Padang

I went to Padang during the December holidays with my parents and nephews.... The trip is organized by a tour group and there are altogether 100 people going together. The package is 6 days 5 nights and we set off on 28 December 2pm.
I love the scenic in Padang immediately. From the airport, you can see mountains covered with clouds and all the greenery... First night is just shopping at their local shops selling clothes and batiks... Really nice.... We spent 2 days in Bukit Tinggi where we visited waterfall, japanese war tunnel with monkeys roaming freely, managed to take horse ride with my mum and nephews, shopping and whole lots of nice sight seeing...It's really back to nature which is an experience for my nephews and of course this city gal...
After that, we also passed by rice plantations and tea plantations.... The view is breathtaking..... We also visited their palace... Really nice architecture and i love their kings bed which have seven layers of curtains representing seven layers of sky.
Besides the scenic, they have very unique roof structure that blends well even with modern architecture. It is sad when the tour guide say not many people know how to do such roof anymore. Such traditions should not be lost and gone....
We also did Qurban on the Eidul Adha day... This is the first time i witness my goat being slaughtered... Since i am not a meat eater and been really scared of the smell and the blood, i found myself amazing just by standing there and witnessing the whole procedure. I even manage to take a video on that. HA!!
Then we also visited orphanage. Their living conditions is beyond words. The entrance to their place is flooding due to heavy rain and also poor drainage system. It is also my first time folding up my pants to knee and walk in the flood. Entering their house is another experience with leaking roof, sparse furnitures in their dormitory and their back-to-basic kitchen. It's really amazing how these kids manage to stay cheerful and optimistic about their future. They really treasure minor stuff that we take for granted most times...
God really knows where to put us on earth. He created people differently to suit the environment and culture. I will definitely not able to survive in such environment. For them, modernization might not be a good thing as they might get lose and never able to find themselves in the colourful world.
It make me feel contented just for a while and now...i am back losing myself in this world of nothing...

Scam

Arriving in Singapore on 22 December, i finally managed to roam about DFS in Changi Airport. Of course, didn't buy anything knowing that it is more expensive than shopping centres..

After being welcomed by my nephews and my mum (my dad being a traditional guy just stand at one corner), i saw a namecard on my bedroom desk. The card state : Swisscash investment

Something new...I thought i am the only joker in my family who is crazy about stocks, shares, unit trusts and all that crap....

Then my dad promote it soo nicely that i started to have doubts. Just imagine you are able to get all your investment amount within a year. When i prompt further on the details of the company, naturally he is unable to feed the information that i want.

The next day the agent called up and my dad pushed the call to me. I didn't really pay attention of what she says because it is mainly sales and not facts. She is unable to answer my simple questions such as which company stocks are our money invested?

I managed to ask my friend who is a financial advisor to check out. Truly, it is a scam. It is reported in Malaysia and also through the internet.

What upsets me is the people who promotes it are our own people, Malay. Why promote such stuff that can make our own people poorer?

My advise is don't trust people easily regardless their occupation or their relationship to you. Go by your own judgement and do some research. There is no such thing as easy money without any risk factors. If you are a low-risk person, just invest on unit trust or put your money in endowment etc where they give fixed returns in a given period.