hong kong 2008,

in pictures
and captions.

we had to be at the
boarding gate at 9.30am,
packing our luggage
only at 3am that morning.

i took advantage of the
free gadget charger at changi airport,
since i had no time to do it at home.

syahir couldnt find
one for his ipod touch.

i caught angelina jolie's wanted
on board the plane.
the journey took more than
3 and a half hours.

hong kong's skyline
has the city and skyscrapers
on one side,
mountains and the sea
on the other.

the shopping utopia.
with its burberry's store
smacked in the centre of
middle road.

the bullet tower,
just because.

we visited the dock
where lines of luxurious yatchs
were parked.
those of the rich and superstars.

repulse bay beach
beautiful cool waters
and soft white sands.

the villas that cost
a billion hong kong dollar each,
built at the edge of the hill
overlooking the sea.

mongkok's ladies' market.
from boutiques, stores and stalls,
they had it all.

adidas photoshoot.
location: sunny bay.

the gorgeous skyline.

driving with a partial license
of honda's topless convertible.
hasnt hit the markets yet.

haha!!

sleeping beauty's castle
all lighted up.
gorgeous.

spectacular fireworks display
every night
at hong kong disneyland.

ocean park's escalator.
four times the height,
four times the thrill.

view from ocean park's high land.

just because she is super cute here.

three times on the double-looped, corkscrew dragon,
twice on the flying swing,
twice on the viking ship,
once on the fifty storeys high abyss
and another one time
on the flying eagle -
we conquered them all.

the cable car.

i had my hair cut
earlier this afternoon.
and that was the only reason
i could get out of bed
just a little bit earlier.

and right now
i have a hair tail.



i so love the all blacks tee
the boyfriend got me.

that was totally unexpected.

thou canst not speak of that thou dost not feel.

just days ago
i read an email regarding
cancerous food and products.

it included the dangers of
consuming too much
cup noodles,
pork, etc.

since none of those
actually applied to me,
i was merely glancing through the article
when i came to the last point:
cancer-causing substance in shampoos.



according to the email:
a substance by the name of sodium laureth sulfate (SLS), is commonly found in most shampoos. manufacturers use it because it produces a lot of foam and it is cheap. however, SLS is used for household detergents and therefore, is very strong. it is also proven that it can cause cancer in the long run. a few brands of shampoo that contain this substance are; Vo5, palmolive, paul mitchell, l'oreal and clairol's herbal essence.


i refused to believe it,
thinking it might be a spam.

right after i got out of bed
(in the afternoon) the next day,
i opened the larder and
casually asked my mum whether
she's heard of SLS and the dangers of it.



and she did!




i became overly paranoid.


i read the ingredients
for each and every product
found in the toilet.

i told myself that i would
discard the ones containing SLS
and discontinue their usage.

and i found at least 5 products
containing the substance;
including the body shop's
olive bath and shower gel.



that was it.

this substance is not going to stop me
from using the body shop products,
cause i simply love them.





then wikipedia answered:

sodium laureth sulfate is a detergent and surfactant found in many personal care products (soaps, shampoos, toothpaste etc.). it is an inexpensive and very effective foaming agent made by mixing sulfuric acid, monododecyl ester, and sodium salt.

sodium laureth sulfate has been shown to increase the frequency of canker sores among people with frequent recurring sores. people with recurrent canker sores are thus recommended to avoid use of toothpastes containing sodium laureth sulfate.

the cosmetic, toiletry, and fragrance association (CTFA) and the american cancer society have stated that the common belief that SLS is a carcinogen is an urban legend, a view confirmed by toxicology research by the OSHA, NTP, and IARC.

the U.S. environmental protection agency considers 1,4-dioxane to be a probable human carcinogen, meaning that a daily consumption of one gram of 1,4-dioxane over a lifetime would increase the cancer risk by about one part in 3000. such an intake would correspond to eating liters of "contaminated" sodium laureth sulphate on a daily basis, which would be rather unhealthy because of the sodium laureth sulphate itself, which is not used in products that are intended for oral ingestion.





now
i can continue to enjoy
the foam and bubbles,
without worrying a single bit.

:)

as im blogging this,
im in the middle of
ashley road kowloon, hong kong -
shadowman cyber cafe.

we just had a really scrumptious dinner here
and i saw the chance
seeing the imac unoccupied.

its really great here,
especially shopping
and the weather.

next few days will be
disneyland, shopping,
ocean park, shopping,
victoria's peak,
and have i mentioned shopping?
:)

thats how much retail therapy
we indulged in.
syazana was especially ecstatic
and just got herself
2 tops from agnes b.


it'll be a few days time
to home.
in the meantime,
if you are reading this
i have always been thinking about you
cause i missed you.


i love you.

4.17 am
and we were still
on the scrabble board.
the winner was
none other than ..



10.15 am
i got out of bed and
immediately turned on
the wireless network connection.

i still cant figure out
the wireless
on the photosmart.



11.15 am
the mother called
telling us to get ready in
15 - 20 minutes flat.
they were coming.

that was merely
a quarter of my usual time.



12.33 pm
it was four packets of nasi lemak
added with bagedil and paru.
and 5 cans of
grass jelly, qoo, green tea,
ice lemon tea and grass power.



12.47 pm
on board the bus
to sentosa.

1.15 pm
finally settled down
to satisfy our famished stomachs.
the nasi lemak was
no less than scrumptious.





1.40 pm
the children sought
entertainment and fun
running through the dancing fountain.

and
syahir found much thrill
in dunking muzakkir's head
into the jet of water.



2.oo pm
bike rental
for an hour.





2.30 pm
took a breather
down palawan beach.



sunkissed
seawashed
sandbitten.



2.45 pm
rushed all the way
back to the
bike rental kiosk.



3.10 pm
quenched our thirst
by the new zealand natural
with bottles of
snapple.



3.30 pm
on board the bus
back to harbour front
while the rain slapped
against the windows.





3.50 pm
we were back at harbour front
looking at the directory
for the nearest mosque.

the two spotted
radin mas mosque,
only 4-5 stops away
so were all scrambled into 65.



4.05 pm
still on the bus,
undeniably LOST.

alighted the bus
near some canal
and found out that the mosque
turned out to be
m'que.

drenched and soaking wet,
we all were.



4.20 pm
we alighted at the bus stop
in front of lucky plaza
and syahir was leading us
through a short cut
in the rain.



4.30 pm
the guys went their way
to al-falah
while we went
shopping!



5.15 pm
we were walking aimlessly,
with syazana being difficult
not wanting to take the mrt.

with syahir's incessant begging
to take a cab.
the children were really quiet
but t-i-r-e-d
was written all over their faces.



5.30 pm
i was walking astray
while the rest were taking a breather
when i spotted something

sleek
yellow
and way

cooler
than jesse mccartney.







at the mention of it,
it was an instant perk-me-up
for them.







slept through
the entire journey home.

the yearly affair.


despite the rain
cold winds
and mud,

it went on.




walking to atok's car at the carpark
through the muddy field
was a grave mistake.

i looked like
i just played contact rugby
in the mud and rain.




so this is when
i felt tears welling up.
all thanks to the rain,
no one noticed.





a camera is nothing
without his pictures,
as claimed.



therefore,
thank me for putting up your
"suavest" pose.

you're very welcome.




8th December 2008
was the brother's eleventh,
in conjunction with
hari raya aidil adha.



he had been anticipating the day
i bet my entire harry potter collection,
he loved every bit
of his presents.





for the sleek rides' extremists.

Hong Seh Motors last week formally launched its latest brand to sell to the city state's elite, Dutch supercar Spyker. Prices start from around S$1 million.

The marque will produce only about 100 hand-made cars in 2008 and the model put on display, a C8 Laviolette short-wheel base, exuded rarity with its burned almond orange paint work, polished aluminium air cooling ducts and single-hinged winged doors that pop open with a touch of a button.

The rear-mounted 400-horsepower V8 engine can propel the 1.275 tonne all-aluminium car to 300 kilometres an hour.





"If you look at the type of client we sell cars to, it's people with a net worth of US$50 million-plus," Spyker's Asia-Pacific manager Martyn Schilte told Reuters in Singapore.

It boasts hand-stitched leather and polished aluminium interior, which each car takes, on average, 600 man-hours to assemble.

Schilte says the factory in Holland plans to ramp up production to about 300 a year and says the design of the cars draws inspiration in part from aviation. The company first started in 1875 as a horse-carriage builder before merging with a Dutch aircraft maker during World War One.





last afternoon,
another $400 was charged to my credit.

and now
all these are strewn all over the floor -
including an empty luggage,
canned food and instant noodles.


i dont know where to start.