This is a sign I came accross in Auschwitz, Poland, at the etrance of the concentration camp of Auschwitz I, translated literally into: "work shall set you free/will free you".

No doubt, this is a paradox, since almost none of the people who saw and read this sign were ever freed.

(This is the first part of a another 2 part picture series, Part 2 of my 'glass' photohunt theme can be found here)

I seem to have a knack for being one of the last ones when it comes to Photohunt assignments... But anyway, people say that it's always better late than never, right?

This week, for 'glass' theme, I pay homage to the millions of lives who fell victim to the Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. As you read in my previous posts (here and here) you'll have realized that I visited Cambodia last year in August during my summer holiday. What was supposed to be relaxing holiday turned out to be an eye-opening experience for me. Cambodia as a country is rich with culture and history and the people there are as courteous as they are kind.

Of course, in order to really understand a country you need to dwelve into the country's history, including the past.

As you all know, in the not to distant history, Cambodia was under a communistic regime held by the world famous dictator, Pol Pot, who estimated to have killed at least 13 Million lives, including Cambodians and foreigners alike.

This is a picture taken in the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. What used to be a school, was transformed overnight into this disgusting prison surrounded by barbed wires. This here is a classroom, now lined up with rows of rows of nameless faces, the victims of Khmer Rouge. All that remains now are these pictures of them, behind these glass frames.








As I left the museum that day, I said a silent prayer to those people and prayed that never again will these events occur.

My other entry of this week's theme here.

Another late entry.

This time my picture for 'High' comes from Cambodia, a country like no other. Here are me and my friends standing at the peak of Angkor Wat, what some people said should have been rightfully awarded one of the 'Seven Wonders of the World' title.


Here you can see the Angkor Wat being reflected on the lake of mirrors.



But in order to reach to the top of temple, you need to embark on a mini adventure. The time we arrived there, the rain had just poured. The steps were as steep as they were wet.




When I said 'rain', I really meant a torrential storm! Luckily we came prepared.


But when we arrived at the peak, the view of Angkor with the lush greeneries right after the rain, just as the sun set over Cambodia was a sight to behold.

The Europe Trip that I embarked on a few months ago, I must admit, was a very enlightening one for me. As someone who was raised in Asia, we did learn about the atrocities carried out by the Nazi and Japanese empire during the world war II, but somehow emphasis was put on the Asian side, and only this past year did I really understand the meaning of the Nazi Holocaust during the war.

This is the first of the two part series of pictures for this week's photohunt, titled metal. (Part 2 here)

This picture was taken in Auschwitz, Poland, where the Nazi German Concentration camp was built. This structure here can be found on a wall in which barbed wire surrounded.

As you can only imagine, barbed wire surrounded the whole concentration camp, locking people inside. Inside this camp hundreds to thousands of prisoners were kept at any one time. The worst thing was that there was an incinerator also in the premise, where prisoners are said to be whisked off to be killed.

Pictures like this should serve as a reminder of what mistakes people have done in the past, and what lesson we can take from it.

I apologize first and foremost of the disappearing act. Workload's been catching up with me and I finally found some time to upload this post.

Anyway, the Malaysian election ended a couple of days ago. For those who don't know, I am a Malaysian through and through. A multi-cultural nation which I can proudly say I belong to.


This picture is me and my neighbours. Here in the student hostel, 5 rooms share a common living area and a common kitchen, and these here are my neighbours and my best friends. We are all different. We're from different races, different religion, different social background, different parts of the country and the list goes on and on and on. But you could not find a more compatible group of friends. We have parties together, we go to each other when we need help, we have long chit chats, we laugh together and we share together. Deep down, we are all Malaysians, and that's what matters.

When I found out that today's topic is 'Party', I thought, hm... no problem there! If you've been reading some of my previous posts you can note that not only am I the party animal, I am one heck of a party planner too.

But what I want to share this week is a party of a different kind. Earlier last month, a group of international students here in Kursk, Russsia organized a party for the orphans here in one of the orphanages. We raised our own fund and bought present, gifts, surprises, games and many, many performances.
Group Photo
You can read about the report on the party in detail, with more pictures and video clips here in my previous post. click here!

The best thing was to see how the children enjoyed themselves as well, singing, laughing, clapping along to the performances, and taking part in the games. Our months of hard work in planning and raising the fund was really worth it.

Here, I took a picture with some of the children there.

This is a picture of the wooden barracks (through barbed wires) found in the Nazi Concentration Camp in Auschwitz, Poland, where I visited this past winter.

I must say the whole town was enveloped with this gloomy sensation, and it was a pretty dark trip, to see what happened in World War 2.

Prior to this trip, I did some researching about Auschwitz, and posted a question on an online travel forum. Almost immediately I was bombarded by replies, asking me why would anyone even want to visit such a place. Well, first and foremost, I for one do not believe in the concept of Ignorance is bliss. To me, ignorance leads on to stupidity, which later transpires into atrocious montrosity that neither you or me could fathom. And there was a saying amongst the holocause survivors- 'Never Forget'. Which I think is a strong and powerful message. We learn from our mistakes and move forward.

Anyway, hope you guys have a good week photohunting.

When I found out the topic for photohunt this week was 'Free', I Immediately thought of the word Freedom and of its importance.


This past winter holiday during my time in Prague, I was lucky enough to visit the infamous John Lennon wall, which is a wall displaying messages of love and peace. This is an important symbol of freedom, especially drung the Communist regime in Czech Republic not so long ago. After John Lennon's death in the 80's, his fans gathered around this wall and scribbled down messages of love and peace, and slowly it caught on. In days the wall was full of these messages.

Of course, being under a socialist regime this sort of thing cannot be tolerated, so much so that police guards were hired to keep watch on the wall to ensure that nobody does it.

In the end, it was reported that up to thousands of people were jailed for this offense. In fact, there was a huge clash amongst the students and the police over this fight for freedom, which was reported all around the world.

Therefore, I can only appreciate the meaning of freedom more, standing so close to this piece of historical monument. And cannot thank our forefathers enough for their battle for our freedom.

Anyway, like any other persons would, I left my message of peace and freedom on the wall too-



Also, we noticed a cigarette hanging from the lips of the bust of John Lennon. Being the sport that we are, I hoisted Kenny up on my back and we lit the cigarette up for the guy. We thought it was the least we could do for the guy...

*warnings- boxer alert!*

This is another post loooong overdue. Ever since I arrived back from my trip in Europe, it took me awhile to recharge my batteries to get it running again. But anyways I hope it's not too late to wish everybody a Happy Chinese New Year!

For this theme, there's only one thing I can think of, of course. Heavy meal- that is!

For us Chinese, we have a tradition of having a reunion dinner on the eve of Chinese New Year. This marks the most important day in the life of a Chinese. Family members are to gather together, have dinner together and celebrate together. The niche with studying abroad is, of course, missing out on all these traditions. Instead of celebrating this day with my family, I was in the train on the way back from Moscow to Kursk. So basically miserable and alone...

But then I arrived back in Kursk and made up for it in a big way, a huuuuge dinner with my friends, of course!



If you take a look at the pictures there you can see the dishes that I cooked- braised sea cucumber cooked with leaks and chinese sausages, chicken soup with chinese cabbages and fish bladder (hu pio), Sweet and Sour Pork and Ma po Tofu. I also heated up the vecuum-packed pre-cooked Peking duck served with gravy, and Shoo hao steamed the Red Tilapia and Choc Ky did the mixed vege. It was a looot of food for 6 people, so you can only imagine how heavy it was even for us!

But it was great, I have to admit, that despite being so far from my family, I still got to relive and cherish a part of our culture and tradition in this foreign land. And if you look at all the dishes that we prepared, you have to admit they were pretty hardcore traditional!

Hope you guys have a nice week ahead! Happy Photohunting!

This is a picture taken in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic. The whole town is full of narrow lanes and cobblestone paths, medieval buildings that are hundreds (even thousands of years old).

This picture of me is taken in front of a very narrow lane in the town, searching for directions on the map.

Here's a picture of the town. It is very well preserved. In fact, it is the second most important town which is protected under UNESCO World Heritage Site.

And here was the traditional Czech dinner that we had, roasted duck with cabbage and dumplings... which tasted as good as it looks (and sounds).

Anyway, I'm in Budapest right now, still in my winter break. We went to visit a Thermal Spa just a few hours ago (which was REALLY soothing) then had a very traditional Hungarian Dinner at a Posh restaurant. So I'm practically beaming as I1m typing this at the moment.

This week's topic is easy for me. Many things are important for me- friendship, the fact that I'm breathing, the condition of our world today, people suffering in different parts of the world, our earth, my relationship with God... the list goes on and on... Without a doubt, though, the thing I hold most precious to my heart in my family-



This picture was taken last year in July, during my summer vacation at home. I've never mentioned it here, but I spend 10 months each year in Russia, and only 2 (sometimes even barely) at home in Kuching. And every year, in July, I get to celebrate my mum's birthday!

And as you see here, my mum really is the world's greatest mum!

And indeed, nothing is more important to me than my family. And it takes being away from them so many years for you to finally realize how great you've had it. The home-cooked meals, the hearty conversations, the quarrels and squabbling we have, the Sunday mass and then dinner out together- that's become something that I always look forward to.

Anyway, I'm finishing my studies real soon, and all to soon I will be home at long last!

So what are important to the rest of you?

This week's theme of had me searching up and down, far and wide for an idea. There's a myriad of adjectives that you can use to describe me or any aspects of my life but skinny is definitely not one of them!

But anyway, I read that you find inspiration in the littlest things in life, even in the chicken you're about to chop out for dinner! As I was about to clean the chicken and remove whatever excess fat and skin, suddenly something stuck me- Chicken skin... Chicken skin... skin... ny... SKINNY!

I just knew I had to post this!


That looks plenty lot and pretty nasty, doesn't it? And to think the chicken wasn't that big at all (weighs about a kilo).

But afterwards I had a great dinner- Fried Chicken with Korean salad.


Have fun photohunting!

I know that this post is loooong overdue. I've been meaning to post it up but somehow have been delayed time and time again. Anyway, for my Photohunt picture post titled: Delicious~

At long last, Sarawak Laksa! Here it is, Sarawak Laksa in its entirety.



For those of you who still do not know about it, Sarawak laksa is a dish indigenous to Sarawakian. It is basically Vermicelli served with a spicy gravy (a mixture of prawn paste, sour tamarind, garlic, galangal, lemon grass and coconut milk and some other indigenous spices), served together with bean sprouts, chopped parsley, a squeeze of lime, sliced omelet, Steamed Chicken and the freshest prawn you can possibly imagine.

As you can see here… the ‘prawn’ ended up being substituted by small shrimps… That’s the bane of living in Russia. Prawns are frigging expensive here!

It looks not bad right? A dish prepared by a 22 year old male medical student! And the flavour was amazing too. I'm drooling right now looking at the pictures!

But anyway, for about a year now I took part in an online community for travelers, called Fodors.com. I know that food and travel compliment each other as well as cheese and wine, so I started a thread, asking these questions:

1. Where do you come from? And

2. What food must you absolutely try in your hometown (and where best to try it)?

My answer was this

1. I come from Kuching, Sarawak, it's at the western tip of the Borneo islands, with lush greeneries, sunny weather all year long and warm and friendly people! It's also where we have the Rainforest Music Festival every July!

2. You must absolutely try out the Sarawak Laksa. It's Vermicelli with a spicy gravy (a mixture of prawn paste and some indigenous spices), served together with bean sprouts, chopped parsley, a squeeze of lime, sliced omelet, Steamed Chicken and the freshest prawn you can possibly imagine.

It's spicy, and full of a variety of flavour that will leave you wanting more!

The best place to taste it would probably be my home, since my elder brother cooks the best Sarawak Laksa. Alternatively, there's this shop at 3rd mile in Kuching, called the Golden Arch which also makes really really good Laksa.

But now, in retrospect, I can proudly add, ‘MY OWN KITCHEN HERE IN RUSSIA’ to the place best to taste it.

But anyway, after the thread was posted, the response was staggering! I had a hundred over replies over just a few days. Some interesting answers include these:

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Author: seebee

1. Springfield, Illinois - home of Abraham Lincoln and the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and a great stop on Route 66.

2. Our famous gastronomical adventure is called a "horseshoe". It is an open-face sandwich starting with a piece of toast on the bottom; on top of this you add your choice of meat, such as hamburger, ham, shrimp; on top of this you place a heaping mound of french-fried potatoes; and to top it off, you pour a rarebit melted cheese sauce.

You can find "horseshoes" in any local restaurant.
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Author: Loveling

1. Bergen, Norway

2. Søstrene Hermelins Fish soup. VERY cheap and the the best Bergen experience all my visitors have had.
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Author:speckles

1. Adelaide, South Australia.

2. We have a food that is unique to SA. I believe it is unique for a reason - it looks absolutely vile. However, we are still "famous" for it. Even comedian Billy Connolly tried it on a doco he made of Australia.

The pie floater is a standard meat pie (ie the ones which must have a minimum (and probably also maximum) 30% "meat product"). The pie sits in a bowl of pea and ham soup and is covered in tomato sauce/ketchup. It can be bought from a mobile pie stand which sets up at a certain point in Adelaide after dark. You probably have to jostle with drunks and homeless people to get your pie.

http://www.woodbegood.pl/pl/wiki/Grafika:Pie_floater.jpg.html
Another food we are famous for (and is by the same company, Balfours, is the frog cake. Again, they're not the most enticing food, but kids seem to like them. It's even been heritage listed! Says a lot for our state.

http://www.nationaltrustsa.org.au/images/movable/frogcake.jpg=====================================================================================

Author: pollyvw

1. Baxley, GA USA

2. Boiled Peanuts (in the shell)

Buy them from street vendors in season or knock on anyone's door.
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Author: lobo_mau

1 Lisbon

2 Pig's ears salad, eaten everywhere, anytime.
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Author: angelnot1

1. I come from Poland and live in Australia so ...

2. Poland - bigos( stew of meats including venison,sausages, sourkraut), pierogi ( ravioli like with different fillings), barszcz ( beetroot soup)

Australia- kangaroo steak, Batemans Bay oysters (and all other seafood), waguyu steak, pavlova ( although New Zealanders argue that is is theirs) and of course a vegemite sandwich
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I am heading to Poland and Norway in a few week’s time so some of their replies really came in handy. Also the post about Adelaide Australia was also interesting. Click on the link to check out how does pie floater look like. Knowing me, I'd give give anything a try at least once in my lifetime!

But anyway, it’s my turn to ask here:

1. Where do you come from? And

2. What food must you absolutely try in your hometown (and where best to try it)?

Enlighten me with your answers!