I am writing this down in a Pharmacy cum internet cafe (they have an ADSL connection with 2 computers) at 2 Bhat per minute (about 20 sen) after taking a walk down Patong beach in Phuket. My wife is attending a conference here at the Prince of Shongkhla university and I am free to roam the place all by myself. Yeah I am a tourist.
This is my first visit to Phuket and so far the experience has been quite good. Before we had to think twice but now, Thanks to Air Asia, everyone can fly (inluding me). We are now staying at the Comfort Resort just opposite the Holiday inn. It's a budget hotel but surisingly it not bad, with hot water, airconditioning, TV with english channels, a swimming pool and a comfortable king size bed (what more do we need anyway).
Like all typical Malaysian tourists, the first thing on our minds when we got here was to check out the prices of stuff. "Is it cheaper than in Malaysia?" My wife was looking for a suit and she was not disappointed. You can get a suit - jacket and pants stiched according to your liking and have it deivered to you in 24 hours for only 3000 baht (about Rm300). One surpising thing was that most of the tailor shops here were run by Nepalese and not by the Thais. Had to do a bit of tough bargaining though and the fact that this was the off peak tourist season was in our favour. Thank god!(or so they say), I wonder how's it like during the peak.
Will post some pics when I get back.
27 May 2004
24 May 2004
Defective Signal Lights in the Proton Wira?
Drove down to KL this time. It cost me around Rm100 one way (Petrol + Toll). I exchanged my car with my wife's. Actually we have the same make - Proton Wiras, but she liked my car's colour (Golden) better. Besides it is 1 year younger. Being the loving husband, I agreed and drove back to Kedah using her car.
On the way just after passing Tapah, I heard a sound and pieces of something flying. "Oh Shit!" followed by a "Oh God!" please don't let it be a puncture. I put my hazard lights on and stopped by the side of the highway. Fortunately, I didn't have a puncture but I found that the right side signal lights had come out and was hanging from the wires.
It was really odd because my own Wira had the same problem – the right hand side signal lights came out too. I thought that maybe it was just a coincidence. I tried to get it replaced free of charge because it was still under warranty but they didn’t have it in stock at the Proton Edar service center in Alor Setar. One of the guys promised to call when they had new stock. It’s been about a month since then. I used transparent cellophane tape to keep it in its place and will get it replaced in KL when I get back next time.
Now, back on the highway. I somehow put the signal lights in using whatever I had in my disposal including tissue paper, toll tickets and a sticker with a Quranic verse on it and reached my house in Kedah safely. I was just narrating this to my friend when he told me that his brother had faced the same problem – the right signal lights popping out. I later discovered that this was no mere coincidence and that several people who had bought the Proton Wira had faced the same problem.
I also noticed that the lights are made by Bosch. You'd expect better quality from a well known Multinational or maybe it is Proton that makes the casing or whatever you call it. I don’t know who is responsible (Proton or Bosch)but sure I hope they look into this matter. Actually this is not the first time I had problems with my Proton car. Read my old post. I wonder whether they know what they are talking about when they mention "Quality control" or "Customer Service" or even "Globalisation". Anyone with the same problem or knows someone who does, please contact me.
On the way just after passing Tapah, I heard a sound and pieces of something flying. "Oh Shit!" followed by a "Oh God!" please don't let it be a puncture. I put my hazard lights on and stopped by the side of the highway. Fortunately, I didn't have a puncture but I found that the right side signal lights had come out and was hanging from the wires.
It was really odd because my own Wira had the same problem – the right hand side signal lights came out too. I thought that maybe it was just a coincidence. I tried to get it replaced free of charge because it was still under warranty but they didn’t have it in stock at the Proton Edar service center in Alor Setar. One of the guys promised to call when they had new stock. It’s been about a month since then. I used transparent cellophane tape to keep it in its place and will get it replaced in KL when I get back next time.
Now, back on the highway. I somehow put the signal lights in using whatever I had in my disposal including tissue paper, toll tickets and a sticker with a Quranic verse on it and reached my house in Kedah safely. I was just narrating this to my friend when he told me that his brother had faced the same problem – the right signal lights popping out. I later discovered that this was no mere coincidence and that several people who had bought the Proton Wira had faced the same problem.
I also noticed that the lights are made by Bosch. You'd expect better quality from a well known Multinational or maybe it is Proton that makes the casing or whatever you call it. I don’t know who is responsible (Proton or Bosch)but sure I hope they look into this matter. Actually this is not the first time I had problems with my Proton car. Read my old post. I wonder whether they know what they are talking about when they mention "Quality control" or "Customer Service" or even "Globalisation". Anyone with the same problem or knows someone who does, please contact me.
23 May 2004
Cruelty
Anger, disgust and sadness - these were some of the feelings I felt when I saw the graphic pictures of horrific wounds suffered by Nirmala Bonet - the 19-year-old maid who was brutally abused by her employer. Malaysia seems to be in the World news for the wrong reasons.
It was reported that Malaysian newspapers were deluged by letters of outrage from Malaysians of all walks of life and irrespective of ethnicity. However, I was surprised to find that some of my acquaintances were strangely silent on the matter. These were the same people who used to flood my mail boxes with news about the abuses in Iraq and stories about the suffering of the Afghan and Palestinian people. Why the silence now when the atrocities are at home?
Another thing that surprised me was that the accused, Yim Pek Ha, was a a 36 years old housewife and the mother of four children. I find a parallel with another recent local headline news - about the mother who abused her baby girl to death.
Does this mean that anyone seemingly normal, including you and me, can become a devil? Also in both cases, the husband was a silent spectator. Doesn't that make them just as guilty? They could have stopped it but they did not. A lot of questions and a lot of soul searching to do.
It was reported that Malaysian newspapers were deluged by letters of outrage from Malaysians of all walks of life and irrespective of ethnicity. However, I was surprised to find that some of my acquaintances were strangely silent on the matter. These were the same people who used to flood my mail boxes with news about the abuses in Iraq and stories about the suffering of the Afghan and Palestinian people. Why the silence now when the atrocities are at home?
Another thing that surprised me was that the accused, Yim Pek Ha, was a a 36 years old housewife and the mother of four children. I find a parallel with another recent local headline news - about the mother who abused her baby girl to death.
Does this mean that anyone seemingly normal, including you and me, can become a devil? Also in both cases, the husband was a silent spectator. Doesn't that make them just as guilty? They could have stopped it but they did not. A lot of questions and a lot of soul searching to do.
19 May 2004
Bitching
Bitching aka backbiting aka slander seems to be an integral part of the organisational culture now-a-days. There is this one organisation, many of whose members I am familiar with, some very close. Being an outsider yet with some short of access to the going ons in this organization, I am very well aware of the internal politics and privy to some very delicate information (you can call it rumours or hearsay or simply gossip). As a result I am able to observe the idiosyncracies, insecurity, lust for power as well as other normal behaviour of the typical modern adult Malaysian from an observer status.
What I observe proves what many people have inferred at one time or other. OK ladies don’t get angry but I found out that in several organizations, women bitch the most and this particular organisation was no exception. Of course there are guys who love to bitch too but their number is still low. I also realized that the old saying, “women are their worst enemies,” is true. Maybe they don’t see men as a threat but most of the bitching by women is targeted at other women.
Well in this organization, there is this one old lady (OOL) (actually not so old) who is already up there but not at the top yet feels threatened by an upcoming brilliant lady (UBL). There is another old lady (AOL) (who’s old but looks young) who just got promoted to the upper level and has her head in the clouds. And she wonders why no one likes her.
In this case it's very easy to create a fire - no an explosion, with all the fuel I have. Just imagine, I can create a war by reporting to one individual what another individual had just told me and spicing it up a bit. However, being a strong believer in the principle of non-interference in other people’s affairs, I won’t. However, not everyone subscribes to this principle.
There was this one incident, where the OOL was rude to the UBL, just due to the fact that UBL did something which the top guy praised. UBL was a little pissed off and the whole organisation (well at least those present) knew.
Now the AOL come to the UBL and adds a little bit of oil to the sparks. UBL says something. AOL now spreads UBL’s reply with a little bit of spicing up. Now everyone in the organization: Bitch, Bitch, Bitch about OOL and UBL.
Thus it evolves until … I am sure you can imagine the ending. Well there I not an ending yet and it doesn’t look good with people adding more fuel.
I guess its human nature, we just love juicy stories. That's also the reason why newspapers and magazines carrying the latest scandal are sold out as soon as they hit the stands.
It's no wonder slander/gossip/backbiting is forbidden in Islam.
Also read this touching story: Speak No Evil: Why gossip is bad for your soul.
What I observe proves what many people have inferred at one time or other. OK ladies don’t get angry but I found out that in several organizations, women bitch the most and this particular organisation was no exception. Of course there are guys who love to bitch too but their number is still low. I also realized that the old saying, “women are their worst enemies,” is true. Maybe they don’t see men as a threat but most of the bitching by women is targeted at other women.
Well in this organization, there is this one old lady (OOL) (actually not so old) who is already up there but not at the top yet feels threatened by an upcoming brilliant lady (UBL). There is another old lady (AOL) (who’s old but looks young) who just got promoted to the upper level and has her head in the clouds. And she wonders why no one likes her.
In this case it's very easy to create a fire - no an explosion, with all the fuel I have. Just imagine, I can create a war by reporting to one individual what another individual had just told me and spicing it up a bit. However, being a strong believer in the principle of non-interference in other people’s affairs, I won’t. However, not everyone subscribes to this principle.
There was this one incident, where the OOL was rude to the UBL, just due to the fact that UBL did something which the top guy praised. UBL was a little pissed off and the whole organisation (well at least those present) knew.
Now the AOL come to the UBL and adds a little bit of oil to the sparks. UBL says something. AOL now spreads UBL’s reply with a little bit of spicing up. Now everyone in the organization: Bitch, Bitch, Bitch about OOL and UBL.
Thus it evolves until … I am sure you can imagine the ending. Well there I not an ending yet and it doesn’t look good with people adding more fuel.
I guess its human nature, we just love juicy stories. That's also the reason why newspapers and magazines carrying the latest scandal are sold out as soon as they hit the stands.
It's no wonder slander/gossip/backbiting is forbidden in Islam.
Also read this touching story: Speak No Evil: Why gossip is bad for your soul.
17 May 2004
Weekend in PD
Tagged along with my wife to PD this weekend. She had a meeting there and I decided to be the babysitter.
We stayed at the Regency - it was OK but not that great. We didn't get to roam around much, as my wife was busy with her work and I was busy with the baby. Now I am getting great at bathing Rahil. Don't think its an easy task holding a slippery 8.5 kg baby and trying to wash her hair.
My wife made one observation about the hotels in Port Dickson. All of them were concentrated along one part with the result that there were too many. Hope of having nice peaceful walk on the beach in the evening was also shattered by the reclamation work being carried out nearby. And forget about taking a dip in the sea - its really dirty.
Actually after staying in a number of hotels in Malaysia, you begin to realise that there not much of a difference. Of course apart from the Sutera Harbour Resort in Sabah which remains my all time favourite. I am not really sure what I liked about that place. Maybe it was because of the great view from the room, the great food, the bathroom with folding windows and a bath tub which you could jump into from the bedroom. Or maybe it was the fact that my wife was pregnant with Rahil that time. I don't know. Hope to go back one day.
We stayed at the Regency - it was OK but not that great. We didn't get to roam around much, as my wife was busy with her work and I was busy with the baby. Now I am getting great at bathing Rahil. Don't think its an easy task holding a slippery 8.5 kg baby and trying to wash her hair.
My wife made one observation about the hotels in Port Dickson. All of them were concentrated along one part with the result that there were too many. Hope of having nice peaceful walk on the beach in the evening was also shattered by the reclamation work being carried out nearby. And forget about taking a dip in the sea - its really dirty.
Actually after staying in a number of hotels in Malaysia, you begin to realise that there not much of a difference. Of course apart from the Sutera Harbour Resort in Sabah which remains my all time favourite. I am not really sure what I liked about that place. Maybe it was because of the great view from the room, the great food, the bathroom with folding windows and a bath tub which you could jump into from the bedroom. Or maybe it was the fact that my wife was pregnant with Rahil that time. I don't know. Hope to go back one day.
10 May 2004
New Layout
Surfing around the various blogs, I notice that some bloggers like Yazmeen, change their layout almost every month. On the other hand there are those (like me) who make some subtle changes now and then but the overal look remains the same. Of course there are those who couldn't care less and has been using the same layout for years.
Anyway, just noticed that Blogger has a brand new look and they are now offering more great features, including several new templates. After going through them, I decided to use one of the new templates. I was getting bored with my old "simple" look and didn't have the time nor the inclination to spend hours coming up with a new layout. So just took the easy way out.
Comming to the new features, you can now view a list of the Previous Posts and they also offer a comments service. Now I am wondering what do do with my old Haloscan comments. There were a lot of interesting comments from all the visitors to my blog. I hope they will be preserved in my archives.
Anyway, just noticed that Blogger has a brand new look and they are now offering more great features, including several new templates. After going through them, I decided to use one of the new templates. I was getting bored with my old "simple" look and didn't have the time nor the inclination to spend hours coming up with a new layout. So just took the easy way out.
Comming to the new features, you can now view a list of the Previous Posts and they also offer a comments service. Now I am wondering what do do with my old Haloscan comments. There were a lot of interesting comments from all the visitors to my blog. I hope they will be preserved in my archives.
05 May 2004
My handphone bugs me
I have been using a Celcom prepaid service for more than 4 years now. Before that I was using a Digi prepaid number, which I passed down to my sister. Digi was great but had limited coverage at that time and so I changed to Celcom. Did a little survey and found that most of my colleagues here in Kedah use Maxis. One friend had a surprising reason - because she can accumulate Bonuslink points.
I was really happy with Celcom, especially their coverage but of late a few things about this service provider is beginning to bug me.
I am not sure whether this has happened to you but I notice that I keep getting a Network busy sign on holidays and weekends, and that too when I need to make an urgent call. In the end I had to use the pay phone. It’s probably due to the increase in the number of subscribers using their network and of course those people who go around 24 hours with a phone stuck to their ears.
Another thing, which I really hate are the sms promotions which are now increasing in frequency. I am not interested nor do I have the time to enter all these contests. I have a hard time getting rid of all the spam in my e-mails. Now I have to face them on my handphone too. I don't recall signing up for such a service and I am sure there are certain laws against spamming in Phones too.
Last in my list: the air time running out just when you need to make an urgent call (not Celcom's fault). I guess that’s one of the perils of using a prepaid plan. In fact, my airtime just ran out as I was driving around in Alor Star trying to locate an office today. I couldn’t call anyone to ask for directions. Fortunately, Alor Star is quite small as compared to KL and ultimately I got to the building after driving around for a while.
By the way just found out that you can sms people from your computer using the Internet. Just send an e-mail with the following address:
019-------@ sms.celcom.com.my for Celcom and
012-------@sms.maxis.net.my for Maxis.
I am not sure whether this service is available for Digi users.
BTW, Celcom just launced a new 128K smart SIM kit last month. That's huge storage space and according to a friend, can store up to 750 phone numbers and 100 SMS messages on the SIM alone. Go to the Celcom website for more details. However, its not avilable for us poor Prepaid users yet.
I was really happy with Celcom, especially their coverage but of late a few things about this service provider is beginning to bug me.
I am not sure whether this has happened to you but I notice that I keep getting a Network busy sign on holidays and weekends, and that too when I need to make an urgent call. In the end I had to use the pay phone. It’s probably due to the increase in the number of subscribers using their network and of course those people who go around 24 hours with a phone stuck to their ears.
Another thing, which I really hate are the sms promotions which are now increasing in frequency. I am not interested nor do I have the time to enter all these contests. I have a hard time getting rid of all the spam in my e-mails. Now I have to face them on my handphone too. I don't recall signing up for such a service and I am sure there are certain laws against spamming in Phones too.
Last in my list: the air time running out just when you need to make an urgent call (not Celcom's fault). I guess that’s one of the perils of using a prepaid plan. In fact, my airtime just ran out as I was driving around in Alor Star trying to locate an office today. I couldn’t call anyone to ask for directions. Fortunately, Alor Star is quite small as compared to KL and ultimately I got to the building after driving around for a while.
By the way just found out that you can sms people from your computer using the Internet. Just send an e-mail with the following address:
019-------@ sms.celcom.com.my for Celcom and
012-------@sms.maxis.net.my for Maxis.
I am not sure whether this service is available for Digi users.
BTW, Celcom just launced a new 128K smart SIM kit last month. That's huge storage space and according to a friend, can store up to 750 phone numbers and 100 SMS messages on the SIM alone. Go to the Celcom website for more details. However, its not avilable for us poor Prepaid users yet.
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