Maori Experience Weekend..

Few weeks ago my friends and I went to experience a cultural trip in one Maori Village somewhere in North Shore, Auckland. Pardon me for this scrappy post. I should have posted this earlier. However my procrastination always seems to get the best of me. Therefore I'll make this short. Overall it was a great trip. Learned some new things such as doing the 'hangi' (mother nature's own oven), weaving flax leaves, and doing the haka. The best thing though was able to get my 8 hours sleep. Here are some of the pictures I've taken during the trip.

Group photo taken in front of the 'marae'..

A view of Auckland City from the Harbour Bridge..

I wished they can put 'Selamat Datai' as well..

Me and Nigel carrying plywood for the fire..

Layering the food on top of skin burning loads of metal rods..

Before..

After.. succulent chicken drums and lamb..

Walking through the tracks of nature..

How's my flax weaving skills?

Theatre of Dreams..

Red Devils: God's Favourite Football Club..

There's a certain red football club in the Barclays Premier League (BPL) associated with the devil. Ironically, it seems that God is a great supporter of this team. It's local rival, a smaller blue team, is somewhat failing to produce any good results after splashing millions of pounds on overrated players. Other clubs envy them, try to copy them, try to dismantle them, but still they are yet to show any signs of misfuctioning. Manchester United is undisputedly the greatest football team on Earth.

Common sight every year..

As you can see from my intro, I am a self-confessed Red Devils fan. I may not be the most fanatic, knowledgeable, greatest of all the 80 million supporters globally, but I must say that they are very entertaining to watch and would give you a great rush of adrenaline in your body. Watching them play for the first time when I was in high school (thank you Astro) was the moment I fell in love with this club. I get to know prolific players such as Beckham, Dwight Yorke, Cantona, Charlton, and a boy called Ronaldo. Then there are living legends who are still playing until now. All hail Giggs and Scholes. These are among the great players who have contributed all their sweat and tears for the club. With their passion and skills, they dominated the pitch like Alexander the Great going to war. Since then, I would try to watch as many games that they were playing.


In the past few years, Manchester United have been to a lot of ups and downs, mostly ups. Record after record is being created, or bettered, trophies and awards have been collected all around the world, individually, or as a team. Such a magnificient feat for a team to achieve an explosion of recognition. About ten years ago, Manchester United Football Club had the honour of achieving something yet to be duplicated by any other team. That's winning the treble, of course. The FA Cup, Premier League, and Champions League during the season of 98/99. Last year, they've won the Premier League and Champions League, on both competitions leaving Chelsea in second place.

King of Kings..

Looking at the present, Man Utd are now deemed by the media as a possible candidate of achieving the quintiple, winning five trophies in one season. After winning the World Club Fifa Championship in Japan and Carling Cup, will they be able to get their hands on the FA Cup, Barclays Premier League and Champions League? I must say it's crazy, but not impossible. Early this season, I did not expect Man Utd to come this far. All I ever wanted this season is just another trophy. Just one. But it seems that they can always go beyond expectations. After other clubs spent some money on talented players, I thought this is going to be a challenging year for us. But look at the situation now. The Red Devils are going to face Internazionale in the 2nd leg of the Champs League quarter finals, looking good to win the BPL, and have a high possibility of lifting the FA Cup in Wembley when May comes. I would like to use a quote from the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, 'Football, bloody hell!'.

Winning the Champs League: Priceless..

Well, nothing's impossible. If they win the quintiple, I'll be the happiest person among my friends who support other English teams. I'm looking forward to rub some dirt on their faces when their team do not win any trophies this season. On the other hand, if they did not win the remaining trophies, I'm still going to rub dirt on their faces when my team comes top on my fantasy football league at the end of this season.

Cristiano Ronaldo preparing for Champs League..

Footnote: This blog should not be taken emotionally. Don't feel too offended if you're not a Manchurian. You can write a blog and talk about how great your club is. (which i've done doing.)