What a Hunt! (it was) - Day Three - Final Day

Day 3 (final day) @ Penang 
25 August 2013 - Sunday
Georgetown, Jawi, Butterworth, Juru and Kepala Batas 

oh how i remember running on this bridge last time

We reached Georgetown around 12pm, check-in at super comfy, newly renovated Sunway Hotel, and had our lunch at the nearby Kapitan's Restaurant somewhere in Little India. Yup. We 'hunt' for the food first before doing to the real hunt :P Rugi lah datang Penang tak pegi makan2!

Btw makan, transport n accommodation for this whole 3 day's hunt is sponsored. Best! :P but i wish my family could've join me.Today tak stress sangat. I've secured 17 CP altogether. Alhamdulillah. Today kira tambah2 lagi lah. Hopefully lagi 5 @ 6 CPs :) and if you noticed, i took more pictures today! :P 

Tried the Kambing Briyani. I like Nasi Kandar better

 ok sudah makan? Amacam?

2.30pm. Tick-tock-tick-tock. 6 hours to go and im all set for 10 more Atms to find. 10 minutes for me to read the clues and to decide where i should go first. There's a couple of ATMs around Georgetown itself, and one is in Kepala Batas, one in Juru, and few more in Butterworth and Tanjung Bungah. These are a bit far from my current location, but as always, target where the Standard Chartered bank is, first! :P I must say the one in Georgetown, SC occupied an old building and restored it to its former glory. Nice!
 

 

photo credit to Ang Photography

No issues of taking a break for praying time, as i've already did Jamak Taqdim before the event starts.

Komtar building

How do i fare for today's hunt? Well, i was surprised myself. I always imagined it was hard navigating through Penang, but once you know the place, it wasnt that hard. (im not driving remember?) haha.. Except there's once incident where this guy, riding his bicycle, in the middle of the busy road, zig-zagging like nobody's business. He used no protection gear, no helmet whatsoever. Oh well, as much as we want to honk him to stay by the roadside, we cant. We were inside company's car, and rules are rules.. Other than that, well, we can manage. 

Once done with CPs around Georgetown, i decided to go for the one in Pusat Perniagaan Azuria in Tanjung Bungah. Now, this one a bit far, and for one CP, i spent about an hour just to go back and forth. Hence, soon after we found it, we continue the hunt towards Butterworth. Another place with unfamiliar landmark. We wanted to take the ferry across, but the queue was a bit long, so we continue towards the bridge and heading towards Penang Bird Park. At this point, i wasnt sure where im going actually. Well, lets go where the clue takes me.

From here on, its a about fully utilising the Waze app, being friendly to people and luck. Alhamdulillah, Penangites were so nice guiding me to the correct ATM, and i even asked their opinion on which place should i go to, and which not. Looks like Kepala Batas is too far to reach (in this time frame) and i missed Juru CP earlier (should have done it first before going to Butterworth. Atleast i manage to navigate around this area.

Oh well, with missing few turns and going back and forth, we manage to find the CPs in Butterworth. Its already 7.15 pm. And i have one last target. CP in Sg. Jawi. Reachable, and i still have time. Not sure about the traffic though. Using Waze, we took a back road, and reached Sg. Jawi 50 minutes later. Traffic was fair.

The hunt concluded around 8.25 pm. The last Atm was in Sg. Jawi. We stopped for a drink before heading back to the hotel. Went out again for our late dinner @ Line Clear where i met with my other brother in law (as i said, be resourceful) for that delicious Char Kueh Teow Sani (bought it all the way from near his house). the guys opted for Nasi Kandar, and we continue chatting for a while before calling it a day. 

Uncle yang sporting. I think he's the owner?

It was a bit tiring, but fun at the same time. I believe this is the first time such 'hunt' being organized, with I'm the only participant.. haha.. So its all about whether you want it, or not. And how good your judgement, time management as not everyone get the same amount as i did. Alhamdulillah, atleast i have extra budget for the preparation of our soon-to-be-born family member :) *some time in October, insya Allah*  

just for the show :P our last 'atm pose' before heading back home

 

Enjoying the journey

My sincere thanks to MixFm and its crew, as well as Standard Chartered Malaysia for giving me this opportunity of a lifetime! :P

Okay. time for me to share whats the Hunt called. :)

i'll share some other picture later. x sempat nak upload :) till next race/hunt/adventure!!

What a Hunt! (it was) - Day Two

Saturday, 24 August 2013
Location : Tapah, Tanjung Malim n Ipoh

Day two of the hunt. Woke up this morning with mix feelings. Im not that good with navigation around Ipoh city and what if the clues located outside Ipoh? And how many CPs (check point) i can manage to find today? My target? 5 CPs atleast.

 Here i come!

Depart for Ipoh from Astro around 10.30 am, and reached the Tower Regency Hotel around 1pm. Check-in and ready for the 2nd day hunt. Had our lunch just before the hunt start.

neat and simple :)

We started around 2.30pm . Once i got the clue, i have like 1o minutes or so do get all the answers for it. 10 more Atms to find. Found out that one CP is in Tapah, and the other one in Tanjung Malim, and i totally have to ditch that Tanjung Malim CP. I have only 6 hours remember? First thing in any race/hunt you'll have to strategize. Time management is so important. Well, im the time keeper for my team in most of the races we've participated before :P So when i say there's time, do it. when i said stop, that's it.

Here's what i have to do. Once i got to the correct Atm, i will pose with a piece of laminated paper says 'ive found the correct atm!'. A'ah. thats all i need to do. But to find that particular Atm IS the challenge. and driving around places you are not familiar with is another. But trust me, be resourceful! :P 

First. For today's hunt, to find where's the location for the Standard Chartered bank is. Its in Taiping! Where exactly? well, lets head there first and find out. On our way there, we stop for lunch at the R&R Sungai Perak before making a detour to Kuala Kangsar city, as one of the CP was there, before continue our 'hunt' at Taiping. 

at my hometown! seb baik tak jumpa org kampung :P

Getting to Taiping is easy, getting to where the bank is, well.. not. We got lost somewhere in Aulong, and had to call my brother in law to ask for (help) directions. Nop, you can't ask him to come and show you where the place is. Just directions. But thank god that i've once race around the town before, and somehow i can navigate through based on his directions.

Found it. The 'bounty' to find this particular SC Bank is pretty much higher, and im glad that i went for this one much earlier. Theres another atm/CP not far from this bank, and then we (with haste) make our way back to Ipoh. Yup. 3 hours passed by and i've only manage to find only 3 atms! *ketap-ketap gigit jari kuku* 45 minutes journey back to Ipoh. Perasaan tidak keruan. #aptb

Reached Ipoh around 6.30 pm. that means, i only have like a couple of hours to get to the rest of the CPs in Ipoh (5 more to go, excluding Tapah n Tanjung Malim CP's). OhMiGosh! Now im freaking out. Thank god that i manage to get the Waze functioning properly, and getting from one CP to another is so easy (i wish i could have use this earlier). At this point you might have guessed how bad i was in using gadget n apps for navigation. Lesson learned.

CP's around Ipoh is quite nearby, but getting from one CP to another is a bit tricky. And you are doing it alone. Thats totally different what what i used to do. But the crew is awesome. We are like a bunch of friends driving around the city, enjoying good music, except im the one who got stressed because now i have only 2 hours left! haha.

From time to time i can heard my name being mentioned on the air of MixFM, and i myself texting my wife on how much i've 'secured'. :P gembira betul dia! 

We got to the last Atm 10 minutes before the time is out. So i guess Tapah CP's is a no-no. I can even see the crew, especially the drivers already dead tired, so i decided to call it a day. We cont our journey back to the hotel. the same crew from Hitz FM were staying at the same hotel, and they have this event that night, the launching of the new Mercedes hatchback.

Nonetheless, i've survived the 2nd day of the Hunt, with the bounty of (how much was it again?) :P. Missed 2 CPs, but i dont really mind since the time is not on my side. Win some, lose some eh? Still, i survived navigating around Ipoh City! yeah! 

 
picturesque view of Ipoh from atop

Day three (final day) is coming up. Char Kueh Teow anyone? 

p/s : gambar later lah yer :P and thanks for reading.

What a Hunt! (it was) - Day One

Okay. Ini kira kasi gempak punya lah. Since i've noticed that atleast few ppl viewed my last entry, sure nak tahu apa jadi kan?

The thing is that, i wont say whats the hunt actually called (another surprise) but i will share what happened during the hunt, ok x? I will tell you in the last part, okeh?

Ops, before that, a brief note on the hunt itself. The participant? only me, and 3 men's crew. Thats all? A'ah. 4 of us, and im the only one who will be hunting, navigating, solving the clues ets. All i need to do? Find 30 ATMs and get the reward.

Ada eh hunt macam ni? A'ah. good question. First time jugak join Hunt yg peserta nyer sorang aku jer. haha.. Seriously. im the only one. Well, actually theres 2 others, but we were not competing against each other (or met face to face even). They had done their hunt 2 weeks earlier (one hunter every week) and for the 3rd hunter and the last week. Me.  Yup. still cant believe it myself :P I even asked them asking in details, just to make sure.

Day One, 23 Aug 13, Friday (oh yer, event ni 3 hari yer) - Klang Valley

3.30pm - making my way to meet up point near Bukit Jalil. Met with Karti n Brandon (who will be driving) and Fadzli (the security personnel) < yes, he carry a gun with him. I kid you not. They said for safety reason, in case someone get the idea that the hunt actually involves lots of money (which it is) but im not drawing any money from any ATM during this hunt. but kinda awesome to have him sitting beside me, 'guarding' me for this 3 days event.

While busy preparing for the hunt (which will begin in like 5 min), tetiba nampak Datuk Aznil Nawawi. Rugi la tak amik gmbr ngan dia.. hehe..  Ok back to the story. 

 blur lah pulak!!

4.20 pm - They give me like 10 minutes to solve the clues and to decide where i want to head first. 10 minutes for 10 clues for 10 atms. In 6 hours. Yup. during the rush hour where everyone coming back from work. Easy right? on paper, yes. On the road.. err.. 

So first ATM is in Bangsar. Why? the easiest clue and i know where the place is. haha. All i have to do was to have my picture taken by the crew once i've found the correct ATM. A'ah. thats it. I've won the portion of the prize money. 

 Not that hard lah kan? kan?

Next stop, an ATM in Bukit Bintang, Standard Chartered. Traffic was still ok. Time is ticking. I get help from a good friend of mine, Bob for today's hunt. He's like a human GPS, and knew every corners and streets around KL. Once done with ATM in KL, i asked him, should i go for the one in Klang first or head towards Kepong. He advised me to complete the one in PJ first, before going to Shah Alam, Klang and Kepong. Or prolly on the way, i can cover the one in KJ and Uptown. 

as expected. Sabarr..

Sounds doable kan? ok, but remember that i told you, its Friday's Rush hour? Did everything by myself (nop, the driver cannot help at all) as that's what the rules said. I have to navigate my crew to the correct ATM as mentioned in the  clue given. Frankly, i didnt do well when it comes to Klang Valley routes, so Bob was there all the way to help out (yes, you can make phone calls, or ask people along the way). At this point, i haven't learn about Waze (but i get to use it later). Its super easy to use too.

In between we do take breaks for makan n praying. Nop, break time is not counted (except for praying time. Told them that during the hunt, i will be stopping 2 times for praying, Asar n Maghrib. They add like 20minutes to that. But for the 2nd and 3rd day hunt, i can perform Solat Jamak before the event start). So you have to be smart on time management. We continue our journey throughout PJ New Town, all the way to Seksyen 9 Shah Alam, later on to Port Klang (near Hospital Klang), and then towards Kelana Jaya, then to Kepong, before finding the 9th ATM in Uptown PJ and ends our hunt for the day around 10.15pm. 

can u guess where this atm is? :P 

Yup, i only manage to get to only 9 ATMs since it would be a bummer to miss the ATM in Kepong (fyi, Standard Chartered's ATM has bigger 'bounty'). And im not sure that i can navigate well around Klang city at night, so opted to miss that 1 CP (check point). Had a supper with the crew and reached home around 12am.

End of day one. Wait for the story on day 2. (Ipoh here we come!)

Wait for the next post. perhaps, i will share some pictures. Tschuss!! 

What a Hunt! (it will be) - Updated

No.. not yet.

The hunt will start tomorrow. Evening.

1st Day - around Klang Valley

2nd n 3rd Day - prolly outside KL (even i dont have any idea where)

What Hunt? 

Err.. i will share with you after i've completed everything this Sunday (of course the post will be up much later) :P

Why so secret? 

Just to make sure you guys come back to find out what happened, thats all! :P

What is it about?

A hunt. Not a treasure hunt. Something different. Different format, with hefty 'bounty'. Serius! 

Worth coming back?

Definitely, as this is i think, one of the kind! *overwhelmingly excited!*

Yes, i will share with you guys later.

Pray for me that i will be successful in this event. Thanks :)

p/s :  Kalu x menang, i wont continue writing anything about this.. hehe.. 

Salam Aidil Fitri!

Finally, the joyous day soon will be upon us. Couple of days to be exact.

So i wish to take this opportunity to wish everyone Selamat Hari Raya, may this one will bring much happiness and togetherness.

Kullu am, wa antum bi khoir : May you be well throughout the year

If I Were A Naughty Smurfette for a Day…” . Oh... my... Smurf!

Err.. dont get the wrong idea okay, im just doing a post for a contest :P 

 They are back! and this time, cutier than before? (or cutier as ever?) :P I think they are cutier than Minions that create a havoc for collectors here. Will they create the same scene if they were to be sold here in Malaysia? hmm.. last time i remember, they sold out pretty fast too. Err.. am not collecting for myself, for my kiddo.

Oh, ok, back to the topic.

First of all, i cant imagine Smurfette (aka La Schtroumpfette) to be a naughty smurf, but if you read the story about her, then you'll know that she was created by Gargamel to distract and trap the Smurfs in the first place. 

 

I can have more than one dress? :P *awww*

So if i were to change Smurfette back into her former self, then we need to change her appearance first. Her white dress is fine with me :P Well, can i suggest these : 

 

how bout this one?  *wink*

 getting warmer?

well, still a cutie, but with accessories

oh.. oh.. this one.. this one.. No?

 The only naughty version for Smurfette that i could think off, definitely by her :

tadaa!!
Hey guys! How do you like my new dress?

Nah, i dont think i could be a naughty Smurfette for even a day, but if you were to ask me to be inside that costume? i would!! hehe.. *naughty laugh* 

 

as what Gargamel like to say.. Must... have... SMURFS!

Smurft 2 will be in Cinema on 8 August 2013

Synopsis (sourced from viola.com.my)

In this sequel, the evil wizard Gargamel creates mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties to harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence. When he discovers that only a real Smurf can give him what he wants, and only a secret spell that Smurfette knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs, Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and brings her to Paris. It’s up to Papa, Clumsy, Grouchy, Vanity, Patrick and Grace Winslow to rescue her! Will Smurfette, who has always felt different from the other Smurfs, find a new connection with the Naughties, Vexy and Hackus, or will the Smurfs convince her to come home?

Or maybe you opted to try your luck and score yourself some cool Smurf goodies and free passes as well, go here :

NTV 7 

GSC Soon! Check the Contest Tab regularly :)

Voila

MSN Malaysia - Movie Passes

Hitz FM

Ramadhan Kareem

photo credit to its owner

Salam Ramadhan buat semua. Mohon maaf jika ada salah silap, terkasar bahasa, terlanjur kata.

Moga dengan ketibaan bulan yang mulia ni dipermudahkan hidup kita agar dapat menambah amalan baiknya. Moga dimurahkan rezeki juga.

Hopefully this Ramadhan will be better than the last one :) Insya allah.