Shut up and walk.....

I've been going to this reserve secondary forest, for the past 2years for my brisk walks. Yes, brisk walking, it has come down to that. (for some folks, even brisk walking is an expletive). But before you throw any mockery my way, picture this...You climbing a 1.5kms continuous 35degrees inclination without stopping, followed but path approximately 3kms that goes up and down, just like a woman's temperament governed by premenstrual hormones, plus, you age above 40years.The first time I walked the path, my tongue almost licked the road, in exhaustion and thirst. I finally understood what it meant to have your tongue hang out from wherever it came from when someone said,"his tongue hung out at the sight of the Pamella Anderson's....."

Above: An insidious flow of water making it's way as it later gathers to become a stream, just in time for men to pollute them before they joint to become the sea.

Actually, I started off with cycling sessions on the same track. I use to cycle on that track with my mountain bike (it sounds so impressive I know, but let me finish my sentence), on it's tarred road. I had to invest in a semi slick tyres to make the cycle smoother as the off track tyres can make you feel like you are cycling a tow truck when you are already tired. But after a few spins, that left me feeling absurd because I can't seemed to keep up with the person walking beside me. That itself is totally destructive to one's athletic ego!!! Was there a point to using wheels if you are going to get from point A to point B, slower than walking? In my paranoia, I could have sworn I heard the monkeys laughing and pointing their fingers at me in ridicule. I left my cycling to the Hulu Langat track and stuck to brief walking in this track.

Cycling in Hulu Langat, of which some of the tracks are part of the La tour de Langkawi, is absolutely brilliant. A word of caution though. On quiet days, namely weekdays, there are places that turned out to be the famous dumping sites for dead bodies. It's like, we cyclists cycle on weekends, the mafias dump bodies in the days in between. Quite a happening place considering it is termed "Ulu". Other than the dead bodies, which I have not yet discovered, it is a brilliant track to cycle especially on cyclists' weather.

If it is not for the fact that cycling more than 100kms a week increases the chance of impotence in men, I would have aptly cycled till today. Funny though, that the bunch of guys I cycled with had never breath a word of having male crisis to me, despite knowing that I'm a doctor. Impotence, such a lonely word, lonelier than honesty, and cycling could cause it. But wait a minute, I'm not a man. Well, the principals is the same. You sit on a bicycle seat too long, the pedundal arteries gets cut off from their blood supply. These arteries are responsible for the flow of blood into the genital area, hence the erection. A woman may not need an erection, but blood supply down there, that we definitely need.

As for women, well we have penis that failed to become, and we had to settle with something termed as clitoris (maybe that is why men think that they are superior than women) . With the same principals, I will leave you to do the math. Thank God for that (the clitoris that never became a penis situation). Imagine how screwed up the world may become with everyone governed by penises. Currently, statistics showed there are more women to the ratio of men. Men, a minority and already posing so many problems to the world and to women especially. Imagine if everyone has it!!! (Men are the cause of women's problems...menopause...dysmenorrhea (menstrual pain)...menorrhagia(excessive menses)...you want me to go on? Mental disorders...okay, I think I've made my point..)

Below is the video clip to demonstrate how simple things like the deafening sounds of nature could actually sooth one's soul. By "nature" I exclude human beings. If anything, men had worked hard in excluding themselves from nature, if not try to destroy it, just by taking for granted that they it is okay to do so.


Just a word on the ethics of going through nature. It irritates the hell out of me when people, normally Malaysians (I've bumped into Westerners who even their kids tend to respect the nature by keeping it down), make so much of noise while walking, alone via mobile phone conversation, and in group, amongst themselves. Joggers are quiet because they are too busy sucking the oxygen in for breath to keep them not dying from mere exercise. It amazes me how loud some people can get just talking to each other even when they are right in front of each others' faces. The reason why people come to walk through nature is because we want to listen to the nature, and not to your stupid conversation about "Anwar is not a homosexual because he has a wife and kids"...That statement itself goes to show how your IQ will not be a threat at all to the intelligence security.

I don't comprehend why people bring their hand phone with them while exercising. The whole idea of exercising, part of it is to have time by yourself to reflect. Perhaps it is a vicious cycle, you are an asshole because you don't reflect your life and your influence to your surrounding, therefore you continue to become an asshole". And why is it that people have to scream into their phones? Why use the phone when you may as well scream to one another, since you can be heard all the way to Timbuktoo anyway...

Then there are "the clappers". I don't know what the fuck they get walking and clapping as though their "chi" is going get transmitted to god knows where, if not my irritated ears.

My mom says it best, "Semua orang ada otak. Binatang pun ada otak. Yang tak ramai, orang yang guna aqal. "

Perhaps it has become our culture to not bother how our actions may inflict on our surroundings. That is why I love going there early, when there are minimal human around. Less actual monkeys to put up with...

Below are some of the scenery that pacifies the irritation I sometimes have to put up from human's lack of empathy towards others' need to have a moment of zen with the nature...
Below: Some may think that they have died from the exercise when they see the white light at the end of the walk....

Finally, water from Bukit to quench one's thirst after the long walk-jog. Karam Singh Walia once did a cover on this area. He commented on the type of water, which happened to be category one for this area, ergo, you can drink it without boiling it. Unfortunately, I do not have a breathtaking pantun to end my writing, as would Karam Singh...

My quick getaway....

I had a good quick getaway last weekend on the pretext of learning in a Medical Conference. Cheapskate is the correct word, I hate to admit it, but it's the only way I could get away with staying at Westin Langkawi at 1/4 expenses. I've stayed in many hotels before,and actually had to pay for it, yet somehow I liked the Westin Langkawi, not because I have any any shares or bonds pertaining to the hotel, rather, because of the hospitality.

The hoteliers are very amiable and friendly, not to mention helpful and warm. Then again, they may be sucking up to us thinking that we are actual jet setting rich folks who have nothing better to do and plunge our money into luxurious lifestyle out of pure boredom.

Here are some of the photos I've managed to take. Notice how I'm never in any one of those pictures? That is because I'm the one taking the photos, and since I'm quite a loner, and have forgotten to bring the tripod, they may look like pictures taken off from the internet. But if you happen to notice the skinny feet and the book I am reading, and compare them to the photos I've posted of the holiday in Redang, a couple of months back, you'd notice the book is the same. Oh yes, I'm still struggling to complete "The Last Templar".

The room looks comfy, albeit I felt like Goldilocks sleeping in Papa Bear's bed...without the Papa Bear...Who needs Papa Bear when there is a big Plasma TV with CNN and French Channel 24seven...Wait, that's the bummer part. At about 12am, the TV goes off automatically. I know we are all trying to do our bit in saving the world by cutting down energy, but it's when we don't do anything like driving etc, that we need TV!!

View feasted for the eyes during breakfast...

Obviously after breakfast one needs to lie around like pyton and awaits for the digestive system to complete it's job, before one dwells into the pool.

The process of eating-swimming-lepaking by the poolside was repeated. Nothing like doing nothing.....now THAT is definition of relaxing. I was a restless soul until my husband taught me, "Relax...". I use to call him "Relax-Singh"....(he was a punjabi and spent way too much time relaxing....relatively to me of course)
I found this spot near the Jetty Shopping mall, about 1km pleasant walk (obviously when the sun is way down and not on top of one's head) from Westin Hotel. They have duty free shops ranging from Chocolate shops to Coffee Bean. I chose to not sit in Coffee Bean, instead this little join called "Simfoni", which I find interesting as it has free WIFI service and the shop, the only shop facing the sea. I cannot say the same about the human service though. The cashier was probably in her early twenties but her frown and disinterest attitude made her age a couple of years more. Either that or she had not gotten any for quite some time (and I'm not talking about getting internet service by the way)

There is nothing musical about the service as well. The waiter screwed up my simple order, and practically tried to make me eat his mistake. The chef came charging, dragging the waiter who carried the canceled order ,asking me what happened as though I was responsible for the waiter's poor IQ score. I may look very young, but trust me, when I'm annoyed, I sound like a nagging grandmother. I simply told them that their mistake is "not my problem".

It would have been pacifying had the highly recommended Rendang Pizza have a taste of at least Rendang or Pizza, but unfortunately, to my already irritated tongue, it tasted like dried grass on a cardboard. I took one bite and left it there (you try eating dried grass on a cardboard when the chef and the waiter had just pissed your mood off!!!) so that no one can tell me to buzz off for not ordering, in the ultimate motive of accessing the internet. Hey, I did not have internet access for 2days and was suffering from withdrawal symptoms!! The hotel offers internet in the room but at the cost of RM30 and hour. I thought the WIFI by the sea was a better deal. It was. The rest that came with it wasn't. Perfect would have been the Coffee Bean facing the seaside. I guess the Langkawi folks are simply sick of staring at the sea they prefer a glimpse of city life when sipping coffee and staring out through the window.

I can't say I've revisited Langkawi, as 99% of my time was spent abusing the hotel facilities. (Hey, I'm a Malaysian). But I will sometime not too soon. It's a lovely island. How can one not revisit....

Battlestar Rhetoric-tica...

And so everyone's talking about yesterday's debate between Anwar and Sabree Cik. People arguing on who was more effective and more convincing. If only the debate is not amongst politicians, then probably it will carry some meaning. After all the word rhetorics probably originated immediately after the birth of politics. It is nice though, that each attack made against each other is a plus point for the rakyat because it then incidentally confirms the "khabar khabar angin", convincing us that almost all politicians are the same. It's merely a case of "the pot calling the kettle black". Forgive me for being cynical, but I have got my reasons to be.

Sabree reiterated that the government was nice enough to allow such debates to materialize, as compared to the time during when Anwar was in power when such a thing was not even in anyone's imagination, not even in Anwar's, whilst he was in the ruling party. I'm not sure what point Sabree was trying to make because, to me, the government do not have any choice but to grant such debates, otherwise the rakyat will fall back to the alternative media, which had cost the government their 2/3 seat in Parliment,recently.

It would be great to hear Karpal Singh and Lim Kit Siang debate against the Barisan Nationals though, albeit that needs to be in English because we would like to comprehend the content of the debate and having both of them speak in Bahasa Malaysia would be frustrating, knowing that they would be making their points more effectively in English, which is fine by me.

Frankly, I am not interested in what politicians have to say. Anyone can merely say just about anything, but how many say what they mean and mean what they say? My interest in whatever that comes out of their mouth, does not vary much in intensity with whatever that comes out from their asshole, or whatever that goes in(same channel, different impact). I am interested in what they do, or what they don't do, for everyone knows, actions speaks louder than words.

Anwar made his point when he said we could take the profit from IPP that is drained from Petronas and T&B, and channel it back to the rakyat.(I almost drop off my chair laughing when I heard him use the term "rakyat" in a manner to convince that he actually care,as I dare say through my personal experience with him, err, in a non harlot sense of it, when he was the Education Minister,his conduct had convinced me that the last thing he is interested in is to defend the oppressed, but hey, it sounded great in speeches so why not). Sabree claimed the government cannot subsidize further in view of preventing Malaysia into higher inflation and retarding economy growth in the long run. He too has a point as any economist tend to agree with that. But what is between the line would probably be somewhere between getting profit, plunging it into IPP and the method of execution of that money into the country's development. There's a big loop hole, if not a black hole there.

Last time I checked, people still look like sardine pack in glass bottle when they travel via the LRT. The Komuter system still have the same before Independence mentality, where time is not respected and the train can choose to stop like that Shakira song, "whenever, wherever"...And both system drop you off into twilight zone. What awaits you at the point of drop off are the pirannha taxis. We still keep getting cases of poverty revealed in TV show such as "Bersama mu", whilst there are politicians who have mansions within the country and overseas. Plunge the money into rakyats' interest you say?

Okay, let's just say the longest journey begins with the first step. Fine. We had that debate. Here's some constructive ideas (probably destructive to some but hey, it's an idea). Why not open the debate to more participants like an Economist, a Scientist. An economist may reveal the actual facts and figures, not merely rhetorics to us in how to strike a balance between taking some portion from the IPP to channel it back to the rakyat, without jeopardizing the long term economy growth and impair development infrastructure etc.

A scientist for example, if present at the debate, would have told Anwar not to pooh pooh the notion that Malaysia could in the near future be drained out of Petroleum. The world is talking about "Peak Oil" and I was surprised he did not acknowledge it. It's fine to talk about decreasing oil price as a relief to the people.

But why stop at short term benefits? Why not talk about money going into R&D to find alternatives to petrol..(There goes Petronas) We should be talking about how to take less and give more to the environment.(there goes half the parliment). We should be talking on how we could cut back the unnecessary lavish lifestyle that is detrimental to the environment (there goes F1). We should be talking about making the public transportation more efficient so that less car usage means less petrol/diesel consumption (there goes Proton). We should then not just talk but put the money where the mouth is. No point talking if no action is taken. That is what we should be concern about, not who won the debate last night.

I noticed that they did not take any question from the audience. Perhaps in the future, any debates should include experts in various fields to see the matter at hand from all angles. But like I've mentioned earlier,no point talking if it is just to score votes. May as well turn it into a mini series and call it "Battlestar Rhetoric-tica"

And so the next generation marries

My uncles and cousin (in red) recovering from the food under some shade.

Mum and brother pondering that ever present question, "Ok, the food is done. Now what do we do?"

My niece and her husband.  I'm feeling oooooollllddddd.

I know what you did last tengkujuh

It tickles me when someone says that a doctor is a highly respectable job. Respectable perhaps, but every job is respectable, unless it is immoral by the society standards. What more nowadays, doctors are fast competing with the lawyers in becoming a profession that is ridiculed by public in regards to the money minting habits.

I have a hypothesis on why doctors are respected. It is little to do with pure respect actually. Why you ask me then? Well, it's probably because the doctor knows most of his patients' dark dirty secrets. For instance. I know why Dato' X is having severe backache frequently. It's to do with his visits to the Dangdut joints, and of course, having a second wife at the age of 50 isn't giving his back any justice. It doesn't help that he is required to be just in polygamy and have to repeat whatever it is he is doing with his first wife, (that is giving him the backache), with his second.

I know who has sexually transmitted diseases,who's scratching where the sun don't shine or who has sleepless nights putting up with a husband who is going through a midlife crisis then decided to ride another woman instead of a harmless Harley Davidson. I know who can't get it up and who's having problems keeping it down. Frankly, I'd trade my knowledge to not knowing because it makes me loose faith in the human kind. Well, until someone with a simple flu rekindles my faith back.

So, when I walk through the corridors of the office I work in, most people give me a nod to show respect, probably not so much out of respect for me, but because I know their secrets.

A rule of thumb. Unless you want to learn dark secrets of your foe, do not get a doctor drunk and talking.....you may end up miserable.