JULY MORNING ... update 4 minit

There I was on a July morning
Looking for love
With the strength
Of a new day dawning
And the beautiful sun...

URIAH HEEP

have a nice day...
 

TAIPING ... have you ever seen the rain?

Salam and good day,

I want to know, have you ever seen the rain, coming down on a sunny day? Love that tune. 

Well, if you live in Taiping, you probably would, quite often too. and no, I have never been to Taiping. Apparently, it has the greatest volume of rainfall in Malaysia, averaging from 2 to 3 weeks of rain every month, which gives it the enchanting name: rain town.

Now, a bit of historical background. Bear with me.

One of the first town developed due to the discovery of tin. Formerly known as Larut, hence the name  Bukit Larut. At that time, the town was controlled by two opposing Chinese societies ie: Gee Hin and Hai San. Needless to say, these two societies did not get along well, just like the family rival between the Corleone and Tattaglia in The Godfather. Whaaatttt! You've never seen that movie? Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro... err ... nevermind. 

Anyway, Larut was conflict ridden, until the British arrived and ended it with the Pangkor Treaty in 1874.

Hard to believe that this sleepy town used to be the capital administrative of Perak isn't it?. Not just that, it was also the capital of the Federated Malay States of Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang. However, the federal capital was later changed to Kuala Lumpur due to its strategic location between Penang and Singapore. Logical... but sad.

And when the tin supply started dwindling in 1937, the administrative capital of Perak was later  moved to Ipoh. Again, logical but still sad. 

So, being among the first mining towns in Malaysia, Taiping also has a lot of other firsts. To date, there are 33 listed firsts out of which, 7 has been gazzetted as  heritage. Those are:
1. All Saint's Church 1883
2. Museum 1886
3. Prison 1879
4. Public Office 1881
5. Public Library 1882
6. Ngah Ibrahim's Fort 1870s
7. King Edward VII school 1882

26 more sites will hopefully be gazzetted as heritage in the near future. I will not list them down, but you can read about them 

here and here

This is the Antong Cafe, the oldest coffee mill in Malaysia - more than 100 years old , and the biggest functioning coffee mill in the world that actually roasts their own coffee there, using the traditional charcoal roasting process.

I can smell the heavenly aroma of coffee bean in err...my imagination.

 This is definately my first stop, if i ever get to Taiping,


photos courtesy of Mr Ghassan Maan

 

 Because I'm such a sucker for clock towers, here;s an extra large photo of the first clock tower in Malaysia.


Affectionately known as the 'old Clock Tower'.


The clock tower was originally built as the town police station, and if you look closely, you can see the structure of the police station behind it..

photos courtesy of Mr Ghassan Maan

 










 The entrance of the clock tower is planked by an antique trishaw and a very old school phone booth... superman would love that...LOL Oh...and ignore the individual in the photo ok, focus on the structure, please.


Looks like Taiping is all set to woo tourists... so, what are you waiting for... visit Taiping now.

Have a nice day.

References:

http://www.ipohecho.com.my/v4/article/2015/09/01/heritage-taiping
https://cultureguru.my/en/2016/11/30/taiping-story-rain-town-heard-rain-betting/
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2013/03/07/the-many-firsts-of-taiping/
http://taipingheritagecult.blogspot.com/2008/07/firsts-in-taiping.html
http://raintowntaiping.blogspot.com/2011/05/33-first-in-taiping.html
https://peraktoday.com.my/2016/04/taiping-33-first-perlu-diwartakan-sebagai-warisan-negara/

 

RAHSIA

tanpa suara

kau bercerita padaku

 

tanpa seloka

kau berjenaka denganku

 

tanpa cahaya

kau menerangi hariku

 

tanpa menggoda

kau menyentuh perasaanku

 

tanpa mencuba

kau menenangkan hatiku

 

tanpa keraguan

kau lah rahsia terbesar hidupku

the patung says... BRING IT ON

Salam and good day,

We are fast approaching the end of June,  which means we are now halfway into 2019. In 6 months, it will be 2020, a whole new decade.

So far, 2019 has been an eventful and challenging year for me, physically, mentally and emotionally. How so? Well, that's for me to know, but not for you to find out...lol

Here's a quote for motivation:

So true, Mr Gibran.

I have 3 things to say before venturing into the last 6 months of this decade

If I made you happy ... I'm glad 
If I made you cry ... so sorry
If I made no difference to you ... tough luck

and for the rest of this decade... 3 words... BRING  IT  ON!!!!!!!

there's just too much that time cannot erase
ps: still feeling crappy

Have a nice day.

SEMANGAT YANG HILANG

Salam and good day,

Ya, semangat saya hilang, Kenapa? Malas nak cerita panjang, tak ada semangat untuk menulis. Anggap saja saya demotivated tahap dewa...hehe

Kata XPDC ... ' usahlah diragukan, keupayaan diri...' betul lah itu. 

Yang pasti, semangat itu akan kembali, yang tak pastinya... bila? Tunggu saja . Jom dengar lagu.

HUJAN BULAN JUNI

Tak ada yang lebih tabah dari hujan bulan Juni
 Dirahasiakannya rintik rindunya
Kepada pohon berbunga itu

Tak ada yang lebih bijak dari hujan bulan Juni
Dihapuskannya jejak-jejak kakinya  
Yang ragu-ragu di jalan itu

Tak ada yang lebih arif dari hujan bulan Juni  
Dibiarkannya yang tak terucapkan 

Diserap akar pohon bunga itu

Sapardi Djoko Damono.

I WALK ON A PATH DEEP IN A FOREST ...

FAREWELL MY BELOVED SULTAN

This is a sad day for us, especially citizens of Pahang Darul Makmur.

photo from google.com

24 October 1930 - 22 May 2019

Holding back my tears as I write. May Allah bless you always.

 

إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعون

 "Surely we belong to Allah and to Him shall we return"

 

 

 

 

AND INTO THE FOREST I GO... update 4 minit

https://www.pinterest.com/patungcendana90/nature/

3MT - SLIDE ... dos and don'ts

 

We had a workshop for our 3 minute thesis participants yesterday. My slot was on how to come up with a single static slide for the presentation. I'm putting my notes here for safekeeping... LOL 

DO NOT ...

1. use text and complicated graphics
2. rely 100% on your slide to convey your message
3. use bullet points

DO ...

1. use a single readable sentence that the audience can refer to if they get a bit lost
2. choose one 'hero' image or diagram
3. add some personal touches
4. use visuals that appeal to our senses 

•  The title can be in the form of a question or the actual title of your research.
• Try to use a metaphor or an analogy that can help explain your research
• your slide should create a deeper understanding of what you are talking about.
• keep it simple - your slide should be CLEAR, LEGIBLE, CONCISE.  in other words ... 

LESS IS MORE