The Japanese are Funny

Strange no? Just have a look at the picture below, which I found from a good site, loaded to the brim with funny stuff. Kind of reminds me of Ultraman, haha. Have a good laugh :)

 

==END==

When the Lifeline is Broken

It never occurred to me, for even a moment, that I could ever be so addicted to the internet. True to the maxim that you only appreciate something once it is gone, that was exactly how I felt the moment Telekom pulled the plug on me; because I was upgrading to a faster speed, but one that required a change of billing name.

For one thing, Telekom is pretty efficient; but for odd and awkward reasons. Only an hour after the line-termination form was submitted, my umbilical cord was suddenly cut, and so was my connection with the rest of the world (and from my pals on Facebook, urrghhh).

Of Curses and Praises

What became 'fairly tolerable' for a few hours eventually turned into a 'nail-biting hysteria' after just 3 days of abstinence. So apparently the only solace I found was in the fact that I could still check up on my pals on Facebook Mobile, and so that was the only sliver of light left at the end of this musty tunnel.

Thankfully, thanks to a very efficient sub-contractor, the whole issue was resolved without much of a hiccup, save for the fact that Telekom's 'boleh' server was down the day before, thanks to the embodiment of the 'boleh' spirit that echoes throughout of Malaysia's largest telco. Malaysia indeed 'boleh'.

The day before, the contractor broke to me the possibility that the maximum possible speed that could be supported was 2Mbps. The fact that I subscribed to a 4Mbps package meant that there would be more delays to be expected, if this was indeed true. The nail-biting continued.

Thank goodness, it was a problem with one of the 'boleh' servers, and it was resolved the following morning. Speeds were great (in Malaysia, you just don't expect to much, do you?), and at 4Mbps, I suddenly became good pals with Youtube. I hope the speed stays that way, at least until I decide to upgrade in the future. Praise be to Telekom!

Google Yer Matties! Arrr...

Google is, without the faintest shadow of any doubt, the most amazing thing that has ever happened to the internet. Despite their prominence, Google is also a company that appreciates a little humor. Just visit Google's 'Language Tools' page and see for yourself. Just scroll to the bottom (get ready!) and take note of the following 'language' choices:

• Bork, bork, bork!
• Elmer Fudd
• Hacker
• Pirate

These are just four funny ones I stumbled into, can you find more?

Little Litterbugs

"Keep Malaysia Clean"
"Think before you throw"

There is a never-ending barrage of the above channeled to us through our government sponsored television adverts and campaign posters about 'keeping Malaysia spick and span', yet it seems that the efficacy of the abovementioned remains somewhat of a mixed bag.

What I find more disturbing is the sight of school-going children dumping their garbage around their school yard and around the bus-stops.

I sometimes wonder what they ever learn in school, or more mind-boggling, what kind of values their parents have been instilling in their kids.

Unfortunately, it's not just the little ones guilty of this, but even educated adults as well. I was once told of a lawyer who even declared that is his 'right to dump his rubbish wherever he pleases' as we pay taxes to have the council clean up our streets. I don't see this as doing justice to our road sweepers.

While Kuching can certainly claim the spot for being one of the cleanest cities in the country, this habit is becoming entrenched. All too often, I see drivers who wind down their car window and dump their rubbish onto the streets, with a carload of kids. So much for homegrown values.

Trip to Bako National Park

Having been jungle trekking in the past and scaling some of the not-so-tall hills and mountains of Sarawak, I had been thirsting for a similar adventure so I asked myself, “Why not go to Bako?”

 

We had been planning this trip for a long time, way too long, and before we knew it, all the hostels and lodging were all snapped up for the weekend, so we went for a day trip instead.

For those who don’t know much about Bako National Park, the national park is the oldest in the East Malaysian state of Sarawak and is located some 29 to 30 kilometers from Kuching (see picture below), the capital of Sarawak. My pals gathered at my place on early Saturday morning at around 6.30am before meeting up at Thompson Corner for a hearty breakfast of kolo mee to keep our energy levels high for the trip ahead. I had been gaining some weight for some time (extra 15 kilos the last time I checked, may be higher now) so this is the perfect moment to get in shape.

Bako National Park is one of the nearest national parks to Kuching, and getting there by car or bus should be a no-brainer. The second phase of the journey however requires visitors to travel by boat.

It is possible to charter a motorboat at the national park terminal at Kampung Bako and it costs RM 47.00 per boat per way, for 5 persons.

The boat trip was quite scenic as we were greeted by views of the kampungs and fishing boats of the fishing village along the way for the first 5 minutes of the boat journey, followed by several stretches of mangrove swamps.

The boat trip was a lot shorter than I had initially thought. As we were nearing the park’s jetty, we spotted some of Bako’s top attractions; walls of sandstone and limestone, crafted by wind and water over thousands of years.

This is of course, not without getting a spectacular view of Mount Santubong, which is said to resemble the profile of Rajah Brooke lying down. The photo below was taken from Teluk Assam, near the jetty. Legend has it that there was once a princess named Santubong, who was cursed and turned into a mountain.

It is not difficult to get around the park as most areas are accessible via trails which are properly maintained. The elevated plank walk shown below allows visitors to have a good view of the mangrove swamps.

*To be continued in Part 2