Thursday, April 16, 2009

KLCC and Bukit Bintang


Kuala Lumpur City Centre refers to the commercial centre located in the heart of the city that includes the Petronas Twin Towers, the Suria KLCC Shopping Mall, a park, a 5-star hotel and prime office blocks. Strategically located in the centre of Kuala Lumpur, which gives rise to its name, KLCC and the areas around it are some of the main destinations for shopping, clubbing and business for both locals and internationals.

The Suria KLCC Shopping Mall lies between the Petronas Twin Towers, Malaysia's highest man-made structures. Its strategic location in the heart of Kuala Lumpur and easy accessibility by subway trains from locations around Kuala Lumpur make this a popular destination for both locals and tourists. Suria KLCC is also located in the prime commercial area of Ampang, which is in turn, a hotbed for nightspots and tourist attractions.

Visitors can access the mall through a few entrances, including a direct tunnel link from the subway LRT station across the road and through the landscaped park. Consisting of several floors, the mall has a wide range of upmarket outlets dealing out the latest fashion merchandise, electrical products, leather goods, watches, cosmetics, jewellery, household items and much more.








Bukit Bintang is Kuala Lumpur's ultimate shopping district as well as a fantastic place for entertainment and family recreation.
Located in the Golden Triangle, Bukit Bintang can easily be reached by bus, taxi or elevated high-speed trains dubbed the Monorail system. The area is also a commercial centre with many offices and businesses operating in Bukit Bintang.
At weekends, Bukit Bintang is packed to the brim with people from morning to night, making this one lively place not to be missed out!

(taken from http://www.kuala-lumpur.ws)

Malaysian ghosts

A list of common Malaysian ghosts and spirits:

Pic 1 - Pontianak
* Pontianak - vampire in white dress seeking revenge.
* Polong - unseen ghost that can be used by a black magic practitioner to harm someone.
* Toyol - ghostly children used by the owner to steal other people's money. (looks a bit like Gollum in Lord of The Rings)
* Pelesit - ghost in grasshopper shape. Used by Black magic practitioner to possess someone.
* Hantu Demon - an evil spirit or demon. There are many different types.
* Hantu Air - water ghost in rivers, lakes and swimming pools.
* Hantu Raya - ghost that acts as a double for a black magic practitioner.
Pic 2 - Pocong
* Hantu Bungkus or Pocong - ghost jumping around wrapped in a white shroud.
* Langsuir - variation of the Pontianak.
* Bunian - good ghosts or jinns living in the jungle. They like helping humans.
* Hantu Jepun - World War II Japanese ghosts. They wear WWII army attire and carry samurai swords. Most are headless.
* Hantu Bukit - ghosts that haunt the hilly areas.
* Hantu Kubur - ghosts that haunt the cemeteries.
* Hantu Pari-Pari - fairy ghosts.
* Jelangkung - closet ghost.
* Hantu Laut - sea ghosts.
* Hantu Galah - very tall ghosts. As high as coconut trees.
* Jin Tanah - jinns living underground.
* Hantu Kum Kum - a female ghost carrying a tombstone as a baby asking for milk.
* Orang Minyak - the "Oily Man". Loves to rape virgins.
* Orang Halus - literally meaning small or invisible person, are elves or fairies that live in the forests
Pic 3 - Penanggal
* Hantu Penanggal - heads and intestines flying without a body. Loves to suck the blood of a newborn child.
* Hantu Tetek - big-breasted ghosts that loves to hide small children inside her breasts.
* Harimau Jadian - huge tiger ghosts. (We don't have wolves here in Malaysia.. we have tigers.. err... so we don't have werewolves but we have weretigers???)
* Jembalang Tanah - underground ghosts.
* Hungry Ghosts - Taoists believe that hungry ghosts are ghosts of people that did not find everything they need to survive in their after life. If a ghost passes on, but does not have enough food, water, shelter, etc., it will come back into the world of the living to feed off of the living. They will scare you, and then they will feed off of your energy and fear.

Some haunted places in Malaysia:

Georgetown - The Deadly Junction - it is a T-Junction, located beside the Union High School, it is said that if you ever drive across it late at night, your car will go out of control and crash. Some people say that there is a tiny unknown tree which looks like a lady carrying a child beside the road, they saw her figure and the child screaming, some old folks say that she was once a "bomoh"(witch doctor) who kidnapped her sister's son, somehow they never reappeared after being seen beside this "Deadly Junction".

Ipoh - St. Michael's Institution - A group of Catholic missionaries arrived in 1912 and began to build a school next to the famous Kinta River. It did not take long for the missionary brothers who ran the school to have enough funds to erect a huge school building with unique French structural designs. When World War II broke out, the school was used by the Japanese secret police as their headquarters. Lots of torturing were carried out there. In this unique building, there were many tunnels which had since been sealed off. These tunnels were believed to be used by the Japanese to torture prisoners and to store food. Most ghostly sightings occur at the Chapel on the fourth floor of the building. People have spotted a headless Catholic brother dressed in black robe, holding prayer beads sitting facing the door which opens towards the brothers' quarter in the early morning. Those who had witnessed this incident were asked to keep it a secret so as not to scare people fearing that no parent would register their children in the school. A real skull displayed in the school biology lab was found in the school back yard.

Kuala Kangsar - Malay College Kuala Kangsar is said to be a former site of a Japanese occupation camp during World War II. Students were sometimes awakened by an entity that stares down directly at them. An invisible marching platoon can be heard in the field. So can the sound of chains. A tree on campus which stands right beside a lamp post produces a shadow of a man hanging from the tree. These ghostly sightings are typical sightings reported at old colonial administration buildings that were used by the Japanese during the World War II as 'executions' took place. These buildings include the Victoria Institution (school) and the Bukit Bintang Girls School in Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Kubu Bharu - Mara Junior Science College Kuala Kubu Bharu - In various parts of the building a white flying apparition has been seen.

Kuala Lumpur - Bukit Tunku (Kenny Hill) . This an elite residential area in Kuala Lumpur. This is not your typical residential area as it is situated on top a hill with large old colonial bungalows surrounded by large ancient trees and green vegetation. The residences here are link only by a narrow winding road. This place evokes an eerie feeling at night and even during the day. It is said that a few years ago one of two youths who embarked on a high speed motorcycle chase on this road crashed at a dark stretch and died. Since then, there were sightings there of a young man riding a motorcycle at high speed, who will mysteriously vanished in the dark.

Kuala Lumpur - Cheras Polyclinic. This used to be a government clinic but has since been abandoned without reason. It is believed that this place is haunted by dead patients seen loitering around the area.

Kuala Lumpur - Genting Highlands Resort. This is a famous hill resort and casino. Many people who have incurred gambling debts have committed suicide here. Some visitors leaving the hotel lobby of the casino have reported seeing a man in red jump from the rooftop, just to disappear in midair. Certain rooms in the casino hotel are not available to guests no matter how occupied the hotel is. Those who have been the inside these rooms have reported that they are occupied by old Chinese ghosts. Those who witnessed this would subsequently fall ill for days.

Kuala Lumpur - Highland Towers. This is where a condominium block of Highland Towers in Ampang collapsed and killed many people in the building. This tragic event will forever live in the minds of Malaysians. It is claimed that voices of the dead can be heard at night and ghostly figures are said to have appeared at the scene. There is also a story of a taxi driver who picked up a woman passenger in the middle of the night and after dropping her off at this place, the taxi driver found her bag left in the taxi to be full of blood!

Kuala Lumpur - Pudu Prison. This old prison was abandoned after the area around it became commercialised. There are reports of a strange thin Indian man walking the prison hallways and disappearing around the corner. Screams can also be heard from the room where hangings executions took place. There were also many cases of in-prison acts of violence that led to deaths of inmates. Certain cells and holding chambers were far colder than others. The authorities are proposing to turn it back into a prison (for low security prisoners) as no one will take it up for commercial purposes. There were once plans to turn it into a hotel where guests can stay a night in the cell of the most notorious criminals.

Kuala Lumpur - Victoria Institution. This is very famous school in Kuala Lumpur. This school was a Japanese base in KL during their occupation of Malaysia. Many British soldiers and locals were brutally tortured to death at its basement and at some of its older buildings. It is said that not only are ghostly apparitions common at the night but during the day as well. There were also cases of students being possessed by spirits. The possessed boys would behave strangely, even violently, harming other students and teachers only to snap out of it a few hours later and remember nothing. Even when they were forcibly restrained, their bruises would disappear when they returned to normal.

Perak - Ipoh - Tambun. There were sighting of an old lady on the roadside.

Perak - Ipoh. Tambun Inn - Lights were reported to turn on and off and there are sounds of whispering.

Perak - Kellies Castle. It is said that sometimes doors opened by themselves and lots of scary screaming voices can be heard.

Puchong - A haunted house. It was reported that evil drawings appear on the walls. Some say it is occupied by the ghost of a woman who used to reside there.


(taken off http://themalaysianlife.blogspot.com/2007/08/ghosts-still-live-in-malaysia.html)

Unesco Sites (New)

Penang

Penang Teochew Association
The restored Penang Teochew Association located on Chulia Street is worth visiting. It won a Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Conservation Award 2006 after USD250,000 was spent on the restoration of this temple. Not to be missed also is the 200 year old Temple of Kuan Yin,on Lebuh Pitt(Jln Masjid Kapitan Keling). Built by the first Hokkien and Cantonese settlers in Penang, it is often filled with worshippers here. The Hainan Temple in Lebuh Muntri, completed in 1895 and remodeled in 1995 is worth visiting. There are dragon pillars and ornate carvings to be admired. There are also much activity going on in this functional heritage building.

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion
Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion In Lebuh Leith is the highly recommended magnificent 38-room, 220-window Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. It was commission by Cheong Fatt Tze, a local merchant-trader who was a rag-to-riches success story. Built in the 1880s, it is a rare surviving example of the grandiose architectural style preferred by wealthy overseas Chinese trying to imitate the opulence of the Ching dynasty. The building was restored recently with a cost of USD2 million and won top honours for the “Most Excellent” Unesco Conservation award 2000. Hourly tours run at 11am and 3pm Mon-Fri and 11am Sat-Sun. They have an excellent website too at www.cheongfatttzemansion.com.
Melaka
St Paul’s Church
It was built on top of Melaka Hill by a Portuguese nobleman Duarte Coelho in 1521 and was called the ‘Our Lady of the Hill’ before the Dutch renamed it St.Paul’s Church. The church was regularly visited by Basque priest St Francis Xavier. Following his death in China, the saint’s body was brought here to be buried. Nine months later it was transferred to Goa in India, where it remains today. In 1556 the church was enlarged to two storeys and a tower added to the front in 1590. The church was renamed following the Dutch takeover, but when the Dutch completed their own Christ Church at the base of the hill, it fell into disuse. The roofless church has been in ruins now for more that 150 years, but the setting is beautiful and in contains some interesting stone slabs inside. A marble statue of St Francis Xavier commemorates his interment here over 400 years ago. His statue was erected with his right arm missing, apparently to show that his body in Goa is still without the right arm. Back in 1614, the Pope had requested the right arm of St Francis to be severed from his corpse and sent to Rome. Although he had been dead for 62 years, blood was said to have gushed out of the arm. Immediately after St Francis was canonised a saint in 1622, what remained of the right arm in Rome was merely a skeleton, but the body in Goa remains intact except for the missing right arm. In 1952, the Bishop of Macau decided to put up a statue in front of St Paul's Church. A marble statue was ordered from Italy and was sculpted by the famous Italian sculptor, G Toni, and was ready for the fourth centenary celebrations on March 22, 1953.

Stadthuys & Christ Church Painted red, the Stadthuys was built between 1641 and 1660 and is believed to be the oldest Dutch building in the East. It features substantial solid doors and louvred windows; the port-red theme extends to the other building around the Town Square and the old clock tower. It is now the History & Ethnography Museum. Also within the Stadthuys is the Literature Museum. Stadthuys Admission RM2; 9am-6pm Sat-Thu. 9am-12.15pm & 2.45-6pm Friday. Christ Church in the Dutch square was built in 1753 by the Dutch. Its notable feature is the ceiling, whose beams, over 15m (16yd) long, were each made from a single tree. The handmade pews are original, dating back 200 years. Over the altar, there is a painting of the Last Supper on glazed tiles and on the floors are tombstones in Armenian script. The entrance is free but you may be politely asked to make a donation towards the upkeep of the church. Located at the dutch square is the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee fountain, completed in the year 1904.

Cheng Hoon Teng Temple (built 1645 onwards)
Cheng Hoon Teng temple was founded in 1645 by Lee Wei King and is the oldest functioning Chinese temple in Malaysia. The main hall was built by Chan Ki Lock in 1704 and was rebuilt in 1801 by Kapitan China Chua Su Cheong.

Nestled in a tight urban setting, the temple occupies 50,000 square feet. Inside the main hall on the central altar is a statue of Kuanyin, the goddess of Mercy. To her left is the Queen of the Oceans (Ma Choe Poh), the guardian of fishermen, sailors, and sea travelers. The final deity is Hiap Tian Tye Tai or Kuan Ti Yeh, the favorite deity of merchants and traders.

To the left of the main hall is an altar to Confucius. In the back are ancestral tablets of local Chinese and the "Kapitans China" of Melaka. "Kapitan China", which means "Captain of the Chinese" was a position created by the Portuguese to act as an administrator of the local Chinese community. Although the Portuguese are gone, the position remains. The founder of the temple, Li Wei King, was a Kapitan China and his portrait is enshrined in one of the back halls.

The temple was constructed by craftsmen using materials brought in from southern China.

Taken from http://www.malaysia-trulyasia.com/mta/unesco_malaysia.htm and http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/malaysia/

Unesco Sites in Malaysia



Gunung Mulu National Park
Important both for its high biodiversity and for its karst features, Gunung Mulu National Park, on the island of Borneo in the State of Sarawak, is the most studied tropical karst area in the world. Karst topography is a three-dimensional landscape shaped by the dissolution of a soluble layer or layers of bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite. These landscapes display distinctive surface features and underground drainages, and in some examples there may be little or no surface drainage. The 52,864-ha park contains seventeen vegetation zones, exhibiting some 3,500 species of vascular plants. Its palm species are exceptionally rich, with 109 species in twenty genera noted. The park is dominated by Gunung Mulu, a 2,377 m-high sandstone pinnacle. At least 295 km of explored caves provide a spectacular sight and are home to millions of cave swiftlets and bats. The Sarawak Chamber, 600 m by 415 m and 80 m high, is the largest known cave chamber in the world.

The concentration of caves in Mulu's Melinau Formation with its geomorphic and structural characteristics is an outstanding feature which allows a greater understanding of Earth's history. The caves of Mulu are important for their classic features of underground geomorphology, demonstrating an evolutionary history of more than 1.5 million years. One of the world's finest examples of the collapse process in Karstic terrain can be also found. GMNP provides outstanding scientific opportunities to study theories on the origins of cave faunas. With its deeply-incised canyons, wild rivers, rainforest-covered mountains, spectacular limestone pinnacles, cave passages and decorations, Mulu has outstanding scenic values. GMNP also provides significant natural habitat for a wide range of plant and animal diversity both above and below ground. It is botanically-rich in species and high in endemism, including one of the richest sites in the world for palm species.




Kinabalu Park

Kinabalu Park, in the State of Sabah on the northern end of the island of Borneo, is dominated by Mount Kinabalu (4,095 m), the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea. It has a very wide range of habitats, from rich tropical lowland and hill rainforest to tropical mountain forest, sub-alpine forest and scrub on the higher elevations. It has been designated as a Centre of Plant Diversity for Southeast Asia and is exceptionally rich in species with examples of flora from the Himalayas, China, Australia, Malaysia, as well as pan-tropical flora.

The site has a diverse biota and high endemism. The altitudinal and climatic gradient from tropical forest to alpine conditions combine with precipitous topography, diverse geology and frequent climate oscillations to provide conditions ideal for the development of new species. The Park contains high biodiversity with representatives from more than half the families of all flowering plants. The majority of Borneo’s mammals, birds, amphibians and invertebrates (many threatened and vulnerable) occur in the Park


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The Legend of Lake Chini


Local legend tells a tale of a wandering group of Jakun tribesmen who cleared the land to grow food crops. During their labour, an old woman appeared who proclaimed that she was the rightful owner of the land and that her permission should have been sought before any trees were felled. The Jakun humbly apologised, whereupon the woman allowed the men to continue their work. Before departing, however, she planted her walking stick in the ground as a mark of her ownership, telling the men never to remove it.
The men continued with their work, but some time later they heard one of their dogs barking and snarling at a decaying log. One of the Jakun threw his stick at the log, but immediately a torrent of blood issued from the log causing the man to run back to his friends in fear. His friends thought he was possessed by demons and tried to keep away from him. However, the barking continued so the entire tribe returned to investigate the log. A spreading pool of blood had formed around the log.



In fear they hurled their own sticks at the sight, whereupon a dark cloud gathered in the sky. The thunder roared, the lightning flashed and a torrent of rain fell from the sky. The men grabbed their belongings and ran for cover, but in the chaos one of them pulled the old woman's stick from the ground - the very stick which they had been warned not to touch. Immediately a fountain of water poured from the hole made by the stick. The water flowed for many years, thereby creating the lake of Tasik Chini. The tribe realised then that the log was actually the dragon called Naga Seri Gumum.



Of course, no magical lake would be complete without stories of a resident monster or a long-lost, sunken city. So, Tasik Chini has both ! Much like the famous Loch Ness, a serpent-like monster is reputed to make the lake its home. More seriously, there are theories that an ancient Khmer city once existed in the vicinity which has prompted archaeological studies of the lake and its surrounds.

The Story of Mahsuri


The best known legend of Langkawi is of Mahsuri, a pretty maiden who lived during the reign of Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah the Second who ruled Kedah between 1762 and 1800. She died under tragic circumstances for a crime she did not commit. She died a victim of a conspiracy plotted against her out of jealousy by Mahura, her very own mother-in-law for her magnetic personality. Mahura bitterly objected to her husband's intentions of taking Mahsuri as his second wife and eventually agreed that their son, Mat Deris should seek the hand of Mahsuri in marriage. Since than, Mahura had grown bitterly jealous of Mahsuri for whom she bore much hatred.
In time, Mahsuri gave birth to a baby boy and he was named Mat Arus. This inflamed Mahura even more. Mahsuri was accused of committing adultery with Deramang, a young troubadour who she befriended. The chieftain of Langkawi, Dato Karma Jaya, her own father-in-law was so taken in by Mahura's accusation that, without a proper investigation, he sentenced Mahsuri to death.
As proof of her innocence, some people say, white blood was seen gushing out of her wound during execution at Padang Hangus. Others maintain there was the sudden appearance of white mist that enveloped the spot where she was executed, which it was believed was a sign of mourning of her innocence.
Mahsuri is best remembered for her curse on Langkawi which was uttered before she died. She had said, "For this act of injustice Langkawi shall not prosper for seven generations to come." The execution of Mahsuri was indeed a tragedy of dramatic proportions. And her curse? Myth, legend or fantasy? History tells us that within a few years of Mahsuri's death, Langkawi was devasted by the Siamese and Datuk Seri Kerma Jaya and his entire family were killed. Rice fields and granaries were completely set on fire.
To this day, grains that appear to be burnt rice grains are still to be found at Padang Matsirat. However, many believe the curse is now over with the numerous development projects undertaken on the island.

The Story of Puteri Gunung Ledang

The Legend of Gunung Ledang revolves around a princess that allegedly lived on Mount Ophir in Johor, Malaysia.

The Sultan had heard of her beauty and wanted to marry her but she set seven impossible conditions for him. The conditions were:
-A golden bridge for her to walk to Malacca from the mountain,
-A silver bridge for her to return from Malacca to the mountain,
-Seven jars of virgin's tears,
-Seven bowls of betel nut juice,
-Seven trays filled with hearts of germs,
-Seven trays filled with hearts of mosquitoes, and
-A bowl of the blood of the Sultan's young son.

Some versions of the legend say that the Sultan was not able to fulfill any of these requests, while others say that he was able to fulfill the first six requests (thus causing the ruin of the Malacca Sultanate) but could not fulfill the final request which would have required him to kill his son. The point of the story is that the Sultan was either too proud or too blind to realise that the conditions were the Puteri's way of turning his proposal down.

Some say that remnants of the gold and silver bridge still exist, but have been reclaimed by the forest.