And that’s why I think Jong’s Crocodile farm in Kuching Sarawak attracts so many visitors. Jong’s is a mini zoo, located about 29km from Kuching, which translate as about a 40 minutes drive from the city.

The crocodile farm houses more than one thousand crocodiles. Bred in its captivity, the farm provides a prefect sanctuary for the reptiles, saving them from extinction.

Crocodiles at Jong's Farm

But aside from crocodiles, Jong’s is also other home to other magnificent wildlife such as monkeys, bearcats, barking deer, pheasants, leopard cat, monitor lizards, hornbills and pythons.

There are some tours which incorporate a trip to the farm but you can always just find it on your own.

For more information on the farm, you can visit virtual malaysia.

Originally posted 2008-11-09 15:49:23. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Kings Of Tennis

Got your attention? I must have, you’re here reading!

If you’re a tennis fan, then this post is for you. The Kings of Tennis Tournament is on:

Europe vs America, played in Asia!

It’s the first year/time the tournament takes place, where 8 Legendary World Number Ones of tennis will battle it out against each other in a prestigious team event between America and Europe.

The objective of the tournament is simple- to be the first, more celebrated and best team event for the world number ones of tennis.

Be apart of the excitement! You can indulge in your passion for tennis then go hit the famous beaches of Penang after for some fun in the sun.

Tournament takes place : 14th to 16th November 2008

Venue: Penang Island, Malaysia

Originally posted 2008-10-19 09:41:13. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Manhole covers are made of cast iron, and in some countries they have cement infills and they all serve to give the cover weight and durability. How fancy the cover is really depends on how much the budget the municipality has allocated to it. In Japan they probably have lots of fund to spare because it would seem more than just some is set aside for it.

But is it tax payers money well spent and do we really want to envy them for it? I wouldn’t vote yes because at the end of the day, it really still is just a manhole cover and I can think of just about a hundred or more ways that fund could be more effectively be spent. 

A manhole cover- it is a piece of metal covering a deep hole in the ground that drug addicts and other thieves like to steal, sell as scrap metal and let the rest of us blindly walk/drive our cars into.

Maybe they have perfect roads in Japan and perfect model citizens so things don’t go missing and roads don’t need repairing but to the rest of Asia that wonders why our manhole cover looks like a manhole cover, well the answer is simple:

Things that can be sold as scrap metal will be stolen and our roads need maintenance to keep them in good condition. Our council needs to ensure that their budget has enough consideration for replacing stolen manhole covers and to them, your road safety takes precedence over street art* and awed tourists looking to the grounds for pictures of manholes to take home and fight over as novelty.

So the next time you see the art pieces, appreciate them as you will but don’t go home complaining that the manhole cover on your street looks just like a manhole cover. Your council has enough problems trying to ensure the manholes stay covered and your car doesn’t fall into one.

Tourist taking pictures of manhole covers or avoidance of car repair /hospital bills for driving into potholes? I think I’d lean with the latter- seems more practical and money better spent.

*In some countries where they have enough problems trying to get their government to maintain the roads in good condition, expecting them to have their manhole colored and decorated is not going to rank very high on the priority list (or at all).

Originally posted 2008-11-05 14:45:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

You do know what that is right? That heavy round/square/rectangle metal piece that lays on the ground/street to cover/prevent anyone from falling into or unauthorized persons out of a manhole?

Manhole covers usually weigh around 50 kg and more as they need to be heavy to keep them in place when traffic passes over them. They are made out of cast iron and sometimes infilled with concrete. And it is the fact that they are made with cast iron that you find them getting stolen (especially when metal prices rise). Seems like a silly thing to steal but it happens and when it does, accidents follow suit.

But that’s enough trivia about manhole covers for you. Now I want to show you why I’m proud of the Japanese. They took creative decorative manhole covers to a whole new level. You should be aware that patterned manhole covers are not new nor confined to Japan…Norway and Germany have some pretty neat ones, but they pale in comparison to the Japanese ones.

Manhole covers in Japan are decorated pieces of art. Symbols specific to an area or town, local landmarks, festivals, flora and fauna and much more are all incorporated into the art.

Pics entitled cover credit to pref.kyoto.jp

Pics entitle manhole credit to pinktentacle

Originally posted 2008-11-03 09:20:15. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

She was born Anna Muttathupadathu and became Sister Alphonsa when she became a member of the Franciscan Clarist Convent . She is also known as Blessed Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception.

Blessed Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception

Sister Aphonsa lived in Bharananganam, Kerala and is famed for working her miracles (in particular curing illness and disease) after her death on July 28,1946. She was only 36.

She was beatified by Pope John Paul II, during his visit to Kerala in 1986, that’s 40 years after her death! Her canonisation is ahead of Mother Teresa’s who is just one miracle away from her sainthood.

Those interested can see her canonisation in pictures over at IBNLive

*canonisation is the act by which a Church declares a deceased person to be a saint, inscribing that person in the canon, or list, of recognized saints

**beatification is a recognition accorded by the church of a dead person’s accession to Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name

Originally posted 2008-10-17 07:00:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Now as uncharacteristic and rude of Asians to ‘label’ and ‘tag’ foreigners like that, there is a good reason for it. Asians don’t turn on their roots and suddenly become hostile to visitors, but I guess foreigners who wear out their welcome and overstep their boundaries by trying to ‘report about Asia‘ and dictating what IS ‘Asian’ when they haven’t even scratched the surface of it, are just asking for it.

Seriously, do you think that just because you ‘teach English/TESOL in Asia’ or you married/dated and Asian or lived in Asia that makes you Asian and able to represent/be a spokesperson for Asia? You must be delusional. We’re not racist here at EAF, but we just want to set things straight – Just as dying our hair blonde and going for rhinoplasty doesn’t make us any more Caucasian, neither does you a foreigner living/marrying/dating/teaching in Asia make you any more Asian.

Have you ever noticed that most sites about Asia are written by foreigners with ‘experience’ of Asia? Then have you ever noticed that almost half of the population who read them are Asians? Do you think it’s because we don’t know our own people, our own culture, our own history, our own country -that we turn to you for guidance? Certainly not! We’re there to see what utter inaccurate facts you have written about us and laugh at your idocracy. Depending on how inaccurate your statements are, you just might have earned yourself another nickname and an additional hiss from Asia.

Learning about other cultures is great, but when you come barging in and telling us what our culture is then obviously you can’t expect a standing ovation for your arrival. We appreciate you are trying to share what you have learnt from us, but know that there is likely more to what you have seen or heard so you’re not an expert. We don’t appreciate your foreign supremacy. It’s mutual respect and dictating on what you don’t know to the people who do know is not respectful.

If you’ve read this far, then you probably think that we hate foreigners, but contrary to that- Asians adore foreigners! You even get better treatment than the locals! Imagine how that biased treatment itself already annoys the locals.

So with your “privileged” experience, can you really accurately describe Asia? If you’re not even treated like a local Asian, what makes you think you know what it’s like to be Asian?

All your books about Asia or the Asian culture/history etc were sourced from Asians but did you stop to realise that perhaps some bits were lost in translation or misunderstood? You might not know everything because we can’t tell you everything – everything is a lot to tell! And we know this for a fact because like the websites, we too read your books and we see what you don’t – inaccurate representations.

We just don’t kick up a fuss about it because as unhappy as we are, we want to stay as polite possible. (name calling is already bad enough) But when your inaccurate facts paints stereotypes that weigh on us Asians and the continent of Asia, we know humility is something that you have forgotten.

EAF is not against the ang moh kui/farang/gaijin/orang putih/beruk. We apologise to even mention those names here but a fact is a fact and we just want you to know that you once came to us with respect…where is that respect now?

We do not support any form of supremacy, Asian or Caucasian… we just want everyone to practice responsible journalism/writings and remember to be humble – know humility when you enter a world that is not yours.

Originally posted 2008-11-12 12:22:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Mulan Jameela

She’s Indonesia’s own homegrown talent who wowed Asia with her hit song, Makhluk Tuhan Yang Paling Sexy. So to the rest of you who don’t understand Bahasa, what does that song title mean? In English, it simply says God’s sexiest creature/being and a sexy being is exactly what Ms Jameela portrays in her video.

When I first heard this song (honestly it was a few months back), it was on the radio, at the back of a 4 wheel drive, as we headed for a jetty. I was far away from home on an adventures assignment that my ‘Heroes’ (Hiro Nakamura to be precise) worshiping manager had put me on. Now I hope you paid attention and noticed that I specifically mentioned ‘4wheel drive’ because that has everything to do with why I’m about to confess I thought I was hearing ‘Britney Spears’ and her new song.

I was headed for a pretty secluded area (think national geographic adventure) where the roads could only be accessed by the 4W drives and the end destination required boats. Do you now get a picture of the surrounding terrain condition? Don’t get me wrong, it’s one of the best rides of my life but it made me think I was listening to Britney.
I wasn’t quite able to make out at first listen, just what language the song was in…I could only catch that it had this addictive racy pop beat that sounded like a Britney Spears song and the distinctive tone of her voice…it really sounds like Britney.

It was played a lot on the radio so after the 3rd time I heard it- which was also in the 4w drive but this time back in civilization and almost at the hotel, I realised it was in Indonesian and the DJ had announced the singer as Mulan Jameela.

The video on You Tube: (there’s a bit of talking at the start of the video because they’re introducing the video):

I know most of you won’t be able to understand what she’s singing but trust me, you’re going to love it anyways because that’s what good music does. It transcends language barriers. Music itself is an international language.

Originally posted 2008-10-22 00:50:42. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

We all know what barcodes look like. They are lines in special ink. That’s about it… but now thanks to Design Barcode Inc. of Japan, now barcodes are also tiny pieces of art you can admire! Again, Japan makes functional and practical items fun and beautiful all at the same time. Packaging goes a long way in sales, everyone has a tendency to like pretty things…

In 2005 the company won the Good Design Award in the Communication Design Category. Since then it has created designed barcodes for major Japanese brands such as Suntory, Calbee, Wacoal and others. Now the USA will have them too because Design Barcode Inc. has partnered with PACARC, LLC, to make them internationally available.

Don’t look down on barcodes because it’s actually a pretty delicate technology on it’s own. It was not as though Design Barcode Inc. could just print patterned ones just like that because then it wouldn’t have taken the world so long to see them on the market. Design Barcode Inc. had to endure endless study of Barcode technology standards, to allow a design element to be integrated into the barcode. So Raz says admire the barcodes as technological breakthroughs and art work of geniuses.

Love the company’s moto: “BIG IDEAS ARE SMALL”

Gallery credit: Design Barcode Inc.

Originally posted 2008-11-03 11:43:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Another Halloween post? Oh please, just because there’s a colourful picture with masks and fancy dressing in it doesn’t make it about ‘Halloween’.

So out of the 4 words: Bacolod + MassKara+ Festival+Philippines, how many hit a note with you? (For your sake the answer better be a minimum number of 2) Well in any case I’ll briefly explain all 4, beginning with the most common to the least common heard of them.

First up – Festival:

A festival is a celebration. What’s a celebration? We recommend you meet our good friend Mr. Dictionary to find out.

Second- Philippines:

A country in South East Asia. Want to know more? Then keep visiting EAF! (yeah sneaky I know)

Third – Bacolod:

The capital city of the country’s sugar-producing province of Bocalenos.

Lastly – MassKara:

No it’s not Tagalog for mascara, but it’s pretty close to Mascarade. Actually the term MassKara was coined by Ely Santiago- the painter, cartoonist, and cultural artist. It is made up the English word mass, meaning crowd, and the Spanish word kara, which means face, giving you MassKara – A mass of faces.

Photo credit: bacolodcity.gov.ph and philippinecountry

The MassKara of Bacolod ARE always smiling to project Bacolod’s reputation as the City of Smiles. The first MassKara Festival was celebrated way back in 1981 and it has since come a long way from being just another vignette portrayal of the Philippine’s rich history. Today it’s been awarded the national ANVIL of the Philippine Public Relation Society and is the unique identity of Bacolod City.

Each year in October, giant smiling masks in every brilliant hue and color of the rainbow adorn the streets of Bacolod as gaily costumed dancers parade down major streets of the city. During this time, the city’s public plaza is sprung alive into a huge beer garden as the MassKara Street-dancing contests beats as the heart of the festival.

MassKara is an amazingly beautiful festival and the MassKara dancers of Philippines have been invited the world over (most recently by Korea) to share the beauty of their dance.

You may also be interested in:

Cosplayers and Japan Pop Culture Festival 2008

Tokyo Halloween

Originally posted 2008-10-29 08:34:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

That's Gok Wan and he's so cool he gets to do what you don't! (Credit: Metro)

You have to know Gok Wan. He brought us Channel 4’s How to look good naked. Now he’s launched Ms Naked Beauty Contest. (Pic after jump)

Miss Naked Beauty: Spot the difference! (Credit: Dailymail)

Now if you’re watching it for the ‘right’ reasons, then you’ll know that the purpose behind Gok Wan’s ‘radical’ series is actually ‘female empowerment’ and not some male perversion. He’s here to promote ‘real natural beauty’, so forget about expecting a bevvy of your standard beautiful sexy contestants because you’re going to see ‘women, real women as God had made them- face, breasts and all.

Gok Wan’s Ms Naked Beauty is going to have to be the woman that

“…embodies the confidence, sex appeal, spirit, brains and true natural beauty of a modern-day Eve.”

So what’s the prize for the winner? Well she:

1. Wins the coveted title of Ms. Naked Beauty
2. Will have her own regular magazine column to promote natural beauty and expose the ugly side of beauty
3. Will be the face of a revolutionary new model agency that is promoting real women
4. Will report back to Gok Wan in his next series of How to Look Good Naked with her discoveries as Ms Naked Beauty.

Now that’s beauty with a purpose! But for the rest of you who don’t care and just want to look at naked women* on parade, you can catch Ms. Naked Beauty on Channel 4 (sorry guys, it’s only for the UK or the Republic of Ireland).

*Don’t come running to me complaining about how I duped you into watching. I just said naked women – real normal women as God made them. You have been warned.

Originally posted 2008-10-24 00:28:02. Republished by Blog Post Promoter