Flying in a Helium Balloon

1.  I flew in a Helium balloon on Wednesday February 2015, accompanying the Director-General of the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) and senior officials of DCA on an inspection tour of this new tourism project which is part of Year of Festivals 2015.  It was established by the lake in Putrajaya, not far from the Alaf Monument. Our company, Skyride Worldwide Sdn Bhd is consultant to this Project.  The balloon is the first of its kind in Malaysia and one of an estimated 58 that have been constructed in the world, among which two are in China and two in India.

2.  The balloon is filled with helium, which, is considered environmentally safe and non-polluting.  With ropes it is moored to a gondola that can take a carrying capacity of 30 passengers to a maximum height of 150 m.  On this day we went up only 100 m having a panoramic view of Putrajaya. The balloon is a component of Skyride Festival Park, which will be constituted of Sky Warrior (an obstacle challenge), Sky Gallery (exhibition hall), Sky Demo (demonstration of various arts and crafts), Sky Kid Centre (unique playground for children), Stage (where performances by artists both national and international will be staged) and Sky Taste (the food court centre).  The Park will be managed by a group of staff who were specially trained on the technical aspects of the various components of the Park, safety issues and the handling of visitors to the Park.         

 In the gondola at 100 m overlooking Putrajaya 

 The DCA Director-General

 Officials of DCA accompanied by management officials of Skyride Worldwide on the test flight

 Presenting certificates to trainees who have successfully completed the training programme

The trainers with the trainees

Visit to Phnom Penh, Cambodia: June 10 to 13, 2014

 
    1. Introduction.  This trip was mooted by Robin Tay as a follow-up to his earlier visit in exploring areas of business ventures in Cambodia.  On his earlier visit he indicated that he has made contact with a few influential peoples in the government.  I have always been fascinated with visits to ASEAN countries as the fares offered by the various low-cost airlines are affordable, people are friendly and costs of food and accommodation are comparatively cheaper.  When this trip was planned I jumped at the opportunity.  The delegation was made up of five people - Dato' Kamarudin Kachar, Datuk Zainie Abdul Aucasa, Robin Tay, Simon Sim Thai Fong and yours truly.  We departed by Malaysian Airlines at 9.30 am on Tuesday June 10. It was only a one-hour 35 minutes flight KL-Phnom Penh. On arrival we were received by Sothearith Long of Three Sixty travel who took care of our transport during our stay there. We checked in at the Holiday Villa Hotel.

  2. Visit to the Malaysian Embassy. Our first program on arrival was to visit the Malaysian Embassy.  We did not make any appointment but decided to go there to meet the officials.  Mr. Khairin, the Counsellor at the Embassy received and briefed us and when the H.E.Ambassador, Mr Raszlan Abdul Rashid walked into office later, he welcomed us as he was curious to know what the senior citizens (Dato' Kamarudin grey hair gave his age away) were at the Embassy for.  He informed that he has been in Phnom Penh for six months. He was at first a little unhappy when he was directed to take charge of the Embassy in Cambodia.  However, he was subsequently surprised to see the big cosmopolitan city that is fast developing and glad to be posted in the country.  Mr. Raszlan briefed us as to the opportunities of doing business in Cambodia.  According to him, Cambodia is a relatively young nation and accordingly, offers a wide range of business opportunities.  He indicated that Malaysia's presence in the country is strong in banking with the presence of CIMB, Maybank, Public Bank and Hong Leong; hospitality industry with investments in hotels - Nagaworld, Sunway and Holiday Villa.  However, he feels that there are still vast opportunities in manufacturing, franchise businesses (Secret Recipe and Nelson food outlets are already here), automotive, tourism, education and agriculture.  Though labour wage rates are low but they are rising as there is demand for increase in emoluments.  However, electricity bills are still high.  Cambodia also is quite liberal in permitting profits to be taken out.  H.E Ambassador Raszlan went out of his way to invite us for dinner and meet a few Malaysian leaders already present in Cambodia at Sunmay Hotel the following day.  Among them was Mr. Teh Sing, President of The Malaysian Business Council of Cambodia  We wish to extend our appreciation to H.E for his kind hospitality   

Members of the delegation with HE Ambassador in front of his office (from right

Simon Sim, Robin Tay, Datuk Zainie, HE Ambassador  Raszlan, Dato' Kamarudin Kachar

and yours truly

 

Signing the Visitors Book at the Embassy witnessed by Datuk Zainie

 

 

Dinner hosted by HE Ambassador Raszlan at Sunway Hotel with Malaysian



business leaders.  The lady in blue in the second row is Ms Elis Leong,

the Financial Controller of the Hotel

   3.  Property Development in Phnom Penh.  Robin Tay, leader of the delegation, and Simon Sim were particularly interested in the properties being developed in Phnom Penh.  On the second day of our visit (June 11), the delegation headed for the Diamond Island, a small island in Tonle Sap, with an area of 100 ha, which is being developed for residential and commercial purposes by Canadia Bank Plc.  The delegation was briefed by Ms Banh Souly, Head of Sales Department. A few of the properties being marketed are prized at US 3 500 per sq m of built-up area.  An iconic 555 m tower known as the Diamond Tower will be part of the development plan. Investors are from China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.  We were conducted around the development site and ended up at the Exhibition where the Malaysian Trade Fair was being held.  The following day (June 12), we visited another development area of Olympia City where residential high rise structures are being built made up of three bedrooms, two bedrooms, penthouse and studio units at various phases of development around the land property with a big sporting stadium.  The manager of Olympia City, Ms Sopheak Long, a pretty Cambodian graduate of the University of Law and Economics, conducted us around. Members of the delegation were impressed with her communication ability in English, poise and beauty and the depth of her understanding of the property market.       

 

 The delegation being received at the Sales Centre of the Diamond Island Development  

 Ms Banh Souly, Head of Sales Dept, briefing the delegation 

 Group photo in one of the showrooms

 Photo in the Study Showroom

 Photo of the delegation with the cultural troupe at the Malaysian Trade Fair

 

 

 Photo with Ms Sopheak Long in the one of the Showrooms

 Dinner at the Italian Restaurant with Datuk Zainie and Ms Sopheak

 

    4. Rotary Projects in Cambodia.  We were privileged to have the company of Datuk Zainie Abdul Aucasa, a Rotarian from the Rotary Club of Kota Kinabalu, who has served with distinction as the District Governor of District 3300 covering Southern Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah.  areas.  The Rotary Clubs of District 3300 jointly with the Rotary Club of Phnom Penh has established a few years ago a HARELIP Programme in Cambodia and Laos, to provide medical facilities of corrective surgery for children with lip deformity. It appears this deformity is quite common in this country due to certain nutritional deficiency in the diet of the people.  Since the inception of the Project two years ago hundreds of children have undergone this corrective surgery.  Rotary provides funds so that parents of the children can travel and get accommodation when the children are being treated free of charge by surgeons who have volunteered to participate in the Program.  The Project Coordinator is Mr. Chan Kok Choy, a Malaysian banker who has lived in Phnom Penh for 16 years. He is the Executive Director/General Manager of Vattanac Bank.  We had the honour of visiting with him at his Vattanac Bank Office and he subsequently hosted the delegation for lunch at the Khmer-Thai Restaurant.  Following lunch we visited the Khmer-China-Russian Friendship Hospital where a group of Rotary volunteers from Singapore were providing dental treatments to the people of Cambodia     

 

The delegation with Mr Chan, 3rd from right, at his Vattanac Bank Office 

Presenting my book ' In Search of Happiness' to Mr. Chan

Dinner at the Titanic Seafood Restaurant on the Riverfront of Tonle Sap

The seafood dinner hosted by Rotarians from Singapore

 

  5. Concluding Remarks. It was an fruitful and memorable trip.  We made many contacts and friends.  Dato' Kamarudin and I were exploring opportunities in training in such areas as vocational skill, wellness and motivation.  Also, possible investments in agriculture.  We enjoyed the variety of food available in the city (Fried rice and bihun at Mamak Restauarant, Khmer-Thai Food, French at at un Francaise Restaurant, seafood at Titanic and Western at Sunway Hotel Restaurant). 



Cycling for Peace - October 2007

CYCLING FOR PEACE

1. Introduction  
It was a unique and memorable experience when I participated with 38 other cyclists from eight countries to bike from Seoul to Beijing from October 12 to 19 of 2007 to promote peace through tourism.  The Event, officially designated ‘Peace through Tourism: 2007 Seoul Beijing Bicycle Tour’ was organized by Japan Airlines in collaboration with Korean Bicycle Association, PABLE and travel agents in China, Harijin Travel and Shanyang Overseas International  Travel Service, in conjunction with the 15^th General Assembly of the  World Tourism Organisation (WTO) held in Beijing starting from October 20. This bicycle tour is in its third year – the first being a ride from Seoul to Osaka in 2005 and the second was a ride from Beijing to HuhHot in Inner Mongolia in 2006.
  According to Kazuaki Saiga, Vice President (Industry Relations), Japan Airlines Co. Ltd and Chairman of the Organising Committee, the Event was first mooted to promote sustainable tourism, bringing people from the regions of China, Japan and Korea and other cyclists from other countries to visit the many attractive tourism destinations along the cycling routes and experience mixing together in the spirit of tourism, sports and peace. Saiga himself is a keen cyclist having picked up the sport when he was posted as a General Manager of Japan Airlines in Milan, Italy from 1981 to 1985 where he bought a Campaniolo and Guelchiotti bicycles.

2.  Participation
  The international participants represented Korea (12 participants), Japan (10), China (7), USA (5), Thailand (2), Canada (1), England (1), Malaysia (1).  The youngest amongst the cyclists was Choo Jae Ho, 16 who is a student from Korea and the oldest at 75 is Masayuki Hatano a retired civil engineer from Sacramento, California.  Many were in the 40 to 50 age group. Masayuki Hatano, known to the participants as Mas, has been riding since he was 63, largely motivated by an intense desire to keep healthy and ‘be active to keep alive’.  He rides five days a week covering 70 to 80km on each ride.  He is also active with voluntary work with the Railroad Museum in Sacramento.  Jae Ho, the baby in the group became interested in cycling through his mother who is a member of PABLE.  PABLE is the acronym for ‘Promotion Association of Bicyling for a new Life Environment’. PABLE as co-sponsor of the event sent in the largest number of participants – 12, and eight of them are middle aged ladies.  Established in 1993 to promote environmental protection, the Organisation has a membership of  8000 largely made up of  ladies.  Members have organized biking tours to Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, New Zealand’ – quipped Mrs. Yong Hye Choi a business woman with interest in restaurants and property development.  She also rode in the bicycle tour.
  Many participants are professionals - David Loutzenheiser is a transportation planner from Boston, Andrew Chandler who is 43 years old is in marketing in Sacramento California, Tachibana Mayumi,from Japan, is an art designer. A teacher, an engineer, a few in the corporate sector and some housewives were also among the participants.
   I was invited to represent Malaysia by Asian Overland Service Tours &Travel.  I was not too sure of my credentials why Anthony Wong, the Managing Director of the company has nominated my name.  He is aware that I am active in a nature conservation organization , Malaysian Nature Society, a biking enthusiast and continue to be  involved in the corporate sector serving as director on a few boards of companies. I had some difficulties in getting a visa to China as the Chinese Counsellor office insisted that I could only participated with the Event if I obtained an invitation from the Organisers from China.  The letter from Japan Airlines was inadequate for this purpose.  I was also concerned that urgent corporate matters might force me not to go. 
    It was a relief when I finally boarded the Malaysian Airlines plane, MH66, which departed  very early on Sunday morning (October 12) for Seoul. We landed at Incheon – Seoul International Airport at 0840 hr, a six and half hour flight. Monitoring  the panel in the plane which provides the record of the flight details, Incheon is only one meter above sea level, located on Geongjongdo Island which is connected to the mainland by an expressway. It appeared to have been built on reclaimed land. It was an entirely different scenery from what I experienced during my first visit to Korea in the mid 1990s.  Then  I landed at Kimpo Airport.   I made my first trip to the country when I accompanied a trade mission to market Malaysian cocoa beans to the chocolate manufacturers.

3.  Cycling and Tourism Attractions in Korea 
   In Seoul, participants from overseas were accommodated at the Olympic Parktel, a hotel located within the Olympic Park.  The Park was crowded with young people who were participating at the International Cyber Games.  I shared a room with an American and Canadian. We woke up early on Monday morning (October 13).  It was raining and the morning temperature was a chilling 17C.  After a simple brief opening ceremony we departed from Olympic Park winding ourselves through the southern part of Seoul city towards Han River.  The cyclists were led by the police escort followed by bikers carrying the flags of the host countries – China, Japan and Korea accompanied by 40 cyclists who are members of  PABLE.  The cyclists from each  country carried three small flags – the respective national flag, flag of the  WTO and  Japan Airlines flag, which were tied to a small aluminium rod fixed to the rear of the bike.  It was a colourful scene. We rode for quite some time along the Han River, ending our ride at Yeouido Park covering a distance of 25km in one and a half hours.  The second part of the biking took place at the later part of the day, covering nine km over a hilly terrain to reach Jeongdeungsa Temple.  We visited two sites on the first day of the tour – Agibong Observatory and Kangwhayun Museum.
  The Observatory at Agibong was built in 1988 and named after a youth, Agi, in a Korean legendary love story.  The Observatory is located on the southern side of the Han River overlooking a community in North Korea.  A few sites on the Demilitarized zones – Imgingak Park, Dorasan Station, Dora Observatory – are popular tourist destinations to get some glimpses of life in North Korea. The Kangwhayun Museum houses artifacts and exhibits on the early history of Korea from prehistoric time up to the Goryeo and Joseon periods.  It also exhibited pictures of the dolmens, which were tombs chieftains of the tribal society in the Bronze Age.
    We stayed for the night in several rooms, allocated to us, built as part of the Jeongdeungsa Buddhist Temple complex.  According to the chief monk who welcomed us, the temple is the second oldest in Korea founded during the reign of King Sosurin of Goguryeo period by the priest named Ado. We were awakened at 06 00 hrs on the second day (Tuesday Oct. 14) of the ride. After a vegetarian menu breakfast, we walked down the steep hill with our bicycles.  With a big group, any effort to ride down this hill would be dangerous.  We left the town of Kangwhagun for the port city of Incheon.  We were riding in the country side with paddy fields on both sides of the road, averaging around 17 km per hour.  We covered 54 km arriving at this bustling port at around 13 00 hrs.  After checking in our luggage and bicycles, the ferry departed from Huadong/Incheon Ferry Terminal for Dalian.  It was a 17 hour journey in the Yellow Sea.  We arrived at 0830 hrs Dalian time (an hour later than Incheon).  The Ferry ride provided the opportunity for the participants to be interacting and exchanging news over the whole range of topics from health, politics and economics.

4.  Cycling and Tourism Attractions in Liaoning Province, North-east China 
     Dalian is a sprawling city with a population of 5.7 million.  It was first built by the Russian thus its name which, in Russian, means a distant city.  The second phase of its development was undertaken by the Manchurians and the third phase by the Chinese.  We had a brief tour of the city stopping at the Tiger Beach Park.  Dalian’s economy is driven by heavy industries such as ship building but the planners are pushing for tourism taking advantage of its many natural attractions -  the sea, the forests, the islands and beaches.
  After a heavy lunch at the Restaurant located in the Dalian TV Tower Complex, it was difficult to get started to ride again.  From the village of Pico, we cycled in relatively flat region for 47km, passing through many farms with paddy, maize and fruit orchards.  Farmers were seen selling their fruits - persimmon, pears, apples and cherries – by the roadside. We were scheduled to bike for a distance of 76 km but as dusk set in, we had to stop. We were accommodated at a Zuanghe Hotel that night.. 
  We started early (0745 hrs) on the fourth day of the tour (Thursday Oct. 16) meandering our way through the early morning traffic of Zuanghe on the coastal road heading for Dandong.  Traffic was especially heavy and on this route I observed drivers have little regards for others using the road.  We were riding through a farming community, passing horse carts, small villages with people waving at us as we passed by.  The main agricultural activities appeared to be rice and maize farming with fruits orchards. The livestock industry is also  important.  We covered 70km of ride that day.  It was the longest distance I have cycled in a single ride – a record of some sort to me.  We arrived in Dandong at around 1330 hrs.  It was on this stretch of route that the front tyre of my bike punctured but it was repaired in a few minutes by the technical support group.  Tyre puncture was the most frequent problem among the cyclists during the tour.
  The afternoon tour took us to Yalu River and Tiger Hill, the eastern most  point  of the Great Wall of China.   The Yalu River is the border between China and North Korea.  A bridge, bombed by the Americans, remains as a reminder of the Korean War in 1950s.  Adjacent to it is another bridge, that spans the river, which serves as one of the communicating land links between China and North Korea.  The boat cruise took us close to the shores of North Korea to have a little glimpse of life there.
   I was fascinated to visit the eastern most section of the Great wall of China, one of the great wonders of the world .  I had the opportunity to see the Beijing section in my earlier visits to China.
We were hosted to dinner by the Deputy Mayor of Dandong, who, in her brief  speech, indicated that the Liaoning Provincial Government, plans to develop the golden triangle area made up of the cities of Dalian, Dandong and Shenyang, as a tourism destination.  In my view, Liaoning Province has a great potential to attract visitors as it has many attributes that will draw visitors.  The Liaoning Tourism Brochures listed many places of interest, among them are historical sites – The Great Wall, landmarks of the earlier imperial dynasties – Qin, Han, Liao, Ming – Shenyang Imperial Palace; the seas – Yellow and Bohai Seas with the many coastal islands;  mountains, caves and unique geological formations; special festival organized on an annual basis – Dalian International Fashion Festival, Dalian Acacia Festival.  Fushan Mt. Qian International Festival, Fushu Manchu Folk Customs Festival, Jinzhou Folk Culture Tourist Festival. We stayed at Yalu River Hotel.
  The ride out of Dandong towards Shenyang was at a blistering pace starting at 0800 hrs being led by a police escort vehicle through the busy streets of the city.  Just at the outskirt of Dandong 20km away was a steep hill – that was the challenging stretch of road.  The Dandong – Fencheng ride was through hilly and mountainous areas and though only 60km, it was the most energy sapping section in the entire tour.
  The afternoon tour took us to Mt. Fenghuan region in Benxi to visit the water cave. The cave  is a huge aqueous karst formation, estimated at 700 million years old, older than the oldest cave  systems in Malaysia, the geological formation of Langkawi.  The river that meanders through is large, deep and wide stretching over the length of 2.8km with the average depth of 1.5m and the deepest point reaches seven metres.  It is an awesome river course with three gorges and many sharp turns and twists, thus also called ‘Nine Zigzags of Galaxy’  On both sides of the river, there are an estimated 60 unique rock formations with such exotic names as Palace of Fairies, Heavenly Pond, Hanging Tower.
  It was dark by the time we reached Shenyang.  According to our  tour guide, the city has a population of 7.2 million made up of 26 ethnic groups.  The Chinese, Manchurians and Koreans are the dominant ones.  A river traverses through the city and from the sky, it appears like a blue dragon, a symbol of protection and prosperity for its inhabitants.  Among the Chinese, Shenyang is well-known for three things – bicycles, wide roads and many traffic lights at the intersections.  Examining the tourist brochures, Shenyang has many attractions – Imperial Palace, Botanical Garden, Doughing Park, Fuling Tomb, Zhaoling Tomb, History Museum.  However, we were in a brief transit in the city.  After a quick dinner we were transported to the railway station and hurriedly we moved through the thousand of travellers and revelers to board the rail coach to Beijing.  The train punctually left Shenyang at 2125 hrs.
  The rail appears to be an efficient and well managed transport system in China, if I could assess from this brief experience.  The passengers were courteously ushered to their respective coaches with a guard looking after each coach.  I shared with five other colleagues in a six bed compartment.  The linen is clean and the light provided at the end of the bed was functional.  The toilet and the dressing table was regularly cleaned.   Sharp at 2200 hrs the light was switched off and surprisingly inspite of the usual noise and sound of the moving train I slept well and was awake fresh.  It was at 0730 hrs we arrived at the Beijing Railway Station.  It was Saturday (Oct 18) morning.

5.  Cycling and Tourism Attractions in Beijing
     We checked in the hotel, had breakfast and after freshening up, we were again on the bus by 1100 hrs.  It was going to be a cycle free day as the day’s schedule is sightseeing and a short shopping tour.  It was bright and sunny as we headed for the Tian An Men Square.  Our first destination was the Forbidden City.  Though this tour brought me to Beijing for the third time, for some reasons, the visit to this world heritage attraction has eluded me.  I therefore looked forward to the visit.  The Square was crowded as it was a Saturday and Beijing is celebrating its 850 years of its founding.  At the same time the 15^th General Assembly of the WTO was being held in the city, with many events being organized in conjunction with the Assembly.
   The Forbidden City built over the period 1406 – 1420 is actually the palace of the emperors of the Ming and Ong dynasties in China.  The complex palatial structures are divided into the outer court made up of several halls where the emperors held important ceremonies and the inner court were the living quarters are sited. A total of 24 emperors lived in the palace.  These ancient buildings portray the intricale early Chinese architecture and are being protected as a world heritage site.
  After late lunch and shopping at the Friendship Store we headed to the next attraction – The Ming Tombs.  The Tombs are the mausoleums of thirteen emperors located at Changping – Beijing.  It was built in the Yongle Ming Dynasty in 1409.  The fascinating thing about the mausoleums is the fact that they were constructed deep underground (50m) with the paraphernalia of governance such as marble thrones and other precious possessions buried together.
  We were caught in the extremely busy traffic of Beijing heading for our hotel.  It was the traditional Beijing duck dinner that night .
  We were up early on the last day of the Bicycle tour (Sunday Oct. 19).  The Seoul Beijing Bicycle tour group was given a place of honour in the Beijing International Cultural Tourism Festival 2007 parade organized in conjunction with the 15th General Assembly of WTO to promote the 2008 Olympic game and tourism.  We were on the parade ground at around 0730 hrs preparing for the final arrangement for the parade made up of cultural performances, school bands, motor vehicle floats depicting the cultural heritage of China.  The ceremony started at 0900 hrs with speeches from the mayor of Beijing, an official of the Chinese Ministry of Tourism and the Director General of WTO.
  The 1.5km slow ride in the parade was cheered by a huge crowd lining both sides of the broad street, made up of school children in their smart track suit uniforms of various colours.  I was touched by the atmosphere at the parade, realising that, in this small world of ours, guided by a simple principle of mutual respect for each other, inspite of the cultural socio-religious differences, we could link our hands of friendship together, assist one another and living sustainably to make this planet of ours such a happy and wonderful place to live in.  The many wise words of our beloved former Prime Minister, Tun Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who has retired recently, advocating this approach of living, was an inspiration to my participation in this Bicycle Tour. 

6.  Concluding Remarks
    This bicycle tour was organized to facilitate, in a small way, towards achieving this dream of building a prosperous, peaceful, harmonious and happy world as we linked the hands of the various ethnic with different religion, language, cultural background to promote the 2008 Olympic Games and tourism .  I feel it has met its desired objectives.  To me it was a unique and exciting experience – unique in the sense that I have not riden this long distance before; riding in a company seven different  nationalities with a range of ages from sixteen to seventy five; traveling in different mode of transportation – bicycles, ferry, truck, bus and train; touring many exotic and beautiful destinations.
  For the opportunity to spend a very unique, exciting and happy seven days experience in Northwest Korea and Northeast China, I wish to  express my appreciation to Mr Anthony Wong and George Skadiang, The Group Managing Director and General Manger respectively, of Asian Overland Service Tours & Travel for having the confidence in my cycling power and nominated my participation of this tour to the Organisers.  Also many thanks to the national courier, MAS for substantially subsidizing the air fare from Kuala Lumpur to Seoul and the return trip from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur. 
_____________________________________

 This article was published by The Star newspaper on January 5, 2008.  The article is devoid of photos which usually accompany my writings as the picture file could not be traced. 

  Posted to this blog on June 23, 2013

 

Friendship Journey to Yokyakarta: January 20 to 23, 2009

The three young backpackers who participated in the trip

Ladies selling traditional cakes at the market

On the way to Borobodur

At the summit of the Borobudur

Friendship Journey to Yokyakarta from January 23 to 27, 2009

1. 
   1.  Introduction
   
      1.1 After visiting Angkor Wat in Siem Reap Cambodia the pull to visit Yokyakarta was great as here lies another great religious monument , the Borobudur. I recollect having visited the city quite some few years (April 1986) back when a I led a delegation of researchers from the Malaysian Agricultural Research Institute to familiarize with agricultural development on the island of Jawa. We started the educational journey from Jakarta, then proceeded to Bogor, Puntjak, Bandung, Yokyakarta, Surabaya, Malang, Banyuwangi and the Island of Bali. The only aspect of the visit to Yokyakarta that I remembered was dinner cultural show in an open air theatre. The schedule of the visit was tight and there was hardly time for sightseeing.
   
      1.2 I made inquiries with with my regular travelling mates as to who would be free to join on the journey. Initially Dato’ Dr. Mohd Nor Ismail agreed and the package booking (airfare + hotel accommotion) was made about two months before the scheduled date of travel. The package price was RM 1 500. Rahim A. Rahman decided to join later. Finally the delegation was a three member group.
   
       1.3 Checked the internet (en Wikipedia) on the city. According to this digital publication the city has an area of 32.5 sq km. The tourist attractions include Borobudur, Prambanan, Universiti Gadjah Mada,  Kraton Ngayogyakarta, Djalan Malioboro. From other source of information, for entertainment outlets, among the night clubs listed are Hugo’s, Embassy, Republic, Caesar Café & Lounge.
   
       1.4 We departed at 2.00 pm by Air Asia flight. It was a two-hour flight and with a one hour lost of time we landed at Yokyakarta Airport around 5 pm local time (WIT –West Indonesian Time). The Airport was small and congested. It took almost an hour for immigration and baggage clearance. We were shuttled to …. Sakthi Hotel, one-half an hour ride from the Airport.
   
   2.  Programme of Activities and Places Visited
   
       2.1 On Saturday January 24, 2009, on the advice of our guide we decided to visit Borobudur and go on a city tour of Yokyakarta. The city tour covered the visit to the Kraton and Taman Sari. On Sunday January 25, the itinerary include the visit to Solo and the complex of temples of Prambanan. On Monday January 26 we headed for the beach and the small home industries around the city. Finally on the last day (Jan 27), with the flight schedule late in the afternoon, I visited the heart of Yokya – Jalan Malioboro-which is considered the main tourist area.
   
      2.2 Borobudur – it was Borobudur that enticed me to visit Yokya. I was excited to have a glimpse of it. There were many visitors on the day we visited it and the entrance fee for foreigners was Rp 175 000. Situated 42 km from the city the Buddhist temple was built in the 8 th and 9th century during the Sailendra Kingdom. Its foundation is estimated to have an area of 123 sq m<sup>.with the original height of 33 m.However it has reduced to 31.5 m caused by soil subsidence and tremors of the earthquake. It was said to have been constructed from 1 600 000 blocks of volcanic stones. It has ten levels – a courtyard, 6 main rectangular terraces and three round terraces. It is in the walls of these terraces that inscriptions of the life of Gautama Buddha and how he obtained enlightenment were made. The temple underwent a massive restoration work by UNESCO between 1973 and 1983.
   
      2.3 Prambanan - this complex of 237 temples was built at around the same time as the Borobudur, in the reign of the Hindu Sanjaya dynasty. They are considered the sanctuaries of the Hindu God, Siwa. The statue of Siwa is located in the central part of the complex with smaller statues of Vishnu and Brahma.</sup>
2.   ^{2.4  Karaton - this is the palace of the Sultans of Yogya.  It is walled and inhabited by more than 25 000 people. It was built in the period of 1755-1756.  A large part of it is used as a museum and holds an extensive exhibits which include gifts from the monarchs of Europe and heirlooms of the royal family.}
3.   ^{2.5 Taman Sari - this was the pleasure complex of the Sultan} 

   ^{3. The city - Yogyakarta. It is regarded as the artistic and intellectual heritage of Indonesia with the kraton serving as the hub of traditional life. It was established by Sultan Mataram, Sultan Hamengkubuwono in 1755 - 56. To the Indonesians Yogya is a symbol of resistance to colonial rule and became the capital of the Republic from 1946 until its independence in 1949. Jln Malioboro is the main road and centre of tourist attraction, with many souvenir shops and stalls.}