2 Dangerous Encounters with Brady Barr

I never intended to watch Nat Geo Wild last night but stopped my channel surfing when I realised that "Dangerous Encounters with Brady Barr" was on. It was an episode on Sixgill sharks. Fascinating.

Admittedly, my TV interest lean towards crime dramas and lighthearted comedies. Wildlife documentaries aren't my cup of tea. I only took a liking  again after seeing Dr. Brady Barr in person at an Astro sponsored event. The last time I actually paid any attention to these channels was to catch legendary Steve Irwin: Crocodile Hunter.

Anyway, here I was at Borneo Rainforest restaurant in Sunway Lagoon waiting for Dr. Brady Barr to arrive. I remember the moment clearly. This happened on 20th June 2012. I was this composed person until I saw the familiar face getting out of the van. Then, I lost myself and perhaps my manners. I felt like an unlicensed paparazzi - wanting to snap a ton of photos but keeping my fingers off the button most times out of politeness and realisation that I wasn't a reporter.

It's Dr. Brady Barr! ..snap! snap! oops, behave.

It is easy to write Dr. Brady Barr off as someone too amusing to host a wildlife documentary that's laden with dry details but I beg to differ. Must accountants be stuffy? Is every lawyer dishonest? Do all winged creatures fly? My point, exactly.

Here is someone who is very much himself on air and off, does not hide behind a hero facade and does things out of the box. He may be quirky in his ways but he has showed us that learning is about exploring beyond the limits of our taught mind.

Did I mention that he's always smiling? I was looking for someone a little more stuck-up. That's one misconception cleared and a new fan born - me.

There was a good crowd at the event. The evening started off with a performance by fire breathers. Nice. Then, dreary introductions and ...Dr. Brady Barr was really cute! He tried to give Andrea Fonseka (Miss Malaysia) the jump as she was rounding up the introductions but she was too cool to fall for it.

Up came Dr. Brady Barr, charming and engaging, sharing the highlights and warm moments of his adventures. I accidentally left my camera flash on when I snapped a photo in between his session. That blinded a few people, me included! I hid behind the chair for awhile.

I learned something else that night. Every episode is screened by an independent group of experts before it gets released on Nat Geo Wild. There you go, they don't compromise on quality.

After that, we were invited to eat and join the queue for photos with Dr. Brady Barr. I wonder how TV personalities feel about these photo sessions. I mean, it must be tiring to constantly keep a perfect smile for the camera.

All in, it was a wonderful evening. I went home happy and the excitement stayed for days. Aaah....fond memories.

Open air restaurant

Buffet dinner table setting

(From Left) Dr. Brady Barr sharing his experiences with the crowd, my dinner and a photo souvenir