Women's rights

Feel free to view the little video on women's rights that I did for a class presentation.

I came to know about Malala, a fourteen year old pakistani girl who was shot by taliban members, recently. She was shot because she was promoting freedom of choice and education for girls. Education should be an inalienable right, available to all. It is quite absurd that even today some women are deprived of their rights to education and the freedom to make their own decisions. Are they not allowed to make their own decisions because they are still deemed to be irrational, emotional, unable to reason and hence are always in need of male figures to make every single decision for them?

I still cannot understand why in some communities, men are afraid of women getting educated. Are they afraid that with education, women would become more powerful and they wouldn't be able to "control" them? Are they afraid that with education, women would loose a little of their culture, which would then be replaced by western beliefs? It gets so confusing and messy when culture and religion gets involved because most of the religions I know, are very patriarchal. 

UP NEXT...the mini European escapade

We visited countries with really fascinating cultural history, ate mouth-watering food and were blown away by amazing architecture, views and famous sights. I am so blessed that I got to share the funny, eye-opening and crazy moments throughout the trip with the most awesome bunch and I got to reunite with the secondary school girlfriends in Europe. The trip was just two weeks but it has created a lifetime of memories for us; I can't wait to start blogging about our mini EUROPEAN ESCAPADE!

Seafood: A lovely treat for my taste buds!

Hiang Kee seafood restaurant is located at Jalan Keris, Taman Sri Tebrau, Johor Bahru. The restaurant is situated right behind a market. It is clean and the best part is that it was free of cats when I went there (I don't fancy cats). Another plus point is that the restaurant opens till late! I reached the restaurant at 11pm on Friday night and surprisingly it was still opened; More customers started coming in just after midnight as well. My family and I ordered a large hotplate bean curd, sambal kang kong, salted vegetable soup, cereal prawns, mango fried fish and rice for four people. We ended up paying 104 ringgit; A very reasonable price. The food was worth every penny. It is by far, one of the best seafood I have tasted and I would highly recommend anyone who wants satisfying asian seafood to visit this place. 

The day where prices of bouquets suddenly shoot up, is here!

I remember being so excited about Valentine's day, during my secondary school & JC days. Gifts and cards would be exchanged amongst friends; 'Secret' admirers would make themselves known by leaving a rose or two on your desk. Flowers and gifts were sold in school itself and there was also a special song dedication segment which took place during recess time; All in the attempt of raising funds at the expense of adolescents, willing to spend part of their allowances to impress their crushes.

Although buying gifts on valentine's day can be such a rip off, we should be thankful that such a day exists. It allows us to remind the people we love and care about that they play a special part in our lives. Some people might not be so expressive with their love and valentine's day might give them the perfect opportunity to open up and surprise the ones they love. There is no need for ridiculously pricey watches, over-priced bouquets or an extravagant dinner; A simple home-cooked meal, a hand-made card containing a very sweet message and a box of chocolates would do the trick (at least for me!)

“Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Loves is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It dose not take offense and is not resentful. Love take no pleasure in others people's sins, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.” ― Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember

Happy valentines day, peepz!
xoxo

Thaipusam-A (not-so) lively festival in Singapore

On Tuesday, 7th February, the Tamil community celebrated Thaipusam. Thaipusam is a yearly affair, celebrated in a grand way in India wherein the Tamil community constitutes the majority. Here, in Singapore, we celebrate Thaipusam yearly too (amidst many restrictions). Thaipusam is celebrated in memory of the day Lord Murugan, one of the many hindu gods, received a spear (called, a vel) so that he could destroy an evil demon. 

On Thaipusam day in Singapore, devotees of all ages would walk from one temple ( Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple) to another temple (Tank road temple); A total distance of 4 kilometres. Most of them would adorn yellow traditional Indian attires and carry milk pots on their head. They would walk the whole distance, never stopping for a break, despite the weariness that starts to weigh them down. Men with kavadis attached to their bodies would be surrounded by friends and family who sing devotional songs to motivate them, throughout the 4km, to remain focused and reach their destination despite the physical pain that they feel. 

My brother carrying his Kavadi  

My brother has been carrying the kavadi for the past four years. His kavadi consists of long spikes, made of steel, which are pierced through the skin. Two semicircular steel pieces are balanced on his shoulders; His kavadi is decorated with a statue of lord Murugan, surrounded by peacock feathers. Those who carry kavadis have to be very focused and are required to eat vegetarian food for at least two weeks prior to Thaipusam. They are also required to sleep on the floor and abstain from activities that are considered impure. 

Thaipusam in Singapore, used to be a very flamboyant affair; Filled with colours, music and dance. Due to the restrictions on the type of musical instruments allowed and the bans on musical instruments such as the gongs/drums, the event is not as lively as it used to be, many years back. Many devotees are unhappy about the restrictions as they feel that musical instruments are necessary to motivate kavadi carriers to complete the 4km successfully and music would serve as a good distraction from the pain that they might feel. Despite the restrictions and the decrease in liveliness, Thaipusam continues to be one of the major Indian festivals celebrated in Singapore.

For more information on Thaipusam, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaipusam. 

The short getaway to Mersing!

The view from the hotel we stayed in, RajaVillas, which is situated on top of a hill

If you want to be away from a place filled with tourists, interact with nature and experience village life, one of the places you could go to is Mersing. Many parts of the town remain undeveloped. For those seeking an authentic village experience, there are even home stay options!

Mersing is a town in which my grandmother was born and grew up in. Her dad, Kalimuthu, was well known in Mersing. He helped in the building of the very first school in Mersing. My grandma told us stories of how Mersing didn't even have any schools during her time. She and her siblings had to travel to JB to go to school. 

Till this day, there are still people in Mersing who remember my great-grandfather and my grandmother. There were two masseuses who came over to our hotel room to massage my older relatives. They recognised my grandmother once she told her dad's name and soon they realised they knew each other and their families! Early in the morning, when some of my older relatives went out to buy breakfast for the rest of us, it seems that some people in the market knew my grandmother and her dad too. It was really interesting listening to the nostalgic stories my grandmother shared with us about her younger days growing up in the little town.

Coconuts to quench our thirst!

A street stall selling local delicacies.

Air Papan

Air Papan

Air Papan is a popular beach in Mersing. It is the best place to go to if you are a seashell collector. There are so many different kinds of shells you can find, washed out to shore by the waves. The water looked pretty dirty, so I ended up just getting my feet wet and building sandcastles instead of swimming. There were many stalls selling different kinds of local delicacies. We succumbed to our temptation and got ourselves a home-made ice-cream each and had a coconut to drink! In the warm humid weather, the coconuts and ice-cream was just what we needed. 

There aren't many shops in Mersing. But every Friday night they have a pasar malam (a bunch of street stalls). From delicious local delicacies to unique clothes, you can find a variety of different things being sold in the pasar malam. The things in Mersing are really cheap. I managed to find a shop in the more developed part of Mersing selling nike and addidas shoes. I managed to get a nike shoe at 185 Ringgit. The same shoe would have probably cost me more than 150 Singapore dollars.

I love the food in Mersing. They were not only cheap but were ridiculously delicious too! I had nasi lemak for breakfast one day and the chilli they gave to go along with the nasi lemak was, without doubt, the best that I have ever tasted. We had seafood for dinner on both the nights that we were there. It was cheaper than in Singapore but tasted so good! I tried wild boar for the first time ever. It tasted just like chicken!

Peaceful, relaxing and ridiculously affordable; Mersing is the ideal place to go to if you want an authentic village experience (opt for the home stay option) and if all you want to do is to put your feet up! 

UP NEXT: A mini road trip to Mersing!

Mersing is situated in the state of Johor, Malaysia. Mersing, the town in which my grandmother was born and grew up in, was where we headed to during the Chinese new year weekend. Just a two and a half hours drive away from Singapore, Mersing was the ideal place for a short getaway with the family. Twenty-nine people, a deserted hotel, cheap mouth-watering food, great company; it was an awesome getaway which deserves a longer post. I shall do one more post about the trip tomorrow. Right now, all I feel like doing is drinking a glass of hot chocolate and sleeping. All the travelling has left me feeling so exhausted.

Goodnight, World!
xoxo

Phuket-Sun, Sea, Fun, PARTY!

The last time I visited Phuket was 10 years ago. Just 12 years old, I remember being so excited about the beaches that I spent hours on and the sea activities that I did. I went there expecting it to be somewhat just like the place I visited 10 years ago. But the place looked beyond familiar (except for Patong beach). There's a street called bangla street, which I don't recall seeing 10 years back, consisting of pubs and clubs. But then again the street might have already existed back then but my parents would have thought it was unnecessary to bring their twelve year old daughter and ten year old son to a street full of party-goers, 10 years back. 

We were lucky that the hotel we stayed in, Andakira hotel, was located only a 7 minutes walk away from bangla street and a 15 minutes walk away from Patong beach. There were many shops along the streets selling clothes and souveniers, with the shop owners constantly targeting gullible tourists to purchase their overpriced items. It is always wise to check the prices at several shops before buying it (most of the shops sell the same things!) and it is always good to bargain because the owners tend to increase the selling prices of goods by three times more than the actual price. I bought a top that supposedly cost 750 bhat for 250 bhat!

On christmas eve, we made our way to Bangla street which was packed with party goers (mostly tourists). We heard a lot about a club called seduction and decided we should definitely celebrate the start of christmas there! With midnight approaching, we were looking forward to a countdown to christmas. Unfortunately, there was no countdown to christmas. We were still happy because we managed to enter for free and the club itself was really impressive. There were three levels, each level played a different type of music. The top level, which played the latest club songs and house music, was the most popular.

Getting ready for the Christmas countdown which never happened!

Club Seduction

The next day was packed with activities. We started of with flying fox! It was 60 metres high.

The next activity we did was white water rafting. It was our first time rafting, therefore it was the most anticipated activity! Two local men followed us on the raft. They were really entertaining and made our rafting experience a really enjoyable one.

Next up was a ride on the ATV (All Terrain Vehicle). It was the most enjoyable activity for me.  Each of us had our own ATV and were travelling at high speeds. The path we were going on contained many bumps, curves and downhills which made it challenging and exciting.

The most challenging activity for me has got to be the FISH SPA! I struggled to keep my feet in the water. The fishes were happily nibbling away on the dead skin on my feet while I was suffering because it was too ticklish! I'm never going for a fish spa again!!

We also went for elephant trekking and a monkey show! The elephant that we sat on was called Puki. It was so adorable. Each time we called it's name, it would raise its trunk and make the cutest sound ever.

Later that night, we headed to a show called simon cabaret. It is somewhat like a musical. The people who perform are actually transexuals. We do not have these kind of shows in Singapore therefore we were really fascinated by it. I was blown away by how flawless the transexuals looked. You would never guess that they were actually males before, well not until you hear them open their mouth and speak!

The next day, we visited Maya beach, Phi Phi island and Khai island where we snorkelled. The picturesque scenery, the endless crystal clear emerald green water surrounded by limestone cliffs, was simply breathtaking!  

I simply loved Phuket. It is the best place to go if you want to party, relax and do something adventurous, all in one trip. The best tip to surviving in Phuket without spending a whole lot of money is to BARGAIN (except for food). Do not settle for the first price that a shop owner tells you. We managed to get tickets for the simon cabaret show (VIP seats and transport to and from the show) at 650 bhat from a street shop, when most of the other travel companies were selling it at 850 bhat. I'm sure there would have been people who got it for cheaper but we were just picking up on the new 'skill' we learnt from this trip- bargaining!

UP NEXT...

Sawaadee Ka! After much procrastination, I've finally started drafting a blog post about my trip to Phuket. It will be up soon. There's just so much to talk about!