This year, the festival will be held on 15 to 18 March 2012.

12 negara dijangka sertai Pesta Belon Udara Panas Putrajaya 2012

PUTRAJAYA: Sebanyak 12 negara dijangka menyertai edisi keempat Pesta Belon Udara Panas Antarabangsa Putrajaya 2012, yang dijadualkan pada 15 hingga 18 Mac ini di Monumen Alaf Baru, di sini.

Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar, Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, berkata antara negara terbabit ialah Perancis, Amerika Syarikat, Poland dan Belanda.

“Bertemakan “1Dunia, 1Malaysia, 1Pesta”, orang ramai berpeluang menyaksikan 25 belon udara panas memenuhi ruang angkasa Putrajaya sepanjang pesta berlangsung,” katanya pada sidang media prapelancaran pesta, di sini, sebentar tadi.

Sementara itu, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif penganjur, AKA Ballons Sdn Bhd, Khairudin Abdul Rani, berkata terdapat beberapa aktiviti baru tahun ini seperti sukan ragbi sentuh, pesta basikal, aktiviti sukan air dan zon sukan lasak.

“Pada pesta kali ini juga kita akan dapat melihat kembali acara ‘cahaya malam’, di mana belon udara panas akan menyertai pertunjukan lampu dan bunyi pada 17 Mac, yang berakhir dengan pertunjukan bunga api,” katanya.

Beliau juga menganggarkan jumlah pengunjung pada pesta kali ini melebihi kehadiran kira-kira 250,000 orang pada tahun lalu. – BERNAMA

Too bad, I think I won’t be around Klang Valley area during that period of time, so maybe I won’t able to attend it… For anyone near that area, especially family with young kids… I think it is a good place to go during weekend.

Here I have some love poem for you on this Valentine

Sweet Love Of Mine

I know it hasn’t been long since I last saw you my dear,
But to me it feels as long as five hundred year.
I miss you to the point I am loosing all sanity,
There has to be an end to all this calamity.

I think of you every second and every breath,
For you I would stare even into the face of death.
To kiss your lips is to taste the sweetness of love,
And it brings forth feelings from the heavens above.

To look into your eyes is to gaze into the sky,
So beautiful with the stars and the heavens inside.
To see your smile is to see the divine,
This poem is for you,sweet love of mine.

by Jason Roop

Source: Poems4all.info

 

Here is another nice Valentine quote

Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s day,
All in the morning bedtime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
William Shakespeare

It takes more then lace and ribbons,
And lovely verses too,
To make a Valentine thats nice enough for you.
It takes a world of special thoughts,
Tucked into every line,
And that’s exactly what you’ll find inside this Valentine.
Unknown

Source: quoteplanet.net

However, since the University Tun Hussain Onn (UTHM) is located not very far away from this town, I believed many parent or student of this university do come to Batu Pahat.

When you visit Batu Pahat, I highly recommend a ‘stall’. It sell ‘Nasi Beryani”. Based on the information that I get from the staff of the hotel that I stay, this is one of the most famous one and this stall will use about one full container of rice for the business!!

It is impressive considering the fact that it is just a stall… not even a restaurant!!

Nasi Beryani Mohd Shah Batu Pahat. This is how the shop look like!!

Here I manage to upload the photo for you… the look of the shop/stall is not very impressive, but the taste of the food is not very bad at all… no wonder lots and lots of people went there for their meal.

The price also very cheap compare to the normall price of Nasi Beryani especially in Kuala Lumpur or Klang Valley area.

Nasi Beryani Johor Mohd Shah.This is the view of the front/opposite side of the road from the Nasi Beryani stall

The shop open from 11 am to 4pm (aproximately) everyday i.e. when their rice finish… From my own observation, everyone that went to that area, about 99 % will eat the nasi beryani….

Nasi Beryani Mohd Shah... like most food stall area, the customer will sit at the public area

It was a nice trip and with the good time that my daughter have when she is there… the RM35 entrance fees is worth the money. (well since it is the only one avaiable and nice one in Kuala Lumpur area ).

Waiting for the Aquaria to open

For yesterday trip, I went there since very early in the morning… and I reach the Kuala Lumpur Conventional Center (the Aquaria is there…) since about 10.15am..

Based on the Aquaria website, during the weekend, it will start to open since 10.30am… but I think yesterday, we all go in at around 11.00am. There are lots of people queuing up to buy ticket yesterday, but luckily since I am early I am in front of many other people.

Aquaria Ticket counter

The entrance fees is as below

Adult  : RM35 (With MYKAD) and RM45(without)

Children: RM25 (With KYKID) and RM35 (without)

Senior : RM25 (With KYKID) and RM35 (without)

How to go there:

I went there by car. I drive directly to Kuala Lumpur Convention Center parking… then from there I can take lift to the floor (If I am not mistake it was ground floor). It was very convenience if you drive (and know the place). If you are not very sure about the location, you can go to KLCC and walk to the Aquaria. There are lots of signage from KLCC that you can follow.

Activities:

In the entrant, they have photo taking service. I take it and the cost (for one pakage) is RM35. there are few photo that they give with that package.

Star Fish at Aquaria KLCC... in the first section where visitor can touch them

Once we go in, there is a section to touch some of the fish (and sea creature there). When I went there, I manage to touch the star fish …

Watching fish feeding activity. At 12pm, there will be 2 diver that will go down to the tank and feed the fish (and turtle inside the tank of course). I think that is actually the main attraction of Aquaria.

Other than that, in the way out, they have some shop to buy souvenir.

The first section. Visitor can touch the fish

Electric cat fish

Electric Eel

Water rat

Even if this is a beach, but if you are used to long and white sandy beach near the sea… I think you will be disappointed. You will not able to find it here.

In my opinion, it is a good place for picnic as there are lots of facilities…  here is some of the photo that I take when I visit it.

Pantai Morib

The journey from Kuala Lumpur to Port Dickson take about 2 hour drive (depending on how fast you drive too). I am not sure if there are conveniance if take public transport, or if public transport is available (directly the beach) or not… If you decide to take public transport, I guess most probably you will need to take bus from Kuala Lumpur to Seremban, then from Seremban to Port Dickson.

Since we went there in a group, we decide to rent an apartment. The cost is RM350 per night. It is located next to Coral Beach Resort, Port Dickson. The apartment located just next to the beach and have a very nice view.

We also rent a barbeque set from the agent and have some barbeque as dinner and supper. Not a very bad activity for the night.

Some activity that you can do when you visit Port Dickson is walking at the beach, sight seeing, sun bath, kayaking, ride banana boat and also motorboat.

Riding banana Boat

Since I have visit few other beach from East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia before, what I can say is that the beach here is different! In Port Dickson, the beach is very wide during low tide. However, the sand is not as beautiful as beach from East Coast like Pantai Seri Tujuh in Kelantan. The wind here is not very strong and the sea is not as ‘blue’.

Manage to get some photo of the trip. Hope you like it.

The right is Coral Resort, the left one is the Apartment that I rent

The beach become very wide when the tide is low

This Building make me think of a Korean Movie 'Il Mare'

Anoter view when the tide is higher

The visitor can shop for some goodies from the stall near the road

The weather is not hot, but when I was there is was rain for a moment… so the trip is a little rush… I plan to visit them again to see the rest that I missed today…

Manage to take some photo when I was there…

Out of curiosity I drive inside the road… it was a small road…in the first few kilometers… the road seem nice… both side have tress and the road seem clean.

However, after I drive for a while, somehow I feel different… reason? there are lots of dry leaf on the road… the branch of the tree hanging very low and I think some of them nearly reach the top of the car that I drive… still there are no signboard or anything (the only sign board that I can see from time to time is stated that the area is a forest reserved)…

I keep on driving…

At one time I see few jungle fowl on the road… some monitor lizards (Varanus salvator species) crawling on the road slowly while watching me… seem like it is ‘tame’, maybe didn’t see anyone for a while… well, this is in the middle of the reserve forest and it is only 5 KM from the Thailand border… it was a place deep in the jungle with no mobile phone line and I think not many people go inside!!

On a second thought, actually the view is not bad, there are ‘fog’ coming out of the bitumen road (even it is 2 pm)…

I drive up many kilometer inside… the more the faster I drive ( I eagerly want to pass the area to go to the other place)… and finally I reach a ‘resort’… It was the “Perkampungan Utara Resort”… it is just an abandon place that look ‘scary’… I feel uneasy at that time… well, from outside, no signboard mention that this is just an abandon place.. and I have drive in so far… I hope I can go out from the other side so I don’t need to pass by the earlier place.

I drive another 3 KM inside… and to my shock it is the end of the road!!! there are no way out from there except I drive back using the same way!!! I think you may think that I am afraid of the spooky thing… but actually at that time, the only things that I remember is the safety of my family (I drive in with my family)… what happen if I meet with some one that have bad intention? this is very deep in the jungle with no way out and if something happen no one may come inside and found us!!!

I never have a good look at the end of the road (it was actually the gate of another resort).. that place is used to be “Mutiara Pedu Lake Resort” I think… I immediately make u turn and drive out as fast as I can.

We didn’t really talk anything on the way out… both of us worries… I drive out very fast even the road is very small and it is very risky if someone drive from the apposite site!

On the way out, I saw many birds which stay on the roadside and fly when my car come near them… there are one wildboar which again seem ‘tame’ and not really run away when my car pass by (even I drive very fast)…

The luck is still with me, all of us safely come out and we didn’t meet with anyone one the way out… I really feel relief… when we reach the main road, we still can see few car but I am quiet sure that not many of them will try to go in…

What I want to highlight here is that, the area is a very risky area!!!… without any signboard outside mentioning that the place has been abandon and it is only a dead end!!! what happen if someone like me go drive inside and meet with some robber?? there are no other way out and there are no way to call for help!!

Out of many trip that I make (I normally like to have a ‘quick’ trip everywhere to and take photo)… this is the most ‘risky’ trip that I ever make… I am glad nothing happen to us on that trip.

If you pass by the area, I am sure you will still see the ‘nice’ and sign board that ‘still look very new’ from the main road stated “Pedu Lake Resort”… please take my advice, if you are alone or didn’t go in large group or with someone which very good in escaping or live in a jungle… do not enter into that path

since then it become my favorite music, even when I write this blog, it is on…

I like music in this style… last time when I visit to Thailand, in Jatujak I found one shop that sell their traditional music CDs I bought one … I think it is very nice also… however, my wife said that it is ‘stressful’ compared to sape music…

Anyone like music which is very peaceful and relax, I highly recommend Solo Sape by Tuyang Tan Ngan.

I found one video upload by someone in youtube… it is played by Tuyang Tan Ngan as well… maybe this can give you some idea how his Sape sound like.

In case you like this music and want to buy one, I am not aware of where you can get it (other than sarawak)… I bought mine in a shop near the ‘riverside’… there are one shop which sell lots of craft and this shop have few CDs on Sape… The seller is quite nice, he can recommend some for you.

Talking about Sape, I just know that actually lots of people like their music… here is one article from local paper..

Sape goes global
By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: The Baram Regatta 2008 will take on an international flavour for the first time in its century-old history.

The event will feature sape players from England, Kalimantan in Indonesia, Brunei and local Chinese and Malays who have become experts in playing this Orang Ulu guitar-like musical instrument.

The Baram Regatta, as the name implies, will be held along the mighty Baram River in the interior town of Marudi, 200km inland from Miri, on Aug 16 and 17.

This historical event marks a peace accord reached by warring Orang Ulu tribes in 1899 that ended the ancient practice of head hunting.
Versatile: File photo of Emma Ruran Raja of the Kelabit folk band Kan’id playing the sape at the recent Rainforest World Music Festival in Santubong, Sarawak.

The Orang Ulu, made up of the Kenyah, Kayan, Kelabit and other minority groups, beheaded their enemies as a sign of bravery and conquest.

In 1899, the Brooke rulers helped seal a pact among the tribes to end this gruesome practice.

To mark the pact, they staged the Baram Regatta to engage each other in water sports like longboat rowing, rafting and swimming.

In later years, sape competitions were held to test each others’ cabilities in playing the musical instrument.

Telang Usan assemblyman Lihan Jok said this year’s sape competition will be held simultaneously with the water sports.

However, since I am still a little tired and now it is late at night, I will make another posting again soon about the trip and of course some photo…