Many said that Germany is the land of sausage, beer and pork knuckles. Being a foodie (and perpetually hungry), I took every opportunity to try whatever I could fit in my stomach. I came home with a bigger tummy and my pants felt tighter.
Like Ho Chi Minh City, I notice that some of the chairs are arranged facing the road. I wonder they can’t face the chair toward the table – so that people can face each other and talk. But I understand is that the purpose of doing so is to enable people can enjoy the view (of the road?) and have a conversation on anything they see.
Our first meal was at a local pub by Kurfürstendamm. I had a huge pincher of Berliner Kindl (quite tasty, only 0, 41e! Cheaper than water!) and sausage. It was delicious!
The stuff on the right was tastty! Cant remember what’s the name.
Cheapo beer
I also managed to try their well known pork knuckles. I ordered mine at one pub recommended by our hotel concierge. In the menu, it was titled “Super Pork Knuckles”. It was indeed super in size. It was so big that I couldn’t finish it and the fat was enough to power a generator. However, the meat was tender and soft.
They also sell Maggi products here. And I notice that most condiments have yellow packaging.
Sushi also got!
Sliced octopus. Yummy.
Currywurst is one of the most well known dishes in Berlin. It consists of pork sausages with curry sauce and curry powder seasoned on top. And I had it at one restaurant dedicated to pigs. Will talk about it next time.
Warao, dilated pupils. This stuff must be good.
Month: June 2008
Perodua Myvi
You know that you’ve made a little advancement in your career when you put the money you made into your family. I always thought that the money I made would be spent on myself. But it sure gives you more satisfaction when you use it on your family.
I paid for my Mum’s down payment of her brand new spanking Perodua Myvi.
Part of it came from Nuffnang’s payout
She sold her car couple of years back and was car-less for few years.
On the first day she got the car, she commented that the car was very beautiful. To me, it looks like a bloody turtle. And the car is green too!
Then later at night, “SON! SOMEONE SMASHED MY CAR’S WINDOW!!”.
Apparently someone smashed the passenger seat’s window after he/she saw her purse lying on the seat. All she had inside the purse was some money and a dinosaur age Nokia 3330 handphone – with no colour screen, it’s good enough to be a paper weight now.
Car break-in is very rampant around my area lately. I believe that it’s the same person who broke into my neighbours’ cars.
I sort of suspect is this d00d who came to my house uninvited last year.
Fortunately, we got the window fix in no time and for less than a hundred Ringgit!
Sailing Adventure @ Langkawi – Part V
Langkawi is an archipelago of 99 islands in the Andaman Sea. Many of these islands are unoccupied and untouched by mankind.
With so many islands, the best way to explore these islands is by boat.
I forced myself to take 3 days off from my hectic schedule to attend this media trip. I clearly needed a break from work – my waist is aching (apparently due to some injury to some soft tissue inside my waist). My eyes needed rest from looking at computer monitors.
The sky was gloomy when we set off from the Kilim Karst Geopark jetty. We started off with a small boat cruising down the Kilim River and rode through a valley of lush mangrove forest and lime stone hills. There were no signs of modernity save for one or two passing boats.
Kilim Karst Jetty
Our boat
We stopped by a floating fish farm to feed some fishes and even to pet stingrays. The platform was made of wood and the walkway is narrow. We had to keep our balance otherwise we would end up as fish food.
Making salty fish.
To prevent the fishes from escaping, nets are placed deep below.
There was a small stall selling tidbits.
We were given a demonstration on how to feed stingrays. They looked a bit scary but they are relatively harmless.
Stingray nom-ing (eating) our boat man’s hand
But this was cut short when it started raining.
We also stooped to feed some eagles. Our boat man injected some air into some dead fish (so that it could float) and few seconds later, an eagle rushed down to grab its lunch. Unfortunately, due to the rain, there were not many eagles on sight.
One of the things a photographer do to protect his baby.
As we were about to reach the river mouth, we were greeted by a sail boat.
To be continued…
Related Links:
Apxara – the people that made this happen
Sailing Adventure @ Langkawi – Part II
Sailing Adventure @ Langkawi – Part III
Sailing Adventure @ Langkawi – Part IV
Petrol to cost RM2.70 from 5 June 2008
When Hurricane Katrina was about to strike New Orleans, the gas stations were congested with cars causing few kilometers of traffic.
The scene was almost the same when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on announced price hikes for petrol, diesel and electricity.He said the new price for petrol is RM2.70 a litre. The price goes up by 78sen from the current RM1.92, a hike of 40%.
Abdullah also announced that the price of diesel would be increased by RM1 from RM1.58 to RM2.58.
He also said that Tenaga Nasional Bhd would be raising electricity rates by 18% for homes and 26% for business users.[Whole article]
This is no doubt a huge political set back for Abdullah and Barisan Nasional. If snap elections are to be called tomorrow, there is no doubt that Barisan Nasional will lose all their seats.
I left office around 9pm to find myself stuck in a massive jam. Many cars were lining up to fill up petrol. The previous hikes were not that bad but this time round, the jam is few kilometers long. Many radio stations pleaded with the public to go home and stop clogging the roads.
I took the opportunity to snap some pictures of a petrol station nearby my house. I had to snap it from far cause I couldn’t get into the vicinity as the whole place is clogged up with car.
[Edit: Prime Minister Office’s website got hacked HEHE: Source]
Malaysian school uniform sexy, says group
Recently, the vice-president of the National Islamic Students Association of Malaysia, Munirah Bahari announced in a statement that the Malaysian school uniform i.e. the white blouse is too sexy. They have encouraged students to “cover up” according to Islamic precepts to fend off social ills, including “rape, sexual harassment and even premarital sex. She said, “This leads to babies born out of wedlock and, to an extent, even prostitution,”.“Decent clothes which are not revealing can prevent and protect women from any untoward situations,” she said, suggesting that girls wear a blouse of a different colour or with an undergarment [Read more here].
Utter rubbish.
Wet Baju Kurung – taken from AngryYoungChild’s website.
I read one entry by MichaelOoi on this issue. It cracked me big time.
The person I have in mind, is the guy who thinks school uniforms are sexy. I don’t know who is the guy (I don’t really give a shit anyway)… but, I think that guy is pretty stupid. You see, when a girl’s sexy, she’s gonna stay sexy no matter what she wears… (imagine Jessica Biel). She can wear a school uniform, a baju kurung, or even a baju hujan, it doesn’t matter. She is still going to look the same. She is going to look sexy in EVERYTHING. So, should we ban every fucking thing that Jessica’s gonna wear? The next thing we know, she’s going to be naked dude… (not that it’s a bad thing).
Same thing goes for the opposite. An ugly girl will stay ugly no matter how sexy she wears. Old people will stay old even if they wear a school uniform. And how do you explain goats? Do you people even know that hundreds of domestic animals are getting raped every year in Malaysia alone? (the farmers, goddamnnn!) Why isn’t there any nincompoops from the government propose for animals to be fully clothed already? As you probably have realized, the issue here is not about the clothing at all. It’s the mentality of the people. People are just sick enough that they’d rape anything that can satisfy their whims and fetishes.
LOL TRUE!
Sungai Siput, Perak
When Saddam Hussein fell from power, his statutes were removed, beheaded and whacked with slippers. His portraits were sprayed with bullets.
However, when Samy Vellu fell from power, his pictures are still seen all over Sg. Siput, a constituency that he has been holding for about 30 years. The Chairman of the Malaysia Indian Congress (MIC) recently lost his seat on the 8 March 2008 election.
My colleagues and I travelled to Sg Siput for our fellow ex colleague, Gobi’s wedding. It was my first time there. I heard many rumours that Sg Siput roads are at top condition as Samy Vellu, who once held the post of Minister of Works, took good care of the roads. But when I was there, I find the roads so-so.
We arrived at one hall located next to a Chinese school. None of us in the car brought the invitation card hence our arrival to the Chinese school was purely on verbal directions.
Outside the hall lies a huge place card with the names “Gobinanthan and (something)” and a picture of the couple. None of us remember the name of Gobi’s wife.
Me: Gobi looks very different in the picture. He looks so fair. Never mind, let’s get down.
Colleague: Eh, no, no. I call K first.
We then realised that we entered the wrong wedding. Gobi’s full name is Gobinath. It would be embarrassing if we went in and gave out our angpows and thereafter reclaiming them back.
Despite the mix up, we arrived at the wedding hall just in time for the ceremony. Gobi was smartly dressed in his traditional suit.
Soon, the procession started with loads of people running around and the sounds trumpet and drums played whole day long. Gobi, his wife and family members were all up on stage. It was a colourful ceremony. Ladies were all dressed in their best saris.
Samy Vellu is still here!
The camera man got a multi adapter hung to him HEHE
The highlight of the ceremony would be a ritual called Phere. In the Phere ritual, a part of the groom’s attire and the bride’s attire are tied together (symbolizing that they are now united) as they go around the ceremonial fire seven times. As soon as the Phere ritual is performed, the beat of the music picked up and it turned into a bloody rave party and everyone started shuffling. Out of no where, ivN stood next to me and said, “FENG AAHH!!!!!”.
Just kidding.
But I notice that once the Phere ritual is performed, everyone stood up and rushed towards the food. Food was only served after the ritual. The line went all the way to Timbuktu.
We missed the opportunity to throw rice at the newly wed couple. It would be great if I could blast some rice into Gobi’s face. HOU HAU!! SEK FANN!! (Open mouth! Eat Rice!!)
We went up to the stage to congratulate Gobi and pass him our angpows. I notice one Malay lady with a nice box of wrapped gift. The Chinese and Malay’s customs are quite similar. The Malays would give presents to the newly weds while the Chinese would give angpows to newly weds.
We didn’t stay long. We headed to Ipoh for lunch before heading home!
A car drove into a drain when we were on our way home.
Sailing Adventure @ Langkawi – Part IV
On the 1st night, Apxara brought to Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort for dinner.
The restaurant, Spice Market Restaurant, faces the beach front along the white sandy beach. We were also accompanied by the management and staff of Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort.
The restaurant had a wide choice of food & beverage options. The highlight would local popular BBQ delights. We had a choice of raw seafood to steaks. The chefs will barbeque them for us on the spot.
Nicolekiss – this picture got featured on the Star newspaper. [Read here!]
Got lobster too!
After dinner, we were brought to Chime @ Sheraton Langkawi, which was claimed to be the most happening club in Langkawi. But it was empty when we arrived -_-.
But at around 10pm, a band started playing and the crowd poured in. Drinks were on the house courtesy of the General Manager. I would highly recommend the cocktail, Grasshopper, a sweet mint flavoured drink.
After a few songs by the band, we had a special performance by Nicolekiss on stage. Yea tiger dance!! She can dancee!
I mean, she can sing. She sang, “Saving all my love for you” by Whitney Houston.
Related Links
Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort Homepage
Sheraton Langkawi Homepage