Friday, March 25, 2011

an early start..

Been 'away', chose to be 'grounded' for quite awhile..been doing some 'deep thoughts of things and stuff' but for certain something, ignorance turn out to be the best solution - it may not be ideal but, hey it's worth the try.

Anyway, it would be a daunting task to get to the other end of Kuala Lumpur as early as possible in the morning..I really hope I won't get stuck in any massive congestion..Ameen!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Dinner with the clan at BBM

Tonite we celebrating a good academic result by one of the nephew at our aunt's place in BBM.. a quick-get-together..

Monday, March 21, 2011

trying out windows live writer

windows live writer – does it really works well with blog?

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Woodpecker chuck wood

It's almost 2am, and I'm squinting me eyes to update my blog. I think the ambience in Ipoh has some soothing  effect that could lead one to la-la land without much fuss. Infact under the silence of night, while surfing from my mom's living room - sinking in her antique sofa, I could hear the woodpecker chucking the wood, the cricket cricketting next to the window..and I think I could hear the owl as well.. These - sound of nature, were not available if I were in Kuala Lumpur.. It's not that I'm a big fan of nature and wilderness etc (you can't get me to go into the wilderness and camp, that is,) I mean camping in the middle of nowhere is not the kind of being appreciative to nature for me, there's lot of other way.. but the serene night, and when nature 'talks'.. you just simply fall in love with the whole scene!
owh, how can you not like Ipoh??

Thursday, March 17, 2011

trip to Malacca has been re-schedule

auww... we can't commit to the date again, need to reschedule the trip to Malacca to anotherr date that we can't figure out just yet..

Monday, March 14, 2011

Kuala Terengganu: end of march excursion

My Terengganu excursion will end in couple of hours. Packing things up from what supposed to be 'I'm-not-going-to-buy-anything-at-Pasar Payang' which turn out to be plenty compare to the size of my backpack. Time seems to fly so fast with so many things to do and too little to rest. By the time twilight sets in I'm all ready to 'fly' back home again. Hopefully the journey would be smooth..

Oh..Terengganu Airport has to take immediate action on the F&B issues here at the airport. No. 1 issue - passenger deliberately has no choice, it's either you snack on whatever they are selling at the tit-bits shop or any cold leftover meals that they don't bother to heat up at the only F&B outlet. If you are damn hungry and not wanting to be late for check-in, that, would be the only choice you had!!

Also, the management have to do something about the maintenance of washroom/toilet facilities, most of the time they don't bother to clean the floor regularly and those cleaners would linger around within the complex and enjoying a good chat among themselves.

KLIA

Chose to fly home with MAS instead of Firefly as I was trying to reach home early and the latter didn't have any earlier outbound flight from Kuala Terengganu. So safely arrived in Kuala Lumpur International Airport Sepang.. while waiting to be fetched, spent some time gawking at the roof-ceiling construction. A decade has passed and I'm still admiring the complicated curvy roof of KLIA..

Why does people chose to shop at Pasar Payang?

Pasar Payang or the Central Market of Terengganu is located in the middle of the old part of Kuala Terengganu, next to its main riverside. It is a double story buidling with natural ventilation which seems unedequate and most of the time the whole atmosphere seems too suffocating due to flocks of people visiting and shopping, especially when this time around was the school break season for Malaysia. So, if you are not a fan to 'congestion' so this might not be the place of your interest, but you would not get 'accredited' as being in Kuala Terengganu if you haven't step foot in the market and 'feel' its ambience!

Just for the record, I've been here before, so, knowing how the place would turn out during peak season doesn't create the thrill of going there at all and it doesn't made me a big fan of this place and furthermore - me and shopping? it doesn't always pair well.!! However, I would have to 'entertain' this opportunity. Which explain the reason behind packs of shopping bags that I have to carry by the end of 2hrs 'shopping spree'..hehe (auw..looking at those items inside the bags now, none were meant to be mine actually..auchh)



Anyway, the Pasar Payang is divided to several areas which designate the item that were on sale. For example, on the Ground Level - it was all selling dry spices, delicacies and other food related. Where as on the upper level - were filled with series of arcade that selling fabric, mostly batik and songket, lots of it! The whole ambience which fills with colors and patterns and more colors, which made me kind of fuzzy. It create such a twirl in your eyes having to go through all those vibrant colors at one go, let alone having to select one that could be consider-nice.

I can't imagine how stressful, I would turn out to be if I were to go through all those fabric and having to choose which one I would desire most!! It defintely not going to be so.. so I just grab something that looks decent enough in less than 5 minutes of decision making, as souvenirs to family members without having put much thought of colors or design except the quality of the material, which also were presented in huge variations to suit your budget. I would really admire those who go through all these from one arcade to another, and another just to find something interesting enough to suit their taste and of course-budget. I mean, really - you have to bargain and serious bargain takes time and effortless persuasion, which to me, time is not something seriously you wish to spent in such 'suffocating' place like this..


On overall, I would reckon that the authority should look deep into the cleanliness expect of the whole complex and for such profit making place, certain amount money have to be put aside for maintenance purposes and the daily upkeep of the place. I mean, this place still looks the same like I've been here when I was a child and also another round ten years ago (haha..it was that long ago, and I've been traveling back and forth to Terengganu for almost 2 years now..) Also, it would be a good idea to have the whole complex to be air-conditioned as it could be humidly hot for tropics like Terengganu.

How Grand could it turn out to be?

Grand Continental Kuala Terengganu is just a basic 3-star hotel. I'm guessing it's a late 80's hotel with a typical 80's interior that I would say, it could be typically found at almost all Grand Continental Hotels in Malaysia (you know, the green-cream striped upholstery, bedspread and curtains with hazelnut brown furniture - get the picture?)

Nothing fancy for the porte-cochere as it has none The drop off area consist only its internal lay-by with a small foyer. The Lobby was rather small as well - it was quite pack with 2 bus-load of people upon my arrival. The architectural language of the lobby?? I personally think it need a quick dose of refurbishment as it looks too worn-out. The coffe house located directly 10 steps up from the lobby - it hard to be missed, so I guess I already know where my breakfast would be for tomorrow.

There ain't any designated lift lobby for this hotel, the lift lobby actually opens up to the waiting lounge (refer the photos) I personally preferred a separate designated area for Lift Lobby as it segregate the chaos of waiting lounge or the hotel's lobby. And it was strangehaving a cake display right next to the lift!


Anyway, my room on the fifth floor was facing directly opposite the lift door, so I won't get my self lost around the corridor finding my room ..tsk tsk! In general the room is quite spacious in terms of the size of floor area, with 2 single bed and an area for extra bed, but I felt it was more than generous for a single occupancy. It has a small bay window facing South China Sea (I think it's the Ketapang Bay), with textured wall-paper, and hazelnut brown furniture (not my kind of interior). The bathroom was quite small though in relative comparison to the room with a brown-speckle-marble counter top, but generally in clean state.

my room is overlooking South China Sea - and that tall building is Hotel Tanjong Vista


Owh, this hotel was located nearby the famous market in Kuala Terengganu called Pasar Payang - you would want to go if you are looking for souvenirs or batik or songket..or Terengganu delicacies..However, I think you should get your butt out of your room - nothing fancy to adore, tv channel was so basic..the room was basic which too my standard of travelling would only suit for one main purpose - sleep ur muscle. So, if you doesn't have any high expectations, this hotel would be a good pick as the rate is quick affordable, but if you are looking more from your stay in hotel than perhaps you should find others than would suit your taste. But hey, I've made it through so, it wasn't that bad..  ;)

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Loosing the battle to loose the lb!

I'm so famishly full right now, been following the social networking since I touchdown at 4pm, started with tea-session (plus all the fried seafood, fish fritters..etc), then followed by more seafood for dinner,and finally the day ended by supper. Am finally residing in my room at Hotel Grand Continental, trying to get to sleep for I had to be early tomorrow, but I was so full!! (I'm not going to loose anymore pounds in near future if things keeps on piling at this rate..haha)



Anyway, to kill the time let me describe of the hotel..

Covering the east-coast again..

Flying off to Terengganu again - and it's weekend!!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Hazy Congestion

I would never expect skipping the morning rush of 730-830 time zone would also lead me to another mid-morning rush! Driving through my way to get to Jalan Raja Laut wasn't as smooth as I anticipated, or was it because today is Friday? err..what does that has to do with the traffic congestion? To make things worse, it RAINS by the time I reach the client's office, OMG!! Thankfully it was still drizzling so, making a mad dash from parking bays at the basement to the Lobby doesn't drench me much since I have to skip the umbrella due to other 'things' I'm carrying..


After the meeting ended, it spoiled the mood to go for a quick shopping at the nearby SOGO as it's still raining and I can't spoil the outfit for another appointment in the afternoon, so the only things that wise enough to be done is, head back to HQ!! ta-da

However, on my way to office, I noticed that despite the rain, the skies doesn't look it has been 'washed' but as though it's being covered with thick-haze. I wonder, why does the continuous rain from morning to afternoon couldn't was away the haze-if IT IS the haze. Is there any haze attack that I'm not aware of?

Tsunami hits Japan!!

Japan was hit by what's been reported as the most enormous earthquake in Japan history of 8.9magnitude, on March 11, 2011, that triggered a deadly 23-foot tsunami 230miles northeast of Tokyo.

Read more: Tsunami Factfile: Learn about the tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011 and the Indian Ocean in 2004 — source
 www.infoplease.com
Also, some scary images being upload, which shows how the waves swirl in such monstrous manner.
massive whirlpool image of the tsunami 


Whirlpools are seen following the tsunami in Iwaki, Fukushimacaption












Also, footage of Sendai Aiport being hit by the tsunami Sendai Airport


Sendai Airport was surrounded by water



Cars and airplanes swept by a tsunami are pictured among debris at Sendai Airport





Fishing boats were stranded on shore at Oarai, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.











Earthquake-triggered tsumanis swept ashore along Iwanuma in northern Japan.




 Our prayers to Japan, they have recovered from what was worse than this during World War, hopefully they'll recover this time around, Ameen..

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Roadrunner on the go again..

dusk giving way to morning sunray
Another day trip to Kuantan.. borrrrrinng!!





junction towards the Kuantan toll exit - going straight would lead you to Sg Lembing







Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Another round of Kuala Lumpur city centre

If you are heading to city centre from Subang Jaya, it would be a better option to make use of New Pantai Expressway (NPE) as the traffic flow is usually in better control in comparison to *KESAS Hiway, plus the toll rate is lower*. Also, it is not adviseable to get into NKVE hiway and try to compete the morning rush if you really can postpone your journey a bit later than 9am, as you can never tell how bad the traffic was, which you would usually get stuck before Damansara immediately after 730am and another congestion would be the final exit at Duta. If I have an appointment at 9am in the middle of KL, I'd definitely have to make sure that I have passed the Duta exit before 730am which means I'd reach the place much earlier, but I think it should be fine rather than being late!

I managed to clocked a minimum of ten minutes as the traveling period from the first toll booth in Subang Jaya to the final booth in Pantai Dalam, of course the traffic situation along Summit Hotel stretch or the Sunway strecth would be the deciding factor of your earlier journey, as those two places were congested almost at all times, but at least you can roughly estimate the duration of your entire journey.


*Travel Tip: As of January 2011, NPE toll rate RM1.60 per entry, there're 2 toll from Subang Jaya to Pantai Dalam/Bangsar, where as KESAS toll rate would be RM2.20 per toll and there're also 2 toll from Subang Jaya to the last toll at Awan Besar.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Gloom and grumpy...

Arrived in Putrajaya a little bit early for the meeting that would take place at 4.30pm and it was raining. Make a dash to my meeting place but how I wish I stay put in my car and wait for the rain to stop - it's already 530pm and I'm still waiting for the meeting to start.. darn!! my tummy is grumpy.. I only had my bfast at 11 this morning!! grrrr

Well planned Putrajaya?? or the planners are not well??

Parking nowadays, is not so much of a problem in Parcel E - Putrajaya, but still you have to walk a minimum of 500 meters away to get to your destination.. so I hope the traffic would be at its best, today..

Benta revisited..

Another morning trip to Benta. You have to be early, in order to be able to escape from being stuck in the morning-madness of Bukit Lanjan-Duta stretch. Previously, I just have to make sure that I clock-in at Kota Damansara by 7am, so that I could still be trevelling smoothly along the route. Plus, it is a better option to have your smart tag or touch&go card if travelling via any hiway in Kuala Lumpur especially if you plan to 'compete' with all working people during the rush hour - it definitely saves you, some precious time! But, this morning I was late - reach Kota Damansara at 7.15 which means I would be 'crawling' to get through the Duta toll..Hey, it ain't that bad since I managed to reach Gombak by 8am, thanks to DUKE (it's the only highway in Malaysia, that I felt worth paying RM2.00 for each entry!)






The journey was smooth, chit-chatting all the way with my engineer takes the 'distance' away. I hope everything could be finalize and resolved by today as I can't linger around in Benta for the whole day. It is going to be a mad-rush to another appointment at Putrajaya in the late afternoon, so I don't intend to turn myself  mad and I would love to avoid driving to places in such rushing mode..


p.s. I have snapped more photos of Benta, will upload it once I found time to do it  ;)

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Trying out 'famous' eatery @ Jeram

On sunday afternoon, beyond boredom of lingering around at home, we decided to give the so called 'famous eatery' of Aroma Ikan Bakar in Jeram a visit (restaurant that mainly serves barbeque fish and other seafood). We google and found the coordinate, of which we decided to follow the Puncak Alam-Meru route and suprisingly the mileage meter only shows barely a 25km away from home! and on top of that we managed to discover a new country side which we never steps foot on..woww

sunset over straits of malacca


However, the journey took more than an hour, due to the traffic at Meru town, then Kapar town and when we reach Jeram (in Selangor), this place is not exactly located near the roadside, but we have to drive-through narrow road once we turn into the directed way as per signboard and what seems a very 'creepy'country road to me, with tall shrubs on its immediate road shoulder ( if i were to go alone, i would rather go home and cook myself my own ikan bakar!)

OMG, the place was packed!! surprised!! surprised!! People really go this far to seek for 'good food'?? Anyway, we found out that the food served didnt really meet our taste-bud standard, I mean the 'sweet& sour fish' was only a fried fish (which they actually used the recycled oil to fry it - it taste bad) and sloppyly cover with plain plum sauce with no usual granish of onions, pineapple, or coriander leaves!! ouww, c'mon, even a 'weekend chef' like myself can do better than that!! and the fried calamari was overwhelm with white pepper.. on overall, we really feel it's a 'waste of time'! but that's an experience.. and now I cant wait to go to Umbai-Melaka in couple of weekends for another seafood trip..


p.s. I have snapped some photos, will upload it once I found time to do it  ;)

Saturday, March 5, 2011

PE could be a threat to travellers?

PE or pulmonary embolism is a health threat whereby there's a situation of having a blood clot in your lung. It came as shocking read about Serena Williams, the Grand Slam legend - whom is now recuperating from it. Who would have thought  that being active in sports would also landed her as so, but it has further surprised me that other than these stated factor; immobilazation after broken bones, recent surgery or obesity - travelling can also magnify the threat!whoa..!! It is described that sitting for a prolonged period can slow the blood flow in one legs therefore risking the potential of clot formation. The clots were describe as capable of floating through the bloodstreams and lead to our lung, get stuck in the vessels and obstruct the blood flow like a clogged pipe!

So, what do you do to prevent it? I was concern because I do a lot of long distance traveling which usually clock-in more than 2 hours drive, so the given advice was, stop and have a stretch at least every 2 hours of drive or if traveling by flight, get up and walk around the cabin every hour. That should do it, and the rest we'll leave to Allah al-Mighty..

Thursday, March 3, 2011

patronising the curfew

It has always been the policy, if I can't make it home from office before 10pm due to extra workload, then it would means that I can only make my move home after 6am. It's part of the 'safety procedure'..

So, here I am making an effort to get home in the wee hours of the morning, trying to get my eyes to stay awake and focus. Staying awake for the past 24hrs doesn't help ...Have to get home, take a proper shower, get dressed and rush back to the office for presentation at 10am! Madness that seldom appear in other common people's life..but it's a 'way-of-life' of mine..It's either you hate it, or you deal with it!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

grounded, and ain't moving

Still stuck at the office come midnite...

Request to be grounded!!

Continuous days of meetings in a week, would means you could never get most of your things done. I'm glad, my request to be grounded has been granted!! Afterall, I only have another 24hours to get things done before scheduled presentation tomorrow!!