Saturday, November 22, 2008

Funny...

Funny No. 1
Those hole-y assholes, i mean, hole-y organization really did it.
No more yoga for Muslims.
They really have guts to reject yoga. According to these VIP (very idiotic pious) people, the 3 combo (movement, chanting and worshipping) are main elements in yoga and contradicts with Islamic value.
I really salute these VIP gau gau!!
Tabik!!!!

Funny No. 2
Another funny article by Patrick Teoh. So, can the real fler (killer) please stand up?

Funny No. 3
Ahh, he is back to his old form - punching on the right spot. May Allah bless him.. Oops!! I could risk myself thrown into jail if they caught me using the word "Allah"..


Malaysians really have a good sense of humour, don't we?

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Day Trip to Dutch Hill

As I was driving on my way to Lumut from KL last 2 week, I was passing by a place called "Bukit Melawati". Back in the good old school days, I believe this place was mentioned in our history books, on the chapters of Dutch invasion in the 15th century and subsequent civil wars fought in Selangor in the 17th and 18th century. Curious of the historical past, I decided to take a short tour around the place.

So, I did a short detour to this place. It was also known as Bukit Belanda, or "Dutch Hill". This place is located in Kuala Selangor, famous for the firefly sightings. By the time I reached there, it was almost close to 5pm, and I only managed to take a very very short tour at the museum located here. Didn't have the chance to fully digest the information and the historical background of the place, as the tour was cut short.Quite a waste, actually.

Anyway, below are some snapshots of the place.

The road leading to the top of Bukit Melawati. Road is wide enough only for one car and it's a one-way road. The road is open to public on weekdays, so one can drive up. However, it's closed on Saturday and Sunday.
Therefore, you can opt to take a tram to the top, or you can walk up. Ticket cost only RM2 for both way.

It's a brisk walk of 15 minutes from the bottom of hill to the top, if you choose to do so.




During the old times, lots of merchant ship, especially Dutch ships, plied the route of Straits of Melaka. From the top of the hill, one can see the coastline from afar.
It was due to this strategic location that the Dutch decided to build their fort in the 15th century after they conquered Melaka , hence the name Bukit Belanda (or Dutch Hill, in Malay). Subsequent power struggle followed, led by the Malay warlords to take back the hill from the Dutch after that. These warlords succeeded in the end, and the name was changed to Kubu Melawati.
From here, you can see small fishing villages dotting the river banks.
You can also see the mangrove sanctuary, a haven for migrating birds.
I saw 2 eagles soaring sky above during my visit.
Scouring for food in the marsh.

You will be greeted by this 17th century cannon. Originally brought by the Dutch to protect the fort from enemies. There are several cannons placed all over the hill top, all facing towards the sea, supposedly to guard the straits from pirates and enemies alike.














Mentagar tree.
This type of tree can be found in abundant in Kuala Selangor. Well, that's what it was stated in the museum.
The shape of the tree is rather nice, don't you think?

This tree is a favourite hangout for the monkeys that lives surrounding the hill.









View of a cannon below a mentagar tree. I lovethis photo shot.

There was a chair below the tree too (not captured in the shot), and I saw two monkeys sitting there, lovey-dovey-ing to each other.

Btw, these monkey falls under the group "Homosapiens". Hehehe...










Altingsburg Lighthouse on top of Bukit Melawati.
Beacon of hope for ships sailing in the dark.

















A 17th century cannon, with the lighthouse at the background













Lots and lots of silverleaf monkeys can be found here. One rough count showed there were at least 100 of them here.
These monkeys are adorable, seriously. They are very friendly and approachable. I was a little afraid when seeing a whole group of them, but once you started feeding them with long beans and bananas (which was sold here), and seeing how beautiful they are, my scared feelings are gone. Beautiful, you say?
No kidding. They have a sporty hairstyle, like David Becham's mohican hairstyle which was famous a few years back. They gave them nickname "David Beckham".


Close up of a Silverleaf Monkey, with the mohican hairstyle (barely visible here)


Long tailed macaques. Another type of monkey that lives on the hill. This type of monkey is rather hostile. Doubt if they have the word "friend" in their dictionary, if they have any.
Try not to be near them, as they are rather fierce.

(Photo taken from another website)











Other than monkeys, there are also a few other wild animals found here.

A python, about 3 metres long

And a tiger!! Hah!!

Overall, the trip was satisfying even though it was a short one, less than 1.5 hours. This was suppose to be a historical tour, but I spent more time admiring the view and the animals, rather than spending time understanding the historical past of the place.

Nevertheless, I look forward to visit the trip again, but I will have to make sure I reach there earlier, not late in the evening!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Au Revoir, Mon Amour


I thought that our love will last forever.
I was wrong.
I know that the time we know each other is short, but we could give it a try if we could.
But you didn't.
Maybe we will work out just fine if you are willing to give ourselves a chance.
But we began to fall apart.
You try to avoid me, I know it.
Avoid seeing me, or even answering my call.
I could never find any thing wrong that I did that caused you to do so.
Could it be my lack of attention? Or me not beside you in times of need?
I could never understand.

But now I do.
You finally have the courage to admit that you are seeing someone else.
That really hurt my heart. Like a stab, deep into me.
And worse still, you are going to marry that bastard and bear his child.
I will never forgive you for this despicable act.

Farewell, my love.

ps: I will still keep those beautiful photo collection of yours. That will be handy in times of need.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Bird-day Pressie~~

How would you feel if someone remembers your birthday and sends you a gift on that very great day? That would be great, ain't it?

Well, today, I am feeling exactly the same.
Words couldn't described how happy I was to receive that gift. Tears almost rolled down my cheek when my mum broke the news to me. Though I have not seen in person what is the gift, I know that this would be a very special gift, from my dearest friend.

Thank you, my dear friend. I know you are always dear in my heart. I shall always remember you.

Now, let's wait for the next upcoming discount for me to reciprocate the gift.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Screw It, Let's Do It!!

In bad economic times like this, I have often emphasized in my few earlier blogging articles that cash is supreme. We would have to tighten our belt and save as much as we can for the big storm ahead. The current global meltdown is unprecedented in world’s history. Trillions of dollars was swept from the equity market, and numerous banks went down under, resulting in bailout from the Central Bank. Share market is dropping day by day. Singapore has already declared that they are in technical recession. God knows what is there to come. One can say that the current scenario is much worse than The Great Depression of the 1920’s. Interest rates are dropping, another sign of recession in the loom. Saving money is paramount as you will never know how long this storm will last.

However, economist will argue that saving during the bad times will only make the economy harder to recuperate. The money put in banks will not generate more money as the interest rates are usually low. Instead, they will urge the people to spend so that the money will be circulated in the economy. When people spend, it is a sign that the condition is not bad as people has the ability to spend. The effect of the money transferring from one’s possession to another will create wealth, and thus boosting the confidence of the overall market. This is better as the wealth is well spread compared to putting all the money into bank savings, thus benefiting only the bank.

So, instead of practising what I preach, which is save, save and save, I decided to heed the economist’s advice for once, and I went for a buying spree at a local book fair. Talk about walking the talk! I can’t help that I am behaving like a politicians, as 99.99% of them do not practise what they preach. Hehehee!


Screw It, Let’s Do It, by Richard Branson
(I later found out that I have downloaded the e-book version in my laptop last time and I wasn’t even aware of it!)

Marley and Me, by John Grogan
(Story about a family and their beloved labrador doggie)


Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
(I haven't watch the movie version though)

The HP Way : How Did Bill Hewitt and I Built Our Company, by David Packard
(Definitely can learn one thing or two from the founders of one of the
biggest companies in the world)


Chronicles of Narnia (Book 1 to 3), by CS Lewis

Climbing Book, with plenty of graphics, costing only RM10. Cheap, cheap, cheap!!

Obsessive compulsive kicked in, and I ended up buying about 10 books. Total cost = RM150+.

Isn’t it great to know that this money will be benefitting the bookstore, publisher, author, advertising company and newspaper (It was promoted in the local paper), the temporary workers at the bookfair, transporter (massive amount of books required to be transported from the warehouse to the book fair, right?), right down to the ice-cream pedlars outside the bookfair (I also bought an ice-cream after hours spent there)?

I have done my part to save the ailing economy, though it’s not really a big help. What about you?

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Mourning For Humanity

I really wish that our Muslim Hole-y Council will issue a fatwa condemning this brutal, inhuman act, rather than wasting resources on determining who are devianist and who is not over some yoga session.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Lumut, Oh Lumut

Photo 1 : Lumut WaterFront

Photo 2 : Restaurants alongside the Waterfront with magnificent view of the river

Photo 3 : View of Dinding River by the Jetty

Photo 4 : Ferry parking at the jetty

Photo 5 : View of Lumut Navy Base, taken on top of Bukit Engku Busu

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Down The Memory Lane

It's been more than 4 years since I last stepped into my alma mater and I badly missed my university days. As I took leave last Tuesday, I decided to drive to UKM to have a short tour around. After all, I was on my way from Seremban to Lumut, and I will be passing the Bangi exit.

Let's take a short tour around the campus.


Photo 1 : The main road leading into UKM entrace. One can see the uni's mosque just on the right of the entrace

*** AROUND UKM ***

Photo 2 : Front view of DECTAR (Dewan Chanselor Tun Abdul Razak).
It's the main hall of the university.

Photo 3 : View of a stadium. Track and field events are conducted here on a regular basis
Photo 4 : View of a swimming pool in KRUKM (Kelab Rekreasi UKM).
It was here that I won led my hostel and winning medals in the annual inter-hostel swimming competition *beaming with pride*


Photo 5 : One nice thing about UKM is that there are lots of greeneries around. You can find rows of trees alongside the road. The management is really supportive of green environment, I guess

Photo 6 : Road leading to the heart of UKM

Photo 7 : View of FSKK (Faculty of Human Science and Sociology ... I think the name is something like that larr)

*** KOM B ***

Photo 8 : Kolej Aminuddin Baki (Kom B), the hostel I stayed throughout the 4 years in uni

Photo 9 : My room is on the top floor, furthest to the left

Photo 10 : Bien venue a Kolej Aminuddin Baki

Photo 11 : The main lobby of the hostel administration office.
Used to hang out here often (reading free newspaper, chatting up with frens, lepak lepak, watching TV)


Photo 12 : The sofa sets are quite new

Photo 13 : K5B up ahead

Photo 14 : K5B-419. My room for 4 years! Currently unoccupied.

Photo 15: The stairs leading from Kom B to PTSL and Pusanika

*** PTSL ***

Photo 15: The exterior of PTSL (Perpustakaan Tun Sri Lanang). It was renovated ever since I left uni in 2004. Plus, free wi-fi connection is available, and you can see lots of students using laptop compared to my time

Photo 16: The interior of PTSL. The interior was renovated as well, with a brand new sofa set thrown in

Photo 16: Nice designing work, but I must say the pinkish/reddish colour is not really conducive to study environment

*** PUSANIKA ***

Photo 17: Nescafe stall still stand strong after these years. It was first set up in year 2000.

Photo 18: Choir room has been "cannibalized" and turned into this club

*** KEJUT ***

Photo 19 : Kejut Lake (Kejut = short form for Kejuruteraan), beautiful and serene. During my time, this lake was full of muddy water and no fish is able to survive here

Photo 20 : Solar House, an experimenting ground for solar energy. A new addition after I graduated. Situated opposite Faculty of Engineering.

Photo 21 : Front view of Faculty of Engineering

Photo 22 : Masterpiece from the students of Deparment of Architecture.
This department was only set up in year 2004.