I have a paper due tomorrow but am in no mood at all to write, I sort of need to talk to someone but there is no one, so I am blogging.
I am also watching a travel documentary (Passage to Malaysia) on Sabah, on TLC, formerly Discovery Travel and Living Channel. I have this sudden urge to go there, but of course given my financial situation it is hardly wise (or possible, for that matter). I miss the jungles. I miss the humidity, the symphony of jungle sounds, and even the leeches. OK maybe not so much of the leeches. But the coming Thursday I am going home, and my mum's organizing a waterfall trip on Friday, so I'm looking forward to that. It isn't Sabah, but it will be in the jungle.
Ah the Probiscis monkeys appear on TV. The Probiscis monkeys can have erections that last for 24 hours, a piece of jungle trivia for you. Somewhere along the way their human cousins lost that ability and had to invent Viagra.
I think after all the European cities and landscape I'm really hankering for some tropical beaches and jungles. And I miss Malaysia. It's not even the food, like Zewt might suggest with his typical cynicism. It's just this vibe that stirs something inside of me, once I cross the Causeway I feel warm and instantly relaxed, and I know that I am in a good place. Sure, bad things are happening back home, but bad things happen everywhere. It's just that when bad things happen at home, it hurts more. And at this point I am worried about the world more than anything else, petty politics and racist people seem miniscule compared to the loss of 5,000 species yearly, rising sea levels, melting permafrost, etc. The whole world is driving towards a huge metaphorical concrete wall that will kill us all, and all we can do is squabble about insignificant matters.
But whenever I talk about issues like these I get depressed. I should go. Have a long night of writing and insomnia waiting ahead of me so I should get started.
Showing posts with label I-love-Malaysia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label I-love-Malaysia. Show all posts
-9: 你再说我就hood你!
So amidst freaking out here's some comic relief. It's how Malaysian Mandarin is spoken differently from Chinese Mandarin. So funny that we do talk like that! For those who don't understand mandarin... you wouldn't get it anyway, sorry =)
中国人 ：今晚你有空吗？我没空！马来西亚华人 ：今晚你得不得空？我不得空！
中国人 ：饼干受潮了…。马来西亚华人 ：饼干'漏风'了…。
中国人 ：从上海去苏州要多少个小时？马来西亚华人：从上海去苏州要几粒钟？
中国人 ：难道他不可以来吗？马来西亚华人：你不给他不来啊？
中国人 ：周杰伦不喜欢穿内裤。马来西亚华人：周杰伦不喜欢穿底裤。
中国人 ：我一向都是这样的。马来西亚人：我一路来都是这样的啦
中国人 ：我的手机掉进沟渠了。马来西亚华人：我的手机掉进龙沟了。
中国人 ：这样你不是很不值得吗？马来西亚华人：这样你'马'很不 '歹'？
中国人 ：你真是聪明！马来西亚华人：你真是pan nai！(源自马来语pandai，聪明的意思)
中国人 ：你安静！马来西亚华人：你diam diam！(源自马来语diam，安静的意思)
中国人 ：我要去银行取款。马来西亚华人：我要去银行'按钱'。
中国人 ：为什么？马来西亚华人：做么？
中国人 ：你很强~马来西亚华人：你很够力~
中国人 ：明天也叫他一起去吧！马来西亚华人：明天叫'埋'他一起去！
中国人 ：我很郁闷~~~马来西亚华人：我很'显'（sien）啊~~~~（'显'比郁闷的境界更高）
中国人 ：你再说我就打你！马来西亚华人：你再说我就hood你！（有点粗俗的）
中国人 ：你在说什么？马来西亚华人：你在说sommok？
中国人 ：你不要令我丢脸~。马来西亚华人：你不要'下水'我~
中国人 ：真被你气到…。马来西亚华人：被你炸到…。
中国人 ：你别乱来~。马来西亚华人：你表乱乱来~
中国人 ：你很无聊！马来西亚华人：你很废
中国人 ：XX你！马来西亚华人：Kanasai（意思是像大便一样，骂人的话）
中国人 ：迫切。马来西亚华人：bek chek
中国人 ：我们一起吃这碗面~。马来西亚华人：我们'公司'吃这碗面~（源自马来语的kongsi，就是一起分享的意思）
中国人 ：今天的天气很热~。马来西亚华人：今天的天气热到。。。。。。。。。。。。。。~~~~~~~（'到'字要拉 长，然后没有下文了）
中国人 ：哇!马来西亚华人：哇捞weh!!!!
中国人 ：我受不了他！马来西亚华人：我behtahan他！
---
摘自Facebook某个人的notes. 看到下面的人留言，有些说被马来西亚华人的华语程度太差了，可是我觉得这才是我们可爱之处，一个语言到了不同的地方自然就会被当地的文化影响，没什么问题。
看完了更想念在KL的你们了！今天天气热到~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
中国人 ：今晚你有空吗？我没空！马来西亚华人 ：今晚你得不得空？我不得空！
中国人 ：饼干受潮了…。马来西亚华人 ：饼干'漏风'了…。
中国人 ：从上海去苏州要多少个小时？马来西亚华人：从上海去苏州要几粒钟？
中国人 ：难道他不可以来吗？马来西亚华人：你不给他不来啊？
中国人 ：周杰伦不喜欢穿内裤。马来西亚华人：周杰伦不喜欢穿底
中国人 ：我一向都是这样的。马来西亚人：我一路来都是这样的啦
中国人 ：我的手机掉进沟渠了。马来西亚华人：我的手机掉进龙沟
中国人 ：这样你不是很不值得吗？马来西亚华人：这样你'马'很
中国人 ：你真是聪明！马来西亚华人：你真是pan nai！(源自马来语pandai，聪明的意思)
中国人 ：你安静！马来西亚华人：你diam diam！(源自马来语diam，安静的意思)
中国人 ：我要去银行取款。马来西亚华人：我要去银行'按钱'。
中国人 ：为什么？马来西亚华人：做么？
中国人 ：你很强~马来西亚华人：你很够力~
中国人 ：明天也叫他一起去吧！马来西亚华人：明天叫'埋'他一
中国人 ：我很郁闷~~~马来西亚华人：我很'显'（sien）
中国人 ：你再说我就打你！马来西亚华人：你再说我就hood你
中国人 ：你在说什么？马来西亚华人：你在说sommok？
中国人 ：你不要令我丢脸~。马来西亚华人：你不要'下水'我~
中国人 ：真被你气到…。马来西亚华人：被你炸到…。
中国人 ：你别乱来~。马来西亚华人：你表乱乱来~
中国人 ：你很无聊！马来西亚华人：你很废
中国人 ：XX你！马来西亚华人：Kanasai（意思是像大便
中国人 ：迫切。马来西亚华人：bek chek
中国人 ：我们一起吃这碗面~。马来西亚华人：我们'公司'吃这
中国人 ：今天的天气很热~。马来西亚华人：今天的天气热到。。
中国人 ：哇!马来西亚华人：哇捞weh!!!!
中国人 ：我受不了他！马来西亚华人：我behtahan他！
---
摘自Facebook某个人的notes. 看到下面的人留言，有些说被马来西亚华人的华语程度太差了，可是我觉得这才是我们可爱之处，一个语言到了不同的地方自然就会被当地的文化影响，没什么问题。
看完了更想念在KL的你们了！今天天气热到~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's just a name!
BIG EFFING DEAL.
I'm mad and sad, mostly sad that there are such things happening in our country. I don't even care about the debate. As far as I'm concerned these are the people who bring a bad name to religion, and those who are benefiting out of the whole situation, I hope retribution befalls them.
No time to write more but just needed to rant.
NEED TO CONCENTRATE.
I'm mad and sad, mostly sad that there are such things happening in our country. I don't even care about the debate. As far as I'm concerned these are the people who bring a bad name to religion, and those who are benefiting out of the whole situation, I hope retribution befalls them.
No time to write more but just needed to rant.
NEED TO CONCENTRATE.
Five for Yasmin Ahmad
One.
I have a copy of Yasmin Ahmad's Talentime, original DVD, that I want to give out. It's not subtitled - I've watched it before in the cinema and I think the major languages used are English, Malay and Tamil (logical deduction - could be Hindi for all I know), perhaps with a slight smattering of Mandarin. So if you understand English, Malay and Tamil, or know someone who does who will enjoy this movie, get in touch with me (june dot tan at gmail dot com) and I'll make the arrangements to send the DVD to you. It's a great movie and I don't want the DVD to go to waste with me because I can't understand parts of it, so I'm going to send it to you for free. Consider it as a gift from me.
If no one contacts me within a week of this post, I will put up a notice on the Couchsurfing forum and give it out through there (since the forum has more than five readers). So do be quick if you're interested =)
Two.
Muallaf is now screening in Malaysia. I watched it in Singapore first, last year, and this trip back to Malaysia I watched it again at GSC 1Utama. Catch it before it stops screening!
Three.
I bought this book called Yasmin Ahmad's Films, by Amir Muhammad, yesterday. I find it a delightful accompaniment to the movies as it highlights some details that I missed in the movies, and the commentary is very useful for foreigners who may not understand some of the cultural references that are uniquely Malaysian. RM30 at major bookstores.
Four.
photo credit
I teared when I saw this. It's graffiti art drawn at the Klang River, Pasar Seni, by two local artists named Jeng and Kioue, after Yasmin Ahmad's death. Sigh. Damn sad.
Five.
I've created a new label called Yasmin Ahmad and there are 12 posts that I've tagged with the label. I didn't realize that I had written so much about her before. Here are the previous posts that I've written on Mukhsin, Sepet, Muallaf.
I have a copy of Yasmin Ahmad's Talentime, original DVD, that I want to give out. It's not subtitled - I've watched it before in the cinema and I think the major languages used are English, Malay and Tamil (logical deduction - could be Hindi for all I know), perhaps with a slight smattering of Mandarin. So if you understand English, Malay and Tamil, or know someone who does who will enjoy this movie, get in touch with me (june dot tan at gmail dot com) and I'll make the arrangements to send the DVD to you. It's a great movie and I don't want the DVD to go to waste with me because I can't understand parts of it, so I'm going to send it to you for free. Consider it as a gift from me.
If no one contacts me within a week of this post, I will put up a notice on the Couchsurfing forum and give it out through there (since the forum has more than five readers). So do be quick if you're interested =)
Two.
Muallaf is now screening in Malaysia. I watched it in Singapore first, last year, and this trip back to Malaysia I watched it again at GSC 1Utama. Catch it before it stops screening!
Three.
I bought this book called Yasmin Ahmad's Films, by Amir Muhammad, yesterday. I find it a delightful accompaniment to the movies as it highlights some details that I missed in the movies, and the commentary is very useful for foreigners who may not understand some of the cultural references that are uniquely Malaysian. RM30 at major bookstores.
Four.
photo creditI teared when I saw this. It's graffiti art drawn at the Klang River, Pasar Seni, by two local artists named Jeng and Kioue, after Yasmin Ahmad's death. Sigh. Damn sad.
Five.
I've created a new label called Yasmin Ahmad and there are 12 posts that I've tagged with the label. I didn't realize that I had written so much about her before. Here are the previous posts that I've written on Mukhsin, Sepet, Muallaf.
Yay Malaysian Arts!
Waaaaa Talentime Free Screening!
I'm as prolific as humping rabbits today - three posts in a day! Anyway, another community service announcement - there's a free screening of Talentime (by Yasmin Ahmad) at 3pm, May 23 this Saturday - but I'm going to have to miss it because I'll be camping =(
But you can go! There's a Q&A session after the free movie, YASMIN AHMAD'S GONNA BE THERE, and the co-author of my blogging book Prof Wan Zawawi Ibrahim will also be on the panel. =D (I curi-curi tumpang glamour.) Movie screening will be held at Pawagam Mini P.Ramlee. Pretty much identical information (without the hyperness) at Yasmin Ahmad's blog here.
Toilet
This evening I went to KLPac and watched Toilet (dance/theatre). After kena ffked by numerous people one after another, I ended up watching it alone, and I'm really glad I did. Somehow it lifted the pressure of hoping that people I invited would like it, so I immersed myself thoroughly in the message that they tried to convey, on life, on indulgence, on internal conflict, on humanity.
I'm no critic, this is the first ever dance performance that I've ever watched, but I did enjoy it. I loved how the stage was designed - there was one sequence playing with disco lights and mist that is exactly how I imagine being stoned would be like - and the dance movements were engaging although I could see some trembling of the limbs which might be signs of inadequate training, I wouldn't know, have to ask Yuen.
Also there is girl-on-girl kissing action on stage. With passion, and not only once, I might add. Do I see some guys perking up right there? (Boy-girl kissing also have. And there was one boy-girl intimate dance sequence that I really liked as well.)
So check it out if you have time - it's only showing till May 24 - tickets cost RM37 for regular price, and if you happen to have a student card like me you get to pay only RM24 ;) Link here.
Kaleidoscope: Hands Drumming Festival
I picked up a flyer when I was at KLPac and it features drums, something that I'm a little partial to. Drumming workshops and performances will be held from 10-14 June during the festival.
For ex-Chonghwarians you would know 吴圣雄老师, pretty much the Art teacher, and he's also behind the drum team 二十四节令鼓in Chong Hwa. I don't know whether he's still in CH or not, but I do miss the drum team, and if I remember correctly he's the founder of Hands Percussion Team. Oh yeah he is, just checked out the official website.
Sadly the dates are on probably my masa kegentingan for Double Deadline 15 June, so I probably won't make it =( Someone go with my spirit can?
I'm as prolific as humping rabbits today - three posts in a day! Anyway, another community service announcement - there's a free screening of Talentime (by Yasmin Ahmad) at 3pm, May 23 this Saturday - but I'm going to have to miss it because I'll be camping =(
But you can go! There's a Q&A session after the free movie, YASMIN AHMAD'S GONNA BE THERE, and the co-author of my blogging book Prof Wan Zawawi Ibrahim will also be on the panel. =D (I curi-curi tumpang glamour.) Movie screening will be held at Pawagam Mini P.Ramlee. Pretty much identical information (without the hyperness) at Yasmin Ahmad's blog here.
Toilet
This evening I went to KLPac and watched Toilet (dance/theatre). After kena ffked by numerous people one after another, I ended up watching it alone, and I'm really glad I did. Somehow it lifted the pressure of hoping that people I invited would like it, so I immersed myself thoroughly in the message that they tried to convey, on life, on indulgence, on internal conflict, on humanity.
I'm no critic, this is the first ever dance performance that I've ever watched, but I did enjoy it. I loved how the stage was designed - there was one sequence playing with disco lights and mist that is exactly how I imagine being stoned would be like - and the dance movements were engaging although I could see some trembling of the limbs which might be signs of inadequate training, I wouldn't know, have to ask Yuen.
Also there is girl-on-girl kissing action on stage. With passion, and not only once, I might add. Do I see some guys perking up right there? (Boy-girl kissing also have. And there was one boy-girl intimate dance sequence that I really liked as well.)
So check it out if you have time - it's only showing till May 24 - tickets cost RM37 for regular price, and if you happen to have a student card like me you get to pay only RM24 ;) Link here.
Kaleidoscope: Hands Drumming Festival
I picked up a flyer when I was at KLPac and it features drums, something that I'm a little partial to. Drumming workshops and performances will be held from 10-14 June during the festival.
For ex-Chonghwarians you would know 吴圣雄老师, pretty much the Art teacher, and he's also behind the drum team 二十四节令鼓in Chong Hwa. I don't know whether he's still in CH or not, but I do miss the drum team, and if I remember correctly he's the founder of Hands Percussion Team. Oh yeah he is, just checked out the official website.
Sadly the dates are on probably my masa kegentingan for Double Deadline 15 June, so I probably won't make it =( Someone go with my spirit can?
Super disoriented.
This week I'm only spending two nights on my KL bed - Sunday night in Northam Hotel, Penang; Monday night at home; Tuesday and Wednesday night on KTM; tonight at home; Friday and Saturday night in the wild camping =)
*hugs self*
I know I have lots to do but right now I'm so disoriented from getting back to KL 6am this morning that I've resorted to... watching police-themed HK dramas, which probably does not help any. I've got stuff to blog about and they're all swimming in my head, no thanks to the thick HK drama plot and adrenaline-inducing action scenes (damn them).
Emails to reply, emails to reply. I watched Sell Out! last week and I thought it was commendable and I wanted to blog about it - but that slipped away before I could and suddenly I was in Penang. In Penang I watched a documentary in the hotel about planets and the universe and was really intrigued - wanted to blog about that, and also the fact that I hadn't been in a decent hotel for so long and hadn't seen Melissa Sim for so long and the Penang orgasmic foooooooood but then I was rumbling along the train tracks from KL to Singapore.
Intermittently I also wanted to blog about these nasty bug bites that I've got on my ankles and my calves, I don't know what bit me but the bites are itchy, swollen and manifest in angry red five-cent spots of busted capillaries. In moments of commuting idleness I wondered if I could put a leech on the bite and somehow neutralize it. I'm still wondering.
In Singapore I ran about running errands, saw my co-supervisor and practically binned my grant application draft (demolition, ground zero, deep breath and here we go again). Oh yeah how could I forget?
I AM GOING TO BOSTON IN AUGUST =D
When I first got the news I wanted to tell someone who could understand the importance of this to me. Picked up my phone and realized that there was no one. At the end I broke the news to a couple of my colleagues and got the same level of congratulations that I would give to a random colleague who just got accepted for an overseas conference. Sigh.
Oh yeah - sometime last week I also got the news that my homosexuality and films paper got accepted into another conference held in New Delhi, but I'm going to be stuck in Singapore for another forum at the same period of time so no New Delhi for me. I haven't even bought the ticket to India yet, the trip with Asa, it's been such a busy period of time that I keep putting it off, and that is keeping my parents on tenterhooks because they're trying their best to dissuade me from going in light of the swine flu situation. I don't know yet.
To chronicle my current turmoil of activity, firstly I have a deadline to meet and that's on 24th May and since I'd be busy dodging leeches (or actively seeking them out muahahaha) then somewhere in Ulu Terong, Perak, the deadline will be rolled forward to... tomorrow. Holy macaroni. Ground zero grant application and rewrite of another paper for a graduate forum in July, both deadlines on June 15. First year report deadline July 3rd. Amidst all the deadlines I have to plan for my trip to Boston which I am planning to stretch way longer than 3 days. For research-related crazy schemes of course.
Visa, tickets, couchsurfing... blah. somehow not in a crazy scheme mood.
While travelling this time around, from Singapore to KL and from KL to Penang - snippets of the travelling I did last year kept resurfacing. Camp fire in Cameron Highlands with Val (who subsequently got diarrhoea hahaha); the Jelapang Toll with the impossibly clean toilet when me and Asa went hitchhiking; the beautiful views of the northern forests and mountain range while road tripping with YKent and GuangHong; running for the bus while meeting Robert in Malacca. I love this country man. And I miss all my friends.
Suddenly emo. Woi camping trip tomorrow! Going Boston in August! 12noon already. I think I should go take a nap.
*hugs self*
I know I have lots to do but right now I'm so disoriented from getting back to KL 6am this morning that I've resorted to... watching police-themed HK dramas, which probably does not help any. I've got stuff to blog about and they're all swimming in my head, no thanks to the thick HK drama plot and adrenaline-inducing action scenes (damn them).
Emails to reply, emails to reply. I watched Sell Out! last week and I thought it was commendable and I wanted to blog about it - but that slipped away before I could and suddenly I was in Penang. In Penang I watched a documentary in the hotel about planets and the universe and was really intrigued - wanted to blog about that, and also the fact that I hadn't been in a decent hotel for so long and hadn't seen Melissa Sim for so long and the Penang orgasmic foooooooood but then I was rumbling along the train tracks from KL to Singapore.
Intermittently I also wanted to blog about these nasty bug bites that I've got on my ankles and my calves, I don't know what bit me but the bites are itchy, swollen and manifest in angry red five-cent spots of busted capillaries. In moments of commuting idleness I wondered if I could put a leech on the bite and somehow neutralize it. I'm still wondering.
In Singapore I ran about running errands, saw my co-supervisor and practically binned my grant application draft (demolition, ground zero, deep breath and here we go again). Oh yeah how could I forget?
I AM GOING TO BOSTON IN AUGUST =D
When I first got the news I wanted to tell someone who could understand the importance of this to me. Picked up my phone and realized that there was no one. At the end I broke the news to a couple of my colleagues and got the same level of congratulations that I would give to a random colleague who just got accepted for an overseas conference. Sigh.
Oh yeah - sometime last week I also got the news that my homosexuality and films paper got accepted into another conference held in New Delhi, but I'm going to be stuck in Singapore for another forum at the same period of time so no New Delhi for me. I haven't even bought the ticket to India yet, the trip with Asa, it's been such a busy period of time that I keep putting it off, and that is keeping my parents on tenterhooks because they're trying their best to dissuade me from going in light of the swine flu situation. I don't know yet.
To chronicle my current turmoil of activity, firstly I have a deadline to meet and that's on 24th May and since I'd be busy dodging leeches (or actively seeking them out muahahaha) then somewhere in Ulu Terong, Perak, the deadline will be rolled forward to... tomorrow. Holy macaroni. Ground zero grant application and rewrite of another paper for a graduate forum in July, both deadlines on June 15. First year report deadline July 3rd. Amidst all the deadlines I have to plan for my trip to Boston which I am planning to stretch way longer than 3 days. For research-related crazy schemes of course.
Visa, tickets, couchsurfing... blah. somehow not in a crazy scheme mood.
While travelling this time around, from Singapore to KL and from KL to Penang - snippets of the travelling I did last year kept resurfacing. Camp fire in Cameron Highlands with Val (who subsequently got diarrhoea hahaha); the Jelapang Toll with the impossibly clean toilet when me and Asa went hitchhiking; the beautiful views of the northern forests and mountain range while road tripping with YKent and GuangHong; running for the bus while meeting Robert in Malacca. I love this country man. And I miss all my friends.
Suddenly emo. Woi camping trip tomorrow! Going Boston in August! 12noon already. I think I should go take a nap.
Sabah ist der Hammer!
We are so bloody lucky to have Sabah as part of Malaysia. (I'm sure the same applies to Sarawak but I haven't been there yet so I can't say.)
I am so loving it here!!!!!!! The past few days have been nothing but sublime. I've had so many first-time experiences yesterday alone at Weston Wetland, that I'm not even going to cover it here, I promise a superbly long post when I get back. As a teaser - a pair of fireflies had sex on the palm of my hand! Beat that! (Not literally, no!)
So far we have gone to the Gaya market, whitewater rafting, Weston Wetland (a must do!) and island hopping (parasailing + snorkelling). Tomorrow we're going to a little-known Bamboo Music Festival (I found it off the Internet, so far no Sabahan I've spoken to has heard of it before hearing of it from me), Nex is bringing us there. Nex is the bestest guide that anyone can ask for in KK! Thanks to him we had a kickass itinerary and the trip has been just wonderful. Later we're also meeting up with Guang Hong for dinner.
I dropped my camera on the ground and it no longer works, but I'm still in good spirits because of the greatness of Sabah.
Ahh. Happiness. Toodles till I get back to KL!
p/s. I'm writing the title in German as a signal to the Network of German Backpackers (NGB) to bring their hordes of backpackers over here. Go. To. Sabah. Immediately. Now.
I am so loving it here!!!!!!! The past few days have been nothing but sublime. I've had so many first-time experiences yesterday alone at Weston Wetland, that I'm not even going to cover it here, I promise a superbly long post when I get back. As a teaser - a pair of fireflies had sex on the palm of my hand! Beat that! (Not literally, no!)
So far we have gone to the Gaya market, whitewater rafting, Weston Wetland (a must do!) and island hopping (parasailing + snorkelling). Tomorrow we're going to a little-known Bamboo Music Festival (I found it off the Internet, so far no Sabahan I've spoken to has heard of it before hearing of it from me), Nex is bringing us there. Nex is the bestest guide that anyone can ask for in KK! Thanks to him we had a kickass itinerary and the trip has been just wonderful. Later we're also meeting up with Guang Hong for dinner.
I dropped my camera on the ground and it no longer works, but I'm still in good spirits because of the greatness of Sabah.
Ahh. Happiness. Toodles till I get back to KL!
p/s. I'm writing the title in German as a signal to the Network of German Backpackers (NGB) to bring their hordes of backpackers over here. Go. To. Sabah. Immediately. Now.
How low can you go?
I'm feeling very uncomfortable now. Exceedingly uncomfortable.
How far will you go? I mean like, when you've got everything to lose, you'd do anything to protect yourself. Anything. When you're desperate. And right now, you're desperate.
You have to go. You can only do this for so long. It's unsustainable. In the long run you'll lose big. In the past it worked. This time, we know what you're up to. And you're not going to get away with it.
It's just the matter of how you go, and how much you drag down the abyss in the process.
And that's what makes me uncomfortable.
How far will you go? I mean like, when you've got everything to lose, you'd do anything to protect yourself. Anything. When you're desperate. And right now, you're desperate.
You have to go. You can only do this for so long. It's unsustainable. In the long run you'll lose big. In the past it worked. This time, we know what you're up to. And you're not going to get away with it.
It's just the matter of how you go, and how much you drag down the abyss in the process.
And that's what makes me uncomfortable.
Are you suing me for having oral sex?
Yesterday in Dr I's lecture he was telling us an anecdote about this country's newspaper (I think it's Singapore but can't be sure) whose top guy was saying "gay" shouldn't be used for homosexuals because "it's a happy word". So therefore when the American sprinter, Tyson Gay was on the news, his name was automatically altered by the system into "Tyson Homosexual". I hope think they rectified it before it went into print.
I forgot why he was telling that story.
Anyway some help is needed of you dear people, to sign an online petition calling for sexuality rights in Malaysia. Read the text - anal and oral sex are deemed as "unnatural offenses" by law, and people who do it can be sentenced up to 20 years jail and whipped. I didn't know that. And who are you, the state, to tell me what to do and what not to do within the confines of my bedroom? And this doesn't apply only to gay people, but also to heterosexuals as well, for those of you who are wondering. So all of us are in this. Homophobic or not.
Here's the gist of what we want from the government:
Alright let's not get carried away here. Sign the petition, my fellowmen and women, at least make ourselves heard in a small scale. Sex is a basic need, much like eating. Should we be policed on how we eat our nasi briyani? Should I be jailed for slurping my soup? Would I be whipped if I don't eat cereal with milk?
Hail sexuality rights! Sign the petition here.
I forgot why he was telling that story.
Anyway some help is needed of you dear people, to sign an online petition calling for sexuality rights in Malaysia. Read the text - anal and oral sex are deemed as "unnatural offenses" by law, and people who do it can be sentenced up to 20 years jail and whipped. I didn't know that. And who are you, the state, to tell me what to do and what not to do within the confines of my bedroom? And this doesn't apply only to gay people, but also to heterosexuals as well, for those of you who are wondering. So all of us are in this. Homophobic or not.
Here's the gist of what we want from the government:
- abolish all laws that criminalise sexual practices between consenting adults.
- dismantle State institutions or initiatives that were established with the purpose of regulating and monitoring people's sexual or moral behaviour in consensual situations.
- cease all persecution of and discrimination against sexual minorities such as homosexuals, bisexuals, intersexed, transsexuals and transvestites, and transgendered people.
Alright let's not get carried away here. Sign the petition, my fellowmen and women, at least make ourselves heard in a small scale. Sex is a basic need, much like eating. Should we be policed on how we eat our nasi briyani? Should I be jailed for slurping my soup? Would I be whipped if I don't eat cereal with milk?
Hail sexuality rights! Sign the petition here.
You do not want to be hit by a flying durian.
Or, unwittingly receive a durian with your open palms the first time you see it, not realizing that it is covered with thorns. Poor poor Val.
Continuing with his series of unfortunate and painful events, Val got stung by an anemone on his lower back and got horribly sunburnt on his whole back. For my part, I got sunburnt on my shoulders as well (right where the straps of the backpack rests, thank you Perhentian sun) and cut myself on some barnacles while trying to get into the sea via a rocky route. Real smart. I'll spare you the gory details, but basically there are bits of me floating in the South China Sea right now.
A lot of sweat and blood (mostly mine) and dead epidermis (mostly Val's) were involved, but did we enjoy ourselves?
Hell YEAH!!! =D
OK. Long post ahead, to make up for lost time. Since the last post, we've been to Malacca, Putrajaya, Semenyih, Taman Negara, the Perhentian Islands and Kota Bharu. That's a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of stinky laundry at the end of the week. Can you believe how hot Malaysia actually is?? I mean I've always suspected, us being tropical and all, but now I know. I am so brown right now, which is kinda cool, if my shoulders aren't burning so badly. My tan lines are ridiculously obvious. Pain.
So. Places and stories.
Malacca (5/7 - 6/7)
We went to D'Paradise Tropical Fruits World, near Alor Gajah. It's not very well-maintained but we got to drive the electricity-powered buggy which was good fun.
In Malacca, we stayed at Mr. Yee's place for a night. True blue Malaysian Hospitality - they cooked dinner for us, really good food with prawns and shellfish and all, and Mr. Yee even fried some extra tofu and veges just for Val. Then after dinner, he took us for a walk down Jonker Street, where Val was "caught" by the local Medicine Man who made him hold a coconut for about half an hour, while he busied himself with selling his medicine, busker style. He is able to poke a hole in a coconut, with his bare finger. That is to demonstrate the special healing powers of his medicine. Val got a bottle of the magic potion for his efforts. Good stuff.
Then later we sat by the riverside and got entertained with live music by a few Malay blokes, who were apparently doing it for free and because they enjoyed it. There was this single Indian uncle who was dancing to the music, quirkily good at it and totally absorbed. He danced and danced, and when he had to leave he continued dancing further and further away, till a point when he walked off normally. It was mesmerizing, and he was adorable =D
And we saw him the second day when we had breakfast at the Restoran Amituofo, where food is provided for free, or you put a sum of money as you see fit into the donation box. Val and I both donated some.
Then we left Malacca.
Putrajaya (6/7)
Putrajaya was empty. As usual. We decided to walk into the gorgeous red mosque but it was coincidentally closed. Too bad.
Semenyih (6/7)
Then we went to Semenyih to meet Asa. Took Val to see the Nirvana Chinese graveyard, where he was understandably impressed by the huge dragon they have, to put people's ashes in. Do you know - and I've never known - that Nirvana even has a pet graveyard?? The gravestones are cute animal statues. Very interesting. On to less morbid attractions, we went to the Semenyih Dam for its beautiful scenery, and stopped by the roadside for Val to feed the monkeys with coconut biscuits.
I've never seen someone so happy to see monkeys. Val says that the monkeys are definitely the highlight of his trip. Not even the Medicine Man could beat that.
Then we went to the waterfalls of Sungai Tekala, where we enjoyed a good bath and encountered two different groups of moronic boys who kept taunting Val with gibberish he couldn't understand. Unfortunately I could (first time in Mandarin, second time in Hokkien). Imbeciles.
12:30am already. Lazy to go on, maybe later. Although we had lots of fun, I am glad to be back. A little more than a week till Singapore engulfs me. Before I become emo again I shall close this post.
Continuing with his series of unfortunate and painful events, Val got stung by an anemone on his lower back and got horribly sunburnt on his whole back. For my part, I got sunburnt on my shoulders as well (right where the straps of the backpack rests, thank you Perhentian sun) and cut myself on some barnacles while trying to get into the sea via a rocky route. Real smart. I'll spare you the gory details, but basically there are bits of me floating in the South China Sea right now.
A lot of sweat and blood (mostly mine) and dead epidermis (mostly Val's) were involved, but did we enjoy ourselves?
Hell YEAH!!! =D
OK. Long post ahead, to make up for lost time. Since the last post, we've been to Malacca, Putrajaya, Semenyih, Taman Negara, the Perhentian Islands and Kota Bharu. That's a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of stinky laundry at the end of the week. Can you believe how hot Malaysia actually is?? I mean I've always suspected, us being tropical and all, but now I know. I am so brown right now, which is kinda cool, if my shoulders aren't burning so badly. My tan lines are ridiculously obvious. Pain.
So. Places and stories.
Malacca (5/7 - 6/7)
We went to D'Paradise Tropical Fruits World, near Alor Gajah. It's not very well-maintained but we got to drive the electricity-powered buggy which was good fun.
In Malacca, we stayed at Mr. Yee's place for a night. True blue Malaysian Hospitality - they cooked dinner for us, really good food with prawns and shellfish and all, and Mr. Yee even fried some extra tofu and veges just for Val. Then after dinner, he took us for a walk down Jonker Street, where Val was "caught" by the local Medicine Man who made him hold a coconut for about half an hour, while he busied himself with selling his medicine, busker style. He is able to poke a hole in a coconut, with his bare finger. That is to demonstrate the special healing powers of his medicine. Val got a bottle of the magic potion for his efforts. Good stuff.
Then later we sat by the riverside and got entertained with live music by a few Malay blokes, who were apparently doing it for free and because they enjoyed it. There was this single Indian uncle who was dancing to the music, quirkily good at it and totally absorbed. He danced and danced, and when he had to leave he continued dancing further and further away, till a point when he walked off normally. It was mesmerizing, and he was adorable =D
And we saw him the second day when we had breakfast at the Restoran Amituofo, where food is provided for free, or you put a sum of money as you see fit into the donation box. Val and I both donated some.
Then we left Malacca.
Putrajaya (6/7)
Putrajaya was empty. As usual. We decided to walk into the gorgeous red mosque but it was coincidentally closed. Too bad.
Semenyih (6/7)
Then we went to Semenyih to meet Asa. Took Val to see the Nirvana Chinese graveyard, where he was understandably impressed by the huge dragon they have, to put people's ashes in. Do you know - and I've never known - that Nirvana even has a pet graveyard?? The gravestones are cute animal statues. Very interesting. On to less morbid attractions, we went to the Semenyih Dam for its beautiful scenery, and stopped by the roadside for Val to feed the monkeys with coconut biscuits.
I've never seen someone so happy to see monkeys. Val says that the monkeys are definitely the highlight of his trip. Not even the Medicine Man could beat that.
Then we went to the waterfalls of Sungai Tekala, where we enjoyed a good bath and encountered two different groups of moronic boys who kept taunting Val with gibberish he couldn't understand. Unfortunately I could (first time in Mandarin, second time in Hokkien). Imbeciles.
12:30am already. Lazy to go on, maybe later. Although we had lots of fun, I am glad to be back. A little more than a week till Singapore engulfs me. Before I become emo again I shall close this post.
Hitchhiking down the North South Highway
*Updated: Some links at the end of this post*
This morning we woke up at 5:30am. With a mission. Me and Asa were going to hitchhike to KL from Butterworth, a distance of 382kms, and get back by 6pm on time to celebrate my mum's belated birthday.
We left the guesthouse at 6am, after asking for directions to the NS Highway. The guesthouse manager, after asking us where we wanted to go (KL), what we wanted to do (hitchhike) and if we had tickets to any public transport (none at all), had "you guys are nuts" politely written all over her face. She wasn't much help. We decided to wing it as we went along.
We walked to the ferry station and took the ferry over. Part of the reason why we got up so early was that we weren't sure how long we would take to get to a good spot, and how long the subsequent waits would be. The other part of the reason was that we wanted to have a good start before the sun became scorchingly hot. We reached Butterworth and walked to the intersection towards the direction of South. And started thumbing.
7:19am was the time when we started waiting. Within fifteen minutes, we were slowing down cars with curious drivers, with confused looks on their faces, and motorcycles with uncles who either avoided our smiles or smiled back. A Bas Sekolah (school bus) stopped, but he was going to a nearby kampung and not towards the NS Highway. A Malay uncle called Man stopped and gave us his number, and said that he was busy right then but if we needed help later on we could call him.
So far so good. But it was apparent that we weren't at a good spot, as most people going towards the highway went onto the flyover, missing us entirely, and most people driving past us weren't going to the highway.
At 7:36am, a bus stopped for us, and we decided that we might as well take it to somewhere down the road where we had better chances. So take it we did, cost RM0.60 each, just 500 meters away, where we continued our career of rigorous thumbing.
Less than 5 minutes later, a man pulled over and asked us if we were in trouble. Apparently he had overshot us earlier at the first spot, and took the trouble to make a U-turn to go back for us only to find that we were already gone. (In his own words, "I didn't know if you were humans or..." =D) Disappointed, he continued driving and to his relief, he saw us 500meters down the road and stopped.
The man, Mr. Oo, couldn't understand why we were doing what we were doing. He offered to buy us bus tickets back KL, which we of course declined, drilled us on the possible hazards, and asked us repeatedly if we were definitely not going to give up. Hell no. He finally agreed on bringing us to the Juru rest station, a better spot just 15minutes away, and gave us his namecard, to call him if we met any trouble. We were to call him whenever we went to Penang and he would bring us around. Then he took down our numbers. Satisfied that we were going to be somewhat safe, he left us at the rest station and went to work.
At 8am we started thumbing at Juru. Right after we put down our luggage and lifted our thumbs, in less than a minute, this Malay bloke drove by and asked us where we wanted to go. He was going to Ipoh. Sweet! Again, our luggage went into the car, and I got seated at the front and Asa buckled up at the back. The driver's name was Mr. Roshidi. He was a driver for the army, in a camp somewhere within Ipoh. He had been working there for ten years already.
Roshidi had been driving since 5am from Bukit Kayu Hitam, as he had gone back to see his sick mother. His wife was going to give birth to their second child, and she was based in Perlis, taking care of her sick mother. They saw each other once a week. During the weekdays Roshidi would drink beer in Ipoh with his Chinese mates ("Minum banyak kerana ada kawan Cina"), and we had an animated discussion about beer prices in Southeast Asia.
Roshidi was always sleepy because of his hectic travelling and lifestyle. Although I worried a little over his driving, he seemed to be a happy and simple guy, content with what life gave him and made the best of what he had. I can't believe I actually held a conversation for more than an hour, in Malay, with him actually understanding me. As the windows were wound down because he was smoking, Asa couldn't hear a word of what we were saying in the backseat, so it was up to me to keep him entertained (and awake). He asked us if we wanted anything to eat and he could treat us, but we were alright.
Roshidi left us at the Jelapang toll, a great spot since the cars had to slow down after coming out from the toll, and could see us clearly. We exchanged numbers and he said that he could take us to the Ipoh bus station if we needed it. Our spirits were sky high and we didn't think we would need it, but the thought counted a lot.
After relieving ourselves at the (extremely clean) restroom, we came out and within 15 seconds a car stopped. Two men asked us if we were in need of any help. They were going into Ipoh, so we decided not to take the ride. They smiled at us good-naturedly and sped off.
Another three minutes later, around 10am, a Chinese guy pulled over. He was bemused about what we were doing, but offered that he was going to Puchong. Puchong!!! We were stoked!
"You're not carrying any drugs, are you?" He asked, half-seriously, in Cantonese.
"No, not at all!" We gave our best angelic looks. Hell, would we admit it if we had our backpacks half full with marijuana? Deciding that we looked innocent enough, he helped us put our luggage into the boot, and off we were again. To KL, at 1oam.
Andy was from Perlis as well. He seemed to travel a fair bit himself, and was a rather interesting character. His ancestors worked as the type of monks (?) who are hired to pray and chant at Chinese funerals. I don't know what it's called in English, but in Cantonese it is "Nam Mo Lou". According to him, the occupation has to be passed down one generation to the other, if not their family would be cursed for three generations. Turns out that his father died of an accident, as with all his other uncles (seven of them) but one. They would be safe from the curse after they turned 40, but his dad died when he was 39 years and 10 months old.
I was beginning to be concerned for Andy's safety but turns out that he is of the fourth generation, and should be safe from the curse. =D Phew! And since his dad knew that he might die, they bought insurance (since insurance policies did not take into account family curses) so I guess they led a pretty good life as well.
In Andy's car we went through a car wash in Ipoh (just RM3 per wash, super cheap!) and later got caught by a speed trap. By the slick way he handled the police, a straightforward offer of money and the transaction that took less than a minute (bribery of RM30), I think he probably gets caught speeding very often. Bribery is totally against my principles, but I couldn't bring myself to preach to this guy who had just picked two random strangers off the road, so I chose to remain quiet. We sped all the way back to KL, at times going up to 190km/h.
We drove off the NS Highway at the Sungai Buloh toll and he sent us to my doorstep, although he actually had some work appointment to go for at 12noon. We reached my house at 11:55am.
So this is the story of how Asa and I managed to get from Butterworth to my doorstep by only using RM0.60 per pax, within 5 hours, with 3 rides (not counting the bus ride), with an average waiting time of less than 3 minutes. We had hell more fun than taking a bus, and calculating the time waiting for a bus, and getting back home from the bus station, I'd say that taking a bus would probably cost us more time, not to mention money.
Seriously. Malaysians rock. This is probably the first time that I have wholly agreed with Lonely Planet (which you should still never trust your life with), which prints that "Malaysia has long had a reputation for being an excellent place for hitchhiking and it is generally still true, though with inexpensive bus travel most travellers don't bother."
In NZ the average waiting time was like 30-50minutes. The concept of hitchhiking doesn't seem to be quite strong here in Malaysia as everyone we've met hardly understands what hitchhiking is and why we are doing it. (To reinforce faith in humankind. To travel in an environmentally friendly manner. To save a measly 30 bucks. But mostly for fun.)
The guys who stopped were actually concerned if we were in any sort of trouble and wanted to help. Then when they realized what we wanted, they'd already stopped and might as well just let us tumpang anyway. None of the three guys who picked us up believed that we would make it, although they did pick us up out of the goodness of their hearts. I think they stopped partly because they thought that if they didn't, noone would. There's so much goodness out there but so little faith.
Though, a little caveat here is that all three did mention that they picked us up because we were girls. Andy the third guy nearly got mugged before, when he stopped for another guy previously. Yet he still stopped for us. It's a good thing that we don't look like drug addicts or pushers, although we do look rather worn out after a week of nonstop travel!
I'm really really happy that we did it. Only Asa would've been mad enough to go through it with me (I love you Asa!), and who knows when we'd have another chance travelling together again. And I really wanted to do it in Malaysia. Not many were encouraging when they knew what we were going to do, and I felt a bit intimidated at first, but it's been a huge success. Better than in NZ. Didn't expect it, aye?
I'm overwhelmed with gratitude right now, and extremely sleepy. Had less than 4 hours of sleep yesterday =P
Love you Malaysia. Muakmuakmuakmuakmuaksss!
*Updates*
By googling "Hitchhiking Malaysia" I came across some interesting links, as below:
- A simple bet turns into a wild ride across Borneo - This article is a must-read. It's about how a Canadian guy hitched his way from Gua Niah to Kuching, as a race with another guy taking public transport. My favourite part was when the military set up a road block for him to waylay a ride for his last leg of the race. Priceless! =D
- Hitchhiking - A story of hitchhiking from Penang to Singapore. Not sure when it was done though.
- Malay Hitchhiking Phrases - you never know when you might need it ;)
- Awash in the Jungle - an article that I came across, nothing to do with hitchhiking but it is about hiking up Gunung Tahan by two girls. Without the mandatory guides, and halfway through their boots got washed away by a flash flood and they had to climb up wearing socks. Good read.
This morning we woke up at 5:30am. With a mission. Me and Asa were going to hitchhike to KL from Butterworth, a distance of 382kms, and get back by 6pm on time to celebrate my mum's belated birthday.
We left the guesthouse at 6am, after asking for directions to the NS Highway. The guesthouse manager, after asking us where we wanted to go (KL), what we wanted to do (hitchhike) and if we had tickets to any public transport (none at all), had "you guys are nuts" politely written all over her face. She wasn't much help. We decided to wing it as we went along.
We walked to the ferry station and took the ferry over. Part of the reason why we got up so early was that we weren't sure how long we would take to get to a good spot, and how long the subsequent waits would be. The other part of the reason was that we wanted to have a good start before the sun became scorchingly hot. We reached Butterworth and walked to the intersection towards the direction of South. And started thumbing.
7:19am was the time when we started waiting. Within fifteen minutes, we were slowing down cars with curious drivers, with confused looks on their faces, and motorcycles with uncles who either avoided our smiles or smiled back. A Bas Sekolah (school bus) stopped, but he was going to a nearby kampung and not towards the NS Highway. A Malay uncle called Man stopped and gave us his number, and said that he was busy right then but if we needed help later on we could call him.
So far so good. But it was apparent that we weren't at a good spot, as most people going towards the highway went onto the flyover, missing us entirely, and most people driving past us weren't going to the highway.
At 7:36am, a bus stopped for us, and we decided that we might as well take it to somewhere down the road where we had better chances. So take it we did, cost RM0.60 each, just 500 meters away, where we continued our career of rigorous thumbing.
Less than 5 minutes later, a man pulled over and asked us if we were in trouble. Apparently he had overshot us earlier at the first spot, and took the trouble to make a U-turn to go back for us only to find that we were already gone. (In his own words, "I didn't know if you were humans or..." =D) Disappointed, he continued driving and to his relief, he saw us 500meters down the road and stopped.
The man, Mr. Oo, couldn't understand why we were doing what we were doing. He offered to buy us bus tickets back KL, which we of course declined, drilled us on the possible hazards, and asked us repeatedly if we were definitely not going to give up. Hell no. He finally agreed on bringing us to the Juru rest station, a better spot just 15minutes away, and gave us his namecard, to call him if we met any trouble. We were to call him whenever we went to Penang and he would bring us around. Then he took down our numbers. Satisfied that we were going to be somewhat safe, he left us at the rest station and went to work.
At 8am we started thumbing at Juru. Right after we put down our luggage and lifted our thumbs, in less than a minute, this Malay bloke drove by and asked us where we wanted to go. He was going to Ipoh. Sweet! Again, our luggage went into the car, and I got seated at the front and Asa buckled up at the back. The driver's name was Mr. Roshidi. He was a driver for the army, in a camp somewhere within Ipoh. He had been working there for ten years already.
Roshidi had been driving since 5am from Bukit Kayu Hitam, as he had gone back to see his sick mother. His wife was going to give birth to their second child, and she was based in Perlis, taking care of her sick mother. They saw each other once a week. During the weekdays Roshidi would drink beer in Ipoh with his Chinese mates ("Minum banyak kerana ada kawan Cina"), and we had an animated discussion about beer prices in Southeast Asia.
Roshidi was always sleepy because of his hectic travelling and lifestyle. Although I worried a little over his driving, he seemed to be a happy and simple guy, content with what life gave him and made the best of what he had. I can't believe I actually held a conversation for more than an hour, in Malay, with him actually understanding me. As the windows were wound down because he was smoking, Asa couldn't hear a word of what we were saying in the backseat, so it was up to me to keep him entertained (and awake). He asked us if we wanted anything to eat and he could treat us, but we were alright.
Roshidi left us at the Jelapang toll, a great spot since the cars had to slow down after coming out from the toll, and could see us clearly. We exchanged numbers and he said that he could take us to the Ipoh bus station if we needed it. Our spirits were sky high and we didn't think we would need it, but the thought counted a lot.
After relieving ourselves at the (extremely clean) restroom, we came out and within 15 seconds a car stopped. Two men asked us if we were in need of any help. They were going into Ipoh, so we decided not to take the ride. They smiled at us good-naturedly and sped off.
Another three minutes later, around 10am, a Chinese guy pulled over. He was bemused about what we were doing, but offered that he was going to Puchong. Puchong!!! We were stoked!
"You're not carrying any drugs, are you?" He asked, half-seriously, in Cantonese.
"No, not at all!" We gave our best angelic looks. Hell, would we admit it if we had our backpacks half full with marijuana? Deciding that we looked innocent enough, he helped us put our luggage into the boot, and off we were again. To KL, at 1oam.
Andy was from Perlis as well. He seemed to travel a fair bit himself, and was a rather interesting character. His ancestors worked as the type of monks (?) who are hired to pray and chant at Chinese funerals. I don't know what it's called in English, but in Cantonese it is "Nam Mo Lou". According to him, the occupation has to be passed down one generation to the other, if not their family would be cursed for three generations. Turns out that his father died of an accident, as with all his other uncles (seven of them) but one. They would be safe from the curse after they turned 40, but his dad died when he was 39 years and 10 months old.
I was beginning to be concerned for Andy's safety but turns out that he is of the fourth generation, and should be safe from the curse. =D Phew! And since his dad knew that he might die, they bought insurance (since insurance policies did not take into account family curses) so I guess they led a pretty good life as well.
In Andy's car we went through a car wash in Ipoh (just RM3 per wash, super cheap!) and later got caught by a speed trap. By the slick way he handled the police, a straightforward offer of money and the transaction that took less than a minute (bribery of RM30), I think he probably gets caught speeding very often. Bribery is totally against my principles, but I couldn't bring myself to preach to this guy who had just picked two random strangers off the road, so I chose to remain quiet. We sped all the way back to KL, at times going up to 190km/h.
We drove off the NS Highway at the Sungai Buloh toll and he sent us to my doorstep, although he actually had some work appointment to go for at 12noon. We reached my house at 11:55am.
So this is the story of how Asa and I managed to get from Butterworth to my doorstep by only using RM0.60 per pax, within 5 hours, with 3 rides (not counting the bus ride), with an average waiting time of less than 3 minutes. We had hell more fun than taking a bus, and calculating the time waiting for a bus, and getting back home from the bus station, I'd say that taking a bus would probably cost us more time, not to mention money.
Seriously. Malaysians rock. This is probably the first time that I have wholly agreed with Lonely Planet (which you should still never trust your life with), which prints that "Malaysia has long had a reputation for being an excellent place for hitchhiking and it is generally still true, though with inexpensive bus travel most travellers don't bother."
In NZ the average waiting time was like 30-50minutes. The concept of hitchhiking doesn't seem to be quite strong here in Malaysia as everyone we've met hardly understands what hitchhiking is and why we are doing it. (To reinforce faith in humankind. To travel in an environmentally friendly manner. To save a measly 30 bucks. But mostly for fun.)
The guys who stopped were actually concerned if we were in any sort of trouble and wanted to help. Then when they realized what we wanted, they'd already stopped and might as well just let us tumpang anyway. None of the three guys who picked us up believed that we would make it, although they did pick us up out of the goodness of their hearts. I think they stopped partly because they thought that if they didn't, noone would. There's so much goodness out there but so little faith.
Though, a little caveat here is that all three did mention that they picked us up because we were girls. Andy the third guy nearly got mugged before, when he stopped for another guy previously. Yet he still stopped for us. It's a good thing that we don't look like drug addicts or pushers, although we do look rather worn out after a week of nonstop travel!
I'm really really happy that we did it. Only Asa would've been mad enough to go through it with me (I love you Asa!), and who knows when we'd have another chance travelling together again. And I really wanted to do it in Malaysia. Not many were encouraging when they knew what we were going to do, and I felt a bit intimidated at first, but it's been a huge success. Better than in NZ. Didn't expect it, aye?
I'm overwhelmed with gratitude right now, and extremely sleepy. Had less than 4 hours of sleep yesterday =P
Love you Malaysia. Muakmuakmuakmuakmuaksss!
*Updates*
By googling "Hitchhiking Malaysia" I came across some interesting links, as below:
- A simple bet turns into a wild ride across Borneo - This article is a must-read. It's about how a Canadian guy hitched his way from Gua Niah to Kuching, as a race with another guy taking public transport. My favourite part was when the military set up a road block for him to waylay a ride for his last leg of the race. Priceless! =D
- Hitchhiking - A story of hitchhiking from Penang to Singapore. Not sure when it was done though.
- Malay Hitchhiking Phrases - you never know when you might need it ;)
- Awash in the Jungle - an article that I came across, nothing to do with hitchhiking but it is about hiking up Gunung Tahan by two girls. Without the mandatory guides, and halfway through their boots got washed away by a flash flood and they had to climb up wearing socks. Good read.
Here in my home
Although most of you would have seen the video by now from other blogs, I'll put it in just in case there are some of you people who only read blogs with an L on their foreheads.
*foreLhead*
Malaysian Artistes for Unity - Here In My Home
Loved the video and definitely will download the ringtone when I'm in Singapore and get a better handphone than the current one. (Which doesn't have enough of memory space for the song... 330kb nia... doesn't have a cable... WAP nia... Ai, as long as the joystick works I'm not complaining... please don't malfunction on me again...)
I like the Indian part of the rap the most. And I like Afdlin Shauki, the Sepet couple (!!!), "We the rakyat lah!", Harith Iskander, the airplanes, and the official site! It's so fun and lighthearted, you can't help laughing along with these crazy people. Kononnya the song began with a story that started with Pete Teo juggling tomatoes. How can you not love a song involving tomatoes being juggled? And a music video directed by Yasmin Ahmad and Ho Yu Hang? And the zero budget, zero profit - as Val would say, anarchistic production? AND the central theme of racial unity?
SOKONG!!!!
Ei. Watch the video lah. Then you'll know what I'm talking about.
Video, song, ringtones available for download here. These folks are teh cool. Pimping them is the least that you and I can do.
*foreLhead*
Malaysian Artistes for Unity - Here In My Home
Loved the video and definitely will download the ringtone when I'm in Singapore and get a better handphone than the current one. (Which doesn't have enough of memory space for the song... 330kb nia... doesn't have a cable... WAP nia... Ai, as long as the joystick works I'm not complaining... please don't malfunction on me again...)
I like the Indian part of the rap the most. And I like Afdlin Shauki, the Sepet couple (!!!), "We the rakyat lah!", Harith Iskander, the airplanes, and the official site! It's so fun and lighthearted, you can't help laughing along with these crazy people. Kononnya the song began with a story that started with Pete Teo juggling tomatoes. How can you not love a song involving tomatoes being juggled? And a music video directed by Yasmin Ahmad and Ho Yu Hang? And the zero budget, zero profit - as Val would say, anarchistic production? AND the central theme of racial unity?
SOKONG!!!!
Ei. Watch the video lah. Then you'll know what I'm talking about.
Video, song, ringtones available for download here. These folks are teh cool. Pimping them is the least that you and I can do.
=D
So I had to update this blog, for the occasion. Yes it is like 2 days late but what the hell it was a historical event!!!! 5 states!! 82 seats!! Wowwww......
And here is the first post on the event, on my travel blog: *click* Shows my literary genius, or the lack of it. Also Internet cost like $1 for 10 minutes ok?? After bumming around for almost 2 months I am pretty poor now...
After the initial ecstasy I was momentarily stunned, about the significance of the event. What other things will happen? This is the first time! After being so sien and all at all those people who don't care, here is an astounding YES I DO CARE! from the silent minority, it just opens up endless possibilities! And I really really hope that, now that they are given the chance, the opposition parties will buck up and prove that they are the worthy alternative. If not, as Val would say, we are boned.
Congratulations so much to you guys, for everyone who worked so hard for it to happen.
It also struck me that my book (the research one) may have to undergo major revamps. Yes it is still stuck in the process of editing. So much has happened in the past 6 months! Well I'll just worry about it when I get back, now I'm just content to bask in the glow of hope and joy.
I'll be back soon and soon business will resume in this blog! Happy? =D
And here is the first post on the event, on my travel blog: *click* Shows my literary genius, or the lack of it. Also Internet cost like $1 for 10 minutes ok?? After bumming around for almost 2 months I am pretty poor now...
After the initial ecstasy I was momentarily stunned, about the significance of the event. What other things will happen? This is the first time! After being so sien and all at all those people who don't care, here is an astounding YES I DO CARE! from the silent minority, it just opens up endless possibilities! And I really really hope that, now that they are given the chance, the opposition parties will buck up and prove that they are the worthy alternative. If not, as Val would say, we are boned.
Congratulations so much to you guys, for everyone who worked so hard for it to happen.
It also struck me that my book (the research one) may have to undergo major revamps. Yes it is still stuck in the process of editing. So much has happened in the past 6 months! Well I'll just worry about it when I get back, now I'm just content to bask in the glow of hope and joy.
I'll be back soon and soon business will resume in this blog! Happy? =D
General Elections Coming Up!
AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
My mum told me that the GE would be held on 21st of March, the date that I am coming home. I was going to change my flight to one day earlier, but then the second day she texted me saying that she got the wrong information and it was 8th of March instead.
If I come back on 7th of March, I would miss:
1. Wild Foods Festival, which I have paid for.
2. A scenic train ride from Greymouth to Christchurch, which I have paid for.
3. A plane ticket from Christchurch to Auckland, which I have paid for.
4. Going to Northland, which I have NOT paid for.
I'm very sorry =( In the meanwhile I will try to follow the news from afar, though it is also kinda hard to do that as the Internet is expensive here.
For all those at home, keep up the good work!
My mum told me that the GE would be held on 21st of March, the date that I am coming home. I was going to change my flight to one day earlier, but then the second day she texted me saying that she got the wrong information and it was 8th of March instead.
If I come back on 7th of March, I would miss:
1. Wild Foods Festival, which I have paid for.
2. A scenic train ride from Greymouth to Christchurch, which I have paid for.
3. A plane ticket from Christchurch to Auckland, which I have paid for.
4. Going to Northland, which I have NOT paid for.
I'm very sorry =( In the meanwhile I will try to follow the news from afar, though it is also kinda hard to do that as the Internet is expensive here.
For all those at home, keep up the good work!
Some Yellow Links
I am copying this entire post from my travel blog to post it here, because it took me the whole morning to write it and I'm not going to put a link here so that you can not click on it and waste my effort. And I have to double post it because the travel blog is read mostly by my friends and family which I try to keep away from this blog.
(Hence you may observe that the writing style is more muted, but there have been multiple times when the F word was right at my fingertips. Oh what was I thinking, I can say it here. Fuck the F-word. And Fuck Zam.)
----
I have struck a deal with the German guy next door who lives here semi-permanently, to use the wireless Internet password for two weeks. It costs me $7.50 which I have shared with Melissa (so $3.75 each) and needless to say we've both been very busy from yesterday till today immersed in the virtual online world.
So. No more beeps. No more excuses to close my blog posts. Interestingly I don't feel like blogging once I've got unlimited access, there are so many other things I have to do, like plan out what to do during my travel trip, or chat with people, or read blogs that I haven't read for ages. I've been reading up on the November 10 peaceful rally in KL, which has been grossly downplayed and skewed by the mainstream media, so here are some links to the eyewitness accounts by bloggers who were there.
Quaintly.net - We Know What We Want - A beautiful account of what happened by one of my favourite bloggers - an 18 year old girl who went there. Read the heartwarming scenarios from here.
Dan-yel - When We Painted KL with Yellow - More descriptions of the event, from another perspective by Su Ann's friend.
In Fantasyland - The BERSIH March - An eyewitness account on how agent provocateurs were planted in the crowd by the police!
Kakiblog.com - My Report from the Bersih Rally - A guy who got sprayed with the teargas, you have to read this to know what it's like.
Josh Incorrigible - It was All Yellow - Some lyrics and pictures.
Metroblogging Kuala Lumpur - Metblogs Reporting on Bersih Rally - Great post with pictures telling the stories.
Reduced and Recycled - BERSIH Rally: A Report of Events - A guy who came from JB just for the day. Also has some links at the bottom to more blog posts.
By the time I finished reading the blog posts - I am in tears, with goosebumps on my arms. Because of the people power demonstrated - people actually cared. Because of the cruelty unleashed onto civilians by our police. Because of the solidarity of all Malaysians who were there, from all walks of life. Do read them, and have a different perspective of what actually happened, by ordinary people who were actually there instead of reading the mainstream crap or even Malaysiakini. There are more, but I decided these would suffice for your short attention spans.
Yeah this is not exactly a travel post. So there. And please do not forget why the demonstration was held in the first place - it was held to campaign for electoral reforms, to pave the path - nay, to correct the path of Malaysia's democracy. Our dear PM keeps saying that it is opposition politics, but there are 40,000 people (official sources say 4,000, but everyone else says it is much more than that, and you can see through pictures of the sheer numbers of the people), concerned enough about the state of this country to brave tear gas, water cannons, getting arrested, the rain, possible bodily injuries, etc. to go into KL on that day, all because they love the country enough.
And, on that day, it was the police, civil servants who were supposed to protect us, who turned on the protesters with tear gas and water cannons. The opposition, Unit Amal PAS, directed traffic and cleaned the streets after the demonstration. The incumbents sure gave the opposition a lot of brownie points aye. And just look at Zam embarrassing the whole country in the Al-Jazeera interview. (Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1_GQ-K7P_w; or if you want to spare the noise pollution you can read the transcript here, by Rachel Leow ) Someone just sack him already!
Yeah don't worry I'll revert back to my horror stories on door-knocking and gangster neighbourhoods in following posts. I just had to blog about one of the most historical moments in Malaysia's democracy which I unfortunately missed. Gotta love the Internet for all the documentation though.
(Hence you may observe that the writing style is more muted, but there have been multiple times when the F word was right at my fingertips. Oh what was I thinking, I can say it here. Fuck the F-word. And Fuck Zam.)
----
I have struck a deal with the German guy next door who lives here semi-permanently, to use the wireless Internet password for two weeks. It costs me $7.50 which I have shared with Melissa (so $3.75 each) and needless to say we've both been very busy from yesterday till today immersed in the virtual online world.
So. No more beeps. No more excuses to close my blog posts. Interestingly I don't feel like blogging once I've got unlimited access, there are so many other things I have to do, like plan out what to do during my travel trip, or chat with people, or read blogs that I haven't read for ages. I've been reading up on the November 10 peaceful rally in KL, which has been grossly downplayed and skewed by the mainstream media, so here are some links to the eyewitness accounts by bloggers who were there.
Quaintly.net - We Know What We Want - A beautiful account of what happened by one of my favourite bloggers - an 18 year old girl who went there. Read the heartwarming scenarios from here.
Dan-yel - When We Painted KL with Yellow - More descriptions of the event, from another perspective by Su Ann's friend.
In Fantasyland - The BERSIH March - An eyewitness account on how agent provocateurs were planted in the crowd by the police!
Kakiblog.com - My Report from the Bersih Rally - A guy who got sprayed with the teargas, you have to read this to know what it's like.
Josh Incorrigible - It was All Yellow - Some lyrics and pictures.
Metroblogging Kuala Lumpur - Metblogs Reporting on Bersih Rally - Great post with pictures telling the stories.
Reduced and Recycled - BERSIH Rally: A Report of Events - A guy who came from JB just for the day. Also has some links at the bottom to more blog posts.
By the time I finished reading the blog posts - I am in tears, with goosebumps on my arms. Because of the people power demonstrated - people actually cared. Because of the cruelty unleashed onto civilians by our police. Because of the solidarity of all Malaysians who were there, from all walks of life. Do read them, and have a different perspective of what actually happened, by ordinary people who were actually there instead of reading the mainstream crap or even Malaysiakini. There are more, but I decided these would suffice for your short attention spans.
Yeah this is not exactly a travel post. So there. And please do not forget why the demonstration was held in the first place - it was held to campaign for electoral reforms, to pave the path - nay, to correct the path of Malaysia's democracy. Our dear PM keeps saying that it is opposition politics, but there are 40,000 people (official sources say 4,000, but everyone else says it is much more than that, and you can see through pictures of the sheer numbers of the people), concerned enough about the state of this country to brave tear gas, water cannons, getting arrested, the rain, possible bodily injuries, etc. to go into KL on that day, all because they love the country enough.
And, on that day, it was the police, civil servants who were supposed to protect us, who turned on the protesters with tear gas and water cannons. The opposition, Unit Amal PAS, directed traffic and cleaned the streets after the demonstration. The incumbents sure gave the opposition a lot of brownie points aye. And just look at Zam embarrassing the whole country in the Al-Jazeera interview. (Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1_GQ-K7P_w; or if you want to spare the noise pollution you can read the transcript here, by Rachel Leow ) Someone just sack him already!
Yeah don't worry I'll revert back to my horror stories on door-knocking and gangster neighbourhoods in following posts. I just had to blog about one of the most historical moments in Malaysia's democracy which I unfortunately missed. Gotta love the Internet for all the documentation though.
Yellow Yellow Yellow.
I am sipping my NZ$5.90 smooth mocha frappe in Esquires Coffee, Hobson Street - and for my purchase I am rewarded with one hour of free Internet. I am somewhat disgruntled because I had planned on camping in the cafe to mooch off its free Internet, but these capitalist folks have thwarted me by putting a timer on the wireless access.
(=_=) <-- disgruntled face, missing Starbucks from Malaysia. Starbucks here doesn't even give free wireless. Hmmph.
But anyway, I am reading up on the 10 November walk! 40,000 people! Well done you guys! *salam* The backlash from the police totally shows the fear that this government has of people power... and it is still truly staggering that 40,000 people cared enough to brave the threats of arrest, the rain, the roadblocks etc etc... Wow. So how many of you went? How was it? Kena water cannoned?
Reading the Malaysiakini reports, the Cat and Mouse thing was pretty funny, haha! Kudos to the organizers for planting a decoy, hohohoho.... and also it was very cool to see the people from PAS cleaning the streets after the event. It would be such a shame if the streets were covered with thrash left behind by so many people.
Ah. The Star (The People's Paper) and The New Straits Times (I Don't Read It So I Don't Know The Tagline) has put the figure at 4,000. Can anyone tell me how the 40,000 people were counted? To give the official figures the benefit of the doubt.
Oh well I need to close this post because the freaking one hour limit is almost up. I may be able to get the hostel's wireless Internet password later and go online more freely in the following two weeks (before I leave for travelling team in Greenpeace. Those who don't know what I'm talking about, check my travel blog.)
Okie bye dears!
(=_=) <-- disgruntled face, missing Starbucks from Malaysia. Starbucks here doesn't even give free wireless. Hmmph.
But anyway, I am reading up on the 10 November walk! 40,000 people! Well done you guys! *salam* The backlash from the police totally shows the fear that this government has of people power... and it is still truly staggering that 40,000 people cared enough to brave the threats of arrest, the rain, the roadblocks etc etc... Wow. So how many of you went? How was it? Kena water cannoned?
Reading the Malaysiakini reports, the Cat and Mouse thing was pretty funny, haha! Kudos to the organizers for planting a decoy, hohohoho.... and also it was very cool to see the people from PAS cleaning the streets after the event. It would be such a shame if the streets were covered with thrash left behind by so many people.
Ah. The Star (The People's Paper) and The New Straits Times (I Don't Read It So I Don't Know The Tagline) has put the figure at 4,000. Can anyone tell me how the 40,000 people were counted? To give the official figures the benefit of the doubt.
Oh well I need to close this post because the freaking one hour limit is almost up. I may be able to get the hostel's wireless Internet password later and go online more freely in the following two weeks (before I leave for travelling team in Greenpeace. Those who don't know what I'm talking about, check my travel blog.)
Okie bye dears!
10 Days Left. My Bag! =D
So here it is. My laptop backpack. Black, boring, boring, black.
But not after my dad did some magic to it!
But not after my dad did some magic to it!
Here's the Kuala Lumpur Flag in front.
And here's the side view with both flags visible.
Dear Malaysia,
Happy Independence, I feel inclined to say to you, just 50 minutes past 12am and we're officially into 31st August 2007, 50th Anniversary of our Independence.
I feel like saying it wistfully, tenderly and softly. I'm all for yelling Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! but now does not seem to be the time to do it; instead I would just like to quietly reflect upon my 24 years of existence in an independent state. I'd like to say thank you for a change. Heartfelt gratitude, none of those cynical crap like Yeah, thanks a lot for nothing.
Firstly, I'm thankful to have a decent place to live in, a roof over my head, food on my plate, and broadband that provides me endless entertainment. Thank you also, for being a country of few natural disasters and for having warm weather all year around. Thanks for bringing together our brothers and sisters of different ethnicity, and teaching us to live and love together. Thanks for providing me the basic education to be built upon, to shape me into what I am today.
Sometimes it's easy to take for granted what you have given us, but I am always jolted back to counting my blessings when I witness hardships of others in other countries, of poverty, of war, of natural disasters.
I realize that we still have a long way to go. I realize that you're not perfect, but so is every other country. I realize that in order to make you better, I need to have a better understanding of why you became what you are today, and how we can make you better tomorrow. The heartache in me will fuel my endeavours to make you a better place for many more generations to live in, to love you for who you are, and not hate you for who some people want to shape you to be.
Happy Merdeka =)
Love,
A Malaysian Citizen
I feel like saying it wistfully, tenderly and softly. I'm all for yelling Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! but now does not seem to be the time to do it; instead I would just like to quietly reflect upon my 24 years of existence in an independent state. I'd like to say thank you for a change. Heartfelt gratitude, none of those cynical crap like Yeah, thanks a lot for nothing.
Firstly, I'm thankful to have a decent place to live in, a roof over my head, food on my plate, and broadband that provides me endless entertainment. Thank you also, for being a country of few natural disasters and for having warm weather all year around. Thanks for bringing together our brothers and sisters of different ethnicity, and teaching us to live and love together. Thanks for providing me the basic education to be built upon, to shape me into what I am today.
Sometimes it's easy to take for granted what you have given us, but I am always jolted back to counting my blessings when I witness hardships of others in other countries, of poverty, of war, of natural disasters.
I realize that we still have a long way to go. I realize that you're not perfect, but so is every other country. I realize that in order to make you better, I need to have a better understanding of why you became what you are today, and how we can make you better tomorrow. The heartache in me will fuel my endeavours to make you a better place for many more generations to live in, to love you for who you are, and not hate you for who some people want to shape you to be.
Happy Merdeka =)
Love,
A Malaysian Citizen
Merdeka!
I'm just back from the Bangsa Malaysia Forum and Get-Together. *beams* A quick one, before YJ and co. come and pick me up for Round kedua.
You see, I'm looking for an answer. Why I should remain positive that the country has hope, the country has people who care, the country is not going to the dogs. I don't think I found a straightforward answer per se, but I guess I wouldn't be contented with the usual answers fed to us, mostly by the media. (Oh look we have the tallest (not anymore) buildings in the world! We have the longest buffet table! We made some flag out of some lego tiles! - Do I look like an idiot to you?)
I don't need much. I just need to meet up with like-minded people, bounce some ideas, get some indications of what can be done. The attendance was encouraging. The talks were fiery. At times I was contemplative. At times I felt like crying.
Ah have to go already. More later.
Oh yeah. I also have a tiny crush on Azmi Sharom. *heart aflutter*
You see, I'm looking for an answer. Why I should remain positive that the country has hope, the country has people who care, the country is not going to the dogs. I don't think I found a straightforward answer per se, but I guess I wouldn't be contented with the usual answers fed to us, mostly by the media. (Oh look we have the tallest (not anymore) buildings in the world! We have the longest buffet table! We made some flag out of some lego tiles! - Do I look like an idiot to you?)
I don't need much. I just need to meet up with like-minded people, bounce some ideas, get some indications of what can be done. The attendance was encouraging. The talks were fiery. At times I was contemplative. At times I felt like crying.
Ah have to go already. More later.
Oh yeah. I also have a tiny crush on Azmi Sharom. *heart aflutter*
Speechless.
SPEECHLESS. I used to argue that we're not an Islamic state because our framework is based on the common law. Apparently now, there's a study to change that.
"I think I am going to make sure that my PR goes through," says a friend.
.............
In other depressing news, the government bails out the Port Klang Free Zone. RM4.6bil. More details at Jeff's.
I weep for our country.
Thanks Kean-Jin for the heads up.
Minister: Study proposal on switch to Syariah law thoroughly
PUTRAJAYA: The proposal to use Syariah law to replace English common law in court proceedings should be studied thoroughly first, said Datuk Dr Abdullah Zin.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said the move, if approved, should be done in stages.
Lauding the proposal by Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, he said Syariah law gave importance to justice.
It would also be a further development for Syariah law in the country in addition to introducing a uniform syariah law in all states, Dr Abdullah said yesterday.
“We are already in the process of getting a uniform syariah law in all 14 states including the Federal Territory relating to family, administration and criminal law.
"I think I am going to make sure that my PR goes through," says a friend.
.............
In other depressing news, the government bails out the Port Klang Free Zone. RM4.6bil. More details at Jeff's.
I weep for our country.
Thanks Kean-Jin for the heads up.
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