Old Building in Jalan Bendahara, Melaka

Old building usually have interesting characters, just like this one seen from its backlane.

Twin Towers & Moon

We were at the Toyota Classic concert that was held in the Petronas Philharmonic Hall this evening. After the concert, I just can't resist going out to capture some photos of the Petronas Twin Towers. Each time I am here, I get different shots of the buildings. As usual, the building didn't fail to amaze me with its beautiful structure. With all the lights lit up, it looks more spectacular at nite.

Here's a shot of Petronas Twin Tower with the full moon. What do you think of the building?

Walk for Sight

10-10-10 - 10th Oct 2010 seems to be such a special date ~ in Chinese, it can be interpreted as "Perfect". As such many events were held in Klang Valley on this date, especially weddings. However, it was not a wedding that I went to. I spent the morning joining the 'Walk for Sight' event organized by the Lions Club.

The purpose of the event was to raise fund to build facilities for visually impaired in Malaysia, to have mobile eye check-up facility and to create awareness about visually impairment.

Participants did the walk in pair. One of us is blindfolded and our partner would lead us to walk through PJ New Town. The total route was about 3.3km. I shared the walk with my friend. My friend started being blindfolded first. Half way through I took over. It is not easy to walk when what I could see was only total darkness. I had to depend on my hearing and also support from my partner. It was a relief when we reached PJ Civic Centre and was greeted by fellow organizers that we had made it to the finish line. That was also when I could remove my blindfold and end my journey as a blind person.

Imagine what life is like for a visually impaired person who has to live his life in total darkness, knowing that he will never get remove his blindfold to see the light? That thought makes me feel grateful that I have my eyesight and I shall take real good care of my eyes!

9 Emperor Gods Festival Began

The Nine Emperor Gods Festival kick started yesterday. It's the first day of the 9th Lunar Calendar. This festival will last for 9 days. We were at the temple in Sg. Way to offer prayers to the Nine Emperor Gods.

Silat - Martial Art

A Silat (Malay martial art) demonstration was held during the Hari Raya Feast organized by the mosque in our neighbourhood.

Hari Raya Feast

Our neighbourhood mosque organized a Hari Raya Feast for all of us and nearby residents who frequented the mosque. We were fortunate enough to learn about this event the night before from a fellow neighbour.

It is great for the mosque to organize such an event and to extend invitation to residents of all races and religions to join in the festive occasion. My only wish is that the publicity could have been better so that more residents are aware of it and able to join in the celebration. It was a great time for us to meet up with our fellow neighbours and made friends with them through this event. We met some very warm people there. It made us felt so welcomed and I hope I would be able to join in more Hari Raya celebration organized by this mosque in the years to come.

This group of boys were seen enjoying some Hari Raya cookies.

Pink is the Theme

October is the Breast Cancer Awareness month. Malls and even KL Tower is supporting this campaign to create awareness among women to do self-breast check in order to detect breast cancer at its early stage. Early detection can help the patient to survive breast cancer.

This photo was a window display of a lingerie boutique in The Mid Valley Mall. It features a wishing tree with words of hope, love and health awareness for all where breast cancer is concerned.

Do remember that early detection of breast cancer can save life. Create awareness about self-breast check.

Kg. Morten's Bridge

The new bridge of Kg. Morten looks really good. The beautiful hibiscus flowers design matches the traditional village houses of Kg. Morten (a Malay village located in the town of Melaka).

On the right you can see a banner that says let's find and eradicate Aedes mosquitoes breeding ground. The Aedes mosquitoes are carrier of Dengue fever. This fever can be fatal if not treated soon. There has been over 100 deaths in Malaysia this year. The government has increased the fine of household that are found to be breeding ground of the Aedes. Aedes larvae strive in stagnant water. So containers or pots with collected water especially in the current rainy season becomes breeding ground for Aedes.

I survived Dengue fever 2 years ago. So I can tell you that it's no fun to be down with fever and having aching joints, and at the same time fearful of internal haemorrhaging! I had to be hospitalized for a week. Fortunately I didn't have any internal haemorrhage that requires blood or platelet transfusion.

So, please check that there is no containers collecting water in your house that may be potential breeding ground for Aedes mosquitoes. Help to eradicate Aedes.

Ramada's Reflection

The reflection of Ramada Renaissance Hotel in Melaka River. This hotel is the first 5-star hotel that operated in Melaka. It's a nice walk along the Melaka River after Melaka Tourism beautify the riverside. Pedestrian pathway and street lamps are placed along the river. If you have the chance to visit Melaka, do take a long stroll along the river. Savour the beautiful sights that greet you.

Theme Day - Oct 2010 : Graffiti

Melaka Government is making very good progress in beautifying Melaka Riverside. One of the task is to paint the buildings along the river with such graffiti, depicting the history of the Old Melaka Sultanate.

In the 15th century, Melaka used to be a major trading port due to its strategic location at the Straits of Melaka. This is where traders from the far east, i.e. China and west, i.e. India, Arab, Persia and Portuguese would come to trade here. The Chinese Emperor of Ming Dynasty even offered Princess Hang Li Po to Sultan Mansur Shah for marriage. That is the scene shown at the bottom part of this graffiti.

On the top right, is the Chinese Admiral of Ming Dynasty, Zheng He and his Great Armada. He travelled to Melaka and established a trading post during the 15th century. It is said that Zheng He started his exploration a century before Columbus, Magellan or Vasco da Gama. He led one of the greatest fleet of junks that the world has ever known and his voyage was featured in a National Geographic documentary. You can view an interesting multimedia presentation on this documentary made by NatGeo here. Or you can track his voyage from China all the way through South East Asia to India and finally to the West Coast of Africa on this map.

Enjoy the short history of my hometown, Melaka and Zheng He! Happy Theme Day everyone!

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants of Theme Day.