Saturday, December 22, 2012

Selangor Badminton Association (SBA) Hall,Kampung Atap,Kuala Lumpur



 A very famous badminton hall built from donations of rich patrons,just like many older

 institutions in early Malaya.Players who have played there include Wong Peng Soon,

 Eddy Choong,Tan Aik Huang, Gunalan, the Sideks, Tang Xian Hu, Hou Jia Chang etc.

 Today it has been renovated with rubber courts and plastic seats, gone are the parquet

 flooring and timber seats.Funds to upgrade the hall were sourced from the Federal

 government, the reason for the photos of patrons plastered everywhere.Li Ning is also

 the sponsor for the Selangor team.

 The hall is located in Kampung Atap, an area opposite Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur and

is located behind the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall and near Hotel Midah.

It is no longer as popular as before because of intense competition from other centres

and also the high court charges plus uncalled for expensive parking charges late into the

night, managed by politicians and the local Yakuza, protected by the ruling politicians.

If you are considering hosting world class tournaments here,dont,simply because the

base lines of the courts are all out of alignment and staggered and will have international

class players tearing their hair out.With so much competition in terms of ambience and

pricing,the main reason why there are still customers is because of its location in the

CBD attracting office workers as well as those frequenting the place for nostalgic

reasons.


http://stage2.mmail.com.my/node/16498



Car park


                                                                Main entrance


Courts  


Courts

Canteen


Main gate

The SBA Hall before renovation

  

Friday, December 21, 2012

Mynahbirds of Malaysia

Some of the local species plus some overseas relatives



Although found mostly in India, the Mynah has spread to places like Australia where they
are regarded as pests and an invasive species.The Mynah is as tame as say chickens and
prefer to live among humans especially in urban areas where they can find food easily.
They are found even in Hawaii. :
See :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLlGKhJ4sbs

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Mimaland,Gombak,Malaysia

A Theme Park which closed down in the 90s after being

displaced by adjacent developments in the hills of Gombak.

The park was made viable because of the abundant and free water flowing down

from the adjacent hills to supply the lake and pool.Adjacent developments in the 90s

either cut off the water or introduced mud and slime thereby making the facilities

redundant.Today Mimaland has been abandoned and overgrown with secondary jungle.

Its main attractions then were the chalets on the lakeside, prehistoric theme park,

a giant swimming pool, water slides and the natural rainforest and hills

and was located near the Orang Asli settlements along Jalan Gombak on the old road to

Bentong.

In the past it was used as a weekend family retreat for residents of the Klang Valley

who could also stay overnight in the chalets.Its role is now taken over by Sunway

Theme Park or Genting Highlands.

See more on :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7Ok_6nS1GE

http://www.iproperty.com.my/propertylisting/1651726/Gombak_Agricultural_Land_ForSale

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/1/25/central/20110753&sec=central

The part I like best is that the land status is still agriculture, meaning that the place was

actually operating against planning laws and also safety standards at that time.If the project

were to be revived its land status will probably need to be upgraded and also the costs will

increase substantially and prices will probably be on par with other Theme parks elsewhere.

So,all good things eventually come to an end.


                                                                Prehistoric Park


The huge free form swimming pool like the one in Alson Kelana Seremban



                                                                 The water slide



Monday, December 17, 2012

Kuala Lumpur-The old and quaint


This is what remains of the older sections of Kuala Lumpur.It remains the

commercial heart of the country whereas the Government buildings have

all been relocated to Putrajaya near Kajang.

Who says Kuala Lumpur has no character?



                                       
                                           Where it began,the confluence of the
                                           Klang and Gombak rivers




                                           
                                          The State Secretariat Building,-Moorish style
                                          administrative buildings built by the British



                                           Another view of the State Secretariat

                             


                                     
                                           The Kuala Lumpur Library opposite the State
                                           Secretariat




                                           Medan Pasar,the street where it all began




                                            The Padang,the site of the former Selangor
                                            Club where cricket was played,nowadays
                                            renamed Merdeka Square




                       
                                            The ageless Coliseum Cafe and Restaurant in
                                            Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman




                                           The Hindu Temple in High Street



                                       
                                           Jalan Sultan in Chinatown,a portion which has
                                           to be cleared for the MRT project.


                                     
                                            The entrance to Petaling Street in Chinatown


                                   
                                            Bukit Bintang the commercial and tourism hub

                                       
                                         
                                           The famous Sungei Wang Plaza



                                            The old Railway administrative building


Old clanhouse on Petaling Street
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2013/1/14/lifeliving/12565972&sec=lifeliving





St.John's Institution-A former missionary school for boys




Bukit Nanas Convent-A former missionary school for girls


For a full video preview :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvwjoKyqB7Q
                                      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIFhc9fwJGo   

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Fraser's Hill Resort,Pahang,Malaysia

Located in neighbouring Pahang this hill resort is a must visit.Originally developed by the British

as a hilly getaway from the hot tropics,it is now a resort run by the State with hotels, nature trails,

lush gardening and primary forests and a golf course.This hill resort has a thousand stories to tell

from the past and many of the gardens and edifices reminds the visitor of some village in England.

Preview :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EGpMQ99qxg


                                          Part of the Sungei Selangor Dam in Kuala Kubu Baru
                                          on the way to Fraser's Hill


One of the Hotels



Temperate flowers 

Unknown flower,probably Lily


                                                             The local police station


                                                                   Rhododendren


                                                                      Lilies


                                                                       The Hotel

                                                                         Jungle


                                                            Jungle Trekking


Strawberries


                                                             Fraser's Hill Golf Course

Kepong Metropolitan Park,Kuala Lumpur

This public park is located opposite the Forest Reserve Institute and is well known for kite flying

activities and boat racing in the giant lake.There is also a charming lotus pond and several areas

re-created as wetlands where birds such as the Swamphen can be spotted.The area is planted

with many trees and shrubs and populated by many species of local birds such as the Merbok

or local Dove.

See preview :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBxRw1O54WE

The lake


Passing Heron


Lotus Pond


Lotus Pond


                                                                  Bird's eye view


Palms


The Forest Institute of Malaysia ,Kepong,Kuala Lumpur.

The Forest Institute of Malaysia located in Kepong,North Kuala Lumpur is a preserved

Forest Reserve filled with decades old tropical jungle.One could spend an hour or so

transversing the forest by means of a suspended walkway. Other attractions include

various areas planted with various species of tropical hardwoods and softwoods and

also an agriculture park.


Of great interest to people who wish to trek the jungle safely and also to lovers of tropical hardwood

trees.http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/12/28/nation/12506395&sec=nation

Check out video previews as follows :

1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tei5RUBj5t4

2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pn-AT5uyjc


Tropical Hardwoods


                                                                  Waterfall


Tropical Hardwoods


Kuala Selangor Nature Park and Aquarium, Selangor,Malaysia

Kuala Selangor is located about half an hours drive north west of Kuala Lumpur.it is a town located at the mouth of the Selangor river and is famous for its seafood restaurants.
It is well known for the Wetlands Reserve where birds from temperate countries migrate temporarily to escape the winter. Other than lakes the area is a mangrove swamp and secondary jungle.

It is populated by tribes of monkeys and feeding is strictly prohibited.The mangrove swamp is also a place of interest and there is a covered walkway to travel over the swamp to view the fauna and flora when the tide goes out.

The town used to be a fort to protect invaders from the sea and some cannons are still preserved overlooking the river mouth.

Next to the Wetlands is an Aquarium housing local species.And of course nearby the famous

Fireflies colony.

Refer to the preview as follows :

1)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4acc1tUPqrk

2)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2-V8oIukpQ

3)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuTNfdMygb4


Wetland Egrets and Herons


                                                                    Fiddler Crab


Mangroves


                                                              Silver leaf monkey


                                                                        Aerial view


Mangroves
                                           
                                                                    Kaloi fish


Accomodation


                                                                   Selangor river


Canon in the old fort 

Macaque