Monthly Archives: April 2011
american airport hopping
dug up some pics from the romp in america last year. this is when all you airport geeks sit up straight.
in chicago.
in washington.
let’s play a game. who can name me which airport this is? :D
Norrsken ~ Frigg
another band that gonna be jamming at rainforest world music festival this year. i swear, i can listen to these fiddles all friggin day long.
Jūra krāca, jūra šņāca ~ ILGI
god! how super awesome is that?!!! the band is from latvia and plays mind blowing psychedelic folk music. dude, i don’t speak latvian either, but i can totally rock to this sick beat!
ILGI will be rocking it at this year’s rainforest world music festival. this is exactly why i go back to rwmf every year!
rest in peace, aunty alice.
this post is dedicated to one of the strongest and most motherly people i have ever known. my friend, aunty alice. someone who greeted me with a massive hug, gleaming eyes and the loudest cheer every time she saw me, no matter where we were, no matter who was around us.
late in her age, she was diagnosed with cancer. but it never stopped her from living life exactly the way she wanted. right through her 60s, she strapped up and tied her own ice skates, enjoys a frothy glass of teh tarik at mamak lepak sessions, kicks the ass of rude people, brings tubs of healthy fruits and veggies to share with friends and most importantly, laughed out loud. it didn’t matter if you are a child or adult, a manager or a janitor, she treated everyone with the same degree of friendship. you might think that sometimes she’s out of place. but the queen is never out of place. and aunty alice was the queen of everywhere she went.
i adored aunty alice’s stories. to me, i’ve found someone who represents that length in the span of life, and came out of the other end still kicking, still laughing. makes me feel like things really can’t be all that bad, can it? that no matter how sick things may be right at this point, if someone like her can look at life in the eye and refuse to be defeated by what people do or say and still uphold morality, then everything in between must actually be … well … not all that bad after all.
aunty alice passed away last friday night at age 72.
i had my last conversation with her yesterday, as i sat on a stone bench near her casket. i gazed at her smiling face as she showed me all the paper structures that would accompany her to the next world. she’s going to have a car. with a driver, of course. and a house, with lanterns hanging out front. and a satellite dish sticking out on top. and balconies with large doors so that she could let the outside air in. and i could not look at what’s inside, but i think … no, i am quite, quite sure … that there is an ice rink inside that house somewhere. and she even though she would have a host of servants, she would still be lacing up her own ice skates. and the house would always echo with her laughter.
♥
Why was I born with such contemporaries? ~ Oscar Wilde
i am sure that sometime and damn, i hope sometime soon, this string of super crazy weekends will just cut me some slack and just for once, let me sleep in until i get all sore from rolling on the bed all day long.
don’t get me wrong, its all been the good kind of busy. the great kind of busy actually. catching up with friends. working on my music. some charity work. some creative work. waking up with passionate purpose. late nights laughing out loud.
i love the pace. loads of things coming together and life feels rich. there is a value in the hours and there is always something to look forward to.
ah, these are pics from our first setup day for this year’s kl photoawards, as spied on by steven‘s phone cam. gonna be an awesome show on tuesday. you should come!
oh, but for some sleep! please! sigh, makes monday seem like an absolute killjoy, kan? :P
whereinsoever’s guide to langkawi essentials
yesterday, i found out that some friends from the other side of the world will be coming over to this side of the planet and will be visiting some of the islands since, well, it will be island season by mid year around here. and langkawi is on the list. thing is, i ALWAYS get asked about langkawi and all the basics of where to stay and what to do etc. well yea, i have stayed in langkawi for like, a year when i was teaching there. gosh, that is another story of its own. heh.
anyway, so i decided to write it here so we all can keep this in mind kalau nak gi langkawi. there’s my top five tips on langkawi essentials.
where to stay: this is usually the toss that people have. unless your allergic to water and have the sole intention of buying corningware when you are in langkawi, stay in the town center itself, pekan kuah. there are some pretty decent hotels in pekan kuah and they’re all walking distance from each other.
but seriously lah, you did not come to this island for this. you want some sun worshiping and you and you want to get wet and salty at the beach. yea! and you want to be where eateries open all night long and where the party’s at, yo. so you really want to stay at pantai cenang. resorts, hotels, motels, backpacket chalets, they’re all here. this is where the fun’s at. this is where the party’s at. this is where you want to stay. here or the a little more upmarket pantai tengah. but really, smack in the middle of pantai cenang is where you want to be.
there can only be one, and i mean one reason why you would not stay in pantai cenang, and that would be if you are on a honeymoon dan yang sewaktu dengannya. and you want that privacy. and i really mean, you want that intimate, anti-social mood set. then you’d pick either to stay at the burau bay or the tanjung rhu area. by the beach. almost quite isolated. very romantic. private.
tip numero dos. rent a car. langkawi is very drivable and cabs can be expensive. gain your freedom. rent a car. in my personal opinion, the airport is a good place to do this for this singular reason: all the car rental places are all side by side and they all battle each other out to give you the best deals. if you don’t like how one rental company sounds, move on to the next counter ad the offer gets better and better. only thing to remember is to make sure that you have a malaysian or international driving license. in my recent visits, the police have been on a romp for people driving illegally. also, keep in the speed limit and wear your seat belts. seriously.
hotel and car dah settle, now you have to make sure that you got sun block. i know that this sounds like picking on the nitty gritty, but i have seen friends burnt to lobsters because they ignored by sun block tip. if you don’t pack anything else (uh…) make sure you pack sun block.
and now, some of the best langkawi experiences to have: the cable car ride up to gunung mat cincang. a serious architectural wonder. and i don’t say that often yo.
next, galleria perdana. an amazing collection of the stuff that former PM tun dr mahathir mohammed collected during his 20 odd year reign as prime minister.
ok next, keep this next three words in mind: pantai pasir tengkorak. dude, this is where the locals hang. bangun awal-awal, go to pasar, buy some charcoal and api and ayam and sausage etc and some and barbecue with the locals. concrete barbecue sets are already built in and all you got to do is come over, claim your set and grill. the waves are this beach is nice and strong and i like it. even if you tak barbecue, its a decent place to picnic. and thennnnnn, lepas the beace, drive down the road over to temurun waterfall! :)
if you got moolah to dish out, go on one of the sunset catamaran experiences. so cool. especially the ones that have the salt water jacuzzis. which is actually just a net that they throw out at the back of the boat and you sit in it. very very cool.
besides this is all the stories about langkawi. the whole island of legands gig. which is actually very fascinating. i think that if you go to langkawi without learning about the stories of the islands, you’re just really really sad. the story of mahsuri. the story of the two mountains, gunung mat cin cang and gunang raya. the story of beras terbakar. the story of the cave of legands. and banyak lagi lah. so as my final tip, i say find a local. any local. have a drink by the beach. and listen to their stories.
so there you have it, my take on the absolute essentials of langkawi. and seriously, don’t forget the sun block.
bring on the weekend, NOW!
i have not slept for more than six hours straight since i got back from copenhagen. i know that it is almost friday midday but i tell you, i have had to absolutely heave myself around these few days. especially yesterday which was sick, man. and this morning. damn, driving to work was one of those psychedelic things i would really have preferred to be under the influence experiencing, you know what i mean? having a hangover for no reason whatsoever feels like such a waste.
if i sound like a druggie going through withdrawals right about now, i assure you that it is not it. at least the druggie would have something to withdraw from. this is like like… like making love out of nothing at all. there i go quoting air supply. weirdly, i have been hearing that song so many times on random mediums over the past few days. i am sure that the forces of the universe is trying to tell me something. i wish they would just cut it out with all the metaphors. spell it to me plain and simple. and don’t give me any of that running on empty shit. tell me something i don’t know.
