choo-choo

This is the main office building of KTM (Keretapi Tanah Malaysia), Malaysia Railways. I remember posting a night shot of one of its many onion domes many moons ago but realized I've never shown you what it looks like during the daylight hours. One of my favourite buildings in the city.

the shadow of your smile

Swings are another little invention that produces sunny smiles on my face. The children who were on these must've been scared away by the sight of me snapping pictures. I didn't mean to but it left the swings clear for me to play with once I was done. What got me was the shadow of the trees on the ground.

Yesterday, Pat left a comment alerting me to the passing of a wonderful fellow blogger. We knew him as Ggraph but to his friends and family, he was Mark. He hadn't been well for some time but that didn't stop his lust for life. If you remember his witty writing and classic photos, go over and send your condolences to his wife Sue. Godbless you Mark.

free willy

I love dolphins and whales. Haven't seen any for years. This sculpture is a consolation. I like to go to the park, look at it and imagine I'm by the sea watching these graceful and powerful animals swim.

tip top cab

Taxis, I hardly ever take one unless I'm abroad. But when I do, I almost always engage the driver in conversation. Some of them have the most fascinating insights of how a society moves. Some even fancy themselves political scientists.

A big thank you to Lynn for letting me win her DP contest and for making me her post of the day.

optical illusion no.3

Not a proper optical illusion but it looks like a jellyfish floating about. Well, to me it looks like it. I was in a hotel ballroom waiting for a soundcheck to begin, my mind was wandering and my eyes found this above my head.

Its a lovely Sunday. I think I'm going to have a great day. You will too.

right up there

Another wonderful weekend. It looks like its going to be a good one. Enjoy yourselves.

Took this shot from a rooftop parking lot. What a view!

a lot of hot air

I think the monsoon season is over. The sun has been out and the sky clear. That means temperatures soar way above sweltering. Good thing these vents help keep things cool.

across the universe

This is the Malaysian Simulator Agency. Yup, that's what it's called. RM15 for a ride that shakes, rattles and rolls you and your friends across the stars. Haven't been in it myself but with loud thumping techno music blaring outside the shuttle, I couldn't help but stand there a couple of minutes watching the shuttle jiggle.

brights lights

As Chinese New Year approaches, the shopping malls compete to have to brightest, most colourful, most attractive concourse decorations. This is one is Sungai Wang, one of the oldest (and one of the best, I say) malls in KL. When Malaysian, Taiwanese and Hong Kong performing artists visit, this is the place they come to to meet fans, right there on the stage you see in this shot.

Today, the Tamil community celebrates Thaipusam.

ps. Talented young actor Heath Ledger has passed away suddenly. My condolences to his little girl Matilda and his family. Godbless Heath.

blocked passage

My mind is a complete blank today. No entry. Can't find the appropriate words to write. Off to teach in a couple of hours. Hopefully my head opens up by then.

smiling information

Here's one of the many tourist information booths you'll find all around the city centre. But this one beats all the rest. Its a fancy one with a widescreen plasma TV placed above the booth. Nice to know the Ministry of Tourism takes so much care in impressing the foreigners.

Have a great start to your week.

cop bashing

Yes, you read the post title correctly. Cop bashing. Just look at the sorry state of this cone. One more kick and it'll fold in two. I'm tempted. The entire police force has a negative reputation in KL. I won't mention why. All blogs in Malaysia are monitored by 'them.' In recent years, they have been trying to improve this reputation with many clean-up campaigns. Can't say its been completely successful but I have met a couple of friendly inspectors. You know, I love men in uniform.

you will always...

I'm posting this more for the tagline than anything else. I believe all of us have a capacity of doing wonderful things with ourselves and with/for others. There are some who feel they have the weight of the world on their shoulders, too much responsibility, too many disappointments, just too much negativity. However, the moment always arrives when each of us will find our glow.

Today, I increased the field of my glow, thanks to JC at Subang DP. She gave me this:

This is the first time I have been tagged for an award! Thanks, JC! You are one of those bloggers who make my days with your regular visits and comments!!! I would like to tag you again but it would be more fun to send the Awards to more bloggers and keep the spirit of DPB going and going and going!!!

The award rules say: "Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times.

In honour of this award, I will abide by the rules and pass it on to 10 dedicated bloggers of Daily Blog who have in one way or another inspired me and made my days by sharing their love of photography through their photos, sharing the tales of places, people & lives in their cities, visiting my website ~ leaving behind motivating comments that drive me to shoot more photos to share with all of you.

KLDP's "You Make My Day" Award goes to:
1) Nathalie in Avignon
2) Ben and Meg in Nelson
3) Kate in Mazatlan (and St.Paul)
4) Denton and Connie in Greenville
5) Santy in Jakarta
6) Jazzy in Tuzla
7) Rudy in Antigua
8) Sally in Sydney
9) Ame in Santa Clara
10)Keropokman in Singapore

What a wonderful day!

art graft

This isn't the work of a mysterious unknown artist in the middle of the night. It was on a propped up plank of plywood and stands as a sort of signage for a shop that sells street-art services. Also a place to help young artists to house their work. Great idea I think.

just another day

Another day goes by and this DP member wonders what to post. He's unloading his car before going to teach his class, he shuts the boot and looks across the street. He notices the green wall and the pedestrians walking past. Interesting colours, he thinks. Luckily he had time before his class began. he stood and waited for more interesting colours to add to the picture. Two ladies in yellow saris walked past. A quick click and this DP member walked towards his class with a smile on his face.

winged surprise

I did laundry and hung it out to dry. A beautiful sunny day. Blazing to say the least. Before it had a chance to dry, the sky suddenly turned gray and I felt a storm brewing. I went out to bring the laundry in. As I was about to pull on a towel, I saw this moth. Heavy raindrops began to fall but I risked it all, ran inside to grab my camera, took a shot, grabbed everything on the clothesline and ran back into my house as the rain fell behind me in all its glory.

It's been a year since my last bug picture. A fellow DP member loved the last one, so I dedicate this one to her. For you Nathalie.

optical illusion no.2

How many workers do you see? 2 of course. I like that I caught this with one worker behind the other. With his legs coming out of the straw hat. Makes a great shape, doesn't it?

the rat approaches

The day after Christmas, the decorations for the next big celebration went up. In about a months time, Chinese New Year. This coming new year is heralded by its mascot, the rat.

As you see here, red lanterns adorn the ceiling of Central Market, one of our many tourist shopping places.

It's Monday. My day just ended and I'm wondering what to cook for dinner. Have a great one y'all.

tt to you

This I cropped from a bigger billboard showing how easy you can transfer funds to friends and family in other countries. Hmm, I never thought grabbing a rope with my hands to cross a divide was an easy thing to do. Cute advert nonetheless. Won't mention the bank though.

I was tagged by Thiên yesterday. I usually don't answer to any tagging requests but you know, it's a new year, so why not, eh?

This game of tag goes like this, When it comes to New Year’s Resolutions we seem to fall into four categories: 1) quite serious about them, 2) flippant about them, 3) pressured to do them, or 4) do not do them. So, the purpose of this game of tag is to let us know which category you are in. I will give mine, then tag 3 other sites to do the same thing.

I'd put myself in category 4. I don't do them because I don't make any. I have my goals yes, but I prefer to let the year and its surprises come when they come. I used to make resolutions when I was younger but realized circumstances always alters the path I take. Now I do what I need to do and the rest falls into place. Know what I mean?

Now I have to transfer this to three other DP members: Nathalie, Keropokman and Ming.

Happy Sunday!

chip away

A wood art carver at work. Have a great weekend folks.

optical illusion

There I was, having dinner with a couple of friends and this image faced me. For a moment I thought my eyes were playing a trick on me. The dining area is divided by a row of mirrored poles. Can you figure out with part of the picture is the reflection?

Have a great Friday.

children beware

I found this stenciled on an old electric box not that far from my house. It sent a tinge of sadness through my body. Missing/Kidnapped children has been frontpage news in recent times. When I saw this, dark images of these children played and my active imagination ran into overdrive. I have friends with kids, I work with kids and if ever I see a young one bullied or hurt, I step in.

Whoever did this stencil, I thank you for reminding me to always care.

crash the shops

If you're ever in KL to shop, make sure you take a walk between Jalan Bukit Bintang and the side entrance of Metrojaya. You'll see this shop. Having a Jeep crash through the facade is a brilliant eye-catcher. Inside you'll find funky t-shirts, quirky handbags and such.

circular food

Standing on an escalator going up. Looking down I see this island kitchen of a café. Nothing spectacular but it looked like a satellite to me. Now I can't remember the name of the café. Oops.

I like circular food. Burgers, fish cakes, pancakes, oranges (wait, that's fruit)... you get the idea.

like an old TV show

Malaysia Five-O. 2007 was the year Malaysia celebrated 50 years of independence. It's now 2008 and we're still celebrating. All around the city posters haven't been taken down to usher in this new year. In other words, nothing much has changed.

Remember Hawaii 5-O? A TV show filled with crooks, cops and big wave surfers. That's how most of us KLites feel. We're all riding the waves of the tropics and the balmy minds that govern the land. It's a lot of fun. Really, it is. Everyone loves a good rerun, right?

Independence, Unity and Harmony. Nice words.

ying yang yummy

Dragon-i Restaurant. One of the many F&B outlets in Pavilion, one I've been in more than once. The food is good, the decor is slick and comfortable. Chinese cuisine can seem like a hodge-podge of ingredients but if not cooked well, can really violate your taste senses. Dragon-i thankfully knows how much is too much. Salt-free soups, and such. I like it. As for the decor, it's a lot of black, red and glass. Kinda sexy, in a PG-13 kinda way.


Here's a shot of a dish I like very very much, fried chicken in super-fried dried chillies. Looks life-threatening but I assure you, the chillies only add a hint of tongue burning spice to the overall flavour.

This is the last in the Pavilion series here at KLDP. Hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.

Remember, I would like to know what you think of when Kuala Lumpur comes to mind.

Have a great Sunday.

feeling like a tart

John King Egg Tarts. Delicious. Very similar to Portuguese egg tarts but if you notice the top of the tart isn't baked. These are my weakness. I think I might go get some now.

Have a great weekend.

pose and save

Here's something else that caught my attention in Pavilion. Live mannequins promoting the newly opened Nike store. All shoppers who stopped to gawk were given a two-day only 30% discount coupon. These models changed poses every couple minutes.

More of Pavilion tomorrow.

BTW, what do you think of when you think of Kuala Lumpur? Yup, with your answers, I'll get my shot for February's theme day.

spread it

Yes, that's a big mound of butter. It's from a little F&B kiosk called Toast Box. The butter is spread on thick-cut bread and toasted on a grill. You then have a choice of eating it with sugar or coconut jam, which is called Kaya. Kaya is also the Malay word for rich. What with all that butter, of course it's rich.

Enjoy!

shopping complex

Woohoo! What a buzz I'm getting from coming back to daily posting!

Just as much buzz as the people you see in this shot rushing into one of KL's new shopping malls. The old school citizens would call it a shopping complex.

This is Pavilion, sits dead smack in the middle of the shopping district. A fair bit of controversy here. Pavilion sits on a plot of land where for many years, stood BBGS, a school over a 100 years old. When it was announced it was to be demolished, many of its past students, including a couple of politicians who studied there, were up in arms. But nothing stands in the way of progress.

So, the old school citizens have said it well. We have a shopping complex (geddit?)

Tomorrow, I take you into Pavilion and for the next few days, will show you the various things that caught me eye.

Hello 2008! DP Theme Day: Best Shot of 2007

Happy New Year Everybody! Another year has come. I spent the eve with many old friends and it was a blast. And here I am, back to posting daily.

It was tough choosing a photo that could represent the best of this past year. I narrowed it down to shots that had the most positive comments, shots that made me happiest when I took them and shots that said something about the state we're in. After a week of thought, I chose this one. Fireworks shot in celebration of a great city.

In this new year, we should celebrate all that is good and fair. Believe in the love that surrounds us. Be patient and work towards a better place for every living being. If I could, I'd set off fireworks as a reminder that life is for celebrating. Enough of the bad crap. It's time to smile.

Join 118 DP members around the world as we celebrate the blessings and happiness of our Earth.

Paris, France - London, England - Hyde, UK - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Grenoble, France - Stockholm, Sweden - Riga, Latvia - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Manila, Philippines - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Weston (FL), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - New Orleans (LA), USA - Wichita (KS), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - San Francisco (CA), USA - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Greenville (SC), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Mainz, Germany - Melbourne, Australia - Portland (OR), USA - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Toulouse, France - Naples (FL), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Brussels, Belgium - Stayton (OR), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Toruń, Poland - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Baziège, France - Nashville (TN), USA - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Chicago (IL), USA - Prescott (AZ), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Nottingham, UK - Moscow, Russia - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Evry, France - Trujillo, Peru - Arlington (VA), USA - Denpasar, Indonesia - American Fork (UT), USA - Seattle (WA), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Coral Gables (FL), USA - Montpellier, France - Joplin (MO), USA - Pilisvörösvár, Hungary - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Boston (MA), USA - Torun, Poland - New York City (NY), USA - Dunedin (FL), USA - Quincy (MA), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Chateaubriant, France - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Jackson (MS), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Budapest, Hungary - Austin (TX), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - Cypress (TX), USA - Bicheno, Australia - Wrocław, Poland - Brookville (OH), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - Cheltenham, UK - Wellington, New Zealand - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Mumbai (Maharashtra), India - London, UK - Haninge, Sweden - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Arradon, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Orlando (FL), USA - Mumbai, India - Terrell (TX), USA - Bogor, Indonesia - Delta (CO), USA - Radonvilliers, France - Saigon, Vietnam - San Diego (CA), USA - Adelaide (SA), Australia - Belgrade, Serbia - Auckland, New Zealand - Seguin (TX), USA - Inverness (IL), USA - Oslo, Norway - Singapore, Singapore - Las Vegas (NV), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - Torino, Italy - Susanville (CA), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Memphis (Tennessee), USA

See you tomorrow (I've been waiting so long to say that.)