Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Travel 12 countries with 0 bag

I came across this blog today, well - it's kinda old story and i'm kinda outdated but i'm glad i found this news. It is simply Awesome~!

can you imagine travelling to somewhere without any bag? I can't even come to work without my bag, where i have my "rubbish" in. From nail clipper to theory handbook. Rolf Potts actually did it! here's a link to the official site of this event: No Baggage Challenge

I simply cut and paste these stuffs he mentioned on his site in case i might need it on my next travel~



1. Manage the journey from your mobile phone.
A smartphone could well be the most important tool for a baggage-less traveler. It can store your boarding passes and other important documents, make phone calls from virtually anywhere in the world (with a swappable SIM card) and even act as a miniature blogging tool.
I recommend an iPhone with a foldable Bluetooth keyboard, which allows you to fit your mobile office inside a single jacket pocket. The iPhone can be loaded with a series of applications to replace everyday day items carried on a normal trip. The Kindle app lets you leave behind bulky books, and Genius Scan lets you use you iPhone’s camera as a makeshift scanner so you can quickly save receipts and email them to yourself on the fly. Wikihood utilizes the phone’s GPS to serve location-relevant Wikipedia articles, which is a unique and interesting alternative to a guidebook. Throw in your favorite currency converter, phrase book, and flight tracker, and you’ve got a single device in your pocket more powerful than its dead-weight paper counterparts.
Some recommedations:TripTracker by PageOnceLonely Planet series of phrase books (multiple links depending on language)

2. Keep your footwear simple and practical.
With no bags, the only shoes you’re going to want to bring is whatever you’re wearing from day to day. I’m traveling with a pair of Blundstone boots I bought in Australia in 2006. I’ve worn these boots all over the world the past four years, from Paris to Ethiopia to the Falkland Islands, and they’ve served me great. They work for hiking in remote environments, yet they’re easy to slip off and on at airport security.
Some travelers might prefer Chaco or Teva sandals (if nothing else to save packing socks) — and I won’t fault them for that — but my Blundstones look nice enough that they will get me into places where sandals might seem too informal. You are on your feet constantly when you travel, of course, so whichever footwear you choose to bring (be it sandals or boots or running shoes), make sure you aim for comfort, simplicity, and durability.
(Note from Tim: I opt for darker-colored Keen Newport Bison Leather Sandals. If you use black or dark socks, since they have closed toes, you can easily get into restaurants or even pass for business casual if you tuck the tightening strings in.)

3. Buy or borrow certain items as you go.
An old vagabonding adage goes, “Pack twice the money and half the gear.”
The same notion applies to no-luggage travel — even if you’re only packing a tenth of the gear. If a journey takes you to a beautiful beach region, odds are you can buy rubber flip-flop sandals there for a few dollars. If a given city is rainy, cheap umbrellas should be in plentiful supply — and if you get sick, the world is full of pharmacies (many of which are better-suited to cure local ailments that whatever medicine you might have packed).
Should you travel your way into cold weather, thrift stores are a good place to buy a warm jacket (which can be given way to a needy person or left in a hostel swap-box when you leave). You can also borrow things from other travelers along the way. You don’t want to be obnoxious about this, of course, but most travelers don’t mind sharing a spot of toothpaste or a couple of aspirin, and asking for these kinds of things can be a great way to strike up a conversation at the hostel or on the hiking trail.

4. Be disciplined and strategic with what you choose to bring along.Packing light can be enough of a challenge when you have a small backpack, let alone when you have to keep all your gear in your pockets. This in mind, don’t bring anything you’re not going to use every day.
Nail clippers can be borrowed along the way; rain ponchos can be purchased on rainy days. I left my razor out of the equation (it was better to let my beard grow and then get a hard razor shave in Morocco), and before the trip I cut my hair so short I won’t ever need shampoo. Any big-box retailer should have bins of tiny deodorants and collapsible toothbrushes to keep your toiletries micro-sized. Camping stores will sell 3-ounce snap-top storage bottles that work well for toting concentrated laundry detergent or multipurpose liquid soap. Err on the side of minimalism; you can buy or borrow items along the way.


5. Wear travel gear with strategically located pockets.If you travel without any bags, this means whatever gear you bring will have to fit in your pockets. My journey is co-sponsored by ScotteVest, an Idaho-based sportswear company that specializes in travel clothing with multiple pockets.
Most of my gear fits into the ScotteVest Tropical Jacket, which has 18 pockets of differing sizes. A majority of these pockets are accessed from the inside, which (a) is a nice deterrent against pickpockets, and (b) saves me the “dork factor” of looking like I’m traveling the world dressed like a confused trout fisherman. I can carry a majority of my gear in this jacket without looking ridiculous — plus the sleeves zip off, so I usually wear it as a vest. I’m also wearing a pair of Ultimate Cargo Pants from ScotteVest, though I’ve packed light enough that I rarely have to use the large cargo pockets. ScotteVest isn’t the only company that makes travel gear with utility pockets, of course; your local camping outfitter or travel-specialty store should provide you multiple gear options, and you can choose the clothing that best fits your needs.


6. Use a minimal rotation of clothing.
Essentially, you’ll want to travel with little more than the clothes on your back — but you will want to bring a few spare clothing items to keep things fresh and ensure you won’t get too stinky. Given that I wear cargo pants, a travel vest, socks, underwear, and a short-sleeved t-shirt under a long-sleeved shirt on a typical day of my trip, I keep one spare t-shirt, two extra pairs of socks, and two extra pairs of underwear in my pockets.
Each night I wash the day’s socks, underwear and t-shirt in the hotel/hostel sink, and these items are dry enough to pack by morning. I’ve been washing the cargo pants about once a week (and I have yet to wash the travel vest). Some people take short no-luggage trips with even fewer clothes, but my arrangement isn’t bulky and ensures that I always have a rotation of fresh socks, underwear and t-shirts.
(Note from Tim: Here what I pack for an uber-light trip, in this example less than 10 pounds total. ExOfficio underwear are a lifesaver.)


7. Utilize the postal system for souvenirs and extra gear

With airlines baggage fees quickly spiraling upward, many travelers these days are saving money and hassle by mailing certain items to one or more destinations along their itinerary.
If, say, you’re traveling from warm climates into cold climates, you can mail your warm clothing to the first cool destination (just make a pre-arrangement with the hotel you’ll be staying at in that location). On that same token, traveling without luggage doesn’t mean you have to forgo buying souvenirs — if just means you won’t be able to carry them. To solve this problem, just hit the local post office and mail that Balinese mask or Latvian amber or Syrian silk home.
This is actually a strategy that can be employed when you’re traveling with luggage: The souvenirs you find along the way might be nice, but there’s no sense in dragging them along with you. It’s worth the expense to ship them.


Remember: Travel is about the experience, not what you bring with you.

In the end, that remember that going without luggage and packing ultra-light need not be an extreme act. It isn’t a contest, or a rite of travel-superiority: It’s just a great way to eliminate distractions and concentrate on the experience of the journey itself.
Freed of baggage, there’s little to forget or lose on the road. You don’t have to stow anything, guard anything, or wait for anything (aside from the occasional train or bus): You can just throw yourself into the adventure and make the most of your travels.

Reader's Digest Freebies

It might be too late, but better be late than never!


Reader's Digest Jan 2011 edition is giving out 2011 diary + address book for free!!

During the 1st week of Jan 2011, I went shopping at Popular and saw the reader's digest. tempted to buy but it's tagged at RM15. Just before i was to leave, my husband saw there's free gift with the book. It also happen that I am shopping for a 2011 diary as well. What a coincident~ Without hesitation, hubby took the book and paid at the cashier. So this is how the calender look like, not bad for a start in 2011...





New cleanser set

I've received my new cleanser set from my colleague today! This also mark the first product i bought from Amway. To be honest, I never like direct sales and think it's not a proper way to generate income but I can't deprive its product. Hence, I am giving Artistry cleanser a try. Hope that the Artistry Essentials Hydrating System will not kill my final dime of faith in Direct Sales. This set's retail price is RM 288, my colleague gave me another 10% discount. :) Here are pictures of my new cleanser set - pray that it'll work our for my skin coz the previous product i used, Origins (brightening) does not suit my skin, causing irritations and redness...



Monday, January 24, 2011

Mari Kita Membaca Campaign

Recently, been kinda confused. Of what I really love doing and how to live in reality. Been surfing the net, doin bits of work, practising a lot. Happen to look into my bookmarks and found the education malaysia blog. Their recent post is about this campaign - Mari Kita Membaca. This campaign basically raise funds to send books to orang asli village. Here's a short introduction about this campaign from the blog :


We started just a few months ago and in a nutshell, we fundraise to send
books to orang asli villages which already have community learning centers. We
screen and select villages that we think will benefit the most out of getting
the books and after consultation with local teachers, we help them buy the books
that would assist them in their curriculum. It's not a very big operation, but
we do what we can. We have a pretty quick turnover of our cash, and 100% of it
goes towards buying the books and any delivery expenses.

So, I've posted bout World Vision on adopting a child, this time around i would love to share this meningful cause to readers out there. For more info, visit their site here.

Come to think of it, I yearn to be volunteers - though I will not get a luxurious life but at least my life will be a purposeful one. Worth pondering~

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

2 Consecutive Rejections in 2 years

I've graduated in 2009, since then, I've received 2 rejections from 2 of my applications. 1st was in 2010, when i applied for CEMACUBE scholarship - to be honest, until now i do not know the reason i was rejected. 2nd was last Monday by the Ministry of Education. That too, I do not know the reason for rejection.

What does it imply? What is it that God wants me to do? If God has His plan laid out, does it mean that I'm no longer fitted to be in the Education industry. Or He has his other plans for me... Whatever it is, one thing for sure - my confidence level has dropped since then.

Is my husband aware of it? Is he being supportive enough? I guess he does, but he don't really understand why I simply can't be who I am now. Why am I yearning for more. Actually, me neither...

Monday, January 17, 2011

KPLI - Result Released

Finally... the days of waiting are over.

Somehow, it's still not really officially over - we're still left with few hours, presuming those ppl at KPM (Ministry of Education) are going to upload the list by 5pm.

They announced on their site that the result will be released on the 17th January 2011 but no specific time were given. According to forumers from cari, KPM normally uploads the result by 9am or 12pm. But until now, 3.40pm - there's still no news.

I'm getting freaked out. The process of waiting is indeed distress, gruesome, excited, stomach twisting - I'm not sure if there's such word. Nevertheless, i've read on "The monk who sold his Ferrari" that we should enjoy the process, regardless what it takes us to. "Happiness is a journey, not a destination" Isn't that book inspirational?

Why can't they just get the freaking list published~~!!! :P

Finally... it's out - for real. The link is here: http://kpli.moe.gov.my/twr11/index.cfm . Unfortunately, I didn't get it. They rejected my application. Yet another rejection. I've been rejected twice since I've graduated. When will I be able to get what I want - or I do not want enough?

Somehow - I'm grateful that I've been saved from the misery of waiting for something. Made me feel like vomitting. In a way, it's good too. It means I'm able to get pregnant and have Dragon baby next year!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

We're all living in a helpless world

When was the last time you met with an unfortunate event?


My worst experience was this morning. Yesterday evening I received a call from my mum saying that someone has broke into her house while she was not at home. It seems the thieves took all valuable they could find. PC, LCD monitor, jewelery, coins, cash, camcorder, golf bag, shoes, and pots of bonsai! We've calculated, and there weren't much losses. Approximately RM4000.00. The unfortunate part is that we did not realise there's one more very important thing missing during that break in.


The next morning as i woke up, got ready for work - I realise my phone had miss call from my aunt. I called back. Guess what. My mum's car is missing - from her house with the autogate wide open. GOSH. The important thing that was missing and we didn't realise was her car's spare key.


Apparently, the thieves took her spare key and autogate's key. They came back to her house while they were asleep and drove the car away. Mum did not hear her car engine start - most probably they pushed it out and started engine when the car is out from the house's compound.


Immediately my mum went to lodge a police report. Actually, right after her house was broken into, she has called the police and asked if they could come over to have a look. They replied that they will not come to the crime scene unless someone made a police report at the police station. So, my mum was asked to make a trip to the station before they could do anything. My mum was reluctant to go because she was traumatised and didn't want to leave home. I too agreed with her decision as there was nothing much the police could do and my mum needed time to be at home.


After the car was stolen, she went to lodge a report. She told the police what happened, but turned out the report was not written the way it was spoken but my mum didn't bother correcting them because she was simply too sad and shocked. 3 hours later, an officer came to her house. took pictures - when the stuffs has been arranged back to the way it was. Officer blamed my mum for not making a police report earlier.


Then, here I am today, after bringing my mum to my aunt's house to borrow a car. I feel so helpless. What can we do when things are stolen? rely on police to retrieve them back? it took them 3 hours to come to the crime scene. Not to mention they didn't write the report as it was told. One inspector even asked my mum to drop by the Central police station to lodge another report. When my mum asked him why can't she do it today, he replied - he has another case elsewhere. So he can only deal with this case tomorrow.


By tomorrow, everything will be history. Nothing can be retrieved. Hopeless. All this while, we have been a law abiding citizen. We lived by rules, made a proper living. What do we get? Injustice, unfair, and distress. Then why on earth are we still living here? What's the point of living your life anymore when in the end, you will still end up being helpless.

Monday, January 3, 2011

ROM - 1.1.11

Registry of Marriage? Yes... unbelievable but true - I got engaged on the 1st January 2011, 11am~!

Pics to share:

Contract of Marriage
Our pledge for eternal love

My dad, his mum and the registrar officer

Cytron'ians
MMU'ians

Alvin + Ah Bao
Thanks to those who came for my ROM, we really appreciate your effort and your wishes. We loved those gifts we received. But most of all, we loved your company. without all of you, our ROM will not be as memorable as it is now. Hope all of you had a wonderful time too! Love ya all~~
PS: Thanks Eriko + Nicole for being such good make up artist + photographer!