It’s been 2 months since I last posted a photo of the hairy green fruits of the three-year old rambutan sapling in front of my house. Those very same fruits have gotten larger and are now slowly metamorphosing into their familiar come-and-eat-me red colour.
I took this photo with my Nikon D40 camera and its 18-55mm kit lens, as my 18-135mm lens is off to the Nikon service centre due to focusing problems. I just hope that the warranty covers whatever it is that has gone wrong!
Tags: rambutan
The results are out. Denmark is the happiest country in the world, based on the results of the 2007 World Values Survey.
At the extreme end of the spectrum, Zimbabwe was found to be the least happy, which is attributed to the political and social strife that’s tearing the country apart.
Malaysia didn’t do so badly, ranking at 34th, just a few notches below, Singapore, which is 31st. The Philippines ranks 38th, just behind France (37), and also trailing other Southeast Asian nations Thailand (27) and Vietnam (36). Japan places 43rd and China, 54th.
Puerto Rico, Colombia, Northern Ireland, Iceland, Switzerland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada and Sweden were said to have ranked highly in the said happiness poll, which was first carried out in 1981.
Some 350,000 people from 97 countries and territories around the world were asked two simple questions for the said survey: “Taking all things together, would you say you are very happy, rather happy, not very happy, not at all happy?” and “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?”
The research team concluded that happiness is determined largely by “the extent to which people have free choice in how to live their lives”. With this in mind, isn’t it curious why the United States — “Land of the Brave, Home of the Free“, self-appointed guardian of democracy all over the world, birthplace of the Apple iPod, Hershey’s chocolates, Plantronics Voyager 520, Starbucks, Levi’s jeans and a thousand and one other amenities — only ranked 16th?
I wonder how Malaysia would fare next year, as next year’s results would be based on this year’s state of affairs. With the huge, sudden jump in the prices of petrol recently, prices of commodities have sky-rocketed alongside. Malaysians are very unhappy, to put it mildly.
Then there’s the Malaysian political scene that’s playing out like a long drawn out Hindi movie. There’s something controversial in the headlines almost everyday. The newspapers, as the cliché goes, are having a field day. How things will turn out in the end is anybody’s guess but who am I, an outsider, to make any predictions or conclusions?
As they say in the Philippines, abangan ang susunod na kabanata, which roughly translates to ‘wait for the next chapter’. I must tell you, however, that the English version doesn’t quite capture the dramatic innuendo to the Tagalog phrase, which is frequently used in daytime TV soap operas right at the very suspenseful end of each episode, leaving you wanting for more and left with no choice but to indeed wait for the next episode. Which is what most Malaysians are doing now, with bated breath.
Tags: Malaysia, World Values Survey
[Photo taken with my D40 and 18-135mm Nikkor lens, just before the lens conked and refused to focus. Said lens is now en route to Nikon Service Centre for checking, as it is still under warranty.]
When you’re in Malaysia, one of the foods that you should try is satay [sa-tey].
Satay is skewered chicken or beef meat, previously marinated in a secret blend of spices and grilled over charcoal flames. The recipes vary but the one I like has garlic, lemongrass, shallots, turmeric, and a little bit of sugar in it.
Satay is best eaten piping hot, fresh from the grill, in a place exclusively serving satay, such as Ismail’s Satay near Keramat LRT Station. The place is a very simple roadside affair but the satay there is goooooood. Not used to dining at the roadside? No problem. Just tell them — ‘bungkus, ya?’ (bungkus = packed) or ‘takeaway, ya?’. Americans and Filipinos may say ‘takeout’, but Malaysians say ‘takeaway’.
It’s quite an experience watching the cook vigorously fanning the dancing flames to prevent the meat from getting burnt, turning the skewers 5 pieces or more at a time, occasionally basting the meat with a little cooking oil using a stalk of lemongrass as a brush.
The tantalizing aroma of the sizzling meat that has been immersed for hours and hours in spices combines beautifully with the smoky smell of the charcoal fire, evoking an impatient grumble in your belly and unleashing a mini-flood from your salivary glands. When your order finally arrives, you ravenously sink your teeth into the tender, succulent meat and lose yourself in the medley of flavours bursting in your mouth. All thought of traffic jams, deadlines, homework, video cards that need replacement, and tomorrow’s make-or-break presentation are temporarily forgotten. Before you know it, you’ve polished off 10 sticks… and order another round!
Tags: Malaysian food, satay
I’ve always called the twins by their first names ever since they were babies but when DH started referring to them as ‘Abang’ and ‘Adik’ (Big Brother and Small Brother), everyone else followed suit, including me, albeit reluctantly at first.
It was sometime in November 2007 when they started calling each other ‘Bang’ and ‘Dik’, as well. Click here to hear them calling each other ‘Bang’ and ‘Dik’ around that time, with a wee bit of coaxing from their Mama. [Quick note: 'panggil' is the Malay word for 'call'.]
All these sound clips, video clips and photos of the kids (especially of the twins!) are taking up the bulk of my computer memory now that I seriously need to get an external hard disk ASAP!
Tags: reminiscing, Twins
I stumbled upon an excellent panorama of Paris at night that I simply must share with you. Click on the photo below to view the site in another window.
While the page loads, these instructions will show up on screen: CLIQUER pour zoomer, CTRL/CLIC ou POMME/CLIC pour dézoomer, CLIQUEZ les carrés rouges pour voir les détails, DEPLACEZ le curseur pour annuler. This translates to: CLICK to zoom in, CTRL/CLICK or APPLE/CLICK to zoom out, CLICK the red boxes to see the details, MOVE the cursor to cancel.
As you hover your mouse over the photo, the scene moves ever so slightly and the numerous lights from the windows, streetlights and headlights flicker, giving the illusion of movement. It also gives the feeling of looking at Paris at night from your hotel window! I suddenly find myself pining for Paris again…
As the instructions say, to zoom in, click anywhere else on the areas without red boxes. To zoom out, press the [Ctrl] key while clicking your mouse.
The red boxes show various details in the photo, such as billboards and a café on a street corner. But, interestingly, they mostly show people from the windows of the two apartments and the hotel in the foreground — people partying, an old man forlornly staring out of the window from a darkened room, a couple apparently in the middle of a fight, a woman in her birthday suit about to go up the stairs, a white-haired man slumped over his desk all cluttered with papers, pencils and promotional pens. It all feels so voyeuristic…almost intrusive. And it’s a good reminder for me to draw the curtains or close the blinds the next time I’m staying in a hotel room somewhere.
Make sure you have Flash installed in your computer to view the site.
Excellent panorama photography by Jean-François Rauzier!
Tags: Paris, Paris panorama
