Beris Lake Vineyard and Gunung Jerai

I received a special invitation from my sister-in-law. “Come on, come and join us, what are you doing staying home? It will be good for you?” Frankly, it really does not matter where they are going, after all my feet do get itchy.

I have been staying in Alor Setar for 20 years in total and I have not been to Gunung Jerai, so what is holding me back? Beris Lake Vineyard?


Our First Destination : Beris Lake Vineyard

Haven’t heard of it till now, where is it?

The geographic coordinates are approximately at N05° 55.908' E100° 46.262. (use that for your GPS etc and you would easily find the place). 

The highway over the Lake Beris

Alternatively, take the highway exit to Gurun,then turn right to Sik and head straight on for about 47 km. There will be many signages as you approach Beris Lake Vineyard/Ladang Anggur Tasik Beris.

We left home early in the morning of 8^th Dec. 2011. Beris Lake Vineyard at Sik, Kedah was our first stop.

The scenery at Beris Lake is fantastic, what a beautiful view. Wonder why they named it ‘Beris’, Lake? Maybe it used to have a lot of different types of berries growing in its vicinity. It seems that they named it after the lake, which is a man made lake formed by the Beris dam.

The Sun shining high  in the sky

Is this Malaysia, great view isn't it?

The vineyard is an agro tourism initiative and is managed by Excel Agrotech Sdn. Bhd.There are 4 acres of vineyard at Beris Lake and another 30 acres at Sungai Senam, Sik.

Entrance fees are RM4 for adults and RM2 for children above seven years.

The nearest and furthest vineyards

This is definitely my favourite, except for the .......shhh.....the imprinted date

My first view

My 2nd view, not bad isn't it?

My 3rd view, more bunches.......and more grapes

Beris Lake Vineyard
(Ladang Anggur Tasik Beris)
Lot 264, Kampung Ternas
08200 Sik, Kedah Darul Aman
Tel : 604-462 0466

The beautifully decorated lobby blends so well in between the 2 types of vineyards (green and red)

The place opens from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm. How would Beris Lake look like in the evening?

Mmmmmm!

Which is mine?

Is this mine? No plucking...:-(

 

Seeing those kindergarden kids, remind me of my young school days when our teachers would organize pinic trips to the Taiping Lake Gardens, which practically sits next door to my alma mater, Treacher Methodist Girl’s School. It was on one such school picnic, when my father bought me some grapes to take along. It was a rare occasion as having grapes, was such a luxury in those olden days.

Wow, now we have it in our…..Kedah state……..

The advancement in biotechnology as well as the hard work of those involved in the project has made this possible.

These are mine....?

Grapes from Beris Lake Vineyard
at a special price of RM15

Our Second Destination :  Gunung Jerai

Travelling up the road up to Gunung Jerai was not much of a hazzle, for the careful driver. Could not help wondering when they started building the road up the hill, not an easy job indeed.

On the way up, we stop briefly at the Muzium Perhutanan Gunung Jerai.

Muzium Perhutanan

Must be the biggest Tongkat Ali in Malaysia

Wow, look at the trunks, as big as pillars of a building

Malaysian Wildlife

                                     The wildlife must have  been  from here, the jungles of Gunung Jerai

A painting so very beautifully drawn,merchants arriving at Bujang Valley

The Indian Ocean, from Gunung Jerai

Luckily for us when we reached Gunung Jerai in the afternoon, the sun was merciful, cloudy and cool...., cooler than expected.


The place has been transformed, that is since my sister-in-law's visit during her teens. It is much neater without the wilderness. We now have the Regency Jerai Hill Resort and the gardens and surroundings are well kept and landscaped.

Regency Jerai HillResort

It is 986 m above sea level

The chalets

Around Gunung Jerai

Hi, care to join me

Around Gunung Jerai

Around Gunung Jerai

There is a camping site for those interested and for the fit and young, hiking trails up to Gunung Jerai.

Another of my favourite

Gunung Jerai is the highest peak in Kedah, not very cool, but definitely cooler and quieter than the lowlands for a weekend getaway.

I had a great time at Beris Lake Vineyard, it was warm but not very hot within the vineyard. The Lakeside heat is bearable at that hour, just bring your umbrellas..... Could not help wondering though about the view at Beris Lake especially in the evening, when it is much cooler. Maybe I will get to relish that on my 2nd trip.



Click here for more information : http://www.berislakegrapes.com.my 

A Family Outing to Pulau Aman

You might not have heard of this little known small island, Pulau Aman (Island of Peace) unless you are a local resident. It is located off the west cost of mainland Penan, or south east of Penang Island at approximately N05° 16.110' E100° 23.513' geographic coordinates.

Visitors could get to the island on one of the boats at Batu Kawan Jetty, which ferries passengers to the island for a fare of RM6 (for adults) and RM4 (for children). On normal days, there are 4 trips between 10 am and 7 pm. with additional trips to cater to the weekend crowds.

         Boat Departure Schedule

Departure Time from Batu Kawan Jetty	Departure Time from  Pulau Aman Jetty
10 am	8 pm
1 pm	12 noon
4 pm	3 pm
7 pm	6 pm

Awaiting for the boat ride at Batu Kawan Jetty

For my family of foodies, and photographers, an afternoon of fresh sea breezes, merriment, laughter and sumptuous Mee Udang was the draw.

Scenery of Mainland taken from Batu Kawan Jetty, I love this picture

For your safety, there are life jackets are kept above the captain of the boat.

The boat came, we got on. 
See....so many cameras

View from Pulau Aman Jetty, as we alight

The Restoran Terapung, Mee Udang Istimewa

Upon arrival, as it is way past our usual lunch time, with our stomachs growling we headed straight for the Restoran Terapung Mee Udang Istimewa.

To spice up lunch, our choice of some very fresh prawns, and on the right....the prawns just cooked in a simple boil to retain its original exquisite flavour and freshness. Below, and behold.....can you see the freshness glistering through its shell?

Mee Goreng Udang

For comparision, prawns sold at RM34/kg.(I paid RM12.40 for only 8 prawns) from the Alor Setar Market. We paid RM40/kg at Pulau Aman.


The infamous Pulau Aman's signature dish, the Mee Udang Istimewa, they have it in the wet form / in gravy too (Mee Rebus).

You could have your pick of fresh prawns, mantis prawn, squids or flower crabs. All very fresh, some are still alive. We pick some flower crabs to take home, they are slightly more expensive than your local market, but ...they do taste ....so very nice.

I enjoyed the fried rice, it has the flavour of seafoods

Some interesting sights to visit, if you have time

The Village

Beautiful and tranquil....

The many Breadfruit trees (Sukun) trees seemed native to the island

Beautiful and tranquil....

That's my 'big' brother and me

End of the path

End of the path

Fishing boats at Pulau Aman

View of the Penang 2nd Bridge Link in the background View of the Penang 2nd Bridge Link in the background

Our boat back to the mainland

All To Get On Board, if you missed this, hop on the next one in 3 hrs

Pulau Aman, is a quiet, peaceful island, whose inhabitants are mostly fishermen, it is good for a get away outing from the hustle and bustle of city life. You get some sun, relax, enjoy the serene air of  tranquility, fresh sea breezes and nice food. A great family outing indeed.

I had so much fun and yes, I would like to go again. It is the people that you are with that makes any outing so very special, isn't it?

My Canon IXUS 220 HS

I found out that knowing the features of a camera is one thing, when it comes to shopping for one, the experience can be very different from what you expected.

I went around a few shops to check out a few cameras. But I made a mistake of not getting the sales personnel to demonstrate to me the scale and scope of each. I feel uncomfortable to ask to be shown the full function of the cameras, since I am only checking out and was not sure if I would end up purchasing from them. After all there were a few shops.

Since I have not been fiddling with a camera for the past 2 years, and I find checking out the specifications on the cameras was quite daunting, especially since the buttons and menus are slightly different on each brand of camera.

Luckily for me, I was able to call up my ‘Big’ brother who has a keen interest in cameras and photography to help me decide for one.

beautiful, isn't it?

I am glad I finally settled on a Canon IXUS 220 HS (just found out that the HS stands for high-sensitivity sensor) for RM799 (within my budget and light enough for me to carry around) on Sunday evening, which I now suspect was the reason they would not bring down the price. Another is I have been to that shop for the third time. I bought from them because the nice young man was more helpful than the rest and because what better place to buy a Canon camera than a Canon Concept Store.  Not the right time to buy, I was at another shop before the Canon Concept Store and this salesman was showing me 2 cameras, and telling me the 2^nd one takes a much better picture, (without telling me why) when to my inexperienced eye, they both looked the same.

My advice……….look at cameras long before you decide on getting one. Get to know them well before you decide to go hunting for one. Nothing beats going to the shop and pretending that you are going to get one that day, just do not go to every shop in the same block. Another thing is paying more does not necessarily mean you get a better one when it comes to cameras.

Camera Fairs are a good place to visit to improve your know-how even after you have bought one.:-)

These are 2 websites I like, there are many that you could look at. Do note that there are variations to the names of the range of cameras available for different countries.

I have added a few links below for your further reading pleasure.

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/how-to-buy-a-digital-camera

http://www.consumerreports.org                      

http://www.pointandshootshutterbug.com

Basically, this is what my Canon IXUS 220 HS has:

• HS SYSTEM with 12.1 MP high-sensitivity CMOS sensor
• 24mm, 5 X Zoom lens with Optical IS
• Hi-speed Burst & Super Slow Motion Movie
•  Creative shooting modes
•  Full HD movies recording
• Stylish stainless steel body finish

What To Look Out For When Buying A Digital Camera, If You Are A Novice Like Me

I have been thinking of getting a replacement camera for some time now. Not easy, especially for a novice like me. I do not want to spend too much as I hardly use my first camera and am not so sure I am going to take a lot of pictures with the second one.

However, I feel a good camera should be able to capture the pictures that tell your stories, even for a novice. The picture should be your eyes to the world, even if it is blurry, and that is the phenomenon I want with my new simple point and shoot camera. Am I having my head in the clouds?

 

What You Should Consider   

What You Should Consider

• Lens Focal Length (how much you can see) the lower the better for focal length, 28mm or less, a shorter length gives you a wider angle view.

Lens Focal Length (35mm)	Terminology	Typical Photography
Less than 21 mm	Extreme Wide Angle	Architecture
21-35 mm	Wide Angle	Landscape
35-70 mm	Normal	Street & Documentary
70-135 mm	Medium Telephoto	Portraiture
135-300+ mm	Telephoto	Sports, Bird & Wildlife

Apertures (in f-numbers), or f-stops are lens openings that control volume of field. The aperture range indicates how much the lens can open up for light to pass through. E.g. going from f/4 to f/8 increases the depth of image. With aperture priority you are able to keep the foreground sharp while blurring the background, but with greater depth, both objects can be focused. Need practice though. To capture fast-moving subjects, you need the shutter priority to do that. Changing from f/4 to f/2.8 would mean halving your shutter speed from 1/125 sec to 1/250 sec. The smaller the number, the larger the lens opening.  Does your new camera have selections for aperture and shutter priority?

• ISO, or sensitivity to light. The higher the ISO number, the faster the camera sensor absorbs light, but this comes with some drawbacks, image noise or grainy images. So hopefully, the manufacturer of my new camera balances that nicely for me.

• Shutter Speed. How fast your camera starts up and shutter speed lag (the right moment for the right image needs a fast shoot or speedy multiple shots). You should check out how fast the shot is taken, using auto focus mode. You don’t want to miss that spur of the moment shot.

• Megapixels, the higher the mega pixels the higher the resolution of your pictures. This means better pictures but at larger sizes.

• Is your camera too big and heavy for your needs?    

• Is the battery rechargeable and long-lasting?

• Is the optical zoom sufficient for you? Without a higher optical zoom, you won’t be able to take that close-up shoot. It should come with an image stabilizer for a sharper image as any slight shake, and you get a blurry image. Try out the auto focus at full zoom, to check too. Preferably, it should have a manual focus for those special pictures to override the not so flexible auto focus.

• RAW mode, taking ‘raw’ data pictures, without compression. Loss-less quality shots allow you to edit them without losing quality (compressed is fine with some excellent photographers too).

• Check out the storage card format and capacity.

• Will you be taking videos? Can you zoom, or auto focus when taking videos?

• Try out camera; see how it is in low light. Does it have the flexibility of taking in low light? Larger sensors are important for capturing quality images. How does the camera perform in bright sunlight.

All in all, it would depend on your needs and budget. The higher specs may not come cheap and of course it should be a joy to use.
 

My selection for my budget of around RM800 :

Canon Powershot Elph 300 HS

Panasonic Lumix DMC FH5, FH25 or FH7

Panasonic Lumix TZ18

Sony WX9

Sony WX7 (no RAW) rrp RM899

Competition Act 2010

This isn't very fair, is it?

Our Competition Act 2010 will start rolling on 1^st January 2012.

The Act (in the US, they have their Anti Trust Laws) basically is to promote fair competition.

The Competition Act 2010 strives to provide a business environment that ensures fair play, without favoritism, deter abuses by major industry players or anyone for that matter. It will help promote a market environment and check monopolies. A free market environment will promote fair competition and do away with any barriers to entry.

Free market,‘jangan pakat’, no partnering to benefit themselves at the expense of consumers.

Hopefully, the leveling of playing fields and fairness in the provision of goods and services will bring about dynamic competition, innovation and improve competitiveness. This will ultimately benefit the public or consumers and small businesses.

This is also an opportunity to enhance our productivity, skills and competencies and businesses can then become more globally competitive, especially in the current challenging economic environment.

Bear in mind, though that competition too can destroy those who are inefficient, slow to response, not strong enough nor competent enough to embrace the challenges.

Adopting the right practices to improve productivity, processes, new techniques and to innovate will be necessary to fight competition and move Malaysia forward toward a successful direction for the future.