Bon Odori - July 2011

The Bon Odori has been a recurring event in Malaysia for 35 years now. Celebrated as a custom to honor the deceased, in Malaysia it is symbolized with a lot of people dressed up in their Japanese best and dancing in a circle around the stage.

For a few years now, it has been organized at the Panasonic stadium in Shah Alam. Getting there was quite easy, trying to find a parking spot when you're already late on the other hand… well, luckily they had a few people showing the drivers to designated parking areas, but come to late and you could end up like me, walking almost 20 minutes to get to your car. Other alternatives include taking a train and then a feeder bus to the event. But in most of my experiences, Ive come to realize that taking a feeder bus to any location is pretty easy. It's the trying to find your way back that's always a lot more difficult.

(The main stage)

(There will be people on the stage leading the dance)

(Hold hands and form a circle)
Once you get there, you will see a small stage in the middle of the field. There would be a group of drummers working out the beat, and a group of dancers surrounding them. The dancers are quite young (mostly high school kids I presume) and are decked out in their kimonos. They help lead the dance movements. The movements themselves are quite simple, and they do two repeat rounds per song. As a participant, you just join the crowd at the bottom surrounding the stage, and follow the steps of the onstage dancers. Typically you also end up moving in a circle.

(A cute young one runs by)

It is quite fun to watch and to participate. A lot of people come dressed in their kimonos (even the headscarf wearing ladies) and the young kids. Everyone has a good time and gamely links up to perfect strangers for the dance. As for the dance, joining it will put a smile on your face and good exercise on your legs.


(Dancing around the stage)

For those who may not be as interested in the dancing, there is also an entire back area where they sell Japanese goods. Mostly involving food, drinks and snacks, it's easy to find sushi, bento boxes and Japanese ice cream here. You could also bring a mat, buy some food and have a picnic on the field, watching the Odori dances.

For those who missed this years event and would like to join next years event, its usually held on 16th of July (or that weekend). Good fun if you would like to try it at least once in your life.

Rainforest Music Festival

Its been a few weeks since I went, but with my moving out of my apartment and back in with my parents, and workshops to manage and work and all, well I didnt get around to it as quickly as I would have liked.

(Inside the Sarawak cultural village)

The Rainforest Music Festival is an annual event held in Kuching, Sarawak, or more precisely, at the foot of Mt. Santubong where the Sarawak cultural village is. Its a weekend long event bringing together musicians from around the world. And to manage expectations, its like a hippiefied Woodstock, but minus the drugs and free loving. I want to say minus the drinking too, but u can deff get some beers there and glasses of wine to enjoy the show. How chic!

The performers are all world music band members/ performers. They really do make you think about the different sounds around the world and how there is a rythm in everything. Re: the Leweton Women's Water Music, which had the women performing in the river, splashing water rhytmically.

(The Leweton Womens Water Music, with food and drink tents in the background)

(More river music)

Music workshops are held throughout the day. Three sessions per day, each lasting ~40min - an hour. The workshops are held in three different locations in the cultural village. I went over for the Voices in Harmony workshop which was located in the Iban longhouse. They typically split up the performers to form different groups to lead the workshops. Mine had all the singers, and all the percussionist had gone to another location.

(Percussion workshop)

(Feel the love in the longhouse)

It was magical being in the longhouse, hearing the singing, and having everyone sing along. We all sang Guantanamera, and Amazing Grace and u could feel the chills up your spine with all that loving going around.

(Food, drinks and random activities)

(Cut your hair while youre at it)

A concert is held every evening as well. So we hung around in the cultural village post workshops. Grabbed some dinner (LOTS of tents with food, drinks, even coffee!) for sale. Was a real festive atmosphere. To really enjoy the concert I recommend you bring a folding chair, or be ready to just sit on the rocky ground. They alternate stages throughout the night so that one can be prepared while the other is being performed on. I would recommend finding just the right location so that you can enjoy both.

(Rainforest music festival - rock on!)

It is surreal being at the foot of a mountain, surrounded by rainforest, with beautiful music, and people shouting "LOVE! PEACE! RESPECT MOTHER NATURE". Will deff come back again next year, and bring my dad with me this time (since it turns out its not super crazy)

So, some things to note:

1. It gets VERY hot during the day, so be prepared for that and the sweat. Evenings are quite decent. I was in shorts and a short sleeve top and was fine


2. Buy tickets in advance. They only sell 8,000 tickets per day. U can buy the full weekend pass, or just a day pass


3. Book hotels in advance - Kuching gets booked out solid throughout the festival


4. Bring a chair, but u can buy water inside. Not super ex, like RM2 per bottle


5. There are shuttle busses, but they can be a little unreliable - hence, my missing the second workshop because the bus spent most of its time, waiting. Alternatively you can also get a cab there (not so cheap though)


6. Do go to Semenggoh rehab center while youre in Kuching. Its the perfect time! As it isnt fruiting season, the Orang Utans tend to come down to the feeding station. The first time I went, it was fruit season, so they didnt come by. This time around, there were seven! surrounding us in the forest (Mom and baby say hi at the entrance)
   

(Big Papa Ritchie decided to show up as well. What a man)

And of course... have fun! chill out, and remember...

Peace. Love. Unity!

Dreamgirls

I was going to write about the show as soon as I came out, unfortunately it was 11:30 p.m., I had a 7:00 a.m. gym appointment the next day... well you know the drill.

But anyways, I thought I would drop a quick note to tell you this.
KL-ites, if you are in town you MUST watch this show. One of the best Ive seen of Malaysian musical productions... ever!

I guess before I begin I need to set expectations straight. Its a good show, but it still isnt good enough to compete with the likes of New York or London. But that being said, I still think its a really great move in the right direction for the Malaysian art scene.

When I initially checked out the show, I was a bit skeptical. The stagebill had Azura and Cheryl Samad listed - pretty well known TV show VJs. I thought it was going to be the same formula as Puteri Gunung Ledang and Cuci the Musical - well known actors and actresses who were 'ok' singers. But Azura and Cheryl pulled it off well. Azura slightly daffy and starstruck in the beginning as Lorell Robinson but becoming more independent in the second half and Cheryl Samad providing the perfect balance with her soft soulful voice as Deena Jones and coming fully into character in the second half.

Imagine my shock when I heard the first number and realized - wow, these girls can sing!
It may however take a bit of time to get with the flow of the show. The cast had been trained to have a Southern/ black accent which was a little jaring especially knowing it was a local cast. It takes a while to get used to it, but once you do, everything clicks into place and you just think to yourself, they really went all out on this.

The male cast members also didnt pale in comparison Tony Eusoff was an amazing singer and pulled off the character of Curtis Taylor Jr. splendidly. Dafi was great as the endearing younger brother and I was surprised to see that he was a contestant on Akademi Fantasia as he acted and sang really well. I had the stereotype view that most of the contestants from that show were more comfortable conversing and singing in Malay. As for the toughest male character to play, Kris Coleman did a really great job acting pretty close to what I remember Eddie Murphy doing. Again, was worried that they would have allowed for an 'ok' local singer/ actor but luckily they were willing to fly Kris in all the way from Broadway, New York

And now... the cream of the crop... introducing.... *drumroll* Dina Nadzir as Effie White!! She was amazing! simply amazing. First-off she sounded her character. She reminded me so much of Jennifer Hudson. When she sang, I had goosebumps up my skin. And secondly she was completely in character, it was not 'trained' at all. She embodied the feeling, and when I looked at the descriptions I thought I could understand how she did it.

It was life imitating art - in a way I guess. Jennifer Hudson did not win American Idol, Dina Nadzir did not win Malaysian Idol (runner up). In terms of ensemble, Jennifer Hudson and Dina ostood out as being a little fuller than their Deena Jones and Lorrell counterparts. And in terms of singing... my god that woman can sing. It was effortless - she was born to sing.

If you havent seen the show yet, I strongly strongly recommend you to go. As for further tips on making full use of your time and effort and money - buy a cheap weekday ticket. Typically the theater doesnt end up full and they try to fill in the downstairs area rather than spread everyone around, so you get to move to better seats anyways. Take note Istana Budaya, if you would like to maximize your seating you may want to have a pricing strategy that makes it cheaper on weeknights - Im pretty sure you can fill in the seats better (ala Air Asia). Celebrities also tend to come on weekdays, there was quite a few in the audience while I was there, Hans Isaac and Afdlin Shauki, so you may get to rub shoulders with them too! The downside is that if you go right after the performers break day it still takes a bit to get back in the groove again - so bear the buzzes and mic issues.

This is the second (if Im not mistaken) musical production by Broadway Academy Malaysia, and here's hoping for more performances like this one.

More details here and details on Broadway Academy here

Run baby run

Its quiet at six in the morning.
And soon enough you hear it

*thump thump thump thump*

The sound of your heartbeat, pounding against your chest. The sound of thousands of feet stomping the grounds

The sound of horns blast through the streets

A group of Chinese men next to me start yelling out "ROTI ROTI" a call to the men who sell bread every day - honking their hellos

The rumble of newspaper bikes as they go around, delivering the morning news.

I wave hello as I run by.
Down old KL - past the beautiful old train station

Down little India; Brickfields - with its 24 hours mamaks open for business. Three Indian men outside yelling out hellos

Down the highway leading on the road I used to take back to my hometown

Down Maluri and past the stadium I used to compete in

Up through KL breathing into the new city - the twin towers twinkling in the morning

And back through Independence square to cross the finishing line

My first 21km
Experience - amazing

Repeat it? Well, lets see =P

White water rafting

Perhaps some of you have migrated over to my Wandering Year blog, or perhaps some of you have remained/ stumbled here. But needless to say, my team had decided to keep Kuala Lumpur as its home base for a little bit, instead of being down in Singapore. Yay!!! I guess my lobbying and enticing them with all the island diving trips and all were helpful. I will keep writing here where I can, on my weekeend adventures, but would also like to introduce two more people who would be writing with me. Introducing.... *drumroll*

The Beaver and The Elephant!

Why the nicknames? do not ask me, I asked them to come up with a pen name and thats what they came up with. I myself, am to be known as the Corporate Weekender aka The Fox. (Dont ask me, Beaver gave me that name). They too will share their adventures here (when they can find the time to write something). But in the meantime, I thought I would share one of our adventures.

A few weeks ago we all went white water rafting in Kuala Kubu Baru. Located about an hour out of KL, its a really fun active weekend activity. You head on to the top (near the Selangor dam) and raft down for about 7 km. There is a mix of levels for those of you who are interested in challenging yourselves as well as those moments when you just want to chill. The best part is that after a few km's, you can just ditch the raft and float all the way down the river.

Its an amazing feeling to go all the way out and hear nothing but the rush of the river, the birds. And perhaps your friends giggling like crazy. There were about 13 of us (4 boats) and the best part of all was watching a family consisting of one father and three sons having a male bonding session. Just to show you how rough and tumble it was.
(Splish splash down the river)

(And over she goes)

We used the following people - PieRose Swiftwater Sdn Bhd. Contact +6019-645-8615 or email at pierose13@yahoo.com. I recommend them as they have very well trained guides and give you a very good briefing on how to deal with the raft. We had boats flipping over and people falling in, and we watched as the guides just jumped in to help save those who fell in. Very professional, and to be honest, on a boat and going through crazy rapids, what you want are professionals who know the river (the guides are river people / people who live in the area).

(Pay attention to your guides)

Total cost was about RM100++ (Sorry, I cant remember exactly how much). The fees covers your rental of the raft, paddles, helmets, life jackets, guides, even a cd of your pictures (If you have the guide with you taking pics) and the best part of all, amazing home cooked chicken rice!!

Great way to spend in nature and slightly out of the city.

(Chillaxing down the river)