Leave Out All The Rest

Some news are hard to swallow sometimes. You wish those news are fake news and everything would remain as used to be. 

But July 20, you and I wish this day would never come.

On this very day, we woke up with a very sad and shocking news that Chester Bennington, the lead from Linkin Park commited suicide. 

Not to say a very big fan of them but Linkin Park and Chester specifically is the voice of my pre-teen days. Chester is the voice that resonates my innocent pre-teen days. When it comes to my teenage days, Linkin Park got to be one of my fondest memories. Everyone was awed by their unique talent and remarkable lead  voice by Chester. 

Chester along with the band defines an era in my life. They defined an era in many fans' lives. With every one of those songs, with every one of those lyrics, Chester made misunderstood teenagers worldwide feel understood, validated, and seen in a way their parents, friends, or authority figures couldn't see them. 

One of my favourite songs from Linkin Park is Leave Out All The Rest. 

When my time comes

Forget the wrong that I've done

Help me leave behind some

Reasons to be missed

Don't resent me

And when you're feeling empty

Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest

This song is like his last message to all of us before he left, so it seems. We will never resent you as you with the band had given us an exceptional entertainment. And of course, we will keep you in our memory and leave out all the rest.

Have a good rest, Chester.

You’re Allowed To Leave

By Rania Naim

You’re allowed to leave any story you don’t find yourself in. You’re allowed to leave any story you don’t love yourself in.

You’re allowed to leave a city that has dim
med your light instead of making you shine brighter, you’re allowed to pack all your bags and start over somewhere else and you’re allowed to redefine the meaning of your life.

You’re allowed to quit the job you hate even if the world tells you not to and you’re allowed to search for something that makes you look forward to tomorrow and to the rest of your life.

You’re allowed to leave someone you love if they’re treating you poorly, you’re allowed to put yourself first if you’re settling and you’re allowed to walk away when you’ve tried over and over again but nothing has changed.

You’re allowed to let toxic friends go, you’re allowed to surround yourself with love, and people who encourage and nurture you. You’re allowed to pick the kind of energy you need in your life.

You’re allowed to forgive yourself for your biggest and smallest mistakes and you’re allowed to be kind to yourself, you’re allowed to look in the mirror and actually like the person you see.

You’re allowed to set yourself free from your own expectations.

We sometimes look at leaving as a bad thing or associate it with giving up or quitting, but sometimes leaving is the best thing you can do for yourself.

Leaving allows you to change directions, to start over, to rediscover yourself and the world. Leaving sometimes saves you from staying stuck in the wrong place with the wrong people.

Leaving opens a new door for change, growth, opportunities and redemption.

You always have the choice to leave until you find where you belong and what makes you happy.

You’re even allowed to leave the old you behind and reinvent yourself.

Ain't No Rainbow

Have you ever felt that you were so tired and restless and just want to give up everything?

I do feel that most of the time recently. Maybe I'm tired. Or maybe I see things in my life are heading to downward spiral.

Every time I'm at the verge of giving up there are things that keep me going. I believe my parents would be very sad if I just give up. Though I could not be the son that they should be proud of but I could not afford to see them shed a tear.

And of course my partner who love me to bits. I could not stop here. I should not stop here and giving up the destined future.

Life sucks as we all know it and we all experience it. Rainbow, cupcakes and unicorn seem like out of  grasp though we have been aiming for it all through our lives. Life doesn't promise anything sweet but it gives you despair.

There's a point in our lives that bring us to our knees. We hit so hard on the concrete ground that gives us a sense of wake up call. It is telling you that things are not going right. Things are out of hands that we need to step in and take responsibility to make things right.

When life hits you down, there's only way to go and that's go up.

Create Your Own Story with vivo V5s

vivo Malaysia recently announced the availability of the new Matte Black variant for vivo V5s, a selfie focused smartphone that will give you the perfect selfie experience you have always dreamed of.

Chief Executive Officer of vivo Malaysia, Mike Xu said:“Our strong investment in R&D, innovation and localised marketing campaigns have help the brand record positive sales in the past year. Currently, vivo holds 12 percent of the total market share and is ranked fourth in the country with a year-over-year sales growth.”

Focused on a selfie-savvy young audience, the V5 series comes packed with an unparalleled 20MP front-facing camera. The new vivo V5s boasts a new ‘Selfie Softlight’ feature that induces a natural glow on the face which lights up the picture irrespective of the lighting conditions, without straining the eyes. This feature allows users to capture perfect selfies without ending up with grainy, distorted or flooded with hard flash light pictures.

vivo V5s has received positive response from consumers which led to an increased sales growth, making the V5s a popular choice  amongst Malaysians. In conjunction with this, vivo is now offering the Perfect Selfie smartphone in a brand new color variant — vivo V5s Matte Black!

A SELFIE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS — CREATE YOUR OWN STORY WITH THE vivo V5

Touted with the hashtag #PerfectSelfie, the main highlight of the vivo V5s is focused on its front camera. The selfie snapper is equipped with a 20-megapixel IMX376 sensor with f/2.0 aperture and an updatedSelfie Softlight that allows users to capture their beauty in any lighting condition by creating lighting effects akin to a professional photography studio. Co-engineered with Sony, the vivo V5s offers clear, vivid and natural colors with every shot which enhances the beautification of the photo and lets users stay gorgeous in any condition.

“The V5s’s 20MP front camera provides consumers with a fabulous selfie experience, earning itself a reputation as the phone of choice for selfie enthusiasts. Every day, more than 10 million selfies around the globe are shot on the V5s”, said Country Brand Manager, Simeon Sia.

In addition, vivo V5s comes with 3 new features - buffing, whitening and skin tone and Face Beauty 6.0 to meet more specific user requirements in multiple situations. The vivo Face Beauty 6.0 has been enhanced with features tailored to an individual’s skin condition and facial features creating more radiant, authentic and beautiful selfies”.

vivo V5s also introduces a new Group Selfie feature which lets you capture all your friends without having to squeeze in or leave anyone out. This feature not only lets you shoot group selfies in portrait mode, but its panoramic landscape panning effects can be used up close too.

The rear panel of the vivo V5s carries a powerful 13-megapixel f/2.2 shooter that is supported with Phase Detection Auto Focus technology and LED Flash, letting you capture every moment in fine detail. Remarkably, the rear camera is also capable of shooting multiple frames in quick succession to create stunning 52MP Ultra HD Photos.

The vivo V5s adopts a gorgeous 5.5 inch HD resolution panel that is protected with a 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass for its display while its slim body measuring 153.8x75.5x7.55mm with weight of 154 grams makes it comfortable to hold.

In order to enhance the security protection of the device, vivo has also added a fingerprint sensor on the front panel of the vivo V5s. In the blink of an eye, the vivo V5s can be instantly unlocked with just one touch!

64GB MEGA SIZE INTERNAL STORAGE — STORE AS MANY MEDIA FILES AS YOU WANT!

Under the hood, the vivo V5s is powered by a power-efficient 64-bit octa-core processor that comes with a Mali-T860 MP2 GPU built for mobile gaming. For the memory options, it offers 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage that can be further expanded with a microSD card of up to 256GB storage capacity. Packing a 3,000 mAh capacity battery, the vivo V5s allows you to stay connected all day long.

The vivo V5s is running the latest FunTouch OS 3.0 based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow operating system which further enhances the performance of the device.  

vivo V5s also features App Clone which helps you separate your professional life from your personal life. It allows you to use two accounts to log into the same social media apps. Current supported apps for the App Clone feature include WhatsApp, Line, BBM, WeChat, Zalo and Viber. This feature gives you the convenience to access multiple social media accounts without the hassle of carrying another phone.

GET READY TO IMMERSE YOURSELF IN A MORE AUTHENTIC AUDIO EXPERIENCE

An audiophile graded Digital Analog Converter —AK4376 is built inside the vivo V5s that marks vivo’s journey to Hi-Fi perfection. This audio chipset not only delivers unparalleled clarity of sound quality, it also offers the best performance as a compact DAC with headphone amplifier for portable audio devices. Additionally, it is also capable of reproducing the performance of original acoustic sounds with the ability in showing -100dB or better performances in all audible bands.

Connectivity wise, the vivo V5s offers dual SIM card slots that supports 4G LTE networks as well as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3.5mm audio jack and etc. 

GET THE PERFECT SELFIE SMARTPHONE AT LOWER PRICES WITH DIGI, MAXIS & CELCOM!

Another highlight of the month of June will be the collaboration of vivo with major telco service providers in Malaysia – Digi, Maxis and Celcom. Retailing at RM1,299, each telco service provider is offering the device at lower prices through a subscription device bundle package, or you may even get the device for free!  The vivo V5s will come in three color options:Matte Black, Gold, and Rose Gold and will be available for purchase starting from 17 June 2017. 

For more information, please visit: http://www.vivo.myor www.facebook.com/vivoMobileMalaysia or call 03 9222 0899 for more details.

Til Death Do Us Part

Taiwan has given its green light for gay marriage, so the possibility for people like us (PLU) is getting closer; especially for Asian folks.

So my partner asked me whether I wanna marry him. Well, neither yes nor no. We share the same notion that marriage is just paper and signature. 

If we devote the same amount of love to each other, there will be no difference if both of us are married or not. 

But a bimbo like me, I kinda envy when I see those wedding pictures from my friends. I want to have walk the aisle moment. I want my wedding photos to be taken on a meadows knee high.

It sounds like a fairy tale but I don't think I have that luck.

Even we have the pompous and lavish wedding, it does not guarantee an everlasting love. Regardless you are married or not, love ain't eternal. I know I sounded pessimistic here but this is the truth. People break up. People file for divorce.

I wonder simple words Til Death Do Us Part are so powerful that keep the love an eternal one. I guess the establishment of family is the vital element to put things together - to sustain the love. The establishment involves having children.

You see having children is a commitment. You will need utmost dedication, sacrifices and love to raise the children. I believe people out there will think twice to file for divorce for the sake of children. They children need a healthy environment built by two parents to grow up and to be an useful person and give back to society. I don't think people will ruin their children development and growth - though some they do.

Don't get me wrong. I don't like kids. Even I'm married somehow, I don't think I will adopt any. Well, I might be wrong - let us see how the future holds for me.

Lost In Paradise in Lost World of Tambun

Being an Ipoh-born, it was such an embarrassment  since I never been to Hot Spring at The Lost World of Tambun, Sunway Ipoh. I was really excited to make a trip there with my partner.

However, my excitement and anticipation were marred by the Lost World Hotel. 

So I had this Digi reward which they were giving 60% for the Lost World Hotel 2D1N with two complementary hot spring tickets along with breakfast for two. The rate from its website was stated RM220.

I called the hotel for the availability and double confirm for the hotel rate. The rate was correct but when I told the them that I had this Dg reward 60% off: 

Lost World Hotel: For this, it will be using published rate. 

Me: (Confused) What is published rate?

Lost World Hotel: Around RM400 plus. 

Me: So after my 60% discount will be RM200 plus am I right?

Lost World Hotel: Yes. 

Me: I thought the room rate is RM220 so after 60 % discount rate will be around RM100?

Lost World Hotel: No, we use the published rate for your reward. 

Me: So the reward not make any difference.

Lost World Hotel: Yes.

It looks like they marked up the original price to 60% - so after 60% discount it will remain the original price. So other Digi subscribers and I will not enjoy the 60 % discount. 

What a reap.

In the end, we just bought hotspring tickets at the counter.

Our first stop was the Petting Zoo since we wanted to kick off our night with something dry. Though it was named Petting Zoo but you could hardly touch any animal there except rabbits and hamsters which were quite common and you can just  walk in to any pet shop and touch it. 

To my dismay my favourite raccoons were off from petting. The feeling watching your favourite animal that was so closer but you could not touch it was simply disappointing. But overall it was alright and I like how they segregated the animals - it was like a maze in a lost ancient civilization. 



 Let the pictures narrate a bit my night at Petting Zoo, Lost World of Tambun,Ipoh.

Raccoon - you could only look but can't touch it. Sad.

The very long python - i wonder whether they captured in the wild and pet it here

Two love birds

Hi Tapir

                                      

Waiting for Christmas

What does the fox say? Among the cutest things there

Calling King Julian 

Tarantula 

                                     
Back to the main attraction; the hot spring. But before that, we acclimatized with water at the main pool. So I had phobia with water I just splashed water there. Somehow the water got into my eyes. Somehow my eyes got infected. Somehow doctor diagnosed it as conjunctivitis. Either the water was dirty or I should have wore goggle. 

Anyhow, I liked the hot spring a lot. Apparently, the hot spring is all-natural. At temperature over 40 degree Celsius, it was a perfect place to rejuvenate, rest and relax.The conclave of attraction at Lost World Of Tambun Hot Spring includes Infinity Pool, Lost World Steam Cave, Foot Spa, Crystal Spa, Top of the World Pool, The Geyser of Tambun, Crystal Pool and many others.

Main pool - great place to wash your eyes 

The Hot Spring 

The cascade of waterfall was simply amazing - and you even could stand at where the water fall- it hit painfully on your skin

That\s all folks. Definitely will make a come back to Lost World of Tambun but definitely not the hotel. 

Malaysian Online Shoppers Ready For ezbuy’s2nd 65eDay – Global Super Sales

 ezbuy, Malaysia’s first and largest global shopping platform by number of distribution points, offers products from Malaysia, China, USA, Koreaand Taiwan. We have established operations in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, and have served over 1 million shoppers in Malaysia to date. The highly anticipated annual mega sales event 65eDay, a 6-day Global Super Sales event, will start on the 31st of May. 

Formerly known as 65daigou, or 65 shopper personal concierge, we got rebranded as ezbuy and our operations in Malaysia began in 2015. ezbuy consolidates the shopping experience for customers, creating a seamless experience for them to buy items from online shops abroad which generally do not ship to Malaysia directly.  Our site receives over 1 million visitors per month.

According to ezbuy’s Co-Founder, Ms Wendy Liu, the 65eDay sales event is our way to show appreciation to ourcustomers and also to reward them.  

“During the 2nd 65eday Global Super Sales, shoppers can shop for products with discounts of up to 90%, offered by merchants from Malaysia, China, USA, Korea and Taiwan. We have huge varieties of products on sale, with the popular ones being fashion and lifestyle essentials, from brands such as Sony, Tefal, Canon, Casio, Daniel Wellington, Omron, Western Digital, Samsung, Viewsonic, Kellogs, Lifebuoy, Johnson Baby, Kinohmitsu, Brands, Scholl, Avent and many more.  We have over 20 million listed products, such as fashion specials, lifestyle essentials and curated bestsellers, so you will be sure to find what you need at a great price,” MsLiu said. 

“We also want to invite our shoppers to sign up for Prime, where you will get to enjoy a flat-rate international shipping fee of RM8.80 regardless of parcel size, weight and quantityof items bought per cart checkout.  The Prime membership also entitles members to add 42 wishlist entries a year – 6 upon signing up and subsequently, 3 every month.” Ms Liu elaborated. 

ezbuy is also introducing the new Friends Deal, which allows shoppers to start a deal, share it with their friends and family and shop with them together to enjoy products at wholesale prices.  There are 300 items available for purchase via Friends Deal, and the deals will be refreshed and updated daily during the entire duration of the 65eDay Global Super Sales mega event.

In conjunction with our Annual Mega Sales event, ezbuy will be offering a RM15 cash voucher for each new ezbuy appregistered customer during the 6-day sales event. Simplydownload the ezbuy app & scan the QR code to start your shopping spree!

For more information, please visit www.ezbuy.my. 

U Mobile Launches Unlimited Hero P78

U Mobile has launched a brand new postpaid plan called Unlimited Hero P78 at its ‘Unlimited Ideas’ creative showcase today. The new plan is another initiative from the telco to enable its customers to truly enjoy their passions via their smartphone any day, without ever having to monitor their data usage as it comes with unlimited high-speed data. 

On top of that, Unlimited Hero P78 customers will also never need to cut short conversations with their loved ones or friends as calls to all networks are unlimited, via Call-Onz™. All these benefits are available to customers at just RM78 a month.

Jasmine Lee, Chief Marketing Officer said that the benefits do not end with just data. “Aside from unlimited high-speed data, Unlimited Hero P78 also offers Call-Onz™, which gives our customer unlimited calls to all networks. All the usage freedom, be it data or calls, is available any day, anytime at just RM78 a month. You really cannot beat that!”

Apart from unlimited data and calls, Unlimited Hero P78 is also bundled with Roam-OnzTM, a new service which gives customers 5GB of free high-speed data to roam in 12 selected countries such as South Korea, India and Australia.

To mark the launch of the new product and service, U Mobile hosted an ‘Unlimited Ideas’ creative showcase where they invited Eunice Martin, the winner of the top food influencer award at Influence Asia 2017, to exhibit her work and share her passion for food styling and photography with the audience. As part of the exhibition, Eunice Martin also created an exclusive food art display inspired by the new Unlimited Hero P78.

Unlimited Hero P78 is available to customers from today for a limited time only. For more information please visit www.u.com.my/unlimited.

A Night in Cameron Highlands

I have been to Cameron Highlands like 10 times in my life but this was my maiden overnight trip.

So how was it?

The entire Cameron Highlands was dead silent at night like those quiet neighborhood in the horror movies. Well, the local folks had dinner at 6 pm so you would expect what time they slept.

You could own the roads literally at night since there weren't any cars around. But I must say I really like the cold chilly at night in Cameron Highlands. The cold breeze in 19 degrees Celsius weather blowing onto your face was simply refreshing.

My partner and I went on Sunday so we missed the Brinchang night market on Friday and Saturday.The only hangout spot at night in Cameron Highlands for us was Starbucks in Tanah Rata - so typical. 

Let the pictures below narrate my trip over there.

Lavender at Cameron Lavender

Lavender Ice Cream - smell like floor cleaner liquid

The steady windmill at Cameron Lavender

                                   

Cameron Lavender  - Located in Tringkap along the main road, this is the among the first attraction if you're coming from Ipoh. For me, Cameron Lavender was like a scam to me. You see, the entrance was RM 8 and what I have got in return - lavender farm which wasn't picturesque, flowers and more flowers, flies, possessed minion and whole lots of pop up stores selling honey, strawberry and its jam, flowers and fruits. Please don't expect the extend of lavender farm like in Hokkaido.

It was very challenging to take good pictures since the pathway there was pretty narrow and the place was crowded most of the time.

Not only Cameron Lavender, my entire trip in Cameron Highlands was infested with flies, they were like the pest all throughout Cameron Highlands. I even had problem to eat as the flies kept buzzing around my food. I guess the mama fly queen lives there.


 

Sungai Palas Boh Tea Plantation

The queue was endless and there was not any seat available

Sungai Palas Boh Tea Plantation - If you've been there, you would know the road heading up there is dangerous but the road heading up to its nearby attraction Mossy Forest is even more dangerous - suicidal but let tell you more later. 

Back to this plantation, my two cents is avoid weekend; it was so crowded. We could not get a seat and the queue to purchase food and beverages was long as shown in the picture. We wanted to take the breathtaking view from the viewing platform was also marred by the crowd. It was rather disappointing experience and we spent merely half an hour there.

As the night fell, it was time for food hunting. Initially we wanted to have steamboat at Taman Abang but we were afraid that they would serve only vegetables which he hated  and frozen which I hated. So it wasn't justified to pay something that we did not like. We opted something flavorful  at Malay stall just opposite of Starbucks in Tanah Rata. It was good, the tom yum was excellent remedy for the cold weather there.

Starbucks in Tanah Rata

3 dishes with one tom yum - all worth it at only RM 21.

                                     
Starbucks - The only hang out spot at night in Cameron Highland. Located along the main road in Tanah Rata, this Starbucks is just your typical Starbucks. But I loved it since it was just so nice to have a hot drink in a chilly weather.

Mossy Forest - The highlight of my trip since it was my first time to visit this forest. The way leads to Mossy Forest is the same way as the way to Sungai Palas Boh Tea Plantation, however, once you see the signage Gunung Brinchang, turn left.

How to get up to Mossy Forest?

There are couple of ways actually - hiking, take the four-wheel drive or drive your car up.

Hiking up - I am not sure the routes to do hiking over there but I overheard the conversation of the hikers that they started the hiking at 5 am and they only managed to reach Gunung Irau, another mountain nearby Mossy Forest, at 4 pm. But be prepared - the trail is very muddy, avoid white shoes if possible.

Four-wheel drive - I believe it cost around RM 50 per person since I saw the flyer somewhere. The fare is inclusive of the tour.

Driving up - Think twice if you plan to drive up. The route is the scariest and the most terrifying experience ever. The road is narrow, is curvy and steep. Since it is a long and winding road, you have no visibility on the vehicles coming from opposite direction most of the time. And yes, the road doesn't have the safety mirror that should be located at the sharp corners. 

Haunted by the sharp corners,  this road even scarier as you would frequently encounter the four wheel trucks that plying the way. They drive very fast - so you are literally risking your life of being hit by them. Honking at the sharp corners is your only way to keep you alive.

Though it was terrifying but it was worth it as the foggy forest was a whole new experience for me. It was like the Twilight movie in which Edward jumping around from tree to tree with Bella.

In addition to the foggy and misty atmosphere, what awe-struck me was the roots and the branches of the trees that covered with moss. It curled up and down as if defying the gravity that set the landscape into a misty and fairyland adventure with the grasp of cool crispy air.

Unfortunately, the boardwalk was pretty dirty as the snack packets and drink bottles were thrown everywhere along the boardwalk. Can't really blame those litter bugs since there wasn't any dustbin in sight. Maybe the authority wanted to discourage visitors to consume anything at Mossy Forest. 

You could go use the boardwalk or further your adventure by hiking a little to get closer to the mossy-laden trees. The trail would lead up to the peak of Gunung Irau. It was challenging since the trees were curvy along the trail and it was very muddy. I wasn't sure I was standing on a solid ground or on a solid mud since as I stepped on it, it was hollow underneath. It was like standing on a hollow platform.It was bit terrifying as I was afraid the hollow ground would give way as I stepped on it.

The view taken from Mossy Forest 

After 30 minutes of terror ride, we have reached Mossy Forest 

Thou shalt not pass 

Apparently Mossy Forest separates Perak and Pahang. Some said that if the forest is not misty, you could view Ipoh from there 

The Mossy Forest moss encroaches the trees and even the ground 

Enjoying the picturesque trees while grasping the cool crispy air at Mossy Forest  

Just like the movie scene from either Twilight or Lord of The Ring

                                       

Before we left Cameron Highlands, we stopped by at a shop to have a drink and the shop aptly named Pokestop. It was around 6 pm and the family next to us was already having their dinner. Seriously, I would be in the office at 6 pm. I guess the folks in Cameron Highlands are leading a simple life. Waking up at 6 am and sleeping around 9 pm since there is no nightlife in Cameron Highlands. Though I would like to have simple kinda life but it is not simple as this. As fated, I would like my life to be colourful and exciting with whole lots of daily activities until 2 am. Yes, I sleep around that time everyday which it's bad for my health. It is my yearly resolution to sleep early but I fail to materialize it every year.

That's all folks. Hope I will have a travel entry very soon.