Visit Malaysia 2007!

As we all know, next year is Visit Malaysia Year (for those who don't, now you know).

Unfortunately...

Expect haze in July, says Azmi

PEKANBARU (Indonesia): The choking haze enveloping parts of the Asean region now may return between July and October next year, said Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid.

Speaking to Malaysian reporters at the end of a special meeting on regional haze that was attended by five Asean Environment ministers here yesterday, he said the meeting had a “promising” outcome but no guarantees could be made that it would happen again next year.

Come for the fun, stay for the haze?

“The agreements reached during the meeting will not be realised so soon ... at least not in the next one year. It would be too early.

“But at least we can be certain about how we are going to tackle the problem. Previously, neighbouring countries were helpless and could only hope that Indonesia would do something,” Azmi said.

Azmi described the Pekanbaru meeting as “successful” because there was clear commitment among the five Asean nations affected the most Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Brunei to prevent the recurrence of illegal forest fires in Kalimantan and south Sumatra, which were primarily responsible for the smoke that blanketed parts of Indonesia and its neighbours.

Indonesia had agreed to ratify a regional agreement on haze prevention during the meeting, which meant that in future, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand and Singapore would be able to automatically send help to fight forest fires in the country, said Azmi.

Both Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said Indonesia would ratify the agreement known as the Asean Transboundary Haze Pollution Agreement.

Source: The Star Online 16th October 2006

Well at least it's not all doom and gloom. There appears to be clear interest amongst all the ASEAN countries affected by the haze to minimise further reoccurences of the haze.

For now I just hope that the wind direction will change so that all Malaysians will be able to enjoy a haze free Deepavali and Hari Raya.

The training continues!

So we resumed our weekly training session on the 7th of October. But there were a couple of changes from last week:

1. Andrew had to do OT (overtime) so he couldn't join us.
2. The training was held at 7.30 a.m. in the morning.
3. It was bloody hazy.

Yes you heard that right. 7.30 a.m. in the morning. This is what I looked like when I got up.

Dazed and confused!

So anyway, this is how it looked outside.

See the haze on the horizon?

Haze...

And more haze!!!

Surprisingly the park (Taman Bukit Kiara at TTDI) was packed with people. Apparently the haze shall not stop us Malaysians from getting our dose of exercise. Wei Siong and I did the usual one hour training...and I shudder to think how much haze we inhaled into our precious lungs.

The ironic part was that the haze started dissipating from around 10 a.m. onwards. By noon it was almost completely gone. WTF!!! LOL!!!

Babe!

So this is just filler I guess. I love babes with glasses though.

Wonder why this youtube video got flagged as adults only...there is no nudity at all!

Her name is Sayaka Ando. Enjoy! :P

Me and my Hidamari

So I went shopping last weekend and got myself some new stuff. First up, Hidamari No Tami!

He is yellow! And cute!

Isn't he adorable?

Actually his full name is 'Shiawase wo Yobu Hidamari No Tami'. No idea what that means though. I gather this little yellow guy brings good luck since he has a four-leaf clover on his tummy. The way he shakes his head is so...er...hypnotic. But he does need a pretty strong light source for power, ordinary flourescent light doesn't cut it.

I also got myself this!

V for Vendetta: Two Disc Special Edition

Yeah it's Region 3. Came with a mini comic book with the first few chapters of the book by Alan Moore. Video quality is decent but there was only Dolby Digital sound, no DTS. You know what's ironic? The pirated DVD comes with both Dolby Digital and DTS, being a Region 1 copy. And it's cheaper too. The irony as they say, is staggering! LOL!

Singapore Trip: Part II

Ok ok so this post really took a long time in coming. Please forgive me for procrastinating. :P

The following events happened on September 1st 2006.

So anyway after that stunning meal of bak chor mee (refer to previous post - Singapore Trip: Part I), it was back to Nick's place. But before that Nick needed to get some stuff from the Caltex station across the road, and seeing that there was an overhead bridge just a couple of steps down, I asked him whether would need to take the bridge (instead of jaywalking).

Me: Uh so you are saying it's ok to just run across? Won't we get fined for jaywalking?
Nick: Dude don't be paranoid. It's alright.

So there you have it. I've done my part in dispelling the myth that Singapore is a 'fine' city with officers hiding in every nook and cranny waiting to pounce on you as soon as you commit an offense. :P

Naturally we woke up around 11-ish and were treated to nice breakfast of 'pau' (steamed meat bun) and 'siew mai' (mini pork dumplings) by Nick's grandma. We then proceeded to the Queensway shopping mall area, where we had a smashing meal of fish head noodles. It was brimming with chunks of fish meat and the noodles were so smooth you could have done a facial with them.

Let me apologise for the lack of pictures. I did not bring my camera along. :P

After that lunch (which was eaten so close to breakfast I could barely walk), we headed to Queensway shopping mall. It was the best place (according to Nick & Lawrence) to get a pair of sport shoes. Nick showed me around for a bit (and we both lost horribly at Time Crisis 2) before going off to attend class.

So I began my journey of discovery (shopping) and after a couple of rounds around the complex, I got myself a pair of New Balance crosstrainers for SGD95 (RM218.50). Pretty good bargain seeing that they go for RM280 here. Then it was off to Funan (Digital IT Mall)!

And I got off at the wrong place, at Chinatown instead. Being a newbie in S'pore, I pressed the button to alight when I saw what I thought was Funan (it said DIGITAL COMPUTER MALL ok) when actually Funan was much much further down the road. So with SMS instructions from Lawrence, I set off to walk to Funan, and it was a pretty interesting walk too.

I went in to visit the Civil Defence Museum opposite Funan too. And spent around an hour there. Like Lawrence said it's free and fun. Indeed. Funan was a well organised hub of IT shops and for an IT geek like me it was browsing heaven. Indeed I would have bought shitloads of stuff if not for my wallet/credit card screaming at me to only buy what I came here to buy. Which was actually a pair of Sennheiser OMX-70 water resistant earphones (SGD80, RM184, selling for RM350 in Malaysia). They were a real bargain.

Once I had browsed my fill, I went to meet up with Nick (after some confusion) at Raffles City Mall. I literally had to plow through the horde...I mean crowd at City Hall MRT station though. It was like the whole population of Singapore was concentrated there. Nick and Lawrence said it was normal though. Ooooooooook...

So we three had dinner at the 'authentic Chinese cooking' restaurant at Raffles (yes I totally forgot the name). Yes, it was more waiting in a queue to get our seats. In fact, every restaurant was packed. I was pretty surprised as it seemed that everyone was eating out, and Lawrence just went "It's actually cheaper to eat out than to cook dinner for singles and couples".

Once that was done it was off to 'Book City' which in reality was a mall dedicated to bookshops. And it was also home to Singapore's largest Popular (4 stories), where I got the books that my dad wanted. Once that bout of shopping was over, we then headed for the National Library.

Guard at entrance: I am sorry sir but drinks are not allowed to be taken inside.
Lawrence: Right. Sorry. How about I place my drink into my friend's backpack instead?
Guard at entrance: Sorry sir I have seen you with your drink. (sounding slightly pissed)
Lawrence: Guys you go on in without me.

The library was awesome. Too bad we didn't have time to stay as we arrived late and the place was about to close.

Lawrence then procured a rental car and we had to take a cab to where it was parked (some government office, probably tax, can't recall) to collect it. The car was secured by some electronic lock which was deactivated by a signal (from the rental office) as soon as Lawrence SMS-ed them. Interesting and convenient!

After picking up Martyn (Lawrence's housemate) it was off to Geylang for supper. Yes it is Singapore's official/inofficial red light district but it is also home to some fabulous food. Like the oh-so-orgasmic beef kuey teow and the tasty coffee pork ribs. Simply fabulous!

Once again I would like to apologise for lack of pictures. Use your imagination I guess? :P

We ended the night with a CS session. The LCD monitor that I was using was tinged vomit green. The cybercafe closes at 1.30 a.m. (and we arrived at 12). It was one of the most exciting 90 minutes session of CS that I had. Lawrence, Nick, Martyn, you guys roxxor!

Nick: How do I defuse the bomb?

Priceless. Priceless I tell you. :P

Two more posts, two more updates. Laterz!