Worldwide Accent Project | Hanoi, Vietnam

Worldwide Accent Project | Kuching, Malaysia

Worldwide Accent Project | Manila, Philippines

Worldwide Accents Project | Singapore

Worldwide Accent Project | Jakarta, Indonesia

Worldwide Accent Project | Bangkok, Thailand

Sumatran elephants could be extinct in 30 years

The Sumatran elephant could be extinct in the wild within three decades unless immediate steps are taken to slow the breakneck pace of deforestation, environmentalists warned Tuesday.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature recently listed the animals as "critically endangered" after their numbers dropped to between 2,400 and 2,800 from an estimated 5,000 in 1985.

The decline is largely because of destruction of their habitat, with forests all across the Indonesian island of Sumatra being clear-cut for timber, palm oil and pulp and paper plantations.

Sumatra has some of the most significant populations of Asian elephants outside of India and Sri Lanka and is also home to tigers, orangutans and rhinos.

"The Sumatran elephant joins a growing list of Indonesian species that are critically endangered," Carlos Drews of the conservation group WWF said in a statement Tuesday. "Unless urgent and effective conservation action is taken these magnificent animals are likely to go extinct within our lifetime."

Indonesia's endangered elephants sometimes venture into populated areas searching for food and destroy crops or attack humans, making them unpopular with villagers.

Some are shot or poisoned with cyanide-laced fruit, while others are killed by poachers for their ivory.


[source]

Malaysia saves endangered pygmy elephant on Borneo

Malaysian wildlife authorities said they had rescued a pygmy elephant calf on Borneo island and expressed hope a planned sanctuary would provide protection for the endangered animals.

The male calf, which is less than a month old, was pulled out of a deep moat surrounding a palm oil plantation in remote Sabah state on Friday, said Sen Nathan, a senior official with the Sabah Wildlife Department.

It is the fifth calf rescued by wildlife officials since 2009. Three of those previously saved have died but a female has recovered and is now at a wildlife park.

There are fewer than 2,000 Borneo pygmy elephants left in the wild, according to authorities. A sub-species of the Asian elephant, the creatures have a rounded appearance and are smaller than mainland elephants.

Wildlife activists warn that pygmy elephants are fast losing their natural habitat to deforestation and human encroachment on Borneo, a vast island shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.


[source]

How to deter train surfers Indonesian-style!

Indonesia has gone to imaginative extremes to try to stop commuters from illegally riding the roofs of trains. The images below are common sights in our region... train surfing!

...and the creative solution?

OMG! You kidding meeh?

Now the authorities have an intimidating and possibly even deadly new tactic: Suspending rows of grapefruit-sized concrete balls to rake over the top of trains as they pull out of stations, or when they go through rail crossings.

****

[source]

What "More Fun in the Philippines" really means...

It's not just about the non-creative, outright rip-off...

It's not just about ripping off fellow Filipino, using photographs without his permission or at least a notice...

It's not just about using other countries' images trying to get away with it...

Thailand's Songkran Festival read here. 

It's not about millions of tax payer's money used to reasearch (for what?), campaign, broadcast, print. No, it's not just about that...

... is Filipino culture. "We are better than...", "Our country is better than....". Insinuations.

Is there a Siti Nurhaliza video in YouTube not bashed by Filipino critters? Is there a Miss Indonesia video in YouTube not bashed by Filipinos online? Is there a Thai tourism video on YouTube without any comments -- "In the Philippines we have this and that..."? Are there anything, in any forum or platform, not bashed by Filipinos?

It's more fun in the Philippines "than"....

It's their culture. I hate to admit but this slogan says a lot about them that WOW Philippines in my previous tourism rant.

I love the Philippines. Old friends of this blog knows it very well. And this post... is a reflection that nobody want to see.

"It's more fun in the Philippines than YOURS." It's their culture. Love it or hate it.

****

Mark Zuckerberg in Vietnam

Well, who doesn't admire the guy? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can call me whatever you want but I really like him especially now he visited Southeast Asia for Christmas!

And the big kicker is -- Vietnam. Where Facebook is banned and him missing on 87 million Vietnamese.

Mark is seen here riding a water buffalo is Sapa, Lao Cai Province in Dec 26.

Wit his entourage (read as groupies) visiting a minority village nearby.

Whoops! There he is!

Mark and his girlfriend toured Halong Bay before these photos was taken.

[Photos by AP}

Over 200 New Species Found in SE Asia

A psychedelic gecko and a monkey with an "Elvis" hairdo are among 208 new species described last year by scientists in the Mekong River region of Southeast Asia.

The region is home to some of the world's most endangered species, including tigers, Asian elephants, Mekong dolphins and Mekong giant catfish, the group said.

The Mekong flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

In October, WWF announced Vietnam has lost its last Javan rhinoceros, making the 40 to 60 Javan rhinos living in Indonesia the last remaining members of their species.

Some photos of the newly discovered species...

A new psychedelic gecko is seen in Vietnam. 

It was discovered in Hon Khoai island, Ca Mau province, in southern Vietnam.

A limestone leaf warbler (Phylloscopus Calciatilis), so-called because it breeds in limestone karsts in Laos and has a loud, unique call.

A vibrantly-spotted newt (Tylototriton notialis) discovered in Laos. 

A self-cloning lizard (Leiolepis ngovantrii).

A monkey with "Elvis" hairdo is seen. It was discovered in Myanmar.

[source]

SENATOR CAYETANO OF THE PHILIPPINES: Bad Liar or Plain Ignorant?

The Inquirer, 27 Nov 2011 - Senator Pia Cayetano and another insignificant senator wanted a senate inquiry on why the Philippines only landed No. 6 overall in the recent SEA Games held in Jakarta-Palembang.

Her lies (or ignorant comment, take your pick) --

"Our country used to be No. 1 or No.2 all the time in Southeast Asian Games. What happened we are No. 6th?" --

Truth: The Philippines only landed at No. 1 in 2005 when it was held in... guess where? -- in The Philippines. It only landed twice at No. 2 since 1959 (in 1983 and 1991.

She also calls herself a sportsman. Or whatever. That's why she wanted a waste-of-time inquiry. AHAHA! She only rides her bicycle if there's media covering the event.

Nuff said.

Aaaaannd WE'RE BACK!

SAWASDEE KHRUB! Okay.. okay. we're kinda back from a trip to.. uh... now, where were we?! But we'll let you know in the coming posts.

Though we're back... we're not going to post regular features like the old times. Let's leave that in January 2012. When we do our full swing.

In the mean time, you'll see lots of rants which BISEAN was known for. You\ll love it.

Sofia and I would like to thank those who stayed during our long hiatus. You know who you are. We love you bloggers from the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, US and Indonesia. (we'll they were the ones who left notes while we were gone so, don't complaint if you don't find yours on the list.)

Ciao! And see you... uh.. tomorrow. We're flying to Jakarta.