Lights out its Earth Hour

After it had gone for a year, here it comes again! Earth Hour 2010 will be held on March 27^th 2010 at 8.30pm local time wherever you are. This year it had attracted official participation from 120 countries including Brunei involving 4 billion people worldwide. This Sydney initiated event organised by World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) is to create more awareness on global warming among the people. Its not just about people switching off lights!

A 2 degree Celsius rise in global temperature could cause parts of Taiwan submerged, as well as parts of Singapore (especially East Coast area) & low-lying countries/areas submerged underwater. Basically we will have to redraw the world map! That’s how severe the impact of global warming. In addition, the cost of global warming to humanity is very high! From extinction to animals to even extinction of mankind in the worst case scenario.

The current scale of Earth Hour is a quantum leap from what it actually is. A small Sydney initiated event in 2007 had became a global phenomenon in 2009 when 88 countries participated last year as a sign to call for more drastic action plans being taken in COP that was held in Copenhagen December last year. However, our 1 billion plus people voices were not really being heard by those leaders, as not a concrete plan was proposed. Even before COP, a few of the world’s newspapers including The Guardian of UK issued a joint editorial calling for the leaders to save mankind. That too fail! Therefore as a Malay saying says ‘habuk pun tiada’! I view the COP as a ‘tug-of-war’ between countries as it seems no countries want to compromise. Some countries wanted to offer substantial carbon emission reduction in exchange for something or some particular countries would also need to offer carbon emission reductions! This shows that there is no ‘free lunch’ in this world!

Meanwhile on our local front here in Brunei, it seems that things in this little oil-rich sultanate are changing for the better. In 2008, a headline in The Brunei Times on the day of Earth Hour said ‘We can’t live without electricity’ which states the reasons why many people aren’t willing to join Earth Hour in 2008. For the record, I guess only parts of UBD participated in the 2008 Earth Hour. In 2009, despite Brunei not being officially participated in Earth Hour, it can be seen that it is gaining ground here. Finally, this year Brunei would be finally participating officially in Earth Hour. As one of the terms of official Earth Hour participation, one of the country landmarks has to be switched off. The choice for Brunei is the Kampong Ayer Cultural Centre.

The media have to be commended for providing more awareness on Earth Hour. However that should not stop there, media should provide more environment issues reporting & tips. In support of Earth Hour, Nat Geo Channel will stop normal programming for an hour. Instead, ways to preserve & protect our environment would be presented to their viewers. However some media outlets choose a different approach which is drastic considering the time of Earth Hour is TV prime time. Last year, 8TV of Malaysia totally blacked-out programming for 1hour. Amazingly, more than 700,000 viewers were watching ‘blank’! This year, the tradition continues at its sister radio station, Fly FM. There would be no programming or music during that 1 hour. I say this should be the trend to look at for the next Earth Hour for media outlets. It may mean lost of millions of advertising revenues but it sure is a way to save our planet! Kudos to Brunei’s Kristal FM for blacking-out programming this year for Earth Hour.

If you had watched The 11^th Hour by Leonardo di Caprio (the actor in Titanic), you would hear him say ‘Let’s make our world darkest hours into our finest’. It means without all those sort of things like Kyoto Protocol, we can still change the situation. Small steps such as adjusting your air-cond temperatures, recycling, using cloth bag (Bring You Own Bag campaign), use less polystyrene containers (bring your own food container), etc may not mean much but if it its practiced by people worldwide it sure will bring some positive effect on the global temperature. ‘Small steps could bring huge changes’

It’s hoped that this Earth Hour would not just be a publicity stunt but an awareness campaign for us to do what we can in our daily life to save the Earth. Remember what goes around comes around! Do Mother Nature good and it will repay you, treat Mother Nature badly, and it shall treat you in the same manner! GO GREEN SAVE EARTH!

Let’s play a role in reducing electrical usage tonight by switching off lights & maybe stay away from your mobile phones & TV (yes there is Demam AF & EPL Football Frenzy night) but could you just sacrifice not watching just for an hr?

As we participated in Earth Hour, we made a stand in the fight against global warming! So do you feel ‘green’ tonight? Its your choice!

Hallyu Wave (update July 14)

Saranghaeyo, kamsanida, etc. What can be associated with these words? Its Korean is it? Hallyu (Korean wave) swept the world including Brunei, over the past few years. All these thanks to the popularity of Korean dramas such a Winter Sonata that are being broadcasted all over the world. That is also the drama that shot Korean eye candy Bae Yoong Joon to regional fame. The main focus for this post is on Kpop & Korean products.

All Things Korea

Faceshop, Laneige, Skin Food. You name it Brunei got it all. Why are these skincare products brands from Korea so popular? The answer our mother nature. As people say if you do good to Mother Nature, it will repay our kindness. These Korean skincare products are made from fruits, vegetables, plants, just like the world-famous The Body Shop products. Another reason for the popularity of these brands could also be the attributed to the Korean drama again!

A factor that I could think of is price or are people getting more environmentally conscious, as being aware of climatic change that they changed their lifestyle pattern to have a green lifestyle.

Speaking about technology products, South Korea is a ‘speed nation’ as described by a documentary in National Geographic channel. 1 moment Samsung introduced world 1^st LED TV, then after sometime LG introduced world 1^st borderless TV. Not just that according to some news report, some parts of your very smarty, shiny Apple iPhone, are made by these South Korean technology companies.

Last, but not least us Asian loves to ‘makan’. Hence Korean food is also making inroads in many places round the world. Kimchi, bimambap are some of the popular Korean food. In Brunei alone, we have 2 or 3 Korean restaurants which is a testament of the popularity of Korean food in Brunei. Few years back, there was only 1.

From what I had observed in the news, it seems that tour to Korea is also popular. Most people visit Korea to visit the filming sites of drama such as Jewel in the Palace or Winter Sonata. These locations include Mount Sorak, Jeju Island. Don’t forget Seoul & Busan too, remember world Cup 2002? Now Seoul is being promoted as Soul of Asia with its vibrant pop culture there. Anyone travelling to Korea anytime soon?

Kpop

The rise of Kpop in these recent years can be attributed to Rain’s popularity. We in Brunei get regular dosage of Korean entertainment through our very own RTB2 which airs a Korean drama every night, also Radio Brunei thru Pilihan FM which has a Korean Wave programme which airs 60 minutes of Korean songs every Friday night 10pm. Not only that, through our cable TV operator Astro/Kristal Astro we can watch KBS World to catch a glimpse of hot guys & gorgeous girls artists, which makes good eye candies. Korean variety shows are very interesting and some of those which I like include Star Golden Bell. In addition, its not surprising that some of Kpop fans are learning Hanguk and Korean language to understand what a song lyrics is about. In order to catch up with their favourite Korean artists updates, magazines are allocating pages just for Korean entertainment news as well as for English speaking community Allkpop.com is the destination. Don’t forget YouTube & me2day (Korean version of Twitter) also. Korean English newspaper websites such as The Korea Times & Korean Herald also make a goo source of info. Despite that Brunei have so much already, Korean entertainment fans seem to be wanting for more. They want to watch MBS & SBS which produces very top quality Korean drama & shows. It seems that these two channels aren’t making their way to our houses anytime soon, however Fox International Channel in collaboration with CJ Entertainment of Korea may provide an alternative. The result of their collaboration tvN Korean entertainment network has been aired in countries like Singapore & Hong Kong. When it will reach our shores remain to be seen. Astro in their Facebook had given commitment to bringing more Korean contents soon to Malaysian shores & eventually to our Brunei shores. Recently with the revamp of Animax fans of Korea programmes can enjoy the latest shows from Korea such as Live Power Music on Monday & Pretty Boys & Girls on Tuesday, while the other days popular Kdramas are aired. Kpop bands are also making inroads in Asia; with Super Junior having spilt into sub-groups – Super Junior K.R.Y, Super Junior T, Super Junior M caters the Chinese speaking market while Super Junior Happy caters the Japanese market, to accommodate the likes of different listeners. Some of the popular bands around for the time being include Wonder Girls, SS501, SHINee, 2AM, 2PM, etc. The most popular & largest of these bands are Super Junior & Girl Generation. Super Junior just had their Asia Tour in KL with the ticket prices going to as high as RM$438 or about B$200. However fans don’t mind forking so much money for their favourite artists, as it was almost a sold-out or even sold-out event.

From what I had read in KLIK magazine, SS501 is having their Persona 1^st Asian Tour concert. A promoter which is discussing to bring SS501 to Malaysian shores which isn’t part of their tour stopover apparently according to the magazine may have to fork out 7 figure sum to make it a reality. So it’s either the ticket prices are going to be skyrocketing high or they have to find sponsors which aren’t an easy job amid the economics situation that is pretty unexpected.

At this point, many Brunei Kpop fans who are expecting their favourite artists to hit our shores may/may not have their wish granted due to the very high costs of bringing the bands here as well as government restrictions. Its either KL or Singapore for now to go to watch these concerts!

With Rain now goes to Hollywood, it seems that Hallyu is set to swept us and is here to stay for a very long time.

In conclusion, the country which is known for its plastics surgeons & Kimchi (pickled cabbage), is now better known for its Korean entertainment industry, Kpop & K-series!

With that I end my blog post on Korean wave in Brunei. Would you excuse me I have a wave to catch, LOL! Sorry sorry people in case my info’s are wrong and I stand to be corrected, after all I’m an inexperienced writer.

Cruise pointers from a 1st timer POV

This posting as I have said in my earlier posting, Im gonna talk about my experience 'free-style' cruising with Star Cruises.Basically, most things are not FOC but there are quite a lot of FOC facilities in the cruise. Instead of putting you people to sleep with my 'ular berlingkar' posting, its just gonna touch on major points only, ok? Bah lets start crapping LOL!
You will enjoy Star Cruises if

• like to makan. Star Cruises offers you up to 6 meals per day inclusive in your cruise fare. But not all restaurants are included so dont simply go makan without reading the Star Navigator, otherwise you will have a very deep hole in your pocket to mend when checking out! If you are a Balcony Class or Admiral class, then you will enjoy dining credits min SGD$50 up to SGD$250, depending on how long is your cruise. Then you can makan puas2 till your dining credit finish. As the Cruise Director, Myla said 'Our objective in this cruise is to make you FAT after the cruise'. Just joking!
• like to take pictures. Star Cruises have a lot of mandatory & voluntary photo sessions. When you are about to board you can take pictures with the mascots (was it a lion nope its a pirate arrr!). Not forgetting the monkey thats monkeying around! When you are having dinner thats another photoshoot, then another with the Thai lady when disembarking in Phuket, then with the captain, etc. There is a place in the cruise known as Photo Shop. Erm no Mizi it isnt Adobe Photoshop that you are good at. Its a place where so many photos that have been taken are displayed & you can buy them as a souvenir.
• like to play game of chance. Not suitable for Muslims though these games, if you know what I mean. There are plenty of 'game of chance' opportunities during the cruise. You might as well win on your vacation. For me, I had won $50, not bad huh for a free lucky ticket haha!
• like to play game. There are also a lot of games activities conducted during the cruise, eg Who Wants to be a millionaire.
• like to watch shows. Star Cruises offers up to 3 magic shows, 1 paid show & 1 Gala night variety show + 1 show by the cruise staffs which is very entertaining during the cruise. There was a magician named Charles Bach who uses his 'laundry' to perform magic, more.

Some 'not so nice' pointers on Star Cruises are:

• Barely no mobile connection detected throughout the journey except when you are near the port of call. So those that like to tweet, poke, chat, blog cant do so! Hey who cares you cant use mobile you are here to enjoy! 
• No wireless internet. The only place that internet connection is available is the Library. It is charged at 23 cents/min or $13.80/hr. Plus, the only thing you can access is Hotmail & Yahoo just to check email LOL!
• Room. Dont complaint that your room is small thats it! You are not here to sleep! There are activities round the clock as early as 7am till as late as 3am! So enjoy the activities prepared!

Some extra info

• Two very important things during your cruise is your Star Navigator which is distributed daily as well as your access card. The card acts as your onboard credit card as there is cashless system implemented on the cruise, as well as identification that you are 1 of the guest of the cruise. After the cruise you can keep the card as a souvenir
• The staff on the cruise is multiracial. 
• During my cruise I observed that there are a lot of Indians as well as Japanese on board too
• The cruise charge SGD$ not RM$ please take note unless you board at Port Klang then its RM$ if you board at Singapore its SGD$

I guess thats it for this posting about my free-style cruising with Star Cruises. Still to come in the upcoming post, I will be blogging on something interesting next wk. So till then, I will be collecting & arranging my points for the posting over the weekend.
Have a great weekend & happy holiday student, dont let it flow like moving current without doing beneficial stuffs

HAPPY CRUISING ALL ABOARD TIME OUT!

Conclusion: Cruise is fun but make sure your pocket is heavy too to pay for unexpected charges

Tanahairku Malaysia

Several recommendations if you are travelling to Malaysia

1. Chicken rice - If you want to have chicken rice, find The Chicken Rice Shop outlets around Malaysia. Its the best however it aint cheap. No RM$3 chicken rice here but if you order the set meal instead of ala carte it would be berbaloi. 1st experience eating at this shop got my dad complaining its expensive just for a meal of chicken rice. This is because we ordered ala carte instead of set meal which is more cheaper. A set for 2 person costs around RM$30+. The set include chicken rice, soup, rice, kerabu, Pai Tee, chicken of your choice (roast or steam), fishball soup, soft drinks, vegetable. The Chicken Rice Shop bukan sekadar nasi ayam LOL! Its halal too!
2. Sports shoes - If you want to shop for sports shoes in Semenanjung Malaysia, I suggest you find Al-Ikhsan Sports. It is arguably the largest sports shop in Malaysia with over 60 stores. Its price is OK in my opinion & with its frequent sales, its quite popular among the locals there. Quality wise its OK as it carries original products of brands such as Adidas, Nike, Umbro, etc. Its not really cheap to buy here but when there is a sale then its price will really drop. According to them after they had opened 80 branches, they will spread their wings to Sabah & Sarawak. Wonder when Miri & KK outlet will be open?
3. Kopitiam - If you are finding kopitiam or cafe, try Old Town White Coffee. There are more than 100 outlets throughout Malaysia. Some of the signature dishes include of course Ipoh White Coffee, Nasi Lemak (its sambal is really pedas to the max), roti bakar. Pricewise coffee around RM$2, nasi lemak RM$7 or so. By city standard its cheap but for people like in Brunei who already biasa with paying B$1 for nasi katok it may be tak berbaloi. Right? By the way its Halal & during peak hours service maybe slow so take note

Cameron Highlands

Its my 1st time coming up here. From what I feel its not really cold here anymore compared to few years back no thanks to global warming & excessive use of land here for farming purposes. Some of the main attractions here 

1. Many of the farms here are open for visiting, most of them are packed with visitors but some of them are 'dead quiet'. I would suggest you to visit Green View Garden and try the Chocoberry (strawberry chocolate) here. Some of the farms also allows visitors to pluck their own strawberries at a fee & some even let you to pick your own vegetables. Now, thats fresh from the farm!

2. Most people who came here will visit tea estates. The less well known ones include Cameron Bharat Tea Plantations (is it related to SMSA Mr Bharat by any chance?). On the other hand the world famous Ada Umph! BOH Tea plantations is also here. There are 2 plantations by BOH one of them the nicer one is Sg Palas BOH while the other is Fairlie BOH. But Sg Palas BOH is midway of Gunung Brinchang hence small cars maybe difficult to travel uphill. So alternative walk but walking 2km uphill will take you 3hr to reach the plantation. If you decide to drive, either Fairlie or Sg Palas will test a driver patience & skills as the roads are very narrow & crooked. However, when you reached there the aroma of tea will welcome you. Of course a visit to a tea garden will not be complete without having a cup of tea. Care for tea people? LOL

Short story

On the nite of February 19 , at a public medan selera somewhere in Malaysia. A few people sat down at an empty table near the stall selling rojak. After some time 1 by 1 the many stall workers ask do you want to order this & that. After some time, there was a people from 1 of the many drink stalls available ask what do you want to drink? The few people say already order, the drink stall people then say 'Cant sit here if dont order drinks from our stall, sorry'

What the !!!! Adakah patut? Dihalau! 

The uncle that the few people order the drink from say 'That drink stall tauke is very berkira 1, we the other stall holders also dont like them'

The place that the few people was shooed away from it seems that nobody dares to sit there as local people already knew the attitude of this drink stall tauke. Only people from outside like these few people who tak tau apa2 & sat there. 

My say on this issue - Excuse me Mr drink stall tauke yg berkira, this is not your father foodcourt its public one ok provided by Majlis Bandaran. If its you the owner nobody cares, but this is public property (harta benda milik awam!). From what I have experienced even the bigshots in food court business do not act like this! Together do business in the same place must be more tolerant to others! Silap2 hari bulan if any1 complaints sayonara to your lesen perniagaan. Baru tau! Wah, Im so angry about this issue! Hope I wont get into trouble as I didnt really state the location!

Ending clauses

Hope that last story didnt spoilt your weekend mood. Not all food vendors are like this there are only a few that stains the reputation of the other food vendors. Bak kata pepatah 'setitik nila rosak susu sebelanga' That story raps up my Malaysia part of the story, coming up my 4day experience freestyle crusing with Star Cruises. Stay tuned & have a great weekend!