Candy Crush Saga eye supplements

Wow!! Candy Crush Saga (CCS) recently updated another 15 levels for phone version making it a total of 350 levels..

There seems to be no ending to this game! Just when you thought you have reached their Sugary Shores, they create more levels for you to beat.!

Anyhow being a Candy Crush fan, I recently found my eyesight blurring.. maybe because I only play the game on my medium sized screen android phone and I am turning 40 soon.

So I started consuming eye supplement such as Lutein
.

Previously I took USANA’s visionex and I find it very good. Example is I notice less dry eyes even when I did not get enough sleep.

But problem with Usana was that it was too costly. RM123 for 56 tablets = meaning RM2.19 each with 10mg of Lutien each tab.

So I looked around for alternatives.

1) LIVE WELL Occu Sharp

Cost about RM1 each and works just as well. If my math is correct, should have 10mg of Lutein as well.

So far I have finished my 2nd bottle and I notice the patch of red blood clot which I have on my left eye is less prominent now.

current left eye

I developed this after my Lasik surgery to correct my short-sightedness in 2010.

blood clot after Lasik surgery in 2010

I’ll continue to monitor to see if there are any further improvements.

2) GNC Natural Brand Lutein Plus.

It's GNC new Lutein supplement which contains 20mg of Lutein. Pricewise.. RM203.90 for 60 tabs.

More expensive but if purchased during birthday month as GNC VIP member, it will mean the RM132.55 which means RM2.20 for each tab. Considering there is twice the amount of lutein, this will make the price slightly higher than Live Well's.

Will keep you posted!

Malaysia's Facial Cotton Pad vs Indonesia's

If you follow my blog, you would know that I travel to Indonesia frequently.

My recently buy from our neighbouring country is facial cotton pad.

In the photo you can see the difference in quality between our local ones and the one from Indonesia.

Left is from Indonesia. Right is Premier brand from Malaysia

I have stopped buying facial cotton pad from Watsons as I find them getting thinner and thinner by the years and worst yet, it leaves cotton residue on the face :o

Indonesia on the other hand is much cheaper (about RM2 for 50gm pack) and thicker.

Yes you may argue the Premier brand ones are the sealed type, hence it could be thinner, but I have used Watsons' before and it is getting thinner and thinner by the day.

There are only 2 brands at this particular supermarket but upon closer inspection, I realised they are from same manufacturer. Just that blue one is produced specifically for Value Plus supermarket chain.

So when my personal stock for this Indonesia cotton is finish, I will use The Face Shop cotton pad. Much more expensive @ RM5.90 for 80pcs but well worth it because on 1 piece there are 2 surface - cotton and cotton net.

The net side is great for removing mascara etc cos when it's all black, you can remove it the net and you'll get a cleaner cotton surface beneath.

So I am hoping that Watsons will improve the quality of their cotton pad, otherwise there are many alternatives available like Muji, Daiso and even Shiseido which are available @ selected Parkson outlets.

Akemi Uchi bedsheets

Bought a King Quilt Cover set from Akemi Uchi, Sunway Pyramid on 24 May 2013 for RM269.

The bolster cover came out of the washing machine with TEAR.

The pillow case after wash, used for 2 night and there was a tear.

Notice it is because of insufficient border in sewing. Is the fabric so expensive that Akemi Uchi have to conserve it till there's not enough border given??

When I request for change, the Verdict is I have to wait 1 month since I have washed it, therefore they need to send to factory for inspection.

If I didnt wash, then I can get instant replacement. I am like???? Why the inconvenience because it is not easy to go Sunway, get a parking and etc.

Besides is Akemi stupid enough to sell products with tear that can be seen without washing it first??

Come on, practice some good customer service please Akemi Uchi! How can anyone buy your products in the future if this is how you treat your customers??

Snorkelling Tips

Well just a gist of snorkeling tips especially for first timers:-

a) you bite the snorkel and the big flap is between your lips and teeth.

b) using toothpaste on the mask will improve clarity of the mask but do not use the toothpaste on normal goggles. It will spoil the plastic. I learnt this the hard way, cos the snorkeling mask is made from glass whereas goggles are plastic :(

c) any hair in between the mask will cause water to seep into the mask. So brush away all hair or secure with pin.

d) wave both hands in the air, in event of emergency to call for help.

e) you breathe and exhale through your mouth. You do not use your nose at all!

Just learning to breathe this way takes time because we are so used to breathing through our nose. Or in swimming - breathing through mouth and exhaling through nose.

But don't worry. You'll get a hang of it pretty soon cos you just don't want to miss looking at the fishes and corals below =D

Redang Island vs Lang Tengah

When I was in Lang Tengah (click lang-tengah-island-overview-and-tips), I have heard some positive comments about Laguna Redang.

So when planning for a big family trip, I naturally suggested Laguna.

We opt for the 3 days 2 nights deluxe package which include 6 meals and 3 snorkeling trips. Extra 1 snorkeling trip compare with the Lang Tengah package.

Laguna Redang Package 2013

After my stay this is what I have to say:-

(NB: Pro for Laguna would mean Con for Lang Tengah and vice versa)

PRO Laguna / CON Lang Tengah

1) Great food

In terms of quality and quantity. For all 6 meals we enjoyed different types of Malaysian food.

One day nasi lemak, the next chee cheong fun with yong tau foo and the next roti canai and even mee soto.

There were also western food like spaghetti, chips and nuggets.

During the BBQ dinner for one of the night, we even have very good satay together with unlimited BBQ beef and lamb.

What more can we ask for??

Plus for all meals we were served 3 types of fruits (watermelon, banana, papaya, honey dew or melon).

There were 2 types of soup, asian and western at all meals. Wow!!

Lang Tengah being a smaller island and resort, the food though different every day, well there is nothing much to shout about.

I remember being late for a nasi lemak breakfast and that's it. Finished. So we just have toasted bread for breakfast that morning.

2) Informative Briefing

There is a briefing EVERY time before going for snorkeling. This is especially useful if this is your first snorkeling trip. You'll actually be taught the proper way to wear the mask and use the snorkel.

3) Night life

Yes there is night life in Redang throughout the beach stretch with live singing and dancing especially during the weekend, organised by the many resorts and hotels.

In fact there is even an Ochado bubble tea shop in Redang island :o

4) Activities in Laguna

Since Laguna is a big hotel, sometimes the save the turtles society will hold their awareness campaign on Laguna's beach.

We were privileged to take part in the release the hatchlings to sea and these babies sea turtles are super CUTE!!

5) Can fly to Redang Island

You have the option of flying directly to Redang island.

For Lang Tengah, the nearest airport is Kuala Terengganu so you have to time your flight so that you can catch the shuttle van to Merang jetty and then catch a boat to the island. Which means an extra 2 hours plus in your travelling time.

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CON Laguna / PRO Lang Tengah

1) Many people in hotel

Having such variety of food in Laguna means that there are a lot of people! If you prefer a quiet getaway, then sorry to say Laguna is not your choice.

2) Crowd during snorkelling

Since there are so many people, whenever we go snorkeling, we go in 2 -3 boats. Can you imagine the crowd at any given time in the sea.

But good thing is the fishes are accustomed to human, meaning they do not swim away from human. In fact if you hold out your "empty" hand, they instinctively think you have food and will swim closer to inspect =D

3) The sea life

The corals and fishes in Redang are not as big and beautiful as Lang Tengah. Possibly because Lang Tengah is more pristine.

4) Stars gazing

You cannot see the stars in Redang because there are too much light from the hotels and etc. 

But in Lang Tengah, if you take a short walk away from the resort, you can see the most beautiful night sky!

5) "Extra" crowd from cruise ships

Since Laguna is a big hotel, they sometimes rent their facilities to cruise ships passing by their shores.

However this is not really a problem unless you decide to skip the snorkeling trip and stay back in the hotel.

Then you'll be surrounded by an "extra" thousand of guests vying for the same beach chair or sharing your pool.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

VERDICT

If you want sea life - go for Lang Tengah

If you want good food and night life - go for Redang Island

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Interesting to note that:-

A) what happens during monsoon season??

The staffs leave the island but are paid FULL salary.

Meaning the resort have to gain their profits during the short peak season months by filling the resort to max.

I know this cos we tried to ask for a late check out from Laguna for just one room out of the six which we booked but was declined as they had back to back reservations. Wow!!

B) rooms in Laguna

all the deluxe rooms in Laguna have beds for 4 people.

But you cannot like book for two and stay four person as what are the other 2 people going to eat and do as they cannot follow the snorkelling trips??

C) lack of roads in Redang

there are no roads leading from the Redang airport to the resort.

Meaning from the airport, we travel by van to a nearby jetty to take a boat to the hotel. All in about 30 - 45 minutes.

The only bummer in this is the short walk on the jetty cos the jetty is too narrow. It's one direction. Meaning vans going in have to reverse out.

On our way there, our van just drop us at the entrance and we had to walk and maneuver our way on the jetty as it was filled with vans, motorbikes and people from the opposite direction (most with luggage in tow).

Sigh!! Why can't the government build a wider jetty for the convenience of everyone??

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

For further information:-

Laguna Diving Package 2013

"Washing" your washing machine

Never thought that I need to "wash" my washing machine.

My colleague actually recommended me this product. Since the reason you wash clothes is so that you have clean clothes, the cleanliness of the washing machine will affect the level of cleanliness right? Err.. how should I word this.. hmm..

Anyway get this product from Cosway. It's PowerMax Wash Drum Cleaner (RM12.50) 2 packs x 300gm. Meaning one box can use for 2 times.

For my washing machine, I see a lot of algae floating up in the initial wash of 2 - 3 minutes.

After 5 hours of soaking the results are more or less the same to the naked eye but definitely see less algae especially in areas like those in picture below. It was all clean after the wash.

After the 5 hours soak and complete full cycle, I found a lot of algae sticking at the bottom of the tub in the morning. So had to do 2 empty but full cycles before I finally got rid of them and can use my washing machine.

Will definitely use do this again when I see algae build up in the machine =D

Knorr Instant Macaroni

From my trip to Hong Kong, I realized that Hongkies when eating noodle would have their noodles in 2 options:-

1) instant noodle (ramen) or
2) macaroni (which the locals called "toong sum fun" which literally means hollow center noodle)

So I bought myself 6 packets of instant Knorr Macaroni from a supermarket. You would have known by now that whenever I travel, I must go to the local supermarket to buy their sauce, biscuit etc. Inexpensive way to buy souvenirs ;p

After adding the soup base

Both me and my husband tried it and after eating it, I guess macaroni is an acquired taste meaning Malaysians wills stick to their maggi for a long long time cos cooking time for macaroni is longer and the taste is quite bland especially if you have to finish a bowlful of them. I had to add a tin of corn to add some crunch and variety the 2nd time I cook it.

Which also explains why a check on Knorr's website which is under Unilever reveal that the only Knorr products which we have in Malaysia are their seasoning powder, paste, sauce and soup. No food.. Only seasoning.

So it's everyone guess when macaroni will be staple food for Malaysian but for me personally, it's definitely not something which I will crave for.