Hi Again

I'm not sure I have how many regular viewers here, but if you are one of it, very sorry to let you know that I'm been busy with my work currently and don't really have the time to update my blog.

But please do bear with me for a while, I am definitely not going to give up this site. Will get to update and keep it rolling as soon as possible.

When I'm back, I'll will bring in more stuff...more and more stuff : )

What to do in Teluk Intan ?

If you are happened to be in Teluk Intan and wondering what to do there .... well, this blog post is about Teluk Intan.

First of all, I have been to Teluk Intan for quite a few times and to me, this is a place where 'birds don't lay eggs'. It means boring to me hahahaha. But on my last trip I get to explore a bit, really a bit (because there is nothing much either) on Teluk Intan and I would share it here. Thanks to my colleague Matthew Foo who is from Teluk Intan. He spend a lot of time with me through phone introducing me on places to go and nice food to eat.

A brief introduction here on Teluk Intan first.

Teluk Intan is a town located in the state of Perak in Malaysia. It is the largest town in Hilir Perak district and third largest town in the state of Perak with an estimated population of around 110,000.
In the early days, the town was known as Teluk Mak Intan, after a female Mandailing trader. It was here that the Perak rulers held court from 1528 until Kuala Kangsar became the royal town in 1877.

During the British protectorate era, the named was changed to Teluk Anson (Anson Bay), in honour of a British Officer and last Lieutenant-Governor of Penang, Major-General Sir Archibald Edward Harbord Anson who drew the plan of the modern township in 1882.


In 1982 during the centenary of the town's establishment, the name was changed again to Teluk Intan (Diamond Bay) by the Sultan of Perak. The town has a number of colonial buildings and Chinese shophouses together with modern buildings and a few shopping complexes.


Where did I go?

First is of course the landmark of Teluk Intan, The leaning tower.

Erected in 1885 by a Chinese builder, Mr. Leong Choon Cheong. It started to tilt four years after its construction finished due to an underground stream. The tower was originally used as a water tower supplying the area of the town. It had a clock at the top, which still rings every 15 minutes. The tower also served as a beacon to guide ships into Teluk Intan Port. Currently it is a local tourist attraction, and no longer stores water. The area around the tower was paved with bricks and became a plaza. The main street at the centre of Teluk Intan, Jalan Ah Cheong, is named after Leong Choon Cheong to commemorate his contribution.

Entrance to view the tower structure.
Time spent: My record is 5mins including taking pictures.

Looks like a Chinese temple isn't it?

Well underground.

Pre-war building structure.

Old water tank on the top.

Not sure what it is. My guess it is the old method used to pull water from the ground?

Tower structure.

Many pre-war houses surrounding The Leaning Tower.


secondly...

Finally!! Teluk Intan have a Cinema!!

Operates by Lotus Big Cinemas. Only 3 screens but all are big screens and its clean. Rm10 per ticket. The snacks are surprisingly expensive. Cost more than GSC.





and .... thats it...no where else to go.


What I eat?

Liew Kee's famous Chee Cheong Fun. Only operates at night.

Brought it back to hotel room to enjoy after midnight. Oh very nice!!

They have 2 flavours. One is original and the other one is dry shrimp. Both are very nice!!

Mastan Ghani Mee & Rojak!

Look at the cucuk udang! it is really fried out of fresh prawns!! And the 'kuah' (gravy) is damn nice!

Mee rebus together with Air jagung (corn drink) is just perfect!

Famous Ah Chai Rojak.

Oh looks very crispy man!

The 'kuah' gravy is different from the Rojak from penang. It is not so sticky and the smell is not as strong as penang.

But nice : )

Apom balik just beside the leaning tower.

more and more crushed peanuts please!! : )










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Ok basically that's all for me in Teluk Intan. Ciao!

Quote of the day

"In the old days people never bothered about what others did, so long as they were free to do what they liked themselves. Today, one cannot sneeze without being corrected, let alone enjoy oneself. That's what politics have done to our society" - Tunku Abdul Rahman , 1975

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH (February 8, 1903 – December 6, 1990) was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the federation in 1963 to form Malaysia. He is widely known simply as "Tunku" (a princely title in Malaysia) and also called Bapa Kemerdekaan (Father of Independence) or Bapa Malaysia (Father of Malaysia),

The most iconic picture in the history of Malaysia. Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaiming Malayan independence.

Shot of the day

Biggest full moon in 18 years occurs in last Saturday night...

On that same night, around 3am in the morning, I walk out to my balcony just by random and saw the magnificent bright full moon just coming out from the clouds. (At that time, I don't know that it was the biggest full moon in 18 years...I'm just purely amazed by the view)

Decided to take a shot by my normal lousy camera... and this is what come out..
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Guys Please don't ask me why it look like that...Till today I'm still trying to figure out why it looks like that...and by the way I didn't use any flash.. : )

Best automotive sports video I've seen so far!!!!

This video got more than seven million views in its first week.

Name : Ken Block

Nationality : American

Born : 21 November 1967

Place of Birth : Long beach, Carlifornia





Ken Block is a professional rally racer with the Monster World Rally Team. Block is also one of the co-founders and recently appointed Chief Brand Officer of DC Shoes. Block has competed in many action sports events including skateboarding, snowboarding, motocross, and most notably rally racing.

Rallying

2005


In 2005, Ken Block began his national rallying career with the Vermont SportsCar team. Vermont SportsCar prepared a 2005 Subaru WRX STi for Block to compete. His first event of the rallying season was Sno*Drift, where he ended up finishing seventh overall and fifth in the Group N class. During the 2005 season, Block had five top five finishes and placed third overall in the Group N class and fourth overall in the Rally America National Championship. At the end of his first rallying year, Ken Block had won the Rally America Rookie of the Year award.
  
2006

In 2006, Ken Block along with his DC rally teammate Travis Pastrana signed a new sponsorship deal with Subaru. Through this deal with Subaru, the teammates became known as "Subaru Rally Team USA." With the new rally season, Block also got a brand new Vermont Sports Car prepped 2006 Subaru WRX STi. He competed in the first ever X Games rally event at X Games XII. In the competition, Block ended up finishing third to take the bronze. He went on to compete in the 2006 Rally America National Championship, where he finished second overall.

2007

In 2007, Ken Block competed in the X Games XIII rally event, where he placed second overall and won a silver medal. In the 2007 Rally America National Championship, Block finished third overall. During this season, Block also entered in a few rounds of the World Rally Championship; Rally Mexico and Rally New Zealand. In Rally New Zealand, Block recorded two top-five stage times in the Group N class. At the end of 2007, Block had achieved 19 podiums and 8 overall victories in rally events.

2008

In 2008, Block was provided with a brand new rally prepped 2008 Subaru WRX STi to compete. Block decided to compete in the Rallye Baie-des Chaleurs of the Canadian Rally Championship to gain some experience with his new 2008 rally car and prepare for the World Rally Championships later this year. Block gained his first Canadian rally win at the event. This was only the second event for the new car. Block and his co-driver were unable to get any championship points at the event due to not having a Canadian competition license. Block competed in the Rally New York USA competition and finished in first place. In the X Games XIV rally competition, Block finished tied for third place with Dave Mirra. This occurrence was due to both competitors having issues with their car. Block, who made it to the semi-finals of the event, had a radiator problem after landing the car awkwardly on a jump. With both bronze place competitors in damaged cars unable to compete, the medals were awarded to both of them.
Block competed in the 2008 Rally America National championship, which concluded on October 17, 2008. In the event, he finished second overall with a strong victory in the last event. In the Lake Superior Performance Rally stage, Block finished over one minute ahead of his next closest competitor and secured the second overall position. Next up for Block this rally season is three World Rally Championship events.



2010

On January 6, 2010 the Monster World Rally Team announced Ken as their driver for selected rounds of the World Rally Championship, in which he will be campaigning the Monster/Ford Racing Focus RS WRC 08. His car will be prepared and run by the North of England based M-Sport, who also prepare the official Ford WRC cars. He will be simultaneously running in his sixth season of the Rally America Championship in an open class Ford Fiesta, as well as his fifth X-games. Ken will also be the first ever American driver to campaign for the World Rally Championship. On February 27, Block won the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood (Rally America) for the 5th consecutive time. This broke the record held by John Buffum. Ken is currently being trained by former Ford factory driver Markko Märtin. At the Spain rally, he won his first 2 points in World Rally Championship.

Office jokes again : )

How to have a good vision while driving in the rain?

FACT1 : Car drivers are having POOR VISION of the roads during rain.

Fact that is supporting Fact1 : 

Heavy Traffic always happens on the road during rain because Car drivers are driving slower. 

Main reason of driving slower? POOR VISION.

Normal solution?

Most of the Drivers would turn the lights on and turn on high or fastest speed of the wipers
during heavy rain, yet the visibility in front of the windscreen is still bad......

HERES AN EASY AND COOL SOLUTION FOR YOU.....

In the event you face such a situation, just put on  SUN GLASSES (any
model will do), and ....

All of a sudden, your visibility in front of your windscreen is very much clearer!!

Make sure you always have a pair of SUN GLASSES in your car, as you are not only helping yourself to drive safely with good vision, but also might save your friend's life by giving him this idea : )

Try it out and share it with your friends!!

Shot of the day

I wish...

Place    : Fun Fair in Muar, Johor
Subject : Lucky Star Ride

"I wish I could turn back time and be a kid again..."
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Nah....It ain't gonna happen... Wake up and get back to work man...All is good when you can be here now and be with what is : )

Glorious Temple in Raja Uda, Butterworth, Penang.

Sharing with you a glorious temple just behind my house in my hometown through the eyes of Miss Grace Goay : )

Name          : Grace Goay
Status         : Single and Available
Designation : Graphic Designer






Subject : TOW BOO KONG TEMPLE
Date      : 1st of February 2011 (2days before Chinese New Year)

Introduction

Tow Boo Kong Temple ( 斗母宫 ), is one of the most distinctive Nine Emperor Gods Temple in Malaysia. Located in Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth, Penang, this majestic temple stands on 2 plots of land with a total area of 40, 000 square feet.

Myth has it that one of the senior Master was entrusted to diligently spread and expand the Nine Emperor Gods beliefs and preaching. To begin this task, he was asked to set out to the beach with an urn to welcome back the Nine Emperor Gods to the temple during the deities’ birthday celebration. After receiving this message, the senior Master embarked on his mission.

For more info about Tow Boo Kong Temple please log on to http://www.towbookong.org.my

Introduction to The Nine Emperor Gods 

The Nine Emperor Gods Jiǔ Huáng Xīng Jūn / Jiǔ Huáng Da Di (九皇星君/九皇大帝) are the nine sons manifested by Father Emperor Zhou Yu Dou Fu Yuan Jun (斗父周御國王天尊) and Mother of the Big Dipper Dou Mu Yuan Jun (斗母元君) who holds the Registrar of Life and Death. The worship of Dou Fu Yuan Jun has declined strongly as proper teachings of Taoism degenerate since being exported out of China.

Today, most Nine Emperor God temples do not acknowledge the existence of Dou Fu Yuan Jun. However, Dou Fu Yuan Jun is invoked alongside Dou Mu Yuan Jun in Great Dipper Honouring known as Li Dou (禮斗) ceremonies. According To Priest Long Hua, the 35th Generation Leader of Long Shan Men Taoist Sect (Singapore), honouring the Northern Dipper stars prolongs one's life, eliminate calamities, and absolves sins and past debts of oneself and his family.

The term Ye (爺) as in Jiu Huang Ye (九皇爺) loosely translates as "Grandfather", a title worshipers commonly use to bring a more intimate relationship between themselves and the Nine Emperors. The Nine Emperor Gods should not be mixed up with the Wang Ye or Princes of the Ming rebels. Popular folk culture has it that the Nine Emperor Gods are actually sea pirates of the Ming dynasty that plotted to overthrow the Qing dynasty. According to Priest Long Hua, this information is inaccurate and considered derogatory to the actual teachings of Taoism as the Nine Emperor Gods are actually high ranking Star Lords who preside over the movement of planets and coordinate mortal Life and Death issues.

The Nine Emperors is formed by the 7 stars of the Big Dipper of the North Ursa Major (visible) and two assistant stars (invisible). When viewed closely, the arrangement of the 7 stars "the Ladle" and the 2 assistant stars on its left and right resembles a Yin-Yang pattern form.

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Magnificent arch at the entrance of the Temple.

The combination of the lanterns and the golden light just took my breath away...

Lion statues before entrance to the temple,  They are the protector of Truth and to keep off evils.

The Four Heavenly Kings. They are the four guardian gods, each of whom watches over one cardinal direction of the world.

1. In the East: "Dhritarastra 东方持国天王"
Represents "Compassion" and a guardian of the land of a country. Usually the one holding a Pipa (a chinese instrument), symbolizing the use of music to encourage sentient beings to seek refuge in buddhism, protecting the east.

2. In the South: "Vidradhaka 南方增长天王"
Generally means one who can encourage sentient beings to prolong their roots of kindness. He uses a sword, protecting the south.

3. In the West: "Virapaksa 西方广目天王"
Generally means one who can look very far and observe the world and protect the people. Usually has a red body and is the leader of the 4 kings. He carries a dragon, to allow people to have clarity to see the buddha. He was in charge of protecting the west.

4. In the North: "Vaisramana 北方多闻天王" (sometimes also known as "毗沙门 Pisamen")
Generally means "one who knows alot". Usually has a green body and carries an umbrella on his right hand and carries a magic mouse on his left hand. These were used to subdue the demons and protect and maintain people's wealth. Sometimes, he is also known as the God of prosperity in India.

In Chinese they are known collectively as "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" (風調雨順 / 风调雨顺), which translates into "Good Climate".

 知足常乐(zi zu chang le) All is good when you can be with what is now.

First Sanctum (Front Prayer Hall)
This prayer hall houses Deity Dou Mu, the principal deity of this temple. Also known as The Dipper Mother, Deity Dou Mu sits in the centre of the hall altar while the Nine Emperor Gods are seated below the goddess on the same altar. On both sides of the altar are deities like The Third Lotus Prince (Nezha), The Spirit of the North (Seong Tay Kong), The Cycle God (Tai Sui), The Monkey God(Sun Wukong), just to name a few.

The first recorded use of incense was by the Egyptians.

Incense use in religious ritual was either further or simulteaneously developed in China, and eventually transmitted to Korea, Japan and Vietnam.




Incense holds an invaluable role in East Asian Buddhist ceremonies and rites as well as in those of Chinese Taoist and Japanese Shinto shrines. It is reputed to be a method of purifying the surroundings, bringing forth an assembly of buddhas, bodhisattvas, gods, demons, and the like.


Inner Courtyard
The inner courtyard with a dragon spewing water from its mouth stood majestically in this part of the temple. This huge stone carving is stunning and has nine magnificent dragons craved on it. There is also a large mural painting of a 100 children 百子图 on the wall opposite the fountain. It is believed that the painting signifies fertility.

Third Sanctum (Dou Mu Prayer Hall)
Deity Dou Mu or in Chinese, 斗母娘娘 (Dou Mu Niang Niang) sits in the deepest and revered place in the last sanctum of the temple. The other deities worshipped here are Deity Bei Dou 北斗星君 (Bei Dou Xing Jun) and Deity Nan Dou 南斗星君(Nan Dou Xing Jun).

Deity Dou Mu
斗母娘娘
(Dou Mu Niang Niang)

Deity Nan Dou
南斗星君
(Nan Dou Xing Jun)

Deity Bei Dou
北斗星君
(Bei Dou Xing Jun)

On top : 阴阳Yin and Yang

Lastly, a nice shot of the temple roof in golden light.