how is langkawi?



everyone asks when we arrived from the chinese new year break and what am i to say? the northern malaysia trip was special not because the beaches of malaysia are good or not...



what made the trip interesting... we went to pulau tuba which is not the langkawi island itself but a smaller island. quite a few boat rides (marble jetty!). not much tourists - off the beaten path. we experienced the rural life in malaysia... with our malay families cooking for us. i remember my childhood days in the farm of my grandfather. food - nasi goreng, nasi lemak, laksa, crabs, the mangoes with chili sauce (not for erika). najwa and i went for an early evening walk, twas relaxing and uncanningly familiar...



what else??? here are some photos...

Back to the basics

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, famous writer from Colombia, and Nobel Peace Prize winner for literature, has retired from public life for reasons of health. He has a form of cancer, which is terminal. He has sent a farewell letter to his friends.

A GENIUS SAYS GOODBYE FOR GOOD (It is recommended reading because it is moving to see how one of the best and most brilliant of writers> expresses himself & with sorrow).

He says:

If God, for a second, forgot what I have become and granted me a little bit more of life, I would use it to the best of my ability.

I wouldn't, possibly, say everything that is in my mind, but I would be more thoughtful of all I say. I would give merit to things not for what they are worth, but for what they mean to express. I would sleep little, I would dream more, because I know that for every minute that we close our eyes, we waste 60 seconds of light. I would walk while others stop; I would awake while others sleep.

If God would give me a little bit more of life, I would dress in a simple manner, I would place myself in front of the sun, leaving not only my body, but my soul naked at its mercy. To all men, I would say how mistaken they are when they think that they stop falling in love when they grow old, without knowing that they grow old when they stop falling in love.

I would give wings to children, but I would leave it to them to learn how to fly by themselves. To old people I would say that death doesn't arrive when they grow old, but with forgetfulness. I have learned so much with you all, I have learned that everybody wants to live on top of the mountain, without knowing that true happiness is obtained in the journey taken & the form used to reach the top of the hill. I have learned that when a newborn baby holds, with its little hand, his father's finger, it has trapped him for the rest of his life. I have learned that a man has the right and obligation to look down at another man, only when that man needs help to get up from the ground.

Say always what you feel, not what you think. If I knew that today is the last time that that I am going to see you asleep, I would hug you with all my strength and I would pray to the Lord to let me be the guardian angel of your soul. If I knew that these are the last moments to see you, I would say 'I love you'.

There is always tomorrow, and life gives us another opportunity to do things right, but in case I am wrong, and today is all that is left to me, I would love to tell you how much I love you & that I will never forget you. Tomorrow is never guaranteed to anyone, young or old. Today could be the last time to see your loved ones, which is why you mustn't wait; do it today, in case tomorrow never arrives. I am sure you will be sorry you wasted the opportunity today to give a smile, a hug, a kiss, and that you were too busy to grant them their last wish.

Keep your loved ones near you; tell them in their ears and to their faces how much you need them and love them. Love them and treat them well; take your time to tell them 'I am sorry';' forgive me',' please' 'thank you', and all those loving words you know. Nobody will know you for your secret thought. Ask the Lord for wisdom and strength to express them. Show your friends and loved ones how important they are to you... (some words deleted)


For you, With much love, Your Friend, Gabriel Garcia Marquez


Reminds me so much of "All I really need to know I learned from Kindergarten". Its amazin how an acclaimed writer must admit that the monotony of everyday living can blind us (even for a little moment) of the most important things.

By the window looking
The skies refresh, leaves
Cool, warm feeling
Rain pours, crying
But this site releasing
Gives rest to an otherwise
Heart beating... thumping...


- while reading, C.J. Koh Library, LKYSPP, Singapore

Sometimes I cant move my feet it seems
As if Im stuck in the ground somehow like a tree
As if I cant even breathe
Oh, and my screams come whispering out

As if nobody can even see me
Like a ghost, sometimes
I cant see myself
Sometimes, then again, oh

If I were a king
If I had everything
If I had you and I could give you your dreams

If I were giant-sized, on top of it all
Then tell me what in the world would I sing for
If I had it all

Sometimes I feel lost
As I pull you out like strings of memories
Wish I could weave them into you
Then I could figure the whole damn puzzle out
Then again, oh
And if I were a king

If I had everything
If I had you and I could give you your dreams
If I were giant-sized, on top of it all
Then tell me what in the world would I go on for

If I had it all
I could take anything
If I had no greed to bring
Only the poison thats tainting the clean
Oh, then nothing

Remembering times much younger than me now
When my breath was light
When the world raised me up kind
And here mother comforts child
Every moment was waking up
But now Ive grown tired... out

If I had it all, you know
Id fuck it up
If I were a king
If I had everything
If I had you and I could give you your dreams

If I were giant-sized, on top of it all
Then tell me what in the world would I sing for...
If I were a king
If I had everything, piece by piece
If I had you if I could give you your dreams
If I were giant-sized, on top of it all
Then tell me what in the world would I go on for
If I had it allIf I had it all
If I had it all


- always
Habibi shares to me
beautiful photos (like the amazon river)
beautiful songs (like this one of Dave Matthews)
haunting poems (just like the old ones)

“When you know [the Universal Language of the World], it’s easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it’s in the middle of the desert or in some great city. And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one’s dreams would have no meaning.”

–Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

And I said -

Out there is someone...
Who will find you and just discover you...