Towards the end of 2009 I went up Bukit Perahu / Bukit Ruhiang / St Veronica’s Hill in Tamparuli. However, I went late, only reached the halfway point as it was getting dark.

Started around 5.25pm, this is the signboard:

From the main road, the way up looks like this:

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I think it’s time for an update since my last post about this about 2 years ago.

Has he gotten over all things Ultraman? Not in the least! If anything, I am seeing more Ultraman-themed toys lying about.

One of the things I remembered to take a photo of was this keychain.

And an Ultraman gun:

And an Ultraman blowup:

And an Ultraman birthday cake for his 5th birthday:

There was a photo of him beaming with an Ultraman ride which I can’t locate now. Then there was that Ultraman mask. Of course he can play Ultraman on Playstation for hours, has countless Ultraman statues, and there was once an Ultraman watch.

I saw Ultraman underwear in a shop some time back but luckily he didn’t see them.

Probably as a result of all this, now I can see Ultraman everywhere. Heck, I even noticed the name of the following foodstall in Lido recently:

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Growing rapidly in popularity, there’s a few outdoor paintball ranges in Sabah, but in Kota Kinabalu at least, there’s the one and only indoor paintball arena in the shape of the Sabah Survivor Painball Games, at Asia City, next to the food court.

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On 17th December 2009, no-hopers Malaysia defeated Vietnam 1-0 at the Laos SEA Games football final, hence winning first football gold in 20 years and first OUTSIDE home in 28 years. To make it even sweeter, Malaysia dumped 8-time consecutive champions and defending champions Thailand 2-1 in the group stages, hence making them suffer the ignominy of failing to qualify for the semifinals for the first time in 16 years. In fact, Vietnam was in the same group as Malaysia and defeated them 3-1 earlier.

So how does that compare/rank among malaysia’s greatest ever sporting moments, of which a partial list is as follows:

Athletics: Dr M Jegathesan could very well be the greatest track and field athlete Malaysia has ever produced. At the 1966 Asian Games he
won 3 gold medals: 100m, 200m and 400m. He is still the only Malaysian to have reached as far as the semifinals at an Olympics sprint event, doing so twice. At the 1968 Mexico Olympics, his time of 20.92 seconds is still the national record, while his 1965 400m hand-timed record of 46.3 seconds is still unbeaten. If there’s an award for the grooviest Malaysian ever, he’d have it handed to him on a platter. Even now he looks relatively youthful, no wrinkle serums needed.

Athletics: Asian Games 1982: Rabuan Pit won a surprise gold in the 100m, defeating favourite Suchart Jaesuraparp of Thailand.

Formula 1: Alex Yoong becomes first Malaysian to become Formula One driver in 2001. Driving for Minardi, he debuted at the Italian Grand Prix. In the first race of the 2002 season, he finished 7th, his best ever result. In total, he competed in 18 Grand Prixes.

Football: Malaysia qualifies for the Olympics in 1972 and 1980. In the 1972 qualification campaign, Malaysia defeated teams like Japan and South Korea along the way, feats which would be unthinkable today. The enduring image of the 1980 campaign would always be that final qualifying match against South Korea, when Khalid Ali passed to Hassan Sani, who then did a one-two with James Wong who scored the winning goal.

Squash: Nicol David becomes the youngest world champion in 2005. She’s also the first Asian woman to be ranked no.1. If squash were an Olympics sport, she could very well be the first Malaysian to be Olympic champion.

The 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur: the biggest games ever hosted in Malaysia, the first Asian country to host it. Malaysia finished 4th in the medal count.

Badminton: Lee Chong Wei wins silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the best achievement by a Malaysian at an Olympics, and the nation’s first Olympic medal in 12 years.

Badminton: 1992 Thomas Cup campaign: first winner’s medal in 25 years.

Badminton: All-England 2003: unseeded Hafiz Hashim, 20 upset top-seeded defending champion Chen Hong of China to win the men’s singles title, becoming the first Malaysian in 37 years and the first unseeded player in 15 to achieve the feat.

Badminton: 2006 Asian Games: Koo Kean Keat – Tan Boon Heong won gold in the men’s doubles, becoming the first Malaysians to do so in 36 years.

Badminton: All-England 2007: Koo Kean Keat – Tan Boon Heong, in their first pairing at the championships, upset world champions and top seeds Cai Yun – Fu Haifeng of China in the men doubles’ final, becoming the first Malaysians to win the title in 25 years.

Rally Driving: Karamjit Singh becomes first Asian to win the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship in 2002, in his first attempt no less.

Hockey: silver medal at the 1998 Commonwealth games, defeating England, India and Pakistan along the way.

Hockey: World Cup 1975: hosts Malaysia finished 4th.

Bowling: Shalin Zulkifli, then Asia No. 1 bowler, won the World Tenpin Masters by defeating World Bowler of the Year Tore Torgerson in 2001.

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This Timorese boy who looks no older than 6 is sporting a “trendy” hairstyle, apparently inflicted on him by an older Timorese boy who did it out of boredom. The boy’s father reportedly consented to his offspring being subjected to this experiment with a razor blade:

Will it look good on Indonesian tourism’s promotional bags?

Spotted on the morning of 10th December 2009.

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The following is a picture of a rather dangerous-looking tree seen next to parking spots for Restoran Tmn Cantek in Lido, Kota Kinabalu. In fact, there’s a row of them there.

I would not recommended this to be planted in places where there are kids running about.

In fact, I think it’s quite a bad idea to plant them near the restaurants – getting out of the car I could’ve bumped into them quite easily.

Probably a good idea for areas where security is a concern, where this can supplement security offered by metal buildings.

Photo taken 22nd September 2009, 9.20am.

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Checking my cameraphone, I found the following photographs taken by my 6-year-old son.

I think they’re not bad at all. Perhaps I should give him a his own camera this Christmas? Who knows, his hobby might bud into something that’s truly worthy of celebrating with a Padron cigar.

The photos

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UPDATE 13th December 2009

With the one on the Korg a few feet away belting out songs I’ve sung countless times on the karaoke for 16 years, I was completely mesmerised and the pain of the one that got away 12 years ago completely obliterated.

Back then I was even more of a fan, and would not have hesitated to default on all my college student loans just to ensure I get a front seat.

Add to that mix a barrier-less stage (save for polite RELA members) and a fantastic, perfectly balanced sound system, the only result could be pure, unadulterated music heaven.

This, their last concert for the year started 8pm sharp, there were no supporting acts.

There were about 1,000 in the crowd.

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Some of the most unbelieveable car registration numbers in Malaysia should include, but not restricted to the following, all apparently in actual active use. Photos where available.

ADU1111
AFA51
BBB8888, apparently right here in Kota Kinabalu. There have been many variations on this, but the ultimate must be seven eights in a row!
BAB1
BES7
BDS5
BUR17
CBA1
CUN7
DBD808
DU8
MAF14
MAK1
MAK5147
MAT1
NAJ15
PEN15
PDL15
PUK1 [but some people say never seen one before]
PAN747
TAH1
WET7175

As you can see, some of them are sufficiently obscene that perhaps could trigger sensitivities, resulting in personal injury inflicted by angry mobs; this possiblity might be enough reason to go for something equivalent to a social security disability insurance in the US.

And if you still haven’t had enough, there are at least 4 threads in lowyat.net discussing this.

Any additions?

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…or take out those big letters first, otherwise it will attract ridicule on UK streets, for it sounds dangerously close to a slang word one doesn’t normally want to be associated with.

Photo taken somewhere in Penampang on 20th September 2009.

That is why I think it’s better to have as few wordings on one’s car as possible, if at all. If you simply must have words displayed in front of you, do it indoors, like sticking it on your tv stand.

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