Monumental Moments

Here's my take on one of the many wonderful monuments at the Newari town of Bhaktapur in eastern Kathmandu Valley.

Think Macau, think ...?

Another view of the Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral in Macau.

Macau = ... ?

I really like this slightly less-conventional view of the Ruins of St Paul in Macau.

Merdeka Hopes & Dreams

This image is courtesy of one helluva talented guy, MOB. Check him out and get a poster for your blog!

And speaking of being Malaysian...

50 years ago, we were promised democracy. We were promised justice. We were promised equality. We were promised that we'd be treated with human dignity. We were promised freedom.

In 1963, we became Malaysians and the notion of a Bangsa Malaysia was born. This was given form and substance by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his
Vision 2020 that set out nine challenges for Malaysians to achieve a developed country.

No mention is made of Bangsa Malaysia by the Abdullah Administraton. Is the concept of Bangsa Malaysia still important or relevant in the light of failed promises in our original social contract?

The DAP is holding a dialogue in conjuction with our 50th Merdeka Anniversary celebrations.

Date: 19 August 2007 (Sunday)
Time: 2.00pm
Venue: Crystal Crown Hotel, Petaling Jaya

The panel of distinguished speakers include:
- Y Bhg Tunku Abdul Aziz (former President, Transparency International Malaysia)
- Datuk Param Cumuraswamy (former Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, United Nations)
- Mr Yeo Yang Poh (former Malaysian Bar Council Chairman)
- YB Lim Kit Siang (Parliamentary Opposition Leader)

Following the session, a dialogue will be conducted with the participants hosted
by another distinguished panel (subject to change):
- M Manogaran (President, Malaysian Tamil Education & Research Foundation)
- Haris Ibrahim (Human Rights Lawyer)
- Jeff Ooi (Prominent Malaysian Blogger)
- Dr Oh Ei-Sun (East Malaysian Socio-Political Analyst)

To ensure sufficient seat allocation, please register in advance with Lim Swee Kuan (03) 79578022 or via email at limsweekuan@gmail.com.

At the same time, the Party will take note of the views and opinions of the participants in formulating our vision for Malaysia, more pertinently, in preparation for the upcoming general elections. ;)

Fragrant Harbour

Not the sharpest of pictures this, but I like it. No prizes for guessing where this was taken... yup, it is the Fragrant Harbour, one of the most recognised skylines in the world.

Last Rites

A cremation taking place at Nepal's oldest and holiest Hindu pilgrimage site, dedicated to Shiva. Here's a YouTube video (not mine lah) on several cremations going on at the same time.

You give us money?

Sadhus are ascetics/holy men who have left behind all material and sexual attachments, and live in caves, forests and temples all over India (and in this case, at Pashupatinath Temple on the riverbanks of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal). When they see tourists, they quickly get ready and come out of the corridors where they cook, eat and sleep, and pose... for a small fee. While we were there, we saw a cremation taking place (see next entry).

Dance Little Ladies Dance

Yes, the colours have been pumped up for a more dramatic effect!

A coupla years back, we stayed at Alila Ubud in Bali (sponsored of course... no way we would be able to afford it otherwise) and they have this policy of introducing the local culture to their guests by way of encouraging the local dance school to use their premises for their dance lessons -- which of course is just delightful for the guests cos the girls are just so cute!

This environmentally-conscious hotel also has a quota of hiring the locals from the nearest village as staff, and tries to use as much local produce as possible in their kitchen. They are endorsed by Green Globe.

Fancy some grapes?

In July 2003, I was in Greece for a Socialist Youth camp. It was a pretty amazing experience, with 7,000 youths in one campsite by the beach, sharing and learning together. After the camp, we (the group from Malaysia) spent a few days in Athens seeing the sights.

I was up at 6am to go exploring the Anafiotika area with its whitewashed houses (which lies in the shadow of the Acropolis) -- a la the touristy Greek island images you often see -- when I decided to stop for breakfast. I was the only one in this family-run restaurant and the owner sought to make pleasant but limited conversation with me (his English was pretty hopeless and my Greek was non-existent). He then decided he was going to pluck me a bunch of grapes! Isn't that sweet of him?

Moments like this are one of the main reasons why I love travelling so much.