Categories
Photography

[816] Of Kuala Lumpur’s everchanging face

It’s really fun being able to be inside one of the tallest buildings in the world and watch the world outside. These are photos that I snapped from the 33rd floor of Tower 2, Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia . It looks northeast – or east – and there aren’t too many buildings in this direction. Downtown and the business district is visible on the other side of the tower.

Moving on to the actual pictures, this is a typical hot and dusty day. A sign of air pollution:

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

This is when you know it’s a bad day:

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

This is when you know you won’t be coming home soon (it’s rain, not haze):

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

This is how it is like after a really heavy rain, with the sun breaking through:

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

…with two rainbows!

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

Alrighty. It’s Sweden versus Germany. Go Zlatan!

Categories
Photography This blog

[803] Of Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur

Voila!

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

This is my best shot of the twin towers yet. I had wanted to edit the photo to repair the tilt. Then, I thought, nah, I like it as it is.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

p/s – I haven’t been updating my gallery for a very long time. For more than two years I think and now, I’m thinking of bringing it back. In the meantime, I’ll be double posting all of my pictures posted here at two places – here and at Flickr. Actually I’ve been doing this since March 2006. So, it really isn’t a new initiative on my part. Anyway, that gallery that I’m talking about is here and there’s a link to my Flickr account there. Go. Go. =)

Categories
Photography

[801] Of steady, steady…

Yeah, no more runny nose! Still stuffy though but more importantly, I feel better! But right now, I’m just too tired to blog. So, another photo. This was taken at a chess tournament that I participated earlier in Kuala Lumpur.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

I love chess. Especially when I’m winning.

Categories
History & heritage Humor Photography

[800] Of to our glorious dead II

I wanted to blog something on economics and the environment but I unwarily caught myself some gems from my friends. Right now, I’m feeling terrible with a bad case of sore throat, a minor flu and an on and off headache. But I still want to blog. So, I cut down on the thinking part and post a picture instead.

Last April, I was at the Malaysian national monument complex. In Kuala Lumpur of course . Well, this is another picture from that complex. This time, it’s the actual picture of the main monument.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

At time of completion in February 1966, it was the largest bronze statue in the world. I’m uncertain which monument is the largest bronze statue in the world currently but one thing is certain though – Malaysians’ obsession with superlative is not of recent invention.The communist rebels really hated the Malaysians’ obsession that they bombed the monument in 1975. Nah. I’m kidding about the cause but the bombing did occur.

I like the silhouette against the blue sky. The burnt section however is not so admirable.

Finally, 20 squared times 2 is 800. God, I hate blowing my nose.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

p/s – Vegetarianism are conquering the world! Starting with India:

BOMBAY, India – Never mind pets, smokers or loud music at 2 a.m. House hunters in Bombay increasingly are being asked: “Do you eat meat?” If yes, the deal is off.

As this city of 16 million becomes the cosmopolitan main nerve of a booming Indian economy, real estate is increasingly intersecting with cuisine. More middle-class Indians are moving in, more of them are vegetarian, and the law is on their side.

“Some people are very strict. They won’t sell to a nonvegetarian even if he offers a higher price than a vegetarian,” said real estate broker Norbert Pinto.

Damn. Vegs are capable of discrimination! The shock! The horror!

I’ve had always thought vegetarians are the nicest people around. Well, that’s another one of my stereotypes smashed to pieces. Come to think of it, I wonder how I had developed a thinking that accepts vegetarians-are-the-nicest-people. It probably due to one of my political biases.

Categories
Environment Photography Travels

[799] Of Sultan Abdul Jalil Bridge, Kuala Kangsar

While at Kuala Kangsar , I and a few friends spent two nights at a resthouse by the Perak River. Roughly 200 meters away from our balcony was Sultan Abdul Jalil Bridge.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

The concrete bridge is different from those modern bridges of stainless steels and wires that are so prevalent nowadays. It’s a breath of fresh air.Kuala Kangsar has another bridge farther upstream. The name is Sultan Iskandar Bridge and it’s made out of steel. If I got my fact right, the concrete bridge was built because the locals complained that the steel bridge was too far away from the town.

Across the river is a village called Sayong. Before the newer bridge was constructed, those that planned to travel by land from Kuala Kangsar to Sayong, or Sayong to the town or to and fro had to suffer one huge U-turn with kilometer as the proper unit of measurement. Walking was simply not a good idea. Therefore as late as year 2000, boats still played an important mean of transportation between Kuala Kangsar and Sayong.

With the concrete bridge, I observed that the river’s role as a mean of transportation has diminished. Not completely though.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

p/s – last year, I said I expect Malaysia to see another bout of haze in 2006. Well, Indonesia promises that we won’t:

Indonesia promises this year will be less hazy

Sat May 27, 11:36 PM ET

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Indonesia has said the choking haze that annually blankets parts of Southeast Asia will be reduced this year as it cracks down on oil palm plantations that clear land by burning.

Indonesia’s Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said authorities would enforce a 2004 law that imposes stiff penalties on plantations that burn land, a practice largely blamed for contributing to the haze.

I’m skeptical. Especially that enforcement part. But if Indonesia needs Malaysia’s help, by all means, please ask. I don’t want another “no thank you but we can handle this by ourselves” again.