Cameron Highlands Trip - Part II

They second day on Cameron Highlands started with an extended stay in the hotel toilet as I attempted to purge my stomach.

The first stop was at the same Jungle trekking site from the previous day, known as Parit Falls. For reason that I could not fathom, Phoebe was determined to venture deeper into the jungle, hoping to find the highest spot on the mountain that was said to overlook the whole of the Highlands. Of course, we turned back when the trail became dark, which was a perfect excuse because my stomach started acting up again. After leaving the site, we ventured into Brinchang and "accidentally" arrived at the "Big Strawberry Farm" (Yes, thats the actual name)

Despite what the name says, the place also feature a hydroponic farm.

You can actually go in and pluck the strawberries yourself, but it will cost you more than twice the price of the pre-packed strawberries which were just as freshly plucked on the same day.

More random flower shots.

Tomatoes (top) and Grapes (bottom)


Cacti. This place almost have everything except, sadly, durian.

We returned briefly to the hotel to stash the Strawberries we bought in the hotel fridge, and went down to Tanah Rata Town to have Chichen rice.

We went further up towards Tringkap and visited the Boh Tea Plantation. The road there was even more winding and narrow, with a hill on one side and a tea plant-filled slope on the other. Most of the time the road was just wide enough for one vehicle, yet it is a two way road. Unfortunately, after negotiating the treacherous trip to the entrance of the plantation, we were denied entry, so we had to go back where we came from and snapped pictures on the way. Nonetheless the view was pretty breathtaking, with tea plants spanning several mountains; You have to see it for yourself because photographs alone don't do it justice.

We also stopped by a fruit market and where the Malay fruit vendors speak cantonese, mandarin, Malay and English with equal fluency.

We called it a day and returned to the hotel, spending dinner time in the room eating cup noodles and peanuts.

The next day, we started our journey back early and visited the Sam Poh Temple which we thought went out their way NOT to be found. After a brief stopover which almost led me into a monk's room when I was looking for the washroom, we bid Cameron Highlands goodbye and swore that I shall never drive here again.

Cameron Highlands Trip - Part I

Last Sunday Phoebe and I embarked on a long overdue vacation trip to Cameron Highlands. It was to be a 3 days 2 nights trip and we picked Cameron Highlands because Phoebe has never been there and I have been wanting to enjoy a hot steamboat meal there in the cold climate.

My dad was raised in Cameron Highlands, but when I did visit the place when I was a child, I spent most of the time around my Grandpa's place in Tringkap, which was nice and all but in retrospect it was probably boring as hell , I just didn't know it then.

Anyway, we started our trip from KL, drove all the way to Simpang Pulai, had a quick breakfast and continued our grueling trip up the mountainous roads to our hotel in Tanah Rata via Kampung Raja.

We passed by Tringkap, so I though I'd visit my Grandpa's house, which has been vacant since both my grandparents passed away.


Random flower shots on the way from Tringkap.



We arrived at the hotel around 11am, but we could only check in at 2pm. To pass the time, we travelled by foot through a broken trail from the hotel to a jungle trekking site. We didn't go in far, but just deep enough to get a shot of a small waterfall.


Another random shot along the trail.

After that we took our lunch in Tanah Rata town and returned to the hotel to check in.

We stayed at Century Pines hotel. The building looks like a cheap flat from the outside but the interior was a different story.


The room we stayed in was pretty spacious, almost too big for a two person room.

View from the balcony.


Of course, I won't be a CG geek without sampling some textures whenever I can.

Unfortunately, I spent the better half of the day bedridden with stomachache. I'm not sure whether it was the food I ate or simply because my body couldn't get used to the climate. Nonetheless I was adamant that we have steamboat for dinner, so after a couple of quick fixes (courtesy of ENO), we finally managed to achieve one of the main goals of coming here.

The steamboat was nothing special. But enjoying a steaming hot bowl of food in the chilly climate was really something.

After the meal we returned to the hotel and I concluded the day with another round of staomachache throughout the night.

More pictures in the next post.

OPTIMUS!!

I bought this Optimus Prime toy look-alike-piece-of-plastic from Petronas, which costs a whopping RM 15.90 on top of a supposedly pre-requisite minimum gas purchase of RM 30.

Optimus Prime robot mode


Optimus Prime truck mode

Apart from the usual robot and vehicle mode, I discovered a few more intermediate modes.

Optimus Prime wheelchair mode


Optimus Prime wheelchair mode in a tunnel


Optimus Prime crossover mode in another film about sentient vehicles.

Vendor - Client relationship

This is too good to pass over. If you are running your own business or freelancing, you'd be throwing both your fist in the air and saying "SO F*cking TRUE~!"

10 things I learnt from Transfomers 2 (Spoiler Warning)

If I am a film critic, I will only need three words to describe every Michael Bay movie:

It was awesome

Before you label me a Bay fanboy, let me be clear that this three words does not describe the quality of his films. It is like a scientific term, like how humans are called Homo Sapiens and salt is called Sodium Chloride. A Bay film? It was awesome.

It was awesome because they are loud, they have MANY explosions (in slow motion, no less), they have girls in sex-ed out outfits, they feature top of the line US military hardware and they are all brainless fun.

They are all awesome because Michael Bay decreed it to be awesome.

Anyway, If you look close enough, you may observe some snippets of wisdom underneath all those mindless awesomeness in Transformers 2 :

1. Two years is enough for anyone to forget everything. For example, a giant robot free-for-all in a populated city.


2. In China, you can cover up any secrets with a "gas leak". Including A huge rampaging robot tearing down the streets in public.


3. If a hot, scantily clad girl is inexplicably attracted to a nerd and smells like diesel, she's a decepticon.


4. Old alien robots must ALWAYS speak cryptically even when they can give clear directions. Clues like "tip of the dagger" and "the three kings" are common replacements for "Petra, Jordan".


5. The US military can deploy tanks, marines, jet fighters and helicopters in a middle east country at a moment's notice, while the local military can only send two helicopters (and be shot down as soon as they arrive)


6. True warriors must always sacrifice themselves to hide the key to a world-destroying weapon, instead of destroying the weapon itself.


7. When you plan to kill a kid, always kidnap his parents and bring him to the site where you plan to kill him, for no apparent reason.


8. If you claim to be an agent for a non-descript government agency, even Navy admirals will listen to you.


9. Small decepticons make great pets.


10. Giant alien robots have balls. literally.

So there. Don't forget to catch this awesome 2.5 hour US army recruitment video in the cinemas now!

Demolition Mecha

Just finished modeling yesterday, textured and rigged today. Can't reveal what it is for just yet, hopefully soon it can be seen somewhere else other than this blog. For now, just enjoy the watermarked render below.

Indie game dev - After shock by Liquid Rock Games

Liquid Rock Games, a Malaysian indie game developer consists of only one programmer and one artist with zero funding, nonetheless their work definitely rivals that of many professional development teams and studios with a AAA budget.

Check out their first upcoming game titled Aftershock.

Coming soon

'nuff said

More cinematic trailers

More cinematics for this year's E3.

Assassin's Creed 2



Halo: Reach

Star Wars - The Old Republic Cinematic

Another outstanding piece of work by Blur for Star Wars - The Old Republic, to be shown at E3 this year.



I can't quite put my finger on it, maybe it's the character designs or the lighting, but there seems to a distinct quality to Blur's works that makes it scream "Blluuurrr!". In a good way, of course.