A Day with Sheila Majid at Belum Rainforest

Hello readers,

If you still remember, I was at Belum Rainforest Resort on April for Sheila Majid's concert. Read this entry in case if you have forgotten about it.

Apart from the concert, we also joined Sheila for Belum-Temengor Rainforest tour and its surroundings. It was an interesting trip organised by the EMKAY group where we learned more about life in the heart of the rainforest. So readers, lets read this entry till the end to find out what we did.

The journey started by gathered at the Reception area of Belum Rainforest Resort where we depart via a few 4WD. 

Our first destination was to Kampung Semelor, an Orang Asli settlement situated within the Temengor Forest. Yes it is .. the Orang Asli village were situated deep inside the Belum Rainforest. The journey to the village was via off road route. We were told that this route is a log path where heavy lorries and machinery use this route to transport logs out from the forest. The same route is used by the Orang Asli children to go to school. The journey to school took them a few hours by foot. 

Upon arrival, we were greeted by Tok Batin and the villagers. A warm welcomed speech were given. The visit were also accompanied by representatives from Yayasan Emkay, a foundation under Emkay Group which was founded on January 12, 2001 with the aim of easing the burden of the less fortunate without the limitation of race and religion, especially those living in remote areas or away from development flows.

The aid program under Yayasan Emkay is divided into five main categories, namely education and efforts towards raising awareness on the protection and conservation of the environment, healthcare, religion, sports development, and last aid towards community development and courtesy.


With Tan Sri Datuk (Dr.) Haji Mustapha Kamal bin Haji Abu Bakar as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Yayasan Emkay has contributed RM51.1 million (till September 2016) through various activities held under their noble vision.

Kampung Semelor, one of the Orang Asli village in Belum Rainforest. This village is very clean and well maintained.

After the welcomed speech, we visited the Toy Library, which was set in 2008 by Yayasan Emkay to help the orang asli children to have the opportunity to be exposed to education through play. The kids were excited to show us their skill - performing 'Sinaran' dance, one of Dato' Sheila's famous hit.

We then later visited Orang Asli women's sewing class and handicraft making centre. The women's sewing workshop is part of the Orang Asli Educational Program and is collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resources.

Together with the support of Ministry of Human Resource, Yayasan Emkay provide training and development skill to the Orang Asli women. They attended sewing classes and were taught how to do some handicraft. The handicraft are available for sale for visitors.

Jeans bag - creative, right. Should you have any unused jeans, you are encouraged to donate it to Yayasan Emkay. The donations will then channel to the Orang Asli community.

We walked further to our next destination ~ the weather was so clear, the sun smiled .. it was a bright, breezy day.

And we stopped for picture..

We later visited Madu kelulut area 

Madu kelulut or honey from 'kelulut' bee ~ 'Kelulut' bee is among the 33 species of trigona bee species that have no sting and not harmful to humans. It is reported that the prolong intake of madu kelulut will give beneficial effect on health and restoration of chronic diseases.  We tried made kelulut .. it is naturally sweet and nice!

Some nice moments of Sheila and her family captured by the photographer's lens, Ardalan Memarzia

Sheila also tried her skill with 'sumpit' and Yes .. she made it!

We then were later served with 'Kampung lunch' ~ Ikan pekasam, Nasi buluh, Ayam masak buluh, Sambal belacan dan Sambal Tempoyak. 

We also visited Pulau Banding Research Centre, a centre responsible in carrying out research on flora and fauna of Belum-Temengor Rainforest and disseminates the information and helps facilitate to make the are a sustainable and eco-tourism destination. Sheila handed over a cheque of RM10,000 from her showcase proceeds to Dato Fazwinna Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal, Executive Director of Emkay Group to the foundation.

Sheila then setting her mark through a tree planting session to end her short, sweet trip at Belum Rainforest and its surroundings.

It was a memorable journey to discover the beautiful Belum-Temengor Rainforest and its surrounding, learned more about life in the heart of the rainforest and what Yayasan Emkay has contributed to conserve the nature and environment and community development.

Belum-Temengor Rainforest has everything to offer nature-lovers and holiday-goers ~ complete relaxation and serenity, stunning views and surroundings. It is a home to rare foliage and 14 of the world's most threatened mamals, and our rainforest is the oldest rainforest in the world, older than Amazon.

This is not my first visit to Belum-Temengor Rainforest .. every visit are special and I look forward to be there again.  If you are a nature lover *like me*, this place is 'heaven' *love*

More information can be obtained at www.belumrainforestresort.com 

Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2017

Hari ini hari ke dua (2) kita ber hari raya. Alhamdulillah .. dengan perasaan yang bercampur baur, masih dapat berhari raya bersama keluarga tercinta.

I spent my last Ramadan with my family. Pagi tu pergi ziarah kubur Arwah Abah dan Arwah Boi lepas tu balik rumah mama.

Mom was preparing some cookies so we gave her a helping hands. I knew mom was a bit sad since our brother just passed away 3 months ago but God blessed .. mom is so strong. She smiled despite her sadness. We helped her with Biskut Sampan, helped her in Raya dishes preparation. 

My last break fast for Ramadan 2017 was at my sister's house. KY cooked Fish Curry, Fried Chicken, Mix Vegetables, Carrot Rice, Sambal Belacan and her famous Kuih Talam Tokyo & Kuih Lopes. 

 Pagi 1 Syawal di rumah sendiri. Tiap kali raya, mesti nak beraya di rumah sendiri dulu, tak sanggup tinggalkan rumah sendiri sunyi sepi di pagi raya. Malam menjelang raya tu Misz-ella masak Rendang Ayam Cili Api, Daging Masak Merah, Sambal Kacang dan Agar-agar Santan. Pukul 3:30 pagi baru tidur. Penat? Demi keluarga tercinta, penat pun ku gagahi jua.

Lepas Solat raya kita bertolak ke rumah mama

Acara yang paling ditunggu-tunggu ~ Bermaaf-maafan sesama kita di hari raya. Bermula dari anak dan menantu yang paling tua hingga lah cucu paling tua dan diakhiri dengan cucu yang paling muda. Ini acara wajib di Hari Raya.

Bergambar beramai-ramai adalah acara wajib no. 2 - Opah and her grandchildren .. missing Ilyas, Aliya, Sara and Puteri during this Raya ..

 The ladies at mom's house ~ Not enough .. missing few more ladies during our first hari raya

Syurga anak lelaki di bawah tapak kaki ibu nya .. Semoga sampai Syurga kasih sayang kita. Alhamdulillah for another year of Raya together. Semoga Aiman kuat menempuhi segala cabaran kehidupan. Mama love you, Aiman.

My beautiful mom. She will be 70 this year. At her 70's she is still active ~ aerobics, cooking, walking, her Surau activity ..etc ..etc. Moga Allah berikan mama kesihatan yang baik agar mama boleh jalani hari-hari mendatang dengan lebih baik. Kakchik sayang mama.

My beautiful sister-in-law, Kak Ngah. Kak Ngah yang penyabar, Kak Ngah yang penyayang ..

This family is very beautiful and sweet ~ My sister KY & her family. 

Petang raya pertama di Segamat - rumah Mama Ida. Walau arwah Abah dah tak ada, kami tak pernah lupa pulang ziarah. Alhamdulillah untuk sebuah ukuwah yang sangat indah. Terima Kasih kepada arwah Abah kerana menyatukan kami dengan kasih sayang. Moga roh Arwah Abah dicucuri rahmat. Al-Fatihah.

Selamat Hari Raya buat pembaca blog Dari Jari-Jari Halusku ini. Maaf andai ada tulisan-tulisan Misz-ella yang mengguris hati dan perasaan pembaca blog Misz-ella yang budiman. Kita manusia biasa, tidak terlepas dari melakukan kesilapan dan kesalahan. Raikan Hari Raya dengan kasih sayang. Semoga Aidilfitri kali ini lebih bererti. Amin.

Eka Roots for healthier hair ~ My hair makeover for Hari Raya!

Hello readers ..

Image from google

Lets talk about a healthy hair in this entry. Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis or skin. Each of us dream is to have a healthy, shining, glossy hair. Regardless our age, either you are hijabistas or uncovered like me, we share a same dream ~ we want to have a healthy, fresh 'crowning glory' that give great impact on our look.

Being someone who love to look good, I started colouring my hair since I left school. I was only 18 at that time. I love to see my brown, gold, blonde hair. For me ~ Blonde is glam! Since then, I never stop colouring my hair till my brother called me Ms. Marry Brown *LOL*

However, the habit of colouring my hair countlessly, repeatedly (every 3 months) means exposing it to chemicals and it made my hair loss its natural moist. My hair loss its natural shine, too dry, dull and unhealthy. One of the worst things that happened to my hair was .. Split ends!!

The last thing I did to safe my hair from prolong damage was to cut it short. I know I look good, fresh and young with short hair too but I am a very conventional person. I still love long hair. A lady with a long beautiful hair always attract my attention.

Me, Leoniel, Selina & her family. Look at Selina's bouncy, healthy hair!

I recently was introduced to Eka Roots by my best friend, Selina. She has a beautiful, fresh, shining, glossy healthy hair. I admire and envy her beautiful hair. How did she keep her hair healthy despite her keep on styling her hair with blow dry? We know that continuous blow dry will damage our hair, right?

Eka Roots is located at No. 123, Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. It was easy to find the salon as it is just along the famous Jalan Maarof main road. Open everyday (except Sunday) from 9:30am to 9:00pm, I made my way to the salon after booking the 1st slot appointment, 9:30am. 

Most of the common issues that we are facing concerning our hair are hair loss, hair damage, and unhealthy scalp. Eka Roots is not a normal hair salon but is also a roots, hair and scalp wellness centre.

The salon is spacious, clean, neat and elegantly furnish with modern, zen furniture. The cosy ambience of Eka Roots made it  more than just a salon .. It is a hair spa centre where our hair wellness will be taken care. No smell of chemicals (ammonia especially) detected when I first stepped in *good feeling .. I LIKE*

Some of the products used ~ Philip Martin's Italian organic hair care product range ~ I love organic!

The salon has a few private rooms, offering its guest privacy ~ Either you come with your friends and would love to have an intimate private session together, or you are a 'hijabistas' and need a room which is more private, Eka Roots has it all.

My hair issues was diagnosed ~ dry, flat, less volume, oily scalp. Judith from Eka Roots gave me options ~ to remain my hair colour while treating my damage dry hair and my oily scalp or change the existing colour using henna while treating my damage hair and scalp at the same time. I am used with colours so I opted for henna *I never try henna before*

The henna mixture was made for my hair. This Eka henna herbal treatments work to reduce hair loss and promote hair growth for women and men. I was told that the mixture will make my hair stronger and healthier too.

Eka henna herbal's treatment are a mixture of henna, Eka's signature follicle cream, rosemary and grapefruit oils, mixed with henna colour to create a treatment that not only makes the hair shine with colour but also helps with hair growth.

There are four colour options of henna that we can choose from - My choice was Chestnut!

As the preparation and process can be very messy, this treatment can be done at the salon only. I was worried of the henna's smell at the beginning but surprisingly, the smell was good! This herbal formula was applied onto hair and scalp whereas hair ends is given a signature conditioning.

My hair was steamed for 20 minutes and washed. The whole process took approximately one hour and forty five minutes. I was excited to see the result!

Other than that, I also tried Hair Toxx treatment which is also available at Eka Roots. Hair Toxx (botox) is an exclusive rejuvenating in-salon treatment which are developed in ecological manner. Hair Toxx are made with authentic natural ingredients from Amazon. It is safe, free from salt, paraben, sulfate, mineral oil and others harmful chemicals. Well .. If you have been following my blog closely, you know how much I love anything natural and organic. Say YES to Hair Toxx to prolong the beauty and youth of our hair. 

The first step was to wash my hair using Hair Toxx shampoo. Then was to mask every layers of my hair with a mixture of the conditioner and serum. The main ingredients of Hair Toxx are Hyaluronic acid, fatty acid and acai berry. Regardless how far the modern science has gone in beauty, natural sources are still the best!! 

Then my hair was steamed for 20 minutes. I was told that my hair will go through 'a kind of plastic surgery in a natural way'. Wow .. I was so excited to see the result of my hair after undergone this natural plastic surgery. And tadaaaaa ... 

Can you see my hair different? I personally fell in love with my new hair makeover by Eka Roots. My hair are healthier, bouncier (it is no longer 'flat' like before), fresh, shining and glossy .. and what made me happier was I look younger and good with Henna! I never thought that I can have this fresh, shining hair again after more than 20 years exposing my hair to chemicals via colouring. Never. I always dream of nice, beautiful hair and my dream were brought to reality by Eka Roots.

Me with Esther of Eka Roots

Last but not least, Thank You Eka Roots for giving my hair a new life and making me proud of it. My hair is now ready for Hari Raya. I look forward to visit Eka Roots again. Thank You to my best friend Selina who recommended Eka Salon to me. I always love and trust you, Honey.

Eka Henna Herbal Treatment and Hair Toxx treatment are available at Eka Roots at the above mentioned price.

For those of you who want a healthy hair like me, visit Eka Roots today and mention my special code :- ELLAEKA17 and enjoy 10% discounts for Henna Herbal Treatment and Hair Toxx Treatment.

Visit www.ekaroots.com or follow Eka Roots Facebook page here for other services offered and latest updates. Healthier hair boost our confident and enhance our look, and you can own it at Eka Roots. Do not forget to check it out, k.