A few lecherous old men......

We have come caross a multitude of characters in our lifetime. The ones we usually treat with disdain are the voyuers, perverted and chee ko pek, or leacherous, to the uninitiated. I mean, we sometimes look at criminals with a certain amount of caution, but lecherous old men are simply treated with disdain. Some have even gone as far as to distant themselves from relatives who are labelled as chee ko pek.

The low life amongst the low lifes. Yeap. that's how we treat them.

Having walked the back alleys of red light districts in our sunny island-nation, one thing strikes me, it's either the foreign workers or the chee ko peks and the occasional gawking young men who roam the streets. I can't fault the foreign workers. They do things that we don't want to do, ever. they leave their hometowns, some leave their wife and kids in order to earn more here to provide better for those they left behind.

Bereft of any sense of belonging here and away from their loved ones, most of them, young men, become lonely. Living in a dorm with other men as company, loneliness is a painful thing to live with. Let's face it, they are men, so the desire is there. It's either they start a relationship with another foreign worker, be it amongst them, God forbid, or a female domestic worker (read: maid) or they go to the back alleys and look for love for hire. Well, they are young men, by any standard, hormones raging and all, so it is forgivable, taking into consideration their circumstances.

What I can't fathom are the older local men who roam the very same streets. Most are grandfathers and some are living off their pensions and CPF money. Heck, some even depend on their children to give them money to satisfy their vicely cravings. Well, the children wouldn't know this dark secret. It wouldn't be so bad if these old men are single, widowers or divorcees. There are those who are still married. Whatever their reasons for visiting, or worse, frequenting such places, I doubt there are any reasons which society would willingly accept.

The recent news about seedy massage parlours offering dubious health massages only reinforced the public's disdain towards such businesses. I pity those who offer professional massages who will undoubtedly have a poorer reputation, no thanks in large measures to their seedy cousins. One question that has to be raised is why is it that these seedy business are cropping up like mushroom after heavy rain. Well, as the old business adage goes, where there is demand, there will be supply.

Wonder who could be driving the demand up where you seldom see foreign workers wondering about on their offdays in the heartlands of Singapore?

Do I know you?

Have you ever noticed how intertwined our lives are with the people around us?

I mean look around you and you'd see people. The only times you won't other people are when you are taking a crap in some cubicle or you are lost all by yourself einter in the jungle or out at sea. That will put us in 2 extremely opposite situation, the former, you have no wish to see another pair of eyes staring back at you while the latter, you wish for someone to look at you, well, more to look for you than anything else.

Well, whatever it is, the fact remains that our lives are somewhat intertwined with each other. Whether we like or not, it is a fact that our every action, word spoken and every move affects someone else. Consider this, you sneeze loudly, people will turn and look at you; you talk loudly, people will glare at you, and if you fart, people will pinch their noses and walk away as soon as they can from Ground Zero.

We all go through many phases in our lifetime - when we were kids, when we were in primary school, secondary school, polytechnic, JCs and for the few smart ones, university. Then, we start work, go through many courses, meet more people yet again. So many people have walked into our lives and, some, left it as quickly as they came, yet there as those few who have made a small imprint in our lives, be it a footnote in our life's story or an indelible mark permanently etched in our memory.

So many times, have we stumbled upon a face so familiar yet we can't recall who they are or where we met them. A lot of times it takes a lot of courage just to approach that some one so familiar to say "Hi, don't I know you from somewhere?". More so if it happens to be that cute girl you used to admire from afar back in school. Well, it happens to me a lot of times. In fact more often than not, I'd just pass by and act like I never met them, unless of course they recognised me firstor gave some form of acknowledgement by way of a smile.

Best part of it all is, there area few occasions where I know the face but just can't put my finger on their name or even where we met. Recently, I met with an aquaintance, whom I knew from my National Service days. We served in the same camp, he was a clerk, while I was a medic. I guess he recognised my face but like me, unsure who I was and whether or not I knew him. It's only when I first said, "You look familiar, don't I know you from somewhere?" that he smiled and acknowledged me and after some fact finding did we establish and were able to recall.

I guess he forms some of the countless footnotes in my life. Isn't it weird? The people you left behind and have and having no attachments to, seem to come back into your life every now and then, while the people whom you have lost contact with and long to meet again, never seem to appear and those who are currently hanging around us, whom we have no inclination to ever see again, never seem to leave.

Drifting away again.

I think I need help.

No, I'm not going crazy. Well, not yet anyway. It's just that the past week was so hectic. I got myself to blame for my having this feeling of apathy. You know how they say, too much work made jack a dull boy. Well, no one ever told me too much play would spoil me!!

3 days in Pangkor followed by 4 days of work with 2 days in KL really sapped me. Not so much because of the driving up and down half of Peninsular Malaysia but more because I couldn't get myself in the zone at work. Every so often, I find myself drifting away from whatever thing is on my PC screen and find myself looking out at sea. Waste of productivity? To the company, yes, to me, it's more of the hope and expectation that the realisation of that dream comes sooner rather than later. What dream? The idyllic lifestyle.

I guess most of us would want to live an idyllic life, somewhere by the beach, where the hustle of city life is far away from our eyes, ears and mind. It's just something about the beach that gives us all a sense of calm and tranquility that would otherwise be absent in our lives as long as we live our normal lives. I have read about quite a number of expatriates who have uprooted their lives and whole families for some and moved to another part of the world in order to find some peace. Mostly, they settled in some resort island in Malaysia and set up resorts or chalets of their own which they rent out.

Well, they get the best of everything. Peace for their mind, customers for their business. I do admire their courage in doing that. Not too sure if I could ever muster the courage to do likewise. Then again, I asked myself, could I really leave behind all that I have worked so hard for and start anew somewhere else? Would I have the discipline to do without the cinemas, foodcourts, shopping malls andother entertainment I have come to enjoy? While I can do without the fast-paced environs of my little red dot, I 'm not sure if I could do without the entertainment avenues currently open to me now.

Idyllic island life, replete with it's rustic charms, soft see breeze and beautiful sunset/sunrise, is perfect for most of us for getaways, just not for permanent lifestyle. I think I'm just reading too many tourism brochures and travelogues.

Drove up north again!

I was up in KL over the weekend. Yeah, I know, I just got back from Pangkor the Sunday before and was still feeling a bit jaded. Not so much because of the trip's exertions, more because my wife and I felt that the trip to Pangkor was too short. When my sis called asking us to go to KL with her and my parents for the weekend, we jumped at it.

Another getaway? Hell, yeah!

I don't know why but I just enjoy hitting the open road. Strangely enough, I never did that when I was still riding my bike. Partly because, my mom wouldn't allow it, more so because, I suffered cash flow problems which very much inhibited my innate desires for long rides up north. Just couldn't spare the budget when the opportunities for riding trips with friends opened up. Not like my cash flow problems have eased, just that now with dual income (read: the wife), there is more chance of me being seen trotting up the NS Highway.

One of the reasons why I upgraded was so that my wife and I could go on such long drives. Damn, we really are making it worth our time and money with the car. Well, it satisfies my wife's desire for short holidays to take her mind of life's stresses while satisfying my own cravings for driving up north. While it would seem like a long distance to drive up north to KL, after the Pangkor trip, I found that driving up to KL seems easy.

While previously, I would have made a stop at Pagoh, roughly halfway from Singapore to KL, this time I went almost 250km to Seremban non stop before making a first rest, which lasted all of 10 mins. That's almost 75% of the journey in one go. I was surprised at myself that I could last that distance, in fact, it felt like I could drive to KL all the way without stop. I wasn't about to over-exert myself though.

I guess it's like a challenge for me and our car to drive up north. We have been to Cherating last December, Pangkor this June, KL twice, Malacca twice. When we first bought the car, my wife had reservations on its long distance capabilities, so much so, doubts started lingering in me. Those doubts have long been dispelled with the drives we have made so far.

Once thing's for sure though, more will be planned!!!

My initially dreaded Pangkor trip.

Well, the trip to Pangkor's done with. It's over. What was thought to be a dreaded holiday turned out OK in the end. Eventually, we drove up in our own cars respectively, turned out to be really pleasant drive, though I had to keep a check on my right foot for fear of losing the car behind.

The place was gorgeous thought the company could have been better. No, I'm not spiting my wife's relatives, rather it was a case of being with the wrong company at the wrong place. I mean, there are some places we just wouldn't go with some people. Who goes to some beach party with their parents in tow, right? I'm pretty sure that none of us would have our religious teachers and elderly parents along in such environments.

That being said, we wouldn't have gone in the first place had my wife's aunt not asked us along, though in the end she was following us even if she asked us to go with her. What?

Exactly.

The person being invited to go along on the trip ended up being the leader of the trip. Not that I was complaining, being a Leo and all. So, the trip started at 5am where we met up at the Shell station across the Causeway. After filling up the petrol tanks to full we set off, though, she missed the first turn and we spent 30 mins wandering around JB trying to find each other - thank God for mobile phones! It was then that I found that the aunt, like some women I know, is unable to orientate herself with the unfamiliar roads and reading maps.

After finding each other, we set off for the North-South Highway, our main route to Perak, roughly 550km up north. I find it a challenge driving up north. Drove up to KL twice and Cherating , Pahang, once. Just something about hitting the open road that strikes a chord with me. The trip up north was uneventful for the most part. We made our first "pit stop" in Machap for our dawn prayers and some breakfast for an hour, then continued onwards to our next stop at Seremban for another short stop, just to stretch out those legs and for a quick toilet break. By then, it was 10am and we have covered some 280km.

From there, we hit the highway all the way till Nilai Utara where we left the E2 and continued on the E6 before hitting the E1 all the way to our exit at Bidor. Here was where the fun began. The scenery once we reached Perak was spectacular to say the least. We were basically driving through the meandering valleys. Mountains and cliffs lined the sides of the road. Much like taking a kayak down some river through the mountains. It was that spectacular. Too bad we couldn't stop the car by the side and take pictures.

We missed our 1.45pm ferry to the resort by virtue of getting lost in Perak looking for the right route to Lumut. Can't blame the wife here cos we didn't have proper maps and the road signs in Perak aren't actually that helpful either. We had no way of really knowing where we were and where we needed to be, in the end, with some guesswork and a little luck we did find the place, had some lunch at one of the many eateries lining up the town's roads before boarding the 3.45 ferry to the resort. The ferry took us 30mins but the journey was well worth it. The sights that welcomed us were simply breathtaking.

Once at the resort, I was in awe at the beauty that was staring back at me. No, I wasn't referring to the prtty staff at the front desk, but the place itself. We settled into our rooms and arranged for some transportation to take us to town for some shopping and some food. Not only were the local produce excellent, it was cheap too. To top it all off, the place where we decided to have dinner whipped up some excellent food at prices which almost knocked me off my seat. Yeah, was dirt cheap. Imagine a seafood spread with 8 dishes for 7 people setting us back by only RM70.

Went snorkelling on the second day but the snorkel site was not the best around, I have been to better snorkelling sites around Malaysia and this was not the best place for it. Pulau Payar Marine Park, near Langkawi was better and, of course, the Tioman Marine Park was better as well. But it was the first time the aunt and her son had gone snorkelling so, what the heck, I indulged them a bit here. Towards the end of the day, we hit the town again, but not without some "nice" happenings which I loathe to talk about - mainly because of the stupidity of the episode. Dinner was nice though.

Here are some picture I took of the place:

Dreading a holiday

Well, it's my third wedding anniversary today and I'm at work, well, if it's any consolation, so is the wife. We did not make any special plans for tonight, no candlelit dinners, rose petals on the bed or fancy gifts. Just a trip to my MIL to confirm the details of our trip to Pangkor Island with her aunt. HUH???

Yeah, the feminists are already sharpening their claws. That's no way to celebrate a wedding anniversary. Truth is, I had a beautiful evening in mind. However, those plans were scuttled when her aunt asked us to go with her family to Pangkor. My wife, being the kind-hearted person that she is just couldn't say no. This was after all the very same aunt who worked her ass off during our wedding and having been recently widowed, she was not prepared to disappoint her. So, there went the plans for a romantic evening.

The departure date and accommodation arrangements were already taken care of by yours truly. The only thing left was mode of transportation. Up till now, there is no agreement on that. The aunt and her family wants to rent a car, an MPV, no less. My wife and her mom is in agreement with them. I'm the odd man out in the sense that I am against renting an MPV, when both families have a car each!!! Which means there will be 3 people to a car.

Well, their logic is that it will be more fun to travel together and because the trip will take 7 hours roughly, it wouldn't be so taxing on the driver. I honestly find that stupid mainly because I am biased and also because we would be incurring unnecessary cost for this trip. Renting an MPV would set us back easily by $450 for the 3 days 2 nights trip and we will be driving the MPV for only the trip there and back. Damn!! I could have extended my stay at Pangkor by 2 more nights with that money!!!

I mean I have driven up the East Coast for roughly 7 hours without having to change drivers with only 2 stops along the way. To make it worse, there was no expressway along that stretch, it was all kampungs and small towns along the way. Had to be extra careful not to knock down and monkeys, chickens or cats along the way. Well, the aunt's daughter was worried that her mom couldn't take it. Well, so was I when I took that trip but sometimes we have got to throw caution to the wind and enjoy the ride. Else life will just get too boring.

Yeah, well, I am pissed at not being able to drive my own car as the majority has spoken. I mean one of the reasons I bought a car was so that the wife and me could enjoy long driving holidays to KL or some place in Malaysia. Looks like that thought will be on a backburner for now. I just dread the thought of splurging $200 (after splitting with the aunt) on renting a car we would use for less than a day on a 3 day 2 nights trip when I could think of better things to do with that money, like a new sound system for my car!!!

Never in my life have I been so unenthusiastic about a holiday as I am now.

Man's fixation with discrediting the truth.

Got a surprise in my mailbox today. Someone actually took the time to read my blog and leave a comment. Whoever that person was, thanks for taking the time reading my blog. Well, I published the lies, I mean comments that person put up for some curious minds to read through. Reading it halfway, I'd have to say, I admire the brilliant mind who concocted the story in the first place.

I finally watched the Da Vinci Code yesterday. I must say, contrary to what most people opined, I enjoyed the film. Not because of the lies or inconsistencies Muslims see in the movie, but more for the mystery it enshrouds. Yeah, the detractors are gonna say that the film does no justice to the great literary work by Dan Brown, who am I to argue? I have yet to read and have no intention to read the book. Just don't want to spoil the movie by reading the book.

Well, back to the comment. The anonymous person actually left a rather long comment, allegedly of the lost verses in the Quran. All these lost verses alleged that Muhammad PBUH was a drunk, coward, thief, paedophile, liar, tyrant, despot and calls himself a god. I have to give credit where it's due. This commentor is smart, that he/she does not leave his/her name. Yeah, I could trace him down, but what for? Engage in a religious debate with someone who sees nothing but lies?

Well, the author, not necessarily the commentor, has a good imagination and a glib tongue to have come up with such tales. This attempt at creating verses which was supposedly lost was poor, at best. The language used in the Quran is unworldly while the language in the "lost verses" were something a secondary school student could conjure up. I could go on and scrutinise it line by line, but the fact is, it is nothing but a cheap lie.

Have you ever wondered why Muslims vehemently deny categorically any allegations the Islam is a lie? It is for the simple reason that Muslims believe Islam to be the true religion of Allah and no lies shall desecrate it. This is the reason why any images of Muhammad is explicitly forbidden. When the cartoons of Muhammad PBUH were published, Muslims all over the world denounced the cartoons because it is considered sacrilegious.

Why is it that when the Da Vinci Code is published, with allegations which rocked the very foundations of Christianity, which questions the divinity of Jesus Christ, which puts into doubt the resurrection of Jesus, not all Christians are unequivocal in denouncing the book and the movie? Yes, there are calls from the Catholic Church to boycott the book and the movie but somehow, the conviction in those calls seems to be missing.

It is an innate reaction in Man to defend what he beliefs to be true. Think of it this way, if someone told you that your father was a drunk, and your mom was a prostitute and you were born in a backstreet and left at the doorstep of a nice house for adoption, would you have believed it, knowing it is all lies? You'd definitely defend the truth vehemently and deny categorically your dad is a drunk and your mum is a tramp. Unless, of course you yourself know it to be true and evidence is shown to support the claims.

Same goes to the anonymous commentor. You lack the conviction to sway me from my beliefs. You put in the alleged lost verses without telling me your sources. No mention of any references, worst of all, no names. Something to hide?

Views of an armchair politician

Yeay, I'm past my half-century landmark. It is an achievement for me, seeing how I always seem to give up at importune moments. Nevertheless, I'm encouraged by some if the comments posted and some of the quips made to me personally by some friends about my musings. I am quite surprised to see some of the comments, pleasantly surprised, I might add.

Been a while since I covered some news. In fact, a lot has happened around me but I just chose to ignore them for the time being. Let's see, Indonesia suffered another quake which left more than 6000 dead, thousands more injured and roughly 200,000 homeless. Timor Leste is going through a national crisis. The nascent state having had to appeal for foreign troops to quell what now amounts to a civil war. All because the government sacked half the army. The PAP won the Elections, though not with as strong a mandate as they would like, though they would not publicly acknowledge it. James Gomez got a slap on the wrist for his antics. Iran still in defiance over US demands to scale down nuclear enrichment.

Phew! That a long list right there. Let's break it down shall we?

Still licking her wounds from the Boxing Day tsunami where the reconstructions efforts are still on-going, another earthquake struck Indonesia. Only this time there is no tsunami and it struck Java instead of Sumatra. Fact is, Mount Merapi has been spewing hot ash and threatening the villagers with an eruption soon. Geologists in the area were just waiting for the eruption which never happened to happen. As such many people in Yogyakarta and it's surrounding areas were unprepared for the devastation that was to follow.

I have been to Yogyakarta back in 2002. It was so beautiful. Took a halfday drive from Jakarta to Yogya, as it's affectionately known. Such beautiful countryside and such a laidback and historically rich place. Visited Borobudur and the palace or in Yogyakarta who are now the provincial governors of the special region. The royal family has been in power even before the Dutch set foot on the island. So sad to have such destruction wreck such a beautiful city.

Well, the nascent state of Timor Leste, fresh from it's tumultuous struggle for independence woke one find day to find almost half it's army deserting and promptly sack them. This plunged the world's newest nation into a state of total chaos and anarchy. Gangs of youth now rule the streets with their own brand of law enforcement. Enter Aussie troops acting a peacekeepers. While the violence has subsided somewhat, the question that needs to be asked is how was it that this was allowed to happen? To think that Timor's Foreign Minister is a candidate for the UN Secretary General post to replace Kofi Annan when his term expires. Makes me wonder how you expect to be able to keep a lid of rogue nations when you can't keep a lid of street gangs ruining your own neighbourhood.

I'm not even going to talk about the past Elections, because there is nothing worth talking about, It's still the same old song and dance and, besides, I wouldn't want to risk having my wrists slapped for speaking my mind. Let's talk about Big Brother, Uncle Sam. Still struggling to control Iraq after 3 years, they have now focused their attentions of Iran and North Korean nuclear programs, accusing them of enriching uranium for nuclear weapons. Well, North Korea are fairly confident that the US will not be launching any invasion in the near future as the are already bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iran, being so close, can't be too confident yet.

In any case, I reiterate my belief that the US has outstayed its welcome and usefulness in the region. In spite of all this, Bush has been saying, with his poker face, about how Iraq has been a success and how Afghanistan is on the way to be a free country again, I doubt having a virtual puppet state in the region qualifies as a free nation. Back home, they argue that no one has the right to force his ideologies on others, yet they are doing it to the Afghans and Iraqis. If that's not double-standards, I don't know what is.

For now this armchair politician will take a break. Saying too much too soon makes me thirsty.

My pet peeve - while driving

Went out with the wife to JB yesterday night for some seafood. Brought the MIL along because the wife wanted to. How could I say no? Everything was fine apart from the terribly long jam we found ourselves in approaching the Causeway. Once past that we went for our seafood binge and went to the BIL's place, deep in the suburbs of JB, a condo no less. Reached Singapore at about 12 midnight, eyes half-open, mind thinking only about my pillows and my bed.

Then, everybody's favourite public transport had to rear it's ugly head. Yeap, I'm talking about the taxi-driver. My very own personal favourite. Not because they are efficient or because they seem to disappear at 15 mins to midnight only to reappear in droves after midnight, or for the pleasant conversations they could come up with when all you wanted was some peace and quiet but more so for the fantastic and I-own-the road attitude some taxi drivers seem to exude.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate all taxi drivers, only some, but that minority can drive me up a wall in a flash. I mean my dad's a taxi driver himself, but he is one patient man. At times, when we drove together and I lost my cool at other inconsiderate road users, he was telling me to calm down. Admittedly, I am an aggressive driver. I don't have any qualms about tailgating or blocking off another driver if I think he is taking advantage of the fact that I drive a small car which can be easily bullied. Try bullying this bully.

Oh! Back to the drive back home from JB. After sending my MIL home, we went home, my mind was focussed on my pillows by now. On the wasy back, after making a right turn at the traffic light on a cross junction, a taxi on my left swerved into my lane and tried to squezze me out all because his lane was blocked by another taxi alighting passengers. I honked hard at him twice and he still squeezed me out. That pissed me off. Not only had he squeezed me off, he didn't have the brains to wave sorry or something like that.

So, me being the kind, considerate one, decided to take matters into my own hand, knowing this is nothing more than a monkey on my back. I proceeded to let him pass me and positioned my car directly behind him. Then, I switched on my high beam and stayed on his tail for a good3 km before he turned left at a junction when I went straight. Best part was he saw what I was doing and tried to move away from being in front of me by swerving left at a bend.

Well, this is not some novice he was dealing with. On hindsight, it was an immature stunt but if honking twice with my loud-ass horns, Stebel Magnums no less, just about the loudest aftermarket and legal horn around, high-beaming him at close distance ought to get his attention. I just hate it when other drivers act irresponsibly behind the wheel, endangering other road users. I mean, if I were being honked at that would mean I am endangering someone else, and would apologise immediately if I was wrong. So, the least I would expect is the other driver to acknowledge they were wrong.

Word of advice - be patient, take deep breaths when angry and don't do what I do. I just don't have the patience.