Langkawi Geopark - Therapy for City Stress

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha for Muslims Bloggers




A beautiful view from my balcony

I have been to Langkawi many times over the years but I guess I have not given the Island much justice by not writing or sharing anything about the Island to the cyber community. Although the island captivated me every time I spent my time there but never to the extent of wantig to blog about it, but then the trip to the Island last week was something special because I was spending three days two nights holiday with my wife and family there.

Sunset at the Perdana Quay & Marina

Mega Yachts & Sail Boats


Packed & Busy Marina

Langkawi has so much to offer to the local or international tourists in terms of its perfect beaches, historic sites, beautiful islands, nature watch and fishing or shall I say a perfect geopark, it"s new branding. In terms of facilities it has the most expensive hotels and even cheapest lodgings for backpackers. The whole area of Pantai Cenang is now full of shops, restaurants, cafes, bistros, spas, hotels and chalets. The area was full of local and international tourists especially at night. It looks like all the European tourists have migrated from Phuket to Langkawi.




Beautifully Designed and Decor : Sunday Bistro @ Pantai Tengah


Waiting for our dinner @Sunday Bistro


The kids love the Bistro as much

I managed to stop at Perdana Quay and marina which was full of yachts. It looks like Monaco with the trendy cafes by the waterfront. Since the café was too expensive even for me, so I decided to take some shots and walk around instead of spending my money there.

It won’t be complete to visit Langkawi without going on the cable car ride up 700 feet to enjoy the breathtaking view of the Island. I will be doing injustice trying to describe the beauty in words, so let the pictures tell the story on how wonderful it is from up above.

Fishes at the Under Water World Aquaria


Shark swimming with grace and fatality


Stingray flaying in the water


Rock or a fish?


Jelly fish ....... soft and itchy

The collections of fishes at the Under Water World will provide you with other dimensions of what lies in the waters around the island and even further beyond. My kids just love the Aquaria and for me it reminds of the diversity and mystics of living things in the deep ocean.


Cable car que

View from above

Viewing platform .... 700 feet above sea level

Awana Porto Malai was a perfect hotel for me while the RM 100 per day car that I rented provides us with cheap transport to roam the island. With the cheap regular Air Asia service to the Island, it just seal up a perfect holiday destination for many. My advice please don’t limit your visit to buy cheap branded dinner sets or batik jawa but explore the true natural beauty of the island and its slow pace which is a therapy to fast crazy city life.

Mahsuri Complex

Inside garden

Makam Mahsuri .... where the legend begin

Fruits of Labor

My only rambutan tree

Ehemmm see the fruits

Remember the green rambutans in My Garden posting. Well it’s yellow now, sweet, juicy and delicious. Beside my neighbors and friends the musang, squirrels, bats and birds have been having a field day enjoying the fruits.

U Lee sorry x mail u ....it's sweet, juicy and delicious

The single 18 years old rambutan tree has never failed to given me the coziness of plucking and eating rambutans in my own garden. You need to plant, care, nourish and the tree will never failed you. Just like a friendship.

You get what you plant no!!!

PIGGY @ SEPANG

NASIONAL - Sunday 13 April, BERITA MINGGU

Pas kemuka tiga cadangan selesai isu

KUALA LUMPUR: Pas mengemukakan tiga cadangan kepada Kerajaan Selangor yang dianggap dapat menyelesaikan isu projek ladang ternakan babi berkelompok bernilai RM100 juta di Ladang Tumbuk, Kuala Langat. Cadangan itu juga sebagai pilihan kepada rakyat Selangor yang dikemukakan pemimpin tertinggi Pas diketuai Timbalan Presiden Pas, Nasharuddin Mat Isa; Naib Presidennya, Datuk Husam Musa dan Ketua Dewan Pemuda Pas Pusat, Salahuddin Ayub dalam pertemuan dengan Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim di kediamannya di sini, malam kelmarin. Pas juga mahukan kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat pimpinan Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) itu mengadakan kempen penerangan dan siri dialog bersama rakyat untuk mendapatkan pandangan dan pilihan terbaik mengenai projek berkenaan.
Tiga cadangan itu ialah:
Pas mencadangkan kerajaan negeri membiarkan saja kira-kira 300 ladang babi sedia ada terus beroperasi tanpa sebarang tindakan diambil.
Mengambil langkah tidak membenarkan diwujudkan ladang babi di negara ini seperti di Singapura.
Memusatkan semua ladang ternakan babi menggunakan teknologi terkini dan tidak memberi kesan kepada alam sekitar dan menimbulkan keresahan umat Islam. Salahuddin berkata, dalam pertemuan itu, Abdul Khalid bersetuju dengan cadangan Pas itu dan kerajaan negeri akan mengadakan penerangan untuk mendapatkan maklum balas daripada rakyat. Katanya, Pas bersetuju jika kerajaan negeri melaksanakan projek berkenaan menggunakan kaedah moden dan menempatkan satu tempat semua ladang ternakan babi di negeri itu. "Pas berharap kerajaan negeri mengambil langkah terbaik menyelesaikan isu ladang ternakan babi yang mendapat bantahan rakyat.
"Dia (Abdul Khalid) dalam perjumpaan itu, bersetuju dengan cadangan yang kita kemukakan itu," katanya selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat bulanan Jawatankuasa Dewan Pemuda Pas Pusat, di Ibu Pejabat Pas Pusat, di sini, semalam. Salahuddin mendakwa isu ladang ternakan babi itu juga sudah dimanipulasikan oleh media sehingga menjadi besar. Bagaimanapun, beliau percaya kerajaan negeri akan mengambil langkah sewajarnya menangani isu itu selaras kehendak rakyat Selangor. "Sudah pasti isu ini menjadi tanggungjawab kerajaan negeri menyelesaikannya dengan baik," katanya Baru-baru ini, Kerajaan Selangor meluluskan projek ladang ternakan babi berkelompok bernilai RM100 juta di Ladang Tumbuk, Kuala Langat yang dijangka siap dalam tempoh antara enam bulan hingga setahun. Abdul Khalid berkata, kerajaan negeri hanya meneruskan projek diluluskan kerajaan negeri sebelum ini pimpinan Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo yang meluluskan projek itu pada mesyuarat Exco, 30 Januari lalu. Ditanya jika rakyat menolak terus projek ternakan babi itu, katanya perkara itu tidak mungkin berlaku. "Kita memberi tiga pilihan kepada kerajaan negeri untuk dikemukakan kepada rakyat mengenai ladang ternakan babi di negeri ini. "Saya percaya cadangan memusatkan semua ladang babi di satu kawasan menggunakan sistem terkini boleh diterima seluruh rakyat Selangor. "Cadangan itu juga tidak menyekat hak orang bukan Islam mendapatkan bekalan babi, tetapi perlu menjaga kebersihan kawasan ternakan dan tidak mengganggu sensiviti umat Islam," katanya.
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Pig Trap ....... Watch your step !!!!

The issue is on RM 100 million ultra modern pig farm to be built at Ladang Tumbok, Mukim Batu, Sepang, Selangor. The new Sate Government recently approved the project which has been approved by the previous State Government. The new farm will be so modern that all the waste from the farm will be recycled, so no more waste to pollute the environment. The size of the farm can accommodate 250,000 pigs at one time, sufficient for Selangor needs. Currently there are 137 conventional pig farms in Selangor and 817 nation wide. The farm is going to be another landmarks for Sepang after KLIA, SIC – F1 and Sepang Gold Coast.

After the declaration by TS Khalid and Teresa Kok on the approval of the project, it has became the headlines on few of the main papers and TVs for the past one week. The news is slowly moving to the inner page but the intense of the comments and reviews on the subject matter are still very high. In fact a few demonstrations from the so called affected villages and concerned citizens have been carried out at the Chief Minister office and affected kampung. The District Officer for Sepang was on TV3 news tonight to clarify on the same issue. A few Minister and senior politicians from BN appeared on the TV main news to criticize and condemned the project and one of them even said the Project is the first gift from the State Government to the Rakyat. So the Piggy issue has became one of the major issue for the New Opposition to trash the Selangor State Government. It is good to have a strong opposition as long as they are very objective and sincere in their criticism.

Ironically the piggy issue has been there for over two decades be it in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan or Melaka. In fact TV3 has made a great series reports on the terrible pig farm situation in Melaka, which has not been fully resolved until today. The people there are still suffering in silence and praying for divine intervention for the pig farm, its smell and wastes to go away. The Straits of Malacca is still receiving the pollutants from pig farms that are killing it softly and surely. If only it can shout at us, it must be screaming for us to stop killing the future and the earth.

It would be great if all the decision makers take a break and live near the pig farm for a week. I mean all of them from Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor. Have a taste of the smell, pollutions and misery that the kampung people have to face all this while. Maybe then they will fully understand the misery of living near pig farms. While it may sound reasonable to build a modern pig farm that pollutants free and environmentally friendly, but is it the real solutions to the piggy issue. Whatever action taken must be with the intention of resolving the current problems not inflicting more wounds to the injury.

TS Khalid and his teams must listen to the real people, go the ground live a few days by the pig farm. Will the new ultra modern pig farm provide the alternatives and reasons to close down the current conventional farms? Is the technology REALLY sound? Has the REAL transparent EIA been carried out for the project and who will really benefit from the project? The Rakyat or the Farm Owner? Is TS Khalid walking into the Pig Trap that has bigger agenda then the pig itself? One thing is for sure, if this piggy issue is not being resolved in a prudent manner it will be one of the major contributing factors for the down fall of few constituents in PRU 13

Orang Utan .... Orang Bandar

Orang Bandar






Orang Utan




MIRA enjoying the attraction ....



MAX .... relax ...and dreaming




ESAH ..... in cage "Meroyan"





Sampan V Dragon Boat



Waterfront Kuching







Kuching oh Kuching

Kuching was cloudy and rainy when we gathered to start off our teambuilding trip to Matang Wild life Centre. There were three bus loads of nature lovers rearing to go despite the threatening weather. We are going to the Orang Utan rehabilitation and conservation centre at Matang Wild Life Centre in the Kubah National Park about 1.5 hour bus ride from Kuching. The 2,230 hectors National Park is part of the Sarawak State government initiative in the conservation of wild life and nature.

By joining the trip I improved my basic knowledge on the endangered species orang utan. In fact orang utan can only be found in two parts of the world i.e. Borneo and Northern Sumatra (Acheh). Its populations was 8,000 in 1989 but now reduced to 2,000 only. Its lifespan is about 40 yrs in nature and 60 yrs in captivity. Its DNA is 97% same with human, making it our closest relatives. Very slow in breeding with 8 to 9 yrs between each pregnancy. The pregnancy period is 8 – 9 months and the baby will stick to its mother between 2 – 3 years before roaming free. They feed on plants shoot with durian as one of the favorite diet. The orang utan nest is made of tree branches & twigs and is 40 – 50 ft above the ground. They change their nest every night????

At the Matang Wild Life Centre we were taken for a short jungle tracking before reaching the orang utan sanctuary. We were first introduced to “Mira” – a three years old orphan that looks very much at home at the sanctuary. She was free to play around and enjoyed the attention given to her. Next was “Esah” with her two years old baby clinging and playing around with her in the cage. She was not allowed to roam freely because of her depression that caused her to act aggressively to female visitors. We were told she was ok with male visitors though!!! Maybe she was having “ sakit meroyan “ like some unfortunate women did after delivery. There was another 19 yrs old male orang utan named “ Max “. They could not set him free because he is very aggressive and unable to survive in the jungle. So used to captivity life – food and lodging provided !!!. Actually the centre acts as an orphanage, training and treatment centre for the orang utan.

Looks like even orang utan have their problems either because of their own doing or caused by human reducing their roaming territories. Despite the close DNA between orang utan and human, they were never close to us in term of intelligence and capability. Capability to do good deeds or destroying the world we are living in. It make me realized the truth reminder given to us by God Almighty that human is a very special creation that can be like an Angel when following the humanly nature but worst then the animal when overcome by animal desires.