Monday, December 9, 2013

Rest-In-Peace-Paul-Walker



It has been quite a long hiatus since my last post as I am taking an overseas life exposure in Down Under. I will be writing more about my life experiences in near future but today I just feel like sharing something inspirational to me.

It is about the tragic death of Paul Walker at the age of 40 in a car accident on 30 Nov. He was the passenger in the car driven by his friend, Roger Rodas. I am one of the peoples that falls in the category of just aware about his cast in Fast and Furious but did not watch any of the sequels as I am not really into fast cars. It is just so happen that I Google about his tragic death and found a lot about his life stories and contribution. Unlike other celebrities’ death news that would just come and go after a while, Paul had something that makes me feel like sharing this out.

Image taken from Twitter @FirdaFaraDianit

Image posted by Pinterest by ROWW, Haiti 2010 Earthquake

His big heart, humble attitude and care greatly touched me. I guess the reason why I do not really know him is that he does not like to be in the spotlight and chosen to be in low profile. Even his house is not like those big celebrity houses that you usually see.

I came to aware that Paul Walker formed a non-profit charity organization known as Reach Out Worldwide that acts as a first responder to provide relief to victims in disaster-hit areas around the world such as the recent Typhoon Haiyan in Philippines, Illinois and Oklahoma Tornados, Indonesian Tsunami and Chile Earthquake. Even so, he kept himself low profile, getting his hand dirty to help the people without asking any accolades. Such a humble action and good deed are seldom seen from celebrities. I hope that his legacy will continue to grow. Check out the charity organization in the below video link.

https://www.roww.org/

It is so touching to know that he secretly bought an engagement ring worth about $9000 to an Iraq war veteran and his girlfriend after hearing that the veteran cannot afford it in the jewellery shop he visited. He told the jewellery store employee not to reveal his name and it was kept secret for almost a decade. The store employee finally revealed Paul’s generous act following his death.



His life stories intrigue me due to the fact that he had similar interest as mine such as photography, nature, animal and ocean lover, travel, outdoor activities and conservation. It is also so coincidence that he loves marine biology which is also part of my dream. As being revealed by his friends and social worker, he was homeless before and stayed in the street. Due to funding reason he did not complete his marine biology studies but always intended to be a marine biologist some days. Though he did not get to complete his studies but in way he managed to get an opportunity to be involved and enjoyed the Great White expedition in 2010 National Geographic series which is sort of dream come true to him.



I believed that he crafted all his good personality through his own belief, family bonding and hardship during study life. I had seen many celebrities that their personality swayed towards the “bad side” when they experiencing sudden fame and wealth but this is not the case for him. He put family as an important role in his life, planning to end his Hollywood career and was completely dedicated to make up the time to be with his daughter that he missed during her early years. His peers and friends found him to be such a good dude, warm, genuine and empathy.

It is great to hear that the production of Fast and Furious 7 will continue. Hours will be his last full movie set to be shown in theatre on 13 Dec.

This is a man that I hardly know much, with big heart, down to earth, and selfless without asking for any recognition is truly inspirational. He had brought positive impact to many and he will be greatly missed. I believe God created him for such purpose. The world just lost a good one. RIP Paul Walker, RIP Roger Rodas and my condolence to their families.

Check out his tribute
By Fast and Furious

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Penang-World-Music-Festival-2012

Penang-world-music-festival-2012
Penang-world-music-festival-2012
The 3 days Penang world music festival 2012 event recently held at the quarry recreational park, Botanic Garden Penang. It was a great treat for music lovers to enjoy various bands around the world.

Bands from Mongolia - Altan Urag, Bali - Gus Teja, Vanuatu - Kalja Riddim Klan, Ireland - Beoga, Russia - Loyko, Colombia - Maite Hontele, Afrika - Guinee Percussions, Kelantan - Geng Wak Long and many more came to perform and introduce their unique musical talent to locals and visitors.

Personally, I truly enjoyed the event especially from the Gus Teja and Altan Urag bands. Gus Teja music rendition injected lots of traditional elements and their musical choice delivered a very soothing feel to the environment. Whereas the Altan Urag band was quite unique in the sense that they were using their throat to produce unique sounds to the music.
Gus-Teja-World-music-penang-2012 Gus Teja
Gus-Teja Gus Teja
Altan-Urag Altan Urag

A moment of darkness with only candle lights during earth hour ...
Earth-hour-at-world-music-festival-penang
Tori-Ensemble Performance from Tori Ensemble from Korea
Kalja-Riddim-Klan-1 Kalja Riddim Klan from Vanuatu
Kalja-Riddim-Klan-2 Kalja Riddim Klan from Vanuatu
Guinee-Percussions Entertaining performance from Guinee Percussions Afrika
Guinee-Percussions-Penang-World-Music-2012 Guinee PercussionsBeoga-Ireland Beoga Ireland
Maite-Hontele-Penang-world-music-festival-2012 Solid and well experience performance from Maite Hontele Columbia
Maite-Hontele-Penang-world-music-festival-2012-a Maite Hontele Columbia

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Penang-International-Dragon-Boat-Festival-2011-PIDB

Dragon-Boat-Penang
The 32nd Penang International Dragon Boat Festival 2011 or PIDBF 2011 is one of the grand sport events held annually in Penang, Malaysia. This year event took place in Teluk Bahang Dam on 11 & 12 June 2011.

Penang-International-Dragon-Boat-2011-02
Dragon-Boat
PIDBF-2011-02
As usual, many participants around the world such as Australia, Indonesia, Philippines and newcomers from Guam Island came to compete with our local rovers i.e Pacific West, PDRM, Angkatan Tentera, Penang Island Paddle Club and Anak Malaysia in this renowned event.

Australia-Dragon-Boat-Team Australian Dragon Boat Team

Australian-Dragon-Boat-Team-02 Australian Dragon Boat Team

Indonesia-Dragon-Boat-Team The Indonesian Dragon Boat Team are strong and post a great challenge to other rovers.

Pacific-West-Dragon-Boat-Team Pacific West Dragon Boat Team...One of our local favourite...

NUS-Dragon-Boat-Team Even team from universities such as NUS from Singapore came to compete this annual Penang dragon event.

PDRM-Dragon-Boat-Team PDRM Dragon Boat Team

The races are opened to men, women and mixed categories cov ering either 250m and 500m distances.

Here goes some highlights of the day...

Penang-International-Dragon-Boat-2011-03
PIDBF-2011-03
PIDBF-2011-04

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Laksa-Janggus-Kg-Perlis-Balik-Pulau-Penang

Laksa-janggus-balik-pulau-01
Today, my food exploration continues with the famous Laksa Janggus located at Kg Perlis in Balik Pulau, Penang.

Laksa-janggus-kg-perlis-balik-pulau This malay laksa stall is frequented by many Malays from the neighbourhood. Even Chinese and other races also come to experience this mouth watering laksa.

Laksa-janggus-balik-pulau You can choose the standard or the special at RM2.50 and RM3.50 respectively. The latter has slightly bigger serving and includes egg.

I would rate this laksa to be highly recommended and is on par with the famous Chinese Laksa in the Balik Pulau town. The stall opens everyday except Wednesday from 3.30pm to 7.30pm. Besides the laksa, they also serve other types of food such as the koay teow or bihun noodle soup as well as the fried banana.

Pisang-goreng-balik-pulau
This fried banana or commonly called as pisang goreng locally, is another popular delicacy in Laksa Janggus.

You may want to know how to get to this Laksa Janggus Balik Pulau. I was using the Jln Sg Pinang route from Balik Pulau town. There is a left turning to Jalan Bahru (Jalan Baru). Turn into this road and just follow the road that leads to Pulau Betong. You can see the Laksa Janggus stall on your left just beside the road before reaching Pulau Betong.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Moontree-47-Kopitiam-in-Penang-Heritage-House

Moontree-Penang
Rather than gooing for the usual brunch in Penang, I gave a try in one of the coffee shop in Georgetown. This coffee shop known as Moontree 47 is located along Jalan Muntri. What amazed me about Moontree 47 is the shop being part of the heritage houses in Penang. It is a nice place to laze around and enjoy the cozy atmosphere.

Moontree-Penang-01

Moontree-Penang-02

Moontree-Penang-03

Moontree-Penang-04

Below are some of the antiques and decorations of Moontree 47.

Antique-Moontree-01

Moontree-Penang-Decorations-01

Moontree-Penang-Decorations-02

Moontree-Penang-Stool-Decoration

Souvlaki There are quite a selection of food menus and I took the Souvlaki as my main dish. Food is okay but I personally feel that the main attraction of this place is the old Chinese style architecture and its surroundings. So, why not give a try to this place while enjoying the heritage trails around Georgetown?

In near future, Moontree 47 will have homestay and I am sure that will attract many visitors.

Monday, February 21, 2011

My-dog-sheep-cow-and-rooster-encounter

Sometime back during the Chinese New Year in Feb, while visiting my family members, I took the opportunity to snap some interesting creatures around my hometown and my in laws house.

Beagle Don't be fooled by this cutie beagle look. He is actually my brother-in-law's pet and we called him Nickki. His eyes looked pitiful but that is his usual tactic to get our sympathy to allow him to go into the house. He is extremely greedy and for such reason, when we allow him to go into the house, the first thing he will do is running to the kitchen to search for food. This type of breed is extremely intelligent and having very sharp sense of smell surpassing some other dogs such as fox terrier. No wonder this dog is used to detect drugs smuggling. Nickki is about 4 years old now which equivalent to roughly 28 years old of a human being but still very playful at his age.

rooster In my hometown, I encountered this healthy looking rooster stood boldly on the greenery. This one was cackling for a while which left me wondering what on earth did the rooster cackling in the evening. Isn't it suppose to do that as part of the morning call. I guess the world is turning upside down and this rooster also got himself confused. Probably, he was trying to show off to the rest of the chickens.

Sheep
Not far from this rooster stood this dirty looking sheep. The rain just stopped and clearly showing this sheep completely drenched. Rearing such animal in the tropical hot and humid climate in Malaysia does not seem to make the cut. Nobody is going to buy the wool. Anyway, I found it interesting to look at this uncommon animal in my neighbourhood.

Cow-staring Adjacent to the sheep is this cow staring at me. I had to be cautious as she looked quite fierce and at any instances, may charge towards me. I found out that this cow is a friend to the sheep. No wonder she is staring at me while I was taking the photograph of the sheep probably thinking I was trying to harm her good friend.

Coincidently, all these four animals fall under the 12 Chinese zodiac animals.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Pulau-Betong-Penang

Pulau-BetongLast Saturday, I had an exploration around Balik Pulau and Pulau Betong. I discovered quite a number of places that I have yet to visit. One place that excite me is the fish market place at the last junction before going into Pulau Betong. Fresh fishes, prawns etc can be found around the market. Behind it, there is a fishing pier full of fishing boats. That brings something fresh for my photography collections.
Fishing-Boat-Pulau-Betong
Monitor-Lizard-01 A frequent visitor sharing the same source of supply around the Pulau Betong fisherman pier....

Repairing-Fish-Net-01 Repairing the fishing net is part of the routine job for the fisherman.

On my way back, I spotted a guy observing the river bank in preparation for his fishing activity.

Getting-ready-to-net-fish
Fish-net-casting Here goes the action. The fishing net casted onto the river with the hope of netting some fresh fishes for dinner.
Man-casting-fish-net
Casting-fishing-net
Fish-catch Here goes the fishes caught by the guy.

Pregnant-cat Guess what? This cat gets some free shares of fishes by this kind hearted guy.