Dubai Miracle Garden

Just like any typical day of browsing my Facebook feed, I stopped to behold the wonderful beauty of a sea of flowers. These was not taken in tropical or temperate countries as you might expect but in Dubai, somewhere in the arid Middle East.

This place is called Dubai Miracle Garden. It's located in Dubailand near the Arabian Ranches and contain over 45 million flowers on an area of 72,000 square metre. The project has been possible in this desert through wise reuse of waste water combined with drip irrigation. The company that comes up with this must be genius.

The Miracle Garden is now opened to the public although there're still plans for retail outlets, restaurants and shops. The place is opened from 10 am to 10 pm on weekdays and 10 am to midnight on weekends.

The vast, colourful sea of flowers is just breathtaking!

A Foursquare surprise from Atoz!

Hello my dear readers! Some of you may have known, that I've resigned from Viewnet in Low Yat Plaza for a marketing position at Duskbin Holding and i-Rocks Malaysia. As part of my job, sometimes I turun for fieldworks in the computer shops! It's fun to drive around town and check out the latest technology trends.

Whenever I come to new places, I performed my usual ritual of checking in via Foursquare. Most of the time it's just a record for the future! But not this time - I ran into a surprise when I checked into Digital Mall at Petaling Jaya!

The screen above left me wondering. I stumbled upon a treasure and felt very special! Foursquare proves itself useful because some deals come your way when it's your day, who knows?

So what is it about? Without further ado, I asked for the location of the shop, Atoz Computer Media. It's located at the second topmost floor of Digital Mall.

Took me a while to know what this Foursquare special is all about! Basically, you get a premium free gift for every purchase of HP printers! This only applies to walk in customers, and you must check in at Digital Mall via Foursquare! This promotion continues while stock lasts.



I set my foot in Digital Mall for the first time and got lucky. If you don't have Foursquare in your phone, you've better download it now from your respective app store.

In case you're wondering where Atoz is, here you go!

Atoz Computer Media
Digital Mall
2, Jalan 14/20,
Seksyen 14,
46100 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Customer care line: 1800 88 0007

Ring Roads in Kuala Lumpur

If you're living in Kuala Lumpur you may have heard about Inner Ring Road, Middle Ring Road 1 and Middle Ring Road 2. These roads form a circle from end to end, surrounding the city. In other countries, ring roads are known as beltways.

But how do they look on the map? I have waited to do this for a long time! After discovering about drawing routes with Google Maps, I have created this:


View Kuala Lumpur Ring Roads in a larger map

Keys:
Inner Ring Road (IRR)  Middle Ring Road 1  Middle Ring Road 2

There are three main ring roads that serves Kuala Lumpur. While ring roads are actually schemes for transport planning, they are made up by individual roads with names:

Kuala Lumpur Inner Ring Road, IRR (Jalan Lingkaran Dalam Kuala Lumpur, JLD)
An urban and municipal ring road. The Bukit Bintang shopping precinct is located inside! The system is about 8.4 km long

• Jalan Hang Tuah
• Jalan Imbi
• Jalan Sultan Ismail
• Jalan Kuching
• Jalan Kinabalu
• Jalan Maharajalela

Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1, MRR1 (Jalan Lingkaran Tengah 1 Kuala Lumpur, JLT1)
An urban and municipal ring road that forms the "boundary" of downtown Kuala Lumpur. Very busy during rush hour. Also known as Kuala Lumpur-Petaling Jaya Traffic Dispersal Scheme. It's about 18.5 km long

• Jalan Istana
• Jalan Damansara
• Lebuhraya Mahameru
• Jalan Tun Razak
• Jalan Yew
• Jalan Sungai Besi

Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2, MRR2 (Jalan Lingkaran Tengah 2 Kuala Lumpur, JLT2)
A ring road consisting of a freeway and two tolled expressways. The freeway consists of Federal Route 28 and 54; tollways are Damansara-Puchong Expressway and part of Shah Alam Expressway. It connects places near the border of Federal Territory of KL and Selangor. This road is approximately 69 km.

• Federal Route 28 @ MRR2
• Shah Alam Expressway (up to Sunway Interchange)
• Damansara-Puchong Expressway
• Federal Route 54 @ Selayang-Kepong Highway

When travelling on ring roads, you can state the direction of travel as clockwise or anti-clockwise (though you won't be using clockwise/anti-clockwise generally, but instead refer direction of travel as "destination-bound")

Happy Driving =)

Bioinstagrams: Jonker Walk + Mimosa pudica + Turmeric prawns

Found this giant Mimosa pudica in Segambut. Also known as sensitive plant or touch-me-not, in Chinese it's called 含羞草


Welcome to Jonker Walk, Melaka! One of the must visit places when you hit the town, where you can find the street lined with hawkers.


Went to a networking session by MINDS Malaysia at Royal Lake Club. Prawns cooked in turmeric powder is superb!

But hey, what's wrong with Jonker Walk?

Square Dotz Cafe, SS2 Petaling Jaya

While attending Fashion Salad held at the venue, I chilled inside the cafe for a drink.

Instead of usual food post (since I bo lui), I'll be showing you murals found inside the cafe which are said to be the work of Taylor's University architecture students.

Car number plates at the cashier's counter.

These murals can be found downstairs.





I ordered a cup of warm lemon tea and walked upstairs.


And sat at this table.


The mural just above the table.



Paintings can even be found on ceilings.


Wanna sing? The cafe has karaoke facilities for you!


The owner's congratulatory message. Friend's support has been such a formidable driving force.


Time for a sip of warm lemon tea.

Shall return once more to try the food.

Square Dotz Cafe
1, Jalan SS2/66
47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia.
Telephone: +603 7865 4386

BioInstagrams: Buddha's finger + Dara.com and more!

Mom and dad wanted to buy pieces of furniture but I was way tired like a flaccid cucumber. The shopkeeper pointed me to this Buddha's hand to rest!


I was really curious about the contents of Dara.com for ages so I grabbed this. There are tons of photos inside, featuring young girls clad in hijab fashion, quality of the photos is superb. Also one of the cheapest magazine in the market.


It was the day before polling day, so I was there at the Pakatan Rakyat finale rally live at Stadium MBPJ, Kelana Jaya. A Pakatan-DAP supporter myself, I bought this T-shirt that has a PAS logo for it to be meaningful to a Chinese like myself.


Was walking down a pavement near Tesco Extra in Mutiara Damansara and suddenly spotted a moving fly carcass! Turned out to be ants moving this large fly as a team. With teamwork, we can achieve anything too!

Biorefresher: Honours year and Eureka Skydeck88!

Biorefresher 1: Starting my Honours year


Boss (Professor David Vaux) loaned me this iMac so that I can work right away! Returned it to him after I got my laptop.


This is my Macbook Pro that accompanied me throughout my Honours year. Changed the wallpaper to Girl's Day to personalise my computer.

I started my Bachelor of Science (Honours) at the prestigious Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, in the Cell Signalling and Cell Death division. Was under the tutelage of Professor David Vaux for my project.

Biorefresher 2: Visited Eureka Skydeck88



Made a trip to the viewing deck of Eureka Building in the hot summer, after finishing my Honours course. You can have a good bird eye, 360 degree view of Melbourne - definitely not a place to miss.

Biorefresher 3: I got my degree: Bachelor of Science (degree with Honours)



After all the hard work, I got an upgrade to my Bachelor's degree! Thanks University of Melbourne, thanks Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, thanks members of Professor David Vaux and Associate Professor John Silke's labs! Not forgetting my family who supported me for this extra year. It's all worth it.

Cacao Green with Nuffnang Australia bloggers

Months ago, had a chance to visit Cacao Green for a food review with Nuffnang Australia peeps.

That was my second time visiting Cacao. Previously, I had it with my church friends.


Violet LeBeaux

Cacao Green is owned by a Korean. The shop specialises in organic fat-free frozen yoghurt. These yoghurts are made in situ with materials imported from Italy.


These green yoghurt contains green tea, a premium grade tea with its characteristic taste known to tea enthusiasts.


Toppings can be added on top of yoghurt for variety.


Another dish to try at Cacao Green is their waffle. You mustn't miss these rich tasting chocolate waffles. It's overpowering.


Blueberry waffle with almond and walnut to top it off.


Green tea latte - Concentrated, strong, creamy and rich taste of green tea.


Hot chocolate, 60% Cacao. Bittersweet with hints of walnut and fruity flavours. Made from cacao imported from Brazil.


I took my experience to the next level by trying out 75% Cacao. The concentrated taste will simply take over the whole of you.


Violet, take 2.


Group shot before we left.


Alvina, marketing manager of Cacao Green.

Megatex 2011 at Sunway Pyramid

14 January 2011

I arrived at Sunway Pyramid early on the day that led up to the final of FHM Girl Next Door. That gave me extra time to spent visiting Megatex 2011 held at Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre.

Megatex is a consumer fair of furniture and consumer electronics.


I didn't know about an exhibition happening until I received a flyer at the Sunway Pyramid entrance.


Hisense is a brand from China. Anyone knows Hisense Arena, an indoor stadium in Melbourne?


Eye candy, I got. Want sexy, go PC fair.


There I had an opportunity to try my hands on BlackBerry Torch 9800.


I like the fact that BlackBerry showgirls weren't just for show/eye candy. They are actually knowledgable in the products.


There was a huge bear on display on a bed.


God of Wealth for prosperity. Encountering one brings good luck.


Showgirls were not common sight. I'd say good enough considering it's a furniture fair.

Besides that I got to try my hands on Samsung Galaxy Tab and a robotic vacuum cleaner too.