Refreshing Spring Resort

been sometime since the last update
just returned from Refreshing Spring ... nice place for family getaways and team building activities; min requirement is 30 pax



if your number of people is less than 30, do call up and the helpful management might be able to slot you in with another bigger group who happen to be there at the same time

in which case, food is usually shared, ie whatever the bigger group is having; you'll be served the same
unless the bigger group has some special order on the menu
andrew and anton are very helpful; anton's the guy anglers should approach 

an hour's drive from seri kembangan, turn off into tanjung malim
take a right at the traffic lights immediately after the exit toll 
pass by Shell and mosque on the left, clinic on the right
turn left at the (small) Kampung Gumut Tambahan signboard on the left
there'll be signposts showing the way in, need to traverse about 3km of unpaved road
park your cars at the designated parking area and a tractor with passenger seating in tow will fetch you and your luggage to the resort proper - not allowed to drive in to preserve the place

lotsa durian, pulasan, rambutan, kedondong, nangka, and mango trees dot the entire compound
there's a hot spring, small bamboo groves, and a stream that flows next to the resort

 i know of the red and yellow variety but this is my first seeing white ...

 

basketball, children's playground, fishing, archery, pingpong, and rock climbing are available
there's also a flying fox station
anglers will love the place - there's a spanking new large gazebo overlooking where the fish are fed; large enough to accommodate close to 50 people in sleeping bags 
there are two ponds; the gazebo pond has patin, tilapia, jelawat, freshwater shrimp, ornamental carp - good fun on light tackle
jelawat here seem not as strong running as air kuning juveys, given their increased size 
red tilapia seem to give better fight than the black 
the other pond supposedly has larger fish in the 5kg range - was unable to try that out as it rained two days while we were there 

the place is quite the macro shutterbug's haven .... the ochre lichen/moss covered rocks and boulders are found only opposite the gazebo ... close ups make it look like alien terrain ... 

there is one large hall, one smaller and a large dining hall 
good for indoor team building activities
accommodation ranges from chalets to 'terrace' rooms, with 2 rooms to 1 room per chalet 
the two room chalets have a fridge, kitchen, a single-bed double decker and two single beds
lights, fans, air-conditioners, hot water showers are all there

inside a two roomed chalet ... 

'terraced' rooms with the outflow from the pond passing right in front ...

 paintball's available, too !  

water feature surrounded by chalets #1-5

single roomed single bed chalet ... or so i was told 

no update would be complete without fish ... 

didn't have enough time to get the orange carps ... hope to return ...

hope to make Crab Island next month ... 

who am i ... ?

who am i .. who are we in His sight ? 
and who are we when it comes to matters of the heart ?

are we martians .... beer, bacon and babes ?
or are venusians ... car, carat, condo, career, club membership ?

OR 

do we seek the seemingly impossible ?

as in ...

"i wish to hold your hand ... run my hand through your sweet smelling hair 
take your hand in mine and look into your eyes 
hold you and tenderly cradle you 

to softly caress your face and gently kiss you 
if only you'd allow me to care for you ... cherish you 
and share the joys, passion and pleasures of love with you

i wish to hold you in my arms ... close to my heart 
whisper in your ear how much you mean to me
as we dance and sway to beautiful music

to fiercely love you with all that i am 
know that your heart'll never be alone 
even as i desire to make an honest woman of you


i wish to hold you close to me ... all the days of my life 
if only you'd allow me to ... love you 
know that this love is not fleeting nor impossible
not desperation nor lust
even as we go through life, hand in hand 
friend, lover, husband & wife
for i'd be proud to have everyone know that we love each other ... unreservedly"

methinks 'tis not impossible
for "... with God, everything is possible."

and " ... all things [are] possible to him that believeth."
for John 15:7 says, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

.. finally, after a 5-month hiatus ...

... coupla crammed/stolen hours don't count ... got to fish the day at Tow Foo yesterday 

too many tinfoil barbs
NOT a single tilapia ... ?!?!? wot gives ... ?
no catfish either
only tinfoil barbs and pacu were biting .... barbs were making off with bait like there's no tomorrow

eldest had a go at feeling how a smallish tinfoil barb feels on light tackle
finally learnt to use a spinning set

sifu had 3 pacus and a handful of barbs
topped it off with a 5kg fish ... as broad as my torso
it spooled half his line and his PE1 jerked erratically as the fish lunged and ran repeatedly 

apart from a coupla barbs, and one huge splashy strike but no hook up using a frog popper on BC, it was 'idyllic' ... until a 1kg pacu hit the 2-6lb rod paired with a 500-sized reel loaded with 5lb braid and 14lb fluoro leader

the reel sang sweetly ... some prefer 'screamed' 
fish went left, then right, out then in, right then left then right again  
rod was bent nicely ... first time ever i had to palm the spool 
lip grip and landing net sure come in handy when handling pacu

saw surface ripples caused by a sizeable fish passing just beneath the surface ... twice 

a little like watching a sub just beneath the surface of the sea

but couldn't tell what fish it was 

we'll be back ... soon !

TCE Sports has lost its marbles ... ?

as of late 2011 into 2012, prices of daiwa products increased an average of 30%, +5%
and the kicker? old stock was subjected to the increase as well 

i've emailed tce sports but received no reply ... kinda like bn/umno
arbitrary price increases while the yen has fallen appreciatively, ie less than 3cents last week

buying tackle directly from Japan, with or without shipping, is definitely much cheaper than buying locally
dealers are complaining 
dealers are complaining about customers complaining

c'mon tce sports .. jangan jadi macam bn/umno
please (try to) justify your price increase

we're more than happy to source for our tackle online 
we don't really need you
if you choose to kill your own rice bowl, please go right ahead
you have been warned

sorrows OR joys of life .... ?

nothing happens by accident 
there is no (such thing as) coincidence ... today's message by pastor's wife touched many people

warning signs in life's journey: 
- friends and family
- conscience and the Holy Spirit
- prayers of loved ones
- sorrows/joys of life ... 

true friends care and share of their personal experiences and (advise) caution
family goes without saying 
we have friends and family members who choose, 'i must experience it for myself ...it's my life'

conscience makes one feel uncomfortable or guilty or unclean
the Holy Spirit convicts the heart 
should we choose to ignore still .... the prayers of friends and family is what keeps, supports and protects

even so, many of us chose paths that lead to sorrow instead of joy 
i have 
are we stubborn and/or unwise?
i have been 

is it better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all?
isn't it better to have loved (unwisely) and lost, than not to have loved at all?
nothing ventured, nothing gained?
no pain, no gain?

i used to think that way ... until I returned to Jesus 
wot a roundabout journey ... God knows how many more failed relationships I would've gone through
there, but for the grace of God, go I 

truly, in hurting ourselves, we hurt those who love us, too
Jesus and those who truly love us do not judge ... there's always hope, comfort, forgiveness
and renewal, with more of better things to come, in Jesus

one of our friends who made some wrong choices some years ago ...
shared how scared she was ... how her future became uncertain
today, she is blessed and continues to be blessed
a living testimony of encouragement

i gave up my all time fave, single malt 
i gave up my next all time fave, good blended whiskey
for Jesus
i gave up many other things for Jesus
no regrets
can't say I miss 'em much ... or at all
i am not perfect ... we remain a work in progress
and we testify that with obedience comes healing, peace, blessings, joy, happiness, providence
and that we desire ... may just come unexpectedly

Orchid Tackle, Klang ... update

the proprietor is either absent minded, insincere or the volume is too much for him
he needs a system proper to do business online and/or by phone
saw the premises undergoing renovation today
good for him and the business

made payment and informed the proprietor accordingly early April
proprietor replies almost a week later to inform
a) he has only one of the two reels i ordered
b) amount in hand is one third of the actual total 

sms-ed the proprietor some frank questions in hokkien 
was kind of worked up but decided to play it by ear when i dropped by today
again, they didn't have one of reels I'd ordered ... sighhhhh
the reel was either at home or somewhere else as their inventory didn't have it 
collected two reels, and left on cordial terms
he politely declined deposit for the outstanding reel 
we shall meet again 
i hope he implements a system where he doesn't get caught flat footed
kinda bad for business


popped by Orchid on Saturday 2/82/2013
kudos to my Klang friend who gave directions ... as good as any GPS if not better !

planned to pick up a reel since the proprietor "confirmed" i could swipe plastic at his shop
I browsed as customers were attended to.
finally got in a word and asked about the reel ... checked it out 
whines when reeled .... i wonder 
handle paddles looked like it was chewed by a miniature beaver, cockroach or rat 
and it was going for RM550!

when i prepped to pay, i was informed the card reader could not be used ... reason given was the lines have been out for a few days. iffy and dodgy at best. i reminded the proprietor of my prior request for confirmation as to whether plastic could be used. continued with the iffy line reason. 

if the line is generally unreliable, do tell upfront. instead, i had to find out when i'm there.
a polite 'we deal in cash terms' will suffice. or 'cash payment for used items' will do as well.
the female staff/assistant/family member lacks PR and is brusque. 

it's my first time communicating with them in person so i laid aside, albeit reluctantly, my suspicion they were taking me for a ride. should they yank my chain the next time i'm there, they'll get a good bawling in hokkien, even if i'm rusty.