Travel News : Renew Malaysian Passport Online

Being a partial travel blog, I felt that I should blog on my most recent experience when I renewed my Malaysian Passport online.  Some bloggers have already written on this as this isn't something new.  It's just that it's still quite unknown and an online feature that is rarely utilized.  I am so impressed with the whole process till I wanna write about it myself and would like to encourage more people to renew their passports online.  This is based on my experience with the online system and the steps I went through. The steps might be different according to each applicant (especially if certain terms and conditions are not met).

1) Get a passport photo taken at the studio or by a friend, you would need a softcopy of your photo.  If you have a hardcopy, then you will have to scan it to convert it to a .jpeg file for uploading.  Click HERE to make sure you meet the photo requirements and the terms & conditions from Immigration Department Of Malaysia (Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia).  Here's a screenshot of it...

Please read the Terms & Conditions thoroughly as they also state that not only will your application be rejected but payment made might not be returned if not adhered to! If all is okay, scroll to the end of it, and click on "Agree".   It will take you to the next step

2) Choose your Application Category and then enter your existing (expiring or expired) passport number and Identity Card number and then click "Search" on the right.

Note : If your passport expiry date is not due for one year and more, you will not be able to proceed further.

2008's First Entry Of Few Words!

Waiting for countdown to 2008!

12 midnight!

The view from the garden

Close up - 1 a.m. shot, my first few photos for January 1, 2008


HAPPY 2008! HERE'S TO AN EVEN BETTER YEAR!

Tagged - Favourite Food

Was tagged by Firehorse....(I think I still owe some other bloggers, can't remember! Favourite Fragrance to Lyrical Lemongrass, anymore? Can't remember seriously!) But since this one is on Favourite Food, should be easy peasy, right? Wrong, I have so many favourite food, where to start!?

But if I really have to pick one, it will be my favourite Kuih Tutu. But choosing this as my fave food, I will have to re-tell a story about the man who sold it and not just post a picture of Kuih Tutu. It's hard to find kuih like this nowadays. These kuih are made of rice flour with grated coconut cooked in brown sugar or gula melaka as filling. They are steamed and the pieces of pandan stuck to the back of each piece makes the kuih more fragrant! Cheap and nice, only RM1 for 3 pieces (from an earlier post of mine). It's not only my fave food but I will always remember the man who sold it. He's no longer around and his daughters have taken over. I have written this post before and will repost it here for this tag. For those who I have tagged (see list at the bottom), you don't have to write a long story like mine unless you want to :o)


Originally posted on November 27, 2006

Mr Wong & His Kuih Tutu

I've a story to tell behind the post and pictures today. On Nov 4, I had posted a short farewell message to an uncle who passed away in an accident. He used to sell kuih tutu in the weekly night market in SS2 and in Taman Cheras (Yulek) too.

My friend in Cheras told his daughters (who have been carrying on with the business since the demise of their dad) what I did and they were grateful that someone else remembered their dad too. One of them passed a contact number through her, so that I can email her the link. I smsed her and asked for her email and two days later, I received a call from the uncle's wife.

I never knew my short post would lead to this encounter. It was heartbreaking indeed to have learnt more about the uncle, Mr Wong. Me, being a real softie, tried hard to fight back the tears as Mrs Wong spoke to me. Apparently, it was quite a big blow to Mrs Wong and the rest of the family as Mrs Wong had also lost her son to lung cancer 5 months before the accident claimed Mr. Wong's life. It seems that Mr Wong was feeling tired but had promised a friend to help out with some errands. He was the sort of man who kept his promises. His friend was supposed to pick him up from a designated place but was running really late. As Mr Wong got restless, he decided to drive off to meet some of his other friends first. It was then the accident happened - he drove up the kerb, over the drain and crashed into some trees. Mrs Wong believed that he must have fallen asleep at the wheel for a split second and that cost him his life. He wasn't one to drive fast, and he came across to me as an alert elderly man for someone who's in his 70s, not one who has slow reflexes, I mean.

Mrs Wong tells me it has been hard dealing with the loss and she still looks at his photo every night before she sleeps. He is dearly missed by the family. Only time will help ease the pain and I told her what helped me go through the loss of my dad was to think of all the happy times I had with him. Maybe it would help if she thinks of the happy times she had with Mr Wong too. She had called to thank me for writing about him in my blog and said that if Mr Wong knew, he would have indeed been very happy too that someone thought about him enough to write about him. I then asked if she would send me a pic of him so that I can put in on my blog. I received it last Thursday from her daughter. He must have been in his 50s in the pic. So, today's post is dedicated to Mr Wong and his kuih tutu.

The daughters are doing a great job , the Kuih Tutu still tastes great. Not too much flour and tasty filling. They said they are still doing the business as a way of remembering their Dad. Mr Wong, you would be proud of your daughters. Here's to you Mr. Wong. Have a great new life! And to you, Mrs Wong and family, may your tears be dried, souls be soothed and clouds be lifted, all in good time. Live well...

May you have warm words on a cool evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way to your door. ~ Irish Toast

***Start Copy***

Proposition: What is your favorite food in your state or country? Requirements: Find some info about the food and show delicious pictures of it. Quantity: FIVE PEOPLE. Tag Mode: You leave their blog and post link and add to the list below.

Mybabybay loves Asam Laksa from Penang, Malaysia

JustMyThoughts loves Penang Char Koay Teow

My Lil Venture loves Laksa Sarawak

Monterssorimum loves Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun

Chinnee loves Melaka Wan Tan Mee

PeimunLeah loves Hakka Lei Cha

Hui Sia

Jonamum

Karen loves Pan Mee

Something about Lai loves Crispy duck skin from China

Simple American loves Cheese Enchiladas

Nicole Tan loves Char Tau Kueh

Velverse loves Otak-otak

Kenny Ng loves Jawa Mee

Fatty Poh loves Nasi Dagang Kelantan

wmw loves Kuih Tutu.

Now I would like to tag the following 5 bloggers : -

Lyrical Lemongrass

Precious Pea

Jackson Kah

Jason Ipoh Mali

Nigel of KampungKayell

Flora Fest 2007 - Putrajaya, Part 2

Leaving my shaded place, I joined the many others on the street to take better shots of the parade. Even that had its own set of frustration; there were many photographers already out there and I had to make sure that I was not in the way of others. Sadly though, others were not as considerate and were in my way. Furthermore, there I was holding my tiny camera compared to those with gigantic cameras and some of them made it known through their actions that I was not "worthy" to be amongst them.

Melaka's - with its very own coconut tree!
Royal Malaysia Police band
Another shot of Penang's winning float

Selangor's fruity float

DBKL's troupe - I don't know the significance of why they were bouncing these giant balls!

Perak's
Some troupe members still looked so cool under the hot sun!

The heavily "guarded" Putrajaya float - maybe some ministers are in it?

I only took my shots after they were done with theirs and I was thankful enough that I manage to get some decent shots at the end of the day. Problem was, by the time the parade was over, I had a case of heat-stress and lost my appetite for lunch! (Can you imagine that???? Me? Losing my appetite?).

I wished I was dressed this cool and pushed around to watch the parade. Ha ha ha...
I felt like joining these two kids to cool off after the parade but I don't think I would look cute rolling around on the ground. I might just get apprehended by the police! LOL!

I drank a gazillion litre of water and couldn't finish my food. After reaching home and taking a shower, I crawled in bed and took a 3 hour nap! The heat only left me the next day and I felt much better since then. Oh, of course, I found my appetite too! Ha ha ha....

A flower's appeal is in its contradictions - so delicate in form yet strong in fragrance, so small in size yet big in beauty, so short in life yet long on effect. ~ Adabella Radici

Flora Fest 2007 - Putrajaya, Part 1

Taking a break from food posting for this round, I thought I should blog on my trip to Putrajaya for the Flora Fest 2007; held on 27 January. Kota Bahru's food trip will resume after Flora Fest's two parter post as there are quite a number of photos.

KA and I decided to go for the Flora Fest parade just the night before after we told ourselve that it was better than sleeping in! It was a feat waking up at 5.10 am when I slept at 2am! KA and I decided to have dim sum for breakfast at Loong Seng in SS2 before we started our journey to Putrajaya, just to make it more worthwhile to be up so early! We reached Putrajaya at about 7.30am and wondered how tourists got to the place as there were no proper road signs indicating where the parade would be. There were banners at lamp posts everywhere; north, south, east and west which would confuse first time visitors. Well, KA drove, following some cars (we saw families and we guess they must be going to the parade too) and found the way to the right area.

Waiting

Reaching the area almost at 8 am, we ended up standing at the tail end of the parade line. The crowd jostled for a good spot and yours truly didn't really have much choice for a photo spot. By the time the parade started after the speeches, it was almost 9am. I wasn't taking good shots in the first half of the event and contemplated getting a new spot. It was a really hot day, luckily, KA brought an umbrella along which proved to be god sent as the sun was out in full force. That made me stay rooted to my spot till I got a bit frustrated by an auntie (who had earlier been at the back of me but somehow ended up in front of me). She then opened her big red umbrella, thus ruining my shots as in was getting in the way! Not having a good angle plus the auntie's "intervention" prompted me to join the rest of the photographers (amateur and professionals) on the street itself. Initially we were all behind the barricades but more and more photographers walked out onto the street to get better pictures.

Photos are at random...

Sabah's - Theme Trophy

Selangor's

One of the many bands - all in sync, all impressive!

DBKL's - Creative Trophy
Perak's troupeA cute touch to the band's uniform

Penang's - Premier Trophy
Up close and personal - Labuan's Flower Power!

To be continued...

Mr Wong & His Kuih Tutu

I've a story to tell behind the post and pictures today. On Nov 4, I had posted a short farewell message to an uncle who passed away in an accident. He used to sell kuih tutu in the weekly night market in SS2 and in Taman Cheras (Yulek) too.

My friend in Cheras told his daughters (who have been carrying on with the business since the demise of their dad) what I did and they were grateful that someone else remembered their dad too. One of them passed a contact number through her, so that I can email her the link. I smsed her and asked for her email and two days later, I received a call from the uncle's wife.

I never knew my short post would lead to this encounter. It was heartbreaking indeed to have learnt more about the uncle, Mr Wong. Me, being a real softie, tried hard to fight back the tears as Mrs Wong spoke to me. Apparently, it was quite a big blow to Mrs Wong and the rest of the family as Mrs Wong had also lost her son to lung cancer 5 months before the accident claimed Mr. Wong's life. It seems that Mr Wong was feeling tired but had promised a friend to help out with some errands. He was the sort of man who kept his promises. His friend was supposed to pick him up from a designated place but was running really late. As Mr Wong got restless, he decided to drive off to meet some of his other friends first. It was then the accident happened - he drove up the kerb, over the drain and crashed into some trees. Mrs Wong believed that he must have fallen asleep at the wheel for a split second and that cost him his life. He wasn't one to drive fast, and he came across to me as an alert elderly man for someone who's in his 70s, not one who has slow reflexes, I mean.

Mrs Wong tells me it has been hard dealing with the loss and she still looks at his photo every night before she sleeps. He is dearly missed by the family. Only time will help ease the pain and I told her what helped me go through the loss of my dad was to think of all the happy times I had with him. Maybe it would help if she thinks of the happy times she had with Mr Wong too. She had called to thank me for writing about him in my blog and said that if Mr Wong knew, he would have indeed been very happy too that someone thought about him enough to write about him. I then asked if she would send me a pic of him so that I can put in on my blog. I received it last Thursday from her daughter. He must have been in his 50s in the pic. So, today's post is dedicated to Mr Wong and his kuih tutu.

The daughters are doing a great job , the Kuih Tutu still tastes great. Not too much flour and tasty filling. They said they are still doing the business as a way of remembering their Dad. Mr Wong, you would be proud of your daughters. Here's to you Mr. Wong. Have a great new life! And to you, Mrs Wong and family, may your tears be dried, souls be soothed and clouds be lifted, all in good time. Live well...

May you have warm words on a cool evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way to your door. ~ Irish Toast

Steamboat

On Thanksgiving, I reflect on my life and feel that I have been indeed blessed, blessed with good friends and in all other aspects. Well, I'm blessed that I didn't go blind when I had my retina detachment, and even if I did, I'm blessed that I would still have one good eye! LOL!

Anyway, one of the good friends that I'm blessed with is Czar, as she is also a very good cook! Ha ha ha....I was invited for another round of makan (just plain "Eating") at her place, this time, for steamboat (it was during the Mid Autumn Festival, this post is long overdue!). All I can say Czar is a fantastic cook. She is one of those who can whip up something from nothing in no time! I'm not kidding! (Check out my post of the Raya do at Czar's house earlier). Her cousin, C, who was there too, is also a good cook and when they gather they can cook up a storm (and do it very quickly too!) More so, when steamboat is quite simple to prepare, the only part is to make sure the soup taste good! So, I don't know the recipe for the soup but when I have friends like them, I just let them do the cooking (I'll only be in the way). So here are some pics of the makan that night. Mrs Pitt, I know, I know, you are going to make sure you make a stopover at Czar's place the next time you visit Malaysia! ;o)

The food items for the steamboat

Putting some of the items into the soup to cook (the chilli you see at the bottom right corner is also home made!)

Oh, don't forget the tofu-and dinner is ready! The soup was delicious.

Home made Muachi (glutinous rice thingy covered with sugar and grounded nuts) for dessert done by C, batch by batch - so yummy!

Oh, I gotta include these two photos (posted on my photo blog before) as the kids were so cute. After dinner, they went out to the garden to play with candles and I took these shots of them. What a lovely way to end the night. Oh, Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. ~ W.T. Purkiser

Happy Halloween!

I had the opportunity to celebrate Halloween in the States a couple of years back and had the most fun ever. Mrs Pitt and friends brought me to the "famous" Castro Street in San Francisco where they had the Halloween Street Party. There were signs plastered everywhere that no weapons were allowed and there were policemen at every corner. I must admit I was rather thrilled, a bit scared initially but amazed with the crowd and my surroundings. After soaking up the fun, I was more relaxed. Surely, you can understand why I felt a bit nervous in the beginning, right?

Not sure where I was, but I felt burning hot! Ha ha ha...."Girls" Just Wanna Have Fun!

Guardian Angels or Devils In Disguise?

There were cute and funny costumes too. There was this particular group of "medic" wheeling this "lady" laying on a hospital bed who was screaming and seem to be in pain. When I got closer to them, this was what I saw.

The "lady" had given birth! It's a girl! LOL.....
Animal Farm?
The REAL cowboys from Brokeback Mountain

Well, there are some pictures that I can't post as I don't want my post/blog to be flagged by some conservative folks. Let's just say, there were also some guys that wore a costume that was a replica of a certain part of a male anatomy. They were literally a giant walking ....! Talk about being a ....head, LOL! Oh well, for my last pic, I was really partly amused and scared at the same time. This guy must have been about 7 feet tall! I know I'm short but I'm not THAT short! I was really wondering whether he was going to let go of my neck after the picture was taken. Ha ha ha...But since I'm blogging right now, I did live to see another day.
The crowd made up of people from "all" walks of life were well behaved and it was fun outing. Well, to me it was, I didn't see or hear anything unpleasant but it seems to have some ugly incidents every year. Apparently, some people in SFO are trying to put a stop to the annual Halloween Street Party this year for all sort of weird reasons apart from security related ones.

Let's hope Halloween celebration catches on over here on a grander scale. But knowing the crime rate in Malaysia, we might have more crime that night as criminals would take the opportunity to strike since it's would be okay to walk around in a Halloween costume and not be able to be identified! Oh well, que sera sera, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween. ~ Author Unknown