I'm back from Bali. Not feeling too great, I got sick on my last day there. I had a terrible sore troat and running nose. Those guys there were chain smokers and I'm allergic to it. I came back yesterday. When to see the doctor in the office as soon as we arrived from the airport. She gave me some medication and I've been drowsy every since. Today I took the day of but I had to still go to the office to settle some stuff. I had to drive to KL to see Chui Yan's sister at her office too to settle some of my legal documents.

I was so drowsy driving back, I had a slight accident parking my car in the house. I drove in too far and knocked my front license plate on the wall. Part of it fell of, luckily I could glue back all the shattered pieces.

Anyway, I spend the whole night uploading the pictures into my flickr account. It's a free account so it's almost maxed out from all the pictures I've uploaded. Next I think I'll upload the videos into my youtube account.

I had to change to template of this blog just so I could fit in the pictures. I encoded the wrong size from flickr. They were too large for the original template. I had to pick the template without the sidebar. Looks a whole lot neater now doesn't it?


This was first day of arrival on 12 November on Monday at the Bali international airport. The hotel send a few cars to come pick us up.


My first impression of this was that there was a toll booth right outside the airport. Turns out to be the booth you pay your parking ticket at the airport. Whether you're just here to pick someone up or not, you have to pay.



We arrived at our hotel, Novotel Benoa in Tanjung Benoa. It was straight to lunch for us as we were starved. Ezzah and Ifa came a day earlier on Sunday and they greeted us when we arrived at the lobby.


Indonesian food buffet. The food was a little dry without gravy. I kind of like dishes that are stir fried. It was acceptable to my pallet as I was hungry.


One of the desserts I saw there was this thing wrapped up in a leave.


On opening it, it turns out to be glutinous rice with minced fish in it. It was kind of sweet.


After that, we all checked into our room. As you can see... the rooms was quite nice. This is the standard room and from what I understand, the suites and private villas they had were even nicer.


My bed was on the left, my roommate Ally Iskandar was on the right. The only complaint I had from some of my other colleagues was the airconditioner. It wasn't centralized air conditioning so they had indidivual airconditioning in each room. Some weren't cold enough.


Our room was right at the edge of a building so we didn't have a great view outside our room. Ours was facing another block. Me and Ally spend most of our time in the room either sleeping or watching CNN.


I didn't take a bath as we didn't have time. The water from the shower smelled a little wierd. I have a feeling they used desalinated water as it smelled salty.


The toiletries was pretty basic but I like the attention put into displaying it.


The whole resort was very green. There was a lot of trees blooming with flowers everywhere... just like this one outside my room.


They put this flower stalks in the corridors. At night they emit a very strong fragrant smell. Reminds me of the flower you smell when there is a pontianak nearby. Gave me the slight creeps when I was walking alone at night.



Our brainstorming strarted right after lunch and we had some time to freshen up in our room. Aziz Hassan started with his presentation on how his plans for Majalah 3 for next year.


I had some time during the tea break to take a peek at the pool near the beach. It was beautiful.


We were divided into 3 groups. Some of the group members here were discussing their ideas for a program. I think it was for Nona or Wanita Hari Ini.


At night, the whole resort looks totally different. The lighting they used gave the place a surreal look.

Even the stone carvings at night looked different with the unique lighting they used.


We when out for dinner to another resort. My colleagues were worried about halal food as most of the island was Hindus. We were brought to a Holiday Villa, which I think is owned by Malaysians.


Walking through the resort to get to the beach.


We were given a warm greeting on arrival at the Holiday Villa. Shahnun here, like everyone else was given a flower to wear on their ear.


The path to the dinning area was dark and dimly lighted.


Pali, Aziz Ismail and Shahnun walking to the dining area. Everyone had a flower to wear on their ear. Cute.

It was the same type of food we had during lunch... all Indonesian fare for buffet. My colleagues said it was really nice. I'm not too keen on Malay food but if it's edible to me, it's nice.


Food presentation at the buffet table was nice.


They had dishes and rice.


As I mentioned, most of the dishes were quite dry. Like this fish for example, it was grilled with little gravy.


Dinner was pretty casual. We had dinner with the lady who we contacted earlier before coming to Bali. She was a friend of this guy I had interviewed for the Winners program I was doing. She was a Malaysian who was running a travel agency in Bali.


The dinning area was right at the beach. I didn't see much of the beach as it was dark.


Ezzah and me after dinner. The background is quite nice with a small pool but it was took dark to be seen in this photo.


We managed to take a group photo at the hotel lobby.


They had a small stage with a nice background at the lobby.


Our tour guide name was Ketot. He was talking on the microphone the whole journey in the bus. He started his introduction with "nama saya ketot..." We all made fun of that. After dinner, our next stop was to see a traditional Balinese dance, Cekak.


We sat around a stage to watch the show.


The lady next to me was the Malaysian lady who ran the travel agency. The guy next to Ezzah was the choreographer of the dance.


The Cekak dance is based on the Ramayana. It's a classical Hindu tale. The villagers have been praticing it even since they became Hindus. It's part of their oral history tradition. The interesting thing about the place we when too was that it was a cultural centre collectively owned by the farmers who own the land surrounding the place. The younger generation come here when they are not farming to learn the dance.


Since we brought a camera along, it came quite handy as Pali started shooting the dance.


This is the bad guy in the dance.


We had a photo opportunity after the dance to take photos with them.


Me and Ezzah posing with the dancers.


The lighting is a little of in this photo. The dancers are supposed to be in the background.




After the photo session, we were invited to learn the dance. Nurul Syuhaida was game enough to give it a try.




There was also a gamelan group playing the background.


This was the backdrop of the stage. If you look at the centre of the picture, you can see the padi field.


The centrepiece of the stage was a candle stand.


The next on Tuesday, our brainstorming session started again at 8am. Aziz Ismail presenting his ideas for Malaysia Hari Ini.


In between breaks, we had one of the fitness instructor come in to do stretching exercises for us.


Shafinaz here having too much fun during the exercise.


Another picture with bad exposure.


It was comical watching some of the people stretching who has never exercised before... like myself!


Pali putting bottle caps on his eyes for the camera in between presentations.


Naim lying on the floor didn't want to be photographed being too casual.


Ezzah, Noraini and Che inn.


Inaz turn to give her presentation for Nona.


Everyone gave their full attention at each presentation as we were eager to hear what they had planned for 2008.



We all sat the floor. Here's one of the latest attraction at Bali, a sleeping Buddha.


Another sleeping Buddha.


Ally was out like a light through parts of the presentation. He wasn't feeling well so his flu medication made him drowsy.


After a long day, we had time to take another group photo right outside our conference room.


Adam Salleh from Harian Metro was invited to give us his input. Sometimes at brainstorming sessions like this one, we often get tunnel vision and it's good to get outside views.


We headed to the beach right after the brainstorming to take another group photo.




I noticed the beach at Benoa was kind of icky at low tide. There was seaweed on the shoreline.


There was a lot of boats parked nearby. You could also see planes making their landing approach as the airport was right across the inland lake from Tanjung Benoa.


Some of then decided to head of for a massage, some stayed behind on the beach to play games.


I decided to take some photos of the beach.


ifa: "tak cantik gambar ni, ambil sekali lagi"


me and Ifa by the beach. She was all dressed up like in her Bali gear.


Part of them were playing volleyball. Quite a fun game to watch.


A closeup of the seaweed on the beach.












The sand was fine on the upper parts of the beach. Reminds me of the beaches in Langkawi.


I must say that I'm biased. I prefer the beaches in Malaysia compared to Tanjung Benoa. They have a lot of fantastic 4-5 star resorts on Tanjung Benoa but the beach was nothing to shout about.




The pathways in the hotel was very rustic looking with a lot of Balinese architecture. I shot this photo a few times trying to get the horizon right.


Nope, not levelled yet.


Ah! Finally, it's almost levelled.










Our hotel lobby.




They had this flower decoration all over the resort. I wonder if there's an orchard industry just to grow this flower to replenish their supply.



I shot this one again without the flash. Looks dull.


One of the many stone carvings in the resort.


I came back to the beach and I invited Ifa to take a walk with me to see the other resorts along the beach.






A group of children we saw who were watching the volleyball match.




This dog was wandering the beach and came to have a look at us.


Nurul getting ready to take a shot.


Cute doggy.




As we walked on to the other resort, we came upon this structure. I think they used it for weddings by the beach.


I tried this with the flash, still no difference.


A tourist saw Ifa taking my picture. He thought Ifa and I were a couple and offered to take our picture together. Ifa tried to explain we weren't together. I found it amusing and I just played along and had the tourist take our picture anyway.


The doggy enjoying the sunset.














A road runs through the resort. They have a guard to help visitors cross over.


At night, we had dinner at the hotel's BBQ. It was also the surprise birthday celebration of two of my colleagues who were celebrating their birthday together.


Saying a little prayer.






Zainal feeding birthday boy number 1 his cake. I like the expression on Zainal's face.


cake for birthday boy number 2.


Later on, we all took a drive to Kuta area to do some shopping. The roads were really small but they had a lot of international brand name shops there. I stopped to take picture in front of the many nightspots there. Interestingly, there's also an Airasia advertisement in the background.


This is one of the main corners leading to the beach. It was next to Hard Rock. I didn't buy much on my first night out at Kuta. I only bought a hand towel for Chui Yan. They had a lot of imitation goods there like Petaling Street.


When we finally got back to the hotel, it was already midnight. I saw Hisham sitting at the lobby and he invited me take a walk along the road to see the other resorts. We stopped at Grand Mirage to see their lobby. It was impressive.

The next day the session started early again. Our DOO, Datuk Anthony had arrive to give us his input.


The last day of the presentation, we all were required to do our own version of the Cekak dance we saw. Since we were all creative people, we put on the funniest dance with comic impressions of the bosses. It was so funny. They finally gave out some of the awards. Here, Inaz is receiving a presentation award.




After the presentation, we were heading out to dinner again! Mazidul and Pali posing for a photo.
Orang kuat 360.


My group also won a presentation award. Each of us got a Bali keychain.


We were taken to the Kuta beach to watch the sunset. Shahnun noticed that the Bunga Raya there was different from the ones in Malaysia. He held it up here to show me what it looks like.


Kuta beach during sunset.














Shahnun pretending to be a surfer.


We were taken to Holiday Villa at Kuta for dinner. Their main lobby looks like a chinese mansion.


The pool at Holiday Villa Kuta.


Waiting at the buffet line.


I took a peek at their menu, they also served Malaysian food here.


After dinner, Shahnun showed us this club he visited before. It was called Kama Sutra. It was one of larger clubs compared to Hard Rock.


Shahnun and Hisham getting ready to enter the club. It was a bungalow build by the Kuta beach.






The paintings on the wall had positions described in the Kama Sutra. There was no nudity in the painting. We arrived at the club at 7:30PM so it was virtually empty. It only starts to pick up at 11PM onwards.














We bought souvenir t-shirts from the club. This nice hostest was very friendly and she gave us a mini tour of the place.


Our driver picked us up and on the way we stopped by the Bali bombing memorial to take some pictures. This is the site of the former bar that got blown up. You can see some of the pictures of the victims hanging on the fence.


The memorial is right in the middle of the Legian area.


The Indonesians have their own names for diferent countries. Like Selandian Baru, it's actually New Caledonia, an Island of the coast of Australia. It's a former French colony still with ties to France.








The memorial is at a corner overlooking the busy Legian area where most of the clubs are.


Some of the clubs I took picture of as we drove by.




The streets in Kuta and Legian are small. Some are even smaller than this one.


One of the larger streets in the Kuta area. They have large brand names in the shops lining the streets.


The only shop I saw with 'normal clothing'. The rest were all surfer clothes with Billabong type fashion.






Horse carriages that got tourist around the area.


A Dolce and Gabbana shop. I like their poster... they have a cameraman in his underwear shooting a model. Hrmm... most interesting.


Something Chui Yan might have like. I didn't get it because it's hard to tell what she would like.




Nurul trying out her bargaining skills.


A lot of the taxis there were Toyota Vios. They have some really nice taxi's over there!

Street urchins we sat while passing through the Legian area.


This is one of the popular night spots we passed along the way in Legian.


We came back to the hotel at 11PM. There was a band playing at the lobby and we sat down to enjoy the music. Inaz, Pali and Ally joined the band for a sing along session.


The next morning, we had to check out to catch our flight back home. A school nearby was having their sports day I think. We saw a group of kids running along the road.


The rustic pool by the beach.




We had some time in the morning before we when to the airport so I took some time to take more photos around the hotel.












There were quite a lot of pegions walking around the resort.


They had quite a few of this topless paintings in the resort.


A lone flute player welcoming guest at the lobby.


I saw this strange crossing sign. It looked more like a gorilla crossing. Anyway, I when to a shop nearby the resort to get a massage for only 60K Rupiah. It wasn't a great massage. In Kuta, I had a massage for 165K Rupiah and it was done by 2 massuers at once. Was very painful and not as great as I expected. I think I still prefer the place I go too in SS2.


Finally, most of us checked out to go home. Some had to leave later in the day.

Overall, it was a very productive brainstorming. We had some pretty clear set ideas for next year. Our DOO said we had to work hard and play hard at the brainstorming. I worked hard and ate a lot mostly. Now I'm just trying to recover from my flu.

I'm going to Bali from Monday to Thursday. I've never been there before. It's all for work, not for leisure. I'm trying not to spend any money at all over there. I'm instead saving my money to buy a Manfrotto tripod. It's about RM800.





Anyway, I looked up the hotel I'm going to be staying at with my colleagues, it's called Novotel Benoa Bali. It's on a small peninsula near the airport. I looked it up in google earth.

Now, if anything should happen to me, you know where to find me! My handphone will be on international roaming, I had it activated with Maxis yesterday. I don't expect to receive any calls as it's RM5 a minute. Receiving SMS's are free though. Maybe the most I'll do is chat online in yahoo. That'll be free... if I can find internet access at the hotel.

I have to bring the company's projector, laptop and camera with tripod. So that's like extra 4 carry on that I have to bring. I sure hope everyone else helps me carry the items. It's going to be damn heavy if I have to carry everything on my own!

My mother say's it volcano season there and I should bring along my inhalor and mask. Hrmm... now she's got me worried. Well, might as well bring along a lifejacket for tsunami's and also an armored vest for terrorist attack right? There goes packing light...

I'm hooked on listening to this King of Convenience. They're this Swedish duo that sound like Simon and Garfunkel. I like their simple lyrics. Innocent and heartfelt. Puts me in a melancolic mood.

I like the lyrics of this particular song, "I'd Rather Dance Then Talk With You"

I'd rather dance with you than talk with you
So why don't we just move into the other room
There's space for us to shake, and hey, I like this tune

Even if I could hear what you said
I doubt my reply would be interesting for you to hear
Because I haven't read a single book all year
And the only film I saw, I didn't like it at all

I'd rather dance, I'd rather dance than talk with you
I'd rather dance, I'd rather dance than talk with you
I'd rather dance, I'd rather dance than talk with you

The music's too loud and the noise from the crowd
Increases the chance of misinterpretation
So let your hips do the talking
I'll make you laugh by acting like the guy who sings
And you'll make me smile by really getting into the swing
Getting into the swing, getting into the swing
Getting into the swing, getting into the swing
Getting into the swing, getting into the swing
Getting into the swing, getting into the swing...

(Getting to the swing...)
I'd rather dance, I'd rather dance than talk with you
I'd rather dance, I'd rather dance than talk with you
I'd rather dance, I'd rather dance than talk with you
I'd rather dance, I'd rather dance than talk with you
I'd rather dance with you
I'd rather dance with you
I'd rather dance with you

It's a quiet Sunday night. Didn't go out the whole evening. It was raining the whole day... with only a short break of sunlight closer to the evening. I took a drive to Jalan Ipoh to see second hand furniture. It was a warehouse where they sold old furnitures from hotels. These guys buy the furniture from hotels around Asia like Hong Kong. They're solid wood and going for less than RM200 for a writing table. Awsome. I could use one of those as a computer table in the apartment next time.

Me and Chui Yan when to Azizah's house for her Hari Raya open house. Her house is just a block away so we walked over. She had really spicy Laksa and I could only eat 2 bites. Chui Yan enjoyed the laksa. I think next time, I'm going to have problems when she starts cooking spicy food.

I came home to watch the news to see how the protest march by Bersih when. I waited for Buletin Utama but their lead story wasn't even about it. In fact, the two readers didn't even do a lead in for it. Strange... I think the editor didn't want to glorify the protest... so I switched to the other news channel. RTM strange enough gave it quite a lot of coverage. They even had angry Zam, the information minister and boss of RTM's excerpt interview on Al-Jazeera. He was raving like a lunatic at the anchor during a phone interview. Trying to tear her a new asshole. It was quite humorous.

8TV had one of their female reporters all drenched from the rain doing a standupper. I didn't speak mandarin but it was in front of the Istana Negara. I assumed it was about them handing in their note to the Istana officials.

All the other news had it as their lead news story. TV3 only had it in their second block which is usually reserved for less important news. Anyway, TV3's news was slightly more informative then the rest of the other channels. No raving Zam. Lots of interesting visuals of protestors getting water gunned by the FRU's.

I personally don't support street protest. I agree with the police rationale for not giving them a permit. If you wanted to hand in a note to the palace official, you only need 10. Having a protest creates inconvenience to others. It can also dangerously spiral into chaos.

Plus this guys don't really know palace ethics. You want to meet the Agong and you encourage everyone to wear yellow? Don't they know that only the royalties can wear yellow? You want something and you want to do it rudely. Doesn't make sense. Is the situation in Malaysia that desperate until it requires mass protest? Or are they doing this just because there is a general election around the corner?

I'm okay with Bersih's 4 demands. Not too keen on the ink on the finger during voting demand just because it's icky. I don't want some wierd ink on my finger for days that I can't wash of. What if the person's handicap with no fingers? They're going to blot ink on the guy's face?

I just had a revelation. 3 of the movies that had some of the biggest impact on me were by the same directors, The Farrelly Brothers.

It started first with "Dumb and Dumber", then "There's Something About Mary" and finally "Shallow Hal". All the movies have their lead female character named Mary. They all had toilet humor and "There's Something About Mary" and "Shallow Hal" was about self discovery.

I just finished watching Shallow Hal on TV. I was surprised TV3 actually showed it. They cut out a lot of the stuff, even just putting black on air with the audio. It was some pretty wierd censorship... but the jokes were still funny from when I remembered it. I was laughing out of my seat watching it alone in my room.

I like the moral of the story in Shallow Hal... look at someone's inner beauty. At work, I work with many physically good looking people. After awhile, you get jaded and just see them for who they really are. Watching Shallow Hal again reminded me of the first time I watched it. I was still single and it struck a cord in me. I reminded me to find true love like in the movie... I guess I did. I found someone I love... and she looks way better too!

It was a long and busy Deepavali day. I don't understand why this UMNO has to have its annual general assembly with Deepavali right in the middle of it. Some might say it's insensitive of them. Okay, so the Malays say the UMNO is only for Malays to attend, however, the press coverage is all about UMNO and also all the top leaders are attending the assembly instead of going to visit their Indian friends.

I don't like to write about politics because its sensitive but this one just bugs me. Last year UMNO got the chinese angry, this year they got the Indians angry. First MPSJ tears down one of their temple and now they go and have their general assembly on Deepavali. Fine... you the majority race. Do what you want. All this talk about using the keris to defend the other races is a little hard to believe with the other stuff you're doing.

Last year, I watched most of the live telecast of their general assembly. There were quite a lot of remarks made against the chinese. It totally pissed me of. I was going to keep a buku 555 with all the names of those that made racist remarks. The next general election that comes, I'm going to take out my shit list buku 555 and note down what they said. However... I didn't do that. I just assumed they over reacted. I remind myself, I'm a buddhist and I should forgive easily.

This year, I decided to not watch the speeches at all. I didn't want to get pissed of. I only watch the highlights on the news. The problem with race based politics is that at every general assembly, issues raised are bound to make other races feel uneasy. It's always a competition among the races. It's either, "you took something from me" or "that should have been mine".

The founding fathers made Bahasa Malaysia and English the main language, with Bahasa Malaysia the main language. I always find it amusing that they made the language the Malays speak the main language. Everyone could understand what was going on at UMNO, PAS, Keadilan, Gerakan, MIC's general assembly but in MCA they spoke mandarin (not sure what language DAP uses in theirs). Most of the Malays didn't have a clue what was said. The chinese and indian had their own newspapers that highlighted issues that only their community could read while everyone could read Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian.

This year, Pak Lah stressed that the Malays should learn another language, it's an advice that should be heeded by everyone, not just malays. I can't speak mandarin or read chinese. I get by okay with Hokkien and cantonese. My Bahasa Malaysia and English is good. Most malays only knows Malay and very basic english. They understand the language but can't converse in it. I'm trying to improve on my Hokkien, it helps in communicating with relatives. No one to practice mandarin with so far.

Anyway, I shouldn't write anymore about this for today. Like I said, it's been a long day.

I slept in a little today. I woke up and dragged myself out of bed to go to the office. Even though it was a public holiday, WHI was still going on. I arrived at the studio just before the show started. I was the phone guy today. I had to liase with the team at PWTC for the cross-over. It's a pretty silly job, I just pass information from the producer in the studio to the other producer in PWTC... one big walkie-talkie.

I took a look at the set, the props guy did an excellent job decorating it. It was quite a festive look. Even the the two host, Azizah and Nadia had the right wardrobe on.


Check out the set. It's starting to feel a lot like... Deepavali!


Azizah was having problems with her earpiece. It's this earphone the hosts wear so they can hear what the producer is saying to them. Strangely enough, the thing that they put in their ear is called the condom. Ideally, each hosts is supposed to have their own condom but everyone just shares condom... hygenic isn't it?


I didn't realize Azizah was doing a wierd pose. Pretending to be a Indian classical dancer maybe?



Nadia looks like a school girl. My standard fake smile for photos. Azizah always look natural on camera.

After WHI, I when home for awhile to rest. Later in the evening me and Chui Yan when to Azlan's new apartment in Abdullah Hukum for his Hari Raya open house. It seems that a lot of Malays were having their open house on Deepavali since it's a public holiday. His apartment was new and it's quite well designed by DBKL. A lot of parking with easy access to the apartments. A little too claustrophobic for my taste.

I didn't stay long because we had to make space for other visitors coming in. We ended up walking around Midvalley. I didn't even walk over to The Gardens. Nothing of interest there for me. It's mostly clothes there. I prefer walking around Ace Hardware and the little stalls they set up in the lower ground area in Megamall.

I thought I was going to go out with a bang but I guess I just didn't have the time. My last show for WHI is probably going to be another run of the mill show. UMNO general assembly cross-overs and some parenting discussion.

Who knows, something really crazy still might happen till the show.

9 November, 2007. 12:03PM - 12:57PM, only on TV3.

Next week I'll be in Bali from Monday to Thursday for a company brainstorming. It's going to be hectic, I hope survive that. I hope I don't get a roommate who doesn't smoke. I hope I don't get a roommate at all!

The Simpsons

The Simpsons, originally uploaded by luxen.

It's a wonderful day outside on a Sunday afternoon. So what am I doing about it? Listening to The Statler Brothers and blogging. I should be outside.

I took a picture with the Simpons yesterday. It was a beat up prop that they used for promoting the movie. After the movie was done showing the cinema, it found its way to the DVD store in One Utama.

Homer's missing the remote and there were other scratches on the prop. I couldn't get Bart in the shot as he was blocked by a poster... doh!

Since the reshuffle in the production team for WHI. Someone had to replace some of the out going producers. I was glad they made Ifa a producer too. Everyone was in the control panel to give her support on her face day producing... including almost all the out going producers!

I think as Malaysians, we often forget we have a monarchy. We're so focused on our ministers... we forget that our kings also play a vital role in running this country.

Some may say it's a waste of money to have a monarchy system in Malaysia but after getting to know the system first hand over the past few days, it has been quite interesting to know that they do bring about some good in this country.


Recently, I was at Istana Negara to see the Conference of Ruler while it was going on. It was my first time in Istana Negara. I just used to drive by it and I occasionally see tourist taking photos outside the main gate with the mounted guards.

This time I when through a side gate so I didn't even know where I was inside the huge Istana complex. I was a little under dressed. The protocol said suit and songkok. Someone loaned me a songkok but I forgot about the tie. The palace officials were extremely nice enough to loan me a tie.


We were told to wait in the theatre room. It's actually a small screening room. While waiting, I took a peek into the next room and it was part of the main Istana.





It was really grand with the chandeliers and yellow interiors. Everything has been spruced up for the Conference of Rulers.

I was very cautious of not going where I wasn't supposed too. I didn't want to get trown out of the palace. Dealing with the monarchy entails a lot of protocol.

I was waiting with my cameraman for the arrival of the rulers. They were greeted by the palace officials. Some of the states send their regents instead. They drove up in the most interesting cars. After that, I was shown to the Balairong where all the other reporters were waiting with the palace officials. The kings has a short briefing and were waiting for them to walk down the hall their their conference room.



The kings and chief ministers were supposed to come through this door so all the cameramans were standing by waiting for them. I took the time to admire the interior of the palace and also shoot some photos.





my cameraman waiting with the rest of the press.



Chairs fit for royalties? Everything is so yellow and regal.



Finally, the double doors opened and the red carpet was rolled out. The press got ready and into position to get their shots.









The Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Mizan and Sultan Azlan Shah was the first to come out of the doors. Sultan Azlan was the chairman of the conference that day. His Royal Highness is still quite a good looking man for someone his age. As for Sultan Mizan, he's an avid sportsman and well liked by everyone.

Everyone soon moved to the small conference room. All the menteri besars and even the chief of police were there. The keeper of the royal seal sets the agenda for the conference so they discuss matters that have cropped up since the last conference. The kings give their views and advice to the prime minister.





As Sultan Mizan was the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, he now represented the Federal Government so his regent instead represented him at the conference.

The press was only given five minutes to shoot in the room. It was quite pack so everyone rushed to get their shots.

After that, the press were served some refreshments. Their had really nice nasi lemak. We were at the administration part of the Istana and I was amazed at how many people were actually in the administration. There were a lot of protocol personnels. I met with one of the Agong's assistance. He was a colonel in the army. His job was ensure the comfort of the Agong. There is also a representative from the navy, the air force and from the police force. Very interesting, how they have a representative from each of the security forces to see to the Agong's needs.




I saw this photo waiting to be displayed in the palace. It had all the royalties from around the world during the King of Thailand's 60th anniversary for his ascension to the trone. It was dated June 12, 2006. The palace official told me that many people believe that it was good Feng Shui to have this picture hanging behind your desk as you have all the rulers overlooking you. It was a picture that was in high demand. Well, go ahead and print this picture if you want.


As I exited the palace, I saw all the police escorts waiting outside. I heard there was quite a traffic jam outside the palace when all the rulers arrived.



It was the most interesting morning visiting the palace. I think I better buy my own songkok and get a tie since I will be seeing more royalties later. Better add a batik shirt to the list too!