13 Sungai Buloh : The Nurseries and Growing Passion for Plants

Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.
~ Hans Christian Andersen

And he is right. It's food for the soul. The Sungai Buloh Nurseries is a great place to "stop and smell the flowers". I enjoy journeying into this floral wonderland, which I take as a form of meditation by the way.

Meet Mr. Gnome. "Hi!", greets he.

Welcome to Happy Land!

See why this place is a haven for gardeners? The plants are enthusiastically green. The flowers look like they're singing in chorus. Lush! As a friend always puts it.

Rows of green!

If this be my garden, I'd be ecstatic!

These purple flowers are called "Mona Lavender". From personal experience, easy to maintain. All it takes is a bit of watering and trimming. I've had mine for two months and it's flourishing. In fact, it's flowering again, just weeks after the first blooms went!

A pot of mona lavender costs between RM5-RM8 at the nurseries.

Mona Lavender

The rose and its thorns are often talked about and inspire poetic words of wisdom. A couple come to mind ~ There's no rose without a thorn and A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Beautiful Red Roses

But if you want a plant that isn't too challenging, try a cactus. I have two which have crossed the ten-year mark and continues to grow passionately.

Cactuses and Succulents

You won't just be attracted by the plants in Sungai Buloh. There's a large variety of pots, soil, fertiliser and decorative items on sale.

Coconut shell hanging baskets

An exciting selection of flower pots!

Sneak a peek behind the road stalls. You never know what you may find. I discovered rows of .....Christmas trees! Don't mind me, I'm terrible with plant names. I've generally labeled all cone-shaped greens with pine-like features as Christmas trees.

Behind the nurseries - Christmas Trees!

There she grows. O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree..

That's about it. Hope you enjoyed reading about my walkabout in plantdom.  I'll be posting more of these as my interest grows.

To get to the nurseries, just follow Jalan Hospital and look for a left turning into Jalan Lembah which is somewhere after Sungai Buloh Hospital (on your right). View in wikimapia.

3 Genie Wong : Limited Edition EP

My story on talented singer-songwriter Genie Wong was published earlier in the year on I.M. - Jazzing Up Borneo Airwaves - IM Magazine

Days ago, Genie released a limited edition EP in the form of a thumb drive. Cute isn't it? I ordered two for Christmas. I figured this would make a great gift for a couple of friends. It contains three of her original songs and two special editions, plus a music video. For RM25, I thought it was a steal.

Photos provided by Genie Wong

Have you heard any of Genie's songs? This is a recently released music video of Liar Liar, a cosy number that's easy to get addicted to. It's one of my favourite hums.

I chanced to talk to Genie a little about her music video. Just two questions.

What was the inspiration for your video?
Genie: Simplicity. The message I convey in my songs are simple.

What was the hardest thing you faced while recording this video?
Genie : Hahaha..I can't stop looking at the camera. It was like 'in my way' and I didn't know what to do with my hands!

Genie Wong on I.M. Magazine Jul/Aug issue - autographed copy (top-right).
She also made the Top 10 Inspirational Stories of 2013 list in the Dec issue.

If  you're keen to get your hands on the Genie Wong Limited Edition EP ..and it is "limited" with only 200 units being sold, contact her via Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Geeniee.Wong

OR

Catch her live in Penang at the 10th Penang Island Jazz Festival this 7th and 8th December. She'll be singing in the Fringe events hosted by Creative Malaysia, under the banner of "Sixth Sense". Don't be shy to approach her to get your copy of the EP and ask for her autograph as well.

Sixth Sense is scheduled to perform at these venues on these dates (visit website to view) : http://www.penangjazz.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/creative-malaysia-programme.jpg


Official Website: http://genie1978.wix.com/geniewong

8 Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show 2013 (KLIMS)

Other than the Kia Sportage which I saw some 'long-time' ago, no other car has tickled my fancy. That probably sums up my interest in cars. I am laid back about it. I don't go looking but I do love going to motor events.

I made my way to the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show last weekend, paying RM20 for a ticket in. The place was packed like sardines because there was a power failure earlier in the day. I had a great time checking the scene out regardless.

It was a less exciting affair for my car-enthusiast man because several top motor brands were not part of the show.

These are some of the cars that were on display. I was particularly excited by the sight of Nissan's Navara which had a tent on top. Would I love to travel with that...!

Top: Honda EV-STER
Bottom, from left: Honda CR-Z Mugen RR , Nissan Navara

CR-Z Mugen RR

I did a wee bit of shopping. This GPS navigator was going for a steal at just RM199. The brand name is a little weird but apt. I guess Gogopal is subtly telling us to just keep going and never worry about ever getting lost - go, go, pal!

Gogopal GPS with accessories

There was some sort of car body design contest going on. It's cute in an overdone kind of way. I gotta hand it to these guys. They're very passionate about what they do.

Design Contest

I wouldn't mind a ride in one of these vintage cars! Imagine an Elvis song on play .. *sigh*

From top-left: Ford Thunderbird 1957, Ford Pickup 1955
Bottom-left: Corvette Stingray 1964, Chevy Master Deluxe 1938

The lucky draw prizes are extremely attractive. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll win a car too.

Filling In Lucky Draw Forms to Win a Car

Finally, my favourite part of the show ... for purely narcissistic reasons. Oh, you're giggling now, aren't you? Close enough.

Sharan, Das Auto

Event Details: 15 - 24 November 2013, Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) Kuala Lumpur.
Visiting Hours: Weekdays 11.00am - 10.00pm / Weekends 10.00am - 10.00pm

10 Barley-cious : Tom Yum Fried Barley

I've been experimenting barley with different flavours. Over the course of my cooking adventure, this is one of my yummy finds ~ Tom Yum Fried Barley. The best thing is it goes great with any meat including seafood.

A close friend of mine balks at the idea of eating barley, the savoury way. Well, I never imagined that I would one day be having my barley this way too but there's no turning back now!

Gorgeous?

Yom Yum Fried Barley

This didn't involve a lot of work nor it is the authentic way of cooking tom yum since I used bottled paste.

A little garlic saute, a dollop of tom yum paste, meat, chili and barley, stir-fried together. Then, it is garnished with chopped spring onions. That's about it.

Read about my other yummy barley shares here at www.sweethomechefs.com

6 The Kitchen Project : Wire Shelves

It had to happen sooner or later. My collection of spices and sauces had grown beyond the space my kitchen cabinets could offer. I was squeezing things here, there, everywhere, piling containers and canned foods as high as I 'safely' could!

"Hah! You dropped two bottles and made a huge mess on the floor!"   < --- Enough said.

I knew that I had to do something about it so I spent days surveying for shelves - the easy, convenient kind.......and hopefully, it wouldn't cost too much too.

Just when I'd almost given up on finding something that tickled my fancy, I walked into Daiso and the matter was solved. Daiso is a popular low-priced store in Malaysia. Many items are sold at RM5 flat.

I picked out these wire shelves for my kitchen. It's quite brilliant really. The back piece is a mass of squares designed to hold multiple shelves. They were selling it in various colours and sizes. I stayed with white. It's my favourite colour. Oh, who am I kidding. A lot of colours are "my favourite colour".

Daiso shelves at RM5 per piece

I was so psyched about it that I added a few more spices and cute containers to my collection. And... spent the weekend labeling each one.

Labeling bottles and containers

Man of the house put the shelves up for me. A quick drill and screw was all that needed to be done.

I hereby present my new kitchen shelves! What do you think?

Ready for use!

These wire shelves aren't suitable for large or heavy glass bottles. Just warning anyone who's keen to set up the same.

Close-up!

Well, that's one thing I don't have to worry about anymore. Tick off to-do list!

8 Labuan : Layang-Layangan - Just the beach!

Layang-layangan beach, one of my favourite hangouts .... until I moved to the city. Clean, serene, with long stretches of sand ~ the perfect picnic spot? Yeap!

I've not been here for almost a decade. My trips home have always been packed with meeting the relatives, plus an unimaginable amount of time on feasting. I am not kidding when I say that it begins with an early breakfast and goes on until dinner!

So this is a very treasured 30-minute stop just to snap some shots and breathe in the beach air.

Evening beach stroll

A gloomy evening that brought the drizzle.

Sea, sky ..oh, where are you, sun?

Lots of these holes on the sand with small crabs scuttling in and out.
Ahoy! Is anyone in there?! ..

Crab hole

Small wooden boats or sampan, as we call it, tied to a pole near the shore.

The fisherman rests his boats (do you see it? there..in the distance)

Night picnickers setting up the barbeque fire.

A different kind of night life

We passed this resort-like place on our way home. Fancy fencing...

Love the coconut trees view

That's my short beach adventure. We made our way to a local cake stall nearby for late tea (almost dinner, really) after that.

8 Breakfast And A New Pan

Breakfast is important. Everyone knows that but mornings and me? We shake hands and that's as much love as we have for each other. No hugs! Brunch is more my thing.

The only food that  goes into me first thing in the morning is a hot cup of chocolate malt.

Chocolate Malt

Occasionally, I have eggs and baked beans...

Eggs and Baked Beans

But only because I have a fancy new pan to try out < --- "motivation"

Nah, this post is nothing about breakfast. I really, reallyYy wanted to show off the latest addition to my kitchen. Do you like it? Haha. Don't be mean now.

New Pan ~ RM9.90 from Tesco

 

12 The Revamped Garden

This is it ~ the unveiling of my new gardening initiative.

I've been very low key about it. The jitters, you know - a confidence sucker. If plant murder is a crime, I would have been convicted many times in the past. But my new garden is three weeks old now and it's flourishing.

I'm really quite proud of myself, thanks to huge encouragement from gardening enthusiasts in the My Nice Garden Chat  Facebook group.

Small Balcony Garden
(Colourful Coleus - Potted plants on bamboo poles, Mona Lavender - Purple flowers below)

For ideas, I scoured the nurseries along Sungai Buloh, finally settling on a crisscrossed bamboo stand which can be stretched wide to fit perfectly between walls.

The idea is to hang potted plants up to save on floor space.  

Excitement ~ keyword of the day, of which without, there would be no spark of passion and no fruition to dreams. 

These colourful leafy plants (shown below) are called coleus. I've read that it needs good drainage, moist soil and lots of sunlight. It is also advisable to clip off the flowers because it overworks the plant leaving the leaves less vibrant.

I'm quite curious to see how it goes if I keep the flowers.

I hope you have nine lives Mr. Plant because I intend to learn things the hard way. In the meantime, there are new shoots popping out and the plants have grown taller. I wonder if I should just add more pots and replant those...

Coleus

I have no idea what this pretty pink flowering plant is called ........yet. I water this the most using a spray bottle, almost to a point of addiction. It flowers non-stop and I'm completely mesmerised by it. I'm enthusiastic to see many new shoots growing out.

I'll get back to you, pretty Miss

This is aptly named the Purple Shamrock. I've had this before - kept it in a shady corner for years before the hanging coconut husk pot which was holding the plant gave way. I'm still keeping the coconut husk because I love it so much. It has holes at the bottom. Everytime I water the plant, soil flows through too. I fixed that with a couple of pebbles. Hah!

This was one of the plants that never died on me although I paid very little attention to it. I water it once in awhile. It's no surprise why I like it. So I thought to myself, "Why not again?"

I'm planting it in a different corner this time and in a pot weaved out of branches. It is now exposed to late afternoon sun for a couple of hours everyday. My fingers have been crossed for three weeks now. It has kinda spread out beautifully.

Purple Shamrock

I end my plant post with a quote :

Stretching his hand up to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet.
~ Jeremy Bentham

8 The Messy Garden

My plot of green. ...before the revamp.

I woke up one morning and asked myself, "Is THIS really the best you can do about it?", while rolling eyes at the little jungle I had nurtured before me.

This is where I spend most evenings watching the sunset. It's also our corner for "romantic dinners". I wonder how Man feels about having his meals on a balcony surrounded by a mishmash of plants that seemed happy to grow where they please.

A state of before!

I've had these impossible-to-die-off  plants for years. It is watered often < ----  sums up my gardening duties.

However, a new me has emerged since fateful morning of green-lightenment. I set out to re-do, with a goal to maintain and change what I plant once in awhile.

I spent a couple of hours just removing roots... arghhhHh!

Roots everywhere!

More and more roots...*sigh* ..is there no end?

Finally! Mixed and layered the soil. I could not resist the bit of layering because I've watched too many documentaries showing earth in layers of soil and rock. Silly me.

Brown soil at the bottom, pebbles mixed in and organic black soil on top

This potted plant is now indoors. Funny thing about it? It appeared out of nowhere. I've had this pot with a cactus growing in it for years. This spread of green popped out of hibernation one fine day of sunshine and dominated the pot. I've had to pull the poor cactus out in the end.

Potted greens on a melange of rocks collected from Port Dickson beach

This money plant is going out to a friend.

Money plant

My new garden is almost three weeks old now. It's alive with colours and much bushier. I'm pretty sure it's because I pay so much attention to it now ~ plant fertilizers, trimming, the constant water-spray...uh, oh..is this grinning person overdoing it? ....oh, but I am so drawn to my now not-entirely-green corner that it's hard not to check for weeds, on moisture and all!

Picture..next week! There's just too many photos for me to put up in one blog post.

6 Johor : Chillaxing at Kota Tinggi Waterfall

Our trip to southern Johor was planned ages ago. Flight tickets were purchased the year before courtesy of Air Asia's cheap fare promotion. Three girls - shopping, eating, sight-seeing ..bliss.

We took a casual drive to Kota Tinggi Waterfall on one of the days. It was the weekend. The place was bustling with picnicking people. Young men were carrying tube floats up the slightly hilled road.

Kota Tinggi Waterfall

Tainted by cloudy water and suspicious cleanliness, it was clearly not one of the best waterfalls I have been to. Lack of maintenance, less than attractive surroundings along the river and a toilet that screamed 'enter at own risk!'. I can't help but feel that more could have been done to preserve, I believe, a once beautiful location.

Kota Tinggi Waterfall

 Anyway, we were only here to chill, chat and eat rambutans. This is our bag of Vitamin C.

Rambutans

We amused ourselves watching kids float down the water slide. There were waves of hello and picture posing. I felt inclined to snap a few photos for them. There was no stopping the warm feeling that washed over me.

Top end of the slide

Bottom end of the slide

An hour plus and many jokes later, we left for our next destination. Tata, Kota Tinggi Waterfall. The place may not have been perfect but the company was.

Goodbye

4 Penang : A Tour Of Fort Cornwallis

A walk back in time ~ that's how it felt like. Jen and I made our way to Fort Cornwallis from Queen's Street. It was a short ten minutes away. I've been here several times but never tire of each visit.

The Entrance to Fort Cornwallis

Fort Cornwallis was built in 1786 by Sir Francis Light. Today, it is a neatly kept tourist haunt for history buffs.

RM2 per entry

A quaint little chapel sits inside the grounds of the fort. I love the simplicity of the structure but wished it could have been refurbished for a fresher feel. 

Imagine wild flowers adorning the sides of the building. You walk into a brightly lit room decorated with paintings of olden day everyday activities to give you an idea what went on in the past. A pew here and there for tourists to sit and reflect, and little baskets of roses to air the room naturally with lovely scents. A little air-conditioning. How's that for imagination.

As one of the oldest buildings in Penang, it is highly unappreciated for its value.

The Neglected Chapel

These cubicles were originally barracks to soldiers in artillery before being converted into prison cells. Now, it is a history gallery.

Shelter For The Brave

The History of Fort Cornwallis

Another unique structure that stands in the fort is the gunpowder magazine, a bunker that I find fairly exciting to enter because it makes me feel like I'm about to discover long lost hidden treasure. It's a good spot for a photo snap, especially if you stand by the window while a friend takes a pic of you from the outside.

I believe this bunker has been decorated with replicas of olden day weaponry before. It is bare now. Aah..but I am just being a typical tourist.

Into Lower Ground

Nippon paint, anyone?

My favourite part of the fort are the cannons that is stationed along the wall, facing the sea. The scenic view lures me.

Below is a photo of the beautiful Seri Rambai cannon, a gift from the Dutch to the Sultan of Johor. There is something magical about this cannon. It is said that women who find it hard to conceive will be blessed with child if they place flowers on the barrel of the cannon. Others say you have to place it inside the cannon. How true? We'll have to ask those who actually did it.

Seri Rambai Cannon

Close-up Of A Carving On The Cannon