FINALLY!!#$%$#@$%^&%^* TVXQ

Finally I saw the people that I've been watching off from youtube and read on almost daily basis and keeping me sane in uni.

26th June. Press Conference. Saw them for the first time after much struggle and wait. But my view was so far away because, again, I was late because I went sight seeing outside Bangkok but the boys arrived even later. There were at least 10k fans waiting for them.
Just part of the crowd at the press conference. Just the back part of the stage.

27th June. Concert Day
I was so excited + scared because I went to the concert alone.

4pm : Arrived right after sight seeing around Bangkok. I thought the traffic jam would make it worse..but luckily it didn't. I was not surprised at all when I saw the swarms of fans that were already there. Made a beeline for the ticketing counter. Saw many Japanese, Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean and Philippines fans queuing up as well. It was about 4.40pm when I got my ticket. Went around wandering to see the official goods and took a look at the fans that were already lining up at the gates.
The concert ticket. The good that I bought. Very expensive. SM Ent very good at making money.
The crowd waiting for the gate to open.

5pm : I went into the Arena. The security was so strict. No cameras allowed. There were a lot of fans that were taken outside to safe keep their camera before being allowed back into the concert arena. Some escaped but had to take pictures as if they were hiding in mice holes. Some got caught while filming and were also dragged outside to be taken away their cameras.
I met these fans from Soompi. Really nice people. Kwan and Kim

Picture before the concert started.
Insa. The first song that made me noticed TVXQ. Put into my ipod by Eve.
This was how close I was to each and every one of them.
Love in The Ice. My favourite song of all time. They sang it very well. Amazed at Junsu's voice.My favourite guy of among all 5 members.

Concert review :

Over all the concert was good. Except that the audios were not very good in terms of the music was so loud because the music was too loud that it covered the members' voices. They performed very well though. The solos that they sang were exceptionally good. and Micky rapped the part for Junsu's solo. It was a surprising match up. The best and memorable part was Hug, bossanova style and Wrong Number and their solo songs. Oh..and I forgot....Junsu flew right above me!!!

However, there is one thing I hope to get from their future concerts. I hope that they would rearrange their songs so that I don't have to listen to the exact same cd versions..I like how Lee Hom produces his concerts...he rearranges everything and shows you all his talent. TVXQ's talents are all over shadowed by mainstream concert genres. If only TVXQ would do a full acappella concert sans fancy costumes and dances.

There were too much fan screaming though. Sometimes, it is a bit annoying when all you wanted to do was concentrate on their singing.

Individually

JaeJoong - Very good vocals. Shone very well in his solo song. Can see that his vocal range is really big and very stable. His skin and complexion is also very good, very fair. Better than mine. Can't really see his face because his hair kept so blocking out his face but it was his voice that mattered.

Yunho - Tall and thin. Thinner than I expected. Fair as well. Very good dancer. And interacted alot with the fans, even posed for the fan to take his picture. Voice is better than in cd. His live is better than recorded cd.

YooChun - Singing Love Bye Love was great. His new interpretation of the song is good and there's more life to the song than compared to cd as well. Real person is also tall, thin and fair. Alot of interaction with fans as well. He is always teasing the fans.

Junsu - Best vocals among all 5 members. Stage performance and presence also the best. Less interaction with fans. But very good looking. The pictures that I've seen all this time does not do him justice. Tall and thin and fair also.

ChangMin - The rumoured high pitch vocal is no joke. He can really sing all the high notes with much accuracy. He is really tall and good looking, just as everyone said after seeing him. Very little interaction with the fans as well.

My observations are very unobservant compared to other fan accounts that I've read.

PS>These pictures were taken with only my mobilephone! I too can't really believe that the pictures that came out are actually of good quality.

Lastly, I'll include excerpts from a musician.

Marty Friedman, former lead guitarist of heavy metal band Megadeth and Japanophile recently shared his thoughts on TVXQ / DBSK / Tohoshinki:

(translation cr: mandasoh@iscreamshinki.net / sharingyoochun@wordpress)

"They would sell even if they weren’t good looking! TVXQ’s singing ability is worth its value in money.

TVXQ, an accapella dance group from Korea, and who attended last year’s Kouhaku Uta Gassen, can be said to be the representative of “Global J-pop” with their impressive harmonizing.

Maybe fans will say it’s b*llsh*t, but to me, if you can sing, you’ll be able to sell even if you weren’t good looking, right?

Their song [Bolero], is a great ballad that showcases their super vocals.
What surprised me was that compared to other J-pop ballads, the feeling for this song is dark. The beat is slow, and there was no usage of guitars etc. Even so, the song gave off a dark and haunting vibe to me.

Leaving on A Jetplane...

or Airbus to be more precise
Later this evening I'll be taking off to Siam for a week...

Things to look forward to (in accordance to ranking) :

1. Mirotic Concert!!!
2. Temples and Palaces and Historical Places
3. Food
4. Pattaya Beach
5. Tiffany Show
6. Tigers and elephants...lots of them
7. Shopping
8. Muay Thai...(I hope)

See you guys in a week!

Schrei!!!!

Schrei!!!!
Schrei!!!!
Schrei!!!!
Schrei!!!!
Schrei!!!!
Schrei!!!!
Schrei!!!!

Click & Snap

Flash - Flash

Click - Click

Pose

Click

Flash

See you next week!

Truly, Madly, Deeply

Seems a bit blurry,
Couldn't recognise it,
But it was there,
Truly there all this time.

Madly difficult to acknowledge,
Its growing from within,
Can't be deterred,
Its fearsome shadow.

Finally, an image,
A figure,
So Deeply etched within,
Within the frail frail heart,
A figure that enunciates evil,
That shudders that frail heart.

Reunion

It was WACKY
It was hilarious
It was crazy
It was nostalgic
It was memorable

If you weren't there, then it was your lost.

Post Breakout

The feeling was----HAPPY!

From the very start, it was curiosity
Throughout the journey, it was happy, fun moments,
Finally, reached the end, parted ways feeling even happier

Breakout

Anticipating this tomorrow night


Venue : Dewan Sri Pinang
Time : 8.30pm
For more information, visit this website:

http://www.visitpenang.gov.my/portal/upcoming-events.html?task=view_detail&agid=196&year=2009&month=05&day=27

1 State, 3 Cities and 4 Mountains Later, I'm Finally Home

After my finals and a week's holiday in Sarawak, I am finally back in my little comfortable room in Penang.

First Stop : Miri [13th and 14th May]

My first impression was, the airport design is similar to the one in Sabah. Anyways, stayed at my friend's house which was just 5 minutes away from the airport. I once again traveled with a big heavy suitcase and 2 bagpacks across three states in Sarawak. I am awed by myself.

The Miri Public Park (similat to our Youth Park) is really amazing. They built this high hanging bridge around the park where you can enjoy the hanging bridges without having to climb up mountains to experience a canopy walk. You can experience it right here at the park. The guards of the park round the park with dogs the size of German Shephards to keep the park safe.

On the second day, I went to the Crocodile Farm, ate the famous Hong You Char Shau Mien, Laksa and Kolo Mee of Sarawak, visited Curtin Technology University and ate some more.

Bright side : Good food - home cooked (friend's mum is a very good cook) and hawker as well. Offers something different from Penang.
Down Side : The moment we went outdoors, starts to pour like crazy and stops the moment we're indoors.

Second Stop : Batu Niah, Gua Niah, National Park

Gua Niah is situated in between Miri and Bintulu. Took a bus there. Trekked for about 45 minutes before reaching the cave and another 30 plus minutes exploring the cave. Towards the end of the cave, it was so dark that you can't even see the stairs in front of you. There weren't that many tourist as most people go to Miri as a transit to Mulu Caves, the more famous of the two.
There are alot of swiflets in the cave. You can see the the rope hanging from the top of the cave down for the bird nest collectors.Three girls on a mountain climbing and animal observing trip around Sarawak.

It took the 3 of us about 3hours 45 minutes to and back carrying heavy backpacks on our backs coz our next stop was Bintulu.

Bright Side : Easy Trekking. Something new-magnificient views and nature
Down Side : Heavy backpacks. Pouring cats and dogs during the entire journey out from the cave and stopped the moment we reached the end of the journey.

Third Stop : Bintulu

Stayed at a really big house. Very friendly and a very good baker host. Tasted very nice layer cakes daily. Had dinner at a restaurant courtesy of my roommate's parents. Went back to roommate's house to watch videos and laughed. Too late and tired to do anything interesting. Besides, in Bintulu, after 8pm, there is nothing much to do. The place is similar to Ipoh??

Next Day, started the day with breakfast of the local specialty called Thing Pieh Hu...something like porridge with fish meat, but instead of rice, the use flour which are shaped to look like rice grains.

Headed to Similajau, another National Park which is by the sea and had a short hike because the forest rangers banned us from hiking for improper attire and shoes. They did not have enough staff as some of them took some foreigners out to see to look at corals. They can't safe us if we were to injure ourselves while climbing.The friend that offered us her house and accomodation and tour guide in Miri and Bintulu

Next we went to Taman Tumbina, a park similar to our Botanical Gardens but with a mini zoo inside. Entrance fees costs RM2 per person. There are a lot of hornbills, a pair of tigers with their cubs (but I only saw the male tiger), a peacock, some crocodiles, some turtles, 2 pythons, a few peacocks, a few monkeys and 2 sun bears??. However, the place is a bit runned down. The place is old and so are the animals inside it. The cages are rusted and you don't have a sense of security, especially at the crocodile ponds but the crocs seemed unlively.

Then we went to Bintulu industrial area. Most of them are oil processing plants.

Night was spent celebrating my friend's 21st birthday, going around Bintulu for night sightseeing around the town.

Bright side : Sunny day (a little too sunny perhaps)
Down side : Legs aching from previous day and the day's walking and hiking

Fourth Stop : Bintulu > Miri > Kuching

12pm : Boarded bus towards Miri
3.30pm : Reached home. Packed. Ate dinner. Bade Goodbyes
4.40pm : Checked-in at the airport
5.40pm : Flew towards Kuching
7pm :Dinner
9pm : Dead on the bed

Fifth Stop : Kuching

First day : Breakfast as usual. Damai Cultural Village. Here, you get to see most of the aborigine's houses and cultures and taste their delicacies. It's sort of a living museum and its home of the world famous Rainforest Music Festival.
The guy that brought us aroung in Kuching...THANKS!

Next was lunch and then to the mall called The Spring. The size is like Gurney Plaza before expansion (maybe smaller) and its supposed to be newest mall in Kuching.

Night was at a restaurant called Bla Bla Bla. Really good and comfortable environment but the price is a bit steep.

Second Day : Went to Matang Wildlife Centre..another National Park with mini zoo. This 'wildlife' mini zoo is so mini that you can count the number animals found there without using even all 10 of your fingers. Can finish the entire place in about 30 minutes. The only attraction here is the orang utan which was gigantic...really really gigantic...

Left feeling disappointed as our initial plan was to swim in the river but apparently, on the previous day, 2 big crocodiles escaped from their enclosures which makes it dangerous to swim in the river.

We went to the nearby national park called Kubah. The ranger told us that the main attraction there was the waterfall. Took us about an hour and a half just to reach the waterfall...but it was well worth the trekking. The waterfall was 100ft wide and about 30ft high. The water was crystal clear and so cool. There are smaller waterfalls at the side of the main waterfall. We spent about an hour there and started our way back. The entire trip took about 4hours.

When we reached home, we were dead as logs. Dinner courtesy of debate members was at a chinese restaurant.

Last day was spent at the Kuching Museum and Art Museum and the City's Aquarium. The museum was interesting. Most of the artifacts were preserved animals found around Sarawak. I suspect half of them are nearing extinction.

At the aquarium, guess what was there again...crocodiles. Yes, Sarawakians seem to have a thing for crocodiles and I have a thing with their safety issues. The cage is so risky. Children can just simply put their hands through the holes but I guess the crocs are tame as I saw the caretaker went into the cage without any worries and came back out again just as if he entered his own home.

Last Stop : PENANG. HOME FINALLY

For more pictures, just go to my facebook cause I'm lazy to upload too many here. Notice something in the pictures? All the signboards at the national parks are exactly the same. The difference is just in the same. So, for the other national parks that I did not upload the pics, just imagine a change in the name. That's all.

The DOWNSIDE of the entire trip : My waterproof camera died on me after a trip to the waterfall back in Sabah. Not because it was my fault but because it was not that waterproof afterall. Just sent it for repairs today. I couldn't get nice clear pictures in the caves with a 2mp phone camera :((

Another info : I think Sabah sells the costliest food ever in the entire Malaysia.

Hey ya there

I'm back...sort of..after a long break. Currently still one more exam paper pending on tuesday..then freedom for 8 long weeks.!! yeah...

I'm finally of legal age but celebration was a mellow one..pizzas and a small cake at the hostel cafe. How mellow can it get huh? But I'm lucky to have my friends celebrate with me although everyone had crucial exams the next day.

Short of time to write a long entry...so see you on May 20th!

The Lately ME

Since MDO ended, life is a hell more relaxing because most of the assignments are already hande up. There's only 20 more days to my final examinations. Then I'm on my way to Miri and Kuching!!! Can't wait. I'm so tired already. I need to recuperate.

Currently sitting in Secret Recipe while TVB is filming some drama in this very mall. I know that Gallen Lo is here, another guy I forgot what's his name and apparently an actress just walked past Secret Recipe and I missed it. But I doubt I can recognise her.

These pictures were taken in Melaka during the Malaysian Debate Open

This was taken at Jonker Walk on the first night. The three guys on the far left are from Tokyo University. They flew all the way just to join in the tournament. There were teams from Jakarta and Bangkok too.
This is my team. Red shirt girl is First Speaker. Guy is Second Speaker and I'm the third speaker.
This is the entire UMS debating people that went to Melaka. This was the final dinner. Anyways, MMU themselves were the champion of the tournament. I really liked the way their First speaker spoke.

Note to Self : Start Studying !!

March-Month of RushHour

This month is hectic as hell...I'm so bored of repeating this sentence over and over again....but I have to keep reminding myself that I need to keep up with time and deadlines and finish all my assignments and at the same time study for my mid-term examSSS..

Today was supposed to sit for one paper...but got cancelled. Postponed to next. Might be good news for other but not me. I have 3 deadlines to meet next week. With an already packed timetable, I don't need the exam to be postponed to add on to my already heavy burden.

This is just a quick post to RANT ALL I WANT....but what is there to say? Nothing much except to do what I'm supposed to do....

Latest Event - MAGRA 2009
A night where all excelling students are awarded. Theme was blossoming moment. Apparently, a few of us underestimated the event and was under dressed compared to the whole lot of girls that went to the dinner. Luckily I changed my mind to put on a light make up before going..or else.....
My coursemates and I. Can you spot the difference between my attire and their attire. Even the blind can tell how much effort I put into this night. Pictures of my coursemates and the lecturers from my school

People I always hang around with.

Exhausted..Soon

Daily schedules are mounting up...and they haven't even reached the peak. I have too many things on my plate right now although I just killed off 2 quizzes this week...Should say physics killed me off instead. Could have done better but what is past is past. Statistics coming up next week. Borneo Debating Championship next week as well.

From today onwards, it's last minute debate training, statistics goring and assignment and report typing. Everything revolving around me seems to be last minute actions. I'm more reactive than proactive. It's not just debating that I'm worried about, it's running the event smoothly without making a fool of myself and my uni in front of other universities from around Malaysia that are coming, including Swinburne, Sarawak.

I'm already tired plus lack of sleep and all these activities are coming up. I'm just walking in a daze most of the time.

I just realized something. Why do all my course mates assume that I'm smart etc just because I'm always sitting upfront in class? Does sitting in front mean that you're smart? Come on la...

Talking about peer pressure and stress, my friend just succumbed to stress and broke down. Currently recuperating in my room because I have the quietest room among all friends. Wished she had let out or confided in me or others so that she didn't break. I am shock at what stress can do to people now...

On a lighter note, my friends and I, we sort of celebrated Chap Goh Meh by having a nice dinner. Saw a cute little boy there. So, plucked up the courage and asked for a photo together. Here are some pictures. Can't believe that it's nearly a month since chinese new year. Time! you are flying too fast. I can't really keep up with you anymore.

P.S. Dilemma : Should I go celebrate my friend's 21st birthday tonight or should I go debate training?

Chinese New Year

How did I spend it? By surprising everyone back at home!...well almost everyone because *ahem* I lied (it was a white lie...) that I wasn't going home for new year and I appeared at the door step on the First day. Many were surprised..some thought that I was some sort of hideous creature hiding in the bedroom when they were asked to go into the room to help my cousin sister get her bag...Their expressions..priceless..how I wished I held a camera in my hand at that moment. But those moments will be engraved in my memory forever. Thinking about it now still makes me smile.
First day of chinese new year...the obvious activity..gambling...I lost about RM 16 in half an hour by just playing in-between...

I went about Penang like a tourist/driver again this time...filled with loads of booze as well..because 2 big bully cousins were in Penang for hols as well.

The famous Kek Lok Si lights that are only switched on for 15 days a yearDrinking and drinking and card games and dares at UPR with friends and cousins.

And for the first time, my camera went underwater. I haven't had the chance to test my camera until we went to Rasa Sayang to stay for a night. The hotel is great....service is good...room is good...view is wonderful..
A glimpse of the room..this is just the balcony. You have a big outdoor bathtub and you have blinds that are remote controlled for you to block out the sun when it becomes too hot.
I practically was only at home to sleep. I lack sleep and rest back home and I now paying the price for it by dozing off in class. So now, I'm off to bed by midnight and I try to nap as much as I can in the afternoon.

P.S One week for new year was way too short but I guess that's what happens when you are enjoying yourself. Didn't have enough time to spend with everyone.

Pre-CNY 09

Back after my hiatus. Went for a field trip last weekend. Trying really hard to finish up my assignment...the lecturer just made it worse by extending the deadline. He really shouldn't have extended....just makes me procrastinate....haihs.....

CNY is just around the corner. Trying to plan out how to spend my one week's worth of CNY holidays to the max because after this holiday, it's work work work till the end of the semester in May without any break in between.

There's like a tonne of things to do after this one week break. I have labs to attend..which practically equates to staying out of the room from 8am-5pm. Tutorials to attend. Physics alone is taking up 6 hours a week! This semester is all about calculations for me. I NEED help. I hate calculations. Haihs. Trying my best to keep up with calculations...I practically everything that I learned back in high school. That is how much I hate calculations with all those ridiculous formulas.

Enough about boring stuff...Now for the highlight...A playback of my field trip

I went to Kota Belud. Go search up your old sejarah textbooks and you'll find that it is the place where orang Bajau live. Bajaus are the famous horsemen among the aborigines.

We stayed at a place called Kampung Tambutuoan...It's really in the outskirts of Kota Belud. It's so far fetched that you can't get any handphone signals there..unless u hold up your phone and try to locate some spot that have a bar of signal.

This the chalet that all 40 plus of us stayed at. The place is actually very clean and serene. I think the villagers built the chalet themselves...including the double deckers in the room.
This is my attire for 2 days in Kota Belud. Don't you think that I look like someone working in the market..Reminds me of Family Outing...
This pair of wellington boots costs me RM14. Protects me from the stones in the river bed.. There's nothing much to do there...actually there is nothing to do. Our mission there was just to take water samples, measure the river flow rate etc...I have a feeling that the lecturer is just trying to prepare us for the second fieldtrip where we would have to sleep in tents for 3 days..without any facilities/toilets. Every au natural...River for bathing...bushes for big and small businessesThis is the brigde that connects this village to its opposite bank. Not more than 10 person at a time to go across...The river is about 27m wide.

One thing to take note of thought...although they are so far out..all the houses have Astro. That's something that I find amazing in Sabah. All the outskirt places that I've been to, all the houses have Astro.

The people here love dogs, the entire village is filled with dogs but 90% of the dogs have skin diseases.

They still work with their hard labour. They also use this wooden cone-shaped basket to carry all their stuff...

The next day, we went to the city.We had a few hours to ourselves to wander around since we were way ahead in our schedule.So my friends and I, we went to the Tamu mingguan. This is called pencarak..not sure about the exact spelling but it sounded something like that. It's pan-cake like...deep-fried. The red one is brown sugar..green is pandan. RM2 can get you 9 pieces of this pencarak. It actually taste good...

After filling our stomachs, we went to Kampung Siasai
The craftmaker-a Bajau aborigine. Apparently the entire Kampung Siasai residents are Orang Bajau.The final product-Parang made by orang Bajau. From the sword to the wooden sleeve is handmade. We wanted to watch the horsemen show but we missed the time. They only perform once a day. On the way out, we were told by this guy and some others to stand at the side because they were trying to capture some wild cows. They are just equiped with some thin rattan sticks with a huge rope at the end. And they are all stick thin themselves. While walking out, we saw that they succesfully caught one young cow.

From the river, in the beginning of the trip, we ended up at the delta leading to the sea. The thing that I love about Sabah is that no matter which beach you go to, the water is crystal clear.


Took this just before it poured really heavily. Sabah's weather is gloomy nowadays, it's raining every evening. So it's actually cold here. Heard it's cold back in Penang too..maybe because of the winter winds from China. Bangkok is down to 4 degrees.

Now that it's the festive season, I miss home and family and friends. Happy Chinese New Year everyone!