How are you doing up there?

  Today is the seventh year since the day you left us. Time does fly, doesn’t it? I remember you telling us that our time on Earth is like going overseas for a holiday. We may have lots of fun while we’re here, but we all have to go home eventually.

  That’s a nice analogy papa. I guess the big difference is that when we come home from for holidays, we can always go for another one next week. When we leave Earth, we cannot go back even if we wanted to, isn’t it?

  Unless you are “Ironman” Tony Stark lah.

  Aiya, but it’s true some things are not meant to last forever.

  Last week, I had my Australian permanent residency revoked by the Australian Immigration. They said I did not manage to stay there for even 2 weeks in the past 5 years, so why should I keep my permanent residency? I was given a chance to appeal, but I don't think my chances are high.

  I felt like it was such a loss. I remember how much effort you went through in 1996 to get that PR. I wanted to keep it, partly because the Australian PR was one of the few things you left for us, and partly because I thought it might be useful for the education of my children in the future.

  The Malaysian education system is so hopeless now. Can you believe they just reverted the teaching of Maths and Science in English back to Malay? Such a joke isn’t it? While the rest of the world is moving forward, our education system just flip-flops like that.

  At least mom is happy. Now that she knows I no longer have my Australian PR, at least she is certain that one of her children will be by her side.

  There is nothing to worry about me here, Papa. Things at work are getting more hectic, but manageable. Things with Ming are going really well too. She is very supportive in everything that I do and I am very lucky to have her.

  Did you know, Papa?! I recently won an award for my business!

  Ever since you left, the thing I worried the most is who to turn to for business advice when I need them.

  Recently, I joined a contest called the Enterprise Development Challenge, organized by a magazine in Singapore. They paired start-up entrepreneurs like myself with veteran businessmen as mentors. Over the course of 6 weeks we worked together to improve several aspects of our respective businesses.

  Some of the other young entrepreneurs are like CEOs of big hotel chains and famous websites!

  My mentor is a charismatic sports marketing agent called Marcus Luer, who heads a company called TotalSportsAsia. He is so passionate and knowledgeable. I learnt so much from him and have so much fun applying the things I learnt into my running of Level Up Fitness.

  Against much formidable contestants, I surprised when I was named the winner! I may have won a couple of awards for my blog, but this is the first time I won an award as an entrepreneur. I am so happy!

  Even the prizes are quite amazing, like Director's Box tickets to Liverpool Anfield and a trophy worth RM20,000. But none of those are as valuable as the knowledge I gained from my mentor over those 6 weeks.

  Is he a guardian angel you sent to watch over me!? Haha!

  If you are capable of sending guardian angels, Papa, I think I may need another one really soon.

  As much as I have been taking care of my health by exercising and eating right, I went to the doctor recently and discovered I have stones in my gallbladder measuring up to 1cm. How the stones get in there, I have no idea. I swear I haven't been swallowing rocks for fun!

  Anyway, doctor advised me to remove my gallbladder to reduce complications, but I'm having second thoughts about that. I noticed if I don't drink alcohol or eat curry during the day, I won't get stomach pains at night. Since I can live without alcohol and curry, I'll just stop doing those.

  The doctor also found a lesion in my liver measuring up to 2cm. I have no idea how it get there. I'm gonna do a CT scan next Tuesday to find out.

  Please watch over me from up there?

  Anyway, I better stop here. It's getting late and I have a 6am flight to catch to KK tomorrow.

  Papa, remember when I was really young, you like to call me from overseas? You always like to ask me if I missed you. I never answered you back then, because I was always too shy to answer it in front of Mom.

  I know it's too late to answer this now, but yes Papa - I miss you very, very much.

Lots of love from your youngest son,

Kenny.

Obviously in Malaysia, it's not okay for a non-Malay to be Prime Minister, but is perfectly fine for a man to become the Women's Minister.

Reality:

"Thank you for ordering from VietnameseMailOrderBride.com"

"Sorry, the picture you seen in the catalogue was for illustration purposes only."

Yes, SNAILS.

Slimy, squirmy, fat, juicy little snails, fresh from the garden, complete with their shells!

This is the restaurant cafe somebody's house carpark where we'll be devouring our shelly little friends.

Ignore the bruise mark on my forehead. When people ask me why, I tell them truth: I went to have a bowl of pho, I complained of a headache, and the pho lady suddenly appear to pinch my head to "get rid of the wind".

When she's done. I have no more "wind" in my head. Instead I have a red mark on my face.

You can't get an experience any more Vietnamese than that.

Wearing dental gloves and plastic glass for protection because it's gonna get messy!

First, you take a freshly-cooked snail from the pot.

Then you pick the slug out from its shell using a toothpick.

Dip it into chilli or lime sauce, then put it on your tongue.

Next, allow the slug to slowly crawl its way into your stomach.

KIDDING!

You quickly swallow the contents of the snail.

The meat of the slug is a bit tough, kinda like beef tendons or uncooked sotong. There's not much you can chew.

Flavour-wise, it tastes a bit like EARTH-FLAVOURED clams. I guess the best way to eat them is to dip them into lots and lots of dipping sauce for the best experience.

If this is your first snail-y experience, then give the most excruciating expression on your face for entertainment.

My friends asked me how I felt after I swallowed my first snail in Vietnam.

"Sluggish," I said.

This is my very first attempt at volunteer travel, and the reason why I ended up here in Vietnam is quite unusual.

A couple of weeks ago, I was fitting up my new Invisalign aligners at mydentist.com.my at Jalan Ipoh, KL when Dr Melissa and Dr Foo asked if I would like to join them in Vietnam for an Operation Smile mission.

Unlike the travels I was used to in the past where I simply spend all my time visiting tourists sights that I forget months later, this trip to Vietnam different. Volunteer travel is all about is more about doing something charitable, while at the same time experiencing a different culture together with the locals.

Before meeting Dr Foo, I have never even heard of Operation Smile. Of course, without knowing much, I didn't promise them anything right away. After all, I get approached by armchair activists all day long to "spread awareness" and with dubious charity organizations like KONY 2012, one can never be too careful.

If I have to contribute my time, I must choose very carefully who I work with.

Although not very well-known in Malaysia, Operation Smile is a 30-year-old non-religious not-for-profit medical organization that provides cleft lip and cleft palate repair for free to children in underprivileged conditions worldwide.

It started when the founders went to the Philippines for a cleft lip repair mission, but had to turn away many patients because they did not have the resources to take care of everyone.

Operation Smile is a legitimate charity organization, run by medical and non-medical volunteers, with audited financials published for all to see, without a religious or political agenda hiding beneath what they are trying to achieve.

Their only cause is to bring high standards of dental care to patients who cannot afford it.

The thing that impressed me the most about Operation Smile is the high standards that they applied for themselves. Even for dentists who want to volunteer, the screening process is tough.

Dr Melissa explained to me they had to submit their resume to Operation Smile to be screened. Unlike some charity organizations, Operation Smile only let medical professionals with proper credentials come on board, and not just accept any Tom, Dick and Harry.

I had no idea how well-run and organized Operation Smile is until I arrived Hue city in Central Vietnam together with Dr Melissa and Dr Foo.

We are the only ones from Malaysia. The other 30+ people in the team are comprised of practising dentists, retired dentists and dental students from the United States and a group of very passionate local volunteers who took care of our logistics.

Hue is where Operation Smile left their first footprint in Vietnam, more than 15 years ago.

Their presence is felt strongly here following the establishment of a 4-storey dental hospital.

The Hue Odonto-Stomatological Hospital is where our team is basing at for the following 5 days. This is where the medical volunteers are offering free dental screening and treatment to hundreds of children in and around Hue.

Although they are just volunteering, both the medical and non-medical volunteers are incredibly passionate about what they do.

Quite often with charity missions, there are bound to be a couple of volunteers who either complain about this and that, or compromise their standards when it comes to safety and documentation.

There is no such behaviour here. Everyone is genuinely working together towards a common cause.

Every morning, the volunteers wake up bright and early at 6am, breakfast at 6:30am, be at the hospital by 7:30am and finish everything by 5pm. In between, we squeeze in team meetings, bonding sessions, education sessions and meals.

Despite the long hours, the spirits are always high and mood is always so positive.

The patients are selected from orphanages, schools and doctor referrals.

These kids form a team of 5.

First, they meet with the dental hygienists. They were given a goodie bag containing a toothpaste, toothbrush and a Potato Head toy sponsored by Hasbro.

Dental Hygienists Lucinda and Madeleine's job is to keep spirits high and teach those kids how to brush their teeth properly in a fun way.

Some of these kids have never held a toothbrush ever before in their lives!

Next, they are ushered one by one to see a dentist for oral screening.

Here, their teeth are inspected and the form of treatment required are written down on a form. Because of the severity of some cases, sometimes the dentists had to recommend 3-4 teeth to be pulled out at one go.

That experience has gotta be terrifying for some of the 7 year olds!

The main operating room is where all the action is!

This is where 10 pairs of dentists and assistants work concurrently on 10 dental chairs laid side-by-side. One by one, each child is led onto the dental chairs where these team of dentists will carry out the treatment recommended by the initial medical volunteer.

The whole thing worked like a well-oiled machine.

Each day, over 100 children received dental education, oral screening and went through appropriate treatment done by some of the best dentists from Malaysia and USA, using world-class medical equipment generously sponsored by their suppliers.

It wasn't just the medical volunteers that got all the action. Some of the non-medical volunteers have big heavy roles to play as well.

This is Rachel.

Rachel is the logistics coordinator for Operation Smile from Massachusetts, USA and has been working with Operation Smile for close to a year.

Originally a political science graduate, I asked her what inspired her to get started with Operation Smile. Rachel mentioned that when she graduated, she decided that she wants to work for something meaningful, something fun, something medical and something global.

And you cannot get any more global than Operation Smile.

There's an incident in Ghana that left a lasting impression on her.

In Ghana, Operation Smile's base of operation was set up at the capital of Ghana of Accra. Word was spread out all over the country to gather children needing cleft lips surgery.

There was a 9-year-old girl born with a cleft lip who heard about this.

Problem is: she came from a minority tribe and cannot speak a word of the local language. Her father was not around and her mother had to stay back to take care of her siblings.

Without any adults to accompany her, this 9-year-old girl took the leap of faith.

She a long distance bus out from her village down to place she has never been to in her entire life - just to meet with the team from Operation Smile.

It is courage and bravery like this that inspired Rachel to continue her work with Operation Smile.

Today is only the second day I am in Hue with Operation Smile Vietnam. Although all I had was a glimpse, already I am pleasantly surprised with the work Operation Smile Vietnam is doing.

What can be more precious than giving children the ability to smile?

Operation Smile is not in Malaysia yet.

Hopefully, if all goes well, Dr Melissa and Dr Foo too will be able to bring Operation Smile into Malaysia, so that Malaysian children born with cleft lips can also get the help they need.

I am in Hue, central Vietnam right now and one thing I definitely noticed here is how big the coconuts here are.

Seriously, check out the size comparison with that chair!

Yes, I believe it is almost as big as my testicles. (Except mine is bigger)

Amusingly, the bananas here are comparatively small.

In fact, they are so tiny it's pathetic.

Thankfully, the use of deodorants is something most Kuching folks have caught on to. In fact, there are even some old-school ones that still uses talcum powder too, which works just as fine, despite the powdery effect it leaves on your armpits.

People go to the fitness centre to improve their image. The last thing they wanna happen is stand out for the wrong reasons. After all, nobody cares if you can bench press twice your body weight if you smell like a combination of baby's puke and an unflushed toilet bowl.

The problem with deodorants, is that after repeated use, they can produce really ugly stain marks on your clothes.

This is even more obvious if the clothes are black or white. The white stains can appear on black tops almost immediately. On white tops, yellow stains can appear over time, after repeated washing, ruining your clothes forever!

This is not what deodorants are supposed to do! They are supposed to make you smell good, not leave ugly stains on your expensive clothes. You can't solve a problem by creating another problem!

Only one deodorant that tackles this issue effectively. NIVEA recently released the new NIVEA For Men Invisible For Black & White Deodorant, and it works like a charm when it comes to preventing white stains on black clothes and reducing yellow stains on white clothes.

This means, you can go to the gym confidently without THIS happening:

kennysia.com: Sweaty And Everyone Knows It from Kenny Sia on Vimeo.

No deodorant stains = Wiggle wiggle wiggle, yeah!

India was a shock to me. Like most major capital city I travel to, the first time I arrived it was like &*@KEFMOVAP{LAWQAP$KBOCZR overwhelming.

But after a couple of days, I actually start to appreciate the local culture a lot more.

There's one thing however, that remains confusing to me.

What exactly does it mean when an Indian wiggles his head?

Seriously, they do it all the  time. Sometimes when I ask them a question, they don't answer anything. All they do is wiggle their head.

And I'm supposed to guess?

Kenny: Hey, can you take me to So-And-So Hotel please?

Indian Rickshaw Driver: *says nothing* *wiggles head*

Kenny: ???

It could mean any of the following things

a) Yes
b) No
c) I don't know
d) 150 rupees, please
e) My rickshaw has no gas left, can you take another rickshaw?
f) I am not familiar with that hotel, can you show me the way? 
g) About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him-and I didn’t know how potent that part might be-that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

The Thai island of Phuket boasts some of the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises in South-East Asia, but only a handful of places can claim to have the perfect vantage point for BOTH sunsets and sunrises on the island.

Baba Nest is a tapas bar located at the very top of Sri Panwa estate, which in turn is located at Cape Panwa, on the south-eastern tip of Phuket island. This perfectly square bar, surrounded by an infinity-edge swimming pool, has no chairs, only bean bags, and can accommodate at most only 20 persons at a time.

Baba Nest's location on the hilltop means it have a 270-degree panoramic view of the Andaman Ocean.

And what a view it is.

Nothing beats watching sunsets in Phuket like having funky chill-out music playing in the background while being served a glass of icy-cold cocktail and the choicest sashimi cuts from their Japanese chefs. For those who enjoy their cocktails with a difference, the sake mojito here is definitely worth trying out.

Originally part of the residence of the owner of Sri Panwa, Baba Nest was opened up to public simply because a view like this is too good to be enjoyed alone. It's a hidden treasure, but Baba Nest is so popular during sunsets that it gets booked out almost every single night.

For those travelling to Phuket looking for something romantic to do, my advice is stop crowding the over-rated tittie bars in Patong Beach and take our loved ones to Baba Nest to watch the sunset together.

It's too good to miss out on.

My girlfriend and I loved it so much, even our feet (attempted to) form a heart-shape.

Besides, blogging is more fun when I blog according to my own schedule. :)

Let's face it, when Apple announced the iPhone 4S two months ago, some people were disappointed.

Fair enough. People were expecting the announcement of the "iPhone 5", not a update to the existing iPhone 4. But the untimely passing of the Apple supremo was enough to propel the 4S to legendary status.

Enough was written about the new features of the iPhone 4S, so I won't delve into detail about how the improved processor is twice as fast, how smart the software has become and how much the new 8MP camera kicks ass.

I will, however, write about the glitz, the glamour, the queue and craziness surrounding the midnight launch of the iPhone 4S at KLCC last Friday by Maxis.

Me wearing black long-sleeve top and jeans as tribute to Steve.

Queues that stretched from one end of the KL Convention Centre to another. This, despite the fact that competing telcos are also launching the Apple iPhone 4S on the same night, though without the similar amount of fanfare as Maxis.

The first 40 early-bird subscribers. Some people took the day off on Thursday just to be the among the firsts to queue up.

Natalie from hitz.FM entertaining guests all night long.

...

Wait, that sounded wrong.

On standby since 3pm.

Despite it being a long night for Maxis employees, they are still looking so upbeat.

Maxis employee handouts, telling them their shifts end at 5am.

At the press conference, the CEO of Maxis re-iterated that he is unfazed by competition.

Other telcos may be launching the same product on the same night, but he was convinced that only Maxis is capable of bringing out the best of the iPhone 4S.

Since the iPhone 4S uses a lot of internet data to power things like iMessage and SIRI, Maxis built their data network to become the largest and fastest in the whole of Malaysia.

Click to see Maxis iValue plans.

I use less than 1GB data on my iPhone 4 every month, so I'm happy with iValue 1. By signing up for a 24 month contract, an iPhone 4S 16GB costs just RM1,450.

That's RM1,000 off the price quoted by the parallel importers at Low Yat. Not bad.

No wonder the queue outside was so long.

As the stroke of midnight drew closer, the camera army began gathering outside the payment area, waiting to capture the moment the first Maxis customers purchasing their brand new iPhone 4S.

Seriously. The only other time you would see these much photographers gathering is when there are lingerie models at a car show.

At midnight, the first iPhone 4S customer walked in to loud cheers and high-fives by the CEO of Maxis and his entire team. The expression on his face is like "WTF?"

Maxis, making every iPhone launch a party since 2009.

An 8-month pregnant lady was among the first 40 people to get the iPhone 4S.

Talk about priorities, man!

60 payment booths are open to accommodate half a kilometre long of people queuing up to buy the iPhone 4S.

The VIPs, corporate guests and Media have their own separate area with free-flowing drinks, alcohol, food and an over-enthusiastic DJ to make the waiting much less painful than those queuing outside.

Henry Golding and Elaine Daly hosting the VIP Party.

It doesn't matter if you're a TV host, radio announcer or blogger, every has to wait for their turn to lay their hands on the Apple iPhone 4S. There ain't no special treatment.

The vivacious model/actress/TV host Julie Woon.

Radio announcer JJ from hitz.FM also came dressed as a tribute to Steve Jobs. (Or maybe that's what he wears everyday.)

JJ was there to upgrade his 2-year-old iPhone 3GS to the new iPhone 4S. I can tell even he was surprised at such a grand reception at the launch.

"Mannnn.... all these for a PHONE?!" he exclaimed.

A wait is still a wait. Although I was in the VIP waiting area, I never got my hands on the iPhone 4S that night.

According to my ticket, there was still 50+ people ahead of me at 2am and I was just too knackered to continue waiting. I left without the iPhone 4S, but at least I had yummy free-flowing beer.

The much-anticipated SIRI personal assistant was downplayed by Maxis at the launch. SIRI is great, but it is not 100% perfect. In the US, Apple jumped the gun when they launched it, leading to a series of silly SIRI responses well-documented in a hilarious blog called shitthatsirisays.tumblr.com

Maxis learnt from that lesson and explained that they didn't want to over-hype SIRI when it is still technically in beta stage.

My guess is that Apple knew SIRI is not perfect. But they launched it anyway.

At this very moment, Apple gotta be collecting billions of voice samples and their crazy requests from people all over the world through SIRI, analysing them and creating a bigger, better voice recognition system to rule them all. What the Apple iPhone 4S has right now is an appetizer for bigger, more awesome things to come.

Yes, iPhone 4S has SIRI. It is there and it works. But it is in beta. Just don't expect a "personal assistant" when it is more a "voice-controlled toy".

With or without SIRI, the iPhone 4S is still an awesome phone: Faster processor, better camera, longer battery life.

And with Maxis and iPhone 4S both supporting high speed 14.4Mbps HSDPA, the fastest iPhone ever is in your hands.

The best name for a car is Kia - the name of a Korean car manufacturer.

Why leh?

Because in Hokkien, Kia means "GO!"

When you think about it, that's the most basic thing a car should do isn't it?

Stick your key in, start the engine, and just... run. We don't want any engine choking  or power window sticking. When we buy a car, we just want it to take us to A to B whenever we want.

In other words, as my mother so eloquently point out, "chia eh kia to ho liaw lah, mai aneh macam-macam" (car can run good enough already, don't need so fancy).

That must be the philosophy the Koreans practise when they built their first cars back in the 1970s.

So much so that for the longest time, Korean cars almost all look the same.

Every car is just a copy-and-paste version of another. If you don't see the logo, you also cannot tell the difference between a Kia to a Daewoo or a Hyundai.

Sure, the cars can Kia (go), but their designs are so neutral that it made many buyers Kia (scared).

Finally, someone in Kia (the manufacturer) had a long hard look at themselves in the Kia (the mirror), and hired one of the leading car designers - Peter Schreyer - as Chief Design Officer.

With an impressive resume that included a stint at Audi designing the iconic Audi TT, Peter Schreyer completely overhauled Kia car designs to make them immediately stand out and recognizable.

The result is quite remarkable.

For example, he transformed the 2005 version Kia Optima from Kia (scared)...

... to KIAAAAA!!!! Let's go!

That's like a complete 180 degree transformation!

If the hype in those car websites are true, it appears as if the update to the Kia Optima K5 is not just limited to cosmetics. Paul Tan reported that this version of Optima K5 will come with xenon headlamps, leather interior, panoramic sunroof and those slick-looking alloy wheels you're looking at right now as standard.

Not bad for Korean cars, eh? And no reason to be 'kia' (scared) that it'll just look like any other Korean cars on the road.

Sadly, I cannot find any price details yet.

If the pricing of Korean cars in general is anything to go by - it should be sweeter than the Hondas and Toyotas any day.

Interviews come and go, but very few of them I put aside for keepsake.

Having said that, I must say I particularly like the feature that the Sarawak edition of The Star did on me last Monday. I thought I can describe myself pretty well, but my interviewer Yu Ji articulated my thoughts in a much more eloquent way than I could ever do myself.

This is also the first time my face appeared on the front cover of a newspaper. Having just celebrated my 29th birthday, that came as a very timely gift. :)

Much-travelled man in transition

SARAWAK SPOTLIGHT
By YU JI

At 29, Kenny Sia certainly has gone through a lot, having been a blogger, a television personality and now in the midst of trying to make a name for himself in the business world.

YOU might think Kenny Sia, 29, needs little introduction, but you’d be wrong.

He was Malaysia’s best known blogger, who is now trying to re-establish himself as a businessman. He was a television personality on shows with the country’s top models, but Sia secretly believed he was overweight.

Kenny Sia: Blogger turned fitness nut and entrepreneur, speaking to The Star recently.

(KS: Check out my 'Movember' mo)

Sia is more famous in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, but calls Kuching his home. He believes in remaining non-controversial, but has in the past used his blog to put forth his political views.

He is in transition now. “I’ve grown out of the blog in a way. Everything happened because I was at the right place at the right time. I do not think of myself as creative. I used to put any silly photo of myself on the blog, and perhaps that was what attracted people in the first place. Now though, when I write, I think several steps ahead. I like to think I’ve matured a little.”

A little over two years ago, Sia embarked on a new phase in his life. He stopped blogging as his main source of income. He launched Level Up, a fitness centre. Sia has never taken the easy way out in life. When he could have worked in Australia, he came back to Malaysia.

When he could have worked at his family business — he made something as new as blogging a revenue earner.

Here, Sia talks frankly to The Star about ending his 20s with a new chapter.

Question: You speak of yourself as a businessman these days but most people would still probably think of you as a blogger first. Is that a label you are keen to change?

I’m spending more time on business. People knew me as a blogger first, but now I take blogging as a hobby, kind of like how I enjoy cycling. Hobbies have taken up a lot of my time. I’m not saying there’s no future in blogging, but I’ve grown out of it. Saying that, I am glad that I made my name there. It’s made business easier. Blogging is not going to be a full time thing for the rest of my life. I don’t write because I have to any more.

The blog has grown in phases. At first, it was rather childish, then to content about my travels around the world and now it’s more “settled”, just like how I’ve become.

The first time I noticed that your blog was getting serious was during the 2008 general election. You interviewed DAP strongman Chong Chien Jen, who was then seeking re-election as Bandar Kuching MP. Would you consider that a natural evolution of your views? You were always interested in politics but just never made it clear on your blog?

I’ve always been politically aware since my university days in Australia. In 2008, I wanted to get young people to vote. Young people were not and are still not paying attention to these things. I don’t blame us youths for being like that though; most of us are disillusioned with the state of affairs.

I was surprised by that interview, given that you were better known as an “entertainer”. To take up something that serious, were you concerned about backlash?

I studied here until Form Three at a Chung Hua school, then I left for Australia. I was exposed to politics that was very much based on ideologies — rather than race based. History is history. How the country came together, I get it. But being a member of this generation, racial matters are not the way of the future.

All these racial groupings are so superficial. The way I run my business is absolutely based on merits.

Which part of Australia were you at?

Perth, Western Australia. I was there for eight years; two years at high school, five years at university and I worked there for one year.

So why did you come back to Malaysia? And why choose Sarawak and not Kuala Lumpur?

There’s a misconception Sarawakians have. Sarawakians love branded stuff. They love franchises from Peninsular Malaysia and beyond. Taken from that perspective, people assumed that given my blogging activities, I had to be in KL.

I was always in Kuching. What happened was that after the 2008 general election when the Opposition won by a large margin, there was a sudden boom of interests in blogging.

They were looking for a non-controversial blogger. I think people at that time really didn’t want another Jeff Ooi or Rocky Bru. Certainly, the companies I did work for wanted a “lifestyle” blogger. I just happen to fit the profile.

But you did take sides. I remember you were very much on AirAsia’s side when the company wanted to build its own airport called Terminal Rakyat, much to the unhappiness of the Government.

I was very supportive on the basis that, had I been in the position AirAsia was in, I would have lobbied to have my own airport as well. In the private sector, you’re always finding ways past obstacles.

If the best solution past an obstacle was to build your own airport, then I’ll support that. But I should say that I don’t blindly support everything AirAsia does.

Put it this way, at the time AirAsia came up with the proposal, I thought it was a smart move. It was a “screw you” to the bigger players. I thought that was great. I definitely take sides in that kind of situation.

It’s “too easy” to get controversial in Malaysia. Did you ever feel you had to limit the extent of your opinions?

It’s true. It’s like this: If I feel I can’t handle the consequences, I don’t write about it. I like to think that’s a process of maturity.

Obviously you know how to grow your own brand. You were doing so well in KL, I’m sure people ask you all the time: Why come back?

On the media side of things, yes, I would have done better in KL. But you know what? Kuching is not such a bad place. There’s an abundance of opportunities in Sarawak. You just have to find them and be patient.

As for setting up Level Up Fitness, if I were in KL or Singapore, I would be facing a lot of competition. I might even go out of business before I break even. Having the business in Kuching means that I’m offering something relatively new and different. I don’t think there are other gyms similar to mine right now here.

That goes two ways though. There are challenges in under-developed societies. No?

For sure, even hiring people, for example, it’s hard. Look at the people at Starbucks, they greet everyone with a smile. That’s something, really! I mean that’s great for any working environment. People need to be more exposed.

It’s also true that people don’t end up in the area of expertise they studied for in university. I’m hiring engineers as gym trainers! Unfortunately, say you are good in maths, society will expect you to study something like engineering. People in the arts sector are somehow considered “not as good”.

Throughout the whole 1980s and 1990s period, there was an overemphasis on academic education. I went through that. I got very fat.

Hence your business, right?

[Laughs] Ya! I came back from Australia and realised people here just don’t seem to have the right idea about fitness. When I started Level Up, people weren’t coming in. The awareness of fitness was just not there, and it’s not really a cost thing. People here spend a lot on cars and drinks.

The Health Ministry now says Malaysia is the fattest nation in South East Asia. Singapore is more developed, but its people are fitter than Malaysians; Indonesia is poorer than Malaysia, but its people are fitter than Malaysians: So where did we go wrong?

You look at our policies: We are subsidising sugar, flour and oil. The Government is subsidising the wrong things. A salad is about RM10; sugar is RM2 for a big pack. So there is a greater role for the fitness industry to play within Malaysian society.

Are there any government incentives for the fitness industry?

No, no. There’s absolutely no incentives for those in the fitness industry. It is incredibly expensive to start a fitness centre, the equipment cost so much. It’s very expensive to educate trainers. For those reasons, Malaysians are where we are today. By the way, don’t forget that Physical Education (PE) isn’t emphasised enough in Malaysian schools. You have PE teachers who are trained in Maths.

Do you feel Malaysian youths have enough say on things like how we move forward?

Not at all. You attend official events and you also end up listening to endless salutations — “Tan Sri, Puan Sri, Datuk Seri, Datin Seri, Datuk, Datin...” blah blah blah — and then the speakers are like in the 60s. At the risk of sounding selfish, you have older people making decisions, talking about things, planning things that will determine how things are for the next 20 years.

Youths need to play a greater role. We need people who are more aware of what youths of today want for the next 20 years.

That’s a healthy democratic system, isn’t it?

I don't know much about him, except he is always cutting ribbons at functions and that he is one of the two candidates vying for presidency for SUPP, aka Sarawak BN's equivalent of the MCA.

Ever since I started reading 9gag, every time I see Wong Soon Koh's smiling face on the newspaper, I can't help but to think how similar he is to the "Problem?" guy.

See? Can't even tell the difference.

Uncanny!

1. Celebrated my 28th birthday alone in Auckland Airport.

I was meant to fly from Auckland to Singapore on the eve of my birthday, but my flight never arrived because the entire runway lights in Auckland Airport blew up, leaving some 10,000 passengers grounded.

While I was sleeping on the airport floor, my friends in Singapore were at a restaurant waiting for my arrival to celebrate my birthday.

In the end, they didn't wait. They ate my birthday cake. :(

2. Had my first Club Med experience.

Club Med is an all-inclusive resort, meaning all the food and fun are included in the room rate. Thanks to Club Med Bali, I was fully fed after 3 days. And I swear I gained an extra 3kg by the end of the trip.

3. Became a judge in the Malaysia Spa & Wellness Awards.

It was the best job ever. All I had to do was visit the best spas in Malaysia, receive their best treatment, and rate their performance.

My favourite was the Borneo Spa at Nexus Karambunai Resort in Kota Kinabalu. I visited the place in March. A few months later, a fire broke out from the men's sauna.

Maybe it's because I'm too hot.

4. Ran a full 42km marathon in less than 6 hours.

I started running marathons 5 years ago after accepting a challenge from a friend of mine.

Since then, I have ran in five different marathons, one each in KL, Penang, Singapore, Kota Kinabalu and Los Angeles. Although I finished slightly better each time, I have never ran within my targeted time of 6 hours.

At the 2011 Seoul International Marathon, I finally reached that target.

The race started under the worst weather conditions possible. It was raining throughout the first half and the temperature was close to zero. I was soaking wet and absolutely freezing my nuts off.

Unexpectedly, I managed to overcome all that and finished the 42km in 5 hr 37 mins - my best time ever.

5. Flew inside a helicopter for the first time.

Before that, the last time I flew in a helicopter was in a computer game called Battlefield.

6. Visited the Grand Canyon Skywalk

Despite how commercialised the Grand Canyon has become, it is still an absolutely awe-inspiring sight. The Skywalk, however, is ridiculously over-rated.

7. Drove a Ferrari on a Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Wished I could say I "raced" the Ferrari F430, but that machine goes so fast and is so expensive that I was afraid of crashing it.

In the end, all I did was 4 laps around the Speedway doing 140 km/h - well below the Ferrari's true potential.

8. Went on long-distance road trips every country I travelled to.

In the past, my travel plans mostly involved exploring the city where the international airport is located. With globalization taking place, it's unfortunate that more and more capital cities are beginning to look the same: there's always a Starbucks and a McDonald's every corner of the street.

To have a real taste of a destination, I felt the need to venture out of the capital city.

When I was in California,  hired a Ford Mustang and went on an impromptu road trip, driving 300km from Los Angeles all the way up to Monterrey with the top-down on my convertible.

9. Visited the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

10. Became a certified RPM Instructor.

11. Dropped 12kg and got in the best shape of my life.

12. Visited Penghu Island, an unexpected romantic little volcanic island located between China mainland and Taiwan.

Penghu is to Taiwan what Bali is to Indonesia, what Hawaii is to USA. For now, it's still very much a hidden gem, attracting mainly only Chinese-speaking visitors. Let's hope it remains that way.

I hereby declare my top 3 favourite destinations in the world as: Bali, USA and Taiwan - in that order.

13. Went on a solo bicycle-riding trip along the east coast of Taiwan.

14. Bought a racing bike first thing after I returned from Taiwan.

15. Flew in a private plane for the first time.

Thanks to Johan Farid Khairuddin, who runs the best-value flight tour in KL.

16. Received the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort Hotel experience.

Woke up like a prince every morning.

17. Re-visited Stephen Shum, the fortune teller at Temple St in Hong Kong.

When I first visited him when I was 24, he said I will get married at age 28 or 32.

I didn't get married at 28.

This time I visited him, he said I will have minor surgery in the future. WTF. Maybe it's because I bargained and paid him less money.

18. Trained a friend to run her first 21km half-marathon

When I run, I run for fun. Although I knew I am not an elite runner, I never expected one day I would be helping others to achieve the same goals I did.

Vix is a radio announcer for hitz.FM in Kuching who asked me to help get her started running for fitness. Problem: the last run she did, she was still in high school.

So I took up the challenge to get her ready for the KL International Marathon. With only 8 weeks of training, Vix went from zero to hero, beating 21km with a better-than-average record of 2 hours 50 minutes.

Kenny Sia, Personal Trainer. Who would've thought? :)

19. Kena GOTCHA! on hitz.FM

A direct consequence becoming friends the crazy people at the radio station!

20. Personally trained a bunch of fitness instructors to become certified.

Since starting my fitness business, I have met and interviewed heaps of young graduates who have lots of passion in the fitness industry, but not necessarily have the right qualifications. It's not their fault, 'cos there aren't any educational pathways for them to become fitness professionals in Kuching - because all the emphasis here seems to be for accounting and engineering and so on.

In the end, I have to learn and research every thing myself, before teaching and grooming them into qualified fitness instructors themselves.

I am so proud to have achieved this year alone, 11 instructors at my gym successfully passed their certification requirements.

21. Began my Invisalign treatment at mydentist.com.my

So, I thought my crooked teeth was already beyond renovation, but Dr Foo at MyDentist.com.my was determined to prove me wrong.

I believe Invisalign is gonna do to my teeth what LASIK did to my eyes. Everyone who went on it swore to me it changed their lives.

I'm gonna write a more detailed experience of myself and the Invaslign treatment once I got some results to show.

22. Attempted cliff-jumping for the first time.

The adrenaline junkie in me didn't do any bungee jumps this year. Instead, I attempted cliff jumping for the first time!

This was at Nusa Lembongan in Bali. The cliff was 20 metres high and the cost was a mere 50,000 Rupiahs (or RM18) - a bargain compared to some RM900 I spent bungee-jumping off Macau Tower!

The adrenaline rush was the same. The only difference was... my ass hurts and I'm probably gonna drown if I didn't swim back to the ladder fast enough.

23. Scored a contract to operate and manage a private gym for a GLC.

At least that's gonna put food on my table for the next couple of years.

24. Rescued some stray puppies.

Felt bad separating them from their mother, but in the end they found comfort at the homes of their new owners.

25. Organized dozens of fitness events all around Kuching.

Doing my best to get people excited about exercising, instead of contributing to Malaysia becoming the fattest nation in South-East Asia.

26. Became a certified Balinese masseuse!

While we were in Bali, Ming thought it would be a great idea to learn how to give, rather than receive massages. We took up a one-day Balinese massage course, and got a certificate in the end.

Since then, I have "attempted" to give massages, but I always give up 'cos after 10 minutes my hands were damn sore! In the end, the masseuse have to be on the receiving end of the massage!

No wonder spas are so expensive. Being a masseuse is damn hard work, ok!

27. Bought my own apartment unit

This is without a doubt, the biggest purchase I have ever made in my life, and one that's gonna put me in a big debt over  the next 10 years. The choice of real estate available in Kuching isn't fantastic, but with prices rising so rapidly what choices do I have?

Besides, I'm probably too old to still be living under my mother.

28. Fell head over heels in love.

Today, I turned 29 years old.