Once The Malayan…..

The Malayan Airbus Gouramy

If you happened to browse some old books on tropical fishes, the chances are good that you might come across a small fish called ‘The Malayan Airbus Gouramy’. This fish grows to about 5-6cm in length and lives in acidic water of about 4-6.5 pH. I used to wondered about in peat soil estate to look for this fish. It was once my favourite. As it swims, if floated about in water with minimal vigorous movement. Today this little air breather is no longer known as The Malayan Airbus but is now the chocolate gouramy due to its colour. Technically, it is termed as Sphaerichthys osphromenoides.

Another organism in water was also once called ‘The Malayan Giant Freshwater Prawn’. It was technically called as Macrobrachium rosenbergii or simply udang galah in Malay. Again, like the gouramy, this crustacean is no longer the Malayan but known as the giant freshwater prawn or the Hawaiian giant freshwater prawn or simply freshwater prawn.

Both the little finfish and the giant shellfish lost their original identity as once The Malayan. Like the fish, we are now Malaysian and not Malayan.

The Malayan Giant Freshwater Prawn

Some places in Malaysia still very much reflect the time when once we were called Malayan. Old towns, small towns are still around with such identities. Taiping is one of the towns. The Malayan can be brought back and this has put me a place to design a concept accepting old time activities that are very much back to nature in the form of farming in water for fishes or even harvesting fruits from trees. Like those time back in the kampong that can be re-created in my new entry simply called The Malayan, an ec0-style farm resort.

The Malayan

If this interests you, contact me to know more.

Old Trails…

Sg Woh at Batu 7, Jalan Pahang

Last week was a good time for me and my family to be away from KL and locked into the trail back to where I came from. ‘Balik kampong‘ or heading home with destination: Taiping. For those who were in KL last week feasting on the hazy polluted air should be envious of the time I had during this trip.

You can go mad with kids at home during school holidays. Not a good time to travel abroad either with swine flu checking in and out of airports. Take a slow drive back to Taiping was a welcome decision.

First stop while on the way was in Tapah, the town at the foot hill of Cameron Highlands. 2 hours drive from KL. I was once in this town for about 3 years. Never missed the good home cooking food there at The Little House restaurant. For those who loves the banana leaves, try Sundera Vilas Restaurant, located opposite the bus station.

Be more adventurous and drive up along the road to Cameron Highlands (Jalan Pahang) and head to Hutan Lipur Air Panas Kuala Woh at the 7th mile. This is one of my favourite hot spring river that you never wanted to leave once there. The river is wide enough for child’s play and shallow too for a cool peaceful dip. Most heavenly of all are the sweet soothing sound of the river spalshes and the echoing of the most natural jungle music, the cries of cicada. Green lush gigantic trees all around with Rajah Brooke butterflies flying freely. The facilities like toilets, camp sites, dewan are all there for campers and they are clean too. For the kids, don’t forget the over-hanging bridge.

All green at Kuala Woh

Old colonial buildings, good food, rain and lake gardens defined Taiping. One hour away from Tapah.

Taiping councils are restoring some old buildings, zoo had a make-over with new stage and entrance plus the night safari, hotels are popping up here and there….but the newly opened coronation pool no longer look like a part of Taiping. A modern looking building tucked in old history looks a bit unfitting. The original Coronation Pool was built in 1870.

Anyway, when you are in Taiping, watch out for your cholestrol as the food there are irresistable. For a guide, always start off with the cockle curry mee then followed by char kuey teow and save your stomach space for pulut tai-tai & popiah before you end with chendol or gandum. That’s for the first meal. Well, if you truly plan for a feast-food adventure there, just invite me and forget Anthony Bourdain.

Taiping is not all about history and food, don’t forget  the ‘touch pig’ temple if you plan to strike a million, how about the Kamunting ‘resort’ for politicians and of course,  Maxwell Hill.

It is time for Taiping to become a real tourist city like Penang and Malacca. It is also time to re-hire back those rickshaw peddlers, clean up the town and lake garden, restore all those made by the British, bring back the sarongs, cheongsam and saris for the folks and finally remember there should be ‘no chemical and no motorised vehicles’ in the lake garden.

Anyone interested to build a 5* hotel in Taiping and don’t forget to bring back a pack of heow peah (heong peang).?

“Ninety nine percent of modern architecture is boring, banal, and barren, and usually discruptive and unharmonious when placed in older cities.” James Stirling, 1974

Kampung Eco Agro Aqua Farm………..??

The latest addition rendered in gray..

If I were to combined a sound eco-concept with aqua farm, agro cultivation and a village style architecture, what should I named it? The image above is my latest work meant to be for ‘all of the above’. Visited the site last weekend and it was not promising. Not too far away and in full view was a quarry blasting away a hugh portion of the so-called forest reserved!

A quarry site ... a real scar to nature

How much damaged ? Explosive blasting in the morning according to the local boy, sediment runoff into the the nearby stream, busy quarry lorries stirring up a dusty road and an ugliest sight ever. How much do we love nature if compared to profits?

Back to the “all in one concept”, can this be truly applied? Low density fish farming with organic cultivation of crops allow lush spaces from the green and water bodies encompassed the villas. Cut from one angle and it does look like a kampong with style and character as shown in the image above.

Ecoseas 2010 coming soon…

Back to Bali…why not?

Last year was tedious with about 20 trips to Bali and other parts of Indonesia. Last week was my first trip for year 2009  and back happily to the islands of gods…Bali. Tagged along with me, a friend Alvin, his first trip there.

This trip was filled with much time and fun after a long 2008 year end break. Managed some time to catch up with friends like Thorsten, Karl Princic, Pak Agung Yokasara and Putra. Also bumped into Pak Ariel Ali..The Kayana GM. Not bad for a rapid conversation with him to strategize the formation of a 7-star resort from a ‘kopi tiam’. Will sure to meet him again soon.

Waka Gangga Bali

Kirana Spa Bali

With Alvin, I made a yearly pilgrimage to favourites like The Kirana Spa at Ubud, tea at Bvlgary and a nice tour to all spas at The Ritz-Carlton. Don’t missed the Spa on the Rock if you plan to be there. The Ritz-Carlton will be renamed by April this year. Therefore, there will be no more The Ritz-Carlton Bali soon. Also, managed to stretch my time to pay a short visit to Waka Gangga for the yearly salt spray experience!

Back to work….the ponds at St Regis are more matured now. Fishes are still timid and its time to train them to act like those in the circus. The plants are growing wild and all are like springing back to nature. The weather was not kind as it rained almost the whole morning. Not much was done while waiting for the rain to stop.

Last year I was in Queens of India for my RM15 a piece capati and this time I managed to swallow my RM70 ‘goreng pisang’ (fried banana). Anyone? Welcome to Bali.