Bali On My Mind

I have been away from my blog too long, and many things, mostly good, have happened since my last post. Upon my return from Bali, my employers have asked me to continue at my current firm, and I have agreed to stay on for another month or two, but will not be renewing my contract. I have also accepted a freelance position at the SPCA to assist with campaigns and government lobbying work. I have a job interview with a highly-esteemed organisation on Monday, 22nd Sept 2008, and am hoping for a positive outcome.

Tuesday, 26th August 2008: Asia for Animals Conference

So there I was at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal on 26th August 2008, waiting for my flight to Bali for the Asia For Animals Conference 2008 -- no job; no money; no worries. I had received a call from my direct supervisor upon my arrival at the airport asking me to retract my resignation letter and return to work, but I had not promised her anything.

I later encountered Siti Bahijah, one of our SPCA Committee Members, together with a vet and her assistant from Ipoh, at the departure gate, so it looked like I won't be flying solo after all.

We arrived at the Ngurah Rai International Airport on schedule and were duly chauffered to the Sanur Beach Hotel, where we would be staying for the next 3 days.



The SPCA delegation to the Asia for Animals Conference 2008
From left to right: Me, Jacinta, Sharon, Glyn, Nicole and Cunera.

(My report on the AfA Conference will be in a separate blog entry. To visit my album of photos taken during the Asia for Animals Conference and Bali Zoo Check, please go
HERE).

The Conference ended on a high note on Friday evening, 29th August, with the reading of the Resolutions. There was to be another vegan dinner with a live rock and roll band at 1930 hours, but I could not stay as my parents would be arriving at the airport very soon. I shook hands with everyone and said my Thank Yous and Goodbyes, called for a cab from the Hotel concierge counter, and was soon on my way, luggage in tow, to the airport again to welcome my parents to my beautiful Bali.

My parents were in luck, as they arrived on the eve of Hari Raya Kuningan and would be able to witness all the festivities. I met them at the International Arrivals gate and we then met with our driver cum local guide, Warta. We chatted all the way to dinner and I pointed out the roadside shrines, spirit guardians, 'canang' and 'penjor' to my parents and explained the significance of each.

We had an enjoyable dinner on the beach at Jimbaran and had a little walk after dinner to watch the fire-dancers and buskers perform. It had been a tiring day for my parents, so we proceeded to our hotel, Dewi Sri Cottage, in Legian to check in.

The hotel was picturesque from the outside and looked positively charming with its garden furniture and fish ponds. However, the rooms were a little run-down and not clean enough by my exacting standards, but it didn't really matter, because we were on holiday and would not be spending much time indoors in our room.

Dad was feeling peckish and so I consented to walk down the street with him past the Kuta Bombing Memorial to the Circle-K convenience store for snacks and milk. We stopped by a small shrine to Lord Ganesha on our way back to the Hotel and gave thanks for a safe journey.

We were up early on Saturday, 30th August, in anticipation of an exciting day of witnessing the Kuningan festivities. The Hotel was operating with only half its staff as the others have returned to their villages to celebrate the festival with their families.

From our breakfast table under the trees, we could see that the black-and-white sarongs wrapped around stone carvings of deities and guardian spirits had been replaced with gold ones for Kuningan. 'Kuning' means yellow in Malay and Bahasa Indonesia, and Kuningan celebrates the triumph of good over evil and the cleansing of the spirit, hence the replacement of sarongs for everyday use with special festive ones. The air was fragrant with the scent of incense, and special 'canangs', or offerings, bearing more fruit and blossoms than the regular ones were placed at each doorstep, altar and shrine. Hibiscus blooms were placed behind the ears of stone carvings, and fresh marigold garlands rested on the necks of many of the statues. Women and children in their holiday best walked on their way to the temples with baskets and decorated boxes of 'canang' on their heads or in their arms. This is the Bali that I love, and I am happy to have the opportunity to let my parents experience it as well.

There was a bit of ruckus in our room after I discovered a sun skink under my blanket, but after we had driven him out to under the bougainvillea plants, we had a laugh over our scare. Warta arrived to pick us up after having first gone to the temple for prayers with his family, and I was fascinated to see the mandala-like decorations made from coconut leaves hanging from the van windshield. I admire the Balinese for their creativity and the fact that they make worship such an important part of their daily lives, and Kuningan is an excellent testimony of the same.

We were to visit two of Bali's most important Sea Temples on Saturday: Ulu Watu and Tanah Lot. We had a decadent lunch at a Solonese restaurant before continuing on our way to Ulu Watu. We had to put on sashes and sarongs before being allowed to enter the sacred site, and were advised to put away our sunglasses, cameras and other belongings to prevent monkey attacks. We hiked along the stone-paved coastal trail to reach the temple, and were rewarded with the sight of families in their Kuningan finery entering the temple for worship with their amazing baskets of offerings. We did not have any problems with the long-tailed macaques and returned to the van safely.



The Tanah Lot Sea Temple Complex, all decked out in umbul-umbul flags and other festive paraphernalia!

Our next destination was Tanah Lot. I did not have the opportunity to enter the Tanah Lot temple last year as we had arrived during high tide and we could not get across to the temple, and I was determined to visit it again this year. Umbul-umbul flags, ceremonial umbrellas and 'penjor' gave the sacred site a carnival atmosphere, and I led my parents on a walk to see the locals having picnics at the park and having their photographs taken with snakes.

In a cave, priests were inviting worshippers to visit and stroke the 'holy snakes'. Dad thought that there would be many snakes of various types. Mum thought that there would be just one snake, but it would be enormous. I thought that there would be a nest of writhing yellow-lipped sea kraits. We entered the cave and were a little disappointed to find just one tiny yellow-lipped sea krait in a sandy pit.

At another cave, priests blessed devotees and visitors with holy water that trickled out of a spring in the cave under the sea temple. The water was fresh, not salty despite being in the middle of the sea, and we could see why the locals believed it had healing properties. The priests sprinkled the water on our heads, pressed rice grains onto our foreheads (as bindhi) and put jasmine flowers behind our right ears.



A procession to the Tanah Lot Sea Temple on Kuningan Day.


We spent some time at Tanah Lot, witnessed two absolutely splendid processions and had a look around the surrounding villages before returning to our hotel. After a shower and a rest, I invited my parents to explore Kuta on foot. And what a brilliant idea it was! As it was Kuningan Day, we had the great fortune of seeing 'barongs' and processions in the street. The 'barong', which signifies the triumph of good over evil, went to the doorway of each shop and home to bless the occupants. In return, the 'barong' troupe received a little money from the shop or homeowners.

While taking the back alley to the Matahari Department Store, we saw a temple ceremony going on. The worshippers were all dressed in white and gold, and 'gamelan' musicians played absolutely mesmerising music as the locals offered their prayers.

The air was fragrant with the scent of jasmine incense as we finally arrived at the Matahari Department Store to shop for souvenirs. Outside the shops, there were horse carriages and the horses’ handlers waiting for passengers. The horses looked healthy and well-cared for, and I didn't object when Mum asked if we could ride in a carriage back to the hotel. I paid the horseman and off we went, cantering through the streets of Kuta, past the beach and its nighttime revellers and back to our little hotel.

Sunday, 31st August 2008 - Temple and Volcano Visits

Sunday began with breakfast followed by a long drive up north to Mount Batur. As we were driving through Ubud, the village of artists, I requested our driver to stop and let us walk around as my parents were enchanted by the place. We visited the Ubud Palace and walked around the quaint, beautiful homes and shops for an hour until it started to drizzle.



Visiting the Pura Tirta Empul, or Holy Water Spring Temple, in Tampak Siring.

Our next stop was Pura Tirta Empul, or the Holy Water Spring Temple. We were told that the temple was constructed in the 10th century, and the freshwater springs have never run dry. The temple complex was divided into 3 levels, signifying the 3 microcosms, and to enter each level we had to walk through the typical Balinese split gate, signifying a split mountain or volcano. The ancient temple complex was tranquil, clean and surrounded by lush greenery, and we were grateful to have the opportunity to visit it.

We resumed our long drive to Kintamani -- past fruit orchards, temples, colourful processions of women bearing trays of fruits and offerings on their heads, rice fields and more 'barong' troupes visiting homes in the village.

We arrived at Kintamani at lunchtime and proceeded to the viewing deck of the restaurant which is situated on the outer rim of the outer caldera of the volcano. Mount Batur is a 'female' volcano, while Mount Agung is a 'male' volcano. Understandably, Mount Batur is the more volatile of the two.

We had a lovely buffet lunch while looking out at the fertile farms thriving on the basaltic lava and the scenic Batur Crater Lake. I am happy that Mum and Dad are adventurous about food and liked everything they tried. Soon, it was time to return to the van, and we took intermittent naps through the long drive back to the hotel.



Dad, Mum and I admiring the terraced rice fields.

We explored Kuta town again in the evening, and ventured into a local food court for dinner. Did a little more shopping and sightseeing after dinner before retiring to our hotel.

Our Bali sojourn came to an end on Monday morning as we had to leave on the earliest AirAsia flight to Kuala Lumpur. Although we did not experience any true "Ring of Fire" moments, my parents and I spent quality time together visiting my favourite travel destination, Bali Island.

To visit the rest of my Bali photos, please go HERE

Wednesday, 3rd September 2008: Vinayar Chathurti

My managers called me back to the office for a negotiation today. I agreed to continue with the firm but declined to renew my contract. This offers me the freedom to leave for a better job upon giving sufficient notice.

Today is also Vinayagar Chathurti, Lord Ganesha's birthday in the Hindu calendar. I went to the Maha Mariamman temple in town with Priya to offer prayers. I prayed for peace for our country in crisis, and for mankind to demonstrate better environmental stewardship.

Priya and I finished off the evening with some vegetarian fried rice and cold beer. The beer was necessary because I get despondent each time I think about the political and economic mess my country is in. Oh well. Bottoms up.

Saturday, 6th September 2008: Forest Safety & Confidence Knife & Parang Workshop

It has been approximately one year since our Bushcraft Beginners Course, and our facilitator from the MNS Nature Guides, Ashleigh, felt it timely to hold a refresher course and workshop on knife and parang safety at the Kota Damansara Community Forest. Thus began one of the best Saturdays I have ever had.

The workshop participants met up at the forest shelter and were briefed on safety procedures before we entered the forested area. We were asked to buddy up (I paired off with Vegan Eugene) before starting the trek and presently arrived at a little clearing where we could stand in a circle to listen to Ashleigh's instructions. We learned the correct way to carry, unsheath and use our knives, kukris, parangs and machetes, and then practiced clearing a trail with our equipment.

Bushcraft John showed me the correct way of clearing overhead vines and soon I had cleared a good portion of the trail, after having apologised to the plants beforehand. Ashley taught us how to select and chop down a tree (we chose the Acacia Mangium as it is a fast-growing introduced specie). It started raining quite heavily as we were practicing chopping down the Acacias, and in those foggy and slippery conditions, we were asked to halt, put away our knives and proceed to the shelter. We carried the felled trees with us to do small knife work with.

At the shelter, we stripped and peeled the bark and cut the logs into pieces approximately 3 feet long. We stripped some of the inner bark to make cordage with. I was pleased that I still remembered how to make cordage from plant fibres and bark, and soon made a few lengths of strong cord.

We had a one-hour break for lunch and I was particularly glad to have a hot drink after our rainy and cold afternoon.

Ashleigh showed us the various techniques of cutting, carving, shaping, drilling through and batonning the wood using no other tools but our small knives. My 6-inch Mora knife was heaven-sent, and I was soon merrily practicing how to make tent pegs, bowls, notches and hooks with my pieces of wood.

The workshop was not merely to show us how to use knives safely for arbitrary purposes, but to teach us how to make effective tools and build or improvise shelters in survival situations. We made butterfly notches to secure pieces of wood together before binding them with bark cordage.

Later, we went to another clearing and learned to cut down another Acacia tree using our 6-inch knives. We laboured over our pieces of wood until 1630 hours, polishing and grinding our 'try sticks' to show the different techniques used to make different survival tools and implements.

Rushed back to the Bachelor Officers' Quarters at 1700h to shower and clean up, and then off to 'Just Thai' in One Utama for Dad's belated birthday dinner. It's been a great weekend so far.

Friday, 13th September 2008: Blood Donation Silver Jubilee (I think)

It's either my 25th or 26th blood donation at the National Blood Bank today. I don't think I kept an accurate count (not without checking my Donor Records), but I didn't get a pin or mini-medal this time, so I could be wrong. My haemoglobin count was 13, which is pretty low for my standards. The Blood Bank was practically deserted as it was a Friday afternoon during the fasting month. They managed to extract 350ml of blood from me in 2 mins and 40 seconds (a new record!) and then I was given food, beverages and iron supplements. I got back to the office before lunch hour was up. If there were an Olympic event for speed blood donation, I might just qualify.

Saturday, 14th September 2008: Mid Autumn Festival

It's been a crazy week, what with the preventive detention of a blogger, a journalist and a Member of Parliament this week under the draconian Internal Security Act and all. The ruling coalition government is only too aware of the growing grassroots support for the opposition coalition and their calls for justice, transparency, integrity and meritocracy, and had lashed out by incarcerating opposition leaders and supporters. But we shall not be suppressed! We will work together and not turn our backs on our country. We will fight to eliminate corruption and reform the judiciary and law enforcement systems. And we will ensure the 3 detainees are released unconditionally.

Today is also Mid-Autumn Festival in the Chinese calendar, and my family took a breather from the insanity that is Malaysian politics to celebrate the Festival. After dinner and washing up, we put up a little table in the garden and set out tea and cakes so we could admire the full moon, as we are expected to do this time of the year. The Twin, the Twin's Girl and I put up paper lanterns all around the house, and lit a special one in remembrance of Murphy.

I tidied up after our little party around midnight, checked the Net for news on the 3 detainees, and retired to my room to work on my review of the Environmental Quality Act.


Sunday, 15th September 2008: SPCA Sunday

Arrived at the SPCA shortly before noon and handed out gifts from Bali, like the big Santa that I am, to the staff and vets.

Rose and I got to work immediately and I proceeded to mix up a batch of diluted tickwash and bathe all the dogs in the Sick Bay and Kennel E. Rose then left to supervise some college students while I continued shampooing and tick-washing all the dogs on my own. We were finally done by 1645 hrs and I helped Rose get the 5 kittens that she was to foster into a carrier and into her car.

It had begun to rain by then and I was rather concerned that our Sick Bay would get flooded again in the night if the rain doesn’t reduce in volume. I swept out and mopped the shelter office and then scrubbed and disinfected the puppy cages, maternity kennels, cattery, central area, front reception/admin areas and all the sinks, tubs and gutters. The rain helped to flush the soap away.

While I was putting the pails and mops away, I saw our general worker, Muniandy, bend double over the sink and vomit copiously. I patted him on the back and asked if he wanted to go to the clinic. He was reluctant in the beginning, but I told him that I would pay for the medical fees and claim for it from the shelter officers later, and so he agreed. Marianne was still unable to leave the shelter due to the rain and I offered her a ride home as well. I showered, got my passengers into the Battletank, and drove to the clinic near Ampang Point. Sashi turned up on Muniandy's motorcycle to bring Muniandy home after treatment, and as the rain had let up by then, I agreed. Drove Marianne back to her home, went back to the Bachelor Officers' Quarters, fed and cleaned up after the cats, cleaned the Quarters up and read Kishore Mabubhani's "Can Asians Think?" until 0200h.

I've got a pool party and several other events to attend next week, so I'm rather looking forward to it.

Wish me luck with the job interview, my friends!

The Day The Music Died

"I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride,
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died."

-Don McLean, "American Pie"

The past week has been another rough one for us here at the Bachelor Officers' Quarters. One of Jake's best friends collapsed and died of a heart attack on Monday (18th August). K.'s demise came as a shock to everyone and has affected Jake very badly. What made it even more difficult to come to terms with K.'s death is that he had just gotten married last month. Jake had attended his wedding in Ipoh, and Jess and I had viewed the happy photos of the handsome groom and his posse posing in their turbans outside the Sikh temple. K. passed away a day shy of the one-month anniversary of his wedding. I am filled with sorrow at the thought of his grieving bride. As they say, only the good die young. I can offer Jake little comfort at a time like this, and hope that time heals his wounds.

Career-wise, I can tell my time with this firm is up. I've come up against a brick wall. It's time for me to move on to an organisation where I can concentrate on making the most of my strengths and producing results.

I have to leave for the Asia for Animals Conference in Bali today, but my application for paid annual leave had not been approved, probably on grounds that the department is severely shorthanded and because the Partner in my department will be taking leave at the same time. I had submitted my application for paid annual leave 3 weeks in advance and had worked late every night to make sure deadlines were met. Sure sounds like a lot of effort just to have 4 days off, but I was still denied my paid leave. Under Industrial Relations law, if I were to go on leave for 2 consecutive days without the required approval, my employment can be terminated without notice and I would not have any claim to backpay, wages and other forms of compensation. The only thing I could do was to tender a seven-day notice of resignation, and then exercise my right to use a few days of my remaining paid annual leave during the notice period.

I tendered my resignation yesterday, which was also effectively my last day. I didn't know if I would be missed. The bosses were less than pleased of course, but they had clients with them in the office the entire day and did not have the opportunity to talk to me. I will probably have to see them when I return from Bali to collect my pay and the rest of my things. One of my colleagues who had contributed to the mess that I am in came up to me crying and asking for forgiveness. I don't bear grudges, so I hugged her and told her that things were going to be okay, that she was going to succeed in this firm, while I will have to seek success elsewhere. It isn't a bad firm -- although it does have its share of politics and favouritism, like most firms. I may be the only Chinese in an ethnically-homogenous firm but that wasn't the reason I was victimised. I guess you could say it was just a case of wrong timing, combined with a lack of positive communication, i.e. you only get to talk to the boss when something goes wrong.

The SPCA has offered me a part-time position in their Public Relations and Marketing Department and I will work out the terms of reference with the General Manager and Chairperson soon. I see this as a good opportunity for me to do more for the SPCA and remain to the animals that I love, while applying for other suitable positions elsewhere. Everything else I leave to providence.

The previous weekend had been another hectic one, but not as fraught with sorrow as in the previous weeks. On Saturday, 16th August 2008, I conducted Green Living-themed games for 30 boys from the Agathians Shelter, a welfare home for at-risk and disadvantaged boys, at the Kota Damansara Community Forest, as part of Freescale Electronics' corporate social responsibility project in aid of both Agathians Shelter and the Malaysian Nature Society.

I conducted two games for each session: The Green Living M&M Game and Water Savers. The boys were rowdy, impudent, undisciplined and often disrespectful. They yelled, interrupted, talked out of turn, snatched prizes, fought with one another, sulked, disobeyed instructions and either ran off with or damaged the games equipment. There were several boys who were quite helpful and enthusiastic but they were soon outnumbered by the more troubled ones who sabotaged the games.

I have been conducting children's nature camps long enough to know that I am not a poor disciplinarian and that my games are not so boring as to warrant their inattention and disobedience. Even the other volunteers and coordinators had to concede defeat and admit that these boys are really out of control.

A check with the key coordinator who had worked with Agathians Shelter before revealed to us that the boys receive very little in the way of guidance and supervision at the Shelter. When she had visited the Shelter one morning, she found the boys sitting around not doing anything productive -- not chores, or homework or hobbies. Just bumming around the house, loitering aimlessly or squabbling with one another. There are currently two female European volunteers at the Shelter, probably college students on their gap year, and they had accompanied the boys to the Community Forest for the outing on Saturday. The two girls were worse than the boys in terms of laziness and recalcitrance. They lay sprawled on the mats, refused to participate in any of the activities and did not assist the boys when they struggled to come up with their answers during the M&M Game.

"This is a good demonstration of how NOT to be a volunteer," I grumbled to Head of Services, Maye, as the lazy 'volunteers' took a nap while waiting for lunch to be served. Most young people do not have the privilege of being able to afford a gap year. Those that do should make the most of that privilege by doing as much as they can to directly aid and benefit the local community and natural environment that they come in contact with.

I was exhausted before 4 hours was up. I have handled a group of 80 children from a church before, 60 children during another event at the Community Forest, 45 children from the National Dyslexia Foundation and 20 children from the Taman Megah Home for Underprivileged and Differently-Abled Children, and I had felt nothing but satisfaction and renewed enthusiasm after the aforementioned nature camps. But these 30 boy-goblins had run me ragged, squashed 2 packets of M&Ms, fought over and broken the mechanical pencils I gave out as prizes long before they got home, and broken 8 and lost 3 out of 30 water pistols I used in the Water Savers game. Conducting any activity for these boys was turning out to be a ruinously expensive affair.

I was glad to be able to pack up my things and leave by noon. I drove my volunteer back to the train station, went back to the Bachelor Officers' Quarters, put Keisha in the cat carrier for her spaying appointment and went on my merry way to the SPCA.

After consulting with Dr. Pushpa, I put Keisha in a cage in the surgery with some food so she could be spayed on Sunday or Monday. I kissed Keisha goodbye and assured her that I would come and get her the following Saturday.

I went round the back to the Cattery to check on Keisha's 3 remaining kittens. Snowy has been adopted, which is very good news. Shadow and Mini-Me were still there. I bent down to take a closer look and was horrified to find that they both had nasty colds and Mini-Me had a really dreadful infection in her left eye. I inquired as to the reason the caretaker had not brought them to the vet to be checked, since I had expressly instructed the shelter staff to adminster medical treatment and inform me of the cost if any of my animals are found to be unwell during their stay at the shelter. The caretaker, Mazni, said that she thought their ailment would just run its course and go away. I was angry but held my tongue. I have never seen an illness run its course and go away at our animal shelter without taking at least ten animals with it.

I just am very glad that I had the cats vaccinated on July 9, so the kittens' chances of survival are quite high. I took my kittens out of the Cattery and brought them to Dr. Pushpa. Dr. Pushpa gave them antibiotic jabs and gave me antibiotic pills and eye ointment to administer to them daily. I put the kittens in the carrier to be brought home with me.

I assisted Rose with bathing and tickwashing the dogs before it started to rain. Soon it was time for Rose, the vets and the staff to go home, and Linda and I were left to feed the animals and clean up. Linda attended to the feeding duties while I soaped, scrubbed and disinfected the Catteries, the Maternity Kennels, the puppy cages, hospital, central area, and front reception/admin area.

A few visitors dropped by to inquire about surrendering their pets. It is tragic but due to rising costs of living, more and more people are abandoning or surrendering their pets at animal shelters. This makes me angry because this problem could have been averted if only people neutered their pets early. If they had realised that they could afford to feed two cats but not 20, why didn't they opt to neuter in the first place? I talked to them about the important of early neutering and informed them that they could save the lives of their pets by opting to neuter and thus eliminating the need to surrender or abandon their pets. I then handed out our Spay & Neuter Clinic info fliers and advised them to go home and think hard before making the decision to surrender.

I finished cleaning the shelter around 1930 hours, and proceeded to clean myself up and bring the kittens home. Tidied up the Bachelor Officers' Quarters, fed and cleaned up after the cats and went back to the parental home.

Woke up early on Sunday, 17th August 2008, as the Battletank was obstructing Dad's car and had to be re-parked. Gave Amber a bath and brushed her teeth and Cody's. Ironed my workclothes. Helped Mum prepare lunch. Cleaned the kitchen. Cleaned the parental living and dining rooms. Spring cleaned my bedroom. Read the Sunday papers. Washed the Battletank and Mum's car, mostly using rainwater and organic liquid soap. Sorted out the newspapers and other recyclables for recycling. Walked and fed Amber and Cody.

Went back to the Bachelor Officers' Quarters after dinner. I was feeling quite ambivalent about my job by then. I used to be happy and productive at work, but now it's turning into a cancer. I need to get out.

During the following workweek, I diligently gave Mini-Me and Shadow their antibiotics twice daily, as advised. It wasn't easy trying to give them pills. They would hide the pills in their cheek pouches and then spit the pills out as soon as my back was turned. I then crushed the pills, mixed them with a little water and syringed the mixture carefully into the kittens' mouths. For a while, this method seemed to work.

Then on 21st August, the day after Dad's birthday, I came home from work to find Mini-Me wheezing and experiencing breathing difficulties. I realised almost immediately what had happened -- aspiration pneumonia. I must have accidentally caused her to inhale the fluid, and now there was liquid in her lungs. I felt like the worst human being alive. It was an agonising wait for morning to arrive. I did not want to bring Mini-Me to the 24-hour animal hospital, as it has a reputation for medical negligence.

I managed to get Mini-Me to my usual vet, Dr. Steven, in the morning and he immediately had her warded. Dr. Steven had Mini-Me nebulised and treated with expectorants and antibiotics. I was sad and anxious the entire day at work, and reproached myself bitterly for having caused Mini-Me harm.

Saturday seemed lightyears away. I rushed over to the clinic as soon as it was open to check on Mini-Me. She was still weak, but her condition had improved tremendously. She was no longer wheezing and she did not appear to be in any pain. My gratitude to Dr. Steven was immense. I arranged to have her boarded for the entire week that I would be in Bali, so the good vet could continue to monitor her progress and administer the necessary medication for Mini-Me's continued recovery.

I proceeded to the SPCA after saying goodbye to Mini-Me. It was about to rain when I arrived, and Rose and another volunteer, a teenage boy who has been helping out with the kennel work for the past month, were bathing and tickwashing the last of the dogs from the E and F Kennels. I hurried over to assist them and we managed to get all the dogs done before the thunderstorm began.

The storm raged for a few hours, threatening to take the shelter roof off. I put out buckets to collect the rainwater and swept the leaves and twigs out of the rain gutters to prevent blockages. Then it was time to clean the Cattery. I removed, scrubbed and disinfected all the cat baskets and litter trays before giving the cats clean bedding and litter. Then I swabbed and soaped the floor, shelves, drains and cages before rinsing everything clean and refilling the food and water bowls. Next, I cleaned the Puppy Area, followed by the Food Preparation Area and the Maternity Kennels. Our general worker Maran had let the dogs out to play so I could soap and disinfect all the cages. When I had completed that, I cleaned the front Reception/Admin area, swept the shelter office, answered a few vapid phone calls ("Hello, SPCA, what types of dogs do you have? Do you have Shih Tzu puppies?"), took out the trash, put away the broom (yes, we have only one left. They seem to have brooms for supper over there. I had to buy one and mark it with my initials to prevent it from going missing again), mop and pails, cleaned myself up, put Keisha (who is recovering well, post-spaying) in the Battletank and barrelled back home.

Back at the parental home on Saturday night. Bathed Amber and Cody/Chocky/Little Big Dog on Sunday morning. Tidied the parental home, mopped the floor and cleaned the kitchen. Went to Ganesha Illam with the parents in the afternoon. Walked Amber in the evening.

I should be excited about the Bali trip but everything is so uncertain right now. For the first time in my life, I left one job before having secured another. Somehow, I have the good feeling that I won't remain unemployed for long. I just need to know for certain that I will have a job before September is up. I need to know that Mini-Me will be okay while I am away. I need to know that the candidate of our choice will win the Permatang Pauh By-Election on 26th August. I need to know that my other babies -- Amber, Cody, Chloe, Pixie, Daisy, Halle, Keisha and Shadow-- will be fine in my absence.

Postscript: By the way, for those of my friends who are curious about the Branch Award for which I was one of the three recipients last month, you can read the citation on page 9 of our September newsletter here:
Pencinta Alam Sept 08


"Shines like a beacon"?!?!? Seriously, what were they thinking? There goes my street cred now!

Georgia On My Mind

So the Beijing Summer Olympics have begun. Who cares about the Games, there’s a war going on in Georgia. To hell with the opening ceremony! On the front page of the papers was a Georgian woman bleeding from the face and crying for help amid the rubble that was once her apartment building. To hell with the Games! Ayn Rand has got it all wrong about war. Not all people deserve the governments they get. Ayn Rand believes the ‘innocent’ should be destroyed with the ‘guilty’ in war, rather than waive one’s right to self-defense and retaliation. Bravo. So the bleeding, distraught woman on the ground is to be destroyed for being a passive supporter of her government’s decision to occupy South Ossetia. That’s Objectivism for you. Sure. Go ahead and attack the most vulnerable among us. It is mindset such as this that keeps the troops occupying South Ossetia and vindicates the bombing of apartment blocks instead of military installations.

The international community is useless. The UN could just as well stand for United Nothings. ASEAN’s ‘constructive engagement’ of Burma’s military junta did nothing more than rationalize the destruction of democracy. Nothing’s right anymore. Everything is relative. People and governments place more importance on feeling good than on doing right.

The Beijing Summer Olympics opening ceremony was not without its controversies either. Imagine you are seven years old and your government tells you that you are too ugly to be on stage for the Olympics. The only way the Chinese government can redeem itself now is by letting Yang Peiye sing on stage at the closing ceremony.

What a moral morass modern society is! Nothing is right anymore. Looking right has suddenly been accorded greater weight than doing the right thing. Somewhere in China, a child is robbed of her only chance of being part of the Olympics because she has a round face and slightly crooked teeth. And to think it used to be a communist country with ideas of equal opportunities and distributive justice.

“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world”

- “The Second Coming”, WB Yeats

9th August 2008: Farewell, dear Shasta :’o(

I haven’t much progress to report on the issues of my clinical depression and Project Second Chance, except that I am off Xanax because it makes me sleep. With a workload like mine, I need something that could help me stay awake and survive on 3 hours of sleep a day, not something that would help me sleep. I could sleep at the drop of a hat because I am always so tired and unwell.

I took my skateboard out to Mayang Plaza, about 200 metres away from the Bachelor Officer’s Quarters, on Friday night, to skate for 15 minutes in the hope that it would help me relax. I quit after a while because I found that my mind kept drifting back to Keisha and her kittens, who were still at the SPCA awaiting adoption.

I was at the SPCA very early on Saturday morning as I was anxious to see the cats. The rest of the kitties looked fine, but Shasta was doing quite poorly and looked really thin and gaunt compared to his siblings. His left eye, which had been swollen and rheumy even when he was still living with me, did not seem to be any better, even after all the medicine we had applied. It was worrying me but it looked as though he was losing his eyesight.

Rose arrived and we discussed the shelter animals’ chances of getting adopted. I got the tickwash and bath things ready and proceeded to bathe and medicate the dogs from Kennels G and H and the Pounds. Rose went off for a bit and I continued working solo until interrupted by Erica, a volunteer with a reputation for being pushy, needy and somewhat eccentric. I thought that she had wanted me to do her a favour again, but 4 years of working with legally insane clients have taught me patience and diplomacy, if nothing else.

“Yes, Erica, what can I do for you?” I inquired, keeping my tone pleasant. It was a good thing I did not sound irritable and unwelcome, because it turned out that Erica had seen me working through lunch and had doggie bagged some lunch for me. I was touched and grateful, and it renewed my resolve never to jump to conclusions or be gratuitously rude or impatient. I ate my lunch gratefully in the vets’ office, as the vets let me use their room whenever they are around.

Mazni, who is the shelter caretaker, called me away after lunch with the news that Shasta was having an epileptic fit. My heart sank with the news. I had suspected, after witnessing Shasta having a seizure in my home, that he has epilepsy on top of cerebellar hypoplasia, but I had hoped that it was an isolated incident. It wasn’t. The little one was in pain and bit himself, trembled violently and hurled himself against the bars of the cage, while his fearful siblings watched, uncomprehending. He soiled himself after the fit, and looked weaker and frailer than ever. My heart went out to my little fighter and I held him and tried to help him feel more comfortable.

I made up my mind to bring all the cats home with me, and after having informed Mazni of the same, I got to work cleaning the shelter. I soaped and disinfected the Cattery, the Maternity Kennels, the cooking area, the central area, the puppy cages and the front Recep/Admin area.

Around 1800 hours, I collected the cats from the Cattery at the back and got ready to bring them home. Reve persuaded me to leave Snowy, Mini-Me and Shadow in a big cage in the front area in the hopes of increasing their chances of being adopted. I agreed, on condition that the shelter staff hold on to my cats for me until I come back for them next Saturday. I told Reve of Shasta’s epilepsy and asked if she had any suggestions as to whether and how his health could improve.

Reve told me that as Shasta had multiple disabilities (progressive blindness being the latest one), it would be impossible for us to heal or help him or even give him a significantly higher quality of life. Shasta was, as I suspected, in frequent pain, especially after his epileptic fits, and would never be able to live a normal life like his siblings. I sensed as much, because he had stopped playing in the last few days. Reve asked me to consent to Shasta being put to sleep. I was overwhelmed with grief but I realized that Shasta has a very low chance of survival even if kept alive with medications. I cried and held Shasta, and Reve grieved along with me, but I finally signed the consent letter to let Shasta be put to sleep.

As I brought Keisha home, I prayed that Shasta’s soul would find peace and that I could do better by him in another lifetime. I felt so inconsolably sad and guilty that I wondered if I could ever find happiness again.

I’ve been despondent for so long that I believe there will never again be a day when I will not be sad.

5th August 2008: Second Seahorse Data Collection Trip, 2nd – 3rd August 2008

Kar Mern and I checking on a pregnant seahorse. Note the rubbish Kar Mern picked up along the way.


Small island, lots of rubbish.
From left to right, front row, squatting/sitting: Rushan, Syazwani, Jashirinda and Ruzbih.
With back to camera: Andy Paul
Back row, standing, left to right: Kar Mern, Malini, Rushdy, Hui Min, Jashirita, me, Chee Kuang, Nik Waheeda, Bee Ni, Joyce, Jamie, Wai Tuck and Anne.

To visit my Seahorse Data Collection Trip photo album, please click HERE

August hasn’t exactly been a month of rest for me. Not that it’s news to anyone by now. Hardly a week after my return from Bangkok, I accompanied a group of 12 individuals, mostly members of the Kuala Lumpur Bar, to Johor for a Seahorse Data Collection Trip to volunteer with Save Our Seahorses (SOS) Malaysia.

I had been looking forward to meeting my friends from SOS and the Malaysian Nature Society again, and I hoped that the trip to the seagrass bed would bring me relief from my constant melancholy. When disheartened and dispirited, I believe in pouring my energies into service to the community and the Planet. Organising the trip did not take much work, as Hui Min took charge of the booking and financial aspects and I merely had to take care of the registered participants.

The preparation for the trip was not without its issues. 2 weeks after our event announcement first appeared in the state Bar e-groups and forums, we received an e-mail from the port officials (I cannot go into details here or it may jeopardize the work of SOS) informing us that they have the authority to deny us access to seagrass beds. Upon conducting our due diligence with the relevant government departments, SOS project leader Chee Kuang and I learned that the aforementioned corporation has no jurisdiction over the area at all. 3 considered replies later, my guests and I were on our way to Johor for our volunteering and nature appreciation trip. I was adamant that the trip must go on, and that my guests were not harassed. I wanted at all costs for the trip to be a successful one, and would go to any lengths to ensure the safety, comfort and wellbeing of my guests.

Providence must have smiled down on us that weekend, because it turned out to be a wonderful volunteering experience for all. Except for one tardy participant who held up the entire group, the lawyers and pupils-in-chambers turned out to be a very obliging, accommodating, helpful and enthusiastic group. Friendships were formed with uncharacteristic speed and everyone looked out for one another.

Upon checking in at the Euro Hotel, we adjourned to lunch at a nearby banana leaf rice restaurant. We then proceeded in a convoy of 4 cars to the Kukup Island National Park, where we did the suspension bridge and canopy walk and then walked along the boardwalk to the mudlobster nests. We spotted Lesser Adjutant Storks, White Bellied Sea Eagles, Brahminy Kites, monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, giant mudskippers, blue-spotted mudskippers, blue crabs, volutes and all sorts of mollusks and arthropods.

We took the last boat out of Kukup Island National Park and proceeded to visit one of the floating fish farms, situated just off the coast of the National Park and in themselves hotbeds of biodiversity. The fish farmers keep marine fauna in temporary captivity in conditions almost identical to that of the fauna's natural environment to display to visitors. We saw cat sharks, bamboo sharks, prehistoric-looking oysters, sea stars, horseshoe crabs, a blue-spotted stingray, large crabs that curled up into balls and played dead when handled and volutes of all sizes and colours.
The trip participants were thrilled with the variety of flora and fauna they saw on the first day of the trip itself and were quite reluctant to return to the boats. However, dusk was falling and the participants had to admit that they were hungry and tired out by the long drive, so we returned to the Kukup Jetty by boat, retrieved our cars from the premises of the Marine Park office, and adjourned to dinner at Haji Yussuf's restaurant down the road. The food arrived on our tables fast, but being halal, was nowhere as good as the seafood from the Chinese establishments such as High King. Still, we were ravenous and demolished everything, soup, pudding and all.


The drive back to Euro Hotel was less than peaceful, because Chee Kuang, our marine biologist, kept calling every 5 minutes to see if we were anywhere near the hotel yet. Chee Kuang, his assistant Ooi, and our friends from the MNS: Serina, Mohala, Andy Paul and Serina's younger brothers Dy and Shan had been waiting for us for over 1½ hours.

Chee Kuang conducted the standard briefing on seahorse habitats and population density and on the duties of volunteers. I followed up with a quick briefing on the correspondence that had taken place between the port officials and me, and the fact that the port has no jurisdiction over the conservation site and no right to demand that we disclose our particulars to their security personnel.

I obtained everyone's verbal undertaking that they would not do anything that would give the port officials cause for complaint or a reason to detain us, and after that Hui Min distributed breakfast doggie bags to each of us, comprising fruit, buns, biscuits, a breakfast beverage carton and a Johor-style savoury hardboiled egg, as it would be too early for us to go out for breakfast the following morning.

After the participants had retired to their rooms, I went over to Old Town cafe with Chee Kuang to meet up with the others. Apparently, one of the port officials was there at the cafe earlier, as they know which hotel we normally reside in and where we normally hang out. He was probably there to eavesdrop on our conversation to see if there were any plans to commence legal action against the port for any alleged environmental offences, but that is not part of our plan for the trip. The trip participants from the State Bar are bona fide visitors on a nature appreciation and volunteering trip.

I retired to the room I shared with tenderfoot Kar Mern around midnight and was soon asleep.

I woke up at 0500 hours on Sunday morning and proceeded to make wake-up calls to the others on my cell phone. Thankfully, one or two of them were already up and using the washrooms. Kar Mern made me coffee as neither of us could survive without our first cup of joe in the morning.

We were soon our way to Pendas Jetty after an exasperating wait for the participants to get ready. I would have thought that my wake-up calls would eliminate that problem. The trouble with lawyers is that they are not often punctual. They just have more convincing excuses, often corroborated with non sequitors, to justify their tardiness.

I hurried everyone to the jetty and Serina and I made sure everyone had their lifejackets and dive boots. Our boat roared across the waters, went past the Second Link and pulled up close to the seagrass bed. Chee Kuang and I jumped into the shallow, muddy waters to pull our boat to shore. Two of my guests were nervous about jumping into what they felt was the open sea, but I demonstrated that it was quite safe to take one’s lifejacket off.

We divided the volunteers into teams and designated the areas they were supposed to comb. I saw many thorny sea cucumbers and sea snails, as I did last year, but fewer sea pens and anemone. I hope the team had taken water samples for testing for heavy metals. One of my male guests kept reporting aloud to me every 30 seconds.

"Guys," he would announce. "There is a fish here. It has blue stripes." A meaningful pause. "It's alive".
"Very good," I would approve, eyes trained on any movement among the seagrass blades.
"Guys", came announcement No. 2. "There is an anemone. It is white." Another pause. "It's alive".
This went on for at least 15 minutes. I had to exercise self-restraint not to ask him: "What, you expect to find them all dead, lacquered and price-tagged here or what?"

Overhead, the port helicopter hovered to monitor our activities. A surveillance boat from the port remained about 100 metres away but did not approach us. I asked my guests to ignore their presence and to let me do the talking if we were accosted. I will not have anyone harassing my guests and ruining an otherwise amazing trip. Thankfully, the port security people restricted their intrusion to mere surveillance and monitoring from a distance.

The team had spotted and tagged 4 seahorses and 3 alligator pipefish so far, and my guests were thrilled. They recounted to me how they spotted the seahorses and pointed out the spots where the seahorses were spotted and later, released, while I listened with a twinge of envy because I hadn't spotted one yet. They watched as the marine biologist, Ooi, tagged the seahorses with subcutaneous elastomer injections, and lamented the fact that we haven't found a pregnant specimen yet.

5 metres away, a young couple stood taking photographs of a seahorse they had found. They were not from our group, but had come on one of the fishing boats. I was surprised that other boats would have permission to bring visitors to the conservation site. I gently put the seahorse in my collection bag with a good deal of water and waited for Ooi to come over. The tide was rising fast and the water level had reached my knees. It will soon be time for us to get back to the boats before we drown. I asked the young couple to stay to have their names recorded for posterity in the data collection records and we then watched Ooi extract a baby seahorse from the male seahorse's pouch using a pipette. The purpose of this sacrifice is for genetic studies, in order that we may learn ways to help the seahorse population multiply and thrive.

The sea level was rising by the minute and the seagrass bed would soon be inundated and invisible again. We staggered our way to the boats and had to be helped back on board. The port security boat pretended to move away but in fact shadowed us to our next destination, Pulau Merambong, a Ramsar site. Pulau Merambong is a beautiful uninhabited island housing a few mysterious tombs and graves, and a great many secrets. The coast was full of rubbish brought in by the tides. I produced two packets of biodegradable garbage bags and encouraged everyone to help clean up the coast to the best of our ability.

It was sad to be reminded afresh of what a litterbug nation we are, but the participants kept their sense of humour about it and would call out to each other: "What brand of shampoo bottle did you find? I got a Rejoice and a Dove!" and "I found a bike tyre! Anyone missing a bike tyre?"

The boatmen told us that we were already running on full capacity and could not haul the rubbish back with us, but Chee Kuang assured me that he would be back tomorrow with a smaller team of volunteers to bring the rubbish back to the mainland.

We reached the jetty, clambered out of the boats and lurched our way back to our cars. Our final stop would be the SOS Research Centre. My guests were dumbfounded to find that our 'Research Centre' was a mere wooden village house with one PC, a printer, walls full of educational display materials, and 2 bedrooms with straw mats and sleeping bags for the marine biologists and volunteers. They had probably expected to see a well-staffed and well-equipped air-conditioned building. Welcome to the world of environmental activism, guys.

We took turns to shower while Chee Kuang printed out the certificates of appreciation. We had a little ceremony to hand out souvenir t-shirts and certificates of appreciation to the participants who had volunteered their Sunday in aid of the cause of marine and seahorse conservation. Chee Kuang gave me a baseball cap to add to my collection.

We returned to Euro Hotel to clean up and check out, and repaired to Old Town cafe for lunch. Waking up so early had given us appetites of enormous proportions, and some of us had seconds. I gulped down my bowl of noodles and Kar Mern's, as she was unable to finish hers. It just didn't make sense to waste food. When I die, I want to be reincarnated as a dump truck.

The drive back to Kuala Lumpur was long and tiring, although I'm afraid I was of little help to Hui Min as I fell asleep shortly after obtaining her confirmation that she did not need me to take over the driving. Arrived at the Bachelor Officers' Quarters around 1845h, greeted the cats, did the laundry and was soon on my way back to the parental home. It has been a rewarding weekend for all, and I am satisfied that we at the MNS and KL Bar Environmental Law Comm. were able to open up the eyes of at least a few members of the Bar to the wonders of nature that surround us.

Bangkok City Jaunt, 25th – 27th July 2008

“It's a street in a strange world
Maybe it's the Third World
Maybe it's his first time around
He doesn't speak the language
He holds no currency
He is a foreign man”
- Paul Simon, “You Can Call Me Al”.

To visit my Bangkok photo album, please click HERE.

Friday, 25th July 2008:

When my colleagues and I voted Bangkok as our destination for the company trip this year, I did so with the knowledge that a city trip would offer little respite from pollution, traffic jams and petty crimes, unlike an island or coastal getaway. Still, it would be my first trip to Thailand (shocking revelation, I know) and I was curious about visiting another country and experiencing another culture. The fact that my old buddy Samuel is now based in Bangkok as the General Manager of International Operations of his company also helped, as I was keen to see him again.

I have always had misgivings about air travel, but the fact that we were travelling on an Airbus A320, which has relatively high fuel efficiency although nowhere near that of the A380, offered some reassurance. I sat in between my colleague Amril and a stranger who later turned out to be an awesome friend that I just haven’t had the good fortune to have met earlier. Anand works for the United Nations and was formerly with the Royal Malaysian Air Force. We talked about scouting, civilian defence, public interest work, the UNDP, Malaysian politics and strangely enough, my favourite fictional air force ace Biggles, during the 2-hour flight.

We arrived at the Suvarnabumi Airport outside of Bangkok city limits at 1455h local time. After bidding Anand goodbye, I joined my colleagues on the bus that was supposed to take us back to the hotel. It would take us an hour to arrive at the hotel, and I had planned on taking the MRT to SCAD Bangkok’s retail and adoption centre, since their animal health centre would be less accessible on a late Friday afternoon. However, the bus driver and tour assistant who were supposed to despatch us back to the hotel decided to play silly buggers with us and took us on hour-long detours to look at honey and royal jelly and all manner of things that I had no intention of buying.

Thanks to the famous Bangkok traffic snarls, we didn’t even get to check in to the hotel until almost midnight. We went to the hotel to pick up the first group from our office who had arrived earlier, repaired to a Muslim restaurant for a mediocre and deeply boring dinner and adjourned to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar after dinner. My hopes of visiting any of SCAD’s animal charity centres were dashed as it was obviously impossible to fit an animal shelter visit into my truncated holiday schedule. Oh well. Perhaps I will have the opportunity to contribute to SCAD stray dog vaccination and neutering programme when I meet with the founders/directors during the Asia For Animals Conference 2008 in Bali next month.

Saturday, 26th July 2008:

Chugged down enough milk and juice to last me until lunchtime, bade my colleagues a hasty adieu and stepped out into Soi Sukhumvit 11 almost smack into the trunk of an elephant waiting for passengers across the road from the hotel I had spent the night in. A familiar figure with a loose-limbed gait strolled past the shops, and I waved with joy when Sam came into view. It was so good to see him again after 2 long years, and we went to a cafe so he could have his morning cuppa.

After coffee, we took the Bangkok SkyTrain to the National Stadium, crossed the road, and walked down the alley to Jim Thompson House, now a museum. Sam stopped at a souvenir shop manned by a hearing impaired lady and bought several fridge magnets, while I browsed through paintings and postcards. We purchased our tickets to Jim Thompson House and waited for the tour to begin. Jim Thompson was an American military intelligence officer who decided he had enough of WW2 and ended up bringing Thai silk, then a cottage industry, to the western world. Thompson’s house was constructed out of parts of 6 antique Thai houses and is filled with antiques and exquisite works of art. Thompson disappeared without a trace on Easter Sunday 1967 in Cameron Highlands, Pahang. His body was never found. Many theories abound as to his fate. Some believe that he was too smart to have gotten himself lost, snared or killed by wild animals, and believe that he had orchestrated his own disappearance. Having always had a weakness for unsolved mysteries, I could not miss the opportunity to visit the house. We were taken through the living and dining rooms and bedrooms, as well as the maid and gardener’s quarters. The house was immaculate and would probably win awards for ecological design and architecture had it been built in this millennium. I had expected to find a sense of sorrow about the place, but surprisingly, none was present. The house gave out good vibes, and is palpably one that once housed a man of great savoir vivre.

I found that most Thais could understand spoken English reasonably well, but could not speak it well enough to make themselves easily understood. On our way back from Jim Thompson House, we saw pots of lotus and sea cabbage plants outside a shop selling paintings and sculptures.

“What’s in there?” inquired Sam, poking a lotus bud aside.
“Feet!” came the shop proprietor’s jolly reply.
We pushed a plant aside and found that the pots were, indeed, teeming with fish!

The Chinese may struggle with their enunciations of the ‘r’ and ‘sh’ sounds, but the Thais do not so much struggle as leave them out completely or substitute them with other consonants.

We made a pit stop at Sam’s apartment so that the maintenance people could come in to fix his lighting and cable TV. Then it was time for lunch, and we went downstairs to hitch a ride from the ‘biker-taxis’ – motorcyclists that provide transport service. We paid the bikers 30 baht to take us to Sala Daeng for street food. The ride was exhilaratingly fast, and when my bare knees grazed a car first and a bus tyre second, I was convinced I was going to fall off to my death. I reached Sala Daeng in one piece, and we had spicy and tangy chicken feet noodles at a street corner and washed it down with cold, milky tea.

It was time to take a boat to the Grand Palace after lunch. We boarded a ferry boat that would take us down the Chao Phraya River. We stood on the left to make way for the monks, for whom the right side of the boats were reserved. The rivers in Thailand were quite murky and polluted, but for some of the people, it was their source of water supply. I could not see why we could not similarly rely on river transport in Malaysia. Our rivers are equally polluted but once efforts have been undertaken to clean up and widen our rivers, commuter boats could help ease traffic congestion in the city and reduce reliance on road transport. Shipping and rail, after all, are the most fuel efficient modes of transport. Ships and railways carry 75% of world cargo, but emit only an estimated 3% of greenhouse gases.


We arrived at our destination and weaved through the stalls at the marketplace to get to the Grand Palace. There, we were loaned sarongs and trousers to wear over our shorts, as legs must be covered before visitors could enter the Palace grounds. Sam and I took pictures outside the Palace premises but decided that the entrance ticket at 300 baht was prohibitive. We could have gotten massages for that price. We duly returned the borrowed garments, slipped on our shades and trekked 15 minutes in the heat and heavy traffic to Wat Pho, Temple of the Reclining Buddha, for a sorely needed massage.

Wat Pho is famous for its traditional Thai massage school, and we waited outside one of the temple with what seemed like 200 other visitors after taking our number for a massage. The sun must have awakened a latent part of Sam’s memory, because he suddenly recalled that the Wat Pho Traditional Thai Massage School proper was located down the road from the temple. And so we trekked out in the heat again to the school, which we located with the help of the friendly locals. Sam paid for my massage as a treat, for which I am very grateful. The masseurs made us put on long pants and put their hands in prayer before massaging us. I wouldn’t take any chances either if I were a masseur. I might fracture someone’s ribs. My masseur folded and contorted my limbs in all sorts of impossible positions and held down my pressure points with such force that I thought she would cut off my circulation and make my legs drop off. Then she inserted her thumbs into my ears, held them down for a minute and then released her thumbs so suddenly that I could feel my eardrums pop. Our hour-long massage session cost only 360 baht, which is a reasonable price for getting rid of months’ worth of muscular tension.

We walked back to the jetty in search of coconut ice cream, which we couldn’t find, although there was no lack of ice cream vendors on our way to Wat Pho. We had a coconut, some sausages, an orange drink and a bag of churros with vanilla icing sugar. Sam and I took the boat back to the jetty and made our way back to the SkyTrain station. Sam disembarked at Ratchadamri after we had made plans for dinner, while I was to switch trains and disembark at Nana station. I love the Bangkok SkyTrain, as the system is highly user-friendly and the little TV screens broadcasting creative and engaging commercials in Thai made the journey anything but dull. After a few trips on the SkyTrain, I could extol all the advantages of using Bergamot hair treatment, Axe deodorant, Coke Zero, Dutch Milk, Fit telco service provider and Maxmo paper towels, and hum a few Thai jingles as a bonus.

I got down at my station and took what I thought was a shortcut to the hotel. While walking along Soi Sukhumvit 8, I saw a man leading a young bull elephant on a leash. The elephant carried a pannier filled with packets of sweet potatoes. For 20 baht, we could buy the elephant some food and take photos with him. I was thrilled and saw nothing objectionable about how this man was trying to make a living for himself or his pet. The elephant was not subjected to any form of cruelty or made to perform unnatural tricks. I bought him some sweet potato and he took them from me with much relish and without fear. I wonder what will happen to the elephant once he outgrows his cuddly stage. Would they put him to work with the logging companies? In the meantime, he doesn’t lead such a bad life at all.


I returned to the hotel, showered, tidied my things and went back downstairs to take the SkyTrain to the Ratchadamri platform to wait for Sam so we could go to Sala Daeng for dinner. We went to a sidewalk restaurant for a sukiyaki dinner. We had papaya pok-pok for starters and Chang beer to slake our thirst with. The waiters asked if I enjoyed the food. “Aloi, kaaa! (Very tasty)” Sam taught me to say in response.

Sam wanted to go to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar after dinner, as I had informed him of some beanbag chairs and couches I saw there. We took a tuk-tuk to the night bazaar and tried out the beanbag chairs. We were distracted by a teenage boy selling magic tricks and I was curious enough to be conned into buying trick matchboxes for Sam and I. I tried to locate a shop selling paintings in which I saw a pygmy marmoset the night before, but could no longer find the shop in the maze of shops. I am glad I had taken a photo of the marmoset the night before, otherwise Sam would have thought that I was pulling a fast one on him with my marmoset story.

After Suan Lum, we took a tuk-tuk to the Sofitel Hotel as Sam wanted me to see for myself his favourite watering hole. V9 on the 16th Floor of the Sofitel Hotel is a lovely little jazz bar with a great aerial view of the city. We had Long Island iced teas and snacks as we listened to the in-house deejay and jazz musician.

It wasn’t good to stay put and get comfortable in any one place for too long, so off we went again in search of more adventure in the streets of Patpong. We had more drinks at Twilo’s in Patpong (Long Island for Sam, vodka and Red Bull and Tequila Sunrise for me) while watching the people and listening to the live band. Halfway through my second drink, I received a text message from Li Li informing me that I was one of the recipients for the Malaysian Nature Society Selangor Branch Awards at the Annual General Meeting today. The news came as a complete surprise and I felt deeply honoured, and I told Sam the good news. I did a spontaneous Napoleon Dynamite-type dance out of sheer joy. A few drinks later, Sam and I finally lurched home via tuk-tuk in a haze of mega mega white thing and lager lager lager lager.

Sunday, 27th July 2008:

Sunday morning saw me demolishing a huge breakfast with neither fuzzy tongue nor brain. The drinks couldn't have been very strong after all. Pih. I've been ripped off. Sauntered over to the Nana SkyTrain station and hopped on the train to Mo Chit so I could do some last minute shopping at the Chatuchak Weekend Market. I couldn't get enough of the commercials on the Skytrain,. I was learning more about Baby Mild powder, Sprite Zero, Kirin Lite and upcoming Thai movies than I needed to know.

The walkways leading from Mo Chit station to Chatuchak were congested with petty traders selling crafts and snacks. I entered the market via Gateway 16 and weaved my way through the stalls and shops. I could not speak the language yet, but my Oriental features must have confused the locals into thinking I was one of them, and they would render monologues in Thai in my general direction. “Chan put Thai my-die! (I can’t speak Thai)” I would interject, alarmed, and point to myself and qualify: “I’m from Malaysia”.

Shopping has always been an extremely stressful and burdensome affair to me, and the heat, noise and crowds at Chatuchak did not make the experience any more pleasant for me. Still, I could seek cool relief in 10-baht popsicles and roasted coconuts when bargaining in a combination of Thai and pidgin English got to be too much hard work for me. I left the market after two hours, having spent pretty much all my Thai currency on elephant-patterned sarongs, boxers and other technicolour gifts.Back to the hotel to shower and change into a clean football jersey. I had the concierge look after my backpack while I snoozed in the hotel lobby. Sam was busy as his maid's mother had come over to cook for him, the lucky man.

For lunch, I walked out into Soi Sukhumvit 8 where the street vendors were busy serving spicy cucumbers, sliced fruit, fried pastries and noodles to the taxi-bikers and shopkeepers. I had sweet potato balls and sliced cantaloupe. Back to the hotel lobby to finish reading my book. Our airport coach arrived at 1400 hours to take us to Suvarnabumi. It rained heavily shortly after our arrival at the airport, sending the heat and dust of Bangkok down into its waterways.

I called Sam at the airport to say goodbye. And as I boarded the plane, I looked back too on Bangkok, with all its contrasts and unique beauty. Kapunkha for the memories, Bangkok, and this won't be the last I'll see of you.

“And at this moment, we are forgetting
What we caused, what it takes,
The one perfect world, when we look the other way”
- Indigo Girls, “Perfect World”

Bangkok City Jaunt, 25th - 27th July 2008

Jim Thompson House, Bangkok.
Sam and I trying to solve the mystery of Thompson's disappearance.






















Living it up in Patpong. Me beaming with joy after receiving the news via text message from Li Li that I had just been honoured with the Malaysian Nature Society Selangor Branch Award.






























Lamps for sale at the Suan Lum Night Bazaar. Sure they're pretty, but they are also silent energy vampires.























Taking a tuk-tuk to the Sofitel Hotel.






















Wat Pho, Temple of the Reclining Buddha.