Misty Morning at Nora Lodge

Nora Lodge, November 13 - 14, 2010
It rained heavily that night. No wonder it was hot during the day. It was really cool to spend a night in a chalet where splashes of rain came through the wooden walls from time to time. Something like those misty sprays that some restaurants would run on a hot day...
When morning came, I was reluctant to leave the warm bed. Mama Pasha insisted that I came out and took a look at the fogs. I gave her the camera instead and continued hugging my pillow. At least, I would be able to see the photos later...

Look at the refreshing morning view just outside our chalet. Well, I did get up after being constantly "harassed" by Mama Pasha and I got Pasha to wake up as well...
Look at Pasha's face. Anyway, he still managed to put up his peace sign despite the "protest"... Then off we went for a cold morning shower. Fortunately, hot water was provided.

Our last photo at the road entrance leading to Nora Lodge with the owner, Puan Nora. Farewell Nora Lodge.
Next: Rabbit hunting. Stay tuned.

Colmar Tropicale at Night

Colmar Tropicale, Bukit Tinggi, Bentong, Pahang
November 13, 2010
This is the continuation to An Evening in Colmar Tropicale. We were told that there was nothing much at the Colmar Tropicale. It was suggested by Puan Nora, the Nora Lodge owner, that we go up there during the evening and stay till nightfall so that we could see the resort during the day and night in one go. Furthermore, after 6:00pm, there will be no entrance fee. If not adults would have to pay RM12 just to enter the resort.

Pasha insisted on trying out the yellow rubber ducky fishing game. He successfully pleaded with his "pretty please" code word for him to do two rounds of rubber ducky fishing.

Pasha fishing for the yellow rubber ducky. Pasha had no problem catching the rubber ducky but to win a prize, was a totally different story... There was a lot of "unfairness" built into that game and all the other same kind of games that you can find at the resort. The odd of winning was way too low making it almost impossible to win at all. So, if you were up there, just stay away from the games so that hopefully, one day, those operators would recalculate the huge profit that they are making and give back a bit more to the players... And the Ultraman with his parents by the fountain....

Alternative to wasting money playing the games for nothing. There was a game arcade there. Fully automated, so no resort employee was there. If you have kids around 3 who insisted on playing the game there, put them at this colorful ball game. There's no need to pay as an adult can just pick up the balls that the kid threw inside and you can have this fun for hours... The only thing that you will not get for not paying is your score. Kids do not really need scores to have fun, do they?

Colmar Square and the magical fountain at night. Quite a pretty sight...

The knight in not so shiny armor and Pasha and Mama at the clock tower at night.
Next change: The foggy morning.

An Evening in Colmar Tropicale

November 13, 2010
Colmar Tropicale, Berjaya Hills

Pasha, Uwan, Mama and Papa. Juts got out of the car park from the castle behind us.

Pasha at the sign board and the Main gate to the resort.

The clocks. The first one showing the current time and the second one, on the other side, showing another time. Since I do not read French, I do not know what "Tour De L' Horloge Clock Tower". May be it's about the time for the next tour of the clock tower or something like that...

The horse had run away leaving the shiny red cart behind. The fish pond, which was one of Pasha's favourite.

The giant white swans were too lazy to move around...

Pasha and Papa and the lovely black swans. Swans or some big black ducks?

Another view of the clock tower and Pasha and Mama entering the Colmar Square.

Pasha wondering off by himself and the caught again to pose for a family shot at the fountain.

Nora Lodge at Bukit Tinggi

Need a place to get away for the hustle and bustle of KL? Head over to Nora Lodge at Bukit Tinggi aka Berjaya Hills. We went up there on November 13, 2010. Located at the hillside of Bukit Tinggi, roughly about 3/4 way up, the place was lushly covered by greeneries for as far as your eyes can see.

That's the view of our chalet and the next photo is the view in front of the chalet. Karak Highway was visible a distance away.

A view from the entrance to the lodge and an inside view of our chalet. Ours came with a king size bed and a single bed. The 3 of us and my mom slept comfortably in there.

Another view of the inside. No air conditioning but you would not be needing it anyway. The rocking chair on the deck was a nice addition to the chalet. Imagine rocking yourself to the open view in front of you... Simply refreshing...

Pasha and Adam (face hidden) were enjoying themselves playing with the Congkak. Uwan and Mama Pasha at the recreational cum the eating area.

Isabelle and her hubby with Mama Pasha. They were the one who suggested this place. The food that we brought along with us. You can also get the lodge to cook simple dishes such as fried rice or fried noodles for RM 5.00 per person.

Pasha and Nora the friendly lodge owner and Papa Bear and Pasha and his addiction, Milo...

Isabelle's chalet. Adam (face hidden as usual) half naked and Pasha striking a pose on the deck.
In summary, the place is cool. The rental per day is affordable. It is only about 2 km to Colmar Tropicale and other attractions up there. The owner is friendly. You can call her, Nora at +60122015218 to make your booking. Price may very depending on season. You can also visit http://donmyzz-holidaysbt.blogspot.com/2009/02/nora-lodge-berjaya-hills-bukit-tinggi.html for more details.
To get there, drive to Karak Highway heading to Kuantan. Go past the Genting Sempah tunnel and drive until the exit to Bukit Tinggi or Berjaya Hills. Past the guard post, take the route on the right. Drive about 4 km and watch out for a small sign board on your right. It says Nora Lodge, Orchard Farm. It is quite small so watch your traveled distance. Once there, exit to the right and follow the dirt road to the  end and turn left. Proceed downhill until you reach the gate and drive straight in.
It was worth it for us!

Android-Powered HTC Wildfire

Recently I got myself an Android-powered HTC Wildfire smartphone. Why Android? It's just my preference over the others such as Blackberry or iPhone. Well, some people prefer chicken and some others prefer beef. Why HTC? I just like the way it feels in my hand. As solid as my old Nokia E71. Not to mention that it is good looking as well. Why Wildfire? I would love to get my hands on the Desire but as much as I have the desire to have it, the cost is way too much for me to spend on a phone. Wildfire is the most affordable HTC that runs Android and its specifications are sufficient for my needs. I don't need a shotgun to kill a mosquito, do I?

Running on Android 2.1 Enclair, the Wildfire has been with me for about a month now and I am quite satisfied with its performance and stability. The best feature for me is the integrated address book or People. It links my contacts to their Facebook, Twitter and Flickr, that is if they are using any of those apps. Now I can have their phone numbers, email addresses, birthdays and some other infos without me having to key them in manually.

Here are my top 10 Android apps that I am currently using on the phone. If you have any suggestion on any other apps, please leave your comment.

1. Foursquare - Now I can check in with ease!
2. Facebook - Update my status or just see what's the latest postings from my friends.
3. Adhan Alarm - Alert on prayer times and a compass to show the direction of the Kiblat.
4. CIMB Clicks - Check my bank account balance and get the latest currency exchange.
5. ColorNote - An easy and simple way to take and keep notes.
6. Maps - Google maps. Too bad the Google Navigation is not available for Malaysia yet...
7. Waze - Turn by turn navigation. An alternative to Google Navigation and Garmin XT that I have on my E71.
8. Desk Clock - Something to wake me up in the morning.
9. Angry Bird - The most addictive game at the moment!
10. Market - Where the apps above came from. Paid apps not available yet for Malaysia.

There you go! Did I miss any good ones up there? Do let me know okay!

Maxis In and P1 Out

My last post was on September 29 during the last Aidil Fitri. Now even Aidil Adha is already over... I wonder if any of my blogging friends are over there in Mekah at this moment...
Anyway, I always have some good excuses for not actively posting over here. Yup, there will always be something or someone  to blame for my lack of enthusiasm... To begin with, there will always be work and Facebook games. These two contributed to about 20% of my absence in the blogosphere... Work is work and it will not be going away for at least another decade or so and as for Facebook, there will always be something new that comes up and drag me away from blogging. However, as I said, they are only the 20% factors... So, what's the big thing then?

That's what the title of this entry is all about. For those who have been following this blog during its active days might remember the entry about the P1 Wimax that I posted on 24th August 2010. Everything was well and despite the abundance of negative comments on the net, I still gave them the benefit of the doubt.
In early November 2010, the nightmares began. The connection was simply horrible and we could not even open our Google Mail even though the modem was showing full signal received from the base station. Upon contacting the customer services for a few times, we were told that the base station was congested and upgrade would only be carried out in the next two months time. Two months with marginal or no connection! Would you accept that? They told me that they would waive th charges but I told them that the waiver would not be able to compensate our losses and they just went quite and close the case! Personally, I think P1 is not that bad but the people who are running it, are a different story altogether...
So, to cut the story short and to make sure that P1 fans would not get overly upset and leave this blog for good, last Friday, 19th November 2010, Maxis installed their Wired Broadband at our place. If you are Facebook friends, you might have read about my status on how many Maxis staffs did it take to get this Wired Broadband installed. I really had a field day of scolding people that day... Oh well... Once I got myself connected, all the anger flew away...
For those who are not familiar with Maxis Broadband, this is NOT the wireless broadband that have not been getting favorable comments from many subscribers who live further away from the KL city center but this is the WIRED broadband provided to selected areas by Maxis.
The verdict so far. The line is fast and stable. However, I would not say that this is the best that we have so far since we want to see how this service would perform 6 months from now. Too early to throw praises at Maxis at this time. Stay tuned for our updates on this!
Next battle: To return the P1 modem without incurring contract penalty! Wish me luck friends!

Pasha's 1st time Riding a bike

from Bear's Kitchen Sept 2010