CNY 2010

Could have blogged more. But a small hiccup in the Digi Internet had me stalled.

Anyhow, have been in Msia since Sat for the CNY period. So I’ve been using Digi’s Pre-Paid 5RM a day mobile internet. Though, it’s not 3G in most parts of msia, but at least there’s EDGE, which is just slightly faster than the old GPRS network. Apparently, 3G is only available in like KL that area.

And yet another hiccup, Internet Tethering somehow wasn’t supported either. Which means I couldn’t use my iPhone internet connection on my Mac. Everything had to be done on my battery-die-very-fast iPhone. Which in most cases, isn’t a really good idea.

ANYWAYS… Managed to pump out some photos to post online. At least I’m making an effort to get things up eh? Managed to take some photos with my D80 and iPhone too.

Of course, there’s always the usual pre-CNY traffic jam across the causeway, and under the sweltering heat as well. Thank God for aircon.

And yeah, I was the driver all the way through. Kinda tiring actually, mostly cause of the heavy traffic for most of the way. But nonetheless, it was definitely fun! Many many potholes on msia’s roads. LOL.

Noticed this cool thing while queuing up for Msia’s immigration too!

A half finished bridge! Don’t really remember reading it in the papers though, but it does seem from the mess over in Msia that they’re going ahead with the building of their side of the bridge. Hmm. Looks nice though.

And this is probably the champion of all signboards you’ll ever find in Msia. While stuck on a 2 lane road towards the immigration,

“Festive season congestion. Use alternative route.”

Yup, I’ll definitely want to see that “alternative route” in the 2-lane exit-less road.

Traffic onwards on the highway and trunk roads was heavier than usual though. Simply put, I never really got above driving 120kmh on any roads in general. Quite slow really. Stopped over at Segamat for some coffee and rest as well. Finally reached my relative’s place in Kuantan like, close to 7 or 8pm if I’m not wrong.

And oh! They moved! To this awesome new place in Bukit Ubi.

HUGE RIGHT?

It’s actually a corner house with another terrace house too. Knock down them connecting walls and you have a uber spacious porch and parking lot! It’s even bigger than the previous house!

And did I mention, one of these terraces houses there is probably cheaper than a 3-room HDB flat in SG! Goodness… Lets go for a tour…

Another angle of the porch.

The living room! Spacious eh? Looks really cosy too.

The dining area! It’s like SUPER HUGE. The kitchen is behind where I’m standing, though, don’t have a photo of it.

Quite nice eh the exterior?

Check this out. There’s a freaking CORRIDOR for the rooms on the 2nd floor! Not to mention a lobby the size of a bedroom just up from the staircase. My goodness. The house is really HUGE!

After touring the new house, went down for some food! The usual steamboat and BBQ right in the porch!

Feels more spacious now that the porch is bigger. Everyone has more room to run.

And oh, guess it’s a good thing for this new addition to the family too!

Introducing, Jojo! Don’t really know much about dogs though, but they’re saying he’s a cross-breed of sorts. Was pretty angry when he first met me though, but after a day, this dog knows… Roger=Food for Jojo.

I don’t blame him though, seems like he’s new in the family or something, and constantly getting beaten because of things that he shouldn’t be doing and places he shouldn’t be venturing. LOL.

Went around taking some photos, or trying to take photos. Didn’t really feel all in the mood for some reason, but oh wells.

3 of my cousins with my 2nd uncle

Cher Jye. After so many years, still very bubbly and lively. LOL!

Case in point. LOL. No points for guessing how old young she is though. Haha.

Went out to the main road to see some firework. And yes, my neighbors there actually bought them fireworks. Just a smaller scale of those you would see at NDP or something like that. It’s nice really, and quite romantic too.

Anyhow, let one of me cousins, Nicholas try his hands on me DSLR.

Forgot to adjust the settings though, resulting in most of them either being out of focus or blur. Oops.

Angeline and Nicholas. They just got married last Dec! So sweet right?

Angeline, as taken by her hubby Nicholas! LOL. They’re really wonderful.

Another cousin, from my 1st uncle’s side, with his son! Yeah, that’s how big the gap is. LOL.

And they’re expecting their 3rd child. Due next month I think. LOL.

Admittedly, this is quite a badly taken photo.

Close to midnight already by his time, so my 1st uncle started prepping for his prayer stuff.

Father and daughter-in-law… Nice…

I think this is like the first nice shot I’ve taken in months. :s

Apart from the usual food offerings, there’s also the large candles and joss sticks.

Always starts with the eldest in the family, followed by the younger ones.

All the relatives paying respects…

My 2nd uncle. Still SINGLE! Not sure whether available or not though. LOL!

Rest of the night was pretty much spent fellowshipping with the relatives. Most of them sipping wine and shandy at the same time. Haha.

I was watching CNY countdown shows on ACE and CCTV. Of course, the one on CCTV was LOADS better than AEC’s. AEC kept having these audio feedbacks, quite annoying really. CCTV on the other hand, though their drama acts are pretty much the same every year, but since it’s China, they do have a lot of creative ideas. They decked their ENTIRE stage with LEDs! So to speak, there’s no need for a physical change of backdrops for every performance or scene, just use the LEDs! And it’s layered around the whole depth of the stage too! Not to mention projections on the stage floor too. It just looks really awesome.

Next day went out with relatives to roam around Kuantan. Not really a lot though. Haha. Went to this temple that they go to every year without fail.

And with a large group of 23 people wanting to go for lunch after that, this is definitely necessary.

LOL.

Next day (2nd day of CNY), went over to Aunt’s place for lunch! Always appreciate the spread of food there.

Just realized that should have taken a lot more photos though, seems really empty man.

3rd day went over to M.S Garden Hotel’s Chinese Restaurant for some dim sum. Haven’t been there for a couple of years, but everything, literally everything there, is still the same as probably, 5-6 years ago? Perhaps with the exception of their waitresses though. Even the Yu Sheng booth looks exactly the same. LOL.

Traffic on the way back was loads heavier though. Stopped by along the way to buy keropok. Fascinaticingly cheap and tasty ones must I add. Took a couple of photos while waiting for Dad to pack them all.

Just throw only! LOL. Quite interesting the way they deal with food here.

Traffic was super heavy ALL the way back to JB. Not to mention queuing up behind slow moving trailers on truck roads, going at like 20kmh and then stalling while up a hill. Hilarious really.

Even on the North-South Highway, traffic was also super heavy, probably averaging like 50kmh for the most parts. Really really slow, but there wasn’t like any accidents or hold ups though, just probably really slow traffic I suppose.

Stopped over at JB for dinner, super hungry by then.