Farewell Holland!

..Dmitri Torbinski strikes past Van der Sar to put Russia 2-1 up (©Getty Images)

Sighh... What a dissapointing result for the Netherlands. They beat two 2006 World Cup finalist, Italy and France, comfortably in group stage, but end up losing to a relatively unknown Russia. Thank goodness I didn't watch the match as it would be more frustrating to watch your favourite team lose (Earlier on I watched how stupidly the Selangor team conceded defeat to Kedah in the FA Cup final even though they controlled 65% of the game plus playing against 10-man Kedah team in the last 20 minutes). But anyways, hats off to the Russian coach, Guus Hiddink for bringing the Russian team into the semis for the first time since the 1980s, I think.


..According to my mobile Google Maps (download it onto your mobile), this place is somewhere near Kampung Pasir Panjang, somewhere down south of Teluk Kemang, Port Dickson

Euro 2008 aside, I had a great weekend with my friends at our usual annual retreat at Sri Pena Resort, Port Dickson. This time around we went kayak and had a great seafood dinner near Pasir Panjang, somewhere down south of Teluk Kemang, Port Dickson. It was a nice place for dinner by the sea, really.

I'm still thinking of whether or not to go to the Seminar organised by the CMIWS, UiTM, themed "National Integration and United Nation-State of Malaysia" tomorrow in Shah Alam. Let's see how.

Photo site

Yay, I have just created a new photo site! Travel and Leisure. Haha, nothing much to shout about though. Just a simple website. It's a collection of photos from my trip to Indonesia, Phillipines, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia as well.

Some, or most of the photos in there are currently hosted in Fotopage.

Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and the late Suharto

..Baiturrahman Mosque (Mesjid Raya Baiturrahman), built during the Dutch colonial era, is one of Aceh's most visible landmark


..fisherman boat on a wrecked house, Ulee Lheue, Aceh

I'm home! Back from a three-day trip to Banda Aceh, Aceh. It's a good trip to kick off 2008, though bit late that is. Here's some summary of the trip, but I'm hoping to find some time to write a full travelogue.

Upon reaching Banda Aceh, I was welcomed by a huge billboard near the Sultan Iskandar Muda airport, saying, 'Anda telah berada di wilayah pelaksanaan syariat Islam. Provinsi Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam' (translated as 'You are now entering an Islamic Shariah province').

From my observation, I can sense that, after almost 4 years of the Tsunami tragedy, life has pretty much returned to normal, at least in Banda Aceh. I am aware that in certain district things are still progressing at slow pace, like Meulaboh, where 70% of the entire city was wiped out by the massive Tsunami. Nevertheless, in Banda Aceh, I noticed a lot of 'rumah bantuan', 'sekolah bantuan' with the specific NGO signages been erected all over, new rows of shophouses and mosques have been rebuilt too. The fish market too is bustling, noisy and alive with people from all over Banda Aceh.

Night life is abuzz with activities; youths hanging out at coffeeshops watching live EPL match til late, live band singing to the tunes of The Cranberries at the Cultural Centre (Pusat Budaya), family gatherings and kids playing football at public park and such. All these were just not quite possible in as recent as 5 or 6 years ago, when the Indonesian government imposed martial law in Aceh.

As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. If one were to look at the positive side of the post-Tsunami Aceh, I think the most important achievement in recent years is the Helsinki peace treaty signed between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement or Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM) in 2005. It officially ended the 30 years of bloody civil war fought between the Indonesian government and the GAM rebels that have killed more than 10,000 people. Even though there are still some grouses and mistrust of the Aceh people toward the Javanese-dominated-federal government, at least this could set as a stepping stone toward a better future in Aceh.

All in all, it was a good trip. I took 324 pictures! More Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam pictures will be uploaded soon..

First news that I read upon reaching home was that former Indonesian President, Suharto has died. May his soul rest in peace. Al-Fatihah.