View from a Hill

Well, the blog's been left unattended for the past few days as we headed to Penang over the Christmas break. As always, it was a great trip even though we didn't get a chance to rediscover the little nooks and crannies that make Penang such an enchanting place. There was food, though - lots and lots of it.

And there was this view that we were fortunate enough to enjoy from the peak of Penang Hill.

And the panorama version :

a Spanner in the Banner

Courtesy of a franchise chain. See if you can spot what made me look ...

the Inherent Huggability of Baby

It's amazing how much this soft toy has been a part of our lives.

Having been a constant companion of Catriona for the 5 years, he's always in her hands come bedtime at night (even if Catriona refers to Baby as a She). So when Cedric was fretful and was having trouble falling asleep, I plonked Baby in his arms. He fell asleep within one minute.

Magic !

The sister's promised to hand over Baby to Cedric when he's 3 years old (we were teasing her ...). Somehow, I very much doubt that it will happen.

Life's Great Pleasures #5

Bak Kut Teh.

The wiki :

The name literally translates as "meat bone tea", and, at its simplest, consists of meaty pork ribs simmered in a complex broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic) for hours.^[1] However, additional ingredients may include offal, varieties of mushroom, choy sum, and pieces of dried tofu or fried tofu puffs. Additional Chinese herbs may include yu zhu (rhizome of Solomon's Seal) and ju zhi (buckthorn fruit), which give the soup a sweeter, slightly stronger flavor. Light and dark soy sauce are also added to the soup during cooking, with varying amounts depending on the variant. Garnishings include chopped coriander or green onions and a sprinkling of fried shallots.

There are many great dishes in the world. Bak kut teh is one of them. There are a few varieties including soups which place more emphasis on the meat flavour, or with additional amounts of pepper. As for me, I prefer the variety commonly found in Penang i.e. a soup with more emphasis on herbs.

In any case, pretty much all of them taste good. And many taste great !

the Eclipse

I was watching out for the eclipse of the moon two nights ago, but the clouds overhead put paid to that hope. All I have is a photo of the full moon which I captured on the prior night.

Whenever I hear of an eclipse, it reminds me of the time that I watched one from beginning to end.

I had been hiking all day at Pulau Pangkor with my team during an Outward Bound course. We had gotten lost and didn't reach the designated base camp that night. Instead, the team set up camp on a beach with the intention of finding our way back early next morning. With the camp set up and dinner finished, we kicked back on the beach and stared up into the sky.

And the moon turned orange.

Having been cut off from any news or outside events for the past few weeks, we were not aware that there was going to be an eclipse.

We got one.

With a clear sky. Whilst chilling on a beach. Accompanied by the sound of waves. And the occasional sea breeze.

It's an enduring memory.

Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues again ...

What a great title !

For anything.

I heard this on BFM 89.9 yesterday and my first thought was - even though I had never heard this song before, and it wasn't him singing - that's a Bob Dylan song. The half talk/sing phrasing was distinctive and reminiscent of Dylan. It was a cover version by Cat Power and sounded great in the car. And that horn section ...... muah !

And the Dylan original is here.

vol. XVI

For what is likely the last time, my Sony Ericsson Cyber Shot 5.0 was emptied. What emerged were 5 recent shots and one blast from the past.

on the way to church

at church

the Blast from the Past.

That phone's been a faithful companion through some memorable journeys.

On the way to the wrong building while trying to pay a cheque to EPF.

Do you know that there are 5 buildings in Shah Alam that have exactly the same name ?

All named after some royalty. If that isn't brown nosing, I don't know what is.

Mosaic

at a car park, after lunch

LCCT2 ? KLIA2 !

No wonder the cost of the new airport has doubled ! Mind you, this is Malaysia, where cost overruns and variation orders for government projects and GLCs are as common as house flies. If the budget is currently RM3.9 billion - already almost double the first budget - one wonders what the final actual cost will be when the airport is completed.

I wonder :

* what happened to the original plan to build a second low cost carrier terminal ? As it is, the project is now dubbed the KLIA2 instead of LCCT2.

* what happens to KLIA now that the KLIA2 can cater for aircraft as big as the A380 ? Wouldn't that make KLIA redundant ? As it is, the KLIA is already under utilized.

* Would adding an extension to KLIA make more financial sense ? I'm not privy to the numbers so I don't know.


And saying that passengers will not be charged for the additional higher specifications is pure bunkum. I guess I'll be paying higher airport tax while flying on a low cost airline ..... sigh. As much as I would like to believe otherwise, one wonders if there is any leakage going on.

on UMNO leaders ...

Aren't you tired of listening and reading about idiots like this ?

I know I am. I'm sick and tired of the many UMNO leaders who claim that the Malays will lose their political power. Sick and tired of allegations that a Chinese population of 20%-25% can actually control the political fate of Malaysia. Sick and tired of those who keep pushing racism as a political ploy to further their own personal agendas. Sick and tired that these same people can close both eyes to the scandals emanating from their own party on a regular basis. Sick and tired that a leader who claims '1Malaysia' is also the leader of a party who seem to be more interested in 'Malay first, Malaysian second'.

Aren't you sick and tired too ?

Everywhere

My grandfather used to have an entire library of musicals - Fred Astaire, Cole Porter, Elvis Presley, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music - a veritable treasure trove of music and dance. I do not know how much influence he's had on me, but I do know that till this day .... the songs are still with me. And I still remember the way he looked, the way he spoke, the timbre of his voice ......

And sometimes, an unnamed melody soars with the wind, and makes me reach for an album to play. Or in this case, to share :

on Flying Budget Airlines ...

I was reading Haris Ibrahim's complaints about his flight using Air Asia (link here). I also read the comments that followed his post. Here's the thing I don't get about some people who complain about Air Asia.

* If you have luggage to drop off, don't turn up 35 minutes before the boarding gates close. If everybody has the same idea, of course you will have a long queue. And yes, this applies even if you have done a web check-in. And really, this is a budget airline - don't expect to just waltz in and be treated with premium service. You don't go to McDonald's and expect to be served at your table , do you ?

* If you didn't bring along your boarding pass, don't expect to be able to get on the flight without any hassles. This applies not just at Air Asia, it applies at many other companies. It is not their fault that your documentation is not complete.

It happened to me once at Kota Kinabalu Airport. We couldn't print a boarding pass because we didn't have the equipment and the web check-in was done at KL. I informed the Air Asia counter staff and they printed the boarding passes for the group - all nine of us. Smooth flying all the way.

Now if you turn up at the boarding gate without a boarding pass, don't blame them if they don't let you on the flight. It's your fault for not having the proper documentation.

* Do not expect Air Asia staff to help take care of your 70+ years relatives or very young children. They allocate one, sometimes two staff, at the departure gate for the whole plane. Do you seriously expect them to extend any help in these areas ?

If you say that they do not extend help to the aged or to young children travelling alone, it is true. Either arrange it yourself, or fly on another airline. Air Asia caters to people who can get in and out by themselves or with their families. That's how they make it cheap.

* Don't complain that Air Asia is expensive if you book the night before the flight. The ticket prices are time sensitive. The earlier you book, the cheaper it is.

I once booked tickets on an Air Asia flight in two tranches. The first tranche was booked much earlier and were cheap. The ticket prices for second tranche were 3 times the price of the first tranche. All Economy Class, all on the same plane - the difference in ticket prices were purely due to the timing of purchase.

* Don't complain that once you purchase their meals, purchase the seat choices, etc. it is almost the same price as a full service airline. These items are discretionary. You DO NOT have to buy them.

* Taxi rates to LCCT are expensive because it is far away. Granted. But that is hardly Air Asia's fault. Just ask Dr. Mahatir why the KLIA has to be in the middle of nowhere.

* And complaints about the signage and toilets at LCCT being lousy. Seriously ! Air Asia is an airline. If you're not happy with the LCCT, why blame Air Asia ? They don't own the LCCT, they don't manage it, they didn't build it or ask for it to be there ........ they wanted Subang Airport.

Here's the thing. For most flights overseas, Air Asia is not a monopoly. If you don't like it, just fly on another airline. If you continuously complain about them, and yet keep on booking their flights ................ pardon me if I'm wrong, it just makes you look stupid.

Slave to Love

A staple through the years, turning up in multiple playlists, and still my favourite Bryan Ferry song.



Of course, having Kim Basinger advertise the song in 9 1/2 weeks didn't hurt either.