Al Jazeera News - Ching Ming and iPads

It was Qing Ming or Ching Ming recently, also known as Chinese All Soul's Day. Watched with great glee this article on Al Jazeera News. Seems it was filmed in Melaka :-)


The Star, Malaysia -
GEORGE TOWN: In a store here, there is an iPad going for only RM9.80, a 13.3-inch dual-core processor laptop for under RM12 and an iPhone 4 for a mere RM2. There is one catch, though – while anyone can buy it, only the dead can use it.
“Customers want their dearly departed to be able to keep up with the latest in information technology (IT), besides the usual ‘luxury’ offerings of bungalows with maids and security guards, watches, designer bags and gold ingots. The ‘iPad’ even comes with a USB cable for charging and syncing,” she said.
Even the specifications are literally out of this world. While the current largest storage size for iPads in our world is 64GB, the “other world” users are already using iPads with an auspiciously whopping 888GB!


How about a BMW 5-series or X5 (Can't quite tell!) ... or a MacBook Pro ... DeadBook Pro? :-)

American Chopper - Abu Dhabi police force chopper motorbike!

Hmmm, this bike on display at Abu Dhabi's international airport sure looked familiar ....

I recognise the police emblem (Local police) here, but it was the bike and its cool fat tyres that caught my fancy...

A closer look ... Ahhhhhh! Its a one-off piece from the reality TV series, American Chopper :-) OCC = Orange County Choppers. Cool!

Amazing Race Asia 3 - Epsiode 11 (Phuket, Thailand)

Screened on AXN, Thursday 20th November 2008, at 9:00pm Malaysia time.
This is the 11th and final leg of the Amazing Race Asia 3 series.

There were 10 teams ... and now we are down to the FINAL THREE.


Malaysia's Ida and Tania.


Phillipines' Geoff and Tisha.


And the "nice guys" from Hong Kong ... Sam and Vince.


This final leg started in Oman, at Muscat (Office of Muscat Governorate). They then travelled off-road to Said's Camel Farm at the desert area of Al-Albayid.

The gals were in the lead at this point!

Roadblock!

One team member must locate one of seven keys buried in the sand using the metal detector to unlock the clue box. Boy was the sand ... hot!


All the teams struggled with the off-roading required in their Toyota Landcruisers. At one point or another, each team had their vehicles sink into the very fine and hot sand!

Time to head from Muscat (Muscat International Airport) to Phuket, Phuket Province, Thailand (Phuket International Airport)! Yes, Ida and Tania were still in the lead ...

Alas, due to some bad-luck, the girls chose the route via Dubai and Singapore, missing a connection at Dubai ... and voila, from first to third (last!).

Welcome to the LAST LEG ... Phuket, Thailand!

The Phillipinos were in the lead by minutes against the HK boys having sat towards the front of the plane. The two teams then headed from the airport to the Sam Poh Kong Temple, and then on to Siray Island (Thai Trade Food Ice Factory) . Teams then searched for a small Amazing Race ice cube buried in a barrel of ice to get the next clue!


Detour!

Teams had to choose between Pull or Plunge.

In Pull, teams must kayak to a nearby oyster farm and find the marked shell by pulling the oyster lines, then the teams must bring the marked shell back to the beach to exchange it with their next clue.

In Plunge, teams must snorkel and search for a giant clam shell with a pearl inside; the pearl should be exchanged with their next clue.

The HK boys tried Plunge first, but quickly swopped over to Pull!

Our gals were hours behind...

Following that ... In Lam Him Pier, teams must ride a boat and look for a fisherman in a marked boat to get the next clue.

And finally ... In Rang Yai Beach, teams must dig up a treasure chest and carry it to the Finish Line!

Will it be the boys from Hong Kong, or the couple of the Phillipines!!!?

Our Malaysian gals were far behind, though they did finish their Plunge challenge with a humour, grace and determination!

A mad dash to the finish line ...

The other participants who had been knocked out in earlier stages cheered them on...

There was only going to be ONE WINNER ... Winner takes all. WELL DONE, SAM AND VINCE from Hong Kong. Their prize for winning "the toughest race ever"? USD$100,000!

A much deserved victory dance!

Surprisingly gracious, in 2nd place, Geoff and Tisha...


Our gals came in third, but kept their spirits up just as they had throughout all the legs ... Well done, Ida and Tania!