Family home of Ananda Krishnan

We were on a walking tour of Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia recently. The guide took us past a house which he said was the family home of Ananda Krishnan.

Who Is Ananda Krishnan?

Ananda Krishnan

Ananda is said to be the second wealthiest in Southeast Asia, number 89 in the world with a fortune valued at US$9.6 billion, He was born in Brickfields and had an MBA from Harvard University, USA. His main business interests are in telecommunications/media (Astro, Maxis), oil/gas and property.

Maxis towers, dragon side of Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur

Note the “Feng Shui” configuration. The main property is the Petronas Twin Towers (a Malaysian icon) with two buildings on either side. On the dragon side (left), the taller Maxis tower and on the tiger side (right), Mandarin Oriental Hotel. There is a lake in front of these buildings which shows the facing direction.

Comment of the house.

Google Earth Image of Ananda Krishnan Family House

The house is receiving energy from 2 different sources.
1. From the junction on the dragon side (left) of the house.
2. From the River Klang which is passing the house on the tiger side (Right).

The quality of energy from both sources is good. I have not seen a property, which was not designed with feng shui from inception, receiving so much good energy from so many different sources.

It is all about Location, Location and Location.

Comment:
1. I would like to make a point on two statements which keep cropping up in Feng Shui books.
Avoid property in a cul-de-sac
Avoid property near a “T” junction.
This house is in a cul-de-sac and near a “T” junction. This is a house with seriously good feng shui.

My reply to people’s queries are usually “It depends”. I need more information. There are no absolutes, it just depends.

2. Many people try to improve their home with cures or home improvements. My point is that, you can always find another property that will be receiving good energy after trying home improvements. Move to that new property is a more dependable solution. It depends on you. This is the best way to get a home with good feng shui.

Dr Michael Oon

Modern Food Court in Malaysia

Food Courts are the modern concept in the presentation of Street Food. It is clean, hygienic and offers personal safety for the clients

When I was a young boy in Singapore, I could remember going out for a meal cooked by the road side. These road side stalls would appear at the appropriate meal times on the street and service their customers in the allotted coffee shops. This was the “done” thing in all parts of Singapore then. My parents refused to allow me to consume food from the hawkers or mobile food vendors because of hygiene. As they had limited quantity of water, there was a risk of not cleaning the food utensils thoroughly I would be at risk of getting food poisoning or anything else that my mother could think of.

As I grew older, I realised that the best food in both Singapore and mainland Malaysia was street food. We could travel to the other end of Singapore because, say the fried noodles there was really good. With my cousins, we would do a food crawl. This is analogous to a pub crawl. We would start at one stall, go to another and finish the “meal” at the other end of the city. This was the passion for good food in this part of the world. These street food vendors were specialist in their product. They might only cook say only fried noodles or noodle soup or whatever. As they were specialists. They developed their skills in that food speciality. They had to do a good job to survive. There was always competition around the corner.

From the point of view of the street vendor, if he prepared a particular dish well, he could get a very good reputation and people all over town would come eat at his stall. It is common for people to drive 2 hours to eat at a particular stall. With such a reputation, he might be invited by a coffee shop to be his anchor tenant as he will “bring in the crowds”. Conversely, if a coffee shop is very busy, the street food vendors would bid for spaces around these coffee shops.
Turning to the present, there is considerable interest in street food and there are specialist media on this topic. Makan Sutra in Singapore and the like specialist food bloggers

I have just encountered a twist to the concept of food vendors. In the Bukit Bintang area of Kuala Lumpur, there are 2 food courts with really different propositions. .

Lot 10 shopping mall has a food court called Lot 10 Hutong. This is a compact area but the food vendors have been selected by the CEO of the Shopping mall; Tan Sri Francis Yeoh. (Tan Sri is a conferred title very similar to “Sir” or “Lord” in the UK). He has taken his time to invite vendors to come to his property. In other words, there is the best of the best being sold in one location.

One of the really charming features is the coffee. It is served in thick old fashioned China Cup with really strong coffee. We sat by a real marble table. Just like the times of old.

coffee served as they used to

On the other side of the street in the Pavilion shopping mall. The complete basement is devoted to street food called Food Republic. There is a tremendous variety and selection of foods. Some stalls are really good but there are other stalls that have a different interpretation to my point of view.

Food Republic at the Pavilion, KL

When I was first visited both these food courts, I was totally bewildered with the size, complexity and variety in the food courts. However, with repeated visits and guidance from the locals, I think I finally got the hang of it.

If I wanted simplicity and quality, I would go to the Lot 10 Hutong. If I wanted to taste something different and have the time to go look the various food vendors I would go to the Food Republic at the Pavilion.

In most instances, I am pushed for time and prefer to have the best of the best.
But in the end, you pays your monies and make your choice.

From a food obsessive Michael Oon

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

Looking down the side road to Low Yat Plaza. The energy comes from the North west direction.

Low Yat Plaza is totally different. When you locate a shopping mall, you want it to be on the main road, prominent and sell a wide range of products. This Plaza is hidden from the main road and there is only a small road leading to the entrance. But yet, it is busy and specialises in a niche.

Low Yat Plaza Banner showing the Tag Line

Feng Shui Analysis
The top image shows the side road leading to Low Yat Plaza, it is goes downhill directly to the entrance marked A on the Google Earth image. The energy is from the North west direction. This energy has the properties of the metal element which relates it to computers hardware, power and money. This Plaza specialises in IT hardware products and good business is being done there.

Google Earth Image of Low Yat Plaza

The purpose of this posting is to show that the conventional idea of shopping malls has to be in a prominent location for it to do good business and sell a wide range of products. It is not applicable in all cases. In a forth coming posting, I will show a very prominent shopping mall but it gets no business or hardly any footfall. It is all about getting the right amount of energy for the purpose.

In the case of Low Yat Plaza, it is getting a very specific energy. This energy is specific for IT products. The business there is good and the vendors are doing good business,.

Looking down the side road to Low Yat Plaza. The energy comes from the North west direction.

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

Sungei Wang Plaza entrance - feng shui analysis

A Feng Shui analysis can provide the answer.

Sungei Wang Plaza has been busy since the day it opened. Its main entrance (A) is open and uncluttered facing in the North east (NE) direction. There is a side door in the front of the building. Although this door (B) faces the same direction as the main door of (NE), it is located in the East Sector of the building. There is another minor door (C) in the South east direction and sector.

Google Earth image of Sungei Wang and BB Plazas

Analysis:
1. Sungei Wang Plaza gets its energy from the downhill slope. It is this energy that the 2 doors in the front receive. The prevalent energy for this current Period (2004-2024) is from the North East. Therefore, there is good energy going into these 2 doors.

2. It is a Hetu combination between the 2 doors in the front. The main door is in the North East Sector (8) and the minor door is in the East Sector (3). 8 and 3 are the Hetu combination

3. Secondly, the Zhen (1st son) sector is East in the Later Heaven Sequence but Zhen is in the North East in the Early Heaven sequence. This is an Early heaven and Later heaven combination.

These are 2 auspicious combinations for the 2 doors at the front of the building.
This building will retain its prosperity for a long period of time as long as these combinations of doors are not disturbed.

It is so different with BB Plaza. The main entrances are in the North West direction but they are blocked by stalls along the road. How can the energy reach the main doors? BB Plaza has been sold to the owners of Sungei Wang Plaza and they are connected internally,

BB Plaza - a feng shui analysis

However, there is a tremendous difference in the footfall between Sungei Wang and BB Plazas. It is always busy in Sungei Wang and very quiet in BB Plaza.

Interiors of Sungei Wang (top) and BB Plazas - Feng Shui analysis

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

West Edmonton Mall Interiors - showing the Santa Maria

The West Edmonton Mall (WEM) opened its doors in September 1981 and has expanded three more times to become the largest mall in the world until 2004. It is now the 5th largest mall with the largest 2 in China and the following ones in Philippines and Dubai respectively. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Edmonton_Mall

The WEM is a destination shopping centre with amusement parks, Waterpark, Sea Lion Rock, Movie theatres, a Recreation Centre, ice rink in addition to the shopping facilities. What has happened to this Shopping Mall? I visited this mall.

At first glance, the activity of the mall was uneven and at times unusual. The activity was concentrated around phases 2 and 3. Phase 1 and 4 were particularly quiet. Secondly, it was the second or upper floor that was busier than the ground floor. The interior looks dated and tired; not in keeping with the times.

The leading brand names are not in this Mall. The second tier or lower brands are present. This is a reflection of the significance of this Mall of the major brands. It is not a major mall.

There are a number of themed areas – Bourbon Street (for food), Europa Boulevard (shops) and Chinatown. Europa Boulevard has European styled Buildings for shops but in the centre alley, there is a tacky Putt and Play golf course which is totally incongruous. Bourbon Street and Chinatown are both busy. Europa is not busy.

West Edmonton Mall - Entrance 50 - The source of Energy for the Mall.

On the Second floor, there are more sources of energy but only in the phase 2 and 3. This is most prominent in the Chinatown area.

West Edmonton Mall - Chinatown Entrance

In my opinion, once this extension is built, this will be the start of the slow death of the Mall.

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

The O2 Arena with new buildings marked “A”.

The Dome is located at the end of the Greenwich Peninsula in South East London. It was to hold an exhibition to celebrate the 3rd millennium from 1st January to 31st December 2000. The project and exhibition was subject of considerable controversy as it failed to attract the number of visitors anticipated with recurring financial problems. The project cost was about GBP 800 million.

The original exhibition and associated complex have since been demolished but the Dome still exists and is the key feature of the O2 Arena.

The O2 Arena was the phoenix emerging from the debris of the Millennium experience. It has been transformed to an entertainment district which includes an indoor arena (with a capacity of about 20,000 people), a music club, multi-screen cinema with bars and restaurants. The most important point of the O2 Arena is that it has become an extremely successful entertainment hub for London with regular performances of major artists from all parts of the world.

So, what has made the difference from the feng shui perspective?

The Millennium Dome on the Peninsula with the blue arrows showing the flow of the river. The red arrows show the direction of energy towards and away from the Dome. Image from Google Earth.

As there was no settled energy at the Millennium Dome, the project did not work.

The Changes with the O2 Arena

The O2 Arena with the new buildings marked “A”.

Buildings marked “A“ stop the outflow of the energy at the O2 Arena.

This is the difference between success and failure – the holding of energy at the site.

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

Google Earth Image of One Hyde Park Building

“They are the most expensive Apartments in the World – and the men who dreamt them up – the Candy Brothers, say they are the finest. Yet four years after this glittering £1 billion London landmark went on sale, nearly one in three flats remains unsold. And only a handful of buyers have moved in!”
The Sunday Times Magazine, 20th November 2011

When this project was announced some 6 years ago, I thought to myself. This apartment is in the most expensive and prestigious area of London. There is a strong market for property of this class as this depends on the international market who perceive London as a heaven of stability. It is next to Hyde Park which is one of the main sources of energy for London. It will sell irrespective of the economic climate unless the feng shui was really bad.

I never had a closer look at the apartments except made the comment that it was too large for the site.

A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail inviting me to view this building which indicated that there were still apartments available for sale. Therefore, In a trip to London, I had a quick look at the building. On Sunday, I saw an article in the Sunday Times Magazine which prompted me to prepare this blog.

Description of Building.

One Hyde Park consists of 4 separate blocks. The North side of the building faces Hyde Park and the south side faces Knightsbridge. The main entrances are from the South or Knightsbridge side. (see Google earth image)

An Entrance to One Hyde Park Apartments

Image 2 shows one of the many entrances to the building. Although this looks really modern, in feng shui terms, as there is such a narrow band of energy going in. The building will have strong “highs” or good times but strong “lows” or bad times.

Image 3 show the back of the building – the side that faces Hyde Park. There is only one entrance that faces the park the North West side where there is a chauffeur pickup entrance. There are thick bushes there for privacy purposes but this prevents the energy from getting to the building through this entrance.

One Hyde Park Apartment Building - the side facing Hyde Park

There are no other entrances facing Hyde Park. Therefore, there is no energy from the Park getting to the building.

Am I surprised with the number of remaining units in this building? No. There is no energy going into the building. It is my understanding, there is a healthy market in this class of property from international purchasers.

Well. It will take quite a long time for the remaining empty units to be sold irrespective of how much work the estate agents put in.

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

F1 as I see it and a Comment on McLaren F1

Sebastian Vettel in a Red Bull car has taken the 2011 F1 World Championship by storm. This makes it his second Championship, making it two in a row. This confirms his dominance in the F1 Motor Sport.

What has happened to the McLaren F1 Team?

In 2011, they struggled in testing and in the start of the season. In 2010, they also had serious delays at the start season. In both years, there were big changes in the regulations in the car design.

In the 2011 season, the McLaren cars lacked pace compared to the Red Bulls BUT, as the season got on, they were of a more equal match.

In the first 10 races, Vettel (Red Bull) had won 6, Hamilton (McLaren) 2, Button (McLaren) 1 and Alonso (Ferrari) 1.
This shows the dominance of Vettel driving a Red Bull and the lack of competition from both McLaren and Ferrari.

As I had stated in a previous blog, the McLaren F1 building has a circular design. Based on Feng Shui interpretations, there will be inherent delays in the products coming from this building. This has been shown in the results of the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

McLaren has a reputation for their technical and organisational ability and they catch up as the season goes on. However, in the 2011 season, Vettel had already sewn up the championship before McLaren had got up to speed. In other words, the champion was already in Vettel’s bag when McLaren “woke up.”

The 2012 season will have the minimal of changes in the Regulations.

McLaren want quick start to 2012, says Martin Whitmarsh

McLaren will therefore, have lesser delays than the previous seasons. I look forward to a more competitive season where both McLaren and Ferrari will be challenging the pace of the Red Bulls of Vettel and Weber from the start of the season.

Secondly, the early lack of pace in the McLaren Cars have been one of the causes of the frustration in Hamilton. Hamilton does not react well to the lack of pace of the cars.

McLaren F1 - orange lights signifying VICTORY

I look forward to a more productive start for the 2012 season for McLaren F1 team which are based in my home town of Woking in Surrey.

Good Luck McLaren.

The standard unit of time is the “hour, day, month, year”. They are also cycles – one hour has 60 seconds, one day has 24 hours, one month has about 30 days and one year has 365 days. The Chinese have further cycles of 12 years, 60 years and the 180 years.

In this talk, I am referring to the 180 year cycle which is made up of 9 sub-cycles, each of 20 years. As with Chinese philosophy, these cycles have their own particular characteristics or properties.

This video is about two of these 20 year sub-cycles. They are known as Period 7 and Period 8. The characteristics of each sub-cycle are different and I will show how they relate to current social and economic trends. As the saying goes: ”To be forewarned is to be forearmed”.

1984-2004 is known as Period 7. It was a brash time, rise of the women in the workplace, the spending of money, and the rise of the service industries. 2004-2024 (Period 8 ) is totally different – creative and manufacturing industries, different perception on money; village life with a caring and sharing mindset.

The talk is in the Pecha Kucha format; showing of 20 images each for 20 seconds.

The video is for the UK audience but for non-UK viewers, there is some background information on Katie Price (aka Jordan) and her ex-husband Peter Andre.

Katie Price is a celebrity, famous for being famous. At the age of 33, she has already written her 5th autobiography and is in a number of reality shows. She says what she thinks. She is considered to be impulsive, frank, argumentative and a spendthrift.

Peter Andre is a singer who had the hit “Mysterious Girl” in the 1990s. His second spell as a celebrity started with his romance with Katie Price. He takes is “craft” seriously. He practises his singing whenever he has time. He has a TV programme where he goes around the country helping people to raise money for their projects. He uses his time and celebrity status to help.

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.

Euro Crisis 2011, Greek Parliament and Feng Shui.

The past 3 weeks, the media has been dominated by the Euro crisis. It has been labelled as the most serious crisis since the Second World War.

As I understand, it is about the amount of debt incurred by both Greece and Italy for their respective economies. Admitted, Greece is the smaller economy but from what I gather, the Government has failed to reign in the expenditure after the global financial crisis of 2008.

Prior to Greece joining the Euro, there have been a number of overspending crises. They would simply devalue their previous currency the “Drachma” and then carry on its own way. However, once in the Euro Zone, acquiring debt is monitored and borrowing strictly controlled. Apparently, the Greek government found ways to by-pass the controls and continue the overspending.

On the news broadcasts, they have been showing images of the Greek Parliament. I have been there and recognise the landscape configuration. The building is higher than the “Square” in front; there are 2 sets of stairs down to the square as shown in the image. The steep drop, so close to the building indicates that the occupants of the Parliament building spend a lot of money.

in my opinion, based on the location of the Parliament, , the Greek government has been overspending as long as they have been in this building. It has become a way of life for each successive Greek Government.

The Governments were addicted to overspending.

(c) Copyright – Dr Michael Oon. All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2011.