10 Hours Delays?

(as published in Malaysia Today on 19 Sept 2011)
By Lynne_c

On behalf of the passengers of Air Asia X flight D7 2686 from Kuala Lumpur to Incheon, Seoul on September 2, 2011, I would like to share our experience about a delay that cost us more than 10 hours and the shabby treatment that Air Asia extends to its paying customers.

The chronology of the events are as follows:

The flight, D7 2686 was initially supposed to take off at 11.00pm and reach Incheon at 6.00am the next day.

11.00pm - Captain of the flight announced a delay due to a route change which requires the plane to upload 2 tonnes of fuel. The reason given was non-approval from ATP for clearance from Ho Chi Minh to Taipei.

12.00 midnight - Captain announces another plan change, requiring the uplifting of 1 tonnes of fuel from the plane.

1.00am - The plane was waiting by the runway to take off when the Captain announced clearance from Taipei and said that he would decide in 2 or 3 minutes if he would repark the plane.

1.30am - Captain re-parked the plane at the terminal

1.50am - Passengers were told to disembark to T18 by the Captain

2.30am - After more than 3 hours stranded in the plane, the passengers were finally allowed to disembark to T18 where everyone rushed to the rest room or to purchase much needed food and drinks

3.30am - Cold croissant and cold mineral water were distributed to the passengers.

4.00am - Some of the Korean guests requested for blankets for their children. The passengers were told that the plane will take off by 5.00am

5.00am - A new announcement was made that the plane will take off by 7.30am

6.00am - Two of the passengers cancelled their tickets and left

7.00am - One of the Managers assured the passengers that the plane will take off by 7.30am. A second Manager then said that Air Asia could extend our flight to another day. But he could not qualify for food and accommodation.

7.30am - The passengers were asked to re-board the plane.

8.00am - The plane reversed out of the parking bay and was parked in another place in the middle of the airport with 2 ground crew still on board. The new crew sat in the front portion of the plane, behind the red curtain, laughing and joking

8.20am - One of the passengers, a Mr. Chew, got up from his seat to approach the crew to find out what was happening. He was told that there was no pilot and the new crew said that they had just arrived from Delhi and were only told to sit in to board us on the plane. Anoother crew member, a Mr. Narin Singh, openly said that there was no pilot and he was there to bring the plane to where it was currently parked (in the middle of the airport). When pressed for confirmation, he declined to comment. However, it was very clear that Air Asia had moved the airplane without a qualified pilot on board!

9.20am - The plane finally took off for Korea

The delaying tactics employed by Air Asia was obvious. On top of all that, the passengers were subjected to rude treatment and thuggish behaviour from the ground crew and staff of Air Asia. When a disagreement arose between two Korean ladies and the ground crew at approximately 5.30am, passenger Mr. Chew recorded the incident on his handphone, but he was subsequently threatened and browbeatened by the Air Asia security to delete the video or else his mobile phone would be confiscated.

To date, there has been no effort from Air Asia to reach out to its customers and at least make an attempt to compensate everyone for the ordeal they suffered at the hands of Air Asia. We have never received any official answer on the reason for the delay. From what we had found out verbally, someone in Air Asia forgot to ask for clearance through Taipei air space, which sparked off the whole fiasco.

I am writing this to you in the hopes that our experience on board Air Asia X flight D7 2686 will be shared with your readers. Was all these hassle and stress worth the price of a cheap ticket? My answer, and the answer of all my fellow passengers would be, a resounding No.

More than that, seeing how shabbily Air Asia treated its guests that night, how they verbally accosted the Korean passengers who were struggling to speak English, I can honestly say, I felt an emotion I had never felt in my lifetime - I was embarassed to be Malaysian because Air Asia is a Malaysian company.
Tags: Air Asia X, Incheon, LCCT, Taipei Air Space, Ho Chi Minh, ATP

Gifted Business Class Seat

In this blogpost, I would like to thank Emirates Airlines for the seat upgrades for the Dubai-Kuala Lumpur route that had happened twice now. I think it was due to the Gold Skywards membership that paved the way for it. The first happened just before Christmas Eve and the second time happened just before Chinese New Year where it was peak period for many airlines.

This is the Business Class seat in the new generation of Boeing 777 aircraft. Comes with comfy pillow and it can be converted to a flat bed if you want to sleep.

Well, I enjoyed the flight no doubt about it.

Was served with champagne upon sitting down. Pulled up my screen to see which movies are available for this trip.

The wine list for business class passengers. I opted for the Port - Quinta do Noval LBV 2002 instead which I found that it was so soothing as it enters the mouth.

This was just the snacks. Can't recall fully but I can remember about the roasted duck and some turkey meat as well. Plenty of it.

Here comes my second meal as we had just passed India on the way to Kuala Lumpur.

This was the breakfast. You would be served with a plate of fresh fruits, different types of breads where you can choose a few and I can request for extra butter.

You would also get yoghurt and fruit juice.

After your meal, you can request for either the Ceylon, China, Earl Grey, Camomile tea. Alternatively, you can request for a cappucino which I did. Fantastic indeed.

Somehow, I was captivated with the main meal and forgotten to take a picture of it.

Well, there goes my business class trips as my gold membership will expire and will be downgraded to the silver membership due to lesser travels last year. Anyway, thanks a lot!

Tags: Emirates Airlines, Boeing 777, Emirates Business Class, Gold Skywards

Recognised Sexy Structure In Malaysia

Malaysia has one structure that has been recognised as one of the Top 10 sexiest buildings in the world and that is our Penang Bridge. The informal selection was made by members and editors in travel website VirtualTourist.com's forum.

The Penang Bridge came out as number nine in the listing. The other chosen sexy buildings are as follows:-
1) Quadracci Pavilion, Milwaukee Museum of Modern Art; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Its description lies somewhere between a glorious yacht, a graceful dove, and a modern dancer. Be sure to catch the Pavilion's Burke Brise Soleil at the beginning and end of the day when its wings open and close.

2) Absolute World Towers; Mississauga, Canada
The supermodel of modern architecture, the twisting Mississauga towers have probably grown tired of hearing the compliments.

3) Sonneveld House; Rotterdam, The Netherlands
The strong, silent type, Sonneveld House was way ahead of its time when it was built in the early 30s. Aside from its clean lines and modernist design, the home also contained a bell system to contact household help, telephone system, and highly daring color combinations.

4) Casa Batlló; Barcelona, Spain
Gaudi's curvy masterpiece is made all the more amazing when one realizes this sensuous building was completed over 100 years ago.

5) Sydney Opera House; Sydney, Australia
It was opened in the era of polyester and bad hair but this structure has always been timeless.

6) Millau Viaduct (Viaduc de Millau); Millau, France
In a land where beauty is everywhere, the competition for the sexy title is fierce. Simple but stunning, this structure's clean lines and an intimidating scale only add its undeniable magnetism.

7) Zwinger; Dresden, Germany
The oldest building on our list, Zwinger, which was heavily influenced by Versailles, was all but destroyed in the Second World War. Painstakingly restored, it was the building's power, imposing facade, and largesse that put it on our list.

8) Walt Disney Concert Hall; Los Angeles, California
Now that the controversy has died down Angelenos can't imagine their city without the shimmering panels that gleam like diamonds in the strong California sun. The building is especially vibrant now that its dazzling and vivacious new music director, Gustavo Dudamel, has taken the reigns.

9) Penang Bridge; Malaysia
As slinky as a screen siren, this particular choice is almost more sculpture than bridge. Slithering across the water to connect the island of Penang with the Malaysian mainland, the bridge is also known for its annual marathon.

10) Fallingwater; Mill Run, Pennsylvania
Having been featured on the cover of no less than Time magazine, Fallingwater remains just as mythic and legendary as its creator, the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright. Built for the Kaufman family of Kaufman's department store, the gutsy house is situated on top of a waterfall, not merely with a view of it as the family first anticipated.

I have seen items 5 and 9 only. Loooooooong way to go in my travelling. How come buildings in Istanbul were not favoured?

(The above had been extracted from Reuters Life)
Tags: Quadracci Pavilion, Absolute World Towers, Sonneveld House, Casa Batlló, Sydney Opera House, Millau Viaduct, Zwinger, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Penang Bridge, Fallingwater

Hotel Guests Thrown Out

Nowadays, people are recording their experiences or events on the spot at well known websites such as facebook, blogs, related websites or even twit about it.

There was this couple who was travelling in Blackpool, England and they checked into Golden Beach Hotel located at New South Promenade. This couple wasn't happy with the hotel's service and wrote some negative review in TripAdvisor. This is a website where you get to read lots of personal reviews on worldwide hotels by hotel guests from all walks of life.

When you key in "The Golden Beach Hotel" in TripAdvisor's United Kingdom's category, you can read the reviews on this particular hotel. Out of 166 reviews, 60% of the hotel guests who had been there do not recommend this hotel. Wow, that's a really bad review. Not surprising for this couple to have done the same.

Lo and behold, the hotel manager somehow got to know about that negative remarks and decided to kick the couple out of the hotel immediately.

This couple had just stayed for one in their 3 days / 2 nights package and was not offered any refund then. The hotel manager called the police and requested the couple to move out accordingly.

Does a hotel has the right to kick their hotel guests out on the spot? If you had been creating disturbances that have affected other hotel guests and kept doing it even after warnings then I would understand the kicking out process. But kicked out due to some online remarks?

Moral of the story - don't post your review when you are still using their facilities. Take the necessary pictures, jot down the bad event(s) and then post it after your holidays or events.

Reading: Man thrown out of hotel for writing review - The Gazette
Tags: The Golden Beach Hotel, New South Promenade, Blackpool, England, TripAdvisor, Hotel Review

Bomb Threat in Mid Air

Imagine that you hear this over the plane's annoucement while still airborne in the air:-

"This is your captain speaking, we have just received a message from the ground and we thought that the passengers should be made aware of it too. Please don't be startled by what I'm going to tell you. We wish to remind all passengers to remain in their seat and my crew will certainly address all issues as much as we can.

The air traffic controller in Singapore has informed us that our plane may be carrying a bomb as an anonymous caller has identified our plane to the authorities.

We are looking to land at the nearest airport and we assure you of our best efforts in ensuring that you will land safely."

This may not be the exact words from the captain as different airlines may have standard wordings to mention when faced with different circumstances. But a message of such magnitude, passengers will definitely freak out no matter how carefully and softly it was presented.

If I was inside the plane, the thoughts of your family members and loved ones will come across your mind.

If you come from a religious background, you will tend to pray for journey mercy so that your plane will land safely.

I wonder if any passenger from that Singapore Airlines SQ61 plane, on the Houston-Moscow-Singapore sector, who may have twit, fb or even blog about what had happened inside the plane. Or were the passengers kept in the dark about a bomb threat throughout the journey till they landed safely?

If the message was brought to the attention of the passengers, I wonder were they informed of which airport that they are landing.

At first, the nearest airport was in Delhi, where the runway could fit the size of a
Boeing 777-300 ER. But the Delhi air traffic disallowed their landing and the pilots were forced to look for an alternative.

Reason for being disallowed - the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games were in progress. What?

You mean to say the lives of 225 passengers and 39 crew on board were not important that they should receive immediate rescue despite a bomb threat being lodged. What is this air traffic controllers in Delhi are thinking about? They are so worried that if a plane was to explode at their airport, it will give India a bad name or that it will threaten the peaceful atmosphere of Delhi that is hosting an international event. This is really too much.

The plane was forced to look for an alternative landing spot and it was Kolkata, an airport which was three hours away. Wow, I really want to know what was the passengers' reactions if they had actually been informed of the bomb threat earlier (while nearby Delhi) and having to sit on a ticking time bomb for another three hours before you can be saved.

I would say that this air traffic practise is totally wrong. The people in those air traffic controls could have made a major mistake and the "victims" families would have lost a family member for a reason that is so ridiculous.

Thank God it was a hoax but it should have been taken seriously.

Reading: Flight 3 hours in air despite bomb alert - The Times of India
Tags: Singapore Airlines, SQ61, Air Passengers, Airplane Bomb Threat, Delhi, Kolkata

Resolve A Problem By Raising Prices Beyond Everyone's Reach

The Terengganu state government is really giving me a good laugh. Really need such laugh during this intense period LOL!

What did they do this time?

If you like Pulau Redang off Terengganu's coast, I would strongly suggest that you book yourself a trip there to see whatever, do whatever, enjoy whatever you can. Reason - in due course I can almost guarantee that 90% won't be going there again.

Not that you can't go but you would have to fork out tons of cash in order to be there.

The state Chief Minister has planned to allow only 5 stars and above type of hotels or resorts to be built in the future. That also the room rates could be in the region of US$500 per night.

Why would he want to do that? Reasons given:-
a) save the surrounding rich marine life and prevent environmental destruction due to pollution and indiscriminate littering
b) budget accommodation places on the island have no proper sewage system and waste is directed to the sea, and this destroys the corals
c) save the island from deteriorating environmentally
d) initiated out of concern for the environment as damage to the corals had been extensive.

He could be right there because an estimated 100,000 holidaymakers would travel there in a year.

What about the existing budget hotels that are still operating there? Kick them out of the island? Other businesses that are operating on the island which can't sell high end products should pack up too.

How many could afford a US$500 hotel room? Maybe only 1,000 out of the 100,000. A colleague said that it's good to raise the hotel rates because only the older folks are usually more well off and they may not be divers at that age. So the corals are saved.

By the way, the Chief Minister has some options for you. Please go to Pulau Kapas and Pulau Perhentian instead if you can't afford Pulau Redang in the future. The 99,000 (assuming 1,000 will be holidaying in Pulau Redang) are given the green light to destroy both Pulau Kapas and Pulau Perhentian, if I did the catch his phrase correctly.

But then, ain't introducing awareness and proper education on protecting the environment is a better option. Maybe more social responsibility programmes should be initiated on Pulau Redang itself.

The Chow Kit area in Kuala Lumpur city area should be cleaned up too. I got an idea now. Get the city council to buy the same idea as in by raising the property assessment beyond a human's comprehension, only allow high end type properties to be built, only allow niche products to be marketed there and I'm sure Chow Kit's tardiness would be solved.

Malaysia Boleh again!

Reading: Pulau Redang aims to lure the rich with room rates no less than RM1,600 - Star
Tags: Pulau Redang, Travel, Holidaymakers, Divers, Social Responsibility, Pulau Kapas, Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu

Pricey Drink & Weird Food Name

As I was walking around the Dubai airport duty free area, I noticed a large glass casing at the area where alcohol is being sold.

Went nearer to see what it was.

Oh ..... the Remy Martin brand.

I wonder who will buy this bottle at a price of 142,200 Dirham or at US$39,500.

At a Dubai hotel, I saw this meal by the name of Ratatouille. Basically it's just mixed vegetables.
Tags: Dubai Duty Free, Dubai, Ratatouille, Remy Martin, Grande Champagne Cognac, Black Pearl Magnum

Survival in Dubai Airport

These pictures were taken about two weeks back when I was in transit at Dubai airport. Good thing I could rest in the Emirates Business Class Lounge at Terminal 3.

Once in it, it was to hunt down a good place to sit. Found a quiet spot. At 1.30am, every spot is a quiet spot.

On my right was a food counter, eat or drink all you can. This is one of the four food counters you can find around the lounge. A large lounge indeed. The main counter is where people will take their main meals such as lunch or dinner.

This one here mainly serves simple food e.g. snacks, fruits, titbits, drinks and ice-cream (stored in a small refrigerator located on right side of the counter).

And it is Haagen-Dazs ice-cream ........... eat all you can too.















There's a limit to the free ice-cream and the next best food found ...... all kinds of berries.

And the smoked salmon was fresh too.

After feeling my stomach, it's time to entertain myself since I can't sleep. Hopped over to the games corner.

There you go, a driver's seat with steering wheel all well placed for you to drive to your heart's satisfaction.

With three 42 inch monitors fronting you, what more can you ask for.





This machine was not easy to handle and I found that the steering control was so sensitive. A 1mm movement could trigger your car to move a lot on the track.













Once bored with the driving, I jumped onto the next game available. Xbox 360 it is. Football game, what else.

Picked Man Utd over many other teams and set it to a lower standard to get myself accustomed to the control gadget first.

Felt so nice in trashing many other teams, one of them is Liverpool.







The internet room was where I updated my facebook and blog at the same time.

Stayed at the lounge from 1.30am till around 9.30am while waiting for my connecting flight.

Ate, played games, surf internet, ate, played games, surf internet, ate (full breakfast too), played games, surf internet ......something like that till I left the lounge. Thanks to Emirates Airlines.
Tags: Emirates Business Class Lounge, Emirates Airlines, Haagen-Dazs, Xbox 360

Flight Back To KL

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

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.

This is the dreaded flight if you know what I meant.
Tags:
Millennium Hotel, Mustang

World's First Flying Hotel

You have the biggest passenger airlines in terms of the Airbus A380. As time comes, you'll be seeing a big bird of a different specie. It's a helicopter this time.

Hotelicopter, that's what it is called.

The hotelicopter's body is based on the former Soviet's Mil V-12 (those who are young in age may not find Soviet in the world map now.

For its size, the hotelicopter is using four GEnx turbofan engines to lift it up to the sky. The specs are:-
* Dimensions Length: 42 m (137 ft)
* Height: 28m (91 ft)
* Maximum Takeoff Weight: 105850 kg (232,870 lb)
* Maximum speed: 255 km/h (137 kt) (158 miles/h)
* Cruising speed: 237 km/h (127 kt) (147 miles/h)
* Original Mi Range: 515 km (320 mi)
* Our augmented Mi Range - 1,296 km (700 mi)

Its amenities and facilities are similar to those found in a five star hotel.

The cabins and suites have similar designs with Yotel's rooms that are found in the airports of London and Amsterdam. Copied their designs?

Just fyi, even if you have money you may not get a ride in the hotelicopter.
Tags: Helicopter, Hotelicopter, Travel, Yotel, Mil V-12

Fancy Winning a Bentley or Lambo?

Dubai airport's Dubai Duty Free section is really good with their promotion of getting travellers in buying the raffles tickets. Two thousand tickets on sale at 500 Dirham ..... a one in how many chance???

Imagine your grand prize is either a Bentley Continental Flying Spur or .....









..... a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560.

How not to be tempted when you see such prestige car models. No, I wasn't tempted.

Only one reason - a general Malaysian citizen will not be able to fork the enough money to pay for all those import taxes and other crazy duties to bring this car back to Malaysia if I do win it.

It was not easy to take this picture without anyone interrupting. It was so eye catching and grabbing everyone's attention.



I will usually get a seat way back the plane for my Dubai-Khartoum or Khartoum-Dubai flights. The plane is normally not full and I'll choose the row where there are three seats.

You'll normally get the whole three seats to yourself. Seldom sleep either but the comfort of having nobody next to you coupled with the armrest is priceless.

Moreover the plane's so-called kitchen is usually located at the back of the plane. No, not that I can chit chat with the pretty stewardesses but I can get my non-stop flow of drinks throughout the flight. Sipping your favourite drinks while watching a movie ................ back home, I won't get such luxury time to enjoy as such.

Not sure how long will I be in Khartoum for this trip but me and another colleague brought along more than a dozen DVD movies to watch.
Tags: Dubai Airport, Dubai Duty Free, Dubai, Khartoum, Bentley Continental Flying Spur, Lamborghini Gallardo LP560

Airlines Banned From European Airspace

The European Commission ("EC") has updated a list of airlines banned from flying into the European Union's ("EU") member countries for safety concern. Meaning to say EU is afraid that one of these airlines may crash in EU's land????

How does EC assess these airlines? The EC is very careful with such blacklisting and issued a legal notice to cover themselves:-

LEGAL NOTICE
The civil aviation authorities of Member States of the European Community are only able to inspect aircraft of airlines that operate flights to and from Community airports; and in view of the random nature of such inspections, it is not possible to check all aircraft that land at each Community airport. The fact that an airline is not included in the Community list does not, therefore, automatically mean that it meets the applicable safety standards.

Where an airline which is currently included in the Community list deems itself to be in conformity with the necessary technical elements and requirements prescribed by the applicable international safety standards, it may request the Commission to commence the procedure for its removal from the list.

The airlines that have been blacklisted could be read in List of airlines banned within the EU.
Tags: Travel, Airlines Banned, Blacklisted Airlines, European Commission, European Union, EU, European Community, Civil Aviation

Airlines' Weird Ways

Ryanair, the Irish low cost carrier, is on with their game to surprise more air travellers. Recently, I had blogged about Ryanair having proposed to charge air travellers for the usage of air plane's toilets.

In time to come, their air stewardess may not need to explain to you on the air safety procedures but if you still want to find out, you would be required to pay £2.50 to read their safety card.

The safety card will show you how to put on the oxygen mask. At the same time, the safety card will teach you where to insert the money in order for the oxygen mask to drop down for your usage. The usage of the oxygen mask will cost you £1.00.

Please bear mind that after reading this blogpost, you are requested to carry small change when you board a flight with Ryanair. Just in case ...... just in case.

One last thing, Ryanair will need to charge you during emergency exit. You see, you would have to use their rubber chute to slide down or a rubber dinghy if it lands on water (provided the plane doesn't break into pieces of course).

Pay £25 and the crew member will allow you to exit through the emergency exit door. What's £25 compare to the value of your life at stake.

Over the PA system, you may get to hear this announcement - "Thank you for travelling with Ryanair and we hope that you'll bring enough cash for your next travel with us".

Ain't this great. Before you leave this blogpost angrily, you have to read this piece of news - Ryanair's prize for weirdest money-making idea.

Not all airlines are looking forward to squeeze your hard earned out from your pockets.

One US airline, Southwest Airlines, put up some money to re-decorate one of the planes with a bikini-clad model. Some passengers called it soft porn.

Southwest Airlines is going all out to lure air passengers to use their airlines. By the way, when you are inside the plane, how are you going to view that bikini-clad lady which is painted on the outside.

Maybe you can view it while waiting at the boarding gate while the plane is having a re-fueling time??!?!?!!?
Tags: Air Travellers, Air Passengers, Ryanair, Safety Card, Oxygen Mask, Southwest Airlines, Soft Porn

Weird Stuff in Airports

The last trip back to KL, I was hunting for some food as it was past midnight and the stomach was growling.

Saw this cafe by the name of Paul and right across it ...... was Starbucks.

Starbucks or Paul?

Took a picture of the 'little forest that was located in between Starbucks and Paul while thinking what to eat.

Ended up at Paul's as I can frequent Starbucks in KL. I asked the waiter at Paul's on which food is good and his response was ????

"All is nice, Sir". Can't they be a bit more precise. I guessed I'm the first customer to have ask that question. So I re-phrased my question, "To you personally, which is a better choice".

As we were standing in front of a stretch of food, his hand just waved across that stretch ...... "all this is nice, Sir". A bit of wasting my saliva.

Looks like I'm the one who has to be more specific ..... "Is this one nice?". He answered "Yes Sir". Hmmmmm bingo. And I pointed to another food item in which I asked the same question "Is this one nice?". His answered ..... "Yes, it's nice Sir". There you are. Back to square one.

Last question this time. "Is this apple at the top?" to which he answered "Yes, Sir". Great, I'll have that apple stuff on top of the some sort of pie. I don't really like the taste in the end as personally, I found that the apple was not fresh. This pie with a Vanilla milkshake cost me around RM36.




While on the way to Khartoum this time, I hopped in the business lounge at KLIA and saw this wonderfully decorated food item. It was chick pea in pink sauce. Taste weird.

Then tried the Japanese soft cheesecake with three slices of strawberries. Too soft actually and the cheese wasn't really there ........

Then I saw grapes and this is without seeds. My favourite indeed. Lazy to find those tiny weeny seeds when you want to chew and swallow fast. Red grapes too? Those were tomatoes actually.



When I arrived in Dubai for transit, they put me into a room which was considered big that came with two single beds.

The small little building in front of my hotel ..... the one with lots of reflective glasses all around and an advertising signboard on top of it .... that's actually an air-conditioned bus stop.

Too hot to wait for a bus stop in an open air environment so the government takes care of that and provides comfort to bus passengers.

The gigantic lift system in Dubai airport. Always admire the engineering capability of this lift system.

That's how big is one lift carriage itself, with two doors.











The astonishing part - the Fujitec could fit in 120 persons that weighs up to a total of 9,000 kg. Beat that!
Tags: Paul, Starbucks, Dubai, Dubai Airport, Gigantic Lift

Air Passengers Endangering Others

I travel a lot on the following air route sectors, Kuala Lumpur to Dubai and Dubai to Khartoum and vice versa.

In the airplane itself, I really can't sleep at all and that's the bad thing about it. So, what do you do when you can't sleep?
I would be watching those movies available via the small screen located right in front of you (at the back of the front seat). Unfortunately, the air stewards / stewardess would collect all the headphones from all air passengers (normally about 30 minutes prior to landing) for safety purpose. Just in case we crash land, the wires won't be dangling all over the plane.

What else do you get to see?
I would see a few air passengers who would be walking up and down the aisle to relax and stretch their legs or body.

The best part is not during the high altitude time but when we are landing. This is what I have observed / noticed:-

1) Upon departing Dubai for Khartoum, could see some air passengers still talking away on their mobile phones. At times, even when the plane is moving away from the airport and trying to move to the runway, some fellas would still be talking. They must be making tons of monies during that few seconds.

2) Just when every single person in the plane (incl all air stewards / stewardess) are seated in preparations for landing, you would see one air passenger standing up ....... walking towards to the toilet. Then you would hear the air stewardess' voices "Excuse me, Sir!", "Excuse me, Sir!". Normally such air passenger would pretend to be deaf.

3) As the plane is about to land, air stewardess would be checking each and every air passenger to ensure that their seatbelt is buckled up, their respective seats are upright and to put any bags / belongings up in the luggage compartment above.

I have seen this old European fella who was acting just like a young kid. I noticed the air stewardess was making her rounds. This guy was seated two seats away from me. First round, she told him to buckle up and straighten his seat. Round two, she requested him to do it again. Round three, ............. he undo everything hahahaha ..... and I think this air stewardess has had enough of him.

Round four - if not mistaken, the senior air stewardess came to him this time (I suspect she was requested to speak to this fella). Guess what did she say to him? I really respect how she handled him professionally.

"Excuse me, Sir! I have noticed that your seat kept moving down. Is there anything wrong with the seat? If there is, I might have to request you to change seat for your safety purpose. Is your seatbelt working alright as well?"

All said and done and he straighten up his seat and buckled his belt. Old fella (about 50 years old) and I reckon that he's not a first time traveller as he knows how to operate the movie channels with ease. Surprise! Surprise! As the plane was just about to land, he unbuckled his seatbelt. How I wish that the plane would move a bit and he was thrown out of his seat and land on the aisle. Not that I'm cruel but such people are just a nuisance and a danger to other air passengers. They thought that they are frequent air travellers and knew when / how to wear a seatbelt.

4) My colleague told me that in one of his recent trip from Dubai to Khartoum, as the plane was approaching the landing strip, a mobile phone actually rang. What does that mean? It tells you that that fella's mobile phone was not switched off at all.

I wonder which mobile line he was using as he was able to receive a call while still up in the sky. Not only his mobile was not switched off as three other passengers joined this ridiculous air passenger and made phone calls. Then you would hear those air stewardesses' voices again "Excuse me, Sir!, Excuse me, Sir. Please switch off your mobile Sir". Why do you still address them as Sir when they don't deserve that respect?

5) As the plane has landed either in Dubai or Khartoum airport and even before any announcement has been made, the locals would switched on their mobile phones as fast as possible and calls would be made to whoever and whatever. Can't wait at all???????

6) As the plane has landed either in Dubai or Khartoum airport, a few air passengers would stand to open the luggage compartment to take their handheld luggage even though the plane was trying to make its way to the main airport building. The plane was still moving!!!!!!! If I could remember correctly, it did happen before when the plane has just touched the runway and the air passengers stood up.

No choice again and you would hear those air stewardesses' voices "Excuse me, Sir!, Excuse me, Sir. Please sit down Sir, please sit down Sir". If the air stewardesses were slow in voicing out to get the first few to sit down, more air passengers would have stood up.

I really wonder where would they want to go. Jump out of the small window? Open any of the emergency doors and jump out of the plane onto the runway? It really didn't make any sense at all.

I have seen air stewardesses having to unbuckle and actually get the air passengers to sit down and buckle up again. Ain't that endangering the lifes of others?

7) I have heard seen an air stewardess running towards a toilet ........... the moment the toilet door was opened, you could see smoke coming out from the toilet too ........ haha. That smoker addict just cannot stand it without smoking for a few hours.

8) I have sat next to an air passenger who may not understand english language that well. Not ridiculing but this was my experience. He saw me watching movies. He touched my hand and requested me to assist him (by pointing to his screen and my screen). So, I touched screen and went to the screen which shows the movies' listing.

Now, how do you tell him that that's the listing. I looked at him, point ... point .... point ... at a few movies' names. He looked at me bewildered. I reckon being a guy, he would like to watch an action movie. Chose one for him and he asked me for a headphone. He didn't get one and I requested one for him.

In a short moment into his movie, he touched screen and the screen showed other movie channels .... and so forth. He signalled to me again and you know those duck and chicken talk. I was doing that coupled with sign language. I lost of course.

Why did you change your channel? Maybe he speaks or understood arabic language. So, I got him an arabic movie. He touched screen again ........... then he touched me !!!?!??!??!?

How would you react?

9) On another occasion, a similar air passenger had some issues with the screen. He touched and touched and touched. Looked at me and I directed him to the movies screen and put on the same movie as mine since he pointed at my screen. I reckon that he liked my movie.

A few moments into the movie, he touched and touched and touched (the screen of course - what were you thinking) and the screen went blackout. This time he touched me (they have to touched as I pretended not knowing what was happening as I want to enjoy my movie).

I got the air stewardess and told her this "He doesn't know how to operate and he has been touching it too much and changing channels every miliseconds. I think the screen gave up on him."

She re-set his screen (done somewhere in the plane), came back to me and requested me to touch here and there (the screen lah. blogging about air passengers' antics, not mine) to check his screen. It worked again ...... set up his 'favourite' movie ...... I simply choose one action movie. When a person has an itchy finger, he will always be tempted to use it. The screen blackout again ...... he looked at me. I looked at him and pointed him to an air stewardess with my eyes fixed on my screen.

Lots more to tell ....... I could even write a book about it.
Tags: Air Passengers, Air Steward, Air Stewardess

Things Seen in Dubai

The view outside my hotel room's window.

A construction spot just opposite the hotel.

No idea on what kind of car was that .... what a limo! The building at the background is high end condominiums.

Then I saw another limo, this time a Hummer limo??!?!?!?!??!?!?!??!?

Dubai airport has quite a number of self check-in machines to process the queues much faster. That is also provided that passengers are well versed on how to operate it. As for me, never used it before.

2,000 raffle tickets being sold at 500 Dirham each. The grand prize is an Audi R8 4.2 FSI Quattro. Want to buy one of those 2,000 tickets?








The latest 2009 model, made in Germany with good specs.















I wonder which of this lamp has a genie in it. One rub and one of the wishes would be to fly around the world and enjoy life at fantastic tourist places.













I have friends who collect ducks, dogs, cats miniatures for display throughout the house.

I'll start mine with camels then. I think I have two different kinds of camels now.






The camel at the bottom of this picture cost 375 Dirham. The stuff being carried by the camel are made of expensive materials.














It's not cheap but they certainly look colourful and nice. Will start collecting one by one.










This notice board will show you how big is this Dubai airport Terminal 3.

As the airport is big, this notice board will show where you are right now and the probable time you will need to walk to your boarding gates. From one end to the other end - it will take thirty (30) minutes.

You can actually cover it in less than 30 minutes. The 30 minutes timing is for those who wants to walk at ease, still able to look at your favourite items being on sale (no time to queue and buy though), get to see those handsome men and beautiful ladies walking pass you, smell those aroma coming from the cafes or restaurants and to let go your last pint of water in your body system.

I wonder who are they trying to kid around. This L Esprit de Courvoisier whisky is being retailed at 23,500 Dirham or USD6,527.77.













A plane, a plane, it's a plane (fantasy island????)

That's really mine.









Couples who walk down the church aisle after being pronounced as husband and wife may be enjoying that walk. Happiness abundant. Nothing will bother them.

Mine's different ............. why am I on this bridge walking into the plane heading to Sudan?










And the pathetic small toilet for economy passengers.

The toilet for business class is not any bigger also haha.
Tags: Hummer Limo, Audi R8 4.2 FSI Quattro, L Esprit de Courvoisier, Camel, Dubai Airport Terminal 3