The celebration of the 9th day of CNY is a dick-measuring contest

The story of the week has been how everyone having not-enough sleep over the 9th day of Chinese New Year, a.k.a. the Pai-Ti-Kong festival, a.k.a. the Hokkien New Year. Since I am staying Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth, the situation is just the worst. The excessive array of oblation, the luxurious food offering, extremely elaborate deco over an exaggerated high table, and of course the never-ending firework and firecrackers, the ridiculousness of all of it has made me rethink the purpose of the celebration.

First, the food waste must be a problem because there is simply no way each household could consume this huge amount of food. From what I heard before, there is also a misbelief that the food offerings are not meant to be eaten to worsen the situation. Second, we Malaysians often like to complain about the open air burning from Indonesia, but during this festival alone, the amount open air burning of the offerings plus the firework collectively, has made the air pollution spiked during that few hours. Third, all the plastic and rubbish created, who else gonna clean it up except the city council, a typical NIMBY mindset. And finally and especially, the most annoying problem of all, the excessive noise from all the firework and firecrackers.

This video was taken at 12am sharp. Imagine the same scene but over 3 hours long!

Perhaps I could understand firework and firecrackers for any kind of celebration. But firework at hours way pass 12am is just something that baffles me. Sunday night, Monday early morning, I could still hear the exploding sound of firework and firecrackers after 1am. The most annoying part is that the noise is sporadic, this house opens fire, 7mins or so later then another house opens fire. I thought the people are worrying about economic downturn. But from the amount of firework I have seen, it seems like everyone is doing just fine with so much money to burn, literally. It is not a nice way to put it but it is seriously feels like a dick-measuring contest, to see who's bigger, who's longer, who shoots higher and louder. To put it simply, those who have released firework after 1am are just selfish. To say that they assume everyone doesn't have to work the next day is just wrong because I don't think they think of anyone else. It is highly likely that they are the same people who complain about noise of firework during Hari Raya and Deepavali. Don't tell me that firework is not their tradition. If the celebration of the 9th day of CNY is to commemorate the Hokkiens hiding in the sugarcane plantation from a potential massacre, how the hell firework achieve that purpose? To simulate the chaos of the massacre?

When a tradition no longer makes sense, it is time to get rid of it. To be honest firework is only impressive for the first few minutes, after that it is just boring and annoying. All that is left is the prolonged sporadic noise. If firework is a must, why don't we all synchronize and release the firework together at 11am sharp, for example? I could imagine it to be an incredible scene to behold, instead of what we have now. In that case, everyone could also go to bed before 12am.

The king has returned with Santé

A good song evokes thoughts and emotions. Stromae's latest song, Santé, certainly does that for me. It makes me thoughtful and it reminds me of a lot of things, such as the fact that is clearly an ode to the blue collar workers, a.k.a. the essential workers, the backbone of the society, low pay but indispensable. The fact that "santé" means cheers and health at the same time, to which I see it as very fitting as the world just walks out of the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. The song is also meant to cheers for the healthcare workers as well, as they were the real heros serving at the frontline during this worldwide crisis.

Stromae disappeared for so long, only to return with this masterpiece. I know Stromae since Alors On Danse, arguably his most famous song. I could still remember when Alors On Danse was first released in year 2009, my second year living in France, it was played non-stop in every club and every dance floor in France. Stromae's songs have always been very danceable hits with a heavy dose of social commentary. This time it is no difference with Santé. I learnt from the video by Adam Neely that there is so-called micro-rhythm that carries the whole song. The slightly-off-beat beat is quite genius. Once you notice it, it becomes an earworm and it somehow just makes you want to move your body, dancing to it. I also like how the actors in the music video dance awkwardly and spontaneously. It is just fitting to such an unconventional beat, a pure expression of emotion.

Air Hitam Dalam Educational Forest - a half-cooked tourist spot

Apparently it is a hotspot for bird watchers. But I am no bird watcher, the main attraction for me is the 200m long suspension bridge that goes through the canopy of the forest. It is an unique experience to walk on it. The forest is mainly made of swamp. Luckily there are many elevated footpaths that allow visitors to explore leisurely around.

Overall, it has a lot of potential, but it just never gets popular enough. My visit there just gives me the impression that the place is abandoned. At the unremarkable entrance, the letters of the signboard are either missing or at the verge of falling off. There is no entrance fee and no security guard either. There are a few shop lots meant to be eateries or souvenir shops but remain vacant and mossy. There are signs of expansion of the elevated footpaths with foundation pillars built and ready but as of now they are left to rot. There is also a jetty beside a nearby river, which I guess there used to be a plan to provide boat tour along the river but now left neglected as it is. The only commendable thing about the park is the clean toilet. But I guess even that is to be expected since not many visitors, means nobody uses it, means a clean toilet. Unfortunately that is the reality of many supposedly touristic spots in Malaysia. Money is invested initially, but due to a multitude of reasons, becomes either unfinished or left to crumble due to lack of maintenance. It is like the saying in Inception, this place is like an old man, filled with regrets, and waiting to die alone. It is just sad to see.

Old Sungai Muda Railway Bridge - a hidden gem at the border of Penang and Kedah

While Taiping has Victoria Bridge, sitting at the border of Penang and Kedah, there is the now abandoned Old Sungai Muda Railway Bridge. Although shorter in length, this historical building is still quite charming. I spotted this bridge one day while I was mindlessly looking at the Penang-Kedah border on the Google Map. While I was there yesterday, not a single soul anywhere near the bridge. Walking on the rusty steel beam without guard rail and with the overgrown tree branches and grass, it was really scary to be on the bridge alone. My mom and I just walked a short way on the bridge, took some photo, and then immediately left. 

With such a beauty, it is surprising that nobody thinks to turn it into a tourist spot yet. It is definitely a spot that could lure people there for some instagram-worthy photos. To be honest, the current crumbling state of the bridge is a danger to anyone there. And trust me, a fence to bar people out of the bridge would just have the opposite effect and lure more daredevils there. May be Sanusi and Chow Kon Yeow could argue less and collaborate in this effort to at least preserve the bridge, may be construct a safer pathway on the bridge, and make it officially a heritage site.

5 Reasons why EEAAO is a Chinese New Year movie

Just like how people say that Die Hard is really a Christmas movie, Everything Everywhere All At Once should really be a CNY movie, alongside the classics like All’s Well Ends Well, Fat Choi Spirit, and My Lucky Stars. Even though it was not released during CNY, here are 5 reasons why it should be.

1. A movie about family

This has to be the most important element of any CNY movie. As chaotic as the multiverse as the main feature and plot device of the movie, at its core, it is really about family. It explores the relationship between husband and wife, between parents and children, the generational trauma, and the messiness of all of it. It also portrays accurately how different Asians show care and affections to family. It is often reserved and awkward. A hug simply doesn't come around so often in Asian family.

2. Set during the Chinese New Year

This one is evident, as half of the plot revolves around a CNY party and the preparation for it. The headache and the exhaustion from a CNY party is something that every parents could understand. 

3. Meet the parents (and the anxiety that comes with it)

It is a custom to bring home your significant other to meet the family during CNY. It is like some version of reality check, anxiety is sometimes unbearable. In the movie, the grandfather is coming from China to visit the daughter Evelyn and her husband Waymond in the States whom he has always deemed as a disappointment, while from the granddaughter, Joy brings home her girlfriend to meet her old-fashioned grandfather for the first time. Conflict is setup and it is a mine field to navigate through.

4. Celebration of Chinese cinema

It is not too far-fetched to call this movie an action film. It features so many fight scenes that are clearly a homage to Jacky Chan's slapstick action comedy style. Not only it has some awesome martial art sequences, it also pays tribute to Wong Kar-wai's style of dreamy cinema, which brings along the feeling of nostalgia, regret, and the inevitable passage of time. Combining these two almost contradicting styles into one movie alone, is no easy feat in itself. And EEAAO just nails it perfectly.

5. Michelle Yeoh

Talking about homage and celebration, this movie is also a celebration of Chinese Asians in cinema, as it stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, and James Hong. Even one of the Daniels, Dan Kwan is also Asian. As a Malaysian myself, I am just so happy about how this movie is so obviously tailored for Michelle. It is because Michelle is not only a martial artist, she is above all an incredible actor. Her acting range has the chance to shine fully under the spotlight in this movie. Watching the emotional interview she did with GQ, I got emotional too. It is like after all these years in the industry, finally she gets the validation she deserves.

EEAAO is probably my favorite movie of the year 2022. I am so glad that I went to cinema to watch it last year in late April. Although it gets a lot of buzz recently after it gets many nominations and awards, it was not the case when it was released. When it was released, it was only doing averagely in the box office. By the time I was free, it only left with one cinema in my area that was showing the movie. I had to drive almost an hour just to get to the cinema. Very often we like to call a movie as an emotional rollercoaster, but after this movie, I can safely say that only EEAAO deserves this description. How the movie makes me laugh and then cry and laugh-cry again in the span of 5 mins is unbelievable. After the credit rolls, I had to stay at my seat for quite awhile because I was just a mess. Although there were only me and another couple in the entire cinema hall, I had to tidy up my face a bit to be more presentable because I still had to walk a long way through the shopping mall and back to carpark. The movie truly wrecked me.

The book that blew my mind away

While doing the ritual pre-CNY cleaning, while cleaning my book shelf, there lies the most important book of my life. A book that has influenced me to this day, a book that has opened my mind. It is not even a famous book. It is a book about Einstein's Theory of Relativity, by Fujio Ishihara, a Japanese author that I don't know and translated by someone I don't know into Mandarin. Instead of pure formulae and complex calculations, the book chooses to focus more on the implications of the theory and presents them in an easy and accessible way. Imagine knowing the existence of Theory of Relativity at 11 years old. After reading this book, the 11 year-old me first felt my own insignificance in the vastness of the universe, my view of the world around expanded exponentially like the the Big Bang. This book made me wonder what was the true nature of time, space, and yeah, the ultimate question of all, the meaning of life. This book made me imagine that I was floating endlessly in the universe, in the empty void of the spaces between galaxies.

This is also the very first science-y book I bought. From there, I was just craving more and more content related to it, which led to more books about black holes, classical physics, quantum physics, etc.. I still remember vividly how I would save up my pocket money just to buy and read more about this kind of books. Although I don't really know the author of the book, I am forever thankful to him for writing this book. 

Prosperity Burger has become part of the tradition

Just like how KFC became a Christmas tradition for Japanese, I would argue that McD Prosperity Burger has also became a Chinese New Year tradition for Malaysian. I just found out that the Prosperity Burger has been around for almost 30 years. It was invented in 1994, a proud Malaysian invention. That just means it has been there since as long as I can remember. That is just shocking to think about. 

This is not an advertisement for McD. But I guess there is no need to. Ask any Malaysian, they sure would know about Prosperity Burger and they also know that it is a seasonal item on the menu only during CNY. The story of the Prosperity Burger is what so called a highly successful marketing strategy. Whenever CNY is approaching, everyone is anticipating it, including me. It is part of many's childhood memory, it tastes nostalgic, and anything that nostalgic would sells. With its seasonality, the scarcity makes people crave for it even more. 

Personally I could still remember during the CNY when I was small, all the eateries around my area were all closed for holidays. McD was always the one still opened selling Prosperity Burger. Although it is no longer the case nowadays, every CNY I would still make sure I get myself a Prosperity Burger as long as I am in Malaysia. As much as I don't want to admit it, I think I really like the peppery taste of Prosperity Burger and crispy curly fries that comes with it.

Warriors of Future review

For this one, I was ready to be disappointed. But it turns out to be not too shabby. The plot is very basic, most of concepts are very derivatives, but as I said, I didn't expect much from the film. I was just curious how good the visual effects are. Since the visual effect of the film was produced by One Cool Group Limited, a Hong Kong company founded by Louis Koo, who was also one of the main characters in the film, I was mostly curious how good the CG visual effect tech has progressed in Hong Kong. It piques my interest as Louis Koo founded the company and having the vision to establish a local visual effect studio that is on the caliber of those in Hollywood, and to reduce the reliance on the western visual effect studios. The vision is admirable.

To be honest, Hong Kong cinema is mainly famous for films about gang wars, police, corruption, or kung fu, martial art heavy, definitely not for this kind of big budget, visual effect heavy films set in a futuristic environment. Think Hong Kong film, think infernal affairs or Ip Man. I would argue that this film is an important milestone in Hong Kong cinema in terms of visual effect industry. Although it is not as polished yet, it is made with love. It also reminds us that how difficult the visual effect work is, and how under-appreciated it is. When it is good, nobody praises the artists behind the scene. On the other hand, when it is anything less that perfect, the audience is ready to bash the film into oblivion.

Malaysian Risotto with "Wok Hei"

Fried porridge is a strange idea. The truth is as literal as and as strange as its name, you actually fry the porridge. I can't find the definite origin of the idea but, for sure, it is a Malaysian dish. One day I found myself having to explain the dish to someone who never had it before. I just described it as porridge, or congee, but with "wok hei". Then my friend one-upped me with an even more brilliant comparison: fried porridge is just like the risotto. What I like the most about this analogy because it compares against some well-known "ang mo" dish, and since anything remotely "ang mo" instantly becomes chic in Malaysia. So from now on, I would describe fried porridge as Malaysian risotto with "wok hei".

If you think normal porridge is too bland, fried porridge is the right choice for you. There is no lacking of shops selling fried porridge in Malaysia. The most famous one that I know of is the one in Serdang, a town at the border of Kedah and Penang. But if you don't like porridge to begin with, I am not sure if fried porridge could win you over. Personally, I think it is only ok. It is definitely unique and flavorful. But it is just something that I don't normally think of when I fancy some delicious food.

Wawasan 2020 envisions a futuristic Malaysia, therefore KL Monorail!

Recently I stumbled upon Adam Something Youtube channel and it instantly became one of my favorites. His videos resonate with me because I am also huge believer in the idea of good public transport is crucial in good urban design. One of his most popular videos is about the downside of monorail. As soon as he opens his video with line "Monorails are a sleek, cool, and futuristic mode of transportation..", it instantly reminds me of our monorails in Malaysia - the very short line of KL Monorail as well as the Melaka Monorail that had failed horribly. After listening to his reasoning about the many problems of monorails, I start to think that the KL Monorail was a direct result of our failed Wawasan 2020 which rolled out by Mahathir in the 90s.

For anyone who doesn't know, Wawasan 2020 is the vision for Malaysia to become a fully industrialized nation by the year 2020. Well, as of now in year 2023, Malaysia is still only classified or seen as a developing nation stuck in middle-income trap, so we could confidently says that the vision has failed. Because Wawasan 2020 envisions a super futuristic version of Malaysia, what looks the most futuristic of all the modes of transportation? So it had to be monorail.

May be in the 90s, the disadvantages of monorail may not be so well known yet. But in year 2023, we have a lot to proves that monorail is not so practical after all. After the laughable and wasteful monorail experiment in Melaka, I hope that Penang don't make the same mistake when making future plans for public transport system. 

This ondeh-ondeh cake is dangerously addictive

Honestly I had zero expectation. I knew that it was recommended on Penang Foodie (see post). But I don't normally give much attention to this kind of hype on Facebook because there is simply an over-abundance of homemade bakeries on social media nowadays. So to my surprise, the ondeh-ondeh cake is so damn delicious. 

To me, the esthetic is just ok, nothing of extraordinary. But OMG! The taste is at a level above many ondeh-ondeh cakes available out there. Every single detail is top-notch, or at least almost perfect. It is just airy enough, just sweet enough, just creamy enough; it contains just enough coconut, just enough pandan, just enough crunch. Any bit more or less would be subpar. Every bite makes me crave for more. I love ondeh-ondeh, but I think this cake has just transformed and then outclassed the traditional Malaysian dessert that it is based on.

I would proudly recommend this. Checkout their Instagram - @milk.and.honey.patisserie. My mom tasted it and now she is hooked. If it wasn't for the heavy lunch I had before I picked up the cake, I think I could have devoured the entire cake by myself in one go and then got so full that I would hate myself for having done it. This cake is dangerously addictive.

A bus stop without any bus stop sign?! WTF?!

That day while there were very few tasks to do for work, I decided to take the bus to work. There are just some many problems I notice. The glaring problem is the bus stop I had to wait at. Not only that it is inaccessible for disabled or old people, the other point that I cannot simply accept is that how can a bus stop without a bus stop sign?! As you can see in the video, nothing is there to indicate that it is a bus stop. Without even a shelter, it is just a random spot along side a 6 lanes highway. Luckily I had an app to inform myself and I have another person (also shown in the video) to ask to confirm that it was really there to wait for the right bus.

This kind of so called "bus stop" is not unique to this one shown in video. Along my bus ride, there are countless of them. So in the end, only the desperate and those who cannot afford a private vehicle are taking the bus.

Avatar 2 wins box office number over Top Gun Maverick - this is saddening

May be it is just me. The box office number makes me think that I am part of the minority who think Avatar movies are overrated. I haven't watch Avatar 2 yet and not planning to go to cinema for it. But judging by the first Avatar from more than 10 years ago, I don't think it is a movie I would vote with wallet for. I just watched the box office charts weekly show by Dan Murrell, it makes me sad to know that Avatar 2 topples Top Gun Maverick and becomes the number 1 movie of the year 2022. I feel sad, mainly because I seriously want Top Gun to be extremely successful, because I want more movies like Top Gun, instead of Avatar. 

From what I know in the first Avatar, it is arguably technically impressive but the story and characters are so damn bare-bones. I feel totally nothing while watching Avatar. This is in huge contrast with Top Gun as it is equally technically impressive while having me care deeply for the characters. Furthermore, I know a better Avatar story than James Cameron's Avatar, which is Avatar The Last Airbender the cartoon series.

I guess an easy story to follow and eye-catching visual effects have massively wide appeal to general audience. And I guess we can expect to continuously get more Avatar sequels in the future. Sigh... 

Le Trou (1960) movie review

Le Trou, or translated into English as The Hole, is a 1960 French film about a prison escape based on a true event. I got this recommended from the "What I watch this month" video series by Karsten Runquist. I have always love his recommendations and this one is no exception. To quote Karsten, he describes the movie as "it is somehow both hypnotic and slow but also energetic and riveting". Although it is a black-and-white movie, but I find the movie very modern, most likely due to how well-paced the movie is. 

I saw somewhere an article describes it as the Anti Shawshank Redemption, mainly because it is not a feel-good movie at all. After knowing how it ends, I immediately re-watched the first act of the movie again, to look back how all the hints were already hiding in plain sight. The fact that all of the 5 main characters are non-professional actors, the fact that they cast the guy himself who actually involved in the actual escape, just blows my mind. No wonder Roland looks like a very natural gangster to me, as if someone straight out of Godfather movie. 

The lack of soundtrack really heightens the tension of the movie. The plot of story is mostly just about on the act of planning out and carrying out the escape plan. Like there is this one awesome scene in the movie where they are breaking the concrete floor, and it is all a 4-minutes one long take. I was watching the scene be like: hmm... there has been no cut so far, no way, are they... then still no cut, changing hands and continue. Then I thought: holy shit, they are really doing it, a super long take! I was like: alright alright I get the gits of it already. It really makes you feel how hard to knock through a concrete floor.

If I have to nitpick, I guess there is just one no-so believable thing to point out. The prison condition was surprisingly pristine?! Everyone seems to very well-groomed and looks so handsome all the time.  At least from what I can see from the prison cell of those 5 main characters share, all seems very tidy and organized. But apart from that, Le Trou is highly recommended. 

芒种 - I can't get you out of my head

Very rarely a song can be earworm for me for so long. Since I first heard it in September 2019, I still play it so frequently, almost approaching an unhealthy level. This is an attempt articulate my love for this song, so that I can move on from this earworm. 芒种 (Mángzhòng), created by 音阙诗听 Youtube channel, the title of the song means one of the solar terms in the traditional Chinese calendar. There are 24 of these solar terms in the Chinese calendar, and 芒种 is the ninth one, which is the 2 weeks period in June before summer solstice. As you can expect, they actually created 24 songs that are named after these solar terms. I have listened to the others but I think none can match the quality of 芒种.

The beats is modern, nothing much spectacular about it. However the few verses with Chinese traditional musical instruments never fails to give me goosebumps. What really nails it is really the lyrics, it is just so damn poetic. It is about love, about karma, about the season like what the song is named after. Some netizens even theorize that it is actually about the love story in the famous literature of Dream of the Red Chamber. I guess I always have a soft spot for Chinese songs with a hint of old Literary Chinese poetic lyrics. Songs like Wishing We Last Forever by Faye Wong/Teresa Teng, or River South by JJ Lin have been my all time favorites and now 芒种 joins this exclusive list.

This song cannot easily be sang. The singer has to possess a certain voice quality to perfect the song. Hitting high note is a must, but also he/she must hit the high notes with a certain ease and must not be forced, as a strain in the voice must not be shown. This song is hard to perform, even the original singer may sometimes fails in live performance I saw in some videos. I think may be Teresa Teng or Faye Wong could perfect it to my caliber.

The song was a hit in China when it came out. Naturally, people made cover of it, remix, etc.. The remix that I like the so far is this remix with rap lyrics, adding another western twist to it. The remix version actually leads me to imagine what kind of creative spark if 音阙诗听 could collab with Mura Masa as he is probably my favorite remix artist.

 

Komtar Tower Run 2023

I signed up for this on the last day of registration which was also the last day of year 2022. There were 3 categories: elite, competitive, and non-competitive, and the run would start the race according to these categories, start with elite, then competitive, and lastly non-competitive. However in the end, everyone would still be grouped into the same ranking table. To join elite category, one needed to provide proof of physical ability, such as sub 25mins 5k or equivalent. I didn't have any of those proves, so I joined the competitive category while I could start as early as possible to avoid crowding at the staircases.

It all started at 7am. They flagged off participants at a certain interval, elite at 15s interval while 5s for the rest. The wait for my turn at the starting line turned not to be not that long. I heard from some people who joined the previous editions of Komtar Tower Run, the number of participants was not as many as before. As usual, the wait at the starting line is always filled with adrenaline rush, even for smaller race like this one. The whole idea I took on the challenge was to get in the groove of racing again, to prepare myself for bigger races later this year. This one was kinda for me to kick start this year.

the wait at the starting line

At what should be around 7.40am, my turn was up. I flied through the majority of the climb, only starts to pay attention on the floor count at 40th floor onwards, where I could start to feel the lactic acid accumulating in my legs and exhaustion started to kick in. By that time, it was already 2/3 of the way through. To be honest, it wasn't much of a mental challenge, may be I was used to longer run. I remember I overtook many people, I don't remember any water stations though. Brief, I was feeling real good and just before I realized, I was already reaching the finish line.

After the finish line, I walked around for quite some time before I sat down, mainly because I didn't want muscle cramp and walking and stretching for awhile would cool the muscle down gradually. As a Penangite, it is embarrassing to say that this was the first time in my life on top of Komtar Tower. The view was magnificent accompanied by the many colours of the sunrise and the cooling morning breeze, it was glorious.

After short break and some photos later, I headed down, got changed, and went to the nearby Chowrasta market to have my breakfast. It was quite pleasant to walk around Georgetown this early morning. Then after that I went back home for a nap.

Congee for breakfast

The result was out after my nap. Surprisingly I was 41st/298 overall. I didn't wear a watch nor any tracker for the run. So I had not idea what my time was. So to see my net time for climb was only 12mins, I was impressed. Meanwhile, the number one was still the number one, Soh Wai Ching, with a net time of 7mins, way ahead of the 2nd place, outclassing everyone else in the field. Initially, although my target was to finish only, I was secretly hoping for a time less than the double of the first place winner. So I am more than satisfied with the time of 12mins.

the official result of my time

Literally me when I saw the official result after my nap.

Anyway my first objective of the year 2023 is sealed and done 😎

How can Penang Sentral be inaccessible by foot?!

Being there a few times recently, I just realize that there is no walking access to the Penang Sentral at all. One simply cannot walk on foot to access the building. This just makes me so angry. Have anyone think this through at all?! Who the hell designed the building?! How can supposedly main transportation hub be inaccessible by foot?!

I can agree that the interior of the building is nice. But no matter how well-designed the interior is, it is just shame that the main lobby of the building is only accessible with a private vehicle. Furthermore, the main lobby is not at ground level and it is only connected with a road flyover. On foot, I could only think of 2 ways - either by following the flyover, walk directly on the road alongside the vehicles since there is no sidewalk on the flyover; or by following the bus route, trespassing the gated area into the bus stop area at ground level.

This is so stupid.

Empathizing with Mat Rempit

It is not my intention to glorify Mat Rempit. But come to think about it, I could totally understand the appeal of being a Mat Rempit. If you don't know, Mat Rempit is a notorious Malaysian term for teenagers who gather for illegal street racing and perform daredevil stunts with motorcycle and typically the motorcycles are at smaller CC and customized such as exhaust pipe with loud sound. First of all, I am not saying that Mat Rempit is good. On the contrary, it is harmful not only to the motorcyclist but also to the other road users.

In my younger years, I also drove motorcycle to school. I have to admit that the combination of the feeling of the power of the combustion engine at will, the sensation of driving at high speed with the wind gushing by, and the freedom of zooming through the spaces between cars, the pure adrenaline makes riding motorcycle easily addictive. No doubt, it is dangerous. But this level of danger is often deemed acceptable for teenagers. Performing outrageous deed is merely an expression of youth. Even my father also mention from time to time that he and his friends were Mat Rempit when they were young. 

This Mat Rempit phenomenon makes me reflect on how skiing/snowboarding at high speed could offer the same sensation too. During my college years, I did a lot of skiing together with a gang of friends who could ski more or less at same level. Although my gang wasn't quite as crazy, often times I could see my classmates came to school with a plaster cast or crutches after they broke their arm or leg during skiing/snowboarding. As insane as it sounds, everybody kinda treated the injury as a badge of honor. I guess youngsters just need an outlet to search for adrenaline rush. That's why Mat Rempit makes sense to me. So the real question becomes how to direct this need for speed towards something constructive. For now I don't know answer.

A short and sweet half-day trip to Pulau Aman

I first went to Pulau Aman with my parents. It was a sudden idea of my father. Too bad we were quite late when we went there. It was already 5pm when almost everything on the island had closed and the last boat trip back to mainland was at 7pm. So we didn't get to explore much of the island. Two weeks ago, I decided to brought my grandma to visit Pulau Aman again. Glad to say, she loves the trip very much, especially the short speedboat ride to and back from the island.

Pulau Aman is really miniscule. In fact there is no tarmac roads on the island at all. So as one can expect, there is nothing much to do on the island. One can rent a electric bike and explore the island in less than 15mins. But I think walking is the best, immersing oneself in the general kampung feel of the island. While strolling, it is so peaceful that I seem to always forget that I am in Penang. It is hard to believe that it is just opposite of Batu Kawan where so much development is on-going. The other thing that I like about Pulau Aman is that it is still very much under-developed and there is hardly any tourist at all. 

When my grandma and I were there, we had mee udang for our lunch. As much as the prawns were very fresh, the mee udang was too pricey to worth it. Since there were only 2 of us, we couldn't order and tried out many other food items such as oysters, fishes, etc.. They seemed pretty good, judging from what the other people ordered while we were there.

In short, visiting Pulau Aman is the perfect short getaway from the city life.

Impossible picture

This is not a sponsorship by White Castle. I just want to point out that the picture on the box doesn't make sense. The castle in the picture is Château de Chenonceau and the background is showing snow-capped high mountain range. This is geographically impossible as Chenonceau is one of the Châteaux de La Loire in the centre of France. The snow-capped mountains are, I guess, more towards East side of France where it borders Switzerland.

While researching, to my surprise, White Castle is a Malaysian local brand. Furthermore, the factory is situated in Penang! The brand using Chenonceau as packaging makes total sense to me. Unlike some other renowned European castles, such as the Neuschwanstein Castle which inspires the Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle, or Carcassonne which a board game is named after, Châteaux de La Loire are not as well-known among Malaysians. Imagine that White Castle decides to use Neuschwanstein Castle as packaging, people would immediately recognize it and people would just perceive the brand as a bit desperate to be a high-end product.

Although they are not as famous, I would argue that they are just as magnificent, and the high concentration of castles in just one area, along La Loire river makes them even more remarkable. If I have to pick a favorite, too bad Chenonceau is not my pick. My pick is Chambord 🥰

Time to read more

I've always liked to go to a bookstore and searched randomly for books. I like the word serendipity and I like the idea of it. This time while I had some time in the shopping mall, I went to a bookstore and I bought this book - Last Stories, a compilation of short stories by William Trevor. I instantly bought it when I saw the discounted price, at almost 80% off the original price.

New book always creates a spark in me, a spark to read more. I got this feeling whenever I purchase a new book. And then I realize that last year I hadn't read much at all, which is sad. In some way, short stories is good to kick start again the reading habit as it requires lower commitment.

The thing is I don't know much the book, nor the author William Trevor. So far I just read the very first story - The Piano Teacher's Pupil. It is a melancholic one, which is just the way I like. I've got a feeling that it is going to be a good read. 

2022 World Cup Final - The Greatest World Cup Final Ever

I can say that this is the greatest the world cup final ever and nobody would disagree. I am writing this weeks after the final simply because I still couldn't get out over it. From time to time, I still look over the Youtube to watch some live reaction video to the final. Every emotions, every ups and downs, it seems like every human on Earth was watching it together.

I still remember vividly that night. To be honest I wasn't planning to watch the final. I was baking some burnt cheesecakes. At around midnight while I was waiting for the cakes to cool down before I put them into the fridge, I was scrolling mindlessly through the Facebook. I was thinking, no way France could came back from down 0-2 with less than 10mins left. I was preparing to sleep. But then the miracle happened. First I saw the news 2-1, France finally scored with a penalty. That still didn't peek my interest yet. And then literally a minute later when I refreshed my news feed, it became 2-2! EQUALIZED! From there on, I was hooked. I jumped out of sofa and opened up the final livestream. 

From the 2-2 equalizer onwards, the match really heated up. Both sides constantly attacking, from one end of the field to another. It was already late at night, but I could still hear people shouting of excitement from the mamak stall nearby my house. It was nail-biting to say the least. I don't think I was sitting still for the rest of the match. For the penalty shootout at the end, the stakes were so high that I had to turn my back against the screen. I just couldn't stand the tension.

Although I was rooting for France, the match was so good that in the end it didn't matter to me that who won. Both teams gave us the match to talk about for centuries. I was just glad that I was able to witness the greatest sporting event ever.

Climax Fucked Me Up

It's been days after I watched the 2018 film Climax by Gaspar Noé, I still can't get over it. The imagery has burnt in my memory, even yesterday night I had some really strange dreams (although I can no longer recall them) and a rough night sleep. I had heard many compliments as well as disgust towards Gaspar's filmography and Climax is my first Garpar Noé's film. Out of morbid curiosity I checked out Climax a few days ago. OH BOY! It is an experience, to say the least.

To be honest, as much as how horrifying the film depicts the effect LSD could be, deep down inside, the film somehow convinces a part of me, just a tiny part of me, to try out LSD, to check out the my inner demon, to find out what kind of person I truly am. The film shows how exactly LSD would peel off the outer shell of a person, tear down all the phoniess, all the pretentiousness, so that the truest desire reveals itself. But then curiosity can kill. This tiny thought that the film manages to give me is damn dangerous, I have to admit. 

It is hard to recommend this film. It is unique, it is vulgar, it is a horror film, and it assaults your senses. At the same time, I also feel a certain sadness for the characters among many are merely victims. The slow descent to hellscape, a trainwreck happens in slow-mo, is unbearable to watch but I am morbidly fascinated. It is like what people like to say, it is just hard to look away from a car accident.