Confluence & The Monsoon Masterclass Journey

April 2, 2014 | daniaryezel

When I decided to work with Tourism Selangor for the last 3 years, the one thought that became my compass was to make people change their perspective about traveling in Selangor. Somewhat of an ambitious task but with every effort, failed or otherwise was always about that. About wanting to make this state (a backyard for a majority of the urban folks especially) fun and cool.

Knowing that I was not going to continue my contract with the company, I had to make sure that I need to do one last thing I’ve been telling myself since I was at OBSCURA. To turn Selangor into a photography hub as much as Vig has turned Penang into one. Didn’t know how or when. It was just something that I planted in my head while working on #TSBreakAway which had a lot of influenced from OBSCURA itself.

Then a door opened. No, it was merely a key presented on my table by my then-boss Fazly, along the lines about having a budget to do something good before we both leave the company. That’s when I immediately called Vig and hoped that he would jump on the wagon.

That call turned out to be what we now know it as The Monsoon Masterclass program.

There are two parts to this superb program – 5 days photography masterclass workshop with James Whitlow Delano and Monsoon Artist in Residence (Monsoon AIR) with Ian Teh. I really wanted to join the workshop but fate had other plans and so I lived vicariously through seven students’ documentary-styled photography work. Which then turned into a 2 weeks exhibition at The Boulevard, Publika from March 23 – April 6, 2014.

At first glance, you wouldn’t think much about some of the work exhibited but when you read their summaries, you start to develop a storyline in your mind and analyse closely what each photograph is saying from the photographer’s point of view. You create this conversation in your head with the photos; questions like who are you, where is this or how is it possible starts to build up one after another. The next thing you know, you get absorbed into their realm. There are seven different subjects, all of which were documented around Selangor. Some of the stories can knock your socks off, that much I can tell you.

I couldn’t have thought of anyone better to tell Irene‘s The Afterlife Architect story than Vig

K.G Krishnan walked us through his story about the Street Sisters in Klang

Hanif Maidin‘s Tanda Mati gives a bigger impact when it’s printed

There are two entities I would go all out for an event they do and know I’ll come back inspired. One is from Kakiseni and another is Vig.

Having followed @monsoonair on instagram and facebook religiously (in other words, stalking) and heard stories from Vig about Ian Teh’s assignment for this program, I couldn’t wait to see the outcome.

Ian Teh spent three weeks in a span of two months exploring Selangor’s coastline with Hanif helping him to do the research and Nadia as his partner in crime, driving from one end of the state to another. I knew bits and pieces of it, of what’s happening, where he is going and all that jazz but if I know Selangor the way I do, she always knows how to surprise us. She just does and she did.

Confluence is a sum of what is happening to our country in a wider perspective. It’s almost akin to Ian Teh’s love letter written to her people. Much like how I would conclude my journey with the state, I couldn’t have thought of a better word to describe it than one that he had said the first time when I asked him how did the assignment made him feel.

“It’s bittersweet.”

That’s all it takes and needs to sum it up really.

Of course, I also know that he knows a lot more about Selangor in that 3 weeks he was diligently documenting the coastline compared to the rest of the nation combined. It is only when you put yourself out there that you would know the nitty gritty side of this enchanting yet bleeding state of ours. Almost to a point that makes you want to do something to give back.

Oh yeah, might I add that Ian Teh is a Malaysian born (shout out to PJ peeps!) British photographer. And like everyone else, we have our own preconceived ideas about a certain place..until we actually get to know the real deal.

During the launch of his book Confluence at Publika last Saturday (his exhibition with the same name is also in Publika until April 6, 2014), I didn’t expect him to be such a jovial storyteller. Of course, I say this because, I’ve only know him through his work since OBSCURA and never had the guts to go up to him and say hello when I realised he was sitting a table next to mine at a local mamak spot in Hartamas prior to his Monsoon AIR assignment. Only a week before this launch had I manage to actually talk to him and ask some questions that were in my head for a while. Heck, my first photo of him was of his shoes when I was introduced by Vig. Being the typical doofus that I am, I was too shy and starstruck.

There’s this sense of humour you get that’s very British too. Making fun of yourself in a dry manner sorta way.

Anyway, it was interesting that we were gathered in front, all prepared to absorb knowledge as he narrated his journey when I suddenly felt like we were in a reading class of some sort. We were all very close to him, sitting in a semi circle. Listening intently to Cikgu Teh, Veronica chirped.

You see that black book he’s holding? Yeah that’s one fine piece of..sweet yummy book if it’s ever edible. It was so impeccably made to a point that the cover designed by Azeem Idzham is probably the coolest interpretation of Selangor’s map I’ve ever seen and the way Shafiq Halim designed the layout of the book, you know there were a lot of thoughts going through when each page is flipped. Tash Aw, Prof Khoo Kay Kim and Eddin Khoo enveloped their thoughts for the essays in this book.

It makes perfect sense yet it’s also capable of breaking your heart. There are only 300 copies of the black version and 100 limited ones for white which you can purchase online here. I highly recommend anyone who loves photography or books of any kind to add this to your collection. You know it’s made with lots of love. Maybe some blood, definitely sweat and tiny bit of tears were involved in the making of this beautiful piece, who knows?

But if you had to buy something, let it be Confluence. You won’t regret it.

Also, I managed to record some bits of his session. Wished I had recorded the whole thing! So much humility and honesty in the way he delivered his answers when we asked him some stuff.

This particular video was when someone asked him “Why did you name your book Confluence when you kept on repeating coastline instead?”

He knows his stuff yo.

And then I asked, “What is your best memory during this trip?” .. and you know his Malaysian side had to come out first when he confidently replied “Food!”

In the end, I do think the magic behind The Monsoon Masterclass and Monsoon AIR is something we should respect highly. I felt so proud knowing this finally happened the way it did. That all that hard work and frustrations resulted into this magnificent platform for all photographers and storytellers alike to grow. I only wish for this to continue to be the best it can be, changing one viewpoint a time.

Truthfully, it really couldn’t have happened without Vig, Ian, Nadia and everyone else in the team. They really pulled out a rabbit from the hat this round. They really did.

Watch out world!

To sum up what The Monsoon Masterclass and Monsoon AIR meant to me is exactly the way I had posted on my instagram:

“The only time I had this surreal feeling (referring to the aerial shots of the coastline above) was when I watched my favourite movie from Dain Said entitled Bunohan, which was an Oscar nominated flick too. Coincidentally, both were documented during the monsoon season; only in different states of Malaysia. So my point is, there’s so many great bits in Malaysia by Malaysians..just that there’s too few to spread their magic around. Tash Aw said it well in Ian Teh’s book Confluence – we think we know who they are, we think we know their stories, but in fact, nothing is certain. It’s people like them that made me changed my mind about what I knew and what I want to do in long run.”

#TSBreakAway Featurette: The History Dream

November 26, 2013 | daniaryezel

This year has been a big revelation for me. Where Australia’s trip last winter made me realised that I’ve come full circle with myself, two weeks ago, my trip to Kuala Kubu Bharu cemented my reason for being here. In Malaysia.

While for many, it’s either about not having a choice or tied down to family and such.. for me it’s none of that. I could at anytime leave this country and had planned that way since I was a kid. I desperately wanted to get out since young because I’ve never felt like I belonged here yet here I am. Where my friends thought I’d be the first to leave and never return, it hasn’t been the case.

Till today, I remember the one thing my mum said when I was in Leeds, chilling at Nix’s house a year ago.

“So decided to move there?” she asked or something to that effect.

In that moment, part of me wanted to say yes but I didn’t and I knew if I did, she’d support my decision. That was the plan, has always been the plan.

And like the saying my English teacher once told me, man proposes, God disposes. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

That is until this trip.

It was a spur of a moment, one day sometime three weeks ago I suggested to Anis to head up to KKB to meet the uncle she had wrote about in her blog for #TSBreakAway and see what he thought about it. Then I mentioned it to Nigel who wanted to tag along. The week later, she told me they will be going on Friday. I was with Ashraf who was the resident mentor and videographer for this project we’re involved and casually asked if he wanted to go up too, see if there’s anything we could add into the #TSBreakAway footages.

So at 6AM all of us (three #TSBreakAway Zombies and one Xplorer) were up and made our way to KL Sentral train station. This would be my first time going to KKB by train and apparently it was a first for the guys too. From here, we had to switch train in Rawang after an hour and then head to KKB in 30 minutes.

The train ride was very scenic and by the time we were in Rawang, the train we took was empty. So hey, we were like kids taking over the carriage like our own, talking about the 80’s and 90’s like it was yesterday while snapping photos and recording the view in between.

If I had to take a trip to anywhere, this fun bunch would rank at the top of my list.

We had no plans when we got to KKB, just another random day exploring an old historical town and meet this charming uncle Anis interviewed. We didn’t expect that our trip would be something mind blowing, to a point that it was literally breaking us away from the norm. So as we were tracking down the route Anis took for #TSBreakAway solo assignment back to the tailor shop, she told us she was intrigued by this old barber shop (roughly about 40 years old) on the same street from where the uncle was working but didn’t check it out then because it was busy with people.

So I had this “brilliant” idea to get the guys to give us a reason to drop by and help Anis get her story. What I didn’t expect was for them to go along with the plan. I kinda sorta challenged Ashraf to cut his hair and get a shave since it looked like he needed a fresh look. Nigel too but only Ashraf agreed to do it. I did however got Nigel to do the old school shaving tho!

Once the guys were done with their “spa” session, we continued on our next journey like kids going from one candy shop to another. I like how in this town, no one looked at you like you don’t belong here. They just continue doing their thing (at a slower but peaceful pace) and treat us like we’re part of them. Despite the uncle didn’t remember Anis initially, he entertained us with his stories of yore. Made ourselves comfortable in his 50 over years old shop, watching as he cut the wool for his customer and even managed to teach Nigel a bit of Pinyin. Who knew they both shared the same surname? Of course, he wasn’t spared from being lectured too for not able to read Mandarin. Haha! It’s like watching father scolding his son for a mishap. Ah KKB.. you sure know how to charm us.

In case you’re looking for this particular uncle to do your pants or suits, just ask anyone in KKB for “The Shirtless Uncle” and they all know who you are referring to 🙂

You know how when you got the ball rolling with one story, you went and dig deeper? Yeah, this was exactly the case. We moved from one shop to another just looking for something, anything. Then Nigel read about this other uncle who has an old watch shop which coincidentally was just around the corner from where we were. I mean, c’mon, while you’re here you might as well do what’s in your bucket list. But when we arrived, we didn’t expect that it would set the course of our adventure after this.

You know how when you go to a shop in a city, they’d be breathing your neck or for some reason, it makes you feel like you either have to buy something or get out of the shop quick? This was neither the case. We hung out at his place, admiring the many beautiful black and white photos of him and his shop which was taken by other photographers in the past. We talked about his background and what he love to do. Then, I heard a dog barking at the back and his wife was so sweet to show me her pet. Feisty looking little poodle. Cute tho. But feisty, bouncing away while barking at me and I was told this little one bites. So yeah, I just leaned my back on the wall adjacent to the dog. Later, she told me about two other cats who are friendly with the dog and brought them out for me to play with. Yeah, we pretty much made ourselves very comfortable.

A spirit I have not known existed in KL or Selangor. That ease I love and strive for is in this old town after all.

Anyway, after all that shop talk we’ve made, the owner of the watch shop decided to bring us to check out his daughter’s cafe, a few doors away from his. Too bad we already had our lunch (one where I was scampering around looking for a clean toilet and an aunty from a kopitiam across the street was accommodating and got me to use hers without any expectation. She even wave and greeted me when I passed by her shop again later that day). Seriously, no one here forces anyone or expects anybody to get anything from them.

When we were at the cafe looking around at the 80’s local music posters and antique memorabilia scattered all over, his daughter went up to Anis and took out her phone to show a photo she took of a namecard she thought would be useful to us.

“I think all of you should check out the small photography gallery. You’ll like it! But I don’t know if it’s open today but you can call this guy.”

This must be the gallery Anis mentioned earlier in the day which I’ve never heard of despite visiting KKB a few times in the past. There’s only one place that sounds like this which also housed many other art related items but given how everything are, it’s no surprise that the gallery is not open. Well it is, you just have to call a few days in advance. I guess we’ll have to make another trip back and get inside the gallery. Seriously, it’s almost unheard of to know that art takes place in towns like these here. If there are, no one’s spreading the word. Which is sad.

This whole place calls out for a revival. THE perfect town to have art residency. Which got my head buzzing and throbbing, I wish I could manifest those emotions into papers. Slowly eventually I will. Some kind of community project all four of us made a pact to work on. I hope.

That burning sensation was only secured even more when we met Aunty Sim Ling Ling who threw us off with her generosity. Initially, we didn’t know what we stumbled upon since the owner of the shop went to KL for acupuncture. Then we roamed inside the shop looking at the things hung from the ceiling. You’ll find anything and everything here, it’s amazing. So she slowly emerged behind the counter making conversations with us and we being the cheeky kids, asked her all the old school items we could think of when we were kids. Excitedly, she said yes to all of it and even ran inside to grab it.

Where could you find “Buku Tiga Lima” that still costs 20 cents or pencil with rubber tip would still be 10 cents?

All of a sudden, we all had an idea to buy something from her as a souvenir to commemorate this surprising adventure of ours. Aunty Ling Ling was so jovial entertaining us with the things in the shop and also her tuxedo cat named Baby.

From one thing led to another, I don’t know what got me agreeing when she said “Let’s have coffee?” and walked really fast to the kopitiam next to her shop. In my head, I thought she said, maybe when we come again, we’ll have coffee with her. I didn’t expect to have coffee there and then.

We all ordered our drinks and the moment she found out that I’ve been looking for this particular Kaya Puff KKB is notorious for, she immediately got up and went to the shop.

Ashraf, Anis and I looked at Nigel, who was on the phone at that time.

“Psst..Nigel, we have a situation. Need to intervene..Psst…”

By the time Nigel got off the phone, she came back with a box of Kaya Puff all ready for your mouth to salivate. *slap head*

And that she’s got this smile you just cannot not smile back at her. Cannot not accept her gifts. Cannot not accept her friendship. Just can’t.

Of course, I’m saying that in a good way. She even told us about the aunty who makes the kaya for the pastry shop..who happens to be doing it right that moment in that very kopitiam we were in.

BEHOLD! She was so efficient, she pre-ordered a tub of homemade kaya and delivered to our table each. Like what is this? Am I really in Malaysia?! By this time, we were all shaking our heads, didn’t know how to repay her kindness with and that she refused our money when we wanted to pay for it made us feel even more unsure. Appreciative of her kindness but also didn’t want her to think we’re taking advantage.

“No, no. I’m not petty over these things. I just want to share.” She told us.

At this moment, only then I know the real meaning of Malaysian Hospitality (MH). If we wanted to dig any story from KKB, this is the deepest KKB allows us. The heart, the bulb, the inspiration. You cannot go any deeper than this. No way.

So, as usual, you know we had to check out how this kaya was made and it takes 7 hours to make a big pot by one old lady and sells it around the town. When I asked if she wanted to sell it out of KKB, she said no. Dang it! Looks like I’ll have to come back here and replenish my stock.

Looking back, it’s true, KKB is mainly populated by the elderly folks who prefer the quiet and slow paced life. Which reminded me a lot of my late grandma who till she was bedridden, insisted she needs to work, to get the mind working. And that’s exactly what each of them are doing here..that and also because none of their kids wanted to take over their business because the bigger cities offer so much more. Hard working people makes me want to work harder.

Part of me was sad by this fact but another part of me can kinda sorta relate to their kids because it’s been years since my dad been pestering to take over his business but I refused because really, what he’s doing and what I need to do is on totally opposite spectrum. But I still feel sad for them because when they are no more around, what will become of KKB? This town can’t possibly die out of natural death! Over my dead body.

So enter that buzzing brain of mine which Ashraf, Nigel and Anis added more fuel. We just need a plan to execute this thing. I’m sure combining our nutty brains together, we’ll be able to do something but yeah, as of right now, I’m letting the pot simmer for a bit. I still have other paperworks to complete. Gah!

Oh yeah, so how did we end our session with Aunty Ling Ling?

Sneakily, she already paid for our drinks beforehand. Oh Aunty Ling Ling, you really blew us away with your sweet charm. Sigh.

To end this unforgettable trip we did, I found this draft poem I wrote while I was in the train in Sydney a few months back. One I think describes KKB profoundly to me.

A return trip is in order!

Ticket to the Unknown

It ain’t so bad,
This train to no where,
Worst case would be to arrive
To a place you’ll write your story
For the rest to read and navigate.

There’s a moment in our lives,
When the ticket you bought
May not be the place you thought;
You’ll arrive in peace and harmony
But then, peace is anywhere no?

Such is the life this dwarf leads
For those hunters may not see
The beauty therein lies
in front of thee.
Oh what a waste when it flee.

So where will you go,
What will you see?
Just take a trip
Wherever it may be
and just hold on tight for this journey.

Sidenote: Nigel took some superb black and white photos from this outing. I think this is by far he best work, you gotta check it out here!

Image

Sunrise in Bagan Lalang

Heart Life

Paint the clouds,
the trees and your life
for this story is about
how you do it, dream it
and most certainly live it.

Your strength is in Him
that belief, that hope
it all comes from Him
so carry faith,
carry it all the way.

Have heart, lots to start
As wisdom will impart
when you make mistakes
So take heart,
Life is a work of art.

It was one of those rare moments when I’m able to wake up early for sunrise. To be honest, I wasn’t able to sleep the whole night.

And it’s nice to see such relationship exists in front of my eyes. That beautiful moment between a parent and child.

Hopefully as we move forward with technology, we bring along the human aspect in our lives.

Grown ups can have fun too! Uluhati Edition.

March 11, 2012 | daniaryezel

Sometimes, in the midst of living; you tend to lose yourself along the way and having said that, it’s the only thing I could say about myself. I’m not sure what it was but I did. I had lost pieces of myself while fighting, caring and growing up. I miss writing, be it poems or stories and I really miss creating art the most.

These are my tickets to escape, my secret garden to hide out.

When I stopped doing it, I felt as if I’m a ticking bomb. The past couple of weeks had been me suffocating only because I didn’t know I was repressing so many emotions inside.

Today, I found the urge to write. No, actually I started writing a month ago..continuing a story I’ve abandoned. Slowly, eventually.. I’ll get there. Just like everything else.

It’s been a challenging year so far. What is only about 2.5 months since we started 2012 to others, it felt like I’ve been in it for 11 months. I’ve discovered so many things about myself. Forcing me to grow up a little bit more, if not be more responsible. And I won’t lie, it has been quite a challenge. Mentally and physically.

So one day, last month, the day I’ve been waiting for had arrived. There’s this gem in Hulu Langat, Selangor I went for a recce with a colleague prior to #TSDayOut called Uluhati. This little haven made me feel like I was revisiting a place in my mind that has not been attended for many years. It’s like a ranch. A beautiful one.

So yes, finally got to share this place with others (thanks to Farhah who’s been telling me about it months before) and I was really excited about it. We stayed over at the longhouse in Uluhati with the rest of the crew, Syidi came along too. In that brief moment, it felt as if we were on our way to “balik kampung”. Despite the fact that Syidi and I only just got to personally know each other last year, it felt like we were all going back for Raya.

While Uluhati is only 40 minutes away from the city, I think it was my perfect getaway from everything. Honestly, it did felt like I was on a paid holiday. The bbq served by En. Shaipuddin and his wife were just beyond words. There were grilled lamb (which En. Hafeez happily gorged down a few), tilapia, mushroom soup, garlic bread, chicken, fries…oh it was endless.

We weren’t ready for a feast but there it was, a celebration under the stars with laughter.

I couldn’t have painted a better picture of that night. There were no mosquitoes too. So that’s a definite plus. After a couple more plates of dinner (that turned into supper)..we played Chinese Poker and Bluff at the veranda as the wind whisper in our ears until 2AM. Retiring our bodies and minds on the comfy beds.

The next morning, we woke up to a cool breeze. So cool, I had the fleece blanket wrapped around me like a burrito. Just like waking up in the kampung, listening to feet stomping, alarm ringing and roosters crowing. The only thing that came to mind was “not to bathe in the cold natural water from the hills”. I’m a ~~chicken~~ cat like that.

Once again, ever lovely Riznida Eliza (En. Shai’s wife) made us Nasi Lemak and some toast bread. Oh it was good to be back with Mother Nature, even if it was just for a while. While waiting for the other #TSDayOut participants to arrive from Bangsar at the river; we got to see the sun rise overlooking the Titiwangsa Mountains.

Rasyidi beautifully captured the morning sun at Uluhati

Breathtaking.

Did I mentioned that there are goats, deers, chickens, turkeys, dogs and cats roaming freely around this 2.8acre land? There are horses and ponies too! More about that later.. for now, we have to be at Langat River for bamboo rafting.

It’s an adventure day, a great outing to get everyone out from the comfort zone and explore together. Each raft had one raft guide from the local Temuan tribe. Technically, we’re in good hands because these people can survive in any parts of the world.

Little did I know I was up for a bit more adventure than anyone thought. And was very much unprepared for it too.

There were 20 rafts, 2 passengers plus one guide on each raft..going on a cruise along the river which took about 2 hours. If there was anything you should try in Selangor, and not wanting it to be too hardcore.. it would be this activity.

Half way through the journey, looking at the houses, little kids watching us city people doing what they do on daily basis..I realised our guide was slightly inexperience. But that’s not going to stop me from having fun tho.

That’s Salina, enjoying the breathtaking view

The first incident happened when our raft (Salina and I were paired up together) were stuck in between huge rocks in the middle of a very rapid current. While the young guide was trying to repositioned the raft, it was easier if we got off the raft and helped as well. From one thing to another, he had some difficulty and the raft floated even further away. Torn to save us or the raft, we all thought it was best if he took care of the raft first. However, if we made any kind of small move, we are sure to fall head first and that’s not good idea when I was holding my dslr.

Seeing as Salina was frozen in her spot, I had to do the one thing I never thought would come in handy in my life. I fell backwards and body surfed along the river knowing that I’ll grab the raft when I arrived at the end. My only reason for doing it was to actually my camera first and I knew I can’t stand any longer with the kind of rapid pushing us from behind. Salina took a leap of faith and did what I did.

What luck, Syidi & Aida were there to see how the incident unfold.

Thankfully, we both were at Kuala Kubu Bharu last November for white water rafting and The Paddlerz suggested that we should do body surfing as part of the activity. This is when you allow yourself to float in the river face up.

Who knew such trivial activity had the potential to save lives?

Truth enough we arrived where our raft was at, except that my thigh had hit a massive rock underneath which resulted in muscle cramp due to the shallow river. Which made it worst because I couldn’t support myself.

It may have looked like I was a klutz (and I am one) but this was just one of those where an accident just happened and all you can think about is saving your life (and the camera). I was pulled out from the river like a helpless body, walked a little bit on the river bank to sit on the raft. One of the guides told us that the river should be much more calm from here onwards.

Where the first incident took place before I body surfed.

“Good. If it was anything like that again, I don’t think I could save myself again because of the cramp.”

The camera was fine, miraculously! And we continued on our journey admiring the view. I had mentioned to Salina that our guide was actually lucky to have us because of the experience we had prior. Had it happened to other people, we’re not sure what it would have been.

I spoke too soon.

Our raft got caught in between two massive rocks and stronger current. This time, I knew I will have difficulty to move away from the situation. True enough, the guide had to literally pull me out of the water and pushed me up the raft. It’s during this struggle that my camera took a dip in the river before I managed to lift it again.

I got on to the other raft, the one where Tok Batin Andak, the head of the tribe was on while Salina went solo with the young guide.

From then on, I resolute to enjoy my scenery with my eyes and not behind the lens.

Sounds a bit dramatic doesn’t it? Oh well, things happened. All we can do is do our best to avoid getting hurt. And I don’t regret going on this adventure even if it had put my camera into comatose.

It’s what I needed. A moment to wake up to feel like I’m still alive.

The best part of the journey is still yet to come. When we arrived at the end point of the river, there was only the Mazda pick-up truck and all 6 of us sat at the back, going all cowboy right up to Uluhati. It felt almost like going on a roller coaster, what with the corners and steep hill we had to go through.

It was truly a fun time.

Minutes later, I saw everyone’s enjoying the cozy long house and greenery. It was also the first time the rest were introduced to this place. And while waiting for our next activity which was the blow pipe demonstration, we were welcomed with the yummiest home cooked food. It was so good, I didn’t even think of taking photos. (All photos after this are from the iPhone)

The long house with the picnic benches. Love.

What I like about the food is that, it reminded me so much of Negeri Sembilan’s food (where my dad came from) and I just love the fresh bite of the pucuk paku. If it was Pucuk Paku masak lemak cili api, I’d prolly grabbed the entire bowl 😉

About an hour after lunch, we were all listening to Tok Batin Andak explaining the entire process about blow pipe. We certainly enjoyed his brand of humour. The kind of accidents that had happened while were quite scary, he made it priceless.

Tok Batin Andak and his many funny tales

While I don’t remember my experience with blow pipes when I was in Kuching decades ago, it was a good thing I get to experience it here. Tho, Syidi did mentioned that this particular ones are heavier compared to the ones in Sabah and Sarawak.

Yours truly’s target..was anywhere but the target point. Some are elephant hunter and one could be a rabbit hunter. It all depends how good you are at blow pipe.

My favourite part has to be when the participants were submitting their photos for the photography competition. That’s when you’ll get to see all sorts of shots from different eyes. Things you might’ve missed or taken for granted, this is when it’ll open your eyes (and mind). We even get to select the winners under a tree with En. Din. It can’t get anymore authentic than that.

I’ll come back again.

When everything was over, Aida and I hitched a ride with Syidi to Bangsar. Considering how hungry we were at that time, we joined Cal and Farhah for.. neither dinner nor lunch at G3 Kitchen Bistro.

The rest of the day was left dead.

Airborne-sick

August 27, 2011 | daniaryezel

So here I am.

8 months later. I am so sorry.

While it seems like I’ve abandoned Wanderlust Theories, I really haven’t. In theory, it has always been in my mind. It was just never translated from brainwave to words.

And that makes a lot of difference unfortunately.

It’s not that I don’t want to write or that I had lost interest in this; I just went away discovering myself and then (hopefully when I’ve figured it out) share my theories about whatever I’ve been experiencing. So this entry is dedicated to everyone who’s been reminding me to start writing (David of MalaysiaAsia, Fie, Alid & Wilson of PlacesandFoods) and those who happened to read this. Seriously, I can’t imagine why anyone would read my rants but yeah, do know that every reader is special to me 🙂

Life has been quite the roller coaster ride; physically and (especially) emotionally. The thing is, I realized I haven’t set foot in an aircraft since My Selangor Story started and I *think* I have forgotten what it feels like to take off.

Dramatic right? I know. But it’s the truth. Really.

Honestly, I do miss flying away to places I deem my escapism. It could be the schedule or something else. Somehow, I just never got around to getting onboard. I have sent and picked up people to/at the airport many times tho..

However, I am having fun doing what I never thought is possible.

Not in a million years.

Then again, I have went on a trip with Johan Farid Khairuddin (or affectionately known as JFK) and Fie in his Cessna around Selangor & Kuala Lumpur back in April. That was probably the closest thing to flying I suppose? ‘Twas amazing!

When I said “I’d like to make Selangor as part of my journey”, I never thought that my feet will be planted deep in the ground of Selangor! It’s so deep, I feel like I’m the information counter for all things Selangor sometimes. Not that it’s a bad thing actually 😉 It’s just that, this experience, this job (if you may call it) has truly changed my perception of traveling.

I’ve learned so much about myself as much as I have been researching about Selangor every single day. A journey I’ll forever cherish.

Perhaps this quote by G. K. Chesterton said it best – “The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.”

And in some twisted kind of way, maaaaybe that’s what He’s trying to tell me; that as much as I love traveling wherever, whenever, it is something else to discover your own country (or in this case, state).

I can’t imagine thinking back that I’ve been to places, seen faces and listen to stories which I wouldn’t be able to do without being part of Tourism Selangor. People who would just take me out and show me around Selangor as if I’m a foreigner. I can’t say how thankful I am for having such awesome people supporting my dream.

The best thing is that, my friends are now even more excited to go on an adventure in Selangor with me like they’ve never been before. That alone I think is an achievement itself.

It has been a humbling and cool journey thus far.

One I keep learning and growing from experience to be a better person.

Here’s a big hug to everyone! Muah 🙂

Hidden Acrobats.

October 26, 2010 | daniaryezel

Just when you think life is all about routines and schedules, just take trip to Pulau Ketam (Crab Island in English) which is situated at the other end of Selangor. Take my word for it, this is one trip that’s worth your time and soul.

It’s been a long time coming this one. Me and my ultimate gamer friend Hafiz had planned this trip for a very long time and finally got our heads together to go last Saturday. It’s usually the last minute plans that works for me, I just don’t know why.

Quite surprisingly, not everyone knows the existence of this island here. Which adds an air of mystery even more to this little place.

We decided to start early (what with the unpredictable weather and all), as early as 8.30am and instead of driving to Port Klang like we would to any other place, we decided to throw ourselves out there with the locals. That means, ditching the car at KL Sentral parking lot, take the KTM train to Port Klang and the speed boat from the jetty to the island.

I always believe to get the best stories, one should be a part of the society, which means taking the public transportation. Taxis, buses, trains, .. you name it. These are gold mines for great inspirations!

KTM ticket from KL Sentral to Port Klang is RM8.60 per way and it takes about an hour to reach to the last station (depending on the train speed, it’s inconsistent).

Be prepared to stand because every train is usually pack with passengers. On average it’s pretty cool inside, unless if the air condition is down .. that’s not going to be a pleasant ride. While we were inside, I was happy to see many of the passengers were reading to kill the time. There were many printed materials on the panels for one to read too. Jokes were among the most common one you’ll find in the train.

When we arrived at Port Klang, armed with very little information about our destination, we came up with a strategy – to follow this particular traveler who we assumed was also going to Pulau Ketam. Hafiz who did his research prior to this trip had mentioned that on average, there are many photographers who visit the island for some photography sessions. I guess last Saturday wasn’t in their plans.

Soon as we got out of the station, we saw this building with big sign “Jeti Pulau Ketam” and immediately headed for it. Much to our chagrin, that wasn’t the place we were suppose to take the speedboat/ferry to the island. We managed to ask one of the lady staff and she instructed us to walk on the other side where the actual jetty is located.

So here’s how you get to the jetty from the train station:

As you walk out of the train station, turn right where you’ll see an empty land with blue panels blocking the sea view. Keep walking until you’ll see an opening/entrance with the ferry/speed boat sign board. Then make a left into the entrance and go straight ahead. Voila!

Apparently there are two ways to get to the island, you get to choose either a speed boat which takes 30 minutes to arrive for RM7 per way or the ferry. And the boat ride ends at 6pm on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays; 4pm on weekdays.

No worries as the attendants are friendly and the seats inside are comfortable. You could even watch WWE matches throughout the journey. Along the way, you’ll see many fishing boats, villages and mangroves. Something you won’t see while you’re in the city, that’s for sure.

The salty air is one that you have to get used to and when you do, in an instant the air smells like normal. So for the very sensitive nose, this one can be a challenge for you but hey, it’s au-naturale. Can’t beat that!

When I found out that photographers who visit this island love to take black and white photos, it just doesn’t register in my mind. Why? Because everything about this island is just so colourful. It’s vibrant colours from one person to the other, one house to another. So it makes more sense to capture the lively spirit in it’s original state.

I knew people in this island are used to tourist going in and out of their territory but I didn’t know they were as friendly and warm. The first person to talked to us was Miss Na, who was on her bike and dressed in vivid colours. She probably represented Pulau Ketam to the core.

Oh yeah, besides walking, your only other mode of transportation here is bicycle. That’s RM5 per bike for rental 🙂 But we preferred walking, just because we wanted to experience this area without missing a spot. Besides that, you might wonder if there were crabs around the island since it’s named after this creature and I’m glad to say yes, they were crawling sideways everywhere on the sand. Heck, I got to see salamanders crawling too. Not too excited for that one actually.

I love the wind. It was breezy. It was also hot. But not as humid. Or maybe I was to stoked about being in the island for the first time? You’ll be the judge of it when you get there.

If you feel like staying for the night or more, there’s only one hotel called Sea Lion waiting for your presence. And it’s just a short walk from the jetty. About 2-3minutes? If you’re a fast walker, you could even do it under one minute 🙂

Only been there for a few minutes and I already loved the things I experienced. Not only was this island quaint and charming, it’s full of character. You can find good food (naturally) here, that is a sure thing.

Don’t forget to bring long lenses as well, you might never know when it comes handy. Actually you’ll need at least two types of lenses, then you’ll be satisfied with what you capture.

As we walked deeper inside, we discovered the many little things that were not around in the city anymore. Those old school junk food I used to buy when I was a kid can be found here. Such a joy! I was ecstatic to find my childhood chewing gum, Marukaw a’s Fusen Gum, that still costs 10 sen per piece, fish/prawn crackers and fried ice cream 🙂 It’s like a mini food land here.

Cheap yet very good food land.

You might be surprised when you enter the island, it seem quiet and lonely but when you get to the market, you’ll find the rest of the population hanging around there. I cannot stressed out how friendly these people were while we were there. It didn’t feel like a Malaysian thing (sue me for saying this but I’ve always grown up knowing the unfriendly people) and suddenly it felt effortless to put on a smile or say hello. In fact, you can wave all you want too. Which I did and was reciprocated 🙂 Hey, I really like it here.

If there’s one thing I could say to describe Pulau Ketam is that, it’s a kampung life, a much more basic (not to mention super bright) kampung life than the ones on other parts of the country. How basic is basic? I realised as we were walking along the path, many houses didn’t have big furniture like sofa or coffee table. There’s cabinet but I think that’s one of the necessity ones. Then I wondered why and figured it’s probably due to the fact that it’s hard to bring it in. It could get to the jetty but the rest of the way, you’re on your own carrying it in the narrow streets.

Besides these things only takes up more space and it’ll only feel crowded for them. Therefore, they apply the minimalist concept, which I highly agree. For convenient sake, that is.

As we were exploring, we found a few attractions that one could never missed out on. There’s a Buddhist temple and a very pretty police station with mountain bikes parking outside. It’s possibly the prettiest police station we’ve ever seen. For the Muslim, the surau is called Balai Islam (I initially thought it was some Muslim station) when it’s a community hall instead. So I learned something new.

From my observation, I find that the community here are very tight. Just about everything in this island involves the community. They were the ones painting the buddhist temple garden or have a chess club for people to play.

Now, that’s one thing the city lacks and could learn from. I’m pretty sure everyone knows everybody here too.

It was so easy to be ourselves and take in the peaceful mood Pulau Ketam exuded. The docks were available for anyone to chill out and simply experience how simply life could be. That was what I learned from this trip. To simplify our life is to know what’s essential and what’s not. In reality, we could do so much without the things we have now but because we were so consumed with materials in this world, many a times we are blinded by it.

I love when a place I go strips down my belief to it’s core and show me the importance in living. And I like it the way Pulau Ketam is; secluded, mysterious and charming all wrapped in one. I wouldn’t want it any other way, and hopefully it will remain the way it is.

I thought I’ve seen it all while I was in Delhi with a small motor vehicle crammed with half dozen people. I didn’t know we have our own version of acrobats too! 😉 Amazing eh?

As we walked further inside, we were welcomed with an array of dried fish. I’ve not seen this one before, I mean the process. I’m so used to the after product that it didn’t occur to me to know how it looks like before it was fully dried. The smell was overwhelming the first few seconds, and then eventually I got used to it.

It is a kampung life this one.

But we could only do so much walking for 3.5 hours that we needed to get something to eat. And behold, the best seafood in Selangor..well one of them. I like to believe to enjoy the best crabs, one should go to the island of crabs to be feasted 😛 So yes!

This chili crab is 1kg for RM40! Ours was RM48 for the extra weight. Look at that! I’m drooling as it is. Bah! For that price, you can’t get it anywhere else in the city. Yeah baby!

We wanted to order deep fried battered squid and butter prawns but..we decided to devote our life to the crabs instead. And wouldn’t you know it, Fish gave up 1/3 of the way. Thank god I’m a massive crabs fan (especially since I don’t have my braces on anymore)..so I managed to wipe it clean for the two of us! That was some hearty meal alright. Possibly the best. It’s just finger lickin’ goooood.

Thankfully, we still have space for dessert and I promised that we would eat the fried ice cream before we head out back to reality. So we did!

If you grew up to Japanese comic Doraemon, you might recognise the look of the fried ice cream looking like Dorayaki. Only instead of red bean paste, it’s ice cream 🙂 It’s just yummy! While walking back to the jetty, we managed to witness people unloading things from the boats.

To watch them work with smiles on the face as they sing song or make jokes was a breath of fresh air to me. I’d love to apply that to whatever I do. It shows the spirit they have and it was such a precious moment to capture.

On the way back to the train station, we found a lady selling fresh steamed corns 🙂 Oh yes, this has always been one of my favourite street food to purchase. I grew up going to night markets for this! And now, after so many years, I finally get to relive it. Walking while indulging in the sweetness of the corn. Yeah, the perfect end to our trip indeed.

I love every minute of it.

Guten Nacht

October 6, 2010 | daniaryezel

It’s been said too often that where there’s a beginning there is an end. I like to think only this chapter has ended and new one is in the works. For some of us, this is like an adventure of a lifetime, others an opportunity to mingle. For whatever reasons it may be, I don’t think it could have been done any better.

Ok, that part probably can do without the worst jam in Klang Valley – Taman Tar’s traffic jam.

If you must go to this area during peak hours, I advise you to study the alternatives to avoid this mindless traffic jam. If possible, avoid at all cost; especially during Ramadhan.

We were late by 1.5 hours stuck in the jam and headed for the wrong destination. All is well after because as we reached at the lower end of Ampang’s lookout point, we were told to make a run and take whichever car to Haven. (Hehe, I like how that sounded)

This particular part, with heavy rain to add, made the whole scene looked like it came from Amazing Race. Just a little bit of thrill to wake our tummies up 🙂

Yup, you got it right. Our final destination for the grand dinner was at the top of Ampang’s Lookout point. The one place where I find solace in at night if there’s a need to get away from the city’s rush. And also to indulge in the food stalls by the brink of the lookout point.

Despite the many times I’ve been up here, this was my first time to go to Haven Restaurant. After all, there’s always a first for everything right?

The moment we arrived at the entrance, we were embraced by all of Haven’s staff! There were photographers taking our pictures too! To this fifth day, I’ve yet to get used to this sort of treatment.

As we walked further inside, we saw this hanging on the building across us. We were also taken away by their preparations for this Grand Dinner that we were late for. We felt really guilty for holding them back because we were told Haven closes at 10pm.

We arrived at 9pm.

Nonetheless, they were all smiling and receiving us warmly. We signed our name on the guest book and were given (our 6th) goodie bag! This must be what those celebrities go for when there’s events around eh?

We came here because of the view too!

I don’t think we could asked for more with our seating arrangements strategically facing the city skyline. Even if you’re not in a good mood, you won’t be for long when you lay your eyes on this majestic view 🙂

I think there was a good reason why we were late. Had we arrived as scheduled, we would be basking in the coldness of the heavy downpour and would not be able to see the skyline at all.

As part of this grand dinner, Encik Anantharaj Appanan, the Managing Partner for Haven Restaurant gave a welcome speech to all of us. Hey, it was a pretty nice feeling to know that people around have recognised the power of blogging (although where I come from, it’s called the dinosaur blog era). It was really good, being here with everyone.

When we arrived, we were given a menu to choose our main course. The entire list sounded so delicious, it made me indecisive for a moment. Not to forget, a long list of drinks to choose from too!

After we ordered our main course, we headed to the buffet appetizer and desserts. When you know there’s Lobster Thermidor waiting for you to feast on, you’ll do whatever it takes to not delay it. Otherwise, there won’t be any left for you.

Ah lobstaaahhh.. how I love you so very much 🙂

The very dish many who are close to me know I’ll go crazy for.

Just as we were picking out the various appetizers on the table, Haven’s waiters served our main course as well. So what does this mean? Full speed ahead when eating! My chicken chop was super yummy, that portion alone took me a while to finish. I can’t imagine what I’ll be like if I had ordered the ribs!

I think even Kings won’t be able to finish this! Just look at the portion. It’s an amazing race on it’s own. Why? Because Sy, Max, Thristhan and Dylan who were sitting on our table decided to have a ribs battle among themselves. You should see how the battle started! Now this is what I call food fest! Heck, Dylan and Thristhan even went for second helping of the ribs. It must have been finger lickin’ good for them to feed themselves more even though they were already full.

We were also entertained by One Night Service solo Razlan Saharuddin, Kak Ning, Hafiz and Wen Yi (I didn’t get to take your photo!) throughout the night. The best part was when Kak Ning took the mic and took control of her audience. Even Haven stopped in their tracks and listened to her tongue-in-cheek comments. She should be an emcee on the side too.

We laughed, we sang, we smiled, we cheered, we took (a lot of) photos and we celebrated.

Haven couldn’t have been any more sporting than to wait for the dinner to end towards midnight. Kudos for that!

We were very fortunate throughout this journey to be able to enjoy what we normally wouldn’t have stumbled upon. And here we were, making memories that will forever be embedded in our minds.

Oh, there were more goodies for us to bring home before we left Haven – mooncake by Casahana and an umbrella from Haven 🙂 More reason to hit any strangers who tries to do anything fishy. Hehe. Not to mentioned the vouchers Haven sponsored for the 10 of us too! I’m sure this is not the last time we’ll be here.

That night, I think none of us wanted the night to end. We lingered on the deck for so long hoping time would move slower than usual. Alas, everyone will have to go back to reality the day after. Starting with Alid‘s super early flight. He had to leave us all at 6 AM and we didn’t get to say proper goodbye.

The many times I’ve been to the lookout point, it has always given me good memories. It started of as one and this grand dinner will only add one more into the collection.

It was a very merry MySelangorStory Monday for all of us.

Oh! Before I forget, I’d like to thank Tourism Selangor crew for driving us up and down that night! The things they did for us 🙂 Everyone’s just awesome! Wee.

So Day 6 is coming by fast. Let’s see how I manage to conclude the week with one single post 🙂

I would love to hear what you have to say or if you like this post enough to vote it, head over to MySelangorStory/GutenNacht.

Devil May Care

October 5, 2010 | daniaryezel

Secretly, I think MySelangorStory is trying to convert us all into food bloggers. The amount of food we ate.. even kings don’t eat this much. Breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea, dinner and supper. Although, it is a good thing to eat 6 times a day as it burns more calories…(granted) if we eat moderately. Looking at the rate we were going.. moderate was a little bit further behind, I think.

Then again a schedule like Day 5, we probably needed all the energy so right after our “break” at Tropicana Medical Centre, we went to Frames, a concept restaurant outside Sunway Pyramid. There were a lot of trendy bars/restaurants and clubs around this area that I didn’t know. Some are very interesting but because it’s “trendy” therefore in a couple years down the road, it’ll be yesterday’s trend instead.

This Frames restaurant has an interesting concept. Like the name itself, the walls were decorated with multiple frame with photos (assuming they were all taken by different people). That was really nice actually.

It’s got this contemporary minimal design theme going along the place with a dash of victorian-esque feel to it. One theme you’ll see used by fashion boutiques around the city. It’s just one of those “in” thing at the moment.

The thing is about trends, it comes and goes. Following a trend is something I don’t really like. However, we live in a world where trend is taken seriously. I like to think that if you create a timeless idea, you’ll be assured to never be forgotten. And not be used too often by others too.

Frames is a place I’ll recommend for the camwhores. Because of it’s decor, it makes such beautiful photos for people who love to take photos. That’s the ticket to get people to come 🙂

The way the menu was presented on the table makes it feel somewhat like being in a wedding, a little dainty touch which is something different from the other restaurants. A nice presentation, I must say. It’s a very design-y place. Would be a great attraction to those in the 18-35 years old group of people.

We had to choose among the many ala carte dishes to eat for lunch. After seeing Spectre‘s dory, I think that was one of the good choices. My spaghetti pomodoro sauce was a little too thick to digest. Tomato base pasta is usually lighter and easier to eat if you were to compare it with cream base but this was close to the creamy side. A little bit sad that I couldn’t finished it. Maybe I’ll come and try the grilled dory next time 🙂

After our heavy lunch, we were given with an all day all parks pass to Sunway Lagoon. Considering half the day had passed by, we only had a few more hours to spend in the theme park. This theme park is actually pretty huge, much much much bigger than the few times I’ve visited before. So it takes at least a day to cover the entire place.

This all parks pass is worth RM100 excluding RM10 deposit for the wristband(which we only found out when we read the fine prints at the back of the ticket) and a few other rides in the Xtreme Park. You’ll get a discounted rate if you have your MyKad with you. If you would like to rent a locker, it’s RM5.

Now that we’re covered with the ground rules, we didn’t want to waste anymore time not using this pass to the maximum.

Don’t forget to apply sunblock cream on your skin. Even though Malaysia’s weather is unpredictable at times, I would advised you to use it anyway.

Thank god for Denise who brought her sunblock along in her backpack. Although I got tanned after the Sunway Lagoon escapade, I would’ve been darker without it 🙂 The first ride we all went together was the Grand Canyon River Rapids. A ride I’ve been dying to go for ages and I finally got to do it!

We then went to this giant slide thing that my heart insisted in taking a plunge out of my chest while sitting on the float. Sorry Nicole for causing your back to hurt God that was really scary. Super duper scary 90 degress down the slope! Holy mother of all crazy rides.

Since I’ve already established myself regarding not being the fun-est person on earth when it comes to theme parks, I immediately took the liberty to take care of other people’s belongings while they go for the other mad rides and horror house.

They even went to this ride that went 360 degrees. Crap.

They are truly the daredevils living among us. I must salute Wen Yi for her tenacity to brainwash me so that I’ll go for the rides but she too gave up in the end 🙂 I like watching people. So I don’t mind standing on the side 🙂

This is just beyond madness. I may be crazy but not crazy enough to go to all these rides. Haha! Yes call me chicken or as Alid would say “Fried Chicken”, it’s allllll goooooood baby.

Crossing the world’s longest suspension bridge wasn’t as frightening as I thought it would be. I manage to walk and look down at ease. Canopy bridge is a whole different story! I don’t even know how I got to walk all the way from the lowest level right up to the top alive.

On the suspension bridge is where people can do bungee jumping. Err, excuse me, what?! On the suspension bridge? Right. Okaaay.

Tian Chad went for it and even at his size, as he dived downwards, his head dipped into the pool. A little bit scary that one. If you really want to go for bungee jump, please head over to New Zealand instead. There used to be one in Menara Kuala Lumpur but not anymore. This is one of the rides you have to pay, RM50 with MyKad. Well, at least it comes with a certificate 🙂

Flying fox looked cool. That is, if you’re willing to wait for 2 hours queuing up.

There’s the reverse bungee but it didn’t looked as extreme as the one I went at Menara KL. A tamer version but still not for the faint of heart ok? It’s an awesome ride nonetheless! I had fun being in it. Thrown off to the sky in a ball 🙂 Crazy crazy.

We then decided to queue for the All Terrain Vehicle(ATV) and archery. Both are free to try with our passes. I’m aware that the ATV in Sunway Lagoon is nothing like the real ATV experience in the jungle but because it’s ATV, I’m all game for it. Like the name itself, it’s called ATV Scenic trail so you’ll be able to go around the park on a quad bike.

When it was our turn to ride it. I noticed the guide who rode with us only told us the stop/start button and breaks. And not to place our legs close to the engine. Then we’re off. Mid way going through the red earth trail, Alid wasn’t able to control his bike and hit the divider.

THIS WAS WHEN I GOT PISSED.

Not at Alid. But at the management of Sunway Lagoon.

Thankfully when Alid lost control of his bike, he was opposite me, so I was aware of the situation. Why would I be losing my mind over some little thing? Because.. those who hasn’t ride an ATV before will have this natural instinct to stop the vehicle by placing their foot out. WHICH IS A DEFINITE NO NO.

Any qualified instructor for ATV knows this for safety reasons.

I quickly asked him to lift his foot off, didn’t want his foot to get injured by the tyres or worst the hot engine. All the guide in front of me did was just look for a moment and then told him to steer it the right way. Things like this wouldn’t have happened had we were briefed properly you know.

Nevermind that.

After the ride was over, I saw Spectre walking uncomfortably. He told me his back heel hit the tyre when he tried to stop the bike with his foot.

HMMMMMMMMMMM…….

I rode an ATV along with my other 3 friends in Kemensah, in the jungle with mud, in the rain, on a steep hill with massive holes inbetween for 2 hours and none of us came back with injuries or had accidents. Some of us got stuck in the mud but that’s a given. And this is because the people who run the ATV Adventure Park are all professionals and stressed the importance of safety before/during/after we got on the bike.

Honestly, nobody wants something bad to happen to them so the only way is for everyone to play their roles. Then if anything did happen after that, it’s just meant to be.

Later, Some of us decided to go on the trampoline. It looked fun. And it was fun for the first few minutes. It’s one of the activities that challenges your stamina (with the harness on that is). Because there were 3 of us on the trampoline and only 2 employees working, one of us had to be suspended because they couldn’t manage 3 people at the same time.

This was when I started to feel the pain creeping from the harness. As they tried to shuffle between the 3 of us, someone else was left behind. So it wasn’t fun anymore. Max even got stuck in the middle as the 2 employees were arguing in front of him and left him suspended on his own.

Now I can understand why Sunway Lagoon injury stories comes up more often than any other theme parks. Their own management were not even focusing at what their doing. No, actually they weren’t even doing their job. Go figure why there’s death stories happened in this theme park before.

Sure, Sunway Lagoon is not responsible for any injuries or death happened to the visitors but such a thing wouldn’t happened IF their own employees were hands on with what they are suppose to do.

It’s easy for us to spend our money for entertainment, especially with the kind of “facilities” Sunway offers but seriously, with this kind of treatment, I wouldn’t want to spend any more money here.

I do hope the management will take this issue seriously. I believe it would do wonders to everyone on their side and their visitors 🙂 I’m sure the rides were really fun but safety is very crucial when running a big place like this.

With so little time left, we all rushed to the hotel to get ready for our Grand Dinner. I’m not kidding when I wrote Grand. Hello, Lobster Thermidor for appetizer yo!

My last post for Day 5 Part 3 will be dedicated to our awesome sponsor at….. oh you have to wait for the next post for that 😉

If you agree, disagree or feel indifferent, come share your views with me 🙂 I’d love to hear them. And if you think this deserves a vote, click MySelangorStory Day 5.

The Light Root

October 3, 2010 | daniaryezel

Motion sickness is a very uncool thing to have when traveling. It is the enemy to any traveler!! Having said that, it’s pretty obvious I was one of them. So how did I combat that devil while going through another 3 hours to Sabak Bernam?

Sleep. (Prays to God no one took picture of me sleeping in the bus)

I had to force myself to sleep, which is unfortunate because Gilbert, our resident driver drove along the coastal road (that explains the extra long hours journey) and I missed out on the many paddy fields scenery throughout the journey.

Pfft.

So anyway, when we finally arrived at Sabak Bernam .. we were dropped off at the Dorani Home Stay. The event I was patiently waiting for because home stay being home stay, it means all of us will have to stay with our foster families!

Secretly, I was also waiting for this moment because with the kind of treatment we had given by Resorts World Genting, I wouldn’t know how some of them would react to this. Wanna know why? We’re literally put in the middle of a kampung (village) area so far out from the city, our only option is to adapt.

Oh yes, I was soooooo looking forward to this stay indeed!

It has been like what? A decade I believe since my last visit to this place (or was it Kuala Selangor?).. one day my dad drove us to a place similar to this during raya to visit someone. I couldn’t recall who or where but I knew it was in Selangor and the house was built around the paddy fields. Imagine the look on my face at that time when I saw the long lushes green paddy fields. Wished I took a picture of that.

Anyway, back to MySelangorStory..

as we got down the bus, we were welcomed with kompang and bunga manggar. Now, this particular custom is usually associated with Malay weddings or something more formal. Naturally, I thought we were going to a wedding 😉

Boy, we were celebrated alright.

On top of that, we’ve got the youngsters performing a traditional dance called Kuda Kepang. And wouldn’t you know it, yours truly with 5 other girls and 6 other guys were taught to do this dance too.

During this perfomance, I was sitting next to Alid and he told me about the cult life of this particular dance back in Java where he lives. He explained to me in detail the rituals done such as eating live stocks alive and other mystical related things. It was pure gore to know where this dance had originated from. This dance was then introduced in Johor back in the days and the story behind this dance was based from the battles illustrated from the Quran. It was one of the methods used to attract people to Islam long long longgggg time ago.

However, considering we all are humans. We tend to misinterpret things.

As Alid and I discussed further of this dance, it reminded me of another traditional dance called Ulek Mayang, which in certain part of Malaysia is made into a cult dance that has a similar effect to the one in Java. What kind of effect you might ask? One can be possessed by “something” even without one’s knowledge. Actually many of our dances which originated from Java have their own stories to tell, one many of us might not be ready to hear.

If you want to know more about it, make sure you’re spiritually strong to absorb it 🙂

After Kuda Kepang, we were introduced to the Barogan dance. It’s a folk dance based on Nabi Sulaiman a.s life as he could talk to animals. When I saw this dance, it immediately reminded me of the Barong dance from Bali. Do not be mistaken with these two dances, although I must admit there were characters/parts that were similar. Barong is a mythical character and is wrapped around Hindu characters. When I compare both of the dances, I can see how even the most trivial things in life has it’s own history background. I couldn’t think of anything better to learn history than to watch these dances. And I was lucky to be able to watch two different dance with similar traits from different cultures.

It simply spoke volume.

Got me thinking how come some of us could act so low against other people. After all, we came from the same source.

As soon as the show was over, we were all teamed together for the home stay program. Nicole and I were room buddies again! Our foster sister who met us was Kak Ani.

Now, this was when the conflict occur. See, I’m 25 and I look nothing like one. Kak Ani is also 25 and she looked matured for her age. Because she was referred to Kak, automatically my brain was programmed to call her that yet I couldn’t comprehend it. How did I managed to fix this glitch in my brain? I made myself assumed she was born in January, a month earlier than me so that the title fits. Problem fixed!

Thank god our bags were able to fit in her Wira which were loaded with plates (we later found out that she does catering) when she initially wanted to send us one at a time. Oh no no, we made ourselves fit in it rather than making her go back and forth.

Since my dad’s kampung in Kampung Sega, Rantau is the perfect image of what kampung life is about, with wooden house to add.. I was at ease being here. Only this time with paddy fields to envelope us throughout our stay.

The moment her car was parked next to her house.. I saw THIS.

What one earth was that? That my friends is how ketupat (packed rice) looked like when it’s boiling in a pot.

YES FOLKS, my (yet another) dream is about to come true..or at least I made sure it would. Being the person that I am, I asked Kak Ani if she could teach us to weave ketupat. When she said yes, I swear the sun was shining with me. No kidding.

Can you imagine the (already silly) smile that she managed to carve on my face? Sorry, no photo of that tho 😛

We quickly took our bags and went into our designated room. Chucked it at the corner, went out and met Kak Ani’s mum, Puan Haliwati.

Maybe God was having so much fun that he decided to amp the mood one notch higher.

Why?

There on the floor laid a bundle of palm leaves calling us out. Sheesh. Talk about temptations.

Yes, I also managed to pester Kak Ani’s mum to teach us this dying skill. We were told that Denise and Wen Yi had to stay with us because their foster mum could not make it in time for their stay. Both of them were also just as excited when they went into the living room where we were diligently trying to weave two strands of the palm leaf.

They say the more the merrier right? This certainly fit the description alright. Even Kak Ani joined us weaving.

Now, considering we never weaved a ketupat. It is understandable to see how difficult it was for us to do it. We sat there, Denise even recorded grand master (our foster mum) weaving and still couldn’t get it right..until 2 hours later. Yes yes, two incredible hours to weave TWO ketupat. How productive is that? Despite it all, we were very very very very very verrrrryyy proud of ourselves for getting it right (of course with lots of help!). Kak Ani confessed, she too had only started weaving a few weeks back during Raya. But for a beginner like her, the ketupat took form in mere 30 minutes. -_____-

Even the one I managed to weave looked like an alien. Oh well, I’m still stoked the fact that I finally know how to weave a freaking ketupat! Hip hip hurray!

Hats off to two of our most awesome masters for being very patient with us through the whole session. Of course we weren’t spared with the witty remarks of having very stiff fingers.

Well, this brought me back to my first few weeks of my guitar lessons. Boy, that was some torture. But I’m sure, if we get to weave more often, we’d manage to pull off a ketupat in 30 seconds (like our foster mum). I think.

During our short stay, I managed to listened to both mother and daughter communicate in Javanese. I don’t think I’ve ever been in the company of one before so this was yet another cool discovery. We were also told of their family background from Java. They were apparently royalty descendant but something happened in Java so Kak Ani’s grandfather ran to Malaysia instead.

In just a few hours, my brain was already busy retrieving facts.

After that grueling session, we were served with kampung food which they had cooked for us earlier.

There’s one dish I never tried before which is called Pejari and this was cooked with eggplant. It’s a certain dish that tasted sweet but I wasn’t sure how it was cooked even though it was already explained. Not bad at all.

Right after dinner, we had to rush to see the Firefly at Kuala Selangor.

In one of my previous post, I had mentioned about being able to do many things listed in my to-do list. This was definitely one of them. I think it has been 5 years since I wanted to check this place out but never got around to do it.

Now that I was able to, I was pretty damn excited indeed!

This is yet another dying breed. So to protect this species, we were not allowed to take photos with flash or make too much noise. Fireflies love mangrove area and the only way to see fireflies, we have to sit in a boat.

Before we got into the boat, I had learned yet another lesson in life.

To set the camera settings to Auto so other people who aren’t familiar with it could take our photos. So this was what happened when I didn’t set it to Auto. Let’s just assume it’s an artsy fartsy thing ok?

One boat can only fit 4 adults. If I’m not mistaken, it’s RM10 per person. So Citra, Victor, Spectre and I got to share this once in a lifetime experience together.

I already knew about this particular fact – that it is hard to take a photo of a firefly with a steady hand or tripod (in a boat no less). So I wasn’t so disappointed with the outcome, I much rather enjoy this moment I have watching with my eyes instead of behind the lens.

This little amazing godsend creatures are something I tell ya! When you have a glow on your finger moving about, you won’t remember anything else but the little fella. It could just zen you out in an instant!

See the yellow/green glows in the photos? Those are the magical creatures. I really don’t know why every firefly preferred to hang out on my steel strap watch. What is it about this texture that they like so much anyway?

Be careful not to pinch them. They’re very delicate. Killing one of them is like killing one of your own family.

Since Optio P80 doesn’t have long exposure, I managed to record a video of my experience 🙂 A short clip actually.

Amazing isn’t it? The feeling I got when a firefly lifted off from my finger was nothing short of magical. I just felt like one of Disney princesses in the old movies. Yeah that was a lot of fun indeed. We were laughing sitting in the boat as we did our best to attract the fireflies.

After the boat trip, we were briefed about fireflies in the auditorium room. See, I never told anyone about what I discovered when we entered the Firefly park which was sponsored by TNB. You see all these artworks plastered all over the park? These were the very work I had to help Erman, my Art Director in my first advertising company 5 years ago (who is also my mentor, one of the few people I look up to). That very year, TNB was going all out with campaigns regarding fireflies, spreading across Hari Raya, Deepavali, Chinese New..everything from tv commercials, press ads to billboards. This was his brainchild from the very beginning and I was very lucky to help him when I did my internship and then absorbed in as a permanent employee.

Every firefly brief by TNB was strictly Erman’s, up to a point we ended up calling him Man Firefly. So to actually see the real work being displayed for the public to see (and hopefully appreciate) was an added bonus to my visit. Didn’t know it was still there after 5 years! And it still looked just as good as it was first printed. Bravo Man!

We left the park around 10.45pm and was immediately told by Mr. Hafeez that there was a surprise waiting for us. Turns out to be Satay Hut at Tanjung Karang. The effort we Malaysians make to get good food. It didn’t matter if we had to drive to the other end of the world, if it’s good, it’s worth going for.

They were delicious indeed. Succulent. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. But I’m a beef satay fan and I’m sure the beef must’ve tasted delicious. This place supposedly serve satay twice the size compared to the normal satay. There’s another place synonymous with satay in Selangor too. It’s in Kajang.

I don’t know how we managed to finished two rounds of satay but we did anyway and was also late to arrive back to our foster family. We arrived at Sabak Bernam around 12.30AM. We apologised to Kak Ani for waking her up so late at night to drive us back.

Our Saturday was an eye opening experience indeed and I enjoyed every minute of it too.

With tired mind, body and eyes, we slept on our queen size bed at the same time wondering what Sunday will offer us next.

Day 3 Part 2 comes to an end.

If you think this post deserves a vote, vote it here at MySelangorStory Day 3 🙂

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September 30, 2010 | daniaryezel

Come to think of it, there were many things I checked in my to do list while going for this MySelangorStory tour. One of them was to visit i-City. I got to know of this place through numerous photo albums uploaded by my friends on facebook who had visited i-City. Didn’t think I’d come to this place this soon though 🙂

What were we doing there you might ask?

Well, the plan was to dine at i-City. But little did we know, they had set up the dining area in the middle of the digital of lights park for us, and wouldn’t you know it, the only other person who had dined in that same spot was the Sultan.

Truly, we were welcomed like kings and queens indeed. Let’s not even talk about feasting like one yet!

As we got off the bus, we were greeted warmly by the staff of i-City, something I still couldn’t get used to. Such warmness should be spread around to every Malaysians everyday. 🙂

After the presentation about the developments of i-City, it made me realise that Selangor really plans to move forward with technology as it hopes to be the IT hub for everyone. What with the exceptionally fast internet speed, I couldn’t think of any better reason not to drop by here. Oh wait, there is one other good reason actually. But we’ll get to that stage later.

So i-City wants to be the leading animation studio in the future eh? It’s high time since the economy has been moving towards advance technology and what better way to bring in more income than this right? I shall wait for the day when Lucasfilm hand picks a Malaysian animation studio to work with them 🙂

Hey, one can dream right? Oh, we have so much to catch up with the rest of the world!

After the short presentation by the CEO of i-City, Mr Eu Hong Chew, we then were adjourned to our dining area which was at the park. I’ll tell you one thing about myself that the world already knows – I’m a sucker for steamboat.

When we went to the our tables, we found out that they were serving us seafood steamboat. Double joy! God, you should have seen the size of ’em crabs. Goodness. It was huge..and juicy too. Yummeh. I could still remember the taste of it 🙂 After all, what is Malaysia without good food right?

Because 70% of the population at my table were girls, we couldn’t finished the food as much as we had hoped to. However, we didn’t put the food to waste by simply adding them inside the soup. We just added according to our consumption instead. That pretty much took roughly about 1.5 hours of eating before we went into food coma 😉

But that didn’t stopped us from moving about around the park. It was too inviting to not explore!

You know, the whole time I was there, there was only one song that was played in my mind and I thought it fit so perfectly well as their anthem. U2 – City of Lights 🙂 I think that will be my official i-City soundtrack. Being here in i-City got me thinking how amazing it can be in the years to come when they have completed this project. As of right now, it’s still in an infant stage but with the right dedication and ambitions, I think it’ll be a leading hub indeed. Hello, free wifi with fast internet speed is enough to lure you in (especially if you’re staying nearby).

Best part about this place would be the LED lights surrounding the park in all shapes and forms. Hence the Digital Lights park. It does have the whimsical feel to it. Although, I’m not sure what T-Rex was doing at the end of the park tho o_O. In a nutshell, this park caters to all ages – young and old; a place you have to visit at least once in your lifetime.

Just so you know, the park opens from 8pm to 4am everyday. FINALLY, Malaysia has a park to call it’s own without worrying about being caught or have curfews.

Since it is new, the entire place is still what I like to call a prototype. At least for now. There’s a small scale snow room for everyone to wander around. This room will eventually has it’s own section somewhere in the park in a bigger scale – think Mines Wonderland’s Snowland. Yeah something like that. Brrr..

As usual, wherever I go, it’s usually the people that I love observing. They make an interesting subject to ponder on ‘cuz you’ll never know when someone you don’t know can make your day by doing something you didn’t expect. So, it’s really no surprise that a lot of my photos I took consists of other people.

And it’s only in Malaysia that I’ll get refused when I asked for permission to take one’s picture. At least that’s what happened when I approached one of the visitors at the park. It was my first time being rejected for a photo but that didn’t deter me from taking other people’s photos.

Then I saw this group of girls happily posing in front of (assuming) their favourite band.

They were such a sport! I couldn’t help but intrude in their comfort zone. Of course this time, I had improvised my approach (actually I was misunderstood) as they thought I offered to take their photo with their camera (which I did) and then I clarified about my true intention. Luck was on my side since they didn’t mind me taking their photo 🙂 Thank you girls!

If there’s any lesson I learned from this even it would be not to give up and always find alternatives to do something because there’s never just one way of doing it.

Then, I walked around and saw this particular shop at the corner lit up with so many vibrant colours. Suddenly, I felt like a kid again seeing these toys coming alive with the lights. After browsing through the many incredibly awesome things they had, I walked out satisfied with a magical orb/ led lit translucent bouncing ball for RM10 🙂

And apparently I wasn’t the only kid at heart around here .. as soon as the rest of the bloggers saw me with this orb, I managed to persuade one of them to get it too. The power of indirect marketing! Heh.

Behold, the magical orb!

Nice eh? 😉 Well, you know where to get it.

After that, we were brought to Uptown Shah Alam to enjoy the night bazaar at Seksyen 24. If it weren’t for MySelangorStory, I don’t think I’ll ever know this place ever existed. There were many people outside waiting for us to drop by. For a moment, it did felt like we were some famous people.

Wait, En. Aizul Hisham explained further about uptown before this night bazaar thing came around, it started off as a funfair. Don’t we just love the ’80s? I used to anticipate funfairs when I was younger. I’ll get excited whenever I see Ferris Wheel standing tall. Then in the 90’s it became a pasar malam. Moving to the new era, it is now a night bazaar with sturdy structures for all stalls. Here you can find all kinds of things. Believe me when I said all kinds of things – there’s a shop selling fighting fish in plastic containers and snakes.

Oh yes. Those ..err..no neck monsters are in Uptown too. *runs away*

Jass Cafe was our last pit stop in the bazaar that night. We had some refreshments to keep us awake, at least enough energy to take a look at what Uptown Shah Alam is all about.

Always expect the food stalls to be up and running till late because if there’s a business that doesn’t die, it’s the food business. Case in point. It looked so good, I was tempted to get some but..I was too full to eat anything that night.

We were entertained by Irwan Shah as well as a local magician in some hidden corner of the area. Also featuring two people from our group (names shall not be mentioned :P). Ah, it was a nice way to end the night actually.

By the time we reached the hotel it was close to 1AM. And everyone was busy mentally jotting down what to write in our blogs.

Since the rule was to blog our journey on the day itself, P1 W1max was our official broadband provider and gave us each our own broadband to use. Unfortunately, it doesn’t run on Mac OS. I was a sort of let down by it since I can’t use it. Hopefully they’ll be mac friendly in the future

And that ladies and gentlemen was how we spent our Thursday.

On a side note, it’s be really really realllllyyyyyy awesome if you could vote for me (daniaryezel) at MySelangorstory/like-qings-and-kueens for the posts you like 🙂

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