Hallo there! I know it's a bit late to update but i went to Pangkor Island last weekend, it was a company trip so i went with my colleagues, it was so much fun! And a nice break too from the city cos guess what? I was back at the beach!!!
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The trip was long though. Bus journey(departed from our office building) took 4hrs to reach the Lumut jetty, where we had to take boats over to reach the islands. That alone took 30-40mins. By the time we reach and checked-in to our beach resort hotel, we were so hungry!!!!
After lunch we started our snorkeling session, it felt good and thrilling too. My first time snorkeling, initially i was scared and hesitant at first but once i got the hang of it, it's a pretty nice experience. The water is clear enough even for my not-so-perfect vision(i had opted to wear the goggles without my glasses, seeing it's pretty tight and might damage my glasses) so i can really see the fishes in the sea =D was so happy! I even touched one of the fishes, it felt weird but so nice at the same time ^^
That said though boats bringing ppl to that particular part of the island to snorkel are quite dangerous though, they just drive up to the shoreline, which is within the snorkeling area. At one time i was pulled up by a person and i realise the boat is so near me, i was shocked ><
There were huge rocks in the area too, and alot of my colleagues got scraped by it while snorkeling...some climbed up the rocks and were grazed by it just like that...the rocks are very slippery! Again i tried to be as careful as i can, and in the end i didn't get any open wounds/scrapes fortunately.
When snorkeling time is up we were taken for a short island hopping tour, not much really the guy just brought us to some islands in the area and showed us interesting rock formations at each island. One island had a rock formation that looks exactly like a whale, another is turtle, and another is crocodile-shaped. So interesting!!! Too bad i didn't bring my camera along so no pics =( the guys said there are no stories behind the rocks; they are naturally formed that way. xD
Then he put us back to the main beach and me and some colleagues stayed back and continue to play water while the others went back to the resort to rest and shower. The waves are quite strong and when they push against you, goodness it felt SO GOOD!! It was so relaxing! The water depth is okay too and i made sure i can always step on the beach floor lols dun wanna get washed away ><
We almost wanted to play Banana Boat but it was RM15 per person and the way the guy play it, doesn't look fun at all so we didn't play. But playing at the shore there is quite fun already! After that we went back and showered to get ready for the dinner later. Was nice able to get out in time to take some sunset photos. It was breathtaking, the view. Sun setting over the sea horizon. Nothing's more beautiful than that xD
Then we all set off for dinner (barbecue) bt it wasn't ready yet(i was thankful we didn't have to barbecue ourselves, someone will do it for us) so we all spread out and walked along the road and visited the stalls selling souvenirs etc. Then we went back to dinner and not quite ready yet, everyone was talking etc and i went off silently alone to the beach.....and had a quiet walk by myself on the dark beach(it was still illuminated by the lights from the seaside stalls and open air eateries so no worries)
Walking by myself on that beach.....it was of course a walk full of emotions and memories. I was numbed by the moment but quite enjoyed the silent walk. After awhile i went back to the group and found the food was ready, so i started eating.
Pangkor is famous for its sea products, esp fish products, and we had alot of fishes and crabs for our meals that night. I also realised they produce alot of fish-related food, but i'm not a big fan of fishes so i didn't buy any...haha...
After dinner ended we're supposed to have a karaoke session but it was an outdoor karaoke session with limited songs(mostly Malay songs lol) so ended up no one sang and we all dispersed again, each to our own activities. However the night is still young (9pm ++ only) and i didn't feel like going back to the hotel and rest for the night yet. But the whole area is turning to sleep itself and there was no entertainment around! After looking through the stalls again we went back to the hotel and sat at the lobby there. The others are sitting there playing with their iPhones/iPads. LOL. Apple fans. xDD
Then at last we decided to go limteh and went out again to drink. In the end we decided to drink beer instead so we all set off and bought a couple bottles of beer and went to the beach there and drank it, sharing between each other. It was a moment i savoured intensely deep inside. I mean....just 2mths back, if u told me i were to spend time at a beach in the night sharing beer with ppl i never knew existed before today, i wud've said that u are crazy! Seriously, u never can guess what will happen in the future...and i certainly didn't expect this. xD
It was quite fun though, some of us sat and lied on the sand, some of us remain standing(me included, didn't wanna get my shorts dirty) but we were there all together, talking, joking among each other, enjoying the night, enjoying the beach, the sound of the waves. Nice experience =)
The most interesting part of the night is that we found glow-in-the-dark particles in the sand as the waves wash up on the shore. At first we thought it was glitter left behind by ppl who might've been wearing glow-in-the-dark clothes(yes they were actually selling those clothes but i'm not too sure i believe it), but when we saw more being washed up onto the shore by the incoming waves, our curiosity were all piqued and we kept searching for more of the particles. The glow will fade after sometime and it was too dark(even with the very bright moonlight) to see clearly what the particle looks like(it felt like sand though!). In the end we didn't really know what it was that glowed, but it was pretty...
Then after that we went back to the hotel and slept... xD
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Woke up very early and went to bfast, another day of Malay cuisine(i had Nasi Lemak Rendang Ayam) and honestly i'm missing chinese food LOL. I ate much mre than i wanted and i felt bad abt it cos we're gonna have a telematch afterwards and i didn't wanna get too full before the match. Went back and changed into sports attire again(was warned might get wet again) and then set off.
I took some pics before the match started(started late too cos the guy was so late ==). We played "build the castle", "blind date" (where one has to be blindfolded and the teammates shout direction to get an object they hid somewhere) and then the old "tug-of-war". My team won and lost one match. LOL.
In the end after the tug-of-war everyone was exhausted and very thirsty(no one bought water) so no more games after that(was supposed to have 2 more). In the end some of us went to play with water and just relaxed, no vigorous activities. I joined in as well but didn't play as crazy as the day before.
Soon it was time to go(we were running late as well) and the results of the match came up: my team got third place. xDD So we rushed back to shower and check out on time, then went for lunch. WHile there we learnt that our afternoon activity of island hopping was cancelled so we all went back early to the jetty, and back to KL. The drive there was madness though!! The driver was driving so fast and dangerous at one point we almost got into an accident when a car on the opposite lane cut into our way. We all screamed in the car rofl...but in the end we all arrived safely. Phew!
It was a shock at the jetty tho cos there is a huge and long queue of ppl waiting to depart the island. We only got out turn nearly an hour later!
It felt awesome on the boat out in the vast sea. And the weather was very good and sunny, it was a beauty seeing the blue of the water amidst the green of the island jungles. Fantastic!
When we arrived back at Lumut Jetty it was still early, and we found out the bus back to KL isn't gonna start ahead of schedule, so we will only leave back to KL arnd 4.30pm as planned. So we all separated and went shopping around the area, mostly to buy local products(more fish products). I didn't buy any cos i really dun eat much fish products and my family was too far away to send it to. So i just tagged along that's all.
Soon it was time to go and most of the time most of the ppl napped in the bus. Haha. They played two movies(one is Norbit which i slept through and another is a local ghost film; we didn't have much choice of movies left) during the journey. Finally we reached KL at 8.30pm and we all went back home after that.
***
Overall it's a good experience for me. Tho it reminds me of an old memory but i love the experience there. I finally snorkelled! LOL!! Had the lifejacket save my ass but still. xDD I thought it was a good ice-breaking session too between all the colleagues. It was fun. Never expect to have a holiday with virtual strangers, but it was fun :)
Monday, July 25, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
709 - The Day I Came "Clean"
Last Saturday, 9th of July 2011, is the day the Bersih rallies are going to take place. Deemed "illegal" by the government, the Bersih group's application to stage an assembly at the Stadium Merdeka was rejected, and they had no choice, but to stage a peaceful rally trying to enter the city and the stadium itself.
What are the Bersih organisation standing up for? Clean and fair electoral reforms. Recent elections conducted in the country over the last few years are blighted by accusations of unfair polling and poll-fixing. It was a whole lot of mess that couldn't be summed up in a book let alone a blog post. The national ruling party UMNO/BN faced a huge 'defeat' after opposition parties won alot of seats everywhere, even as they retained a mojority of 2/3 of Parliamentary seats. A revolution heading our way? BN losing its footing soon? What is the PM and his party going to do now?
I don't wanna go on and talk about how badly the government is reacting to all these political agendas. I'm not going to rant about how stupid i think the "1Malaysia" slogan and all the shit connected to it are. Those are for talks over a cup of tea and with like-minded friends. No, i'm going to talk about the Bersih experience.
I wrote a note on FB accounting my experience through the whole spectacle, but that was just an account of my journey through it all. Not my emotions, the people i met, the distance i ran, the heavy rain, the shouts, and most importantly, the UNITY between the people. To put all these in a singular post in a site where attention span is low, people wud've lost interest halfway reading through. So i trimmed alot of detail, gave a skin of everything.
***
I went at it alone and not entirely prepared(forgotten abt the possibility of rain, didn't check and prepare stuff to counter tear gas), and unlike alot of rally-goers who went there with purpose, to put it simply, i was just being a 'busybody'. The unofficial 'journalist'. I was a neutral; i was at a point in my life where i gave up my country's politics totally, because to me really, their constant bickering and antics and cheap tricks to sway people's alliance is making them the shame of the country in the world's eyes, not to mention being the drivers behind the express that is the country degeneration. My single purpose was to simply take pictures of the event, because honestly, how often is it that i find myself in a 'hotspot' like this? I couldn't just let the opportunity slip away.
So like any storyteller, i tell the story from the beginning; i shot pics of before, during and after the rally. Although they aren't in a preferred proportion to each other, but at least i did it. I tried not to leave out as many happenings as possible. Because really, it only happens once. You capture it, it will last forever....
But you can look at pics, watch videos and can only be limited to imagination....imagine how it would feel like if you're down there with them. And to be honest, being there is a totally different experience. What i felt, right there and then, cannot be expressed in a picture alone. I was living, breathing, adrenaline pumped; the high morale of the marching confident Bersih rally group got to me.
They affected me.
It started when i was first at the UMNO Youth Party group, the so-called "Patriots" of Malaysia. Their noise interrupted my planned advance to the Stadium Merdeka. Their chants, their energy, the way they tried to raise everyone up....the songs they sang(yes, the National Song included), they affected me. But i know and felt that something is wrong. I felt that this shouldn't be the right group i should be supporting, or even watching/marching with them. Something is wrong. Their slogan is wrong. They are shouting "Hancur Bersih!" ("condemn Bersih") even though i felt some pride when they shout "Hidup Rakyat" ("Rakyat Lives"). Yes, Hidup Rakyat means alot to me, because as a rakyat myself, i want the country to prosper and live long, its rakyat living in peace and harmony, and that we as a whole, are proud patriots.
But not under him. Certainly not under this group. They have their own selective rakyat to protect, but definitely not ALL the Malaysians. I'm downright disgusted at myself. Where are the Bersih? Where are my real brothers and sisters? I felt like losing my family, right there and then.
Then suddenly i overheard a media worker that they are just nearby. I was again very excited, like i found my lost family! Blood soaring, i ran in search of them, and finally found them up ahead several minutes later.
The things i did to get to them? Climb a steep, wet slope. Broke into a private property by climbing over its closed gate(because that is the only way to go to reach the Bersih group; police had blocked off sections of the road). Prolly stepped on a couple of people's feet and heard them shout back at me. Gotten pushed by other people as well. But at last, i made it. I caught up to them.
Even tho i didn't start out by purposefully joining the rally, by now i was feeling like one of them. For once my heart felt right! I began to think in terms of "we", like "we marched on!" or "we raised our hands". By now, my heart is beating as one. As one with them.
I didn't chant along, i didn't shout, but i marched forward with them(although it was driven more by the fact that i need to get to the front for some nice pics). I was already having something against the FRU, was silently thinking "now don't you do ANYTHING to us....you can't turn on your own citizens!"
As time goes by though i sensed the breaking point is reached and surely as i guessed, all hell broke loose. The FRU finally threw tear gases at us and forced us to run for our lives. Me coming without any counter measures to tear gases, resorted to covering my face with my bag and shirt. Usually when i smell smelly gases(like fart! LOL) i will not breath thru the nose at all; i will breath through the mouth because if i did i won't be able to "taste" the smell. So i tried and did the same without really knowing the effects of tear gases.
What a big mistake it turned out to be. As i gulped in the now smoke-infested air, the sensation burnt my throat and forced me to choke on myself. I nearly gagged. Because of that natural reaction to outside harm, my eyes opened wide in surprise and it was another mistake: this time the gas stung my eyes. It was sooooooo stinging, i could hardly open my eyes. But i had to, because i need to see where i'm going. I was running away, running for my life.
In addition to choking, there is also the breathing part that is so bad. I felt suffocated, gasping for more air. It gave me more chokes and tears in my eyes as really, there's no air at all. The atmosphere was soaked with the stench and the spread of tear gases. It was raining harder by the second and i was hoping the rain will diminish the spread of the smoke, but it still spread strongly.
People around me were already starting to choke. I heard alot of coughs, and felt alot of people pushing and running away. I couldn't totally watch where i'm going, i just kept telling myself to keep straight and follow the path of people in front of me. One of my hands are on the bag of someone in front of me. I made sure with the force i'm placing on her bag, i won't be pulling or pushing her. In a way, i was steadying her and myself.
Then came shouts behind me to "Stop pushing!" and "Do not push!" There were also occasional "Calm down calm down!!!" "Be cool, relax! Slowly!" I even heard "Ladies first!" Of course, those were shout in Malay. I was touched. Even in the midst of chaos, people still retained some sense and logic and more importantly selfless care in them, to make sure while everyone ran away safely, we ran away unharmed by our own. A stampede is avoided this way.
I ambled a few more meters before i finally thought i couldn't take it anymore, that i was gonna faint and lie down there and be caught by the police. But at the thought of police i surged forward with more determination to NOT be caught by the police. There is a small regret right there and that where i think to myself "look what u got urself into coming into this rally!" but i forced that thought out; i was prepared mentally for a gas attack anyway. My mission now is not to be caught by the police...
It was really hard by now. I've taken the full force of the gas and the pain in my head is pounding. I tried to take deep breaths to slow my own breathing but it was only temporary relief(like 1 nanosecond? LOL). Everytime i open my eyes it was a blur(my glasses are wet and it blurred my already blurry vision) + pain + stinging, couldn't keep my eyes open for mre than 3 seconds. However i manage to spot a man ducking by a water pipe on a wall of the building and i crawled over to the other side of the wall where there is a pot of plant and hid beside it. Up to this point since the tear gas attack started, i never looked back at the police, so i didn't really knw how close/far they were from me. And i don't want to know either.
The man was taking as much water as he can from the pipe to wash his face and body. I did the same too, not caring if the water from the pipe is clean or not(normally, i'm very sensitive to cleanliness!). He left as soon as i came and i followed him, doing what he did; take water and wash my face. Mostly dabbled onto my eyes and mouth, and goodness it felt so much better. I was able to open my eyes more frequently now, and my mouth didn't feel as dry. But the nausea is still there...
A Malay woman in front of me was sprawled on a table choking her lungs out. When i glanced at her i heard a bang and saw someone escaping behind a shop gate just to the side of the girl. I then realise i'm in front of a restaurant! The gate was loosely dropped down and wasn't locked properly(prolly forgot to lock in the chaos of the sudden dispersal of the crowd + tear gas) and i realised it was my only escape route from the horrible tear gas. Quickly i made a dash for the gate and finally found myself on the other side of the doorgate, inside the safety of the restaurant.
I quickly grabbed and sat on the nearest chair i found and took deep, big breaths to calm my own breathing and nausea. There were already a couple of ppl inside. I saw the Malay girl earlier had escaped into the restaurant with me too. I looked around,; it was an Indian restaurant. The counter there is still selling rendang and various meals in economy rice style. I saw some of the people who escaped inside were washing themselves at the sink area in the restaurant. I got up(still dizzy) and tried to walk over and do the same.
A man saw me and came forward putting his hand out for me. I saw in his hands a fair amount of white stuff. Still not coming fully to my senses, i asked blindly "What is it?" My speech was slurred due to the tear gas, but he got me. "Salt," he said, eyes looking at me with concern. Not understanding why he gave me salt, i asked "What do i do with it?" He told me to eat it. "You will feel better.." he assured me. I grabbed a pinch and threw them into my mouth and sat back down.
The discomfort in my stomach eased greatly. For once i was feeling better. Salt! Who would've imagined! I glanced around the restaurant again and actually saw people handing salt out from salt packets they stored in their pockets. So salt was part of the "inventory preparation"! Again i wondered why i hadn't done my homework abt tear gases beforehand. Now i understand why alot of the people were drapping cloths over themselves. Those cloths are not to shield themselves from rain; they are to be soaked with water and to be covered up your face to ease discomfort breathing in tear gas!
As i sat there resting after washing myself up(sharing a moment with the salt-man when i saw him still looking at me with concern, checking if i'm okay. I smiled back at him assuring him i'm fine) i feel like wanting to stay there until everything stops and ends. I want to be in that safe haven. But no...within minutes, the shopworkers advised us to go back out(after peeking through their gate and checking if the coast is clear). I felt a sense of dread.....because it means heading out to danger again. But we had no choice and have to leave, after all we budged in in the first place. So i went out of the restaurant, thanking the Indian/Bangladeshi worker on my way out where he was holding the gate open for us to exit. In that one moment, he was my saviour, it felt like we are on the same side regardless of our races or maybe even nationality, but he helped us, in dangerous times like this. To me that time, he was my brother.
When i was out the rain had clearly became much much heavier, it was downright POURING. Not caring anymore that i'm gonna be fully soaked to the skin and without looking back in the direction of the FRU, i ran. I ran in the rain for my life. I couldn't have been more pumped. At last i seek shelter in a small eatery enclosed by a tent flap. I didn't really see where i was, i just went into a shaded stall and try and get my bearings right.
Only by then i realise i brought my umbrella with me and that i shud use it. Previously i didn't because it will be hard for me to take pics and it wasn't raining hard anyway, so yeah. I took out my umbrella and was ready to walk out of the tent and towards anywhere that i could escape to.
A man saw me and commented "No need use umbrella-lahh! When u run later it's gonna be hard! You're also wet already anyway!" LOLOLOL. But he did has his point. Of course i'm not gonna run while holding up and umbrella...so i just smiled back at him. Really, the advices ppl give you in dangerous times! Ppl seem to be more willing to help/advice when we're all in trouble at the same time! xD Normally, why would a stranger talk to me right? =D
Just moments later though, i saw a couple of tear gas canisters flying towards it. Everyone started to panic again and ran. There was nowhere else to run except backwards and up the slope in the distance. So i ran and nearly got knocked down by a guy who flung open the tent flap to run out, not wanting to be trapped inside the tent with the gas. I was so pissed at that time but scared too. The police are coming and they're not stopping!
So i ran as quickly as i can and finally reached a higher ground, near the top of the slope. I stood there and looked back towards the scene before me. People were still running up the slope but the path behind them was blurry with smoke already. By now the rain had become lighter and i unfold my umbrella straightaway. There were people around me too looking at the scene below. In the distance, i can see water being sprayed very high into the air over the road where we all just escaped from. I realise in horror that they had begun to use water canons too on the people still stranded down there. I heard the water was laden with chemicals, not just plain water. I've always thought it was plain water...
It was there i realised i am on the slope right next to the Tung Shin Hospital. Surely they aren't gonna catch up to us up here?? The people around me were starting to distribute salt again. These people really came prepared! I think i'm the only idiot here who didn't go prepared. LOL. Struck up a little chat with another rally-goer who kept talking about how salt will reduce the effect of tear gas. Told a couple of girls nearby too that they should take some salt(not sure if they know each other, but oh wells it's not important at this stage. Stranger or not, we are the same right there and then. Same victims.) and also apply it to their skin. LOL. It was amusing, but i'm thanking the guy too. He even asked the girls to distribute their salt to a few Malay girls nearby. They gave without hesitation, and the girls took the salt with gratitude. This is what we called "helping each other"!
The calm didn't last long though, as we saw more canisters thrown into the compound where we are now. My mind went "Holy shit!" cos they did the unthinkable- gassing ppl on a private compound!! The police really wanted us to disperse as far as possible! A fact i find funny because they are the ones who blocked the other side of the road, preventing reasonable escape routes! Seems more like they were trying to trap us and catch as many of us as possible!
Nowhere left to run, the only way is up. There is a short but high gap between the slope and a carpark area around a bulding higher up. Like earlier there is rising panic again as people desperately want to escape the tear gas. Luckily for us there were already people up there waiting to pull you up into the compound and escape. Steadying myself on the slippery roots of a huge tree nearby, i reached up and was pulled up to safety by a Malay man. "Thank you!" I said to him loudly and patted him on the back. Then i continued to run. He on the other hand, stayed to pull more people up, helping them to escape despite the tear gas rapidly spreading over the area.
Once up on the compound again we were only left with two paths to take; both having to trek through a huge tree and its various roots and fallen branches. What's worse is there were nails in the debris on the ground; i felt on piercing through my shoe soles and pricking my flesh. Luckily i wasn't stepping full force on my feet, if not, the huge long nail would've cut into my foot causing me to bleed. And that was one thing i never want at that moment.
To reach the other side, which i saw is a huge wide compound, i had to jump off the ground to below. And it was really high up and i wasn't so sure of it cos i didnt wanna break my leg. Fortunately the tree had long vines stretching down, and by clutching onto the vines and hopping down we were able to make it down to the wide compound safely.
It was so nice knowing that while you were at it, there were people asking you to "be careful" "look out for nails!" "do it slowly, take your time, dont rush, just be careful" while trying to hop down underneath. I didn't see who it was, bt i feel good about them. Once out in the wide compound, we began to walk slowly ahead to nowhere. I didn't know where i was at that time. I was lost, together with the others....i came in step with a few ppl and one of them, a hearty Malay man, said "Ehh mana kita pegi ni??? Kampung Baru ke?" (Ehh where are we going right now? Kampung Baru?) and we all laughed at his joke. It was a light moment, and we all shared some laugh and smiles. There were more actually before and after this, that one single moment while on the run together with your "comrades", when you look in their eyes and shared a smile, knowing we are all in such a deep mess, yet it feels SO RIGHT at the time. We BELONGED there. We were fighting for our cause.
Helicopters still flying low above, i heard shouts behind us suddenly and turned around, saw everyone running in our direction trying to escape from something. That something is called FRU and tear gas!!! I finally shouted out a curse "FUUUCCKKKK!!!!" before turning away and start to run away again. One half being pissed at the FRU for not stopping to harm us and another half wondering how long do i still have to run. LOL.
Finally on my right i saw a building and ran towards it together with some of the people. FOund out it was the Bursa Saham building and stopped there to catch my breath and recover. Some people were already taking refuge there. The others who ran with me earlier took other roads to escape instead of within the building. But i need rest, and i was still weak from the tear gas...
Took the opportunity to check on my friends who's leaving KL that day, ending their vacation. They are safely out of the city, thank god. I was actually trembling as i sent text messages to them. I think i spent abt 20mins in the building, deciding where to go next.
There were three ways actually, one back to where we came from, another that spreads to a road junction beneath, which itself spread to two directions: one left, one right. The problem is i dunno which road leads to where, and whether the roads themselves are still safe or not. There was a moment two Malay uncles went past me and i ask them where are they headed to and whether they know where the roads lead to; apparently they don't know either.
Suddenly a huge cough got me and i choked out. The uncle did not hesitate and pulled out his packet of salt and offered it to me "Nah...ambil ni...". I put my hand out and he poured salt onto my hands, but i told him to stop it when i felt it was enough, but apprently he did not think the same way, saying "Taklah....lebih lagi!" when i say "Cukup sudah, cukup sudah!" LOL i really didn't need that much but he poured alot to me anyway. I took some and he asked his friend to give me his water to wash down the salt, and he did :))
After awhile we debated where to go. I told them i want to go back to Kelana Jaya as i heard that they are trying to take LRT back home. They want to go to Bangsar. As if scared i dunno the way, they then tell me how to change trains at Jamek etc etc to get back on Kelana Jaya line. So nice and caring!
Alas we parted ways in different direction, due to them in the end changing mind to take taxi instead. I stood rooted where i was though, right at the junction of the road. Then i saw a group of friends(one of whom i'd chatted lightly to while in the building, discussing where to go) come back to my way. They had earlier went off the road to the right(which will eventually land u in Bukit Bintang) and were now planning to head back to where we ran from earlier, back to Puduraya. Feeling quite at lost, i gave in to them and joined them to walk back up the road.
The girl whom i talked to finally asked for my name and introduced herself as well. Her friends join our conversations once awhile. I guess they're just curious abt me, cos i was alone and everything. LOL they were like "You're so brave coming alone!" which made me embarassed abit, dunno why LOL but yeah. Found out they are a group of surveyors surveying the area and of cos this event. They soon asked me which side was i on. I told them i didn't choose any side, and that i'm just a nosy busybody. =D
They found out too that i like photography(the girl asked me if i'm interested in journalism, after i joked abt being an unofficial reporter) and told me two of their other friends are into photography as well. "Interested in shooting are you?" he asked. I said yeah. "My friend here, that dude over there, likes to shoot too." I am not alone anymore. In this 'troubled' times, brief friendships are sparked.
"Your're not alone anymore! You're with us now!" another girl from the group said loudly to me, flashing me a smile. To be honest i was quite touched at that moment....because she said the truth....right there and then, i was not alone...i was part of something, and whether i had wanted it or not in the first place, i am with them now. Even if i had started neutral, now i'm inclined towards Bersih...and i wanted to fight for them too, together with them.
So we walked until we nearly reached Puduraya again and saw a large group already there and chanting loudly as well. Alot of them are wearing white tho, or draping white cloths over themselves. Quite far and i can't see much. However, despite wanting to join, i wasn't really ready for a second round of tear gas, and i was feeling weaker and weaker too, i couldn't go on anymore. i left the group (more like they advanced in separate groups and i sorta wasa left behind lol) and went back the way to Bursa Saham building, and decided to try the Bukit Bintang road to go home. I want to eat in Times Square and go back home after that. So i started walking....
Then i finally realised where the road will take me. I had just been lost on the same road two nights beforehand while trying to meetup with my vacation friends in Petaling Street. That night i took the wrong shortcut and ended up so far away from my destination. And now..........i'm at the same road!!! U won't believe how i felt at this revelation. Never knew a bad thing that happened to me 2 nights before will serve me so well that day! Because of easy recognition of the particular street now, i was able to make my way back to Bintang and in the end, Times Square to refuel my body(still having minor after-effects of the tear gas). I thought of my friend and called her to let her know i'm safe(one of the few who knws i'm going to the event), also texted the others who knew too. LOL!
After that is back home and nothing exciting except if u wanna count in the time when i reach the LRT station and found out it was closed and had to wait outside for nearly an hr before it was reopened again. It sorta looks like some war camp though. Haha...interesting....
At night i asked my friend out for supper/tea while we sat downstairs watching the evening TV3 news. I was excited to see how they will show the whole incident on tv. To my major disappointment, the only showed minor footages and talk abit abt it only. I felt that alot of the truth that happened are not being reported out. I felt....cheated....and was very very very disappointed with the tv stations. I knew the media are govt-controlled...but after finally seeing and experiencing how much difference there are between the footage and news reported in tv and the real-life event, i finally lost faith in the local media...utter disappointement...
***
Anyway, what i gained from this experience is more than the event itself. In just one day i found out how the people of Msia can be so united, through thick and thin, regardless of race. We helped each other regardless what skin colour we have. I've never felt so united in my life with the other rakyat before. This peaceful rally shows easily the unity between us more than the fallacy that is the PM's 1Malaysia plans. Even the name sounds stupid, if i may say. All that $$$ spent on developing this program(which obviously doesn't work, instead stirred more racial discrimination and hatred) is a complete waste compared to one rally which costs almost nothing and yet still manages to unite people.
Another thing i learnt from this is how shitty our country's media is.....i know most of them are govt' owned, but it really disappointed me how they covered this event. Almost close to none of the events are shown or reported. They only reported the police's statements and interviews. What a major letdown. Those who didn't attend the rally won't even know how tension it was because they didn't experience it and had to rely on TV news for information.
And to think that i wanted to work as a journalist, a reporter at a local news station here...i have my doubts now. If i wanna work as one, i wanna report the TRUTH and only the truth. The very basic moral of journalism: INTEGRITY. Sure, the news might not had twisted details on purpose, but they never served to report the truth either. Mostly just beating around the bush. So disappointed.....
Anyway, i think i've written quite a long post haven't i?? Hahahah i really have to give it to you if you read until the very last word in this post. xD I'm so lazy to edit anymore(make bold typefaces etc) and this actually took two days to write...lol.
Yes, it was one HECK of an experience i will never forget. Thrilling shit. No regrets even though gas-ed!!! xDD
What are the Bersih organisation standing up for? Clean and fair electoral reforms. Recent elections conducted in the country over the last few years are blighted by accusations of unfair polling and poll-fixing. It was a whole lot of mess that couldn't be summed up in a book let alone a blog post. The national ruling party UMNO/BN faced a huge 'defeat' after opposition parties won alot of seats everywhere, even as they retained a mojority of 2/3 of Parliamentary seats. A revolution heading our way? BN losing its footing soon? What is the PM and his party going to do now?
I don't wanna go on and talk about how badly the government is reacting to all these political agendas. I'm not going to rant about how stupid i think the "1Malaysia" slogan and all the shit connected to it are. Those are for talks over a cup of tea and with like-minded friends. No, i'm going to talk about the Bersih experience.
I wrote a note on FB accounting my experience through the whole spectacle, but that was just an account of my journey through it all. Not my emotions, the people i met, the distance i ran, the heavy rain, the shouts, and most importantly, the UNITY between the people. To put all these in a singular post in a site where attention span is low, people wud've lost interest halfway reading through. So i trimmed alot of detail, gave a skin of everything.
***
I went at it alone and not entirely prepared(forgotten abt the possibility of rain, didn't check and prepare stuff to counter tear gas), and unlike alot of rally-goers who went there with purpose, to put it simply, i was just being a 'busybody'. The unofficial 'journalist'. I was a neutral; i was at a point in my life where i gave up my country's politics totally, because to me really, their constant bickering and antics and cheap tricks to sway people's alliance is making them the shame of the country in the world's eyes, not to mention being the drivers behind the express that is the country degeneration. My single purpose was to simply take pictures of the event, because honestly, how often is it that i find myself in a 'hotspot' like this? I couldn't just let the opportunity slip away.
So like any storyteller, i tell the story from the beginning; i shot pics of before, during and after the rally. Although they aren't in a preferred proportion to each other, but at least i did it. I tried not to leave out as many happenings as possible. Because really, it only happens once. You capture it, it will last forever....
But you can look at pics, watch videos and can only be limited to imagination....imagine how it would feel like if you're down there with them. And to be honest, being there is a totally different experience. What i felt, right there and then, cannot be expressed in a picture alone. I was living, breathing, adrenaline pumped; the high morale of the marching confident Bersih rally group got to me.
They affected me.
It started when i was first at the UMNO Youth Party group, the so-called "Patriots" of Malaysia. Their noise interrupted my planned advance to the Stadium Merdeka. Their chants, their energy, the way they tried to raise everyone up....the songs they sang(yes, the National Song included), they affected me. But i know and felt that something is wrong. I felt that this shouldn't be the right group i should be supporting, or even watching/marching with them. Something is wrong. Their slogan is wrong. They are shouting "Hancur Bersih!" ("condemn Bersih") even though i felt some pride when they shout "Hidup Rakyat" ("Rakyat Lives"). Yes, Hidup Rakyat means alot to me, because as a rakyat myself, i want the country to prosper and live long, its rakyat living in peace and harmony, and that we as a whole, are proud patriots.
But not under him. Certainly not under this group. They have their own selective rakyat to protect, but definitely not ALL the Malaysians. I'm downright disgusted at myself. Where are the Bersih? Where are my real brothers and sisters? I felt like losing my family, right there and then.
Then suddenly i overheard a media worker that they are just nearby. I was again very excited, like i found my lost family! Blood soaring, i ran in search of them, and finally found them up ahead several minutes later.
The things i did to get to them? Climb a steep, wet slope. Broke into a private property by climbing over its closed gate(because that is the only way to go to reach the Bersih group; police had blocked off sections of the road). Prolly stepped on a couple of people's feet and heard them shout back at me. Gotten pushed by other people as well. But at last, i made it. I caught up to them.
Even tho i didn't start out by purposefully joining the rally, by now i was feeling like one of them. For once my heart felt right! I began to think in terms of "we", like "we marched on!" or "we raised our hands". By now, my heart is beating as one. As one with them.
I didn't chant along, i didn't shout, but i marched forward with them(although it was driven more by the fact that i need to get to the front for some nice pics). I was already having something against the FRU, was silently thinking "now don't you do ANYTHING to us....you can't turn on your own citizens!"
As time goes by though i sensed the breaking point is reached and surely as i guessed, all hell broke loose. The FRU finally threw tear gases at us and forced us to run for our lives. Me coming without any counter measures to tear gases, resorted to covering my face with my bag and shirt. Usually when i smell smelly gases(like fart! LOL) i will not breath thru the nose at all; i will breath through the mouth because if i did i won't be able to "taste" the smell. So i tried and did the same without really knowing the effects of tear gases.
What a big mistake it turned out to be. As i gulped in the now smoke-infested air, the sensation burnt my throat and forced me to choke on myself. I nearly gagged. Because of that natural reaction to outside harm, my eyes opened wide in surprise and it was another mistake: this time the gas stung my eyes. It was sooooooo stinging, i could hardly open my eyes. But i had to, because i need to see where i'm going. I was running away, running for my life.
In addition to choking, there is also the breathing part that is so bad. I felt suffocated, gasping for more air. It gave me more chokes and tears in my eyes as really, there's no air at all. The atmosphere was soaked with the stench and the spread of tear gases. It was raining harder by the second and i was hoping the rain will diminish the spread of the smoke, but it still spread strongly.
People around me were already starting to choke. I heard alot of coughs, and felt alot of people pushing and running away. I couldn't totally watch where i'm going, i just kept telling myself to keep straight and follow the path of people in front of me. One of my hands are on the bag of someone in front of me. I made sure with the force i'm placing on her bag, i won't be pulling or pushing her. In a way, i was steadying her and myself.
Then came shouts behind me to "Stop pushing!" and "Do not push!" There were also occasional "Calm down calm down!!!" "Be cool, relax! Slowly!" I even heard "Ladies first!" Of course, those were shout in Malay. I was touched. Even in the midst of chaos, people still retained some sense and logic and more importantly selfless care in them, to make sure while everyone ran away safely, we ran away unharmed by our own. A stampede is avoided this way.
I ambled a few more meters before i finally thought i couldn't take it anymore, that i was gonna faint and lie down there and be caught by the police. But at the thought of police i surged forward with more determination to NOT be caught by the police. There is a small regret right there and that where i think to myself "look what u got urself into coming into this rally!" but i forced that thought out; i was prepared mentally for a gas attack anyway. My mission now is not to be caught by the police...
It was really hard by now. I've taken the full force of the gas and the pain in my head is pounding. I tried to take deep breaths to slow my own breathing but it was only temporary relief(like 1 nanosecond? LOL). Everytime i open my eyes it was a blur(my glasses are wet and it blurred my already blurry vision) + pain + stinging, couldn't keep my eyes open for mre than 3 seconds. However i manage to spot a man ducking by a water pipe on a wall of the building and i crawled over to the other side of the wall where there is a pot of plant and hid beside it. Up to this point since the tear gas attack started, i never looked back at the police, so i didn't really knw how close/far they were from me. And i don't want to know either.
The man was taking as much water as he can from the pipe to wash his face and body. I did the same too, not caring if the water from the pipe is clean or not(normally, i'm very sensitive to cleanliness!). He left as soon as i came and i followed him, doing what he did; take water and wash my face. Mostly dabbled onto my eyes and mouth, and goodness it felt so much better. I was able to open my eyes more frequently now, and my mouth didn't feel as dry. But the nausea is still there...
A Malay woman in front of me was sprawled on a table choking her lungs out. When i glanced at her i heard a bang and saw someone escaping behind a shop gate just to the side of the girl. I then realise i'm in front of a restaurant! The gate was loosely dropped down and wasn't locked properly(prolly forgot to lock in the chaos of the sudden dispersal of the crowd + tear gas) and i realised it was my only escape route from the horrible tear gas. Quickly i made a dash for the gate and finally found myself on the other side of the doorgate, inside the safety of the restaurant.
I quickly grabbed and sat on the nearest chair i found and took deep, big breaths to calm my own breathing and nausea. There were already a couple of ppl inside. I saw the Malay girl earlier had escaped into the restaurant with me too. I looked around,; it was an Indian restaurant. The counter there is still selling rendang and various meals in economy rice style. I saw some of the people who escaped inside were washing themselves at the sink area in the restaurant. I got up(still dizzy) and tried to walk over and do the same.
A man saw me and came forward putting his hand out for me. I saw in his hands a fair amount of white stuff. Still not coming fully to my senses, i asked blindly "What is it?" My speech was slurred due to the tear gas, but he got me. "Salt," he said, eyes looking at me with concern. Not understanding why he gave me salt, i asked "What do i do with it?" He told me to eat it. "You will feel better.." he assured me. I grabbed a pinch and threw them into my mouth and sat back down.
The discomfort in my stomach eased greatly. For once i was feeling better. Salt! Who would've imagined! I glanced around the restaurant again and actually saw people handing salt out from salt packets they stored in their pockets. So salt was part of the "inventory preparation"! Again i wondered why i hadn't done my homework abt tear gases beforehand. Now i understand why alot of the people were drapping cloths over themselves. Those cloths are not to shield themselves from rain; they are to be soaked with water and to be covered up your face to ease discomfort breathing in tear gas!
As i sat there resting after washing myself up(sharing a moment with the salt-man when i saw him still looking at me with concern, checking if i'm okay. I smiled back at him assuring him i'm fine) i feel like wanting to stay there until everything stops and ends. I want to be in that safe haven. But no...within minutes, the shopworkers advised us to go back out(after peeking through their gate and checking if the coast is clear). I felt a sense of dread.....because it means heading out to danger again. But we had no choice and have to leave, after all we budged in in the first place. So i went out of the restaurant, thanking the Indian/Bangladeshi worker on my way out where he was holding the gate open for us to exit. In that one moment, he was my saviour, it felt like we are on the same side regardless of our races or maybe even nationality, but he helped us, in dangerous times like this. To me that time, he was my brother.
When i was out the rain had clearly became much much heavier, it was downright POURING. Not caring anymore that i'm gonna be fully soaked to the skin and without looking back in the direction of the FRU, i ran. I ran in the rain for my life. I couldn't have been more pumped. At last i seek shelter in a small eatery enclosed by a tent flap. I didn't really see where i was, i just went into a shaded stall and try and get my bearings right.
Only by then i realise i brought my umbrella with me and that i shud use it. Previously i didn't because it will be hard for me to take pics and it wasn't raining hard anyway, so yeah. I took out my umbrella and was ready to walk out of the tent and towards anywhere that i could escape to.
A man saw me and commented "No need use umbrella-lahh! When u run later it's gonna be hard! You're also wet already anyway!" LOLOLOL. But he did has his point. Of course i'm not gonna run while holding up and umbrella...so i just smiled back at him. Really, the advices ppl give you in dangerous times! Ppl seem to be more willing to help/advice when we're all in trouble at the same time! xD Normally, why would a stranger talk to me right? =D
Just moments later though, i saw a couple of tear gas canisters flying towards it. Everyone started to panic again and ran. There was nowhere else to run except backwards and up the slope in the distance. So i ran and nearly got knocked down by a guy who flung open the tent flap to run out, not wanting to be trapped inside the tent with the gas. I was so pissed at that time but scared too. The police are coming and they're not stopping!
So i ran as quickly as i can and finally reached a higher ground, near the top of the slope. I stood there and looked back towards the scene before me. People were still running up the slope but the path behind them was blurry with smoke already. By now the rain had become lighter and i unfold my umbrella straightaway. There were people around me too looking at the scene below. In the distance, i can see water being sprayed very high into the air over the road where we all just escaped from. I realise in horror that they had begun to use water canons too on the people still stranded down there. I heard the water was laden with chemicals, not just plain water. I've always thought it was plain water...
It was there i realised i am on the slope right next to the Tung Shin Hospital. Surely they aren't gonna catch up to us up here?? The people around me were starting to distribute salt again. These people really came prepared! I think i'm the only idiot here who didn't go prepared. LOL. Struck up a little chat with another rally-goer who kept talking about how salt will reduce the effect of tear gas. Told a couple of girls nearby too that they should take some salt(not sure if they know each other, but oh wells it's not important at this stage. Stranger or not, we are the same right there and then. Same victims.) and also apply it to their skin. LOL. It was amusing, but i'm thanking the guy too. He even asked the girls to distribute their salt to a few Malay girls nearby. They gave without hesitation, and the girls took the salt with gratitude. This is what we called "helping each other"!
The calm didn't last long though, as we saw more canisters thrown into the compound where we are now. My mind went "Holy shit!" cos they did the unthinkable- gassing ppl on a private compound!! The police really wanted us to disperse as far as possible! A fact i find funny because they are the ones who blocked the other side of the road, preventing reasonable escape routes! Seems more like they were trying to trap us and catch as many of us as possible!
Nowhere left to run, the only way is up. There is a short but high gap between the slope and a carpark area around a bulding higher up. Like earlier there is rising panic again as people desperately want to escape the tear gas. Luckily for us there were already people up there waiting to pull you up into the compound and escape. Steadying myself on the slippery roots of a huge tree nearby, i reached up and was pulled up to safety by a Malay man. "Thank you!" I said to him loudly and patted him on the back. Then i continued to run. He on the other hand, stayed to pull more people up, helping them to escape despite the tear gas rapidly spreading over the area.
Once up on the compound again we were only left with two paths to take; both having to trek through a huge tree and its various roots and fallen branches. What's worse is there were nails in the debris on the ground; i felt on piercing through my shoe soles and pricking my flesh. Luckily i wasn't stepping full force on my feet, if not, the huge long nail would've cut into my foot causing me to bleed. And that was one thing i never want at that moment.
To reach the other side, which i saw is a huge wide compound, i had to jump off the ground to below. And it was really high up and i wasn't so sure of it cos i didnt wanna break my leg. Fortunately the tree had long vines stretching down, and by clutching onto the vines and hopping down we were able to make it down to the wide compound safely.
It was so nice knowing that while you were at it, there were people asking you to "be careful" "look out for nails!" "do it slowly, take your time, dont rush, just be careful" while trying to hop down underneath. I didn't see who it was, bt i feel good about them. Once out in the wide compound, we began to walk slowly ahead to nowhere. I didn't know where i was at that time. I was lost, together with the others....i came in step with a few ppl and one of them, a hearty Malay man, said "Ehh mana kita pegi ni??? Kampung Baru ke?" (Ehh where are we going right now? Kampung Baru?) and we all laughed at his joke. It was a light moment, and we all shared some laugh and smiles. There were more actually before and after this, that one single moment while on the run together with your "comrades", when you look in their eyes and shared a smile, knowing we are all in such a deep mess, yet it feels SO RIGHT at the time. We BELONGED there. We were fighting for our cause.
Helicopters still flying low above, i heard shouts behind us suddenly and turned around, saw everyone running in our direction trying to escape from something. That something is called FRU and tear gas!!! I finally shouted out a curse "FUUUCCKKKK!!!!" before turning away and start to run away again. One half being pissed at the FRU for not stopping to harm us and another half wondering how long do i still have to run. LOL.
Finally on my right i saw a building and ran towards it together with some of the people. FOund out it was the Bursa Saham building and stopped there to catch my breath and recover. Some people were already taking refuge there. The others who ran with me earlier took other roads to escape instead of within the building. But i need rest, and i was still weak from the tear gas...
Took the opportunity to check on my friends who's leaving KL that day, ending their vacation. They are safely out of the city, thank god. I was actually trembling as i sent text messages to them. I think i spent abt 20mins in the building, deciding where to go next.
There were three ways actually, one back to where we came from, another that spreads to a road junction beneath, which itself spread to two directions: one left, one right. The problem is i dunno which road leads to where, and whether the roads themselves are still safe or not. There was a moment two Malay uncles went past me and i ask them where are they headed to and whether they know where the roads lead to; apparently they don't know either.
Suddenly a huge cough got me and i choked out. The uncle did not hesitate and pulled out his packet of salt and offered it to me "Nah...ambil ni...". I put my hand out and he poured salt onto my hands, but i told him to stop it when i felt it was enough, but apprently he did not think the same way, saying "Taklah....lebih lagi!" when i say "Cukup sudah, cukup sudah!" LOL i really didn't need that much but he poured alot to me anyway. I took some and he asked his friend to give me his water to wash down the salt, and he did :))
After awhile we debated where to go. I told them i want to go back to Kelana Jaya as i heard that they are trying to take LRT back home. They want to go to Bangsar. As if scared i dunno the way, they then tell me how to change trains at Jamek etc etc to get back on Kelana Jaya line. So nice and caring!
Alas we parted ways in different direction, due to them in the end changing mind to take taxi instead. I stood rooted where i was though, right at the junction of the road. Then i saw a group of friends(one of whom i'd chatted lightly to while in the building, discussing where to go) come back to my way. They had earlier went off the road to the right(which will eventually land u in Bukit Bintang) and were now planning to head back to where we ran from earlier, back to Puduraya. Feeling quite at lost, i gave in to them and joined them to walk back up the road.
The girl whom i talked to finally asked for my name and introduced herself as well. Her friends join our conversations once awhile. I guess they're just curious abt me, cos i was alone and everything. LOL they were like "You're so brave coming alone!" which made me embarassed abit, dunno why LOL but yeah. Found out they are a group of surveyors surveying the area and of cos this event. They soon asked me which side was i on. I told them i didn't choose any side, and that i'm just a nosy busybody. =D
They found out too that i like photography(the girl asked me if i'm interested in journalism, after i joked abt being an unofficial reporter) and told me two of their other friends are into photography as well. "Interested in shooting are you?" he asked. I said yeah. "My friend here, that dude over there, likes to shoot too." I am not alone anymore. In this 'troubled' times, brief friendships are sparked.
"Your're not alone anymore! You're with us now!" another girl from the group said loudly to me, flashing me a smile. To be honest i was quite touched at that moment....because she said the truth....right there and then, i was not alone...i was part of something, and whether i had wanted it or not in the first place, i am with them now. Even if i had started neutral, now i'm inclined towards Bersih...and i wanted to fight for them too, together with them.
So we walked until we nearly reached Puduraya again and saw a large group already there and chanting loudly as well. Alot of them are wearing white tho, or draping white cloths over themselves. Quite far and i can't see much. However, despite wanting to join, i wasn't really ready for a second round of tear gas, and i was feeling weaker and weaker too, i couldn't go on anymore. i left the group (more like they advanced in separate groups and i sorta wasa left behind lol) and went back the way to Bursa Saham building, and decided to try the Bukit Bintang road to go home. I want to eat in Times Square and go back home after that. So i started walking....
Then i finally realised where the road will take me. I had just been lost on the same road two nights beforehand while trying to meetup with my vacation friends in Petaling Street. That night i took the wrong shortcut and ended up so far away from my destination. And now..........i'm at the same road!!! U won't believe how i felt at this revelation. Never knew a bad thing that happened to me 2 nights before will serve me so well that day! Because of easy recognition of the particular street now, i was able to make my way back to Bintang and in the end, Times Square to refuel my body(still having minor after-effects of the tear gas). I thought of my friend and called her to let her know i'm safe(one of the few who knws i'm going to the event), also texted the others who knew too. LOL!
After that is back home and nothing exciting except if u wanna count in the time when i reach the LRT station and found out it was closed and had to wait outside for nearly an hr before it was reopened again. It sorta looks like some war camp though. Haha...interesting....
At night i asked my friend out for supper/tea while we sat downstairs watching the evening TV3 news. I was excited to see how they will show the whole incident on tv. To my major disappointment, the only showed minor footages and talk abit abt it only. I felt that alot of the truth that happened are not being reported out. I felt....cheated....and was very very very disappointed with the tv stations. I knew the media are govt-controlled...but after finally seeing and experiencing how much difference there are between the footage and news reported in tv and the real-life event, i finally lost faith in the local media...utter disappointement...
***
Anyway, what i gained from this experience is more than the event itself. In just one day i found out how the people of Msia can be so united, through thick and thin, regardless of race. We helped each other regardless what skin colour we have. I've never felt so united in my life with the other rakyat before. This peaceful rally shows easily the unity between us more than the fallacy that is the PM's 1Malaysia plans. Even the name sounds stupid, if i may say. All that $$$ spent on developing this program(which obviously doesn't work, instead stirred more racial discrimination and hatred) is a complete waste compared to one rally which costs almost nothing and yet still manages to unite people.
Another thing i learnt from this is how shitty our country's media is.....i know most of them are govt' owned, but it really disappointed me how they covered this event. Almost close to none of the events are shown or reported. They only reported the police's statements and interviews. What a major letdown. Those who didn't attend the rally won't even know how tension it was because they didn't experience it and had to rely on TV news for information.
And to think that i wanted to work as a journalist, a reporter at a local news station here...i have my doubts now. If i wanna work as one, i wanna report the TRUTH and only the truth. The very basic moral of journalism: INTEGRITY. Sure, the news might not had twisted details on purpose, but they never served to report the truth either. Mostly just beating around the bush. So disappointed.....
Anyway, i think i've written quite a long post haven't i?? Hahahah i really have to give it to you if you read until the very last word in this post. xD I'm so lazy to edit anymore(make bold typefaces etc) and this actually took two days to write...lol.
Yes, it was one HECK of an experience i will never forget. Thrilling shit. No regrets even though gas-ed!!! xDD
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Last day of June.
Hi there :)
So it's the last day of the first half of June. Life does fly by doesnt it? 6mths more and its bye-bye 2011....
Anyway, i had a very full dinner today. Got my pay finally and can splurge a little. xD I usually skip dinner for your information...so i'm always hungry. Don't judge me! :P
I sat right underneath the railtracks. So trains are actually zooming above me. And goodness the noise they make. I was so unused to it the first time i took the train underground. >.
Well not much happened today anyway....i sat in the park briefly, it was kinda relaxing anyway. Took some random pics while i sat eating fries xD
I think this sums up well how i was feeling during that time just now. http://fav.me/d3kjgn8
Goodnite ppl. I'm off to bed. xD
So it's the last day of the first half of June. Life does fly by doesnt it? 6mths more and its bye-bye 2011....
Anyway, i had a very full dinner today. Got my pay finally and can splurge a little. xD I usually skip dinner for your information...so i'm always hungry. Don't judge me! :P
I sat right underneath the railtracks. So trains are actually zooming above me. And goodness the noise they make. I was so unused to it the first time i took the train underground. >.
Well not much happened today anyway....i sat in the park briefly, it was kinda relaxing anyway. Took some random pics while i sat eating fries xD
I think this sums up well how i was feeling during that time just now. http://fav.me/d3kjgn8
Goodnite ppl. I'm off to bed. xD
It's how you choose to see it.
I start out today slipping in the bathroom. Luckily i didn't fall.
Then i went to the LRT station to buy my tickets, and the machine ate the two 50-cent coins i slotted in. It then choked out 40-cents back to me after abit of thumping at the machine.
I then took the LRT and had the chance to stand at the driving panel so i have the full view of the railtracks as if i am the one driving the train, but since i've experienced it a few times and there was amazingly an empty seat nearby, i took the seat and sat down.
Because of that a girl was able to take pictures of the train moving at fast speed on the tracks. She got a really nice vantage point of everything.
While walking on the way home from work, i suddenly realized i left my phone back at the office. So in the end i walked back to the office, took it and reached home safely.
Not that anyone reached for me tho, but that's okay.
***
So my point is....even though those are situations that seem "bad" on the surface, but as long as you change how u perceive the situation, u might find it easier to live by and accept things. Because honestly nothing in this world is absolute; u can't predict what happens next, and u obviously can't control everything, or please everyone. You're only human after all.
I could've cursed the floor for being wet but i'm thankful i didnt fall and injure myself.
I could've cursed the ticket machine for cheating my money, but at least i got 40cents back rather than nothing.
I could've hogged the best view in the train, but i wud've to deal with sore feet (due to the shoes) and the girl prolly cudnt have the chance to take good pictures anyway.
And i'm just thankful for remembering i left my phone at the office.
I didn't really get the worst deal out of all the situations anyway, so what is there to blame and complain about? Things in life....we shouldn't hold onto them too tight, nor shud be be gripping it only too loosely, but see everything with peace and ease and balance, and u'll stroll through life relatively unharmed and more peaceful and happy compared to alot of other people.
Then i went to the LRT station to buy my tickets, and the machine ate the two 50-cent coins i slotted in. It then choked out 40-cents back to me after abit of thumping at the machine.
I then took the LRT and had the chance to stand at the driving panel so i have the full view of the railtracks as if i am the one driving the train, but since i've experienced it a few times and there was amazingly an empty seat nearby, i took the seat and sat down.
Because of that a girl was able to take pictures of the train moving at fast speed on the tracks. She got a really nice vantage point of everything.
While walking on the way home from work, i suddenly realized i left my phone back at the office. So in the end i walked back to the office, took it and reached home safely.
Not that anyone reached for me tho, but that's okay.
***
So my point is....even though those are situations that seem "bad" on the surface, but as long as you change how u perceive the situation, u might find it easier to live by and accept things. Because honestly nothing in this world is absolute; u can't predict what happens next, and u obviously can't control everything, or please everyone. You're only human after all.
I could've cursed the floor for being wet but i'm thankful i didnt fall and injure myself.
I could've cursed the ticket machine for cheating my money, but at least i got 40cents back rather than nothing.
I could've hogged the best view in the train, but i wud've to deal with sore feet (due to the shoes) and the girl prolly cudnt have the chance to take good pictures anyway.
And i'm just thankful for remembering i left my phone at the office.
I didn't really get the worst deal out of all the situations anyway, so what is there to blame and complain about? Things in life....we shouldn't hold onto them too tight, nor shud be be gripping it only too loosely, but see everything with peace and ease and balance, and u'll stroll through life relatively unharmed and more peaceful and happy compared to alot of other people.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Ipoh Trip 18-19/6/11
Hey everyone! Last weekend i went on a short trip to Ipoh, Perak to visit my friend who's an Ipoh native xDD It's a really short trip though so there aren't many pictures taken(add a flat battery to that mix...), but i guess this is the first picture blog post i've written in a long while, so enjoy!
***
1st Day - Arrival at 3pm
I actually bought an earlier ticket to Ipoh(9.25am) but i missed the train due to oversleeping =.="" so i was forced to take the next train at 1pm instead...in the end i only arrived abt 4pm in Ipoh, which is like SO LATE ALREADY!! >< i felt really awful for missing the train though. Zzzz. But my sadness is gone once i arrive and saw this wonderful structure that is the train station xD
That was the Perak state flag. To be honest i don't really know all how the state flags look like, except for Sarawak. Yeahhhh i can be excused cos i dun grow up in my own country! =P
My friend then brought me to try the soya products sold at this stall, and it's very obvious it's famous as there were literally cars lining up just to buy either their soya bean drink or their "tofu-fa", a bean curd desert. We ordered ours and consumed it right there in the car.
Then we went to one of the old streets in town where my friend visits alot on her photoshoots. I like retro buildings and old alleys, so it was a thrill being there. Here're a few pics i took there:
After that we went to the Ipoh Parade Mall since we had no idea where to go as alot of the places she wants to bring me to are either closed or not the right time of the day yet =.= had some fried chicken from a popular Taiwanese franchise, which was kinda like a suicide since both of us are sick at the time and yet we still ate fried foods xD after that we strolled for abit more before going back to her house to rest and get ready for the night out.
We went out with her father who brought us to this marvelous restaurant famous for its chicken, bean sprout and "hor fun" (which was what we ordered). The restaurant was called "老黄"....a famous HK chef and food aficionado (i forgot his name...) and HK actress Ella Kwoon ate at that restaurant before! Cos their picture was hung up at the wall... xD Because i didn't bring my camera along tho(left it in my friend's car) i didn't take any pictures of them....so sayang!
Satisfied and full with the meal, we went back home for a short rest before heading out again, this time me and my friend only. She took me for a spin around town, visiting a mall complex with very interesting design amongst others. I did take some pictures but unfortunately the biggest weakness of my camera i.e. night-mode shooting, ISO, poor focusing was happening again and i found out much later that all the pics i took were blurry....
After that we went for a drink session where i finally got to taste "snowflake beer", which is basically freezing up the glass so that it looks "frosty" and like "snow" with plain beer inside. Ours was good ol' Carlsberg(my fav) and i like how the beer looks like in our frosty glass mugs xD we didn't drink too much tho and i was abit worried for my friend because she's driving, but in the end we got home safely and that's enough xD
Because of fatigue + alcohol i fell asleep as soon as i'm in the room(after cleaning up of course).....been a long time since i fall asleep easily. That's partly why i like beer: it relaxes me and gives me a good night's sleep...
2nd Day
Woke up early and headed out for breakfast, where we had a very traditional Chinese breakfast, Dim Sum~ Below is the restaurant where we ate, and i highly recommend you try their Dim Sum here. Good service as well by the staff there.
***
1st Day - Arrival at 3pm
I actually bought an earlier ticket to Ipoh(9.25am) but i missed the train due to oversleeping =.="" so i was forced to take the next train at 1pm instead...in the end i only arrived abt 4pm in Ipoh, which is like SO LATE ALREADY!! >< i felt really awful for missing the train though. Zzzz. But my sadness is gone once i arrive and saw this wonderful structure that is the train station xD
That was the Perak state flag. To be honest i don't really know all how the state flags look like, except for Sarawak. Yeahhhh i can be excused cos i dun grow up in my own country! =P
My friend then brought me to try the soya products sold at this stall, and it's very obvious it's famous as there were literally cars lining up just to buy either their soya bean drink or their "tofu-fa", a bean curd desert. We ordered ours and consumed it right there in the car.
"Taufu-fa" or bean curd desssert
My soya drink with grass jelly
Then we went to one of the old streets in town where my friend visits alot on her photoshoots. I like retro buildings and old alleys, so it was a thrill being there. Here're a few pics i took there:
A very interesting door lock.
After that we went to the Ipoh Parade Mall since we had no idea where to go as alot of the places she wants to bring me to are either closed or not the right time of the day yet =.= had some fried chicken from a popular Taiwanese franchise, which was kinda like a suicide since both of us are sick at the time and yet we still ate fried foods xD after that we strolled for abit more before going back to her house to rest and get ready for the night out.
We went out with her father who brought us to this marvelous restaurant famous for its chicken, bean sprout and "hor fun" (which was what we ordered). The restaurant was called "老黄"....a famous HK chef and food aficionado (i forgot his name...) and HK actress Ella Kwoon ate at that restaurant before! Cos their picture was hung up at the wall... xD Because i didn't bring my camera along tho(left it in my friend's car) i didn't take any pictures of them....so sayang!
Satisfied and full with the meal, we went back home for a short rest before heading out again, this time me and my friend only. She took me for a spin around town, visiting a mall complex with very interesting design amongst others. I did take some pictures but unfortunately the biggest weakness of my camera i.e. night-mode shooting, ISO, poor focusing was happening again and i found out much later that all the pics i took were blurry....
After that we went for a drink session where i finally got to taste "snowflake beer", which is basically freezing up the glass so that it looks "frosty" and like "snow" with plain beer inside. Ours was good ol' Carlsberg(my fav) and i like how the beer looks like in our frosty glass mugs xD we didn't drink too much tho and i was abit worried for my friend because she's driving, but in the end we got home safely and that's enough xD
Because of fatigue + alcohol i fell asleep as soon as i'm in the room(after cleaning up of course).....been a long time since i fall asleep easily. That's partly why i like beer: it relaxes me and gives me a good night's sleep...
2nd Day
Woke up early and headed out for breakfast, where we had a very traditional Chinese breakfast, Dim Sum~ Below is the restaurant where we ate, and i highly recommend you try their Dim Sum here. Good service as well by the staff there.
"Har Kaw" which consists of prawn fillings
I think this is fishball...
A Dim Sum staple, "Chee Cheong Fun". Love the gravy.
This reminds me abit of Tempura... Prawn fillings inside.
A surprise. I really like this, especially the lotus filling! =D
An all-time favourite of mine: Egg Tart. Love this, but my friend told me there's a better one in the market. Need to try that the next time xD
Another popular Dim Sum staple, "Char Siew Pau"
I thought it was fishball again but it tastes different. I dunno what ball is this...haha....xD
A Dim Sum session is never complete for me without the King of Dim Sum, "Shiew Mai"! Like those in Miri, these has actual prawn fillings in it, but unlike in Miri, these have fish roes as topping.
After breakfast, her Dad took us to visit the Gunung Lang Recreation Park, a famous tourist park attraction with it's amazing mountains. Did i say i love mountains? xD They're not huge to be qualified as "Mount" but it was big enough for me to gape at. Hahaha. There's a lake in the centre of the park where u have to cross over by boat to reach the garden where you can have a nice and quiet stroll....
Big, fat, healthy and happy fishes =D
The following pics are taken after crossing the lake and onto the garden park...
There's even a mini playground.
Absolutely loved the views. The calmness of the water, the peaceful greenery....
And surprise, surprise....there's a small enclosure where two ostriches, a couple of deers and turkeys are kept! =D
I dunno how much time passed but we spent a long time there taking pics and strolling around, which was cool(i kinda needed this break in pace from the city). But then it is time to go back....and when we were back they had already switched on the artificial man-made waterfall which is a sight to behold, really.
And this, which basically described the park itself.
That was the end of our Gunung Lang visit! Next we went to the Ipoh Cave Temple, which is what it name suggests, a temple in the cave itself. It was a wonderful sight within and instantly i was reminded of a very vague memory of the insides of the Batu Caves which i visited years ago when i was younger with my mom and brother. I took some pics but my battery went flat after awhile and i was forced to imprint every sight i had in my mind instead....
So i'm sorry for the lack of pictures from here on! Even the pics i took in the temple are blurry themselves so i decided not to post it. There was a staircase which u can climb all the way up to the top of the mountain(ok not really the highest point i think but still high enough) and reward yourself with a good view of Ipoh i think, but i only managed 5/6 of the trip up before i surrendered climbing up the stairs due to fatigue in my legs and a need to go to the toilet =X but the workout gave me a good sweat and i kinda love it actually, got my adrenaline pumping xD but one thing tho the steps are narrow and you have to be extra careful when u climb back down...
After that we went and visit another cave, the 'Kek Lok Tong' Cave or in chinese 极乐洞. Compared with the Ipoh Cave Temple this cave is wider on the inside, where the ceiling are beautiful limestone 'decorations' created by mother Nature herself over hundreds of years.....i absolutely love it there. The cave is also much, much windier than the first as it has another opening out at the back to a valley behind the mountain(which i did not go down to because of the heat and sunny-ness). It was there i finally managed to cool down abit. It was very relaxing, and there are statues inside as well which i saw a few ppl 'kowtow-ing' to....
One funny thing was because there were swallow nests inside the cave and naturally swallows flying about and shooting their dropping down, some parts of the floor were full of dropping stains....and i was looking at an information board of the cave near the entrance. When i finished i turned around to go explore other areas and right at that time when i was about to step forward, a swallow dropping fell in front of me with a huge *SPLAT* sound.
Oh my god!!! One more step and it would've fallen onto my head! I was really really lucky!!! Damn you really wouldn't wanna be pissed on by swallows. Smell like....shit... == lol and i looked at the place on the floor where the 'dropping' landed and saw that it was full of dried dropping stain, so i guess that's like a "danger zone" of bird droppings or something....haha... xD
After that it was time for lunch so we went back to the town area and had our lunch at this restaurant called "老方" (forgot the full name but it's like "Fang's Restaurant" where we had beansprout again, with steamed eggs(like how my mom cooks it which i absolutely love), another plate of vege and fish(loooong time since i last had fish). Again it was delicious and i was very full by the time we finished.
Then we went back home and her Dad had to leave for office for official matters and me and my friend took a break at home and rest(we were tired haha). Then it was time for me to go to the train station(departing at 7pm) so my friend brought me to the station, we had a little tea break while waiting for the train(almost missed the train due to confusion over train number, but in the end it was the right train). The train departed punctually at 7pm, i bid farewell to my friend with a heavy heart. I didn't wanna leave so soon! =( feels like i haven't really explored much yet, which is kinda the truth xD i really wished i hadn't missed the train on the first day and wasted half the day away...zzzz
I'm gonna go back there again one day, perhaps that time with a new camera xD then i can go photoshooting with my friend and made sure to take more complete pictures of the place! xD Like how my friend described Ipoh, it was a pretty laid-back town, perhaps that's why i instantly like it. One day, i'll be back again!
Lastly, a picture of the lovely people who brought me around visiting, my friend and her Dad =) Thank you and bless you two! =)
Note: If you wanna see more pictures of my trip you can head over to my Facebook album named "Virgin Steps: Ipoh, Perak". I've also edited some of the pictures i took and posted it on my DeviantArt, where you can check them out.
Have a good day peeps! :)
Monday, June 20, 2011
Travel blog?
Should i do a travel blog?
Lately that has been the question swimming in my head. I've went to a couple of different places, picked up some tips, experienced stuff, ate alot of food, walked alot of places. So should i do a travel blog where i can put down stuffs/tips of travel and share with everyone?
I dont mind sharing tips/information...i'm mre than happy to help other people. Sometimes i can't wait to show my friends what i had ate, which road to take, what sights i've seen. I want ppl to experience the joys i had going thru all that! xD
But another part of me worries that this is gonna be another stale blog...i'm worried after a couple of posts, i'll get tired of it and won't update it as much...i'm just gonna leave it there to be filled with dust. I don't want that! I need a commitment...but i'm unsure right now how much i can give.
Esp with a not-so-stable internet line....i might be put off trying to upload pictures. And there's gonna be alot of pictures if i was to make a travel blog. Come on....a travel blog without pictures is like a blank piece of photograph.
That and hmm.... i wanna tell of my stories to my special someone. LOL i know it's cheesy, but some stories are left for some people, people who will actually go with me on these adventures. Something only we can experience. If i say it all out in the blog...will i have anything else mysterious enough to share? ><
Erghhh...i'm thinking so much >< lol tend to do that. But i haven't reached a decision yet. It's still a baby plan for now....but thoughts please! >< Thank u!
Lately that has been the question swimming in my head. I've went to a couple of different places, picked up some tips, experienced stuff, ate alot of food, walked alot of places. So should i do a travel blog where i can put down stuffs/tips of travel and share with everyone?
I dont mind sharing tips/information...i'm mre than happy to help other people. Sometimes i can't wait to show my friends what i had ate, which road to take, what sights i've seen. I want ppl to experience the joys i had going thru all that! xD
But another part of me worries that this is gonna be another stale blog...i'm worried after a couple of posts, i'll get tired of it and won't update it as much...i'm just gonna leave it there to be filled with dust. I don't want that! I need a commitment...but i'm unsure right now how much i can give.
Esp with a not-so-stable internet line....i might be put off trying to upload pictures. And there's gonna be alot of pictures if i was to make a travel blog. Come on....a travel blog without pictures is like a blank piece of photograph.
That and hmm.... i wanna tell of my stories to my special someone. LOL i know it's cheesy, but some stories are left for some people, people who will actually go with me on these adventures. Something only we can experience. If i say it all out in the blog...will i have anything else mysterious enough to share? ><
Erghhh...i'm thinking so much >< lol tend to do that. But i haven't reached a decision yet. It's still a baby plan for now....but thoughts please! >< Thank u!
RIP Ariadne!
Ariadne is the name i give to my phone, a birthday present i gave myself last year. It was a HTC Aria running on the wonderful Android OS. I had it upgraded to version 2.2 when it "left" me.
I never blogged abt it when i first got it, but rest assured i was very excited abt it that time. It also marked the most expensive single purchase i ever made(prior to that was my own PSP, also a bday present i gave myself). Looks like i really tend to spoil myself...xD
Anyway, this is the second phone i lost on my account. First one is the Nokia 5610 which is passed to me by my dad to use(making it the more guilty ass that i am), which was lost due to pure carelessness(left it in the car). I believe i wrote abt it too back then. ><
So.......................the full story goes like this.
***
I was working on Saturday(11/6) so since i'm already out on the streets i might as well go get some things done: buy tickets to visit my friend in nearby state Ipoh & visit the famous and popular shopping hotspot Midvalley Megamall(cos i never been there before) to kill the rest of the afternoon away.
So after buying the ticket to Ipoh i went to buy ticket to Midvalley (i found out earlier i had to take the KTM train to reach there from KL Sentral), first time using the KTM ticket machine(which is disastrous, it keeps rejecting my notes) which is unlike the LRT ticket machines. ANyway i got my tickets and had some doubts when slipping it into the ticket entry(again faulty-looking old machines ==) but in the end i managed to go to the platform to wait for the train, which is underground.
The platform underground is very stuffy and full of train/metal/charcoal smell. It's not too strong but u can still smell it. And only the platform's lighted, the tracks are not lighted so its slightly dark but overall well-luminated in the important places. As its my first time there, like always i whipped out my phone and started taking pictures of the place, of the tracks and hopefully a video of the train approaching the platform....
There was a bunch of Indians who kept looking at my direction....and as soon as i realise the train isn't going to come as fast & frequent like the LRT, i went and stood on the other side of the platform, away from the Indians and queuing up to board the train.
Finally after abt 10mins the train came, and before it even stopped fully people already started pushing into the train...i was jumped queue by this two women who literally barged their way thru(and giving me a nasty look while at it!)...that was only the beginning of the horror. I was very shocked at the way people seem to not care about the safety of other people and just kept pushing towards the train doors. I started to become distracted by the hoopla surrounding me. That and all i was thinking was "Don't fall! Don't fall!" and with that i pressed my bag against me and felt it pressing my phone(which i put in my pocket to avoid pulling attention to my bag) which by that i can feel my phone's presence with me in the midst of the chaos.
After awhile i was finally right outside the train door and i can see the complete mess in that spot. People who're pushing to get into the train NEVER lets the people inside come out first. So those inside the train was fighting to get out of the train while ppl on the platform are fighting to get in. It was horrible. I knew it was bad, i just never expected it to be THIS bad.
So at the train door there's this tall foreigner who's struggling to get out. He was right in front of me to my left. He barged his way out(all the while shaking his head at the chaos) which ended up pushing the guy infront of me(who is in front of the foreigner)into my path, causing me to stumble back. and the foreigner's water bottle flew out of his bag too as a result, flying onto my direction. So basically the flying water bottle(a big one still 3/4 full of water) and the man in front are both throwing at me. And at this time the fucker behind me KEEPS pushing me in as well, and because of that, i fell.
I lost my footing and balance and i fell but luckily i stood back up on time beforei can fall to the floor and be stomped to death. All this while "I cannot fall! Don't fall!" was the only thing that is running thru my mind. So i did just that. The whole incident made me lose contact with my bag(it was flying away from me) and as a result it kinda left a huge opening to my pocket right at that precise moment. When i stood back up i was being pushed instantly inside(i was about to shout back at the ppl behind me to STOP PUSHING) & honestly all i was thinking is "get inside, get inside, find a place to stand inside!" so i entered the train through the small & instant gap left behind by the foreigner.
When i stood properly inside i felt for my phone, and it was gone. I went O.O and a dreadful feeling came up within me. My phone! Where is my phone? Ohmigod my phone! I searched my pockets again, even searching my bag, but it wasn't in any of them. I looked back to the train door entrance & look at the people standing there (also at the people outside still pushing in) and thought "one of them has it"....
But i was speechless. I didn't shout out & tell everyone i lost my phone. I didn't even ask if anyone has seen it. Cos i'm pretty much sure someone saw it. I knew right there and then i lost it when i nearly fell earlier. At that precise point either someone took it from my pocket or the phone dropped out of my pocket. If it was stolen, the thief would've been gone. He could already be out of the platform and up to the station above, away from the train. Or he could be inside the train with me but hiding himself among the sea of people crammed in the train.
If it was picked up by someone though, they should've seen it belonged to mine cos it was so obvious. They shud've returned to me. But nooo.....ppl act like nothing happened. My heart was beating so fast and i feel so awful at the realisation i had just been robbed. But i didn't do anything either....i stood rooted to the spot, arms clutching my bag tightly to prevent another lost of belonging. The train door closed and started its way to Midvalley(the first stop), and i was probably in the same confinement with the thief but i did nothing....
My mind at that time was already blank and "blue-screen". Regret, anger, sadness, dread, i feel it all at the same time. As the train stopped and people went out, i was already a mess in my head, zero-logic, blanking out. All i could think abt is i lost my phone. Stupidly at that.
Because my phone was a smartphone, naturally i had apps running on them. If the thief manage to unlock my phone and went online with it, they can have access to my online accounts like Facebook, Twitter etc etc. That is purely a strong invasion of privacy, and i'm not going to let them get that. So i quickly went in search of a cybercafe which would enable me to go online and change my account passwords but there was none to be found.
Face it, how possible is it to have a cybercafe in the middle of a high-class shopping and tourist hotspot? None. I think i spent a good hour roaming the area of Midvalley looking for a place to online. The place is huge and beautiful, plenty of shops, plenty of goods, but i am not enjoying it at all. I couldn't even smile; i was sure my expression that time was grief.
My virgin Midvalley & KTM train experience had been spoilt by this incident. I was in no mood to continue find entertainment anymre. So i decided to go back home to where my spare phone(deactivated the SIM card in my smartphone to prevent abuse of the credit by the thief, had to spend RM10 as it was my second "offence" of losing a SIM card) is, and change my passwords on my own computer. I told my friend and my mum abt it....suffice to say mum is angry and disappointed with me. Sigh.
***
So that was how my phone was taken away from me. I should've seen the warnings...wait i did see it bt not consciously...because you see, before i lost my phone, there were already warning signs given to me....i wasn't parallel with the signs so i couldn't read them at the time...but now that i think abt it, yeah the signs were there...
The day before i lost my phone, i left it at home forgot to bring out for work...as a result i was phone-less the whole day...and because of hardly using it the battery pattern was out of schedule too so i had to charge it at work the next day....and the whole time when i was charging it, i kept fidgeting at it for god knows why(i know why now ==). I keep touching my phone checking its battery, and because that day we had third-party cleaners cleaning the office i was adamant to not leave anything(esp my phone) behind in the office, so that it won't be "freely-given" to the cleaners.
In the end it was "freely taken" away from me anyway. =(
U see...the forgetting to bring the phone out. First sign. A sign that warns me the phone is safer back at home. Second sign is the constant fidgeting. It was a subconscious movement by me to keep a tight grip on my phone...
But ultimately the biggest contribution of all is the thought that attracted this thing to happen. I was subconsciously thinking NOT & NEVER to lose the phone, and this thought manifested itself, causing circumstances to arise which made me lose my phone.
Its a deep process which i can't explain in detail here...but what u think, either consciously or subconsciously, attracts things to happen to approve it. Although i never wanted to lose my phone ever, but the fear of losing it became so great it surpassed the thought that i can actually keep it for a long time, thus suppressing it, and attracted powers to make it happen instead.
So....an important advice to all of you: watch and hear your thoughts. Be careful with what you think. You have the power to attract what you want. But you are able to attract what you don't want either. So be wise!
I don't really blame anyone for this incident....but myself. I blame myself alot. It is my responsibility anyway. No excuses. I should've been more alert. I should've put my phone in my bag instead of my pocket. I shouldn't have attracted attention to my phone by taking pictures. There were so many "should have's"....
I accepted it though....i know and accept this. It's really good making peace with yourself. Yes it still makes me sad at times but i can safely say i got over it already. I accepted it is lost(though there's a tiny hope someone will come back and return it to me) and i understand the circumstances that lead to it. This can only be a lesson to learn in my life. :)
Ariadne, you will be deeply missed. Because u are my own birthday present, and because i own u with my own hard-earned money. I'm sorry i couldn't keep u for even a year and i already lost you.
I never blogged abt it when i first got it, but rest assured i was very excited abt it that time. It also marked the most expensive single purchase i ever made(prior to that was my own PSP, also a bday present i gave myself). Looks like i really tend to spoil myself...xD
Anyway, this is the second phone i lost on my account. First one is the Nokia 5610 which is passed to me by my dad to use(making it the more guilty ass that i am), which was lost due to pure carelessness(left it in the car). I believe i wrote abt it too back then. ><
So.......................the full story goes like this.
***
I was working on Saturday(11/6) so since i'm already out on the streets i might as well go get some things done: buy tickets to visit my friend in nearby state Ipoh & visit the famous and popular shopping hotspot Midvalley Megamall(cos i never been there before) to kill the rest of the afternoon away.
So after buying the ticket to Ipoh i went to buy ticket to Midvalley (i found out earlier i had to take the KTM train to reach there from KL Sentral), first time using the KTM ticket machine(which is disastrous, it keeps rejecting my notes) which is unlike the LRT ticket machines. ANyway i got my tickets and had some doubts when slipping it into the ticket entry(again faulty-looking old machines ==) but in the end i managed to go to the platform to wait for the train, which is underground.
The platform underground is very stuffy and full of train/metal/charcoal smell. It's not too strong but u can still smell it. And only the platform's lighted, the tracks are not lighted so its slightly dark but overall well-luminated in the important places. As its my first time there, like always i whipped out my phone and started taking pictures of the place, of the tracks and hopefully a video of the train approaching the platform....
There was a bunch of Indians who kept looking at my direction....and as soon as i realise the train isn't going to come as fast & frequent like the LRT, i went and stood on the other side of the platform, away from the Indians and queuing up to board the train.
Finally after abt 10mins the train came, and before it even stopped fully people already started pushing into the train...i was jumped queue by this two women who literally barged their way thru(and giving me a nasty look while at it!)...that was only the beginning of the horror. I was very shocked at the way people seem to not care about the safety of other people and just kept pushing towards the train doors. I started to become distracted by the hoopla surrounding me. That and all i was thinking was "Don't fall! Don't fall!" and with that i pressed my bag against me and felt it pressing my phone(which i put in my pocket to avoid pulling attention to my bag) which by that i can feel my phone's presence with me in the midst of the chaos.
After awhile i was finally right outside the train door and i can see the complete mess in that spot. People who're pushing to get into the train NEVER lets the people inside come out first. So those inside the train was fighting to get out of the train while ppl on the platform are fighting to get in. It was horrible. I knew it was bad, i just never expected it to be THIS bad.
So at the train door there's this tall foreigner who's struggling to get out. He was right in front of me to my left. He barged his way out(all the while shaking his head at the chaos) which ended up pushing the guy infront of me(who is in front of the foreigner)into my path, causing me to stumble back. and the foreigner's water bottle flew out of his bag too as a result, flying onto my direction. So basically the flying water bottle(a big one still 3/4 full of water) and the man in front are both throwing at me. And at this time the fucker behind me KEEPS pushing me in as well, and because of that, i fell.
I lost my footing and balance and i fell but luckily i stood back up on time beforei can fall to the floor and be stomped to death. All this while "I cannot fall! Don't fall!" was the only thing that is running thru my mind. So i did just that. The whole incident made me lose contact with my bag(it was flying away from me) and as a result it kinda left a huge opening to my pocket right at that precise moment. When i stood back up i was being pushed instantly inside(i was about to shout back at the ppl behind me to STOP PUSHING) & honestly all i was thinking is "get inside, get inside, find a place to stand inside!" so i entered the train through the small & instant gap left behind by the foreigner.
When i stood properly inside i felt for my phone, and it was gone. I went O.O and a dreadful feeling came up within me. My phone! Where is my phone? Ohmigod my phone! I searched my pockets again, even searching my bag, but it wasn't in any of them. I looked back to the train door entrance & look at the people standing there (also at the people outside still pushing in) and thought "one of them has it"....
But i was speechless. I didn't shout out & tell everyone i lost my phone. I didn't even ask if anyone has seen it. Cos i'm pretty much sure someone saw it. I knew right there and then i lost it when i nearly fell earlier. At that precise point either someone took it from my pocket or the phone dropped out of my pocket. If it was stolen, the thief would've been gone. He could already be out of the platform and up to the station above, away from the train. Or he could be inside the train with me but hiding himself among the sea of people crammed in the train.
If it was picked up by someone though, they should've seen it belonged to mine cos it was so obvious. They shud've returned to me. But nooo.....ppl act like nothing happened. My heart was beating so fast and i feel so awful at the realisation i had just been robbed. But i didn't do anything either....i stood rooted to the spot, arms clutching my bag tightly to prevent another lost of belonging. The train door closed and started its way to Midvalley(the first stop), and i was probably in the same confinement with the thief but i did nothing....
My mind at that time was already blank and "blue-screen". Regret, anger, sadness, dread, i feel it all at the same time. As the train stopped and people went out, i was already a mess in my head, zero-logic, blanking out. All i could think abt is i lost my phone. Stupidly at that.
Because my phone was a smartphone, naturally i had apps running on them. If the thief manage to unlock my phone and went online with it, they can have access to my online accounts like Facebook, Twitter etc etc. That is purely a strong invasion of privacy, and i'm not going to let them get that. So i quickly went in search of a cybercafe which would enable me to go online and change my account passwords but there was none to be found.
Face it, how possible is it to have a cybercafe in the middle of a high-class shopping and tourist hotspot? None. I think i spent a good hour roaming the area of Midvalley looking for a place to online. The place is huge and beautiful, plenty of shops, plenty of goods, but i am not enjoying it at all. I couldn't even smile; i was sure my expression that time was grief.
My virgin Midvalley & KTM train experience had been spoilt by this incident. I was in no mood to continue find entertainment anymre. So i decided to go back home to where my spare phone(deactivated the SIM card in my smartphone to prevent abuse of the credit by the thief, had to spend RM10 as it was my second "offence" of losing a SIM card) is, and change my passwords on my own computer. I told my friend and my mum abt it....suffice to say mum is angry and disappointed with me. Sigh.
***
So that was how my phone was taken away from me. I should've seen the warnings...wait i did see it bt not consciously...because you see, before i lost my phone, there were already warning signs given to me....i wasn't parallel with the signs so i couldn't read them at the time...but now that i think abt it, yeah the signs were there...
The day before i lost my phone, i left it at home forgot to bring out for work...as a result i was phone-less the whole day...and because of hardly using it the battery pattern was out of schedule too so i had to charge it at work the next day....and the whole time when i was charging it, i kept fidgeting at it for god knows why(i know why now ==). I keep touching my phone checking its battery, and because that day we had third-party cleaners cleaning the office i was adamant to not leave anything(esp my phone) behind in the office, so that it won't be "freely-given" to the cleaners.
In the end it was "freely taken" away from me anyway. =(
U see...the forgetting to bring the phone out. First sign. A sign that warns me the phone is safer back at home. Second sign is the constant fidgeting. It was a subconscious movement by me to keep a tight grip on my phone...
But ultimately the biggest contribution of all is the thought that attracted this thing to happen. I was subconsciously thinking NOT & NEVER to lose the phone, and this thought manifested itself, causing circumstances to arise which made me lose my phone.
Its a deep process which i can't explain in detail here...but what u think, either consciously or subconsciously, attracts things to happen to approve it. Although i never wanted to lose my phone ever, but the fear of losing it became so great it surpassed the thought that i can actually keep it for a long time, thus suppressing it, and attracted powers to make it happen instead.
So....an important advice to all of you: watch and hear your thoughts. Be careful with what you think. You have the power to attract what you want. But you are able to attract what you don't want either. So be wise!
I don't really blame anyone for this incident....but myself. I blame myself alot. It is my responsibility anyway. No excuses. I should've been more alert. I should've put my phone in my bag instead of my pocket. I shouldn't have attracted attention to my phone by taking pictures. There were so many "should have's"....
I accepted it though....i know and accept this. It's really good making peace with yourself. Yes it still makes me sad at times but i can safely say i got over it already. I accepted it is lost(though there's a tiny hope someone will come back and return it to me) and i understand the circumstances that lead to it. This can only be a lesson to learn in my life. :)
Ariadne, you will be deeply missed. Because u are my own birthday present, and because i own u with my own hard-earned money. I'm sorry i couldn't keep u for even a year and i already lost you.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Moved in!
Yeap, i've moved into my new room. It was such a exhausting trip tho. =/ Luckily i had my friend helping me out, if not....die!!!! But even if there's two of us doing it, we were pretty beat by the end of it....
You see, i brought a huge luggage along with me....that alone already weighs 23kg(can u believe that!), which i found out at the airport when i was checking in. Heavy ehhh!!! I can smuggle a child in it... =X
Other than that huge luggage we had to carry my mattress over. Yeap, i couldn't find a new mattress(mom has a big part in deciding whether those i saw is too expensive or not) in time for the move-in so i took my friend's mattress instead(which he bought over frm his landlord, and he apparently "forgot" the price when i asked him how much to pay him for the mattress ==).
We split my huge luggage into two, borrowing one of his luggage bags, and dragged and lifted them over. My condo was just opposite his, but it's still quite a distance, normal walking time would be about 10mins between each condo. Imagine doing that in a freakishly hot late afternoon. Really. That's how bad it was. =3=
So that was the first trip, then we went back to the shops search for nylon line to tie up the mattress for easier carrying. Since it was a Sunday alot of the shops were actually closed, but luckily after sometime we managed to find one and bought a roll, then went back to my friends condo for the mattress.
I think we spent a good 1/2hr tying up the mattress >< none of us know how to do it, so i tried to do it by visualizing how a tied mattress looks like and tried to tie like that @@ very idiotic way rite! Haha! >< It was so much work though, mattress is quite heavy and it just won't bend == after that we brought it dwnstairs and to my condo.
Alas, halfway thru, it was beginning to be a very hard task. The mattress is very slippery, and really heavier as it go on. Plus i didn't really tie it up properly cos we ran out of ropes in the end @@ so we were carrying it in a very risky(injury!) and dangerous way. We did see a taxi going pass and was flagging it down, but the driver doesn't want to bring us after seeing we're carrying a mattress. NOoooooooooooooo!!!
By the time i threw the mattress in my room it was alr 8.30pm and i hadn't had a proper meal in the whole day. I was famished, so we went to dinner(more like me alone since my friend ate earlier) We went to this clutter of stalls, and there was this uncle auctioning off crystals. LOL. First time i see something like this, but apparently its quite common among the people there.
And i didn't believe a single thing he said, depsite the really cheap prices and beautiful-lookiing crystals. Haha. It'll take alot for me to believe in the powers of some dug out earthstones. >< After that i part ways with my friend, because i hafta go and buy my fan. Despite being so tired i dun wanna spend the night fan-less.
I got back arnd 10.30pm and spent an hr assembling the damn fan. In the night heat. Already sweating like shit. Ughh i'm so noob at assembling it haha. But i feel glad cos now i did something i never did before!!! :) even tho its simple reassembling...xD
That's how my Sunday went. Now i've grown some "guns" and i cant help but smile when i look at them. LOL. I'm soo freaking vain rite!!! HAHAHAHAHHAA!!!! I like my muscles ok!! xP
Just now managed to clean my room more and got some mre groceries, and starting nxt mth, gottta watch how i spend. Alot of things here are so evil.....they tempt u to part ways with ur hard-earned money! ><
You see, i brought a huge luggage along with me....that alone already weighs 23kg(can u believe that!), which i found out at the airport when i was checking in. Heavy ehhh!!! I can smuggle a child in it... =X
Other than that huge luggage we had to carry my mattress over. Yeap, i couldn't find a new mattress(mom has a big part in deciding whether those i saw is too expensive or not) in time for the move-in so i took my friend's mattress instead(which he bought over frm his landlord, and he apparently "forgot" the price when i asked him how much to pay him for the mattress ==).
We split my huge luggage into two, borrowing one of his luggage bags, and dragged and lifted them over. My condo was just opposite his, but it's still quite a distance, normal walking time would be about 10mins between each condo. Imagine doing that in a freakishly hot late afternoon. Really. That's how bad it was. =3=
So that was the first trip, then we went back to the shops search for nylon line to tie up the mattress for easier carrying. Since it was a Sunday alot of the shops were actually closed, but luckily after sometime we managed to find one and bought a roll, then went back to my friends condo for the mattress.
I think we spent a good 1/2hr tying up the mattress >< none of us know how to do it, so i tried to do it by visualizing how a tied mattress looks like and tried to tie like that @@ very idiotic way rite! Haha! >< It was so much work though, mattress is quite heavy and it just won't bend == after that we brought it dwnstairs and to my condo.
Alas, halfway thru, it was beginning to be a very hard task. The mattress is very slippery, and really heavier as it go on. Plus i didn't really tie it up properly cos we ran out of ropes in the end @@ so we were carrying it in a very risky(injury!) and dangerous way. We did see a taxi going pass and was flagging it down, but the driver doesn't want to bring us after seeing we're carrying a mattress. NOoooooooooooooo!!!
By the time i threw the mattress in my room it was alr 8.30pm and i hadn't had a proper meal in the whole day. I was famished, so we went to dinner(more like me alone since my friend ate earlier) We went to this clutter of stalls, and there was this uncle auctioning off crystals. LOL. First time i see something like this, but apparently its quite common among the people there.
And i didn't believe a single thing he said, depsite the really cheap prices and beautiful-lookiing crystals. Haha. It'll take alot for me to believe in the powers of some dug out earthstones. >< After that i part ways with my friend, because i hafta go and buy my fan. Despite being so tired i dun wanna spend the night fan-less.
I got back arnd 10.30pm and spent an hr assembling the damn fan. In the night heat. Already sweating like shit. Ughh i'm so noob at assembling it haha. But i feel glad cos now i did something i never did before!!! :) even tho its simple reassembling...xD
That's how my Sunday went. Now i've grown some "guns" and i cant help but smile when i look at them. LOL. I'm soo freaking vain rite!!! HAHAHAHAHHAA!!!! I like my muscles ok!! xP
Just now managed to clean my room more and got some mre groceries, and starting nxt mth, gottta watch how i spend. Alot of things here are so evil.....they tempt u to part ways with ur hard-earned money! ><
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Settling in....
Hey everyone! How's everything going?
I'm now in the capital city of Malaysia already, a huge, bustling and busy city filled with life and the complexities that comes with it. >< I've been here since Wed and only yesterday i managed to find a suitable room to rent for the few upcoming months.
It wasn't easy though, alot of the rooms advertised (i found mine online) are already taken, or too expensive for my budget, too far from the LRT stations, empty rooms with no furniture, or only available in the next mth(July). I was beginning to worry alot that i can't find a suitable room before my work starts, until i saw this current one.
It is quite ok, just that i still need to buy my own fan and mattress. Ok for now i think....since i don't have much choice *shrugs* but yeap, i'll move in tmr, then i can consider myself fully settled. xD
In between checking out rooms and some of the areas i went to alot of places these last few days, basically discovering and seeing for myself how the places looks like in (nearly) each of the LRT stations....of course, that included alot of walking ;) It was good exercise anyway, though tiring! xD
Weather here so far ok, but it can be really hot at times. Of course, the air here is worse >< everyday i can see haze around. Unavoidable, since there's so much traffic here. ><
So i guess that's it. For the current update. Haha. Hope u guys are doing fine :) do take care, i love you all!!! ^^
I'm now in the capital city of Malaysia already, a huge, bustling and busy city filled with life and the complexities that comes with it. >< I've been here since Wed and only yesterday i managed to find a suitable room to rent for the few upcoming months.
It wasn't easy though, alot of the rooms advertised (i found mine online) are already taken, or too expensive for my budget, too far from the LRT stations, empty rooms with no furniture, or only available in the next mth(July). I was beginning to worry alot that i can't find a suitable room before my work starts, until i saw this current one.
It is quite ok, just that i still need to buy my own fan and mattress. Ok for now i think....since i don't have much choice *shrugs* but yeap, i'll move in tmr, then i can consider myself fully settled. xD
In between checking out rooms and some of the areas i went to alot of places these last few days, basically discovering and seeing for myself how the places looks like in (nearly) each of the LRT stations....of course, that included alot of walking ;) It was good exercise anyway, though tiring! xD
Weather here so far ok, but it can be really hot at times. Of course, the air here is worse >< everyday i can see haze around. Unavoidable, since there's so much traffic here. ><
So i guess that's it. For the current update. Haha. Hope u guys are doing fine :) do take care, i love you all!!! ^^
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Wanted....
....for a job, that is! Yeap, that's right, i secured myself a job already! ><
It's been awhile since my last post isn't it. And my, what an angry post that was. Yeap i was depressed and it was a really bad week, nothing went well so yeah, i finally exploded.
But guess what, the week after everything turned out for the better, thankfully. Brother started talking to me, acknowledging my existence == but yeah, its always good when he lets me talk to him, even tho its not really talking mre like annoying each other in a playful way. xD and then things started to look up with my job search, and i started to really accept things which had happened and set myself to move on and dont think so much. ><
The week after that i got a call frm KL, from a post i applied online just for the heck of it...cos i'm kinda restless at home already and desperate to start earning money >< suffice to say after some consideration they asked me to attend an interview, which i did a week later and voila! I got the job!
Of course it wasnt easy...i was worried abt mum, the pay and alot of things...bt in the end we worked it out and yeah, i'm going to KL end of this mth, find accommodation, move in and start another chapter in my working life. I do hope everything will go smoothly!
---
KL, an even bigger city than the places i been too. Of course, with a bigger city comes bigger crimes and dangers. And i hafta really be alert when i'm there. As of right now there is a serial acid-splasher around, omg so dangerous == bt even so, KL is full of opportunities and chances, and i might have a better chance of finding what i want over there.
Also i can meet up with my KL friends. It's pretty exciting and i'm looking forward to it. Esp knowing some of my coursemates gonna move over in the future for their careers. Looks like our paths are gonna be crossed again!
Look forward to the next day with positivity! U won't be down in the doldrums forever. Next thing u know, u're lifted up again, by whatever mysterious ways the universe works. So even tho everything might seem so depressing, in the end the light will always shine through the dark clouds.
=)
It's been awhile since my last post isn't it. And my, what an angry post that was. Yeap i was depressed and it was a really bad week, nothing went well so yeah, i finally exploded.
But guess what, the week after everything turned out for the better, thankfully. Brother started talking to me, acknowledging my existence == but yeah, its always good when he lets me talk to him, even tho its not really talking mre like annoying each other in a playful way. xD and then things started to look up with my job search, and i started to really accept things which had happened and set myself to move on and dont think so much. ><
The week after that i got a call frm KL, from a post i applied online just for the heck of it...cos i'm kinda restless at home already and desperate to start earning money >< suffice to say after some consideration they asked me to attend an interview, which i did a week later and voila! I got the job!
Of course it wasnt easy...i was worried abt mum, the pay and alot of things...bt in the end we worked it out and yeah, i'm going to KL end of this mth, find accommodation, move in and start another chapter in my working life. I do hope everything will go smoothly!
---
KL, an even bigger city than the places i been too. Of course, with a bigger city comes bigger crimes and dangers. And i hafta really be alert when i'm there. As of right now there is a serial acid-splasher around, omg so dangerous == bt even so, KL is full of opportunities and chances, and i might have a better chance of finding what i want over there.
Also i can meet up with my KL friends. It's pretty exciting and i'm looking forward to it. Esp knowing some of my coursemates gonna move over in the future for their careers. Looks like our paths are gonna be crossed again!
Look forward to the next day with positivity! U won't be down in the doldrums forever. Next thing u know, u're lifted up again, by whatever mysterious ways the universe works. So even tho everything might seem so depressing, in the end the light will always shine through the dark clouds.
=)
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