An Amazing Feat

Last Sunday, a fellow Malaysian achieved something extraordinary which has done the country proud, he is none other than our badminton men's singles player, Lee Chong Wei.

He became only the fifth Malaysian men's singles player to have ever won the prestigious All-England Badminton Championships - the oldest tournament in badminton. This is the 100th All-England and it has definitely made his victory even sweeter. Besides, he has also finally won his first major title after previous disappointments despite dominating the Super Series circuit. And he has certainly gone some way on improving that record. Although he did not meet any Chinese players in the tournament, he still had to work hard for victory in every match especially in the final when he had to fend off a strong challenge from Japan's rising star, Kenichi Tago, before prevailing for a hard fought 21-19, 21-19 win. It takes a lot of determination, hard work, dedication and sacrifice for one to achieve this much and Chong Wei has certainly gone through a lot to have achieved this. Besides winning the All-England, he has also won four Super Series tournaments on the trot (including the All-England), a feat never achieved before in badminton. I hope this triumph will spur Chong Wei to bag the other major titles such as the World Championships, Thomas Cup and the Asian Games this year. Well, enough said, I am sure he is one of the greatest badminton players ever in the world. Kudos to Chong Wei on his amazing feat. :)

My Trip To The US

Hey everyone, I returned on the 11th of December from the US. It was a marvelous trip and a whole new experience for me and my family. Before I tell you about my experience in the US, let me tell you something which happened before we went to the trip. Just one day before we were about to leave for the US, we had a major scare as my brother and I had food poisoning. My condition was the worser of the two of us because I vomited many times. We both had fever too. But luckily, thank God we were able to go for the trip. My mum also took care of us for the whole night before the trip. For first 3 days, we stayed in a beautiful and luxurious resort called the Pelican Hill Resort, located in the outskirts of Los Angeles. It stands on about 200 acres of land. We didn't really visit any places of interest during our stay there but we enjoyed staying in the resort, its facilities and the breath-taking scenery as it was located on a hill and not far from the Pacific Ocean.

After our short stay there, we went to Los Angeles and we stayed at the Anaheim Hilton Hotel on the fourth day. We also went to shop at a nearby factory outlet called The Block at Orange. The branded goods in the US are all very cheap compared to Malaysia because most of them are American brands. We also shopped on the fifth day of the trip. We went to the Cabazon Factory Outlets. It was a 2 hour bus ride there.

The sixth day was where most of the fun started. We first visited the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier in San Diego. This large carrier ship is no longer in use and it has been turned into an exhibit. We saw many types of aircrafts on the ship and we went on a guided tour to see the ship’s control room – the most important part of the ship.

My brother (L) and I (R)

On the same day, after visiting the USS Midway, we visited the renowned San Diego Sea World. We also watched the amazing Shamu, The Killer Whale Show. Furthermore, we managed to catch a glimpse of the penguins, polar bears, sharks and other sea creatures there.

From L to R : My brother, sister, father, mother and I.

The following two days was when I enjoyed myself the most. We went to Disneyland and the Universal Studios Hollywood. It was my dream to go to Disneyland since I was young and it has finally come true. Disneyland was very near to our hotel and we could just walk there. We didn’t manage to try everything because we only had one day there. Nonetheless, we still covered many parts of it and tried many thrilling and fun rides there such as the Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, the Pirates of the Caribbean rides and many more.



That is the statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse in the background.

The Disney Parade!

During our visit to the Universal Studios Hollywood, we first went on a guided tour to see how the movies were made. The simulations there were exceptionally incredible and it all seemed very real. For instance, there was the earthquake simulation. When our tram went into a tunnel, the whole place started shaking violently and then the roof collapsed. After that, an oil tanker and a car fell in. Next, a train passing by rammed into the fallen debris. Lastly, on the other side, water suddenly came rushing down as if was going to hit us but it didn’t. Besides, we also tried a few thrilling rides there such as the Jurassic Park and the Mummy rides. The experience we had during these two days was simply amazing.

This was in Hollywood.

Universal Studios!

This is a tour around Universal Studios to see how are movies made.

These are all the places they use to make movies.

And this is the entrance to the amazing Waterworld show.





The Jurassic Park ride. We plunged down 84 feet!

After staying in Los Angeles for a good eight days, my father rented a car to drive to Las Vegas. The trip to Las Vegas took about five hours. It was challenging for him to drive there as it was all left hand drive and fortunately he rented a GPS to guide him to our destination. In addition, when we were on our way to Las Vegas, it started snowing along a stretch of the highway. After reaching there, we stayed in the Tropicana Hotel, located on a famous street there called The Strip. The buildings there were mainly hotels and each hotel had a casino. Besides, it also had replicas of the Eiffel Tower and The Statue of Liberty. The temperature in Las Vegas was about 7 or 8 degree celsius in the afternoon and almost close to sub-zero temperatures at night. It was much colder than in Los Angeles – about 10 degree Celsius at night and about 17 degrees in the afternoon.

The replica of the Eiffel Tower!

MGM - the largest hotel in the world


The replica of the Statue of Liberty!

Las Vegas!

Our rented car!

The scenery during one of the evenings in Las Vegas.

On the second last day we were there, we went to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. We went to the West Rim which was nearer. On the way there, we stopped by at the Hoover Dam to take some pictures and enjoy the lovely scenery there. It took us two to three hours to finally reach the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. We were extremely fortunate to see snow there because it rained yesterday night. There was about 3 inches of snow and we had a lot of fun. Besides, it was freezing cold there – close to sub-zero temperatures even though it was in the afternoon and at night, the temperature was around -5 to -10 degree celsius. After that, we went to have lunch. We had Red Indian food and it was a scrumptious meal. Then, we went for the Skywalk. It was 4000 feet above the ground and the floor was all made of glass. The scenery there was just astounding. What an experience it was for us.

We stopped by at Hoover Dam before we went to the Grand Canyon.




A helicopter taking off on the Grand Canyon.

It's all snow there.

Making 'angels' in the snow. Haha!

The Grand Canyon! It's amazing isn't it?

This is my family!

The next day was time for us to head back to Malaysia. We packed our stuff and went around and explored Las Vegas before my father drove us back to Los Angeles where we went to the Los Angeles International Airport also known as LAX for our departure to Malaysia. It was a very memorable trip and it was the best vacation I have ever had.

The lovely scenery of the sunrise during my flight back to Malaysia.

That's all for now. There are still a lot of things to tell about my trip to the US but I don't have the time to say it all here. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it!

My New Year Resolutions

2009 has just come and gone in the blink of an eye. As the saw goes, ‘time and tide wait for no man’. Well, it’s now time to usher in the year 2010 and wish for better things to come. I am looking forward to this New Year albeit I am sitting the Lower Secondary School National Examination or locally referred to as PMR exam somewhere in October. There are a couple of things I would want or like to do this year and below are my New Year resolutions.

Firstly, this is a rather important year for me as I have to sit for this national exam. I hope to be more disciplined where my studies are concerned and do my revision consistently as early as possible to avoid burning the midnight oil at the very last minute or just before my exams. I also hope to have good time management and have a balanced lifestyle between my studies, exercise and leisure.

Furthermore, this year I will be taking part in an inter-church badminton competition next month. This will be a new experience for me and I hope I can gauge how good my game is. I hope to take part in at least one more competition this year and also to improve my overall game by working on some skills.

Moreover, I want to complete reading some books which I have bought but have not started reading as yet. Besides, I also want to serve more in my church and give more of my time to my church activities this year.

These are all my New Year resolutions and I hope to accomplish at least ninety percent of the things I have set out to achieve.


I will update my blog on my US trip in a few days time. Sorry for not posting it earlier because I have had connection problems for the past few weeks.

My Long-Awaited Trip To The US

Well, my family and I will be leaving for the United States on Sunday morning. I am really excited and I can hardly wait for it because this is the first time I will travel outside of South East Asia. I will be going there for a fortnight and I will be visiting four places - Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. I really hope that this will be a marvelous and fun-filled vacation for my family and I. :)

Why Should We Drive?

Driving is essential in our everyday life. We should all take up driving once we reach the age limit of 18 to drive and even if our parents are unable to buy us a car. Having a personal car can benefit us and do us a lot of good rather than be a disadvantage especially when we live in an urban area.

Firstly, taking public transport to wherever we want to go to is generally inconvenient and troublesome as the public transport system in Malaysia is not as efficient as that in developed countries such as the UK, Singapore and Japan. It takes a lot of time to get to other places depending on public transport such as trains and buses as the public transport system is invariably not punctual. We may also be late for important events and meetings because of this. Furthermore, if you want to go to many different places, relying on public transport would be much costlier than driving your own car.

Besides, during peak hours and festive seasons, the public buses and trains can be extremely packed and sometimes overcrowded. And when there are a lot of people, there may be pickpockets and thieves lurking around, waiting for their victims. Therefore, public transport is dangerous as it poses a threat to us commuters. Moreover, some drivers can be very rude. They could be smoking or consuming alcohol and some of them may even speed recklessly on the road. This too is certainly hazardous as it can contribute to fatal road accidents.

In addition, owning a car can very much ease the burden of our parents. We can help them to run errands and we can also take our siblings who still cannot drive, to school, tuition, etc. Furthermore, if there are any emergencies at home or other places, we can just drive to the nearest hospital or clinic. It will be a lot faster as we don’t need to depend on the ambulance or other modes of public transport.

What’s more, by owning a car, we can have more privacy. For instance, we can discuss family matters without anyone knowing and we can also listen to our preferred choice of music. In addition to that, we can upgrade our car according to our liking and maintain it to make it more comfortable and nicer. Lastly, I strongly believe we should all take up driving as it is very important.

What Patriotism Means To Me

Patriotism basically means love for and loyalty to one's country. I often hear many people telling me that they love their country but I don't really believe they actually do. Just look around outside and you'll find litter everywhere. Just look at the public facilities such as phone booths, bus stops, toilets and so on, many of them have been vandalised. These are just two of the many examples why I don't really believe people love their country when they say it.

Well, there are many ways to show love to our country. Showing patriotism is not merely flying or waving the national flag on National Day or singing the national anthem enthusiastically. Instead, we should keep our houses, schools and public places clean at all times. In short, we must not litter! Besides, we should also keep the environment clean by not contributing to pollution.

Furthermore, we can show love to our country by helping and caring for others who are less fortunate or are in need with our precious time, effort and money regardless of race and religion. We should all respect each other's race and religion and not discriminate and belittle others for I believe that we were all equally and wonderfully made by God.

Moreover, we should also learn more about other customs, religions, races and traditions so as to avoid any misunderstandings between different people especially when we, Malaysians, are living in a multi-ethnic and multiracial country. If we can forge a better understanding and have mutual respect between the different races and religions, many conflicts such as wars, genocides, disputes, massacres and so on could have been prevented in the past and can be prevented now and in the future.

All the above are my views on ways to love and show patriotism to our country. I believe that by following the actions above, we can have peace in our country and also the world. Lastly, I believe these are what patriotism is about.

The World Championships 2009

The annual Badminton World Championships 2009 started on Monday in Hyderabad, India. This world championships is promising to be very exciting with new drama and excitement unfolding as each day passes till the finals on Sunday in this week-long tournament as almost all of the top and best players will be taking part in this major event in badminton. And this time Malaysia has high hopes on their players to finally win a first world championship title as Malaysia has yet to produce a world champion since the tournament's inception in 1977. Malaysia's best bets for a world title are Lee Chong Wei, the top seed in the men's singles, Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong, the second seeds in the men's doubles and Wong Pei Tty and Chin Eei Hui, also the top seeds in the women's doubles.

Today is the 2nd round and well, I just hope the Malaysian players will do well and live up to expectations of winning a world title or even a silver or bronze medal. You can catch all the excitement on Astro channel 816 every day and you can also log on to www.tournamentsoftware.com to check on the latest results. That's all for now. I will try to update my blog later in the week on the World Championships.

A Horrifying Experience

Up until now, I can still clearly reminisce this incident that happened many years back. One morning, about 7 years ago, my mother brought my brother and me to the 1 Utama Shopping Complex to buy a birthday gift for me for my upcoming birthday.

When we got there, we parked our car in the car park, which was at that time rather empty and there were not many people around. Then, we alighted from our car and walked to the entrance nearest to us.

As we were walking into the entrance, suddenly a man ran from behind and snatched my mother’s handbag. He was patiently waiting behind a pillar to pounce on any easy prey that walked by. After that, he quickly ran to a blue Proton Wira that was waiting for him nearby. I can still recall that there were about three accomplices waiting for him in the car.

My mother shouted at them while they quickly sped off in their car. We were extremely shocked at what had happened to us which we totally did not expect at all. Luckily, my mother did not fall down or was not hurt in the incident as she was carrying her handbag in one of her hands. The car keys too was not taken as it was not in the handbag.

We then hurriedly got to our car and drove out of the car park. At the entrance of the car park, we told the guards there what happened and we went home. Once we reached home, my mother called my father to tell him about this incident and they went together to the police station nearby to lodge a report but there was nothing the police could do.

Approximately 200 ringgit was stolen along with some credit cards and my mother’s driving license. In spite of the valuables stolen, we could still consider ourselves lucky as none of us were hurt in this horrifying yet unexpected incident.

A Tribute To My Parents!

Dear Mum and Dad,

I am writing this for you in conjunction with Mother’s Day on the 10th of May and Father’s Day on the 21st of June. In this essay, I want to show my appreciation and gratitude for all the things you do for me, your child.

Firstly, both of you have worked so hard for the family. You have put in a lot of effort and sacrifice in the Amway business so that you could have the freedom you have longed for to spend the time with the rest of the family. I am also thankful to both of you for building this wonderful business so that our future next time will be bright.

Dad, you are the breadwinner of this family along with Mum who also plays an important role to support this family. You have always worked tirelessly in your job as a civil engineer and also in the Amway business with Mum to provide the family with all the needs.

Mum, when I am weak in a subject, you always spend money to try to find the best tutor available. For example: Mrs J’s wonderful tuition class. Besides, you have always helped me with my homework, tasks or assignments which I have problems with. You are also a very patient mother who constantly listens to my problems and thoughts and gives me solutions and answers to the problems.

Dad, you always tell me stories and events of the past in the family and also in the world. I like the way you tell stories or give talks with so much excitement and enthusiasm. You have given me a lot of information on many things which I do not know and you and Mum are my source of inspiration to become a successful person in life.

Mum, you would also always chide me or reprimand me whenever I do something wrong or something which you don’t like. And not only that, you and dad have constantly taught me to do the right thing and also to have the right attitudes. If not for that, I will become a spoiled child.

Dad, in spite of being so busy in your work, you still find time to bring the family on outings and trips to domestic or foreign places during the school or public vacations. I thank you dad for always giving the best you can provide to the family. You and mum are also very loving, encouraging, supportive and caring parents.

Mum and Dad, thank you for all the things you have done for me. You are the best parents in the world. I love you very much, Mum and Dad. Dedicated to my father, Soon Lip and mother, Li May.

Originally written on the 21st May 2009.

Man Utd Crowned Champions Again!

Wohoo!! Manchester United clinched the English Premier League crown for the 3rd consecutive time after holding Arsenal to a 0-0 draw yesterday. This draw gave Man Utd an unassailable lead over closest rival, Liverpool. Besides, with this title, Man Utd have now equalled Liverpool's record of 18 league title. Furthermore, Man Utd will be gunning for a quadruple of titles when they take on Barcelona in the Champions League final on the 27th of May in Rome, Italy's Stadio Olimpico after bagging the Club World Cup, the League Cup and now the EPL. And finally I also hope Man Utd will win the Champions League!

The Champions of the EPL 2008/2009 - Manchester United