Take The Path Less Ordinary

We are stashing all bird photos in this post. These are birds that we came across during our travels around the Malaysian countryside. As and when we shoot more, new photo entries will be deposited into this post. Enjoy.
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What do you call a kingdom cut half by a river?
18th century Kuala Kangsar found a simple solution; call one side Kota Lama Kanan and the other Kota Lama Kiri. With the palace and commercial district on the left, Kota Lama Kiri eventually outgrown Kanan and was uptown “Beverly Hills” for local rich and famous [...]

This is as primitive as it gets.
When we first saw Bah Andak, 38, dived into the cold river, we thought he was having a bath. Seconds later, the Orang Asli native emerged with a fish in his hand and it dawned upon us that we have just witnessed man’s earliest hunting art form.
Recently, out of [...]

The show must go on.
There’s no providence for bad weather - or even bad hair day. This is the mantra that is indoctrinated into everyone who plays a role, no matter how small. There are cues for meals, prayers, sleep, act, sing and the day goes by almost like clockwork. Every move is thoroughly scripted [...]

“Malang tidak berbau” - Malay proverb
(English translation: Danger has no scent)
What people don’t know about the jungle could easily fill up an emergency room.
Lurking hazards are everywhere and offer no warning. Before you trot into the countryside or jungle, any self respecting guide will usually give you a pep talk about possible dangers that [...]

Thaipusam hurts. Like hell.
As the cacophony of chants and chaos intensifies, the priest stabs a 20cm rod across a man’s cheeks, sending him wild into deep trance. He trembles, grunts and suddenly stares coldly at us. Gosh, did we do something wrong? We could hear our heart throb.
The next moment, the possessed man turns away [...]

LAST UPDATED / EDITED – 30th Oct 2009
The Malaysian currency encapsulates the sediments of bygone era.
The Spanish dollar was historically used widely in the East Indies, which covers Indonesian spice islands and the Malay archipelago. As soon as the English established the Straits Settlement in Penang, colonial government half heartedly introduced the Indian rupee in [...]

Don’t ask what this country can do for you - ask what’s for dinner.
Eating your way around Malaysia can be much of an adventure itself. There are meals that feed your soul, and not just your taste buds. You never go hungry in Malaysia.
“Don’t eat street food” - there’s no greater myth in travel lore. [...]

We made news again.

OO’s community work was singled out by writer Sheila Rahman last week and after a short ping pong of emails, our blog “Take The Path Less Ordinary” is featured in Malay Mail today.

Started out as a simple four-page newspaper with light news and advertisements for Europeans in Kuala Lumpur in 1896, today, [...]

Avid orchidists call it Pigeon Orchid, but we prefer to call it Dove Orchid because that’s what the locals call it - for obvious reason.
Dendrobium crumenatum is endemic to Malaysia, especially in the region of Perak, our home state, and grows wild on tree trunks in open countryside, wetland but almost never in the [...]