Gurney Drive, Penang, Malaysia

Penang's place to be

Ah... Penang. When I hear this name, I get sentimental. Penang is the famous Pearl of the Orient, but it's also a city where I connect many fond memories. It's my own personal pearl. The name derives from the famous betel nut [檳榔 or bīn láng].

I've been to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong... but no place in Asia has the same charm as Penang. This city is different. On the one hand it's totally Malaysian: dense traffic, noise and extremely hot. But it's also a bit different, not only because it's located on an island, but because of its people. It's one of the few Malaysian cities, that has more Chinese than Malays (only Ipoh is more Chinese dominated). But you'll find all kinds of people there. It has a rich history and it's famous all over Malaysia, no, all over Asia for being a food paradise. You have a lot of tourists in Penang that come from everywhwere: Westerners, Japanese, Thais, Singaporeans and many more. I have a special personal bond with Penang, because my 3 months, that I spent there in 2007 were the best time of my life. I really miss those days. And most of the time I was in Gurney Drive. It's a vibrant part of Penang stretched along the northern coast, where you have a lot of hawkers, shopping malls, hotels, condos and a very long promenade along the shore. Let me show you some photos of Gurney.

Gurney is the part of Penang, where many rich people live.

There's a long promenade with benches stretched along the coast.

Gurney Plaza is the biggest shopping mall in the area. I have loved to go shopping here.

The front part of Gurney Plaza mall, where cars are allowed to pass. Usually guys would pick up girls after work here. Malays and Indian usually on scooters, Chinese usually in cars.

Here's a little plaza with cafés and restaurants. I loved to hang out here. It was always a good mix of locals and tourists, because of the hotel and the condo in the area.

Right is Gurney Plaza, on the left is a condo. This was in 2007.

The Sunrise Tower in Gurney. I used to live here. It was an amazing time.

Close to the Sunrise Tower.

A local night market was in the area. I always ate local delicacies here. It was divided in two parts, the biggest and the crowded one was with Chinese food, the smaller was with Malay and Indian food. That's because Muslims are not allowed to eat non-Muslim (non halal) food.

Cars parked along the main road in Gurney.

Gurney Drive was definitely one of my favorite parts of Penang. Of course the locals will say it's very touristy and that the food there is not the best, but the night market was usually bursting with people, especially on Friday and Saturday evenings. It was the place where I used to live, where I used to go every day and I started to like it. And sometimes I miss it. Back in 2007 the Gurney Plaza shopping mall wasn't extended yet, it was much smaller, but still good enough for a daily visit to the food court or to buy some small things. Living in Gourney is very convenient. If you ever choose to settle in Penang, I think that's the place to be.

Check also: My post about Gurney Plaza Shopping Mall>>

[My MALAYSIA page][My PENANG page][All photos by MKL, 2007]

A new bloginning

This is a new beginning for me as a blogger. I changed my blog title, my blogger name and the blog URL. I wanted to change my blog skin for a while now. I tweaked here and there on my old one, but I was never really satisfied.
I left my old blog behind, but only the platform. All my previous posts were imported here, so it's basically a new design with old content and a new direction. Sooner or later one has to improve and mature and now is the right time to do that. I was drawn in a conflict I did not really want. I have expected something to backfire, but not in a way it did. It was way beyond appropriate and acceptable and that was my point that I defended. Well, I felt like my old blog was being ransacked by an angry mob only to find something agaoinst me and to portray me in a negative light. I'm not afraid of that, but I am ready and I want to be one step ahead. For me the blog name is not important and the hits I got from that controversy are also not important. I do appreciate my followers, especially those who give me feedback. I will continue to work on my blog, because I love blogging. But I noticed that lately I was negatively influenced by other bloggers. I need to stop with that and return to my roots, when I wrote about things that really interested me, things that really mattered and still do. Quality must overtake quantity again. Sure, I'll still write about everything and some posts will be better, some will be worse, but I know one thing: I will stop caring about other bloggers. I was always like that and I fared pretty well, I never had any problems. Most important is to acknowledge one's mistakes and to find out the reason. I did so and I know I won't repeat my mistakes again. And it's sooooo refreshing to just get rid of so many creepy followers, who read my blog daily and never responed or the readers from my native country that I hoped won't read my blog, because I don't want them to read my blog. I know some will find me, I will get new weird followers, but now I am prepared well. I am one step ahead. I learned a lot in the recent weeks and especially days. Now I need to implement that.

Wish me good luck.

MKL

Megan Fox about white trash

Have you heard the most recent comments from Megan Fox? I mean, this woman really amazes me everytime she says something. Here's what she said for the UK magazine Total Film. She was asked a theoretical question relating to the movie Transformers about what she would say to Megatron to keep him from destroying the world. She replied:

“I think I would make a deal with him. I'd barter with him and say instead of the entire planet, can you just take out all of the white trash, hillbilly, anti-gay, super bible-beating people in middle-America?” [...] “I'll give Megatron middle-America and let's call it even!”

[source]

Of course there's like tons of blogs and forums talking about these remarks and complaining (+misquoting her). Why? Why do you complain? First of all, it's not a serious question! It will never happen. Secondly, she just implyed that she doesn't like these groups of people. Well, I don't like them, too. And many many more people don't like them as well. If you're offended by this, than you have issues with your own identity or beliefs. I don't mind if someone makes jokes about atheists. So what? I've also read that many people said they won't go to her movies. As if she cares. In the same magazine, she told the people who said Transformers 2 is a bad movie:

“If you don't wanna see it, then don't fucking go and pay for it. Stay home!”

You just have to love Megan Fox and the things she says. She just always nails it. Yea, she's having a foul mouth (loves that work 'fuck'), but I guess she just does that because America censors these words and she just doesn't care about PC and fake politeness. I guess she speaks the way other 'polished' actors speak privately. I appreciate her bluntness, but she's never trashy. Her jokes are very intelligent and she has good points. I guess American Christians will bash her, hate her, but she'll be the new icon for libs and won't be only popular, because she's hot, but also because she says the things many don't dare to say like that.

I just love Megan Fox.

[Photos: Source]

Media makes a story

Well, it happened like I predicted: Iran is out of the spotlight. Michael Jackson's death is still the number 1 topic in the media and only the coup in Honduras is catching up on it. But I guess nobody here knows (or cares) a lot about that country and the media figured quite fast, that it doesn't sell so well. So they don't push it that hard as they did with Iran and Swine flu.
At this point, they're still rummaging up all kinds of things from MJ's life, from his old days to the most recent: He's not the biological father, there will be a big fight over the custody of his children, where will he be buried, how much money will be made with his music now, will there be songs released...
It's a neverending story. Of course it's much more interesting than Honduras or Iran., because these are hard topics to deal with. Protests, beatings, killings, surpression... who wants to watch these images all the time? It's summer. People are in vacation mood, they want to take a break from horrible stories, enjoy the warm weather, switch off their brains. That's understandable. That's why these breaking news don't sell so well in summer (July & August), because it's the best part of the year for people living in the northern hemisphere.
To return to Michael Jackson: Did you see his awsome performance just 2 days before he died? Man, this could be the comeback of the year or maybe even one of the best comebacks of all time. He was so energetic, his moves were perfect, almost as if it was the old MJ from the times when he was perfectly fit... but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. All things in life happen for a reason. He will live on in his music and be remembered as one of the greatest pop artists of all times. At least the part of his life, where people tried to defame him and exploit him for his money, is over. His genius remains. People will forget the scandals, because they are by far outnumbered by his great albums, performances, videos, concerts and even charity. Hope he found the peace he always sought.

[Photos: Source]

2 days of my life...

...I will never get back!

What a waste of my time! OMG, I was so underestimating morons. Why do I have to explain my points to people who are like programmed robots? I had to explain to every single commentator my point again and again! Couldn't you just read my previous comment before you asked the same question? Boy, you really stressed me out these 2 days. I admit, I have no energy to deal with this. Do whatever you want! Slam me, bash me, trash me: Whatever! I won't respond, I won't be provoked again, I will continue blogging like I used to. I removed ALL posts mentioning or relating to THAT blogger. I don't wanna have her on my blog AT ALL! Eew! Generating buzz for that blog that doesn't deserve it? Why would I be that silly?

Those who have read the other side of the story (and there were like 2000 of you from the 'fine' city in these 2 days) and tried to understand it from a different angle, I give you some credit. You are not completely lost, yet... You have a chance to be someone with its own mind. The rest, those who insulted me here or there (or anywhere else online), you are a lost generation. I hope this whole fuss you created made you feel good about yourselves. Some wrote whole essays in their comments on my blog and tried to slam me, him, his wife and even Dawn Yang, who has completely nothing to do with this. You just love to drag her into every "controversy" and bash her, don't ya? Did you really think I will publish your garbage here?

From now on, I won't even read any comment from a fan of that blogger! I won't go into pointless discussions with morons who don't understand what I wrote in my post and who maliciously misquote or misinterpret me. You don't know me. This blog says a lot about me, but not everything. A lot of stuff is not meant seriously and I advise you, don't take yourself so serious, you are NOT perfect, just like I'm not, Brad is not and especially that blogger is not. I just defended a friend and everything I wrote was supported with eveidence or reason and was fairly balanced! But that's something that you don't understand, because it's too complex for you. Your reasoning is: She is right, so everybody else is wrong! As simple as that. Enjoy your pathetic online bash while it lasts. If that's what makes your lives more meaningful and if that's what gives you a sense of winning (while in real life you are no-name losers), then smile now infront of the screen, you pathetic freaks, chant and dance, call your friends and tell them all excited and exulted:

"We won, we won, OMG, we won... woohooooooo!"

As long as I am the "loser" and you are the "winners". Since I gave you so much pleasure, I want to ask you about one small favor, though: When in the future something bad happens in your pathetic lives, please think of me in that moment and remember - that's my bad karma that I'm sending out to you now. I hope you will smile then like you smile now... because... without a smile, life wouldn't be fun, would it be? Because then - you will be screwed and I will be the amused spectator.

[Photo: Source]

Why so much hate?

Why are you so evil, people! I'm particulary speaking to some Singaporeans, who are going nuts these past 2 days! When do you get enough hate? Do you enjoy being vicious and hateful? Does it turn you on? I just hope that when this spills over to the mainstream media, you will still publicly stand behind your racist and hateful remarks. You're a disgrace for the beautiful state of Singapore!

種何因,得何果!

Dawn Yang, best Singaporean blogger

The more you'll know her, the more you'll like her

Dawn Yang is Singapore's finest female blogger.

Can you imagine that there's a female blogger that hot like the girl on pictures below? Yes! It is possible! You probably know this incredibly sexy and smart girl: It's Dawn Yang, Singapore's best female celebrity blogger. She's just unbelievably attractive. But let me tell you something more about her, because there's so much more to this girl than just what is obvious to the eye:

She was born on 5 December 1984 (remember the date, guys, to send her some warm wishes on Twitter). So that would make her some sweet 25 years. Ain't that the best age in someones life? Well, she's certainly making the best of it. If you wanna see it for yourself, check her incredible blog ClapBangKiss Me Life at www.dawnyang.com, it's a blog with almost 11 million hits! Can you imagine? She started blogging in 2003 and gradually became more and more popular. In October 2005 she was voted the hottest blogger (by hottestblogger.com), which doesn't come to a surprise to me. There's no other Singaporean blogger who would match up with her beauty (I mean look at that perfect hair, the lovely figure, the sexy legs: Amazing!). In the same year, she was even voted as 'Babe of the year' (by readers on The New Paper's annual Flame Awards 2005). She appeared on few magazine covers (among others on FHM) and was in 2006 even voted into 21st place in FHM Singapore's 2006 list of 100 Sexiest Women. Impressive for a newcomer.

Besides being hot, she's really smart. She is an alumna of elite schools Singapore Chinese Girls' School and Raffles Junior College, as well as a scholarship holder to Marymount Community College and University of Southern California in the United States. Besides that, she doesn't need degrees to prove how intelligent and interesting she is (unlike some other trashy Singaporean bloggers) - you can just check her blog! That girl is really well traveled! She's currently in New York (which is awsome!), but she's virtually been everywhere and you have plenty of pictures of her trips, and she includes museums and historical sights. Of course you'll find photos of her hanging out with a lot of people, having fun, taking it easy. No wonder people wanna be around her, because she's a really kind and nice person. And she loves to snap photos and post them. Wow, her snapshots are really great. She can make cute lovely pics of herself, or she makes some very deep, artistic photos. With Dawn Yang, you get everything! Literally. She's the perfect blogger, a mix of photos, travelogues, journals and deep thoughts. She even cares for charity and encourages people to engage. If I really wanted to describe her whole blog, I'd need like 10 pages. You have to see it for yourself. You can't just label her with one word (unlike some other Singaporean bloggers, who are plain trashy and shallow). And you will never see Dawn Yang creating controversy, because she's peaceful and respectful towards others. Of course, she's international, because she's so well traveled and has an excelent upbringing. Compare her followers and their comments to those of some other so-called celeb bloggers from Singapore. Hers are smart, educated and thoughtful. You won't see her allow racist comments or bashing others. She doesn't need that! She's classy. She has some insightful things to say. She doesn't mock others, she doesn't have an angry mob behind her as a tool to attack someone. She's really that type of celebrity, who is not petty and vain and she's totally down to earth. She's someone that makes you wanna hang out with her, be friends with her and have tons of fun. Some other bloggers are nasty hate spewing people. Eww. Wouldn't wanna hang out around these losers.

That's why, if you happen to have a lot of free time, sacrifice one afternoon and go thru Dawn Yang's fabulous blog and check her phantastic posts and especially the pics. She will lighten up your day! Of course she will: She's smart - Cute - Sexy - Kind - Interesting ;-) If you look for trashy shallow posts, you know where to look.

Always support and follow the best Singaporean blogger:

Dawn Yang.

Update: As for now (November 2009), Dawn followed me back on Twitter and she also commented on this blog, which really made me happy, because I admire her as a fellow blogger and I appreciate her accomplishments. And I stand by this post, even if many people drop negative comments. I like Dawn a lot.

Dawn Yang in Dec 2011 from Plixi. Ain't she cute?

Interesting stuff: [Dawn's comment on my blog][Dawn's most personal post]

Sources: [ClapBangKis][awn on Twitte][bio][More lovely pics of Dawn and polls]

See also: [My SINGAPORE page][My WOMEN page][All photos owned by Dawn Yang]