Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Into the Heart of Malaysia....

Malacca: WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

The history of Malacca is largely the story of the city for which it is named, and the story of the city of Malacca begins with the fascinating and partly legendary tale of the Hindu prince Parameswara.

The Malay Annals relate that Parameswara was a fourteenth-century Palembang prince who, fleeing from a Japanese enemy, escaped to the island of Temasik (present-day Singapore) and quickly established himself as its king. Shortly afterward, however, Parameswara was driven out of Temasik by an invasion, and with a small band of followers set out along the west coast of the Malay peninsula in search of a new refuge. The refugees settled first at Muar, but they were quickly driven away by a vast and implacable horde of monitor lizards; the second spot chosen seemed equally inauspicious, as the fortress that the refugees began to build fell to ruins immediately. Parameswara moved on. Soon afterward, during a hunt near the mouth of a river called Bertam, he saw a white mouse-deer kick one of his hunting dogs. So impressed was he by the deer's defiant gesture that he decided immediately to build a city on the spot. He asked one of his servants the name of the tree under which he was standing and, being informed that the tree was called a Malaka, gave that name to the city. The year was 1400.

Although its origin is as much romance as history, the fact is that Parameswara's new city was situated at a point of enormous strategic importance. Midway along the straits that linked China to India and the Near East, Malacca was perfectly positioned as a center for maritime trade. The city grew rapidly, and within fifty years it had become a wealthy and powerful hub of international commerce, with a population of over 50,000. It was during this period of Malacca's history that Islam was introduced to the Malay world, arriving along with Gujarati traders from western India. By the first decade of the sixteenth century Malacca was a bustling, cosmopolitan port, attracting hundreds of ships each year. The city was known worldwide as a center for the trade of silk and porcelain from China; textiles from Gujarat and Coromandel in India; nutmeg, mace, and cloves from the Moluccas, gold and pepper from Sumatra; camphor from Borneo; sandalwood from Timor; and tin from western Malaya.

Unfortunately, this fame arrived at just the moment when Europe began to extend its power into the East, and Malacca was one of the very first cities to attract its covetous eye. The Portuguese under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque arrived first, taking the city after a sustained bombardment in 1511. The Sultan fled to Johor, from whence the Malays counterattacked the Portuguese repeatedly though without success. One reason for the strength of the Portuguese defense was the construction of the massive fortification of A Famosa, only a small portion of which survives today.

A Famosa ensured Portuguese control of the city for the next one hundred and fifty years, until, in 1641, the Dutch invested Malacca after an eight-month siege and a fierce battle. Malacca was theirs, but it lay in almost complete ruin. Over the next century and a half, the Dutch rebuilt the city and employed it largely as a military base, using its strategic location to control the Straits of Malacca. In 1795, when the Netherlands was captured by French Revolutionary armies, Malacca was handed over to the British to avoid capture by the French. Although they returned the city to the Dutch in 1808, it was soon given over to the British once again in a trade for Bencoleen, Sumatra. From 1826, the city was ruled by the English East India Company in Calcutta, although it experienced Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945. Independence did not arrive until 1957, when anti-colonial sentiment culminated in a proclamation of independence by His Highness Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, Malaysia's first Prime Minister.




Our destination is....Malacca, Malaysia... a historical place with so much to see and explore...a 4 hour trip from Singapore..our tourist guide is named CJ.. who was very nice and knows a lot about the place..




The place is so like our Philippines.. but so much modernized in most aspect.. their agricultural product is so rich..they study more on preserving their crops..like this Palm tree...they realized that this is more profitable than any other palm...so they study and learn more things to protect this...




Our destination..Malacca City.. this is named after this tree.. the Melaka tree... this was named by a vanquished sultan who rested in this tree...




their seat of government...with a nice view of their harbor...



the history of Malacca is experienced in this place..their houses is still in the old days...some residents still live in this kind of houses...but mostly live in modern ones...

Sunday, September 7, 2008

I've been to Singapore...my first ever tour outside my homeland.....










at Sentosa..where the biggest Merlion statue is located....so many adventures here...we went to see the pink dolphin...which are so amazingly intelligent...unfortunately for us....it was raining when we went there......but it was worthwhile..!!!!































The Esplanade is a waterfront location just north of the mouth of the Singapore River in downtown Singapore. It is primarily occupied by the Esplanade Park, and was the venue where one of Singapore's largest congregation of satay outlets until their relocation to Clarke Quay as a result of the construction of a major performance arts venue, the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, which took its name from this location.









This is the Esplanade..the structure is so amazing...they say the idea of the structure is taken from a fruit....which is commonly found in Davao....the Durian Fruit..amazing...imagine..they were able to construct by picturing the durian...ahh...so awesome...!!!! And just a couple of steps you will arrive at the Merlion Park...which is also one of Singapore's famous icon...we wanted to explore everything of Singapore...but it's just too big...we came here (esplanade and merlion park) through their MTR..which was a very short ride from dhouby ghaut terminal which is very near from our hotel at Fort Canning Road...so, after exploring a part of Singapore, we decided to just merely walk back to the hotel...but..alas!!!...in reality, it was a way longer than we thought...when we finally arrived at the hotel..I thought my legs will let go of my limbs...it was a tiring, but enjoyable walk..because along the way we were able to get pictures of ourselves along with the beauty of Singapore.. their streets ..parliament...museums
... and beautiful buildings...























this is at Clark Quay....where night life is a happy experience... with me is Uncle..my hubby's friend...they call him that..so I call him the same too....anyway...notice the picture at our back???? it's called The Clinic....a bar which serves their food and beverages in a syringe or dextrose or in tubes.... so original!!!!... see also their chairs...looks like a hospital bed..too.....




Grandparents


A poem by Scott Kelley at age 14

Who is like a grandma? I would like to know. A face filled with a smile. A head crowned with snow.

Her words are always kind, no matter what you do. And she always wants to help, as long as your heart is true.

Now, grandpa is a different breed. His bark is worse than his bite. If you ever catch him without his teeth, he’s really a funny sight!

But teeth don’t have anything to do with being very bright. Between the two you have quite a blend of humor, patience, and wisdom no end.

The Famous Apo Island Rock

The Famous Apo Island Rock
just have to get a pose in this amazing rock.. this seems to be the landmark of the island...you can get a glimpse of this famous rock even before you dock in their beach...

Road Trip in Dumaguete

Road Trip in Dumaguete
Then Apo Island is one of the tourist attraction of Dauin, Dumagute.. where you can get a glimpse of the famous Pawikans... you can also get to experience wonderful beaches with white sands and wonderful shaped big rocks.. may be because it was once an active volcano...Apo Island is a small volcanic island, 7km off the southeastern tip of Negros Island in the Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Dauin, Negros Oriental. The marine habitat around the island is a marine reserve; protected by the National Integrated Protected Area Act (N.I.P.A.) and comes under the jurisdiction of the Protected Area Management Board (P.A.M.B.). The island is home to nearly 800 people, mainly fisher folks. Since 2002 Apo has become a popular dive site and snorkeling destination with tourists. There are two resorts on Apo Island, both of which have their own dive centers. Apo Island Beach Resort is the smaller and more exclusive, Liberty's Lodge is larger. Apo Island is one of the world's best known community-organized marine sanctuaries, and as such it has been well documented, by the global science community. The project was started in 1982. It is home to over 650 documented species of fish and estimated to have over 400 species of corals. Visitors and tourists pay a fee to enter Apo Island and to snorkel or dive in the marine sanctuary there, these fees are used to keep the sanctuary clean and in good condition. In 2003 Chicago's Shedd Aquarium opened a Wild Reef exhibit based on Apo Island's surrounding reef and marine sanctuary. The island is 20 kilometres from Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental and can be reached by a 30-minute boat ride from the fishing/market village of Malatapay, Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental.

one must laugh a lot to live life to the fullest....do you agree???

i just thought of this....dont really know much about life.....just a little, ... so unlike the elders who have been in this world longer than you and i,... they know what is right or what is wrong because they've experienced and lived to see it, ..... seen and decided on it! ....so when life is troubling you, ....or life has become unberarble.... all you need is to SMILE...smile at everything you see out of the ordinary.....even when others will think of you as ..out of the ordinary....because a smile is a welcoming gesture....that will make you laugh....out of the ordinary....then it will make you laugh a lot..thinking of it....just so you will know..on your own...that life is just what you make of it....knowing that....surely it will ease all the pain...inside...or...outside....or..whatever....!!!!!