Kuala Lumpur - Explore It!
I went to explore Kuala Lumpur today (with Zaly and my Olympus E500) and managed to snap some pictures of Kuala Lumpur buildings. The day is very beautiful with clear blue sky -- dotted with pure white cloud.
The first Kuala Lumpur structure that I visited was the Federal Territory Mosque (Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur). It has been quite a long time since I visited the mosque. 2 years ago, my brother-in-law (husband to my only elder sister) was the Imam of the Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan, thus was given the mosque's quarter to live in.
The staff quarters were very close to the Federal Territory mosque, and I used to visit my sister's family during weekends. I also held my wedding at the Masjid Wilayah's staff quarter! There were so much memory associated with that mosque.
2 years ago, the Kompleks Mahkamah Kuala Lumpur was still under construction. Now, I can see the beautiful complex from the Federal Territory Mosque. It was simply stunning!
After snapping some pictures of the mosque, we went to Bukit Bintang. I explored the area while taking some pictures of the buildings in the vicinity -- Berjaya Time Square, Lot 10, Low Yat Plaza, BB Plaza, Sungei Wang Plaza as well as some Kuala Lumpur hotel buildings.
After walking for just about 1 hour, I already feel so thirsty and tired! Guess I'm not having the same stamina as when I was representing University Malaya in Tae Kwon Do tournaments. That was so many-many years back!
Entry Date: 27/01/2007 09.57pm Posted by: Roszs
Maori Dancers in Action
If you're fans of the New Zealand All Blacks, you should be familiar with the Maori haka which is performed before each rugby match. Maori haka is a traditional war dance intended to challenge and intimidate the opposition. It's also to declare the Maori warriors' strength and skill.
In conjunction with Waitangi Day (New Zealand’s National Day), the Malaysia New Zealand Business Council is inviting the Kahurangi Maori Dance Troupe to perform the haka at Istana Budaya on 6th February 2007. You can expect to watch a rousing and energy-filled performance as the world-class troupe thrills you with their intrepretations of the dance.
The event begins at 8pm and is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage. There will be also some cultural performances by the Istana Budaya’s Cultural Group. Tickets are priced at RM40 and there are only 300 seats.
For tickets and inquiries, call 03-21442422, 03-21410822 or email mnzbc@mnzbc.com.my.
Entry Date: 27/01/2007 09.53pm Posted by: Roszs
Jetstar from Sydney to KL
Jetstar, the budget offshoot of Australian flag carrier Qantas plans to fly from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur from September 2007 onwards. The discount carrier will fly three times weekly to Kuala Lumpur. Jetstar's maiden flight will be launched on September 9, 2007.
If you're flying Jetstar from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur, you can choose between economy and business class seats on the 303-seat Airbus A330-200 jets.
Jetstar launched its long haul flights in November and currently flies directly to Bangkok, Phuket, Ho Chi Minh City, Bali and Honolulu from either Sydney or Melbourne.
Jetstar will be the second fully foreign-owned low-cost carrier to fly to KLIA after Cebu Pacific Airways made its debut in December last year.
Entry Date: 27/01/2007 09.52pm Posted by: Roszs
Fly from KL to Dhaka
GMG, a privately-owned airline from Bangladesh, flies to KL on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It is the 50th airline to operate to KLIA and the third foreign airline to join KLIA fleet for 2007.
GMG Airlines expects its three weekly Kuala Lumpur-Dhaka flights to attract over 20,000 passengers yearly. The other two international airlines are Transaero from Russia and Etihad from United Arab Emirates. Currently, flights to Bangladesh are offered by Malaysia Airlines and Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the national carrier of Bangladesh.
Entry Date: 27/01/2007 09.49pm Posted by: Roszs
Malaysian Kavadis is Hot
Hindus celebrating Thaipusam in Australia, Canada, Africa and Japan are ordering the kavadis from Malaysia to fulfil their vows. Devotees from India have also made several trips here to take home samples of kavadi decorations as they felt the decorations here were grander.
Most of overseas clients prefer medium-sized kavadis decorated with colourful streamers, peacock feathers and a spear (the "vel" of Lord Muruga). Devotees and tourists are expected to throng the Sri Subramaniam temple in Batu Caves during the Thaipusam festival, with kavadi bearers climbing the 272 steps to the famous temple as a show of faith, sacrifice and fulfilment of vows.
The Thaipusam festival falls on 1st February 2007. Better mark your calendar!
Entry Date: 27/01/2007 09.47pm Posted by: Roszs
5% Passenger Increase
There is a 5% increase in passenger load at airports nationwide last year with KL International Airport topping the list with 24.11 million passengers. Airports in Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and Penang recorded domestic and international passengers between 3.9 and 3.1 million.
KLIA’s main terminal recorded 23.21 million passengers last year while the low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) received 4.6 million passengers to date since it started operations on Mar 23 last year.
The Kuala Lumpur LCCT is the fastest growing airport terminal in the region, and its capacity is expected to handle 10 million passengers by the end of the year.
The expansion will enable the LCCT to accommodate 15 million passengers, he added.
Entry Date: 27/01/2007 09.45pm Posted by: Roszs
AirAsia X All Set
AirAsia X, the world's newest long-haul budget airline, is all set to repeat the phenomenal success of AirAsia which within five years has become the region's largest low-cost carrier.
The new airline was acquiring 20 planes initially with its first flight to Britain expected in July.AirAsia X is a tie-up between AirAsia and Fly Asian Express (FAX), eyeing destinations in Europe, India, China and Australia.
Fares from Britain to Malaysia are expected to be priced at around 100 pounds sterling (RM700).
Entry Date: 27/01/2007 09.37pm Posted by: Roszs
Flower Parade 2007
Kuala Lumpur Flora Fest 2007 is here! About 800 costumed flowers, plants, bugs and mermaids kicked of the Flora Fest 2007 at Dataran Merdeka last weekend. They were participating in the Florathon 2007 which was a 3kn fun walk from Jalan Raja towards Jalan Cendesari before returning to Dataran Merdeka Kuala Lumpur.
Flora Fest is a very joyful and colorful event organised by Tourism Malaysia through the Kuala Lumpur Tourism Action Council with the co-operation of Kuala Lumpur City Hall.
Participants from the Aquaria KLCC stole the hearts of the judges with their creative floral mermaid and sea-life costumes, clinching the florathon’s top prize of RM1,500, a three-day, two-night stay at De Palma Hotel in Kuala Selangor, RM500 worth of shopping vouchers from Sungei Wang Shopping Complex, as well as tickets and vouchers from the Aquaria and Imax theatre.
Other activities included a colouring contest, cooking demonstrations and a flower arrangement contest.
Entry Date: 27/01/2007 09.35pm Posted by: Roszs
Eye on Malaysia May Be Permanent
The Eye on Malaysia is indeed the latest sparkling attraction in Kuala Lumpur. The responses from visitors are overwhelming! An average of 3,500 people wait in a long queue daily, to take a breathtaking ride on the Ferris wheel.
I've also been eyeing the Eye and it will just a matter of time before me and hubby got the chance to ride it. If you also haven't take a ride, don't fret as the 60-metre-high Ferris wheel may be here to stay! There are plans to make it a permanent feature in Kuala Lumpur due to the unexpected response.s The Eye on Malaysia was initially supposed to be available during January - December 2007 only.
Entry Date: 27/01/2007 09.28pm Posted by: Roszs
Brickfields: A Place, A Time, A Memory
Balan Moses has written a very nice book titled Brickfields: A Place, A Time, A Memory. The book is available at the MPH Bookstores, Borders and Kinokuniya bookstores throughout the country for RM30 only. The Deputy Chief News Editor of The New Straits Times was inspired to write the book as he had fond memories of his stay in Brickfields in the 50's when he was a child.
Based on his childhood experience in Brickfields Kuala Lumpur, Balan Moses had come up with the 207-page book containing more than 100 photographs and caricatures on Brickfields, where he used to play `kaunda kaundi' and fly kites. After your read Balan Moses’ recollection of his Brickfields childhood, you will be afflicted with an unbearable craving to get there immediately and eat something.
Every vendor, hawker and food merchant in Brickfields, from Naina’s Mutton Shop to the Buhari Restaurant and every alley in-between, seems to have left an permanet mark in Balan’s memory. Balan devotes two chapters of pure love to memories of food alone.
Balan Moses is donating the proceeds from the sale of his book to build a permanent building for the Chrestus Home, an orphanage in Cheras.
Entry Date: 27/01/2007 09.23pm Posted by: Roszs
Kampung Baru On Fire
An afternoon fire razed about 40 shophouses in Kampung Baru Kuala Lumpur on 19 January 2007 while the victims were at a nearby mosque for Friday prayers. The fire, which began at 1.35pm, engulfed six rows of stalls and shophouses. The flames spread quickly due to strong winds.
Firefighters from the Jalan Hang Tuah, Chow Kit, Pudu, Sentul and Setapak stations arrived at the scene in eight fire engines. Some 58 firemen brought the fire under control in 30 minutes.
Entry Date: 20/01/2007 01.06pm Posted by: Roszs
Fly to Spain from KL
The Tourism of Barcelona office plans to establish direct flight linkages between Malaysia and Barcelona, the second largest city in Spain. At present, within the Asian region, only Singapore, China and Thailand have direct flights to Spain, mainly through Barcelona or Spainish capital Madrid.
There is an increasing demand for more direct flights to Barcelona from Malaysia and the rest of Asia, especially as the flights currently available through Singapore Airlines are often fully booked. Malaysian tourists wishing to fly to Barcelona now have to transit via Singapore or one of the cities in Europe as there is no direct flight yet.
Entry Date: 16/01/2007 08.04pm Posted by: Roszs
Wrapped In Splendour
If you will be around Kuala Lumpur from Jan 25 to Feb 26 2007, don't miss the chance to admire the fascinating Wrapped In Splendour photograph exhibitions by Karthik Venkataraman at the Sutra Gallery, Sutra Dance Theatre Kuala Lumpur.
The photographs exhibition will be officially opened by Minconsult Sdn Bhd director Datuk Rose Ganendra on Jan 25.
Karthik Venkataraman is a young photographer who captures the essence of poetry in his marvelous works. His masterpieces shows Sutra dancers during the company’s recent "circumambulatory" tour of India. The dancers were creatively photographed against the backdrops of the ancient temples of Belur, romantic pavilions of Jaipur’s palaces, as well as modern theatre complexes built by the famous Indian architect, Charles Correa. The photographs reflects the intense mood and solid presence of the architecture with the dancers’ lyrical movements and gestures.
This is an authentic work of arts that you shouldn't miss. So... if you're interested, please mark your calendar. Admission is free. Sutra Gallery is located at Persiaran Titiwangsa 3, Kuala Lumpur. For further information, call 03-4021-1092.
Entry Date: 15/01/2007 10.14pm Posted by: Roszs
Il Divo in Kuala Lumpur
International operatic supergroup Il Divo arrived in Kuala Lumpur on 10th Jan 2007 to kick off their 2007 World Tour. David Miller from the United States and Urs Buhler from Switzerland arrived in the afternoon while Sebastian Izambard (France) and Carlos Marin (Spain) arrived last night.
Il Divo has released four albums to international acclaim and has sold millions of albums worldwide. They will begin their show on Jan 16 2007 at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
Brought in by Arianna Event Management, the sponsors for the event are CIMB, Tourism Malaysia, Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur, ntv7, BMW, Channel V and Sony BMG. For ticketing details, please visit the Il Divo Box Office at the Lobby Level of the Shangri-La Hotel or call the hotel's Il Divo hotline (03-2074 3525) or call the Axcess hotline (03-7711 5000).
Entry Date: 15/01/2007 9.45pm Posted by: Roszs
Pongal Sweets For Tourist
Pongal and other Indian sweets are given to tourists and visitors arriving at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Sunday 15th Jan 2007. Visitors were welcomed with Pongal rice, ladoos, other Indian sweets and door gifts, as part of Visit Malaysia 2007.
Pongal is an Indian tradition and culture and not a religious festival. It can be said as Malaysian Thanksgiving day, where heartfelt thanks were given to the farmers for diligently working in paddy fields and growing rice for everyone.
On February 3, the Pongal festival will be celebrated atop the Menara KL, the world's fourth tallest tower.
Entry Date: 15/01/2007 9.45pm Posted by: Roszs
12 Daily Flights For Bangkok-KL Route
Going to Kuala Lumpur from Bangkok? I have a good news for you. AirAsia, the budget airline is likely to have 12 daily flights to serve the Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur route in future as passenger capacity is expected grow once Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) starts its long-haul operations to destinations like London in July this year.
Currently, Thai AirAsia flies twice a day while its Malaysian parent company operates four flights. The airline currently flies domestic routes to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai, Krabi, Narathiwat, Phuket, Surat Thani, Ubon Ratchathani and Udon Thani while overseas destinations include Phnom Penh, Macau, Xiamen, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Rangoon, Singapore, Hanoi and Langkawi.
Entry Date: 15/01/2007 9.28pm Posted by: Roszs
Free Fascinating Drums Show
A fascinating Japanese drum performance by Hono-O-Daiko and Tokyo Dageki Dan at Istana Budaya (Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur) is scheduled on Jan 20 and 21. The drum performance is held in conjunction with the Japan-Malaysia Friendship Year and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Malaysia.
Hono-O-Daiko is a well-known Japanese group of women drummers while Tokyo Dageki Dan is a group of Japanese music performers. Hono-O-Daiko consists of three drummers who formed a taiko (Japanese drum) group in 1986. The group composes powerful melodies for drum performances.
Most of its works are influenced by the beautiful, natural scenery around Hakusan City in Ishikawa Prefecture, where it was established. The trio, Jige Akemi, Kinoshita Chieko and Yamada Mizue, has performed at Hello Russia!, a 1993 concert in Moscow, Russia. It has also given performances in Mongolia in 1994, France (1995) and Cuba (1996).
In 1999, it toured the United States and Britain. And two years ago, Hono-O-Daiko played at the grand finals of the World Expo in Aichi, Japan.
Tokyo Dageki Dan was founded by Hiranuma Jinichi in 1995, and has performed at many national cultural events around Japan. In 1996, the group entertained 4,000 people at the Jakarta Convention Centre in Indonesia, and at the World Trade Organisation Conference in Singapore.
It has also toured France and Africa. Other performances include the closing ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in France in 1998 and Germany’s Hannover Expo in 2000.
The performance is presented by the Japan Foundation and Embassy of Japan in Malaysia, in co-operation with the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry, Istana Budaya, The Asano Foundation of Taiko Cultural Research, Japan Club Kuala Lumpur and JACTIM and supported by Hotel Nikko.
Hono-O-Daiko and Tokyo Dageki Dan take centrestage at Istana Budaya at 8.30pm on Jan 20 and 3pm on Jan 21. Admission is free. For further details, please call The Japanese Foundation of Kuala Lumpur at 03-2161 2104.
Entry Date: 11/01/2007 9.45pm Posted by: Roszs
Air Asia Free 1 Million Seats
On 9th January 2007, I received a Red Alert from Air Asia that they are giving away 1,000,000 FREE SEATS to over 70 routes across Asia. The destinations include Langkawi, Sibu, Bali, Jakarta, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Macau, Hanoi and many more. The booking period is from 9th January to 19th January 2007 for traveling period from 1st April to 27th October 2007.
The ticket fare is free but you still need to pay certain tax. For going to Langkawi, the tax payable is RM40 per person. Hmmm.. that looks interesting... so I decided to check out their website and try to get free tickets to Langkawi.
First attempt -- failed. An error message, saying that the system is busy and asking me to try again.
Then, I was quite busy throughout the day and completely forgotten about the free 1 million seats.
Today, 11th January 2007. I browsed through my Yahoo mail and once again, noticed that email from Air Asia. So... I tried again today at 12.05pm.
First attempt -- failed with same error message. "Sorry... system is busy....please try again..."
Second attempt -- managed to see the page showing departure times that are available for selected date. Alas! The error message popped up again when I clicked the "continue" button.
Third attempt -- failed again. This time the error message said, "Oops.. did you expect to log in? Apparently, you've already logged out.....".
Fourth attempt -- managed to go up until the payment page. Damn! The website kicked me out again. This time after I've keyed in my credit card details. I backed up and refreshed the browser. But... after that, I repeatedly got kicked out from the booking page for 5 more times. Another new error message appeared saying that there is an error with my booking. What? ....
Hmm.. I almost given up but decided to give it a try for one last time. Help me God... please!
I started from the beginning again. Step by step. Page by page.... until I reached the payment page again. Then... I clicked the "continue" button....and wait for almost 40 seconds. Congratulations! My booking is confirmed and I am happy to see my flight itinenary to Langkawi! The time was 2.15pm... and I was trying like crazy for 2 hours just for booking a flight ticket?
Exploring Kuala Lumpur In 3 Hours
Today is a very tiring day. We managed to spent 3 hours, exploring Kuala Lumpur and snapping some pictures of many interesting places in the city. It's not a plan tour, though. Actually, I was planning to visit the Zoo Negara (National Zoo), however, it needed to be postponed to another day. Zoo Negara is a very big place to explore, thus need at least half a day to cover all the the animal exhibits.
We started the day a bit late. After having a light breakfast, we took a ride on my husband motorbike. Alas! The bike broke down less a kilometre from our home. Luckily, there was a motorbike workshop just a minute walk nearby. So, I waited for about 30 minutes for the mechanic to fix the bike.
We headed to KLCC, and took some pictures of the twin towers. However, due to the cloudy day.... the pictures do not turned out as I want it to be. KLCC pictures will be nice with clear blue sky in the background.
We spent about 15 minutes at the Istana Negara's front gate where tourists are taking pictures with the palace guards. I also managed to snapped some pictures of the palace, the guards and the tourists.
There were 4 guards at the front gate of the palace, two guards on horses and another two standing on foot. The guards seem to be tired. I'll post more pictures of the places I visited today in this website later on.
Entry Date: 02/01/2007 12.03pm Posted by: Roszs
A Tortoise Determination
I managed to complete a few pages for this website in the last few days. Frankly, it still has a far way to go. Nevertheless, I'm happy with the progress. As slow as a tortoise but full with determination -- that surely differentiate between a winner and a loser.
For year 2007, I've plans to explore Kuala Lumpur during weekends with Zaly, my dear husband. I'll take amazing pictures of the city and write about the places that I personally visit. You can expect me to write the pros and cons of things that I see, because I'm an ordinary human just like you all. There will be things that I like as well as things that I dislike. Anything that I write is subjective and can not be regarded as representing any institution nor considered as professional advises.
Things are seen differently by different people. This is simply because we have different expectations from each other. Whether certain things turn out to be as expected or not, it will surely affect your opinion or perspective on just everything under the sun. So, choose to value diversity and you'll be a happy person.
Entry Date: 01/01/2007 3.00pm Posted by: Roszs
Happy New Year!
2007 is a very special year for Malaysian. Our country is celebrating it's 50th anniversary and thus, many special events and celebrations are scheduled for the "Visit Malaysia Year 2007". Flora Fest, Floral Parade, 50 Years of Nationhood - World Lion Dance, Malaysia International Fireworks Competition and so much more! If you happen to be in Kuala Lumpur at the right time, just make sure you don't miss the colorful events.
Entry Date: 01/01/2007 2.55pm Posted by: Roszs
My Latest Gadget
My Sony compact digital camera went on strike last week. It totally refused to let me use it. I felt so helpless without a camera because I love to take snapshots wherever and whenever I like. Yeah... I can use my Nokia camera phone... it's 2 megapixel built-in camera is rather good but I don't like the quality of the image produced. Furthermore, the phone memory card is too small to enable me to point-and-shoot randomly.
My husband sent the digital camera to a Sony Service Centre. It was going to stay there for 2 weeks! What am I suppose to do? I need a reliable camera so that I can shoot quality pictures for my websites, especially Kuala-Lumpur-City-Guide.com. Hmmm.... that's when a DSLR came into the picture.
Olympus E500 is an 8.0 megapixel resolution for 3,264 x 2,448 images, with a large 2.5 inch LCD monitor. It can accomodate both CompactFlash and xD-Picture Cards and has a full range of manual and automatic exposure control.
It's a perfect tool for me to snap photos for my websites. I simply love it! Keep on tune as I explore Kuala Lumpur with my new Olympus E500.
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