The Tale of Tenggiri

Sekeping Tenggiri Review


Odd name for a street

Tenggiri is the name of a particular fish in Malay.

It is also the name of one street, one particular street in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

Quite an eccentric name for a street, don't you think?

I've lived in Kuala Lumpur all my life, and I swear, I'd not heard of Tenggiri street.

If you think the name 'Jalan Tenggiri' is amusing, you'd be ticklish to hear this: 'Sekeping Tenggiri' (means one slice of Tenggiri fish or Tenggiri fish fillet).

Trust me, I'm still not over that name yet.



Describing a piece of fish

How do I describe Sekeping Tenggiri?

It's flat, tender and certainly raw!

That is describing the texture and shape of a piece of Tenggiri, but it's definitely not fish-related what I'm talking about here.

                                    (pic: Laying down on the King-sized bed while watching TV in the glass room at Sekeping Tenggiri is pure relaxation.)

Trouble finding Sekeping Tenggiri

I'm talking about a property developed into a one-of-a-kind guesthouse on a street that's so difficult to find even when you have your GPS.

Believe me.

We tried finding the street one day before our check-in day and we rounded in the same area for several times, before we finally found Jalan Tenggiri.

Sekeping Tenggiri hides deep inside the chic Bangsar area, quite near to where News Straits Times is located at.

Information on getting there will be mentioned at the end of this blog.

Tenggiri Rooms

Sekeping Tenggiri not only offers stay in a glass room, but also (loft, skyview, courtyard, garden and poolview) room.

Every room is worth the stay, if you appreciate uniqueness.

(L: This window or door on the front part of the glass room opens door to nature surrounding this guesthouse. The glass room 's on the first floor.)

In the skyview room, there's a ladder that leads you up to an attic-like room with a small skylight. So, when you sleep on the bed, you can watch the sky above you through the small, see-through glass.

It doesn't matter if the light in the room is too dim for you to read a book, for you can count on the sunlight that pierce through the see-through glass to give you a clearer vision.

The rooms may look rusty, but they're clean, rest-assured. They're meant to look rusty and raw.

Just look at the unrefined walls and doors and the wood of the room.

The whole concept of rawness and minimalism just breathes familiarity.

(pic: Surrounded by raw brick walls and one crawly plant, this garden exudes great atmosphere for relaxation - Garden Room)

It reminded me of my late grandmother's old 'kampung' wooden house in Johor, without chickens and cats running around the room. Everything looked rusty, simple and raw, yet so cosy.

This guesthouse does house two very tamed dogs with funny names, adopted from SPCA and they are called, "Pulau" (island) and "Ketam" (crab).

I bet the owner has some sense of humour and is in love with Crab Island (Pulau Ketam).



The Glass room

I'm not sure if you remember the lake house in "Lake House" movie, starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves.

No? The house is completely made of glass and is an amazing architectural work that overlooks a calm lake; utterly amazing and so romantic.

This glass room is something like that. Erm, not that close actually. I guess it's because it's only partially made of glass. As you can see, there's rough, unrefined walls. The glass part only fills the front part.

Yet, I love this room, somehow.

 

    

The air circulating the room smells and tastes like nature. It brought me back to nature; to basic.

Even though I was still in the city, this particular guesthouse kept me away from the hustle and bustle of the city life.

Everything just went slow, allowing me to enjoy and embrace the beautiful surrounding and, life.

In this room, my fiance wasn't the only companion I had. There was a dragonfly resting on a light, a small bee buzzing around the room, trying to escape back to where it belonged and other insects too small to notice.

I didn't get any insect bite, so it's not a must to have an insect repellant.

If you're afraid of boredom and need a form of entertainment, there's a TV and a DVD player.

The Bathroom

I particularly like the bathroom, where the sink is made of cement and taps, of steel? Aluminium? Argh, I don't know...

And the shower area has no roof so you can see the sky perfectly clear.

The toilet bowl or WC sits on top of a wooden platform just next to the entrance. Whether you're doing small or big business, you can always enjoy watching the activities outside and be one with the nature.

But be extra careful when you sit next to the window like I'm sitting in the pic for there's no railing or safety measure to avoid falling off.

If you need to make up, there's a mirror on the wall and also a very bright adjustable light.

Bring your own hairblower if you require one.

The Common Lounge

The Common Lounge is equipped with a fridge and a microwave oven, which means you can buy frozen food from the mall and heat it.

If you're running out of drinking water, you can always get a refill at the common lounge. Hot water's also provided.

Since there's no dining table in the room, you can head to the poolside common lounge to have a bite and a drink while watching Astro (satellite) channels on TV. There's no Astro in the rooms.

If you're not a couch potato, you can grab a book or magazine to read there. There's a variety of books and magazines to choose from, I think. I'm sorry for the uncertainty, but I didn't have the time to explore the lounge, so I can't provide you more info on the reading materials.

There's another option, get connected to the Internet with wifi access.

There's another reason for you to hang out at the dining area. You just have to see the lights that are made of recycable items like food cans. They look exquisite, in a way.

Food Alert!
Be warned, you may have trouble finding food along Jalan Tenggiri, but there's one or two restaurants and cafes just two streets away, I think.

A Must - Transportation

This is a place that requires a mode of transportation (car or motorcycle) to get to and to get out of.

But, if you really don't have much choice, you can always walk from the nearest train station, Abdullah Hukum LRT station for about 5mins (according the Google Map info) or maybe more (my opinion).

Don't expect all taxi drivers to know the way and I'm pretty sure most taxi drivers do not have a clue where Jalan Tenggiri is.

So it's safer to print out the map to Jalan Tenggiri to show it to the taxi driver.

There's a bus stop right after you've reached the main road, which is around 15 mins walk.

Tenggiri Details.

Address: 48, Jalan Tenggiri, Taman Weng Lock, Bangsar, Petaling Jaya

GPS: N 3° 7' 17.8062" E 101° 40' 9.7422"

For further details, visit http://tenggiri.com/

For reservations, do it at http://tenggiri.com/ or call +6017 2075 977

For photography, there's a RM100 surcharge.

To Get There

1. Head west on Lebuhraya Mahameru toward Jalan Sultan Salahhudin 1.1 km

2. Keep right at the fork 950 m

3. Continue onto Jalan Damansara 500 m

4. Take the ramp to Jalan Travers 300 m

5. Keep right at the fork to continue toward Jalan Travers 180 m

6. Keep right at the fork to continue toward Jalan Travers 200 m

7. Keep right at the fork and merge onto Jalan Travers 700 m

8. Continue onto Jalan Bangsar 750 m

9. Keep right at the fork 170 m

10. Slight right to merge onto Jalan Maarof 300 m

11. Turn left at Jalan Tandok 350 m

12. Continue onto Jalan Kurau 500 m

13. Turn left at Jalan Sepat 54 m

14. Turn right at Jalan Tenggiri

Destination will be on the left 160 m

(Google Direction)



(All photos and texts are copyright reserved -z)

Over a Broken Hp

I was pissed, so was my mom.

She was even pissed-er than me because her handphone (my Sony Ericsson 580i that I no longer use) had stopped functioning, for...the third time? I think so.

The screen's gone blank, again.

She was so pissed with her handphone that she threw a little temper tantrum in front of me, a victim of this unforeseen situation.

I hated it. I despised to be in this situation, especially when I'm innocent! When I've got nothing to do with it.

Why do I have to go through this over and over again, just because she can't control her emotions? God.

Must she go ballistic over a broken handphone? Was that crucially necessary?

She asked me to fix her problem. No, wait. She didn't ask...she commanded.

Me? Really?

As much as I'd love to help her, I just couldn't. It's beyond my knowledge, my capability.

I'm not a handphone technician. I'm just a handphone user.
I'm not even familiar with my HTC's apps since I started using it last year. So....you get it, right?

But, I don't.

I think I never will comprehend why she has to sweat the small stuff, the trivial stuff, the mini, miney, little things.

She could have had made the right choice, of not hurting my feelings, but she chose to be a brutal lioness and tore me into hundreds of pieces for no reason!

I hate seeing her torturing herself over some useless piece of junk, that we could just pitch it into our junkyard and sustain a good mother-daughter relationship.

Sigh...We often let our emotions cloud our judgment, don't we? And we end up being regretful.

Sometimes, you never get the chance to say you're sorry. 

I'm a forgiving type, so it's OK if she never says 'sorry' for I know I hurt her more than she's hurt me.

And, I've not said "I'm sorry" too.

So, let's just give and take.

As an old-age Chinese saying goes, "There's no overnight hatred." (I hope I translate it correctly)

My Sensei - Keita Tokuda

I spent a few days with a photographer, who's two years my junior, to learn a few photography tricks from him.

I knew this opportunity doesn't come along each day and so, I grabbed it 'cos he's leaving Malaysia for his homeland, Japan, in July or August this year, 2010. 

It felt weird when I was with him 'cos he was certainly a more mentally sophisticated guy than I am. Even at my age, I felt 'small' when I talked to him.

I've been to places, NYC and San Francisco, Sydney, Bangkok and Chiangmai, Bali and Jakarta, Hanoi, and Dubai, but I discovered that I don't view the world as differently as he does.

Obviously, he's learnt enormous amounts from his trips around the world.



He has an eye for details and is very analytical. But definitely not critical, at least not on me.

When I got frustrated for not being able to take good photos, he told me, "Even professional photographers don't take good photos all the time."

What uplifting words!

Once, when I asked him if the photo I'd taken was beautiful. He looked at it, and hesitantly said, "OK".

I knew that look on his face and so, I demanded for an explanation as to why he didn't think the photo was good.

Instead of explaining, he told me to look at the photo again and asked, "Does this look beautiful to you?"


"Yeah" I answered, almost immediately.

"Beauty is viewed differently by each individual," he explained.

And, I had nothing else to say but to agree to what he had said.

Just as the saying goes, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

There are so many adjectives I can use to describe him - jolly, kind, passionate, opinionated, wise, thrifty, meticulous and casual - just to state a few. 

He was always clad in the same T-shirts, from Magnum Photos, where he used to do his internship, and paired with a short pants or jeans and sandals.

For a person who's been to Southeast Asia, Italy, Paris, Egypt, New York, Korea, Australia and now in London, he's way too humble and casual.

He won an award in an exhibition a few years back and was the youngest contestant among 700 others below the age of 35 in the competition; both amateurs and professionals.

(Pic: Me trying hard to capture a photo with Keita's rare film camera, which he used to capture his award-winning photo collection)

"700 people and you won the award," I said in amazement.

"Yes, and I was the youngest...but I got the award," laughing uncontrollably.

He won the award (and a large sum of $$) for his collection of 28 wonderful photos he'd taken while he was travelling around Southeast Asia.

Here are 5 of the 28 photos:

[From top to bottom: Angkor Wat (Cambodia), ChiangMai (Thailand), Somewhere in Vietnam, Border of South-North Korea, Great Wall of China (China)]

"In your opinion, why did you win?" I asked.

"Theme", he said in a mild Japanese accent, "was different."

"OK," I said, "but your theme is 'tourism in general', so what makes yours more significant?"

"Other photographers, they didn't have a theme for their collection. They took the pictures they wanted to take. There was no theme or topic."

He said, the other contestants might have the perception that pictures should be beautiful.

"They admire only beauty."

"But, it's not. Beauty and expression are equally important," he continued. "My teacher says, expression and beauty are both equally very important in photography."

He looks up to his teacher, so much so that his teacher is his idol.

Keita aims to have another exhibition in Japan or Paris next year, displaying the photos he's taken in Malaysia.

But his primary aim is to become one of the best photographers in the world.

Ganbatte Kudasai, Keita!


(Note: All photos were taken by Keita Tokuda) 

Rude, Still Rude

I went to Central Market, for the first time, after many years.

It was a popular spot for me to hang out with friends while waiting for our tuition class (at Kasturi) to start.

I'd been, well, quite fascinated with all the colourful and exotic items sold in Central Market.

So there I was, once again, with my Canon DSLR, eager to snap some nice photos.

You know how excited amateurs, like myself, would be.

Clad in a sleeveless top and a short pants and a pair of Crocs, I thought I looked like a tourist.

Even if I didn't look like a tourist, my company was indeed a Japanese.

Our first stop was the "Malay Street."

I couldn't help but feeling that we were not welcomed, judging by the "I am not interested to serve you" faces of the promoters there.

Before I took a step into this particular street, I was scouting for the "No Photographs" sign, just in case.

But, I couldn't find any. Maybe I was too busy handling my camera.

So, I pushed the "Shoot" button a few times, when I was walking along the "Malay Street" section.

Nobody said anything to me.

They didn't even seem to care.

Most of the sales assistants were either sitting comfortably on chairs or standing and staring at us.

When I was about to take another shot of this particular shop selling a myriad collection of masks, one man, in his 50s, dashed past us and shouted, "No photos!", very loudly.

I was stunned, but somehow, I remembered to be courteous.

I said, "Sorry."

I was glad to see that Central Market had undergone a facelift, thanks to the transfer of ownership.

But, to my surprise, the attitude of the workers (or owners) hasn't changed a bit.

I'm amused by that fact.

It's been imparted into the culture, I suppose.

It was a disappointing trip to Central Market.

If the man had approached us and told us politely, I would hopped on happily.

But, no. 

I'm a local, but I experienced a culture shock that day.

How did that happen??

I need to go out more!

No Internet for a Day?

"Can you live one day without the Internet?" asked Onn, one fine day.

What!? I responded in my mind.

It had never once occurred to me that I'd be asked such a question, in particular.

I felt so bare, so exposed, so nude when he posted me that question.

Of course I didn't want to look like an Internet fanatic.

But, but...I have to blog, check my email, facebook, MSN...

What would I do without the Internet for one whole day? still struggling for the right answer.

Maybe picking up book reading habit, finally?

Since I haven't read 80% of the books I've bought.

Becoming a couch potato for a day?

Since I have Astro with the subscribed channels (but not all channels, only educational and cartoon programmes) all to myself.

Really? TV programmes?

I can only survive up to 3 hours of watching TV, Max, before I get bored. *Yawn*

Don't blame me. You know how the programmes suck sometimes, or most of the times.

Only "24" TV series can get me hooked to TV screen and get me all addicted.

"No Internet for a Day" reminds me of the times when Internet connection was down or TM was having technical problems when I was working.

"Hallelujah!" everyone would shout in their hearts.

But, they would usually say, "Awwww, the Internet's down," pretending that they cared.

No Internet, means no work!

Yes, that's how employees would respond.

But think about it: There are other means to accomplish every task, every assignment without ever having to use the Internet.

Use the brain. Use existing materials. Read up. Do the filings. Anything.

"No Internet, No works" really reflects how dependent we are on the Internet and it's sad, like everyone's got no life.

"Life without the Internet (or Facebook in particular) is no Life", is the message.

C'mon, people! Get a Life.

So, after a minute of thinking it through and thoroughly, I said,"Yes, I can live one day without the Internet."

After all, it's just one day.

And, I still have Streamyx at home.

You can have the Broadband, Onn.:)

Feast at Cinnamon, One World Hotel

by z_l3nG


Cinnamon @ One World Hotel


Time to dine, buffet time that is!

It's time to loosen those pants for a big, all-you-can-eat feast.

This restaurant at One World Hotel is located at Concourse, one level down from the lobby.

This is no ordinary buffet, it cost RM237 for 2 pax. So, I'll let you do the Math for one person.

If you're an American Express cardholder, you get 15% off.

You pay for the ambience, service and fresh food.
What more can you ask for?
Yeah, I know....a bit pricey.




But, if you don't mind paying a little bit more for a sweet treat, this is a place for a romantic dinner, without candlelights.

It's also a place to hang out and chill out!


Please don't talk about business in the restaurant. It'll only ruin others' day.

This restaurant is really spacious. It can house up to 260 people.

You can choose the non-smoking area and enjoy the air-condition or chill out at the smoking area, where you can enjoy an alfresco dining.

Both areas have fine ambience, only different.

At the non-smoking dining area, bask in to the soothing sound of water drippling from the water feature in the garden terrace.

The terrace and the water feature are a perfect blend.

Cinnamon offers a broad array of local and international cuisine.

The menu includes fresh, raw sushi and seafood, pita, dim sum, prawn noodles, congee, roti canai, mamak noodles, pizza and many more...











If buffet doesn't fit your appetite or there's no way you can eat as much as RM100 of food, you can opt for ala carte.

Of all the buffets (only 3-4 times) I've had, this one is recommended!

Also, see chefs in action when they're cooking up a storm! 

The setting and atmosphere are nice and relaxing.
The food served are delicious, no kidding!

I was surprised, but erm, I guess the saying of "what you pay is what you get" is true!

You pay more for the freshness of food and taste, not forgetting its good service.

Most importantly, it's not full house.

When I was there, only 3-4 tables were occupied.

Bon Appetite!


Cinnamon opens from 6am to 1am daily.
For reservations, call 03-7681 1154

Where?

Don't have a clue where's One World Hotel?
Easy! It's just next to One Utama.

Don't know where to park?
Don't sweat...the 2 buildings are linked.

Craving for a shopping spree after dinner, just follow the signs at One World Hotel lobby and you'll get out at One Utama in no time.

Australia, Blue Mountains - Part 1

Australia, Blue Mountains Review


By z_l3nG

22 Apr 2010


We went to the Blue Mountains for one reason - it's Famous!
And, we just had to see it.  
  
Why is Blue Mountains so famous?
One:  The mountains look bluish.
Two:  The 3 Sisters. 
 

Meet 3 Pretty Sisters


Temperature: Only a little chilly, around 20 degree celcius?
To bring: Water, light jacket.
To wear: Sports shoes or hiking shoes, trousers or short pants, tight jeans is not advisable.


What do the 3 sisters of Katoomba have in common?
They're all stunning.
Not only do they look almost alike, they're carefully sculpted.

           3 Sisters (922, 918 and 906 metres tall) standing in front of the never-ending stretch of mountains


OK, I gave the wrong info. The 3 Sisters don't look alike.
They come in different sizes, the middle being the fattest.

There's an interesting myth about the 3 Sisters in Blue Mountains though, involving 3 men from a different tribe and a witch doctor who got killed in the war before he could transform the 3 sisters back into humans.

You can read about the myth at:
http://www.marimari.com/content/australia/popular_places/new_south_wales/blue_mountains/main.html


To Get There

You have to get to the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia.

You can either take the train and get down at Katoomba station OR drive for about 1.5 hours from Sydney.
Make sure you get a GPS.


Our Trip

We left Sydney at 9.45am and reached Blue Mountains at around 11.20am.
Without the traffic jams in Sydney, we would've had reached earlier.

Take note: Travel early. You don't want to get stuck in traffic jams during peak hours, when people are rushing to work.


Car Rental

We rented a car, a Nissan Sentra, from DISCOUNT for AUD75 for a distance of 250km.

Every extra km is charged AUD0.25.

The condition of the car was not bad.
At least the car didn't break down, so that's good. :)


#1 Stop - Echo Point, Katoomba

First, we went to the loo!
Once we got out of the car, we hopped straight to the World Heritage Plaza, Blue Mountains to answer the urgent call from nature.

What? We were travelling non-stop for 1.5 hours.
You don't have to pay a penny to use the toilet. *Sweet*

Apart from the loo, it was a sweet treat for me to see a huge, cuddly bear sitting at the entrance of the Plaza, waiting for me to hug it. 

And, what's more, it's my Koala Bear! 

There are some pretty interesting souvenir shops, but I didn't enter any of the shops in order to Save time.

We then walked to Echo Point to take a look at the 3 Sisters and Blue Mountains.


On Echo Point
 
There isn't much to see, really, at this Point.
However, this is the closest Point to view the 3 Sisters in Blue Mountains and the mountainous landscape.

If you want more fun out of this trip, head to Scenic World.
It's a great place to be for the whole family.

For more details, go to http://www.scenicworld.com.au./

I'll talk about Scenic World in my next post!


Sea of People

Expect this - a lot of tourists. Chinese tourists, especially.
Remember, this is a tourist spot.
If you're planning to do yoga here, it's foolish.

If you're lucky, you'll get to snap a photo without any strangers in the background.

We stayed there for 1 hour, taking as many photos as we could and left for lunch.

What you can do at Echo Point, Blue Mountains is to sit and breathe in the aura of the nature.
Just admire the beauty.

To me, the 3 sisters is not the centre of attention at Echo Point, it's the mountains that stretch infinitely to another end.


To Get There

By car:
It takes around 40-45 minutes to reach Echo Point, Blue Mountains from Sydney.

Follow the signs of Paramatta and take the M4 Motorway that starts at Strathfield, through Lapstone to Blue Mountains. 


By train:
It takes around 2 hours to get to Katoomba from Sydney.

From Katoomba station, you can take a cab to Blue Mountains. Train leaves every hour.


By coach: Most coaches leave from Circular Quay in Sydney.


(Note: All texts and photos are copyright reserved by Z)