Real Angels

Do you believe in angels? I do.

I am not talking about angels with wings that fly from Heaven. There is nothing superstitious about the angels I am referring. You may see or meet them personally without realising them.

I am talking about angels in the form of human being that you may have met in your everyday lives. They could strangers that you do not even know their names or you could not even recall their names but you will remember their good deeds forever. Normally, they appear in times of trouble.

I still remember two British old folks that came to our rescue when my friends are I were lost in one of the city in England. We carried a map but completely had no idea whether to go straight, turn left, turn right or turn back. We didn't even know where we were!

I also remember an art student that came to look for a room when I was in the midst of shifting out because of a "civil war" in the house. I was in trouble because of the "civil war" causing me to loss concentration on my exam. I almost lost hope in my exam. The guy and myself became an instant friend after I revealed the actual situation of the house and he encouraged to move away too. His words of encouragement indirectly helped me to focus on my exam. At the same time, another angel appears - a friend who were in the midst of looking for a house for rent helped me to look for a new place to stay. It's ashamed that I have lost contact with both of them.

Recently, my colleague and I were in Paris searching for the location of a hostel. We were pretty lost upon arriving at the train station because we could not find the road sign. I asked for direction but nobody seemed to know the place although it was not that far away. A French lady who was on her way into the train station saw our situation and volunteered to help. She could not even speak English well and we had trouble communicating. Eventually she decided to bring us to the location. Without her we might never find the hostel because it's hidden from the main road.

When my colleague and I were departing from Paris at the airport, we could not even find the counter to check in because it was not even opened yet. A helpful French Cambodian guy who was in charge of the luggage volunteered to set up the queuing lane even though it was not his job. By the way, the guy was a Chinese descendant from Cambodia escaping the war that could speak fluent Mandarin. It's very rare to find someone that could speak Asian language in an European airport. It was our lucky day!

I sincerely would like to thank these people that appear out of nowhere to help me. They are the true angels!

Narrow Minded Political Party

I have no idea why we have such a narrow minded ruling political party in Malaysia. Why there are still so many narrow minded people still supporting them after they have shown their true colours with their stupidity? Have they been brain washed the way Hitler did to the Germans? It is very dangerous to the country and does not benefit anyone in the long run. Look at how Hitler destroyed Germany!

It's ashamed that Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has been sacked from the ruling party for voicing out his opinion against the party's ethics and attending functions organised by opposition party. The sacking shows that the ruling party is very narrow minded, cannot accept new ideas and cannot tolerate any criticism. It gives me the impression that it is a "katak di bawah tempurung" (frog in a coconut shell) political party. The "shut up and get out" policy of UMNO reminds me of dictatorship by basically getting rid of anyone in the party that has a different new opinion. In other words, the members have no say and have to obey everything decided by the party. Is that what you call democratic? The party will never change because of their own stupidity. They will create their own downfall. We will live to see.

I am glad that Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is now out of UMNO. The political party does not deserve to have a good leader like him who is rational and has a long term view of the future of our country. He does not deserve to be a part of the downfall of UMNO when it happens one day.

I agree with Datuk Zaid Ibrahim's opinion:
"In life you do things based on what you think is right, or at least not wrong. But you have to face the consequences"

Sometimes a person that is right may not be the winner but at least he/she deserves a better respect. I think Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has been doing very well in whatever he has done so far. I hope his sacrifice will open up the minds of some UMNO members to leave the party instead of remaining there as puppets.

Trip To France and the Netherlands

Eiffel Tower in Paris:



Recently I was sent to Paris for training by my company. The trip was announced to me on the same day they booked the flight ticket. It was a surprised and very rush for me indeed as I was unprepared. Anyway, I hopped on the opportunity as Europe was my all time favourite continent and I had been looking forward to get out of Malaysia.

I had only 3 days for sight seeing in France - 1 day upon arrival and 2 days during weekend. In Paris, places visited were Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Sacre-Coeur, Place de la Concorde, etc. We visited the world heritage, Le Mont St Mitchel, which was a few hours by train outside Paris as well.

The second weekend, my colleague and I took a train to the Netherlands for our personal vacation. In Netherlands, I managed to meet my old friend that I have known for 22 years in Eindhoven and we met for the second time. We also stopped by at Rotterdam which is a very friendly modern city on the way to Eindhoven. We spent most of the time in Amsterdam. Besides of the availability of soft drugs in all the coffee shops (please bear in mind that they are not Malaysian version of coffee shops that sell food and drinks), it's a wonderful city. Even the Red Light District is very safe, good transportation, friendly people and Dutch generally speaks better English than other Europeans. Personally, I love Netherlands better than France.

I told many of my friends that I would not return to Malaysia if I had a chance especially after reading the bad news about the landslide in Ulu Klang that was a repetition of Highland Tower incident in 1993. I am very ashamed of the Malaysian authorities and the government for causing the death of innocent people due to greed, ignorance, carelessness and failure to learn from previous mistakes. I am very sick of them!

A View from Red Light District:
Please take note that there is a photography restriction here but I guess it's ok if you aim the camera out of the Red Light District the way I did. I did it the second time - the first time was in 1996.



Voldenpark in Amsterdam:



Windmill in Rotterdam: