No More Beef For Me Ever Since Nepal Trip

WARNING: Bloody, gory images ahead.

I've obstained from beef ever since I returned from Nepal in October 2012. And here is the story of why I've come to such a decision.

It was the annual Dashain Festival and the historical Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu was a hive of activities.

People were queing up to enter the temples:

Peddlers were selling their wares:

Even the soldiers were practising their march:

We bumped into a couple dressed so authentically and brightly that we couldn't stop taking photos of them.

When they started harassing us for money that Angie was forced to give them some. If they had asked for more, I would have asked them to perform every pose in the Kama Sutra to get our money's worth, kidding.

As we were walking around, I saw a calf tied to one of the statues in front of a temple, but did not pay attention to it:

Soon we saw a group of people gathering around the calf and so we climbed to the top of one of the monuments to see what was the gathering about. It was a slaughtering ritual in conjunction with the Dashain Festival.

I was told that there will be numerous slaughtering done during the Dashain Festival that the roads will be flowing with the blood of the slaughtered animals.

The chants started growing louder and louder. I could not see what was happening because the crowd was blocking my view.

From where I stood, I could see a guy with a big gurkha knife walking to and fro in the middle of the crowd. I saw him lifting the glistening blade and with a swift chop, whatever that was there was dead.

Thankfully I didn't get to see the exact moment when blade met flesh because the crowd was hindering my view. Otherwise I think I would have puked.

The crowd started to disperse immediately after the public slaughtering.

From my vantage point I could see that the headless calf was still writhing on the floor. And the poor animal was so afraid that it had dirtied itself.

The image that compelled me to abstain from beef. 

I've abstained from mutton and lamb for more than 8 years due to a health scare - I had heavy heart palpitations after consumming mutton that I thought I was going to die.

No pork for me either because it causes tape worms to grow and live happily in my gut.

I'm also allergic to seafood, especially that of the crustacean type.

Now that beef is also on my list of abstained meat, leaves only chicken and fish that I can consume. No wonder my mum complaints that I'm a fussy eater.

Hard Rock Cafe Fridge Magnets from Malacca and San Francisco

Last week was a good week for my Hard Rock Cafe fridge magnet collection because two friends passed me the magnets that I asked them to buy when they were in those places for work.

Now I have a total of 6 HRC magnets that I've started collecting since September 2013.

Spotting the Elusive One-Horn Rhino

It's been more than a year since I travelled to Naturally Nepal and had a thrilling time trekking to Poon Hill.

I also remember the time when we travelled to the Chitwan National Park to spot the elusive one-horn rhino.

We started our trip when the guide picked up up from Eden Garden Resort where we stayed. He brought us to the river bank where a group of people were waiting for the sampan to cross the river.

Question: Why did the people cross the river? 

Answer: To get to the other side to spot the one-horn rhino.

When we reached the other side of the river, we climbed onto a jeep and drove into the forest. We were told to wear earth colour clothing and keep as silent as possible so that the animals won't run away. We want to see the animals, not scare them away.

We were fortunate to share the jeep with a family from Israel. I was naturally fascinated with anyone from Israel because I hardly meet anyone from that country. In my mind I was thinking ... oh so this is how Jesus Christ looks like. ...

Along the way, we spotted a rhino in the river (or was it a lake?). It was too far away and I was hungry to get up close and personal with one.

Can you spot the rhino?

After stopping to snap pics of the so-far-away rhino, we continued our journey through meandering roads.

The forest in Chitwan National Park is a secondary forest. Therefore it is not as densed as a rainforest that I'm so used to back in Malaysia.

To kill boredom along the way, the guide told us various stories of how they have spotted tigers crossing the path as they drove by.

The journey was so dusty that the dust even went into Angie's camera lenses and she had to give it a good clean after the trip.

Soon we reached the Gharial Conservation Programme in one part of the park. 

Nothing much to see here but crocodiles and alligators.

I was getting bored and soon we climbed back into the jeep.

The journey seemed endless and I was beginning to feel restless and hopeless that we won't be able to spot the one-horn rhino up close and personal. It was already getting late and time to head back.

As we were heading back, we passed a red jeep and suddenly I heard someone shouting and the guy sitting in the front was pointing to the front of our jeep - it was a rhino.

The beast stood in the middle of the road, gave us a split second look and went back into the trees.

By the time I whipped out my camera, I only managed to snap its butt that looked like this:

And here is another pic of it getting lost in the trees:

When we were planning for Nepal, I told Angie that I wanted to go to the Chitwan National Park to look for the one-horn rhino simply because rhinos are not native to Malaysia. And spotting one in the wild would be great. 

Mission accomplished. 

Vacancy for Corporate Services Executive

I am looking for a Corporate Services Executive to work in a public listed company based on Jalan Sultan Ismail in Kuala Lumpur.

Responsibilities:

1. Assist the Manager to handle and execute all matters pertaining to corporate philantrophy, including research and verification of information;
2. Assist the Manager to execute corporate support for the department company, e.g. official correspondences with external parties, memos and letters to Senior Management, translation work and other similar deliverables;
3. Assist the Manager to co-ordinate and execute corporate events;
4. Assist the Manager in other areas of corporate support.

Requirements:

• Degree or Diploma in Communication/Public Relations/Administration or any relevant field;
• Fresh graduates are encouraged to apply;
• Good communication skills;
• Good command of written and spoken English and Bahasa Malaysia;
• Preferably male with a valid drivers licence (Class D);
• Responsible, meticulous and able to work with minimum supervision. 

If you think you fit the bill or know of anyone who does, please email your resume and expected salary to limseetyin@gmail.com.

Only shortlisted candidates will be called for an interview.