My "Taken" experience

Recently watch the movie Taken on DVD.

Very good movie as I feel this kind of "taken" situation could happen to anyone since people like to travel nowadays and generally when you are on vacation you are not that alert to strangers whom you meet especially good looking ones ;p

Me and my friend recently had.. well almost encountered a "could-have-been-taken" situation.

What happened was when travelling in Jakarta, Indonesia, people always recommend taking Blue Bird or Silver Bird taxis but sometimes, it's not that easy to be choosy especially during rush hour.

So we hopped onto an unfamiliar brand of taxi. Normally we would not be bothered at all except the fact that:-

1) the taxi driver kept turning back and ask us where we are from, where we are staying, when are we flying back to Kuala Lumpur.

2) then he turned and asked whether he can send us to the airport. We promptly answered no and lied about a "friend" who will be sending us off.

3) later, and this was the one who made us alert and real suspicious, I saw him texting on his phone a short message but I couldnt understand his lingo but I distinctly read the word "Kuala Lumpur" in the message and that made us really worried.

Instantly many thoughts raced through our minds, including him maneuvering to a deserted spot where we can be easily "taken".

It didnt help that prior to boarding the taxi we saw a leg-less female beggar at the side of the road and me and my friend talked about a scene in "Slumdog Millionaire" where the bad guys intentionally blinded a perfectly healthy boy just to make him pitiful and qualified to be a beggar.

Naturally we felt the urge to jump out of the taxi but then we thought that we could be making a mountain out of a molehill.

So thank God at that moment I received a text message.. I used the opportunity to pretend to pick up the phone and to speak to a "friend" who was waiting for us at our destination at Plaza Senayan. I then ask when we will reach Plaza Senayan and the taxi driver answered 10 minutes.

We were so relieved to finally reach Plaza Senayan. And we were pleasantly surprised to see Hong Kong actor Michael Wong in one of the shops, obliging photo opportunity for those standing around. Such a nice guy and so fit for his age!

A very fit and slim Michael Wong @ 47 years old

Turkuaz Fashion Spread in Dara.com Magazine November 2012

Turkuaz latest 4 page fashion spread in Dara.com November 2011 edition is out (RM5 each)!

The Cover Girl is Salsabiila Ghazali who is the chosen Cover Girl for Dara.com

Her interview can be found on page 74 - 76.

I quite like the Gaya Tudung Pembaca in pages 56 - 57 cos from there you can see the practical tudung styles which are suitable for daily wear. But for the fashion conscious, there are the "Gaya Tudung" spread with plenty of step by step guide to wear scarfs and shawls (pages 58 - 73)

In Rencana section is the "Fahami dan Pelihara Batasan Bertunang" pages 120-122 where there is a discussion and understanding of the concept of engagement in religion as well as how long should one be engaged coupled with the do's and don'ts in an engagement.

Page 123 is a survey among the young people whether "being engaged is a state of restriction or liberation".

From pages 156 - 161 includes some simple recipes for some main courses to kuih muih and mouth watering desserts.

The current issue of Dara.com is suitable for those looking to revamp their styles, be it in their wardrobe or makeup.

Fish Fight

Join the Hugh's Fish Fight to STOP the mad killing and wastage of fish!

Don't know what the fight is all about?

Well apparently scientists believed that the number of cod fish are under threat. So under the European Union fisheries commission, fishermen are given ridiculously low quota on the number of cod fish they can catch.

But in reality, fishermen are catching a lot of cod, hence their quota of cod fish is easily met within the first two catch. Which means once quota is full they have to throw back the caught but now dead cod into the sea.

And since the fishermen' quota for the rest of the quota are not met, they will still continue to run the trawler until all the quota are met (to make financial sense for going out to sea in the first place) before returning to land.

So this in turn translate to more cod being caught and thrown back into the sea DEAD! The fishermen have to throw these fishes in the sea cos if they come ashore with any fish above their quota, they will get fined.

So to stop this madness, please go to http://www.fishfight.net/ to sign the Fish Fight petition - to let the politicians know that people know about this and are angry about such system.

We may be in Malaysia, but whatever happens at the other end of the world, will somehow impact us someway. So make this fight personal wherever you are. It doesn't take much. Less than 2 minutes to sign the petition! As of now, the petition stands at 827,486.. really low for such a global issue! So make your name count!