Qrio

At the weekend we went to Tescos in Mutira Damansara. On the way in we popped into the Curve to see if it was busy yet. Alas it looks like only about two-thirds of the unit are occupied, can’t be good for business. We were given a leaflet about Sonys new store opening that day, so we had a look. Not bad so far, just like any other Sony store , nothing special. Then we came across this show they were holding to show off qrio. Now I know they were the latest in the line of robots, but that was all. So eventually they bring on two qrios. Now I was expecting a near life size robot like the Honda Asmo and its predecessor, but what we got was the size of a five year old kid and they were like ‘tweekie’ out of Buck Rogers but not quite with the same dysfunctional attitude. Once they started dancing then they started to look good, not fast but as least not clumsy, but smooth. After they finished they stood down and everyone waited thinking that perhaps the show was over in five minutes, but then they started to speak, welcoming everyone in several languages. Then proceeded to a new dance in a Hindi dance style which although was not fast required a lot of balance which impressed me since I know that it’s a real test of any machine, the ability to balance as a biped. They then finished, a little more chat and then it was over – so quick. Overall it was impressive, but I think I would have got bored the second time I watched this. I would preferred that they got into a dissing match with each other about something trivial like who had a face like the back of a garbage truck and then scrapping with each other in the style of Fraiser crane and his brother Niles !




Music of the Moment : Elecktroids– Japanese Electronics

Bukit Merah and Orang Utan

Last week we went up to the resort of Bukit Merah which is just outside Ipoh( location of the movie Sepet). It’s a long journey, about 600km round trip from KL cruising up the north south highway which runs up the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia. If you have never truly been outside of KL then the scenery will claw for your attention, since it is quite raw and dynamic. The road will sometimes wind along a valley floor surrounded by huge steep cliffs of what I think is limestone. Looking like giant pebbles or boulders which have just been dumped there. Their shape being the product of natures erosion. They remind of the limestone island somewhere in southern Thailand made famous by the Bond movie “man with the golden gun” whereby the villain scaramanga lives on such an island in a tropical splendor. Anyway back to the trip, after three hours and one near scare of running out of petrol we arrived at the said resort. Now this place also includes a township to one side leading down to the shore of a very large natural lake. There were a few exclusive properties that were on a small peninsula mimicking the cape cod ideal of secluded homes.

You can opt for three separate parts of the resort or get a combo package. We opted for the combo. So first up we head for the orang utan reserve on an island in the middle of the lake reached only by boat. It wasn’t busy when we arrived so I assumed that the novelty has probably worn off. We were guided through a short walkway which ended in a small area with a warden and one of the younger orang utan(“man of the jungle”) who was not so shy about visitors. She looked like a younger version of Clyde from “Any which way but loose”. We were warned that we could not touch the orang utan because the reserve was trying to prevent them catching germs and bacteria off the humans for which they had little or no resistance to. As you can see from the photo she is a handful. We did get to see the alpha male of the pack, initially from what I thought was some distance until I realized that “Mike” as he referred to was huge ! about a 100kg and a walking carpet of hair. Like most alpha Sumatran orang utans he has grown these large flanges of skin on the side of his face in response to his position, a sort of mutton chops for orang utan. I was disappointed that the walkway was only about 20 metres long, but the observation of these creatures is meant as a sideline to the purpose of conservation of these gentle creatures whose habit is disappearing day by day. We rounded off this part of the trip by watching a few monkeys on a table situated in the water by the jetty whilst we were waiting for the boat. Surprisingly these monkey can swim, well a sort of doggy paddle, so when there is food on the table they jump as far as they can and then swim the rest. They are not part of the reserve but were original inhabitants of the island before the orang utan came.





On to the ecology park- it’s a criss cross of walkways to take you to various parts of the animal kingdom that they keep. Due to the rain and some renovations some the animal were not available, but we did see a very large python that they never let out as part of their snake show because it’s so big its capable of squeezing a full size adult easily. We came across a king cobra who was some what agitated and reared up in our presence. As soon as I moved it spat, so thank god for the glass cage, but I did not see any evidence of venom on the glass, so either it had run dry or more likely it had been milked for the day.

Onto a short chair lift ride over the water park which I did not think much of. It doesn’t seem to have been well planned. Changing rooms are a distance from the park so you have to walk there after getting changed and they charge you for use of the lockers as if you have much choice. There were so many rules about what you can wear and do in the park that I sense they had become obsessed with being sued for any legal infringement.
I had been warned that Bukit Merah is not that great and I would agree especially in comparison with other international theme parks. This place is meant to appeal to international visitors but I think it would have hard time. It felt a little tacky at times with the video arcades and endless souvenir shops that remind me more of Blackpool than Malaysia.


Music of the Moment : Goodies – Funky Gibbon