Tiring trip to Sudan. Arrived on Sunday, 27 Nov and now I'm on the way back to KL on 31 Dec. It's not like I'm going to Singapore but this is all the way to Sudan and back. Challenging indeed.
Thanks to Emirates for providing me the Gold Tier membership. This will allow me to access Business Class lounge whenever I travel with Emirates Airlines and having privilege lines for boarding or obtaining tickets. In Khartoum, access to Business Lounge not granted ..... sigh. The plane took off on time today, one of those rare occasions, at 8.10pm.
Arrived in Dubai around 12.20am and had to line up to obtain my connecting flight's ticket. Enquired from an airport staff on why I was not provided with hotel voucher. The man said you have to arrange with the Emirates office that issued the ticket ........ sigh ..... ten hours wait in the airport.
Next I went for shopping at the duty free area. Bought a few camels for decoration at the new house. Then went up to the Business Lounge at Terminal 3.
Upon reaching the lounge, I passed my ticket to a lady behind the counter. Somehow my ticket was printed with the word "Silver" denoting that I'm still a Silver Tier member and this lady told me to go to another lounge located at the faraway Terminal 1 basically reserved for Silver Tier members.
I told her to check again as I knew that I'm a Gold Tier member to which she mentioned that the ticket has informed stated clearly. She didn't even want to check but passed it on to her next colleague (a guy) who confirmed that I'm a Gold Tier member. Was it so cumbersome to check?
I thought I would be bored to death here in this lounge. To my surprise, they have xBox games - racing car in a replica car with 3 big screens, football and motorcycle race are there too. Food is plentiful.
It's close to 6am now and I'm shall to go for my nice breakfast.
Heard that my house is almost done now.
Tags: Gold Tier, Silver Tier, Emirates, Business Class Lounge, XBox
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Frantic Life
I think this is the longest break I have taken from blogging, since 15 Dec 2009. Life in KL office was filled with tight schedules. Need to submit a number of assignments within short periods. It was way past 8pm daily. Once back home, it was more planning for the new house.
Left KL for Sudan on 11 Dec 2009 and this is the period that I don't mind being in Sudan. Reason is that winter has set in. When I inserted the quote of "Sudan winter has set in" in my msn chat, many friends queried me on that sentence.
Most friends were blur about the weather in Sudan and some asked what sort of winter am I having here. One friend even said "don't tell me there's snow in Sudan".
Let me clear this. Winter season doesn't snow here. And who says that it must snow during winter. Normal day time weather would be above 40 degree centigrade. Now, it's hovering around 32 to 35.
Night time reading on normal days would be around 30 plus. During winter season, it's 22 and below. You need a jacket on a windy night if you were having a drink at those opened cafe.
On 17 Dec 2009, I left Sudan for KL. Arrived at KL home around 4pm and straight off to new house.
On 19 Dec 2009, friends arrived around 9am plus to assist in the shifting to the new house. Was so busy with the shifting till I have forgotten to take any pictures. Many thanks to the friends and relatives that came to give a hand on that day itself.
My bro-in-law and sis-in-law came all the way from Malacca to lend a hand in cleaning the house. They did it from Thurs till Sat (the day I moved in). Just by saying thank you is not enough.
Come Sunday, 20 Dec 2009. Met up with the drama team to confirm the Christmas drama. My script came out quite late this time and caused all the last minute arrangements. Had a drama practise on Tues night to firm up the loose parts.
From 20 Dec 2009 till 26 Dec 2009, it was havoc at new house. Various suppliers are still coming in to intall this or that. A supplier's lorry hooked onto my new auto gate and broke it (left side of the gate). What to do? That poor guy is getting a pay cut for that. Cost of repair came up to RM550. Need further alignment on the left gate now.
Washing machine delivered to my house without being installed. How do you expect my family to use it then? And when the technician came, he said my water tap is different. The plumber, technician and me looked at each other. I called the supplier and gave them a good piece of my mind on that afternoon. Enough is enough.
Carpenter was slow in his work and it delayed the kitchen cabinets. Power sockets can't be installed at those areas and my fridge and water treatment system can't be switched on as well. One thing led to one another.
Some friends asked "Why did you move in then?". Good thing I moved in the week before as I was not expected to be in Sudan this weekend. Coming weekend would be the new year. Just need to finalise many stuff at the condo for the handover too.
On 26 Dec 2009, the night where I'm supposed to leave for Sudan, I was still purchasing some lightings for my house. This was not last minute but more of no time to do so.
On Wed afternoon (23 Dec), received a phone call from a colleague saying that I'm expected to be in Sudan on Sunday. What a week! Never mind, one thing at a time. Christmas came and all went by smoothly before some tension in the beginning of the service. The wire connection from the projector and two laptops couldn't fit in ...... my my.
Will blog again with a few pictures on Christmas Day.
Tags: Frantic Life
Left KL for Sudan on 11 Dec 2009 and this is the period that I don't mind being in Sudan. Reason is that winter has set in. When I inserted the quote of "Sudan winter has set in" in my msn chat, many friends queried me on that sentence.
Most friends were blur about the weather in Sudan and some asked what sort of winter am I having here. One friend even said "don't tell me there's snow in Sudan".
Let me clear this. Winter season doesn't snow here. And who says that it must snow during winter. Normal day time weather would be above 40 degree centigrade. Now, it's hovering around 32 to 35.
Night time reading on normal days would be around 30 plus. During winter season, it's 22 and below. You need a jacket on a windy night if you were having a drink at those opened cafe.
On 17 Dec 2009, I left Sudan for KL. Arrived at KL home around 4pm and straight off to new house.
On 19 Dec 2009, friends arrived around 9am plus to assist in the shifting to the new house. Was so busy with the shifting till I have forgotten to take any pictures. Many thanks to the friends and relatives that came to give a hand on that day itself.
My bro-in-law and sis-in-law came all the way from Malacca to lend a hand in cleaning the house. They did it from Thurs till Sat (the day I moved in). Just by saying thank you is not enough.
Come Sunday, 20 Dec 2009. Met up with the drama team to confirm the Christmas drama. My script came out quite late this time and caused all the last minute arrangements. Had a drama practise on Tues night to firm up the loose parts.
From 20 Dec 2009 till 26 Dec 2009, it was havoc at new house. Various suppliers are still coming in to intall this or that. A supplier's lorry hooked onto my new auto gate and broke it (left side of the gate). What to do? That poor guy is getting a pay cut for that. Cost of repair came up to RM550. Need further alignment on the left gate now.
Washing machine delivered to my house without being installed. How do you expect my family to use it then? And when the technician came, he said my water tap is different. The plumber, technician and me looked at each other. I called the supplier and gave them a good piece of my mind on that afternoon. Enough is enough.
Carpenter was slow in his work and it delayed the kitchen cabinets. Power sockets can't be installed at those areas and my fridge and water treatment system can't be switched on as well. One thing led to one another.
Some friends asked "Why did you move in then?". Good thing I moved in the week before as I was not expected to be in Sudan this weekend. Coming weekend would be the new year. Just need to finalise many stuff at the condo for the handover too.
On 26 Dec 2009, the night where I'm supposed to leave for Sudan, I was still purchasing some lightings for my house. This was not last minute but more of no time to do so.
On Wed afternoon (23 Dec), received a phone call from a colleague saying that I'm expected to be in Sudan on Sunday. What a week! Never mind, one thing at a time. Christmas came and all went by smoothly before some tension in the beginning of the service. The wire connection from the projector and two laptops couldn't fit in ...... my my.
Will blog again with a few pictures on Christmas Day.
Tags: Frantic Life
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
To Reduce Is To Increase
Many Malaysians are baffled by the government who flip flops with various actions. In order to reduce certain usages (of services or products) by the citizens of Malaysia, the government has to implement some drastic action to discourage Malaysians.
For example (what I could recall after laughing over it with my colleagues):-
a) To discourage people from travelling overseas, the government will increase the application fee for an international passport.
b) To discourage people from using motor vehicles of more than fifteen years, government decided to get those car owners to spend more to conduct vehicle inspection on the road worthiness. In other words (from certain car industry people), it's to encourage such car owners to spend more to buy the Proton cars.
c) To discourage people from using / discontinue the RON 92 petrol, government said that RON 95 and RON 97 of higher prices are of better petrol quality. In Europe, cars are still running on RON 92 which makes foreign produced cars a better choice as it could run on cheaper fuel and this will affect the sales of local made cars as local made cars may not perform well in RON 92.
d) To prevent people from spending too much, government decided to impose a RM50 penalty for each credit card held.
e) To prevent people from getting diabetes or consume too much sugar, government may discontinue subsidy for this item which will definitely increase the price for sugar.
f) To prevent people from buying cigarettes, the government will enforce cigarette packaging to consist of more cigarettes but at a much much much much higher pricing.
g) To prevent people from congesting the city, the government may in the future impose an entry fee for those motor vehicles that has only one passenger which is the driver himself.
h) To discourage people from using plastic bags anymore, the government (or state government) will instruct the supermarkets not to distribute any plastic bags and to sell canvas bags instead that could be used again and again.
i) To discourage people from buying foreign made / imported cars, the government imposed higher import tariffs on those cars in order for the local made cars to survive. However, the local made cars are sold at a higher price in Malaysia if compared to the exported version where the specs are slightly better.
j) To discourage people from congesting the roads and to get the citizens to take public transportation (referring to the lousy bus systems), the government decreased subsidy for the petrol.
What I can say is that the government will tend to 'punish' its citizens into doing something instead of coming up with an encouraging plan so that people will do it willingly which could benefit the citizens at the same time.
Definitely wrong approach in solving problems.
Following were suggested by colleagues:-
a) To decrease cholesterol level for all Malaysians, prices for whatever eggs will be increased up to 50 cents per egg.
b) To discourage people (men generally) from approaching prostitutes, each condom shall be sold at RM50 per piece.
c) To discourage people from eating unhealthy food such as nasi lemak and goreng pisang, coconut and cooking oil will be increased tremendously.
Tags: Malaysia, Price Increase
For example (what I could recall after laughing over it with my colleagues):-
a) To discourage people from travelling overseas, the government will increase the application fee for an international passport.
b) To discourage people from using motor vehicles of more than fifteen years, government decided to get those car owners to spend more to conduct vehicle inspection on the road worthiness. In other words (from certain car industry people), it's to encourage such car owners to spend more to buy the Proton cars.
c) To discourage people from using / discontinue the RON 92 petrol, government said that RON 95 and RON 97 of higher prices are of better petrol quality. In Europe, cars are still running on RON 92 which makes foreign produced cars a better choice as it could run on cheaper fuel and this will affect the sales of local made cars as local made cars may not perform well in RON 92.
d) To prevent people from spending too much, government decided to impose a RM50 penalty for each credit card held.
e) To prevent people from getting diabetes or consume too much sugar, government may discontinue subsidy for this item which will definitely increase the price for sugar.
f) To prevent people from buying cigarettes, the government will enforce cigarette packaging to consist of more cigarettes but at a much much much much higher pricing.
g) To prevent people from congesting the city, the government may in the future impose an entry fee for those motor vehicles that has only one passenger which is the driver himself.
h) To discourage people from using plastic bags anymore, the government (or state government) will instruct the supermarkets not to distribute any plastic bags and to sell canvas bags instead that could be used again and again.
i) To discourage people from buying foreign made / imported cars, the government imposed higher import tariffs on those cars in order for the local made cars to survive. However, the local made cars are sold at a higher price in Malaysia if compared to the exported version where the specs are slightly better.
j) To discourage people from congesting the roads and to get the citizens to take public transportation (referring to the lousy bus systems), the government decreased subsidy for the petrol.
What I can say is that the government will tend to 'punish' its citizens into doing something instead of coming up with an encouraging plan so that people will do it willingly which could benefit the citizens at the same time.
Definitely wrong approach in solving problems.
Following were suggested by colleagues:-
a) To decrease cholesterol level for all Malaysians, prices for whatever eggs will be increased up to 50 cents per egg.
b) To discourage people (men generally) from approaching prostitutes, each condom shall be sold at RM50 per piece.
c) To discourage people from eating unhealthy food such as nasi lemak and goreng pisang, coconut and cooking oil will be increased tremendously.
Tags: Malaysia, Price Increase
Saturday, December 12, 2009
On The Way to Sudan
It's time to be in Sudan again for ad-hoc assignments. This time, it's for one week.
Three of us flew together and put up at the transit hotel, Millenium Hotel, before taking our connecting flight at 3pm. Saw a yellowish car at the hotel entrance and noticed it was a rare Mustang car. Beautiful.
Wasted that the owner didn't come to ignite the engine. Could have been a powerful roar as American cars are usually on power (as mentioned by my colleague).
Their happy face before arriving in Sudan. This is a shuttle bus that will bring us to the airport. The driver was forced to drive us to the airport even though there were three of us in it.
On the way to the airport, I thought I saw an air conditioned pedestrian bridge that comes with elevators too. Pampered Emiratis.
Three of us flew together and put up at the transit hotel, Millenium Hotel, before taking our connecting flight at 3pm. Saw a yellowish car at the hotel entrance and noticed it was a rare Mustang car. Beautiful.Wasted that the owner didn't come to ignite the engine. Could have been a powerful roar as American cars are usually on power (as mentioned by my colleague).
Their happy face before arriving in Sudan. This is a shuttle bus that will bring us to the airport. The driver was forced to drive us to the airport even though there were three of us in it.
On the way to the airport, I thought I saw an air conditioned pedestrian bridge that comes with elevators too. Pampered Emiratis.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Meals at Hailam Kopitiam
With so many types of kopitiam food outlets in Kuala Lumpur, I was already asking when will one open up at my residential area.True enough, the Hailam Kopitiam decided to open up in Taman Danau Desa. One of the bosses told me that this is their 16th outlet.
Not bad for a local kopitiam that originated from Kuala Pilah of Negeri Sembilan. Glad for all these locals that came up with such innovative restaurants that are giving a challenge to renowned cafes like Coffee Bean, Starbucks, or Gloria Jeans.
Their set-up are almost the same with other local kopitiam type of restaurants as they sell almost similar food.
In a hailam food outlet, you must try their Hailam Traditional Chicken Rice Special to see whether they deserve the right to use the word hailam in their name.
The Hot Chocolate drink is found in a kopitiam too? A bit westernised I think.
The Hailam Chicken Chop with Rice that comes with black pepper gravy is excellent. The gravy is filled with strong pepper taste and it burns a bit in your lungs as you swallow the meat. I like it this way.
The Hailam Special White Coffee Iced Blended was filling too. Quite like white coffee. Can't drink too much of coffee as it will give me migraine.Price wise - reasonable for this type of food outlet. After tasting only two of their dishes, can't say much about the rest of it in the menu but those that I have ordered were good.
Maybe it's still new, the outlet is filled during lunch and dinner time during the weekends.
Tags: Hailam Kopitiam, Food
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