New month means new happenings and new posters.
Coming up in September:
Friday, August 28, 2009
Tea Paradise
Cameron Highlands is a tea paradise located 5h bus drive from Kuala Lumpur. The scenic hills made us all (me and my enchanting traveling companions Missy, Paula and Vincent from the photo below) sing "the hills are alive with the sound of music" while we were wandering along the tea plantations.
They have also beautiful rose gardens with tons of roses and wide selection of other tropic and not-so-tropic flowers.
...and strawberry farms with little cafes selling strawberry milkshakes, strawberry ice cream, pancakes with strawberry jam, strawberry juice etc. and of course fresh strawberries. In Finland the strawberry season is usually in its peak exactly when I have my birthday (in the end of July). So for my birthday there is usually big selection of different strawberry themed desserts but this birthday I didn't yet get to have the strawberry flavor in my mouth, until our trip to Cameron where I was able to enjoy the sweetness of strawberries once again.
I found Cameron Highland the most relaxing place whit its humming silence and the fresh mountain air. The air was so fresh that I got a cold as a souvenir which wasn't as fun but even still I did enjoy the Cameron experience very much. If my other tea-lover-friends from Finland or elsewhere would pay me a visit I think we should do additional hike to the Camerons once again.
Once again I'm back in the PT office in hectic KL but I can still enjoy a piece of Cameron with a big cup of BOH tea and "share the Umpph experience" with you guys :)
P.S. My fasting has suffered from some setbacks:
1st the travel to the place of the most fresh vegetables and tastiest scones with strawberry jam
2nd getting stronger from the fever cold.
But now I'm gonna get back to the track and continue the fasting experience at least in some intensity.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Ramadan
Yesterday, the 22nd of August, was the first day of Ramadan: the Islamic month of fasting from dawn to dusk from all the body pleasures like food, drinks, smoking and sex. In Malaysia Islam is the official religion and about 60% of the population practice it.
Hisham (my other "dad") is a muslim so fasting started also in our household. After asking lot of questions and doing some research in internet I decided to join the fasting experience. Not because I would be turning into muslim but to test out my own strength of will. Perhaps the fasting will teach me more about the "patience, modesty and spirituality" and in all it seems like healthy thing to try for a healthy young adult like me. But I cannot give up drinking the water so I am not completely following the rules.
Fasting month is not only about fasting but also about breaking the fast after seven o'clock when sun has come down. I was invited to join the start-of-the-Ramadan-celebration-dinner with Hisham's family. The pictures are from there. Lavish dinner was served and even if I did not have lunch that day I surely doubled the amount of food eaten daily during the dinner. But it was exquisite!
P.S. He is the wise Uncle of the household.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Gratitude
It has been a long week. The question after the robbery hasn't been about surviving with the 5 stitches in my head, loan money and a new phone but coping with day-to-day life. While not being in my best emotional shape my tolerance to any kind of bad luck diminished completely. When a cashier at the 7-Eleven didn't have enough change from rm50 and I didn't have smaller coins to buy the tissues and bottle of water I burst into tears. And when I couldn't get home after work until a locksmith changed the locks cause my new key was a wrong one and in the end I got home 4 hours later than planned. I was tired, hungry and screaming to the empty hall way "I hate this country. Let me go home!" and few lonely drops of tears fall down my cheek again.
But I'm lucky. Even if my "honeymoon" with Malaysia is now officially over I still can and will answer when asked "what you think of the Malaysia?" that "I like it a lot". The people are friendly and polite. I can do the things I most love: travel, design, theatre and art. The food is heavenly. I'm even getting use to the weather and the traffic. I've had plenty of positive experiences here. Even in my greatest despair I was very lucky to meet the people who were willing to help. I don't have enough words to express my gratitude towards my good-hearted saviors. Instead I decided to draw them a Thank You -card.
To the Indian boy Saren who were the first ones to arrive to the crime scene. He got me help and calmed me down while I was still crying in shock.
And to Kien Lee and Soon Heng who took care of me after the accident. They for example treated me a Chinese vegetarian dinner (cause "good food is good comfort" as Kien Lee said) where I was able to taste vegetarian chicken! They also gave me a cute new sketchbook to replace the stolen one and even their own digital camera for me to borrow.
I might make one more card for the doctor. Besides the mentioned I have many friends to thank: Nic who borrowed me his phone - my "dads" Raymond and Hisham of their help and caring - Sam who took care of things in the Finland's end - Manis who escorted me to the police station to do the report - Pallavi who offered to be my bodyguard - Bettina who gave mortal support a good list of tips how to be more cautious. Just to name a few. The support of my family and friends has been important. I'm lucky to have such a force to back me up! Terima Kasih!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Temples of Penang
These are the last pictures taken with my lovely Vivitar camera. I'd like to dedicate a silent moment for my ex-camera. You were a good companion 2006-2009 from the wine yards of Argentina, to the top of New York and beaches of California until the butterflies and temples of Malaysia. You captured beautiful smiles of friends and made my unique memories ever-lasting. Thank you! Rest In Peace dear Vivi.
Holy turtles
Roof view
Best Dressed
In spite of the nasty occur, Malaysia have inspired me with its natural beauty once again. Last week we did a 3 day trip to Penang with Nic, Vincent and Melissa. I have quite amount of photographs to show you and first I'll want to present the snapshots from the Penang Butterfly Farm.
Butterflies might just be the most stylish creatures of this world. Their magnificent wings full of details are always tip top elegant in their precise composition and light abundance.
Help! Help!
Saturday afternoon two guys in the motorcycle decided to destroy my merry picture of the safeness of Malaysia. They stole my bag with my camera, phone, wallet, iPod while threatening with gun looking thing. The warrior spirit inside me did not surrender in peace (which would have been a better option) so while fighting back they hit me in the head with their gun. My head started bleeding. The cowards were driving away while I still cursed them in Finnish with so bad words I didn't even knew I know.
Thanks to good hearted people that helped me without any reward I got treatment fast. Young Indian boy who was first ones to arrive at the scene while I was crying" Help! Help!" became my guardian angel. He used his phone to call to ambulance and police which both refuse to come but then found me a private transportation to the nearest clinic. He escorted me until I was in save care of my dearest friend Kien Lee. I'm also grateful to the doctor at the clinic who stitched my head, clean out the blood out from my hair, face, arm and gave me a clean shirt, everything for free cause all my money was stolen and said "he is ashamed that something like this happens in his country".
In the end of the day what I most hate of loosing is the common sense of safeness. In just seconds totally strangers decided to invade my private space and narrow my freedom to move around in this city alone. But while the accident showed that one must be careful cause there is idiots around it also showed me the endless kindness and concern of both friends and strangers. Good hearted people completely outnumber the bad ones and for that I'm thankful!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Culture Groupie
I've been lucky to be introduced to so many talented young performers in Kuala Lumpur! Last week I got a glimpse of the world of indie rock of KL thanks to my new Finnish friend Veera. I feel like a groupie after sawing local band Brainhead twice during one week. Tuesday night in the Urbanattic...
...and Thursday night in Salmah Cafe.
There I got introduced also to Stonebay.
After the show we of course makan (=eat/eating/dinner/lunch/breakfast/snack/food etc.). Here is some of the members of the court. From the left the boy showing a peace sign is the singer of Brainhead. Next to him is his brother and the guitarist and then the bass and then the last smart looking man in the cap is the guitarist of Stonebay.
Culture comes in many forms and today I finally visited klpac(The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center) for the first time. Friend of mine from our Shakespeare workshop, Sandee Chew, told me that she is performing in the Kaki Blue musical that is now being shown for the last week in klpac.
The play was like Malaysian version of high school musical but with more controversial aspects "Kaki Blue is about the many uniforms and roles we put on, and shed, as we grow up in this country." (quotation from the playbill).
As an outsider I didn't always get the jokes the same way as the countrymen but I did enjoy the music, good singers and stage charisma & intensity of the cast. I find the issues of this country mind pondering: the icy peace of different nationalities inside one nation and the limits of the self expression while still being relatively free. Problems are hidden under a surface that seems solid and clean.
After the show Sandee showed me around the Sentul Park where klpac is situated and introduced me to the rest of the cast and other workers and activist at the center. I'll definitely will be hanging around the Sentul area more in the future!
P.S. In the park there were also cute fishes.
Spirits in the Backyard
Malaysia is quite superstitious nation. Many ghost stories have been shared about communal feelings of presence of a spirits. Usually the story contains goose pumps and a medium who can do the needed jinxes to calm the spirits down. The actual personal encounters with the after-life-people have been mostly individual experiences of something that is not common. Hisham for example told about seeing a woman in a white t-shirt walking strangely by the car at the park garage. She was smiling with and odd grin and waving her hand at him and then disappeared on the next glimpse. One fellow told me that he had seen an devil's face showing of from a clear sky. And that he wasn't the only one seeing it but the whole group of people he was with had the same vision.
Some habits I find very cute. For example if you're in a forest or in a jungle and you need to pee before you can do that you need to ask the permission from the spirits of the forest. You do that by asking from any tree "Can I have permission to pee?" You don't need to wait for an answer just the asking is enough. Also one European girl freaked out her Malaysian boyfriend by kissing him in the forest. After the confusing trek the boy landed to say "thank you forest for your kindness" to a butterfly that was resting on the ground. Politeness does never harm!
Friday, August 7, 2009
ICAAP
If you have followed my blog lately it might seem that my life has been only about vacations but telling the truth there has been some serious work to do as well. Most of the PT's office are now in Bali attending International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific. My job was to design their presentation posters. In less than two weeks I did seven(180cmx90cm) posters (besides the other posts). I'd like describe the great feeling when we got the first posters out of print successfully this Monday.
Clayton and Jeremy opening up the first posters.
They looked quite impressive yet cohesive and I was pleased.
Clayton noticed that I had forgotten one thing from all the posters: Designed by Elli.
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