Keningau trip via new road

The new road to Keningau via Papar was completed about a year ago. If you ask me, I would say it's not as dangerous as a lot of people will tell you. Provided you know how to play around with your gear. For West Malaysians, it's something like driving up to Genting but much longer. The main issue with this new road, I would say, is how fit is your car. If you have those plastic radiators, then this new road is probably not a wise option.

Hubby & I went on a business trip to Keningau twice using the new road in March of this year. I hope somebody will find our experience informative because there wasn't very much information out there for us about the new road to Keningau prior to our trip.

If you ask around, locals will most likely tell you to take the old road via Tambunan because it's safer, except for one stretch, which is pretty hilly & steep. Problem with the old road is it takes about 2.5 to 3 hours. The new road takes only about 1.5 hours BUT it's quite dangerous because of the steep roads. Driving up to Mt. Kinabalu is probably easier.

The quickest way up was too tempting for us to pass, so we opted for the new road. The first round up was interesting mainly because we felt adventurous conquering this new road that so few would opt for. It was our first time to Keningau. And so happened, Prime Minister Badawi was visiting Keningau on the day we went.


After Papar town, we headed towards Beaufort. And from there, followed the signs to Keningau.



Now this is the start of the steep roads.



Then it just gets steeper & steeper, going uphill most of the time. Watch out for winding roads & for signs warning you to lower your gear.




If you're the passenger, then you can enjoy the view. It's beautiful up there on the hills. At one point, I could even see the skyline. Almost breathtaking.



The other good thing about this new road is there are so few cars. I say it's a good thing because this 'highway' is single lane, like most highways in Sabah. If there are many cars, you could be trailing behind very slow drivers & will be in constant need of overtaking. That said, it might not be long before more & more people take this road. Don't you just wonder why the government still build non fully functional highways?



Even then, there would always be reckless drivers speeding up this dangerous road & overtaking you, like this driver did us, just because he (or she) is a regular & know the road by heart.



And do watch out for landslides.



Crocker Range Park is on this road. It looks like a nice place to rest & probably explore. And this is probably the only toilet stop after the foothills.




After about 1.5 hours, we were going downhill into Keningau.



If you're on a day trip, it's probably better to travel early in the morning to Keningau & head back to KK around noon time before it rains. As you can see from the pics below, it gets misty & visibility is bad when it rains. It could probably be only during March/April when the weather is like that.



The second time up to Keningau via the new road was not as pleasant as the first time. We were warned in advance that more car radiators have burst on this road than any other roads. And guess what? It happened to us. Lucky it didn't happen half way up. We were just going uphill when it happened. Our radiator didn't even burst at the bottom but cracked open at the top. The other tip when taking this road is to pack lots & lots of water bottles, just in case. And maybe some eggs? I may be wrong but I heard that cracking eggs into the radiator will temporarily stop water from leaking out.




I'll write next about the Prime Minister's visit to Keningau. Stay tuned.

Onion omelette

Want something healthy & quick? Onion omelette. I always whip this up when I don't have the time but want a healthy meal. Goes very well & filling with steam rice.

Of course you can have any vege omelette; whatever's in the fridge. I sometimes add in tomato, button mushrooms, etc.

I don't think adding in bacon or ham or luncheon meat is healthy though...

chop up 1 big white onion & stir fry or saute as they call it.

add in 2 beaten eggs.

turn them over to brown both sides & wa laa..

Healing Rally

I attended a healing rally when I was back home last Aug & only now have the time to download the vid & pics. It was good & I even got a healing, Praise the Lord!

More info of this rally here.

Rally organised by the Bethel Prayer Group. That's Daniel Kong, speaker, & probably together with the rally organisers behind him.

Rev. Fr. Augustine Mundackatt from Kerala, India

Watch the video. Too bad I couldn't download more vids b'cos of their sizes. We're only allowed 100MB on Blogspot.

Apple Pie

My first apple pie I made! As usual I cheated a little b'cos I'm a super busy person. I used prepacked pastry fr the supermarket instead.

So here's my apple pie recipe for the busy moms:

Before

Ingredients:
1 pound/4 apples
sugar (amount depending on own taste; I used ab 1.5 tblspoon)
powder cinnamon
1 tblspoon water
prepacked pastry

1. Peel & slice apples.
2. Add water, sugar & apple to pot. Sprinkle some cinnamon. Cook until soft.
3. Roll out pastry. Just follow instructions on packaging.
4. After lining the pie mould with the pastry, pour the cooked apple into the mould.
5. Cover with the other half pastry.
6. Poke holes on the top with a fork.
7. Decorate with the excess pastry (optional).
8. Bake for about 20 mins at 180 degrees or until brown.

After

It was easy & I thought it would be such a hassle. I think it took me only ab 20 minutes of preparation. I love the taste of apple & cinnamon & will sure to make more of these.

Japanese Influence on Contemporary Fashion - Rei Kawakubo

The most controversial Japanese designer is probably Rei Kawakubo. Being untrained as a fashion designer, but having studied fine arts & literature, she conveys her ideas verbally to her patternmakers.

She founded the company Comme des Garcons which means like the boys in 1973 which specialised in anti-fashion, usually having her garments deconstructed.

For many, Kawakubo's arrival in the west, with her first Paris presentation of her collection in 1981, was something of a shock. Her 1982 'lace' sweater, hand-knitted wool with holes, is the sort of daring & challenging western ideas of beauty that has shocked the international fashion scene.

Her integrity & radical self-examination reflected an idealogy that was unique in Paris in the early 1980s but traditional in Japan, which is the source of most of Kawakubo's ideas. She exposed seams, left seams unfinished & turned fabrics inside out. What she released was something new in fashion. Every garment she has created presented a challenge to conventional fashion thinking.

Kawakubo had been one of the first to introduce the all black, a colour that most western Europe regarded as being gloomy & showed that it can be a stimulating colour for fashion. More recently though, she has digressed fr her trademark black & has shown a propensity for colour & luxury in her clothes that seem a direct contrast to her earlier style.

Skirt & Jacket
Autumn/Winter 2000
by Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garcons

Japanese designers share a charesteristic compulsion to question, experiment & innovate. Kawakubo is one of the frontrunners in this compulsion & has continued her experiments regardless of the public's lack of understanding, feigning indifference to the frequently hostile reception her collections receive.

Fall 2002 Ready to Wear
This collection was an intense research project into what be done with different varieties of wool, knitting needles & an unconventional vision.

Autumn 2003
Kawakubo sees her women quite literally as a person in transit, walking toward her destination with what look like bundles of possessions slung about her body.

Spring 2004
There was only 1 garment in this collection: a skirt. The show was about designing from shapeless, abstract, intangible forms, not taking into account the body.

In spite of criticisms, Kawakubo has influenced other fashion designers such as Belgian Martin Margieland, Ann Demeuleseester & Austrian designer Helmut Lang.

Her cutting edge concept that there is beauty in the unfinished, & that clothing can go from texture to fabric has had a major influence on today's fashion.

References:
Essay taken from my own year 1 presentation on Japanese Influence on Contemporary Fashion.
McDowell, Colin, Fashion Today. 2000
www.japan-zone.com
www.infomat.com

Photo source:
www.japan-zone.com/modern/kawakubo_rei.shtml
www.tepapa.govt.nz/Japonism/accessible/Watanabe.htm
www.style.com

Malaysian government doing its bit

Good to know the Malaysian government via Ministry of Domestic Trade & Consumer Affairs is doing something about educating the Malaysian public on the environment. Saw this advert in the local newspaper around Sept last year.

Japanese Influence on Contemporary Fashion - Issey Miyake

As stated earlier, to understand how huge their influence, one has to focus on a few Japanese designers.

First up, Issey Miyake.

He is one of the greatest innovators in shape & fabric. He studied graphic design initially but really wanted to make clothes, so he went to Paris to study fashion.

Miyake successfully incorporates east & west to create his unique designs. He transcends both his Jap heritage & his training in western couture to redefine the concept of clothing. His aim was to create a form of dress which combined elements of the Jap kimono & its process of wrapping, layering & fastening with other modes of western dress to create a modern, innovative combination.

One of Miyake's many talents is his capacity to invent new fabrics. In 1970 he opened Miyake design studio in Tokyo & here he researched fabrics & design teniques, producing innovations like clothes made out of oilcloth, polyester jersey fabric & so forth. Some of the techniques he used are also traditional in Japan such as the 5th century Jap peasant technique to distress hemp-like material & Jap kimono techniques to pleat his garments.

Dress, 1989

"Seashell" or "Shell-knit" coat, spring/summer 1985

Morimura Art Dress. Pleats Please became the focus of his astounding creativity & is his most succesful collection. A Pleats Please clothing is made of finely pleated silk so soft that a dress could be rolled into a tiny ball that could be held in the palm of a hand. But what makes them exciting & new is their ability to move not only with the body but also in counter rhythm to it.

'Lantern/Flying Saucer' dress. He shows how modern clothes can be high-tech as well as fun, uniting the advanced technology of permanently pleated polyester with the traditional form of paper lanterns.

In order to fully appreciate the innovative nature of Miyake's work, you have to look behind the scenes at the designer's high-tech production methods. His clothes represent ongoing experimentation with shape & material.

Next up is Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons. Stay tuned.

References:
Essay taken from my own year 1 presentation on Japanese Influence on Contemporary Fashion.

http://www.search.biography.com/
http://www.japan-zone.com/

Photo source:
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/
http://www.deutsche-bank-kunst.com/
http://www.wired.com/

Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker!

Last weekend was spent in London again.

I had initially wanted to watch Phantom of the Opera but tickets was sold out again as usual. Tried Sound of Music b'cos Connie Fisher will only be around until end of Feb. Since I'll be away, I just thought I have to go see her that Sat but no such luck. Tickets sold out! Ended up with Nutcracker.

A short review of this musical that was showing at Sadler's Wells London on Saturday 19 Feb.

Seatings at Sadler's Well. Photo taken from Second Circle.

It was overall a feel-good musical. If you love dance, it is wonderful to watch the movements of the dancers as well as their facial expressions. The chereograher had obviously made it more entertaining by incorporating some comical movements into the dance, which will guarantee to make you laugh if not just a smile on your face.

Naturally, I paid special attention to the costumes. Slightly dissapointing, I hate to say. Not that it was awful or anything. I had expected more, that's all. I did think during the show that the costumes looked terribly familiar, like it had been used before in some other musicals, and that the main female's character should have worn a more exciting costume. But then that's just my 2 cents worth of opinion.

Go watch the show with the family. Have fun!

For video clips and more on this musical, click here.

The Moscow State Circus

In 2 weeks' time, I'll be taking off on a long business trip again. So, loads to prepare for and not enough time to update this blog.

And I've been getting a request to continue with my Japanese Influence on Contemporary Fashion topic that I'd started almost a year ago. How time flies! But I shall attempt to finish up this topic before I leave. Stay tuned.

Meantime, would like to write a review on The Moscow State Circus that we had recently went to watch here in Birmingham.

Overall, I enjoyed it. There were no spectacular stunts that had left me sitting on the edge of my seat, holding my breath and praying that there shall be no fatal mistakes, but the performers were instead talently entertaining enough, allowing me to seat back and enjoy the show. So, I would say it was worth watching.

You can get half price tickets from Chinese restaurants. The show lasted for about 2 hours. I think they're still touring round the UK.

Here's a video clip on some highlights of the circus.

Recipe - Sambal Sotong (squid)

How was your festive celebration?

Ours had been hectic but there had been restful & homely moments. There had also been time for cooking something new - the sambal sotong.

For some reason, I had never cooked sotong (squid) in all these years we've been living here. Since it was the festive season, I thought I give my family a treat. I'm glad I experimented with this new recipe bços now we don't have to go to a Malay restaurant or Malaysian Hall in London!

Blended ingredients
-------------------------
serve 4 - 6 people
8 fresh chilis
1" galangal
1" ginger
1 big onion or 10 shallots

Heat wok with oil.
Add blended ingredients & cook until boil.
Then add tamarind (squeeze the juice in 80ml of water & discard the seeds).
Add salt & sugar for taste.
Add the squids.
Add the lady's finger or ocra towards the end (optional; not necessary to add this vege).
Cook until sauce thicken & turn brown.

The thing about this dish is it's not as complicated as I thought. I've modified the original recipe bços not all the ingredients can be found here, but it taste almost as good as the original.

Give it a try. I think it's good for people living overseas who love Malay food.

Bona petite!

A Blessed 2008

Laughter therapy - don't mess with people who handles your food

Anybody can make art then

Last recent weekend, we were in London. Planned many activities but didn't get to do them all. Word of advice, you should pre-book tickets in advance.

So we didn't get to see Phantom of the Opera. Couldn't get to see China's Terracotta Army and didn't make it to the Ice Station Antartica.

We did go Kensington Palace but changed our minds at the very last minute to see Diana, Princess of Wales by Mario Testino, all because no cameras are allowed. I had so very much wanted to photograph Lady Di's gowns which I would have paid to see; so in a way, it was a sort of protest on my part. Pathetic or admirable of me?

Made it to Tate Modern though. The place was crowded and there was a sort of Christmas carol or concert going on by the 'spider'. Lots of stalls along the River Thames but we had to quickly wriggle our way through the crowd b'cos of the biting cold.

The art on display here was a dissapointment in a way. There were lots of abstract work, which I don't much care for. There was one particular art on display. Just a plain piece of cloth with a slash in the centre. And this is also called art. Sadly, I don't appreciate it even though I know art can be any form of expression and pre meditated. I guess I'm old-fashioned. Art, to me, is a painting or a visual which not everyone has the talent for; not when it's something which I think even my 1 year old can make.

I did enjoy the mixed media art though especially the one by Ellen Gallagher. It's my favourite form of art at the moment.

Ellen Gallagher's Deluxe Prints photo courtesy of Art:21

Tate Modern

One of Louise Bourgeois' Spider sculpture was placed outside, but you have to pay to see his other work.

The crowd at the fair along River Thames.

Everyone was admiring this Christmas tree that was being dragged by a young boy.

As usual, no cameras are allowed in, so I can only take photos of the outside.

The Story of Stuff

Now here's another interesting explanation by Annie Leonard on the evil of consumerism. Although directed at the USA's consumerism, I think it's generally the same issue worldwide. And once you've finished watching the film below, you can click here for some suggestions that would help resolve some of the problems identified in the film.

What's your fav Christmas movie?

God must have symphaty on all of us SAD people b'cos the sun has been out again. Feels so good to have the warm sunlight on my face again.

And Christmas is just round the corner.

So what's your favourite Christmas movie of all time?

Mine is the classic "It's a wonderful Life" starring James Stewart & Donna Reed. It's also a wonderful romantic movie. Hubby & I thought it was going to be boring b'cos it's an oldie but we wanted to find out what's so special about this movie as it's very popular round Christmas time. Turned out to be one of the best movie I've seen; very real human emotions.

Here are some clips.

Amir Khan v Graham Earl

At our Sat night gathering, we watched Amir Khan (our British champion) v Graham Earl. It was the best fight I ever watched. Why? B'cos it was only 1 min few seconds. B'cos I don't watch boxing. Perfect.

Seriously, I did enjoy it a little bit. It was nice to see Amir's precise punches & speed. Almost wished it had gone a little longer than just 1 min plus.

SAD

Woke up this morning, and it's another dark grey, wet morning. The weather is starting to get to me again. Since I got back, I think I probably only saw like 1 week plus of sunshine.

Many would have already known of this condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD (how true!) aka. winter depression. It's a condition that causes depression due to lack of light and the most common treatment for it is light therapy. But I found another way round it by engrossing myself in a hobby or work so that I don't notice the weather. It has worked for me all these years but I think that tactic has worn out and I'm getting SAD again.

Alright! So time for more distraction this winter.

More travelling.

More laughter therapy.

And....

I think no more horror movies for me (depressing & bad for the soul).

King of the jungle with a heart

Would like to share this touching video of a lion hugging his rescuer with almost human-like emotion.

German Market

I see this year, there're some changes to the German market in Birmingham High Str. Nothing major but definitely something different to it. And it looks like there are more stalls now as well.

Here are the pics of the German Market at night.

Walking towards German Market

This here is the bier garten hehe. No, it's a pretty cool outdoor bar, very popular with the locals. So very packed with people.

Ooh this one here don't look too popular. I think it's the spretzel stall.

The kids love this. They go up into that thing & slide down while moms stand outside the barrier & snap photos or videos.

I love Merry-Go-Rounds, don't you?

The kids just can't get enough of it. So did the adults.

Video of German Market

City hall at night. Beautiful.

Oh, this is not anywhere near the german market. It's just a lone Christmas tree standing tall between Birmingham's famous Rag Market & Bull Ring.

Did we cause animal to be skinned alive?

I received an email recently about skinning animals alive. Just a consumer awareness message to all about what's behind the product we buy. This is a worldwide problem.


Before we buy kangaroo skin products, read this.


Before we buy leather shoes, handbags, etc., read this & watch this.


Before we buy fur, watch this. Be warn, this video can be disturbing.


This type of consumer decisions can be too heavy for some of us to deal with, but we should at least realise a little that consumerism can be the cause for many evil such as blood diamond, sweat shops & now animal cruelty.


Have a good weekend.

Laughter Therapy - Ninja Warrior

If anyone wants a good laugh, Ninja Warrior is one of it. Their attempts can be pure comedy. Hubby & I can laugh till our tummy ache. If anyone has a pay TV, you can watch it on the Challenge channel.








But there's some amazing thrills. Miyake Ayako is the champion! She's amazing, like spider woman.

Boycott The Golden Compass?

As people with religion, would you boycott this movie?

Catholic lay leaders in Canada and the U.S. have denounced the book as anti-Catholic in particular because the villain in the story is very similar to the Catholic church in the olden days when Church & politics are one. A lot of ppl still hasn't realised that the Church is very different now.

The director & actors insist it's not anti religion or Catholic and that they're anti-misuse of power whether it's religious or political. Phlip Pullman, the author himself said, "What I am against is organised religion of the sort which persecutes people who don't believe. I'm against religious intolerance."

But seriously, would you support (financially by buying his books & watching his movie) the book/movie written by a well-known atheist who believes that organised religion, whether it's Christianity, Islam or Hindu & fanatism is the same thing.

Here are some of the things Philip Pullman (the author) said in interviews:

CNSNews "When you look at organized religion of whatever sort - whether it's Christianity in all its variants, or whether it's Islam or some forms of extreme Hinduism - wherever you see organized religion and priesthoods and power, you see cruelty and tyranny and repression," Pullman said in a 2002 British interview. "It's almost a universal law."

Sydney Morning Herald "My books are about killing God."

True, we cannot control what people should or should not watch, but we can surely decide what our children can or cannot watch.

Trip to Chester a heritage city

We got to travel up to Chester on Saturday. Unfortunately, we only got time to walk around the city. Lots more to see & do, like the Roman Wall, Chester Zoo or a cruise on River Dee, so we'll save it for another day; an overnight stay perhaps.

Anyway, the Chester trip is all in the video. You can see most of the pictures in My Flikr. Enjoy.