Chiling Waterfalls

We were to go to Sunway Lagoon theme park as I had free tickets for three persons, we meaning some Filipino friends in Malaysia. With a twist of bad luck, the day we chose happened to be the off day of Sunway Lagoon. Of all the days, why on a Tuesday!

We had to cook up an alternative activity since all of us already took leave from work. We decided to go out of the city and drive a little bit up northeast of Kuala Lumpur heading towards Fraser's Hill. Somewhere along the winding road going up, there is a small trail leading to the beautiful Chiling waterfalls, so small that those who do not know the place would never think there is such a natural beauty inside the jungle.

What made the visit to this falls adventurous is the five times that we had to cross the river before getting a glimpse at the majestic falls. At times the river can be deep and the current swift and as such, crossing is really a challenge to the uninitiated. Teamwork is necessary. The initial trek would take about 30-40 minutes depending on the speed of the group.

I've been there three times, the first two guided by friends who knew the trail through the jungle and across the river. This time, I was on my own relying on memory of previous visits. We managed to reach without any hassle. At times we were confused whether it is left or right but we always chose the right turn. Where to cross the river is no longer a problem as there were signboards to show the five different crossing spots.

Why I'm Not Making Progress With This Blog

I can't believe it's been a year since I started this blog, although there is not much progress since then. Good thing I have not forgotten my password to this site. What have I been doing then?

I can only think of a few reasons why I'm not active here.

I used to be very active in my Multiply blog. I have a group of friends who were very active in Multiply. We were sharing blogs, photos, experiences, movies we watched or foods we ate. Some of their friends became my friends too.

I was a Multiply addict till December 2008 came. Friends I met in Manila during my Christmas vacation introduced me to Facebook. From then onwards, I am officially an FB addict. When it comes to blogging and photo sharing, I will still prefer Multiply. The magic of FB is not only the addictive games, but the way that I found many long lost friends, many of whom I've never seen or heard of in 20 years or so. It was just amazing connecting with them all over again. Just like the old days.

I will try to revive this site and see where it will lead me this time.

Bangkok Dangerous - A Review

At least to most men, Bangkok is never dangerous. Only the wives of men who frequent Bangkok have the reason to fear for its danger. Bangkok is notoriously known for its brand of entertainment and night life, but never in any imaginable terms has it been associated with rampant mob crime and violence. That is until professional hitman Joe (Nicolas Cage) arrived from Prague for a killing spree. This is Cage's latest movie, a remake of 1999 Thai movie of the same title. His job, as contracted by local gang lord Surat, was to assassinate four of his enemies, including the Prime Minister of Thailand. Joe planned it to be his last assignment and retire to a peaceful life with the huge earnings.

To maintain his anonymity with Surat and his men, he paid a local pick-pocket punk Kong to run errands for him, discreetly planning to eliminate him at the end, in the same way as the others. The young Thai actor adds a comical flavor to the otherwise serious and fast-paced action tone of the entire movie. He did pretty well considering he was acting side by side with Nicolas Cage. Surprisingly, Joe turned softer towards Kong, even becoming his mentor on self-defense after Kong was mugged while doing his errands. Suddenly, he was not the pure cold-blooded killer anymore. Was it because of his planned retirement? Or was it because he was falling in love with a deaf-mute girl in a local pharmacy?

The remorseless Joe was slowly transforming in Bangkok to a conscientious person. He learned to distinguish good over evil and for the first time saw an opportunity to love and be loved. All this while he knew nothing else but to kill for the money. Perhaps, Kong played a big role in his realization. While watching a TV news about the Prime Minister, Kong told Joe that he is like the Prime Minister. He kills the bad guys and he helps the poor, that's why the Prime Minister is well-loved by the poor. These words deeply affected him, especially knowing later that his fourth and last assignment was to assassinate the Prime Minister.

As a professional hitman, Joe followed four rules, always. One, don't ask questions. Two, don't be interested in people you work with. Three, eliminate all your tracks. Four, know when to leave. However, he broke the first three in Bangkok, and by the time he realized it's time to apply rule four, it was a little bit too late.

This is not Nicolas Cage's best movie but he, of course, gave an intense acting performance here. It's a good watch though if you are interested in action thrillers. I love the funny conversations between Joe and Kong, when they were starting their partnership.

Radical Reactions

Things are moving fast. If we are not aware, we will be left behind. Scrutinizing things, events, and happenings around me makes me think that somehow I'm in control. Watching the news, witnessing activities in my neighborhood, seeing people as I drive by - I form my opinions. They are natural reactions of a normal human being who appreaciates life.

Life is like chemistry. There is positive, there is negative. There are free radicals that are very reactive. Because there are different charges, reactions can take place. There can be single reaction, there can be chain reactions, and there can be reversible and irreversible reactions. Nothing we can do about it. That is nature. That is life. What we need to learn is to prepare when such reactions take place and to know how are we going to react ourselves.

I am starting this new blog to chronicle my personal reactions to everything around me - from the mundane to the complex, from my neighborhood to the global arena. This is a platform to express freely and intelligent discourse.