True Blue Malaysian....

Pre warning: this is a freakin long entry. take your time, and take a couple of days to read it out.


yes yes, it's been more than a week that i havent written anything. not that i dont want to, but was in KL the whole week last week. oopps... correction, KL AND Melaka the whole week last week. so was a bit swamped with work, meeting people, and also lacking of computer network. but kinda regretting not writing my thoughts immediately because last week yeaps... i sure do have so many things going on in my thoughts.

But here goes, i'll just write it as i go. i dont have much to say about KL, it was the same ol same ol, with the exception of staying in KL Hilton which is really kickass. but even though the room was quite kickass, i wasnt that very satisfied despite her 40 inch plasma TV, shower head from the ceiling that falls like rain, fluffy pillows and beds, a gorgeous toilet like a maze, and also the camera overlooking the bed so you can see yourself doing it from the 40 inch tv. okay... the last one was BS. but yeah, the room was awesome, but i know what's my favorite hotel now. Bak kata Abe zaman2 freshmen after naik Nitro... Traders is da shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. Why? because for the business execs checkin in the hotel, with a budget of RM330 max, Hilton doesnt actually include breakfast, and the breakfast ambience isnt that awesome. and to get to KLCC, assuming i have a meeting in KLCC, i have to take a train during the rush hour. btw, i figured that between 0730 - 0750, the line will be inexplicably long and when it's 0800 till 0815, the line will suddenly be weirdly short. and then there's gonna be a long line again. but anyhoo... if i was staying in traders, i get that cool shuttle buggy ride and it's pretty close to KLCC. but staying in Hilton/le meridien is definitely very close to Abe's and Faidz's. okay guys... this is when we should shout... this is spartaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Also, last sunday, had a day's out with the McGiffs minus two plus one. besides faidz 'whoopah-aaa' and ferr, everyone was there... plus les petite meganopija. we had a nice lunch of nasi padang with the courtesy of idea by marien. penat jekk harapkan abe. but no worries, everyone made it. even Sung and toddster. So McGiffs, from now on, everytime im in KL, we have to meet up. Ferr, Faidz, sorry. nak sangat sambung belajar. haaa amik. amik. wish u guys were here though. dont worry, tak lama lagi, the gang will meet up again.


waiting for Mary....

but managed to hang out with Janine from Konstanze, Germany, a German student doing her interns in KL. the weirdest thing was, i find myself speaking a lot of malay since she wanted to learn how to speak malay fluently. and the most brain draining session was when Mega, a malaysian lady speaking german to Janine, and Janine, a very white german lady (but yes, very cool german lady), answering in Malay. that was really quite challenging for my head especially when i have to force myself speaking pure malay. hahaha. but it is kinda amazing, teaching someone my own language, which definitely gives me a good realization of how i was pretty ignorant as a malaysian on how simple and cool my language is, and i converse most of the time in English.


dinner at madam kwan's

it's also pretty amazing to know from a foreigner how she sees that malaysians in general are very proud when we talk about our country. and yes, some of my readers here arent very supportive of the government, but this is what a foreigner said from her view of Malaysia, our country okay, our government has done so much stuff for the community, they give donations, they give scholarships, in hoping that we come back to our country and do something beneficial and impactful for Malaysia and yes, if you think about it, what government go into the deep jungles trying to improve the lives of the people in there if you compare it to the rest of the world? Germans in general were raised angry, and most of them dont love their own country. the only thing that started to make them proud of waving their own flag was when last year's world cup was held in Germany. it's amazing if you think about it. learning something different from different groups, colors, ethnic of an individual. my friends, dont be so closed up in one view... see things in the bigger picture. if you have a different political view, sure, i understand your preference, but like a malay saying 'jangan kerana nyamuk seekor, kelambu di bakar', direct translation, dont burn a mosquito shield(okay i dont know what's kelambu in english) because of one mosquito. think about it.


Walk down the historical lane....

so last week, i asked both Abe and Ajeem to join me in Melaka. I purposely took the bus because i think it would be a very good practice for me for my backpacking trip all around the world. it was definitely challenging and interesting. purchasing the tix at pudu station was a completely a walk down the memory lane for me. i grew up in that area as a high school student. bukit bintang, pudu, kotaraya... amazing.


predeparture at hilton...






our journey starts....



Brunch at Central Market aka Pasar Seni....




on the way to the bus station, passing by the famous/infamous Petaling Street all i remember ever buying there was video cassettes and my cousin buying porn....

our journey started going on the Bus Jebat, it wasnt too shabby, comfortable, probably not as comfortable as watchamacallit the Transnasional the so called MAS of buses, but it was pretty cool. we departed around 11.30am which was exactly the departure time on the ticket! isnt that awesome?? anonymous buses is much better than Airasia! We arrived to the historical city of Malacca at around 2.30 pm.



our bus tickets....



so not technically our bus... but that's transnasional for you... tak dapat naik dapat tangkap gambar pun jadik laa bai....



this dude... tak sampai 30 minutes dah passout dalam bus....



okay la.. ajeem tahan lama sket.....

when we reached there, initially there wasnt much to see. my memory of Malacca was quite limited. i cant remember what i did when i was a kid. all i can recall was a sign board that says hang jebat road, and a kota a famosa in view. other than that... i have no other recollection. we stepped on the streets of the Melaka Sentral Terminal, and a taxi driver named Sharif agreed to take us straight to the city, which cost roughly about RM15. but because it was just the three of us, so it was not bad if you think about it.


old folks playing chinese checkers at Malacca Sentral....

as we drove along, initially i didnt see much of the city again. i started to feel a wee bit frustrated... then suddenly Sharif drove into a street, i cant remember the name but i remember seeing a row of red shop lots. and im like... 'duuuuuudee'. now that's something. i started taking out my camera, and completely said 'aaaah... fuck it' to what people may think of me looking very tourist-ish in my shorts and aviators, with a camera and looking around the place like a total dork. so yeapss... then suddenly we drove past the one of Malacca's main postcard view... the Stadthuys. okay... till now, i have no friggin idea how you pronounce the name of the building. but basically, it was the area where the dutch made a big clock tower, and a red church. i'll dive down into details more later on. but in other words, when we were driving through the area, it completely took me into awe. seriously, the place already looks amazing in the early part of the journey. I was already excited to see what's installed for us in the whole journey. Suddenly before we arrived to the hotel, we passed through Dataran Pahlawan (at this point, i still dont know what in the world was this place), all i know, there's like a superb selection of shopping complexes, facing each other. Dataran Pahlawan and Mahkota Parade.


our taxi driver, brader Sharif....



jalan taming sari siyoooot.....



the red buildings....


As soon as we arrived, we started our walk around in the Historical City of Malaysia. Thinking about it, i was actually having goosebumps. yes call me a bit to dramatic, but if you delve into it, and analyze it properly, Malacca was where EVERYTHING started. where the Sultanate Empire of Malays started, where religion started spreading and where colonization and reformation of our country started that finally led to the declaration of our independence at the Dataran Pahlawan. and yes... i only found out about this last week, on the 23rd of May 2007, which is almost 23 years of my life declared as a malaysian.


yes beca or the trishaw back then was the cheapest mode of transportation, now it's really not. now it is retained for our tourists from every parts of the world as well as the malaysians who come and visit. sometimes it is sad seeing that most of the penarik beca are old people, but there are a bit younger generations though. but hopefully the culture doesnt die. hopefully the Malacca tourism would come up with something to retain the vintage touch malacca has.


Some might be confused and said that our declaration of independence was done at the Stadium Merdeka. yes yes, that's THE day of our independence. our independence was declared to the citizen of Tanah Melayu by our father of independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman at Dataran Pahlawan in early January of 1957, immediately after he got back from London with the letter that officially says, we shall gain independence on that date.

the three of us were standing there on the grounds of where it all happened. it was just simply taken us in awe. i never knew that there was a picture of Tok Janggut, one of the leading man who stood up against the British in Kelantan. He fought for his life there, and there was a picture shown of his remains in the hall. it made me breathe in the air of patriotism, knowing that they fought for what we have now today, and most people dont realize the hardwork that they all went through to release us from the the clutches of the english.


declaration of independence....


and again, if you think about it, since 1511, till 1957, we have been invaded by so many powers, and it makes you wake up how sad it is that we were not able to stand up for our country for so long. that's 446 years. First the Portuguese came, then the Dutch, then came the English, then the Japanese, THEN the English again!! for 446 years, our forefathers fought and fought and fought to uphold what is right for us today. for the children of their children, for our children. i wonder how would they feel today seeing our condition. i know how some Malaysians refuse to call themselves Malaysian, and how they hate the Malaysians being Malaysian. These days, us SO called Malaysians prefer to travel to europe, US, Bali instead of our own country. if you think about it, our own country isnt shabby at all. Ask yourself why do tourists keep on coming, and keep on saying great things about this country? So what's wrong with marrying your own race? being with a person with your own nation? So you could look exotic and shit? come oooooon. Allez, Un petit effot!! We Malaysians are definitely as good as the westerns. start recognizing where you come from, and strive not only for yourself, but for your family, and for your own country. think about it. (wow... im getting a bit ahead of myself... my travel log pun still kat proclamation of independence) hahaha.

After visiting the proclamation of independence, immediately beside it, was THE FAMOUS, KOTA A FAMOSA. it was standing there... facing the road, with so many things to tell. at nite, when it was quiet, with the spotlight making her view more ominous and ancient, you know the the last entrance standing for the Kota A Famosa was a monumental history. Yes, i think it should stand there still, but the reason i think it should still stand there because it would remind us, of how many times brave men of Tanah Melayu were fighting for Malacca, and fell, but they keep on trying. The Sultan Alauddin from Johore also came in to flank them from the south, but... to no avail, the fort kept them out, and kept the Portuguese and the Dutch on the grounds of Tanah Melayu. people actually died on the grounds where we were standing, where we take pictures, but most visitors dont really see this. why is that? I really do think... the fort stands there... for us as a reminder, to fight for what is right, and to fight for what you deserve.


memang tahun melawat malaysia btol la....



abe and ajeem talking to the lizard man... i cant remember his name. something kennedy if im not mistaken. but yes... we learned something also Animal Planet-ish about lizards in Malacca. Top that Globe Trekker!! did you know that when it's really hot, the lizard changes its skin to white, and dark brown when it's cold? and it likes to be hand fed, that way you can maintain its respect? hah... top that....


abe wanted me to hold the lizard coz he's afraid of em... haishhh... dasar anak bandar....



some serious deep thought were put into during this posing... like what happened on this ground and all... okay okay, not exactly... we were probably trying to figure out the best macho pose... but i wasnt even trying... that's like a given factor....







seriously, i thought when i looked at this picture initially, i thought the background was something i photoshopped, coz macam distorted giler. rupanya batu cement....















The church ruins... completely has a different feel seriously. if you concentrate on one of the tablets, or just one section of the building and ignoring the crowd and feel the serenades by the two local portuguese descendants... you'd feel like you're no where close to malaysia... no shit....


our journey in the the fort up in the hills was a totally weird one indeed. it was like a walk into a totally different country. walking into the standing of the remains of a church, the three of us were greeted by the serenades of these two musicians playing guitars. the song sounded so very european which added a totally Mediterranean feel. there were standing tablets for the deceased of the invaders, and it was really weird. i seriously thought i was in some other country out of Malaysia. seriously, i think, if those walls could talk, they'd probably be telling stories of the dutch, the Portuguese, and the Brits. Hey, it probably would even tell the stories of the Japanese. I bet someone's head was probably chopped off on those grounds by a samurai. but anyhooo.. the feel was... whoa. simple as that.

after the walk, we went down to the Stadthuys. again, yes, the building was red, and again... the feel was yes.. very VERRY european-ish. no shit. if i'm not mistaken the Stadthuys was the main administration for the colonials. okay, probably i was reading it wrong at that time, but i seriously think this is the case. Abe and I were laughing our ass off thinking about it. One of the main attractions during the colonial times in the Stadthuys was that, there was a toaster. and people would go there to see the toaster. hahaha. bongok giler. okay okay, but that was what i thought la at that time. but if i think about it now, i think they found that the remains of a toaster shows that it one of the location was a kitchen, and a lot of people would go there sit down, eat, chill, and probably having discussion which fort to defend or which state to conquer. but yeah, i think my first assumption was much much cooler. can you imagine? people coming to Stadthuys to see a freaking toaster. since camera weren't available during that time, they'd put an artist there, and draw any visitors pics by the toaster for a shilling. awesome. hahaha.









Stadthuys....



abe buat muka penjajah.....



i dont understand the motive in his pose....



this was one of my favorite pics... not because of the pic... but of the content. you dont see a lot of things that cry out malaysian except the guy in the beca.


After snapping pics around, we were just flushed and tired and very verrry verrry hungry. ehem. so we called it a day of historical site visiting and went to Burger King's... yeaps... Burger that was made by a King from the Western country. yummy.

The next day, after my conference, i decided to take a stroll along the famous Jonker Street aka Jalan Hang Jebat. Tried two wake up the two douschebags, but they were completely passed out, and at that time it was around 430pm. so being the globe trekker shit i am, i decided to just walk around the city of malacca alone. So I went off... to Jonker Street. the feeling... was fucking priceless.






Along the way, i stopped by some muziums... this is the Istana Kesultanan Melayu Melaka. Sadly, it's not the real one. Wish I could visit an actual one. the building was made without any nails at all. just slots and plugs and all. but nevertheless, i thought the architecture of the house was actually very nice.



musuem of architecture, here you could find how our local homes especially the malays are influenced by so many different types of culture. from the chinese, to hindu, and even colonial english. and also, some of the buildings in KL is actually based on the Moorish design, a more african touch. wow... we're chinese, we're indian, we're black. daaaaaamnn nigga. but also, if you think about it, then even since back them we're easily influenced by outsiders... these days, with the music, the fashion and especially the tv shows... we're like absorbing everything. japanese, korean, spanish, indonesian, thailand, weird shiit going on there.... i wonder how many people tune into the local tv shows... hmmmm....






musuem of stamps...



samudera musuem at nite... abe pulling a Hiro Nakamura....

Jonker Street is a street full of artsy stuff, from tshirts to souvenirs and antiques. walking down the street, it just completely took me in awe. people were nice, and me, with my tourist image, the people of jonker street would ask me 'you Filipino? you vietnamese? you Thailand?' and proudly, my reply was 'nopes, sabahan'. i went to this one antique store, and was so in awe with how old the stuff in there was. and started taking pics in there with the shop owner. then i spotted one small frame, you know, the kinda frames that you put your 4R pictures in it. i think it was either silver or just normal metal. but it was really tainted, and old, and had cracks on it. but when i looked at it, i thought this would be a freakin cool addition to my collections... not that i had any antique collections, but yes, it would probably be cool to start. but then when i asked 'uncle, how much is this?'... he said 'that is 220 ringgit'. i'm like... okkkkaaaay. placed that stupid frame down, and walked out of the store slowly and discreetly. and i thought i got away, but amazingly, the fucking old geezer made me pay 1 ringgit for just taking pictures in his store. crazy huh?
















jonker street....




there's just so many chicken rice store here... i have no freaking idea why. made me crave for it for a while coz i know it'll taste good, but... paham2 sendiri jekk la...





one of the antique stores... nih laaa the pakcik who charged me to take pics in his store....




old school siyooot... DJ Killah... top that.....

but out of all these stores that i went to, my favorite has to be the OrangUtan House. initially i thought there's only one, but it turned out that there's three of these stores on three different parallel streets, Jalan Tan Cheng Lock, Jalan Hang Jebat and Jalan Tukang Besi. basically the store is a Tshirt store/art gallery. The Tshirts' design was made by a Malacca born Chinese Baba i think, named Charles Cham. His works was just so astounding. the tshirts that he designed were all of it from his painting's and his arts. He was initially staying in Hungary, and then moved back to Malaysia. initially i talked to the store guy, i thought Charles went back to Hungary. and suddenly while i was walking around the area, i bumped into one of the studios, and saw a white girl with two kids. but i just ignored it. the next day when i came back, i went into the rest of the orangutan house. the first one, the person said Charles is actually back in Malaysia and spends most of his time at the main studio at the Jalan Tukang Besi. But she said the guy spend most of his time painting and looking for inspiration on the top floor while the wife takes care of the store. So, i thought, since i already went into two stores, might as well i just go to the main studio. and to my amazement... Charles Cham was sitting down doing his work at the table in front of the door.






OrangUtan House, and dude named Shahril who sold me my first OrangUtan Tshirt of the day... yes... i bought four of them....


I immediately jumped, and talked to him, and told him how amazing his art was. later i found out that his art consisted the concept of Yin & Yang. that everything in this life has it's opposite. and most of his arts consisted of weird construed faces facing in different direction, so basically one can hang his paintings in any direction, and the paintings would still be the same. his concept was awesome. with this long beard and artistic look, he was one damn cool dude. he told me wen to france because he decided to with just one bag, and went there with a one way ticket, slept on the sidewalks, and his story life just went on amazingly from there. he slept on train stations, went to new york, paris, dubai, italy, and his arts are appreciated all over the world. strangely enough, not as much as his own home country, Malaysia. But he does realize the new generations does love his work and he's very amazed with the improvement. listening to this guy made me envious really. he started from zero to having studious all over the world. and from staying on stoops and train stations, to having houses all over the world, with a great wife and two kids. but he did stress that this kinda life is only cool when one's single. not when you have family... coz i kinda see that he's the kinda guy who really appreciates family bonding. hopefully meeting him that time wont be the last. I really hope i get to bump into this dude more often later in the future. amazing guy. people... if you are ever in melaka, please... visit the OrangUtan house. definitely worth your while. if it's not... mainly because you SUCK. hahaha. kiddin... spread the loooove.


Charles Cham... the artist himself... and also his friend, who thought im a filipino dude who once asked for the dude's resume and artwork....


also at this area of Malacca, i realized how there's a lot of art galleries, and immediately got the idea why in the world it is now a tourist attraction. it's like the vincent van gogh's road in paris. okay okay, maybe it's not as uuuu and aaa as paris, but it's just awesome... with a dash of malaysian spice and cultural integration. speaking of cultural integration (chewah... macam politician), i realized that a lot of mosques there in Malacca has a combination of hinduism architecture on it!! isnt that amazing?? since the malay religion in that area started with hindu, it's not surprising to see the architectural integration. for example, the famous Masjid Kampong Kling. the mosque stands in a concentrated area of majority the Baba and Nyonyas, and some indians. so then, you see how chinese temples and indians temples are close around that area, AND in all that, you have a mosque. amazing. there you go people, just shows how during that time, cultural integration was working nicely already. it's just us now a wee bit sensitive. sigh. wonder what happened.







masjid Kampung Kling....



masjid kampung Hulu... another masjid that has that hinduism influence. just comes to show, that you dont need that crescent and star to make a building a mosque... what matters is the inside that counts....


okay... another thing weird is... i dont wanna be racist okay, but i think the Baba Nyonya culture is just amazing. and what saddens me a bit is why dont they get the Bumiputra status. a group of people who has some sultanate blood in them being the descendants of Hang Li Po, and most of them speak impeccable malay, and to know that they have a a culture that blends both malay and chinese elements in one... is just amazing. it cant get anymore malaysian than that. if anything... that's another proof of cultural integration during that time. and China never EVER colonized us, or invaded us through force. now how about the portuguese? a group of people who came in, pillaged our people and our country, and they now have bumiputra status. weird huh? dont get me wrong, i do have a lot of portuguese descendant buds... ie, my weird weird friend... Jegon. its just that i think... the baba nyonyas should be given equal rights. well that's just me talking though.


Jalan Tan Cheng Lok....



that's old school blacksmith-ing my friends....

at the end of the trip... i was just so amazed how this whole state... well basically the main city of malacca itself... is a WALKING HISTORY TEXTBOOK!! I cant imagine how anyone can not score for history. paling2 pun C lah. if you get lower than that... pindah negeri la beb.

well finally all three of us left melaka with something in our hearts. i dont know what the other two had... ehem... but i do know that i came back feeling so very fuckin patriotic and amazed of how far has our forefathers brought us to where we are now. i dont know... it's just really... something.... i wish i could explain more, but naaaah... i'll just keep you guys clueless and go to melaka yourself to feel the vibe... and make sure you make every moment worth... because... Malacca... really is... Malaysia Truly Asia....




lunch at jonker street before we left....



Courtesy 'R' Us....

okay, so after we got back from Malacca, immediately we went to Alexis at Great Easter Mall to see Hani perform. the place was jammed packed, with the throng of fans of Shayna Zaid, a Malaysian jazz singer who settled down in New York to study music, but then came back to Malaysia temporarily to promote her album.

I asked my dear Mega to bring along her diplomat friends to the restaurant bar, and amazingly she did. and these people are cool, okay, let me see if i can remember this, there's Surapat from Thailand, very adorable Nun from Thailand, very cool Gorge from Chile, the 'so into the music' Lucia from Chile, funny Maya from Croatia, the very sweet Onsher (i dont know if i spelled this correctly) from Seychelles island, very open and cool but religious brother Mustapha from Iraq, and the very sweet petite adorable Mega from Klang but now staying in Germany. oh yes... and the very dorky nerdy dude from beautiful KK, Sabah, Borneo. all of us hanging out together, and i learned some stuff in one whole nite from all these different people from different countries from different background.

im just so amazed. it's like the United Colors of Benetton going on. We could all soooooo drink coca-cola together and promote world peace by saying in our own tongue... 'Coca-Cola... brings us together!!' with our hands in the air and the other holding a can of coke. ok... that thought was completely unnecessary. but i write as i think... so oh well.






But anyway, also, in that crowd, okay, so this one i'm assuming american lady, or probably canadian, she's like Manly huge okay. probably even taller and muscular than abe. not that Abe's muscular but you got the idea. she's huge. not fat huge, but she has a big frame lah basically. So as me and my friends were watching Shayna singing, and yes, the view was limited as the place was totally crowded, but thank god we got a nice spot. Then suddenly this woman, suddenly just totally stood in front of my friends' view of Shayna without even saying sorry or thank you or something. and im like... 'hmmm she probably didnt realize it due to her giraffe stature'.

So i tapped her on the shoulder and told her she's blocking my friends' view. then suddenly she turned and made a sarcastic remark and making sarcastic pity faces on them and you know she doesnt care about her sorry. okay, im like... what the fuck is wrong with this woman? never mind... then suddenly she blocked my view plak... and im like... what? and she turned to me and asked me if she was blocking my view... so i said... 'yes you are'. Then she came up with one of THE most obnoxious remarks of the week, and in that cheerleader speaking kinda way, you know, with that inflection tone at the end of the sentence? like totally? 'oh, i'm so sorry, but i wanna watch Shayna, you see, Shayna's my friend, and she comes to my house all the time'. she said that... literally....

seriously? Bitch... was that information even necessary? i wanted to give a come back by saying 'oh yeah, and Shayna is now staying at my best friend's place in the end making me and my friends unable to hang out at our chillout spot enjoying the view on top of the building while we smoke cigars and make awesome that 70s show video, so house owner tops your 'visiting friend all the time' rite? but obviously being me i didnt say that. in the end i just smiled, and she left. freakin giraffe. woman, you're freaking tall okay? you could just stand behind us and watch the show nicely still coz you're just freakishly huge. and next time, prepare a nicely done karangan (essay) on paper and bring it along in your handbag. so if you ever do that again in parades, in shows, in clubs, you dont even need to explain all that unnecessary shit and just hand out the karangan. okay kan?

what? you think you're a foreigner it makes you special? dude, my Malaysian people, oh heck south east asian people has much more brains and courtesy than your whole country since columbus came to US combined (flicking a finger).

end public service announcement....