Terrible Case: November 2004

November 29, 2004

Guangzhou trip (Part 1)

The first thing that strikes you about this city is how hazy it is. As the plane approaches the airport, you can't see anything below until you clear the haze on a typical day. There's no Indonesian to blame here as the haze is caused by its local vehicles and industries. However, don't be surprise if you don't notice any black emission from the vehicles here. Unlike in Malaysia. The expressway from the new Guangzhou International Airport is impressive enough until you approaches the city when everything goes haywire. There's traffic jam alright in the city but the expressway remains clear. I was told only about 3% of the Chinese population owns a car. I shudder to think of the traffic problems here if the figure doubles. Which won't be a surprise because China is prospering. Rapidly it must be added.

If you can't speak Mandarin, the local people speaks Cantonese so it shouldn't be a problem if you're visiting here from KL or Ipoh. Typical of Canton people, they love to devour anything! Dog lovers should avoid the Guangdong province or this city in particular because dog meats are sold openly everywhere! And especially as winter is approaching. Exotic dishes like snakes, crickets, scorpions, maggots, grasshopper etc can be found here. But if you're not into these exotic food, normal Canton dishes can be found in abundance here. And it won't burn a hole in your pocket even if you decides to dine at restaurant similar to Tai Thong or Overseas in Malaysia. Disregarding the dog’s meat served here, food lover should find Guangzhou’s err..normal food to be heaven. While the pricing is something to shout about (7 dishes in a restaurant similar to Tai Thong in KL with fish, prawn & crabs cost only RM150+), the main emphasis here is the freshness of the food especially the meat dishes. Even some vegetables are plucked right out of small pots before cooking.

to be continued...

Guangzhou airport

Airport tower

Guangzhou city...note the 500 years old buildings/residence at the bottom

Left hand drive here...not as many bicycles but heck a lot of cars!

Guangzhou metro station...single line operation for now

Roundabout with a statue..typical of many Chinese cities

There's people everywhere in this city even backlane shops

Ahhhh...no where to run here! Beware of pickpockets though

Cabs are well equipped with iron bars!

Abundance of old buildings in this metropolis

A unique err..bus selling soft drinks

November 20, 2004

Kellie's Castle

Located on the outskirt of Ipoh and before the town of Batu Gajah, this is another structure which reminds us of our colonial past. Built by a Scotsman, William Kellie Smith, a multi-millionaire who made his fortune in the late 19th century Malaya from rubber. However, there's little evidence of a rubber plantation around the castle as most of it had already been converted into palm oil plantation. Legend has it that this castle was unfinished because of the death of William's wife who were said to have plunged to her death from the top of this castle. Distraught, William decided to abandon the castle and return home to Scotland.

After being abandoned itself by the Perak government for many years, it has been turned into a tourist attraction. The castle used to be full of graffiti and was believed to be a junkies haunt. After a recent refurbishment, the authority see it fit to charge an admission fee for this place. Gone are the graffiti on the walls but the roof remain tarnished. Much of the structure of the castle remains in good condition and it's kind of the authority to built safety bars to avoid unsuspecting visitor from plunging down of the gaps in the castle.

Don't really look like a traditional castle, more like a huge bungalow

The tower

Moorish design reminiscent of the Sultan Abdul Samah building in KL

The corridor

One of many "secret" passage in the castle.

It's almost a 50 foot drop if it weren't for these bars built by the current management

View from the roof

The "decor" on the rooftop

Another section of the unfinished castle

Wouldn't look out of place in a cowboy movie

November 09, 2004

Duck Fun

OK, I'll admit it. Only someone with a twisted mind like mine can come up with this lewd suggestion on a poster seen in a McDonald's restaurant recently. What were they thinking of when they came up with this poster?

Here duckie duckie..come for some suckie suckie.

Unfulfilled Desire

What is it with men and their attraction for the fairer sex? With the exception of homosexuals, us men often find ourselves in a predicament each and every time we come across a women who in our own unique taste seem attractive. Single or not, this is happening to some significant percentage of the male population save for those goodie goodie type of person. We croon, we infatuate, we fantasize, we lust and all other sorts of concoction to sometimes more than one woman. Are we such beast that we are unable to control our libido? Or is it passion we are seeking? Passion that could be missing from an existing relationship perhaps? Is it always better at the other side? We are prepared to give it all, sacrifice even, just to be with that dream of ours. Or perhaps when deep inside we know that the object of our affection is unattainable, we lose appetite, lose our sense of direction, lose the will to live, lose a meaningful life or worse, lose everything fighting a lost cause. We often find ourselves begging to turn back the clock and correct past “mistakes” when we thought we’ve found that special someone that’s been the missing link all this while. Alas, there ain’t no McFly and DeLorean in this world, no 24 hour kiosk we can slot a few coins (or notes) in to bring us back to the past. It’s a sad little episode we have to deal with and deal with it some did. But what of the others?

And what if we managed to attain what we’ve been seeking? Will it be the start of another vicious cycle? Do we understand the meaning of the word “satisfaction”? Are we after all, romantic fools? Confused? Don’t be. Some of you who read this might just understand what I’m rambling about here. I make no apology for perhaps being too general here. I am a confused soul (or perhaps a fool) waiting for the right medicine.