On 4 November 2007 MAS transited in Kuching before leaving for KL. Air ticket was RM 400 +. None of the air steward or air stewardess were around to help me with my heavy bag. They became like bees when a certain Dato' and his entourage boarded. They buzzed around them in their first class. Reaching KL at 10 am, I hurriedly took the cab direct to Kuala Selangor for RM 126. I checked into the De Palma Inn, Kuala Selangor. The junior suite chalet cost RM 207 per night. The cheaper ones were all booked. This was my firs visit to Kuala Selangor and since the internet could not tell much, I had to settle for this 3 stars accommodation. Inside my given chalet were three beds, two air conds, one tv, one chair, two small tables, one phone, one small fridge, a sink, a toilet, a shower room with all the basic toiletries, a flask, some sachets of coffee, cream, sugar and a small kitchenette like area. The hotel is situated among the natural and man made landscape. It is very green and quiet. When it is weekend, it will be full house. There is this tree which looks very old, with lots of roots, tall and next to my chalet. Some creatures are communicating to each other. The internet provides history regarding Kuala Selangor. This small town looks neglected and quiet. You can count the number of shops and buildings and it will just take any hour to walk round the whole town. School children bring life somewhat because there are quite a number of schools. The outskirts of Kuala Selangor is dotted by Malay kampung and this makes the town big. There is a very large palm tree plantation and palm oil is the main output from this place. The taximan told me there is the fishery industry. Tourism wise, Bukit Belibing is very much promoted for its' fireflies. There is a resort there. The road to Kuala Selangor will pass by Ijok, a small place but was a hotly contested seat in the last general elections. Nearer to Kuala Selangor is Batang Berjuntail or Berjuntai Bestari. Batang Berjuntai used to be a mining village until it ran out of tin ore. The government of Selangor used the land to make its' first state university in the country. Since the name Batang / branch Berjuntai / dangling sounds undeveloped, the government changed it to Berjuntai Bestasi / the best. Going to the university by cab will be RM 50 one way from Kuala Selangor to Berjuntai Bestari. Most resorts in Kuala Selangor are situated among the jungles. There is also a homestay programme. This programme allows one to experience the Malay kampung lifestyle. Because KS is a sleepy town, I noticed some Caucasians bicycling there and saw a tour train that goes round the town. I spent two nights in KS and after finishing my business, checked out on Sunday. I went back to KL and checked into YMCA. YMCA's charge was RM80 per night and I stayed for 3 nights. Went to KLCC for a short while. At the Putra counter, the specky malay girl in tudung had a phobia with 5 cents coins. I wanted to give her two 5 cents. Instead she held on to all the 10 cents and 20 cents coins which I gave her and she refused to change the 10 cents coins with my 5 cents coin. Another cheaper way to get to KS is by bus. Later in the year, I took the 141 and 147 KS bus which is red and white in colour with its' destination written on the bus. Ticket is only RM 5 per way. I boarded the air cond bus from outside the Puduraya bus station. Nearby are the Puduraya hotel and Ancasa hotel. Travel time was 2 hours. The bus is air cond from KL to KS. The bus did not take me straight into Batang Berjuntai since the bus is more like an intercity bus rather than the local bus. It came to a certain point where it stopped and the driver told me to wait for the local bus that will take me to Batang Berjuntai. Soon the local old bus with no air cond came and we boarded. Without air cond, it means uncomfortable situation for the whole ride. I was reminded of all the bus trips I took back home many years ago.
On the 7 November 2007, MAS flew me to KL. Ticket was RM 407. From KLIA, I took a cab to Shah Alam for RM 58. Taxi drivers only know their own territory well. Getting to section 7 Shah Alam meant the driver got lost somewhat but managed to find the destination in the end. The following day I went to the nearest book binding shop and the boss told me that the book could only be done at night. But I had to submit it during office hours. Understanding my situation, he recommended me some shops in section 2. I found one. The young Indonesian worker said he can help but with a favour fee. Even that I had to wait for 2 hours. Finally my work in Shah Alam was done. I tried to rush back to KL Sentral. The KTM staff in Padang Jawa asked for RM 3 when it is only RM 2.90. But in the end, he sold it for RM 2.90. The slow KTM train brought me to Sentral where I had to wait to buy the Air Asia ticket. I held the number of 30 something and had to wait for half hour. I could not get the last flight home because the time was too short for me to check in. I had to get the next day's flight for RM 315. I went to Penettone for a lamb chop. If the food is not fresh, there will be little insects hovering over it. I was not prepared to spend the night at the airport and so decided to check into Le Meridien. My credit card was rejected. So I went to the nearby bank where the staff was more preoccupied with some other stuff. Anyway they checked and said nothing wrong. So I withdrew some notes just in case the card gets rejected again. At the reception, some guests stared while I took out the notes to pay. I rang up the bank from my room and they told me I have overshot my limit. Anyway since my flight is early next morning, I had to check out by 3 in the morning. I made my way to the Air Asia bus stand. It was my first time walking within KL Sentral that early. Some workers were already cleaning up the station. They looked at me wondering what I was doing at that time of the day. Instead of taking the Sky bus, I took the yellow bus for RM 8. It was my first time taking the yellow bus to LCCT. The journey started at 4:09 am and reached LCCT at 5:10 am. Just nice. I went straight to the counter. No fuzz. No troubles. It was so smooth that I had a brownie and coffee in Coffee Bean before checking into the departure lounge after buying some chocolates and newspaper. After some renovations, the Air Asia terminal looks like a bus terminal. Two planes on one side. Three on the other side. Neatly parked and 90 degrees straight to the walk way. The flight was good. Some bumpy clouds on the way up. Reached Sibu a few minutes early. After clearing the immigration, I walked out from the arrival lounge. The Sibu Municipal Council was launching an exhibition about the development of Sibu right in front of the arrival lounge.
Between July 24 to 27 2007, I
used the RM 245 Air Asia ticket to fly to KL because some UiTM course was
cancelled at the last minute and I still have my unfinished business in Shah
Alam plus using the chance to go on a short holiday thereafter. The Air Asia
Airbus series is good and stable when it climbed upwards and when it faces a
bad weather condition. The interior has a futuristic modern design with air
cond fogging out from the side of the wall. The
seats are a bit more spacious. When it arrived, it was parked next to the newly
constructed walkway. There are a few walkways and next to the walkways are
where the planes are parked just like the parking lots of cars. LCCT used to be
the MAS cargo storage area. From LCCT I took the sky bus to Sentral for 9
ringgit. From Sentral I took the KTM komuter to Shah Alam for 2.50 ringgit.
From Shah Alam station, I took a cab to Blue Wave hotel for 5 ringgit and I put
up in this hotel for the night. The hotel charges 184 ringgit corporate rate
per night with breakfast, depending on which corporation. From my given room's
window, the big blue mosque is nowhere in sight. I left my room to visit the
university for a while and proceeded onto KL for some sightseeing. I went
straight to Padang Jawa station which cost me 6 ringgit.The taximan could not
understand why I should go to the Padang Jawa station and not the Shah Alam
station and is a bit further off. Padang Jawa is a station whereby you do not
need to cross over the platform if you are going to Sentral. That is why some
people prefer to come to this station. He made a wrong turn but I showed him
the correct way to get back to the station. From here I took a komuter to
Sentral for 2.90 ringgit. At Sentral, I bought a train ticket to Singapore for
35 ringgit second class and a MAS ticket home for 400 plus. The line to KLCC
was the Kelana Line / Putra line and which costs me 1.40 ringgit. It was a bit
ridiculous and childish when a security man told us to line up. So I stood
behind this slim, sexy African lady. I had dinner in KLCC, walked around a bit
before heading back to Shah Alam. One can sleep in KTM komuter because it goes
slowly and steadily like everyone have all the time in the world. It took
roughly an hour to reach Shah Alam and another few minutes to reach Blue Wave.
In the room I rang up several hotels in Singapore and to my dismay, they were
all fully booked. Some receptionists sound like military commanders barking out
" there are so many branches of hotel 81 and exactly which one you want
". I assume the
online service is not well linked. So onto the next choice. Blue Wave has a few
branches. I called up Blue Wave JB and I got a room for almost the same rate.
The next day, I went to Sentral. While waiting for the train, I took some
lunch. I was watching the world pass by when I saw a foreign man who was
unstable in his gait. It seemed he was heavily intoxicated. He walked, swayed
and looked like he will fall down and yet did not. When he reached the
escalator, he was trying very hard to focus in order to get on to it. It took
him quite a while. Meantime some KTM staff were observing him. After
successfully getting onto the escalator, one of the staff followed and helped
him. I stared at him hoping he would not roll down the escalator or fall right
down onto the rail tracks. The KTM staff should be commended for doing a small
good deed which not many will know and the world just go round once again.The
train departed at 2:15 pm. I was in the D coach. The door facing us was a bit
jammed. Then when the wheels moved against the rail, the sound was deafening. I
told the train personnel about this. He said the two buttons must be pressed
instead of forcing the door opened or closed. While in the train, one tend to
see a potential Malaysian idol like a young pretty girl who sang so loudly
until a group of kids started to play which made her stop singing. The train
arrived in JB at around 9 pm. This was the first time I made a stop here and to
my disappointment there were no taxis in sight. A man asked
me if I want a taxi. He is a private taxi operator. Since he appeared friendly,
I asked him about some of the budget hotels. He seemed to think that these
questions are childish. He charged me RM 20 which came with a safety guarantee.
I was given a room at the 10th floor of the JB Blue Wave hotel. The room was
really spacious. A kitchenette. A sitting room. A bedroom. A toilet. All for
184 ringgit per night. But no clock. No digital control. No pen. No tourism
brochures. No robe. Toiletries are limited. The tv remote is not functioning
normally. The fridge smells even though there was nothing in it. There were
tiny insects and cockroaches inside the bathroom mainly. At night when the
nightclub is operating, I can hear the bass of the music. I have a very good
view of the causeway and it is like so near to this hotel. The wall allowed me
to hear the voice of my Japanese neighbour. The next day I went down for my
breakfast. It was a typical Malaysia western breakfast. Nothing so fanciful but
good enough. I had to take a cab to Kotaraya for 7 ringgit. The receptionist
told me there were no bus in Kotaraya. But upon the taximan's confirmation,
there are still buses there. I took the SBS 160 bus for RM 1.60 and the driver
told me he had no change and so I had to change my notes in the nearby
tuckshop. The lady was surprised that the bus driver did not want my notes.
That bus left without even waiting for me. Later I told another bus operator
and he was bit surprised too. Anyway the next bus came soon. When I am seated. I saw a
Caucasian family and they paid for the fare without the coins and they said
they don't mind not having the change. I wished I did that in the first bus. I have
learned a lesson. Next time I don't have coins, I just say just keep the
change. I have to salute the workers who work in Singapore but stay in Johor.
May be they are used to this sort of hectic lifestyle. The bus takes you to the
causeway. You come down and go through the Malaysian checkpoint. Then you climb
up the bus. And then you come down for the Singaporean checkpoint. Your
original bus has gone off. You have to wait for the next bus. While waiting,
more and more people come. When the next bus comes, you are packed into the bus
like sandwich. It is smoother going from JB to Singapore. But coming back, I
lost my way and instead took the taxi back to the Blue Wave which cost me 7
ringgit. The Causeway is not meant for the old and difficult. The train will be
more suitable for them. The SBS went directly to Jurong. From there I took the
MRT to Orchard. My first stop in Tang's for her bootjaygo, a popular Chinese
delicacy. This is my translation for it and depending on where you come from.
It is a Teochew delicacy made of rice flour and filled with fried shrimp and
turnip. In Teochew it is called cui kueh. 1.50 Sing for 4 pieces and 1 Sin for
soya bean milk. Then I waited for the hop inout bus. The same old grumpy
chinese driver and his SIA hop in out bus came. I paid 12 Sing for a full day
rate. We went round the whole Singapore but at the botanical gardens I only
went into the souvenir shop because it was raining. After the botanical
gardens, I got off at Tang's. Second round. Ate the Cantonese baytaymark,
another chinese delicacy or lao shu fen or short rice noodles or mouse noodles.
Bought some dim sum, some Japanese chicken skin satay and otak and back to the
MRT and back to Jurong and back to JB. I spend 6 hours out from my hotel room.
I ate all the stuff I bought and ordered wanton mee room service. The cleaner
came to clean up the fishy smell fridge. He only sprayed some stuff in it.
Probably the fridge needed to be switched on continously. Next day, got a cab
to Kotaraya for 7 ringgit. Caught a Senai bound bus for 8 ringgit. The weather
was bad all the way. But it was good arriving at home at 4 something in the
afternoon. This causeway experience was something I thought of doing. Never got
round to it until now. So it is still better to stay in Singapore and walk
round the city. But if you mind your money, then JB is the place to be.
11
May 2007. Before proceeding to Singapore, I was in Shah Alam. I tried out the
newly opened Carlton holiday hotel. I got the day's rate for RM 69 + and I only
had until 6 pm to rest. A 24 hours' charge will be RM 150. The staff was
pleasant. It was a disappointment that for a new building, the elevator button
is already vandalised and scratched. The furniture and design is modern. When I
reached my floor, it looks like a budget accomodation to me. After doing what I
was supposed to do in Shah alam, I went to Kuala Lumpur and spent a few hours
in the 4 stars Crown Plaza hotel before boarding the night train to Singapore.
The train was quite fully booked and what was left were the sleeping bunks. I
was able to doze off and on during the 9 hours' journey. My coach was a mixture
of people from all over the world. But next to our coach, it was an all Indian
affair and they acted like as if the train is theirs. On reaching Woodlands in
Singapore, we had to disembark for immigration check. Then when another
immigration counter was opened, I quickly rushed over before all the Indians
with their heavy luggages caught up with me. there was this fat happy looking
young Indian man and he seemed to be friendly and jokeful with everyone. I took
a taxi from the station to my hotel. The taximan told me Hotel 81 Chinatown is
a noisy hotel. He asked why I came to Singapore. When I reached the hotel, it
was not the time to check in. But the reception allowed me to leave my bag in
the storeroom. I went round Chinatown and went into one of the restaurants for
dim sum. It seems that this restaurant is a designated restaurant for tourists
because many foreigners and American tourists came. While waiting to get a MRT
ticket from the vending machines in Orchard station, an American tourist had
trouble with the vending machine. I gave him a bit of help. These vending
machines need maintenance because Orchard station is one of the busiest and
crowded stations in Singapore. I flew back to KL on Sunday morning because of
work. I took the oppoortunity and had dim sum in the Changi airport restaurant
before boarding the plane. Two clients. One pretty. One ugly. Surely you will
serve the pretty one first. While waiting for the announcement to board, I
heard a loud long guttural sound. I turned round and saw a Bangla passenger
spitted into the rubbish bin like he used to in public places, assumably. I was
reminded of the beauty and the beast.Because
of my work, I had to put up in the Dynasty hotel. There were small cockroaches
in the bathroom, the minibar and near the bed. The towels were greyish. But the
food was varied. There was one time when I was in a lift, I could see this
transvesite. The maintenance workers later told me she is a transversite from
Iran and he charged RM 300 per hour serving only Caucasian clients. He went to
Thailand to get his boobs and butts done. She was tall, slim, white skinned,
neither beautiful nor handsome. For the last two nights, I checked the Le
Meridien, a four star hotel. From Dynasty, I took a cab and this driver rudely
ordered me to put my bag in the trunk. Despite his attitude, I still talked to
him nicely until I arrived at my destination. I stayed in Le Meridien before
but this time I could see that there is no good maintenance. The shower head is
spoiled. The shower pipe has a tear. The sink is kind of blocked. There were
some cracks here and there. I called the maintenance twice and he was kind
enough to repair everything including my luggage bag. For one of the mornings,
one of the guests came into the lift and it is not everyday when some stranger
said good morning to me and I said good morning back. But of course, the rule
of never talk to strangers remain.I had another study leave in Kota Kinabalu/KK from the 30 May till the 4 June 2006 and continued on the study in the main campus from 5 June to 26 June 2006 in Shah Alam.In KK, we were accomodated in an old hostel. But the water is still running strong and the atmosphere there was cooling. In Shah Alam I stayed in a sauna hostel in a campus compund for RM 10 per night. It is called sauna after my fellow course mates coined the phrase used to describe a dorm where the wind from the fan does not reach you and the whole dorm is always unbearably warm 24 hours non stop. There was no space to do any serious reading or work even though some tables and chairs were provided. The campus library does not open at night. Being in a group means having almost no privacy.After three nights, I decided to shift out and at first I stayed in Concorde Shah Alam at the rate of RM 140 ++ per night. Then I moved to De Palma for 3 days at a rate of RM 87 ++ per night and the rest of the days in Panmour Villa for a fixed rate of RM 75 per night. Cab drivers cannot be trusted. RM 15 from section 7 to section 19 ??? !RM 15 from section 7 to section 20 ??? ! RM 6 from section 19 to section 20 ???!
On April 14 2006, I got the last Air Asia flight to KL. To my surprise my three co workers were also there. When asked why, they said their noon flight was cancelled without being informed via their mobile. This was my first visit to the new LCCT ( low cost carrier terminal ). We had to really walk because the plane was parked a distance away from the terminal building. The Air Asia stewardess guided us. The taxi to Shah Alam from LCCT was cheaper; about USD 13 /10 Eur / 7 GBP one way. I think this will be my last time staying in Panmour Inn because I will not have much to do with Shah Alam anymore after these few months more to come. The first night went alright. The second night saw 3 Indian guys getting drunk, talked loudly and quarrel outside my room. I had to call up the receptionist who managed to bring peace. I stayed for another 2 days before going home. I tried the Air Asia's bus service which cost approximate USD 2.50. I entered the bus and sat myself on the second row. Some unknown Muslim man with abnormally high levels of testosterone and a few loose screws in his late 40’s or early 50’s rushed into the bus and dumped himself next to me even though there were plenty of other empty seats. Since he did not want those empty seats, I got up and moved there myself. As I was making my way to the empty seat, he shouted something for the world to hear and for the world to reprimand him in a quiet way. The rest of the journey was uneventful. When I arrived in LCCT, it was still early. I spent an hour in Coffee Bean and went to see if the check in counter is open. I did that three times. I could not understand why there is no common check in like for MAS. I expressed that to one of the staff and he was friendly and accommodating to my views. LCCT is just a ground floor building and with offices located on the first floor and the luggage conveyor belt to the plane is very short, meaning when you check in, the bag moves for a very short distance and somebody on the other end will collect it and dump it into the luggage carriage which will carry all the bags to the plane which is parked nearby too. Finally when the counter did open, one of the computers went on strike. I was the second person waiting in line on the other row. I was not happy. But I kept my cool and I waited until the computer is working again. When it did, I put my luggage bag on the conveyor belt and I have not received my boarding pass when the lady behind me quickly put her bag next to the conveyor belt and thus obstructing my way. I was a bit pissed off. But I got hold of her bag and put it aside. Suddenly another lady wanted to ask me something. I knew it was whether I could let her take my remaining weight of the cargo. My bag was only 12 kg. Another 3 kg load that I can put in. She wanted that 3 kg for her own luggage. I refused to answer her because I did not want her to ask that question. Then still waiting for the computer to work, a man came and he was hitting his identity card on the table and asking what was wrong. Probably he had an experience whereby Air Asia did not inform him of something. So he said that why nobody inform the passengers about the computer and that Air Asia should apologized. In the end, I got the boarding pass and I quickly moved into the departure lounge. The PDRM quickly opened another counter to scan our belongings. I was not happy but I was not terribly angry too. It is not fair to compare Air Asia and MAS but there are lots of room for improvement. If it is cheap, what else can you expect ?
Wednesday, March 08, 2006 Come the 3th of February and I finally made up my mind to go to Concorde hotel instead of Depalma inn though it is cheaper. The taxi drivers waiting at Concorde hotel were more honest this time around. The last time I stayed in Concorde hotel, I was charged RM 10 for each trip to section 7. I was cheated by at least RM 5. I stayed in Shah Alam until the 7th of February when I made my way to Corus hotel near KLCC. On March 23, 2006, I bought one of the last MAS’s supersaver tickets to Kuala Lumpur
On the 6 day of Chinese New Year 2006, I went to Shah Alam. The ticket to and fro KLIA cost RM 508 +. Hand carried luggage cannot be more than 15 kg and so I travelled light. The 8:50 p.m. flight took 1 hour and 50 minutes. Just before the landing, the intercom failed but because most passengers travel frequently, they automatically knew what to do. From KLIA I got a cab to Panmour villa inn in section 20 in Shah Alam which cost me RM 55 +. This was my third time stay in Panmour. I was attended to by the hotel's staff for the first two times. This time around there was this hot middle aged lady and I knew she is the boss. She wanted to give me a superior room. I told her that a week ago, I booked a standard room already. Prior to boarding the plane, I called up again to confirm the room. The standard room cost RM 75 per night and the superior room cost RM 90 per night. She called her staff and in the end she allowed me to use the superior room because all the standard rooms were full and she only charged RM 75 as she knew that it was not my mistake. She did not want to accept my credit card at first. She wanted cash. Then after telling her that I did not bring that much cash she accepted with hesitation. The superior room consists of one big bed for two and one small bed for a single person. From my experience, the standard room is smaller with one bed enough for two person. The next day, I shifted to the standard room and to my surprise, there were so many ants around. I remember for my last two experiences, there were no ants in the room. The room looks clean except for the presence of the ants which I could understand why because the ground floor of the building is a food court. Panmour hotel has a two star rating. But it is newer, cleaner and more practical than the old three star Kuala Lumpur International hotel which I have stayed a couple of times and I just could not understand the one sachet of coffee and one sachet of tea policy in the room. If I could, I would like to increase the star rating of Panmour hotel to three or even three and a half star hotel and demote Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur Singapore Singapore Singapore Singapore Singapore Singapore
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