13:36 - 31.08.05
what can i say? am having a bad day? i don't understand why some people do the things they do sometimes. you mad or what?
trip to lingga was quite ok. travelling to such places requires some mental prep so that when you reach the destination, you won't feel so shocked looking at the place. as i expected, there was no proper town planning but the place was so serene and peaceful. it's as though, you've just transported yourself to another time and space. perhaps, life was like that 50 years ago. no phone, no internet, no washroom... life is a bliss sometimes without all these materials. when i think about this life that am going through, is it all worth it? ah well... when i get rich and famous, i'll prolly think about that deeper. i enjoyed it very much.
the ferry ride was quite relaxing too. passed by villages along the way.
for those of you who've heard about a famous mountain called gunung daik, this is it. 
it's been said that good luck comes to those who are able to view it. most of the time, the top most part will be covered with clouds. and the strange thing is, when i came back to office yesterday, good things really came my way. i got my bonus! :) wanna believe it? not sure, though.
this was the foot of the old palace. now ruined for good. they actually built a new one but it looks nothing like the original one. that's what we were told. behind this palace, you have the gunung daik. awesome view.
after a night in lingga, we had to move to our next destination. had to walk thru this jetty which is about 500km. old skool.
that was about it for lingga. nothing much to see, unfortunately. and oh! lingga is actually right in the middle of the equator but it wasn't hot at all! cooling with all the forest around us.
our next destination was to penyengat. another island where our malay kings used to live and fight with each other. typically boring cos there was nothing left to see. that's the problem with malays. no documents, no pictures, no accounts. we saw a few old manuscripts though.
like, over 300 of them. unfortunately, no one has the time and money to digitise these stuff.
we went to another island called kota rebah that was pretty and silent. i saw a snake at one of the makams. in the middle of the forest, what...
this makam belongs to one of the princesses of the malay kings.
we went there by boat, naturally and i was soooo intrigued by the "gas station". we had to top up our fuel in the middle of the road sea.
all in all, i enjoyed it but i was sadden by the fact that the malays are not enthu about their own history. neither am i, after seeing almost nothing. how am i supposed to imagine a clear picture full of regalia when there's nothing to understand? oh that's why am employed here. hehe...