Gong Hei Fatt Choy!
This post has been sitting in my draft folder for the past 2 weeks. Got busy. Got ill. Still nursing a cough but that's okay. So here goes. Hey, at least I'm posting this before Chap Goh Mei, right?
The eve
CNY eve was celebrated quite simply with family at home. We had roast duck from Loong Foong in Paramount (though I much prefer the Sunrise Roast Duck, they decided not to open for business this CNY), Char Siew (roast pork) from James Ayam, Jellyfish Yee Sang from Chuai Heng (One Utama) topped up with salmon sashimi from Jusco Supermarket (I don't see the point in thinly sliced salmon, really) and mom cooked some vegetable stir fry. I opened up a bottle of Merlot to go with the duck and pork and it was not too bad either. Sunshine got to eat inside with us. She even had a taste of everything. Just a weee-bit. Except the wine of course. Then she was quite happy to lie at our feet. Hahaha. Pictures to come soon. I still can't find that damn USB cable for my phone. Grrrr.
Cycling up Frasers
As for the first day of Chinese New Year, I had a total blast cycling up to Fraser's Hill with JJ, MF and some new friends I made that day. We met up in Kuala Kubu Baru, and then headed for hills, cycled past the beautiful KKB dam and then a steady climb to the Gap which lasted over 2 hours.
It was a lovely climb, with shady trees by the long and winding road. The cool breeze was crisp and fresh. I could smell the green scent of the jungle and hear the rustling of leaves. When we rode near the river we could hear the sound of water tripping over rocks as it rushed towards the dam we left behind.
When we finally reached the Gap, we were greeted by many cars parked by the roadside. Holidaying families were waiting for the road leading up to the top of Fraser's Hill to open. Well, we got this far, so the guys said we should ride to the clock tower, another 8km away. Gulp. JJ was up for it, so I thought OK lah. Might as well.
We didn't want to wait for the road to open, so we used the alternative route, which started off with a really steep slope. A 750m 15% incline. Oh gawd... I tried, but half way through, I knew I couldn't anymore. My heart was at the verge of bursting and my legs couldn't maintain a steady rhythm. I quickly unclipped my shoes and prayed I wouldn't fall over in an undignified heap. I managed to get off my bike to push.
After getting back on the bike, we endured a few more kms of rolling hills. Then we saw the gang who were ahead of us coming down the hill. They said there was a landslide further up and there was no way we could cross. Bummer.
So much for the clock tower. We could take the other way up, but we were running out of time. After a short rest back at the Gap, we were on our way home. The ride down was madness! Averaged 30-40km/h (and I might add there's a speed limit of 30km/h for cars here). Round and round back down the hill.
Weeeeeehoooooo... the wind was in my face. I avoided oncoming traffic, holes, sandy corners and fallen branches. I didn't realise I climbed up such a distance until I saw that the journey down was pretty long too. Then we reached the big road near the dam. Changed to my big crank and pedaled, reaching a top speed of 60km/h (I didn't see any speed limit signs here though), and the downhill speed gave me momentum to fly up the smaller slopes after.
Cool breeze gave way to hot air as the sun was already up and we had no more shady trees for cover. The heat from the tarmac made me feel like I was riding in a bed of burning charcoal. Phoooh! But it was over pretty quickly when we reached KKB town again and back to our cars at the stadium. ZM treated everybody to makan opposite the stadium, and it was such fun talking about the ride. It's definitely one of the best rides I've had so far, and I can't wait to go back there again. Hopefully next time we can make it to the clock tower.
Hamper shopping
Went home. Took a shower. Then went to Giant to get a CNY hamper for D's family. Goodness gracious. The hampers were pricey but filled with junk. I decided to handpick some better items, although for the same budget, there would be less items and I'd get a smaller hamper. Oh well, better than cheap sugar-crusted jelly sweets or plasticky chocolate any day. Besides, it's more gratifying to push the trolley around and choose items the recipients would like.
Dinner with D's family and drinks with friends
It was his folk's last night in KL before they fly back to Adelaide, so we had dinner before dropping them off at the granny's. Nothing else seemed to be open in the USJ area on the first day of CNY, so we ended up at a vegetarian restaurant. After that, we met up with some friends for drinks at Chili's in Midvalley. It was a good catch up session with LY, WY, EK and AW who's back from Shanghai.
Not so 'ong' 2nd day
Didn't do much but rest and recover from the ride the day before. Had dinner at my aunt's place. Sunshine had a swell time running around the big garden and having everyone fuss all over her. Later, D & I went to LY's cousin's place for a few rounds of cards. Not very 'ong' at all la this year. Must be Aunty HN's boob-shimmying and leg-crossing ala Sharon Stone disturbing the 'luck'. Hahahaha.
Packed 3rd day
Visited KY's place on Saturday afternoon. My, her belly had gotten bigger. Zombee was cute as always, yelping at the back for some attention. Then I went over to The Curve for quick meet up with the old DDBi gang as SC was back from Vietnam. So nice to see everybody again. Then it was off to LY's place for another round of cards. Still not very 'ong'. Lost some at Dai Dee but managed to recover some at the Black Jack table.
The Chins, Chong, Oois & Mah
Met up with the girls. SY's belly has grown as well since we last met at MT's wedding. After coffee and catching up, AV and I met up with the boys after their basketball game. KC and CC hadn't changed a bit. Put them and D together, aiyooohh, it's like a trip back to our GMSJ Youth days over a decade ago. Hahaha. And oh, the Sup Kambing at Darus Salam in SS15 Subang Jaya, SUCKS. All MSG and fatty meat with an overdose of spice. Uggghh.
Got sick :(
The following few days were horrible. Got a bit of a fever. Sore throat. No sniffles, but a dry cough. My tonsils swelled up. Doctor asked me to consider removing them one day, cos they get inflamed so easily. It's been a week and I still get the hacking cough. Damn the heaty CNY weather. No lah... it's not all the bak kua I ate. I didn't get enough of those. Sniff.
The Chans
Visited CN on Saturday and it was so good to see her and hubby after so long. And while I heard that her sister (3 years our junior) just gave birth to a baby girl 3 months ago, it didn't sink in until I saw SN with her baby. And I still remember SN in her high school pinafore. OK, that was about 10 years ago, but gosh! In my mind, she still that tall, young, pretty girl with the school bag. She's still tall, young, and pretty - but now she's a mom, with baby bags!
It's Day 12 today. Chap Goh Meh on Thursday.
Shites, only 3 more days of Angpow collection!
The eve
CNY eve was celebrated quite simply with family at home. We had roast duck from Loong Foong in Paramount (though I much prefer the Sunrise Roast Duck, they decided not to open for business this CNY), Char Siew (roast pork) from James Ayam, Jellyfish Yee Sang from Chuai Heng (One Utama) topped up with salmon sashimi from Jusco Supermarket (I don't see the point in thinly sliced salmon, really) and mom cooked some vegetable stir fry. I opened up a bottle of Merlot to go with the duck and pork and it was not too bad either. Sunshine got to eat inside with us. She even had a taste of everything. Just a weee-bit. Except the wine of course. Then she was quite happy to lie at our feet. Hahaha. Pictures to come soon. I still can't find that damn USB cable for my phone. Grrrr.
Cycling up Frasers
As for the first day of Chinese New Year, I had a total blast cycling up to Fraser's Hill with JJ, MF and some new friends I made that day. We met up in Kuala Kubu Baru, and then headed for hills, cycled past the beautiful KKB dam and then a steady climb to the Gap which lasted over 2 hours.
It was a lovely climb, with shady trees by the long and winding road. The cool breeze was crisp and fresh. I could smell the green scent of the jungle and hear the rustling of leaves. When we rode near the river we could hear the sound of water tripping over rocks as it rushed towards the dam we left behind.
When we finally reached the Gap, we were greeted by many cars parked by the roadside. Holidaying families were waiting for the road leading up to the top of Fraser's Hill to open. Well, we got this far, so the guys said we should ride to the clock tower, another 8km away. Gulp. JJ was up for it, so I thought OK lah. Might as well.
We didn't want to wait for the road to open, so we used the alternative route, which started off with a really steep slope. A 750m 15% incline. Oh gawd... I tried, but half way through, I knew I couldn't anymore. My heart was at the verge of bursting and my legs couldn't maintain a steady rhythm. I quickly unclipped my shoes and prayed I wouldn't fall over in an undignified heap. I managed to get off my bike to push.
After getting back on the bike, we endured a few more kms of rolling hills. Then we saw the gang who were ahead of us coming down the hill. They said there was a landslide further up and there was no way we could cross. Bummer.
So much for the clock tower. We could take the other way up, but we were running out of time. After a short rest back at the Gap, we were on our way home. The ride down was madness! Averaged 30-40km/h (and I might add there's a speed limit of 30km/h for cars here). Round and round back down the hill.
Weeeeeehoooooo... the wind was in my face. I avoided oncoming traffic, holes, sandy corners and fallen branches. I didn't realise I climbed up such a distance until I saw that the journey down was pretty long too. Then we reached the big road near the dam. Changed to my big crank and pedaled, reaching a top speed of 60km/h (I didn't see any speed limit signs here though), and the downhill speed gave me momentum to fly up the smaller slopes after.
Cool breeze gave way to hot air as the sun was already up and we had no more shady trees for cover. The heat from the tarmac made me feel like I was riding in a bed of burning charcoal. Phoooh! But it was over pretty quickly when we reached KKB town again and back to our cars at the stadium. ZM treated everybody to makan opposite the stadium, and it was such fun talking about the ride. It's definitely one of the best rides I've had so far, and I can't wait to go back there again. Hopefully next time we can make it to the clock tower.
Hamper shopping
Went home. Took a shower. Then went to Giant to get a CNY hamper for D's family. Goodness gracious. The hampers were pricey but filled with junk. I decided to handpick some better items, although for the same budget, there would be less items and I'd get a smaller hamper. Oh well, better than cheap sugar-crusted jelly sweets or plasticky chocolate any day. Besides, it's more gratifying to push the trolley around and choose items the recipients would like.
Dinner with D's family and drinks with friends
It was his folk's last night in KL before they fly back to Adelaide, so we had dinner before dropping them off at the granny's. Nothing else seemed to be open in the USJ area on the first day of CNY, so we ended up at a vegetarian restaurant. After that, we met up with some friends for drinks at Chili's in Midvalley. It was a good catch up session with LY, WY, EK and AW who's back from Shanghai.
Not so 'ong' 2nd day
Didn't do much but rest and recover from the ride the day before. Had dinner at my aunt's place. Sunshine had a swell time running around the big garden and having everyone fuss all over her. Later, D & I went to LY's cousin's place for a few rounds of cards. Not very 'ong' at all la this year. Must be Aunty HN's boob-shimmying and leg-crossing ala Sharon Stone disturbing the 'luck'. Hahahaha.
Packed 3rd day
Visited KY's place on Saturday afternoon. My, her belly had gotten bigger. Zombee was cute as always, yelping at the back for some attention. Then I went over to The Curve for quick meet up with the old DDBi gang as SC was back from Vietnam. So nice to see everybody again. Then it was off to LY's place for another round of cards. Still not very 'ong'. Lost some at Dai Dee but managed to recover some at the Black Jack table.
The Chins, Chong, Oois & Mah
Met up with the girls. SY's belly has grown as well since we last met at MT's wedding. After coffee and catching up, AV and I met up with the boys after their basketball game. KC and CC hadn't changed a bit. Put them and D together, aiyooohh, it's like a trip back to our GMSJ Youth days over a decade ago. Hahaha. And oh, the Sup Kambing at Darus Salam in SS15 Subang Jaya, SUCKS. All MSG and fatty meat with an overdose of spice. Uggghh.
Got sick :(
The following few days were horrible. Got a bit of a fever. Sore throat. No sniffles, but a dry cough. My tonsils swelled up. Doctor asked me to consider removing them one day, cos they get inflamed so easily. It's been a week and I still get the hacking cough. Damn the heaty CNY weather. No lah... it's not all the bak kua I ate. I didn't get enough of those. Sniff.
The Chans
Visited CN on Saturday and it was so good to see her and hubby after so long. And while I heard that her sister (3 years our junior) just gave birth to a baby girl 3 months ago, it didn't sink in until I saw SN with her baby. And I still remember SN in her high school pinafore. OK, that was about 10 years ago, but gosh! In my mind, she still that tall, young, pretty girl with the school bag. She's still tall, young, and pretty - but now she's a mom, with baby bags!
It's Day 12 today. Chap Goh Meh on Thursday.
Shites, only 3 more days of Angpow collection!
Labels: about friends, chaboh, chinese new year, cycling, D, family, sick and whining
says Wandernut on Monday, February 18, 2008
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