The Bangkok ‘Saga’

This trip was planned by Ayu. She included M and I, her aunt Ani and her sister Onie. Four of us depart from LCCT Terminal in Sepang on Friday 27 March 2009 while Onie flew in from Phnom Penh. A mini saga began when we were delayed for more than two hours and I added to that by purchasing an exorbitantly priced iced tea at the coffee bean outlet at the terminal and drank it without sugar. Of course, you have to add the sugar yourself and of course, I did not know about it ha..ha..ha.!! As we disembarked at Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi International Airport, we heard a group of fellow passengers complaining about the delay and planned to get compensation from Air Asia. Air Asia staff pointed out that the delay is 1 hour 59 minutes thus implying that we are not eligible for compensation since its less than 2 hours. What bulls since the delay is more than 2 hours.
We took a taxi to our hotel the Millennium Hilton at 123 Charoennakorn Road, Klongtonsai, Klongsan, 10600, Bangkok 10600, Thailand. The Millennium Hilton is located along the banks of the Chao Phraya River, one kilometer from the Grand Palace and is not far from the Airport. At a glance, the place around Hilton is interesting to travelers. The main markets and malls are close by and well connected by public transport. The other side of Hilton is the river where there is a cozy open restaurant and few meters ahead is the point for catching ferries/boats to navigate along the Chao Phraya.

Millennium Hilton Bangkok operates its free shuttle boat from its own Pier just beside Flow restaurant to Saphan Taksin BTS Sky Train Station or River City Shopping center from 0630 to Midnight. The Millennium Hilton Bangkok is a 32- storey hotel. We checked into an adjoining room on the 29th floor with a magnificent view of the River, the Bangkok skyline and beyond. The rooms are decorated in hues of beige, white and black and feature stylish furnishings and a combination of stone flooring and carpets. En-suite bathrooms have jetted tubs, rain showers, bathrobes and complimentary toiletries.

We stayed at the hotel for 2 nights. The breakfast buffet is simply AMAZING - huge variety and fantastic quality in almost everything. But for us we have to be selective as to what want to eat since there is no 'halal' certification . We enjoyed the breakfast nonetheless by just having those without the non-halal staff. The boat service to the Skytrain is good and you never have to wait more than 15mins for the boat, whilst the skytrain is frequent and reasonably priced. We were also informed that on the weekends, it is nearly as easy and cheap to just take a taxi to the major attractions, as the traffic is not as bad. We did just that after our solat and headed for the so-called happening place in Bangkok – the Siam Paragon. It is the biggest shopping mall in Bangkok, and touted as one of the biggest shopping centers in Asia. Its here that Onie is to RV with us.

The mall was opened on December 9, 2005. From the brouchre we found out that the Siam Paragon housed a wide range of stores and restaurants as well as a multiplex movie theater. It also boasted the largest aquarium in South East Asia, the Siam Ocean World (Underwater world) aquarium and an exhibition hall and the Thai Art Gallery and also an opera concert hall. It also has a large bowling alley and karaoke center.

We purchased a few items here and I got a surprise i-phone leather cover for 520 Bhats. When Onie arrived, we decided to have dinner. I was so famished and ordered a sea food platter for myself (look at the photo)

At Last Tanjong Piai

Yes I made it at last. The intention to visit this small enclave in Johor famed for its status as being located at “the southern most tip of mainland Asia” was many many moons. It was finally realized also by the yardstick of my current way of decision-making style – spur of the moment. After solat suboh I suddenly thought of making the long awaited trip to Tanjong Piai. Called Hashim if he would like to come along. But he was the casualty of my decision-making because he could’nt make it since he’s got something planned in Ulu Tiram. So there goes my potential guide for the day. Anyway I roped in Narimah to accompany M and I for this long awaited trip. Narimah intimatewd that she had been there with her school childen a long time ago and may not be a good guide. Its ok I said since we shall make it with the available sinage.
Yes we did make it the earliest arrivals and apaid RM3/- only since we are warga Emas. Had a short briefing by Anne from Sabah who had been working the counter for the past one year. We made our way to the southern most tip of mainland Asia. Take a few pictures.and the retract our way to the other side. By then the crowd is already building. Plenty of siput and lokan.

Kem Iskandar: A Nostalgic Visit

I decided that probably it is worthwhile to make it happened this time around. First and foremost there is no rush this time and more importantly the man that could make it happened may not be around any more. So I sms Col Jamaluddin, the Chief of Staff of Iskandar Camp, indicating to him of my intention to pay him a visit. The camp is located off Sri Pantai Mersing

Yahoo!!Balik Kampong

This time the balik kampong trip is another result of one of those on the spur of the moment decision. After solat this morning I mentioned to M that we can make our trip back to Endau and JB on Friday. Why wait till Friday she responded and suggest that we leave as soon as we got packed. M also intimated that we should make our trip back to KL on Monday since Sunday she argued could be jammed with holiday makers coming back after the school holidays. Its ok I said and started packing for a 5 day trip home.
We were on the road by 0900 hrs after filling up a full tank and the road traffic was relatively ok. Stopped by UKM to check my email and then continued our journey home. Exited at Air Hitam and had our pit stop. I talked to a group of prison officers from Malacca who was on their way to Mersing. They were having problem with the car water tanks and was waiting for a relief vehicle to continue with their journey. We took the Air Hitam/Kluang road. I thought of calling Mej (Rtd) Chan in Kluang for a quick RV. But decided against it. No reason just malas.
This time around though, we took care that we did not make the wrong turn at the final traffic light because the signage indicate straight but on the ground if you follow the arrow its really directing us to go right and could ended up at Gunong Belumut. No problem though this time. After the traffic light we have to negotiate a bridge which was under repair since we started using this route to get to Mersing more than 2 years ago. We noted, not to our surprise though, that there was NO PROGRESS at all since. The culprit is Hishamuddin Hussein lah siapa lagi Yang TakBerkhidmat lansung as far as that bridge dalam kawasan Sembrong tu is concerned.
We approached Kahang about 1300 hrs and decided to look at a place to have lunch. We found one along a row of shop houses. A few people were already there enjoying their lunch. We decided on simple dishes a bowl of soup daging and plain rice for me while M tried their mee soup and rojak. Nothing to shout about on the quality of the dishes we had but we enjoy it without much complains. After about 45 minutes we continued to move and decided to do our solat at Mersing Mosque. We arrived at Mersing about 1500 hrs. After one missed turning we finally made it to the enchanted mosque that’s grandly perched on top of a hill. The mosque which was completed in August 1956 was and still is the pride of Mersing folks. I remember climbing up the hill slope whilst the mosque was being built. I was in standard six at that time and going and scaling up the hill was a great adventure then.

What a Revealition!

This is one Friday that put several dots on the "i"s and crosses on the "t"s on a closed confidante's missions that was never make known to me. It was a devine intervention of sort as the revealition came after my solat Juma'at today at Tabung Haji Mosque. Devine intervention because I normally do not waste time after my sunat ba'adiyah. But my rather relexed action including going to the loo has this unforseen function that rendered me into a stunt reflection on my late friend's sometime unexplained trips to Germany. At least now I know. Mashaallah!!!!

This rejoinder/addendum is posted 1st October, 2009: Got a call from Daw last night seeking to meet today. Agreed to meet at KDE @ 1200hrs. What transpires after some small talk is something which is related to what was posted 6 months earlier. The power that be was convinced that KAR is to be let into the loop, after two trips by DZA and Daw to Germany. The road map was laid out. I told Daw that I'll be glad to be involved.