Cats and cat taker

How many times have you said to yourself "Oh, poor cat. I wish I can take you home" or "Hey kitty kitty...come..come.." and feed it with your half-eaten meal and then you go home and have that guilt sense of 'what happens to these stray cats when nobody's feeding or taking care of them'?

The answer is: Welcome to SPCA. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This is the place where animals find temporary refuge until someone wants to own them. Everyday they pray  that a human is kind enough to bring them home and love them unconditionally. These cats pray that they don't get sick and be put to sleep. 

It's been quite sometime that I visited SPCA. I had adopted two cats from here and I had always chose the weird one 'coz I know that people always wants the pretty ones. Yes,even in this shelter. 

Today I would like to show you one of the important people who takes care of the cats and dogs here in SPCA. Without him and their endless efforts and routined work, this place would not be possible for these animals to live in.

Before i introduce you to the 'cat-taker' (caretaker of cats), I'd like to introduce you to the 'Otai' cat of SPCA. His name is ABU and he doesn't live in the cage like the rest of them. Abu roams freely inside and outside of the compound and is very friendly with people. Most of the time he guards the other cats and say 'hi' once in a while.

This is the cat-taker (senior supervisor), Muniandy a/l Ramiah. Born and bred in Pantai Remis, Perak, Muniandy has been serving these cats and dogs for an astonishing 28 years. When asked why, he simply replied "It's a great job. I like animals. I like taking care of them. Kita sayang sama dia, mandi sama dia, bersih sama dia...binatang sayang kita balik. Lain tempat kerja, mana ada".

The dedicated cat-taker who is a father of two also said that he sees him working for many more years here, in SPCA as his work brings him much joy.

His daily tasks begins at 8.30am right up to 4.00pm. He starts his day with counting heads of workers or volunteers and then starts feeding and washing the kennel compound. They practice twice a day of washing to ensure the place is clean for the animals.

Besides washing, cleaning and feeding, Muniandy also does re-arrranging of charity items so that it is neat and properly stored. When asked why there are so many things in the office, he replied "these are the charities from the community. They donate anything that we can sell back and the money we make is put to use for maintaining SPCA". 

Up 'til now, SPCA welcomes any kind of animals that need shelter or rescued. Animals besides cats and dogs are welcomed but after they've treated, it usually goes to the zoo. If you see an animal in need of rescue, just call SPCA and they will come and help. But if you can bring them straight, why not. It's always good to have animal carrier in your boot,incase of emergency,that is.

During my visit, there were so many adorable cats and kitties waiting for adoption and they only cost from RM70-RM350. They're healthy and ready for new homes. Have a look, maybe you'll find the right one here. The SPCA told me that sometimes it's better to send in stray cats for neuter and take them home rather then leaving it in SPCA to help reduce unwanted cats and in time be put to sleep if space. health and monetary is insufficient. Look at the statistic board below on how many animals go in and out.

While talking about stray cats, Muniandy interrupted "orang nak yang cantik-cantik saja. Malam-malam orang hantar kucing luar dan tinggal saja". Hearing this just breaks my heart. I wish I lived in a landed property so I can take in as many cats as I want. It's not safe having cats in an apartment as I've experienced 2 suicidal episodes. With my current cat, Moto, I keep her close. Only 'poo-poo' time she gets to go out to the balcony.

Isn't she adorable?

 This fella stood very still as I took his portraiture

Look at that pink nose.How could you not want to 'pot-pot' the nose, Right?

 Muniandy strokes the cat for a pose

Before I left SPCA today, Muniandy made me feel that my benchmark of unconditional love for animals had hit up a notch. I admire his perseverance through the 28 years of devotion towards these animals. If there was a medal for unconditional love towards animals of the decade, this man truly deserves it all. Hats off to you, Muniandy.

I know that I do not have that much time for volunteering at SPCA, so my donation would be monetary wise. For you out there, you could make a change and lend a helping hand to our, meow-meow, woof-woof, hee-haww and many more weird -noise-making friends by donating directly to the SPCA account or simply by purchasing their products. As you can see, I've captured the latest product, the colorful umbrellas which only costs RM25 each. Pick a color and donate today. 

SPCA Account number : RHB bank 2-12273-00021583

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A TASTE OF KELANTAN | NEXT STOP : WAT PHOTIYAN PHUT THAK THAM

Bachok is a small distrct located approximately 25km north of Kota Bharu. After having lunch in a near by village, I decided to cruze around bachok and not too long after i passed by Pantai Irama. I stopped to take a look but nothig at 4pm had my interest around there. So i hopped back into my car and went up the coast of pantai irama and just about next 5km, I had already focused on a big head of a white statue in between the trees of a nearby village. 30 seconds later I found a signboard and it led me to the WAT POTHIYAN PHUT THAK THAM. 

As I came out from the car, the most prominent thing i saw was this humungous statue of Kuan Yim. It is told that this Wat (temple) had 10 buddhist monk within 200 years of its existence, each replacing one after the other. It is also told that the buddhist worshiper community had fund raising and with rm3000 collected, they had built a herbal steam bath facility in this wat for people to come and bath for healing purpose.

Kuan Yim statue stands tall at over 100 feet.

The white surface is covered with those tiny 2cm x 2cm mosaic, if you look closely enough.

Since it is a THai-Buddhist temple, the multiple roof tiers is an important element. The use of ornamented multiple tiers is reserved for roofs on temples, palaces and important public buildings. Two or three tiers are most often used, but some royal temples have four. The use of multiple roof tiers is more aesthetic than fuctional. Because temple halls are large,their roof areas are massive.Dynamic visual rhythms are created by these multiple tiers, breaks and tier patterns. In northern temples, the roof area is larger, sweeping low towards the ground to cover more of the wall. 

A mythological animal of Chinese origin, and a member of the NAGA(Sanskrit) family of serpentine creatures who protect Buddhism. 

again, the dragon guards the temple and protects buddhist from harm.

Wishing Tree

Before I left the place, I couldn't help noticng this colorful tree, I did not see anyone who could answer my quriosity on why it had so many colorful raflles on it so I asked mr.google for help and here's what this colourful tree is all about:

At RM5, you can buy the colourful cloths (color according to your birth day) attached to a pair of candles where after making your wishes, you're supposed to throw it up towards the tree and if it got stucked, then your wishes will be granted. You can throw up to 3 times, and if the candle dropped on the floor after that, then most prob the wish wont come true.

So how bout it? what would your three wishes be the next time you come here?

A TASTE OF KELANTAN | FIRST STOP: PASAR SITI KHADIJAH

Kelantan, which translates as the "Land of Lightning" is a veritable treasure throve of delights - rustic fishing villages, verdant padi fields and languid, palm-fringed beaches.

Tucked away in the north-eastern corner of Peninsular Malaysia, the people of Kelantan have managed to keep alive age-old customs and traditions, thus earning the state a reputation as the Cradle of Malay Culture.

Introduction Kelantan, which translates as the "Land of Lightning" is a veritable treasure throve of delights - rustic fishing villages, verdant padi fields and languid, palm-fringed beaches. Tucked away in the north-eastern corner of Peninsular Malaysia, the people of Kelantan have managed to keep alive age-old customs and traditions, thus earning the state a reputation as the Cradle of Malay Culture. (Wikipedia)

Kelantan, as I've known her for years, is THE PLACE for cheap and yummiest food in Malaysia. But this trip, is not merely about food. I only want to capture what I see for that second and see if that one snap is strong enough to describe the scene.

The first visit was the famous pasar Siti Khadijah. Even thought it's no more authentic like i used to remember when i was still small, It still had that interesting side to it.

Fresh stock, anyone?

As I was walking around the market, couldn't help my eyes to look up

and saw these amazing lines of the roof.Very symetrical.

This makcik refused.yes, REFUSED her picture taken 

instead makes a statement from the news headline.

Ah...now I know what happened to those headless chicken running around...

I turned to another corner and this makcik is smoking

her 'rokok daun' while waiting for customers. 

I kept wandering about and found this. This is 'rebung' @ bamboo shoot.

Pandas eat the leaves, we eat the shoots.Shoot, are we connected?

After done circling the ground floor, I decided to go up and as I arrived,

I saw a Surau through this slanted window and couldn't miss this frame.

The alleys upstairs. Lots of goods placed on the shelves.

Abundance of things to see and shop!

Pasar Siti Khadijah is a place full of colours and choices of really cheap prices.There's still lots of pictures in my files that I'd like to share for this entry but i think i'll keep some for next. BE SURE that if you ever go to Kelantan, DO STOP BY this amazing market coz you'll never know what you're gonna find. 

Broga Hill

Bukit Broga. A name that is widely mentioned for its adventurous climb with a prize of a breath taking view. Most people would climb this hill to catch sunrise and sunset. After weeks of planning, I finally made my way to Broga yesterday before dawn. I started my climb at 5.45am.

I was all excited and brought my DSLR backpack filled with 1 body, 2 lenses and 1 SLR together with my 190XPRO B tripod, Just incase, you know...

Yes, I was all pumped-up and excited only to know that at 1/3 of my climb i had already started panting like a dog out of water for 3 days (okay, I exaggerated. I was out of breath, having nearly 2.5kg of weight on my back). 

At this point, I swore to myself to get a good interchangeable compact so I would have a much lighter climb next time. How about the Sony NEX-5?

The first peak was a climb of 1.7km from base and the highest peak was at 4.8km. After that panting, and almost throwing up on my Milo drink i drank before the climb, I wasn't that excited to climb the 2nd peak. Peak 1 is good enough for my first climb.

Before reaching the first peak, at 6.15am I had to climb the steepest, almost vertical (to me lah) hill. The picture above was taken when I went down at 930am. 

After a good 45 minutes climb all drenched, the view of the town below was worth the climb. Street lights were still on. It was so serene.

I was disappointed as the sun did not rise that morning. The grey and gloomy clouds headed to Broga and soon it started drizzling and I had to pack my things and head down. This was my first attempt but will definitely climb again, lighter and pray for the sun to rise and shine!

Kerang Kuala Kurau

It was a Saturday. After attending a wedding 30 minutes away from Teluk Intan, I headed to Taiping for a days rest and decided to continue my journey early morning the next day. The clock struck 12 and I was clueless to where I'd be heading tomorrow. Will it be Kuala Gula? We'll see...

I left at 6am and headed the highway. Took the north Taiping exit and found the route towards Kuala Gula and Tanjung Piandang.

It was still pitch dark and I had no idea what the town had to offer. I lingered through the small town and found myself in it's sunday market (pasar tani) and had myself a yummy 'personal order' of Apam Balik Jagung Lebih at only 60sen each (harga biasa 50sen, jagung melimpah kasi 60sen je...murah gile!).

After happily fueled (though eyes still half opened), wandered off and found this spot where fishermen or should i call  them 'kerang-men' were starting their daily operations.

Have a look at What Eyva Saw

 

'Kerang-man' chucking out those empty shells

Kerang buckets

'Kerang-man'

Ruins near the shore. I was told by the 'kerang-men' that 

they too were affected by the previous Tsunami hit.

Next time you pass by Kuala Kurau, be sure to stop by and get some fresh kerang.

Yummy for Char Koay Tiaw!

Chinese New Year Open House @ Balik Pulau

GONG XI FA CHAI!

It's the year of the rabbit and I'm all hippety-hop to find an open house event open for public. So I though it'll be held in KL but only did I know that just like Merdeka, a federal event, they rotate states and this year's federal open house was held in Miri. 


Sad that I couldn't fly across the south china sea, I was determined to find a state level open house and so my wish came true. I googled and came across this guy's blog and he said that this year's open house for Penang will be in Balik Pulau, my favorite place for laksa. Yumm! The event started from 6pm onwards.

Could this be chinese chess?

This is Chin-gu.

I'm impressed how these guys can balance a 30 feet pole on their chin, forehead and back.Bravo fellas!

Flashes were prohibited during the lion dance performance. They claimed 

'takut silau'. So everyone turned off their flash but the lion did trip a few times. 

No bones broken though. Otherwise we''d all be having lion chop.

Y.A.B Tuan Lim Guan Eng meeting his Penang-ites.

Best part is that I was actually in the middle of this circle made by his bodyguards and RELA.

Other photographers were outside of this circle. JUST MY LUCK!

On going performance during the night.

This is the Yang Di-Pertua Pulau Pinang

TYT Tun Dato' Seri Utama Dr. Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Abbas

By the time I had finish snapping and went to look for the free food,

the stalls were already closed and without wanting to leave Penang with an empty stomach,

I headed for Gurney Drive.

Before I crossed over the street, I found people releasing

lanterns and their wishes for the New Year.

Have a great Rabbit Year everyone!

Le Tour de Langkawi

Le Tour de Langkawi is one of Malaysia's highlighted events beside the F1 and monsoon cup. I've never been foe a shoot of this prestigious event but this year, I'll give it a go. As I arrived, caught a familiar face among the press photographers: Mr. Shamshahrin. Idon't know im personally, but he had been to my faculty previous semester to give a talk on photojournalism.

Do enjoy the rest of the event's pictures...

Dato' Shaberi Chik hands out a plaque to the yellow jersey winner

Dato' Shaberi Chik receives a gift

The overal winners of LTDL 2011