Reality In Your Face
You know how reality shows are such a hit these days. Every other TV station is coming up more and more new concepts/ideas for new reality tv shows to garner more viewership. Be it another singing competition (OMG so many these days, I can't tell which is which anymore!), or a show to find your true love, or something else. Now there's one to find the ultimate prom king and queen too!

Will reality shows cease to exist? Not for a long time it won't, as the demand is there right now, harhar! I'm not an avid fan of such concepts, mainly because I hardly watch TV at home. And even if I do watch the idiot box, it's for CSI :P (Mondays and Wednesdays only). Ok, I watch anime at home as well, ahaks!

Another reason why I'm not a follower is because I don't have much faith in such concepts. When people are on screen, I don't think you'll really see the real person behind it all. You know how people will put on a facade, a different character, a different hat. Because you're on screen, you would ultimately want to potray your best (i.e: smooth talker, suave, sweet and delicate etc). So I find it kinda hard, even to the extent a little silly, to judge a person solely on a reality series.

Last weekend I caught the 1st episode of another reality TV series just for kicks. Another reason was because hubby's colleague is taking part in it, and I wanted to see how his character is. You know lah, find love on TV that crap. A bunch of guys with a few hot babes, have to get to know each other bla bla bla. Battle of the machos, win the hearts of the ladies and hopefully, find your soul mate that kind. The first thing I said when I saw hubby's colleague was...

"Sure or not he's a tri-athlete?!?! So chubby geh?!?!?!" (the fella claims he's a tri-athlete)

"Well, he is quite active in sports..."

"Being active in sports doesn't make you a tri-athlete lor." *nods nods* (heck, I know a tri-athlete and he's definitely not chubby!)

Anyway, sometimes it's also fun to watch such programmes, just for kicks. You can see how the participants react, how bitchy they can get, and how stupid/blur some of them are. Seriously, some are really sotongs ROTFL. Some you can see they're putting on an act (fake accent, I'm-so-cool character). Some are just being themselves, honest maybe.

But I still stand in my point that reality shows are crap, yet people still watch them. Most of the time it's a marketing gimmick to lure you to spend more money on SMS-ing. Plus you really can't judge a person just by watching them on TV for 8 weeks (or whatever duration the programme runs for). Singing competitions are a little different because your talent is in question. Although in the end, people would still SMS just to help their friends win, however sucky they may be in singing.

Would you take part in a reality programme? And what would lure you to try it?

UPDATE: The tri-athlete I was talking about? He's actually lying about his "Australian-Malaysian" kacukan. Tsk~ If a man can lie about his heritage (so ashamed to call yourself Malaysia kan? Why must you tell people you're Australian-Malaysian kacukan?!) and lie on-screen, imagine what other lies he can tell off-screen. If any of you know the 5 girls in the programme, do let them in on this piece of news. A man that lies merely to impress girls and create a fake character is not an honest man ;) Yes, I sing bad about you, you blow ah?!

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The Jogoya Experience
Last Sunday, hubby and I had late lunch at Jogoya with a group of friends. It was out first time there, hehe! We're always heard people talked about Jogoya and the wide food spread, but never really thought of patronising the place due to the steep pricing. Plus I'm not really much of a buffet person, ahaks!

My parents had given us 2 Jogoya vouchers worth RM68 each, plus the VIP card. Since it's a free meal, might as well sapu lah, right? We called some friends who were also keen to pig out and off we went.

I made reservations for 2pm (late lunch is RM68++). We decided to head down to KL a little earlier and kill some time in Pavilion, Bkt Bintang. We hung out in J&Co Donuts for a while (massive crowd there, and it's not even noon yet!). I don't know why people are queuing up for donuts, it's just donuts lor :P Maybe I've never really been much of a snacker so am not so "gian" about food stuff like donuts.

We walked towards Starhill and waited outside Jogoya. One of my friend was quite impatient, he's just waiting to go in and really stuff his face, HAHA! Come 2pm, the next batch of hungry souls were allowed into the restaurant. I had requested for a private table, and it's next to the dessert spread. With one clip in hand and the VIP vouchers, I recce-ed the entire restaurant to see what's good to eat.

Loads of food, seriously loads of food for you to choose from. Fresh oysters (oh wow!), baked oysters (oh wow!), raw salmon (oh wow!), roast beef, roast lamb, teriyaki etc. So much to choose from! Plus with the VIP card, we got to eat the more expensive stuff like Baked King Crab Claw. Wah Wah! We just ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate...!

Come 4.20pm (late lunch is from 2pm to 4.20pm, and the staff would be chasing you out), we were soooOOOOoooo stuffed, it felt like we could throw up if there was any sudden movement XD I just HAD to stand up and WALK! Sitting down just made us all feel like walruses, hahahahahaha! So all 8 of us walked towards Low Yat Plaza to check out some tech gadgets. It was in Low Yat a few of us were treated to some toxic gas, courtesy of my hubby ROTFL. He says it's all the oysters+wasabi+salmon+everything else.

We also walked into Lot 10 for a while. I think we all felt a lot better after all the walking, haha! We left KL about 8.30pm, our tummies still very full from the sumptuous buffet. We didn't have dinner that night... RM68++ covered 2 meals for the day :P

It's gonna be a few months before we go for another buffet...!

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Silent Killer
Somewhere in KL recently...

Hubby, Oli, Tiny, Ellie scouting for some computer parts, asking for quotations etc...

Salesguy: "So sir, what you have in mind ah?"

Tiny: "I want bla bla bla bla..."

Ellie and Oli busy scouting around. Suddenly Oli smells something sibeh toxic...

Oli: *sniff sniff*... *blink blink*... *looks at hubby*...

Hubby: *blink blink*... "It's me..."

Oli: "Oh fark!"... *turns to Tiny and Ellie*... *gives eye contact to get the hell out of here*...!

Tiny: *sees Oli's face turning*... *sniff sniff*.... "MACHIBAI!" *turns to sales guy* "I'll be back in 5 minutes!" *runs helter skelter with Ellie* *pant pant wheeze~~~* *curse curse*

Oli: *smacks hubby* "You're terrible! Terrible terrible!" *laff laff*

Hubby: *hahahahahahaha* "It just came whaaaatttt~~~~"

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Dieting
It's quite amusing to hear stories about people, men and women alike, about their dieting tales. Some diet of health reasons. Some diet because they want to be like them super models. Some diet because their peers are dieting, hence they don't wanna lose out... etc.

I think some of the more common tales I've come across is... dieting in time for the wedding!

I know a lot of people diet for their wedding. Everyone wants to look good for their big day, kan? I've sure many of you would've come across friends or relatives alike who're going through some dieting programme (or have already been through the process prior to their wedding). Maybe from a once chubby person, that same person has slimmed down a fair bit to fit into their suits/gowns and look pretty for the camera :D

My question here is this: When a person diets for their wedding, what's the percentage of them dieting healthily? Do they starve themselves in order to lose weight? Or do they pick a healthy diet programme and stick with it, even until after the big day? I've come across many who merely diet for their big day. After that, apa-apa saje oso hentam XD Their main purpose of dieting was for the wedding, that's all. After that, takpe lah. Sudah kahwin kan?

I know people that literally starve themselves in order to lose weight. Aiyo, need meh? Got so many ways to lose weight, and lose it healthily (without any side effects you know... migraine ke, apa-apa...). For some which I've come across, exercise was one of their options (good for you!). But for many, starving, or having maybe one meal a day. And for the many that starve, exercise is not an option (too lazy, starving seems like a faster way to lose weight).

Wah! I can die! No food wor!!! O.O

Actually leh, when I think of dieting, I don't see it as "not eating". I think I see it as having balanced meals with all the necessary minerals and nutrients which the body requires to function. And not forgetting to exercise as well. Once a while, indulge in some rich food like chocolate, cheese... you know. Don't take me for a dietitian, this is merely my thoughts. You think I'm preaching, well screw you. HAH!

I guess this blog post came about because I was chatting with a friend and he is currently dieting in time for his wedding next year (one meal a day, vegetarian). He lost 2 inches from his waistline and wants to lose another 2. Another friend is also dieting, practically starving himself (to such extreme). A few weeks back I attended a wedding, and the bride lost quite a fair bit of weight too (I remember her being on the chubby side). Hence this blog post.

People would choose to diet for something grand in their life (or if their life was at stake i.e; health reason). As for after the wedding, well, that's another story altogether :) Your thoughts...

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New Combo!

This is a new SM combo... ICE + HAIR DRYER!!!!!!!!

That little bump is actually a nipple XP

I can't tell you who drew that cos she already wants to kill for posting this in my blog, WAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKA!!!!

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Sales Pitch #2
Girl: Hello Mr & Mrs Tan. My name is BlaBla and let me explain to you our concept here.... *proceeds to tell us about their tie-up, the group they're under etc etc*... bla bla bla yada yada yada... You're under no obligations to buy, just listen only.... bla bla bla yada yada yada...

Hubby & Oli: *listens to sales pitch*

My mind started zoning out after the first 5 minutes oredi, heh!

Girl: So you see hor. we have so many hotels under us which you can choose. And so many affiliates oso. And you don't have to pay a single cent. You just join us as a member and you can get all these FOC... bla bla bla yada yada yada... And this offer is very exclusive, only X number of people can join, and you must give your answer today...bla bla bla yada yada yada... And we'll also give you 100% of all the money you spent... bla bla bla yada yada yada... As members, you will enjoy all these benefits like... bla bla bla yada yada yada...

30 minutes of sale talk later... And she still hasn't told us the membership joining fee yet...

Girl: So Mr & Mrs Tan. What do you think of this concept? Would you say yes?

Hubby: ... To be honest with you, my answer is no...

Girl: But why?!? What is the problem here?!

Hubby proceeds to explain why he wasn't sold...

Girl: But why?!? What is the limitation you see?!

Hubby proceeds to explain again why he wasn't sold...

Hubby and Oli: Also, I think the consumers should be given a chance to think about their decisions right? Instead of giving you straight answer today... Plus you won't even tell us the membership price...

After another 10 minutes of sales talk... Girl calls her manager to answer some of our questions...

Lansi man: You see right? Other travel agents give you this price for a tour to Europe, RM 6XXX. We can give you this price, RM 3XXX.

Hubby: Why so cheap?

Lansi man: Ahhhh, the membership price will determine why we can give this price for the tour. Not everyone can afford the membership you know. So you get it now?

Hubby nods... Lansi man walks off...

Another 5 minutes of sales talk...

Girl: ...Oooo-kaaayyy... But let me ask you Mr Tan. What is your opinion on this concept?

Hubby: I told you oredi... *proceeds to explain again why he wasn't sold...*

Girl: But why?!? What is the problem here?! You see you can go for all the holidays just by using your points! We have so many hotels for you to choose from. We can tailor-made your travel tours oso!

Oli, getting frus and hungry: Ok, this is the last time I'm saying this ya *wink*. I know you have a great concept here, really you do. I like some of the points which you've told us about. And I'm sure your concept is quite successful. It's just that the concept is not appealing to us for the moment, but it'll probably appeal to the next person that walks through that door. Plus as a consumer, I would prefer to digest all the information which you just gave me and think it through before giving you my answer. Furthermore, you refuse to reveal to us the membership price and you'll only tell us the amount if we say yes to you today. And it's getting late and I'm hungry...

Girl: ....*tries to regain her composure*... Ok sir. How about another 5 minutes, I just show you our video...

Hubby and Oli watched the 5-minute video...

Girl: Ok sir. Thank you for coming to listen to us. This is our lucky draw *shows us a stack of white envelops*. Just pick any envelop to reveal your voucher.

Oli picks one and tears the envelope open... Hubby follows girl to a room to get the voucher stamped.

Girl: Thank you for coming ya. Have a nice day oso, ehehehe!

Hubby and Oli: Thank you and bye!

So... who wants 2 adult tickets to Sunway Theme park? Can oso use to go to Lost City of Tambun ;P

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Hubby's BKT
*mushy post, don't bitch.
Hubby was really sweet today. I had decided to go for yoga class in the afternoon, so he said he would cook Bak-Kut-Teh (BKT) for lunch :D He got up early in the morning, went to a nearby wet market to get the pork and came home to prepare the ingredients. I was vacuuming the floor while he was busying himself in the kitchen.

After I got back from yoga, the wholesome spread was all ready on the dining table. Wa-lah!

Yummilicious bak-kut-teh, prepared with lotsa love! :P

Let's not forget to eat our greens and "yau-zhar-guai".

Home-cooked BKT taste great, more so when it's prepared by the one you love. So what if it can't rival the likes of "Ah Sang BKT" (located in Sg Way). Lunch was wonderful, honey! Thank you for the delicious spread! *muacks* You're the best!

P/S: Did I make you guys cringe already :PpPpPpP HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

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Sales Pitch #1
Hubby's colleague dropped by recently as she and her hubby (ST) was in the area. ST is a direct selling agent and was in a nearby condo helping his customer install some water filter system. You would've seen this new filtration system. the ads are in the papers recently and it's coming from a very big direct selling name.

At first I thought she dropped by because she wanted to ask hubby some stuff about the "kang-koh" (difficult/troublesome) project their team is involved in. Little did I know we were about to hear a sales pitch...

They brought the water filter in and proceeded to explain to us about the filter system and how good it is and bla. We've both heard of filter before because we have a couple of neighbours who are also agents with this same company and they have also tried to "sell" us the same filter.

Apparently, this filter is some revolutionary filter, using some UV ray to eliminate all foreign particles which is considered harmful to the body. Along with the super canggified wireless technology and god knows what other super filter this contraption has and filtration up to 0.2 microbs wateva~ ingenius invention, this water filter is like a must-have in every household. You are assured of safe and superbly clean drinking water, straight from the tap. And the water is said to not only be clean, but also taste good and is not stripped of its minerals too.

ST then asked if he could test the current state of our water, to check the chlorine level what not. So both men went into the kitchen and started wasting some precious water lah. The wife (SS) started chatting with me and tell me about how their team is doing well, making good sales in this water filter system and such. She also told me about her upline and how she admires them for their achievements and that they can go on holidays and need not work anymore. Then she plonks a newsletter to me and the front cover was a picture of a couple who looked as if they had gone through several Botox injections and skillful Photoshop tricks. SS also gave me a booklet about the water filter and how it had gone through stringent test, hence it's an excellent buy.

I flipped through the book while ST and SS talked to hubby about the benefits of the filter and the benefits of being a direct selling agent just like them. All the talks about being able to travel, making big bucks, driving big fancy cars, going on fancy holidays were brought up. As I listened, I could see hubby was already kinda bored and annoyed by such sales pitch *haha*. Many years ago, hubby was also doing direct selling, but only for a short while so he knows how the concept works.

We said our goodbyes and the husband-and-wife team left for the night.

Hubby and I both agreed that this water filter is probably a good thing. It's just something we don't really need right now. We have a Panasonic filter in the kitchen right now, and the test which ST did was quite alright. Our filter is not bad really, pretty good filter :D We usually boil the filtered water and that's our drinking water.

I also told hubby, that I read through the booklet. I saw the chart where it compared the pros and cons between the water filter and boiling water. This is the comparison:

Water filter -> Can filter dunno how many stuff out oredi. Water have minerals. Initial cost is expensive but for long term purpose, it's a good bet.

Boiling water -> Boiling for a minimum of 20 minutes will kill just about everything harmful. Water may/may not have minerals. Time consuming and inconvenient.

This is what I have to say about this whole water filter concept: It's a good thing, but it's oversold. It's an overkill to hear all the shits about how good this filter is, how good that filter is. In fact, it's no longer convincing. I'm sure this filter has its plus points, but based on what ST and SS said when they roughly gave us the price for some of the parts, it didn't justify why the filter should cost so much. Also, the comparison above only proved to me that if you want to drink water straight from the tap, it's probably because you're too darn lazy to boil water. It didn't really prove to me how the water filter or the water could be better :)

Our parents used to boil water and we drank gazillion ounces from the kettle. First the water filter was invented. Then we had things like RO water, Diamond, Nesh, Delco all popping out. All claiming to have the best water filter and can give you the best drinking water. Each brand starts to shoot one another. So who's the best? No one will ever know. And the booklet? It's a booklet to sell the filter, of course the info is all positive. And the filter can also filter Hepatitis A virus? Sure or not?!

And what if in a few years time, another brand comes up with another revolutionary water filter? How then?

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Roast Vegetables
Yes, we're making full use of our new oven :D Why not right? Takkan you just buy something and let it collect dust. I'm still fascinated with the oven and how it cooks my food, wahahahahahaha! Yes, I'm sampat, so what?! Blek! Yes, I'm also Chinese, AutumnMoth, but that doesn't mean I have to stick to stir-fry all the time too!!! Double blek!

Delicious roast vegetables~~~ yummy~~~

Roast vege was really really easy to do. It's fool-proof, no way anyone can get it wrong. For the selection of vege, we used 2 small potatoes, eggplant, carrot, capsicum, tomato, zucchini and a big onion (one of each item unless stated, more than enough to feed 2 people). Arrange the vege onto a baking dish and drizzle olive oil. Sprinkle some sea salt and pepper and coat all the vegetables nicely with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Then we popped it into the pre-heated oven for a good 40 minutes (you can bake it for up to an hour), turning the vegetables a couple of times.

By the first 10-15 minutes, we could already smell the vege. Woohooooooo! I got some fresh thyme, mixed herbs and parsley flakes to sprinkle onto the vege before serving. See the picture above? Nice leh? Ehehehehehehe :P~ You can use any herbs available (thyme, rosemary, basil etc). Very easy dish, healthy and yummy. We have enough vegetables to make another round, ehehehehehe!

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Char Kuey Teow Testing
There's this white van parked right opposite Kelana Puteri Condo during the weekdays selling CKT. I cannot recall when exactly did this van appear, but it's there these days and my oh my, I think it's customer line is growing by the day.

It's operated by 2 people I think. The guy would be frying the CKT, and his female companion who would do the packing. The first few times we saw the van, business was kinda slow. Maybe because it was new in the area and most people living around Kelana Puteri and Putera were more familiar with the other two stalls (one selling nasi campur, which is pretty good, the other a burger stall). But the slow business didn't deter the CKT van, and word got out that CKT is in the neighbourhood and people started tapau-ing.

Everyday after work, when we pass the white van, we would surely see several people waiting for their order (you can only tapau, cannot dine-in, harhar!). So that got me curious and I told hubby that one day we must try this CKT. So last Friday, we bought 2 packs of CKT and this is our verdict:

1) Very generous portion. For RM 3.50 it's a good deal :D
2) The picture above is normal CKT. You can request for kuey teow + mee.
3) I think the "see-hum" (cockles) was a little "seng" for my liking, too strong a taste. Hence it may have affected the original flavour of the CKT.

Never the less, we decided we will give it another shot next time. And the next time, we will order the CKT without the cockles. For RM 3.50, I think it's a worth giving it another shot. If you're in the area, do give this CKT a try and let me know what you think :)

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Random Conversation
*tappity tappity tap*

Baldy: "Hey, wanna ask you... Where do you find this list?" *points to notebook screen*

Oli: "What do you want to do?"

Baldy: "I wanna key this in... *points to medical claim*... But I can't select it?"

Oli: "Oh, you have to select it first. Go to 'Config' and select."

SYC: *sipping his drink, keypoh-ing about*

Baldy: "Where is it? Can't find it."

CLH: "Just 'Find' it lor"

Oli presses Cmmd+F (Baldy uses a Mac). Find function appears on browser, keys in search word.

Oli: "There it is."

Baldy: "Eh Eh! How did you do that? How did that thing come out?!?"

Oli: "Errr... press this. It's a "Find" function."

Baldy: "Is this a company thing?!?"

Oli: "... It's a browser thing."

Baldy: "Oh really?!?! I didn't know that!!!!!" *eyes open sibeh big like he just saw magic*

SYC, CLH and Oli burst out laughing: "WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" *disbelief*

SYC: "How do you find things?" *chuckling*

Baldy: "I just find them... I go to good sites *che-wah* " ---> (malu oredi but still sei-charng XD)

SYC: *laff laff* "This function is only available in our system. Others don't have it." *laff laff laff*

Baldy: "Yea yea..." ---> (no more words to hentam us back)

Oli: "I have to put this conversation in my blog!"

CLH: "Yes, this really should go in!"

Baldy: "I'll slap your backside!" ---> (too bad, it's going in anyway! ROTFLMAO!)

....................................................................................................................

Baldy, sniffing and coughing. Blowing his nose like nobody's business...

Baldy: *sniff* "I wish there was a tube which goes into my ear, into my lungs, and sucks out all the phlegm..."

Oli: ".... Your ear?!"

Baldy: *stoned* "My NOSE!" *bursts out laughing*

Oli: "Go home, you sick boy!"

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Cameron Trip - 19 to 21st Oct 2007
We spent a couple of days in Cameron Highlands with some neighbours from our condo. Really fun trip we had :D Great company and good location for a short holiday.

We left KL on Friday morning and drove to Bidor for breakfast first. Had a really nice bowl of double boiled duck noodles *yummy yum* and bought some Bidor biscuits and snacks. After that, we drove to Simpang Pulai and took the new road to Cameron Highlands. Which was good for me cos the chances of getting motion sickness is minimized :P There were drizzles now and then, but luckily we've in the safe hands of a good driver, ehehehehehe!

The corporate villa

We spent the next couple of days in a corporate villa, which one of our neighbours arranged. Big-ass bungalow with a huge garden. Cool, right? Each room can easily accommodate 4 pax nicely, and the master bedroom can fit 5/6 pax quite comfortably.

The internal of the villa was nicely decorated too. very cosy and comfy. You'll feel right at home once you enter it :D It comes complete with an Astro decoder (we brought along an Astro card, haha!), DVD player and forgot what else, but these 2 items are locked in the cabinet.

The caretaker is a "cheong-hei" (long winded) aunty who takes care of your meals should you want to have your meals in the villa itself. Yes, you can have your meals all catered, but of course we preferred to spend our days outdoors exploring Cameron, so we opted to have breakfast for 2 days in the villa. The aunty makes lovely scones~~~~

Outside there's a patio and a ping pong table. The guys had several games of ping pong from time to time, hehe.

We also dropped by Cameron Highlands Resort (formerly known as Merlin) to meet up with another neighbour who was staying there for the same duration. Nice resort with a nice price tag XD.

Other activities which we did were hiking Trail 3. We had this friend who was acting like our Drill Sarjan, waking us up at 0700 hours (&^%#$@) and marching all over the bungalow singing "Semboyan telah berbunyi~~~~ menuju medan bakti~~~~" Kanasai....! But this Drill Sarjan oso hopeless wan. Not even 1km up the hiking trail, gave up and turned back oredi XD We had to turn back anyway, cos the trail was very steep and another friend's shoe sole totally came off, making it too dangerous to go on.

Walking past the greens~~~lalalalala~~~

A signboard at Trail 3

We also went to the Sg Palas Boh Plantation. The last time I went to Cameron Highlands, there was no platform yet. So it was pretty amazing to go up and have a cuppa at the platform, just enjoying the cool breeze and scenery. We couldn't check out the tea factory though, as the area was closed for some upgrade work.

We also checked out Bala's Holiday Chalet, cos one of our neighbours (Ginseng) stayed there during his recent trip to Camerons and told us it's a nice place too. The person there wouldn't allow us to walk in nor take pictures cos we're not guests there. But I still took some garden pictures anyway, HAH! Blek! We kena halau lor, haha!

Aaaahhhhh~~~~ The cool fresh air of Camerons is wonderful! We also went to Kea Farm to check out some of the fresh vegetables and sweet sweet honey corn which Cameron is so famous for. The last day in Cameron was spent buying fresh vegetables, harhar! On the way down, we stopped by the waterfall and had a late lunch in Bidor again, double boiled duck noodles man!

For more pictures of our Cameron trip, click here.

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