JAPAN 1 AUSTRALIA 0

Japan lifted the Asian Cup for a record fourth time when Tadanari scored in extra time during last night's final. "Congratulation" to all my Japanese friends! It was an exciting match. I expected Australia to beat Japan at least by 2 goals judging on the performance of their players in the first 30 minutes. The Australian were threatening the Japanese with crosses into the box, very effective but unfortunately could not find the net. They were unable to beat Kawashima, the Japanese keeper. To me, the Australian played well as they had dominated for much of the match. The Japanese on the other hand took their chances well. It was a bitter defeat for the Australian! What a beautiful goal! The cross found Tadanari completely unmarked near the penalty spot. He put the ball beyond the reach of the Australian goal keep with a first time volley.

CHINESE NEW YEAR DECORATIONS

Walking about at Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, It was amazing to see so many beautiful Chinese New Year decorations in and outside shopping malls especially at the Pavilion. Welcoming the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit. Two giant rabbits at the entrance to Pavilion shopping complex.

What a lovely piece of display - "Lion head + drums + lucky red flowers"A huge "Lion" head with many smaller ones guarding the Pavilion. It's red everywhere! Why red? The Chinese believe that red can bring happiness, good luck, good health and prosperity. That's why during Chinese New Year, Chinese like to hang red lanterns, wear red clothing and let off red fire-crackers.One of the symbols of Chinese Prosperity is the Mandarin Oranges.Pavilion Crystal Fountain, a new Kuala Lumpur landmark. It is the tallest Liuli Crystal Fountain in Malaysia. I believed this is the "Feng Shui bowl" of the Pavilion. Every few minutes, the colour of this fountain changes from red to green,then to blue and purple.

Rabbits at JW Marriot lobby.

Shopping was good at this time of the year as of all the shops and big department stores, like Parkson, Metrojaya, Isetan and Tangs, were offering attractive discounts.

AN UNLUCKY DAY TO FLY

I was very disappointed with Malaysia Airlines for the two hours delayed without any prior information when I travelled from Kuala Lumpur back to Kota Kinabalu. During check-in, I was told by the staff that my original flight was cancelled and I have been transferred to another flight leaving three hours later. Surprisingly, no apology from the check-in staff nor offering any refreshment for the cancellation. I asked for the reasons of the cancellation, he just said " I don't know, may be operational reason ". I asked further if I could have a voucher for refreshment (normally refreshment is given by full service Airlines when there is a delay for more than one hour), he just said " No voucher, I think we have to cut cost!" I did not believe my ears!
Anyway, there was no further delay and we were the 2nd to take-off after this B738.

I had a clear view of the runway - from my window seat .

Take - off was smooth but the seat belt sign remained on for about 30 minutes as the aircraft was climbing through severe turbulence. I was relieved when the aircraft finally cleared the clouds.

I always prefer daylight flight with good weather so I can relax and enjoy the view.

This cloud pattern indicated good weather as the aircraft continued to climb to the flight level of 37,000 ft (as announced by the Captain)

At cruising level.

Time to enjoy the in flight meal but unfortunately what was left was this fried beef with noodles when the service reached my seat.

It was not too good, the beef was tough and the noodles were very dry.

Passing a beautiful cloud pattern.

The descend into Kota Kinabalu was not comfortable with the seat belt sign on 30 minutes before landing. It was raining heavily around Kota Kinabalu. We finally landed safely at 18:05 in the evening 2 hours behind my schedule.

BULBUL AND THE LAST APPLE

Miura san sent me these pictures taken in his Sendai home's garden just before the new year. I decided to publish them in my blog as "Bulbul and the last apple (of the year)" This was the last apple left after a heavy snowfall. This brown eared bulbul must be hungry and flew over to "check-out" the apple. As soon as the snow melted, a brown eared bulbul started feeding. I was told that there were more than one bulbul and they took turn to finish the "last" apple. The Brown-eared Bulbuls are common song birds of Japan. The locals call it "Hiyodori"(ヒヨドリ). The same species are also found in Russia, China, Korean Peninsula, Japan, Taiwan and down to the northern parts of the Philippines.

AIRPORT OF SMILES

They called the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport, the "Airport of Smiles". This may be true at the check-in counters but not at the arrival Immigration check points. It's all smiles from the front line check-in staff - friendly and courteous. According to the airport brochure, there is a total of 460 check-in counters including 100 counters for passengers without check-in baggage. Varieties of beautiful and colourful flowers especially Thai orchids were on display at the Check-in concourse.

Close-up of the beautiful and lovely Thai orchids.

Several of these giant "Yaksha" (Demons) statues were mounted in this airport. I was told that the "Yaksha" were guardians - protecting the good and keeping away evil spirits according to Buddhist mythology.

Another "Yaksah" near the entrance to departure hall.

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Immigration and security clearance was prompt - no complaint this time. The departure hall was another shopping mall with a wide selections of goods. There were still plenty to shop and dine before boarding the flight.

As our aircraft was pushed back for taxiing, I noticed an Air Asia A320 lining up for take-off and a Thai International aircraft taking off in the back ground. For the Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok route, I believed that the low cost carrier Air Asia has the bigger market share than Malaysia Airlines as they operate 7x daily (including Thai Air Asia services) comparing to 4 x daily by Malaysia Airlines.

We departed Bangkok on time. It was an enjoyable 4D3N stay in such a wonderful city.

WELCOMING 2011 and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

A new dawn - Sunrise over Mt.Kinabalu. May 2011 bring joy, peace, good health, luck and happiness to everybody!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!