Rice Museum of Kedah
I spent the last weekend back to my hometown - Alor Setar, Kedah.
Kedah has the distinction of being the "Rice Bowl of Malaysia", the Kedah-Perlis rice plains produce more than half of the country's home grown rice supply. Alor Setar, the state capital, is the seat of Government and the business centre of the state. The flat expanse of paddy fields against a backdrop of rolling hills provides a picture of utter serenity that lulls the senses. This was the environment that accompanied my childhood.
I was enjoying the TV programme on Astro and hugging my favorite pillow with my legs straight resting on the sofa. My dad prompted by a sudden impulse and wanted to visit the Rice Museum of Kedah! The Museum stands under the shadows of the towering Gunung Keriang in Kedah. Since I was so free at home, of course I was more than happy to accompany dad. On top, how could I never visit it before when it is just standing under the shadows of towering Gunung Keriang (eight kilometer from my house)!
On the journey there, I fall asleep due to my habits of sleeping late at night. When we reached a turning, dad woke me up.
"What do you think? Very nice isn't it?" he said. I tried to looks outside the window with my blurry eyes.
"I see only paddy fields and wooden houses which I always see around our house," I said, "what's so special about it?"
Very soon after that, the photo on a huge signboard by the roadside changed my mind. It is a photo of a vast museum in gold colour! Without further delay, dad turned in the lane beside the signboard. I am surprised to find this huge museum in the middle of nowhere. "Nowhere" here refers to almost 100,000 hectares of paddy fields. It is nothing else around the building. This is after all the Rice Bowl State of Malaysia. The rice motif repeated on the roof, the banisters, and even on the fence and gate outside.
It is a museum devoted to rice. According to the given pamphlet, the Rice Museum of Kedah is the first rice museum in Malaysia and the fourth in the world after Japan, German, and Filipina. It is Built on land belong to MADA (Malaysian Agricultural Development Authority) at a cost of RM24.7 million, the museum itself resembles bushels of harvested paddy stalks.
After leaving our shoes outside the entrance, we were directed to enter the gallery from the middle. The scene of the surrounding Guning Keriang region unfolds around us. It was the top portion accessible by a Spiral Staircase. As we tour it, we were given a thorough explanation about rice. Some are simply finer points, like songs dedicated to rice. There are several galleries with panoramic murals. These are the result of painstaking work by 60 artists from North Korea. What we found here was a massive circular mural measuring 103 m in circumference, and 8 m in height. While viewing the mural, I felt the scenery was moving. Soon I realized that I was standing on a revolving platform, and by simply being still, I will have the scenery rotate around me. There are chairs that provided around the platform. Visitors could just sit back and enjoy the scenery of Kedah!
As I stood there appreciating the fresco, I was taken in by the absolute size of the frescos. Indeed I cannot be sure where the ground is, and where the fresco begins.
"The painting is brilliant!" I just couldn't stop saying the line to myself.
It was truly amazing with a RM 3 admission! For those of you who are going to visit Kedah in the future, don't waste your change dropping by at the Rice Museum of Kedah!
Kedah has the distinction of being the "Rice Bowl of Malaysia", the Kedah-Perlis rice plains produce more than half of the country's home grown rice supply. Alor Setar, the state capital, is the seat of Government and the business centre of the state. The flat expanse of paddy fields against a backdrop of rolling hills provides a picture of utter serenity that lulls the senses. This was the environment that accompanied my childhood.
I was enjoying the TV programme on Astro and hugging my favorite pillow with my legs straight resting on the sofa. My dad prompted by a sudden impulse and wanted to visit the Rice Museum of Kedah! The Museum stands under the shadows of the towering Gunung Keriang in Kedah. Since I was so free at home, of course I was more than happy to accompany dad. On top, how could I never visit it before when it is just standing under the shadows of towering Gunung Keriang (eight kilometer from my house)!
On the journey there, I fall asleep due to my habits of sleeping late at night. When we reached a turning, dad woke me up.
"What do you think? Very nice isn't it?" he said. I tried to looks outside the window with my blurry eyes.
"I see only paddy fields and wooden houses which I always see around our house," I said, "what's so special about it?"
Very soon after that, the photo on a huge signboard by the roadside changed my mind. It is a photo of a vast museum in gold colour! Without further delay, dad turned in the lane beside the signboard. I am surprised to find this huge museum in the middle of nowhere. "Nowhere" here refers to almost 100,000 hectares of paddy fields. It is nothing else around the building. This is after all the Rice Bowl State of Malaysia. The rice motif repeated on the roof, the banisters, and even on the fence and gate outside.
It is a museum devoted to rice. According to the given pamphlet, the Rice Museum of Kedah is the first rice museum in Malaysia and the fourth in the world after Japan, German, and Filipina. It is Built on land belong to MADA (Malaysian Agricultural Development Authority) at a cost of RM24.7 million, the museum itself resembles bushels of harvested paddy stalks.
After leaving our shoes outside the entrance, we were directed to enter the gallery from the middle. The scene of the surrounding Guning Keriang region unfolds around us. It was the top portion accessible by a Spiral Staircase. As we tour it, we were given a thorough explanation about rice. Some are simply finer points, like songs dedicated to rice. There are several galleries with panoramic murals. These are the result of painstaking work by 60 artists from North Korea. What we found here was a massive circular mural measuring 103 m in circumference, and 8 m in height. While viewing the mural, I felt the scenery was moving. Soon I realized that I was standing on a revolving platform, and by simply being still, I will have the scenery rotate around me. There are chairs that provided around the platform. Visitors could just sit back and enjoy the scenery of Kedah!
As I stood there appreciating the fresco, I was taken in by the absolute size of the frescos. Indeed I cannot be sure where the ground is, and where the fresco begins.
"The painting is brilliant!" I just couldn't stop saying the line to myself.
It was truly amazing with a RM 3 admission! For those of you who are going to visit Kedah in the future, don't waste your change dropping by at the Rice Museum of Kedah!
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Life is a balanced scales
The sky was in blue and the weather was windy. It seemed to be a good start of a day.
When I reached my car which was parked near the gate of my apartment, few traffic polices were writing summon for all the cars along the road side. Of course my car was one of them. This wasn't the first summon that I got from the same traffic police under the same offence.
It is not that I am too obstinate and never care to park my car at a legal parking area. The problem is, I have no choice. Candidly, I don't mind paying if the management of my apartment allows me to rent a parking slot. I am willing to walk further if there is a permissible parking area available. To solve this problem, I have to options in my choices cart.
1. Shift to another apartment which provides parking area its residents.
2. Maintains my current situation and treat the fines as a monthly payment for renting a parking slot at the road side.
After considering, I decided to choose the second options even I was discourage by my parents. I believe nothing is perfect in this world. Even if I shift to another apartment, no one can verify that I will not face any other problem. I am happy with my current housemates. They are naturally kind, very gentle, lovers of beauty, and understanding. We always respect each other's rights. In short, I will never get better house-mates. Also, the public transport such as buses, LRT, and taxies are in the neighborhood of my apartment. Above and beyond, the amount of fines that I have to pay for illegal parking is much cheaper than the usual payment for a car park renting! In conclusion, I should count myself lucky for staying here.
After the first episode of the day, I continued heading towards my office. Unfortunately, I was welcomed by a dozen of complain calls and e-mails. They were criticizing about the management of the project that I am handling. This is unfair for me as a fresh graduate who only took over this employment one month ago. Besides, should I mention I was an animation student not a management student? I have total zero understanding in organising or managing. But who will care about this? People will not treat me as a newbie or find out who was the "murderer". With my responsibility and position today, I have no choice but to apologise for all their unfortunate situations and solve them as soon as possible. Genuinely, I would like to thank the "murderer" for giving me these tribulations. Without these opportunities, I might not able to learn that much. I believe I will grow faster in the worst environment if compare with the surroundings without challenges. What's more, I got to know all the complainers who are quite well known in this industry.
The episode three of today was the most unpredictable experience I had in a day. During dinner break, a group of my colleagues invited me to join their dinner in KLCC. Actually, our daily meals are provided by our company. Nevertheless, we wanted to have a different atmosphere for dinner. The climax of episode three happened after five minutes of our journey heading towards KLCC. My friend's car lost its battery in a sudden. The car stopped in the middle of Jalan Ampang (the road which is famous with traffic jam after office hours). Additionally, it was raining! All the guys were trying to push the car and start the engine. Some of us were trying to call for help. But our efforts weren't getting any payoff. After pushing the car for a long distant, we finally decided to give up. We paid RM10 for parking the car at a parking spot nearby and continue our journey towards KLCC with our own feet. All of us were very hungry. The owner of the car kept saying sorry but I personally didn't think that it was his fault. It was just because of our luck. Ops… talking about luck, maybe is my fault for bring the bad luck along.
While walking along the pavement, we met one of our colleagues, Yusof. Yusof became our mentor in this episode. He found the cables for connecting the battery of his car to my friend's car. After charging the battery for a while, the engine of my friend's car was finally started! "Warmest thanks to Yusof!" Due to this experience, my knowledge about car is a littler higher now.
After a tough working day, I reached home at last. It is my habits to check my mailbox before heading to bed. An e-mail from my boss with a short sentence cheered me! I am glad that he likes my work. At least my hard work is appreciated.
All in all, the bad situations that I faced today somehow brought benefits for me at one fell swoop. This proved that life is just like a balanced scales. A dreadful phenomenon will be balanced up with reimbursement. It is nothing to do with "luck". I believe it is all depend on how I choose to see it.
When I reached my car which was parked near the gate of my apartment, few traffic polices were writing summon for all the cars along the road side. Of course my car was one of them. This wasn't the first summon that I got from the same traffic police under the same offence.
It is not that I am too obstinate and never care to park my car at a legal parking area. The problem is, I have no choice. Candidly, I don't mind paying if the management of my apartment allows me to rent a parking slot. I am willing to walk further if there is a permissible parking area available. To solve this problem, I have to options in my choices cart.
1. Shift to another apartment which provides parking area its residents.
2. Maintains my current situation and treat the fines as a monthly payment for renting a parking slot at the road side.
After considering, I decided to choose the second options even I was discourage by my parents. I believe nothing is perfect in this world. Even if I shift to another apartment, no one can verify that I will not face any other problem. I am happy with my current housemates. They are naturally kind, very gentle, lovers of beauty, and understanding. We always respect each other's rights. In short, I will never get better house-mates. Also, the public transport such as buses, LRT, and taxies are in the neighborhood of my apartment. Above and beyond, the amount of fines that I have to pay for illegal parking is much cheaper than the usual payment for a car park renting! In conclusion, I should count myself lucky for staying here.
After the first episode of the day, I continued heading towards my office. Unfortunately, I was welcomed by a dozen of complain calls and e-mails. They were criticizing about the management of the project that I am handling. This is unfair for me as a fresh graduate who only took over this employment one month ago. Besides, should I mention I was an animation student not a management student? I have total zero understanding in organising or managing. But who will care about this? People will not treat me as a newbie or find out who was the "murderer". With my responsibility and position today, I have no choice but to apologise for all their unfortunate situations and solve them as soon as possible. Genuinely, I would like to thank the "murderer" for giving me these tribulations. Without these opportunities, I might not able to learn that much. I believe I will grow faster in the worst environment if compare with the surroundings without challenges. What's more, I got to know all the complainers who are quite well known in this industry.
The episode three of today was the most unpredictable experience I had in a day. During dinner break, a group of my colleagues invited me to join their dinner in KLCC. Actually, our daily meals are provided by our company. Nevertheless, we wanted to have a different atmosphere for dinner. The climax of episode three happened after five minutes of our journey heading towards KLCC. My friend's car lost its battery in a sudden. The car stopped in the middle of Jalan Ampang (the road which is famous with traffic jam after office hours). Additionally, it was raining! All the guys were trying to push the car and start the engine. Some of us were trying to call for help. But our efforts weren't getting any payoff. After pushing the car for a long distant, we finally decided to give up. We paid RM10 for parking the car at a parking spot nearby and continue our journey towards KLCC with our own feet. All of us were very hungry. The owner of the car kept saying sorry but I personally didn't think that it was his fault. It was just because of our luck. Ops… talking about luck, maybe is my fault for bring the bad luck along.
While walking along the pavement, we met one of our colleagues, Yusof. Yusof became our mentor in this episode. He found the cables for connecting the battery of his car to my friend's car. After charging the battery for a while, the engine of my friend's car was finally started! "Warmest thanks to Yusof!" Due to this experience, my knowledge about car is a littler higher now.
After a tough working day, I reached home at last. It is my habits to check my mailbox before heading to bed. An e-mail from my boss with a short sentence cheered me! I am glad that he likes my work. At least my hard work is appreciated.
All in all, the bad situations that I faced today somehow brought benefits for me at one fell swoop. This proved that life is just like a balanced scales. A dreadful phenomenon will be balanced up with reimbursement. It is nothing to do with "luck". I believe it is all depend on how I choose to see it.
Saturday, July 02, 2005
A call from Australia!
It was a lonely Saturday. A ring broke the silence while I was watching the Japanese Drama - "The Beautiful Life". A very familiar voice was sent through the phone. I can't remember when was the last time I heard her voice but sure not anytime within the past three years.
She is one of my best friends from high school. We studied and played music together. We had endless topic to chat when we got together or even on the phone. We shared secrets, feelings and gossips :P . All the camps that we had were brilliant memories for me.
In the one hour chitchat, We shared the recent news about each other and tried to recall our memorable experience in the past. The conversation made me felt as if I was back to a high school kid again. We are still as close as last time and we have nothing to hide from each other. This proved that a true friendship will not be destroyed by distant and time. The intensity of keeping the friendship will decide its future.
I am touched and really appreciate the call.
Hope she will be a successful doctor and always in a state of bliss.
She is one of my best friends from high school. We studied and played music together. We had endless topic to chat when we got together or even on the phone. We shared secrets, feelings and gossips :P . All the camps that we had were brilliant memories for me.
In the one hour chitchat, We shared the recent news about each other and tried to recall our memorable experience in the past. The conversation made me felt as if I was back to a high school kid again. We are still as close as last time and we have nothing to hide from each other. This proved that a true friendship will not be destroyed by distant and time. The intensity of keeping the friendship will decide its future.
I am touched and really appreciate the call.
Hope she will be a successful doctor and always in a state of bliss.
Convocation
Finally, I managed to get a new student ID card after losing the old one in a clinic several months ago! Nevertheless, I will not be considered as a "student" after 6th August 2005. The card will just be another memento in my treasure box.
Four years ended in the twinkling of an eye.
I wonder how I will feel when I am wearing the graduation robe during the commencement. In the similar scene that I used to watch from movies, the eyes of the main character usually brimmed with tears while holding bouquets of flowers and the graduation certificate in their arms. The shot will typically pause at the moment when a group graduates throwing their mortarboard towards the sky.
"But why is it in Melacca?!"
My university is located in Cyberjaya. I have no idea why the convocation has to be in another state. Isn't it supposed to be held in the university that we studied itself?
Anyway, I really wish to have a memorable experience on that day. If everything falls into plan, I will be going Melacca with Leng's Family. She was my room mate since the first day I got in the university. The four years friendship was a treasure for me. What is more, we will be staying in the same hotel in Melacca for two days due to the convocation. Warmest thanks for the offer. It means a lot.
Four years ended in the twinkling of an eye.
I wonder how I will feel when I am wearing the graduation robe during the commencement. In the similar scene that I used to watch from movies, the eyes of the main character usually brimmed with tears while holding bouquets of flowers and the graduation certificate in their arms. The shot will typically pause at the moment when a group graduates throwing their mortarboard towards the sky.
"But why is it in Melacca?!"
My university is located in Cyberjaya. I have no idea why the convocation has to be in another state. Isn't it supposed to be held in the university that we studied itself?
Anyway, I really wish to have a memorable experience on that day. If everything falls into plan, I will be going Melacca with Leng's Family. She was my room mate since the first day I got in the university. The four years friendship was a treasure for me. What is more, we will be staying in the same hotel in Melacca for two days due to the convocation. Warmest thanks for the offer. It means a lot.
