A H L O K E C A F E

Hanoi - A Visit Back To Where It All Begins

2011-06-17T21:34:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since my last post here at my blog. Life really catches up I guess. I took some time off at the early of the year 2011 in the month of January 28th to have a short visit to Hanoi, Vietnam.

Hanoi is located northern side of Ho Chin Minh City and at the right bank of Red River. With ever growing population and majority chinese influence, there's a little bit of everything that you'll get to find in this scenic capital of Vietnam.

We spent about 4 days from 28/1/11 till 31/1/11 in Hanoi witnessing some of the street food, cultural lifestyles and not forgetting the amazing nature and its geographical scenic formations.

We have taken some pretty decent photos and video footage of Hanoi and I will like to take this opportunity to share it here.

The weather is surprisingly cool ranging from 10 deg C to 15 deg C. In general, vietnamese are at 85% of buddhist religion. It's the most crowded and busiest time in Hanoi with most locals buying their food and clothing to celebrate the Lunar New Year quite similar to Malaysia but with way much ambient and celebration. Taking bicycle ride around Tam Coc in Ninh Binh is a lot of fun too. You do see a lot of how the vietnamese people live in their little village like homes.

The food range from spicy hot, sour and sweet are certainly a feast to your senses. There's mutton kindda satay like toast, noodles, kebab vietnamese style and steamboat with some brains!, etc.

As the UNESCO World Heritage, Halong Bay is a-must visit in Hanoi. With over 1,600 islands and islets, there's so much to see and enjoy. Unfortunately, we did not opt for a night stay. It could be a fantastic view witnessing the sunrise and sunset with the backdrop of these marvellous seascapes. It almost feels like going back to nature where it all begins.

P.S - A video blog of Hanoi was uploaded too at Vimeo.com of the link below
http://xrl.us/ahlokeHD

Tanjong Sepat - Day Trip Photos Vol 2

2010-09-08T23:45:00.000+08:00

It's amazing how time flies and it's already 3 months past from my earlier photo upload on Tanjong Sepat. Luckily, I manage to find time to sieve thru some of the Tanjong Sepat remaining photos that I've taken and post it here as Volume 2. Hope you guys enjoy!

On my way back from Tanjong Sepat while passing Jenjarom, I manage to visit Dong Zhen Temple. Here are some of the shots taken for both Tanjong Sepat and Jenjarom.

Tanjong Sepat - Day Trip Photos Vol 1

2010-06-15T22:15:00.002+08:00

Recently, I've visited Tanjong Sepat after much reccomendation from friends and partly also due to some blog postings which I've come acrossed. Sadly, the overall experience is not meeting the expectations of what I've read about this place. It's located at around Banting and once known as a small village. With all the buzz about the seafood, scenery, nice pau and bah kut teh, there's no reason why one should not visit the place.

I don't need to spoil the fun for those who has yet to set foot in Tanjong Sepat. Therefore, I refrain myself to elaborate further about the bad experiences of this place. However, here's some of the photos taken while in Tanjong Sepat and please note that it may not show the 'uglier' side of Tanjong Sepat. Perhaps the beaches which are easily accessible to the public need some serious clean up. Hopefully, the next trip which I'll be visiting soon would turn out much better or quite frankly soothing to the eyes.

BALI - Live The Paces & Feel The Senses

2010-01-31T18:26:00.001+08:00

It took me a while to edit these video shorts of the Bali island, Indonesia during my visit from 28/12/09 to 31/12/09. The videos of my travelog can be view directly here or downloaded. Please do give me your views and comments. Cheers & Njoy.

DOWNLOAD VIDEO 720P HERE

BALI - Arts, Nature & Senses

2010-01-10T00:03:00.002+08:00

Recently I manage to book a flight ticket to Bali, Indonesia at the very last minute decision mainly due to my annual holidays taken without any plannings. The trip was on a bit of premium cost considering the holidays period from 28/12/09 to 31/12/09. Here's a breakdown of the itinerary of places I've visited and not forgetting the snapshots of BALI island which really brought me back to arts, nature and senses.

DAY 1 - UBUD (28/12/2009)

I've arrived at Ngurah Rai International airport with a slight delay and manage to check-in at Ubud at about 3:00pm. A loud noise was heard during the flight taking off from the Air Asia flight, AK362 and we were informed that there's some technical issues with the landing gear. There goes the remaining hours of joy during the 3 hours flight filled with concerns. Thankfully, it was a safe flight to the destination, BALI. Upon check-in, I quickly unpack and headed to Ubud surroundings just to glimpse the towns and hoping to get some info and day tours for the following day excursions. I've seen some nice photos taken from cafe lotus when I was doing some travel findings. After some 15 minutes of walk, I stumbled over Cafe Lotus right across the road 'Jalan Raya Ubud'. I gotta say it's quite expensive for my budget to have a meal there but nevertheless the Pura Taman Kemuda Saraswati temple is worth the rupiah.

After having my late lunch, I've tried to gather as much infos as possible and hoping to get a reasonable bargained day tour but to no avail. The reasons to get a day tour is because it's very much cheaper to see more places at a short period of time or stay in BALI. I'd made this decision considering bemos, bikes and self driving which pretty much has its limitations. If you know your locations around Bali, taking a bike is the best bet or perhaps self driving. However, you'll need an international license just in case you are stopped by police.

My last resort of getting my day tour came to light when I realized that I've gathered a bunch of brochures and leaflets when I arrived in Ngurah Rai. After much bargaining over the phone I've settled for 800K rupiah for my 2 days tour. Usually, tour packages do not take single private tour because the agency will be making a loss. Luckily, with much persuasion in malay language and partly due to various competitions from tour agencies, they have agreed on the price.

DAY 2 - KINTAMANI & BESAKIH TEMPLE TOUR (29/12/2009)

The following day started with a brief breakfast and off we go with tour guide, Mr.Wayang and driver, Mr.Gusti at around 8:30am. We headed to Tohpati for batik painting and Celuk for gold and silver smith crafts. Both were handicrafts of BALI and comes with various designs for shoppers. We were then visiting Batubulan village for the Kris and Barong dance with a short stop to see some stone carvings. The dance performance was quite nice with some humor injected into the play to keep things interesting to the audiences. We also visited Batuan the home of painters and I've gotta say the paintings were way too pricey. It cost at about USD2,300++ for just a mere size of 1' X 1'.

After much arts and crafts displays, I gather my charged up artistic mind and head for Tegenungan water falls for some nature. It was said as the biggest waterfall with approximately 10 till 15 metres but not the highest compared to Gitgit. We were then presented with Bedulu the 11th century elephant cave. For a start, yes it's a cave and I gotta say it's the smallest cave I've seen so far probably 8 metres in length with altar on 3 sides.

The next visit was Seribatu with its coffee, tea and cocoa farm. I managed to taste 4 types of both the coffee and tea but not the luwak coffee though. There goes my whole morning and the next thing I knew, I was swept away to Kintamani for my lunch. The main highlight here is the Mount Batur active volcano and lake Batur overlooking to Mount Agung as the backdrop. It was simply the most breathtaking view in BALI. Before I was in Bali, I scavenged as much updates on Mt.Batur as possible considering that it's an active volcano. I won't want myself to be in the middle of the 'Dante's Peak'. The news I've gathered were rather not forthcoming a week before I board my flight to BALI because Mt.Batur has 90 activities within a day compared to 1 activity per day on a normal condition. I've gathered my bravery and thought maybe this could be once in a lifetime view at an active volcano and perhaps the chances of eruptions maybe quite close. With a bit of luck, I might get to see some smoke billowing out from the crater and maybe not the eruption I hope. ^__^

I still recalled Mount Mayon erupted days before my visit to BALI and the vivid Yellowstone scenes from 2012 fueled the excitement to Kintamani volcano. However, the tour for caldera and crater trekking were closed and I guess I'm happy to settled for a lunch overlooking the majestic volcano and its surroundings.

The next intinerary was Besakih Mother temple or Pura Besakih situated on the slopes of Mount Agung. This is the major attraction for tourist and local Balinese prayers alike with annual festivals carried out around the year within the Agama Dharma Hindu complex. Finally, my last stop of the day was a visit to Bukit Jambul rice terrace and some glimpse of the country side.

DAY 3 - BACK TO NATURE (30/12/2009)

After some 9 hours non stop tour of my 1st day, I woke up the following day with much excitement because it's pretty much a tour about nature with lakes, beach and waterfalls. We started with the 1 1/2 hours drive to Bedugul with its Beratan lake and Ulun Danu temple. The temple is surrounded by hills from Pucak Sangkur, Batur, Beratan, Tapak and Watukaru Mount. I can see the clouds enveloping the mounts as though the mount has reaches its peak within the Beratan lake. The tour continues with a visit to Pacung rice terrace view and followed by Buyan and Tamblingan lake. The lakes were simply serene and it's the nature at its best in BALI.

We were then whisked to Banjar village, the hot spring bathing place. The hot spring water was as green as the grass and a quick deep of my feet could not really feel much of the needed heat I desire. Mr. Wayang then introduced me to an upper level which was several steps where a shrine for praying was situated with a small basin like catchment. The water was very clean, clear and a definite source of the hot spring. For some reasons I cannot fathom why the public hot spring was green in colour.

Anyhow, there goes the whole morning and we headed north to Lovina, the black sand beach for lunch. Finally, my last visit of the day and the tour was Gitgit waterfall, the tallest waterfall in BALI at 35m high. I reached there probably about 4:00pm after 1 km walk along some dozens upon dozens of arts, crafts, paintings and souvenir shops along the way. It was a pleasant surprise to reach the bottom of Gitgit falls without any tourist there. I took several shots and walked slowly towards the falls. The immense shear power of the falls can be felt with the water splashing towards me as I walked closer. I doubt at first whether I can even stand beneath the stones under the falls but after a while of steadily steps of movement, I've succeeded. The water was cool, clean and and it's really a breathtaking senses standing underneath Gitgit. I was quite surprised that most tourist did not take a dip underneath the falls despite the falls was quite an adrenaline rush for some and even Mr.Wayang has not tried it himself.

DAY 4 - HOME SWEET HOME (31/12/2009)

It has been another of my rush holidays and how the days past so quickly in a flash. I took an early breakfast and took some photos around my place in Ubud and boarded my flight AK363 back home to Malaysia on the new year eve. It was a cloudy day and our plane hit several rounds of the clouds. We were having some nasty shakeout with the air stewardess literally flip and screamed. Well, nothing happens after that fortunately and we all headed back to Malaysia safely.

Days & Nites

2009-12-17T21:38:00.019+08:00

Yep! here's another look at the poignant Kuala Lumpur, city that probably sleeps rather the least among other states in comparison. Some light strobing, a march of vehicles, a feast of food choices, an overzealous neons and a crowd with some time to kill.

This is just another movie about Kuala Lumpur and not another place which you have not been but it's a sure city not to be ignore for those who are not from any part of south east asia.

Don't wait, don't hesitate and don't waste the chance to give yourself sometime with KL. As a quick look on our city, Kuala Lumpur, here's a 2:50 mins glimpse at a city near you.

Days & Nites from Ah Loke on Vimeo.

This HD 720p video can be D O W N L O A D E D H E R E. nJOY.

Not forgetting are a few more photos just to remind us all that we live in a time where pretty much of what we have now will be the future generations to remember. From the world tallest flag pole to the world tallest twin towers, these are quite some landmark to be reckon of. A quick walk in and around KLCC, we have dozens of high end residentials fetching price with a range of RM2,000 psf and above. There's no shortage of luxury, convenience, shopping haven and epitome of the modern living in Kuala Lumpur.

Oh yes, I've started to draw the above caricature for a couple of weeks now and just got it finished and uploaded here. As our prime minister intensified the 1 Malaysia campaign, we all can't help but to think whether the concept will achieve its purpose at the end of the day. With all the 8 values and adverts going on around town and media, there's no doubts that our government is very serious in preserving and enhancing unity. However, one may ask the effectiveness of all this efforts in achieving its goals overtime.

Frankly, there are some major things need to be mend to pave the way towards unity. What major things you may ask? Well, let me just express some of my thoughts which happened quite recently. I used to take an early breakfast at a local mamak restaurant near to my house which is adjacent to a primary public school. For some reasons, I went to the same mamak to take my lunch most probably due to my office location is a mere 10 minutes drive from here. As I was taking my usual lunch, a group of primary students were there and there was this boy with a rather pitchy voice chatting with his friends about what happened a day before a fight broke up between his friends.

What really startled me was that the student mentioned that it was a 'racial fight'. I could imagine that it's likely that a small fight broke up between 2 different race at the school. I guess I don't need to mentioned what are the race of these students but the point is these small kids are impregnated with mis-understandings of other races probably from home or friends. As a result, the gap of understanding other races becomes bigger as we grew up if the interaction among us becomes lesser.

One of the things that did pretty well in forging unity although not without hiccups are the Rakan Muda and National Service. The concept of unity has to be look upon with a wider appeal of just simple fundamentals of what really separate us. Somehow, we can't have 1 Malaysia and yet with 2 or more system objecting the very principles of unity. Hence, there are simple but painful decisions which should be implemented in a long period of time to allow flexibility and improvements. We all just have to look at the bigger overall picture and cannot allow our differences dictate our unity.

The Peak Of Kuala Lumpur

2009-11-23T00:42:00.014+08:00

I've wanted to write about my one in a lifetime experience trip to the highest peak of Kuala Lumpur a while back now. Fortunately, my old photos at about 7 years now are still in good resolution. Those days the the digital camera is probably 1 or 2 megapixels. Nevertheless, here are the shots of our trip to the gondola level of KLCC Twin Towers.

Photo above showing massive gondola structure supporting the arm carrying the gondola bucket.

You may wonder how we actually gain access to the highest peak of the Petronas Twin Towers. Well, our firm happens to design an upcoming highrise commercial building then which requires a pretty good gondola system. So, maybe to cut the story short, the industry specialist in gondola system invited 4 representatives from our firm to view the existing one in KLCC. After much walking around the back of house (BOH) and through various checkpoints, one of which requires going through a magnetic scanner in the BOH, we were then allowed entry to the upper floors.

For a while I thought we must be going to some highly secured area of sorts. Eventually we reach the gondola level which was in fact higher than all the KLCC floors. The ex-Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir bin Mohamad office was a mere 4 floors down below us.

The gondola arm extending out from the highest peak of KLCC.

It was rather interesting to know that the steel cladding can open around the gondola level at 360 degress and the gondola arm can operate at any facade of the windows all around. The opening sequence of the steel cladding was mesmerizing, kind of like we were transported into the fortress of the 'Dark Knight'. We were allowed to walk out the external perimeter deck of the gondola level. The cross wind was pretty strong and the steel deck are also vibrating. We can actually see thru these steel deck between 2 panels where a gap of 15 to 20mm is showing the earth below. Frankly, our legs were quite shaky standing on the perimeter open deck.

Gondola workers climbing into the bucket in a rather daredevil style.

I must admit although gondola level seems to be the highest peak but there is one last stop which we sort of regretted for not participating and that was the antenna section. The antenna reaches the clouds above at 451.9m (1,482.6ft) and with 88 floors below it, there is no other monument ihigher than this.The antenna seems to be accessible from within the gondola floor level. I manage to take the shot below showing the structural support on the antenna of KLCC. It was some sort of a base plate support from the bottom.

Sadly, it was quite windy and hazy to take a wide shot over the city skyline of Kuala Lumpur. Here's the several other shots which I manage to take on this marvellous trip to the peak of KL. I hope those of us who knew KLCC will know now a bit further in terms of the cleaning mechanism which goes into cleaning of the facade of high rise buildings using gondola.

The Social, Culture & Its Heritage Underpinnings

2009-11-15T21:15:00.007+08:00

I took this two photos while I'm on my way home from Kuala Lumpur on 15 November 2009, Sunday afternoon. I thought it was quite vibrant and perhaps hoping it may turn out to be a nice photo. While posting the photos here, I realise these days signages do use Bahasa Malaysia (Malay language) rather often than some previous years. I guess these are efforts by either the present government or initiatives by financial banking. Nevertheless, a main medium of instruction can in some ways promote the community or the society into uniformity of communication.

Today, a walk down the city of Kuala Lumpur, one will see multi cultural people ranging from malays, chinese, indians, indigenous and others. There is no doubt that our society has diversified in various sectors regardless of it's race or religion. However, there are still Jalan Chow Kit, Petaling Street and Jalan Masjid India where each of these streets are catered by vendors who are predominantly malays, chinese and indians. Any foreigner looking for sarees, textiles or a money changer can have a look at Jalan Masjid India or what they call as 'Little India'. If you need to see the largest wet market in Kuala Lumpur, there is no other than Bazaar Baru Chow Kit with selection of vegetables, fruits, meat, fish and crabs. For those of which who want some inexpensive dresses, sunglasses, shoes, fabrics and souvenirs, head on to the chinatown of Petaling Street.

In some ways despite having 3 different shopping havens, these streets were rather segregated from each other. Sometimes, I'll go down to Petaling Street on a weekend but I find it rather small with half and hour walk, I'll probably finish seeing the whole area. I feel strongly that these 3 streets should be given a chance to be relocated to a central bazaar in Kuala Lumpur which is similar to some of the much well known markets like Chatuchak in Bangkok. This will surely be a major tourist attraction for foreighners and locals alike. In other words, a closer interaction among races will give a better chance for each of us to understand our culture and foster harmony. The government should in some ways lay the foundations and path underpinning the social, culture and heritage into a truly '1 Malaysia' rather than pure advertisements.

For the moment, here's some of the shots I took for our very own small Chinatown in Petaling Street.

Finally, for those of us here who are participating BLOG4FT and also my readers, here's a wallpaper for your desktop. Cheers!

History, Present & 1 Vision

2009-10-21T12:34:00.004+08:00

Personally, I thought 'Blog4FT' was a pretty good exposure platform for new and amateur Malaysians alike to give some insights on our country especially the Federal Territories namely Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.

As an amateur, I've barely started blogging on April 2009 this year. I've been living in Kuala Lumpur (KL) for over 37 years now and I gotta say that we have develop so much so that we are in some ways very close to our neighbouring developed countries. I can still remember cleary that at about 10 years back, people in KL use to go down south in Singapore to shop during festival eves but these days KL has some of the best shopping in asia. Well, we are all aware that Pavilion Kuala Lumpur now has won the prestigious Fiabci Prix d'Excellence Awards 2009, the international property award under the retail category. In short, we have most of what the international retail has to offer now.

Here's two of the photos taken a while back while in town showing the more prominent and reknowned retail shopping in KL. Before this we all have to settle for Globe Silk Store, Hankyu Jaya, Yuyi Shangdian and Pertama Complex. Not all shopping mall manage to last in a couple of decades but with the older ones and current existing retail around towns and some upcoming ones in neighbourhood like Sunway and Bandar Utama, the consumers really do have a variety of choices.

Despite having staying in Kuala Lumpur for 37 years, I don't really know much of what happens before 1972 except of what we find in our history text books. So I guess maybe I should do some case studies and back track a bit on our history before I blog any further. I came across numerous sites featuring Kuala Lumpur history from wikipedia which was pretty darn good. As I was searching deeper into the WWW, I found a site named chinahistoryforum.com. For a moment, I really thought this could be a good way to start considering my background as a chinese. Upon venturing into the site I realise that it has a small section featuring Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Old Time Memories.

The site has some of the earliest shots of Kuala Lumpur in 1880s when KL was in actual fact 'Kuala Berlumpur' or what some called 'muddy confluence' where Gombak and Klang rivers merge. I was quite awe with the shots because it really brings back the time when KL was merely a small town and as it progresses, the transformation was depicted quite well despite some are rather grainy. One might have forgotten how old was Pudu Jail but the photos do give you a rough indication that it has been here for more than 113 years since 1896. We may have seen tourist or perhaps we ourselves have taken pictures of Sultan Abdul Samad but not much of us have seen a photo taken during the World War II. As a small glimpse on this web site, here's a snapshot montage as gathered and please do click on the URL link above for more. Nevertheless, I did found it quite truthful and realise that a picture really does tells a thousand stories.

After viewing the forum with all this backstory photos of Kuala Lumpur, I decided to take a good look at some of the same spot today on 15 October 2009 at around Sultan Abdul Samad. It seems part of the mid section was undergoing some reconstruction with scaffolding surrounding it. This could be a good sign of our local authority are still actively preserving some of the historical buildings for next generation to witness and appreciate. Well, there goes my chance to take a close up shot but I manage to take a couple of wider shots here below using my high pixel phone.

The 2nd shot is the present day KTM Railway Station taken on 18 October 2009. It was a pretty shiny bright day indeed and I must say it's pretty hot too. With a temperature fluctuation ranging from 26 to 33 degress Celcius daily, it's really the ultimate summer time almost all year long. A quick look in comparison at the earlier historical 1950s photos above revealed pretty much of the architecture are still intact. The Kuala Lumpur Railway Station was designed by Arthur Benison Hubback and the building was completed in 1911. It is surrounded by other notable buildings like the National Mosque, Heritage Station Hotel and Dayabumi Complex.

Kuala Lumpur has undergone tremendous change these days and it's good that some of the things we have improved but most importantly our values must still be intact. These old but historical buildings for some reasons do make us ponder about the past and remind us the roots of our culture and our society.

Sometimes it's not always history which shapes us to become what we are but also vision and will to carve the future. I'm quite sure we use to debate with colleagues or peers about how Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad gives us his vision and laid the foundation to bring us out from an agricultural depending sector to the Information Technology age. One of the notable achievements by Mahathir is the formation of the Administrative Centre of the Federal Government of Malaysia in Putrajaya which is situated west of Cyberjaya and within the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC).

Frankly, I've not been to Putrajaya not until 2006 when I was invited to attend a conference in Putrajaya International Convention Centre. It was pretty awesome to actually feel the space within the halls and corridors. We were invited to have an early breakfast at the wide corridors facing the glass facade towards the east. Coincidentally, it was also the sunrise and I gotta say that the wide corridors glass facade on the elevated floors above ground really do give you a sense of wide view towards the horizon. I only manage to take a few shots within the conference at the end of the day and maybe I thought I showed it here. (See below)

Overtime, I get to know more about Putrajaya after my first visit. Putrajaya needs no introduction about its facts but with an estimated cost of US$ 8.1 billion and the amount of job opportunities created due to mostly Malaysian companies participation, it's no small feat for other Prime Minister to emulate. I've also manage to take some of these shots below when I was in Putrajaya several times since 2006 till now.

This blog has undoubtedly given me the chance to look back and explore the past or history which shapes our present day lives and we know that with a vision, we will be able to chart out our path in succeeding the Vision 2020 of becoming a modernize country. Let us all hope that we will reach that path at the end of the tunnel but not forgetting our responsiblities and values.

Finally, I would like to dedicate this short movie and wallpaper I've created for all Malaysians and let's not forget the importance of the Federal Territories of Malaysia.

Visions In Your Eyes from Ah Loke on Vimeo.
The full version of the 720p HD movie can be downloaded HERE

My Wide Shots & Montage

2009-10-10T17:15:00.002+08:00

I guess one of my favourite photography is taking wide shots and most of the time people enjoy the scenic views when they go on vacation but taking the photos may turn out differently. I took the above photos largely from Angkor Wat and the bottom photo is a wide shot of Tanjung Rhu, Langkawi. The 3rd photo from the top is taken from Banteay Srei, Cambodia and it's considered as one of the smaller 10th century hindu influenced temple with intricate craftmanship. It was built mostly in red sandstone and to really enjoy it is to visit Banteay Srei right before sunrise.

The red sanstone and the many carvings of devatas truly shines once the first morning light hits and washes the walls. At first my friend did told me to prepare for Banteay Srei in the early morning when we were still doing our case studies before even we book the tickets to Cambodia. I was thinking to myself why would we want to get up in the early morning before sunrise just to view this site? Aren't we suppose to relax and view the sites in Angkor Wat at our own pace? But now, after witnessing it, I gotta say Banteay Srei looks perfect during sunrise.

Well, it's quite true also in photography that sunrise is the perfect timing to take photos whether if it's an outdoor setting, scenic view or family outing. This is because the natural color saturation are higher and you don't really rely much on various settings in your DSLR to achieve a good picture.

KL - A Nite 2 Remember

2009-10-08T20:06:00.004+08:00

Kuala Lumpur nightlife is definitely not everyone's cup of tea but nevertheless one may see some pretty fancy pubs, live band performances, fine dining, cafe and a host of others from Bukit Bintang, Jalan Pinang, Jalan P Ramlee and Jalan Ampang. I personally don't go out that frequent but I did tried out Aloha live band performances in one of the festival eves. It's kindda nuts 'cuz the amount of people pouring in is staggering. Later over the nite, my friend and I proceeded to what some of us dubbed as the more trendier bar in town, Luna rooftop bar with a decent pool at the centre of an open rooftop.

We manage to go up the upper deck pretty much towards mid nite and I gotta say that Kuala Lumpur skyline is quite breathtaking from the rooftop. The lighting from the highrise around the city can be seen very cleary. It's situated at 34th Floor, Menara PanGlobal, Jalan Punchak, Off Jalan P. Ramlee. Frankly, having witness the Kuala Lumpur skyline from the highest peak gondola level right below the antenna of Petronas tower was quite exciting but the sight from Luna bar made me realise Kuala Lumpur has more to offer.

I'll probably post the shots taken from the gondola level in my next post but for the moment here's 2 shots taken right after mid nite in Bukit Bintang.

The Forsaken & The Revitalised

2009-10-05T21:14:00.003+08:00

Having working in an architectural firm for a while, my desire over architecture or buildings have diminished over the years. Maybe due to the long wee hours of design and documentation work which had made me a tad bit weary. But quite recently the desire to go back and appreciate some of the older buildings around Kuala Lumpur {KL} has keep my interest back purely because of my present nature of work which involves property development and after exiting the consultancy office. For the most part despite a steep learning curve I've to face in property, I managed to go thru the tougher times.

I took a few shots on some of the oldest building around town in KL situated in Petaling Street, Jalan Loke Yew and Sultan Abdul Samad building. Not much of us really appreciate these buildings nowadays but this is how our city of KL all started. Some of which were revitalised and some were taken down to make way for new development.

Frankly, KL started off as a tin mining area from as early as 1857. During that period, Raja Abdullah, the Royal family of Selangor had pave ways for chinese to thrived in tin mining. With the tin mining and trading from various merchants ranging from Ampang, Klang and Gombak, KL has eventually emerged as capital of Malaysia. It's no surprise that KL has undergone quite a lot of hurdles before it reaches to it stature today considering the Japanese occupation, communist-led guerrilla insurgency and others.

At around 1974, KL was formally detached from the State of Selangor and made into a Federal Territory. KL is now has its own administration headed by a minister of cabinet rank.

Nature's True Revelations

2009-07-27T23:17:00.000+08:00

I thought it'll be nice to compile a few of the shots which I took a while back and post it here under a nature theme of somewhat. Guess which of the 2 shots were taken at my hometown small garden.

Peace Reunion

2009-07-27T23:05:00.000+08:00

For some reasons, this sculpture from the Korean War Memorial Museum was one of my favourite shots. It does gives a small glimpse of impact of war as a deterrent for hope, prosperity, peace and reunion.

Phuket & Phi Phi Isles - My Short Escapist Trip

2009-06-17T22:46:00.000+08:00

DAY 1 - PATONG BEACH & BANGLA ROAD (15/5/09)

I must say that my short trip to Phuket & Phi Phi Isles were one of my better experiences. Well, at least it's not in the period of peak season. It was on Friday in the month of May and I reached Phuket International Airport at around 2:30p.m. with a short 1 1/2 hours flight via Air Asia.

After check-in at Baumanburi Resort Hotel, I headed straight to Patong beach. Well, not for swimming but to source for a trip package to Phi Phi Isles the next day. True enough after bargaining with probably several tour companies, I finally manage to get a great deal for a Day Trip the next day to Phi Phi Isles.

I manage to take a few shots (Patong Beach Top Pic 1 & 2 above) and headed back to hotel. As the sun goes down the nite life in Bangla Road is everywhere. Well, I guess pictures may not tell you everything about the nite life in Bangla Road, so I have my HD 720p video travel log uploaded here for you to enjoy :http://vimeo.com/channels/44627

DAY 2 - PHI PHI ISLES (16/5/2009)

There's lotsa activities and places to visit and some of which are Phi Phi Lay's Maya Bay, Loh Samah Bay, Pileh cove and Viking Cave. My last stop was at Khai Nok Island. For some reasons, I felt that Khai Nok Island has a better scenery compared to all the other major attractions. (See 2 Pics from bottom). Overall, the month of May is a great time to visit Phuket & Phi Phi but the sun is at its hottest time of the year and luckily there's still rain at about less than 5 minutes!

There are still lots of people everywhere but not as much as other peak seasons like 4th quarter of the year. Nevertheless, drinking and eating around Bangla Street or Patong are rather moderate in crowds.

DAY 3 - FLY BACK HOME (17/6/2009)

Although it was a rather short trip at 3 Days 2 Nites but Phi Phi Isles really does somewhat live up to its name as one of the most beautiful islands in the world. With all the fond memories, uneven tanned, peeling skin and beers, I'm glad I went to Phi Phi.

Chilling & Serene

2009-05-11T19:21:00.000+08:00

Took this shot just several steps away from my Dongdaemun Hotel,...Dongdaemun, Seoul in December 2008. My colleagues wanted to take an early breakfast just right about sunrise. Can't recall the exact time though, probably around 7:30 am. It was barely about 2 deg Celcius.

Manage to stop by a hawker stall after being persuaded by the lady chef which happens to speaks mandarin. It so happens that she's from China so we took some plain noddles thinking that we will have a better lunch later. The chef seems nice and open to talk about her experiences working in Korea but heck no! We were billed 10,000 won for a cup of plain noodles. That's about RM28-00 and it was a rip off. It only cost a mere 5,000 won to eat in a restaurant but this is only a hawker stall. I guess chinese really do know how to slash whether you're a chinese or non chinese.

Anyway, I'll talk about other more pleasant experiences later I hope.

Kanching Forest Trekking & Waterfalls

2009-05-02T17:58:00.000+08:00

Recently, I heard that there's multiple waterfalls somewhere in Rawang called Kanching. Thought I googled it for some info and yes it's located in Selayang towards Rawang (E1). You will noticed a signboard 'Taman Rimba Komanwel & signs pointing the way to Hutan Lipur Sg. Kanching' right after you pass pasar borong Selayang.

Managed by the Selangor Forestry Department, nice trails offer easy access to each of the 7 tropical waterfalls as you hike up the slope. Frankly, I'm there to take some snapshots but as I go higher especially the last waterfall, it's really tempting to have a good swim. Unfortunately, I came unprepared and as a result I have to settled for a leg dipping only - Gasp! the water is real cool. I bet you can bring some drinks to cool 'em too.

Buddhist Temple

2009-04-28T20:37:00.000+08:00

Came across 'Kun Yam Thong' in Jalan Ampang while on my way to Citibank Kuala Lumpur last month. Just thought since it's weekend, I just took my time to walk over to clear my outstanding payment-debts. I always recall that there's a Buddhist temple which seems to be renovated recently with new primary colors on its roof tiles.

So I thought I grab a few shots on this temple after I settle my debts. It's actually situated in between Nasi Kandar Pelita Samudra and MCA Building.

Soul of Asia

2009-04-28T20:20:00.000+08:00

This shot taken from my colleague's hotel room in Busan which is at south eastern part of South Korea in December 2008. It's Korea's second largest city with close to 4 million people. It also serves as the country's main port for international cargo, as well as passenger ferries to Japan and Jeju Island.

We were on business trip, so we don't really get to go sight seeing here. Nevertheless, the skies here are pretty clear compared to any other areas. The houses and roads around here seems to be densely populated.

Closer To Home

2009-04-26T17:27:00.000+08:00

Here's a photo of Batumalai Sri Subramaniar Swamy Devasthanam located in Batu Caves, a limestone hill, which has a series of caves and cave temples, located in Gombak district, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It takes its name from the Sungai Batu or Batu River, which flows past the hill. Batu Caves is also the name of the nearby village.

Batu Caves has become a pligrimage site for not only Malaysian Hindus, but Hindus worldwide from countries such as India, Australia and Singapore for the celebration of Thaipusam.

The procession begins in the wee hours of the morning on Thaipusam from the Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Kuala Lumpur leading up to Batu Caves as a religious undertaking to Lord Muruga lasting eight hours. Devotees carry containers containing milk as offering to Lord Muruga either by hand or in huge decorated carriers on their shoulders called 'kavadi'.

Come Sway With Me

2009-04-25T16:57:00.000+08:00

Here's a good example of what nature can do. I took this shot in a hurry when I visited Korean Folk Village in South Korea on December 2008. Most of my colleagues were way up front listening to the tour guide explaining the culture beliefs of Korean Folk.

I felt that if I take a moment to take a few snapshots longer I may get better results. Luckily the results here were pretty satisfying considering the sacrifice I made for not knowing the culture stories behind the Korean Folk people. Nevertheless, the brouches I've received while entering the folk village are quite informative.

Architecture Statement

2009-04-23T22:21:00.000+08:00

While driving back to Cheras recently, I manage to spot a new highrise condominium along Jalan Cheras right behind Petronas station. Since I've been in architecture for a long time, I thought I have a look at the building. It's somewhat incomplete. I guess the contractor is rushing for his CPC.

This is one of the several shots which I took. I'll probably post the rest here later too.

My Domain My Playground

2009-04-23T19:43:00.000+08:00

I went to Cambodia back in 2007 and took quite numerous nos of photos. Never really get to view all of them. This shot taken right before I left one of the Angkor Wat temples for sight seeing. While waiting for my friend, there's several kids running and playing around the temple. The temples are pretty much like their playing ground albeit a very huge and old one that is.

Sunset @ My Haus

2009-04-22T21:09:00.000+08:00

I took this photo right before sunset on 21 April 2009 opposite the direction of the sun at my house. The wind is gushing fast and you can really feel it thru the trees swaying back and forth.