The Wizard of Oz by Sri Pelita School

The Sri Pelita international school in Penang stages a musical every year. It is also done as a fund-raising activity - one would think an international school would be sitting on a pile of cash from the school fees but apparently not!

This year the students put on The Wizard of Oz, a classic for both kids and adults. It was my first time attending their annual play but I went away impressed. Costumes were great, lines were delivered with aplomb, and I was wholly impressed with their efforts to coordinate so many young children. It was cute when some of the younger children broke out of character and waved excitedly at their parents!

I have to give most of my kudos to the girl playing Dorothy - the lead character. (Could someone fill me in on her name?) It was definitely not easy to remember so many lines and do most of the acting. I have a feeling she'll grow up to be a Rachel Berry ;)

Photos were taken with my Nokia C6-00, and you can see the dark environment is really pushing its limits.

Dorothy in Kansas

Ding dong the witch is dead!

Dorothy meets Scarecrow

The Cowardly Lion tries to bully our travellers

Arriving at the gates of Oz

The choir sings Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Curtain call

For a minimum donation of RM25, it was certainly an evening well-spent. I won't be around for next year's staging, but do keep an eye out and support local artistic endeavours. We keep talking about moving away from an examinations-centric education system, thus we should encourage such holistic approaches by actually attending them!

(Hat tip to Scott for recommending this musical last Saturday)

Kathina @ Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary

Pre-reading:

• What is Kathina?
• What is Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary? (Buddhist monk training center)

On 7 November I went to Taiping to participate in Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary's (SBS) Kathina celebrations. If you've never heard of Kathina or SBS, you can read the provided links above.

October and November is peak Kathina season in many Theravada Buddhist temples. I haven't been to many Kathinas in my life but I can safely say that the one in SBS is extremely well-organized.

I woke up at the ungodly hour of 3.45am on Sunday morning. We left home at 4.30am and after picking up other carpoolers, we set off for Taiping.

As SBS is nestled on top of a hill, there is limited parking and driving up the steep slopes is something best left to experienced 4WD drivers. To avoid having the devotees hike up the hill, volunteer 4WDs have been roped in to transfer us up and down. It was very well planned out and there were traffic marshals at both ends making sure there's only one way of traffic at any one time.

Offering of Kathina cloth to the monks

I estimated more than 500 people there, and it could well be pushing a thousand. Another sign of the massive scale of this event were the roughly 10 stalls dishing out free food. And this isn't the usual diluted red bean soup and cold fried noodles either - we're talking about fresh bowls of laksa, curry mee, char koay kak, and even a Burmese dish that tasted unlike anything I've had.

Devotees helping themselves to breakfast

At nearly 10.30am the main event for the devotees began. In a line that snaked through the entire compound, devotees stood ready with a small cup of rice. The rice was managed by a group of well-trained youths. After offering a few grains of rice to each of the 18 monks, the plastic cups were collected and re-distributed to others down the line.

Devotees offering a small scoop of rice to each monk

Closely following the monks were 2 groups of kappiyas (helpers). The first group held a tray of requisites for the monks, while the second group held a tray of souvenirs. It was in this latter group that I was roped in to. After a thorough briefing on what was expected of us, we took our assigned spots. We walked directly behind the monks, and with each devotee we were supposed to let them "offer" the tray. This is done symbolically by either lightly lifting the tray or touching the offered items, and then saying "Sadhu" (a word of praise in Pali language).

Kappiyas bringing around trays of requisites and souvenirs for each monk

This turned out to be a very spiritual experience for me. The entire walk through the compound took 65 minutes, and as I continuously mumbled "Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu" to the devotees I had time to reflect. I also enjoyed the brief moment of kinship with each devotee as they sincerely offered the tray, negating my feelings of thirst and the soreness in my arms. Plus, the feeling of walking barefoot was quite enjoyable! (Except on gravel.)

Requisites prepared by Burmese devotees

This event has rekindled my faith somewhat. I've always thought of Buddhism as a beautiful and intelligent religion, but I'm turned off by the organized portion of "organized religion". I've seen first hand how the involvement of humans tend to mess things up. Politics are bound to creep in and I often witness people enforcing "their" interpretation of what's right on the masses. This might involve ousting people who disagree with you and even influencing temple abbots to be on their side. Yes, just like national politics!

Offering souvenirs to Kumei Sayadaw and 17 other monks

As I offered my tray of souvenirs to Kumei Sayadaw, the most senior of the 18 monks present this year, he looked into my eyes and his gaze pierced through me. You just know when it happens. It's that knowing feeling that someone has seen beyond your eyes. It was a brief moment, but it will stay with me for some time.

Oktoberfest 2010, Penang

Last week I posted the program and menu for Malaysian German Society's 38th Oktoberfest. As it was my first ever Oktoberfest I had nothing to compare it with but its success is indisputable - more than 1500 tickets were sold before the night ended. I get equally hectic when standing amongst an excited crowd, and in that excitement I forgot to take photos of the food. Take my word that every bite is delicious.

While offering a truly festive and bonding atmosphere (especially since beer is involved), one must always be prepared to spend. I would advise allocating RM 100 for your total expenses in a single night and go with a close knit group of friends. I'll let the photos do the writing today.

Official Oktoberfest Bier. At RM25 per 500 ml, it had better be official. It has higher alcohol content and a more full-bodied flavour, without any harsh bitterness. Personally though, it still doesn't beat a certain Yan Jing beer from China.

The most popular food stall of every year is undoubtedly Ingolf's Kneipe, the most popular German restaurant in Penang (and probably the only one). Lines were so long they had queue numberings to ease congestion but it wasn't heeded.

Here I am with Jastin, waiting in the Ingolf queue.

There were other stalls with good food but without the queue, such as Nellcis Homemade Cakes.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng shares a pint with German Ambassador Dr. Günter Gruber while the Reissner Band plays on.

The most anticipated event of the night - Beer Drinking Competition!

Upon finishing their 2 can equivalent they need to turn it over their heads and press a buzzer.

An ex-classmate of mine (and fellow school debater) won 2nd placing! Also, please forget how I look like after downing Paulaner.

Did I mention girls get to partake in free beer too? Without having to go topless (UNFAIR! some shouted)!

The bustling crowd under the main tent.

Yup, they love their beer.

Another popular contest was the ladies' beer mug endurance challenge.

Towards the end of the night the party truly got started and there was dancing going on in front of the stage (with the excellent music played by the Reissner Band, it's hard not to do a jig). Everywhere else, binge drinking ensued. I wanted to join in the party but I was glued to my seat thanks to my 3rd beer (courtesy of Jonathan Khor). I've learnt that attempting more than two beers will induce headaches, queasiness, and loose morals.

Oops, did I just reveal my kryptonite?

Beach Picnic

When was the last time you had a picnic on the beach? It's something we islanders take for granted.

"Aiyah, the weather is so hot"

"Penang's beaches are so dirty"

"Lazy to prepare food"

Now that I'm leaving Penang for a substantial stretch of time, I want to spend quality time with friends and family, creating those unique memory keepsakes that are so rare nowadays. So when my close buddy S hatched the idea of a beach picnic, I stopped asking "why" and started asking "when".

My last beach picnic was at least 7 years ago at Pantai Kerachut with some Mahindarama BGX Youth. It was a full-blown affair, what with having to hike an hour to reach the northernmost point of Penang Island. This round we took the easy way out and set out our mats at Teluk Bahang, somewhere further out from the commercialized Batu Ferringhi beaches but still within a motorized vehicle's reach.

Our little picnic set up

We set out from my house at 7.30am and arrived at Teluk Bahang beach in the first half of 8 o'clock. The beach was almost deserted and we took our pick of spots to lay out our mats. As we haven't had our breakfast yet, we quickly dug in to our food. I made cheese & egg sandwiches and microwaved broccoli & carrots. S bought vegetarian chang (rice dumplings) while J supplied fruit drinks. W provided his sister's beach mat.

Cheese & egg sandwich is a simple yet delicious and filling combination. The key is in getting the egg part right. Mash hard-boiled eggs into small chunks (but don't blend it into a puree! That's just disgusting), sprinkle with black pepper flakes to give it a kick, and finally mix it with your choice of artery-choking dressing (I went with mayo). In between bread slices, place an even spread of egg mayo, slice of cheddar cheese, and butter/margarine. Delish.

I've also recently discovered the joys of cooking vegetables in the microwave instead of boiling them (nutrient leeching) or steaming them (too time/energy consuming). A whole bowl of cut broccoli can be done in 2-3 minutes. I rinse them with salt water and leave a small amount in the bowl before zapping them with microwave rays.

I also brought my portable speakers and preloaded my iPod with beach-friendly tunes such as California Gurls (Katy Perry), It's You That Matters (Reshmonu), and Mas Que Nada (Black Eyed Peas). A neighbouring picnic group did it the traditional way and had guitar sing-alongs! Let's just say I've modernized with the times.

We left at about 10am as the sun started getting unbearable. Although it was high tide we didn't have any cooling breeze to stave off the burning rays, so we packed up in 5 minutes (it took us 10 minutes to set it up - go figure) and high tailed it out of there. Our journey home was impeded by the Cycle For A Lane event. It was definitely scary to share the single lane road with endless cyclists. Yes, it's time for cyclists to have their own lane.

Pardon my camera phone's lacking capabilities

Oktoberfest @ MGS Penang

The largest Oktoberfest in Malaysia is held at Penang’s Malaysian German Society towards the end of every October. Though happening for the 38th year, this will be my first visit. Forgivable, except for the fact that it’s only 10 minutes walk from my house!

I bought the early-bird entrance tickets yesterday (RM25; RM30 if you only buy it this Saturday) and here’s the agenda and food pricing:

Schedule:

• 7.00pm Arrival of VIPs and welcome addresses
• 7.30pm Marching in of the Reissner Band
• 8.30pm Beer drinking contest for ladies and gentlemen
• 9.30pm Stein (1 liter beer mug) carrying contest for ladies
• 10.30pm Arm wrestling contest for real men
• 10.45pm Lucky draw 3 main prizes announcement

Food:

Torch Restaurant & Bar:

• Lamb Shank with Mashed Potatoes (RM 25)
• Swedish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes (RM 8 for 6, RM 15 for 12)
• Chicken Bitki Cutlets (RM 5 for 2 pieces)
• Mashed Potatoes (RM 5 per portion)

 

That Little Wine Bar:

• Nuernberger Sausages with Bun (RM 15)
• Fraenkonian Meat Patty with Potato Salad (RM 15)

 

Satay Stall:

• Beef and Chicken Satay (RM 0.70 per stick)

 

Nellcis Homemade Cakes:

• Gingerbread Hearts (RM 12)
• Pretzels (RM 3)
• Cakes (RM 6)

 

Ingolf’s Kneipe:

• Farmer’s Pork Sausage (RM 16 set, RM 9 plain)
• Smoked Country Sausage (RM 16 set, RM 9 plain)
• Chicken Sausage (RM 16 set, RM 9 plain)
• Chicken Meatloaf (RM 16 set, RM 9 plain)
• A pair of Munich Sausages (RM 16 set, RM 9 plain)
• Honey Glazed Kasseler (RM 20 set, RM 12 plain)
• Roasted Pork with Gravy (RM 20 set, RM 12 plain)
• Julian’s BBQ Whole Lamb Shank (RM 25 set, RM 20 plain)

All set meals from Ingolf comes with your choice of 3 side dishes…:

• German Style Sauerkraut
• Flaky Mashed Potatoes
• Semmelknoedel
• Red Cabbage Braised with Apples

… and you can choose between Onion Sauce or Brown Meat Gravy.

Obviously there’s gonna be beer, and I’ll be aiming for some good German beer. No price list for alcohol though, but surely will be available.

See you there this Saturday! It will be a packed day for me, with the ASAP Film Festival at KDU Penang during the daytime. In contrast, that is a free event that you should attend if you have the time. Support local arts industry and learn something at the same time.

2010 BlogFest.Asia (Day 2)

[continued from Day 1]

I had an eventful Saturday night and arrived home past midnight. Although Sunday's events will also start at 9 I already planned to arrive late. Hey, don't judge. At least I showed up. By the time the event actually began at 9.45am, it was evident that more than half of the local attendees skipped the thing.

Typical Malaysian behaviour when it comes to free things.

As we started late, the schedule kept going out of whack. It didn't help that time management wasn't strict and some speakers tended to ramble endlessly. I spent the whole morning surfing the web on my Nokia C6-00 phone - I'm so thankful it has a real QWERTY keyboard that enabled me to surf easily, even if text was a bit hard to read. Even a panel session represented by a DAP MP and a MCA man didn't pique my interest much as they only skimmed the surface.

The most entertaining part of the morning was the Country Report, where representatives from different Asian countries came up to talk about the state of blogging in their homeland.

Representative from Taiwan

Lunch came, and once again it was at WOU's cafeteria. Dishes consisted of curry fish (very mild), fried chicken and stir-fried cabbage. Simple fare that I will not be criticizing as I do not have a food fetish. In a nice gesture, Duy and Ami (the Viets) gave me a small souvenir from their country. Within South-East Asia, I haven't visited Indonesia, Phillipines, Brunei, Laos, and Vietnam but I'm putting Hanoi at the top of my list since I have some new contacts there!

 

Souvenir from Vietnam



Queueing up for lunch at WOU cafeteria

We had breakout sessions again in the afternoon, but I only went for the first out of three sessions. I enjoyed Tactical Technology Collective's sessions the most because the speaker was very natural and the mood was very informal. I already know many of the things he taught (coming from a technology background and all) but I really respect their efforts to use technology to build up civil society.

Tactical Technology Collective workshop



I was still tired from last night's gathering, and I had another dinner appointment in the evening, so I left at about 3pm to go home. I'm quite sad to have missed the closing ceremony and I didn't even get the chance to say a proper goodbye to my new friends - sorry all!

In conclusion, I think this BlogFest.Asia was quite informative and empowering. Well, it got me to restart this blog, didn't it? There's talk that next year's conference will be in Myanmar (Burma). I'll probably not be going - don't think I'll even be in Asia this time next year!

That concludes my imperfect coverage of this conference - normal blogging topics resume next week.

2010 BlogFest.asia (Day 1)

[continued from Day 0]

The actual conference was held at Wawasan Open University. I really like this place thanks to its large grounds, colonial mansion in front, and the sea directly behind it. The place is well maintained and it really gives me a peaceful, out-of-town feel even though it is merely 5 minutes from the CBD.

I want to study here when I grow up

In my Day 0 coverage I lamented that I didn’t meet anyone new, especially foreign friends. Well, I shouldn’t have worried. As I was queuing up to register my attendance, someone stood behind me who was obviously not a Malaysian.

I immediately offered a handshake and introduced myself. Borey is a Cambodian IT student, and through him I got to know his hotel room mates, all 4 of them (5 of them squeezed into a single hotel room!). From one handshake I got to know Cambodians (Borey, Both), Vietnamese (Ami, Duy), and a local guy too (Lex). I stuck around them for the rest of the event.

Back to the conference…

It was obvious that the schedule was very organic and agile. Sessions could change in the last minute without prior notification. The best I could do was sit back and be herded like cattle through the day because it was impossible to predict if a particular session will change!

The structure for both days was similar – mornings were spent in the lecture theatre while afternoons we are free to attend our choice of 3 breakout sessions. I won't reprint the program which you can view at their website. Here are some photo highlights from Day 1:

Keynote by Prof. Peter Herford

An example of a panel discussion

Day 1's breakout session ended about 5, and since dinner started only at 6.30, I took the chance to go home to catch 40 winks. When I returned, the field in front of WOU has been turned into a garden party (one can fantasize). While food was not as tasty as the night before, Bamboo Catering is one of the better known caterers in Penang and they did a good job of introducing foreigners to cafeteria-quality food.

...

Sarcasm aside, at the very least they had fresh Char Kuey Teow but the queue extended almost 10 minutes for a measely plate and I gave it a miss. The Ais Kacang contained the bare minimum of red bean, sweet corn, and herbal jelly but managed to impress my international friends anyhow. If only I had the chance to bring them to Penang Road's Cendol and Ais Kacang...

Critical review aside, I should be grateful to the state government for sponsoring this dinner and the performance that followed (cultural dance and Chingay demonstration).

Dinner sponsored by Penang State Government on WOU grounds

Queueing up for dinner, catered by Bamboo Catering

Belacan Chicken, Fried Spring Rolls, Shrimp, Chicken Coctail, Vegetables, and Fruit

Chingay performance with WOU in the backdrop

The night continued with the MyBloggerCon awards, which honoured Chinese blogs. Since I can't read and write in Chinese (my conversational skills are elementary at best), I gave it a miss. Also, I had another birthday dinner to attend.... (yes, I had 2 dinners that night!)

[Day 2 continued]

2010 BlogFest.Asia (Day 0)

As mentioned previously, I was at the 2010 BlogFest.Asia event over the weekend.

There was barely any publicity at all, and if not for a chance sighting in The Star's Metro North section about the event, I wouldn't have known about it! Was it poor PR, or by design to prevent Malaysians dominating the event, I'll never know.

[Before reading further, I need to state clearly that I didn't go to the event with an eye to document it. So my posts about this event will be heavily skewed and biased to what I've seen. If I were a real blogger/journalist, I would have at least interviewed the organizers, but as you already know, I Am Not A Blog =)]

The event actually started the night before, with a welcome dinner at QEII (food review by Criz Lai) hosted by the Ministry of Tourism. This was easily the best meal of the entire weekend, as QEII can be considered fine dining. The buffet spread was tempting, with salads, mushroom soup (heavenly!), fried rice, NZ beef (I missed this), lamb, chicken, vegetables, and spaghetti bolognese.

I know "lamb, chicken, vegetables" made it sound like I'm having chinese economy rice, but I was too hungry to properly write down the names and take blurry pictures with my point-and-shoot. As you know, I Am Not A (food) Blog =) [Darn, I love quoting my own domain name in sentences]

You're just gonna have to take my word that it was awesome, delicious, and everything a decent buffet should be. And you can't beat free flow beer, although I restrained myself to a small glass.

I went there alone with the intention of making new friends, especially foreign ones. Mission Failed. People were in their own comfortable cliques and there was no ice breaking event (understandably quite difficult to do it there) to let us mingle. I'm not known as a social butterfly, so I was awkwardly walking around fluttering my ugly moth wings instead. (I did meet some old acquaintances and a colleague, but I didn't stay too long with them because, you know, I wanted to meet new people!)

Anyhow I went off at about 9.30 because I was going nowhere with the socializing and was really tired after my cardio class at 6.

[Day 1 continued]