Showing posts with label Malaysia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Malaysia. Show all posts


.


waz chillin' in the beach in two thousand six.





uh-uhum (yawn)... nothing interesting to blog recently. interesting things are always happening but not very interesting to blog.







Chinese temple in Penang. I think it's called Kek Lok Si, or something that sounds as esoteric as that.





so i scanned my folders and found some old random photos to paste and fill the page.






shy and young...
i danced the 'pot' dance







that cigarillo is a prop
two thousand two in shinjuku







Buskers, Malacca old ruins in zer0 7
they sing international songs. they sang "Anak" by Fredie Aguilar. ha! They were good!








kutie boutique in I don't remember where.
could it be in KLCC? Central Market? or China town?
..... Oh nohs, in some obscure shopping mall in Bukit Bintang!





till the next random act..


.





Kuala Lumpur - means "muddy confluence" as two rivers carrying soil/mud meet here.


The muddy place is now a very neat city of canals.




















Masjid Jamek

- Oldest mosque in KL built in 1907. Designed after Moorish Indian mosques.
It stands exactly between where the two rivers meet.






Dataran Merdeka!
or Independence Square.




The Merdeka Square symbolized British sovereignty as it was a cricket ground for the colonial administrators and fronted the Royal Selangor Club - Malaya's most exclusive whites-only club.

But on the midnight of August 31, 1957, at this very same spot, the Malayan people declared their independence. The British Flag was then lowered and the Malayan flag was hoisted for the first time, in a flag pole considered one of the highest in the world.






Artemis in Merdeka Square
Behind, sandwiched between two tall modern buildings is another Moorish architecture called the Sultan Abdul Samad building







Old architectures right across Merdeka Square.
It gives me the feelings of being "back in time," like what I used to see in picture magazines when I was little.

notice Malaysian flag painted on taxi.






Sultan Abdul Samad Building

I walked past this building numerous times and I never knew what it was, not until now that I read the info from wiki. I took many photos of it just because it looked beautiful.


Built in 1894-1897 to house several important government departments during the British administration. The architect, A.C. Norman, spent time in Africa and saw Muslim mosques in India which led him to use Moorish architecture in the building's design.























finally, we walk five minutes to go for dinner @
China Town
!




(these two photos are not really very related)





travel time: Mar-May 2007


.



.


KLCC Park, the area surrounding Petronas Towers gives a feeling of balance between nature and modernization.








is this their kind of obelisk?









lovely isn't it? like one of those magazines advertising real estate properties. strangely enough, (must be the lighting and shadow) but it also kinda reminds me of those J. Witnesses booklets full of perfect images.








i'd love to live here if not for its hot weather... but better than Manila and Bangkok...










this is so far my favorite setting, children cooling-off in the pool while their parents are doing business or shopping in those buildings behind. perfect for a hot and humid city.









a peaceful place to date














i noticed the element of water being ever-present around the area. that has something to do with the science of fengsui.




KL is a very planned charming city indeed!




I echo what my friend who lives in Malaysia said, that Malaysia is a good country to live. A relatively new country, very much less populated, multi-ethnic and much less pollution. However, religious fanaticism is just no good wherever it is found. Glad that there is not much of it in KL, but I heard few stories of it in the northern provinces.





travel time: March/April 2007


.


.

for a long while, i really didn't feel like posting photos of the famous Malaysian twin towers. it is because there are just too many photos of them already! they're already too conspicuous that I know the photos I took of them already lost its novelty.




i post some anyway.































*inside the twin towers*







rain: looking through the glass window








don't i look like more the tour guide than the tourist?








seen from the nth floor, the buildings and lake below look
like computer chips.








it's more like this actually, with a closer look.






*up next will be the idyllic balance of nature and city surrounding the Petronas towers.



travel time: March/April 2007









I make it a habit that whenever I have something I want to experience, I schedule it early. I heard it is good luck to start the year with whatever you want to be experiencing for the rest of the year. I have always loved traveling. So for 2007, I left on the 18th of February. The original plan was January but it just didn't happen. (In the year 2006, I started right on time, on a January, for the Batanes islands trip.)





just arrived




My first destination was to the Langkawi island of Malaysia, to volunteer for an animal sanctuary. Though I would have loved to have been involved on the ongoing Malaysian wildlife project, (orangutans and giant turtles!!) there was just no opportunity at that time. So the animals I went to see and care for were not very wild -- the dogs and cats that were abandoned.




the next day after arriving in Kuala Lumpur, I took the night train and was in Langkawi in the early morning. this bird is the symbol of the island from which it's name was taken. fly Langkawi fly...





this is part of the upscale resort-restaurant of the 'boss.' the philanthropist who took it upon herself to gather, give food and shelter to all the stray dogs and cats of the island. I think she's a Buddhist, and so this project is a part of her dharma and good karma. I really see it as a good service to the animal-kind, we included.







each volunteer is given a 'house.' I had two bedrooms in my house. This is my day-room for taking naps at daytime or when I wanted to watch DVDs. I made it a day-room because it's located in a more airy corner.







this is my night-room, more insulated from distracting outside lights.








me and one of the cats at the
veterinary clinic.





The task as a volunteer was very easy and basic. Clean the dogs' pen in the morning. Play with them. Feed them for lunch. Play with them again. Play some peaceful music to guide them reach the alpha level of the mind, and maybe attain some Nirvana-like-state of consciousness. Feed them again in the evening.
That's all.

There were about 40 dogs in Sanctuary B where I was assigned. I liked the dogs and they liked me too, though it would have also been fun to be with the cats, because they are really my tribe.

Food and lodging for the volunteer is provided.





Some of the things to see in Langkawi




Langkawi's most popular beach, Pantai Cenang






guesthouse of some dignitary?
















The Dockyard.
I was invited to a barbecue party in one of these yachts. Some people live in these yachts, they travel the seas of the world.


















After two weeks in Langkawi, (I originally committed for a month) I couldn't stand the heat and the isolation, mostly the heat in that orchard area where the dogs are "sanctuaried." And because I was there on a purely volunteer basis, I could legally leave anytime I wanted. So I bid goodbye and went back down to Kuala Lumpur.


In KL, a whole new adventure awaited me.





travel period: February 2007