Malaysia 19th-21st May

By far, the most commercialized and modernized country of all (other than Singapore). First thing we noticed, after being in Indonesia, “where were all the jams?”. There was practically not much cars around on the roads. For most Malaysian roads, we were traveling on highways which were lined with plantations and tall trees, but when we reached KL, we were welcomed to by the cityscapes and the high rise buildings of KL Menara and the KLCC towers. Big difference from Indonesia and Laos.

The next day it was Vesak Day so conclusion; best day to go out and meet with the locals around. We found this great spot at KLCC park where there were tons of children and families. Excellent place to find people to draw, but after awhile of drawing, we were chased away by the security. We then went to another place to take more videos and pictures and got whistled by another security. We were just asking for it but then I guess that's what makes this trip more thrilling to be in. We were greeted by a treasure of Malaysian Art in a certain floor of the KLCC towers. A lot of stores selling handicrafts being made Malaysian people. This goes to show if you have the right avenue and the right market, pursuing a business in Art is not at all impossible. Even in such a modernized culture in KL.

The trip to Bandar Ileh after that was excellent as Malacca was the part of Malaysia which was the most historical compared to other cities. We saw a lot historical buildings and shop houses which were now being used as stores to sell souvenirs and items for tourists. Multi-racial shop owners, colorful trishaw riders. People came from all walks of life over at that place. There was very old buildings made by the Dutch and Portugese. So it was kind of a history lesson given by none other than our beloved driver, Mr Euga. He was quite informative about historical facts of Malaysia.

For those of you guys who havent been to Selangor before, well, there''s nothing much happening there. There are rumors that that place is where the rich people stay at. A lot of open space and the houses are far apart from each other. One of the teachers there told us that the families always stay at home because just to go the nearest shop they have to drive out for quite long. Well, i wouldnt wanna go out if it was that far away anywhere.

For Malaysia, nothing much to talk about. Somewhat similar to Singapore the fact that it's a multi-racial society here also and it's so modernized. A bit of nostalgia though when I brought Pete to Petaling Street. The chinatown night market of KL. A lot of bargains there and Pete is excellent at that. The last time I went to KL i was actually staying at a backpacker's inn down that street. Brings back memories when I was sitting down at this coffee shop called "Mawar Merah". Me and Habib sat down there late night when we were there the last time around. Had kopi and burgers, it was a nice experience. M'sia serves really sweet kopi btw. Can u believe it? we actualy stayed there for 3 nights for onli 30 Sing dollars each, but then of course 6 guys arent really particular abt accommodation la, so it was easy, the fact that we went there without even booking our hotel beforehand.

Indonesia 15th-17th May

1^st thing that the driver that fetched me from the airport said to me was, “Are you Indonesian?”. It was a bit expected that he'd ask me that because even in Singapore people mistake me for being Indonesian. Part of it because my Dad's Indonesian. One thing I need to mention, out of all the 7 countries that we visited, I was mistaken for being local in 6 of them. The one being Vietnam, Pete was mistaken for local over there. So I was greeted by a lot of people who spoke in their national languages. And to their disappointment I wasn't local.

My very first impression of Jakarta when we reached was, when will we reach our hotel. I think we took almost close to 1 and a half hours to reach our hotel from the airport. The traffic jams over there , made Singapore jams seem like nothing. You could sleep and wake up and sleep again whilst in the car to reach your destination. Either you have to be a really good driver to travel fast or you just get a motorbike. Because of the frequent occurrence of traffic jams in Jakarta, they made a career out of it. We see adults and even children walking around in between cars to sell things like newspapers, fruits and souvenirs to the people in their cars. And in the effort to reduce the amount of traffic in Indonesia, the government imposed a law where, during peak hours, no less than 3 people are to be in the vehicle at one time, or they'll be fined. So, during peak hours, you see rows of people standing by the side of the road holding up their fingers showing how many of them are there available to fill up your car. You just bring them to wherever that you want to and pay them a small amount of money as payment so you can avoid paying the fine. It's very disheartening to me to see all these children having to all these just to survive and maybe even for the rest of their lives. Really makes me be very thankful of the fact that my Dad's family migrated to Singapore, if not I'd be in a similar situation as them.

The Ascott manager, Michael, brought us out for lunch. To this very authentic Indonesian restaurant. Very nice food and very nice furnishing but then I just didn't understand why they used such huge plates to serve the food to us. They were excessively big for the amount of food being served. Michael then shared with us some of his thoughts about traveling overseas for work. How it all opens your eyes to how you realize that so many Singaporeans become too used to their comfort one when they stay in Singapore their whole life. They take everything for granted and become blind to the difficulties that are being faced now by our neighboring countries. How he met many people from many different countries and realized that people all around the world talk about the same problems in life. Borders and big oceans doesn't make you totally different person and you go through the same emotional phases in life at the same age all around the world. We then made our way to Sunda Kelapa port where there was a lot of people working to load cargo into ships. We even saw young teenagers working there but the thing is, they don't look like they were suffering or anything. They were smiling whenever we approached them and they just looked like they were liking each other's company at the busy port.

Before we left for Malaysia, we visited a local no-profit school opened by an Indonesian TV Presenter, Dik Duang. He was having a special event for street children living near the school. He invited a very popular Indonesian film actress, Luna Maya to become their model and let them draw her. She was there to share her experiences when she was still young and was growing up in a natural environment. And she was telling the children present there to cherish living in a natural environment and growing up in nature because these are the things that you'd want to remember and treasure when you grow up when you won't have time to 'stop and smell the roses' anymore. Something that I can't say I had the chance to experience when I was younger though. Something I can say about being human I guess, that you'll never be satisfied with everything that you have.

Laos 11th- 13th May

Laos is a place where it is very similar to Thailand. Already being neighbors, they have similar languages, the locals look somewhat the same, and their food, acquired. We lived right beside the popular Mekong River and there is this community and economy built around the survival through the utilizing the river's resources; fish. Tons of street side stalls selling salted fish, fresh fish covered with tons of salt. I'm sure someone will get sick eating too much of that. But apparently it's supposed to taste really good. Pace over there is still somewhat slow like Brunei but more people can be seen walking around as this place has some tourists visiting.

When we went to interact with this group of young girls at a fountain we saw this girl who was selling inflatable toys. Apparently she needed to do that to make a living. There was a very big difference between her attitude and the other girls who were around the same age as her. They could play the whole day after school but for her case she had to lug around all those inflatable toys just to help her family earn a living. Even when Pete handed her something, it felt like it she didn't even know how to smile. Like it took so much energy just to smile and show happiness. My perception was that she wasn't used to being happy about her life and her environment. I was just happy that we were able to make her happy even if for one second of her life. Like it mattered to someone and she was significant to a total stranger at that point of time.

We were drawing this old man which was holding little wooden cages which had small birds in them. For a moment I thought he was rearing these birds. Then I realized that people pay him to release the birds and let them free. I was just wondering, what if nobody pays for the birds? Wouldn't that particular bird be in captivity for very long? It's really amazing how the kind of things that can people be pushed to do just to survive.

Language barrier that we faced in Laos. I found out from Khamla, logistics officer from Laos Embassy that if you learn how to speak Lao for a month, you'll be able to understand Thai because they use similar words. “Neng, Song, Sam” 1,2 and 3 in both languages.

We made a new best friend after that, Mr Khamla. The Logistics Officer of Laos Embassy. He brought us to try some local food, by the Mekong River. He had an excellent sense of humor and he shed some light on the education system and look on education in Laos. He was saying that the children are becoming very dependent on their parents and the parents, showing care for their children will do anything to fulfill the wants of their children. So dependent the children become that they become lazy and therefore results in the disinterest in studying in school. This made me realize why over here in Singapore why education is so emphasized and enforced upon every Singaporean child. That's why I think almost every person in Laos stays in Laos their whole life because they become less marketable overseas due to the lack of education. I guess these are the kind of people that don't contribute to the improvement of Laos' economy.

On the night itself, the Deputy Ambassador brought us to this place with a live band. It was called, “Club Zai De”, if that's how u spell it. Quite modernized place in the middle of nowhere in the midst of rundown houses. After being fed all those authentic Laos dishes which were all acquired, we finally got to eat old school BBQ chicken. That made my night, it was excellent, best meal in Laos sad to say. Speaking of that, I think the most memorable food that Pete had was the Laos burger that he had one of the days. Just the sight of it being prepared at the stall with all the flies buzzing around I really don't know how he could have eaten it. He had diarrhea after that. Spoiler for Indonesia.

We went to his house after that and let me tell u it was HUGE! It cost US1K a month of rent and its damn worth it i tin. Its only that he's living there by himself so it was such a waste. I now know who to look for the next time i go to Laos, IF i go, haha.

Brunei 4th-6th May

Brunei was our first stop out of Singapore. We were welcomed by Mr Nithi, Deputy Ambassador of Singapore Embassy. We went through customs in a breeze and we were given a preview on what to expect in the next few days in Brunei. Being able to speak in Malay, it was much easier for me to remember the names of the places of interests that we were recommended to go to to be able to meet with the local people.
The first thing that we noticed about Brunei was the slow and steady pace that was taken by the community there. Every 5-10 mins of traveling on the vehicle, we'd only see 1 or 2 people walking down the pavement by the road. Massive difference from Singapore I'd say.
At a nearby shopping mall appropriately called, “The Mall”. Supposedly the mini-orchard of Brunei, we were greeted by an almost deserted mall. Families in Brunei normally spend their Sundays at home with their families. Overall, the locals could speak English so communication wasn't really a problem. We were then greeted by this group of cute young girls who just came from a birthday party. After a short while of interacting with them, we noticed a group of middle-aged ladies standing around us. At first impression, I thought they were the children's mothers but then Damien shed some light on it saying that they were actually the maids of the children. One to attend to every single one of them. At that point of time, we realized, we might be with the children of some of the richest families in Brunei. Stroke of luck brought us to meet another group of girls but this time teenagers. They were very friendly and the thing is, they really look like Singaporean Chinese school girls. One of them willing to become our tour guide on the next day.

We went to Kampong Ayer, (water village), it is actually a village of Kampongs built on stilts. Very traditional. We were there at sunset so the whole place was majestic. We didn't managed to get to the village but we did pay an amount for a boat to bring us around the village. A nice touch of tradition amongst the concrete buildings around the island. Even though we only had an afternoon to catch the sights, I felt that it was well worth it the places we went to for the day. Point to note; never wait for a cab in Brunei, there only 30 in the whole state. One more thing, everyone owns a car in Brunei.
Breakfast was a 'treat' as we were greeted by many breakfast sets, only difference between them? The way the egg was prepared. We were treated to a number of Brunei goodies which looked familiar to me but then they were presented differently than in Singapore. Finally something familiar, to me at least.
That night,we met up with this girl and mum who we met the previous day who became our guides. And we happen to find out that her family was rumored to be the richest family in Brunei (they own a chain of 8 huge departmental stores around Brunei, “Hua Ho Supermarket”). Really nice to be able to meet nice people who were able to trust perfect strangers to bring us to the Palace and this huge Pasar Malam. Every store had a shop space, compared to Singapore but then they didn't have so much things to sell, and even sold them at super low prices. Imagine a packet of Nasi Lemak was sold at 80cents. (notice the ease of converting Brunei currency). This was where we had the 'Pop Pop' icicle. Just bad-tasting crushed ice with flavored powder. Of course being in that place was a treat for me and Damien as we were suckers for places with such good environment for taking pictures, with all the smoke from the food and the bright tungsten lights. This was also a place where the Brunei families came together at night to make a living and mingle with the rest of the community.
At this point of time, we were feeling that Brunei was coming to an end. Going to the Singapore Embassy after that was a treat. It felt like it was a small part of Singapore, in Brunei. Ambassador, “It's easier to strike oil in Brunei then to hail down a cab”. So we were told to take a picture with the cab because of the it's rarity in Brunei. “Empire Hotel”, just it's name sounds majestic, needless to say the hotel itself. Built by the Sultan, the whole place looked like it was made with gold. It even had its own mini man-made beach within its compound. It was plain ridiculous. Never thought I'd come face to face with such a fancy place, it was almost surreal.

Where I've disppeared to..

Due to some reasons that i cant disclose, im not able to state here the reason why ive been travelling ASEAN for the past few wks (until further notice) but then i can still talk about my adventures. so here goes...

The nonsense things..

Even now as I am writing this post, I am trying to figure out ho to solve this stupid Rubix cube which i bought last x'mas. This picture is the closest i got to 'solving' it. I really need someone to tell me how to do it man. Seriously, the kind of things that i do to fill up my time, and i still cant figure out how to do it... ~annoyed. really havent been doin much lately as i haf been handing over my classes (art and dance) over to my bosses as i'm flying off in 2 wk's time. for almost a month i foresee.
my god, im soo gonna miss hm man. the longest time ive been away from hm i tin was once wen i went to taiwan for training for 5 wks. im sure it's not gonna be the same la s this one i wont feel so useless as compared to training. i TIN im gonna miss danish my nephew (pic) he's in K2 this yr and he's getting quite irritating nowadays (as much as i love him) he's super hyperactive and sometimes u juz dunno how to handle him. and he loves to like juz runaway to my mum cuz she always pampers him. so not fair.. i wasn't treated like tt wen i was young. ~jealous haha so old oready..

i noe someone who ADORES him, maria. she juz doesnt understand why i treat him the way i do. (u noe i always scold him) cuz my mum seldom does. so i cannot let him be a spoilt child whenever he's in my hs. see tt pic? doesn't it look like somethin u'd see at a malay wedding? we call it 'hantaran'. it's actually somethin made for maria's recent lasalle assesment. packaging design and then her concept was laces. i call it 'Laces and Balls'. the balls is another installation. 1st time record: 24 hrs looking at maria's face, haha. tt night we juz stayed up the WHOLE night to juz rush her assessment projects which was due the next morning at 10am. 'twas crazy. we were trying to keep ourseleves awake by singing songs and saying jokes.

i tin the chinaman tt was sleeping there also wont be able to sleep i tell u. haha. 'twas kinda scary la the place, dark and lot's of things all ard. seems like working in a very old, unpacked basement or attic.luckily we managed to finish everythin on time and i tell u it wasnt an easy feat. since those sleepless nights durin poly, i havent done this for soo long. anyways, the picture of the pic is actually of a monkey tt is made by PUMA. in ian's shop, its a cool soft toy of a monkey tt u can pull it's eyes out. COOL RIGHT? it's one of my hangout places in orchard whenever someone bails me out, and believe me it has happened to me so many million times. so i'm glad i can go there to haf company, haha. reminds me, im gg there later too, haha.

to add to my collection of nonsense things tt i've done lately, this is a pic of me and my troupe members being squeezed in a car to go to a concert. we had no choice but to squeeze man, really, and it wasnt somethin very fun to be doing wen u're in a very comfortable position. as u can see u can even see me in tt picture. actually i was on the right side of the pic being squashed to the side. record: 8 adults in a norm-sized car. the nonsense things i do in life. haiz...

A.P.P.L.E.Q. = Q.U.I.T.

As the days go pass..

Seriously, i need more motivation in life man. see the things i do on a normal sunny day outside? (ok it was gonna rain) but still... my god. ok teaching's gd and everythin but then how much time is tt occupying my life? oh man. i cant wait to fly off in 2 wks time. slowly ppl are like askin me to buy stuff for them and i dun even noe which currency to change to. (actually considerin to juz buy everything from s'pore.. haha)

Thx to wushu training, i almost sprained my ankle and it's super hurting now. somethin i juz discovered this mornin while going down the stairs. seriously not my cuppa tea. stick to dancing, stick to dancing.

Juz went for typhoid fever and tetanus jabs today for my upcoming trip on the 19th April. but it's all able to be claimed. bloody hell 82 bucks man! and tt maria so funny was SO SUPER scared of injections. die die want me to go first. she didnt even go for the Hep B jab in poly 2 yrs ago. i juz don und why somebody can be so afraid of somethin so tiny... at least im scared of BIG, SCARY CROCODILES. my biggest fear ever in my life. oh man, juz makes my hair stand.

This officically makes the 1st wk tt im teachin every single day of the wk.
Mon: Art club
Tue: Creative movement class
Wed: Ethnic fusion
Thurs: Art class
Fri: Metal tooling class
Which reminds me i haf to source for references for my student tmr now.. hah

A.R.T.Y.F.A.R.T.Y.