You see that? Rather look away than make changes – ARROGANCE

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Do you feel like your hands are tied?

Are you looking water like this everyday and still think it is normal?

Still no clue?

Let me help you with a hint.

People are shit

Some wish to be better person and are buying wish lights like this

And don’t realize wishes like this ends as a trash

Parents neglected their kids

Building ridiculous “houses” and abandoning old ones

Can you believe this is in the center of Bokor “National Park”, Cambodia?

God won’t help you here my friend…

Neither any other plastic fantastic religion

Only you can change yourself and change the future

Reset your moral compas…

And break all the walls

Otherwise, there won’t be a light at the end of the tunnel for many of us.

The post Arrogance Is The Real Pandemic Photo Essay appeared first on Wild 'n' Free Diary.

What The Hell Is Wrong With Us?

Has your mom ever told you how special you are? Well, there is a 99% chance you are not that special. Chances are she was lying to you just to make you feel better.

On top of that, you are probably even making it harder for that one percent. You know laugh at their ideas and simply call them hippies, because they don’t agree with the course of our future. Facts are loud and clear; world pollution, climate change, deforestation, violence…

But It Is Conspiracy!

Remember Greta and her fight for a better world? Some people simply don’t agree with her and address the issues as a conspiracy – elites trying to charge us for the environment etc… Now, with COVID-19 there are also rumors about all sorts of conspiracy. How come you never asked yourself about conspiracy named economy? The forever growing economy is killing our planet, our lives, and relationships.

Life Is Good

Yes, life is good as long as you have your toys, internet, and takeaway meal. As you can see, this precious consumer’s life purpose can disappear almost through the night. There is just a question of time when will another “gourmand” eat bat carpaccio and unleash another beast. The modern good life is an illusion, just like hopes that things will get back to normal. Seriously, when has the destruction of our home planet become normal?

We Can’t Just Change Things

Are you sure? Ok, we can’t, but the epidemic virus can. After this COVID-19 raid, life won’t be the same for most people. Don’t you think we should change a few things so this won’t happen again? I am not talking about the wet market ban in China, but about different values.

Have a Faith

Have faith my friend, but not in Gods and other leaders. For the first time, take some responsibility and have faith in yourself. You are the one who can make differences. Let’s begin with stopping the arrogance. Where is a will, there’s a way.

One Joker Once Said, There Is a Light at The End of The Tunnel.

And he wasn’t wrong. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, there is just a question who will see it. My wild guess is if we keep living the same destructive life, most of the species won’t see any light at all.

Start With Yourself

Arrogance wasn’t built in a day and so we won’t make the changes in such a short time. Although this may be true, together we are stronger. If there will be more and more people who will put effort into changes, the great shift will come. To end pandemic, think about yourself and stop killing your real mother – Gaia.

Arrogance Is The Real Pandemic

I think photos can say much more than words. Actually they don’t, just people are limited in perception. However, please be my guest to my “Arrogance Is The Real Pandemic” photo gallery.

The post There Is a Huge Pandemic Out There – Not COVID-19! appeared first on Wild 'n' Free Diary.

Don’t get me wrong, if anyone loves architecture and heritage, that’s me. I am a photographer, artist, and even Catholic for the top. My portfolio is full of heritage places like Notre Dame and I simply love it. So why I don’t cry about this fire? Because there is much, much bigger catastrophe going on, and no one gives a damn. What about rain forests? Shredding faster than termites my grandpas shed. What about the Ocean, where is more plastic than in the whole Hollywood’s bums combined – That’s a lot. Why people don’t see that?

Money Well Spent

Notre Dame can be rebuilt, especially when all millionaires opened their fat wallets. They pledged 1 billion in 24 hours to be exact. After all, do they even need to be outsourced? The church is the wealthiest organization in the world and last time I was in Paris, I paid quite a high ticket to get in. But let’s leave that aside. When will these rich men step together in the same manner and rescue the last pieces of nature? When they will outsource ecological Kickstarter projects, and when they will try to save that what really matters – Earth? We can’t rebuild nature that fast and with the same ‘ease’ than it will be Notre Dame. Here I need to take my words back. Apparently, there is no such a big oak tree anymore in France, to make the same roof. But no worries, Pedro is already there in the middle of the Brazilian rainforest to help us out.

Momy is That True You Were Without Masks Once?

All good, Notre Dame will be back under the new roof and pope with 50 rich Parisians who apparently were born inside this church, will sleep calmly again. The only problem is you will need a hazmat suit to visit Notre Dame in 2025. Apparently, the environment is hostile now, but hey…. Look, there is a thousand years old statue of that sucker who died for all these too-tight jeans with duckface miracles of life.

The post Notre Dame 2025 – Grab Your Hazmat Suit appeared first on Wild 'n' Free Diary.

Jim Thompson

In the past, these hills become a second home for British colonialists, whose spirit is still present. Maybe at first, the weather eased the longing for home, but later I’m sure it was the generous nature that people didn’t want to leave behind. No wonder Jim Thompson (Thai silk mogul born in America) kept returning to this magical place, full of freshwater streams and a unique ecosystem. When we went on a hike with Mr. Madi, he took us close to the last known Jim Thompson’s holiday guesthouse.

Demolition of Cameron Highlands

Sadly even this historical site is destroyed by human hand, just like everything else in Cameron Highlands! Plastic greenhouses are replacing once majestic rain forests and animals living once there. I am not kidding! Seeing a bigger animal than a squirrel in this area is a rarity. You can visit a bee farm or butterfly farm instead. Probably the last examples here around.

Mossy Forest

Ok, there is still the Mossy Forest with a decent canopy view and a few jungle trails that we hiked. A must-see in Cameron Highlands for me is beyond doubt the Mossy Forest, which is just that – mossy. Moss on the bark reaches up to the canopy and the tree’s roots are spectacular. Given the humidity, it is only fair to expect mud, loads of it to be precise.

For that reason, there are a few water barrels in the forest so hikers can clean their feet before reaching the car. I totally embraced the idea and went barefoot. Maybe you are thinking: “What?! That’s just stupid! And with so many poisonous animals.” Well, in my defense the forest path is well visible, and stepping on the roots is fun.

If that doesn’t ease your concern, I can calm you down that abundant wildlife is long gone. Consider yourself lucky if you see a mosquito. No is not that bad; people say that there are big leeches as well. I’ve seen three small needle-like leeches when we went to see a Rafflesia flower.

Rafflesia Flower

That was the worst day ever! Not because of the leeches, they are still hungry, but because of our tour guide. It started when we were driving on a straight two-lane road with a handful of cars. I guess the road was boring and he didn’t notice a dog laying on the road’s edge. Did I mention it was a straight, empty, one-way “highway”?

Poor dog was screaming in pain and then our guide fixed the situation. Under the watchful tourist’s eyes, he couldn’t drive on as if nothing has happened. So he talked to guys and came back to calm us down. What he said was perfect for westerns: “I gave the native people some money and they will take the dog to the vet.”

The native people are Orang Asli and children that were present can’t drive. After that, he killed a few small animals in the forest without even noticing it. What kind of a person he is, also explains the rapid aging of Rafflesia flower. When we made a reservation the Rafflesia was two days old, when he picked us up the following day it was already four days old.

When we reached the end of the road it was a day older and just before we saw the flower it magically become seven days old. That is an important fact for a flower that lasts only ten days, and which color and condition are more fragile than Christiano Ronaldo’s feelings.

Mr. Madi

When we were staying in Cameron Highlands Resort we have joined their jungle expedition with Mr. Madi. He is a passionate nature lover and he took us to the short jungle trail that he made all by himself. No pipeline for the path this time! Along the way, he explained to us about plants that we saw and about sweet water crabs.

Actually, the jungle here is not researched at all! Many unique species are indigenous to this place and are disappearing rapidly. Especially the freshwater animals, because no one thinks about them when dumping all kinds of trash all around the Cameron Highlands. Water and land pollution are terrifying because farmers care only about one thing – today’s profit.

Can’t Fight Against Corruption

Mr. Madi is aware of a problem but tired of his lifelong fight for a better, more sustainable future. It is the same as everywhere – people have zero respect for nature. The jungle path we were walking on is Madi’s third jungle path. The last ones are now roads, farms or god knows what. Soon also the actual one will be replaced by the hotel.

He said that when this happens he will retire, he can’t fight the system alone. It was difficult to see the markings in the middle of a jungle that showed where the bulldozer will rage in the following weeks.

Hotels for Who?

It amazes me that people here still keep building new hotels, even when existing ones are empty. My logic is different, and for me, this place is just sad. All around Cameron Highlands it is possible to grow such diverse plants like are rosemary, strawberries, aloe vera, and eucalyptus at the same time. That is a blessing and a curse at the same time if no respect is present.

Cameron Highlands is the biggest producer of vegetables for the Malaysian and Singaporean markets. It is an area that feeds the crowds and brings flowers to the table. If only it would be done with some gratitude and style. The massive plastic greenhouses everywhere surely aren’t the prettiest thing in the world. Especially not when they’re on such a mass scale and possibly illegal. No one cares, as long as it brings money, right? If you have the money you can bring down the hill and forget about the landslides, it is that easy.

Tourism 0: Agriculture 1

Anyway, here in Cameron Highlands people are doing two things – tourism and agriculture. It looks like they have focused more on agriculture and tourism is going down. Hotels are empty and most of the visitors are locals, who are happy to see bee farm or lavender farm without lavenders. This year was the worse year for tourism here in Cameron Highlands.

To be honest it’s not surprising. Nature is the only tourist attraction in Cameron Highlands and it is disappearing rapidly. My diary has nice photography. However, Ian on the other side is more realistic, so for a real picture of this place, check his diary. Spoiler: it might break your heart if you are a normal human being.

The post Cameron Highlands Where Are You? appeared first on Wild 'n' Free Diary.

Halong Bay was described to me by so many fellow travelers that I couldn’t wait to see it in person. There are so many stories about the islands and one girl even shared the legend which explains why Vietnamese people feel connected with dragons. The main characters of the legend are hidden in the name Halong, which means descending dragon.

Ancient legends and stories make nature more mystical than it actually is. Sometimes, as a consequence of centuries-old rumors, some places get special treatment and are protected from the greedy hands of humans.

Halong Bay Tour

I really didn’t know what to expect from this Halong Bay tour. To explain, Ian warned me about this place. He was here many years ago and it was simply too busy, dirty and sad. “At the end of the day you will be sad”, were his words. Strange enough, my morning on the day of the Halong Bay tour started out very hectic.

In fact, there were so many unpredictable events that happened that the whole bus ended up waiting for me. So when I finally made it to the bus, I looked around and saw friends that were even less ready than I was. However, there was something in the air, something different than the anticipation of a great Vietnamese tourist attraction.

All Aboard

After boarding the boat, I couldn’t stop imagining how surreal it would be if our boat was the only one on the bay. How different this area must have been before the tourists invaded it, that was something I kept thinking about. In my mind, I could see beyond the masses of garbage that were floating all around us – this was not an easy task, because the sea is really dirty. All of us agreed that if the ship would stop, no one would even think about swimming there.

But in my imagination, we were drifting in the green emerald water, with the limestone islands still untouched by mankind so it is easy to spot eagles circling around them. Seriously, above one tiny island, there were seven of them!

Kayaking

As a part of the tour, we stopped for kayaking activity. For me, it was more fun to watch the clumsy tourists than getting into one myself, so I sat back at enjoyed the live show. It is not every day I get to see people paddle in a circle and then get hit by the lady who is in a hurry to earn family income. Or to see the couple who is proud of their parallel paddle skills and easily meanders around beginners.

What a victory! There was also a couple who ended up in the water within the first minute of getting on the kayak. Before that happened, the boy tried to gain balance by waving his hands and accidentally hit the girl’s head with a paddle. I don’t know about the rest, but I sure had fun.

People Here Lives Gypsy Style

By missing out on the kayaking, I got to explore the small manmade island where few people still live and breed fish. One fish was huge and around its cage, there were a bunch of Chinese tourists gathered around. They tried to get the fish’s attention by throwing trash in the water. After a few failed attempts, it was time for loud shoe tapping on the surface. I felt really sorry for the fish there, these poor animals don’t have any peace or space.

The Monkey Island

Our trip continued and we reached Monkey Island, which had lovely furry residents. There was one beautiful young monkey that caught the attention of our friend and they bonded immediately. Soon, a teenager came and kept the youngster company while they kept checking our friend. He enjoyed all the attention but was also cautious at the same time.

To prevent any drama, he didn’t have anything on him that they could steal, unlike other tourists that carelessly came under the tree with a huge bag. Of course, the monkey seized the opportunity and jumped right on the bag.

Don’t Mess With the Monkey

At first, it was fun and the girl tried to take a cool selfie with a monkey on her back. But the monkey didn’t choose her for a selfie, and he got straight down to the business. Again, some fun for me! It was interesting to observe two completely different humans interacting with the primate. One had a blissful experience, where monkeys caressed his hair and a baby even cuddled in his lap. And then the other person had a traumatic experience that will surely keep her awake for days. She had a panic attack and ended up in tears. Sadly, the nervous girl got bitten in the neck and the monkey ran into the forest with her cell phone. My guess is that monkey wasn’t pleased with her selfie!

That was enough drama for the day and a perfect excuse to climb up to the viewpoint. When the jungle stopped and the sharp rocks began, I realized that my footwear wasn’t appropriate and I turned back to the beach. Despite not reaching the highest point, it was still a successful mission.

Should You go on Halong Bay Tour?

Everywhere we are we can have a good experience if we choose to. From time to time, having some common sense doesn’t hurt. We are all different and something that comes naturally to one doesn’t have to feel good to me. That is why I think it is important to connect with ourselves. Nature exceeds my expectations every time I get a chance to enjoy it. I’m terribly sad when I see how some people don’t respect the root of our past and what is also the foundation for our future. All of us share the same planet and ruining half of it doesn’t leave the rest untouched.

Yes, you should see this pearl of nature and simply imagine it how it would be without us. Ironic enough, we are the reason it is like this. But we are not in 1970 anymore and the Vietnamese Government should take some action here, rather than spying on the people.

What About Ian?

He was sunbathing on the deck almost throughout the whole day. Well, he didn’t even get off the boat and I can’t blame him. At the end of the day, there surely is some bitter taste and a lot of questions in your head. “Ian, don’t be stubborn, we will make another Halong Bay”

The post Halong Bay Tour – Disappointing I guess appeared first on Wild 'n' Free Diary.

Two Sides of Cameron Highlands

There are two sides to Cameron Highlands: resort hotels, a few views of pristine nature, mossy forest, and a tour of tea plantations. On the other hand plastic greenhouses long trail of cars. However, the other side is much darker, and once you’ve seen it, you can’t enjoy the rest of the experience.

The problems far outweigh the benefits. This is one of the biggest areas for agricultural cultivation, which could be a great thing, but not the way they do it. Most of the farming is done in the greenhouses with a not so ecological approach. It broke my heart when I saw the flat terraces with strawberries, where there used to be a huge hill with dense jungle.

Bad Strawberries

Sadly, those strawberries don’t even taste good. No flavor and no sweetness, only the color and shape of strawberries. I don’t understand some bloggers, recommending the fruits here. Have you ever tried a real strawberry for f*** sake? There is a secret though. Here they grow also strawberries with the Japanese method, which are sold to Singapore. We got them and the taste is like our strawberries back at home.

Chainsaw as a Soundtrack

In order to provide space to grow all the flavorless fruits, the deforestation has gotten out of control. Wildlife around there is almost totally exterminated. We met one guy who was trekking in the jungle for two days and saw only one snake and a few birds. There was no sign of any bigger animals. When we went on a few hikes, it was the same story. We didn’t see any animals there, not even a snake. Just a couple of birds. It is truly like a ghost forest.

Did we let a few small things like killing animals and environmentally unfriendly practices ruin our experience? No, there was more. Traffic jams are a common thing and it looks like there are no solutions coming in the near future. The traffic is jammed because people park their cars in the middle of the main road in order to go to the market or tourist attractions – farms. Speaking of the market; they built another market opposite the existing one instead of a more than needed parking lot. Happy shopping after the meltdown on the road!

Waste Everywhere

But wait, there’s even more! Their waste management is bad as well. In most places, they don’t have garbage collection, so they just dispose at the nearest available location. Plastic bags are laying basically everywhere and there is also the famous corruption. You can seldom spot a sign for waste recycling, but it ends there. It is just a sign without any action behind it.

The corruption can be seen also in forest management. What is left of the forest should be under protection, not left for further deforestation, terrain leveling and building of new greenhouses.

So are Cameron Highlands Worth to Visit after all?

In the first place, this place for sure isn’t heaven on earth (anymore), as some people might have you believe. You can relax in a fancy hotel, play golf and visit some tea plantations or join these farmers and see how their life is. We did both and we can tell you that this is an experience that is unfulfilling from the tourist’s side, and horrible from the view of the locals.

However, I am a pessimist and this article surely won’t give you thrills to visit Cameron Highlands. Luckily my Vivi sees the world through her pink glasses and she will show you some nicer sides of this place. Yes, I did enjoy our staying at the best hotel in Cameron Highlands – Cameron Highlands Resort by YTL. Staying here and a trip to the mossy forest and BOH tea plantation is unforgettable. Not to mention local people. We have met the nicest people here in Malaysia for sure.

Westwood Guesthouse

As I said before, we were staying at Westwood Guest House, where you can see how they grow their flowers, which goes straight to the Singapore market. A family here is extremely nice and the owner has the best coffee you can find in Cameron Highlands (Trust me we tried a few and this one is far best). Anyway, stay with us, we will post articles about this farm and guesthouse, Cameron Highlands Resort review, travel tips and much more. All things considered, you should visit Cameron Highlands and aware of yourself and others how big mistake they are doing here.

The post Are the Cameron Highlands Worth to Visit? appeared first on Wild 'n' Free Diary.

Flower Dome

When we reached the final room with a documentary, our bets were all set. There was a documentary about the future world, where they predicted what will happen in the next 100 years. However, forecast wasn’t so optimistic, and we bet who will leave the room first. My money was on the posh looking girl with sunglasses in the darkroom, who was dressed by the latest fashion musts. I was confident that she will live the cinema in the first two minutes. Ian was sure that the old guys in the front row will be the first to leave.

Cloud forest

We both lost. Neither of us thought of those that just passed by to reach the exit. However, Ian was closer to winning than me. The old folks were there just for a couple of minutes. When the timetable was further than 10 years they just went out. Of course, that is not their business, they will probably not be there to witness if the predictions were right.

Audience

We can joke about the situation and try to look the other way. However, the changes are already here. Weather changes are severe and once in 100 years is something that repeats every year. Politics has always been full of empty promises when the wellbeing of the people was/is at stake. Individualism is stronger than ever. However, we all share the same home. Tesla hasn’t started populating Mars and there is no guaranteed future up there. We are where we are. The real question is what we will do about it. How to contribute to a better tomorrow as an individual? I avoid plastic as much as I can. The food on my plate will not be left there and later transformed into the garbage. Before I buy something, I think if I really need that or is it just a useless piece of junk that will occupy space of my home.

Pollution

Pollution

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The post The earth is dying, that is not my problem! appeared first on Wild 'n' Free Diary.

I had no idea that this bird thinks about the future of her offspring. He told us that this year is an especially good one and the birds have more than one young. If they feel that it’s going to be a bad year and there will be scarce food, the mother decides which one will be kicked off the nest into a quick death. This is the best way to make sure that at least some of her young ones will survive. It happened that she kicked all of her infants out of the nest instead of letting them suffer in hunger and pain.

When I think about how cruel life is and what sacrifice is for the mother, I started to see the real intelligence in them. They think about what they can offer the little ones, and if that is enough for them to live through the first 6 months. Some people don’t reach that far. They don’t think about the option of planning and to prevent suffering from occurring at all. At the present moment, artificial intelligence is being developed and some people still don’t know that contraception is an option for everyone? If they can’t afford contraception how will they feed their children?

The post Storks are the Offspring Killers! appeared first on Wild 'n' Free Diary.