Against The Wind movie - coming in 2011

Against The Wind is a movie that was directed and produced by Dr. Brad Batchelor, my husband. This movie is in its final editing stage and hopefully it will be available in 2011.

There are quite a few scenes in the movie that were filmed in Malaysia, namely in the historical state of Melaka and the beautiful island of Penang (up-north Malaysia). A few Malaysians, including some of my friends, will be featured in the movie.

www.flyingscotsmanproductions.com
www.againstthewindfilm.com

A four minutes trailer for the movie is also available in youtube.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUUOyOuLEAE

Kuala Lumpur (the capital city!)

Kuala Lumpur (also known as KL) is the capital of Malaysia. Literally meaning "muddy estuary" in Malay, KL has grown from a small sleepy Chinese tin-mining village to a bustling metropolis of around 6.5 million (city-proper population of 1.8 million) in just 150 years.

The city can be divided into the following areas, each of which offers a particular attraction or activity:

• City Center – This is the traditional core of Kuala Lumpur where you’ll find the former colonial administrative centre. This district also includes Kuala Lumpur’s old Chinese commercial centre which everyone refers to now as Chinatown. 

• Tuanku Abdul Rahman/Chow Kit – This is the traditional colourful shopping district of Kuala Lumpur and located just beside the Golden Triangle with many popular budget accommodations.

• Brickfields – This area, located south of the city center, is Kuala Lumpur’s Little India filled with saree shops and banana leaf rice restaurants. Kuala Lumpur’s main railway station – KL Sentral – is located here. 

• Bangsar & Midvalley – Located south of the city, Bangsar is a popular restaurant and clubbing district while Midvalley is famous for shopping.

• Damansara & Hartamas – Largely suburban, these two districts to the west of the city house some interesting pockets of restaurants and drinking areas.

This district also merges into the northern part of Petaling Jaya.

• Ampang – Located east of the city, Ampang is home to Kuala Lumpur’s Little Korea and most foreign embassies.

• Northern Suburbs – This huge area to the north of the city is home to several attractions, such as the famous Batu Caves, and the National Zoo. 
  Batu Caves is a limestone hill, which has a series of caves and cave temples, located 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of Kuala Lumpur. The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, dedicated to Lord Murugan.
  

• Southern Suburbs – This district may not interest travellers much, although The Mines theme park is located here.

Famous Malaysian Designers

Jimmy Choo,
Zang Toi

Jimmy Choo, born Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat, is a Malaysian fashion designer based in London, United Kingdom. He is best known for founding Jimmy Choo Ltd that became known for its hand-made women's shoes. Choo was born in Penang, Malaysia into a family of shoemakers.

Jimmy Choo's beginnings can be traced back to his workshop in Hackney, North London, which he opened in 1986 by renting an old hospital building. His craftsmanship and designs were soon noticed and he came to the verge of international notability when his creations were featured in a record eight pages in a 1988 issue of Vogue magazine. Patronage from Diana, Princess of Wales from 1990 onwards further boosted his image. In 1996, he co-founded Jimmy Choo Ltd with British Vogue accessories editor Tamara Mellon.

In April 2001, Choo sold his 50% stake in the company for £10 million. He has since been concentrating his work on the exclusive Jimmy Choo Couture line produced under license from Jimmy Choo Ltd. The Jimmy Choo London line, also known as Jimmy Choo Ready-To-Wear or, simply, Jimmy Choo, is under the purview of Tamara Mellon. The ready-to-wear line has expanded to include accessories such as handbags.

 Zang Toi is a New York based Malaysian fashion designer. Toi left his native Malaysia at the age of eighteen, and via Toronto, landed in New York a year later. There he attended Parsons School of Design and apprenticed with Mary Jane Marcasiano and Ronaldus Shamask. In 1989, with a modest collection of bright sarongs, strong suits and regal dresses, he opened his own atelier.

Toi has served several style arbiters including Sharon Stone, Ivana Trump, Hazelle Goodman, Kelly Preston, Kirstie Alley, Jennifer Tilly, Meg Ryan, and Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas. Be it the House of Toi signature collection or the “Z” collection, his moderately priced bridge line, Toi’s creations are marketed as original and feminine pieces. Zang Toi is available in globally fine stores including the Couture Department at Nordstrom, fine specialty boutiques and Zang Toi Boutiques in Malaysia.

Langkawi Island (famous for it's legend!)

Langkawi is an archipelago of 99 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of a state called Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border. Langkawi means reddish brown eagle in colloquial Malay. The Malay word for eagle is helang - shortened is "lang". Kawi means the colour reddish brown.

A sunny, hot and humid, tropical climate with an average annual temperature of about 32 degrees Celsius and the rainy season is during August/September. Only 4 of the 99 islands are inhabited - Pulau Langkawi (the main island), Pulau Tuba, Pulau Rebak, and Pulau Dayang Bunting.

One of the most famous tourist attractions at the island is the 'Dayang Bunting Lake' or Tasik Dayang Bunting . Legend said that its the favorite bathing pool of a celestial princess named Mambang Sari. A prince, Mat Teja, fell madly in love with her and tricked her into marrying him. Sadly, their child died from a mysterious illness at the age of seven days. Distraught, the grieving Mambang Sari left the child's body in the lake and returned to her heavenly abode. Today, some believe barren women who bathe in this lake will be endowed with a child. Many have claimed to be successful.

AirAsia provides budget connections to the island. Air Asia is a very famous Malaysian low-cost airline.

Tioman Island (famous for Scuba Diving!)

Tioman Island is a small island located 32 km off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia in the state of Pahang, and is some 39 km long and 12 km wide. The densely forested island is sparsely inhabited, and is surrounded by numerous coral reefs, making it a popular scuba diving spot. There are also a lot of resorts and chalets around the island which has duty free status.

Its beaches were depicted in the 1958 movie, South Pacific as Bali Hai. In the 1970s, TIME Magazine selected Tioman as one of the world's most beautiful islands.

 









Salang is the northernmost village on the island of Tioman. It is very small, yet popular with backpackers. It has a few bars, some dive shops and two main chalet complexes. Although the village itself is polluted, it is within close access to the best reef sites. Salang is located close to the uninhabited "Monkey Bay" so named because monkeys are seen walking along the beach.

Perhentian Island (a must visit!)

The Perhentian Islands (Pulau Perhentian in Malay) lay approximately 10 nautical miles (19 km) offshore the coast of northeastern Malaysia in the state of Terengganu, approximately 40 miles (64 km) south of the Thai border. The islands are divided into Perhentian Besar "Big Perhentian" and Perhentian Kecil "Small Perhentian".

Geographically, both islands are fringed by white sand beach, and the reefs and crystalline water are host to a wide variety of coral, sea-turtles, jellyfish, small sharks and reef-fish. The islands' maximum elevation is approximately 100 m (328 ft) and they are uniformly covered in coastal tropical jungle, with few interior foot-trails and no roads. Perhentian Island also has a sandy beach called "Pasir Panjang" (Long Beach). It is located at Perhentian Kecil (Small Perhentian). You will find many wonderful restaurants and places to party and hang out at Long Beach.

Other than the owners and staff of the numerous cabin-style resorts that dot the islands (many of whom depart for the monsoon season), the islands' only permanent inhabitants live in a small fishing village on Kecil. With the exception of a single mainland-communications tower on each island, there are no structures taller than two storeys. The islands are open to tourists between March and September/October. 

Tourism is the base of economic activity in Perhentian. However, owing to the Islands' protected status, the main tourist activities are minimal in environmental impact: sunbathing, snorkeling, scuba diving, and turtle and shark-watching. Perhentian Islands are home to a significant turtle nesting population. The island was once home to hundreds of nesting Green and Hawksbill turtles but now the islands only receives 300 nestings per year partly due to frequent oil spills from oil production platforms and oil tankers.