Family Friendly Eco Adventure with Treks in Resorts World Genting: Herping

by Cleffairy // July 27, 2016 // No Comments

Once upon a time, not so long ago when I was just a little girl, a frog hid itself in the depth of my school shoe. I didn’t know that the creature was hiding in there and come morning when I was preparing to go to school, I unsuspectingly placed my foot into the shoe only to feel that it felt as if there was something soft and squishy stuffed inside. Thinking that my kid sister must have stuffed tissue papers inside again, I dug in to throw the offending object out only to find a frog pitifully looking and croaking back at me. I was so shocked and was so disgusted with my unexpected finding that I dropped the poor frog down. The frog jumped around in the house, creating chaos in the usually mundane morning.

Needless to say, I was terribly traumatized. What more I encountered a snake slithering at home on the same day later after the morning encounter with the frog. It was both on the same day and I have never been a fan of slimy creatures since. I don’t care if my kid sister thinks that they are cute and adorable, but I hate reptilians and I hate amphibians. To me they are just a slimy and a disgusting creature. Loathing these creatures, I avoid them like a plague and I would never go near them if I could help it.

Unfortunately for me, as a member of the media, my assignments sometimes involves those slimy and slithering little guys. I was sent to the zoo once back in 2010 for an event with Brady Barr and I practically cried in front of everyone just because I was so terrified of the harmless Albino Python they were showcasing.

I never bothered to attempt to overcome my fear towards frogs and snakes, but there was a herping session during my most recent trip to Resorts World Genting with Treks Enterprise. Herping is a term used for searching for amphibians and reptiles at night. READ: Frogs, snakes and lizards are involved. Herping is definitely not for the faint hearted and definitely not for me, but I decided to try to overcome my fear and try it regardless. I thought, if my son is not afraid and is eager for it, then why should I? I’m his mother. I’m supposed to be the brave one and a heroine he can look up to.

Our herping session was led by Steven Wong, the President of The Malaysian Nature Society (MNS). Our location; The vicinity of Awana Longhouse, Resorts World Genting. With his expertise, he shared interesting knowledge about nature and wildlife with us, particularly lizards, snakes and frogs and thanks to his lengthy explanation about those creatures I so fear of, they don’t seems to be so scary anymore. After listening to his stories about frogs and snakes, I felt that they are just misunderstood and not dangerous unless they are provoked.

It was a successful herping session.

We managed to catch a glimpse of a few kinds of frogs.

Tiny frog spotted

Another tiny frog sitting on leaves

I wonder if this one will turn into a prince if someone kissed him?

Steven shared with us something interesting about frogs which is their mating process. When Frogs mate, the male frog tends to clasp the female underneath in an embrace called amplexus. The male frog literally climbs on her back, reaches his arms around her “waist”, either just in front of the hind legs, just behind the front legs, or even around the head. The amplexus embrace can last several days. According to Steven, while in the amplexus position, the male frog fertilizes the eggs as they get are laid. Frogs tend to lay eggs single eggs in masses, whereas toads usually lay eggs in long chains. Some frogs leave after this point, but others stick around to watch over the little ones. Some have very unusual ways of caring for their young. Rather romantic, don’t you think? I’m a sucker for romantic things like this.

That night we also managed to get a close encounter with a Siamese Viper.

Yes. It is poisonous. But it was handled correctly and everyone had fun photographing the handsome snake.

One for the album.

My phobia of snakes and frogs may not be cured in just one night. I think I am still afraid of them. I might need more herping therapy before I feel like touching them willingly, but it’s a start, no?

If you are looking for some slimy adventure, you might want to consider herping. Treks Enterprise is offering all sort of guided walks and eco-related programmes and herping is just one of them.

For more information on other programmes offered by Treks, go to Treks’s website and Facebook page or please call 03-27181118 or logon to www.rwgenting.com

Family Friendly Eco Adventure with Treks in Resorts World Genting: Jungle Trekking

by Cleffairy // July 27, 2016 // No Comments

I was raised by a family of academicians and grew up believing that nothing else matters as long as I do well in my studies. My childhood was pretty much routine and straight forward. Going to school and studying for exams occupies most of my growing up days and thinking back, I was brainwashed to believe that I couldn’t do anything outdoor or extreme stuff as I have a weak and sickly body.

As I grew up, I started to become rebellious and discovered that the things that I have been told by my family are mostly not true and I am actually capable of anything that I wanted to do as long as I put my mind to it. My life started to become interesting when I met my husband. He’s always been there to support me and accompany me to to do all the extreme and the crazy things I wanted to do, even if it defies logic.

Naturally, when I became a mother, I did not want my son to go through the same childhood that I did. My son has autism and is dyslexic. And because he does not achieve the academic milestone the same way as children his age, he is stigmatized. I did not want to restrict him from exploring the world and condemn him to a normal and boring academic life although he is a special need child and everyone around me keeps telling me that he is not capable of anything and so, I’ll bring him to explore the world with me at any chance that I got, in hopes that he will benefit from all the exposure.

One of the things that I’ve dreamed of doing as a child but never got the chance to do was jungle trekking. My first jungle trekking experience was with both my husband and son during Resorts World Genting Back to Nature Eco Retreat 2015. It was a 2km trek in the jungle of Genting Highlands and I was practically sweating by the time it was done. It was a memorable experience, to say the least.

We started our exploration just after our birdwatching session. You may read our experience HERE.

Still all hyped up, we trekked down a very steep slope.

As our guide back then were pretty strict, we did not really get to leisurely take our time in the jungle but our second time around with Treks Enterprise was another story altogether, we get to trek into the jungle at a pretty much leisurely pace and we were allowed ample time for photography as well.

Due to the steepness of the path and for safety reasons, only a maximum of 5 people were allowed to go down at one time.

My family and I went down with a guide especially assigned to us. In my humble opinion, this time the path is much more challenging than our first time.

Walking sticks and hiking shoes is advisable should you decided to trek a challenging path like this. Unless you are equipped with shockproof or action camera, I wouldn’t advice any photography session during any jungle trekking or hiking session.

After about 30 minutes, we were rewarded with such a beautiful view.

A sight to behold for nature lovers, I must say. And if you ask me if I would do it again, the answer is a definite yes.

Treks Enterprise is offering all sort of guided walks and eco-related programmes and a guided hiking or jungle trekking session is one of them.

For more information on other programmes offered by Treks, go to Treks’s website and Facebook page or please call 03-27181118 or logon to www.rwgenting.com

Family Friendly Eco Adventure with Treks in Resorts World Genting: Birdwatching at IBA, Awana Genting

by Cleffairy // July 27, 2016 // 1 Comment

I was first introduced to the joy of birdwatching back in the year 2014, where I was invited by Tourism Malaysia as a member of the media to do coverage for Wings of KKB: Selangor International Bird Race 2014 and I have been providing coverage for the said event since then. Basically it is a birdwatching event that embed the element of amazing race in it. Participants were required to identify various kinds of birds from different altitudes, starting from Kuala Kubu Bharu and ends in Awana Genting.

As a member of the media, my job scope was merely to provide coverage and not experience the whole thing as a participant, and therefore, I never had the opportunity to really enjoy birdwatching, but fortunately for me, during my family’s most recent eco-escapade with Treks Enterprise in Awana Genting, we were brought to IBA in Awana, Genting Highlands to experience some real bird watching session.

IBA (Important Bird Watching Area). This place is located nearby Awana Longhouse and is a home to various birds, including migratory birds.

We kicked off our birdwatching session fairly early, under the guidance of a birding expert, Mr. Henry (the guy in the middle).

Going deep inside IBA for some serious birdwatching.

Spotted some birdwatchers patiently waiting for some rare migratory bird sightings.

Serious birdwatching going on here

We were quite lucky that morning. Unlike the birdwatching session with the participants of Wings of KKB: Selangor International Bird Race 2016 back in April 2016, we spotted quite a number of rare birds this time.

We not only get to see rare migratory birds but also flying squirrel and lizard as well.

One of the birds that lives in the virgin forest of Genting Highlands.

Lovebirds

Can you see the bird? It’s hanging upside down.

Another resident bird in the vicinity of Awana Resort.

Other than birds, we managed to captures pics of other creatures too. And here’s a cute little squirrel.

It is unfortunate that I do not own a pair of binocular. I guess it is time to invest one. It is certainly useful during birdwatching session.

Treks Enterprise is offering all sort of guided walks and eco-related programmes and birdwatching is one of them.

For more information on other programmes offered by Treks, go to Treks’s website and Facebook page or please call 03-27181118 or logon to www.rwgenting.com

Family Friendly Eco Adventure with Treks in Resorts World Genting: Cable Car Ride

by Cleffairy // July 27, 2016 // No Comments

Getting to Resorts World Genting has always been a pretty straight forward affair for me and my family. We have been to Resorts World Genting for more times than I bothered to count, but we have never experienced a ride on their famous cable car as my family and I usually drives up and riding the cable car at Genting Skyway is not a necessary mode of transport to get to the top of the hill.Obviously my family and I did not know what we have been missing all these while.

During our little eco-escapade with Treks Enterprise, we were given a chance to ride the South East Asia’s longest and fastest cable car, as part of our journey to exprience the true beauty of nature from bird’s eyes view.

The Skyway Station operates from 7.30am – 12.00am daily.

The staffs on duty are very friendly and helpful, so if you have any questions, just fire away.

Each gondola can load up a maximum of 8 person. But please note on the lugage requirement. Luggage with size exceeding 56cm x 36cm x 23cm are not allowed to be brought onto the Genting Skyway Gondola. Oversized luggage must be checked-in at the hotel’s front desk or Luggage Handling Counter. Luggage storage for large luggage is available at Genting Skyway. Guests are advised to make use of this service and to only carry a day bag for the duration of their stay. Kindly ensure that all valuables and important documents are transferred into your day bag as well. Luggage handling counter operating hours is 7.00am to 8.00pm.

The ride was 3.38km is it was 15 minutes of sheer ecstasy as the gondola travel through 100 years old tropical rainforest from the station at Resorts World Genting to the base station in Gohtong Jaya.

A zoomed view from above.

Lovely, don’t you think?

You can get to the Skyway Station by express bus, limousine or luxury coach and car.

For ticket pricing please refer below:

Ticket TypePrice (per person)
Normal One-Way: RM 6.40
Normal Two-Way (Return): RM 12.80
Express One-WayRM 31.80
Hotel Guest Leisure Ride (Return)RM 10.60*Price is inclusive of 6% GST.

*Children below the height of 90cm are eligible to ride the Genting Skyway for FREE.

For more information on Genting Skyway or enquiries on planning your journey to Resorts World Genting via their cable cars, visit www.rwgenting.com

Family Friendly Eco Adventure with Treks in Resorts World Genting: Fashion Forest

by Cleffairy // July 27, 2016 // No Comments

Being an Adrenaline junkie who hates staying home, especially on weekends, I enjoy outdoor activities the most. While I hate walking around in the city, the same thing could not be applied to taking a stroll on the beach or jungle trekking.

A couple of weeks back, my family and I went for a leisurely trek in Fashion Forest in Genting Highlands.

Here’s following our guide, Eddie into the fashion forest.

The entrance to Fashion Forest is somewhere nearby Awana Longhouse, Resorts World Genting. Fashion Forest is quite a funny name for a forest, don’t you think? Whenever one talk about fashion I will only think of frilly and colourful clothes that models showcase on the runway. But then I was told that it is just a concept where Treks aims to showcase the forest to visitors in a safe and fashionable way.

Eddie, briefing us about the Fashion Forest.

Here in Fashion Forest, there are celebrities.

Or rather, celebritrees. The trees are named after celebrities here in Fashion Forest, and here’s a lovely and sensational one; Mariah Carey.

And here’s a transformable celebritree, the Optimus Prime Pergola.

Visitor posing at the Santana Stage.

A family with a baby chilling under the Mariah Carey Pergola.

Eddie telling us that sightings of Hornbills are not uncommon here in Fashion Forest and if we are lucky enough, we’d be able to see one.

Our guide spotted an area where some orangey fruits are grown, and he told us that the fruit is actually one of Hornbills’ favourite.

And if you can spot this fruit, you are likely to spot a Hornbill around here.

Hornbills will crack this fruit open and devour the black seed.

And here’s the seed that Hornbills will feed on.

One thing interesting about this Fashion Forest is that there’s WiFi available. Yes. You are reading that right. There’s WiFi available. Which means you can go online and have a social media party while you are trekking in the Fashion Forest. Awesome, isn’t it?But the purpose is not just for you to be glued to your gadget nor merely post your selfies and wefies in your social media accounts while you are spending your time in the forest.WiFi is made available for a purpose. An educational purpose. Treks hopes that technology will help create and spread awareness on the forest’s conservation.

And as part of the educational bits over here in Fashion Forest, the trees are barcoded.

You can actually scan the barcodes by using apps on your smartphone and information on the plants or trees in question will appear. Interesting way of learning, I must say.

Apart from learning about trees by scanning on the barcodes, Treks also take the educational fun to a higher notch by providing barcodes with quizzes in it and you can participate the quiz by scanning the barcodes and answer the questions via whatapps and plenty of surprises awaits you if you managed to hunt down all barcodes with quizzes and answers correctly.

Visitors participating in the barcode quiz game.

While the questions are pretty simple, spotting the barcodes can be quite tricky at times if you don’t look closely.

Sometimes the barcodes are camouflaged by leaf and whatnot.

Visitors are also given a frame and encouraged to find interesting plant subjects and take a photo via the frame and share it on social media.

Here’s one of mine.

A mossy subject. I was told that these moss could glow in the dark.

Someone spotted this flower and it is definitely a sensational star.

A visitor taking the opportunity to snap a picture of a plant and share it on her social media account.

Our little trip to the Fashion Forest is definitely fun and educational one, and who says the jungle is all dark and scary and is only for hardcore adventurers? Here’s one that is beautiful and family friendly. Fashion Forest is a must visit, especially family with young kids. It is a great place to nurture kids into loving nature and conserving them for the next generation.

Treks offers plenty of eco-related programs for people from all walks of life and I’m sure there is something for everyone.

For more information on programmes offered by Treks, go to Treks’s website and Facebook page or please call 03-27181118 or logon to www.rwgenting.com

Family Friendly Eco Adventure with Treks in Resorts World Genting: The English Garden

by Cleffairy // July 27, 2016 // 1 Comment

The English Garden is a beautiful garden located just right in front of Theme Park Hotel in Resorts World Genting, Genting Highlands.

I’ve been to Genting Highlands countless times, but as I usually go to Genting Highlands for the live shows or just to simply chill out at my favourite cafe, taking a leisurely stroll in the English Garden has never been on my agenda, but fortunately enough for me, my family and I were brought there by the good people from Treks Enterprise for a visit.

There’s a small water fountain here and occasionally, you will be able to catch birds taking a sip or two here before flying away.

Bench for you to sit on, and I reckon it is perfect for dating couples.

Couple spotted chilling out with each other on the bench.

Gazebo

One of the latest eye-catching attraction here in the English Garden is the Nepenthes’ Wall where various kinds of pitcher plants are actually grown in a natural environment, making a beautiful addition to the garden’s population.

The Nepenthes’ Wall in the English Garden is a part of Treks Enterprise’s effort to educate people about the beautiful plants and conserve the pitcher plants that they found in the jungle.

Eddie showing us how to differentiate a male and female pitcher plants.

A closer look at a pair of pitcher plant.

Unlike the Nepenthes Conservatory in Awana Hotel, the pitcher plants in the English Garden grows in riot over the wall and besides taking pictures here, visitors are also allowed to ‘adopt’ one of the wild pitcher plants grown here and fashion decorate the wall of the English Garden to their liking.

Adopting a pitcher plant and tying it to the wall.

I couldn’t draw to save my life, and I could only immortalize them through the camera, but if I’m a painter, I’d sit here for hours and paint them on a canvas, with immense pleasure.

Some interesting looking pitcher plants that I managed to spot during my visit.

I don’t know how everyone else felt when they paid the English Garden a visit, but personally, I felt as if The Secret Garden came to live and I was the protagonist, Mary Lennox. For those who is not familiar with this title, The Secret Garden is a classic novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett and it tells the story of a sickly 10 year old Mary Lennox. She’s an unloved 10-year-old girl born in India to selfish, wealthy British parents who kept her out of their way as much as possible. Upon her parents’ death, she was then sent to live with Archibald Craven, an uncle she has never met, at his home called Misselthwaite Manor. Mary then discovered a Secret Garden that used to belonged to her uncle’s late wife and she tended to the garden and made it her sanctuary. As the story progresses, she met her bedridden cousin and they both started to grow things in the garden and started to become happier and healthier. To cut the long story short, the author explores the healing power inherent in living things.In a very literal sense, Mary Lennox “comes alive” as her garden does. The same goes for Colin and Mr Craven. As they tend to something outside their own sorrow, they find joy and new life and looking over the Nepenthes Wall in the English Garden, I felt the same. Being outdoor and close to nature made me feel not only healthier, but liberated and happier too.

I’m grateful that the good folks from Treks brought me and my family there during our last visit to Genting and moving forward, I’d be sure to make a point to just take a stroll there every now and then and smell the roses. The view in the English Garden is simply breathtaking and I couldn’t get enough of the picturesque view over here and it was indeed a novel experience.

For more information on programmes offered by Treks, go to Treks’s website and Facebook page or please call 03-27181118 or logon to www.rwgenting.com

Family Friendly Eco Adventure with Treks in Resorts World Genting: Nepenthes Conservatory

by Cleffairy // July 27, 2016 // No Comments

Treks’ Nepenthe’s Conservatory is one of the latest eco attraction in Resorts World Genting.

Located in Awana Hotel, the place aims to showcase all sort of nephentes and is an information centre for Treks’ activities and entrance is free.

Here is where we can see all sorts of nephentes or the common name for it, pitcher plants.

Part of the live speciments in the conservatory.

More live speciments

Young visitor posing with the speciments.

Visitor taking photos of the speciments. Yes. Photography is allowed in here.

Children being taught how to take care of the pitcher plants.

Visitors listening to explanation on the pitcher plants.

We were told that pitcher plants comes in varieties of sizes and colours. We learned quite a few things about the pitcher plants here. One of them is that the pitcher plants are not exactly carnivorous, dangerous or poisonous. It is a misconception that pitcher plants hunts small animals for food. The fact that it is known as carnivorous is only because the shape of the plants trap insects in it’s pitcher and they get their nutrients from there.

Foraging, flying or crawling insects such as flies are attracted to the cavity formed by the cupped leaf, often by visual lures such asanthocyanin pigments, and nectar bribes. The rim of the pitcher (peristome) is slippery, when moistened by condensation or nectar, causing insects to fall into the trap. Pitcher plants may also contain waxy scales, protruding aldehyde crystals, cuticular folds, inward and downward pointing (retrorse) hairs, or guard-cell-originating lunate cells on the inside of the pitcher to ensure that insects cannot climb out. The small bodies of liquid contained within the pitcher traps are calledphytotelmata. They drown the insect, and the body of it is gradually dissolved. This may occur by bacterial action (the bacteria being washed into the pitcher by rainfall) or byenzymes secreted by the plant itself. Furthermore, some pitcher plants containmutualistic insect larvae, which feed on trapped prey, and whose excreta the plant absorbs. Whatever the mechanism of digestion, the prey items are converted into a solution of amino acids, peptides,phosphates, ammonium and urea, from which the plant obtains its mineral nutrition (particularly nitrogen and phosphorus).

Like all carnivorous plants, they all grow in locations where the soil is too poor in minerals and/or too acidic for most plants to survive. Rather than relying on photosynthetic glucose to survive, pitcher plants supplement available nutrients and minerals which plants normally obtain through their roots) with the constituents of their insect prey.

Interesting, don’t you think? Well, these things are much more interesting in real life, and if you are looking for something interesting and educational at no cost at all, you should visit the Treks’ Nepenthe’s Conservatory.

Treks offers plenty of eco-related programs for people from all walks of life.

For more information on programmes offered by Treks, go to Treks’s website and Facebook page or please call 03-27181118 or logon to www.rwgenting.com

Family Friendly Eco Adventure with Treks in Resorts World Genting

by Cleffairy // July 27, 2016 // No Comments

Last father’s day, my family and I were invited to spend the weekend exploring the jungle in the vicinity of Awana Resorts, Genting Highlands where 130 million years old untouched rainforest lies. Being a nature lover and an Adrenaline junkie, is an invitation that I could not resist. A weekend away from the concrete jungle? I always say yes to such an invitation in a heartbeat. I never liked to stay at home anyway. At least, not on weekend. It is just so depressing and suffocating.

Dragging my husband and son along with me that fateful weekend, we spent 2D1N exploring a 130 million years old rainforest in Genting Highlands, a place very rich with biodiversity for nature lovers to savor.

Yes, you are reading that right. I mentioned Genting Highlands. The place that is commonly known as a city of entertainment and is well known for its casinos and live performances. This may sound strange to some, but here’s a newsflash for you.

There is more to Genting Highlands than just its hotels, indoor theme parks and casinos. Genting Highlands have much more to offer than just that.

Resorts World Genting is currently working alongside with Treks Nature Enterprise, a company that aims to present nature to visitors in a fashionable way.

Attractions that we experienced during our 2D1N eco escapade was:

Nepenthe’s Conservatory

Here at the conservatory, we were shown to all sort of Nephentes, or the common name for it, the pitcher plants. Read more about it HERE

The Fashion Forest

A forest concept where Treks aims to showcase the forest to visitors in a safe and fashionable way. Read more about it HERE.

The English Garden

A beautiful garden with magnificent views. Read more about it HERE.

A ride on the cable cars in Genting Skyway.

One way to reach the top of Resorts World Genting is via the cable cars in Genting Skyway. Read more about it HERE.

Birdwatching at IBA

Birdwatching at Awana IBA, where we managed to see some migratory birds. More about it HERE.

Jungle trekking

One of the activities offered by Treks is jungle trekking. More about it HERE.

Herping

Herping is a term used for searching for amphibians and reptiles. Definitely not for the faint hearted. And you may read more about our experience HERE.

If there is something I must say about programs offered by Treks’ is that it is not only a family friendly program, but the activities gives opportunities to discover nature in the most fun and up close and personal way. It also helps to stimulate people and help them develop as nature loving individual. If asked if I would go for this again, I definitely would not hesitate to say yes.

The Treks programmes begin in June 2016 and are available from 9am to 10pm.

Pricing for the programs is as below;

Self-Guided Fashion Forest walks:
RM35 per adult (12 years and above); RM30 per child (11 years and below)

Guided nature walks:
RM75 per adult; RM65 per child

Special-interest walks (Birding/Herping/Black Gibbon/Helmeted Hornbill):
RM250 per person

For more information on programmes and prices, go to Treks’s website and Facebook page or please call 03-27181118 or logon to www.rwgenting.com

Knowing the Perfect Time for Real Estate

by Cleffairy // July 26, 2016 // 1 Comment

When it comes time for you to look into making a purchase, there are always reasons that you should be looking to buy and reasons that you should be cautious of the market. As simple as that may sound, people will get caught up in the market and will oftentimes just want to put their money into a home due to momentum, and their general worry of being caught up in massive market increases across the real estate spectrum. While you may want to avoid any sort of waiting because it could seem like the prices of homes are just going up and the good homes are being sold, pay attention to the following because there are times to buy and there are also times to hold off and wait.

Do Buy Special Circumstances with Motivated Sellers

There are times and circumstances when the party who is selling a parcel or property knows they aren’t asking top dollar, but they still want to sell anyways. This could be due to a death or divorce. It could also be due to a job transfer or even a job loss. When people are looking to make a clean break and they don’t want to (or don’t have time) to doddle, then according to Divorce Net, they will take much less than the actual price. And, while these sorts of things might seem terrible to act upon, you also have to think about it from the other point of view.

If the individual who is selling absolutely needs to sell, then if they put a piece of real estate up on the market for a given price you shouldn’t feel bad about buying what they are willingly selling. In fact, if you choose not to buy out of feeling sympathy for their situation, you may be preventing them from getting rid of the stress and could put them in a worse off situation. There are always times when people choose to sell low, and if you can find a property that is absolutely undervalued for one reason or another then you can definitely grab a deal and make up some equity at the same time.

Don’t Buy During Peak Season

Sometimes people will get ready to put their house on the market and then they will want to sell right during the peak season. This might be good because if everyone else knows that houses are on the market and will sell fast then you may just get a quick offer. However, you also need to be aware of the fact that if you turn around and try to buy during the peak season, you could wind up falling into the same trap and buying a house that is extremely overvalued or overpriced because you didn’t wait. The key is to do a thorough search for real estate with PropertyGuru Malaysia so you can find the right property at the right price. Sometimes it takes time and you might see a parcel you were interested in get scooped up. However, it’s better to let someone else overpay than to do it yourself.

Do Buy with Off Season

The converse of the previous point is that as long as you have the opportunity to buy all of the time, then when the perfect time comes along you should buy. According to Business Insider, the best time of the year to buy a home is in October, and that is because too many people will be desperate. They will have been in the same buying mode all summer, and now that the winter is right around the corner they will wind up wanting to unload it for a very favorable price. If you simply prepare for the off-season of selling and then strike when the market is cold, you can command your own price in many cases.

Don’t Buy When Market Prices Are Spiking

If you think that real estate starts to climb to an all-time high, you may also o want to pump the brakes and wait a while to make sure nothing silly is right around the corner. As silly as it sounds, you don’t want to jump into a market when there is a potential bubble in the housing market. You need to honestly consider the prices and ask yourself if they are too high. At that point you should be able to tell if you are buying just based on the idea that prices are going up, or if you are buying for a good deal.

When you think about buying real estate and other properties, there is no such thing as a perfect home or a perfect deal. However, if you consider the specifics that surround any real estate transaction you could wind up getting a tremendous property at a tremendous price, so long as you pay attention to when and how you are buying. The circumstances matter and can affect everything.

Remarkable Children Set to Change The World Through Music

by Cleffairy // July 25, 2016 // No Comments

So, I was given an opportunity to enjoy a charity concert by ChildAid Asia in KLPac not quite long ago. ChildAid Asia Kuala Lumpur: A World to Imagine 2016 is a fundraising concert featuring collaborative performances by child talents from ASEAN countries mainly from Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.

ChildAid Asia is an organization that believe in children, regardless their background or disability. Their mission is to develop a sense of confidence and purpose in life among these children and encourage them to stand in the eyes of the world brimming with hope and dignity through art and music. It is really a great organization with noble missions.

I’ll be honest with you. Initially, I was a bit reluctant to write about the concert. Why? The concert made me feel too much. It was overwhelming and way too close to home and at some point during the concert especially when a young blind and autistic boy conjure his magic with the piano during the ChildAid Asia Kuala Lumpur 2016 concert,my eyes grew watery. I felt angry, sad, touched and happy all at the same time. The feeling was indescribable. It’s not bad. Just too overwhelming to be penned down.

You see, I have a special need son in his tweens. He is autistic, socially impaired and dyslexic. On top of that, he also have sensory processing disorder to add in the whole package. Raising him is not only challenging but quite a hell on Earth, especially when he was much younger. My husband and I were accused of so many things, including child negligence and child abuse due to his regular stimming episodes and constant meltdown. Like most parents with special need children, charity concerts that features talented special need performers like in ChildAid Asia Kuala Lumpur 2016 concert is too close to home. To me, there’s too much emotions involved when I was watching the concert. Fair enough to say, I did not get much help and understanding, be it from friends and family members or the society at large. Support was practically nonexistent. I was mostly on my own in helping him being accepted in the society. It was just hell and still hell at times.

Malaysians in general are still not really aware what autism is all about and what it entails. Children like my son are often misunderstood and parents like us are often shunned in many ways. Children such as mine are stigmatized. They are interpreted as either misbehaving or spoiled rotten by their parents.

During my son’s younger years, especially when he just started attending kindergarten, I was told that my son should be locked up or chained up. I was advised to stop sending him to school as he was non verbal and not able to communicate the way children his age does, and at some point, I did pulled him out for a little while. The stress was too much for me to handle and I wanted to think of the best solution I should take for my son’s education and future.

Seeing how children, especially special need ones are not only respected but celebrated for being different in ChildAid Asia Kuala Lumpur 2016 concert in KLPac recently just moved me to the point that I broke into tears. It was tears of gladness. There’s hope for children like my son after all. Even if my son has no talent in the field of art and music, at least there’s hope for other children like him, and I am grateful for that.

I won’t talk much about the ChildAid Asia Kuala Lumpur 2016 concert. I’m sure there’s loads of reports about it around by social media influencers and also by mainstream media. I want to talk about how the children who performed during the concert inspire people like me and my son and the rest of the world. Here’s sharing with you some shots taken after the concert.

It was raining cats and dogs just right after the concert and the children who performed on stage for ChildAid Asia Kuala Lumpur: A World to Imagine 2016 decided to entertain everyone while waiting for the rain to subside.

13-year old Michael Anthony Kwok from Indonesia, born blind and autistic but a prodigy in piano, being guided to the piano by Yumi Chung.

Micheal Anthony Kwok, working his magic and making me wish that time would just stop, even for just little moment. Being able to hear him play the piano at such a close distance, is not only breathtaking, but inspirational as well. He made me think that children with special need and multiple disability are not a liability or a nuisance. They just need an unprejudiced chance to shine.

The young talents indulging us with an exclusive after concert performance at KLPac. The entire performance was about 45 minutes and unlike the concert that’s carefully planned and orchestrated, this one’s much more fun as we get to dance, sing along and get up close and personal with the young talents. Singing along to Michael Anthony Kwok’s piano rendition of various Disney movies soundtrack, from left, Gabri Panlilio, Cristi Madrid, Zoe Hong and Yumi Chung. Their performance were cheerful, unrestricted and simply mesmerizing. Michael Anthony Kwok also played some familiar classical number, receiving thundering applause from excited audiences present.

Up close and personal with Micheal Anthony Kwok. Looking on is Yumi Chung, a talented young songstress who also performed during the concert.

Despite of being different, Micheal Anthony Kwok is a very cheerful and affectionate child.

Yumi Chung, Micheal Anthony Kwok and Gabri Panlilio, obliging me for for a photography session.

On the right, the very friendly and approachable Cristi Madrid, another young and beautiful singing sensation for ChildAid Asia Kuala Lumpur: A World to Imagine 2016.

These children may be just children and celebrities in their own rights, but they are no ordinary child star. They are children with a mission. They are making a difference in other people’s life, especially the underprivileged children from all over the world whether directly or indirectly. Their noble efforts is certainly admirable.

Click HERE to find out more about ChildAid movement and how you can play your part like these children and make a difference in people’s lives too. And if you are residing in Malaysia, follow their Facebook page HERE for more regional infos and updates.

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