Snake Charmer at the Deer Park

Isaac loves snakes

Isaac, Mei, and Hannah

Lina and Isaac paid a visit to the Deer park, 1.5 hours out of KL on Tuesday. With them wasSassy, Falk and their daughter, Hannah, Greg, Adeline, and their daughter Mei Mei.

Greg has obviously been a good boy in 2009 and received a flash new camera and these photos are courtesy of him. This park is just down the road from the Elephant sanctuary which I have blogged about on a previous visit. By all accounts it was a great day out during the christmas break.

Film Review: Avatar

Avatar is James Cameron’s latest venture, a long time between drinks for the box office favourite. His last directorial project was a little film you may have heard of by the name of ‘Titanic’. I had read several glowing reviews and consequently had high expectations. The hype has defined this movie as a watershed in motion pictures, however one reviewers comment stuck in my mind as I settled into my seat and adjusted those ridiculous 3-D glasses: don’t expect the ‘new wave of cinema’ to wash over me. So it was with a healthy objectivity that I digested all 161 minutes of it. My verdict? Stunning. Not many films can be far from perfect, be littered with mediocrity, but still have most viewers leaving the theatre thinking: WOW! Love him or hate him, Cameron’s films have that ability.

Let’s start with the glass-half-empty stuff: the themes and message of the film are as subtle as a brick. The war monger Colonel Quaritch, at times, a ridiculous caricature, with a continuous stream of one liners to remind us that this is one nasty dude. And the cheese is dripping throughout, never reaching a torrent, but always there. But in between, it delivers enough kick-arse dramatic action and emotional round houses to leave me wanting more, ready and wanting to forgive all the flaws.

Thirty minutes into it, as the avatar (surrogate alien body inhabited by Sam Worthington’s character) is exploring the alien world of Pandora, I turned to Lina and whispered........this is awesome! Yes, there is no originality to the stories themes. This tale has been told many times before in a stream of excellent films. But without question this film has set a new standard for visual splendour. It looks incredible. It is incredible.

Happy Birthday Lina!!!!!!!

More Photos From Angkor Wat

Things I Love About Malaysia

Reading unusual t shirts

Feeling a sense of freedom. You can go about your business as you please.

Sometimes I like dispensing with unnecessary or token pleasantries.

I like being in another country without the naval gazing that I get drawn into back home. I know there is naval gazing here, but I feel no need to get drawn into it unlike at home.

Things are’nt taken personally here. People make mistakes, then move on.

No wind in the morning (of the meteorological variety)

Waking up warm

Sultry evenings

Celebrating multiple festivities

Listening to 80’s music – on multiple stations

Choosing not to swim when it dips under 30C

Complaining about the traffic only because I have nothing else to complain about.

A cold ice coffee on a hot day

Running in the morning – its perfect virtually everyday.

Sleeping after a glutinous session at the local banana leaf restaurant

Drinking less alcohol because it’s so damn expensive – got to be good for you

Seeing a woman in a miniskirt and singlet walking next to a woman covered head to toe – and neither caring less.

Living in a place where, when all is said and done, it’s about family: no matter who you are

Making an across-3- lane manoeuvre to take an unexpected turnoff, with no resultant road rage repercussions.

Cool afternoons after it has rained in the morning.

Seeing skinny woman eating huge quantities of food

The vibrancy of a Sunday afternoon and evening. Its a day like any other – time to get amongst it.

Watching people psych themselves up for crossing the road during an afternoon downpour.

Smiling to myself when I hear the person next door at the roti shop, on the phone, apologising for their lateness because they are in a jam.

Angkor Wat Half Marathon

This week we are recovering from an outstanding weekend away to Siem Reap, Cambodia where we competed in the 2009 Angkor Wat International Half Marathon. This is an event we have been looking forward to all year after hearing some impressive feedback from friends about the 2008 version.

Accompanying us was Antje and Stefan, Myriam and Andreas, and the Knight family and I must say, we made the dream team. Not because of our running ability, although we did have some handy athletes amongst us, but more because it was such a cracking group of travellers.

Arriving at our hotel (Soujourn Villas) at 9.00am inevitably meant a VERY early start in KL, but it was worth it as we had time to relax by the pool and complete a quick tour of the Angkor Wat temple at sunset. It was spectacular and definitely surpassed my expectations. Likewise, the accommodation , for which I was responsible, turned out to be exactly what was required. Thanks must go to Lina for her assistance in the internet search of hotels. I was falling short with ‘siem reap’, ‘accomodation’. Her suggestion of amending the search to ‘luxury’, ‘siem reap’, ‘accomodation’ proved to be the clincher. In Asia, luxury accommodation is very attainable. This is something I sometimes forget, but my lovely wife is here to remind me. Delicious food, luxurious private rooms, and a pool bar: need I say more?

As for the race itself, I was not in my best shape, but the running conditions were perfect and I ran as hard as I could, finishing in 2.02 hours. This is a beautiful course, peaceful throughout, and flanked by temples and majestic forest and jungle. The local population turned out in force to encourage us and the support at the finishing line was fantastic.

Upon re-reading this, you may be under the impression that the water in Siem Reap over the weekend was spiked with LOVE potion!; Louis Armstrong's, ‘What a Wonderful World’, playing in the background comes to mind! I call it like I see it however, and many thanks must go to to the dream team for contributing to a very memorable weekend for Lina and I. And we look forward to enjoying more ‘Wonderful World’ moments in the future.

Pre race, from left, Andreas, Myriam, Lina, Jono, Stefan, and Antje
Fresh and keen to go.

What a wonderfuuuulllllll...world..........................uooooooooh, Yeaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Alexa, and Andrew from KL are assisting in post race celebrations.

Its a small world. Ben from KL is clearly doing it easier than me. I was hurting by this stage thats for sure.

Angkor Wat at sunset. Beautiful.

Debs and Lina at the pool bar.

Crazy German in Colombian hat.

The beer always tastes better after you've earned it.

Antje and Stefan

More 3rd Birthday Parties

Isaac is in the green tank engine. In the blue is Casper, whose birthday party it was. In the red is probably Isaac's best mate at kindy, Elias. Both Casper and Elias are from Holland.

Bonda Magazine Article - Meet the Manmums

New Zealand Going to the Football World Cup 2010

Rarely have I been inspired by a sports story recently as I have this week following NZ's qualification for the most popular sporting event in the world.

A home and away tie against the 5th placed Asia qualifier, Bahrain, was always going to be far more achieveable then the previous route for the Oceania zone winner of playing the 5th placed South American team, and I have heard plenty of comment trying to downgrade the All WHites achievement. But this team proved they deserve to be there. After all, it is a WORLD Cup.

To see a NZ stadium crowd so emotional is an unusual sight. Atmosphere has never been the reason for attending live sport back home. But the people at the Wellington stadium were in delerium and it was great to see.

For a country of 4 million to be represented on such a stage, in a sport which sits well down in the national popularity stakes is extraordinary. In Malaysia, soccer is the national sport but they were recently beaten 5-0 by United Arab Emirates. They can only dream of being so successful.

I was 10 years old during Espana 82 when NZ made it's first appearance. The games were televised live in the morning and our school allowed everyone to be late on NZ game days so that we could watch at home. Sports memories are always the best when they are from your childhood and this is one of my favourite. Sport was far more important to me then as unfortunately I have become an all-to-cynical sports follower as I age.

So another generation of kiwi kids will be storing some unforgettable sporting memories during South Africa 2010. Lets hope they don't have to wait another 27 years for a repeat.

Film Review: (500) Days of Summer

Unknown to my acquaintances, my wife excepted, I am a romantic movie enthusiast. ‘Before Sunset’ in 2004 and its predecessor, ‘Before Sunrise’, 9 years previously, are my go-to examples of post-modern romance at its best. Both starred Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy, and were essentially talking heads pieces, with a cast of 2, musing on the happenings in their world as they wander, seemingly aimlessly, through an exotic European city.

(500) Days of Summer, delves into perhaps one of the most difficult movie genres to pull off; the romantic comedy. ‘When Harry Met Sally’ is, sadly, one of the few examples during the last 25 years of it working. But that was a long time ago. I have not seen it for some time and I imagine Meg Ryan’s 80’s hair may now preclude me from classing this as romantic comedy genius.

Quite frankly, so burned have I been by recent romance DVD choices, that I have steered well clear of them unless presented with documentary evidence of a minimum 4 star review in a respected publication. To show how wrong a romantic comedy can go, I recommend for pure cringe value, ‘I Hate Valentine’s Day’. This film had promising pedigree, being the creation of Nia Vardolos, who you will remember from the acceptable ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’. Valentine’s Day, without question wins my film turkey of the year award. With a couple of months left in the year I remain confident it will not be surpassed in complete cinematic incompetence and absence of quality in all senses of the word. Truly, truly appalling.

So finally to the primary subject of this review, (500) Days of Summer. There is much to like about this film. It’s quirky but not too clever, with excellent performances, particularly Zooey Deschanel, as the vagueish, mysterious, yet very likeable (and loveable) woman who commands the male protagonist’s (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) attention so completely. Classic in look and mood, this film hints occasionally of an old fashioned romance, but unobtrusively so. Despite the old world feel however, it is unmistakeably contemporary.

Romantic comedies will never be Oscar winners. But equally, there is no excuse for the formulaic schmaltz we are all too often served by movies of this type. Uncommonly, but thankfully, (500) Days of Summer delivers the opposite; in spades.

Family Day at My Montessori

On Saturday morning we visited Titiwangsa park as part of Isaac's kindy family day. The activities included horse riding and a picnic and we enjoyed it despite the weather turning.

We have made some good friends with the fellow parents at My Montessori and Isaac is very happy there.

Isaac and Mei Mei


A natural

On the bike that he received for his 3rd birthday recently

The gentleman next to me is Greg Thistlethwaite

Isaac plays it cool

Swimming Class and Pork Intestine Congee - Curious?; Read On

On Sunday, Lina and I teach a 6 year old boy how to swim. It has been a few weeks since his last lesson and this time the lesson was conducted at the Northpoint pool where we live. Unlike the previous pool, this is deep water and Chris is unable to touch the bottom. A potential stumbling block as he has a fear of deep water. Despite this, within 45 minutes he was bravely swimming 20 metres unassisted – a massive improvement. Isaac was in the pool also and the two boys were egging each other on. A bit of peer encouragement will usually work with the boys so they say and this was certainly the case this time. Well done Chris, and Lina’s instruction was first class.

pork intestine congee

After the lesson we lunched with Chris’s parents, Joe and Hunsa at a Hong Kongese restaurant in the The Gardens, Mid Valley, across the road from our apartment. Joe is a lover of all things porcine and the dishes ordered were heavily themed towards this. Char siew, roast pork, and the roast duck were delicious. Several fish dishes and a couple of bowls of pork intestine congee topped the meal off. And even better, Isaac, who tends towards his father’s child-fussy eater tendencies, had a few spoonfuls of the intestine congee.

Book Review - Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer

The travel fiction genre is much maligned by elements of the literary establishment. It is a shame though as despite there being many poor novels that tap into this potentially lucrative market, case in point Eat, Pray, Love by Elisabeth Gordon (I did’nt get past Rome I’m afraid), there is some good travel fiction around. Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi is one of them.

Dyer’s style is unmistakably old school English, dry wit. As sharp as a bloody sharp thing and always readable, this is 2 separate stories juxtaposed together. The first, a very funny and entertaining erotic love tale set in that romantic city. The second is set in India’s most spiritual city. A less than subtle dig at those privileged Europeans seeking some devout awakening in a town situated next to a dirty river?; perhaps. Having been one of those visiting privileged Europeans, I did not find such inspiration (not that I was particularly looking), nevertheless, his description of the surreal images part of everyday life in Varanasi, is wonderfully vivid.

The first stanza is definitely my favourite however as Jeff, (the authors alter ego?) finds the woman of his dreams, and revels in the perfection that is the primary stage of 'boy meets girl'. But don’t mistake this for a wet romance. Well, it is wet in places, and as mentioned, there is gripping erotica. Hmmm, best move on.

Dyer has been described the by The Daily Telegraph, as the greatest living British writer. Lofty accolades indeed, which suggests I should try some of his other stuff, see here for the list of works.

http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth233

Latin American Film Festival

It is rare that a foreign film festival appears in Kuala Lumpur, particularly Spanish speaking films, so last weekend we took the opportunity and headed across the road to the Mid Valley cinema.

We saw 2 movies, Miranda Returns, the story of the revolutionary Venezuelan of the 19th century, and Cronicas, from Ecuador, about journalists entwined in a murder case. The Venezuelan film was over-everythinged – except budget, and was ultimately forgettable. Cronicas on the other hand was a very thoughtful and intelligent drama that explores the role of the media and how muddied journalistic ethics can become in the search for a story. This movie has a great pedigree, being produced by Guillermo Del Toro, director of the outstanding Pan’s Labyrinth and Alfonso Cuaron who made Y Tu Mama Tambien. Predictably, it’s classy work.

Incidentally, for lovers of the Tolkien movies, I heard that Del Toro has been chosen by Peter Jackson to direct the Hobbit. A very astute choice, any watchers of Pan’s Labyrinth would agree.

Isaac's 3rd Birthday Party Pics - 17th October