H is for Haze

H is for Haze.

Heard over the news that the Haze is making its appearance again.

The good news is air quality is still within healthy levels as what the API index shows..

Heavy rains the past few days have greatly reduced the number of hotspots especially in Sabah according to the news and cloud-seeding for rain has been called off.

Here in the peninsula temperatures are rising. Some states are seeing temperatures rising to 37°C.

Genting Highlands - The City of Entertainment

G is for Genting Highlands.

'The City of Entertainment' - this is what Genting Highlands is also known as.

Just an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur, Genting Highlands is a place where city folk can get away from the heat and the hustle and bustle of the city.

The hill resort, at an average elevation of 1,740 metres (5,710 ft) above sea level has a cool spring-like climate with the average temperature falling in between 20°C to 25°C during the day and to around 15°C at night so it can get quite cold. Do pack a cardigan or a jacket. You will need it not only for the night but for when you go outdoors as the winds can be chilly.

Resorts World Genting has five hotels. One of the five hotels, the First World Hotel, holds the Guinness World Record as the largest hotel in the world from 2006 until 2008, and regained the title in 2015 with a total of 7,351 rooms.

First World Hotel

Genting Highlands resort is popular with tourists and locals alike (like I said it's only an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur) for the many attractions available. There is something to do for everyone from the young to the young-at-heart.

This is the First World Plaza or what is commonly known as the Indoor Theme Park, where there are games and rides for everyone. And, of course, many food outlets, you'd be spoilt for choice. The place never sleeps.

There's even a tow boat ride a la the Venice gondola.. without the gondolier, of course.

The Genting Outdoor Theme Park is currently closed, since 1 September 2013, to make way for the RM1 billion world’s first 20th Century Fox World, originally due to be completed by 2016 but has now been delayed to 2017.

Over the years, Gentings had evolved into a shopping destination as well.

Genting Premium Outlets is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2016. It will be Southeast Asia's first hilltop Premium Outlet Centre. The development will cover 600,000 square feet and costs MYR 200 million. (Wikipedia)

But now open is a Nike Factory Store, where prices are a real knockdown from the ones in the city. So if you are there you may want to check the place out. It's in the vicinity where the bowling alley is. That's right. There is also bowling (ten pin) available besides other activities to spend a fun and eventful holiday there.

A word of warning though, unless you don't mind standing in line or get caught in both human and vehicular traffic, try to avoid going there during public holidays.

If all those rides and stuff are not exciting enough for you, try your hand at the casino.

Genting Highlands operates the only land-based casino in the country. When it was first started there was a strict dress-code for men (jacket or long-sleeved batik) but not anymore. Currently, a collared shirt is what's required. No shorts or slippers allowed I should think.

Also, formerly a RM200 deposit to enter was mandatory but not anymore.

Gentings can also be reached via a cable car system. Called Genting Skyway, it is a gondola lift connecting Gohtong Jaya and Resort Hotel at the top. Its lower station at Gohtong Jaya township, located approximately 51 kilometres (32 mi) northeast of Kuala Lumpur, comprises a 5-storey station building and a 10-storey car park while its upper station is located at the Resort Hotel.

Genting Skyway is also recognised as the "World's Fastest Mono Cable Car System" with a maximum speed of 21.6 kilometres per hour (13.4 mph) and possibly the "Longest Cable Car in Malaysia and Southeast Asia". It is a 3.38 kilometres (2.10 mi) transport to the hilltop.

By the way, if you are there and if you are interested to know more about Genting Highlands do go by their gallery. It's located somewhere near the lobby of the main hotel. I stumbled upon the place on my last visit. Genting celebrates 50 years.

Also when you are there, if you are interested in exotic cars, on weekends mostly, there'll be a whole line of such cars parked just in front of the main hotel as well as at Maxims. You'd see many admirers taking selfies with the cars.

Did I mention there's an indoor heated pool? If you are a guest at one of the hotels, (but of course), that is available for you.

If you are a tourist to Kuala Lumpur and want to know how to get to Genting Highlands, check with your hotel. They'd be able to assist.


Sources:
- Wikipedia
- Genting Highlands website

Food Forests

F is for Food forests.

Mangoes are in season. You see lots of them and in different varieties in markets and supermarkets.

Mango trees are a favourite here in tropical Malaysia. You can see a mango tree in almost every garden or compound, even outside the gate by the roadside.

I remember we used to have a mango tree (in our old house) that had big, sweet and juicy fruits that even trash collectors would pick them outside the fence of our house. It wasn't a big tree so the fruits would dangle low enough with a little stretching.

Besides mango, over here some common fruit trees people plant are the rambutan (that hairy fruit that come in red and yellow when they are ripe), jackfruit, star-fruit, pomelo, lemon, coconut, even the durian tree. To have fruits in your backyard can be convenient. I remember one time I visited a friend from school and she served me lemonade from a lemon she picked from her garden. How convenient! She just went out to the tree picked a nice yellow lemon and turned it into a drink. I was flabbergasted. Huh? Like that also can, as what we locals would say.

But I digress. I am supposed to be talking about Food forests. I stumbled upon a tape about a Food forest, Ron Finley's food forest project. Mr Finley is a guerilla gardener in South Central LA and is now a celebrity going around the US encouraging planting, converting food deserts to food forests. Watch this short video. It's eye-opening and inspiring at the same time.


Here's another video where he speaks at a TEDtalks session. The bio says Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in South Central LA -- in abandoned lots, traffic medians, along the curbs. Why? For fun, for defiance, for beauty and to offer some alternative to fast food in a community where "the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys."

Two quotes I picked up from this video:

'Gardening is the most therapeutic and the finest act you can do, especially in the city.'

'If kids grow kale, they'll eat kale. If they grow tomatoes, they'll eat tomatoes'.

The latter quote I think would strike a note with moms who have difficulty trying to get their kids to eat vegetables.


Happy planting!

Explosion at Mid Valley Megamall in KL

E is for Explosion in MidValley Megamall.

An explosion rocked the MidValley Megamall shopping centre yesterday morning. No, it's not what most people think it is. This one is believed to be in relation to the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) system.

Eight people were believed to have been hurt in the incident caused by the collapse of part of the ceiling of the Chili’s and McDonald’s restaurants.

Five people including two women were injured at Chili's when the ceiling collapsed in the kitchen and in front of the restaurant located at the ground floor.

Three men were injured at McDonald's, located at the lower ground floor, when the ceiling collapsed in the kitchen area.

The incident happened at about 9.45am, The mall officially opens at 10:00am as shopping malls do here in Kuala Lumpur. Malls close at 10 at night.

All gas systems in Mid Valley Megamall have been shut down until further notice.

“The mall will remain open to visitors,” said the management, adding that safety remains its utmost priority.



Kuala Lumpur has been named among the top shopping destinations in Asia Pacific by Globe Shopper. It's not difficult to see why with huge multi-storey shopping complexes and malls in the city and with a number of them all within walking distance. How convenient is that!

When you are in KL, MidValley Megamall is one not to be missed. Trust me!

If you are a foreign tourist, get yourself a Tourist Privilege Card for storewide bargains to enhance your shopping experience. You can obtain one at the mall's information counter.

Happy Shopping!


Sources:
- DOSH site
- Mid Valley Megamall site

Dengue treatment, not!

D is for Dengue fever.

DENGUE fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Here in Malaysia it is a problem that just won't go away. On the contrary, the number of dengue cases has escalated by 314% compared to the same period last year according to the Health Ministry.

There is no cure for dengue and locally, out of desperation people have resorted to traditional treatment. One such popular treatment is drinking the juice of the papaya leave. It has been reported that papaya juice increases platelet count.

However, the information on the chart below advises otherwise.

Chestnuts they are a-roasting

C is for Chestnuts.

You can tell chestnuts are in season when the aroma of chestnuts being roasted is in the air.

One might mistake it for coffee even but then again, one is not wrong. Chestnuts here sold by street vendors are roasted with coffee beans and butter. More accurately, they are roasted in a pan/pot like this.

This is actually an improved method, which is less labour-intensive.

Some vendors still do manual frying the chestnuts in a large wok with coffee beans and butter being the main ingredients that make these chestnuts so attractive to the senses.

The next time you are here in Malaysia, watch out for these. Don't leave Malaysia without tasting our roasted chestnuts. You can find them in market squares. Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur would be a good start to look.

Image source

Best Airlines in the World

B for Best.

Today, I choose to blog about the Best Airlines in the World.

Malaysia, with a population of about 30 million people, is just a small young country in the Southeastern corner of the world, i.e. Southeast Asia. Despite that Malaysia has scored some accolades in the world, for example, Malaysia's Air Asia has been voted the World's Best Low-Cost Airline. This has been released by Skytrax, an expert on air travel.



The World's Best Low-Cost Airlines - 1. AirAsia

Voted as the best low-cost airline, AirAsia operates at the lowest unit cost in the world of just US $0.023 per available seat kilometres.

AirAsia’s other airline AirAsia X follows it on the list - 2nd placing. Third comes Norwegian Air Shuttle. Check out The World's Best Airlines across different categories..

Image source: Msn.com


This post is part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Interested enough to join the challenge? Hurry you have less thatn 1 day and 23 hours left to sign up.

April - Blogging From A to Z Challenge (April 2016)

A is for April.

Today is the first day of a Blogging Challenge that I signed up for just a few days ago. Was surfing the web searching for something to do in relation to blogging (of course) that comes with a little oomph! but not a long-term thingy that I'd be stuck with to no end.

So this Blogging From A to Z Challenge (April 2016) looks like it fits the bill nicely, so here I am taking this challenge.

The main rule is to have a post up every day of April except on Sundays. So with 26 days, this matches the 26 letters of the alphabet.

The other requirement besides blogging daily is that the post for each day would need to have a topic themed on something with the letter of the day, for example, today's letter is 'A', the letter for tomorrow, April 2 is 'B', April 3 would be 'C' and so on and so forth.

Why am I doing this, really? I've not been blogging regularly of late (as some of you would have noticed) so this challenge would be a good way to get me back on track. Plus, I get to make new friends and broaden my horizon at the same time. What's not to love about this Blogging From A to Z Challenge..

Come on join the fun! Here is where you can sign up. The group is now 1784 strong and counting. Hurry! There are only 4 days left before the list is closed.