Butterfly

http://true-wildlife.blogspot.com/2011/02/butterfly.html

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.

One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.
Then it seemed to stop making any progress.
It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.

So the man decided to help the butterfly, he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily.
But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened!
In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life.
If we went through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us.
We would not be as strong as what we could have been.
And we could never fly.
When you are under pressure, remember that you are a stronger person after you have gone through it.

Author Unknown

What's in Kuala Lumpur?

Very much homesick, exhausted and starved on a Monday, I came to Singapore from the week long Hong Kong trip at around 4pm only to face another arduous journey ahead! To be honest, I was so tired that I considered cancelling the whole thing while I was in Hong Kong. Nonetheless, I went on as planned because I know that my chances of meeting up with my college pals (Tina, Joy, Guia, Lotz) come too rarely. Besides, it was part of the vacation that I, for a long time, so longed for! Why not just be grateful instead of whining right?!  

Tina, who now works in SG, was gracious enough to prepare everything - from the itinerary to all the reservations and  bookings! Effort acknowledged. But, this came a bit new to me as on all my journeys, I was used to deciding for myself and not following ;) *Although I claim to be indecisive at times when there are other people involved - which is this case! ..Actually, Tina and Joy even filed a leave vacation for this. :)

As per the itinerary, we were bound to Kuala Lumpur by bus at midnight and were to arrive at around 5am in the city proper. Just a note: A common misconception is that taking the bus means you could save time when in fact it is, more or less, just as taxing as taking the plane - only economical! You have to find the stations; be there atleast an hour to check in; transfer buses at the boundaries; sleep uncomfortably sitting; and, go through a lot of immigration checks! But well, it was a new experience and I enjoyed the company anyways.

So, what's there to see and experience in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia? Here you go!

The Petronas Towers.
Several years ago, the bridge was accessible for public viewing. 
As one can see in the picture, the bridge is only at the midheight of both towers.
Then, just two years ago, Level 86 was opened with a fee of 80MR
(1 Malaysian Ringgit ~ 14.5Php).
The time allowed for viewing, however, is limited to
approximately 45minutes (Level 86+bridge).
And yes, they were very strict about it.
Note: The tower just behind Petronas is another viewing tower.

The Petronas Towers, breaking dawn.
These towers are said to be the tallest twin towers in the world today.
Have you seen the national geographic feature of this? You must see it. Just google. 
By the way, because it was sort of a 'do it yourself' trip, finding our way to the tower was
a bit tricky. We tried to walk at first from Time Square (bus stop) since arriving 5am got us
plenty of time for walking (exercise :p). Unfortunately, asking directions wasn't that easy.
Ask where "Petronas" is and you get a confused look from the person you are asking!
And so, we assumed that maybe people there do not call it
'Petronas'..perhaps a local name? Strange.

The Petronas Towers, in broad daylight. Photo taken after the morning tour.
We took the 9am (first batch) viewing schedule and so,
this picture was taken at about past 10am.
The weather? Hot and humid. Don't forget your hankies.

Viewing queue. It was free until the last two years they said.
It was a weekday so the queue wasn't that long.
Also, we got there at about 7am so it was still quite early.
Police Officers shown are women. 

Playing around the interactive TV at Level 86. Petronas Twin Towers

Here's your view from the 86th level. Malaysia looks booming right?

Another view from Level 86 of Petronas Twin Towers

View from the bridge of Petronas Twin Towers

View from the bridge of Petronas Twin Towers

A pose with fellow travellers. Hello Ho Chi Minh! ;)
Like us, they said that they had planned this trip 6mos back!
They were bound to Genting Highlands- another Malaysian tourist spot, later that day.
We could not do that in our trip since our time was limited.
Genting Highland is situated quite far from the city.

Kuala Lumpur Street Scene
After Petronas, we head on to explore the streets of Kuala Lumpur.
Just like in HK and SG, taxis are colored white and red. Buses are plenty too.
Crossing the streets? Save your life ;p

One of Kuala Lumpur's public transport - Monorail.

A visit to the Central Market
It's a place to shop for souvenirs and everything else.

So there. Are you planning to visit Kuala Lumpur? Good luck! And, let me know! ;)

Hong Kong Ocean Park - Sea Dreams Show

Hong Kong surprises me day after day!

Ocean Park, to me, has always meant aquarium.. but not anymore! Theme park as it is, there are a lot of activities to enjoy :) and the dolphin show is one of them. It was my first time to go to such show! I was in awe. The child in me surfaced, amazed to have witnessed what wonders these animals could do! 

Adults. This actually reminds me of the book "The Little Prince". I'm sure such exhibitions and tricks are not new to many of us. Perhaps, we even have already seen them a number of times in movies. But, the funny thing is, for me, the feeling you get from watching them with your own eyes is something one wouldn't get from any book or movie or picture! 

I am, therefore, suggesting that you grab that chance to watch one if possible! Ain't it nice to come in close contact with such lovely creatures?! ..hear them squeal as well! ..

Here's a trivia:

Each and every dolphin has a different sound just like you and me, a sound that other dolphins recognize as a particular individual.  Even a new baby dolphin, (calf), can detect it's mother's whistle within the pod soon after birth.

Utilizing their blowholes, air sacks and valves, dolphins can emit a very wide variety of sounds.  In fact, the frequency levels range 10 times beyond what humans can hear! This system is called "Echolocation", or "Sonar", just like what a submarine uses to navigate while underwater.  Yet the dolphins sonar is much more advanced than human technology and can pin point exact information about it's surroundings ranging from size, distance and even the nature of the object.

Dolphin Speech is so complex that the sounds even cross the species barriers and enable different kinds of dolphins to communicate.  They have been known to instruct each other as well as receive instructions and act accordingly.

 http://www.everythingdolphins.com/SoundsPG.htm