CNY in Malaysia 2

I came back yesterday after holidaying two weeks in Malaysia for CNY. I planned the trip all the way until Chap Goh Mei, the last day of CNY.

The trip home this time went quickly like I haven’t left the UK at all!

Two weeks were certainly too little to catch up with 1.5 years’ worth of stories with everyone. I didn’t even get to meet the friends whom I have promised to meet and go places which I have planned months before I returned. Then again, I have also met friends whom I haven’t met for decades, by accident. Malaysia is still too small.

I noticed it’s been a long time since I blogged too. Nevertheless I am still happy that I get to celebrate CNY and meet my family, relatives and friends.

My trip back has not all been jolly social too. I came back to work as well. The Institution of Civil Engineers in the UK requires me to submit an experience and project reports for the professional review to become a Chartered Engineer. And to do that, I have to gather information of my previous work experience in Malaysia. So I was busy going from office to office of my previous employer to sort out the stuff I have done in the past 6 years.

One thing I would always be proud of is that there are still bridges for me to use and I am glad none of us from either side has burnt them.

My previous bosses were also kind enough to allow me retrieve information of my previous works for the report. As a former colleague bluntly put it, “you would have had the door slammed on your face had you not been his blue-eye boy previously!” So I guess there was this mutual respect between us. Besides, I didn’t leave for another company but for studies.

Helpful former colleagues

Two common feedback that I received were:

1. "Why have you become so fair?!"
2. "Why have you lost so much weight?!"

These two comments came as a surprise as I have never thought myself as fair. Working with white people made me think lesser of that. As a runner, I have never gone beyond the threshold of being labeled as fair. So to be called fair this time, came as a surprise.

As for losing weight, I have noticed this since I was in Cambridge. I have always thought the cold weather and too much walking in this country made me lose all the excesses. But that's something healthy, so I'm okay with it.

Some of the highlights of my trip include:

The Sweet

Reunion with family members including my cousins whom I haven't met for more than two years.

Lou sang with family members

Grandmother and cousins

The Friends

Triathlon Team Hyper Gila


Extended version of Team Hyper Gila

Chevening alumni

Former colleagues of Gamuda and SPRINT

Former colleagues of SPRINT

Running buddies from Pacesetters

Former Samadian (not the dog).

Another group of ex-Samadians. Getting angpao is the best thing in this trip.

The Food

Korean with Ann

Hawker stalls

Japanese buffet

The Freedom

To drive around whenever and wherever

The Funny

Noris demonstrated the correct way of choosing the right fruit is by worshipping it first

The Crazy

8 hours wait to renew my passport. System crashed when too many people renewed their passports on the CNY long break.

With such a long queue for the overly-hyped Japanese buffet in town, I didn't bother queuing. So I left for Korean.