Out and About

Osaka June 6-8 2011

2011-06-07T22:56:00.003+08:00

Transiting thru Hong Kong. A long story on why I didn’t take a direct MH flight to Osaka. So here I am in Hong Kong again after a week.

The Cathay Pacific flight was nice. And the HK-Osaka leg even comes with Haagen Daz ice-cream and each economy seat has it’s own power outlet. But of course I didn’t make use of it to do work, cause the movie selection was too good to miss. Ended up watching “Just Go with It” by Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler. And of course there’s Stephen Clarke’s “1000 Years of Annoying the French”.

Not that it’s too bad. The HK airport has always been a pleasant place to be. There are lots of shops and the food courts has a wide selection of food. Arriving at lunch time, I hit the Chinese restaurant for some congee and dim sum (didn’t try the food court because I ran out of HK dollars).

The thing that surprised was the fact that all the Japanese were rushing to the exit the plane when we touched down in Osaka. I thought the PRC tourist were inconsiderate…it was everyone for themselves. I had to just as rudely slot myself in between when it didn’t seem that anyone from the back was going to give way. Maybe when you throw them into confine places, the subway mindset kicks in.

The airport immigration clearance was quick and efficient like that experience in 2009.

Walking into the Hotel Hankyu International, you feel like you had walked into a French chateau.

At 14,000 yen a night, you get what you paid for.
A fantastic (upgraded) room :)

It’s a twin double bed room. The bed is very comfortable. Pillow, while not soft, are firm and supportive.

Check out the 50” Panasonic HD tv…..but there was only one English channel…CNN :(

The cupboards below the TV has a complete set of Japanese tea making facility….and no coffee sachets are provided! Thank goodness I always travel with my Nescafe!

And the bathroom comes with a separate shower and bath tub. Good water pressure and clean. But of course, this is Japan.

View from the 33rd floor (out of 34)

Breakfast is either in the Mai Maison (American Breakfast) or Takeshigero (Japanese Breakfast). It’s not buffet, there’s a fix menu and you get to choose the types of juice, coffee/tea and how you want your eggs done…but it’s top notch…

..and Japanese coffee is wicked! That’s another story though ;)

Hong Kong May 22-28 2011

2011-06-07T22:10:00.000+08:00

Back in Hong Kong again. Flying in on a Sunday is less stressful because the streets are quieter (relative term here).

Stayed at the Royal Plaza Hotel in Mongkok again. This place is over a shopping mall, the Mongkok East Rail Line station and connected to the other Mongkok MRT Transit line by a covered above ground walkway.

All those convenience comes at a price....approximately HK990 per night....and that doesn't include internet acccess at HK120 per 24 hours!

But the pillows are nice and soft, swallowing your head as it hits after a long day at work. Good supply of electrical outlet around the room means one can work from anywhere in the room. Cable tv channel is adequate with the standard channels and the room is supplied daily with the South China Morning Post paper.

The highlight is the fitness/gym room. I didn't take any photos, but it's a well equipped area, towels and water are supplied, and the treadmills comes with it's own tv and sanitized head phones.

Chiang Mai – Day 1, 12th November 2010

2010-11-24T01:42:00.001+08:00

It was a busy week, clearing outstanding work, so much so that I only flew back from Penang the night before and reached home well after 10pm. After some packing and chatting with friends, it’s well pass 1am so I decided skip sleeping since it’s a very early morning flight

With Air Asia of course.

After checking into our rooms, we explored the surrounding streets.

Wat Phan On – there’s a nice area with tables and seats and nice shades. We had our morning tea (or lemonade) here and was really impressed with the cool and serene place.

First glimpse of the old city wall, on our way to some shopping.

A cool respite in Wawee Cafe in town. The sun is hot but it’s rather cool in the shade. However, nothing beats a good ice blended juice in an air conditioned cafe :)

Eating like the locals for our first dinner in town.

Then it’s to the Night Safari after that. Show started with a laser light show. Nice but nothing to shout about.

Overall the safari is a nice distraction if you have no other plans.

Weekend Jaunt – 2 October 2010

2010-10-02T23:30:00.001+08:00

After a satisfying lunch in Sanbunto, SS2, we headed out of the city.

It was a long and winding road.

Arrived after 45 minutes.

Yes, we were in Genting Highlands.

After a long day of lazing in the nice cool and cozy weather, we had dinner and headed back to KL. It was extremely misty by then.

Sungai Petani 2nd June 2010

2010-07-30T01:30:00.001+08:00

Booked into Swiss Garden, but decided to make a last minute switch to this place, Emerald Puteri Hotel. In town, convenient to grab a meal or buy essentials at the numerous convenience stores. In room cabled internet provided.

The hotel had 2 spot lights facing the building at night, hence lots of reflected camera image.

Black and White Series – thru the streets of KL

2010-06-20T02:55:00.001+08:00

Taken on 12th June 2010. Dinner time drive around KL. A rainy night. Expertly driven by Justin in a very very fast car.

Flower shop in Petaling Street. Business as usual despite the drizzle.

The Petronas Twin Towers.

One early morning from my window, 1st May 2010

2010-05-18T00:31:00.002+08:00

1/25sec, f/4.5, ISO80. 1May2010, 6:45am

1/30sec, f/4.5, ISO80

1/40sec, f/4.5, ISO80

Genting Highlands can be seen in the background on the right.

2010-05-06T22:59:00.001+08:00

Short Note:

Been busy lately, lots of pictures to be uploaded and lots of drafts to be published....be back soon.

Kuching: 9th – 11th Feb 2009

2009-06-10T21:18:00.001+08:00

Was in Kuching to close up some business. Didn’t realize it was Chap Goh Mei, until I saw the fireworks at night.

Chinese New Year Fireworks outside my window

2009-06-09T01:03:00.000+08:00

Selection of photos taken between 2nd and 8th February 2009. View of KLCC and Taman Desa.

Food from my new kitchen

2009-01-05T03:24:00.001+08:00

Since I have my own kitchen now, I am trying my best to cook my own meals. Below are the efforts so far.

Above: Mushroom rice with sausages and fried eggs (with mushroom). 11/12/2008

Above: Mushroom pasta sauce. 19/12/2008

Above: ABC soup (tidak ditanggung halal). 4/1/2009

Outside My Window - Manila 20-24/10

2008-11-02T01:30:00.004+08:00

Megamall, where I do most of my shopping.

Same place, night shot.

St. Miguel Avenue, lots of cars at night, but not as jammed compared to the day time.

Sunset.

Outside my window this week 26/8-3/9

2008-09-10T02:24:00.006+08:00

From the Jayakarta Hotel, Jakarta.

The Giant Caterpillar. Timika, Papua. 2nd September 2008

Hasanuddin Airport, Makassar, 2nd September 2008

View from my room, Sheraton Bandara - 3rd September 2008

A Garuda flight taking off from the Sukarno Hatta Airport, Jakarta - 3rd September 2008

Heavy Clouds over Putrajaya

Outside my window this week

2008-07-03T22:28:00.002+08:00

Kuching, Sarawak.

Singapore, 23-26 June 2008

2008-07-03T21:38:00.003+08:00

It's been sometime since I took photos of KLIA and of hotels that I have been in....it gets boring after awhile.

But my friend had been kind enough to loan me her new Panasonic wide angle digicam, so of course I had to test it out.

This is KLIA at the main building from the domestic MAS lounge.

This time around, I chose to stay at the Bayview Hotel located on Bencoolen Street. It's about S$220 per night (conference rate). The room is quite small, but the plus points are:
- inclusive of internet connection, cable provided
- gym
- roof top pool.
- food court on both side of the hotel.

Oh, and this too.

The rest of the Singapore photos....sorry, that's on a need to know basis ;-)

KLCC

2008-06-17T00:18:00.002+08:00

Sea Food at the Portugese Settlement in Melaka, 3rd May 2008

2008-05-07T05:18:00.004+08:00

Was supposed watch the movie Iron Man while I was back in Melaka over the weekend, but the tickets were sold out, so we decided to have supper at Portugese Settlement.

Daniel and Grace was there with Shirrene. We had crabs (2 types), scallops with garlic and butter sauce, noodles and fruit juices.

YUMMY!

Too bad I didn't bring my camera and had to rely on my sub-megapixel phone camera.

Manila 20th - 26th April 2008

2008-05-07T05:09:00.003+08:00

Was in Manila for another week in April. It's summer there with nice warm weather. Only thing missing was a visit to the beach.

Stayed at Shangrila Edsa for the first 3 days before moving to the Linden Suites. Was upgraded to a suite.

The living room and dining area. Comes with a cool stereo set that has a jack for connecting my mp3 player. Blasted the stereo thru out my stay there.

The kitchen. Comes with coffee maker, pots, pans and stuffs. Since I was eating out so often, cooking wasn't an option this time around.

Another shot of the living room.

The study room. This is where I setup my notebook and work. It also has a TV that isn't shown in this picture.

Ah, and finally my bedroom.

Beijing, China 31st January - 3rd February 2008

2008-04-28T01:20:00.002+08:00

Kuching, 30 January 2008, Wednesday

2008-03-04T02:45:00.003+08:00

Shots from the MAS Lounge @ Kuching airport.

MAS Wings DHC-6 Twin Otter just landed.

CASA CN-235 transporter

deHavilland Caribou. Not sure whether it's still in service or just a static display.

S-61 Nuri helicopter taking off.

Royal Plaza on Scotts, Singapore, 17th January 2008

2008-01-29T09:59:00.000+08:00

What a great hotel in a fantastic location. Orchard Road is like 2 steps away and you even have McDs open 24 hours just outside of the hotel.....hmmmm....I can still taste the McWings now.

Anyway, this place is well located, comfortable bed, internet included, free re-stocking of minibar (which I didn't realize till I have checked out!), good shower facilities......all for SGD330.

Bubba Gump!

2008-01-21T02:45:00.001+08:00

During my trip to Charleston in October 2006, I had the chance to dine at Bubba Gump Restaurant with 2 other customers. I remember I enjoyed the food very much.

While having dinner at the Curve yesterday, guess what I spied?

OK, sorry for the low resolution shot from my crappy camera, but it's the signboard advertizing the soon to be opened Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.

It's located on the 1st floor, next to Paddington Pancake. You can't miss it.
The actual location address?
The Curve, Lot 145, 1st Floor, No. 6, Jalan PJU 7/3
Mutiara Damansara, 47800, Petaling Jaya

Oh boy I can't wait for it to open.

Meanwhile, you can go check out their menu at:
http://www.bubbagump.com/

New Year 2008

2008-01-21T02:31:00.000+08:00

New Year's eve was spent eating crabs with close friends before driving over to the Curve to watch the fireworks.

Watching over the party going on at Cineleisure.

Fireworks fired from 1U.

Didn't manage to get any shots of the fireworks at the Curve. For the record, it was spectacular.

Trip to Singapore 1-2 December 2007

2007-12-06T00:03:00.000+08:00

Signed up for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon early this year and after on and off training, D-Day arrived. Since this is a personal trip, I decided to take the Aeroline bus to Singapore. I chose it because it allows me to start the journey from PJ, next to Menara Axis and return from Singapore back to Corus Hotel in Jalan Ampang. The buses also starts from Cititel in MidValley and Sunway Pyramid and in Singapore, it stops at HarbourFront (next to Vivo City), which is very close to my sister's place.

It cost RM80 one way and I must say it's very nice. If they would only turn off the video and put piped music, since there aren't individual screens, passengers sitting further from the screen could hardly see what's happening and the audio is nothing to write home about.

That's how the interior looks. I'll say it's ok and the seats recline way back allowing a comfortable rest or even just to read a book. They serve hot drinks and on the way there, we were served Spaghetti Chicken Bolognese......cold and tasteless. I think they would have done better if they served sandwiches and muffins. On the return trip (11:30pm), we got a packet of McDs containing hot McChicken and an Apple Pie. Yummy. That's more like it.

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D-Day. Got up at 4:30am to get ready since I have to follow my sister and her bf who is running the earlier event. This is my first participation in any run event, but I can see that it was well organized. There were sufficient toilets and plenty of water available for runners.

While waiting for my 10km 7:15am flag off, I was excited. There were thousands of other runners and all strangers to me. Started to start sweating and feeling warm even before the start.

Finally we were off and down Robinson Rd we went and headed towards the Marina. There were lots of human traffic but since I wasn't particularly fast, it was relatively easy.

The farthest I had run before this was 5km on a training run, and after that all I did was between 3 and 4 km. So I was quite confident of going that far without stopping. Reached the first water station and gulped my cup of plain water down. Easy. Next water station, another cup. Then darn, I felt like going to the toilet but I figured that since I was sweating like a dog, the water should find it's way out the right way.

Reached the half way point before 8 and I felt confident that I had managed to keep to the pace that I had set without stopping. Then after another 15 minutes I saw a sign that said "9km" and I was exhilarated. I thought I had gone into a "zone" and had completed a few clicks without noticing it. I stepped up the pace for the last kilometer. After a while, I saw a sign that said "10km run - 7km". Darn! I saw the wrong sign.

It was tedious after that. I could feel the strain in my body but I kept going. The crowd was thining and it was easier to run.

During the final stretch, there were lots of cheering. I gave it all and sprinted with my heavy legs towards the finish line.

Finished in 1:21:54. Not the fastest time. But it's a first for me and something I can improve on.

Immediately after crossing, my left ankle seized up and I had to walk slowly to the field. Sat down to remove the ChampionChip, and got up with my ankle feeling much better but next in line was my upper body muscles getting cramped. It was awfully painful walking all the way to collect my medal and then going to the tent to get some free drinks and bananas. After 2 cans of 100plus and 2 bananas I managed to shrug off that cramp, only to be hit with cramps to my calf muscles after that.

I'm glad I joined the run. It was a great experience.

Took the bus back the same night and after 2 days my body has completely healed and ache free. Hope to be there again next year ;-)

Jakarta, 30th October 07

2007-11-03T12:43:00.000+08:00

Scottsdale, Arizona October 2007

2007-10-24T18:30:00.000+08:00

After the 18hours hop over to LA, I took a connection flight over to Phoenix, Arizona.

And this below are the pictures for the most fantastic looking and feeling hotel ever! Hotel Valley Ho.

More photos to follow...

Gua Tempurung Caving Expedition, 14th October 2007

2007-10-24T18:05:00.002+08:00

It was the Raya weekend where Monday was off, so my colleague organized an outing among friends to Gua Tempurung.

We wanted to go for the grand tour which would take 3.5hours. But a detour to Bidor for breakfast caused a slight delay and the tour was fully booked. We still manage to take Package 3 which is a 2.5hours tour where half is wet trek and the other half is dry.

It was a fantastic outing where we had to sweat it out crawling in the cool stream pass low and narrow passages. Even though I was sweating but since it was very cool in the cave I didn't feel tired at all.

Shots from within the caves.

An upward shot towards the ceiling.....if you have vertigo, it's not advisable to look downwards when climbing those stairs all the way up.

A shot downward. My camera lens/sensors had fogged up. But if you looked carefully, you could see a "ghost" on the rocks ;-)

A chandelier looking formation. This photo fails to do justice to it's size.

Looking out at the entrance after more than 2 hours in the darkness.

The rest of the trip includes devouring delicious Ipoh food and of course a trip to the other famous temple caves in Ipoh....

If you are planning to take the wet tour, it's advisable to wear jeans - it protects your knees from scrapes and has good traction, but it can be heavy once soaked in water. Shoes, strapped sandals or crocs type of footwear should be good. Slippers aren't good cause it can float away while you are in the water.

We didn't find any lockers available so do not bring any or wear any valuables. Bring a torch light, preferably water proof. We had to deposit all our handphones and camera into watertight plastic pouches and I was the mule tasked with making sure it stays dry. It was tough as, we had to crawl and splash our way thru some narrow and short passage ways and I had to balance the bag on my back, while water is dripping down from the ceiling. Fortunately, all the electronic gadgets came out nice and dry, thanks to the watertight plastic bag.

Would definately visit this place again, given the opportunity.

France 10th Sept - 25th Sept 2007

2007-10-24T18:04:00.001+08:00

View from the coffeeshop in Schipol airport while waiting for my connection to Toulouse.

While walking to my gate.

Airbus Country

2007-10-19T01:54:00.000+08:00

Yes, I was back in France after 2 years. Toulouse specifically. The first time was during winter. This time around it's late summer.

Caught this A380 waiting to take off when my flight landed at Blagnac.

That's the new SIA A380 undergoing testing before delivery. Yup that's the first bird to be delivered.

This is the place where the A380 tour is conducted. It starts at the boarding room that is recreated to look like the engineering room where flight telemetry data is analyzed. After explaining the A380 program, we were taken on a bus tour of the Airbus manufacturing sites. We were then dropped off at the A380 plant where we got to see the assembled planes undergoing testing. At that time, we also saw the SIA A380 taxing back after testing at the other side of the airport.

Unfortunately we were not allowed to bring any cameras during the tour so there's no pictures from the tour :(

Another shot of the A380 taken while we were driving pass the airport.

The A380 taking off.

MAS Golden Lounge, 10th September 2007

2007-10-19T01:40:00.000+08:00

It's always fun to go early to the airport, check-in and skip over to the MAS Golden Lounge. It has a very relaxing setting with comfortable chairs. Food is good and you get to pick your choice of hot, cold or selected alcoholic beverages.

Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape Concert in Malaysia - 21 August 2007

2007-09-04T23:12:00.000+08:00

[Photos courtesy of Szue Fei]

It was a fantastic outing. Gwen Stefani was awesome belting out hits after hits. Well worth the RM257 tickets.

The concert were well choreographed and she gave her all. Listening to her songs on my mp3 player would never be the same again. It still brings back the feelings, be they happy or sad.

"Early Winter"

You, you know how to get me so low
My heart had a crash when we spoke
I can't fix what you broke
You, you always have a reason
Again & again this feelin'
Why do I give in?
& I always was, always was one for crying
I always was one for tears

[CHORUS]
The sun's getting cold, It's snowing
Looks like an Early Winter for us
Looks like an Early Winter for us
An Early Winter
Oh I need you to turn me over

It's said the map of the world is on you
The moon gravitates around you
The seasons escape you
& I always was, always was one for crying
I always was one for tears
No, I never was, never was one for lying
You lied to me all of these years

[CHORUS]

The sun's getting cold, It's snowing
Looks like an Early Winter for us
Looks like an Early Winter for us
An Early Winter
Oh I need you to turn me over

Why?
Why do you act so stupid?
Why?
You know that I'm always right

[CHORUS]
It looks like an Early Winter for us
It hurts & I can't remember sunlight
An Early Winter for us
The leaves are changing colour for us
& it gets too much, yeah it gets so much
Starting over & over & over again
& it gets too much, yeah it gets so much
Starting over & over & over again
& it gets too much, yeah it gets so much
It looks like an Early Winter for us

For Szue Fei's writeup, click here.

Below are a few clips taken from YouTube.com

Central Market, The Annexe, Sharing Space Photo Exhibition

2007-07-30T02:10:00.000+08:00

Central Market, located in Kuala Lumpur is place to go to for Malaysian handicraft and arts center. Built as the main wet market before the war, the place was converted to it's current state in the 80s.

This was my second time to Central Market, the first time being in the early 90s when I first worked in PJ. I must say it's much easier to get here. I took the LRT to the Pasar Seni station, and just cross the street and you are there. There's also a parking lot in front of the Central Market but I reckon it's easier to take the public transport then risk getting stuck in the traffic.

Inside, the whole place is air conditioned and brighly lit, with lots of shops selling local handicrafts, fashion accessories, souveniours and snacks. There are also food courts and restaurants to tuck in some local cuisine.

Anyway the reason for my trip to Central Market is to visit the Sharing Space photo exhibition, a contemporary photography of Japan & Malaysia. Unfortunately, I can only visit this exhibition on it's last day so by the time you are reading this, they have already busy preparing for the next programme.

The Annexe is located at the other end of Central Market. There were a few art gallery on the ground floor, a cafe on the first floor, some studio on the 2nd floor while the Gallery is located on the top floor.

A shot of one of the walls with the photos. Note the 3 photos on the left are by Pang Khee Teik.

Gallery III.

I like the open space of the 3 galleries displaying the photos. There were interesting topics, themes, print types and sizes photography. Generally, it is an interesting exhibition and unfortunately the prices for the photos would have wiped out my retirement funds so I only went back with fond memories of the works.

Some shots from the gallery window.

No, this isn't an exhibit.

OK, I thought it's a new bank in KL.... KOK Bank.....hmmm I wonder who their customer base are....

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Well, after this photography exhibition, the Annexe would be hosting the notthatbalai art festival. For more information, please visit the site: http://notthatbalai.blogspot.com/

Jakarta, End June 2007

2007-07-30T01:57:00.000+08:00

This was a working visit...a very hectic one where there wasn't a chance for me to pop out and have feel for the place. So this photos were taken from my hotel room.

View of a portion of the Jakarta skyline. Superimposed image.

When the lights go out....

Yuxi, China June 2007

2007-07-26T08:32:00.000+08:00

Sitting alone at a corner of the Kunming International Airport is aShenyang J-6 (Chinese copy of the Soviet MIG-19).

One of the exotic food that I tried. Eaten more like a snack, it's fried till crunchy and tastes like biscuit. Tastes OK.

Things You don't find in Malaysia

2007-05-25T01:16:00.000+08:00

KRISPY KREME!!

I decided to try something heavenly and decadent that can't be found in Malaysia.

The one on the left is New York Cheesecake and the other one is the Original Glazed.

The doughnuts are actually very "light" feeling and not the heavy dough types that are normally sold at food stalls here. I preferred the Original Glazed compared to the cheesecake variety. It isn't overtly sweet, just nice.

On the last night, I pop into the place again and bought another 2! Maybe it was almost closing time, the staff offered everyone a piece of complimentary warm doughnut

The one closer to the camera is Glazed Chocolate Cake and the other one is Chocolate Iced Glazed. Both were perfect. Now if only they have a chain in Malaysia, the fitness centers would have booming business.

Back in Manila, Late April 07

2007-05-25T00:42:00.000+08:00

I had been flying over to Manila for a few times since 2005 and this place have always been special to me. However, this would probably be the last for a long time to come. I will miss the contradictory nature of this place.

From a prosperous nation in the 60s and 70s, plain mismanagement and politics had dragged the country down.

Despite the wide disparity between the haves and have-nots, you could see Filipinos at all levels full of determination in moving forward with a smile and a song.

Abject poverty doesn't seem to put them off from eking a living by running simple enterprises.

Of course there are other reasons why I would always remember Manila...

Visit to A-Famosa Animal World Safari, Malacca - 10th September 2002

2007-05-18T01:43:00.000+08:00

This post is actually taken from one of my old websites. I did not actually manage to finish the write up at that time but here are the pictures anyway.

I had decided to check out the A-Famosa Animal World Safari before recommending my friends to visit it. Conveniently located off the Alor Gajah exit on the PLUS north-south highway, it is about 1.5 hours away from KL or 15 minutes from Malacca. Upon exiting from the toll plaza, turn left at the roundabout. At time of my visit, there were no advertisement sign near the roundabout except for the road signs located in the middle of the roundabout. Bad idea - since there was a big sign put up for the national day celebrations that blocks the view.
The A-famosa resort is a big family oriented resort with hotel, holiday banglows, water theme park, riding and lots of other recreational facilities. Upon driving into the area, I felt very relaxed. The landscape has been well laid out with wide roads and big shady trees along the way.
The Animal World Safari is located quite a distance away from the entrance but the road signs are adequate. Upon reaching, I was surprised that each car would be charged RM2 for parking fees. I glossed over this minor issue (but more would be on the way), paid the fees and parked my car.
Tickets are RM32 for Malaysian adults. Foreigners have to pay slightly more for entrance.

The entrance to the Animal World

There's an hatchery for kids who don't know where KFC comes from.

The bird show.

Ponies

Ostrich

Wallaby

The Elephant Show.

The Malayan Sun Bear

The trip to Monkey Island

There's also a cowboy show....what has it got to do with the Animal theme..?? But it was fun.

Mind if I took a sip?

Mind if I took a dip?

The multi-animal show

Zoo Negara, Malaysia, 14th April 2007

2007-04-15T00:27:00.001+08:00

It was one of those Saturdays where there are no good movies to catch and no friends to chill out with. A few options came up and somehow the idea of going to the zoo captivated me. I had visited the zoo in Melbourne, Singapore and Malacca, but never the our own national zoo.

The drive to the Zoo is simple enough. Hit the MRR2 and drive northwards (if you are coming from the southern area like PJ) or drive eastward if coming from the city. Since I had passed that area a few times, I just looked for the sign pointing to Kuantan till the road signs showing "Zoo Negara" appeared.

There were ample parking spaces at the first parking lot (there are 2). Under the blazing sun, I was glad to find a spot below some shady trees.

There weren't any customer at the ticket counter, so I quickly walked up and asked for one adult ticket (RM15). The lady was quite surprised and confirmed with me that I only needed one ticket. I guessed most people go to zoos in a bigger group. Instead of getting a traditional ticket, I was given a paper wrist tag that has a barcode. Visitors have to wear this tag and scan it at the entrance upon entry and exit.

Despite the empty lines outside, there was already quite a lot of people in the zoo. Instead of the drab and unkept environment I was half expecting, I was glad that the place looks very lively, with lots of little shops selling souvenirs and snacks at the entrance.

Opposite the entrance to the multi-animal show there's this big pool with HUGE fishes.

Entrance to the aquarium. Very nicely done, it's as if you are walking down into a cavern.

The inside of the aquarium with display cases. The display is arranged according to the type and location the fishes can be found, from the highland river to the ocean.

After leaving the cool airconditioned aquarium, it's face to face with ....

Pygmy Hippopotamus / Badak Air Kerdil
choeropsis liberiensis
NOCTURNAL CREATURES
- They seek food at higher and drier ground and are most active from late evening till midnight.
- A secretion of mucus keeps its hide moist and shiny, while protecting it from the sun's rays.
- Solitary; avoid encounters with others of the same species. As with the Nile Hippo, they mark their territories with dung.
HABITAT
Streams, wet forests and swamps
DISTRIBUTION
Liberia to Sierra Leone

This is one of those enclosures that smelt bad...but I guess it goes with the territority.

Bearded Pig /Babi Berjanggut
Sus barbatus
BEARD ON SNOUT
- Dominant male may lead herdds of up to 100 animals.
- Herds follow deeding Gibbons and Macaques to eat fruits dropped from trees.
- Give birth in nests made of ferns and twigs.
DISTRIBUTION
Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and the Philippines
HABITAT
Tropical rainforsts, secondary forests and mangroves
DIET
Roots, fungi, small animals, eggs, carrion & plants
THREAT- Habitat Loss

Ok, these guys are huge....and those muscles make them look like they were on steriods.

INDIAN GAUR / Seladang India
Bos gaurus gaurus
20 In a group
- Spends most of its time grazing (early morning or late evening) or resting
- If startled, they crash through the jungle at high speeds
- Not aggresive, but can be dangerous if wounded or approached too closely
DISTRIBUTION
India & Nepal
HABITAT
Forested country
DIET
Grass
THREAT - Habitat Loss

Domestic dispute?

Nag nag nag....

Hrmmph! Could use a cold beer in this weather.

Asiatic Black Bear / Beruang Hitam Asia
Ursus thibetanus
Also known as the Moon Bear
- Often found in trees, foraging for nuts and fruits.
- They make nests of sticks in trees where they sleep during the summer.
Much of it's habitat has been replaced by farmland.

You jump, I jump!

This otters are the cutest, most energetic and playful creatures around. And they do know how to work the crowd and a bit of attention seekers.

Swimming towards the next group of visitors.

Wheeee!!! Otters gliding down the slippery slope.

Small-Clawed Otter / Memerang Kecil
Aonyx cinerea
Smallest otter!
- Smallest otter; weighs only 3kg.
- Usually found in groups of 4-6; but can reach up to 12 individuals.
- Short claws do not extend beyond the tip of their toes.
HABITAT
Coastal Estuaries, large rivers, small streams and p0nds.
DISTRIBUTION
South East Asia
DIET
Molluscs, crustaceans and fish.

OK, this picture does do not do justice to the size of this bear. It is huge! And definately doesn't look the most cute or cuddly bear in the zoo.

Brown Bear / Beruang Coklat
Ursus arctos
LARGEST LIVING CARNIVORE
- Can run at speeds of 57km/h for short distances
- May attack humans when threatened or when their young are in danger
- Sleep thru the winter when the food gets scarce. Heart rate drop to 8 - 12 beats per minute as they sleep
DISTRIBUTION
Wooded areas and barren land
HABITAT
Peninsular Alaska and mostly throughout Northern Atmosphere.
DIET
Fruits, flowers, insects and small mammals
THREATS
Hunted for their fur, sport and as a presumed threat to human

Barking Dear / Kijang
Muntiacus muntjak
MOSTLY ACTIVE AT NIGHT
- Only males have antlers which are shed annually
- Makes a barking noise when alarmed
- Young remains hidden in bushes until it is able to move with its mother
DISTRIBUTION
From India to southern China & South East Asia
HABITAT
Hilly areas with dense foliage
DIET
Grass, leaves & shoots
THREATS
Hunted for meat and skin

Awww...so adorable...if only humans can be so tolerant.

Tapir / Cipan
Tapirus Indicus
SHY CREATURES
- Young tapirs are dark with yellow and white stripes & spots
- Good hill climbers, runners, sliders, waders, divers & swimmers
- Food is pulled into mouth with their mobile elephant trunk-like nose
DISTRIBUTION
Myanmar, Indochina, Malaysia, Thailand & Indonesia
HABITAT
Grassy area with permanent water supply
DIET
Aquatic vegetation, fruits and leaves
THREAT
Hunted for food and sport

Here's a shot of the flamingos from one side of a large pool.

Greater Flamingo / Flamingo Besar
Phoenicopterus ruber
LONG NECK AND LEGS
- Largest member of the Flamingo family (Height: up to 1.3m)
- Larger size allows it to wade into deeper waters to feed
- While feeding, can keep its head underwater for up to 20 seconds
DISTRIBUTION
Central & South America, Caribbean, Southwestern Europe, Asia and Africa
HABITAT
Variety of freshwater and saline habitats, salt lakes, estuaries and lagoons
DIET
Insects, worms, microscopic algae & pieces of vegetation
THREAT
Habitat Loss

Caribbean Flamingo / Flamingo 'Caribbean'
Phoenicopterus ruber ruber
BRIGHTEST OF THEM ALL
- Caribbean Flamingos are the brightest coloured flamingo species
- A flamingo ankle can be found halfway up the leg
- While resting, flamingos face the wind to stop wind and rain penetrating their feathers
DISTRIBUTION
Yucatan, Bahamas, Galapagos Islands and northern parts of South America
HABITAT
Variety of freshwater and saline habitats, particularly salt lakes, estuaries and lagoons.
DIET
Brine-shrimp, larval and pupal forms of flies
THREAT
Habitat Loss

White Rhinoceros / Badak Sumbu Putih
Ceratotherium simum
2ND LARGEST LIVING LAND MAMMAL
- Its name comes from the Afrikans word 'weit', which means wide, describing its mouth
- A rhino's horn grows from the skin and is made up of keratin fibre, the same material found in hair and nails
- Edge of territory marked with dung piles
DISTRIBUTION
Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zamibia, Zimbabwe
HABITAT
Open woodland or open savannah with permanent water
DIET
Grasses and low shrubs
THREAT
Killed for its horn which is used for traditional medicine.

Here's a few random shots taken at the open "Savannah Walk"

The nice shaded area facing the Savannah Walk.....perfect for a picnic.

What'chu looking at?

Dromedary Camel / Unta
Camelus dromedarius
EXTINCT IN THE WILD
- When food and water is scarce, it can loose up to 40% of its body weight
- Thick and long eye lashes to protect eyes from the sand
- Stores fat in the hump
DISTRIBUTION
North and East Africa, West and South Asia
HABITAT
Desert
DIET
Plants, bones and carcasses

More writeups and pictures coming up soon. Sorry travelling now and I have a lousy connection.

Facts about the animals are courtesy of the display boards in the zoo.

Photos and information in this blog represents only a small part of the zoo. I would advice you to visit it and learn more about our animal kingdom. It's definately worth it.

Formula 1, Sepang, 2007

2007-04-09T01:15:00.000+08:00

The champion...

Thanks for trying.

Tickets = RM300
Parking = RM50
Speeding Ticket = RM150
Sound of screaming V8s....priceless.

OK, so that's a bit cliche. Watching the Formula 1 in Sepang was one of those spur of the moments thing that pop up before my birthday and so I bought the ticket as a gift for myself. Narcissistic. I know :-)

Planned to be there earlier in the morning to beat the traffic...but since it was a Sunday, I typically overslept. Stepped out of the house at 11am, pumped more fuel into my car (thank goodness) and proceeded promptly towards Sepang (see Speed Ticket above).

Traffic was clear all the way to the KLIA toll. It was just 10 minutes before noon, and then after the first bend, I started to join the traffic jam. The journey that normally took 10 minutes lasted more than an hour.

I had also purchased parking coupon with the tickets and upon reaching, I found out that it was actually just a palm oil estate where we are expected to drive in and park in rows. Sure, the grass has been cut and there's shade from the palm oil trees but you have to be careful not to drive into any ditch or deep holes and tear out an axle. Well, this qualifies as the most expensive parking...RM50 for 3-4 hours!

The weather was hot and humid. A lot of people were gathered around the many fans (with mister) or just taking a seat in the Automobile Museum. Since there were still a lot time, I took my time to visit all the souvenir shops.

Mercedes Benz had the most impressive booth, with a few impressive looking souped up AMG models. Below is one of them.

Gate 5 for Citrine and Topaz seats. That's my gate.

Inside the SIC track. There were shops selling drinks (RM5), ice creams (RM5), beer (RM16) and packed food. Everything was sold at super inflated price but most people didn't seem to mind, looking at the brisk business there.

That's the MB safety car leading the drivers parade.

Our PM, in the antique car leading the parade.

Ferrari's Massa.

View of the open grass seating and the covered grass area.

Overall, it was a great experience especially if you are into cars or auto sports. However, I would have done things differently if I were to attend it again next year. Firstly, bring lots of water to last the duration. Then bring food and snacks . Be there early, by 10am would be ideal. Spend the time with friends and watch the early races.

Then leave another picnic basket in the car. After the race, don't bother leaving the parking area cause there would be a MASSIVE traffic jam with all the cars wishing to leave at the same time. Take out the picnic basket and have a picnic while you wait out the jam. The palm oil estate cum car park then wouldn' t be such a bad idea.

Brisbane, Australia

2007-03-12T00:20:00.000+08:00

I think this would rank as my shortest visit to Australia. Refer to the immigration stamps pictured above. I arrived at about 0700 in the morning and took the 2345 flight back out.

MAS was fully booked so I had to take SIA to Singapore in the afternoon before transfering to the Singapore-Brisbane flight at 2120. Since this was a last minute working trip, I was pretty much caught up working and reading throughout much of the flight. Only managed to get an hour of sleep because I found the cabin had very low humidity. Throat was parched dry most of the time. The good thing about the SIA flight was that they provide us cattle class passengers with a kit that consist of a pair of socks, toothbrush and toothpaste. I remember MAS only providing L'Occitane kits to the business class.

Despite the busy schedule, we were able to visit Mt. Coot-tha on the way back to the hotel. It has a lookout where you can see the panoramic view of Brisbane city. It's absolutely beautiful and I can imagine the night view must be fantastic.
http://www.brisbanelookout.com

A closer look of Brisbane's commercial district.

For dinner, we walked along the Eagle Street Pier enjoying the cool evening breeze. The picture above shows the Story Bridge, a steel cantilever structure built in 1940 that has been one of Brisbane's icon.

Spotted. A group of tourist doing the bridge climb.

This was taken while walking back along the pier towards the restaurants for dinner.

Malacca Chinese New Year Celebration - 24th Feb

2007-03-11T18:01:00.000+08:00

This year's Federal Level Chinese New Year Open House was held in Malacca on the 24th Feb. The King, Prime Ministers and other big shots attended. Personally I think it's a big dissapointment for us peasants cause most of the shows and attractions were only for the VIPS and the rest of the people that were not fortunate to have front row seats ended up not seeing anything. We were there just to make up the numbers and made them feel good. I swear this is the last time I would attend any such functions. It's easier to just sit back at home and watch it on TV.

Updates

2007-01-25T00:29:00.000+08:00

Have updated the following entries:

http://chongkg.blogspot.com/2006/10/week-in-charleston-21-27-oct-2006.html

Petronas Twin Towers shot from KL Tower.

2007-01-16T01:12:00.000+08:00

I had previously planned to visit the KL Towers on the weekend, but since one of my colleague from the States visited, my boss decided to treat him at the revolving restaurant at KL Tower. Ha ha so I saved on entry tickets.

The food in the restaurant is good and the view from the top at night is fabulous. To add to it, there were fireworks display at Lake Titiwangsa. What a bonus. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of it cause I figured my camera wouldn't be up to the task, what with revolving floor and all.

Shot this pic from the observation deck where there are less cutlery to worry about.

In short, this place is worth visiting, if not for the food, then at least for the view.

Memories of 2005 New Year.....

2006-12-19T01:43:00.000+08:00

I remember 2004 was a good year. Lot's of travelling and I was closing out the year with a trip to Taipei.

Visited the Taipei 101, which had just dethroned the Petronas Twin Towers as the tallest building in the world. The mood was festive, there was also local elections then in Taipei, and I enjoyed myself.

Hong Kong followed Taipei, and the Christmas celebrations are even bigger here. There were sales and streets were crowded. Did some sight seeing, shopping and pigging out before leaving for Kuala Lumpur for the Christmas holidays - since it was the holidays, no one was working on the project, hence there wasn't any valid reasons for me to remain :(

I remember watching the breaking news of the tsunami in KLIA. Everyone was transfixed by the early scenes on TV. I took the flight out with those early images in my mind.

As days go by, the immense destruction of the tsunami hit home. Donations were going around, celebrations toned down and the HK government were receiving some flak for it's inaction.

On the street, even though the mood of festivities were still present, my heart was blanketed by a veil of sadness. I think most people were too, with the constant heart breaking scenes from Thailand and Indonesia.

I walked the famous tourist belt taking in the scene, but as most restaurants were crowded, I just bought whatever tidbits that catches my eye during my walk.

There were a box from a bakery that has the most heavenly smell as I walked by. A slice of cake for dessert, and some Norwegian salmon with rice in a box!

Thus that was my end of 2004 dinner in my cosy hotel room with frailty of life flashing on the screen.

I left the following day back for Kuala Lumpur with memories of an eventful 2004 that ended with a bang.

Note: Unless if I happen to travel during the New Year, there would not be any special entries during New Year's day. I am keeping personal entries in a separate blog.

Awana Genting, 18-20th Nov 2006

2006-11-23T23:07:00.000+08:00

Another weekend, another chance put in some miles in my under utilized car. Drove up with good company and was surprised that it lasted barely an hour because of the light Saturday traffic.

Awana Genting Resorts is about 7km from the peak so it's not overly cool. You can still walk around in Ts and shorts comfortably.

Visited the Misteria show at the Pavilion and did some walk around. Otherwise, it's a pretty quiet and straightforward weekend. Managed to drive 150 balls at the driving range. Unfortunately the squash courts do not have any racquets for rental.

While I had good company for this trip, unfortunately there were still a lot of issues on my mind. Nice place but definately not one of the better time for a trip.

Ok, now the rants!

The most dissapointing aspect is that both the tread mills in the gym are broken! So is one of the two exercise bicycle...the other one is probably broken but by then I just wasn't interested anymore. Furthermore they don't provide any towels at the gym. On hindsight, the broken equipment is probably why they didn't bother. What a disappointment.

When I first walked into my room, it was still not made up. That was at 2:30pm. Both beds was clearly been slept in and towels were all over the place. To their credit, the housekeeping appeared less than 10 minutes after I called the front office. However this shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Looks like the management in both Awana Kijal & Genting is getting a bit slack.

How I relax in Manila - November 2006

2006-11-18T02:47:00.000+08:00

Getting room service...

...and the ability to swivel the flat screen tv towards the bed and catch up on some VCDs.

The week in Charleston, 21-27 Oct 2006

2006-10-31T04:33:00.000+08:00

21st October - Saturday

The day started late for me. Probably still have jet lag...and the pork chop doesn't help either. After the daily routine of checking my emails via the ultra fast in room wifi, I headed out looking for the shop that sells Sebago shoes. According to the website, one should be on Alexander Street, while the other is on King St. Since I expect to be going along King St. quite often, I decided to check out the one on Alexander first. Based on the map, I would need to head east along Calhoun St.

Even after walking along the whole stretch of Alexander St I couldn't find the store, so either I got the wrong Alexander or the store has closed. Along the way, I had walked into a neighbourhood that was just awakening. The sun was out on the quiet side walks and some residence were probably surprised by a Chinese tourist walking by greeting them.

Since I was so far east, I decided to continue walking towards the harbour. That's where the Imax and Aquarium are located. There's also a long line waiting to go on the ferry tour of Fort Sumter. Howerever I have a meeting at 2pm, so I decided to skip those attractions and just walk along to enjoy the sights.

A few pictures taken at the harbour. The one below is taken near the private piers. The clear water and sun makes it look very tempting for a good swim except for the cold wind.

After the walk, I didn't have much time left before I had to attend my meetings, so I decided to hope into Juanita Greenberg's Nacho Royale. It's a mexican restaurant that I had read about before the trip. Inside the restaurant, there's a bar where you can place your orders. The tables are on the right side and also at the back. The place looks a bit old but clean and has the old town charm to it. I ordered the 1lb. Burritos (beans) and I think it's the biggest burrito that I have ever laid both hands on. No complains though, it was great.

[updated:25/1/07]

22nd October 2006

Woke up real early to view the dawn in Charleston. Most of her inhabitants were still sound asleep when I looked out the window at 7am. The blue and orange hues across the sky was majestic.

After a short shower, the sun was rising. I just sat at the window sipping my first cup of coffee and drinking the scenery.

Meeting officially starts today on a Sunday. Stretched till after lunch and then there was a golf program. But by then, it has started to rain and I was dead tired. So I left those crazy enought to drive a small white ball in the rain, and retreated to my cozy room to sleep the afternoon away.

In the evening, we had our company dinner at a local Restaurant called Poochie Porch. It was 10 minutes walk away from the hotel in the cool evening. Most business have closed by then so the streets were quite deserted.

Food was reasonable tasty, though of course there were some dispute about whether the same food was better in Louisiana.

[....trip report to be continued...sorry busy season]

25th October - Wednesday

First day in Charleston, 20th October 2006

2006-10-23T19:52:00.000+08:00

That's Continental's Embraer jet that took me to Charleston. The flight was slightly delayed but soon we were in the air and I was reading my new book. We were served with light snacks and juices/soft drinks. It was an uneventful flight and landed at Charleston slightly after 3pm. It looked like a cosy medium sized regional airport. Didn't have to wait long for my luggage at the conveyor belt eventhough there was another flight that came in with us.

Following directions, I walked out of the terminal building towards the counter for shuttle services. I was then directed towards a van with an African American driver. According to him I have to wait till he fills the van. I told him that was OK with me. The sun was out and there was a slight breeze. I felt the temperature must be around 25'C. It was just nice and cozy without being too hot. Conversation with the driver was pretty limited cause he found couldn't really understand what I was saying !?! Must learn to speak slowly.

The ride into Charleston didn't take too long and there was once I was drooling over the new Corvettes sitting on the transporter next to the van.

Initially, I wasn't too happy that we had been bumped to Francis Marion Hotel from the more luxurious Embassy Suites. However the organizers made fantastic arrangements and I had the 10th floor overlooking the Calhoun St. That beats the view from Embassy Suites cause that hotel probably has only max 6th floor.

Since it's a "historical" hotel, those modern design and deco is definately out. What I got is a relatively small cosy room with old style design furnitures.

That't the closet....located at a corner I never expected.

Simple but functional. However if you have lots of toiletries, it's gonna be a bit tight on that tiny strip of glass shelf.

The previously mentioned fantastic view of Marion Square & the Cooper River on the horizon.

The USS YorkTown can be seen from my room at 10x zoom. I had planned to allocate one day to visit Patriot's Point, where the YorkTown has been turned into a floation museum.

I was desperately tired from the jet lag but I knew I had to alter my bio-clock quickly cause my first meetings start the next day. So after freshening up, and getting an hour's nap. I headed out of the hotel for a quick look around the area.

Going out of the hotel, I headed south towards King Street (which is a tourist shopping strip), before cutting into Meeting Street, but still keeping my southerly heading.

Below is a picture of St. Michael's Episcopal Church (website).

There were a lot of historical houses along the way, and all of them have a plague outside detailing it's history. However because the sky was getting dark, I enjoyed the architecture without taking a lot of pictures.

After about 20 minutes, I finally reached the South Battery (Murray Boulevard) coast line just in time to see the beautiful sunset....

...birds flying back to nest...

Calhoun St. at night

After the long walk, I was too tired to go back down for dinner, so I just ordered in. I had the She Crab Soup (with cream sherry) as the appetizer.

And Pork Chops (if I remember correctly) as the entree. As you can see from the picture, it's two huge slabs of red meat that I thoroughly enjoyed.

After that, there's only one thing to do.

Overnight at Newark, 20th October 2006

2006-10-23T19:50:00.000+08:00

The scene at the conveyor belt was very much like the one I had in LAX last year. There were no other passengers around except for a few workers and my bag had already been offloaded from the belt. But I was glad that it's there and soon I would be out of there.

Had to find my way to the complementary shuttles by taking the airport monorail. The cold night air was refreshing compared to the stale heated environment in the airport. There were lots of other vans and minibuses from other hotels arriving and picking up passengers. My view was blocked by another bus and by the time I noticed the Four Points van, it was already full. Just my luck. Thank goodness I have an empty bladder, and is ready to wait it out in the cold.

Expecting a half hour wait, I grab a more prominent seat and proceeded to sms my family and friends. There were less people now, with most of them departing in the other coaches. Within 15 minutes, the van came back and I was soon on my way.

The ride to the Four Points by Sheraton was less than 10 minutes in the late night traffic. It's location besides the airport helps too. I tipped the driver for his promot return.

Everything on the outside looks as I have imagined it, after much googling and views from Google Earth. Getting into the lobby, it was small but very warmly decorated. There were also renovation work going on. Check in was a breeze.

I had booked this room thru Sheraton's website but I had checked out all the reviews thru the yahoo and travelocity's travel sites. And there were some preety unkind words about this place, but I had decided to trust the positive reviews and booked it anyway. I had also chosen a twin bed room cause they were the only non-smoking rooms but is the same price as the single king sized bed.

Another plus for this hotel, complimentary in room internet connection. And it was blazingly fast...compared to Streamyx, that is. Too bad I was really tired.

And oh those 5 pillows on the bed are soooooooooooo soft and comfortable.

But first...a shower after more than 24 hours....

....then I have to get some dinner in me.

Luckily the room service was still available by the time I called because the menu stated last order at 10:30pm, and it was already a few minutes passed that time. So fried chicken it is.

Woke up to a cold and wet morning. Looking out, I could see the airport just as busy with planes taking off very frequently.

However, the condition was probably too adverse for this bird taking a shelter outside my window.

My flight was around 12pm and I checked out at 9am. I like the check out system in the hotels here in the US. I woke up in the morning with the charges printed, charged to my credit card and slipped beneath the floor. So in the morning, they just have to take my key card, check their computers, and in half a minute I was out of there. No waiting in line.

I had just missed the shuttle so I had to wait for the next one. There was a slight drizzle but it was not windy, so it's cool at around 15'C and I decided to stand outside the lobby, outside the entrance. As the minutes ticked by, I was getting worried cause the crowd waiting for the shuttle has been growing and I was thinking there was no way everyone would fit into the shuttle I took last night. But at exactly 9:30, the shuttle pulled into the driveway and I heaved a sigh of relieve cause it is now a bus. Phew! Everyone trooped aboard and soon we were on our way.

The shuttle brought me all the way to the correct terminal for Continental. The road side checkin was quick and efficient and after that I had my tickets and headed into the terminal. Security was thourough but quick and soon I was exploring the terminal. The flight to Charleston is slightly below 4 hours so I decided to grab a bite at Miami Subs & Grill
with a cup of wonderful Campbell's clam chowder (ok, I am biased towards Campbell's...it's been so long).

With a bit more time, I window shopped till I saw Borders. It's a medium sized store but have quite a wide variety of books to look at. I was thinking I really needed a book for the flight since I didn't feel like sleeping then. After a short recce of the whole store, I stopped at the latest books sections to check out the books.

"That's the best book I have read for a long time." the lady beside me remarked, as I was putting the book back on the shelf.

I had read the cover and though it sounded interesting, but I put it down cause most of the books on the shelf was good and I was just undecided.

"Thanks, I think I would give it a try.". That was enough endorsement of a book, so I picked up the book and walked to the counter.

That was how I was introduced to...

"The KITE RUNNER" by Khaled Hosseini.
(picture taken from http://www.khaledhosseini.com/)

"An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from the final days of Afghanistan’s monarchy to the atrocities of the present. "

It is very well written and the tale is very touching.

At the time of writing, it's not yet in bookstores in Malaysia. But I would highly recommend it.

Newark here I come....19th October 2006

2006-10-22T15:02:00.000+08:00

I like flying. I don't get air sickness, I can live with the food and it gives me time to read or sleep without having to worry about phone calls. But flying to the US is another thing. It isn't the distance that worries me, it's just the fact that there's an outside chance that I could be in trouble going through immigration, or a terrorist deciding to target NY again after all these years....

My flight was at 8:50am and I had asked the taxi to pick me up at 5:30am. I never liked rushing to the airport at the last minute because you can never tell when you would arrive at KLIA to be greeted by the long lines at international check-in. This means I have to be up by about 4:30am. Doesn't leave too much time to sleep, since I only finished packing at 2am. Hit the sack, and proceeded to toss and turn like a roti canai on the frying pan. 3am, received and sms and still not awake. I was really getting worried this time cause I know once I really fall asleep, there's very little chance for me to get up in an hour and a half time. This being based on pass sleeping history. Thus I hugged the pillow one last time before kicking off the blanket and getting up from bed.

Arrives at the airport with 2 hours to spare, checked in and got seat 41G. As usual, I would take my time to go over to McDonald's to have my breakfast, but this time, the place was unusually packed. I really didn't want to wait in line, so I turned around, got pass immigration, and went to Burger King at the satellite building.

Right after breakfast, I walked to my gates. Since I saw there were quite a lot of people waiting at the gates, I found a seat further away and proceeded to log into the internet. It's nice to know that the WIFI provided by KLIA actually works and has a strong signal. I used to keep a list of "hotspots" location within KLIA in a spreadsheet but that's not necessary now. Most locations have very strong signals...only thing being speed not being one of it's forte. Anyway bravo to the management of KLIA.

By the time I went into the gate, my eyes were feeling pretty heavy due to the lack of sleep. It wasn't help that seat 41G is actually the aisle seat right at the back. Yes it's the last seat in the plane. The good thing is, I don't have anyone behind me so I can always recline by seat without having to worry about breaking someone's kneecaps. I also had the 3 seats next to me empty, so lot's of space to put my carry-on. Normally I would have included a book in my carry-on but since I didn't sleep that night, I had taken it out - really did not want anymore distraction than the ones provided by the inflight movie on demand.

MH90 took off on time (Goodbye hazy KL, here I come NY)with about 50 - 70% of the flight filled. I don't really have an idea since I don't get to see what's in front. In between occasional sleeps, I ended up watching Nacho Libre, Break Ups, X-Men III, most of the TV comedies and some documentaries....I worry for my flight home.

After about 13 hours, we landed in Arlanda Airport, Stockholm. We had to be screened by metal detectors and X-rays before going into the waiting room. Since we weren't allowed out of the waiting area, there isn't much to say about the airport, except that there's a coffee stand, a smoking area and toilets that you have to line up to get in. I spend the time mostly sending sms and before we knew it, it was time to board again. And again we were screened and people who were carrying larger than allowed containers of liquids had to dispose of them.

Since I would be arriving in the evening, I forced myself not to sleep on the flight over the Atlantic. We were served a hot meal after take off. Watched some more movies and after 7 hours, we reached Newark. Due to air traffic, our flight ended up in the holding pattern for about an hour...don't really know cause I wasn't wearing a watch.

Walked into an almost empty airport, till we reached the immigration. There were only 3 counters open for the non-US travellers. The officials tried to divert some to the US line whenever possible but with my perenial bad luck in lines, I got sent to a line that was moving at a glacial rate. After an hour, I was among the last from the flight, before it was my turn.

"Did you have to do the interview before?"

"Yes the first time, and this is only my second time."

More checkings on the computers.

Left index finger scan, right index finger scan, look at the camera.

OK, I thought I would be done and out of there.

"You would need to follow that officer to be interviewed".

Crap.

Suddenly, the officer who was suppose to escort me got distracted and asked me to wait. He walked up to a chinese lady (from our MH flight) and told that no photos are allowed to be taken in that area. There were prominent signs all over the place, but I guess she thinks it's ok if she just takes one of her daughter. After checking her photo, the officer warned her not to do that again.

The office where the interview was done is brightly lit, with rows of government issued standard PVC clad cushioned chairs on one side and facing the counter. Now, the difference is the counters are located at much higher height, so you have to really look up to speak to the officers on duty. I walked by a few men that I remember from my flight and also 2 women, all seated. There were lots of chairs but I chose one at the end of the row, thinking that it would be a while before I am called.

One of the officers on duty started calling a name, I didn't recognize it and didn't care. I was prepared for a long night. But when nobody responded, he looked around and pointed at me. Oops...still not used to people mangling my name and calling me by my given name first. Lugging my notebook bag, I quickly walked over to the counter. I was hit with the standard questions about my visit and after another round of finger scanning and picture taken, my passport was stamped and I was on my way again.

...more later.

Planning for a long trip...

2006-10-15T03:31:00.000+08:00

I was about to book a room in Ramada...just had to key in my credit card details...then I decided to check out Google Earth and found that it's directly in the flight path of the planes landing or taking off! Other then the noise, I just want to sleep without having to worry about the plane coming thru my window.

After another 2 hours of comparing other hotels, it is the Sheraton then, even though it had bad reviews....too much information isn't such a good thing. Now I have to sleep and get up tomorrow to make sure I have enough clothes, cash, credit and coffee ;)

Awana Kijal, 18th-23rd Sept 2006

2006-10-01T02:22:00.000+08:00

Had a holiday coming, so we took advantage of the 888 promotion from Genting and booked the room for RM188 per night. The main reason we chose this place was for the golf course.

After slightly more than 3 hours of driving from KL, I checked into the room as shown below. It looks great and had a great view of the beach and the golf course.

A great feature. You could look out from the bath tub. However the shower is actually separated from the tub. It is also very difficult to get a proper water temperature....it really fluctuates between scalding hot and icy cold before careful twitching of the knob corrects it.

Overall, it was a great holiday. The hotel, however, could had been better.....they are all nice and friendly but lacks that zip that makes a hotel great. Things only get fixed when asked, as if the room conditions were never checked.

Breakfast was good if you are staying for not more than 2 days....then it really gets boring. I really enjoyed the Roti Canai but it seems that dish is the one they rotate throughout the week...and not that stack untouched beef bacon.

The gym also has only one tread mill...I have seen lesser hotels have more.

One of the bright spot was the Chinese restaurant we discovered just outside of Awana. There are also 2 Korean restaurants, a Malay restaurant and also KFC at that same area. Dishes are of course much cheaper than eating in the hotel and it's within walking distance. Thank goodness my colleague brought me there before, otherwise our hotel bill would have doubled.

Overall, it's a good place if you really need to play golf, get away from the city and don't mind the location.

Taking off at an airport near you soon....

2006-09-05T00:11:00.000+08:00

Got this pictures of the A380 off some circulated email. I guess SIA would get theirs first before MAS.

SM Mall of Asia, 30th June 2006

2006-08-08T04:38:00.000+08:00

Sunset at Manila Bay

"The SM Mall of Asia is the largest shopping mall in the Philippines and the 3rd largest shopping mall in the world. In terms of gross floor size, it is next to the Golden Resources Mall in China and the West Edmonton Mall in Canada). It opened on May 21, 2006^[1]."
- Wikipedia

Ok, this place is huge. I walked in from one entrance and after dinner, didn't know where it was. There's even IMAX within that complex and a waterfront area looking into Manila Bay.

Around Melbourne, 1st May 2005

2006-07-19T00:48:00.000+08:00

Got up late and decided to shelf the plans to go on the Great Ocean Road trip.

Instead, I visited the Melbourne Zoo.

Meerkats

Penguins

"Penguins are ideally shaped for swimming. They have torpedo-like bodies and small, stiff wings which they use like flippers to fly through the water, steering with their legs and tail. Penguins spend a lot of time preening their feathers to keep them well oiled and waterproof.

In the late afternoon, Little Penguins gather at the sea in groups (or rafts) of up to 300, breaking into smaller groups as they near the shore. They usually come ashore in the same place each night and take the same path back to their burrows." - taken from zoo signboard.

The japanese garden.

There are the seals with a few tricks up their flippers...but didn't get any good photos of those cause they were just moving too quickly.

And the resident zoo polar bear...waking up to see what the fuss is all about.

MANED WOLF
Chrysocyon brachyurus
These wild South American wild dogs look like wolves with their mane of hair across the shoulders. They hunt in the tall prairie grass on their long, stilt-like legs for small mammals. They also eat fruit and insects. Although solitary, they seek a mate to raise a litter of 2 - 5 pups. Their habitat is being lost to farming and they are classified as vulnerable.

...more photos to come later.

Around Melbourne, 30 April 2005

2006-07-15T03:58:00.000+08:00

It was a cold Saturday but the air was fresh and a clear day. Perfect for a walk around Melbourne. Wasn't in a rush and armed with a map, just headed out the hotel to see what's available.

First stop, Federation Square...

Then, the Melbourne Aquarium...

Finishing off at the Rialto Towers

Melbourne Series - 2005

2006-06-05T00:40:00.000+08:00

When thru my collections and found out that I haven't actually touched the pictures from my tour of Melbourne last year. Would try to touch up and put up more photos soon. Meanwhile, the panoramic photo below was taken at the 12 apostles site by the Great Ocean Road.

I like this picture. It has so many feelings/emotions in one picture. Click on the picture to see a bigger image.

Last Part of France Holiday Pictures - 2005

2006-06-03T21:02:00.000+08:00

The Garonne River runs thru Toulouse. Though it looks like a nice sunny day for a stroll at the park, it's actually just above freezing point.

A panoramic view of the buildings across the Garonne.

Of course there were lots of fantastic food in France I had been able to try a lot of the Christmas and winter dishes, but I did not take a lot of photos except for these.

The above is Foie Gras (fattened duck/goose liver) that tastes fabulous. Eaten with some biscuits.

Thinly sliced beef and salmon in the background.

Mouth watering fresh oysters! Hmm you can still smell the sea from these ;)

But all good things must come to an end. However i am lucky to get to board the MAS B747 painted in a beautiful red design. Lots of other travellers were also jostling for position to take a photo of the plane as a background.

Snapshots-20th April 2006

2006-05-07T04:28:00.000+08:00

The Invasion

I have to "embargo" some postings till a later date. Till then, here is one of the pictures that I like.

Yuxi, Kunming - 2nd week of April 2006

2006-05-07T03:49:00.000+08:00

Welcome to China!

My first trip to China and it's to the Yunnan province. If you have no idea where it is, it's inland towards the west of China, bordering Vietnam. I took an MAS direct flight from Kuala Lumpur and arrived in Kunming about 3.5 hours later. The flight was about 70-80% full with lots of Malaysian & Chinese tourists.

The drive to Yuxi on the new highway takes slightly more than an hour.

A rather decent room. Standard furnishing. The only negative comment must be the rock solid bed! I had the shock of my life when I sat down on the bed after the long journey and almost had a slipped disc! Surprisingly, it didn't affect my sleep or did I feel any ill effects of the bed during my stay there.

While the room does not have cable broadband, it does have WIFI signal provided by the local telco. Unfortunately, there's no way for a roaming line to subscribe to the wifi services, it has to be a local number....another reminder that I am in communist China.

Oh, and yes all the blog services websites has been blocked. The only way around it (if you want to view your own blogs) is to log in thru blogger.com - they block blogspot.com but not if you are in blogger.com in editing mode.

Even the the US diplomatic blunder about the mixup between China and Taiwan's name has been blacked out in the CNN broadcasts.

The view of the rather spartan bathroom. Everything works just fine and there's even hot water, so it isn't that bad.

The very basic mini-bar. Note the absence of any instant coffee. I found out the hard way that people here don't drink coffee, not even in the restaurants. You can have all the tea you want, but not coffee. Thank goodness I have my emergency cache of coffee.

The thing I love most about this place is the wide roads for cars and also pedestrians. They have also made it a habit to have lots of trees and spaces for them to grow beside the road. You can see it from the following pictures taken around Yuxi. You know the place is a driver's paradise when you don't see any traffic lights at major intersections.

Some very nice looking shop houses being built. Oh just look at the trees, and the pedestrian walk.

Philippines - Linden Suites Again - Mid April 2006

2006-05-07T03:26:00.000+08:00

I was back in Manila, the Philippines and I was put up at the Linden Suites again. Not that it was a bad thing, but in fact it got an additional star for a big "improvement"!

The kitchen now comes with coffee percolator and a bag of grounded coffee, good for two cups, that was replenished daily!

The suite I have this time has a different layout but has essentially the same furnitures. Another wonderful stay.

Taal Lake, Tagaytay - 26th March 2006

2006-03-26T22:45:00.000+08:00

This is at Tagaytay. It's actually a dormant volcano that is filled with water creating a lake with a lot of islands on it. Really enjoyed the view eventhough it was slightly hazy most of the afternoon. In the evening the place starts to get really cool and comfortable.

From the picture below, you can see the fishing village along the edge of the lake.

Philippines - Sonia's Garden,Tagaytay - 25th March 2006

2006-03-26T14:23:00.000+08:00

[updates below]

Tagaytay is located south of Manila, about more than an hour's drive away on a weekend drive. I had very gracious hosts who brought me to Sonia's Garden, which is really off the main road. However, through word of mouth, this bed and breakfast establishment is very well known as we had to book for lunch 2 days before.

Oh, did I mention that most of the greens are from their own garden. And they had a great salad and pasta spread.

After lunch, we had a walk about the garden. Below are photos of some of the flowers in the garden there. Of course it doesn't do justice to the place. It's a nice cosy garden with lots of benches to sit and enjoy the breeze.

[updated: 17th July 2006]
Sonia's Garden is actually called "Sonya's Secret Garden".
The official website is :http://sonyasgarden.com/

Address:
Barangay Buck Estate, Alfonso, Cavite, Philippines (near the vicinity of Tagaytay City, Philippines)
For reservations: call or text +63-9175329097 or +63-9175335140 Email us at: info@sonyasgarden.com

How to get there:
From South Superhighway exit Santa Rosa and turn right towards Tagaytay. Upon reaching main Aguinaldo highway, turn right toward Nasugbu, Batangas. Go past Tagaytay Rotonda and proceed for 10km. After Splendido Golf course adn Sunrise Hill make a right turn on the Buck Estate. Drive for 2km and watch out for Sonya's on the left side. Use the first gate and drive towards the end of the driveway and make a right towards parking lot.

Philippines - Linden Suites, February & March 2006

2006-03-26T14:19:00.000+08:00

The Linden Suites is located in Pasig City, about 30 minutes ride from the airport. From the previous posts, you would know that I have previously stayed in the Shangri-la at EDSA. Since my last visit in February though, I have moved to the Linden Suites because it is closer to my Philippine office. It was a great move though because this is a suite for the price of a room in Edsa.

For my first stay in February, it costs me USD85 per night, and now in March it costs USD105 (due to the holiday season). Anyway it was well worth it if you look at the pictures below.

This is a picture of the living room, dining area and a bit of the kitchen. You could see the microwave oven above the full size fridge, no mini fridge here ;)

This is a shot taken from the kitchen that shows the living room and a bit of the master bedroom on the right. You can see that the suite comes with a flat screen 29" Samsung Color TV and also a Stereo set that plays DVD and MP3s as well. Oh, the whole suite has 3 color TVs - the other 2 is in the master bedroom and the study.

This is the master bedroom. A very nice comfy bed and pillows. Not only does it have a simple master light switch by the bed, it also has a night light switch, for those time you want to leave a small light on.

A great kitchen. Great because it comes with all the utensils in the cupboard. It even has a toaster, though I haven't found a use for it.

This is the study. I had this during my visit in February. This is where the cable modem is located. It's great to be able to work in a room away from the bed...so there's less distraction.

This is the 2nd bedroom that I got for my stay now, instead of the study. Did not use it as I was using the master bedroom.

This is the bathroom. A bit of a dissapointment though. The shower is fixed and the pressure to the shower is dissapointing, compared to the outlet for filling the tub. And it was difficult adjusting the shower to the required temperature.

Broadband is available per 24 hour sessions or for a week for USD50.

Next to the hotel is a small convenience stall and also around it are various restaurants from local to western food. If you take a 5-10 minutes walk, you would get to the Shang mall or mega mall.

I would say that I would this is a definately good place to stay and I look forward to future visits.
A shot of Manila. Not sure which side of Manila it is overlooking though.

Photos taken around Malaysia - January 2006

2006-03-26T02:10:00.000+08:00

The photo below was taken from another hotel in KL at night.

I like this picture of the minarets against the skyline.

The obligatory, Malaysian blog picture - the Petronas Twin Towers.

Hong Kong, 3rd week of January 2006

2006-03-05T01:51:00.000+08:00

Well the 3rd week was pretty hectic with Hong Kong coming right up after Adelaide.

But my life was made easier with an upgrade to a Suite since the Royal Plaza Hotel was fully booked. But I still had to pay more than HKD1100 per night since it's the peak season.

The room was fantastic, with it's own separate dining, living and bathroom. On the other side, with it's own TV and bathroom is the bedroom. Of course the extra soft and comfortable goose down pillows is still there waiting for my weary head.

And what Hong Kong trip would be complete without...

Adelaide, Australia 8th - 14th January 2006

2006-03-05T00:36:00.000+08:00

Hmm my French holidays photos seem to be taking a long time to edit and put up so I figured I would just move on and post other photos before I forget about them. I would return to the French photo series later when possible.

My first trip in 2006. Right off after my holidays in France, it was back to work and I had to pack a new suitcase even before clearing out my previous stuffs.

The trip got off to a terrific start, when arriving at the airport early, I was told that the flight to Adelaide was overbooked and they would put me on a business class flight to Sydney instead. Wow, since I was still the business class-virgin then, I didn't mind the hassle of changing flights in Sydney. I had to rush to the gates since the flight was taking off in 15 minutes when they finally completed changing my tickets and boarding pass.

Well, the flight was memorable. The MAS business class was really top notch. The food was good and we were also given a travelling pouch with toothbrush, toothpaste, mouth wash etc.... and the bag itself is very stylish. Anyway it was a pleasant experience...if only I could afford another one.

Finally reached Adelaide, and found that the new airport is about to be opened. Relieved that the passengers don't have to all crowd around the small area to get our bags and then go through immigration checks.

Back to my old haunt, the Radisson at Playford, North Terrace. A very nice place with very friendly and pleasant staffs. It's also very close by a lot of eating places....especially the StoneGrill at Balcony Restaurant (Strathmore Hotel), where my colleage and myself when to TWICE in a row. If you are every in Adelaide, and non-vegetarian, then you should give this place a try.

OK, back to the room. It costs about AUD150 per night. Broadband internet is available but charged separately. Asked the concierge for directions for a good restaurant if needed, so far they have not dissapointed us with their choice.

Since my colleague was with me, I didn't shoot any photos during our weekday dinner outings. Adelaide at this time of the year is fun cause it doesn't get dark till 8pm. And since it gets bright very early, it just seems that your day is longer. So sometimes we ended up having dinner until 9pm cause you do not realise how late it got.

However, I was free on Saturday morning, so I just got out and have a look around the area that i did not manage to visit during the last visit - that means outside of Rundle Mall :)

The photo of the plague below was taken along the walkway behind the Government House. Thanks mates!

Click photo to enlarge it.

For those who graduated from University of Adelaide, they should remember the Bonython Hall below. Yeah, I was there since the whole of Adelaide were still asleep before 10am. The museums and all were close so the only interesting place to see was the quite grounds of University. Nice campus, would be a cool place to be studying.

Then I walked towards the river, pass the Casino and the Festival Centre and saw this one legged bird (Magpie?) that was not afraid to pose for me. This one below is one of the better ones.

After a long walk, I sat on the park bench and just totally soaked up that morning's atmosphere.

View of North Terrace

The Cathedral Saint-Etienne Toulouse, Paris - 27th December 2005

2006-02-21T00:43:00.000+08:00

Some post Christmas walkaround.

The Cathedral Saint-EtienneThe cathedral has a somewhat disconcerting effect by virtue of its having been built over five centuries (XIIth to XVIth), during which ideas about architecture changed considerably. In addition, it houses a number of interesting features, such as its stained glass, paintings, the large rose window and its 17 chapels.
[Source:http://www.ot-toulouse.fr/english/decouverte/patrimoine/cathedrale.html]

Banyuls - 25th December 2005

2006-02-19T23:23:00.000+08:00

Banyuls (pronounced as it is spelled to us english speaking folks, one of those rare cases) is a fishing village and famous seaside holiday town about 15 minutes drive from Port Vendre.

It was early in the morning and the sun was out. People were having breakfast outside and it was a great time for photography.

They have very colourful tradisional fishing boats.

And the water is so amazingly clear....if only it wasn't freezing

Contemplation....no, I don't think he was pissing into the sea

Links:
http://www.banyuls-sur-mer.com/anglais/b1.html

Notre Dame des Anges, Collioure - 24th December 2005

2006-02-19T23:08:00.000+08:00

Notre Dame des Anges, Collioure

The extraordinary building of Notre Dame des Anges, whose foundations were built in the sea, is an amazing example of historical patchwork. The belfry was built during the Middle Age and was used as a warning tower for the harbor of Collioure. It was not until 1684 that today’s nave was added, after Vauban gave the order to break down the old church of Sainte Marie in the historical heart of town in 1672. A new church was built in a Mediterranean Gothic style, although it appears to be very austere from outside, the unusual interior is extremely rich architecturally. The wooden altarpiece of the high altar was carved and covered with gold leaf by Catalan artist Joseph Sunyer. In 1818 the belfry was given its characteristic dome and thus received its final appearance.
Source[http://www.collioure.com/gb/dec.htm]

Since the church has a no camera policy, I decided to respect that and not take any photos in there. But it was splendid.

COLLIOURE, France - 24th December 2005

2006-02-13T03:25:00.000+08:00

This is another nice seaside town. Famous for being the place for the artsy folks (like Matisse, Derain, Picasso, Dali, Juan Gris, Hanicotte and Foujita). It is just a 10 minutes drive from Port-Vendres.

The picture is of Notre des Anges Church. It's literally beside the sea. More pictures later...hold on.

Links:
http://www.collioure.com/

Webcam:
http://www.cg66.fr/bienvenue/panoramas/webcam/collioure.php

Port-Vendres, France 24th - 26th December 2005

2006-02-12T01:15:00.000+08:00

Port-Vendres (pronounced as por-von) is a small coastal town facing the Mediterranean.

Below are the screenshots taken from Google Earth.

The journey from Toulouse took around 3-4 hours using mostly highways. As we were heading towards the Mediterranean, we had to pass by a few popular summer holiday towns like Argelès. However since it was winter, we didn't encounter any traffic jams.

The day started out cold but with the sun out later, more photo opportunity!

Driving thru Argelès-sur-Mer, the holiday town. There were lots of holiday bangalows, hotels, inns, camping parks and caravan parks.

Finally arrived at Port-Vendres.

Links:
http://www.vaucluse-visites-virtuelles.com/glvirtualbluepopouts/port-vendres-english.html
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port-Vendres

Walk around Toulouse - 22nd December 2005

2006-02-12T00:34:00.000+08:00

The mornings are cold at just below the freezing point. But just enough to create frosts and not snow.

This is a nice scene where there were a lot of trees with lots of frosts.

Once in Toulouse town itself, the sun was out and things don't look so gloomy anymore.

The curbside parking skills of Penangites would be severely challenged here!! You have to do it while side parking ;)

After some shopping or picking up some ordered stuffs from around Toulouse, we headed back home. The cold weather meant that you don't feel very tired after all the walking but it is also very conducive for afternoon naps :)

Next the trip to Port Vendre.

The Saint-Sernin Basilica - 21st December 2005

2006-02-05T00:48:00.000+08:00

It was a chilly afternoon by the time we reached the Basilica. I started taking photos from the outside and the back of the basilica. The entrance wasn't too exciting that was why I didn't bother to get a well framed shot. I didn't read up much about the place, so I was quite surprised that the place was actually built in 1080...

Taking a photo of the Fresco was rather difficult because normal visitors aren't allowed into that area so I had to zoom in from a distance.

A few informative links:
http://www.mairie-toulouse.fr/ANGLAIS/Culture/monument/SaintSernin.htm
http://www.sspx.ca/Angelus/2002_April/Saint-Sernin.htm
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~hart205/Cathedrals/Plan/plan.html

Touch Down in Toulouse, 20th December 2005

2006-02-04T17:40:00.000+08:00

The Pyrenees mountain range can be seen in the background and this shot was taken with maximum zoom.

The city of Toulouse itself from the air.

There are lots of farms on the outskirts of the city as can be seen from the plane.

Most of the Airbus planes are assembled in Toulouse, and some of the parts are brought in by the Beluga, an enlarged cargo plane that you can often see flying in the skies around Toulouse.

Finally arrived in Toulouse Blagnac airport.

From Amsterdam to Toulouse, 20th December 2005

2006-01-22T10:30:00.000+08:00

There wasn't so much to see once airborne because of the thick cloud cover over much of Europe in winter. So the 2 shots you see here was taken very quickly after takeoff before we flew above the clouds.

I like this Fokker plane cause the engines are at the tail, hence there are less noise in the cabin. The flight attendants started serving a simple snack meal which consisted of sandwiches and drinks, which for me wasn't too bad since I was hungry.

This was a lucky shot because I had my camera out at that moment. Unfortunately I can't move the plane to get a better angle (I would have preffered the plane to be moving upwards 45' from my position) but here it is anyway.

For most of the flight after that, the cloud cover has changed from the fluffy type to a more uniform blanket of clouds as far as the eye can see.

Then upon reaching Toulouse, the cloud cover breaks, signifying the edge of the cold front - and less severe winter to where I am heading :)

Ok, the next post would have more pictures on Toulouse.

My last trip in 2005 - France, 20th - 31st December 2005

2006-01-21T02:19:00.000+08:00

I took a KLM flight from KL to Toulouse via Amsterdam. The flight arrived early in Amsterdam at around 4am and my connection to Toulouse was by KLM Cityhopper leaving at around 10am.

Clearing immigration at such an early hour was not a problem since there were very little crowd. However, going in too early wasn't such a good idea since I couldn't get to see the rest of the terminal when they opened later in the morning.

View of the airport in the morning. The airport wasn't too cold as long as you have some winter clothing on.

That is the Fokker 70 KLM Cityhopper plane, similar to the one that took me to Toulouse.

More shots of the Fokker 70.

OK, that should be all for now. More in flight photos later.

Timika, Papua, Indonesia 1st and 2nd week of December 2005

2006-01-04T23:27:00.000+08:00

[Last Edit: 15 January 2006]: I am already behind by 2 countries...here's the last of the Papua trip before I move on to France.

It has been a month since I shot the photos but since I have loads of other photos from France to edit, I would publish what I have first little by little.

This is a shot taken after checking-in and waiting and waiting for my connection flight to Timika. Arrived in Jakarta approximately at 5pm and my connection is only at 11pm so of course I was tired. Since the check in counters only opened at 8pm, by the time I am in the terminal, most of the shops have closed. You can see it's pretty deserted. While the place is relatively clean, there are still baby cockcroaches running around the chair so that rules out sleeping!

After Jakarta, there was a brief stopover at the Bali island airport. If you are in transit, and a guy, you have to visit the toilet. They have nice aquariums above each of the urinals and it's so fascinating you can forget that you have completed your "business". However, due to the high user traffic, it was kinda inconvenient to shoot a photo....I don't think people like to have their photos taken while at the urinal ;) Anyway, I finally reached Timika at 7am and that is a photo taken at sunrise. The clouds were fascinating as it looked like a thick blanket, though my photo don't do justice to it.

Kuala Kenchana is a mining company town. Even though it is 10 years old, all the buildings and landscaping are well taken care of. It's like an integrated township where you have all the company departments operating out of, food courts, restaurants, shopping mall etc. .They even have double lane roads leading to the town and within as you can see in the photo but it is mostly deserted and the rules on speeding is well enforced.

Picture taken at the roundabout upon reaching Kuala Kencana.

The two pictures above shows the view of the Papua Mountain Ranges. Note the lowland area in the foreground that shows the mine tailings (what's left after the rocks were crushed and minerals extracted). The tailings are dumped into the river to be carried to the lowlands. You can see trucks carrying the tailings away for construction purposes.

The road leading up to the mining areas, as you can see isn't tarred, hence there are water trucks wetting the road occasionally to keep the dust down. If you were to follow any vehicle on a dry road, your view would most probably be obstructed by the billowing dust. Wipers and windscreen washers are used extensively.

The place where I was staying is in the lowland - called the Base Camp. As you can see, it isn't too shabby eventhough it's located in the jungles of Papua. In fact they have a whole range of cable channels that would put some Malaysian hotels to shame - I guess there's nothing much to do after work here. The rooms are all air conditioned with hot water for showers. The rooms are also made up every morning and laundry collected. All you have to do is work ;) These rooms are also used to accomodate the single workers of the company - what luxury.

There's also the dining hall, which I didn't take any photos of since I think it's inappropriate. But it serves all types of local and western cuisine plus desserts and ice creams. All this is available if you are an employee or a contractor like myself.

There is an ongoing resistance to the rule of Indonesia in Papua. The situation in Papua has since calmed down but nevertheless, security is ever present here. As someone passing through, I don't think it's was appropriate for me to argue for one side or the other. Go search on the internet if you want to find out more about the issues.

From Papua and on to France....

2005-12-19T01:57:00.000+08:00

Kinda tired after the 12 hours trip back from Papua and now that I have to pack and buy stuffs for my trip to France, I don't have the time to touch up and upload my Papua photos. Guess those would have to go up together with the photos from France once I get back. See ya!

Incredible view of clouds before landing at Papua. Found out later that these puffy clouds would be the source of heavy downpours in the late afternoons and nights.

Off for the next 2 weeks....and then more

2005-12-04T02:44:00.000+08:00

I would be gone for the next 2 weeks to a new location...not that it would make much difference since I don't update this blog that often. But this would be different in the sense that I should get a lot of picture snapping opportunity. Below are the places that I could be at....

However, after reading about La Idler from Kennysia.com, I come to realize that these frequent trips in planes with questionable maintenance records can be a real hazard. What happens to an avid blogger in the time when death isn't a question of when and how anymore....do you think "dang! I wish I could blog about this..." or "I have so many friends I have not met let alone say goodbye to...". What happens to a blog when someone passes on? I realized that most of us blog without our family members knowing about it. Would we now like to put it in our will so that they have something to remember us by..."And to my favourite nephew, I now leave you Surprise!....my blog! "

Ujong Pasir....sometime in 1989

2005-12-04T02:34:00.000+08:00

This photo was taken, if I am not mistaken, sometime in 1989. Pre-digital camera era. It was taken in Ujong Pasir, Malacca at the water front between Seaview Garden and Taman Aman.

Why am I putting this here? It's because the view is no longer there. A few years after this picture is taken, the sea around this area was reclaimed. I do not know how much is left of the area from the original site....must go back and take a reference shot in the future...or better still, anyone from this area care to shoot a pic for me? From the photos, you can also see the jetty that is situated at the Portugese settlement....don't know whether that jetty still exists too.

Luckily my mum had the foresight to frame this photo for me. Can't find the negative anymore. The orignal has richer colour.

The Regency, Plaza Hotel - Bintulu (15th - 19th November 2005)

2005-12-04T01:44:00.000+08:00

You know the place isn't too exciting when you see this in the state's website:

...Public Library as a Hotspot!!? On page 1??

The bad thing about the trip was the previous hotel that I stayed in (Everly ParkCity which I rate as above average), was fully booked and I have to settle for the RM145 per night (incl. breakfast) room at The Regency. The worse thing was that they ran out of non-smoking rooms and this room reeks of tobacco smell...it's like there was a permanent smoker in the room. Thankfully the room is large and I could crank up the aircond to "remove" the smell. I don't know whether the smell actually got less or my nose adapted to it...

Anyway, the hotel has a very minimalist approach to it's operation. You can see from the picture the basin area is in white plastic and looks like a hospital.

And this is the view at the vent near the entrance...yup it's lighted up there and you can see the pipings all very clearly. The maintenance crew must be delighted.

The view outside the window is.....

What's on tv...astro espn sport, one movie channel and some local channels. Content is nothing to shout about but the picture quality is terrible. A bit of twisting of the cable behind the box improved the quality but still dissapointing.

Urrghh and there is also no proper chair only a stool...that is about to break one of it's leg. Ok, so it's a make-up table....

And there was no in-room broadband....which was pretty much expected at this point. Though there were suppose to have wifi connection in the smoke filled lobby, it only worked for one night that I was there the whole time. And the 1515 calls weren't cheap. I raked up close to RM100 for the duration of my stay.

To it's credit, the hotel is located smack in the middle of town compared to the other hotel, so eating out is easy and cheap. There are lots of food stalls around the hotel and also a pasar malam one street away. Walk 2 blocks away is the river and the market but I didn't have the time and it got dark quite early here (as compared to Peninsular Malaysia) so there any opportunity to explore the place.

There were also two complementary bottles of water, replenished daily. Nothing fancy, just some RO water that was sourced from Lembaga Air Kuching :)

Forgot to take my camera out most of the time so no town pictures this time around.

Notes:
Taxi from airport to hotel is approx. RM30 and the ticket can be purchased from the counter.

The road from the new Bintulu airport to the city has been completed and it's a nice ride into town. Last year, parts of it were still un-tarred and quite a rocky ride.

Great place to get black/white pepper from the market or any of the sundry shops.

San Antonio, Riverwalk 1st - 7th October 2005 (Part II)

2005-11-26T02:18:00.000+08:00

The Riverwalk, a wonderful place to kick back and relaxs. There are various eateries and pubs and the weather was just right for my trip. You get clean side walks and since it is located one level below the street you don't get the intrusive hustle and bustle of the outside world. And to think this place was designed and built sometime around 1941....

On my last morning, I decided to get up earlier to enjoy an early morning on the Riverwalk. There was a slight drizzle and the temperature was around 15'C. The cold morning walk was invigorating. It was rather quiet with only a few people out and about. Some workers were only cleaning up their shops in preparation for a new day. Walked to the mall for some breakfast - more bacons in wraps and hot coffee ;)

Anyway, enjoy the photos...if you have to visit San Antonio in Texas, don't miss this place.

La Mansion del Rio Hotel, San Antonio, 1st - 7th October 2005

2005-10-30T17:24:00.000+08:00

This is a great hotel in a building that looks like it has a very long history. It has this very warm atmosphere and the service and personnels are great. Highly recommended staying here for a relaxing holiday and with the Riverwalk at the rear entrance (more about that later), it's a real treat.

There's broadband internet connection at USD10 per 24 hours (3pm till next day 3pm).

Look at the picture above, on the left....they even have a coffee maker! Paradise :)

Great toiletries too.

Shot from the corridor...the door to the rooms are from the other side.

It was raining when this photo was taken so the pool was kinda empty. Anyway the cold moved in on my last day and the temperature was around 15'C.

LA to San Antonio via Salt Lake City - 1st October 2005

2005-10-30T15:56:00.000+08:00

After "staying" overnight at LAX, I managed to check-in at 5am and prompty headed towards the gates. However I was marked for a thorough screening with body checks and all. Little did they know I was only too keen to take my shoes off after more than 24 hours!

With that done, I headed for McD's for my breakfast and waited for my 9am Delta flight.

Good deed of the day: Notified the 2 asian women who were chatting away without realizing that she has dropped her passport.

Pictures taken on the flight towards Salt Lake City.

Below is a photo taken at the Salt Lake City airport.
Below are pictures taken on the flight from Salt Lake City to San Antonio. Look at the fantastic landscape! Right out of National Geographic. Unfortunately I was so tired I decided to get some shut eye.

LAX - Tom Bradley Terminal, Los Angeles - 1st October 2005

2005-10-02T17:54:00.000+08:00

After staying overnight at the airport, I got checked in at 5am had McDs for breakfast and patiently waited for the flight out with a novel in hand.

LAX - Tom Bradley Terminal, Los Angeles - 1st October 2005

2005-10-01T14:35:00.000+08:00

Tom Bradley Terminal

Arrived from KLIA via Taipei. Unfortunately for me, since this is my first visit since my visa was made in 2002, I was taken to another office to fill in some forms before they process my entry. Luckily for me, my connection flight was 12 hours away.

The MAS personnel was kind enough to locate me (must not be the first time, since a few stewards and pilots were also in the same office) and take my luggage tag to bring my luggage to the office.

A picture of me at the Tom Bradley arrival terminal

So after going through immigrations and then customs (was not checked), I was left with 12 hours to spend at the airport. Pushed my way all the way to Building #5 for my Delta connection but they told me that I can't check my bags in because it's too early. So I was left with my bag and it was almost 7pm so I can't probably go on a tour of LA.

I was hungry but there were no cafeteria or restaurant at the Delta terminal, so I walked all the way to Tom Bradley again to get some sandwiches. Managed to get some sleep and in between, read the novel that I brought with me....

OK, kinda tired now. Would blog more at a later time.

Petronas Twin Towers Sky Bridge

2005-09-29T14:15:00.000+08:00

Had to bring two overseas customer sight seeing in KL and where did we go to....Petronas Twin Towers. Since we arrived around 11am, I thought it would be a good idea visit the Sky Bridge. The tickets were free so we headed to the counter (Go in through the main entry of the Philharmonic Orchestra, turn left and there would be an escalator going down on the right). Luckily for us, there are still tickets left for the 2:30pm tour.

After some shopping and lunch, we headed for the tour. You could actually go earlier so that you could watch the documentary played in the theatherette. If you arrive just on time, you don't actually have time to watch the full documentary before they herd you out for the tour.

All visitors have to go through a metal detector and have their bags scanned. Shopping bags would be tagged and kept by security. A guide then herded us into an elevator and within half a minute we were on the 41st floor (if I am not mistaken). We were allowed to wander about and take photos for 10 minutes after a short briefing by the guide.

Found it quite an interesting place to go if you are at the tower and have some free time since the tickets are free. But I found out that one of my customer was afraid of height when we tried to take his photo!

Vistana Hotel - 27/9/05

2005-09-27T13:45:00.000+08:00

Vistana Hotel, Penang Island

Short 2 days trip to Penang and I thought that I would give Vistana a try. Arrived around midnight and the check in was done very quickly and without fuss eventhough I was also checking-in 2 other overseas customers.

For RM130++ the rooms are big but the amenities are very basic. The only things they provide are the coffee making offers and toilet stuffs. The bed were big and comfortable and tv channels had Astro channels.

Very dissapointed that there were no broadband in the room. Probably because I had been travelling overseas for too often but then again, this is Penang, a developed island with lots of business travellers. I asked about dialup in the room and I was given a number. Didn't work cause the call kept going towards the receptionist. So I spoke to the receiptionist, and it turned out that I have to "enable" dial out for my room phone. Tried dial up again but still could not login and after a bit of fiddling, turned out that they have given me times.com dial-in number and not tm.net....which would just be 1515.

Breakfast was not part of the package and is RM15 per person but it's very basic.

If you need to take a taxi, advised to grab one outside the hotel (if you know your way and the rates) cause the "taxis" or limos provided by the hotel are very expensive.

Generally, I won't come back here unless if it's for personal holidays and checking emails are not necessary. There is TMNet Hotspot in the lobby but the lobby isn't very large and at night you would see a lot of other travellers there with their notebook. I prefer the privacy of my room.

Back to the Philippines II

2005-09-03T14:34:00.000+08:00

Back to the Philippines 21/8 to 26/8/2005

While waiting for the flight to Manila. This isn’t one of the flights I look forward to because it’s always on a small 737 that doesn’t have any personal in-flight entertainment and can be quite a bumpy in this typhoon season. The overcast sky doesn’t enhance the mood either.

Upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International airport, I decided to make use of Shangri-La’s transport service to get to the hotel. In my first trip, I had taken the normal taxi and that cost me about 400Peso. This time, it is going to cost me USD25 but I felt much safer. Upon informing arriving at the waiting room, I was ushered to a sofa and given a choice of mineral water or tea/coffee and my room reservation was confirmed. After awhile, the brand new Camry (if I remember correctly) pulled alongside the room and I was on my way. The picture of the Jeepney above was taken in the comfort of the limo.

For those who haven’t been to the Philippines, let me first say that it’s a very nice place to visit and the people are very friendly. However, their security situation forced the government and most private enterprise to put in place tight security checks. As an example, before being allowed to drive into the lobby area, all cars are checked for bombs by 2 guards using mirrors to inspect the bottom of the car. There are also the K-9 units you can see at the back of the car, checking the boot.

Upon unloading the luggage at the entrance of the lobby, another K-9 unit is there to sniff the luggage. Most hand carried bags would also be searched. All the checks may seem to be inconvenient but it is always done with a smile and by very courteous guards – you really cannot get angry with them for doing their jobs,

View from my room. You can see Manila is a very developed place, and this view is just a tiny slice of the metro Manila skyline.

In a repeat of my first visit, they tried asking me to upgrade to another room because they are short of non-smoking rooms. I wanted to tell them for making the same mistake twice but I held my tongue since they were courteous about it – I later found out that they were undergoing some renovations. Anyway after some calls, I got my non-smoking room but without the fruit basket. I think they just cleaned out that room. I was further disappointed they did not put the basket there during the subsequent days I was there – ok, I normally would not make a big fuss about it but I do miss the mangoes : (

The study table. Nice, big, well lit and plugs that comes with adaptors for internation visitors – cool. Of course paid broadband as well.

Absolut Vodka – Time to PARTY !!!

Ok so it’s not a 1L or even a 700ml bottle of Absolut, but little bottles of liquor that’s part of the rooms, mini-bar.

Philippines Kentucky Fried Chicken in GREAT!!

Ok, KFC here is great compared to Malaysia. If anyone from KFC Holdings is reading this, please follow the recipe of the Philippines. Let’s be honest, the best part of the chicken is in the fried skin….cause beneath it is the same white chicken meat. I normally get bored after the 2nd chicken and that’s where the side dishes come in to keep the interest in the food. But here in Philippines, the chicken comes with the gravy that is used as the topping of the mash potatoes. For take away, it comes in a small container. It’s totally unhealthy and incredibly delicious. Just pour or dip your chicken in it and munch away. And when the skin has been eaten away, just put more of the gravy on the chicken and ……. Burp! I already know what I would be taking away the next time I am in the Philippines :)

//sorry no KFC pics. Would do that the next time I am there. Too finger licking good I forgot to snap any photos.

New Element Discover

2005-08-30T08:19:00.000+08:00

New Element Discovered
Investigators at a major research institution have discovered the heaviest element known to science. This startling new discovery has been tentatively named Administratium (Ad).
"This new element has no protons or electrons, thus having an atomic number of zero. It does, however, have 1 neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice-neutrons and 111 assistant vice-neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312."
"These 312 particles are held together by a force called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons."
"Since it has no electrons, Administratium is inert. However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact."
"According to the discoverers, a minute amount of Administratium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete when it would normally take less than a second. Administratium has a normal half-life of approximately three years; it does not decay but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons, vice-neutrons and assistant vice-neutrons exchange places."
"In fact, Administratium sample's mass will actually increase over time, since with each reorganization some of the morons inevitably become neutrons, forming new isotopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to speculate that Administratium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as the 'Critical Morass.'"
Source: page 7, Volume VIII, No. 3 of John McCaughey's Energy Perspective
http://www.aig.asn.au/new_element_discovered.htm

p/s: This is a gem that I can’t help but share it.

Taipei | Highness Hotel Linkou | 07/08/2005 - Review

2005-08-21T20:42:00.000+08:00

The Highness Hotel (Hua Hsia) is at a great location if you need to get to the science park located nearby. It's located opposite a hospital, in an area of medium scale commercial area. There are lots of eating places, and fast food restaurants are within walking distance. Supermarkets are located at almost every block, otherwise there's always 7-11. However, it isn't very close to Taipei, so if you want to be in the middle of action, this isn't the place to be.

I arrived just the day after the Matsa typhoon and it was raining the next day - eventhough it was a Sunday, I decided not to get wet just for a walkaround.

The room, as you can see is decorated with Chinese style furniture. At night, the room is too dim for my likinig, and the light above the study table doesn't help much. The bed and pillows provided are just adequate, not really very comfortable. Sun rise is at 6am so, couple that with the uncomfortable pillows, I was really tired at the end of my trip.

However it does come with unlimited broadband connection at no extra charges. And there are over 100 tv channels to choose from. I found that the HK Cantonese movies dubbed into Mandarin in Taiwan is actually quite entertaining - it didn't loose much of the originality and the voices doesn't seemed realistic. If you have watched the dubbed movies in Malaysia or Singapore, you would understand what I meant.

Breakfast was so-so. Since they start early, by the time I go downstairs at 0830, much of the food has been depleted. However, I was there for a week, so I basically managed to sample all of them. Coffee was the worst I had come across. It's so thin, you could see the cup - something like very dark tea!

Due to the fully booked flights, I could only fly back on Sunday. Again, there was a storm brewing in the south and I was adviced not to go sightseeing on Saturday just in case I get caught in the rain storm...so there I was in the hotel watching tv and snacking away.

OK, I guess if you have to come to this area, it would be for business and on that basis, it's good enough. Otherwise, there are better hotels to unwind.

Ciao.

Taipei | Highness Hotel Linkou | 07/08/2005

2005-08-09T01:19:00.000+08:00

Current Location: N 25'03.7 E121'21.8

Seems that all the flights between KL and Taipei was fully booked. So I had to take a flight on Saturday with a stopover at Kota Kinabalu.

This is the view at KLIA. Try to spot the EVA airliner through the haze.

The second picture is taken during the brief stopover at Kota Kinabalu airport.

This hotel is actually located in Linkou. Will blog about it later. Now is time to hit the sack.

Manila | Edsa Shangri-La | 25/07/2005 - Part II

2005-08-09T01:03:00.000+08:00

Manila is actually a nice place to visit. The place exudes old world charm and the people are beuatiful and friendly. Of course, all this is totally betrayed by their unstable politics. Going into most building complexes, one's car is screened, your bags are searched and probably some body checks too depending on the clothes you are wearing. Really unfortunate.

Edsa ShangriLa was selected for my stay because it's close to the customer's place. It's nice - something you would expect from ShangriLa. Upon checking in I was asked whether I wanted to upgrade for USD55 - a few things thrown in like free broadband, late checkout etc... but I declined since it wouldn't look nice if my host found out ;) Anyway she then told me that there's no more non-smoking rooms - so that's why she wanted me to upgrade. I told her it's ok, I would just take the smoking room.

The room surprisingly doesn't smell of any cigarette smoke. The carpet however feels very thin and uncomfortable to walk bare footed on. However, the room is very nicely decorated and the arm chair is so comfortable for reading - which is great because I found out that books here are 30 - 50 % cheaper than in Malaysia !!

Broadband cost me USD15 for 24 hours.

Outside of the hotels, there is the ShangriLa Mall, looks very up market with a big food court at the basement, which was where I had most of my dinner. Of course, I also surveyed both the bookstores for future book purchases. There was also a cinema in the mall but didn't have time to catch a movie. Probably also much cheaper than Malaysia - have to find out during my next visit.

My hosts brought me out to tour Manila and had seafood dinner, but dang, I didn't bring my camera (was at the customer's place, which has a ban on cameras). So no pictures of the metropolitan Manila.

Thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Manila though it was for work. Hope to be there again in the future. If only their politicians can get their act together, Philippines can be a great nature with all the resources at their disposal. Then people can once again visit the great place without fear.

Manila | Edsa Shangri-La | 25/07/2005

2005-08-01T01:54:00.000+08:00

Edsa Shangri-La
1 Garden Way, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City 1650, Manila, Philippines

Too tired to write about my experience here now. Would update this blog later. Meanwhile, enjoy the pictures.

Singapore | The GrandPlaza Parkroyal | 18/7/2005

2005-07-19T01:46:00.000+08:00

Location: Singapore

The GrandPlaza Parkroyal
10 Coleman Street, Singapore 179809

Got the Orchid Deluxe Room this time at S$170++ per night. This happens to be my company's "regular" corporate hotel, so it's a place I am very familiar with.

I have always been reserved a room at the Orchid Club Floor so check-in is done at the 10th floor. Most of the time this is very convenient because you do not have to wait in line with half the population of Singapore. However, coming in at night when there is less staff on duty, it could be a hassle. You see - the lifts are controlled by coded cards, so you can't like waltz in and go to the top floor to check yourself in. You have to be escorted up.

OK, I shouldn't complain. Being here always makes me very relaxed, cause I know things would work. No worries about power plugs, broadband always works, there would be good channels on TV etc.

Overall the room is very brightly lit, as can be seen from the photos. Study table is medium size with two power plugs at the table level (very convenient, see pics). You can control most of the light switches from your bed. The pillows are nice and soft. And there's a nice plate of fruits for snacks at night - and not forgetting the candy on the pillow ;)

The shower is also good. Water temperature can be controlled easily and there's also a bath tub if you want to soak in it.

Breakfast is on the 9th Floor. I always find the food of high quality (they serve veal sausages), but the choices limited. Then again, I am always in a hurry to go out, this serves me just fine.

Location wise, it is well within walking distance (under 5 minutes) of the MRT station and Funan IT Mall.

Overall Ratings: 8.5/10

Hong Kong | Harbour Plaza Metropolis | 15/7/2005

2005-07-16T00:34:00.000+08:00

Location: Hong Kong

Harbour Plaza Metropolis
Metropolis Drive, Hunghom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Got a Superior One Bedroom Suite that overlooks the Victoria Harbour. Comes with it's own living room and kichenette. Costs about HKD 800++

The room is well furnished and the view is great. Room is brightly lit but unfortunately there's no "centralized" lighting control, so if you have switched on all the lights....you have to walk over to switched all of them off one by one before you go to bed.

Study table is neat and suitably sized. There is an extension cord with extra power outlets. Broadband internet is blazingly fast.

Location wise, it is situated next to the Hunghom KCR station so getting around isn't a problem. In fact it was my American colleague who guided the taxi driver to the hotel by just asking him to drive to the train station.

Unfortunately I wasn't feeling too well when I flew in from Bangkok, so wasn't really in the mood to "enjoy" the atmosphere. The hotel was situated above the Metropolis shopping complex, but have a slight fever so I just bought some bread to eat in the room before hitting the sack :(

Hope to come back for more next time around.

Overall ratings: 9/10

Bangkok | Swissotel Le Concorde | 10/7/2005

2005-07-14T00:34:00.000+08:00

Location: Bangkok

Swissotel Le Concorde
204 Ratchadapisek Road, Huay Kwang, Bangkok 10320,Thailand

As you can see, it's a big comfortable room with a big bathroom and shower. Unfortunately there weren't enough power plugs - had to remove the table light plug to plug in my notebook which left me working in the dark....yes, the room is dim enough for romantic settings but totally too dark to be working at night. Gave me a big headache!

Also very difficult to get the right temperature for the shower. Either too hot or too cold.

Here are my ratings (for things that are important to me as a business traveller):

Coffee & Tea facilities: Fair

Shower: Fair. Large bathroom let down by poor shower.

Bed: Good

TV Channels: Standard

Study Table: Poor lighting, not enought power points

Internet connection: Broadband. Very expensive at 580++ Baht per 24 hours. No other choice for purchasing.

Overall Room environment: Good

Breakfast: Rushed through most of my breakfast ;) but those that I had was good.

Location: Good (as in not in the city centre)

Overall rating: 7.0 / 10 Come here for a holiday, not for work.

2005-07-11T00:06:00.000+08:00

Location: Bangkok

More to come later....

Singapore | Sheraton Towers| 3/7/2005

2005-07-03T23:17:00.000+08:00

Location: Singapore

Sheraton Towers

The bed with the best pillows so far...for me.

Of course this is Sheraton at S$190++ per night so everything is above average.

Here are my ratings (for things that are important to me as a business traveller):
Coffee & Tea facilities: Good variety of tea bags and nescafe coffee.
Shower: Pros are the temperature for shower and bath where you don't need to adjust between hot and cold. Cons are the baths come only fixed shower head.
Bed: Excellent with superb pillows (refer to above)
TV Channels: Standard international news etc; does not have AXN or HBO.
Study Table: Pros, reasonable sized and easy to work with. Comes with extension cord with multiple powerpoints (very thoughtful). Cons, glass surface unsuitable for my computer mouse.
Internet connection: Broadband with cable provided. Charges by hours/days/weeks (3-7 days = 1 week)
Overall Room environment: Very comfortable with nice deco. My room looked out onto Scotts Road.
Breakfast: Standard fare that I rate highly, however choice was rather limited.
Location: Very close to Orchard Road, so there's lots of choice for meals and shopping if necessary. Very close to Newton MRT. Cons, slightly difficult to get taxi despite it's central location because according to one cab driver, they do not like the doorman of the hotel which may not choose them to pickup the customer sometimes.
Overall rating: 8.5 / 10

Very tired today, so I would blog more about this incredible place later.