forbidden city
great wall
cute lil gong tao zaiWednesday 31 August 2005
contemplating china (thoughts)
dear emilyn...
here r my contemplations on my trip to china...kekeke...which to me...is much more interesting than the itenerary...or what i did there...
ok first off...like malacca...visiting china was really something...to actually bear witness to the great edifices n magnificent structures...i was practically struck dumb...the forbidden city...the summer palaces...the great wall...n to think they were constructed during ancient times...one can only imagine the wealth n power of chinese emperors...the greatness of the chinese civilization...
s i explored the ancient palaces of the emperors...looked in upon the lavish throne room...walked down the long graceful corridors...rested at the vast exotic gardens...i transported myself back into the past...during the reign of the emperor...right into his shoes...clothed in yellow silk robes...adorned with priceless jade...i could imagine the power n wealth in my hands...n the desire to proclaim it to the world...
but suddenly...i'm transported into another world...the separated world of the commoners...outside the forbidden city...into the narrow streets...n small poor houses of beijing...it's a real shocking change of reality actually...from the yellow silk covered beds of the emperor...to the hard gravel where the homeless sleep...from the comfortable life of royalty...to the hardworking life of peasants...
this sense of hardwork made n impression on me...in beijing...wherever u go...u c teenagers...probably around my age...or maybe younger...15 onwards...doing all sorts of jobs...guards...cleaners...factory workers...all sorts...really...the sort of jobs that malaysian teenagers would not normally do...n i found out that these teenagers r from provinces outside of hebei province...
without sufficient money to further their studies after middle school...these provincial teenagers who come from a family of farmers travel to the capital to look for jobs in the hopes of altering their destinies...but considering that fact that beijing itself has already 13 million people...it's no surprise that they have no choice but to accept n settle for any job...unlike malaysians who r really spoilt for choice...
but i have to commend them on their determination...their struggle to change their futures...to survive in this cold harsh world...all on their own...
ooh...n another thing...china's transportation system is so cool!...they have the usual buses n taxis...but they also have electrical trams...kinda like the ones in san frans i think...which is so eco-friendly...n they have subways...which reminded me of london...kekeke...but what makes it all unique is their trishaws...n bicycles...in fact...the bicycle is the main form of transport in beijing...with bicycle lanes conjested with people n their bikes...kekeke...it's really cool...someday...someday...i'm gonna live in a country where bikes r favoured...n i won't even buy myself a car...kekeke
all in all...travelling to china...in a way...it made me look in on myself n introspect...i understand myself better now...since i now know where i come from...my past n history...my origins...n somehow...i've found a part of my identity...understand the blood the flows through my veins...n whenever i come across a wall...all i have to do is look back over my shoulders...to look upon the greatness of the ancient chinese civilization looming over my back...its shadow protecting me n yet at the same time...threatening me...n goading me to challenge its own greatness...that once was...because i m from the same flesh n blood...
regards
k
here r my contemplations on my trip to china...kekeke...which to me...is much more interesting than the itenerary...or what i did there...
ok first off...like malacca...visiting china was really something...to actually bear witness to the great edifices n magnificent structures...i was practically struck dumb...the forbidden city...the summer palaces...the great wall...n to think they were constructed during ancient times...one can only imagine the wealth n power of chinese emperors...the greatness of the chinese civilization...
s i explored the ancient palaces of the emperors...looked in upon the lavish throne room...walked down the long graceful corridors...rested at the vast exotic gardens...i transported myself back into the past...during the reign of the emperor...right into his shoes...clothed in yellow silk robes...adorned with priceless jade...i could imagine the power n wealth in my hands...n the desire to proclaim it to the world...
but suddenly...i'm transported into another world...the separated world of the commoners...outside the forbidden city...into the narrow streets...n small poor houses of beijing...it's a real shocking change of reality actually...from the yellow silk covered beds of the emperor...to the hard gravel where the homeless sleep...from the comfortable life of royalty...to the hardworking life of peasants...
this sense of hardwork made n impression on me...in beijing...wherever u go...u c teenagers...probably around my age...or maybe younger...15 onwards...doing all sorts of jobs...guards...cleaners...factory workers...all sorts...really...the sort of jobs that malaysian teenagers would not normally do...n i found out that these teenagers r from provinces outside of hebei province...
without sufficient money to further their studies after middle school...these provincial teenagers who come from a family of farmers travel to the capital to look for jobs in the hopes of altering their destinies...but considering that fact that beijing itself has already 13 million people...it's no surprise that they have no choice but to accept n settle for any job...unlike malaysians who r really spoilt for choice...
but i have to commend them on their determination...their struggle to change their futures...to survive in this cold harsh world...all on their own...
ooh...n another thing...china's transportation system is so cool!...they have the usual buses n taxis...but they also have electrical trams...kinda like the ones in san frans i think...which is so eco-friendly...n they have subways...which reminded me of london...kekeke...but what makes it all unique is their trishaws...n bicycles...in fact...the bicycle is the main form of transport in beijing...with bicycle lanes conjested with people n their bikes...kekeke...it's really cool...someday...someday...i'm gonna live in a country where bikes r favoured...n i won't even buy myself a car...kekeke
all in all...travelling to china...in a way...it made me look in on myself n introspect...i understand myself better now...since i now know where i come from...my past n history...my origins...n somehow...i've found a part of my identity...understand the blood the flows through my veins...n whenever i come across a wall...all i have to do is look back over my shoulders...to look upon the greatness of the ancient chinese civilization looming over my back...its shadow protecting me n yet at the same time...threatening me...n goading me to challenge its own greatness...that once was...because i m from the same flesh n blood...
regards
k
contemplating china (itinerary)
dear emilyn...
here's the itinerary of my travels in china...it's 8 days long...n we visited quite a lot of places...so i'll leave the thoughts n pic for later...
day 1
flight to beijing | spectacular acrobatic show
day 2
gate of heavenly peace in tiananmen square | forbidden city | underground beijing city | temple of heaven
day 3
great wall of badaling | dingling tomb of the ming tombs
day 4
confucius temple | imperial summer palace | trishaw ride through hutong
day 5
bus to chengde
day 6
summer resort of chengde | little potala temple | bus back to beijing
day 7
bus to tianjin | cultural street | food street | bus back to beijing | zheng yang men ancient gate | bus to back beijing
day 8
beijing national zoo | flight back to kl
might not seem a lot...but it is...coz the places were expansive n took up lots of time...n not forgetting the various factories n shopping places we visited that i've omitted due to the lack of interest on my part...
so that's it for now...i'll blog about my take on the trip later...
cheers
k
here's the itinerary of my travels in china...it's 8 days long...n we visited quite a lot of places...so i'll leave the thoughts n pic for later...
day 1
flight to beijing | spectacular acrobatic show
day 2
gate of heavenly peace in tiananmen square | forbidden city | underground beijing city | temple of heaven
day 3
great wall of badaling | dingling tomb of the ming tombs
day 4
confucius temple | imperial summer palace | trishaw ride through hutong
day 5
bus to chengde
day 6
summer resort of chengde | little potala temple | bus back to beijing
day 7
bus to tianjin | cultural street | food street | bus back to beijing | zheng yang men ancient gate | bus to back beijing
day 8
beijing national zoo | flight back to kl
might not seem a lot...but it is...coz the places were expansive n took up lots of time...n not forgetting the various factories n shopping places we visited that i've omitted due to the lack of interest on my part...
so that's it for now...i'll blog about my take on the trip later...
cheers
k
Tuesday 30 August 2005
malaysian tour: part 3 (thoughts)
dear emilyn...
so now here's my take on the trip...basically...visiting the historical town of malacca was really something...everytime we visited a historical site...i kept thinking to myself...'this was already there 5 centuries ago'...'this was already real half a millenium ago'...n i kept imagining how it really was back then...the place...the people...the atmosphere...
imagine a famosa...500 years ago...after the fall of the malaccan malay sultanate to the portugese...war cries echo off the fort walls...long spears n keris' flash in the blazing sun...under the leadership of sultan mahmud...the malay warriors charge upon the walls of a famosa like the waves of the straights of malacca...up on the battlements...the thunder of guns can b heard...s the portugese soldiers defend the fort confidently...felling s many malay warriors s their ammunition allows...although the walls of the fort have lasted for half a millenium...it still remembers the bitterness of spilt blood n the saltiness of seaspray...
another thing...i'd like to put in my 2 cents worth on the bus system in malacca...if u'd noticed...we travelled around by bus most of time...but unlike in kl...the bus system in malacca is efficient...largely due to the construction of malacca sentral...a fully air-conditioned hub for bus transportation within the state...all 'domestic' n 'international' bus routes converge there...making it really efficient to get around n not to mention comfortable...
kl sentral should emulate this...i mean...busses r relatively much more cheaper n can serve a wider coverage area...so besides being the convergence point for the lrt, monorail, ktm n erl...y not make it into a hub for bus transportation too?...then only would kl sentral truly serve s the centre for public transportation that is worthy of the capital of malaysia...the people would also b much happier too...
oh n one more thing...whatever the goverment's trying to do...to fairly distribute the races throughout malaysia...isn't working at all...i mean...after travelling around malaysia for the past few months...i can definitely say that states outside of kl...have fewer non-bumis than in kl...i mean...come to think of it...it was quite hard for me to find a non-bumi in kt, kb, alor n mal...in my opinion...this isn't fair...coz i think the bumis should have a shot at living in kl too...n i think the goverment should do something about it...since it has promised to do so...
n last but not the least of all...it's a known fact...i love to travel...coz it opens my eyes to things i would never c at home...n after all this travelling...one thing has made a deep imprint on my mind...n that's how thankful i should b with the blessings that God has bestowed upon me...
i mean...visiting the states outside of kl really gives me n insight into the lives of those who live in poorer states...what they lack...what they need...n what they want...n it makes me grateful that i'm living in affluent kl...where there is abundance in resources...if not adequate...food...knowledge...n stuff...so i'm thankful to God for that...
so that's all for now...quite a bit actually...i think i'll postpone my blog on my travels to beijing till later...give u time to digest all of this first...kekeke...
cheers
k
so now here's my take on the trip...basically...visiting the historical town of malacca was really something...everytime we visited a historical site...i kept thinking to myself...'this was already there 5 centuries ago'...'this was already real half a millenium ago'...n i kept imagining how it really was back then...the place...the people...the atmosphere...
imagine a famosa...500 years ago...after the fall of the malaccan malay sultanate to the portugese...war cries echo off the fort walls...long spears n keris' flash in the blazing sun...under the leadership of sultan mahmud...the malay warriors charge upon the walls of a famosa like the waves of the straights of malacca...up on the battlements...the thunder of guns can b heard...s the portugese soldiers defend the fort confidently...felling s many malay warriors s their ammunition allows...although the walls of the fort have lasted for half a millenium...it still remembers the bitterness of spilt blood n the saltiness of seaspray...
another thing...i'd like to put in my 2 cents worth on the bus system in malacca...if u'd noticed...we travelled around by bus most of time...but unlike in kl...the bus system in malacca is efficient...largely due to the construction of malacca sentral...a fully air-conditioned hub for bus transportation within the state...all 'domestic' n 'international' bus routes converge there...making it really efficient to get around n not to mention comfortable...
kl sentral should emulate this...i mean...busses r relatively much more cheaper n can serve a wider coverage area...so besides being the convergence point for the lrt, monorail, ktm n erl...y not make it into a hub for bus transportation too?...then only would kl sentral truly serve s the centre for public transportation that is worthy of the capital of malaysia...the people would also b much happier too...
oh n one more thing...whatever the goverment's trying to do...to fairly distribute the races throughout malaysia...isn't working at all...i mean...after travelling around malaysia for the past few months...i can definitely say that states outside of kl...have fewer non-bumis than in kl...i mean...come to think of it...it was quite hard for me to find a non-bumi in kt, kb, alor n mal...in my opinion...this isn't fair...coz i think the bumis should have a shot at living in kl too...n i think the goverment should do something about it...since it has promised to do so...
n last but not the least of all...it's a known fact...i love to travel...coz it opens my eyes to things i would never c at home...n after all this travelling...one thing has made a deep imprint on my mind...n that's how thankful i should b with the blessings that God has bestowed upon me...
i mean...visiting the states outside of kl really gives me n insight into the lives of those who live in poorer states...what they lack...what they need...n what they want...n it makes me grateful that i'm living in affluent kl...where there is abundance in resources...if not adequate...food...knowledge...n stuff...so i'm thankful to God for that...
so that's all for now...quite a bit actually...i think i'll postpone my blog on my travels to beijing till later...give u time to digest all of this first...kekeke...
cheers
k
malaysian tour: part 3 (malacca)
dear emilyn...
right...so i promised to blog about my travels...well...first off...was the continuation of my malaysian tour...or cuti-cuti malaysia...s my good friend azam would put it...kekeke...so this episode of state hopping takes me to the historical state of malacca...oooh...aaah...
thankfully though...i didn't go alone coz my good friend cherap tagged along...after much persuasion on my part...our 'tourguide' this time was none other than cherap's ex-roomate lid...who's also a good friend of mine...he was helped by another friend of ours aufa...
so let me c...if i remember correctly...cherap n i left for malacca by bus at 12 noon from pudu...n arrived at malacca sentral about 2 in the afternoon...after meeting up with lid n aufa...we had lunch before setting of by bus to the town of malacca...
our first stop was the christ church of malacca...followed by the stadhuys or administrative centre during the portugese n dutch occupation of malacca...next we hiked up the hill to st paul's church...before going down to the a famosa fort...or what's left of it...kekeke...last but not least was the palace of the malay sultanate...or a conjecture to b more precise...after which...we took the bus back to lid's house...wow!...on retrospect...i can't believe we visited so many places in just 1 afternoon...kekeke...we sure did walk quite a distance...
the next day...we headed out of town to ayer keroh side...we went to the mini malaysian n asean park...which is basically a big park with traditional malay wooden houses from all the states of malaysia...s well s houses representing each country of asean...after visiting all the houses of malaysia...(the asean one's were under renovation)...we had lunch...before visiting the crocodile farm...before heading home at night...lid took us to a beautiful scenic spot of a petroleum refinery near his house...it was so beautiful...a city of lights set against a black star-speckled blanket of night...breathtaking n inspiring...
the next day...cherap n i headed home...yeah...quite a short stay...but we did c quite a bit actually...but that's just what we did in malacca...the next post has my take on the trip...kekeke
cheers
k
thankfully though...i didn't go alone coz my good friend cherap tagged along...after much persuasion on my part...our 'tourguide' this time was none other than cherap's ex-roomate lid...who's also a good friend of mine...he was helped by another friend of ours aufa...
so let me c...if i remember correctly...cherap n i left for malacca by bus at 12 noon from pudu...n arrived at malacca sentral about 2 in the afternoon...after meeting up with lid n aufa...we had lunch before setting of by bus to the town of malacca...
our first stop was the christ church of malacca...followed by the stadhuys or administrative centre during the portugese n dutch occupation of malacca...next we hiked up the hill to st paul's church...before going down to the a famosa fort...or what's left of it...kekeke...last but not least was the palace of the malay sultanate...or a conjecture to b more precise...after which...we took the bus back to lid's house...wow!...on retrospect...i can't believe we visited so many places in just 1 afternoon...kekeke...we sure did walk quite a distance...
the next day...we headed out of town to ayer keroh side...we went to the mini malaysian n asean park...which is basically a big park with traditional malay wooden houses from all the states of malaysia...s well s houses representing each country of asean...after visiting all the houses of malaysia...(the asean one's were under renovation)...we had lunch...before visiting the crocodile farm...before heading home at night...lid took us to a beautiful scenic spot of a petroleum refinery near his house...it was so beautiful...a city of lights set against a black star-speckled blanket of night...breathtaking n inspiring...
the next day...cherap n i headed home...yeah...quite a short stay...but we did c quite a bit actually...but that's just what we did in malacca...the next post has my take on the trip...kekeke
cheers
k
Friday 12 August 2005
this is yeoth reporting live from kl...
rite...so today...i had some business to settle in town...right in the middle of city centre...kuala lumpur...the big apple of malaysia...
n i was thinking to myself...'omg...i have to go to town...in this haze!...made worst by pedestrians inhaling precious oxygen n exhaling unwanted carbon dioxide...s well s congested traffic belching up poisonous exhaust fumes...n what with the dust n all some more'...omg...yep i had to brave such dangers s i ventured into the concrete jungle of kl...
but then again i thought...kl's api reached the hazardous level yesterday...300+ if i'm not mistaken...so anyone out on the streets...what more the streets of kl...r definitely out of their minds!...or suicidal!...unless like me...they have some well-justified reason...so i thought...'hmm...well maybe there won't b any pedestrians in kl taking up all my oxygen'...n with that thought in my head...i bravely don my haze mask...n made my way to town...
my house - pusat bandar damansara - bangsar station - pasar seni station - central market - petaling street - plaza rakyat - maybank tower - pudu station...n back...that's the route i took...so it's a no brainer that i had some business to settle at pudu...but what business that is...is for u to think about, brainy... :)
but that's not the main point here...what i wanna blog about is that...everything in kl is pretty much normal...seriously!...i was surprised...i mean...we had n api that was in the hazardous level...n here were pedestrians...lots of them too...walking up n down the streets of kl...without masks on...s if the air didn't contain any carcinogenic particles...which who has supposedly claimed...omg...don't these people know that they're having a death wish!...
i personally believe they should go n smoke themselves to death with ciggs...i mean...at least they'll feel calmer too at the same time...coz that's what nicotine does...but now i think i have a small glimpse of the smoking realm...n i still can't understand smokers...i mean...for one thing...there r much more better ways to kill oneself...ways that r more dramatic n artistic...but worst of all is the fact that they're killing those around them too!...people they know...n probably love...s well s innocent people whom they don't know...i mean...how selfish can u get?...
gosh...seriously...i'm sorry if u're a smoker n u're reading this...but i don't like lying to people...i prefer to b honest with them...coz i'd like them to b honest with me...n maybe tell me things that i might have missed out on smoking...coz s u can c...my argument's pretty much one sided...
but anywayz...on a much lighter note...i think the haze is clearing up...yay!...coz the sun peeked in this afternoon on my way to town...for the first time...the sun!...heh...hmm...if it gets better...maybe i might not need to cancel my excursion to malacca...hurray!...
n i was thinking to myself...'omg...i have to go to town...in this haze!...made worst by pedestrians inhaling precious oxygen n exhaling unwanted carbon dioxide...s well s congested traffic belching up poisonous exhaust fumes...n what with the dust n all some more'...omg...yep i had to brave such dangers s i ventured into the concrete jungle of kl...
but then again i thought...kl's api reached the hazardous level yesterday...300+ if i'm not mistaken...so anyone out on the streets...what more the streets of kl...r definitely out of their minds!...or suicidal!...unless like me...they have some well-justified reason...so i thought...'hmm...well maybe there won't b any pedestrians in kl taking up all my oxygen'...n with that thought in my head...i bravely don my haze mask...n made my way to town...
my house - pusat bandar damansara - bangsar station - pasar seni station - central market - petaling street - plaza rakyat - maybank tower - pudu station...n back...that's the route i took...so it's a no brainer that i had some business to settle at pudu...but what business that is...is for u to think about, brainy... :)
but that's not the main point here...what i wanna blog about is that...everything in kl is pretty much normal...seriously!...i was surprised...i mean...we had n api that was in the hazardous level...n here were pedestrians...lots of them too...walking up n down the streets of kl...without masks on...s if the air didn't contain any carcinogenic particles...which who has supposedly claimed...omg...don't these people know that they're having a death wish!...
i personally believe they should go n smoke themselves to death with ciggs...i mean...at least they'll feel calmer too at the same time...coz that's what nicotine does...but now i think i have a small glimpse of the smoking realm...n i still can't understand smokers...i mean...for one thing...there r much more better ways to kill oneself...ways that r more dramatic n artistic...but worst of all is the fact that they're killing those around them too!...people they know...n probably love...s well s innocent people whom they don't know...i mean...how selfish can u get?...
gosh...seriously...i'm sorry if u're a smoker n u're reading this...but i don't like lying to people...i prefer to b honest with them...coz i'd like them to b honest with me...n maybe tell me things that i might have missed out on smoking...coz s u can c...my argument's pretty much one sided...
but anywayz...on a much lighter note...i think the haze is clearing up...yay!...coz the sun peeked in this afternoon on my way to town...for the first time...the sun!...heh...hmm...if it gets better...maybe i might not need to cancel my excursion to malacca...hurray!...
Thursday 11 August 2005
haze phase...
ok so what else is new?...i mean...it's frontpage news...n it's been blaring on the radio n tv all day long...but because it affects me...since i'm a malaysian citizen living in the klang valley...here's my two cents worth of...no not thoughts...but bitchings n rantings...
i mean...have u looked out your window today?...i can barely see the trees surrounding my house...n what happened to the sparkling blue skies, puffy white clouds n bright yellow sun that malaysia is so proud of?...i'm judging visibilitie's down to what?...100 m?...my goodness...the haze is bad...wait...check that...it's not bad...it's terrible!...
seriously...i mean...what do u do when the air pollutant index (api) reaches 300 plus in the klang valley?...y...stay at home of course...indoors...away from the haze...but what happens when the haze diffuses into your very house?...argh!...where do i run to?...i can't escape...i'm trapped...help!
the worst thing is...it seems that this haze is worst than the 1997 episode...i mean...it's gotta b...considering the fact that some parts of malaysia have declared emergency...damn...n i used to think that n emergency would b nice...no school n all the crap that comes with it...but now i think it practically sucks...i mean...i might have to call off my trip to malacca...s well s the trip to beijing...n grad might b called off this sat...damnit...everything's disrupted...
n to top it all...world health organization (who) seems to have declared this haze to b carcinogenic...damnit...s if it couldn't get any worse...when it rains it pours...i mean...great...now i'm being surrounded by microscopic particulates that could cause cancer...omg...this explains the mask i'm wearing now...while typing this...
hmm...n i'll have to close all the windows in my room...which means having to cut of all air curculation...if i'm found dead tomorrow...it's probably coz of suffocation...
i mean...have u looked out your window today?...i can barely see the trees surrounding my house...n what happened to the sparkling blue skies, puffy white clouds n bright yellow sun that malaysia is so proud of?...i'm judging visibilitie's down to what?...100 m?...my goodness...the haze is bad...wait...check that...it's not bad...it's terrible!...
seriously...i mean...what do u do when the air pollutant index (api) reaches 300 plus in the klang valley?...y...stay at home of course...indoors...away from the haze...but what happens when the haze diffuses into your very house?...argh!...where do i run to?...i can't escape...i'm trapped...help!
the worst thing is...it seems that this haze is worst than the 1997 episode...i mean...it's gotta b...considering the fact that some parts of malaysia have declared emergency...damn...n i used to think that n emergency would b nice...no school n all the crap that comes with it...but now i think it practically sucks...i mean...i might have to call off my trip to malacca...s well s the trip to beijing...n grad might b called off this sat...damnit...everything's disrupted...
n to top it all...world health organization (who) seems to have declared this haze to b carcinogenic...damnit...s if it couldn't get any worse...when it rains it pours...i mean...great...now i'm being surrounded by microscopic particulates that could cause cancer...omg...this explains the mask i'm wearing now...while typing this...
hmm...n i'll have to close all the windows in my room...which means having to cut of all air curculation...if i'm found dead tomorrow...it's probably coz of suffocation...
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