Saturday, February 28, 2009

Depok - Bogor

Took the train to bogor from the UI station. about Rp9,000 for the express train, Rp3,000 for standard train.


The 'station' or Halte. UI (pron - ooo eee, just like the sound chimpanzee made) = Universitas Indonesia.


Regular train. No seats.. everybody has to stand.

Note: The train double track system doesnt follow the road system. Therefore, when you cross the track, kindly look at the other way first (ie, look left-right-left),


The express train.


And its empty. Hmmmm.. It's not that expensive!


Leave your expensive shoes at home. Wear flip flops and shorts. It's gonna be messy.


UI campus.


UI Campus II

Jakarta - Depok

Second last trip for this quarter.3 days trip.

This trip however, is not for leisure, nor work. Secret mission :p


- fav hobby, watching big birds =)

Afternoon flight. Better smelled plane this time. They must have read my previous review :p


Pretty full flight. Uneventful 2 hrs journey. A couple of turbulence in between, enough to made the auntie behind to loose her lunch.


Lunch - coffee - bam, landed! And to think that those stewardesses had to change uniform twice...


from the airport, went straight to Depok. Bad, bad, baddddd town. Take out the indonesians and put in the kelantanese, and you'll think that youre in Chow Kit/Kg Baru! Hi hik.


- Newly opened mall. Riot police was trying to calm the crowd down.


- the suburb where i stayed.


- elpiji is LPG as in Liquefied Petroleum Gas.


- bumped into friend at the airport on my way back home


- the loot!


Sayonara. Will see you again soon :p

Friday, February 27, 2009

A letter of appeal to Malaysians Politicians by Anas Zubedy

Famil's note:
Got this from Double Aye FB's note. Posting it here. I hope you guys will do the same.. spread the words!

Not hoping for a miracle here, but hopefully somehow this message will get through those thick politicians skulls and will actually trigger some good brain part to actually works!

=================

This message was featured in a full page advert in the Star, Thursday 26 February 2009. Pls forward, email, blogpost, facebook this message if you share the same sentiments, thanx, anas zubedy

Dear Malaysian Politicians,

Please stop the power chase, call for a truce and focus on the economy.

I do not claim to speak on behalf of all Malaysians, but I have strong convictions that many share my sentiments.

Our concern today is not who rules the country or heads the state governments but the looming bad economy.

Whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat leads, it is meaningless if Malaysians have no job to go to, no money to pay rent and no means to put food on the table.

I am a business owner, like other business owners and managers of corporations I have a responsibility to ensure people under my care and payroll continue to have jobs and a decent income to take home. We work hard and willing to go the extra mile to make sure our nation not only survive this crisis but come out stronger and wiser. We need your help.

Let me explain. I am in the business of Training, Development and Consultancy and have 20 people in my team.

Saedah is 42. She keeps the office clean and helps organise the training rooms. She has four children and her husband is unemployed. She was first hired on a part time basis, because she is very hard working and has a great attitude, we offered her a full time job to help provide a stable income for her family. Even then, when her third child started school this year, it was a struggle for her to buy new school uniforms and other necessities. Saedah lives on a ‘kais bulan, makan bulan’ basis, so, if she is jobless, her tap runs dry.

Samsuri is 27 years old. He lives with his sister and her family in a low cost government flat in Sunway. He does our despatch, helps with various clerical works and occasionally acts as a driver. During the first week at zubedy, we learned that he not only did not have money to buy new clothes and shoes for work, he had no money for lunch. Like Saedah, if he has no job, his tap runs dry too.

Alicia in Client Servicing turns 26 this year. She lives with her dad who is 71 years old and retired. Her mom passed away when she was little. Alicia is a hard-working team member, has a gentle caring outlook and fun to be with. (We like to poke fun at her as she blushes easily). Last May her dad went through a major operation, thank God he has recovered well. Alicia needs a job, both for herself and her dad.

Sudesh, 38, is one of our facilitators. When his father passed away last year, he moved back and lives with his mother in Seremban. He shuttles between Kuala Lumpur and Seremban daily, leaving home sometimes as early as 4 in the morning and returning late at night. He is no stranger to hard work and sacrifice, he knows what he needs to do to survive and to care for his mother, but he too needs a job.

Like fellow Malaysians, every one of us in zubedy needs employment, those that live from hand to mouth like Saedah and Samsuri and others like Alicia and Sudesh with family to care for. We Malaysians need the Malaysian economy to be strong. We need you, our leaders, to work hard and to work together to make our economy viable.

So this is my plea.

Pakatan Rakyat, please stop your attempts to take over the federal government and persuade BN’s lawmakers to join you. Stop all legal proceedings, no more 916 and let go, just let go. The nation can wait till the next general elections if they want change. By doing so, Malaysians will see your party as caring, unselfish and gracious and give you their support in the next elections.

Barisan Nasional, please stop any attempts to take over PR states and win over PR’s lawmakers. You have proven your point with Perak. The nation can wait for the next general elections if they want your party. Focus all your talent, energy and hard work in steering the country out of an economic downturn. By doing so, Malaysians will see your party as caring, unselfish and smart and give you their support in the next elections.

BN and PR! Call for a truce. Get together and compromise. Someone has to give in. Or has hate consumed your heart till it blinds you? You can do it. You have enough intelligent people between you. I am sure you can find solutions. Take the nation to heart. That is why you are in politics in the first place.

Focus on the people.

Focus on the economy.

Anas Zubedy
Managing Director
Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Lepas Lunch Entry, Entry Dinner lah pulak kan

Old trip actually, during puasa. Completely forgotten about it, until i browse my old folders.. heheh


Went to the Bagan Seafood somewhere near the Port Klang. Left at 9pm from KL and it took us about 45 min to reach there. Port Klang has changed so much, I barely recognized the place.


-Repulsive prawn anyone?

The place was partly full. Good mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian patrons.


- you consider that as an artwork?

Standard chinese seafood restaurant, you were served with peanuts and hot tea while you wait for your orders. Our first dish was served in 30 minutes.


Garlic Kailan


Sotong tepung (battered squid) & siput buluh (bamboo mussel?)


Not recommended - grilled fish. Too fishy :p


The steam and fried buns.. My favorites


Go well with crabs.


The patrons.


I guess this is where they got the 'fresh' seafood from, seafood farm!


Back home!

Nampak sangat entry malas :p

Friday, February 20, 2009

Long Overdue Promised


Janji dengan Che Anis dah lama dah. Tapi sebab malaih & tak dak mood nak memasak, maka janji tinggal janji lah kan.

Nasib baik bulan lepaih ada banyak cuti. Maka, plan lah melalui fesbook. Macam biasalah kan, Melayu, 10 orang habaq nak mai, yg muncul cuma 4 orang ja.


Lagi 2 hari nak jamuan, dah mati akai dah. Tak tau nak masak apa nieh. Belek punya belek (entry lama).. Haaa hok ni senang. So, settle lah. Tema hari tu nyonya food. Elok jugak lah, sebab baru lepaih raya cina.

So pagi tu dok kelam kabutlah masak nasi goreng nyonya, butter prawn dan kailan in oyster sauce.


Nasib baik yang mai semua kuat makan memahami susah payah tuan rumah memasak, maka, terpaksa lah depa ni semua peghabiskan makanan yang ada.


Hok ni che anis dan che fatin bawak mai. Door gift. Sampai la ni dok ada belen (balance). Takpa, besok sua dan anak2 dia nak mai, boleh bagi. Hi hik.


Hok ni pulak, pencuci mulut. Bingka kayu. Awat kaler coklat? Haa sebab pakai gula perang lerr... Resepi ada kat bawah.

Awat nampak kering? Haa, sebab resepi dapat daripada mami jelutong. Mami habaq bakaq sejam. Lupa nak habaq kat mami, kami guna dapoq oven modern. Kat kampung, Mami guna oven kupu2.

Lagu ni.

Tu pasai jadi kering. Tapi rasa sama ja.

Awat banyak soal sangat aihh? Lemaih..


Lepaih makan apa lagi kerja? Cuaca pulak dok elok sejuk2 nak hujan.. Hmm sekoq2 macam kena tembak lepaih tu.

Tengok, banyak lagi leuk dan nasik. La, hangpa tak mau dah ka? Kenyang sekoq2. Terpaksa lah call DBKL backup.


Dan dan tu dia mai, nasib baik tak pi berdating. Kalau dak naya sapa nak makan? Kucin pun takdak kat sini.

The end
===================
Resipi Bingka/ Bengkang Ubi Kayu


Bahan bahannyer:
1kg Ubi kayu
2 cawan gula perang
Sekotak santan
2 camca kecik garam


Senang ja nak buat. Takdak aturan sangat. Main tauk tauk (campak2) ja. Mula2, parut ubi.

Lepaih tu perah guna kain muslin ke dalam mangkuk lain. Hampas ubi jagan dibuang. Masukkan ke dalam mangkuk lagi satu.


Biaq dalam 1/2 jam, nanti pati ubi(kanji) akan tenggelam. Buang airnya itu dan ambil kanjinya.

Gaul kanji dengan hampas ubi tadi. Masukkan gula, santan dan garam. Gaul sampai sebati. Kelikatan nya macam nak buat cokodok pisang.

Tak penah buat cokodok pisang jugak? Hmm, then tak payah buat la, senang cerita, hampa pi beli ja kat makcik indon kat kg baru. Seketui 5 kupang ja. Buat habih ayaq liuq aku ja dok bagi penerangan.


Then bakaq la dalam 1/2 jam suhu 200 darjah celcius. Dapoq moden okay.. Kalau dapoq cap kupu kupu atau oven yg macam flying saucer tuh, boleh bakaq dalam sejam.

Siap.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Jalan2 Ke Siam Part 4

Hopefully the last part. Dah malas nak menulis. Hi hik. :p


Land Transportations
=====================
The subway and BTS are a good transportation mode to venture the city. Most of the tourist spots are within walking distance from the stations/halts.

The cab is good if you need to get away from the city center (Chatuchak Market, Grand Palace). DO NOT take the cab if youre in a hurry, because Bangkok traffic is notorious. Every city has its own rotten apple and Bkk is no exception. Some cabbies would turn off the meter half way and will renegotiate the fare. I had this experience going to the airport, but the price he asked was reasonable. The metered price would be around BHT260 and he asked for BHT400. Reasonable enough for me :p

And only 5% speaks English, and some cant even read Roman characters. Dont bother to pronounce the place name because the written and pronunciation are totally different. E.g there's a place called Silom and Chitlom which sounded alike but at two different sides. Sala Daeng (Two words) is pronounced Saladeng (one word).

Cabs fare is not expensive nor cheap, unless youre trap in a jam.


- we want to hire you all day. To massage "sea food" whatever that means.

When your cabbie doesnt know how to get to your destination, do get another cab. They wont get mad like Malaysian cabbies. Most of them were very courteous to me, I got a shocked of my life! Trauma sekejap sebab tak pernah dilayan seperti manusia ketika menaiki teksi.. hi hik.

If youre in a hurry you may take the train or the motor-cab (pic above). Just hail any motorist in colored vest and negotiate the price beforehand. But at your own risk. Sometimes the helmet wasnt provided.

There's also a tuk-tuk. I dont have the chance to try one :p


River T'pot
=====================
Menam Chao Phraya, on the way to Grand Palace.

There are three types of boats, spotted by a flag in different colours. The express boats, marked by a yellow flag, charge 20 and 29 baht, depending on the distance , while the rapid boats, flying by an orange flag, charge 15 baht per person (whole route) and the ordinary boats, without a flag, charge 10, 12 or 14 baht, depending on the distance of the trip.

Take the boat from the BTS Saphan Taksin terminal. Dont pay for the day pass at the booth (about BH$160 = RM16 per person). Mahal. Instead, look for a wooden desks next to the "ticket booth". Buy the ticket from there. You could also get the ticket on the boat, there's a conductor inside. The boat would stop at all piers, but its only for 20-30 seconds.

Dont get confused between the boat and the ferry. Ferry would only get you across the river, not along the river. And you only need to pay BHT3 for the fare.


Food for muslim
=====================
Every mall's foodcourts have at least 2-3 muslim food's stall. Look for the crescent moon and star symbol (sometimes quite small).

The food I had above is very nice. It's called yellow rice and tasted like saffron rice / briyani rice with chicken.

=======================================
Okay, enough tips :p


- at the Harindhorn office

The next day, I went to the Grand Palace. On route, I stopped over to the office (untuk melaporkan diri kepada penjaga tak bergaji, heh heh).


Actually I took the cab there. Because I couldnt find the cheap ticketing counters. No way would I pay for BHT160. Plus I took the wrong transport before. I took the ferry instead of the boat... heh heh.


The cab cost about BHT80 from the BTS/Boat terminal. The cabbie dropped me off at the Local entrance. I was halfway going to the castle, when I realised I was on the "wrong" entrance.


Little did I know, that my "mistake" would cost me dearly! So, here I was, going through the "right" entrance. Turned up tourist had to pay BHT350 to enter the palace! Damn it, I could had have it for free...


There's still hope, at this entrance, they're also a lane for local, which again, is free. But I didnt dare going through, because there's not that many locals using this lane. There's a high probability that the guards would strike a chat with me. Hehehhehe.


Then, I went to the Wat Pho (I think), next to the Palace. Again, tourist had to pay BHT50 and local - free.


There's a reclining Buddha inside, with many many many wats inside. Spent another 2 hrs there.


Then, off the the post office. Since I didnt get any response from some of my usual receivers, Im dropping them off this time around.. muahahahaha.

Next time, have the courtesy to inform that the postcard has been received okay!


Going back, I took the boat (hooray). Paid BHT12 for the trip. But kinda scary because the boat was full. Too full for my comfort.

I also 'discovered' the wooden table counters after I alighted from the pier.


Had a couple of laps more that night a slept like a log afterwards.


Didnt do much the next day, lazing around and off to the airport for the late afternoon flight home.

Okay done.. phew.