LuangPrabangLAOS

Why Luang Prabang you say ?
Why not ? Its also one more place to tick off from the book "1000 Places To See Before You Die".

Luang Prabang means "Royal Buddha Image" and is located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the mighty Mekong River.
Luang Prabang has a population of approximately 100,000+ and is teeming with backpackers looking for a bot of lost-culture.

The city is also notable as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The pix:

"The airport is a bit like Kuching airport in the 70's ; totally devoid of anything electronic like the flight info board."

"Our ride."

"You can also use this to get to Luang Prabang, easiest would be via Bangkok."

"Stayed at the Amantaka Hotel. Click here for their website. However be warned that there is NO TV in the hotel and it used to be an old hospital."

"My villa and my colleague's was the old morgue and despite assurances from the manager that they have cleansed the place according to buddhist rites, my colleague still thought he smelled something funny. Me ? I slept like a log...a dead log...muahahaha"

"The pool in my villa..Could this be where the dead bodies were thrown?...*cue: Scary organ music*...haha, am sure not."

"First stop on the itinerary was the National Museum which was also the old palace for the last king."

"Statue of the last king of Laos His Majesty Savang Vatthana...I think."

"The National Museum / Old Palace."

"By the Nam Khan river which leads into the Mekong."

"One way to cool off by the banks of the Nam Khan is to go in, fully clothed, umbrellas and all !."

"My favourite photo....Russell Wong would have been proud ! "

"At the night market where I tried Laos Iced coffee...strong 'puts-hair-on-your-chest' local coffee, condensed milk and crushed ice...PERFECTO !..and all for rm1.40."

"The HUGE night market; only thing is that they all sell almost the same stuff."

"Up bright and early at 5:45am to give alms to the monks, the Amantaka arranges sticky rice for their guests to put in the monks' pots."

"The monks live on alms and a few hundred make their rounds at sunrise walking all over Luang Prabang."

"As a sign of respect, your head has to be lower than the monks when you give alms."

"Quick !! Look busy...more are approaching !!"

"Same day at 8am (Damn early day and 2 things accomplished already!!) we headed on a boat trip up the Mekong River to the famous Tam Ting caves."

"If you have plenty of time you can hire this houseboat for a two night cruise up and down the river....not for me though, too much excitement."

"Our efficient boat driver."

"The tree along the banks of the Mekong where Bono meditated for 333 days leading to the inspiration for the album 'The Joshua Tree.'

"The Luang Prabang prison; not a bad view if you have a cell overlooking the river."

"Water buffalo frolicking near the water not knowing their days are numbered before they become water buffalo meat burgers for export to Malaysia"

"Spot Nelly the Elephant ?"

"The strange pre-historic stick like creature walking along the riverbank, Luang prabang's version of Nessie,'

"Our guide told us that this woman walks along the riverbanks with a long bamboo pole with fly-paper stuck on it, insects are then caught on the stick which are then deep-fried and sold in the markets...TRUE STORY ! Not making it up this time..haha !"

"Approaching Tam Ting caves."

"The cave mouth."

"While getting off the boat ; I saw one of the strangest things ; two fish tied up with string and swimming around a boat; they were not bait but pets !....Almost like dog owners out walking their dogs !"

"In 2008 floodwaters rose to this level; marked '2008' in white but mimimum damage was suffered to the shrines and idols."

"You give a small donation and this girl will give you flowers or joss sticks which you can place at the shrine or you can just make a donation."

"Information on the caves.'

"The Shrine"


"Some inscription paintings on cloth/paper in the shrine"

"Our ride..(view from the cave entrance) is the one at the far end."


AND with that it was onward to Siem Reap, Cambodia....



© All Pictures by Headliner unless stated. All Rights Reserved. Not to be used without permission.
Comments may be sent to: therevelation11@gmail.com

KLOpenSquashFinals2010

This is a very backdated entry !
It was our first time to watch ANY Squash finals live and so when we heard that Nicol David and co were going to play the semis and finals at Berjaya Times Square, we knew we had to go.

Nicol, the top seed in the Women's International Squash Players Association sanctioned competition, outclassed Egypts' Omneya Kawy in straight sets 11-4, 11-2 and 13-11 in just 31 minutes.

In the men's final, top seed and world number one Ramy Ashour defeated his compatriot, Karim Darwish in straight sets 11-8, 11-8 and 11-9 in 41 minutes. Both these dudes are from Egypt.

Never mind the finals as both Nicol and Ashour were expected to win but what got me was the semi finals where both our boys , Ong Beng Hee and Azlan Iskandar were totally outclassed. Having said that Azlan was unseeded.

We watched the semi's the day before as well and while Beng Hee was not expected to beat the brilliant Ashour, it really looked like they were world's apart in terms of class.
Azlan fared no better going down tamely. Both lost in straight sets.
Too bad as I always liked Azlan who has roots in Sarawak too.
Both Beng Hee and Azlan would be hard pressed to ever win any tournament of these two Egyptian dudes are playing.

The pix:
"Datuk Nicol David, UNDISPUTED World No.1."

"Zetty @Fav.No.7 with Ramy Ahsour, whom a friend said is the most unconventional squash player he has ever seen."

"Fav.No.7 with Nicol."

"Fav.No.7 had arranged for Nicol to get two boxes of Krispy Kreme after the final. She was so pleased she "twittered" about it. Thanks to Ben for making this happen."


Fav.No.7 has her take with more pix here.


© All Pictures by Headliner EXCEPT the 4th pic. All Rights Reserved. Not to be used without permission.
Comments may be sent to: therevelation11@gmail.com

REHASHED:MyMostAnnoyingSongsEverPt.1

This entry from 1st October 2006 is rehashed from my old blog.
I think this is still quite apt as these songs ARE still annoying.
Perhaps I should do one about local songs; Pete Teo be warned !
Read on:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Everyone has this, songs that make you cringe. Songs that sends chills down your spine. Songs that you hate so much you can't help singing along to them in your head then kicking yourself as you realise it.

You would have your own list too , Im sure!

Here is mine ( so far ) with the worse lyrics highlighted:

HEY BABY - NO DOUBT
The video is ok but only if you play it with the sound muted.
Low Point: "hey Baby, hey baby, hey!" repeat a gajillion times !

THE GIRL IS MINE - MICHAEL JACKSON & PAUL McCARTNEY
How things have changed, now MJ is white, the greatest golfer in the world is black and the greatest rapper is white.
When MJ was still black, this duet still makes me want to pour clorox down my throat.
Low Point:"Paul, I think I told you, I'm a lover not a fighter."

THIS KISS - FAITH HILL
She is hot but when she tries to write..er..scientific lyrics, she gets it all wrong. I suggest she spends a dirty weekend with Stephen Hawking.
Low Point: "It's centrifugal motion/It's perpetual bliss/it's that pivotal moment/Its (ah) impossible/ This kiss, this kiss-unstoppable".....Pukable !

WHO LET THE DOGS OUT - BAHA MEN
Bahamas, nice beach, shame about the music.
Low Point: "Get back, Ruffy/Bye Scruffy/Get back you flea-infested mongrel." ...Nice! makes me laugh !

SECRET GARDEN (JERRY MAGUIRE VERSION)-BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Oh Bruce, how can you let a good song be tainted by Cuba Gooding jr and dialogue from a chick-flick. What are the boys in Philly thinking of you now. You sold out !
Low Point: Cuba "You've got to be fair to her! She loves you. If you dont love her, you have to tell her."..Aw man, pass the barf bags !

WANNABE-SPICE GIRLS
This song made them. The lyrics were probably written after a brainstorming session between Posh and Scary after a heavy night out at The Met Bar.
Low Point: " I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really wanna zigazig ah"....yes, I'm sure you do.

HOLLABACK GIRL - GWEN STEFANI
Another hottie and actually this song is not so bad except when she starts yelling about bananas and shows off her ability to spell the yellow fruit.Most people think she says" Eat bananas" but go check out the lyrics on the sleeve..
Low Point: "This shit is bananas ..B-A-N-A-N-A-S".......one word C-R-A-P !

YOUR BODY IS A WONDERLAND - JOHN MAYER
Beelzelbub's gift to the music industry. With his squeaky clean i-only-wear-dockers image, his music is as forgetful as..er..i forgot.
Low Point: "One thing I've left to do/Discover me/Discovering you."...Quick get that man a subscription to the Discovery Channel.

TARZAN BOY - BALTIMORA
This song was played so much in the 80's on radio. It was a favourite with young'uns with their souped-up subarus, permed hair, carrot cut pants and permed hair (Come on, you know who you are !)
Low Point: "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh/Jungle life/I'm far away from nowhere/On my own like Tarzan Boy.".....kill me now !

ATLANTIS IS CALLING - MODERN TALKING
The cringest of all groups in the 80's. You couldn't tell one song from the other. I rather listen to the melodic sounds of fingernails being dragged over a blackboard.
Low Point:"Atlantis is calling,s. o. s. for love/Atlantis is calling, from the stars above/Atlantis is calling,s. o. s. for love."....Since Atlantis is calling, please leave now !

JOYRIDE-ROXETTE
This Scandinavian duo had so many songs which basically served no purpose. They must have written their songs in their own dialect then translated them to English.
Low Point: "She has a train going downtown/She's got a club on the moon /And she's telling all her secrets/In a wonderful ballon/Oh she's the heart of the funfair /She's got me whistling her private tune".......Huh? What were they smoking when they wrote this ?

MY HEART WILL GO ON - CELINE DION
The Titanic killed about 1,500 people. This song hasn't yet but give it time. A favourite with all Filipino bands in all lounges.
Low Point" " My heart will go on and on" ...and on and on and on and on and on..



Pix from The World Wide Web
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