Hari Merdeka Malaysia = Malaysia Independence Day

MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!! MERDEKA!!!

*1 Second Later*

Tanggal Tiga Puluh Satu
Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Merdeka Merdeka
Tetaplah Merdeka
Ia pasti menjadi sejarah

Tanggal Tiga Puluh Satu
Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Hari yang mulia
Hari bahagia
Sambut dengan jiwa yang Merdeka

Mari kita seluruh warga negara
Ramai-ramai menyambut hari merdeka
Merdeka !
Tiga satu bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh
Hari mulia negaraku Merdeka

Malaysia ushered in it's 48 years of independence in style. At 12 AM sharp on 31st August 2005, tonnes of fireworks shot up unto the sky; patriotic songs were played in every cafes, pubs, restaurants and all open fields nationwide; Tens of thousands of people gathered in open fields to join in the celebration, but most importantly above all these, is the 7 shouts of “MERDEKA” shouted and led by the Prime Minister at Dataran Merdeka. The 7 shouts , together with the echoes of people together joining in unison were thunderous. The nation once again, irrespective of race and religion came together as one to celebrate Malaysia 48^th Independence Day.

I was at Sri Hartamas 17 minutes before the clock struck 12, an prior to that, I attended my company's (Merdeka) BBQ party cum birthday party for a staff in Damansara Heights. I had loads and loads of fun eating and mixing around with my fellow colleague, and i got to know more about my boss :P The BBQ session lasted from 6.55PM, when the eaters(Me) arrived , right up till 11.30PM. Then one of my colleague suggested to go to Sri Hartamas for the countdown. 9 of us adjourned from the house in 2 cars, headed towards Sri Hartamas. Little did we know, that Desa Sri Hartamas is different with the actual Sri Hartamas, and one car got lost driving along the streets of Sri Hartamas. I'll come back to them later

Meanwhile, the car that i was in reached the place 17 minutes before midnight, and we walked and walked trying to find the place to see fireworks. 5 minutes before midnight, i was standing in front of a pub which don't know what the name is, and the countdown was about to began. I looked around the place. It was exactly opposite Plaza Mont Kiara, with open fields which had been converted to car-parks. It cost my friend RM4 per entry, after some 1 minute u-turn-ing around in the field...Oh...Sakit Hati... (HeartAche)

10...9...3....2...1... And so the countdown began. I was anticipating for some kind of majestic fireworks shooting up from nowhere into the sky, and also the cheers from everybody around me (I was standing infront of the pub) . But all i could hear and see were the sights and sounds from the big plasma TV, showing the live telecast from Dataran Merdeka. MAN, thats the biggest letdown I've ever encountered during countdowns (not that I've been to any countdowns before, except for the millennium countdown in KLCC)...Bah...

After waiting for 45 minutes or so, we all gathered together to play pool. Unfortunately, one of our member didn't wear long pants as stated in the dress code rules, and therefore forbidden to enter the premise, Bummer... we all laughed our heads off. , and so our friend decided to drive back home and change to a more decent wear in order to enter the pool center.. WOW, driving back to PJ on a Merdeka night just to change???, it will take most probably more then 4 hours to and fro Sri Hartamas from PJ... After what seemed to be 10 minutes of contemplating for the best choice, 'Keep Walking' was the decision made, and after another 15-20 minutes of walking around looking for pool center (which doesn't require long pants/shoes), we finally reached a place called... (name forgotten), and off we went, all 9 of us up the stairs and into the place.

Upon reaching the place, it had 6 pool tables, and 4 foosball (Table football) table. We started with foosball, and i was addicted to it. In foosball, instead of using your leg to kick the ball, you use your hand to turn the rod-like bar on the table, which turns the minature 'people' connected to the rod. (Picture is available below) i played more then 10 rounds on the foosball table, with the remaining time spent on pool. We spent a total of 4.5 hours in Sri Hartamas, and by the time i went back, it's already dawn. Hehehe....this is how i spent my Merdeka morning.

By the time I woke up on Merdeka Day, it's 2PM :)

CHEERS

Happy 48^th Independence Day, Malaysia

*The colors of the Jalur Gemilang....... How nice, How Patriotic... :P