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| Im back in Malaysia, joyous and tired as ever. And the holiday seems so short, and now back in reality, getting the fact that finals is just 5 months ahead. When people tell me how fortunate I am being a student while we can enjoy life, I kinda doubt that. Maybe it's just different when u're in a semester programme and the legendary screwed up Uni. London external programmes. Oh well, gotta give thanks that I could still go on in higher education, so I better just keep quiet. Blame myself for not trying hard enough in SPM and having the thought that I will definitely screw up in STPM. Hence, I shall continue treading my journey, through the tough challenge of external studies. Cambodia and Vietnam, a nice place to visit, but definitely not in 12 days through the whole country. U'll end up being much more tired than before the 'vacation'. I shall codename this trip as : Eye Opening Journey.
Why would I name it such a way? I think one of the main reason is, that life ain't that difficult here in Malaysia as compared to them. And also of course, carrying a camera in hand, running through the streets, snapping pictures along the way makes me happy. That reminds me, again, that i'm in the wrong course. I feel that im standing at a crossroad of life, thinking which way to go. Friends older than me always think that i'm having some crisis over life, cuz I've got no worries at such age. I have no idea why, but it exists, I don't know which way to go. Prayed hard for the Lord's guide, but seems that He's working in His time, and I shall wait for it. Way before the trip, some idea of 'writing a book/journal/publication' came up. Decided to do so before I board the plane, hence the camera was the most important thing as compared to the other luggages. It was then reaffirmed when someone, Jaime, one of them from our group, had the same idea. Probably a blog would be a good start. The group consist of 6 people, which is recommended. Easy to find rooms and also just nice for an MPV cab.
With honour, I shall present their names :
1. Naomi - The Leaking Naomi
2. Sau Chein - Cicak-Girl
3. Ling - The Boy
4. Jaime - Honourable Geisha
5. Mark - MIA Mark
6. Shu - Me a.k.a. Vomitting Boy 
Ok, let's not talk about the names. I know it sounds cranky. It takes a thousand words to explain how the names came by, and therefore I shall open it to interpretation. This may be a good guide for BackPacking through Cambodia and Vietnam, if you're searching for a trip that feels like Amazing Race. It's an amazing grace that we survived this trip. LOL. DAY 1 - Flight from KLIA - SIAM REAP at 11am. The flight take 2 hours, in a stupid old 737 plane, by MAS airlines. The seats are small, the pilot sucks, and most importantly, the air stewardesses are not pretty. =p
The pilot is not good, bad control of the aircraft, can't get a good control over the aileron, bad landing and bad taxiing after the landing. Not recommended. 
After landing, get a cab to Siam Reap town. There will be many touts waiting outside the airport ready to make business. Play safe, go to the counter and request for a taxi. Be prepared to get all sorts recommendations of hotels and guest houses, and eventually, they might drive u straight to a guest house that he could make some side income from our stay. So, just go with the flow if you like the place, or you could go with your own choice referring to the Lonely Planet guide book. 
Recommended by 'THE 6' : Dead Fish Guest House.
Sounds dead, but it's alright for a place to put a night and the location is good. Food stalls are near, the Central Market is near and Siam Reap Park is in walking distance. The lobby looks a little dodgy but the room is quite comfortable. It's 18USD per night for 3 pax, with attached bathroom. It's dim-lighted, nice place to lepak and talk.
After checking in and some rest, go out and walk around. Check out town and how well managed traffic they have. The park is nice with a hotel bigger than the royal residence. We're on Amazing Race so, we raced to the Tourist Info Centre and start asking bout the bus ticket from SR-HoChiMinh. Got it at the price of 20USD per pax. Remember to check out their map and also the legends, it's extraordinary and definitely fascinates you and puts you in awe (as shown in picture). After securing the seats, go walk around again. You can see lotsa people selling Baluts, fetal-ducks in the egg, along the streets of SiamReap. Get a hat if the sun is burning (recommended by THE 6). 
Watch the time, get back to the GH (Guest House, not general hospital) by 5pm. Get a Tuk-Tuk as booked by the GH to Angkor Wat complex to watch the sunset in Phnom Bakheng, which is one of the temples in Angkor complex. Bring your camera, or you'll rather die if you don't. You'll see people from around the world there, and it's difficult to get a good shot with lotsa heads in front of you. Walk around, go places where no one is around and you might get a good snap. Careful of land mines though, many examples you could see in Siam Reap, don't walk into the bushes, you might lose ur leg, or you might get lucky to lose you life. Your Tuk-Tuk will be waiting for you down the hill, and search slowly in the darkness. By 7:30 you'll be back in the GH. 
 
Take a bath or a rest, then go out for dinner.
Recommended by THE 6 : Dead Fish Restaurant.
They don't serve dead fish. They serve good food, Khmer food, Thai food, and also the legendary SCARY FOOD. Interesting menu they have. They print funny stuffs, like SCARY food, and some blatant truth : "some traditional Khmer food needs some MSG". Hillarious! Anyway, the food is good. There will be a live traditional Cambodian dance every 30 mins. The ambience is great with dim lighting and seatings on many different platform levels. Something special and new to experience. The price is slightly higher than average (in the context of earning RM3.4 for 1 USD). But worthwhile for good food, with good atmosphere, to make a good dinner. 
After the dinner, don't go to sleep and to churn more fats in the body. Go walk around again.
Recommended by THE 6, also by Lonely Planet : The Night Market.
Cool place, a different night market as compared to the Malaysian Night Market where people will shout, "Mari, mari... Satu kilo satu ringgit!". In Siam Reap Night Market, you'll find lotsa handcrafted stuffs. From dresses, blouses to pillow casings and wall decos. Some traditional Khmer stylo which is quite interesting. They will quote a VERY high marked up price for tourists, so read up the "Bargaining 101" by Naomi Cha. (not in your local bookstores). Do contact me for more informations.
Stones and Silverware is a good choice, for the price is relatively inexpeinsive. Of course, you'll have choices for either "Heavy Silver" or "Not-so-heavy Silver". Those are the english they use there, so our guide will bring u closer to the real environment. Be prepared to hear funny phrases and words uses. 
After running around in the night market, you'll probably be calling it a day, after the failure pilot's landing > walking up the hill of Phnom Bakheng > Bargaining for the price in the Night Market. So, go to the nearest One-Stop-Shop and grab an Anchor Beer at 0.60 USD, gulp it down, and back to the GH for some rest. It's gonna be as early as 5.30am to Angkor Wat, to catch a glimpse of the sunrise. It's gonna be the same Tuk-Tuk driver for tomorrow and they'll be waiting outside the lobby, ready to fetch u by 5:20am.
So, it's good night and sweet dreams 'till tomorrow. -End of Day 1- Stay tuned for Day 2!
(to be continued ... ) | | |
| Dusty... my blog is dusty. *cleaning with vacuum cleaner and feather duster* It's been a very long time since I blogged something here. Had been addicted to my games after my holidays. Gosh, I need to spend more time studying rather than to look at the stupid 'box' (CRT yg buruk) and start shooting at each other. Pretty stupid, yet it's fun. Fun things are never good, and good things are never fun. Things in the world are always paradoxical. *sigh* It's always for humans, but probably God thinks otherwise. Sometimes, I tend to ask myself, "is it easy being a Christian?" I find this question pretty tough. I would say that, it's easy to BE a Christian, simple as CBA, C - Confess, B - Believe, and A - Accept. But a life after that would be ... up and down. No doubt, we do face persecution, almost all the time, and temptations. Not an easy way to walk on, BUT, the journey through the path is beautiful. Have you experienced God? Have you found yourself lack of faith in certain times? The last Saturday was the Telok Panglima Garang Rainbow House's VFC. It started on Friday and ended on Saturday. God gave us a great teacher who led the whole VFC, sista Li Hong. It's been a pleasure to serve together with her and her husband.   On the Saturday night, the children invited their parents, and they are required to serve their parents with dinner. One important thing that non-believers tend to misunderstand, especially chinese parents, is that they think that Christians don't respect and care about their parents anymore after believing in Christ.
Why do they think so?
- It's because we Chrisitians don't make a plate with names of deceased and 'pray' in front of them.
- cuz we don't 'feed the dead' (ambiguous) 
But, let me refer to the Bible. In the Ten Commandments of God given to Moses, per Exodus 20:12a it was stated that "Honour you father and your mother". If you had studied on the Ten Commandments, you will realise that the previous commandments are referring to God Himself, and RIGHT AFTER THAT, He commanded us to honour our parents. Which could be interpreted as God 1st in line, and parents come the 2nd. And by this, I shall render the mindset of "Christians don't honour their parents", as void. 
Coming back to the question, have you experienced God? I would say that I had. God reveals himself in very subtle ways. On the last Saturday evening, right before the dinner started, the sky was D-A-R-K and thunderstorm was approaching. It was obvious and a reasonable man, yes, that's me, would see the rain coming and start moving the tables of food into the canopy. We kept saying words of prayer while working, and guess what, the dark clouds dismissed after about 20-30 mins !!! It might be a coincidence right?
NO ! IT IS NOT! The clouds dismissed to the left and to the right, and the only place clear is right above the Rainbow House. NOW, THAT'S WHAT I CALL GOD'S GRACE!  
God reveals Himself while we're working for Him. He comforts us when we're aching and strengthens us when we're weak.
Have you experienced God?
When God calls you, would you and I say "Affirmative" and go the distance? A question to ponder upon. | | |
| Election is over, I won. End of story.
One thing that I've not felt, is the joy after winning the election after the hardwork of the campaign. It's indeed something weird, I would say. People do come by and ask me whether I celebrated for the winning. I took some time to think before I wrote this blog. Took a few days away as a volunteer for a camp in Serdang. I looked at this election as a calling. A calling from the Majesty to be the salt and the light of the nations. Jesus taught us to pray. He taught us, "give us today OUR daily bread". Many don't realise that it's OUR, not MY. People out there are still starving, craving for the grace of the Lord to reach them, and how could we call ourselves Christians when we had taken the Lord's grace and compassion for granted?!?! Reaching out is the only way to fulfill the great comission. Have we done our part? 
I give thanks to the Lord that He had plans for this campaign of mine. He had given me great hands, great helps from my friends. He had also provided me with friends, that I had never spoke to although being in the same class for a year. It's an eye opening journey He brought me through. Specially, to remember Jason as a great friend and aide during this duration of campaign, had done heaps in order to keep the Lord's plan running. I know there's a plan behind everything. I've not won yet, the battle is ahead. 
It's not about religion in the Law Society, but, to apply the principles of christianity which teaches us to love one another, is the essence to a peaceful nation. Taking care of our "neighbour" is the principle of the Holy Bible applied by Lord Atkins, in the development of the Law of Negligence (Love thy neighbour as yourself). For the past centuries, the English Legal System had evolved from basic teachings of christianity. Can we say that the English law is not good law? We couldn't, because when the law reflects on God's teachings, it is good law. 
If I would to list down names that I would like to thank for bringing this law society campaign to life, this blog would be never ending. Yet, as a matter of respect and honour to these, my fellow good classmates, Petula, Sarah Kate, William, Huay Zi a.k.a. ZiZi, Sean, Christina a.k.a. Ah Blong, Sandra a.k.a. Kucing, and last but not least, Jeremy who would do the work where least people would seek to do (refer to photo posted). I thank the Lord for this bunch of friends the Lord had granted. Anoter person that I wouldn't forget is my queen. She has not grumbled for being busy for the days and sacrificing the time supposed to spent with her, and had always been a motivation for me to go further. 
I give thanks for all the things that the Lord had blessed unto me. Let Your will be done and use me as an instrument for Your great plan! Amen | | |
| Rev. Martin Luther King Jr, who was an activist for the African Americans in the United States. In 1963, he made an impact to the nation, a protest against racial discrimination and promoting justice and civil rights. A march of justice? Does it sound like the Malaysian version of "Walk for Justice" recently? The question to ask ourselves is whether do we have the same dream as Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The dream against racial biasness or religion discrimination? In the days od 1963, Malaysia tend not to have such problems, but 50 years down the line, after our independence, this is the situation. Rights and liberties were guaranteed when we're running for independence, and it was fulfilled. But ... to what extent it was fulfilled? I have a dream, that we nations of Malaysia will call ourselves Malaysians, and having the same status as the other Malaysians. Being able to be judged not by the colour of the skin but by the content of the personality. To the nations of our country, haven't we heard about the Wawasan 2020? What is the Wawasan 2020? Listening to the songs does not help us moving forward to the vision. Our ex Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad had made this declaration of Wawasan 2020, where in 29 years of changes, Malaysia will be a well known country, for the tolerance and the well balanced ethnic distribution in economy. What have we done in order to promote this Wawasan 2020? It is now 2007, and 2 months to go before 2008. 12 years to go before the dateline. Have we made an effort to change things? Did we overcome the 9 challenges that Tun Mahathir Mohammad had outlined?
Challenge 1: To form a nation that stands as one. Challenge 2: To produce a Malaysian community that has freedom, strength, and full of self confidence. Challenge 3: To develop a mature democratic community. Challenge 4: To form a community that has high morale, ethics and religious strength. Challenge 5: To cultivate a community that is matured and tolerant. Challenge 6: To form a progressive science community. Challenge 7: To cultivate a community rich in values and loving culture. Challenge 8: To ensure the formation of a community with a fair economy. Challenge 9: To cultivate a prosperous community. WE SHALL OVERCOME !  
POTs 2007 had been an eye opening conference. Where the leaders of tomorrow are brought together in realising the same dream and heading to the same aim. I wanna thank FES workers for the hardwork they poured out in churning out better leaders and better Christians for tomorrow. You made me think of the song, "Thank you" by Ray Boltz. Where the song speaks about a work done that will be remembered and will be taken into account by God Himself. Jesus said, "feed my sheep", and He did not say it for the fun of it, He meant it, and what have we done for Him?
What a question to ponder upon.
God bless | | |
| Cars are liability, OLD cars are f***ability ... and I'm F***ed by it ... My 'good' old Iswara has let me down. The engine begin jerking again after being idle for a time being. It's a jerk, so it jerks. Old cars are jerks. 1st repair costs 200 bucks, changing the valve seal, 400 for the 2nd time, changing the pistons ring. And still the problem persists. Best thing is, my dad scolds me for sending it to a F'ed up mechanic, while it was known to be the best one in town. Cars with same symptoms were sent in, diagnosed the same way, and it recovered. My car doesn't. Is that the problem with the mechanic? I doubt so. It's irritating enough to drive a car where it squeaks and creaks on uneven roads, and the blardy dashboard sounds like it's gonna fall off. Now you get scolded for not getting the car right. I wonder when will I be scolded for being stupid, and not driving the car properly. Tyres are worn off, and I don't even blardy dare to ask of a change. All I do is to pray, all that I COULD DO, and afford to... Conclusion : Iswara sucks, don't buy Iswara. Same to Saga.
(The P.M. should declare my family as "Patriotic" for having so many retro local made cars, and grant us a new one, like ... Persona <yea, rite> ) *NO IMAGE ATTACHED* | | |
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