Petting Zoo? (NOT!) 
Apart from butterflies, there were other animals on display – monkeys, birds, an albino peacock, alligators, tortoise, porpoise and snakes. I was bitten playfully by a baby monkey while trying to hold him for a photograph. He is seen here wearing a diaper (top left picture). Heheh..I was not injured. He only left some teeth mark on my hand, as if I was bitten by a baby.
Dark Waters
The highlight of the tour was Melaka River Cruise. Sadly, I was not impressed by the cruise. The river was smelly, murky and full of rubbish. Nothing much to see. Just other peoples’ filthy backyards. We even saw a man peeing into the river. Shock! He quickly hid behind some zinc wall when he saw us cruising by, if not you would have seen his action featured here. Hahah!
Land of The Biawak
The cruise should be dubbed Biawak (Monitor Lizards) Cruise instead of Old Melaka River Cruise. We had seen a few sunbathing at the bank of the river and one or two having a cool dip in the river. I advise you not to take the river tour unless you are a hardcore fan of those scaly four legged reptiles. (Insert shudders here. Yucks!)
Hari Raya in May and then some
Konsert Fenomena bersama Misha Omar & Jaclyn Victor was recorded in front of a live audience at Auditorium Besar RTM, Angkasapuri. This is one if the many programs lined up for Hari Raya celebration in November. Date: 31 May 2005. Time: 9:00am. Dress code: Smart.
I know, I know. This supposed to be a running blog and you probably wonder why on the timing chip mat are Misha and Jac doing here? Well, with slight modification of Leslie Gore’s ditty, here’s my comeback to you – It’s my blog and I write what I want to, write if I want to…. Anyway, the question is not about what I write in my blog, it is why you read it…hehehe. Just kidding.
As running, live concert is one of my passions, especially free of charge ones. When I heard from my producer friend that Misha & Jac (First Malaysian Idol), I quickly reserved a couple of tickets for the show. The tickets were given free to RTM viewers. I went with my ex-colleague, Tan.
We arrived at the Auditorium Besar at about 8:10pm. The hall was started to swell with people. We managed to get out seats, three row from the stage, with slight blockage from one of the camera. No problem. At least we don’t have to sit on the stair. I was surprised to see the strange decoration on the stage – greetings card, an old bicycle and kerosene lamps (pelita).
The show started about 9:10pm. 10 minutes late due to some “technical glitches”. It was announced that the show was being recorded for Hari Raya in November. That explained the strange set.
Misha and Jac appeared in their traditional garbs with a bunch of kids and a few dancers. Sang a couple of Hari Raya songs. Jac forgot her lyrics in one of the songs and it had to be rerecorded. (Insert Yawn here). I sneaked in my camera even though taking pictures during the show was banned and had secretly taken these pictures. You see it first here. The rest of the world will have to wait for another 4 months.
Misha appeared again, this time, solo to render a few of her hits. She started off with her power ballads – Bunga-bunga Cinta (my absolute favourite). Never tired of listening to this one. The crowd adored her!
She followed suit with another power ballad – Pulangkan. We were given glow sticks by the prop handler of the show and asked to gently wave it left and right during the song. We did it obediently like a bunch of kindergarten kids. If you see a dorky guy waving frantically his glow stick like a mini light saber in the audience, that was me.
Misha ended her solo set with a medley of a Malay song that sounded suspiciously like Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and a cover of Jamelia’s Superstar. She should so loose those horrid dancers.
Jac appeared. While waiting for the prop to be set up, she playfully sang “Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars,” referring to the cardboard cut out star décors that were found hanging above the stage. The prop master was handling out cardboard hearts. We were asked to hold out her posters when she sang. Jac moved to the audience and went on to render a sickly sweet rendition of Nat king Cole’s classic – When I Fall In Love. I hate this version. But I guess the crowd loved it, judging from the thundering applause.
What was Jac’s second song? What else if not Gemilang, her winning song? It came complete with tacky star mobiles above the stage. Was her rendition good? Sad to say, it came pale compared to her lung-bursting vocals in her Malaysian Idol Final last year. To be fair, she still shines as one of Malaysian “super” singers.
What was her medley? Hmm..the show was getting so predictable now, eh? Alicia Key’s If I Ain’t Got You and Di Pohon Cemara (one of the forgettable songs from her album).
Battle of The Lungs on stage
After Jac’s solo performance, we had wait like forever for another set change. The stars were removed and now they were putting dead trees with cotton hanging on the branches. Rolls and rolls of cotton were strewn all over the stage floor. What? Snow during Hari Raya? These people sure got their Raya décor mixed up with Christmas. And during this set change, we get to witness an act of rage that we thought could only be seen on Malaysia road by our road bully. Read about it later.
OK, back to Jac and Misha. A set change and a costume change later, they appeared together again for the final battle of the tonsils. What song? Cinta, originally done by Melly and Kris Dayanti (from the movie – Tentang Dia). Jac blundered again during the introduction of the song. Take two. In middle of the song, Misha forgot her lyric. I guess the noisy snow-foam making machine was a bit of a distraction to her.
Grrrr...This fake snow is really a nuisance to my hair..
Foam was pumped out from a machine above the stage, creating an illusion of snow. The girls got foam all over their hair and costumes. (Don’t insert dirty thoughts here..heheh). Another wait to “de-foam” the girls. Sigh! It was already close to 11pm.
Finally both got the Cinta song right and ended the night with a classic duet, Jentayu. Nice. Overall, both girls did very well. This will be one of the shows that you should not missed when you are munching ketupat and lemang with rendang in front of the telly in November.
Battle of Fists in the Audience. The guy on the right (circled yellow) walloped the guy on the left (circled red) left right and centre during the break between songs.
While the battle of divas happened on stage, there was another battle of "divas" in the audience. I do not know how it started. All I heard was a commotion from behind. When I turned around, I saw a guy was slugging and cussing at another smaller guy who was seen curling into a defense position. Wah... I never see such feisty act of rage in public before. Everybody watched and did nothing to save the poor boy being bashed. (Is this Malaysian’s trait??) Later, security guards were called and the two guys were escorted out from the auditorium. Why do guys fight? To me, guys fight over 2 things only – Power and Woman. (My reference – StarWars – Revenge of the Sith, heheh ). Which was the root cause? Only the two guys knew.
Blaze of Glory...(Sing like Bon Jovi)
Larian Bersama Bomba 2005 was held in conjunction of National Firefighters’ Day. Date: 29 May 2005. Time; 7:30am. Venue: Merdeka Square.
Amy gave me a wake-up call at 5:30am even though she was not going for the run. She had to wake up early to prepare 300 pieces of Nyonya Chang (chinese dumplings) for a charity sale. Gotta salute this woman!
I arrived at Merdeka Square about 6:40am. The sky was still dark. Saw a bunch of firefighter cadets marched pass me in their white Ts and blue track bottoms. They were far from the fat firemen I saw that day. They seemed very fit physically and healthy to handle those fire hoses and stuff. Walked towards the “cage” at the start point. There were three firemen trucks parked in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. As I was taking pictures at the start point, I saw our national runner, Yuan Yu Fang walked straight into my focus. (Photo on the top right).
We were released from the “cage” at 7:30 am sharp by Dato Ong Kar Ting. He was elevated up by a firemen truck. Little that I know I would be riding high on that same firemen truck. I took my own sweet time to finish the race. No rush. Just enjoying my early Sunday run. I passed by the usual places and saw some familiar faces along this 10K route. The familiarity was comforting.
I'm like a bird....(Sing like Nelly Furtado)
When I got back to Dataran Merdeka I saw a group of people gathered around the firemen truck. The Bomba was giving free ride on their firemen truck ladder. I quickly step into the queue.
After a short wait, I got my turn. The old fireman pointed at me, indicating I was next. So, I stepped onto the platform and strapped myself with the safety belt. I was joined by two schoolboys.
“Semua ready?” I was jolted by a deafening loud voice from the speaker attached to the platform.
“Ready.” We shouted in unison.
I felt a slight jerk just before the ladder started to elevate. The two boys squealed in delight. I was squealing too, in my heart. I remember that I used to play with toy firemen truck when I was a kid. Riding in one is simply a dream come through. (Insert more squealing here).
The squeals from the two boys disappeared as we ascent higher and higher. I think fear had taken over the squeal. They were trembling like little rabbits left in the rain. I could feel that my legs trembling too – not sure if it was because of the excitement, the fear of falling or the jerky movement that the ladder made as it distend up. The ladder reached up as high as the clock tower at the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. I could see the face of the clock almost directly from the platform. No need to look up like when I was on the ground. It was 9:03 am on a clear sunny Sunday morning. The squeal came back as my heart flutters with fear and excitement. What a rush! What a view!
My left hand was gripping the railing tightly while my right hand was holding my camera. The platform started to turn, giving the boys and me a complete 360 degrees aerial view of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building and Dataran Merdeka surrounding area. My camera snapped on.
After the turn, we were slowly brought back to ground again. I wished that there ride could be longer. I like to watch the little people from the top. Little runners running to the finishing line. Little people queuing up for Milo. Little people swarming the Dataran Merdeka like little ants. Little firemen down there.
I walked back to the car with a smile like a barbequed cockle. (Insert more squeals here).
My salutes go to our heroic firemen who serve our country with courage, dedication and passion. Happy Firefighters’ Day!
I went to collect my Firefighter Run t-shirts and bib this afternoon. KK was kind enough to drive me to the Bomba Headquarter at Jalan Maharajalela, KL from PJ. The jam was horrendous around the Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka area. KK also made a wrong turn and we ended up at Wisma Mirama. Finally we made it to the Bomba HQ after asking for some direction from a Good Samaritan. We were greeted with a few fat Bomba officers at the canopies set up in front of the Bomba HQ. Where have all the fit firemen gone?
The T-Shirt design is not HOT at all - TM stamped on the left and a squirrel on the right. What's with the squirrel, anyway? No one would associate fire fighting with a tiny rodent brandishing a torch like some kind of fire arsonist. I think an elephant would make a better mascot.
T-shirt is available in M, L, XL and XXL. I took the smallest available size – M and it is still huge. I supposed the t-shirt is designed for the fat firefighters in mind. The run will be on this Sunday. I hope I will not get trampled by the fat firefighters. (Insert sudden shudders..Brrrr...)
The Welcome
Rather, not much of running in Langkawi. The weather was wet and it was very difficult to drag myself up especially after so much drinking and eating the night before. Excuses! Excuses, I know!
Each year, my ex-college friends would organize a trip to somewhere, just to hang out, do nothing, catching up with gossips and talk rubbish. Langkawi always make it to the top list because of the duty free booze, duty free chocolates and cheap accommodation (One of us has a time-sharing membership for Aseania Resort). So, this year we make full use of the Wesak Day holiday and planned this trip since February. All together, 7 of us plus two moms. Joan and Poh decided to take their mom on a duty free shopping spree in Langkawi.
The Cable Car
First day was spent in Kuah town. We rented 2 Wiras. I bought bars and bars of chocolates – those alcohol-infused kind. Yummy! If I cannot get the elusive runner’s high, I will at least get sugar high on alcohol. I think I have chocolate stock to last me 6 months. While my friends were busy choosing duty free wines and beer for dinners, the moms were busy with their pots and casseroles. After the shopping trip at Kuah, we drove to the cable car station at the base of Mount Mat Cinchang. The cost RM15 per person. What a wonderful experience but definitely not for the acrophobics. The top station is located at 780m (Overruling height of Mat Chinchang), providing the best views of Langkawi Islands.
The Food
Insecurity leads to fear, fear lead to eating and eating leads to the lard side. Hahah! But I love eating anyway. One of our favourite restaurants in Langkawi is Kampung Siam, same building as the Underwater World. They serve authentic Thai dishes, which we all love. We love it so much that we return for lunch and dinner in two days in a row. Corkage charge is not expensive. So, we brought our own wine.
Another favourite is Boom Boom Corner, which serve excellent Roti Bom. The chicken and the mutton curry are simply explosive.
The Cat
Here are some cat pictures to increase the level of cuteness to my blog. Seen this done in other blogs quite successfully. I saw this handsome Langkawi cat meowing for some food underneath our table at the nasi lemak stall near Aseania Resort. How often do you see a cat “wink” at you? (Middle picture at top row). Isn’t he cute? Awwwwww….(Insert warm fuzzy feelings here).
The Sea
Back to the topic of running. Beach running at Pantai Cenang, Langkawi is a bit tricky n the morning as the tide is high and the sand is loose. So, it is like running in a huge kitty litter. The situation is reversed during the evening, near sunset. Tide is low, revealing more compact sandy surface to pound your running shoes on. The view is excellent too. You might see some guys doing para-sailing too.
I was determined to run on the last day in Langkawi. It rained in the morning (again!) but my guilt pushed me to the door. Been pigging out for the last 3 days. The lard side is kinda scary! I was greeted by a huge rainbow in the sky when I stepped out from the resort! Wow! What a lucky morning, I told myself. I started to run from Aseania towards Porto Malai. The road was still wet but the rain had stopped. The distance is about 2 km (one way). I had to overcome a steep hill before reaching Porto Malai. I was extra alert on the road as I saw many road kills (a meter long monitor lizard, a frog or a green reptile and a mouse). I spend about ½ hours exploring Porto Malai resort before running my way back to Aseania. It was a good workout and I enjoyed the scenic views.
Galactic Hunt
Sign up for this, I have… I expect a fun-filled morning walking around in 1-Utama Shopping Mall (not Naboo) solving Yoda-crypted clues and trying to find intergalactic treasures.
Location: Planet Burger King (1 Utama)
Date: Sunday June 5, 2005
Time: 10:30 am
May The Force be with us! (for more details, please go to a Burger King restaurant near you and buy those Galactic Meals that come with star shaped fries...).
Spot Me!
If you look properly (a magnifying glass helps) you can see a guy taking pictures in the picture. That was me at the Guardian Charity Walkathon 2005. Haha!
Click here to read my write up on the walkathon
