The list of information we received just short of a week before we were due for our weekend medical mission trip was brief. All we got was — electricity by generator set (still under repair), bring torch, sleeping bag and mosquito net, weather can be cold so bring something warm… then there was the assignment…
Mount Tai/Taishan (泰山), one of the 5 sacred mountains in China is considered the greatest (五嶽之首) as its location in the east is regarded as a sacred direction with the sun and the moon rise. In history, it was said that there had been as many as 72 emperors including Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇) who…
After a tour of the peony garden in Heze (菏澤) (a date with peonies), we continued our journey and headed to Qufu (曲阜), the birthplace of the old Chinese sage Confucius for some literary exposure. After a good night’s rest, we woke up to a pleasant sunny day on 27 April with temperature at around…
“Let’s go to Shandong for the peonies!” was a statement uttered out of excitement by my good friend May over dinner one fine evening late last year but was one that we took very seriously. And with that earnestness, we put things into motion this year and by late April we saw ourselves heading to…
Going to Sukau along the Kinabatangan River in the east coast of Sabah, North Borneo was one of my two main back-to-the-nature domestic trips for last year. The first one to Tabin Wildlife Nature Reserve in Lahad Datu materialised in early May 2016 and it was an amazing trip to remember (you can read it here). …
We do not have a choir at our church nor do we have a huge team of worship leaders. Apart from the musicians, I think there are only about 7 who actually sing and with their weekly rotations and a couple of them double up as musicians as well, we usually see just 4 –…
Does it make you mad and cause you to complain endlessly when upon your arrival at the hotel, the room is not ready for you on time? Do you think it is your entitlement to get a hotel room as soon as you arrive at the hotel regardless that it is before the standard check-in…
“Disappointing! The breakfast spread is too Asian.” “Too much local food.” “You should serve bacon, sausages, cheese and yoghurt!” “There are just too many Asian/local dishes in the a la carte menu!” These are some of the comments we received from our guests with regards to the food we served at our café. First and…
Being a hotelier, throughout our professional life we get to see all sorts of people and encounter many rather… erh, let say interesting incidents at the hotel. We have been wondering when or if there will ever be a page in TripAdvisor, a travel website that provides all travel-related info for us, the hoteliers. You see…
First, let me start by telling you a story about people walking on the sea… Matthew 14:22-32 22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later…
A week ago I was posed with the question how I got accustomed to the life again in Malaysia after living overseas for many years during my college days. Tough, I said. First and foremost, it was difficult to get used to the heat and humidity in equatorial Malaysia again, especially when the last place…
I am blessed with a stunning view from both the living room and master bedroom floor-length windows of my condo. The dramatic sky, interesting cloud formations and vibrant colours during some mornings with Mt. Kinabalu in the foreground can be really awesome. Even during rainy days, the dreamy setting with mist-surrounded and rain-washed green hills…
