We cannot change...

[Photo by MKL taken in Kukup, Malaysia, 2008]

Comparing two climates

Sometimes I really consider myself lucky. I saw some pictures coming from Slovenia around this time, showing the huge amounts of snow. Well, at the same time I was looking at that photos, I was in slippers and shorts, sipping beer in the tropical heat of over 30 degrees. What a difference, don't you think?

[My MALAYSIA page][Photos by MKL, 2008]

Village comparison: Slovenia and Malaysia

The countryside is same everywhere!

[Photos by MKL (2003-2008]

Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Singapore's little bad brother

I've been to Johor Bahru today (in Chinese New Mountain or 新山), or JB as the Malaysians like to say. One would never expect how big JB is. It's the second biggest Malaysian city, with it's suburbs, stretched around the border with Singapore, the JB metro area has a population of 1.8 million. Compare that with 4.5 million inhabitants of Singapore, and you'll see JB, his small brother, is getting fatter and fatter. Sure, you can't compare these two cities in some other aspects, such as prosperity, safety and importance in the world. While Singapore is known for being a very safe and clean world-known economic hub, full of interesting things to see, JB is just crowded, not very well-known, has not plenty sights to offer. In addition to that, it has one of the highest crime rates in Malaysia (so I've been told by my Malaysian friends). Ok, I felt pretty safe, although I heard so many scary stories how people got mugged or even stabbed. So be cautious when you're heading there. Some parts look quite nice, remind me of Singapore, especially the architecture of some high-rise buildings and the way they pave the streets. Many say JB is very good for shopping. So enjoy it, while being cautious. Despite what I said, JB is worth to visit. At least once.

See my photos of Johor Bahru:

This is a suburb of JB. The suburbs are huge and long.

Inside JB the traffic is congested.

Looks a bit like Singapore.

One of the main roads is paved.

Malaysian styled high-rise building, a mix of Muslim elements with post-modern touches.

One of the taller buildings in JB. I don't know the name.

Another high-rise nearby.

This is a shopping mall, where my da jie and I went to have a drink.

High-rise buildings again.

A closeup.

A church, probably a remain of the British colonialization.

[My MALAYSIA page][Info: Source][All photos by MKL, 2007]

Kluang, Malaysia

A small town in Johor

I've been to Kluang (Chinese 居銮) today, a small town in Malaysia. It really seemed small, but comparing to Slovenian towns, it would be considered a big town. It has 140.000 inhabitants, seems as if it had more than my native town of Maribor (110.000). But you walk around the place, it's really smaller than Maribor. So it made me think, how come it's so small in size, yet it has more inhabitants. The answer is simple: While in Slovenia we have a big house, yet only 2 or 3 people live in it, in Malaysia, houses are small and full of people, families can easily exceed 10 members (usually mum, dad, 3-5 children, grandma, maybe even some grand children). Then it's no wonder you don't see huge blocks, because there's no demand from the people. Sure, Kluang is less developed than Maribor and even less important. In fact, who ever heard of 'Kluang'? Only people in Malaysia and Singapore maybe. And some travellers who happened to travel around there.

Kluang is just a typical Malaysian small town: Crowded, dirty, but partly clean and neat, full of cars, hot, many shops, many shopping malls and with very friendly people. But you won't find anything special there, so if you go to Kluang, don't expect too much.

My photos of Kluang:

Taken in early morning from a top of a shopping mall garage.

Another view.

This is a new central shopping area.

Very colorful.

The lanes are wide here.

Typical Malaysian small town.

Hotel Anika.

The road out of town.

The old Kluang.

Interesting old house.

A backstreet, seen many of these in Malaysia.

A public park, not in the best condition.

Another road.

Another hotel.

Tropical rain in Kluang. It started pouring in the evening.

[My MALAYSIA page][All photos by MKL, 2008]

Malaysia - the land of sun

Finally! I returned to the place, where the sun plays the main role in every day life - Malaysia. It's like a kingdom Far Far Away, where the people are much different from the ones I left behind. These days I am walking around in slippers and short pants, while the ones I left behind, have to remove enormous amounts of snow, have to fight the freezing cold and merciless winter.

And I think to myself. Is that fair? While I'm enjoying a summer-like adventure, the people I left behind suffer the fickle winter? I feel bad for them, but I guess wheather I'm there or not, they still have to face the winter. They are used to it. They have a warm and cosy home where they can survive the agressive winter. I just wish them all the best. Sometimes I fight my own battle in The Land of Sun: It's not only paradise. The Sun burned my back, my skin is peeling of and the mosquitos are very dangerous as well. We all hope that in few months the world finds it's way back to normality.

[My MALAYSIA page][Photo by MKL, 2008]

Autumn 2008

It's getting colder here... Darker and wetter. Winter is at our doorstep. Yet... I won't see it :-) I will be leaving soon to some warmer place 10.000km away - to Malaysia. I'm excited. And yet, so not ready for the crazy heat and humidity. I will go from one extreme into another. Wow. Will post some photo soon to compare these extreme oppoistes. Good luck to me! ;-)

[Photo by MKL, 2008]

The world looks so much better now

Wow... was quite a ride... what to say... a huge relief after Barack Obama won. Seems like history was written and the whole world was excited about America. We haven't seen that for quite a long time. It really makes me happy. I was so long interested in this process. It was amazing to see all the highs and lows. But most of all, it was a great story. I'm sure one day somebody will shoot a movie on Barack Obama's incredible victory. I wish him best of luck and may he help the world to become a better place.

Victory for Barack Obama!

Finally!!! It happened beyond our wildest dreams! Barack Obama won the elections on 2008 and he will be the next president of the USA. I am so proud of the US people and I really don't know, if it's more of a Obama victory or a more of a victory of the American people.
I was awake all night, I watched CNN and some other programmes... It was just incredible, when we saw how he took Pennsylvania, Ohio... I almost thought this is it! But I was still sceptical... When i saw his lead in Florida, I was confident! He exceeded all expectations - it was a landslide victory. And his speach was breath taking. A moment we will always remember. America is truly a land of opportunity and equality, you just need to work hard, be honest and have ideas. He beat the establishment of his own party and the best candidate of his rival's party. I can't fully grasp what this win means. It has to sink in...
I also need to praise McCain for his marvellous concession speech. He showed his real face, that's the McCain we missed in these months. You can clearly see how relieved he was, how gracious and humble. I hope he will have a long life. He's a great American. Unfortunately, his campaign sucked, had too many lows, too little highs.

I'm also happy that there's no more Sarah Palin. She was really a disgrace for this year of change. This was McCain's biggest mistakes. People were more scared of Palin than Obama.
And now, I hope America can head into a new direction of working together with the rest of the world, solving global problems together, ending wars and restoring confidence in the West.

Good luck!

[Photo: Source]

My friend calls me fish

Why my friend Cherry said this?

我是一隻魚
喜歡游來游去
下個月我要游去馬來西亞
去當沙嗲魚.


She is so naughty, she's always teasing me. But I like it :)

November is here!

Wow... Time passes so fast this year. It's november already. Outside it's really getting colder. We had some nice sunny days in october. Sometimes I woke up and my eyes were so hurt by the strong sunlight. I even wore sunglasses at home. The cats are eating more and more, they want to stay inside to be kept in a warm and cosy place. This especially applies to Milan. He's limping on 1 leg. Krempača and Miša Piša are just going in and out, they're still active. We even had Gačnik yesterday coming down the hill, visiting 'his' original family. It's now 8 months since he left our house and moved to some other place. But lately he comes back a lot. But just for few hours.
Well, my mood is somewhat similar to the behavior of the cats. Sometimes I feel tired, so I'm resting like Milan. Then again, I feel like wanna be active, so I hop around like Miša Piša. And eventually I'm like Gačnik, moving out, leaving for a while and I guess there will be a time when I will be going back to my house and this special place I live in. But it's time to discover the world, once again. I want to face new challenges, accept the changes and hopefully learn a lot on my path of personal evolution. Striving for a better self and for a more peacefull existence. I look forward to november, I will report on the changes that will occur soon.