A while back I participated in Hotlink’s Bloggers Without Border challenge and pleaded for vote (with an awesome video of course) to get me to Philippines.
Many of you voted, so a big thank you to you who took the time and effort to cast the ballot for me. However, due to something that came up in this pesky little thing called “DAY JOB”, I was not able to travel to Philippines. BUMMER!
So I guess balut will have to wait, haih, hopefully next time!
Now here’s another video with my co-star Cendawan for your amusement. 
For most, the mere images of sharks conjure up nightmares and scenes of horror (partly thanks to Steven Speilberg’s factually incorrect movie – Jaws), and definitely something to avoid.
However, to a diver, sharks are some of the most beautiful creatures and one that’s to be protected and to be adored, preferably up close and personal. Lucky me, I got to do that just a while back right here in KL.
Aquaria KLCC Shark in the City Cage Rage launch
It all got started a few months ago when I was invited to the Shark in the City – Cage Rage launch at Aquaria KLCC from Dato’ Simon Foong, the owner of the aquarium who is also a Twitter user with the handle @Aquaria_KLCC. We “converse” via Twitter on numerous occasions, and that’s how I got to know the good dato.
Aquaria KLCC is truly a world class aquarium, right in the middle of the city
While Aquaria has been allowing certified divers to dive in the main tank for quite a while now, Cage Rage allows even non-divers to experience the thrill of being in the water with the sharks (behind a cage with protective panel, using a breathing pipe and mask instead of scuba gears)
Knowing that I’m an avid diver, Dato’ Simon then extended a coupon for me to dive at the aquarium, and I finally did it a few weeks ago, and here’s how it went.
above the main tank, just prior to diving
An appointment is strongly recommended, and I made mine a few days prior to the dive. On the day itself, there was another diver, Omar, who came to do the same thing.
We were first shown two short videos showcasing the creatures we are going to meet, then the dive masters gave us a briefing about the dos and don’ts as well as the dive plan.
Then we were off to the main tank! Check out the video above for the highlights of my dive, complete with soothing music for your pleasure. Yes, you are welcome.
the magnificent sand tiger shark at Aquaria KLCC
The dive itself was chilling and thrilling. Chilling cos the water is at around 24-25 Celsius instead of the more common 28-29 Celsius in local water (the sharks actually prefer even colder water, but it’s a compromise with other tropical fish in the tank), and thrilling because there’s all those huge predators you are swimming with.
we are in the tank! and became part of the exhibit
The big boys were definitely the sand tiger sharks, they look real bad ass but mostly just kept to themselves, showing only minimal interest to the divers. There’s also the inquisitive giant grouper than probably weigh more than me, beautiful leopard shark (one that we had hoped to see at Similan Islands trip), the graceful giant blotch fantail stingray, the speedy cow nose ray, moray eel, and much more. It was a feast for the eyes, never would you see such a collection in a single dive.
giant grouper, sand tiger shark, moray eel, leopard shark
The dive costs RM 400 per person per dive and lasts about 45 minutes to an hour underwater (or as long as you can stand the cold), bottom depth is only a few meters and so it is very safe. You must be able to navigate fairly well in the water as the tank isn’t open ocean and can be fairly restrictive.
Overall though, it was a great experience, and one that i’d recommend to anyone who wants to get up close to them big sharks, or to wet your bones during off seasons.
Now maybe it’s time to plan the next dive trip!
Last weekend I was lucky enough to score a couple tickets to Deadmau5 LED Concert at Sunway Lagoon. To be honest, I was almost giving up the passes for someone else initially, then I went on youtube to check out Deadmau5.
5 minutes later I knew that this is a party I couldn’t miss! Thank you BRANDTHINK and Carlsberg Malaysia for the passes!
KY & Haze at Deadmau5, Sunway Lagoon 2011
Here’s a photo to .. well, document the fact that we were really there!
There were a couple DJs on stage prior to Deadmau5, and luckily there were pretty good bringing up the crowd to the raving mood too. However, I do kinda feel a bit bad for the DJ prior to Deadmau5 when people started chanting “We want Deadmau5, we want Deadmau5!”.
Haze and I decided to squeeze to the front of the stage for some hardcore raving when Deadmau5 came out, and it was intense! The video above was taken using my newly acquired Sony Ericsson Arc, I hope the short video at least conveys the mood of the party. (sound was a bit broken cos I guess it was too loud for the phone’s mic to handle)
The full LED stage was impressive! It was literally like if have a giant LCD screen and drap it all over the stage in 3D. Something you have to be there to appreciate.
Deadmau5 himself also worked the crowd very well, and of course, we had a great time and a good session of sweating of course.
Remember the previous post on ESPN Castrol Football Crazy’s Longest Pass launch that I went to? Here’s the “official” video of my longest pass attempt.
This was done in only one take, of course I did it conservatively with no fancy moves. After all I was wearing the Malaysian jersey and one should not embarrass the national symbol, right? hehe
Remember to participate and be on TV! Your video will be featured on TV as well as Castrol Football Crazy Facebook page too. Make it happen!
Here’s the video summarizing our experience at Hong Kong Disneyland, great for those who are too lazy to have read my “almost complete guide to HK Disneyland” post. The video is just a little over 6 minutes, broadband is highly recommended, and don’t gloat if you have Unifi!
Cheers!
Can’t wait for another holiday… gah.
So some of you might have heard of Project Alpha by now, but for the rest of you who didn’t realize this blog owner has somehow managed to get on Full HD videos shot by professional camera crews. Though stranger things have happened, this is still pretty amazing, at least when it comes to yours truly.
Here’s the very short version of the story and what has happened last January.
Jojo, Cheesie, the crews, Kim & Gareth, and Cheesie pretending to be a diva
So our shooting location was chosen to be the Lost World of Tambun at Ipoh. To be honest, I had initially anticipated it to be boring. What’s with this lost world thing? Is it another tiny amusement park that couldn’t make it?
We made our way to Tambun, and to get the day started, we stopped by the very yummylicious dimsum place that is Ming Court at Ipoh. (my all time fav dimsum place)
and they put make up on me, wtflux :S
But as it turned out, Lost World of Tambun was this huge amusement park that has a huge water park, lots of attractions, hot spring, a petting zoo, free running horses, and even live Siberian tigers!
It was an amazing location to do the shoot and I think the #porkgang should seriously plan a day trip there one of these days.
the snake took some getting used to for cheesie & jojo
We did quite a lot of our shootings at the petting zoo, and even managed to sorta cured the snake phobia of Jojo & Cheesie at the same time though the latter screamed like Shrek on speed on burning charcoal when I first put the lovely albino python on her shoulder. (check out the video below)
Gareth and I were able to take some lovely shots when the girls finally settled down with the poor animal.
raccoon’s cute, slithering snake by my shoes, awesome Siberian tiger
I somehow volunteered myself to go into the Serpentarium and almost got myself bitten by a reticulated python, but it was all fun and my Chinese zodiac namesake didn’t do me any harm. We also visited the raccoons, the monkey that bit Cheesie’s blackberry, and the really amazing Siberian tigers. They were so awesomely magnificent.
Guess I shall save writing more cos it’ll take forever, watch these videos instead!
