Alor Setar: Ori Bee Farm

I was attracted to some photos of this palace I randomly viewed. Since then, I was so eager to pay a visit and finally, I have left my foot steps here. Hooray~!

It was a hard time to locate Ori Bee Farm (Ladang Madu Kelulut Ori 银蜂园) as there was no specific landmark around. We have been passed through stretches of paddy fields along the main road.

In the light of a GPS coordination (6.162525,100.311558), finally we have found the legendary farm! If you are a first timer being at Alor Setar, do not seek for the farm's address as it would bring you to somewhere else. My humble suggestion!

As a matter of fact, I was expecting it to be a real bee farm which rears a vast number of bees. However, I did not manage to see any bee here. In the first place, I was trilled when we were welcomed by a Doraemon at the entrance! A DORAEMON! I have been loving Doraemon in any event. For the most part of it, I have totally forgotten to look for a bee here.  Ang Ang Ang~



The next best thing that caught my sight was the lovely couple next to the entrance. So adorable right???

I was later awed by the luscious creatures on the ground. Pumpkin! Could you resist theseeee?

Surprisingly, there were only a few goats and rabbits. The goats were seemingly exhausted and in a hunger. I guess this was why my friend kept looking for grasses to feed them! Oh the poor goats~

I was like a kid, making countless rounds in the farm, quietly admiring the exceptional but well made decorations. I simply love each of them so much! Taking a stroll here was a heavenly pleasant experience to me!

I wasn't prepared to be here. My friend and I have been talking about the farm since months ago but it was a sudden and random decision to make it on this day. I was so regretful that my camera wasn't charged and my phone was admitted for servicing. Else, I could really spend more than an hour here.

Check out the round round sheep I got!

I didn't notice the hanging creatures in the first place. I was lucky enough to catch them up before my camera's battery got exhausted.

Other than the exquisite creatures, they have other interesting particulars too!

Not to forget the charming goddess that cheered up my day!

Yep yep, the most significant one was the gigantic windmill. See how happy my friend was!

Together with the colorful spinning bees!

And me!

Are you moved? Some of the finer details of the decorations are damaged. If you're tempted to get there, be fast!

Greetings!

Hi readers, it has been a while and I'm back here!

So, where have I been? Uhm yeah, I'd graduated from my university last year. Say congratulations to me but I'm sorry that I still do not have sufficient time allocated for neither writing a blog post for it nor processing the hundreds, maybe thousands of photos. What makes me feel it more is that my junior, few days back, told me she is going to graduate soon! Time flies!

You must be wondering what I'm doing right now. Yay I'm pursuing a full-time job just like everyone else. In fact, most of my coursemates are doing their postgraduate studies, which I admire and wanted to so badly. Life is unpredictable, huh? You don't always get what you want and walk in the path as what you have planned. The stories in these past months are long and tiring. I hate making choices the most yet sometimes I just have to. Anyway, the good news is I actually got the job that I wanted to.

Leisure-wise, don't get me wrong, I'm at the midst of achieving my jalan-jalan Malaysia. Compared to the life as a student, it's really hard to commit when you're at work. In the past few months, however, I managed to visit a few states. Blog posts are on their way as well!

I do not know where I will be but I do have a clear direction in me. I do not list my dreams but I do have working hard for them. Be it day or night, be it wrong or right; as much as my inner satisfaction shines, my breathe goes wild and I'm feeling alive.

I hope you're doing good too :-)

Love,
Ee Theng

REVIEW [Theater]: Text, Body and Space

This is a late update of the review I'm so thrilled with. It was a unique theatrical experience that tried to convey the historical events of the local chinese people. 

How late was it? Hmm.. Georgetown Festival was held on August. August, September, October..... and so, nearly two months! Sorry! I was so busy with something else these days~ ='(

A minimalistic theater brought by a local theatre troupe and the director from China. Yeah, minimalistic! Why? The main reason is the setting of the theater itself - the place it was held and the way it was presented. The cost is minimized, the distance between audiences and the cast is minimized, the storyline is minimized, BUT the feeling is maximized, the creativity is maximized and the lesson brought out is maximized!

How a theater can be successfully brought out in a creative way, using the limited resources?

Background/Setting

This was the only theater that I managed to catch up with during the festival. It was held at an abandoned bus station, which was renovated recently for artistic purposes. I was eagerly anticipating and walked in with full of expectations. The most recent event that I'd been was the solo gallery show by Ernest Zacharevic - Art is Rubbish; Rubbish is Art. I remembered the bus station was re-designed with plentiful of street arts and of course, full with crowds.

Street view from Google Maps

Building view from Google Maps

Speaking of the venue, I was surprised as the building itself is not spacious enough to make a proper stage. It heightened me more when the organizers have actually made the roofed space as the ticketing area, leaving spaces right behind the bus depot as the stage.

I took this photo when I was visiting the gallery. This is the right corner of the stage? Eh?

Believe me, this is exactly the stage for the theater! (Taken from The Malaysian Insider)

The night view of the space. (Taken from The Star)

Any idea how the abandoned space was transformed into a great stage? I will show you how they did!

Technically, the theater crew divided the space into as follow, bearing the risk of heavy rain (It is open-air). I was sitting legged on the wood floor. The show started. The lighting was basic and I realized, the cast did not use a mic! Yay, we were sitting real close to the cast and every single movements and sentences could be heard clearly and soundly.

Full floor plan unveiled! The stage was transformed live from stage 1 to 2.

Storyline

It was claimed as a multimedia environmental theater. It combined shadow puppetry, contemporary dance, multimedia visual design, and many more surprises throughout the scenes. The intimacy of the small theater played in the town has traversed the drama's intellectual, moral, cultural roots and historical significance. 

It was all started with a young man who was eagerly looking for his cultural root. The storyline has never been smooth as the cast kept giving way to audiences' cold sweat. They have been suffering from enduring the tough condition during journey wherein they traveled all the way from China to Nanyang, where their cloaked fears were bloodly presented. Live, or die, was the only choice the people able to make. The surviving people have lived peacefully when they made themselves on the ground of the destination. Later, the scenes jumped into the period of British colonialism and the cultural identities were stressed. Ironically, some of the people insisted to protect their tagged identities, some of the people temporized by receiving benefits from the other party,  while some of the people remained neutral. The actors/comedians drove the characters to a greater height using their charisma. Audiences got to see what the young man see, and got to feel how the young man feel.

Now, let me amaze you with some of the photos taken from Facebook of the show (from ZXC theatre and Shipng Photography):

The young man who was the soul of the story

People who were struggling to stay alive during the journey on the sea

People started to live peacefully and mixed around with local people

Shadow puppets fantasizing the cross-over and elapse of time

Unveil of the Stage 2, where more nerve-wrecking scenes were played

The changing of scenes was fast and appropriate

Contemporary dance under the pouring rain

Summary

The approximately 90 mins of the show was full with surprises! The creativity has undeniably made a spin on the audience's head. I particularly love the visual design and the post-show sharing session that get the cast and the audiences one step closer. The message of loving the roots of your people has been effectively delivered.

Beliefs and creativity definitely can transform nothing into something.

Even if you have nothing to laid on, you still can make something big happen if you do it wholeheartedly. It applies to all, to all of us.

Ratings:
1. Setting  ☆☆☆☆
2. Storyline  ☆☆☆
3. Cast  ☆☆☆☆
4. Sound & Lighting  ☆☆
5. Creativity ☆☆☆☆☆
6. Cost-friendliness ☆☆☆☆☆