France trip update

In my last post "Preparing for trip to France" I had written that we were planning to drive my old Ford car to La Rochelle in France. However, the fact that I am not fully confident with my car, made us change our plans. We will now be flying to La Rochelle directly.

I would have gone ahead had it been only the two of us but we will have two small kids in tow and I simply don't want to risk it. Just imagine being stranded on a highway in France with two kids in the back seat.

Of course it's much more convenient now. We reach our destination in a few hours. However, that also means that we won't be able to take as much stuff along with us. We will be there in France for nearly two weeks and we hope to see some of the surrounding sights and we definitely would have to rent a car. It would be interesting because it would be the first time in my life to drive a left hand drive vehicle. In fact it would be my first time to drive on the wrong side of the road (the right side, according to some of you).

In the meantime I am practising some of the common French phrases. I had never known that French was so tough. The problem is that the words are pronounced totally different from how they are written. It's good that I have some French speaking friends to correct me. Hopefully the few phrases would be good enough to get by.

Trip to London

Some pics of our recent trip to London:


Harrods at Knightsbridge

There was a Harrods sale going on and the crowd was unbelievable - mostly ladies and a lot of tourists. There were some people outside protesting against fur being sold in the store. Forgot to take pics.



Walking towards Knightsbridge


Natural history museum

Saw some dinosaur skeletons. Didn't have enough time to go round.



Leicester square. My son fell asleep. The Odeon theatre is in the background.


Statue of Shakespeare at Leicester square.

"There is no darkness but ignorance"
Quote from William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.


Crowds near Piccadilly Circus.

Preparing for trip to France

I have never been to France even though one of my sisters is married to a French guy. This is due to the fact that they are both Australians now. Anyway, sometime back we received a great offer from one of our friends to stay in her apartment in the beautiful city of La Rochelle in Western France. Of course we jumped at the chance. We met her today at the Coventry railway station before she left for her house in Paris and she handed over the keys to the apartment.

Malaysian are lucky because they don't need a visa to enter France, unlike citizens of other countries outside Europe, including Indians and Chinese among others. I am really excited as this is going to be my first trip to anywhere in France. However, I have to admit that I am a bit worried as well. We plan to drive there and the kids will be there with us. A major concern is that we will be driving our old Ford Escort and the place is nearly 645 miles from our house here in Coventry.



The car has never given me any major trouble till now and I would have to send it to a work shop for a complete servicing to ensure that we have a smooth journey to and fro. I would need to fix the air conditioning as well because it's going to be quite warm there.

Some friends have been advising us to learn some French - the most important being, "Parlez vous Anglais ? (pronounced as Pahr-lay voo ah(n)gleh ?) meaning, "Do you speak English ?"

Well! I have one month to prepare for the trip.

Trip to Marazion and St Michael's Mount

Marazion is said to be the oldest town in Britain and called Ictis during Roman times. Driving through the narrow roads was interesting. The sloping roads are too narrow to allow two cars to pass and cars have to give way to those coming from opposite directions at designated points. We had wanted to visit St Michael’s Mount. Unfortunately we were too late as the castle and gardens are only open till 5pm. However we were able to take some pictures of the island from the shore.






You can apparently walk to the island during low tide using the causeway.




Marazion


The plaque says:

HIS MAJESTY KING EDWARD
Landed near this spot
April 19 1902

Trip to Land's End Cornwall

Land's End is the Western most point on the British Isles. They have several undercover attractions including a Dr. Who exhibition but we didn't go to any of them. Instead we walked around.

Here are some pics of our trip there.


Penwith House. Artist's Gallery and End to End Club room.


The First and Last House, where the actual Land’s End point is situated.




On board the Confide, a trawler.


A circle of granite stones. You will find granite pillars all around Cornwall, remnants of pagan beliefs.


The cliffs






A panorama from behind the Land’s End Hotel. In the distance you can see the Longships lighthouse.

Greetings from Cornwall

I am blogging this from Hayle, Cormwall Cornwall (thanks Ummi) right at the South of Britain (well almost). The journey which was supposed to take around five hours took nearly eight hours due to heavy traffic and road repairs. By the time we reached our destination, it was around 9 pm. Thankfully the days are long and there was still light when we reached the site.

BBC weather predicted a sunny day today. However it was overcast almost the whole day.



Today was the first time my son has ever seen the sea. He was really excited and ran towards the water but when the waves rushed in and soaked his feet with cold water, he rushed back towards me and hung on for dear life on legs.

I am able to access the net here, thanks to the 3 mobile broadband service and of course the guys from 3 mobile buzz. I am still testing out the 3 mobile broadband USB modem. Uploading pictures take a while but the surfing speeds are quite satisfactory. Having connection to the net has proven invaluable while checking for tourist attractions nearby.

More updates and pictures tomorrow.

Night in Nottingham

Spent a night yesterday at the Travelodge in Nottingham city centre. My wife is attending a course at the University of Nottingham and I decided to tag along with the kids. However, I had to come back today morning as I was presenting a paper at the Spring Doctoral Conference here at the University of Wariwck.

I had wanted to try out the 3 USB dongle over there but was so tired out when we finally got there, that I didn't get the chance to test it out. Just chatted with my wife over Skype and the sound quality was OK though the connection did drop once.

Will find out what she thinks about the 3 USB dongle when she comes back tomorrow.


A view of the street from the our room.

Coventry city centre and other updates

It has been a week since I last posted something on this blog. Makes it among the longest. So here's an update. We went to Coventry city centre thrice last week. The weather wasn't that good but we decided the kids needed some exposure and they were getting pretty restless at home during the Easter break.

The first time we went was on a Monday. We took the bus and I guess it was quite an experience for the kids as it was their first time going to the city centre using public transport. We took a family ticket (£6) but later discovered that the kids could go for free and we only had to pay our own (£2.60 each for a day saver).

It was a bank holiday and most of the shops were closed by the time we got to the city centre. It was kind of weird walking through the city with hardly anyone around - that's Coventry for you.





Got to see some parts in the city centre that I have never been to before even though we have been here for more than a year.

We went again by bus again the next day to eat lunch at this Chinese restaurant we had heard about called My China at Priory Place. We were quite surprised to find that we were the only customers - probably due to the fact it was around 2 pm. So we had the restaurant all to ourselves. We later learned that the owner is from Malaysia. The food was great. We would definitely be going there again.

The day after that we went to the city centre - again. This time we drove there and parked at the West Orchard Shopping Centre. After a bit of shopping we went to grab a bite at Nando's. You may not believe it but I have never visited a Nondo's anywhere - not even in Malaysia. It was not quite what I expected. I had imagined it to be just link any another fast food outlet - something like KFC and was not really enthusiastic

Glad to say that I was proven wrong. They have great music - Reggae, Portuguese and a few other languages I couldn't identify. They are child friendly and unlike other fast food outlets, they have a good choice of VEGETARIAN food. The chicken served at Nando's here are Halal. My kids loved their bottomless yogurt icecream and they probably ate a little more than they should have.

Had some friends over yesterday for freshly brewed coffee and pudding. Then later went for a birthday party in the evening to our friend Lisa and Zur's house.

Today had lunch at our friend Nana and Mozard's house. Great food again.

Writing all this has made me hungry and I think I will go and grab myself some supper.

Down memory lane in Bangsar

I was going through my old website on Geocities (my first), which has not been updated in a very long time. Reading the stuff I wrote several years ago brought back a lot of pleasant memories. One of the pages was on Bangsar, a suburb on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, which was then our favourite place to hang out. Here is what I wrote with some minor editing (last updated in 2002):

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Think of Bangsar and images of food, coffee and beautiful people immediately comes into my head. if you are in Malaysia and looking for a bite, a drink, a book, carpets, furniture or just want to hang out and watch the World go by... just go to Bangsar. This is where people come to see and be seen.


Clockwise from top left: 1. Jalan Telawi Tiga, Bangsar at night; 2. In the morning; 3. a slimmer me (MBA days), 4. at Bangsar Bowl with my wife-to-be and Rama.

Caffiene addicts are in luck here - There are several cafes you can choose from - Starbucks, the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.... You will find these cafes packed even on week days and you know the Asian Crisis is over now (or is it?) - People are flocking back to Bangsar. Well since I first started this page, I have lost track of the places that have closed down and new ones coming up to take their places.

If you are thirsty for a different kind of drink - the alcoholic kind, don't worry, Bangsar has probably the highest concentration of pubs and bistros in the whole of Malaysia. I suggest you try 'Grappa' for a good selection of wines and 'the Roof' for a place with a view. It has got a new "Blue" look now. According to Bangsar regulars, the "IN" or "COOL" places to hang out are 'Bar Flam' and 'Finnegan's'. The most amazing thing is that they are all on one street - Jalan Telawi 3

If you are hungry, you have a wide variety to choose from - ranging from Italian and French to Thai and Indian cuisine and of course modern "fast food."

For those who love sea food, just head for the 'Sea Food Village'. One good point about this place is that it has its own parking for its patrons.

'Jolly Green' is the big food court with a green roof and a car park below. If you happen to be short of cash and can't afford to go to on of the expensive restaurants, go to the mamak stalls inside Jolly Green or ones outside which open up in the afternoon, next to the Sea food Village.

You cannot beat Devi's Corner in terms of price. Try the Butter Nan> with Tandoori Chicken there. They have several types of Tosai too. You can also try their Nasi Lemak there and wash it down with Teh Tarik - which literally means 'pulled tea' or with a glass of Teh O Ais Limau - Ice lemon tea. They recently renovated the whole place and it looks and feels much better now.

Just along the road is the newly opened 'Lotus'. Clean and bright but slightly more expensive than the former. This place is as busy as Devi's.

Another Indian Vegetarian restaurant is 'Madras Woodlands' - the same row as McDonalds. You may miss it as it is not on the ground floor. There is a wide choice of North and South Indian dishes. The food is reasonably priced. I love the VIP meal and the chapati set.

I just don't know why Bangsar has a lot of places with the names of colors - 'Jolly Green', 'the Grey', 'the White Room' and the 'Red Chamber' and so on. I visited the Red Chamber some time back and guess what...I really liked the place, they have created a really cozy ambiance. With sofas, curtains, real cool music - ethnic, arabian, sufi and so on - and as the name suggests, a red colour theme. The best thing I liked was that none of the dishes were above RM20 and the food was really good. Try the Asam Laksa and you will agree with me. I really love the "Little Red Rubies" which is a drink made from coconut water plus milk and few other ingredients. Bad news for Vegetarians, not much for you there.

Just upstairs is 'the Harem' run by the same management. With an Arabian theme you take off your shoes, just lie down and get comfy. However, do not try eating and drinking lying down - you may drip Asam Laksa all over your shirt. The "Shisha" (a type of scented, non-tobacco hookah) is a big hit there. Yes, people actually pay to inhale scented smoke. I noticed something new, there were more girls (dressed to kill) as compared to guys. Anybody got any answers? I wonder if there is some truth to the rumour that there are more girls than guys in the Klang Valley.

If you are into books, there are a few places where you can grab something to read. There's 'MPH' for those with a lot of money, just opposite Madras Woodlands. It has the widest choice, plus mags, stationeries as well as music CDs and cassettes. Then there is 'Silverfish books', next to Devi's. You have to climb up the narrow stairs. It has got a small but good collection of books including used ones.

However, the best bargain can be had at 'City Book Rentals' on the other side of Bangsar. More precisely at 40 Persiaran Ara Kiri, Lucky Garden. That's behind 'TMC super market'. Their rules are simple, you pay an amount for renting books (used). You can then give it back after reading it and then you get back most of the money back. Some really good books there. I got 'Forward the Foundation' by Issac Asimov today for RM20.

Don't be surprised if you suddenly happen to see a lot of people on Sunday. It is because the Pasar Malam or night market is open. Numerous stalls sell every imaginable thing from fake watches to vegetables and clothes. However, its getting tougher to get pirated CDs and VCDs now after the authorities clamed down on the illegal trade.

Just down the road is the 'Bangsar Shopping Complex' or BSC (now Bangsar Shopping Centre). Just a few months back, it was a dead place with several closed shop lots. Anyway most of the goods sold there were overpriced. Will definitely miss the GSC cineplex and the Bangsar Bowl - a bowling alley. Not very crowded and reasonably priced. However, after the renovation it is starting to pull in the crowd. The customers are mostly expats who live nearby. I personally feel that the place is highly pretentious and materialistic but I guess that's how the World is now-a-days.

In Bangsar, you have people spending hundreds of dollars on a single dinner and driving around in Ferraris and at the same time come across beggars as well. You can see the "CD people" packing their wares before the enforcement agencies raid the place. You can sometimes see young kids dead drunk, puffing and partying away like there's no tomorrow. You can see "Mat sallehs" - Westerners with SPGs (Sarong Party Girls) wrapped around their arms.

Yeah! You are right. Who am I to judge?

Bangsar has something for everyone and I am a part of the crowd as well.

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Correction! I was part of the crowd. Wonder how many of those places I named here are still in business?

Scotland trip cancelled

We were all set to spend a week in Scotland. Had a cottage booked, serviced the car and even bought snow suits for any eventuality - we were hoping that it might snow over there. However, it appears that we won't be able to go. My son is teething - he has four new teeth coming out and is in a great deal of pain. He is not eating and drinking much and we were quite worried when he came down with fever day before yesterday

We had hoped that he would get better by today but that was not to be. He's in a bad mood the whole day and it really breaks my heart to see him grimacing with pain. So we finally decided to cancel the trip. A call to a friend also confirmed our fears - that the money won't be refunded.

It was a bit of a downer but I tried to look at the bright side - we saved on fuel and other expenditure and it's probably too cold to enjoy ourselves over there. A case of sour grapes, I know but it certainly helps us feel better a bit.

Blackpool trip 2

Here are some pics from our recent trip to Blackpool.


We stayed at the Travelodge hotel at Preston Central about 20 minutes away.
Comfortable yet affordable.


The Blackpool Illuminations




The Fireworks


Blackpool tower illumination at night


Ferris wheel called the Blackpool eye




Blackpool Tower in the morning


The Ferris wheel "Blackpool eye"


View from the top of the Blackpool eye


My daughter sitting opposite me. She was very brave. Not scared at all.


View from top 1


View from top 2


Sea Gull


My wife and daughter

Blackpool trip 1

One Friday, the 21st, we drove to Blackpool to view the famous "Illuminations" as well as the World Fireworks Championships. For your information, the Illuminations are turned on every autumn and have been a major part of Blackpool’s attraction since 1879.

The fireworks started around 8:30pm and on that day, it was the team from Austria's turn. We stood on the promenade and watched the wonderful fireworks display. Met up with Mozard and family later and a friend later.

The last and final display was on the 28th. Wonder who won the competition.

Here are some short clips of the fireworks:

Coombe park again

We were supposed to go to Liverpool along with our friends Nana, Mozard and their kids last weekend but we cancelled our trip at the last moment because it turned out that the reason we wanted to go - the British musical fireworks championships were in October not this month.

So we decided to pay a visit to nearby Coombe Country Park instead. We had fun and unlike the last time we had visited, the flowers were blooming.



Rahil also rode on a donkey for the first time in her life. She looked cool but I could see her gripping the support on the saddle real tight.




Forest path


Swan


Wild flowers

We had a real scare when Nana's daughter Yana had an accident while playing at a special playground in the park. She slipped and hit herself. She was in real pain and couldn't even walk. All of us were really worried. We rushed to our cars and drove to the NHS walk-in centre in Coventry city centre as fast as we could. We left them there and later learnt that they had to go to the hospital at Walsgrave because the walk-in centre didn't have x-ray facilities.

Was really relieved when we learnt that it was not serious and she didn't break any bones.

Want to go for a beach holiday

Even though we are technically on an Island, it's been nearly a year since I went to a beach or seaside. I don't know why but I have always been attracted to the ocean and one of my most memorable vacations was to Redang Island off the east coast of Malaysia with a few friends. Since then, I have visited several other Islands in Malaysia and neighbouring Thailand including Pangkor, Langkawi, Penang and Phuket. These islands are among the ideal Beach Holidays listed on Dialaflight.com. This UK based company is one of the leading independent travel company offering flights, hotels and travel ideas worldwide.

I was really excited reading about the various beach resort holidays listed on the site. They have loads of useful travel information. Dialaflight.com is also a great place to look for cheap flights and holiday offers.

If you are thinking of exotic beach holidays, do visit the site.

Sherwood: the Living Legend

When we visited Sherwood Forest in Nothingham for the Robin Hood Festival early this month, I pledged my support for Sherwood: the Living Legend. This is a bid to win up to £50 million from the Big Lottery Fund's Living Landmarks: The People's Millions competition.

This unique project involves over 15 organisations in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire with a vision:

To transform Sherwood Forest into a world-class sustainable destination and inspirational community resource, within which current and future generations can live, learn, play and prosper.

This unique project is hoped to become a catalyst for regeneration in the Sherwood area. At the centre of this project will be the Heart of the Forest - a new visitor complex built with cutting-edge sustainable technologies, which will be linked to the ancient forest by a tree top walkway. Check out the amazing artist impressions of this proposed building.

US Military Campground FamCamp location guide

AllStays.com has relaunched an enhanced version of their Military Campground (also known as FamCamps) location guide in the US. These Military Campgrounds provide lower cost camping options for military, veterans and their families. They are much cheaper than even the normal campgrounds and RV parks with some camps offer rates as low as $3 a night.

The site lists over 200 of these sites by placing them on a United States map (including Alaska and Hawaii locations) using Google. You can zoom on the sites as well. Clicking on the site which is represented by green tents, bring up more information. This includes location, contact number, number of sites, seasons of operation and link to websites (if any). Should prove useful to members of the US armed forces and their families.

Qutab Minar

I was going through my old post when I realized that I missed out some of the wonderful sights we had seen in Delhi during our India trip.

After our conference, we had 2 extra days and decided to do some sight seeing and shopping of course.

It would have been very difficult had it not for our friend, En. Sani. We met him by chance in Mumbai airport as we were waiting for our plane. He works in Delhi and stays in a flat alone. He invited us to stay over in his place and arranged for us to do the shopping and sightseeing. He picked us up from our hotel and we moved into his apartment just at the outskirts of New Delhi.

So we hired a taxi to take us around for the whole day. Our first stop was a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Qutab Minar. This ancient architectural wonder is the tallest stone tower in India (height of 72.5m = 239ft). It has 5 distinct storeys, each marked by a balcony. The first three storeys are made of red sandstone, while the top 4th and 5th of marble and sandstone.



Qutb-u’d-Din Aibak, the first Muslim ruler of Delhi, laid the foundation of the Qutab Minar in AD 1199 to celebrate the defeat of the Rajput kings. It was later completed by his successors.

We learnt that until a few years ago, visitors were allowed to go up and a lot of people committed suicide by jumping for the upper floors. When we were there, some repairs were going on.

To the northeast of the Minar, is the Quwwat-ul-Islam (Might of Islam) Masjid (Mosque). It was built by Qutbu'd-Din Aibak in AD 1198 and is the oldest Mosque in India. Only the ruins and the façade and some old tombs remain now.



An interesting observation is that none of the columns were the same. I found out later that this is because they used materials from the ruins of Hindu and Jain temples and is evident by the use of stone blocks intricately carved with Hindu motifs including that of horses, cows and human figures, placed on top of one another to make columns. The use of animal and human images is not something you would expect in any mosque. They say that it was once covered with plaster, but the plaster was eroded with the years exposing the original carvings.







Another amazing sight was the black iron pillar in the center of the complex. This pillar is 7.2 meters tall and is called the “pillar of law”. It bears a Sanskrit inscription in the Brahmi script of 4th century AD and mentions that it was in honour to the Hindu god Vishnu and to commemorate the King Chandragupta Vikramaditya II, who ruled from 375 to 413 AD. Another king brought it here later somewhere in the 11th century. The Muslim rulers left it untouched.



What is so amazing about this iron pillar is that it has not at all rusted even after nearly 2000 years and modern day scientists still don’t know why. Have to talk to Fred, my sister’s fiancé who is specialized in corrosion engineering.

While walking out we noticed another incomplete tower called Ala'i Minar, which stands to the north of the Kutub-Minar.

We were silent as we left the complex. It was an amazing experience.

P.S. Just by coincidence, Y.B. Datuk Mustapa bin Mohamed, Minister in the Prime Minister Department was there too. We were introduced to him by one guy in his group who heard us speaking in Malay. It's a small World.

Some Pics

UPDATED: 8 Feb, 2008
Textamerica is dead. Linking the pictures from my Flickr account.

After looking around, found that the free photo hosting service provided by TextAmerica.com is among the best. Setting up an account and uploading pictures is a breeze. Just uploaded some of my Phuket trip pictures.


Dusk at Patong Beach.

The (in)famous Bangla Road.
(Don't have the pictures anymore)


View from the James Bond Island.