That fascinating Ants...

I have always been fascinated with ants. I believe this fascination start when I was a kid living in a Kampong where ants are everywhere, in the bushes, in the trees and in and around the house. It’s everywhere. There are big ants, small ants and ants that cause great pains when bitten and those ants that seem to be harmless. So over the years it just became invisible living along us until something happen, likes it invaded our cakes and cookies when we leave it unattended for a while.

Unlike the white ants or the termite most ants are harmless. In fact we do needs ants around to help in the pollination process of our plants. There would be no flowers like the colorful orchids without the ants. Ants too play a very significant role in cleaning out the dead insects leaving our space free of the waste remains. So ants actually are a necessity rather then a pest. It does help our species to enjoy living on this blue planet of ours.


This morning I decided to do some photography at the back of my house using the Macro Lens and took a numbers of shots of the happening there. Here are some images of the happening that shows ants enjoying itself on one of the fruit. See how small the ant is compare to the Custard Apple [the size of a small size Apple] that it feed on. The image of the custard apple below would give you some ideas of the size of the ants relative to the fruit.



Since I went into Macro Photography I found a new world of wonder that would not be possible using an ordinary lens. It is amazing what one could see and enjoy nature through the Macro lens. I am still learning the best way of getting a good shot of the objects especially that of insects that are always moving. As can been seen in the images above it is still not that perfect but I am happy with that for the time being. At this age my hand is still steady but as has been advice using a tripod would be the best way of getting a better shot. I shall have to do that as I move along adventuring into the world of Macro Photography.


Have a nice day.[Click image to enlarge]

Buah Delima @ Pomegranate...

Delima is Ruby in the Malay language. So I believe the reason this fruit is call Delima is because the seed of this fruit is exactly like the Ruby stone. The Pomegranate by itself look like any ordinary fruit but it is only when you break opened it that you see the glittering seed that looks like Ruby. If it is your first time seeing this fruit and had not seen the seed before then you would not take a second look at the fruits itself. It is not that appealing like the Apples the Pears the Grapes the Papaya or the Mangoes. It looks rather plain. It is only when you see the inside that you would always get attracted to this fruit.

I am not sure about you but normally I would buy it. It is not that I love to eat it but simply because this fruit often lure me to take it home. In most cases I end buying it. How does one really enjoy this fruits; I must confessed I do not really know, other then eat or suck the Ruby like seeds one by one, enjoying the sweet juice and spit the stone out. And if you are not careful you would end with staining your cloths while eating it.

I once watch a TV program of a farmer in Australia who plant this wonderful fruit tree lamenting that no one really know what this fruit is really use for. But almost everyone who saw the inside of this fruit would have an instant liking to it. Anyway the farmer says that the best thing to do with this fascinating Ruby like seeds of the fruit is to turn it into juice and use it either as a drink or as an add-on in the making of cakes.

Well folks whatever it is this fruits is still a mystery to me. Perhaps there are others out there who could enlighten us as to the real purpose of this wonder of a fruit. The Delima or Pomegranate is such a mystic of a fruit. The seeds like the Ruby do have sort of a power of attraction that made you want to take it home. Above is an image of this fruit as seen through the Macro Lens. It sure looks juicy and appealing. How can one not be tempted and not take it home I wonder! Have a nice day.

The Maxwell Hill that I saw...

It took years and hundreds, perhaps thousand of Indian laborers working with their bare hands and basic tools to complete the 13 kilometers road that leads to the top of this amazing mountain range. The top most is 1250 meter from the sea level. It is not an ordinary road likes that one see at Cameron Highland and Frazer Hill. The climb was almost vertical with 93 hairpin corners which made it impossible to drive up there using an ordinary car. We were driven up there using the Land-rover, that hardy British made four-wheel drive, an amazing workhorse that could take the hairpin corner with ease. The 13 kilometers drive up to the top took half an hour. The road was narrow and only with the expertise of the driver made it possible to drive both ways. All throughout the ways one see greens of the tropical jungle that had been there for the last 1.5 millions years. Other then the green that is often blanketed by thick mist there are nothing much to see except dilapidated houses that once was the residents and rest-house of the British officers and their families in the hay day of the colonial era.

From what I notice only little repairs are done here and there but mostly all the buildings that I saw are left to the elements and in the process of decay. It looks like the maintenance is a bare minimum. The road looks like it needs a major repair and broadens but it seems it has been like that for years. Had it not been for the wonderful driver that took us up and down the whole trip would be a total waste. Such a gem of a cool resort on the top of the world with cool temperature seems to go to waste. What a waste to our national heritage. Had the place been given due maintenance and the road widens, flower garden maintained it would be a heaven for tourist. The 1.5 million years old forest is already a ready attraction to nature lover all over the world. We should remember our Main Range; the Banjaran Titiwangsa had never been devastated by the Ice Age like that in the western hemisphere, so our forest is actually exactly as it was when the first plants start growing. That is our asset and it would attract visitor from near and afar. Yet it look like nothing serious is been done to preserved this national treasure of ours. Except for the service provide for one to go up and down, very little seem to have been done to preserve this gem of a Hill Resort. Sad indeed, when million are spend on new recreational projects but this one that is so close to the Taiping town has not been given due attention it deserved.

The drive up and down are dangerous and I would advice folks not to bring their children along on such a trip. At present there are nothing to see but the flora and fauna of the tropical jungle. How we wished that they had set a rest site where we could enjoy Teh Tarik in the cool comfort of the green surrounding. The whole areas are suitable for planting of flowers but the only flowers that one sees are the wild flowers or some old one that had managed to survived on its own. I hope that the authority concern would look seriously on the redevelopment of this resort rather then developing new one. Even the resort north of Taiping that was developed recently seem to be almost deserted on the day we visited it; the buildings and the landscaping look like it need a professional maintenance. So I felt that it is wise to spend money on the Maxwell Hill rather then on any new resorts.

The Maxwell Hill project was completed in 1884 and in 1910 it was gazette as a Forest Reserved. I hope that it would stay as a Forest Reserve for eternity. So to nature lover who are interested is just the flora and fauna where time stood-still for millions of years, this is still the place to visit and enjoy the greens as well as bird watching. For the youth a hike up is an adventure not to be missed. On our way up and down we saw a numbers of local hiking and they seem to be enjoying the adventure.

It is now renamed as Bukit Larut but whatever name they choose to replace the colonial name it should not be left to rot and eventually destroyed by the elements. It is indeed depressing to see such a wonderland of nature which was built with the sweats of thousand of laborers is left to rot. Anyway do have a nice day.

The Dragonfly and the Ants...

While walking at the small garden in front of my patio I spotted this fallen Dragonfly without the tail. It must have fallen down and die on the floor, where I could see ants crawling all over it and slowly carrying it away.

It was really great to get to see nature in action, part of the Eco system of nature. The dead Dragonfly soon became food for the ants. Perhaps the ants would be enjoying a feast after this.

I fixed the Macro Lens to my camera and took a numbers of snaps as the ants slowly move the giant Dragonfly away from my sight; a fascinating sight in the micro world of the insects. It is the little happenings like this that made our world so colorful. The interaction among the species, be it the plants, the animals and insects and us the Homo sapiens. Such a wonderland if only we care to look and appreciate.

Have a nice day. [Click to enlarge image]

Miss Telecom of Yesteryears...

It has been an eventful weeks. Starting from the Eid Fitr Open House there was streams of visitors to the house. As couple who love to party since our youth, these happenings has been one happy moments for both us. My spouse and I love it. To top it all my spouse decided to organized a get together last Thursday October 15, 2009 of her colleagues while she was working with Telecom Malaysia years ago.

In the fifties and the sixties these girls are the darling of the Telecom Department. The girls that made the Telco tick before the introduction of automation, electronic and the cell phone where all calls had to go through a human interface. Without them it was not be possible to make a call. There was no automation then so they are the part of the system that made possible all the million of calls that are made days by days. Now with automation and electronic their services are limited to special function only. They had served the service well indeed and today all those girls are in their golden age and enjoying life. It was a culture then that there would be a Miss Telecom Pageant where the Miss Telecom of the year would be selected. We would attend this Dance and Dinner function and enjoy the night of fun and splendor of an era gone by. Now things have changed and we no longer hear of such event. How sad. We all did have a great time then but time has change and now it is just history.

So on that special Thursday at our home a numbers of them attend the invitation from my spouse for the lunch. It was to some a meeting after twenty years. Some was the Miss Telecom of yesteryear. What a gathering of ladies it was. I was the only thorn among the roses, until the spouse of two of them arrived, one is one of my cousin and the other is a General; the retired Chief of the Malaysian Arm Force, a close friend of ours from our youth.

I am sharing here the images of those folks who were at our home on that special day. In those days they are dressed differently and not as what you see now. The fashion was different then but with changing cultural influences the fashion of dressing has change too. They were gorgeous then and now in their golden age they still look as great. Gorgeous as ever. Have a nice day.

Happy Diwali...

Happy Dewali to all, may we all continue to prosper and enjoy life.

Folks the Eid Fitr [Hari Raya] celebration is still on, so we now have two festivals to celebrate.

Have a nice day.

Dinning in the Sky...

It was one of those days that we would go out for a family dinner. This time was at a place that I had not been before. Although the KL Tower was officially open some twelve years ago I have not been up there until last Saturday when our eldest daughter invited us for a family dinner there. She had been trying to organized a dinner up there for sometimes already and it was only last Saturday that it happened.

The KL Tower is one imposing telecommunication tower and with the Petronas Twin Towers it made an imposing icon of the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. The total height of the tower is 421m whereas the Revolving Restaurant is at 282m.

On arrival there at just past eight in the evening we were whizzed up by the lift nonstop to the twenty second floor. The revolving floor where one would enjoy the dinner and watch the panoramic view of Kuala Lumpur move around you. Actually it is the floor of the dining area that moves at a slow pace, hardly noticed. So while we sat to enjoy our meal and concentrate on the food, the scene of Kuala Lumpur below us slowly changed. The center of the hall move too so as we enjoy the evening the Dessert Table that was beside our table slowly disappeared and reappeared after a lapsed of sometimes.

Soon the dining area was filled with dinners of the local and tourists. We took our times to enjoy the sumptuous buffet of local and western food. And from time to time I took snaps of those amazing scenes below us. It was just majestic, glittering like a fairyland; such a magnificent sight indeed.

For grandma and grandpa this is our first time here and together with the kids and grand kids we all did had a gala time that evening, enjoying the food and watching the view of Kuala Lumpur from such height. Indeed an enjoyable family dinner, one of a kind. A bliss.

Have a nice day.

Note: Both the images above was taken from the same spot.[click image to enlarge]

Your Vote My Vote...

Folks there would be a By-election in the state of Negeri Sembilan. It would be a straight fight between the PR that is PAS and the BN. In the era of change as now the election is not just an easy go for any party. Not like before. We now have a new generation of Malaysian born after independence 1957. Surely they have a different political outlook then their forefather. They want to see quality leadership at all level. Read this my take in my other Blog. Have a nice day.