Drink and be healthy

I find it odd that the society are competing to look trendy and fashionable but they forget that health should come first.What is the point of wearing the prettiest attire when you are not healthy inside.It's like carrying a thousand ringgit handbag with five ringgit in it!

You may argue that you exercise at the best gym or you practice yoga with the best teacher.That is good,well done,but do you realise that a healthy regime consists of good eating habits,exercise and enough sleep.

Being humans we cannot resist the temptation of delicious food especially desserts.Maybe there are those with strong willpower but I am guilty of being easily succumbing to cakes and chocolate!

At my age those are health hazards then I realized that although I practice yoga and aerobics,I am still not healthy.

I was lucky to be introduced to the Gaharu Tea Valley during my assignment as a reporter two years ago.I learned about the benefit of the gaharu tea and oil when I did my research.

Fast forwad to now,I had the opportunity to try the new Gaharu drink known as GOGA.(Gopeng Gaharu)I am not going to explain about why Gopeng Gaharu because it's widely known that Gopeng has the largest organic Gaharu plantation.The rest you can google it up.

So I started drinking my new health drink as a supplement.Guess what?I feel healthier,I sleep well and I don't get stress up easily like before.

It is costly,well gaharu is the most expensive commodity in the world.Since it made me feel good,I decided to share it with friends from my exercise class.None of them showed interest.They prefer to  indulge in expensive handbags,make up and clothes.Why?

Not many are willing to spend their ringgit on healthy supplements because it cant be seen.Superficial?Yes.

So there you go.Aging comes with a price.The hospital bill or health supplement.Think about it.

Ho Yan Hor

The Ho Yan Hor tea museum which is located at Jalan bukit timah right beside Han Chin Pet Soo museum was built to honour the man  called Dr.Ho Kai Cheong.His father was Ho Sin Leong from China and he came to Malaya and was stationed  in Kati,Kuala Kangsar. 

Therefore Dr.Ho was the first Chinese to be born in Kati. His father runs a kopitiam and that was how he cultivated his interest in tea making.

The museum was the orginal home of Dr Ho who initially rented a room for his family in 1941.After his success, he bought the building and the rest is history.

From the Ho Yan Hor herbal tea business, Ho set up the Ho Yan Hor Medical Hall, later renamed as Ho Yan Hor Sdn Bhd.
Today, it is known as Hovid Bhd, a public listed company.

"At the age of eight his father took him back to China and after six years he returned to Malaya.At 14 he decided to venture on his own telling his father that he no longer wants to work in the kopitiam. "said Ng Chen Yuan, the museum manager.

So he found a job in a Chinese medical hall."He was hardworking and was an avid reader.He learned about Chinese medicine through his books ."

" He managed to open a medical hall at the age of 17 and runs it for a year after which he was called  back to China to join the army .Later he went to Hong Kong and took up medicine at Canton University and graduated in 1940."said Ng.

He came back to Malaya and became a Chinese physician in Malim Nawar. Not long after his stint as a physician, he was caught by the Japanese because they thought that he was a spy for the British. He pleaded stubbornly to the Japanese saying "I am a doctor, not a spy  and my job is to treat the people." So by luck,he was set free.

He ran off to a Malay village and started planting padi in order to hide from the Japanese. He moved to Ipoh after the war and met his wife.At this point,he was totally broke but he had a mentor .

The mentor adviced him to sell his herbal tea on a small scale. With four dollars in his pocket, he started brewing his first pot of tea.Ho sold his tea within an hour.So happy he was, that he started his tea business from 5pm to 10pm and everyday he sold 1,200 cups. Lady luck was on his side and he started making money .Every night his hand shook while counting his money.

Ho was also known as a cycling entrepreneur.He cycled all over  Malaya to sell his tea and it took him three weeks to reach Kuala Lumpur with blisters all over.He made it and took half a year to get back home.

In 1948 he bought his first car, and in 1951 he bought his first Ho Yan Hor van for his business.

The museum shares the amazing stories of the founder and provides the discovery of the origins and evolution of the heritage herbal tea, including the 24 herbs used by Dr Ho to make his herbal Ho yan hor tea.

Ends

Health is Wealth

"I see fat people everywhere " Not trying to sound patronising but it's the truth.They love food but they don't like to exercise.It takes so much effort for them to even walk to the nearest shop.They prefer to use the car,they don't want to use the stairs and they would rather sit and do nothing about themself. Sounds familiar?

It's about time we show love to our body.Not by stuffing our face with cakes but by eating less and exercise more.There is no excuses for not trying to be fit.Money is not an issue too because exercises doesn't mean fancy gym or clubs.

Ipoh has a recreational field fondly known as the Polo ground.Its huge and most evenings or morning there will be people of all ages and gender brisk walking,running and and do all sorts of exercise.

The women that cannot afford to attend fitness classes or gyms are seen climbing the kledang hill on the outskirt of Ipoh town.Regardless of age,even those in their late 60s climb this hill either by the normal road or the jungle trail.

With fresh air in their lungs,these women are fitter than young adults who sits at cafes with their eyes set on their mobiles playing the role of keyboard warriors on social media.

At fields and parks,we see old women doing tai chi.Such wonderful sight.They moved with grace and they glow with health.

I guess having no money is no longer an excuse for not exercising. At the 'Polo field' are women doing aerobics with their friends and some does yoga while there are others who strolled,an exercise to them.

It is a good sign because it goes to show that the society is well informed about the benefits of exercising. The government often stress on the need to fight obesity among today's kids so parents should show good example by leading a healthy lifestyle.After all parents are role models.

Without a doubt, fitness studios and gyms are growing like mushrooms in this laid back city.Zumba,aerobics, Pilate's and yoga.You name it,they have it.No excuse again for 'tatai' (rich housewives) to say that Ipoh has no fitness trainers or classes.

When women group together these days,they no longer talked and compare about their children's achievement in the academic field.No more bragging about how many 'A' their children score.Now they usually compare notes about their fitness and health regime.

It is a healthy phenomenon here among Ipoh ladies.The hill climbers usually drinks fresh coconut juice sold at the foot of the hill after their climb to the sight of monkeys playing around.The club ladies will drink 'smoothies' (blended fruit juices) after sweating it out.

In retrospect women of this era are much healthier compared to those from our mother's era.Gone are the days when women would brag about their designers handbags and shoes. Women of today will brag about their yoga poses,their headstands or their stamina.True to the saying that 'Health is Wealth'