Kijal,Terengganu-Oktoberfest '07

The Start at Genting-Karak Highway The Middle-At the end of the Karak-Kuantan highway The Arrival. At Kijal Golf with The Buffaloes Me. Pre-departure GP Photo-Pre Departure Rest Stop-Temerloh Cruising home Bends are best

Last year I rode my Ducati, got the attention it warranted, initiated a relationship with the then MD of Auto Bavaria on an esoteric level. Partied for one night and rode the delicious curves of Cameron Highlands for 2 days. See post here

This year, I rode a BMW K1200R courtesy of Auto Bavaria. Developed a working relationship with the recently promoted MD of the Sime Darby Motor Division, working on the Auto Bavaria BMW business div. Partied for 3days/2nights drank German beer, played golf, drank more German beer. All of the fun activities for the annual Oktoberfest this year was held at Awana Kijal in Terengganu. A decent place for sun sea and surf for a couple of nights stay with biker friends. This year's Oktoberfest came quite late in fact on 16 to 18 November. Right smack in the monsoon months of the East Coast. As luck would have it, there wasn't any rain, the weather was perfect and we even managed fourteen holes of golf and we couldn't finish only because of failing light. So we were mostly dry throughout the ride.

My initial feelings for the ride this year was filled with apprehension as I hadn't been riding as much and I'd rather spend holidays with my family. Just as I had checked into my room, after the long ride from KL, I had begun missing the family. A melancholic, forlorn feeling indeed.

But as human survival instincts would have it, the trip turned out to be fun and memorable. Especially the male bonding stuff and the side trips to the backroads of Kijal that reveal spectacular views and curves for negotiating with the bikes. The ride back was as much a test of endurance as it was a test of BMW bikes for me. I rode the R1200S back to KL and I'm pretty much smitten with BMW bikes by now, on the never-ending highway that ran mostly straight. And the friendship and camaraderie formed will last a long long time. Thanks Mathias, Chippy and AB!

Going, Going, GoneForHoliday for G4H

At last after almost three years since our last one in Bali, we bundled everybody including the Gan children onto Air Asia Flt. No. AK760 boarding 0600hrs bound for Hanoi, Vietnam for our much deserved company holiday. 

The 4-day/3-nite break was from Thursday, 1 Nov - Sunday, 4th Nov 2007. It was a tour organised just for us by a KL travel agent who coordinated the ground arrangements with a Hanoi one. It was very well paced and not frenzied or frenetic. 

The cool weather in the northern hemisphere where Hanoi lies made it all the more unhurried and leisurely. We did the mandatory tourists spots like, Ho Chih Minh mausoleum, his house, his cars, his gardens, the French quarter, the Old quarter, and sampling the beef noodles or Pho. 

Then the next day, it was a 3-hour road trip by bus through the Vietnamese countryside, off to one of the places I had wanted to see before I die; Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The town of Halong, looks like a French seaside resort, very quaint and charming. The 3,000 plus limestone islands surrounding the bay remind me of Ipoh and Batu Caves. They were quite a sight to behold in the sea. Throughout the trip, I thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with my colleagues, the hanging out at our makeshift 'casino' in all the hotels we stayed, and also spending so much time with my family. It was really quite bearable and very relaxing. The pictures hopefully tell the story.

A Giant Among Men

Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong passed away at age 90 last week of old age. The life Chairman and founder of Genting, for over 42 years carved the 'city of entertainment' out of the hillside outside KL to build a world class tourist destination at 6,000ft above sea level.

The resort attracts about 18 million visitors annually. It is also home to the world's largest hotel, which makes Genting, the world's largest integrated resort.
Opened in 1971, Genting is a story of sheer grit, determination, perserverance, blood, sweat and tears. At the very start, Lim personally led a team of able bodied men up the mountain to literally beat a path up the hills. Today, the roads that snake up and down the mega resort could rival the best constructed roads in the country.
When he arrived in then, Malaya, he was broke and lonely and he took on several jobs to earn a living. He sold vegetables from a bicycle and traded in scrap metal but he missed his mother the most and he often returned home to Anxi, Fujian to see her. His moment of glory for me, was when he returned to China in style in 2004 when he sailed into Shanghai's Pearl River delta aboard his Cruise Ships SuperStar Virgo and Leo. Among the world's largest.
Today his diversified business empire is worth US$22 billion. He is ranked about 200th richest man in the world.

I went up the hills on Friday to pay my last respects to the man. His body lied in state at his villa in Gohtong Jaya. The journey up to his villa is long and winding as the journey up to the Resort. But unlike the Resort where you are rewarded with a grand venue with world class facilities and opulent decor when you arrive, the villa where Lim Goh Tong lives is a very ordinary, no frills, simple dwelling place that is even a little frayed at the ends that signify being lived-in with little fuss or bother. A medium sized house surrounded by lots of undulating land.

With that perspective, I realised that, at the very core of the Lim Goh Tong's make up there lies simplicity. Simplicity for oneself. A trait that is being passed down to the Lim family. The man is a contractor at heart. He knows how to do what he does best and he kept on doing that even when he no longer had to, the man was spotted supervising construction by the roadside in recent times. His well planned successor, second son, Tan Sri KT Lim displays similar qualities and that is perhaps why he is taking the company to even greater heights with the Sentosa Integrated Resort win last year.

I am thankful to be working with the Genting Group founded by this great man and his family. This experience further strengthens my belief in keeping things "Simple". I believe the man in keeping things simple, could afford to dream.
And dream big he did. That was all that mattered- the size of your dreams.
Thank you Uncle Lim for the honour and the inspiration.
God bless your soul and with your work here certainly done, may you rest in peace.

Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong was laid to rest at Goh Tong Memorial Park, Genting Highlands at 1.18pm today.

Casey Stoner World Champion 2007 MotoGp

Summer is 12

Summer Suyin Gan celebrated her twelfth birthday today. It was the usual quiet family dinner at any restaurant she chooses. This time it was (at papa's urging) 7atenine or better understood when spelt out; Sevenatenine at The Ascot adjacent to KLCC. The music was too loud for a quiet family dinner although the location, view, decor and ambience was really swanky. The food and service fell way, way short of swanky which was a real mismatch for a potentially top notch dining venue. At the start of the evening, we were in the mood to start with some oysters to go with the very impressive Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc on the wine list but no oysters. And no soups, just sashimi green salad and deep fried soft shell crabs. Nevertheless, our darling enjoyed her lobster, which wasn't on the very limited menu, but on special request was specially grilled to her liking, the special flambe 7Alaska dessert was to die for. The subtle textures of vanilla ice cream and chocolate in creme brulee with rum sauce was a heavenly mix, but the piece' de resistance was the chocolate birthday cake that came straight from the kitchen with a candle on it. It was a pleasant surprise; compliments of the chef. It was a Sweet finish to a lovely evening. Happy Birthday darling.

Marcel Marceau

Marcel Marceau

When I was a young boy, I remember this sad, white faced clown who did the most amazing thing . On stage, he was trying to escape a very tight glass box that he somehow got himself stuck in. With great dexterity and lots of pulling and pushing with his white-gloved hands, he manages to contort his body, and finally free himself from the glass box which I later found out to be non-existant. I was an instant fan, of such an avant garde art of self expression. I remember thinking; what drove this man to express himself in such a unique fashion? It is such a lonely art, I thought. Not being able to talk to your audience. But as I grew older and wiser, I realised the truth behind the saying; 'Words are the most primitive form of communication" And Marcel put it very nicely for me as he said; "In mime, gestures express the essence of the soul's most secret aspirations" And his famous quote; " Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us all without words?" 

  The French mime artist Marcel Marceau has died at the age of 84, his family has announced.

The performer was known around the world for his portrayal of a sad, white-faced clown in a striped pullover with battered hat. Born in Strasbourg in 1923, the French mime artist performed even in his eighties. 

He died of a heart attack on Saturday.

Au Revoir Mon Ami.

Seventeen

Sounds like nineteen, the song about the average age of American soldiers sent to the Vietnam war. At least those young men would have driven their first car...

At a very young age, he has travelled far and wide. At 9,we visited the West Coast of America to visit Disneyland and his aunty in Rancho Verdes, in Torrance, near Los Angeles. Then San Francisco, San Diego and Fresno.
At 12, he went to MUSS- Manchester United Soccer School for 2 weeks. There he visited the Theatre of Dreams- Old Trafford and posed for a photo with, who he and I consider the best defender England ever had-Rio Ferdinand and company.

Right after his fifteenth birthday, he had to take on a different journey, a journey that was to end his life on earth, two weeks after his sixteenth birthday. It was a journey that quickly turned my son into a man. After the initial shock and grief, he faced the disease head-on and ever so fearlessly he fought every inch of the way. From the steroids drips, to the stereotactic brain surgery for biopsy to the daily radio therapy, he never wavered in his stride. Then came the chemotherapy, he also came to terms with the poison, like a man. He took the blows, I don't know how but he took it straight on until he could no longer as it wasn't helping anymore.

I had planned for him to have his driving license now and for him to drive the Mini I bought in advance for him.
What a day it would have been for him and what a sight it would have been for me.

Today he would have been seventeen years and one month old. What a day it would have been.
Happy Seventeen my man. I miss you.

Visit Jon's blog for birthday post.

I'm stuck!

I am so stuck it hurts. Sorry guys.

The Tiger

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, and what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

William Blake

That basically sums up my feelings when I chanced upon a tiger cub, only a month old, still being bottle fed by its keeper in Afamosa resort in May. That's as close as I could ever get to gaze upon such awesome god created beauty that Blake describes as; ...'What immortal hand or eye, dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
Fearful Symmetry Indeed. And beautiful.

Just Launched

Apple, dropped 'Computers' from its brand name in May and last Friday launched the iPhone in US. The queue outside its store that never closes on Fifth Avenue, New York started forming on Monday and by launch day, punters were selling their queue spots for as high as US$400. On Friday, the shelves in the New York store were swept clean within hours.
Trendseekers/trendsetters who just had to have it reportedly paid a hefty premium on the black market for this 1st generation Apple phone that is a portable computer/music player. Sales figures total 500,000 units over the weekend.
Now that's what I call the power of the Brand. Let's see if it will sweep the mobile phone market like it did the computer market. From history, that seems to be very likely.

Don't you just love the oh so simple headline in the ad above? There is genius in simplicity.

Now I know how a MotoGP rider feels.

Except for the crashes they endure, I think I have a pretty good idea, at least on the riding position. The hands position low and body slightly hunched over the low handle bars. One looks like a martial artist taking a starting stance kneeling on a tatami mat. Aggressive.

When you finally take off on the bike, you feel that the position doesn't allow you to sit in one position for a long time, the seat facilitates easy movement of the butt as you would need to move it alot from side to side as you manouver the bike through the bends. Now that's really the fun bit, going through the bends at the Ulu Yam backroads up to Genting highlands for the very first time on the Ducati Desmosedici 999S with some very good company of BMW bikers ending up at the peak having breakfast of scrambled eggs with toast and freshly brewed coffee at Coffee Bean. The feeling? Priceless.

This top of the range Ducati Superbike was on loan from the local distributors for me to test. It was exhilarating as it was a very smooth 998cc engine that delivered the 142hp that I could not handle. Nonetheless, I put the bikes through the paces and managed to take it up to only 207km/h at the Sepang straight later. I like the experience but not the speed. I guess I have no need for speed. I live for the experience. It was a sweet Saturday and my butt aches sweetly. Thanks NazaBikers.

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Highway to Everest...

Good golly. I never thought it was possible for this to happen in my lifetime. A popular phrase going out of style. One of my favourite phrases to indicate what I consider 'impossible' to do goes like this;

"There are two things I know for sure I won't do this lifetime; First I won't work for George Bush and second I won't climb Mt. Everest".

But hey, at the rate the Chinese are going, I could climb Mt. Everest this lifetime! Can you imagine? These guys are actually building a highway to Everest Base Camp so that the Olympic torch can be brought to the world's highest peak. The base camp is at 5,200 meters. That's a full 1,200 meters higher than Mt. Fuji and Mt. Kinabalu and it is still 3,648 meters short of the peak. And soon we'll all be able to breeze our way up. Hmm...sounds not quite right for the attainment of physical and spiritual symbol of the zenith of the world, does it? Well, we would just have to wait and see won't we. The prospects certainly are mind expanding. Unbelievable? Read about it Here

Sports Day

It has been awhile since I last spent one whole day at a sports facility doing practically nothing but spectating and waiting in the humid and hot stands cheering for my children during their sports day. But I must say, as much as it was physically draining, it was just as fun. Especially watching Zane steamroll his opponents on his way to claiming the U-15 Singles and Doubles Champion 2007! Exactly a year ago at the same event, Zane was knocked out early in the competition but through alot of grit , training and sheer determination, he's back with a vengence and took no prisoners indeed. Well done Champion.

Happy Mother's Day

Show kindness through your face, your eyes, your smile and through the warmth of your greetings. You must bear a cheerful smile. Don't only give your care, but give your heart as well.
-Mother Teresa

Happy Mother's Day all.

SpiderMan 3

The only time I go to the cinema is when I have to. This time it was the charity premiere in aid of NASOM (National Autism Society of Malaysia) on Monday night. And it's the first time in 2 years. I must say I enjoyed myself throughout the movie, I didn't even fall asleep. Seeing it with family and extended family of 9 others helped keep me awake I suppose. However, I don't recommend popcorn on an empty stomach. I must have eaten two year's supply that night. Afterwards, my stomach was so bloated, I was hunched over walking out of the cinema. Only after lots and lots of farting did it ease up abit.

The movie's special effects deserve special mention as it was really, well, special. Plus to watch it on the big screen with the big sound was quite an experience. I like Sandman. He is really a villain of monstrous proportions. The story was pretty much Marvel Comic pulpy type but the transition of Spiderman to his 'dark' side was pretty interesting even fun! And how society always seem to associate having a little fun teethers on the 'dark' side. I think it's like 'day and night', 'black and white', 'pain and pleasure'. There must be a balance for without one the other means absolutely nothing.
Website's pretty cool too. Check it out here

Summer for Maggi

This young lady was relentless in her pursuit to appear in a TV commercial. Any commercial. So she got casted, got shortlisted, got selected and just shot her first commercial for Nestle's Maggi concentrated chicken stock. It was a breeze she says and this was confirmed by the producers, directors and co-stars. Well it was the experience she craved for and that she got. From screen test to wardrobe fitting and crew call. It was a wrap in just 12 takes. Well done girl!

Ducati Triumphs at Istanbul

Three Ducatis in the top four finishers in the Turkish Moto GP. That's a milestone in the history of Moto GP for my bike brand. It's the best ever result catapulting Ducati to the top of the constructors championship and Casey Stoner to top spot with 61 points, ten clear of Valentino Rossi. What a weekend. What a race. What a great finish.