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 ???!
