as it supposed to be. If everything is running perfect before end of this month, I will acquire an iPod Touch to proceed further. This will be my first wish on this very first day of 2009.

Kids’ first karaoke

Adrian Hoe — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 03:25:53 +0000

We were invited by LA’s sister and her husband to Su-Ann’s be-lated birthday celebration. We embarked to PJ around 1100 yesterday and arrived at her brother’s house around 1400. Almost all of LA’s family members were there. We had some light food for lunch then took a rest.

We headed to Neway Karaoke Box in One Utama at 1700. The karaoke box was huge. The lounge was big enough to fit in all 20+ of us. It was a buffet dinner with free karaoke. The food was very nice and everyone was enjoying and had a full tummy.

As for our boys, this was their new experience, a new one. They had no idea what karaoke was about. Dmitry was really enjoying singing with his cousins. He sang Beauty and the Beast and Reflection (theme song in Mulan). I would say not bad at all at his age. He could recognize all the words in the lyrics. He was good comparing to his old daddy. Ha.. ha..

Dietrich joined him for a few kid’s songs. Dominik roaming around and having fun with all sort of food. He really enjoyed the food and the noises there.

We left for Melaka at 2245 and touched base at 0115. The kids were soundly asleep after a fun karaoke and tummy filling buffet session.

A relaxing Christmas at home

Adrian Hoe — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:11:32 +0000

First, we wish all our family, friends and readers a Merry Christmas.

We decided to stay home this Christmas. The main reason was recession and heavy traffic everywhere. The price of petrol had fallen to RM1.80 per litter causing everyone to start taking to the roads with this more affordable price. Our petrol consumption has become even lower because of the cheaper price and the driving habit we picked up after the price hike a few months back. We planned our outings and routes so that we hit the roads less often.

On Sunday night, we went to the Portuguese Settlement to see Christmas decoration. Nothing unusual, same as it is every year, but for the fun of the kids. It was a four days before Christmas and the traffic there already built up. Some silly-no-brain drivers were part of the cause of the traffic jam in the settlement.

We spent whole day watching movies and listening to Christmas carols at home. What a relaxing Christmas.

Oh yea! My wishes this time… you know, don’t you?

Happy Diwali and a great start for Richie

Adrian Hoe — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:05:24 +0000

First, our warm wishes to all our Indian friends a very Happy Diwali. Nothing special over the weekend and on the Diwali itself yesterday. Except we watched a Hindi movie, “Om Shanti Om”, on Sunday night. Yesterday, we visited Dmitry’s classmate and her parents who were celebrating Diwali. At night, we watched a Tamil movie, titled “BOSS”.

Today? Richie went to school for the first time to get him familiar with schooling life so that he can accustom easily when he starts his school officially next year. It was quiet at home with only LA, Nik and I. Nik was able to enjoy quiet moments without Richie bullying or disturbing him.

Bukit Bendera

Adrian Hoe — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:51:18 +0000

Bukit Bendera or Penang Hill is one of the famous tourist spot. The weather is cooler up there. We took the 2:00PM funicular train up the hill. Single trip takes about half an hour to reach the top. It was the first time for my kids and I to go up the hill. The first time I visited Penang about 30 years (and the last time was about 10 years) ago I did not go to Penang Hill due to some reasons I could not remember. It has got great views along the track and on top of the hill. I recommend to go Penang Hill off peak season when the funicular train is not packed by tourists, otherwise it will be a humid and uneasy experience especially with younger children.

At about 410 meters above sea level, the weather is cooler but no cooler than Fraser Hill. The visibility is not good, indicates pollution on the island. Here you can see the Penang Bridge and Komtar.

Pulau Tikus

Adrian Hoe — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:50:52 +0000

Pulau Tikus (Rat Island) is neither an island nor an area infested by rats. It is a name of a place on Penang Island which is said to be named after the actual Pulau Tikus Isle. Despite of its name, it is one of the upper class neighborhood with many mansions, bungalows and colonial buildings, and many high-end condominiums such as those along Gurney Drive.

We went to the Burmese and Siamese Buddhist Temples in Pulau Tikus after visiting Kek Lok Si. Although it is one of the tourist spots, one still can find serenity at both temples comparing to Kek Lok Si. These photos are taken at the Siamese Buddhist Temple which is situated directly opposite of the Burmese Buddhist Temple.

Two high-end condominiums in the background.

The two guardians outside of the temple.

The sleeping Buddha.

Koi

Adrian Hoe — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:50:08 +0000

The koi pool at Kek Lok Si. These koi fishes may worth hundreds of thousands or a million ringgit if they are of pure Japanese breed. Looks like they are not the pure Japanese breed. The kids enjoyed feeding the fishes very much.

Kek Lok Si

Adrian Hoe — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:49:27 +0000

Kek Lok Si (or 极乐寺 in Chinese) is a Buddhist temple situated on a hill in Air Hitam in Penang. It is the best known Buddhist temple on the island and possibly the whole Malaysia. My last visit was more than 10 years ago with LA when I was giving talks at USM (Universiti Sains Malaysia).

We climbed up to the temple from the foot of the hill via a passage surrounded by souvenir stores. Sad to say, along the passage way, I saw garbage and many deserted stores. This is an awful site to this famous tourist spot on this pearl of orient.

Nonetheless, the temple is quite well maintained and many beautifying and expansion project are being carried out. IMO, the temple is rather too commercialized. Everywhere money, money, money. Encouraging tourists and Buddhist visitors to donate or buy stuff, good for the island economy (and the temple) but it is overdone. It is no exception in this materialistic world the temple has to seek financial for its survival and continue expansion and beautification to lure tourists. Sad, isn’t it?

The Goddess of Mercy and her two guardians on both side (photos below).

Happy Chinese New Year 2008 The Rat Year

Adrian Hoe — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 01:53:14 +0000

It is the first day of the Rat year (in fact the Rat year actually started on Monday when the spring arrived). Feel great after a good rest. So, my family and I wish all family, friends and visitors a very Happy Chinese New Year. May this new Rat year brings you lots of happiness and a successful and prosperous new year. This Rat year will be an exciting year as it signifies the beginning of a new cycle as the Rat is the first animal in the 12 animals of Chinese horoscope.

Be happy and enjoy while heading along the successful path! Gong Xi Fa Cai and Wan Shi Ru Yi.

Hampers for Chinese New Year

Adrian Hoe — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 05:02:25 +0000

The year of the golden rat is around the corner. This coming Chinese New Year falls on February 7 and 8. It is once in a year time again to shop for CNY stocks and gifts. LoveAficionado.com has a wide range of hampers to offer. LoveAficionado’s hampers are great gifts to share with your families and friends.

All LoveAficionado’s hampers are bundled with high quality goodies. LoveAficionada ensures all products bundled in the hampers have long expiry date. They offer excellent quality products and good service. So, you can enjoy giving without worrying about the quality.

A holiday out

Adrian Hoe — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:19:00 +0000

What a day out! We were at Seleria (a food court in Mahkota Parade) for lunch. There were many people although it had already passed the lunch hour. 3 dinos and the two papa mama dinos were hungry. After I bought the food, I tried to find a baby chair for Nik. I saw 3 were taken and could not find any more. I asked the cashier where I could find baby chair. She told me there were only 3. Only 3? Was she joking? So, I asked her why such a big food court (I think not less than 10,000 square feet) had only 3 baby chairs. She replied, “people steels it away. They just push out…” I shook my head and gave a sinister look and sarcastically replied, “then get more chairs and have a security guard at the door! Damn!”

We went home around 4:30. Rested, took a shower and out we went to buy satay (barbecue chicken in stick with peanut chili sauce) and noodles for dinner.

What a day out for this holiday. The 3 dinos were really tired out. They are now in their dino wonderlands…

Christmas Carol

Adrian Hoe — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 01:38:59 +0000

Here is the video for the Christmas Carol at doukoukai on Friday December 21, 2007. For more story, visit here.

Merry Christmas to all.

A Joyful Night

Adrian Hoe — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 03:11:27 +0000

Last night, after giving the grading test to three students at the doukoukai, a group (20+) from Bukit Beruang Methodist Church came to carol at the doukoukai. All, including my kids were having fun. For the first time, my kids saw a large group singing Christmas carols. Dominik, especially, was in “shocked” seeing so many strangers with Santa’s hat!

More pictures and story here.

We wish all our friends and family a Merry Christmas, Happy Winter Solstice, Happy New Year and best of health.

Ganbatte kudasai!

A great news and a great start

Adrian Hoe — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 03:13:20 +0000

What a great news LA brings home. She makes her first sales to two neighbors. Good saleswoman she is! I am really happy for her to have a great start today.

Today is a happy day for me. She got a great start and I received a great lesson from Gandalf.

Thanks, Gandalf!

Little favor for this holiday season

Adrian Hoe — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 02:42:55 +0000

The holiday season is approaching. Normally, we celebrate Christmas and New Year quietly at home and may be going out for dinner or sort. If Christmas day is raining, the weather will be cozy. Listening to Christmas song at home will be very relaxing.

I may be thinking of throwing a little party at home inviting family, friends and my karate students for some buffet dinner. It will be nice to give little favor to our guests to make their coming a memorable one. There is little favor bundling with some candies of choice at LoveAficionado. It is a new business site we setup recently.

If you would like to surprise your guests and make your party a remarkable one, do drop by LoveAficionado for those cute little favor things. Our new business will also provide event management and event photography services in the near future.

Bamboo Blinds

Adrian Hoe — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 02:53:49 +0000

Every year around this time, the sun will shine directly at the window at our master bedroom without fail. It heats up the room considerably in the afternoon until in the evening. When we remodeled our garden in July, I asked the contractor to have a small area built up to about 1 foot higher in front of the window. My idea is to have a small area for some leisure activities such as drinking tea in the afternoon or evening. The only thing which I have not done is to install or build a roof to cover that area.

Until the roof above the area has been built, the sun will still shine at the window at this time of the year. I got an idea about installing blinds after building the roof. I prefer bamboo shades or blinds which give the Zen favor.

SelectBlinds gives 25% off everything until this Sunday and free shipping with FedEx or UPS. They guarantee delivery before Christmas! Should I get something for our home this Christmas?

An invitation to hiking and hunting

Adrian Hoe — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 04:15:43 +0000

Last month, a friend of mine, Garry called me and invited me for a hiking and hunting. Garry and I have known each other for 2 decades. We met during a hiking. We are both enthusiastic about archery. Recently, Garry has developed immense interest in archery hunting so he invited me to share this new exciting sports. Too bad, killing animals for joy is not my cup of tea so I turned him away. I did not want to disappoint him totally so I told him I would join him for hiking.

I guess I won’t be able to hike with him because of some other commitments. I have been thinking of getting him a pair of hiking boots for Christmas. Since Garry is so into hiking and hunting, I think the hiking boots will be a great Christmas gift for Garry. MetBoots ships internationally and offers free shipping on items above $100. MetBoots also offers gift certificate for someone special.

MetBoots also has a variety of hunting boots to choose from. I bet people like Garry will be fond of it.

Amusement Theme Park

Adrian Hoe — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:53:03 +0000

The Blackpool Pleasure Beach Amusement Park is the oldest and largest theme park in UK. It is approximately 4 hours drive from London, between Lancester and Liverpool. It was founded in 1896 by Alderman William George Bean. Over 6.2 millions visitors have travelled to this Britain’s No. 1 Resort Theme Park every year.

In 2000, Blackpool Pleasure Beach invested its largest investment of £15 million when Pleasure Beach, Blackpool opened, Valhalla on June 14th 2000. The park has got many fun rides such as Pepsi Max Big One, Infusion, Big Dipper and including the £1million white knuckle ride Spin Doctor with riders spinning 360 degrees through the air to heights of 120 feet at speeds of over 60 mph. There are also Family Rides for your whole family.

Besides the rides, it also hosts indoor attraction such as the 4-D cinema where you can experience stunning 3-D projection with innovative 4-D technology. It has also put up many shows to entertain your family. If you are hungry, there are restaurant and fast food outlet serving exquisite cuisines to sandwiches, burgers and a lot more to satisfy your appetite. The White Tower offers fine dining at this award-winning penthouse restaurant with panoramic ocean views, stylish and romantic atmosphere, often favoured by celebrities.

The Big Blue Hotel offers standard rooms, unique family rooms, executive rooms, club rooms and luxury suite.

The Blackpool Pleasure Beach Amusement Park is the best holiday destination in UK for your family. Are you taking your family for a ride?

My dream holiday

Adrian Hoe — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 05:39:08 +0000

Everybody wants a nice holiday. I want a nice holiday too and I always want a dream holiday, the Caribbean Cruise! Carribean is one of my favorite tour/holiday spots in Central America. The Caribbean is a region of the Americas situated on the Caribbean plate consisting of the Caribbean Sea and comprises of more than 7,000 islands! Its beautiful sceneries make it an attractive holiday destination.

The Holiday Hypermarket offers great package to various holiday destination in Europe, the Orient and America including Caribbean. It also offers great bargain on flights and accommodation. Most of all, it allows you to custom build your holiday!

It is great for holiday makers to plan their holiday itinerary under one roof with Holiday Hypermarket. No hassle, no fuss holiday planning on your desk. So, start packing your luggage, jump on the plane and off you go enjoying your dream holiday!

Holidays are around the corner again!

Adrian Hoe — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 03:27:25 +0000

Well, here comes the holiday seasons again! Shopping for gifts has become a culture and a necessity activity especially at this time of year. First, Halloween, then Thanksgiving and Christmas. The thing I hate most is to negotiate a tremendous amount of traffics en route shopping complexes and finding a parking will be a hassle. I am going shop online again this year in my comfortable home. No traffic, no parking hassle, no squeezing among shoppers!

What am I going to get for my family? I think I am going to get some fun books for learning for my three kids using Highlights coupons. LA is into baking now so I think I am going to get her some bakeware this holiday season with great Pfaltzgraff deals.

Thanks to Coupon Chief, they offer fabulous discount at many online shopping destination, including Highlights, Pfaltzgraff and many more.

It is a real saver for shopping online if you get your coupon codes for wonderful discounts. What’s more, you can save on gas and hassle getting into traffic jam.