g a d h o g a d h o

Double Blast

2009-07-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

It was around 9.00 am local time when I received a text message from my former boss in Kuala Lumpur. The sms read "Bom?".

I leapt to switch on the telly.

True enough, almost all local TV stations were carrying live report on the bomb blast which took place at JW Marriot and Ritz Carlton hotels.

The TV stations telecast gruesome images of the blast victims. One particular image which will forever be imprinted in my mind was that of a foreigner who had just been taken out from JW Marriot on a stretcher.

He sat himself up but was immediately told to lie down by the people around him. He was in a state of shock and was unaware of the serious wounds on his head and face. I found out later that he was the President Director of Holcim.

He died about two hours after the blast.

It is really unfortunate that Indonesia has to again deal with acts of terror. At a time when Indonesia had gained tremendous success in improving its image to the rest of the world.

But I believe Indonesians will not let a bunch of subhuman terrorists to stand in their way. They have dealt with this kind of terrorist act before and will surely know how to deal with this one too.

To my Malaysian friends, please don't let this incident deter you from visiting Indonesia.

My deepest condolences goes to the innocent victims of the double bomb blast.

Ceromin

2009-06-25T20:21:00.000-07:00

SA, Ceromin ko dah sampai.

Ko memang mengada. Aku bubuh gambor kat tepi ko kata kecik. Nah, amik ko. Aku bubuh kat sini. Kat KL nanti amik sendiri. Kalo nak suruh aku antor kat rumah aku charge delivery charges berupa dinner kat KLCC.

Happy Birthday Jakarte!

2009-06-21T21:18:00.000-07:00

Jakarte.

That's how it is pronounced in Betawi. Today Jakarta celebrates its 482nd birthday. And as usual, as it has always been around this time of the year, there is the Jakarta Fair.

From what I gather from the news, it is a huge expo showcasing, promoting and selling local products and produce.

Due to the far off location (Kemayoran), I've never been to the fair, although this year's event marked as my fourth. There is a big possibility I'm going to miss this one too. The large crowd is a turn off, really.

Kalo tak nak ramai orang buat fair sendiri. There. I said it for you.

Next.

Roid, I would like to apologise for not being able to attend the gathering at Plaza Semanggi. I was at Grand Indonesia - being stood up.

My second time being stood up if I may add.

Last year it was by a friend who was supposed to join me for iftar. But she was too wrapped up with Lebaran shopping that she forgot her friend was waiting for her at the upper floors of Grand Indonesia.

This time around, it was also by another friend who's here on a holiday.

In both instances, there are striking similarities. Both did not apologise, both came all the way from KL (just to stood me up?) and both at the very same venue.

Grand Indonesia.

Speaking of Grand Indonesia, have you been to the restrooms? Personally, I don't like it.

They are clean, no doubt. The toilet seats, state-of-the-art. The decor, impressive. It is the lighting which I'm particularly bothered with. You see, the lights are so dim that you need to be about 3 inches close to the mirror to see the snot in the corner of your eyes. The effect of the dim lights give the restrooms an ambience bordering spookiness.

Once, I was startled by the restroom attendant who appeared behind me from nowhere.

"Terima kasih Pak," he said grinning.

"Terima kasih mak kau!"

No. I didn't say that. Though I would have said it if I suffer from latah. Speaking of latah, why is it that bule don't latah?

While on the subject of restrooms, I was at Pacific Place the other day and had the urgency to empty my bladder. Standing at the entrance of the restroom was this young lad who I assume was the restroom attendant. Ok. It's normal as in many other malls, you might say.

But this guy was wearing a masquerade mask! Talk about upstaging other malls!

He looked like he had been a guest on RCTI's Masihkah Ada Cinta and straight away reported for duty.

"Jentelmen di sebelah kiri Pak," he said gesturing to the Gents door.

I went in. My mind was picturing him on the set of Helmy Yahya's show. Then, as I was leaving, the young lad was smiling at me and said,

"Tenk yiu for coming Pak."

Emang gue ke resepsi nikah? Really, he should have stopped at Thank You.

Moving on.

It has been officially confirmed by my CFO that I will be going back for good end of July. Inderjeet, like you, I will be going through the task of packing. Although I've done it 4 times in the span of 3 and a half years, it will be daunting, nonetheless.

Owh, btw, Inderjeet, someone told me of a store nearby your residence - Unique House. Have you been there?

This time around, in addition to packing my own belongings, I have to pack the office too. Just the thought of it makes my knees all wobbly. Probably by the end of all this, I should seriously consider a moving business.

Apart from the packing, there are other personal things to do. Banyak pulak tu.

Time is against me.

Sambung.

A dear friend of mine, Peanutbutter, fell sick last week. Really, really sick. I got the news after reading her sister's Facebook status on Monday morning. I called a close mutual friend of ours and he told me about PB's worrying condition when he visited her the night before.

"She's not the PB we all are used to. Very pale and weak. She did not speak much," said my friend.

A call to her husband confirmed PB's worsening condition. I prayed hard for her. I felt sorry because I could not be there. I remained in touch with her husband and a couple of friends through sms and calls.

Later that day, I received a text message from PB's husband. The cause of her pain has beed detected. She had just got out from the OT and was in the ICU for further observation.

Today, a week later, the worse is over for PB. If she was taken an hour late to the hospital, then, according to the doctor, it could have cost PB her life.

PB is now recovering at home. From the sms'es I got from her recently, I could tell my dear friend is back to her usual self again. Alhamdulillah.

Rindu

2009-06-07T23:45:00.000-07:00

I felt a sudden longing to be back in Kuala Kangsar. Tok's home.

Kuala Kangsar is a small town where my mother was born. Her father (my beloved Tok) migrated there from Bukit Tinggi in the early 1920's (yes, I have Sumateran blood running through my veins).

As far as I could remember, we would always celebrate Hari Raya at Tok's house in Kuala Kangsar. Not until quite recently, Pekan (my father's kampung) had never been the other alternative.

It was either Kuala Kangsar or Kuala Lumpur. Never Pekan.

As a child, I never asked why we do not celebrate E'id in Pekan. As I grew a little bit older, I figured out that maybe the reason was because there were no Tok and Opah in Pekan.

You see, I didn't get the chance to know my paternal grandfather. He passed away before I was born. I only had little memory of my paternal grandmother. Of someone who was bedridden from a critical illness. She left us when I was five.

I love Tok's house in Kuala Kangsar.

I can vividly picture the two storey half wooden and half brick home . Painted in a nice shade of light blue. A small iron swing on the left of the porch. A wooden garage a bit farther to the left. A sole durian tree in the front lawn.

A railtrack runs at the back of Tok's house. Whenever there's a sound of that familiar horn, Tok's grandchildren would sometimes scurry to the back to catch a glimpse of the passing train.

Farther back, accross the railtrack, there's a small stream. A place where my cousins and I could only dream of venturing. Tok would never allow his grandchildren to wander beyond the back fence. When Tok says no, not even his grown children dared to override his decision.

Tok was a Head Master. A strict diciplinarian.

However, there was this one particular time when we made it to our little stream of dream. Accompanied by our uncle, Tok's youngest son. Needless to say, we had a splash!

It was unfortunately our last adventure beyond the railtracks. A younger male cousin was bitten by a bug and had two wear sarong for 2 days. He looked like someone who had just gone through the boyhood to adulthood ritual of circumcission. Yes. The insect bit him there. The rest of us cousins, naturally, made him the laughing stock for the rest of that E'id holiday.

Tok loved his grandchildren so much that the following E'id, there was a small instant pool made of canvas placed at the back of Tok's house. It was barely big enough for all his grandchildren (almost fifteen who went back for E'id at that time) but nevertheless we had fun.

Tok was also proud of his grandchildren. There was one wall in Tok's house dedicated to family photos. On that wall too, he placed photos of his grandchildren in graduation robes.

I was (and will always be) Tok's fourth grandchild. I was full of envy seeing on that wall for the first time, a photo of my cousin (Tok's eldest grandchild) in graduation robe holding a scroll.

3 years later, his brother made it to the wall.

Both of them were really close to Tok. They went to Malay College Kuala Kangsar. The Eton of The East, some say. Tok took care of them during their days at MCKK.

I remember very well when I received my own graduation photos from the university, I headed to Debenhams in Commercial Road to find a pair of nice frames.

One for my parents and one for Tok.

I passed it to my mother who was leaving for Kuala Lumpur after spending a week and a half in Portsmouth for the graduation ceremony.

"Jangan lupa bagi kat Tok," I reminded her.

I did not make it to the wall. I found about it the following E'id after my return from the UK. I asked Tok where had he placed my graduation photo.

"Ada tu. Kat atas bukit," he said.

Tok's atas bukit was atop a cabinet. Apparently, by the time I had my own graduation photo, the wall had ran out of space. The vain in me had bought quite a large frame which made it impossible to be hung on the wall.

Well, at least, consoling myself, I was the first to be honoured a place at atas bukit. It faced the main living room. In full view of Tok's guests.

Tok passed away on 8th August 2004 at the age of 88.

A week before his passing, the whole family went back to Tok's house. He had just been discharged from the hospital. Tok barely recognised the people around him. The house was full with uncles, aunts and cousins. It was like Hari Raya. But sadness lingered in the air.

That night, we had to rush Tok to the hospital. From the waiting room in the hospital's emergency unit, we could hear Tok screaming in pain as the medical officer made the IV infusion.

That scream never left me til this day.

The next day I went to see Tok at the hospital before leaving for Kuala Lumpur. He was heavily under medication that all he could do was sleep.

It was the last time I saw Tok alive.

A week after, on our way to Tok's house, my mother got a call from her sister. It was the call. The rest of the journey to Tok's house was eerily silent. I was expecting my mother to cry after the call. But she did not.

It was when she kissed Tok's forehead for the last time later that day my mother let go of her emotions. It tugged my heart at that very instant.

After Tok left, Tok Wan, my step grandmother moved to KL and stayed with my aunt. Tok Wan passed away 2 years ago.

Nobody is taking care of Tok's house. I believe it's about time I go back to Kuala Kangsar to visit what's is left of Tok's house. I will do that once I'm back.

And to visit Tok's final resting place.

Send In The Clown

2009-06-04T01:42:00.000-07:00

The Malaysian Defence Minister was interviewed by TVOne via telephone.

"Finally!" I sighed out loud from the kitchen. I was about to prepare "Dada Ayam Terserah". Yupp. I do cook. Once in a blue moon.

Ayam Terserah because.. ya, terserah gue mau masukin apa. It all depends on the raw ingredients immidiately available at that moment. It's something I learned from Buntal, my housemate during uni days. However, Buntal's primary goal in preparing a meal was good tasting food.

Unfortunately, his primary is my secondary. My main concern is minimal mess.

So there I was in the kitchen, with a cleaver in hand, slicing the chicken breast while listening with all eargerness to the interview.

My hopes went high. I thought to my self, at long last, an official from the Malaysian Government was about to offer clarification on the sensitive issue at hand.

Mid way through the interview, my hopes went for a free fall.

I was half-expecting a wise minister speaking. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

"... itu di bawah Kementerian Dalam Negeri. Bukan di bawah Kementerian Pertahanan". Oh great! Ping-pong game?

".. saya belum terima laporan dari Menteri Dalam Negeri". After almost three weeks this incident surfaced and outraged Indonesians? More like a Menteri Dalam Tempurung.

If you're not prepared to shed light on the matter, why grant an interview?

And the killer moment.

The anchor asked for the upteenth time, what remedial action would Malaysia take on the issue. Our "wise" Defence Minister, audibly upset, shot back a question which clearly showed his lack of intelligence,

"... apa yang hilang?"

To which the anchor sharply replied,

"Kedaulatan negara".

I found myself half chuckling. I hope this guy doesn't end up becoming our Prime Minster.

Focusing back to my Dada Ayam Terserah, I prayed hard for the fate of Malaysian national security at the helm of this man.

I was no longer slicing delicately. It turned into forceful chops.

Tagged

2009-06-01T00:23:00.000-07:00

Nisa, a first-time expectant mother, has tagged me.

Lanjut!!

1. Apa perasaan anda sekarang?
Panas. The building's central air-cond broke down since Friday.

2. Saya nak makan...
Now? Sate Kajang, yong tau foo Kpg. Pandan & ayam masak kuzi.

3. Saya tak suka...
At this precise moment - the building manager!! Sebab dia janji the air-cond would be up and running again by Monday. Satu penipuan!!

4. Impian saya...
To retire in Bali.

5. Haiwan yang saya tidak suka
Semua haiwan saya suka. Yang saya tak suka, manusia berperangai haiwan.

6. Saya harapkan..
Cepatle diaorang baiki air-cond office ni.

7. Jika boleh diputarkan masa
Tak nak.

8. Saya pada 10 tahun akan datang
Akan berusia 46 tahun. But hopefully will have the spirit of a 25 year-old.

9. Handphone saya adalah sebuah...
.... handphone yang murah sebab saya teramatlah kedekut beli yang mahal.

10. Saya pernah bercinta sebanyak...(Since the questions are in Bhs Malaysia, bercinta here means fall in love. In Bhs Indonesia, the word bercinta means copulate... hehe)
Kurang dari jumlah isteri Syeikh Puji.

11. Saya suka pada...
Pantai.

12. Kawan-kawan saya...
Hampir semua dah kahwin.

13. Pernah dikhianati?
Of course.

14. Apa yang hendak anda lakukan terhadap orang yang mengkhianati anda?
Tak ada apa sebab dia dah mintak maaf pun. But I will never forget!!!... (chewahhh!!)

15. Senaraikan 8 orang untuk di tag.
Err.. Tak payah lah. Saya tengah panas ni.

Annyeonghaseyo!!!!

2009-05-29T00:29:00.000-07:00

Below is the police Report Certificate I received last week from the agent who handles all matters pertaining to my work permit, KITAS (Kartu Izin Tinggal Sementara), Foreigner's Registration book (Buku Biru) and SKLD (Surat Keterangan Lapor Diri).

Notice my nationality?

In the eyes of Polres Metropolitan Jakarta Selatan, I'm a citizen of KORSEL.

Bukan KORSET ya. Itu yang dipakai Dewi Persik waktu manggung. For non-Indonesian readers, KORSEL is short for Korea Selatan.

I just don't understand how they could make such a mistake. Dah sah-sah nama aku doesn't even come close to sounding like a Korean name. It's not as if my name was spelled Aa Jung-Wan.

I told about the mistake to the agent. He asked me to check my SKLD card. He said as long as the details on that card are correct, then it's fine. Fortunately the SKLD card states the correct citizenship.

On an un-related note, do you have marital problems and don't mind washing your dirty linen in public?

While skipping through the terrestrial channels (again, the cheapskate in me decided not to instal pay TV), one particular program caught my attention.

It showed a lady in heated argument with her husband. Which later ensued with pushing and shoving between the two. Soon after, a young lady joined the fracas by pushing the wife. Then, came a second young lady to defend the wife by pulling the hair of the first young lady.

Apparently, the wife is accusing her husband of having an affair with the first young lady who happens to be her niece. The one who claimed to have witnessed the affair? The second young lady who is also the wife's niece.

A plot fit for a sinetron, huh? In the hands of Ram Soraya, the plot could be expanded into thousands of sinetron episodes (which insult our intelligence).

The program is called Curhat Dengan Anjasamara. I think the most suitable title is Slug Fest Mania.

I do not know if the whole act was staged or not. If it is, then, good news for sinetron producers. There won't be the issue of a dearth in sinetron actors.

And last night I caught a program on a different channel, but still along the same line of washing-your-dirty-linen-in-public. It's called Masihkah Kau Mencintaiku?

The program is more civilised. No pushing or shovings. There is also a panel of two women advisors who looked like the've tasted a lot of salt (translated : dah banyak makan garam).

The funny thing is, all participants were wearing miniscule masquerade mask. If the purpose was to protect the participant's identity, then it failed miserably. I think a mask equivalent to the size of Julia Perez's bra cup would hide their identity well.

Owh.. the co-host of this program is Helmi Yahya. Ehmmm.... shouldn't he consider being a participant too?

Did the programs facilitate in finding a solution for the feuding couples? Well, the one hosted by Anjasmara, finding a solution surely wasn't the main objective. It's more of a cheap attempt at getting viewers to enjoy the physical attacks and verbal abuses.

Would I want to watch these programs again?

Not in this lifetime.

Typhoon and Dawn

2009-05-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

No. I'm not talking about the weather condition or the time of day. It's about two personal trainers at Celebrity Fitness Fx.

You see, I've been frequenting the gym since 2000. At first, my goal was to achieve the so called ideal weight. With proper diet and a lot of cardio exercise (and I mean A LOT!!), I managed to achieve my goal within 6 months. Since then, going to the gym has been more of a routine in my schedule.

However, after almost 9 years, I felt that my motivation had, to some degree, decreased. I needed that extra push to keep my interest in fitness going.

Enter Taufan.

Taufan has a degree in law. But his passion is in fitness. That's why he decided to pursue a career as a personal trainer.

One interesting fact - back in 2007, Taufan won the L-Men competition.

I started engaging Taufan as my trainer early January 2009. Initially, I took up 24 training sessions with him. I jokingly told him that if at the end of the 24th session I do not have a six pack abs similar to his, I would demand for a refund.

Taufan is a very good and more importantly a patient trainer. Apalagi kalo dapat member macam aku. Bila datang mood malas, I would bargain the number of repetitions that I'm required to do.

Me : Berape?

Taufan: 15

Me : 12 tak boleh?

Taufan : 15

Me : Berat Fan. 12 aje la.

Taufan : Ya udah. 12. Kalo masih kuat, ampe 15.

Me : *dalam hati* Memang le aku buat sampai 12 je.

Sometimes he would lie. What was supposed to be 12 reps, sensing I still have the energy, he would increase at the last moment to 15. To which I would yell... Ko tipuu!!!!

Btw, Taufan is the only person with whom I speak in Bahasa Malaysia the most. Sebabnya, bila badan dah letih kena "siksa", aku malas nak translate my flow of thoughts to Bahasa Indonesia.

With him as my trainer, I managed to increase the weight in my lifts. He'd squeeze out every little ounce of energy left in my body. He'd make me lift weights which I thought was impossible before.

Because of him, I hate the word tempel. He'd yell (politely, of course),

Tempel!! Biar ampe nempel di udel!!

Bawah lagi, ampe nempel di dada!!!

Tempel sana sini situ sinun. Semua kena tempel.

Apart from the rigorous training sessions, he'd also give advice on proper diet. Pokoknya, he's the best trainer one could ask for.

Within 3 months under Taufan's guidance, I've succeeded in losing the excess fat on the sides of my waist. Believe me, I've tried so many years to get rid of those flabby sides but with little success.

Taufan is so good that I have increased my number of session to 60.

Above is a pic of Taufan with another Celebrity Fitness Fx trainer. Fajar. He too, is an excellent trainer judging from the number of members under his care.

I strongly recommend taking up personal training as this would make you feel motivated in your quest to achieving your goals.

Ohh... to the ladies out there, I have a little good news.

Both trainers are still single and available.

New Glasses

2009-05-18T00:54:00.000-07:00

Lately, I find driving at night to be quite a challenge.

My night vision has deteriorated. I need to squint my eyes to clearly see the objects ahead of me. Then, to make matter worse, the habit of a lot of drivers here who like to give out high beam headlights for no apparent reason constantly glares my vision.

"Makanya, harus rajin makan wortel. Jangan jus-nya aja di minum" said Taufan, my trainer.

"Emangnya kalo gue makan satu ladang wortel lho yakin mata gue bisa baik? Ini faktor usia-lah Fan".

Yupp. I'm attempting to embrace the process of aging.

You see, the last time I had my eyes tested was almost four years ago. I'm wholly dependent on contact lenses. I've been using them for almost 15 years.

So, last weekend, I went to Optik Melawai at Ambassador Mall.

When I relayed my intention on getting my eyes checked to the lady at the shop, she told me to take out my contacts and come back an hour later. This, according to the lady, was to allow my eyes to rest and to get a more accurate result from the test.

As instructed, I remove my contact lens. To kill the time, I wandered around ITC Kuningan and Ambasador Mall. Without wearing any aid, it surely caused a lot of discomfort.

Slightly over an hour later I went back to Optik Melawai.

Shortly afterwards, I received a text message from a fellow Malaysian who works here in Jakarta. It read,

"Aku lambai ko buat tak tau je. Kalo ada cewek cantik sebelah ko aku paham le. Ni jalan sendiri pun udah sombong macam artis Bollywood!!"

I immediately called him to explain.

Back to the eye test.

The test revealed that my vision remained the same which is -1.25 for both eyes. However, I decided to get a pair of new glasses anyway. I've been wearing contact lens for too long. I reckon, it would be better to alternate between contact and glasses.

Contacts for day use and glasses at night.

You see, I'm the type of person who don't even like wearing a wrist watch. So, a pair of glasses definitely needs some getting use to.

Lasik surgery has become cheaper compared to when it was newly introduced. But, it is still not cheap enough for me to call it affordable. So, until that day comes, I guess I will have to deal with the discomfort of having to wear glasses.

Mmmm.. I wonder why my night vision has been so bad lately. My current stock of contact lenses was given by a friend recently.

Maybe sebab aku belum bayar kot???

Gambor Dolu-Dolu

2009-05-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

I laughed out loud when I saw some old pics posted by my friend Syarliz on her blog. Those pics with moi in them were taken in 1995.

Syarliz had arranged for a mini-reunion at Port Dickson during our (Kamarul and myself) summer holiday trip back to Malaysia.

You see, during my student days, chicken was the second cheapest meat in the UK. The cheapest?

Babi.

Naturally, chicken meat was my staple diet. Plus a large portion of rice each meal. And there's also doner kebab. And Ben & Jerry's ice cream. And pizza. And fish and chips. And jacket potato with sinful fillings.

I had grown sideways so much that I once weigh 82kg. Now you know why nowadays gym is my second home.

Minding Your Choice of Words

2009-05-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago at the gym, a friend came to me and excitedly said that he'd be flying to KL for the first time for a short holiday.

Being a good Malaysian citizen, I spent some time telling him places in KL that must be included in his itinerary, on how to get about around town and the local cuisine which is a must try.

Apparently, his wife had done some info-finding herself - location of Vincci stores.

To save him from experiencing public embarrasment, I told him that he should be careful using two words in Malaysia. I explained that these words which are completely harmless in Indonesia, might not be the case in Malaysia.

Situation 1

You ask for direction on how to get to Bukit Bintang from a local and you might get the answer below,

"Encik naik monorail dan berhenti di stesyen Bukit Bintang".

And you reply,

"Ohhh!! Gampang!! Terima kasih."

A big mistake.

You see, although the word gampang in Bahasa Malaysia has the same meaning as in Bahasa Indonesia, it is however more commonly used as a cursory word to describe anak haram.

So, don't be surprised if in the situation above you get negative remarks from the person who had just helped you find your way to Bukit Bintang. Afterall, you had just thanked that person and called him/her a anak haram.

Please use the words senang or mudah instead of gampang.

Situation 2

In your attempt to be friendly with the hotel's pretty receptionist, you enthusiastically tell her about your journey from Ikea in Mutiara Damansara to KL city centre in a taxi and got caught in the middle of the maddening rush hour traffic.

" Capek saya mbak. Macetnya parah banget. Kelamaan duduk di dalam taksi. Pegel pantat saya."

Even bigger mistake.

Now, if you're a cowok, the pretty receptionist, who earlier might have been attracted to you, would immediately strike you off as a pervert.

In peninsula Malaysia, the word pantat is widely used to refer to Miss V or anus.

Instead of pantat, it is advisable to use the word punggung.

A mental note to my Indonesian friends - while in Malaysia, your punggung is not where you think it is.

So, when you stop by for a massage in one of the reflexology centres along Jalan Bukit Bintang, if you ask the therapist to pijat your punggung, you are actually asking the therapist to pijat your pantat. Instead, ask them to pijat your belakang.

This reminds me of a story told by my former boss about a Malaysian male tourist in Jakarta who was trying the creambath for the first time.

The poor guy was dumbfounded (and I suspect he was excited too) when he was asked by the salon lady,

"Pak, mau di pijat punggungnya gak?"

Luckily the lady quickly cleared the confusion. Otherwise, it would be weird to find a Malaysian man on all fours in a salon chair.

Tamu Dari KL

2009-05-04T22:38:00.000-07:00

I was busy doing my part time job of playing host (no Roid, bukan job yang di Taman Lawang, itu full time) for three consecutive weekends.

First, it was my former boss and his wife. Since he'd lived in Jakarta for seven years and knows Jakarta like the back of his hand, I didn't have to accompany him.

The weekend after, I received a group of six people, with Ijal as the head honcho. A day later, another good 'ol friend, Shahromi with Melia and their two adorable children came for a two-night stay.

Ijal and Shahromi are friends from university days. I regard them as my waaayyyyyy older brothers. One is always jovial while the other is always... errr... cari duit.

So, that particular weekend, there were 10 guests in my house. Penuh. Udah kayak hotel jam2-an.

Ijal doing a Colonel Sanders at RM Padang

Also in Ijal's group were two others whom I knew. Zai and Susi. For Ijal, it was his third trip to Jakarta while for Zai and Susi, it was their second time.

So, I let them be tourist guides to the other three who were first timers to Jakarta. A blessing really, because they had Pasar Tanah Abang Blok A and Bandung in their itinerary. And also Pasar Jatinegara. I've been to the first two places countless of times (so many that my knees would all be wobbly upon hearing their names).

The third week, Redmummy and her husband cum manager cum personal assistant cum banker, Sirman, came for a visit.

They first came to Jakarta in January with their two children. As this was their second trip, I let them explore Jakarta and Bandung by themselves. Redmummy is so good at haggling. Aku rasa tuan kedai rasa macam dah taknak meniaga dah kalo si Redmummy ni tawar harga.. hehehe.

Since Redmummy is a hardcore blogger, and my house is stuck in the 80s (read - no internet connection because of the cheapskate in me) I took them to Kemang where they were plenty of cafes with free wifi. The second night at Kemang (which was a Saturday night), we went to Oh La La Cafe at La Codefin.

They were "entertained" by sights of beautiful cewek-cewek Jakarta outdoing each other wearing the skimpiest of skirts. There were scores of others who were more decently dressed but nevertheless, equally pretty.

Thanks Melia for the teh tarik. Makasih Redmummy for the neck-tie, the delicious chicken and the shirt.

I will be leaving Jakarta for good in July. I have been playing host eversince I came here in February 2006. As far as I could recall, except for Ramadhan, there was not a single month where I did not receive any guests.

I truly enjoyed the company from all my Malaysian friends. Their visit lessened the feeling of homesickness.

The little time I have left here, I put aside for family members (this includes you PB) who have already planned for a long holiday in Jakarta.

Also, I need time for my self. To see places I never had the time to go to.

Roid, I am now free. Kalo mau ke pantai kek, ke hutan kek, ke gunung kek, ajakin aku ya!! *muka tak malu banget gue*.

Jakarta - 2nd Worst Place For Expats?

2009-04-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

I read in Jakartapost last week on a piece of news which ranked Jakarta as "the 2nd worst place for expatriates to work in outside of the United States, Canada and Westren Europe..".

The report which was published by Businessweek, was compiled by one NY-based HRC company, ORC.

The report cites "threat of violence from extremists, in particular was a serious drawback to living in Jakarta". ORC took into account the following factors - level of pollution, disease, political violence and availability of goods and services.

I surely like to know the methodology of survey (if there's any conducted) to arrive to the findings on Jakarta.

To be ranked 2nd worst must mean only one thing - the expats who took part in the survey (again, if there's any) must have lived in a squatter on the banks of Ciliwung.

That's why, my response to the report is - it is pure BULLSHIT.

Pollution? Yes, Jakarta is polluted but I believe Beijing fares much worse.

Disease? Apart from the occasional flu, I haven't had anything serious. Medical services is easily accessible. So much easier than in the UK, no thanks to the NHS. Believe me, I've experienced it.

Political violence? A zillion times safer than Bangkok.

Availability of goods and services? So much better than Phnom Penh, which I called home for almost a year.

Crime rate? I've not heard any of my expat friends being mugged. But I have plenty of horrible stories of friends being robbed in London.

Yes. There are some drawbacks living in Jakarta. There are times when you'd get utterly frustrated. But after time, you'd adapt. None of the drawbacks are major life threatening issues.

Jakarta is not perfect. So are Kuala Lumpur and many other cities. When you live in a foreign place, one must learn to adjust. Learn to accept how things work and understand their culture.

If you want everything to be as what you are used to, then just stay put where you are and don't ever leave. And you'd miss out on learning a whole new great experience which no book could ever come close to give you.

Sleepless in Pondok Indah

2009-04-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

Last night, I experienced something tense.

It was just a few minutes after midnight. I was in my room and about to retire to bed when suddenly a loud thud came from the ceiling of my room.

This was followed by a peculiar sound. Similar to the sound you get when you slide two pieces of plywood against each other. Almost like someone dragging one's foot on the gypsum board.

I stayed still. Eyes gazed at the ceiling.

Silent.

Then it happened again. The dragging sound.

It couldn't be a rat. The thud was too loud to be caused by a rat. And the peculiar sound? A rat on cruthes???

I quickly reach for my mobile and called the Pos Keamanan's number.

Me : *Trying to sound as calm and as dignified as possible* Malam mas. Saya Pak Azuan dari rumah nomer dotdotdot di jalan dotdotdot. Boleh datang ke sini? Barusan saya dengar kayak ada orang berjalan di atas atap rumah saya.

Mas PK : Malam pak. Maaf pak. Bapak di rumah yang mana?

Me : Di jalan dotdotdot, nomer dotdotdot. Sepertinya ada orang di atas atap rumah saya. Mohon mas datang dengan segera.

Mas PK : Ohh di nomer dotdotdot. Saya Sofyan bos.

Me : *dah tak maintain macho dah* aduhh Sofyan... cepatan datang. Barusan saya dengar bunyi kayak orang jalan di atas rumah saya. Cepat Sofyan!! Bunyinya kuat!! *I swear I sounded like a bad sinetron actor*

If you recall, Sofyan was the area's security personnel who helped resolve my uncollected garbage problem a couple of months back.

I stayed put in my room.

Then, less than two minutes later (damn... they are more efficient than Ampang's police), someone rang the bell. I ran down the stairs and opened the door. It was Sofyan. He came with six others. Apart from Sofyan I knew one other guy, Ruslee.

I opened the gates and asked them to come in. Sofyan and Ruslee followed me to the balcony just outside my room while three others went to the inner courtyard. Two stood guard at the main door.

Barefooted, Sofyan climbed up the roof. I then asked Ruslee to accompany me to check the balcony leading to the maid's room at the back.

Momets later, Sofyan appeared from the roof just above the maid's room. He then got down stepping on the steel construction which holds the water tank.

They were at my house inspecting every room and corners for nearly 20 minutes. No sign of any person trying to break in.

Before they left we chatted at the main gate.

Sofyan : Gak usah kuatir pak. Pas tadi saya di atap, saya lihat yang jaga di rumah belakang juga lagi nyalain senter ngadep ke arah saya.

Me : Oh ya? Tetangga saya di belakang ada satpam ya?

Sofyan : Iya.

Apparently I found out last night, my neighbour at the back is a big shot of Partai Golkar.

Ruslee : Dulu pernah ada yang coba masuk ke rumah Sherina di hujung sana.

Me: Oh ya? Sherina siapa?

Ruslee : Sherina yang artis itu.

Me : Ohhhh (pretending to know who this Sherina is)

Ruslee : Pernah juga dulu ada warga yang di rampok. Tapi perampoknya gak bisa di lihat bos. Pakei ilmu!!

Damn!! Just the piece of information which I seriously do not need to know. That made the hair on my forearms stood on end.

Ruslee : Tapi gak usah takut bos. Kalo ada apa-apa, telpon aja ke pos keamanan.

With those reassuring words from Ruslee, I thanked them for coming and apologised for the hassle.

What made me worry was, last weekend, while I was about to shut my gates and leave for the gym, a man was walking by and his eyes peered intently into my house.

And two days later, the same suspicious man, walked by at the time when I was about to leave for Fx. Sheer coincidence? Well, probably.

But those two incidents were enough to make me uneasy.

As I'm typing this, I'm feeling sleepy as hell. I had just a few hours of sleep last night. I would open my eyes at the slightest of sound. And the invisible perampok story from Ruslee made going to sleep more difficult. And last night was malam Jum'at.

Lucky me, I'll have company for 3 nights starting tonight. My former boss will arrive later today for a short visit.

I'll worry about the invisible perampok next week.

Auto Gate - Versi Pondok Indah

2009-04-15T23:22:00.000-07:00

My friend Ina, has an automatic gate installed at her house in Taman Selasih Heights (actually, I added the word "Heights" to give it a more exclusive effect).

Ina is a hardworking career woman (over tak aku puji ko?). Her work demands a lot of hours daily. So, inevitably, she would reach home late at night (pepandai je aku buat cerite kan?).

Upon reaching the front gates of her home, she would simply need to click a remote device from her car and voila!!.. the gates would open.

Ina's PRT greets her at the front door and she then press a switch next to the door to shut the gates.

Now, allow me to illustrate the same process, but now, the main character is my neighbour in Pondok Indah.

The time is half past one in the morning. My neighbour's car whizzes past my house and stop right in front of his house gates.

Pooooonnnnn!!!! Pooooon!!!!!Pooooon!!!!!

A few seconds of silence.

Hoooonkk!!!! Hoooonkk!!!!!!Hooonkkkk!!!!!Hooooonkkkk!!!!

Out comes a red and puffy eyed PRT, with hair which resembles a lion's mane, in a oversized t-shirt and a sarong. She runs in tiny little steps to the gates with a bunch of keys in her hand. She then squint her sleepy eyes trying to insert the keys into the padlock.

Gates open, the car drives up the porch. The rear door swings open and my neighbour walks straight into the house through the main door. The driver then shut the gates while the poor PRT finds herway back to her room through the door near the end of the porch, hoping that her disrupted dream would pick up where it had left.

That is Pondok Indah's version of an automatic gate. The process starts with a neighbour (that's me) awaking honk.

Regardless of the time of the day, the process remains the same.

Which leaves me with a few mind boggling (ok, a bit of exxageration here) questions :

Why can't the driver open the gates? Is it because opening gates is not in his job specs?
Why can't my neighbour or his driver call the PRT to open the gates instead of waking up the poor neighbour (again, that's me) by honking in the wee hours? Panggilan dari Esia ke Esia murah loh!!
Why can't my neighbour (who BTW could afford owning fancy cars and a big house in Pondok Indah) simply install an automatic gate? Kan bisa pamer ke tetangga yang lain..
When was the last time my neighbour had physical contact with the iron gates of his own home?

The frequent incident as illustrated above led my curiousity to inspect the gates of other houses in the vicinity. On the pretext of a Sunday morning jog (it was actually more of a brisk walking), I went past from one house to another. And what a remarkable finding I got at the end of a 15 minute (ok, I was feeling a bit lazy that morning) brisk walking. None has an automatic gate!!

So, my short and sweet conclusions are - either the house owners in Pondok Indah do not know the existence of an auto-gate or they are simply kedekut nak mampus.

Somehow, I'm more inclined to the latter.

Entry Basi - Java Jazz 2009 Pics

2009-04-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

I almost entirely forgot about the JavaJazz pics. But thanks to Roid (seorang bakal seleb dan teman gym Doni Ada Band), lewat reminder yang penuh sopan-santun di shoutbox gue, I am now sharing a few of those pics.

Can't remember the name of this big band but I almost fell asleep during their performance

Laura Fygi sedang menggeselkan kopek yang gatal di kepala lelaki Jawa yang beruntung

JK's not so sexy back

A glimpse of RAN before we decided to run off for another show

Manusia berduyun-duyun berjalan tanpa arah tujuan yang jelas

Desa Parkcity

2009-04-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

I had only one day to spare for my dearest friend Peanutbutter. When I reached KL, she was still on vacation in Australia.

PB used to live not too far from my house. Memang senang le nak jumpa.

I went to pay a visit at her new home. Ingatkan jauh. Idak le jauh sangat. From my house it took just half an hour via MRR2.

PB tengah tempang. Timah (her PRT), has gone home to get married. Initially, PB gave a 3-week leave but Timah sesuka hati dia je mintak extend sampai 4 minggu. Acara pasca nikah enak banget kale ya?

PB prepared lunch - steamed siakap, cumi masak sambal and a bowl of veggies. Her mom and brother joined us halfway through lunch. "Reti kamu masak?" was the compliment given by her mom. PB's mom and my mom have a lot of similarities. Both know the latest gossips of Malaysian celebs.

Her new home is huge. The master bedroom itself, bak kata PB, boleh main boling. But what I want to share with you is how well planned the whole area is. With pedestrian footpaths, covered drainage, good security and the most amazing of all - a well maintained park.

Now, can someone tell me what type of car the Yand Di-Pertua (YDP) of Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya uses to commute to work?

I think that car has the best suspension system in the whole wide world! Otherwise he would have been in a bumpy ride everyday to work thanks to the deplorable conditions of the roads in Pandan Indah and its surrounding areas.

I have reason to believe that the YDP's car is also heavily tinted that he could not see the shameful state of cleanliness around Pandan Indah and Pandan Jaya.

Then a friend told me it might be now that Selangor is under the opposition, MPAJ has limited funds to repair the roads. I strongly doubt that. I know. I've lived there for 25 years. The road condition has always been bad whether under PKR or BN.

I still remember when PM Abdullah (now ex PM, Alhamdulillah) was visiting to officiate the opening of Pasar Muhibah, MPAJ only resurfaced the roads leading to that place. If one was to deviate from this road, then he's in for a really bumpy ride.

The funny thing is, Taman TAR, which is also under MPAJ, is so well maintained. Iya-iyalah!!! That's where a lot of Malaysian VVIPs live. From cabinet ministers, royalties to the creme-de-la creme of Malaysian elites. Such glaring double standards!

To MPAJ, we pay our taxes too. Please treat us better.

Official car of YDP Majlis Perbandaran Tatooine Jaya

Pasar Senen

2009-04-07T01:20:00.001-07:00

If you want to get yourself delicious and cheap Indonesian kue, and don't mind travelling at wee hours , then you should go to Pasar Senen.

A friend of mine, Syarliz, who was on holiday in Jakarta with a few family members, wanted to get some kue to be brought back to KL. Having been there a couple of days earlier, they enthusiastically told me of the vast variety of kue and of how ridiculously cheap they were.

So, at almost 1.00am, I drove them to Pasar Senen. But prior to that, I had to refer to the Jakarta road map to guide me on how to reach the place.

Luckily, we did not get lost. Reached Pasar Senen in about 30 minutes. The traffic was smooth. Iya iyalah!!! Udah pukul 1 pagi!!!

The place was without a doubt a kue heaven. Rows after rows of long tables with all sorts of traditional kue and cakes. It was not busy as according to Syarliz, who had done a little interviewing with the kue sellers herself, peak hours are between 3 to 6 in the morning. That's when people come flocking the place to get their supply of kue to be sold at their shops elsewhere.

Since I was with a group of tourists, most of the kue sellers were kind enough to allow us to sample the kue. I guessed they were too tired to explain after being barraged with questions on how this or that kue tastes like.

And as for gue, I know now how exorbitantly huge a margin my favourite kue joint in PIM 1 makes out of each kue. Here at Pasar Senen, one of my all time favourites, risoles, is almost 10 times cheaper.

Gue borong yang namanya lemper ayam. Lemper ayam is a must during meetings at the office. On most instances, I would be the first to reach out for this kue - barely 5 minutes into the meeting. Gak kuat nahan nafsu soalnya. Once, I could not promptly answer a question from my chairman because I had just stuffed a lemper ayam into my mouth. I can still vividly remember the expression on the faces of my CEO and CFO.

We spent just over an hour at Pasar Senen. Fully aware that their luggage have exceeded the alllowed limits, my guests bought quite a lot of kue anyway.

To my Malaysian readers, Pasar Senen is highly recommended if you would like to sample a wide variety of Indonesian kue. If you come here in a taxi (preferably Bluebird), do ask the taxi driver to wait because it is quite difficult to get a reliable taxi around this area at such odd hours.

Short Break Pt. 2 - Cerita Bergambor

2009-04-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

My 1 yr old nephew. Last I saw him was during lebaran. Now, he has started to walk. Switch on the cartoon netwok and his eyes would be fixed on the telly.

Earth Hour - I was in The Curve during the one hour lights off. Somehow I have doubts about the effectiveness of this overblown exercise.

Apart from Vincci, Ikea is another favourite among my Indonesian friends

The lady in the pic below is an old friend of mine. Our friendship goes back 15 years. She was a law undergraduate at Cambridge University. However, she spent a lot of time in Portsmouth during weekends. Ko bosan ngan mamat2 nerd kat Cambridge kan? The orang putih next to her is her Aussie hubby, Thomas (who btw loves eating petai lightly fried in olive oil.... err Mazola takleh ke?). They were in Kuala Lumpur for a pet search and rescue mission. They now reside in Melbourne.

This is Hairie. She's someone else's wife. My neighbour's wife to be precise. Her house is very near to my mom's house. I could call out from my room window to her kitchen. Yupp, that near. But, when I was still living in KL, we seldom meet each other. Sibuk benor pompuan ni. She's now a fulltime housewife. But still, she's seldom at home. Ko bisnes hapa ni?

The guy in the pic below is my bidan terjun sopir, Ijal. He's the one who picked me up at the airport. He loves older women. Yupp, dia demen banget ama tante2. Tante murung bisa berubah jadi tante girang setelah ketemu om Ijal.

L-R : Zaharah and Ina. Ina had just recently became a mother to a lovely baby girl, Arianna. As always, everytime I'm in KL, there would be a makan-makan at Ina's house. Zaharah is very good at getting the rest of the group to congregate at the shortest of notice.

Ina: "Percayala, aku akan pulangkan balik kamera tu"

Zaharah : "Alhamdulillah....." (sambil jari pantas kilat sms kat org Fixed Asset)

Ijal was so happy to discover that he could fit into an F1 car. Walaupun bahagian samping dah bergesel ngan dinding.

Ina : "No Arianna. It's full of food. There's no baby in Uncle Ijal's tummy"

Had just enough time to squeeze a meeting with my other neighbour, Redmummy and Sirman. We met over breakfast at Qbistro, nearby our apartment. Jangan lupa projek underground kita.

Red and Sirman's adorable daughter.

Finally, apart from sate, I made it a point not to miss the following:

Short Break

2009-04-06T00:52:00.000-07:00

Last week I went back to Kuala Lumpur for a short break.

And now I'm back in beloved Jakarta. It's raining heavily outside as I'm typing this. From my office, I could see Arteri Pondok Indah inundated, causing a very bad macet.

Actually, my return to KL was not without a purpose.

To visit my parents before they leave for umrah.

Somehow, I could sense what will top the list of my mom's do'a in Mecca for her not too young son in Jakarta.

I'm pretty positive the do'a for me will have the following words - cepatkan jodoh and menantu solehah. And most probably the following - anak aku jadi kaya, kalau boleh jadi millionaire, tapi millionaire ringgit bukan millionaire rupiah.

Ok. The latter is what I would like my mom to include in her do'a.

I arrived in KL last wednesday. A good old friend, Ijal, was kind enough to risk losing his job to pick me up. Usually Penutbutter would do the honours but she's away getting herself a tan Down Under.

I guessed I chose the wrong day to return for my short break. That night, I switched on the telly only to be greeted by KJ making his winning speech.

All I can say is that the speech really came from his heart.

Hence, the speech was lacking in sincerity and honesty. It was as fake as a Louis Vuitton handbag sold at ITC Mangga Dua. Not those sold at the kiosks (which are the better quality fake ones) but more like those pile sold under the stairs.

That's pretty much sum up KJ's winning speech.

Allow me take you back to the Soekarno-Hatta airport before departing for KL. This trip marked as my first ever trip post fiskal-free policy. I'm sure glad that my staff had arranged for my NPWP number a few years back.

However, just because one need not pay fiskal doesn't mean there is one less process to go through. You still have to queue your ass at the NPWP validation counter. When everyone else in the world is trying to simplify matters at the airport, here, they just don't deem it necessary to do so.

Did you know that the airport tax has gone up by Rp50,000 to Rp150,000? I looked around to find justifications in the airport tax increase. I could only find one.

Newly refurbished toilets. And oh, the new terminal 3. To be fair to us passengers, shouldn't they impose the new airport tax after the new terminal is operational?

And Angkasa Pura 1 (the airport operator) is not poor. Go search their financial report and see for yourself.

Upon arrival at KLIA, Ijal was already there. As I was dying for sate, we took the Kesas highway and made a quick stop at it's R&R where there's a branch of Sate Hj. Samuri. Ordered five sticks of delicious chicken sate and finished the entire small bowl of peanut sauce.

And teh ais. Gulped down two glasses of cheap Malaysian teh ais. Heaven.

Everytime I go back to Malaysia for a holiday, once in a while, Bahasa Indonesia would suddenly blurt out. Not while conversing with family members or friends but when I'm doing my shopping or ordering food.

There were plenty times I called out for a waiter as mas. Then, at a handphone shop last year, while haggling for the price, I asked "Nggak bisa kurang?" to which I got a very confused look from the seller.

This time around, I did it again, fully unaware. I was in a shop in KLCC when I asked the shop assistant " Ukuran M nya ada nggak?".

Although I was in Malaysia, there were so many things around me which would remind me of Indonesia. Switch on the satellite TV, Astro, then you'd get many titles of Indonesian sinetron. Heck, they even have Suami-suami takut Istri!!

Then of course, the PRT at my parent's home. Her name is Ros. OK. I admit. It's a very universal name. Not a unique Indonesian name like Guritno, Endah, Kartika, Ningsih, Puspita or Tukiyem. I can't help but to speak to her in Bahasa Indonesia. And she would reply in perfect Bahasa Malaysia.

One day last week, I asked for a favour.

"Ros, boleh tolong saya nyetrika kaos ini nggak?" To which she took my shirt and started giggling. And I just stood there wondering if I had used the wrong word.

I'm sure I'd miss Jakarta when I go back to KL for good.

I'll upload photos from my holiday tomorrow. Opss... Foto-foto JavaJazz masih terhutang... I'll upload those as well.

Feelin' Jazzy

2009-03-19T20:34:00.000-07:00

Almost a month with no updates.

As usual, I'm using the all too familiar excuse - busy and hectic schedule. But, this time, it is true in every sense of the words.

My boss has gone back to Malaysia for good. My ever trusted assistant has left the company. I had to adjust to doing everything at the office all by myself, except for operational field works.

If my operational staff decide to follow the footsteps of my assistant, then, there is a big chance of you seeing me under the billboards in some parts of Jakarta.

The adapting phase is over - hence the time to write this posting.

Java Jazz 2009 - Brilliant!

What made it more marvellous was the fact someone sponsored my 3 Day pass. He came all the way from KL with a friend and asked me to join them throughout the 3 day jazz event.

He, shall remain anonymous because ... errr... dia pemalu. Lets call him Mr Anon.

But before deciding to come over for Java Jazz, Mr Anon asked me on the availability of Laura Fygi's special show tickets. The overconfident me told him not to worry. There were still plenty of tickets available - without even checking with the ticket box.

In Malaysia we call this act as konfiden maut.

Later that same day, he bought the flight ticket to Jakarta.

Firstly. Laura Fygi??? Yes. My ticket sponsor was born in a different decade than yours truly.

Secondly, you should see the horror in my face at the Societie cd store the next day when I was told all special show tickets were sold out.

Gave a call at the Java Jazz hotline. Same answer.

I then pushed all panic buttons. SOS to as many friends possible. Some I have not even SMS in a loooong time. Nelpon ... jauh sekali. I didn't care. I was on a muka tak malu mode to save my ass.

To cut a long story short, a gym friend of mine said he'd be able to get Laura Fygi's tickets. And those tickets were delivered to me a day before the actual concert day.

See. Ada untungnya being friendly at the gym.

Friday 6th March. Around 5 pm while getting prepared to leave for JCC, Mr Anon complained of chest pains. Now that got us all worried. Seriously worried.

Mr Anon said that he didn't have a heart history. But, we insisted on taking him for a check-up anyway. The nearest hospital was RSMPH. Just for info, RSMPH is owned by Kumpulan Perubatan Johor.

Half an hour later we were at the Unit Gawat Darurat. Mr Anon's ECG and BP were taken. All the while I stood beside the bed acting as the translator.

Then, the doctor summoned me. He said the ECG reading was normal but the BP was a bit high. He gave a prescription for Mr Anon. He said Mr Anon should go home and get some rest. I told the good doctor Mr Anon came all the way from KL to watch Java Jazz and he's been talking about it since a month ago. You tell him yourself.

Well, doctors orders or not, Mr Anon was determined not to miss Java Jazz. We arrived at JCC 45 minutes later.

A bit on RSMPH. I think the interior designer for the hospital was the same person who did Dufan. Have you ever seen the colour card from a paint store? You could find every single colour on that card being used all over the hospital.

You'd feel weird once you enter the hospital. It's like being in a sterile theme park.

Java Jazz. First Day:

Ivan Lins - stayed barely half an hour because of the annoying technical glithes.
Alex Ligertwood and David Garfield - superb vocals from Mr Ligertwood!
Mike Stern featuring Dave Weckl - outstanding guitar play by Mike Stern.

We then squeezed ourselves through to the merchandise booth. It was only the first day but the better looking t-shirts were already sold out.

Oh... Mr Anon felt a lot better after taking the medication given by the doctor.

Second Day:

My guests went to JCC earlier as I had to meet my uncle who was stopping by in Jakarta before heading to Bandung for a golf trip. I joined them at Exhibition Hall B where RAN was about to perform. Intrigued by the large crowd waiting for RAN, Mr Anon and his friend decided to stay on. RAN went on stage and midway through their second song Mr Anon gestured to leave for other shows. Not his cuppa I guess.

I told them to check out Tohpati and Dewa Budjana while I queue for the Laura Fygi show. I watched the duo performed at Black Cats a month ago and they were awesome.

So there I was, alone, in the front pack of the long queue. Suddenly, a lone bule lady (orang putih to you Malaysians) made her way to three people in front of me. An official tried to stop her but she said she was in the queue earlier but had to leave to the ladies.

Bullshit, of course. I never left my spot and had not seen her there before. The official gave in without much hesitation. I was amazed that the person in front did not mutter a word of protest. I, on the other hand, was puting my anger management to practise. Deep breathe in, and breathe out. Breathe in, and out.

You lucky fibbing bule!

Laura Fygi was superb. I have to admit I was not familiar with her songs, but her repertoire that night was entertaining.

We ended the night over roti canai, maggi goreng and teh tarik at Jln. Jaksa's KL's Village.

Final Day:

My guests managed to catch Paebo Bryson before leaving for the airport. I rushed from the airport to JCC again to watch Maliq and d'Essentials. But before that, I did try to catch Abdul and The Coffee Theory but the hall was already full.

So, decided to head to Exhibition Hall B to get a good spot for Maliq. Apparently I was there a tad too early. Soil and Pimp from Japan was slated to perform before Maliq.

I stayed on. Soil and Pimp was simply fantastic! There was this guy in the group who doesn't play any instrument dressed like a ... you got it right, a Bukit Bintang pimp!

Maliq was good. And the only show during the entire Java Jazz which I could sing along to the songs. Get their new album. It's brilliant!

Oh.. I gave away my Sunday ticket which I bought earlier to a friend. I was so tempted to be a calo by selling it at the JCC entrance. It seemed these calo were everywhere. On the final day while queing at the main entrance, two pretty ladies next to me were negotiating for a couple of Brian McKnights tickets with a calo. All of a sudden, the guy in front of us turned around and offered the same tickets at a slightly lower price. And, he's not even a full time calo. He was there with his GF. He said it just so happen that he got extra complimentary special show tickets.

Some people are just lucky. And I had to sent out SOS for Laura Fygi's tickets.

I'll upload photos from Java Jazz soon. If I feel rajin. Been humming Michael Buble's Home. I guess you know what kinda mood I'm in now.

Sunday Morning Jog

2009-02-23T00:55:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, I finally had the chance to do something which I wanted to do for a very long time (err.... 3 years to be exact).

To jog at the Gelora Bung Karno complex.

A friend of mine told me that it's the place where many Jakartans go for their weekend morning jog. It was also recommended by one of the magazines I read.

I wanted to ask a friend of mine to join but realising that it won't be easy to drag anyone out of their bed at 6.30 am on a Sunday to be drenched in sweat, I killed the idea and decided to go alone.

So, the much awaited day came. I arrived at the complex about 7-ish. The large crowd caught me by surprise. Obviously, I was late.

Initially, I planned to jog along the pedestrian footpath within the complex. Then, my attention was drawn by this loud music coming from the Senayan Stadium.

So, I jogged my way into the stadium. The atmosphere was almost like there was a Sunday morning carnival. Thousands of people from all ages, could be seen brisk walking, jogging or just casually strolling around the stadium.

Luckily, all were going in a counter-clockwise direction. Why not clockwise? Don't ask me. You can do so if you find it pleasurable running into others.

However, by going counter-clockwise, it doesn't mean your path is obstacle-free.

First, you have to be alert of the slower joggers or those who are simply strolling around. Then, you have to avoid the group of people who are doing aerobics right before your path. Then there is the bunch of crowd gathering around what seemed to be a live telecast TV program. In the end, you'd find that you'd have zig-zagged more in 45 minutes than an entire decade of your life.

And need I mention about the spit on the tarmac? If you're persistent enough to avoid them, then you'd look like a ballet dancer in tank tops and sweat pants.

If you're planning to jog at the complex, my advise is to stay away from the main stadium. It is much too crowded. Jog along the pedestrian footpaths within the complex.

Jakarta is badly in need of a park. I don't understand why the early city planners didn't allocate a space for a huge park with a lake and lots of trees.

Closing Jalan Sudirman and Thamrin can't in anyway substitute for a great park.

All's Well!!

2009-02-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

Last week started off pretty bad for me. However, the situation took a 360 turn and everything seemed to work in my favour. Alhamdulillah.

The process to unblock my BCA ATM card was done in a jiffy! I went to the branch at Jl. Metro Pdk Indah and was pleasantly surprised by the fast and efficient service rendered by a Mbak Fatma.

The trash problem has been resolved. Last night, I was snapping photos of my 3-day's pile of uncollected garbage (which btw, have been ripped open by the "pemulung"). My intention was to snap daily photo of the garbage and attach them in my complain letter to the Pak RT.

A security personnel, Sofyan, who was passing by at the time saw my "photoshoot" with the garbage as my main "talent". I explained to him what my problem was. I also showed him the 6 bags of dried leaves - uncollected since the day I moved in two weeks ago.

Actually, I was planning to dump them into the nearby river. I asked Sofyan on how to get rid of the garden waste. He said he'll see to it that all garbage, be it kitchen or garden, are collected tomorrow.

This morning, I looked out my window. Sofyan kept his words. I will vote for him as the new Pak RT anytime!!

Still on my new residence.

To reach my house, the shorter alternative route is down Jln. Kartika Utama. That is, unfortunately (for me), where Inul's house is.

You see, taxi is my main mode of transportation. In the last week alone, on four occasions, I've been asked by the taxi drivers the exact same question each time we passed by Inul's house.

The normal enquiry would be as follow-

Taxi Driver : Mas, ini rumahnya Inul ya? (in a slightly excited kinda tone)

Me : Ya, mas. Ini rumah Inul. (in a very, very flat, emotionless tone)

However, there was this one cab driver who had to ask more.

Taxi Driver : Dari luar kelihatan sepi ya mas rumahnya Inul. Kayak gak ada penghuni aja.

Me : hmm...... (still thinking of an approriate response... but I wanted to say... lho pikir mau meriah kayak pesta dangdutan??)

TD : Katanya Inul lagi hamil ya mas??

Me : Iya sih. Infotainment kabarin gitu. Lagi hamil anak pertama ( as Inul did not personally inform me of her pregnancy, I had to quote a highly reliable source).

TD : Iya. Katanya bayi tabung uji. Gimana ya mas bayi tabung uji itu?

Me : hmmmm... (thinking of an answer. Flashed back 19 years in time - in the chemistry lab, the last year I held a test tube)

TD : Mas, apa bayi itu dari Mas Adam??

Ok. Here was a taxi driver who is defininately in the wrong profession. He should be writing for a tabloid!!

Me : Kalo bukan dari Mas Adam, dari sapa?? (I wanted soo badly to add .... dari lho???)

TD: Gak tau. Saya gak ngerti proses hamil tabung uji.

Me : Belok kiri di depan itu ya mas (The only thing I could come out with to cut short the conversation)..

Now, I wish Inul would put up a big illumanted sign with the words, in capital, bold, letters...

"Ini Rumah Inul".

That ought to spare me from getting the same question, over and over again.

Life Is So Full Of ..... Crap

2009-02-08T22:36:00.000-08:00

It's been one of those weekends which tested my patience to the limit. A string of events which could erupt the ugliest of temper from within.

And the misfortunes extended its run til Monday morning.

Crap 1

Saturday. My 6th day in the new residence. My garbage has been uncollected eversince I moved in. They're piling up. Very, very, very, unsightly sight.

I sent a text message to my property agent about the thrashy situation. She lives just a stone's throw away from where I reside.

She replied it could be because the house owner hasn't paid the monthly dues for garbage collection. She said she would drop a letter to the Pak RT's house.

By noon, someone from the Pak RT's house came by and handed me a letter detailing the amount which I have to pay to the community's treasurer. Fine. I'm familiar with this sort of dues because I had lived in a housing complex before.

Monthly fees - Rp150,000 per month - payable 3 months upfront.
New residents fees - Rp150,000 (WTF!!! I doubt it's for a framed resident's certificate)
Total amount payable to the treasurer - Rp600,00.

Appended together with the above was a lenghty explanation related to the guidelines and activities within the community.

I went straight to the part on garbage collection.

It mentioned that the garbage collection truck will service the area twice a week. Only kitchen waste would be collected and garden waste is the responsibilty of residents to dispose.

First of all... TRUCK???!! I think they meant GEROBAK. Come to think of it, in my three years in Jakarta, not even once I spotted a garbage compacter truck.

Secondly, and the most absurd, garden waste is my responsibility?? How the hell am I supposed to dispose my garden waste? OK. I admit I don't do much gardening (actual fact is I don't do gardening at all!!), but there is this tree right in front of my fence which sheds leaves faster than Sean Connery loses his hair!

Burning them would mean I'm contributing to the already polluted Jakarta air. Throwing them into Sungai Ciliwung have crossed my mind. After all, those leaves are biodegradable. The guilt factor would be less than disposing plastics.

Crap 2

Have you been to ACE Hardware? I hate this place because it's full of things which you think you can live without but you buy them anyway because you think it might come handy one day. Seldom I walk out of the store empty handed.

I bought a few things (I failed to resist to temptations, again) and didn't have enough cash on me. So I decided to make a direct debit payment using my ATM card. I punched-in my pin number.

The LCD on the swipe machine displayed "PIN Number Error".

I tried again. This time at a slower pace. Same notification appeared. And the 3rd time, I keyed-in at a much, much slower pace.

Again, PIN number error.

The lady cashier said (accused is the more appropriate word here) I keyed-in the wrong PIN number and added that my ATM might have been blocked after the third attempt.

You think I'm a moron? I use the same six digit combination on all other cards too. Unless the nerves connecting my brains to my fingers at that precise moment went temporarily cuckoo, there is not a shadow of a doubt that I had punched the correct combination.

Luckily, I had my credit card on me. And luckier for me, it wasn't going to hit the maximum amount after the intended transaction... errr only a mere thousands rupiah away.

I went to the ATM to check whether my card has really been blocked. Unfortunately, yes. And this could only mean one thing. Dealing with the bank which I despise most in my entire banking life.

BCA Bank.

I went to the branch located in Pondok Indah Mall 2. I took a number from the security table. Number 23. There were, at that time, two customer service personnel attending to customers. The number display showed number 18. Only 4 people ahead of me.

If you think it was a short wait before being served, you're absolutely wrong. This is, after all, the bank which needs 5 working days to print a mere bank statement.

One of the customer service officers was attending to a middle-aged customer seated in front of her. She was taking her own bloody sweet time filling-in a form for the customer. I swear my 9 year old nephew could do it faster than her!!

Sensing it would take ages, I grab a brochure which had the customer care line number on it. I called the number. The person on the line said that the branch at Pondok Indah would not be able to attend to ATM card problems. I was told to go to a nearby branch on Monday.

Today is Monday. I dread going to the branch. I already had a bad start.

Crap 3

If you think that going into their 5th year of organizing the Java Jazz Festival, the organizers have grown wiser and managed to improve their organizing skills, then think again.

Well, to call them incompetent is really, really, really, an understatement.

You see, I've been visiting the Java Jazz 2009 website since early January '09. Only about three weeks ago, the artists performance schedule were posted on the site.

Yesterday was the last day to get the cheaper early bird tickets(although I swear, earlier they put the last date as 9th February). I went to a CD store, Societie at Fx, with the intention to purchase the 8th of March ticket. Earlier of the week, I checked the artists schedule and the artist that I wanted to watch was performing on Sunday.

So, at the Societie counter, I asked whether they had a schedule with them or whether they had an internet connection to check the latest schedule, just in case there were changes.

The answer was an expected NO. Just great. A ticket agent with no friggin' idea about the schedule. They don't even have the organiser's telephone numbers!!!

I bought the ticket anyway, hoping that the performance that I wanted to watch would not be changed to another date.

Monday morning, I checked the Java Jazz website and instantly felt like I was slapped by Peter F. Gontha while giving out a hearty laugh saying "I told you so!! We are a bunch of incompetent f*ucking assholes!!! Only morons like you would trust our schedule!!"

The artist's performance has been changed to 7th March!!! And I have to purchase the 7th March ticket at regular price.

OK. Granted. The website did mention the schedule is subject to changes. But please lah, after all these years don't tell me you can't figure out how to solve the problem of sticking to the original schedule. You mean to say that the earlier schedule was put up just for the sake of having a schedule? Without prior confirmation from the artists?

Oh. I did try calling the organizers today. Could not get through. Maybe the telephone cables were disconnected. Maybe no one has the balls to listen to complains from ticket buyers. I don't know. Just maybe.

Time To Catch My Breath

2009-02-03T18:31:00.000-08:00

Before I begin, to Roid, gue bakal kerjain tag lho. Tunggu aja.

It's been quite an awesome 3 weeks.

It began with the arrival of Peanut Butter and friends. Their visit, which had been planned since June 2008, was supposed to be their last visit before I leave Jakarta for good.

PeanutButter holds the record of having stayed at all four of my residences in Jakarta. Something which even my own mother couldn't match. Hehehe.

Then, the famous Malaysian female blogger, Redmummy, came with her husband and their two adorable, camera savvy kids. It was their first ever trip to Jakarta.

Redmummy is my neighbour in KL. Thanks Red and family for the makan2 , for the Srikaya (which by the way is running out fast.. hehe!) and for the HRC polo shirt.

Then, it was 3 days of meeting and entertaining four big bosses from HQ. Eventually, two of them decided to extend their stay for another 3 days.

The day the two big bosses left for KL on Sunday, I hadn't even packed for the move to the new house!!

And it was a long night indeed. Managed to get everything done by 3 am by which time I had only 4 hours to sleep before the movers came the next day.

Aditya Serviced Apartments. Wonderful 2 months stay. Highly recommended!!!!

Then, it was unpack! unpack! unpack!!!

By Monday evening, I was totally drained. And that night I slept like a log.

Haiya... why la this entry sounds like homework karangan Bahasa Inggeris darjah 5 biru?

Gue bener2 capek. Waktunya untuk pijat!!!!

Pindah Lagi.. Pindah Lagi

2009-01-13T20:09:00.000-08:00

Yupp. It'll make it the 4th time within 13 months.

I feel like an artist on his concert tour. Only that it isn't intercity but an inter-kecamatan tour. Kebayoran Baru - Kebayoran Lama, back and forth.

But I've been anticipating this move. That's why I left most of my belongings in the boxes from my previous move barely two months ago. Belum pun hilang rasa penat... dah kena pindah lagi.

Well actually, to be honest, I thought I'd be asked to return to HQ.

But Allah gave me more time to spend in Jakarta. Yak!! Yak!! Yeayy!!

I will be able to catch my 4th JavaJazz (someone I know is performing!!!)
My 3rd InaCraft!!! (ok, the iburumahtangga in me comes out once in a while. You people should be proud of the high quality craftsmanship of Indonesian handicrafts. And oh yeah, I'm the secret agent sent by KL to immitate those products)
I can now plan my 3rd trip to Bali!!!!!
I will witness PEMILU 2009!!
Witness the upcoming flood!!

Last but not least,

I will have the chance to see the ending of sinetron Muslimah, Yipppee!!! (it's a sinetron on Indosiar where this woman, Muslimah, arguably the most cursed woman ever in the history of sinetron, who has a step daughter with a third eye on the forehead. If that's not amazing enough, the third eye has magical powers to lift objects. The plot is unbelievably dreadful that after awhile you'll find it gives you this strange feeling of pleasure memaki-hamun in front of the telly all by yourself. Just like watching telenovelas but with a lot less boobs.

My new abode will be in a residential housing area which makes it more exciting. I'll get the chance to mingle with the locals. And then of course there'll be the tukang bakso, mbak jamu gandeng, bapak RT, electricity meter reader man, water meter reader man, tukang roti, tukang sepatu and the street's satpam among others. If I'm lucky, there'll also be the tukang topeng monyet.

Living in the current serviced apartment, the only living beings I bump into on regular basis are the satpam at the guard house, the receptionist and the stray cat that made the basement's carpark its home.

The thing that I find quite disturbing is the fact that there's a vacant plot of land directly opposite the house with overgrown grass and weeds. This view will greet me from the master bedroom window. Not a good idea to peek outside in the middle of the night, huh?

Also, the house has been vacant 3 months now. I will not have a neighbour. The house to the left has been vacant for months, and the house to the right is undergoing major renovations.

The house is quite huge. With maid's quarter, a garage (now I have a valid reason to buy a bicycle!!) and a wet kitchen.

Damn you Dewi Persik! It was solely because of you I watch Tali Pocong Perawan.

I need a housemate!!!!!!

Jogja Pics

2009-01-13T01:50:00.000-08:00

Zip-up Your Fly, Please.

2009-01-12T00:34:00.000-08:00

If one sees the notice below, then you're forgiven for thinking the place is full of flashers roaming about freely. I mean just look at those wordings.

To be able to "mengeluarkan" something, it must be somewhere inside in the first place.

Mengeluarkan tangan?... Tangan kan memang udah di luar.

Mengeluarkan kaki?... From where? Errr... unless of course, you're the boy in the bubble.

I shall not name the place. But the green coloured building sticks out like a sore thumb. Errr... I gave it away didn't I?

Meaningless Black and White Lines

2009-01-08T23:12:00.000-08:00

Boxing Day.

Since Jakarta is free from the usual heavy traffic this long holiday weekend (that's what I read from the morning's KOMPAS), I decided to head to Senayan City to survey the price of a certain gadget at Best Denki.

As the taxi I was in was negotiating the corner from Jl Hang Tuah to Jl Asia Afrika, I was greeted with the view of long queue of vehicles entering Senayan City.

Damn you KOMPAS!

Traffic was heavy on both sides of Jl. Asia Afrika especially the section near Senayan City and Plaza Senayan.

Rather than joining the queue to enter, I asked the taxi driver to pull over by the bus stop infront of the mall. And save a few thousand rupiah.

I know. I'm a cheapskate.

Inside, the mall was crowded. Most were there for the year-end sale, I presume. From Debenhams to Zara. Sales galore!

Reminds me of the Boxing Day sale in the UK.

After checking out the price of the gadget at Best Denki and surveyed other shops in the mall offering the same item. I had to get out quick.

Bearing in mind the highly unfavourable traffic condition outside, the cheapskate in me reckon that it would be cheaper to board a taxi from Plaza Senayan instead of Senayan City. No need to do that far u-turn nearby Mulia Hotel.

This also meant that I had to risk my life crossing the busy Jl Asia Afrika to get to Plaza Senayan (I blogged about this once, here)

I tried to reassure myself that it would not be that life threatening because the person manning the pedestrian crossing would be there to assist pedestrians get across safely.

Well whadya know! They were not there! My only hope now is for the motorists to understand the purpose of the black and white lines across the road, which I was blankly staring at. And puting my whole trust in. Fat chance! It would be something beyond miracle if they understood what those lines are for.

I was just a few seconds late to join the large group of people who had just crossed the road.

Fine. I looked around hoping that there were more people who, together in a group, would stand a better chance of making the motorists stop and allow us to cross. A group of people is clearly more visible that a single yours truly.

I waited... and waited.. and waited. No one. Not a single soul!!!

Damn!!! Why did I pick this moment to cross??!!!! I was trying to make myself to look as cool as possible. Hopefully they'd see me as someone who was waiting for the taxi. Or ojek. Or Kopaja. Whatever!! As long as they did not see the fear and desperation on my face to cross that friggin' road!

Soon I realised I had waited a tad too long.

Voice in my head : Raise your right hand - Flap it up and down - Walk briskly to the median.

I repeated the procedure in my head over and over again. Took a deep breath and made that first step onto the road into the path of the oncoming traffic on my right.

Flap, flap, flap..... walk, walk, walk.

And I was safely standing on the road median.

Voice in my mind : Well done mate! Repeat process, but now raise your left hand and flap it up and down.

Took a deep breath. Flap my left hand up and down into the direction of the traffic on my left.

1st car stopped.

2nd car stopped.

So far so good. All the while continuing the ever important hand flap.

I was about to cross the path of the third car when I suddenly realised it wouldn't stop. It kept moving forward. And nearly hit me.

That was when the graceful hand flap automatically turned into a stiff wooden bat. Palm down, I hit hard the hood of the car.

Bang!!!!

I looked angrily at the driver. He was stunned.

"Can't you see there's a pedestrian-crossing here!! You bloody moron!!!" shouting on top of my lungs while pointing downward to the black and white lines.

Needless to say, the 4th and 5th car just stopped and allowed me to cross safely. Thanks to the mad man from KL, a group of people seized the opportunity to cross to the median from the Plaza Senayan side of the road.

I knew I got quite a number of stares. But... ada aku kesah??? The important thing - I made it safely to the other side of the road.

I just don't understand why can't any responsible authority build a pedestrian bridge which connects the two malls.

Why-la Fauzi Bowo?? Tell me why????

Taysert, Anyone?

2009-01-06T20:01:00.000-08:00

A few days ago,bored (actually, more of feeling guilty because of over eating during the long holidays) I hit the gym at FX.

Klank, klunk, klank, klunk, dumbell-barbell-machines-treadmill..... I was done after 1 half hours.
Headed to the locker room. Took a shower. Went back to the locker and started to get dressed when suddenly from the corner of my eyes I saw a guy standing next to me.

Guy : Mas. Mau beli taysert gak?

I turned to him. He was clad only in towel.

Me : Hah? Kaset?(cassette) Gak mas. Makasih ya.

*Hello!!!??? People moved on to CDs a gazillion years ago*

Guy : Mas. Mau beli taysert ngak? Saya punya banyak merek.

Me : Gak mau mas. Saya udah lama pakai CD.... emangnya kaset ada merek?

Guy : Ada. Benetton. Gap. Adidas. Nike. Bagus-bagus lho taysertnya.

Me : Lho?? Emangnya mas jual apa ya?

Guy : Taysert. Kaos, mas.

Me : Oooooh! Tee-Shirt??! Teeeee- Shirrrt??

*it's a good idea if you wear one now*

Guy : Yach. Taysert!

Me : Gak pa pa. Makasih ya mas.

Guy : Sepatu mau gak? Adidas, Nike, Converse.

Me : Gak pa pa ya mas. Makasih.

Guy : Kalo suplemen-nya mau gak? Saya punya merek yang bagus-bagus.

Me : Waduh mas. Saya lagi keburu nih. Makasih ya!

Off I went leaving him standing there. With a white towel wrapped around his waist. Failed to make a sale. But still smiling.

Ya iyalah!!! Masa mau jualan cuman pakai handuk??? Gila!!

I wasn't expecting that to happen in the locker room of a gym. This kind of thing is a norm at for instance Soekarno-Hatta Airport ... you know when people approach you and speaking in a hush tone offering perfumes or watches. Or at bus terminals or train stations or open space car parks.

But in a Celebrity Fitness locker room????

A sign of hard times perhaps??

Lost!!

2008-12-23T19:55:00.000-08:00

I know. It's a bit late. But what the heck!.....

Selamat Tahun Baru 1430 Hijrah & Selamat Tahun Baru 2009!!!

The last update was last year. Been busy with guests and the long holidays. Two "hari terjepit" in two consecutive weeks!.

A lot of interesting things happened within the two weeks before the new year.

One of them is related to Pasar Blok A Tanah Abang. Those who have been there know the sheer size of this mall (errr ... if you can call it that).

A fortnight ago, two friends of mine were in Jakarta. One of them brought along his parents, an older sister and a 18-month old niece. All on their first visit to Jakarta.

On their request, I took them to Pasar Blok A, Tanah Abang. We arrived at noon and I straight away took them to the B1 floor.

By the way, let me tell you how they name all the levels starting from the lowest floor - B2, B1,LG, SLG, G, 1, 2, 3, 3A, 5,6,7,8,9,10,11 and A.

Where,

B1 & B2 - the B stands for the standard Basement, of course.

SLG - Semi-Lower Ground - it's the floor between lower ground and ground floor. They could simply name it LG (then the current LG becomes B1, followed by B2 and finally B3) but then simplicity is not a norm here. I once asked a friend what does SLG means, he simply said it stands for - Sikit Lagi.

A - is for Atap. Talk about inconsistency! You have Basement, Ground, Semi-ground floors, and then all of a sudden they decided to name the rooftop in Bahasa Indonesia!

Ok. You might ask why in the world would I waste my time observing the way they name all their floors.

That unfortunate day, I had to be part of a small search team.

This was due to the disappearance of the father in that group. He wandered off by himself. Strayed away from the rest in the group who were busy looking at kebaya, batik and mukena.

My other friend, moments after realising the father of his friend was missing, started to search around the nearby area. Then the daughter of the missing father said,

"Don't worry about my bapak. Let's find the kebaya first."

I was mad. Fuming mad! I went to her and slapped her on the left cheek. Another landed on her right cheek. Then I looked straight into her eyes and said " Kebaya lebih penting dari Bapak ko sendiri!?? Dasar anak derhaka!! Sedar tak apa yang ko cakap??!!" before giving a final slap on her forehead.

Ok. I didn't actually do the above. But the scene played over and over again in my head. I had a mild sinetronesis attack. I seriously have to cut back on watching sinetron.

So, without showing an ounce of concern, the whole family went on with their shopping spree. And I thought to myself - if they couldn't care less about their father, then why should I?

For the next 3 hours they only did 2 floors - B1 and SLG. Throughout the entire time, not even once we bump into the father. Still, it was not enough to make them worried.

Until 4 pm.

That's when they were exhausted from shopping and headed to the 8th floor foodcourt. They tried calling the father's mobile a few times. No ringing tone. Now, they had the worried look on their faces.

My friend (the son), another friend of mine and myself went on searching different floors tasked between us. While the ladies stayed behind at the foodcourt.

We even asked the lady at the information counter to make an announcement through the building's P.A system. However the volume was too low to be heard over the speakers.

Before we knew it it was already 5pm. Most of the shops were already closing for the day. Still no sign of the father.

By then, all the other exits, except for exits to the left and right of the main door entrance, were closed. We took our position at both doors. Hoping that the father would eventually come out through one of the doors.

The building's security personnel have been alerted to be on the lookout for a 60-year old Malaysian man who might look confused (seriously, that's what one of them said over the walkie-talkie).

6 pm. The father was still not in sight. Now, the family was getting really worried.

I, on the other hand, was getting restless.

Then the mother approached me and asked me to check my apartment. I called the apartment's receptionist. She sent someone to check the lounge area just opposite my unit's entrance. No one was there.

So I told the receptionist to call me immediately if she sees my missing guest.

It was almost 7 pm when we left Pasar Tanah Abang. The mother again asked me to check the apartment. I called. Asked the receptionist to send someone to check the lounge area. This time, the father was there. My missing guest had found his way back to the apartment.

Everyone was relieved. Yeay! Happy ending!!

When we finally arrived at my apartment, the family members gathered around the father and was instantly in a high pitch "discussion".

First time ever in my three years of hosting guests such a thing happened.

Anyone know where I can get one of those homing devices where I can track the movement of my guests on the Sat Nav systems?

Blast From The Past!

2008-12-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

Life has been quite hectic lately.

Blame it on the school holidays in Malaysia. If you think school holidays in Malaysia do not in any way affect my life in Indonesia, then, you're wrong.

'Tis is the time when relatives and friends in Malaysia take their family on holiday. Most of them are bored with the tiny dot down south of Peninsula Malaysia.

Jakarta is the new Singapore!

I do what is expected from a good host. Take them around places of their interest (read: malls and pusat grosir).

Please don't mention Tanah Abang or Mangga Dua. Merely typing those names makes my hair stand on end. I think, no, I believe, I've been to those places more than I've been to Thrifty in PJ all my lifetime.

Those in PJ who do not know Thrifty, then you have not live in PJ long enough. Ijal, kalo ko tak tau Thrifty, ko bukan le penduduk aborigine PJ Old Town.

Thrifty is equivalent to present day Carrefour but on a much, much smaller scale. Anyone remember Weld's Cold Storage? Hock Choon? Fairtrade?

Did you know that we even had Printemps in Damansara? (Nottytomato pakai lampin gamaknya masa tempat ni baru bukak... ke ko belum lahir lagi?) Next door was Kimisawa.

If any of those places do not sound alien, then, lets face it... korang dah tua!!!!

Speaking of being tua, recently, I chanced upon a website which has a vast compilation of Malay song lyrics. In no time I found myself singing and tapping my feet to Andainya Aku Pergi Dulu (Alleycats), Ku Petik Bintang-Bintang (Kenny Remy Martin), Suraya (Headwind), Kamelia (Sweet Charity) and Joget Kenangan Manis (Sudirman, best woo lagu ni!!) before my boss's face appeared just above my PC's monitor.

Sepoil sungguh mood aku. Baru nak ber-Mekar Sejambak.

To my Indonesian friends, those songs are from jamannya Emilia Contessa, Broery Pesulima, Bob Tutupoli and some from era Endang S. Taurina ngetop.

Yes. We Malaysians love Indonesian songs from way back then. We even know who Benyamin S. is and watched his films too (or am I alone in this?).

Anyway, I'll be a tourist guide again this weekend. That's three consecutive weekends. I long for the Sunday when I can wake up at 10am.

Happy weekend everyone!

Be Wary At Secluded ATMs

2008-12-11T00:36:00.000-08:00

Two Saturdays ago, running out of cash, a friend of mine stopped by at an ATM machine nearby Hero Permata Hijau.

He inserted the ATM card. It went in but suddenly it purged halfway. He tried retrieving the card by pulling it out of the card slot but failed.

Then he saw what seemed to be the bank's notice placed right above the ATM machine. The notice gave detailed instruction on what to do should the ATM card be stuck in the card slot.

This friend of mine followed the instruction. He punched in the keys in the exact sequence as stated in the notice. It said do to it three times and if the card was still stuck then proceed calling the bank's customer care line at the number displayed at the bottom of the A-4 sized notice.

He tried three times and still the card did not budge. He then called the customer care number.

My friend explained to the Customer Care Executive (CCE) his predicament. The CCE sounded very pleasant and professional and asked my friend to repeat the procedure as stated on the notice again.

Still nothing.

Then the CCE said from the online computer system, he could free the card from the slot. The CCE then asked for identity verification. Full name, address, mother's maiden name and PIN number.

Innocently, without sensing anything dubious , this friend of mine gave away all the information requested from him including his PIN number.

The CCE asked him to wait a few minutes and try the procedure on the notice again and hung up.

Barely two minutes after the phone call ended, a man came by the ATM machine and ripped the notice above the ATM machine. When asked by my friend why he did that the man said the notice was a hoax. He looked angry and said he wanted to show the security guard the notice. He then walked off briskly.

A little panicky, my friend called another friend who then gave him THE bank's customer care number. To cut it short, my friend lost Rp6,000,000. Withdrawn from an ATM machine in Senayan.

Ok. Granted that this friend of mine was foolish enough to give away his PIN number which is the number one, big, No-No! But then again, it could happen to anyone. Sometimes, when faced with such a situation, our concern is to get it resolved quickly and in the process we tend to momentarily lose the ability to think in a calm and rational manner. We blindly trust everything given before us.

These robbers getting smarter or just us getting more negligent?

Yupp. I suspect the person who took away the notice on the pretext of wanting to show it to the security guard was an accomplice.

So, please, please, store your bank's customer care numbers in your mobile/palm/or whatever gadget you own. And do store your bank account numbers too for they will ask for it when you call the customer care line should you need to block your ATM card. Do the same for your credit cards.

Be extra careful when withdrawing cash from secluded ATMs.

Have you ever noticed, at some ATMs, there are cameras right above those machines, pointing toward the screen and keypad? I never trust those cameras. I always cover with my left hand whenever I key-in my PIN number.

Call me stupid - it's better be seen stupid but safe than sorry and Rp6 million poorer.

Selamat Hari Raya Qurban

2008-12-04T20:11:00.001-08:00

Alhamdulillah.

I'm now residing in the new serviced apartment. The whole moving process went smoothly. I adjusted easily because Kintamani Apartment (my first dwelling of two years) is just a stone's throw away. So, the area needs no familiarisation.

Next monday is Eid ul-Adha. My third in Indonesia, fifth away from family. I might be going to Istiqlal for the Eid prayer - depending on how easy I can get a taxi on that morning. Otherwise, I'll just walk to the nearby mosque.

Last year I had my Raya meal in Starbucks. This year I will do the same thing. If there was a Oldtown Kopitiam I'll definitely head there instead. Of course, there will be a jamuan raya at the Malaysian Embassy. But I think I'll skip that. And the one at my boss's too. Don't feel like socialising this coming long weekend. I need to recover from the strenuous packing and unpacking last week.

Anyway, I wish all muslim a happy and meaningful Eid ul-Adha. Cherish this joyous moment with your family and loved ones. To the non-muslim, enjoy the extended weekend!

Ready To Go

2008-11-30T19:55:00.000-08:00

I spend the whole Sunday packing. The third time this year. I'm getting so good at it that I am considering a business in packing.

Once the boxes reach my new temporary residence, I don't think I will unpack them. Except for those which are really necessary, the rest will remain untouched.

This is in anticipation of another move come February or March next year. See, my life revolves around moving from one place to another. I'm a nomad, remember?

This time around, I catalogue what goes in where. I numbered each box and know exactly what goes in them. My best friend says I'm crazy. Well, Josh, trying to recall where the green pitcher is and rummaging through all 28 boxes isn't exactly fun.

Yes. This time around there are 28 boxes. 13 more than in August. Not because I accumulated more stuff within the span of 4 months. It's just that I have more of those cardboard boxes at my disposal. My target is to make it a "clean move" - if there is such a term.

No loose items such as plastic bags or small boxes. Everything, if their size permits, goes in the large cardboard boxes. The uniform, standard, cardboard boxes. Then the whole moving process will look, "pretty".

I know. I'm mad.

Before:

In the midst of packing :
After :

Free Baths, Anyone?

2008-11-27T19:41:00.000-08:00

I had one of those days when I felt like screaming. Instead, all I could muster was just an insincere laugh.

You see, I went through the Lease Agreement for my serviced apartment. The agreement laid out all charges which a tenant has to bear :

Telephone
Electricity
Laundry
Mineral Water
Cooking Gas

The list was pretty normal. You pay for what you use or consume. Fair enough.

But then I noticed that water charges was missing. I flipped to the next page. And it read-

Water Supply - Water supply costs Rp300,000/month and will be invoiced monthly with additional 5% administration charge.

Rp300,000 is equivalent to RM88. I asked the serviced apartment's marketing executive why weren't they charging based on consumption.

"Udah management tetapkan begitu Pak". When you couldn't give an intelligent answer, do the next best thing - blame it on others. She would excel being a Malaysian cabinet minister.

"Mahal ya. Di rumah saya di Kuala Lumpur Rp300,000 bisa buat bayar bill air bagi tempoh empat bulan. Ada 5 orang dan setiap orang mandi paling kurang 2 kali sehari." Ok.. Didn't know how that blurted out from me but I needed something to point out that their water charges was exorbitant for a single person's consumption.

"Wahhh.. murah ya." And she giggled. Couldn't care less about the issue at hand.

And that was when I gave up on getting a decent answer and gave out an insincere laugh. You know the kind of laugh you give when someone just told you a stinking joke.

Since I'd be paying Rp315,000 (plus the 5% admin charge) for water every month, you bet I'd soak myself in the bathtub every other day. I'd force my guests to try the bathtub too.

My showers would be 10 minutes longer. Guests are encouraged to take a bath before leaving. Or soon after they arrive. Or both. I don't care. Bring your own shower gel. Hehe.

If I can have it my way, I'd purchase a long rubber hose and supply free water to the roadside stalls just outside the serviced apartment.

Or maybe I should get one of those jet spray thingy and start a roadside car wash business. Maybe that could cover not only my water bills but also my electricity and telephone charges.

Obama's Visit to Jakarta

2008-11-25T23:37:00.000-08:00

The Indonesian daily,Kompas, today front-paged the news on the phone call received by SBY from US president elect, Barack Husein Obama.

The call lasted about 5 minutes. It may seem short. But receiving a call from someone who will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America, every minute is priceless.

SBY invited Obama to visit Jakarta after the APEC summit in Singapore next year.

During the short conversation, Obama told SBY how he misses among other things, nasi goreng (fried rice) and bakso (meatball).

I can imagine, SBY summoning the presidential chef to cook up the best nasi goreng and bakso for the distinguished guest should he be able to make that visit next year.

Now, no prize for guessing what'll be on the menu for the state banquet:

Nasi Goreng USA,

and on the side, of course,

Baksobama

Temporary Accommodation

2008-11-25T19:57:00.000-08:00

Alhamdulillah.

HQ have approved my temporary accommodation. I was quite apprehensive when submitting the list of serviced apartments which I had painstakingly searched via the internet. I was worried my CFO would jump upon seeing the rates.

Well, she didn't. She sent an SMS at 10 pm on the same day asking me to proceed with the cheapest on the list.

You know what? Sometimes I feel like I'm in the U.S of A. All serviced apartments quoted me in USD. Although I did speak to them in good Bahasa Indonesia. When asked for the rupiah rates, they simply convert them based on current exchange rate.

I seriously think that some Indonesians "worship" USD a bit too much. For instance, I was at a PC fair the other day. Most laptops were sold in USD. Have you seen the travel agency ads for overseas tour packages? They're in USD. My two previous accommodations were charged in USD.

It's as if they have no confidence in their own currency.

Did you know that rupiah depreciated almost 35% against the USD since September? Whereas, currencies of some ASEAN neighbours fell between 3%-9% during the same period. Ehmmmm........

Anyway, remember my utter frustration with Air Asia? I finally got to speak to their customer care personnel. She said the plane which was scheduled for the morning flight had some technical problems and had to be repaired. That's why morning flight passengers that day had to be moved to the afternoon flight.

I never bought her explanation. I remember telling PB that I suspect Air Asia deliberately cancelled the morning flight that day because too few seats were sold which had made that particular morning's flight to Jogja unprofitable.

And this morning, I checked Air Asia website and clicked the flight schedule for Jkt-Jogja route. Surprise! Surprise! The morning flight is no longer there!!

I reckon I was a victim of Air Asia's trial period. At the time, the Jkt-Jogja route was newly introduced. So, after initially offering the morning flights to only find out from the bookings that they're not profitable, Air Asia decided to scrap the morning flight and fly only once daily to Jogja from Jkt. And during the whole trial process, I believe they've screwed up a lot of people.

My boss said this morning that Air Asia X has started selling the KL-London tickets.... I'd say let them screw up others first before I decide to purchase that ticket.

To my dear university mates - thinking of having a reunion at Albert Road's Bombay Express? Goshhh!! ... how I miss their Chicken Tika Massala.

VIP Gym and Atmostfear

2008-11-24T00:20:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday I was feeling a bit rajin than usual. Actually, I wanted to be away from home as long as possible because my housemate's family are here on holiday.

So, I thought, why not check out the new VIP Celebrity Fitness gym at FX Lifestyle X'nter (how to pronounce this ??? And what on earth is X'nter?). FX is the latest addition to the many malls in Jakarta. Offering much of the same things.

Except for Atmostfear. More on that later.

Firstly the VIP gym. The things the VIP outlet has that others don't - a salon in the men's locker (I guess they have one in the ladies section as well). Digital keylock system for the lockers. Exclusive showers with marble tiled walls. Fancy seating areas.

Errr... that's it. For them, it's enough to be given the VIP tag.

When I was there, the instructors (about 7 of them) were all sitting comfortably in the lounge area - chatting and having a jolly good time as though they're at Starbucks. None seemed to be interested to walk around and be of any assistance to the members.

I saw one lady who was struggling with the touch-screen panel on the treadmill. She looked around for assistance but no staff was near enough for her to wave to.

They're all at their own "Starbucks", remember? Makan gaji buta sungguh deme ni.

Well, the gym was nothing to shout about. I was expecting state-of-the-art equipment. Only the treadmills are better than other outlets. Other equipment are basically the same.

A total disappointmet. For something being labelled as VIP has to offer.

Anyway, the main attraction at FX is a tube slide called Atmostfear. For Rp50,000 (Rp75,000 on weekends), you can slide from the 7th floor all the way down to the 1st floor in roughly 12 seconds.

It's just like the giant waterslides at water theme parks only that this one is err... dry and indoors.

PB, the whole gang should try this in January. Make sure all are paired in the same coloured attire as you'd be given a free ticket each pair.

The area before one takes that "plunge"

Kampung Daun

2008-11-19T22:50:00.000-08:00

If you're in Bandung, you definitely wouldn't want to miss this kampung.

Kampung Daun is located in the hills north of Bandung city. On a smooth traffic day, it takes about 45 minutes to reach there from the city centre. Kampung Daun is actually a restaurant set in natural surroundings. Instead of the ordinary dining tables and chairs, here, you'd find gazebos/huts with low tables and cushions.

From the huts, you can gaze out to view the cascading waterfalls, the small stream and lush trees around the area. Simply an amazing experience.

I was there recently with my mother and grand aunt. It was drizzling and made the air a whole lot cooler than normal.

We ordered soto Madura, Betawi and Soto Ayam. I know, sooooo tak adventerous kan?

We were there almost 90 minutes. Well, the gazebo was so comfortable that we just sat and enjoyed the fresh air and cool breeze.

Then we headed to the souvenir shop to find the teapot similar to that used by Kampung Daun to serve their tea in. There's also a nursery. My mother bought two pots of garden plants which is now in our small front garden in KL. She managed to hide those plants in her suitcase. In May, it was orchids.

Anyway, Kampung Daun is surely a place not to be missed. If you're there on weekends, it is better to call ahead and make a reservation. A good place to relax those feet after a whole day of F.O hopping.

Third Move

2008-11-14T01:16:00.000-08:00

I'm now officially a nomad.

Kintamani to Pondok Indah to Bellezza to somewhere not known yet.

This will be the third time I'm moving - this year alone. 3 years in Jakarta and four residences. Great huh? Yeahhh... if I have only two suitcases of stuff with me.

At the last count, I had 15 boxes of personal belongings accumulated over the past three years. Tu belum masuk one 3-seater sofa, two single seater sofa, side tables, cabinet, table lamps, rugs and other stuff whichI categorise as needed-junks-which-must-not-be-left-behind.

Tomorrow I'll be on a apartment finding mission. Since my remaining stay in Indonesia is less than 2 quarters, I have no choice but to narrow down my next residence to serviced apartments. They offer short-term stay rental. FYI, private properties with a lease period of less than one year is almost impossible to find.

I have to vacate my current residence because the guy replacing my housemate would be bringing his family (wife & four children) to Jakarta - unlike my housemate who opted not to bring his family when he was assigned to Jakarta 3 years ago.

You see, since I am single, the onus is on me to move out from the huge apartment (which btw is owned by the company I work for).

Kalo the top management in KL ikut nasihat aku extend rental rumah kat Pondok Indah tu dulu, idak le aku kena pindah lagi. Sekarang sapa yang susah. Ada deme yang susah? Idak... aku jugak yang susah.

Now, not only I have to move, the company would have to incur higher rental cost compared with that of the Pondok Indah house. Serviced apartments don't come cheap in Jakarta, you know.

The irony is, the reason I was asked to move out from the house in Pondok Indah and occupy the company's apartment at Bellezza was - to save cost. Banyak le kome punya save cost measure. See what happens now?

Doa-doakan le aku dapat cari yang murah (kalo mahal kang tak approve pulak) and dekat and also banjir-free (since musim hujan pun dah sampai).

Ole-ole Bandung

2008-11-13T00:18:00.000-08:00

Whenever I take my guests to Bandung, I would never fail to stop by at one of the shops selling local snacks along Jalan Cihampelas.

I always favour Bandung's sale pisang (pisang salai goreng or smoked banana fritter). They taste better than those sold in Jakarta.

Odjolali is one of the better snack shops. Their sale pisang is fresh and crisp. Once you enter Odjolali, you'd be amazed at the variety of snacks available. From dodol garut to kerupuk kulit. There's even freshly made pecel.

These snacks make perfect gifts to be given away to friends. Tak payah susah2 pikior nak beli key chain, fridge magnet, atopun bookmarks. Tabur je makanan ni kat opis. Berkerumun le deme datang nanti.

Paintings - Bandung

2008-11-12T20:10:00.000-08:00

My grand aunt who was recently here for a holiday told me that she wanted to get a few paintings. Coincidentally, a week earlier, my housemate had brought his guests to a place south of Bandung and they bought ten rolls of paintings.

So, last Saturday, I told Yanto (my housemate's driver) to take us to the exact same place. We left Jakarta at 7.00 am and two and a half hours later, we arrived at a village south of Bandung city.

The first stop was at the same shop where Yanto had taken my housemate's guests a week before. My grand aunt was looking for paintings of paddy fields and flowers.

"Udah gak ada ibuk. Minggu lalu udah di beli semua sama tamu dari Malaysia ."

Ok. I think I knew who the "culprit" was.

So, off we went to another shop nearby. The shopkeeper was nowhere to be seen. We wandered around the shop. Not many paintings on display. Certainly none which my grand aunt was looking for.

Suddenly a middle-aged man literally sprung out of nowhere. Well actually, he was lying behind a desk.

We told him the types of paintings we wanted.

"Ada banyak. Di rumah saya ada banyak. Yang pemandangan sawah padi. Yang bunga. Ada banyak di rumah. Ayo kita ke sana aja ya?"

"Jauh gak?" I asked.

"Gak. Di depan itu aja" while pointing to a narrow road nearby.

"Boleh jalan kaki?" I asked.

To which he did not reply and he positioned himself next to the front door of the car. Well, ok. I took that for a no.

Bad feeling number 1 - tadi kata tak jauh, tapi kena naik kereta.

So he sat himself in the front seat of our car navigating Yanto to his house. 5 minutes driving through the narrow road, he asked Yanto to stop.

And I thought we had stopped right in front of his house. But no. We had to walk further into the narrow lanes between the houses.

We finally reached his house. We were greeted by a 30-something lady who we thought was the old man's wife. Then came out a 30-something man.

"Ini suami saya. Dia pelukis" said the lady.

"Terus ini rumah siapa? Bukan rumah bapak?" I asked the old man.

"Bukan, rumah saya di depan sono." he said while pointing to somewhere.

Bad feeling number 2 - kata nak gi rumah dia. Tapi di bawaknya ke rumah orang lain.

So we told the younger man we wanted paintings of paddy fields and flowers. He said he has many of those paintings and immediately excused himself and went off on a motorbike.

Baffled, I asked the wife. She said the husband went to the "bengkel" to get the paintings.

Bad feeling number 3 - tadi kata ada banyak kat rumah. Kalo ada banyak kat bengkel, baik pergi bengkel je tadi.

To cut the story short, after waiting for almost 10 minutes, the husband came back with only 5 rolls of paintings. Ini le yang dia kata banyak tadi. Apa lagi, instantly my blood went upstairs but managed to calm myself down. Didn't want to make a scene. Afterall, we were in their territory.

We excused ourselves. Truly disappointed and felt cheated. I had a feeling that the guy didn't have a bengkel. The 10 minutes he was gone I suspect he went scouting for those paintings from nearby shops.

So, Yanto took us to another shop, by the main road. It was there that my grand aunt found what she was looking for. Eventually she bought 5 rolls of paintings at very, very, very low price.

In Malaysia, you wouldn't be able to get the paintings at the price offered by the shops here. Once you frame them, I assure you the paintings would look like really expensive work of art.

Mangga Gedong Gincu

2008-11-11T18:30:00.000-08:00

Just like in Bahasa Indonesia, mango is called mangga in Bahasa Malaysia. It is also popularly called mempelam in some states in Malaysia.

In the east coast state of Kelantan it is pronounced as pelae. So, when someone offers you pelae in Kelantan and not knowing what in the world a pelae is, my advice is don't turn to your trusted English-Malay dictionary. You'll find "bananas" instead.

Anyway, I took the pic above in a minimart nearby my residence. Though this variety of mango has a very odd name, they're deliciously sweet. However, they are smaller compared to the other varieties. The price is a lot cheaper if you get them in hypermarts.

Still on mangoes, the next time you're in Jakarta, do try the mango juice. They're really thick and sweet (unlike the diluted version you'd normally get at "gerai makan Siam" in KL).

But, I have to admit though, nothing beats the taste of a glass of Indonesian jus alpukat.

UNESCO's World Heritage Sites - Entrance Fees

2008-11-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

Great Wall of China (Wall at Mutianyu) - RMB40 or USD5.88
Forbidden City - RMB60 or USD8.82
Borobudur - USD10
Angkor Wat - USD20

Above are some of the World Heritage Sites and their respective entrance fees. The Renminbi conversion to USD is based on the exchange rate on 10/11/2008.

I will blog about the humiliating experience I had at Borobudur.

Jalan Sabang

2008-11-04T00:29:00.000-08:00

Jalan Sabang is located in central Jakarta. For easier guidance, it is the road behind Hotel Sari Pan Pacific Jakarta.

Jalan Sabang is famous for its restaurants and hawker stalls. The hawker stalls would only operate at night. They would occupy the wide footpaths along the entire stretch of the road.

At night, stalls, benches and tables would fill this footpath.

However, if you happen to pass by during daytime, there are plenty of restaurants you can choose from.

Personally, I've not tried the hawker stalls yet. I've dined at Natrabu and Garuda. Both are Padang restaurants.

Garuda Restaurant

Natrabu

When it comes to food, I'm not quite the adventurous type. I'm nowhere near Anthony Bourdain. Therefore I'm unable to recommend what's the best dish you must try at Jalan Sabang.

If you happen to be in Jakarta and yet to set foot here, do include Jalan Sabang in your itinerary. A word of advice - come at night. It's merrier.

Jakarta - Jogja on Air Asia

2008-11-03T18:16:00.000-08:00

As I'm typing this, I'm listening to the voice messages on Air Asia's customer care line. I've been trying to speak to a living person on their line for almost 30 minutes now.

"All our sales agents are busy. We'll be with you shortly."

"Sorry to keep you waiting. All our sales agents are still busy. We'll be with you as soon as possible."

"Sorry to keep you waiting. All our sales agents are still busy due to overwhelming response from our sales promotion. We'll be with you as soon as possible."

You know what I think? All BS. Especially the part where they say "We'll be with you as soon as possible".

Oohh.. and also the part where they claim the lines are busy due to overwhelming response from their promotions. Sure or not? More like angry people (like yours truly) calling - trying to get a decent explanation on flight cancellation and delays.

I've just put down the phone. Blogging about Air Asia takes some of my frustration and anger away.

So let's continue, shall we?

Have I told you that I bought 3 Air Asia return tickets to Jogja?

My mother is here for a 10-day holiday. She's here with my grand auntie. Since none of us have been to Jogja before, I suggested that we fly over to Jogja for a 3-day visit.

So, last Friday, for the outgoing flight - I booked the first flight at 6.00am. Estimated time of arrival - 7.00 am.

I deliberately booked the morning flight so that we would have one full day to explore the city on the first day. Then the 2nd day we could go to Borobudur. And the 3rd day we could just relax before taking the 4.30pm flight back to Jakarta.

But now, no thanks to Air Asia - my supposedly 2 full days in Jogja has been reduced to only one day. I received an SMS yesterday informing that my flight has been cancelled and moved to the 3.05pm flight.

I will not stop in my quest to get a decent and logical explanation from Air Asia.

They do this (delays and re-scheduling flights) frequently. Most of my friends who came to Jakarta on Air Asia were affected by flight delays. Don't believe what they say on their website about their high punctuality rate. This, my friends, is another big BS.

You see, flight delay is an alien term in Air Asia. They call them "re-timing". Lets say a flight scheduled to depart at 4.00 pm is delayed to 8.00pm. To Air Asia, this is not a delay but a re-timed flight.

So when the re-timed flight departs exactly at 8.00pm, Air Asia is, voila! - on time!. Hence the high punctuality rate as they claim on their website.

True, like what PB said. They should do a re-branding exercise. From Air Asia to Air A-sialan.

The new tag line?

NOW, EVERYONE CAN BE FUCKED UP.

Jakarta Ink

2008-10-27T20:53:00.001-07:00

There are many tattoo artists in Jakarta who turn the sidewalk in the city into their tattoo parlors.

Understandably, it is a far cry from the ones you see on Miami or London Ink. Nevertheless, their level of artistry is quite impressive.

I come across the above in the grounds of Monumen Nasional. The tattooist offers both permanent and temporary tattoos.

You can choose from the many designs in his catalogue folders or bring your own design. Notice the pair of legs on the top left hand corner in the pic above?

They belong to this guy.

I was expecting some grimaces of pain. But he appeared to be nonchalant about the process. A picture of absolute calmness. That's not a temporary tattoo mind you.

However, there are of course many proper tattoo parlors in Jakarta. Go to one of these if you have reservation about the sidewalk tattoo artists. Particularly on their hygiene practices.

Car Free Sunday

2008-10-26T23:59:00.000-07:00

In Jakarta, every last Sunday of the month is a car free day. On this day, two main roads i.e Jalan Sudirman and Jalan MH Thamrin are closed to all vehicles from 6am until 2pm - with the exception of TransJakarta buses which operate as usual on the designated lanes.

The road closure starts from the roundabout nearby Senayan City all the way to the small roundabout just before Monumen Nasional.

The objective of the car free day is to reduce the air pollution in the city. Some argued that it is not effective as the pollution would only be diverted elsewhere.

Anyhow, the car free day gave the people of Jakarta the chance to utilise the two main roads for various activities.

So, last Sunday morning, 7 am to be precise,I managed to force myself out of my cosy and comfortable bed and headed for Plaza Indonesia. I arrived at Bunderan HI half an hour later.

Bunderan H.I (Hotel Indonesia Roundabout). Hensel & Gretel waving Welkam! Welkam!

It'll be heaven if this is how it is everyday!

Ko baring atas jalan pun orang idak langgor. Lainle kalo badan ko kecik sikit dpd jengkaut Tadano

Surprise! Surprise! The whole place was alive with a hive of activity. By the way ... Ijal ko ingat tak video aku buat aksi2 bangang ala2 Cilla Black kat residence hall QEQM? Boleh selamatkan video tu tak?.

Many were brisk walking and many more were cycling. Nampak best pulak. Fully geared with bike helmet, cool shades and the cyclist outfit. I'm sooooo going to get myself a bike.

Riang ria deme. Ada lari slow2, ada jalan fast2. Tapi ramei yang naik beskal.

L-R - Raja Man, Mish, Syuk & Steve. Steve... tetap over ngan helmet karer merah.

Pakcik ni sanggup pinjam beskal kompeni.....

On the pavement just outside Plaza Indonesia you could see a congregation of people with old bicycles. Some attired in old styled clothing complete with hats (like those worn by the British during the colonial era in Malaya).

A section of road right in front of Nikko Hotel was transformed into three futsal pitch. A tournament of some sort was being held.

Looking around I noticed there were many shutterbugs with DSLR camera. Jeles. Jeles. Ok. Forget the bike. I'm sooooo going to get myself a DSLR camera.

Ok-lah. Since I was already on Jalan Thamrin, lets see the hotels and shopping malls located along this road.

First is the Mandarin Oriental which is still closed due to major renovation works.

Plaza Indonesia. Directly opposite is the Grand Indonesia. Both are high-end malls.

Above Plaza Indonesia is the Hyatt Hotel

Ascott serviced apartments - located next to Grand Indonesia

Across the street from Hyatt is Nikko Hotel

Another view of Nikko Hotel from Hyatt

The multi coloured building above is EX Plaza where Hard Rock Jakarta is located

This is not a Pencawang Masuk Utama. It is the Japanese Embassy. The architect must have designed the building on an uninsprising day

Just a short walk from EX Plaza is Sarinah. One of the earliest malls in the city. Within this building there are plenty of cafes. There's also a 24hr Mc Donald's.

Ibis Arcadia Hotel. Three minutes' walk from Sarinah. Quite reasonably priced.

Further up from Ibis Arcadia is another Ibis hotel. Ibis Tamarind. It's the building on the right in the above pic. In addition to these two Ibis hotels, there are many small hotels along this road (Jln KH Wahid Hasyim)

Ok. Back to Jln Thamrin. You'll find Sari Pan Pacific. Next to this hotel are Starbucks and the Oh La La Cafe. Both are open 24hrs. Also, there is a Burger King which closes almost midnite.

So there you go. A short tour of part of Jln MH Thamrin. Visitors to Jakarta must take note of the last Sunday of each month. You don't want to get caught unaware which could disrupt your travel plans for the day.

Abdul & The Coffee Theory

2008-10-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

I bought a new CD last weekend. By an unknown band called Abdul & The Coffee Theory (unknown to me anyway....was told Abdul had previously released a solo album).

The album is titled Loveable.

Went through the songs. You know an album is good when the first five songs gets you immediately.

Among my favs are Tiada Batas (Menunggu), Ku Cinta Kau Lebih Dari Kemarin, Mr Perfect, Loveable, Cahaya, Bodoh Untuk Setia and Beauty is You.

Abdul sengih2 manja tunggu kopi.

In general, most of the songs are pop R&B and with a bit of jazz thrown in. Except for the song Beauty Is You which is in swing.

Oh.... I have one thing to say to Persatuan Karyawan Malaysia on the 90:10 proposed quota - Stop being crybabies! Go and learn how to make good music!

Saya bukan mendewa-dewakan produk luar. It's just that I only go for the best!

Happy Deepavali

2008-10-26T20:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Deepavali to all Hindu friends.

Indonesia tak cuti. Korang semua seronok le makan muruku sambil tengok reruns of bollywood movies yang ke gazillion kalinya.

Robbed by Shell

2008-10-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

The weather has been scorching hot the past one week. Which made my daily walk to Pondok Indah Mall (PIM) for lunch a rather wet affair. You see, by the time I reach PIM, I'd be drenched in my own sweat. Which leave patches of wet spots on my light coloured office shirt. Which in turn would draw stares from the people at the mall.

We Asians just don't consider it rude to stare at others do we? Maybe they could make out the face of SBY (Mr. President) from the patches on my shirt. Or Elvis. Or a map of Java. Beats me.

Today, to avoid from being on the receiving end of the evil-looking stares, I wore a dark coloured office shirt. Now they won't be able to enjoy the sweat patches on my shirt unless of course for some strange reason, my glands produce white coloured sweat.

And what do yo know. It rained and the weather is so much cooler.

Ok. Straight to the reason of this entry.

I am really upset. Shell has robbed me of my pedestrian walkway. It wasn't a nice walkway to begin with, but hey, at least it made my daily walk to PIM safer.

But yesterday, Shell has denied me that. They're constructing a fuel station and blocked the stretch of pedestrian footpath in front of the site.

Now, I have to walk on the street and be cautious of the busy traffic.

Ok.Ok. Long before I was robbed by Shell, there have been other equally guilty parties as well.

On a different note, feel free to drop by Betty's blog here. She's an Australian expat who had just recently moved to Jakarta. And she takes exceptionally beautiful photos.

Jalan-Jalan Jakarta Weekend

2008-10-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

I had a group of guests from KL over the weekend - a colleague from HQ with her husband and twenty something son and daughter. And I had to play the role of Jakarta's unofficial tourist guide - something which I do at least once every month.

Because of the calling of my unpaid job, I had to skip Jakarta's first Soulnation Festival at Istora Senayan. Luckily, I didn't fork out my own money for the ticket. I got it free from AXIS (the main sponsor) who happen to be our major client.

So, on Saturday, relucting to join their parents to Pasar Grosir Tanah Abang and Pasar Baru, the daughter and son asked me to take them to places where they could find things which were more suited to their young tastes.

First, I took them to Plaza Senayan because they wanted to check out Lacoste's outlet. We then crossed over to Senayan City where the Oakley outlet was having a big sale.

Speaking of crossing over to Senayan City, CAN SOMEONE ASK FAUZI BOWO TO BUILD A COMFORTABLE PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE OR IF HE CAN'T AFFORD CONSTRUCTING ONE, THE VERY LEAST HE COULD DO IS INSTALL A TRAFFIC LIGHT SO THAT WE POOR PEDESTRIANS DO NOT HAVE TO RISK OUR LIVES CROSSING THE MAIN THOROUGHFARE BETWEEN SENAYAN CITY AND PLAZA SENAYAN.

I said "we poor pedestrians" because I know some rich people who prefer to be chaufferred across instead of walking just a couple of hundred steps to cross to Plaza Senayan. Afraid your Prada or Ferragamo sole might wore out is it?

I guess that's the reason why the local authorities couldn't be bothered with providing good pedestrian walkways - because the people that matter most to them (i.e the rich) don't use it.

I bet the same rich people of Jakarta don't mind walking along Oxford Street, Fifth Avenue, Orchard Road or even Bukit Bintang. I think they would rather be dead than be seen walking from Grand Indonesia to Plaza Indonesia.

Ok. Moving on.

After grabbing a few items at Oakley's, we headed for Polo Ralph Lauren outlet in Kemang. Lucky us, they were having a 50% discount on selected items. In the end, dia orang tak beli apa2, aku pulak yang terjebak beli 2 helai baju. Ni yang kekadang malas jadi tourist guide nih.

Then I took them to ITC Kuningan and Ambasador Mall. There's a factory outlet store called Premium in Ambasador Mall. Those on holiday in Jakarta and do not have time to squeeze in a trip to Bandung, a visit to Premium would be good enough.

Again, aku terjebak beli sehelai baju. Nasib baik murah.

Since they wanted to see Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta, I took them to EX Plaza. We made a quick tour of the adjoining Plaza Indonesia and crossed to Grand Indonesia where I showed them the upper floors where all the restaurant and cafes were.

And they were really impressed. If Starhill Bukit Bintang has only one floor of the tastefully designed restaurant and cafe area, Grand Indonesia has two entire floors divided into American, European, Oriental and Middle Eastern districts. Each with its own distinct decor.

In the photo above, the guy next to me is my colleagues' son. If you had met this chap in February this year, chances are, you'd never recognise him.

You see, in February this year (a mere 8 months ago), he was tipping the scale at 85kg and had a 38 inches waistline. According to him, he'd been obese since his early childhood days.

He then embarked on a weight loss mission. He was doing it not for others, but for himself.

His secret? No. Not gastric bypass surgery.

Proper diet which he religiously stuck to (he's a chef so he cooks his own healthy meals) and a minimum of 3 times weekly cardio sessions (he jogs about 5km every session at Tasik Titiwangsa).

And now, he weighs 62 kg (dah naik sikit lepas raya, kalo idak 59 kg) with a 30 inches waistline.

My respect and admiration goes to this guy.

Jakarta's Latest Premier Taxi

2008-10-19T19:50:00.001-07:00

If Kuala Lumpur is still struggling to improve the image of its infamous taxi service, Jakarta on the other hand has gone up a few notches.

Presenting you, the most luxurious taxi I have ever set my eyes on (in this region)......

Yupp. Don't squint your eyes. That is a Toyota Alphard.

Very convenient if you're on holiday in Jakarta and travelling in a group of 5 or 6 people.

So to my friend Steve, you can now realise your dream of getting off from an Alphard at all the malls in Jakarta.

An Evening In Bukit Bintang

2008-10-15T22:55:00.000-07:00

It has been 2 years since I last set foot in Bukit Bintang. 2 years might not be long enough for Siti Nurhaliza to bear a child, but it is long enough for YTL to deliver us a new mall.

On what was previously Bukit Bintang Girls School, now stood an ultra modern shopping mall (as if Bukit Bintang needed a new one) called Pavilion.

Peanutbutter was my guide for the evening.

Ini malam lu ikut wa jialan2.

Actually, we didn't plan on eating but since we entered Pavilion through its foodcourt, we felt hungry instantly.

Foodrepublic - Pavilion's foodcourt

ToastBox came to the rescue.

The cost for 2 person Rp35,000. I bet you could not get it this cheap in Jakarta's overpriced foodcourts.

They serve delicious kaya on toast and soft buns. Not to forget my all time (recent) favourite white coffee.

We then crossed over to the adjacent mall. Starhill. Peanutbutter took me to the lower ground foodcourt (actually calling it a foodcourt is an understatement). Malay, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Western, Vietnamese and fusion cuisine can be found here.

And it was snap happy time. I swear I looked like a hillbilly. Jakun giler.

We went back to Pavilion where we were joined by Steve who seemed to have grown at least 5 inches taller. He said it was the visual effect from his slim cut trousers. Tipoo. Ko gi buat treatment panjangkan tulang femur kan?

Steve showed us around True Fitness in Pavilion. The place where Steve seldom works out but pays in full. I think True Fitness has a lot of members like Steve. That's why they can afford to buy state-of-the-art fitness equipment.

Touch screen treadmill. A host of other equipment use touch screen lcd panels too.

Then it was off to Starbucks to cuci mata. We chose a strategically positioned table. Not that we have many subjects to cuci our mata on. Afterall, we were in Kuala Lumpur. Where beautiful people are a rarity. If we were in Jakarta we could all go blind staring at the stream of pretty faces passing by.

"You know or not I had an affair when I was in China?"

"Itu cilita lama la.... manyak suey.. wa balu plan mau pigi lu sulah balik"

After the not so exhilarating cuci mata session we headed for the foodcourt again as Steve was feeling hungry. As we were deliberating on where to have our dinner, Misha and Syuk arrived and suggested the famous Bukit Bintang chicken rice. If you happen to be in Bukit Bintang I strongly recommend you to try this place out. Can someone help me with the name? Lupa la pulak.

So from Pavilion we walked in the slight drizzle to the chicken rice restaurant which was about 500m away. But not to worry. Kuala Lumpur has good pedestrian footpaths all over the city (which Jakarta sadly is lacking. Beyond the stretch between Plaza Indonesia and Monas, good pedestrian footpaths is almost non-existent).

Syuk (berpaut pada railing untuk menyeimbangkan badan yang dah kurus) dan Peanutbutter (pakei payung walopun hujan turun 3 titik p/square meter per minit) sedang khusyuk mendengar dakyah2 daripada Mish.

Along the way, we were greeted by masseurs offering reflexology massage. A word of caution - if you do not want to be mistaken as one of the masseurs, NEVER wear orange coloured shirt in Bukit Bintang. Yours truly did. Peanutbutter said I blended in perfectly among the masseurs. She had the photo to prove it. And it was disturbingly true.

We had a good chicken rice meal. I took only the chicken and tofu. Oprah says no rice after 7pm. Occay.. she didn't say that but I had to watch my diet after having no-holding-back-eat-all-I-can week.

Mish & Syuk had to continue painting their new house and excused themselves while Steve had to be in bed by 11pm (your bed or someone else's bed?).

Since it was still early, Peanutbutter and I kidnapped Raja Man who was attending a friend's open house in Keramat. We then headed for NZ Curry House in Wangsa Maju.

Raja Man dengan pose berjudul Ku Angin Pelamin Angan Ku Musnah

It was there that Peanutbutter coined the term "orang bisu gagap". And it was also where we foresaw a glimpse of how we would look like 20 years from now. It was however a not so tasteful version of our future story. Macam sial je orang yang kome pilih jadi aku tu.

Thanks guys for a truly delightful evening. Looking forward to your visit in January.

Sampe sekarang aku terbayang bahasa isyarat gagap tu.

PRL Kemang

2008-10-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

Cik ShuffleQueen Lati-bob, this photo is for you.

Traditional Nyonya Cookies

2008-10-15T02:21:00.000-07:00

Below is a traditional nyonya cookies called kue kapit or love letters. It used to be served during the Chinese New Year celebration. Over time, however, kue kapit has become popular among the Malays too and has become a common feature during Hari Raya.

This is how the kue kapit's mould looks like.

And a friend of mine has a mini version made into a pendant.

Danau Kota's Night Bazaar

2008-10-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

One of the things I missed about Kuala Lumpur is the night bazaars. The ones I know of are in Kota Damansara, Cheras and Danau Kota.

Rows after rows of neatly lined tents where you could find traders selling t-shirts, jeans, shoes, handbags, table runners and carpets, just to name a few. Business starts from 8pm untill 5am.

Yupp. KL'lites don't sleep that much. I think many are insomniac. That's why there are many restaurants which are open 24hrs.

Together with a friend, I went to the bazaar in Danau Kota on the night of 27th Ramadhan. Or shall I say the morning of 28th Ramadhan because I was there at 2 am.

The reason we went there in the wee hours was to avoid the crowd. Apparently thousands others did the same thing too. And the result... a truly congested night bazaar. Moving around was almost impossible.

This soaking-your-feet-in-the fish-pond thing is a craze in KL. However, there's a spa in Jakarta where you can dip your whole body in. "Why settle with only feet when you can offer other parts of the body to the fish" was what they said.

Nevertheless, we braved ourselves through the crowd. Looking for nothing in particular. It was fun though. Observing people going about doing their Lebaran shopping spree.

In the end, none of us bought anything. But the experience was enough to entertain us.

Port Dickson

2008-10-14T01:41:00.000-07:00

I managed to squeeze-in a getaway to Port Dickson (or PD for short) during my recent trip back to Malaysia. Port Dickson is a coastal resort about 90 minutes' drive from Kuala Lumpur. You could find more info on PD here.

I was there on weekdays. PD was quiet and peaceful. I got the much needed rest although I wish I could stay there longer.

Open House

2008-10-14T00:49:00.000-07:00

Tun Rahah's open house. Even Datin Norjuma asked me the soalan cepumas.

L-R : Nor (host), Kak Ros & Syarliz

Ol' mates from Uni days. L-R : Moi, Ijal a.k.a JM, Sepol and Mud (he does part-time catering and cooks deliciously wicked Nasi Beriyani)

My wife can cook too! Masak air. Siti Azlina and hubby Azman Aura

Ijal : Ko tengok kaki kawan baik ko dalam gambar ni... mana ada bengkok?

Siti Azlina : Bengkok la... eh baju ko padded kat perut ke? Besar semacam je.

Last open house before I left for Jakarta. One ahli, Kak Zai, was missing.

Illuminated Earpick

2008-10-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

The device above is called Lighting Earpick. There are some manufacturers who name it Illuminated Earpick.

Whatever name it goes by, the purpose of this device is to remove ear wax. And to make the process easier, someone decided to attach a light bulb to it.

It was my first time seeing such a gadget.

Unsure on how to correctly use the device? No worries. Just flip to the back and read the instruction.

Instruction 1 - Occay, I guess deeply here means you have to poke the thin end deep into you ear canal. But oppsss... be sure to do it slowly. And of course... slight.

Instruction 2 - Allright. Ocasionally there are children around me. So I have to be cautious. But who the hell is a Moring person?

Lastly, it says this product requires three AGB. What in the friggin world is an AGB? If finding AGB isn't difficult enough, you also have to make sure that the AGB must be mini and could be exchanged. Exchange with what? Earwax??

In Need of A Quick Loan?

2008-10-13T02:31:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've seen the many ads offering fast loans around Kuala Lumpur. They're on the lamp posts, letter boxes, telephone booths, elevators... pokoknya merata-rata lah.

They're not loans offered by banking/finance institutions but by loan sharks or more "affectionately" known as Ah Longs.

They don't send nicely worded reminders if you default your first payment. No. They'd most probably splash red paint over your car or your house door. So if any of your friends or relatives keep an unusually large number of red paint tubs in their house, chances are, he is an Ah Long.

OK. Back to the ads. The ad below, caught my attention.

Allright. The name itself is a joke. IMMORTAL Finance? Hmm... maybe they'd be here longer than Lehmann Brothers.

As if resorting to a loan shark for a loan isn't humiliating enough, you're even asked to call them secara rahsia (discreetly).

Ya lor? Who the hell would want to boast about calling a loan shark?

Hmm... let me see... where is the place which best suit the secara rahsia criteria? Under the bed? In the closet? Smelly and dark store room?

I think the correct term should be "rahsia terjamin" and not "secara rahsia".

Peanutbutter's Flickr Photo Pages

2008-10-13T02:19:00.000-07:00

She's a dear friend of mine. A sister. She has a new found hobby - photography which she took up barely a year ago. Enjoy her lovely photos here .

1st Syawal

2008-10-13T00:27:00.000-07:00

This year's 1st Syawal was special.

With the addition of a new member in the family, it was natural that all attention was focused on him.

Just like when Hari Raya was celebrated at my maternal grandfather's house, the family group photo session was a must. Back then in Kuala Kangsar, the group photo session would involve almost 40 people.

Hari Raya in those days were so much merrier. Ye la... masa tu still dapat duit raya. Mana le tak happy sakan.

I remember fondly how all the grandchildren would queue from one uncle and auntie to another for duit raya on the morning of 1st Syawal. We would then compare who among us cousins got the most money.

And at night, we would help our youngest uncle to lit up the pelita or panjut around the house. My grandfather's house was huge. It had a vast compound where us kids would play and run freely.

My grandfather passed away in 2004. Since then, there was no more balik kampung to Kuala Kangsar.

I'm lucky for I still have my maternal grandmother. At 84, she still has a very good memory and she could hear well too. But, her mobility is quite restricted.

The whole family went to visit her on the 1st day of Raya. She was at an auntie's house in Shah Alam.

"Bila nak kahwin?" was the first question which came from her. Not "Bila sampai dari Jakarta?". Not "Ada beli apa2 untuk Pah tak?". No. She had to ask the soalan cepumas.

My answer was the standard "Lepas raya".

And I had to repeat that answer at almost every relatives' house.

Capek deh!!

Iftar At Rebung

2008-10-12T23:33:00.000-07:00

On the 27th day of Ramadhan, the whole family went to Rebung for iftar. Rebung is co-owned by a celebrity chef and Malaysia's first man in space (who was there and sat behind our table).

If I were the co-owner of the reastaurant, I would make an effort to go from one table to another and do a short greeting to my customers. A good PR exercise I believe. Rather than mingle only with those at my table. Rather snobbish, don't you think?

Those who want to try authentic Malay kampung dishes should visit Rebung. The food in general was good. I'm not a food lover so please don't ask me what's the must-try dish there.

The only downside to Rebung was the service. None of the waiters were warm and friendly (they probably pick this up from the co-owner.. hehe). Seriously, even the staff at Jakarta's KFC are more pleasant!

Aidil Fitri Break

2008-10-12T21:52:00.001-07:00

Just got back from my long break in Malaysia.Actually, it wasn't a break at all. A break is when you just laze around and relax. My so called break was far from that.

It was hectic the moment I touched down at KLIA. Hectic spelled out as F A N T A S T I C.

I managed to do things which I had set to do while in Malaysia, some of them were:

Meet my closest dearest friends and had a blast. You guys know who you are. I really appreciate those who put aside some of their time to meet me. Thank you so much!
Visit Pasar Ramadhan in Desa Pandan, Pandan Indah and Tasik Permaisuri. The popiah at Desa Pandan was as good as ever! (sans the long queue.. it was 2 days before Lebaran, afterall. Everybody has balik kampung).
Taste the real Teh Tarik. However I now have a new favourite drink. Old Town White Coffee. I would go for it's white coffee over Starbucks' cafe latte anyday.
Savour the delicious rojak mamak. Had one at Pelita Ampang Point.
Visit Pavilion!

There were more but writing them down would draw jeers from some. But hey, living in another country makes me long for the simple things that I normally do back home.

Anyway, the happiest moment during my short holiday was when I meet my nephews. The youngest, at 6-month old, finally met his uncle for the first time.

The eldest. Concentrating on the games on the laptop.

This one waited until 12 am for me to reach home from KLIA. He had not seen me for almost a year.

The youngest nephew. The reason I felt sad to fly back to Jakarta.

Selamat Hari Raya

2008-09-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

Beg besor tu 28 kg penuh ngan kain Bonda terchenta

When I was a student in ITM Shah Alam (now UiTM), I always envy my friends who had the chance to experience the balik kampung excitement.

You could see the joy on their faces, the day they leave for their hometown to be reunited with their parents and family (to some, after being away for an entire year).

That time, I balik kampung almost every week. My parents' house was only 45 minutes away.

Then, when I was in the UK, balik kampung during Eid ul Fitr was only possible in my dreams. Lain le kalo bapak aku tokey kedai Guilati's or the owner of Garuda Nasi Padang.

This year, for the third time in my life, I am part of the balik kampung or mudik during lebaran. After not being home for almost a year, I have the right to be overly excited. Haha!.

To all my Muslim friends, wherever you are, I would like to wish

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI & MAAF ZAHIR BATIN.

To those travelling home for lebaran, have a safe journey.

Metro Mini

2008-09-22T23:44:00.000-07:00

Jakarta's Metro Mini are equivalent to the mini buses which once roamed the streets of Kuala Lumpur. In many ways, both are strikingly similar - down to the attitude of the drivers.

They are infamous for menacing the streets. I "affectionately" call them "Drivers From Hell".

It was such a relief when the authorities in Kuala Lumpur decided to cease the services of the mini bus about 13 years ago.

However, here in Jakarta, there are no signs that these mini buses would stop servicing the public. It has been an integral part of Jakarta's public transportation system.

I think the mini bus works on a commission based system. More passengers translates to more money. Hence you'd see them racing each other to get to the waiting passengers at the bus stops.

Passenger comfort is last thing on their mind. What's important is to fill the bus to the max.

Even if it means jeopardizing the safety of passengers.

The pic above was taken from a taxi I was riding in en route to my apartment. You could only see passengers hanging on to the front door. There were more hanging on to the 2nd door at the back. And the bus was tilting heavily to one side.

What disturbed me most is that the passengers didn't seem to mind at all. I mean, if you're paying the same amount of fares, why settle hanging on to the door.

Could't you just wait for another bus? (which seemed a plenty on rush hours).

Musical Fountain

2008-09-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

Until last Saturday, I didn't know there was a state-of-the-art musical fountain inside Grand Indonesia Mall.

You see, Grand Indonesia is one hell of a mammoth mall. It takes a few visits to explore and discover the whole area.

I was there for my iftar. Didn't plan to be there. It was a last minute decision. A "friend" was in town and wrote on my Facebook wall 3 weeks ago suggesting that we should go for iftar together during her next trip to Jakarta.

Since she said she would be arriving at 6pm on the 19th and returning to KL on the 21st, it doesn't take half a genius to figure out that the only day available for the buka puasa would be 20th.

So, taking her invitation seriously, I turned down an invitation from my Indonesian director for a "buka bersama" at his spanking new hill-top residence which coincidentally scheduled on the 20th as well.

"A friend of mine is coming from KL and we plan to buka puasa together," I told the director's daughter.

To cut the story short, this "friend" of mine was so wrapped-up with shopping that she conveniently forgot ( I assume lah) I was waiting for her confirmation on the venue of the buka puasa. She hasn't called until today.

So, 30 minutes before iftar, not wanting to buka puasa alone at home, I called up a friend (who was thankfully available) and off we went to Grand Indonesia.

We ventured into the upper floors (where most of the cafe's and restaurants were located) and in our search for the restaurant for our iftar, we came across the musical fountain.

There's a larger musical fountain on the grounds of the Monumen Nasional complex. Haven't got the chance to see that one in action yet. Maybe I'll pay a visit after Lebaran.

Running Errands

2008-09-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was my final weekend in Jakarta before I leave for Kuala Lumpur for my Eid 'ul Fitri holiday.

It was my only free time to get the stuff that some friends had asked me to buy.

Bearing in mind the number of shoppers is significantly higher during the week before Lebaran, I left the house early to avoid the traffic jam and huge crowd.

Things I had to buy - tudung (or called kerudung in Indonesia) and telekung (or mukena in Indonesia). The best place to get them was Tanah Abang Block A. But since I didn't want to risk being engulfed in a sea of people (and the possiblity of breaking my fast at noon), I opted for ITC Kuningan and Mal Ambassador (two connecting malls) instead.

I was there a few minutes after 10 am. Traffic to the place was smooth. First on the agenda was the tudung. I've been buying tudung for my mother and friends since 2006 and I pretty much know how much they should cost. Hence, when a shop quotes me a higher than normal price (they thought a guy knew nuts about the price of tudungs), I would straight away walk-off and find another shop.

"Ko beli tudung kaler light blue, maroon, cream and brown. Aku nak beads yang penuh kat kepala," was the exact instruction from a friend.

Half an hour later, I finally found the tudung with the right colours and beads which from my opinion is not over the top. At the same shop, I bought a few headscarfs too. Might give it away to some friends.

Fortunately, not far from the tudung shop was this shop selling telekung. And I was lucky the one ordered by JM was available (it was the last piece JM).

Next stop - Pondok Indah Mall's Kids Station. What else if none other than getting toys for my nephews. They would interrogate me if I came home emptyhanded.

"Kenapa tak beli toys?"

"You don't have money ke?"

"Why tak borrow money from Pah?"

Macam2 soalan deme ni tanya nanti. Furthermore, I don't have the heart to let them down. I even bought something for my baby nephew.

I have not started packing yet but I dare say that 70% of my luggage would be filled with stuff that don't belong to me.

There were late requests from friends but I had to politely turn them down fearing my luggage would exceed the 20kg baggage allowance.

Ohh... while I was in Pondok Indah Mall, I saw the same tudung selling for Rp300,000. I say, the seller is making outrageous margin.

So Syarliz, ko pakai tudung mahal le Raya nanti.

Real Life Spidey

2008-09-21T19:38:00.000-07:00

See anything peculiar in the pic above? Look again.

Is that a man hanging on to the pole?

These pics were taken from thge balcony of my 23rd floor apartment. I caught sight of "spidey" when I was observing the tower next to my apartment which was still under construction.

Apparently, "spidey" was doing some welding works. It takes someone with lots of guts to perch on the metal pole hanging out from the top of the tower. It must have been close to 30 storey high.

I do hope the cable you see from the pics was a safety cable attached to "spidey". If he ever enters "Fear Factor" and there was a challenge which involves height, "spidey" would easily breezed through it.

"Spidey" mencangkung atas pole tu

Penat mencangkung, "Spidey" meniarap

How Did Your Children Go To School Today?

2008-09-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

The above scene was caught in front of my apartment.

No. It's not a common sight in Jakarta. Well at least not for me. I'd like to believe that their normal, safer, mode of transportation broke down and someone (with little concern for safety) got the above substitute.

Needless to say, those school boys were more than happy to hop on the truck. In less than 2 minutes everyone was already on board. Sitting precariously at the back.

I hope it was only for a short ride.

Whaddyaa Mean?

2008-09-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

How many times when you heard a statement from a politician you go...

Uhhhh??? ........Duhhhh!!!

Same here. Gazzillion times. Here's an excerpt from Utusan Online today:

"Saya juga memilih hari ini 17 September kerana ia adalah Nuzul Quran, hari di mana al-Quran diturunkan ke bumi,"

The above was said by none other than the we-all-love-to-hate infamous son inlaw. Please-lah, don't equate the significance of the day of the revelation of the first verse of the Holy Al-Quran to the day you begged to be nominated as the UMNO Youth Chief.

Then he added,

"Pemuda UMNO harus bersama generasi muda yang ada di luar UMNO dan hendaklah menjadi badan yang 'inclusive' bukannya 'eksklusif',''

Ya ka? I always thought that the UMNO youth wing is exclusively for those who wants to have a better chance of getting a share of government's projects.

Apa-apa la. Terserah. As far as I'm concerned, sincere and honest politicians are hard to come by these days.

You can read the full story here.

Meanwhile yesterday, in Kuala Lumpur, two best buddies (who both, by the way, suffer from acute in-denial syndrom) did a little swapping.

From The Star:

"During this period, I will gradually hand over to him (Najib) my duties and responsibilities and now it is time for me to pass on the Finance Minister post (to him),"

You hand over one ministry and you get another. Power transition my foot!

We, the rakyat , are really sick and tired with all these political games. I long for the day when Malaysia is free from having a clown as her leader.

It Died On Me

2008-09-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

For the second time in my life, it happened!

And to make things worse, of all the days it could have ocurred, it happened in the first week of the month.

That's the period when workload is at max.

My PC, without showing any symptoms, died on me. The screen when black in a blink. I tried restarting the PC. It went as far as "Windows is Loading Your Setting" before going dead again.

This restarting-going dead cycle went on about 5 times. Afterwards, I sat there staring at my PC with a blank look on my face. Then the reality sank in.

I went on a panic overdrive.

You see, the last time I made backup to all the files was in January 2008. That's 8 months worth of work gone.

Mampus, does this mean I have to cut short my two-week Raya holiday? Or worse still, I might not even have the chance to go back to KL.

Rasa macam nak bukak pose je masa tu.

I instructed my staff to call for anyone who does PC repairs. They found one Bapak Budi. Bapak Budi said he'll be at my office before 12pm. I doubt.

True enough, Bapak Budi arrived half past 2 in the afternoon. Dengan senyum2 bersalah.

He tried to "resucitate" my PC. After a while, he said he had to bring back the CPU to his shop for further inspection.

I told him, the top most priority now is to recover the files.

My Raya holidays depended on him! (well, didn't actually say it but I felt like telling it to Pak Budi, on my knees).

At 9am the next morning, I got a call from Pak Budi. He told me that he still could not rectify the problem.

"Bad sektor Pak".

Bad sector, precinct, seksyen or whatever!.. All I want to know is that my files could be recovered.

Have you ever been without a PC in the office. Believe me, you'd feel like one useless being. How much our life in the office is soooo dependable on the PC. For work and other stuff (which includes YM, surfing the world wide web and errr... updating blogs).

2 days after my PC died on me, Pak Budi came back with the CPU. Much to my relief, he said he was able to recover all the data in it. He did explain what was wrong with the PC but it was too technical for my understanding (see, when it comes to IT, I'm a complete idiot).

Seriously, I felt like giving Pak Budi a warm big hug! Why not? Afterall, he saved my holiday!!

Pasar Ramadhan Permata Hijau

2008-09-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

Above is the pic of the pasar ramadhan located across my apartment. The pic was taken on 1st day of puasa. I was there around 4-ish. Still many empty stalls. I was probably there early. Or so I thought. However, when I went there yesterday, half an hour before iftar, the situation was the same.

Alahai.... seriously, I could do the pasar ramadhan in sub two minutes. Dah la kocik, the food variety was not that much either. You could only find kue and drinks. No lauk. And the odd thing is, almost every stall is selling the same types of kue... risoles, lumpia and one other kue which is similar to our curry puff.

I seriously need to find a merrier pasar ramadhan nearby. I'm thinking of going to the one on the grounds of Pondok Indah mosque today.

The maddening congestion - people trying to reach home in time for iftar

Marhaban Ya Ramadhan

2008-08-31T21:50:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 3.00am for sahur. Here Imsak is at 4.26 am.

Switched on the telly while having my meal.

As in the previous years, most TV stations carry live programs at this hour (8 channels to be precise). The majority are comedy with interactive quiz thrown in.

Dan yang aku herannya... with live audience. Yupp.... audience ngan muka yang tak cukup tido. I heard they were paid by the TV stations.

Yela... kalo tak di bagi insentive rupiah, who in their right mind would want to go to a TV studio at 3.00am?

Anyway, my brother sent me a pic of my nephew who at six months, is yet to meet his Indonesian domiciled uncle.

Last night I dreamnt I was back in KL seeing him for the first time. Hmmm... Can't wait to be back for Raya.

And it's only the first day of puasa.

Poor Rich Kid

2008-08-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

Last tuesday there was a meeting between the company I work for and our local JV partner.

The attendees of the meeting were the board directors of the JV company and moi, the only small fish. However one director was missing and had informed he would be running late.

This "running late" director was appointed to the board by virtue of being the son of a director of a toll road company that had given our JV company the billboard concession along an elevated highway in Jakarta.

Confused? Don't worry. Understanding the above is not a pre-requisite to continue reading.

He's a young chap. Only 26 years old. I never could get along with him since the beginning. But of course, the "pelakon sinetron" in me takes over everytime we meet.

"Bapak ****, wahhh... udah kurus ya sekarang. Sering fitness ya? Bertambah cakep. Pasti ceweknya seneng"

"Bener? Bapak bikin SPT perusahaan sendiri? Wahhh... untung ada direktur yang pinter" (SPT is the annual corporate tax filing).

Berlakon. Nak hidup. Lihatlah Dunia!! (sambil imagine pegang award).

Occay. Almost an hour after the meeting convened, came in the young director clad in long sleeved batik. He sat himself at the head of the table.

Almost immediately, he started babbling about the JV company's changes in M&A. He took out a file from a paper bag full of documents (yes, he carried a paper bag into the meeting) and continued talking.

He had just hijacked the meeting, I said to myself.

I thought I was the only one who didn't understand what he was saying. When I looked around the table the other directors had the same baffled look on them.

So my eyes were back to this young director. I carefully studied him. Tenung tajam le kata orang kita.

His lips were quivering. His voice a bit shaky. He was slurring at times. Tremors in both hands.

Everyone's attention was fixed to the chap sitting at the head of the table, trying to figure out what in the friggin world he was talking about.

I just could not believe not even one of the other directors tried to stop this young director and ask what he was trying to say.

Fortunately, my boss managed to end the meeting in no time. My boss stood up and almost instantly everyone else stood up as well. Errr... except for the idiot at the head of the table, of course.

Well, my suspicion was right. This poor young man was high. He probably had taken it the night before and still had the effects on him.

Hmm.... macam cerita Yusof Haslam pulak. Anak orang kaya yang addicted to illegal substance. From the outside nampak happy but he's lonely and felt ignored by his parents. Tak cukup kasih sayang.

What's next? A. Galak come bursting in our next meeting to apprehend the suspect... Hmmm...

Sorry... My imagination on the loose.

Losing The Inches

2008-08-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

This maybe petty to some of you but this is my blog, about my life, so, three words ... suka hati aku.

I've been trying hard to burn the fat on my lower abs and "love handles" but don't seem to be able to get rid of them.

Treadmill, stepper, weights, crunches, leg raises. You name it. Done it all.

Ponat.Ponat.

Then I came accross this article on the net. Here are some excerpts:

"There is only one way to lose fat in the so-called "stubborn areas," and that is with the correct combination of proper diet, aerobic exercise, abdominal training, and weight training."

Proper diet? Udah try. Aerobic exercise? Udah jugak. Abs training and weight training pun udah!!.

"The first thing you need to realize is that it is impossible to "spot reduce" fat from one specific part of the body."

Yea ker?? Idak le teman tau Bang Haji ooii.

"Fat loss occurs systemically, meaning that you can’t control where the fat comes from. When you burn fat for energy, you will draw it from all areas of the body, and the first place you tend to put it on will be the last place it comes off."

In accounting, this is called FILO (first-in, last-out).

"Training the abdominals every day with hundreds of repetitions will certainly tighten and tone the muscles, but it will do almost nothing to remove the fat obscuring the muscles."

Laa... buat penat je aku buat crunches bertubi-tubi. Dah macam tenggiling rope aku masa buat crunches.

"Contrary to popular belief, the best way to burn the layer of flab from your midsection is not to do more abdominal exercise, but to do more cardiovascular exercise."

Dah buat la weiii...

"During the first 20 -30 minutes of aerobic activity, glycogen (stored carbohydrates) is the primary fuel source. If you stop after 20 minutes, you’re only getting half of your workout done! You get the cardiovascular health benefits, but you don’t get much fat loss. "

Err... yea ker??...

"The key to maximum fat loss is to work out aerobically for 30-60 minutes continuously per session. You should do this at least three or four days per week, but five, six, or even seven days a week will take off fat at the fastest rate possible!"

Adehhh!!... cabut lutut den. No wonder, I normally do only 30 mins of cardio, max.

You can read more here.

By the way, pakcik tomato, I think your 3-months is up a loooonnnngg time ago.

A Special Tribute

2008-08-26T23:58:00.000-07:00

November last year, I received news on the passing of Hazlishah (H), a friend from university days.

A couple of weeks ago, I was told by a good friend of mine that H's wife has a blog.

I eventually found the blog last week. H's wife made a heart wrenching entry two days after H's passing.

You can read it here.

When I first arrived in Portsmouth back in September 1994, I was temporarily put up in a university hall of residence, QEQM.

I had to find a house. Being in a new place, what better way to get assistance if none other from the seniors. I recall walking almost 3 km with a fellow Malaysian student, Mustaza, from QEQM to a house in Prince Albert Road, the lodging of the president of Malaysian Student's Society.

And it was there I met H for the first time. He was staying in that house as well.

By the 3rd day, I checked-out from QEQM and H and the rest of his housemates were kind enough to allow me to stay in their house until I found my own lodging. H gave his room to me and Mustaza. A very kind gesture from a very generous soul.

It wasn't until a week had passed that I finally found a house (through the help of another senior whom I shall never forget, Izhar). The house was located not far from Prince Albert Road. 17 Empshott Road.

I remember it was H who led a group of juniors (yours truly included) on our first ever trip to London (well, first for me). Ijal if you're reading this, we spent the night at Amy's friend's, didn't we? H took us to Picadilly Square and Petticoat Lane market.

Over the two years our paths crossed many a times. More so during the final year. H was staying in a flat in Lumsden and I was squatting in a nearby flat. Ijal's flat to be specific.

I remember H as a very warm and friendly person. The kind of person whom you'd feel comfortable approaching.

A good man with an extremely kind soul.

Al-Fatihah.

Bali - Day 2

2008-08-25T22:36:00.000-07:00

After lunch at Sari Batur, I dozed off in the car. I had no idea where Nyoman was taking me but I did remember asking him to take me to a nice beach.

I lost track of the time too. Holiday mode maaa...

Nyoman woke me up soon after we arrived at Tegallalang. It's a place where you could see terraced paddy fields. I didn't like the place because it was too "touristy". Locals selling handicrafts would swarm you and pester you to buy their merchandise.

Luckily there was a group of Japanese tourist at that time. So I was let off the hook. Yen more valuable than my rupiah, yesss?

While on the subject of Japanese, I watched on telly the other day Olga Syahputra playing the character of a Japanese girl. When a fellow actor asked her Japanese name, he (yes, Olga is a he) said,

"Nama saya Moo-ka-mu Koo-bedaki"

Macam p*n**t (here, this word is not vulgar you know).

While on the subject of p*n**t, I received a guest from KL just last week. We were in the car and the sopir was negotiating the car into a tight parking space. Then the parking attendant shouted from the back,

"Masukin p*n**t-nya dulu mas!"

Needless to say, my guest laughed like mad.

So occay, from Tegallalang we headed to Padang-Padang. Ohh.. I have to mention that just ahead of Tegallalang paddy fields, there were miles after miles of souvenir shops. I did not stop. I guess you could get a good bargain for souvenirs here.

Padang-Padang is a stretch of beach popular among surfers. There's just a short strip of sandy beach. While the rest was mostly rocks. But if you venture 150-200 metres to left from the main beach spot, you'll find a longer strip of sandy beach.

And on the way you'll encounter an abandoned ship.

This place is a must I tell you. It's unlike the crowded beaches of Kuta and Legian.

Last on my itinerary for the day was Kecak Dance at Uluwatu. I've been to one a couple of years back (at the same venue) but it's worth a second experience.

The Kecak Dance at Uluwatu is actually performed in the grounds of a Pura. This time around, the spectators were nearly double than my previous visit.

The Kecak Dance with the sunset in the background was just mesmerizing. However this time, Hanuman came from the back and sat next to me. Kalo akak Raja sure udah melatah gila babs punyer.

I'm already planning for my next trip to Bali. Air Asia has started its promo again. But the problem is, should I get the KUL-Denpasar or CGK-Denpasar return ticket....

Life is so full of uncertainties.

Bali - Day 2

2008-08-25T01:48:00.000-07:00

This entry a bit basi.

2nd day in Bali. I woke up at 5.45 am. I must be early for the morning jog. Or so I thought.

When I reached the beach, I could see joggers young and old were already ahead of me. Gosh.. what time did they wake up? 4.00am???

Alright... you might ask who in their friggin mind would go for an early morning jog on their holiday? Well.. MOI!! I might not do it if I were in other places but this is Bali we're talking here.

Armed with my Canon digicam and my Ipod, i started my jog from Kuta beach then to the beaches of Legian and Seminyak.

The serenity of the morning sky. The sound of waves. The beautiful Balinese people. Ahhhh.... I wish I was rich enough to retire in Bali now.

By 8 am, I was waiting for Nyoman at the hotel. He was punctual, as usual.

Our first stop was Pura Tirta Empul.

They had a religious ceremony on that day. According to Nyoman, that day was the day the Balinese would go to the Pura to cleanse themselves at the Pura's spring water pool.

Saiful with goatee would look exactly like the man on the right

Inside the Pura was this pool where they perform the cleansing ritual. Yeahh.. everyone was properly attired, of course. Yang perempuan berkemban and the guys pakai sarong.

If not for a handful of other tourists who were also there, I would have looked like a pervert snapping photos of people in wet sarongs.

Stephanie would come at any cost for a sight like this

Our next stop was an eco farm. Well, that's what it said on the entrance's signboard. More like a tiny weeny farm to me. But there I had my first taste of Kopi Luwak (Civet Coffee). For a non coffee lover like moi, it tastes like any other coffee. Or was I cheated and given a normal coffee instead?? Hmmmm...

Then about an hour later, I was at restaurant Batur Sari which had the best view of Gunung Kintamani. It was really cool and I had no jacket or fleece with me. A couple of Taiwanese girls were only in their tank tops (with jeans la ). Menggigil sakan deme.

Bertuah tul si Nyoman nih.. aku suruh amik background Kintamani tu kat tengah

Had lunch at the restaurant in a gazebo facing the majestic mountain. The food was not that great. But the view more than made up for the mediocre food.

Continued in my next entry....

Ramadhan Is Around The Corner

2008-08-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

In Malaysia you know the holy month of Ramadhan is near when the moment you switch on to Era, the first thing you'd hear is ,

Yousooofff Thayyooobbbbb.

Well here, you'd notice supermarkets everywhere would start to prominently display biscuits. And not to forget cordials and dates (macam kat Malaysia jugak le).

Last night I was at Carrefour Permata Hijau (just accross my apartment) and right at the entrance there were cans after cans of biscuits stacked to almost 5 feet high.

Why biscuits you might ask.

Because it's cheap and apparently a must buy for the not so economically well off. To be consumed during iftar.

This Ramadhan will be my third in Jakarta. I still remember my first iftar in Jakarta in 2006. It was my first ever iftar alone. There I was at the dining table with all sorts of food before me. My thoughts were with my family back home. And my eyes welled up. Hey... it's really sedih you know. Never before in my fasting life I had to buka puasa alone on the first day of Ramadhan.

The second year was not as sad.

Ramadhan in Jakarta is not that different from home. However, it has it's peculiarities or shall i say uniqueness.

Here, during the month of Ramadhan, eating places would place a curtain on their windows to cover the view from people outside. The reason - so as not to offend passing muslims who are fasting.

My take on that? It's is sooooo insulting to me as a muslim.

One can put a plate of rice with ayam percik and sambal sotong before me at midday during Ramadhan and I would never be tempted to touch the food. Telan air liur tu most probably le.

Come to think about it, in Malaysia restaurant owners cover up their windows so as to hide from public view muslims who are eating in their premises. Terbalik purpose pulak.

So it's that time of the year again. Ramadhan. I'm going back early this year so that I'd have a few days to explore pasar ramadhan in KL.

Pandan Indah, Taman Nirwana, Desa Pandan and the mother of all pasar Ramadhan - at the back lanes off Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

Rindu le kat popia Desa Pandan.

Grow Up, Please....

2008-08-22T02:04:00.000-07:00

Recently a friend of mine bought a new expensive toy. And he sent a text message to let me know of his new purchase.

I just don't quite know the reason. Was it to share his joy or just to show off? Either way, I don't care, really. There's not an ounce of envy in me.

But, it's sooooo typical of him. You see, he has this penchant of telling the whole wide world about matters relating to his life. I guess keeping things to himself could slowly kill him.

But by letting it out he's killing others! As if people care about the story of his life. Believe me, the things he would tell others would make you roll your eyes instantly... and roll... and roll... and roll. And I dare not go into details fearing I would bore you to death.

Letihla melayan orang2 macam ni. Why lah I have to meet this kind of people....

Truly Delightful & Enlightening Meeting

2008-08-20T23:13:00.000-07:00

Ocay. I have to admit that my postings have been very few and far between. "I've been busy" excuse is so cliche. But it's true you know.

Let me tell you of an experience I had a couple of weeks ago. You see, the CEO (lets call him Mr EG) of the biggest media group in Bolehland was in town with his small entourage. The purpose of their visit - a business meeting with the company I work for.

The CEO made news headline sometime ago on his appointment to head a large GLC. And he was only in his early 30s then.

My personal view of him? Very humble and easy going. and does not have that Royal Highness attitude in him. Soooo unlike my Tan Sri Chairman.

Mr EG does not speak english with a British accent (well him being a Cambridge scholar). Just the normal Manglish (Malaysian english). He even uses an ordinary Nokia handphone. I think Peanutbutter's new Nokia is more expensive. Not Palm. Not Nokia Communicator. Not Blackberry. Not Iphone. Just plain and basic Nokia handphone.

I thought he would just ignore a small fish like me. But he made efforts to engage in a conversation and would really make you feel relaxed. And important.

Over the two days he was here, on three occassions he mentioned that he found it hard to believe that the last time I was back in KL was during last year's Raya holidays. Well Mr EG, offer me a job in your company at a higher salary then I would go back to KL every other month.

He did not complain when lunch was served late. According to one COO who was in Mr EG's entourage, his boss is really a simple guy. This was further attested by Mr EG's business friend during supper that night.

I guess Mr EG did not let success get into his head and has his feet firmly on the ground.

Bali - Day 1

2008-07-23T23:28:00.000-07:00

The trip to Bali was decided upon a couple of months back. I'd like to think I was badly in need of a relaxing holiday. But in actual fact I was tempted to purchase the economy promo airfare offered by Air Asia.

I did not regret my action one bit. I had a glorious (over tul perkataan ni) holiday!

My flight to Bali was scheduled at 6.35 am. I was up by 4.15 am and the taxi which took me to the airport arrived at 5.00am. As I was loading my luggage in the taxi's boot, I saw my neighbour watering the plants. Awal benor ko bangun. Nak kata sembahyang subuh idak mungkin. Maybe baru abis baca kitab injil kot.

Forty-five minutes later I was at the domestic terminal of Soekarno-Hatta airport. The atmosphere reminded me of Puduraya, Kuala lumpur's bus terminal. Seriously, they should think of replacing the domestic terminal. It has surpassed its capacity and obviously has surpassed its useful life.

I joined the queue to enter the check-in area. Panjang bebenor queue-nya. Not a good start to my holiday. Fortunately the check-in went on smoothly and the plane departed on time (a miracle, this being Air Asia!).

Upon arrival, I was greeted by Nyoman, my driver cum travel guide in Bali. I had pre-arranged for my transportation in Bali a week earlier.

Went straight to the hotel. Checked-in and left my luggage at the reception as my room would only be ready at 2pm.

First destination - Pasar Seni Sukawati.

I don't really know why. But I remember liking this place a lot on my first visit a couple of years back. This time around it's just another ordinary looking crafts market to me. Perhaps, I've seen better looking handicrafts at the numerous crafts exhibition I went to in Jakarta over the years.

Next stop was Ubud.

Ubud is a small town renowned for its arts. Unlike Kuta, the pace here is more relaxed. There are plenty of nice little shops along the many small roads which runs through the town centre.

On the outskirts of the town, there are areas which are designated to paintings, wood crafts and furnitures.

One of the best things about Ubud is the town is surrounded by paddy fields and forests. I spent almost three hours exploring Ubud's town centre on foot.

Lunch was at Bebek Tepi Sawah. Simple je kan nama tempat ni. Tak payah susah2 pikior nama2 yang glamer. Jual apa? – Bebek. Kat mana? Tepi sawah. So why not name the place Bebek Tepi Sawah. Simple as that.

On the way back to Kuta, Nyoman stopped by at one of the painting galleries. Memang sial tau si Nyoman ni. The paintings were without doubt beautiful but I had problem with the price. Idak ada lukisan yang bawah Rp1 juta.

Dah le tu, the moment I arrived, I was accompanied by this man from the gallery who enthusiastically explained to me the meaning of the paintings on display. Like I really want to know why there were 3 birds in the painting and not 5. Kalo ada 2 ekor burung and satu lagi burung berkepala burung and berbadan buaya pun aku tak kesah le ooi. Yang penting cantik and murah.

I went back to the hotel and after a short rest, went out and explored Kuta on foot. Nothing much new to see actually. But with all the multi-national tourists flocking this area, you can not help but feel strangely excited. Pantuek tak statement tu?

There’s a new mall called Kartika Discovery Mall which is basically like any other malls in Jakarta. However, the mall is fronting the beach and it’s a nice place to watch the sunset while having a cuppa in one of the cafes.

Next entry : Kintamani, Tegallalang, Padang-Padang & Uluwatu.

Blissful Solitude - Bali

2008-07-23T00:10:00.000-07:00

I spent four days on the wonderfully enchanting island of Bali. I will tell the details of my recent visit later. In the meantime, here are some pics taken which best summarise one of my best holidays ever.

Do We Have This In KL's Taxis?

2008-07-14T23:05:00.001-07:00

A few days ago, I hailed a taxi to get to my office. Normally I would take the Bluebird taxi which by 8.15 am daily would have formed a queue at Pondok Indah Mall 2.

However, on that particular day, the row of Bluebird taxis where not there.

So, I had to stand by the roadside of the main Arteri Pondok Indah road and hail the first taxi in sight. Lucky for me I did not have to wait long. Less than two minutes later I was in this yellow taxi. The mini LCD screen inside immediately caught my attention. Nice huh? And it's not even a premium taxi, mind you.

Now, it has been almost a year since I last set foot in Kuala Lumpur. I'm not sure if taxis in KL have been upgraded since then. As far as I could recall, the three major things which I could remember about taxis in Kuala Lumpur are :

Smelly
Dirty
Dishonest drivers

But of course, not all taxis (and its drivers) in KL are as described above. The above are based on my personal experiences.

Jakarta has the Bluebird taxis which are famous for its reliability. Most of the taxis in its fleet are new, clean and spacious. The same could be said of Gamiya and Express. Of course there are the lesser known taxi fleets which are not so well kept.

The point is, in Jakarta, we have a choice. If one needs a good and reliable taxi, then Bluebird is available.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said about KL's taxis. I have Indonesian friends who told me horrifying stories about their experience in a KL taxi. It's so "malufying" (embarassing)!!!

If I were the person in charge of the government ministry/department overlooking the taxis in KL, I would have resigned years ago for failing to improve the taxi services and uplift the image of KL's taxis.

Speaking of taxis, is anyone doing anything about the taxi touts in KLIA? I heard the problem still persist. Aiyahh.. mende macam ni pun takleh nak handle ke? Ada org dah kena suap ke to keep their eyes shut on the touts??

The most pleasant experience I had with a taxi was when I was a student in Portsmouth. This particular taxi driver lost his way and he immediately paused the meter. He resumed the meter when he finally got on the correct road.

Chances of that happening in KL? Aku potong jari kalo ada taxi driver that honest kat KL.

Sakit!!!

2008-07-02T00:26:00.000-07:00

I've been sick. Very, very sick.

I was down with a vicious throat infection. Which led to a high fever. Which led to a severe headache. Which led to an aching body.

Five nights in a row I had difficulty sleeping. The moment I lie down in bed at night, the coughing starts. I even had to resort to sleeping in a seated position. Memang seksa nak mampos.

The fever began on Friday night and by Monday I was on my first visit to the doctor. I was shivering like hell. Blood sample was taken. Negative for denggue.

The doctor asked me to continue taking panadol and precsribed me with antibiotics. And pills for the cough which according to the doctor would not cause drowsiness.

Bloody hell. I need something for my cough which would help me sleep!! By night time, I was cursing the doctor. I couldnt sleep at all. The coughing got worse and my throat was burning.

I managed to sleep a couple of hours before waking up at 6am. On Tuesday, the fever subsided but came back later that night. The cough wasn't getting less either. My throat was so painful that I had to grab hold of something to endure the pain each time I swallow.

By Wednesday, I went to the doctor again. This time around, I was referred to an ENT specialist who did a rhinoscopy. The first time ever I could see the insides of my throat and down my nostrils. It wasn't a pretty sight for sure.

The ENT doctor spoke in medical term. I was too tired to try to comprehend. ..

The doctor precsribed a new course of antibiotics together with a host of other medicines.

By Thursday, I was feeling a bit better. Still weak though. But there was improvement. The next day, the fever was gone and the throat was a lot better. My body wasn't aching anymore.

I wouldn't want to go through what I went through last week again. Cukupla sekali ni demam teruk. Sengsorang pulak tu. Is this a glimpse of my old days? Tak kot, sebab masa tu ada Jamaluddin Mat atas kerusi roda kat sebelah bilik aku. Silap2 Sepol pun ada sebab kena buang dengan family dia... Hamidah dah bedridden sebab gemuk sangat. And Peanutbutter pun ada buatkan bubur untuk kitaorang. We look after each other naa??

Anyway, what la is happening to Malaysian politics? The whole scenario is more likely to happen in a faraway country in Africa. But Malaysia???

We have a PM who's unable to think for himself and seeks the advice of his son-in-law. Then we have a DPM who's very scared of the wife (I saw her being interviewed, is she on botox overdose??).... Not forgetting the clowns by the name of Shahrir Samad, Nazri Ismail, Shabeery Chik and others in the cabinet....

And the sodomy charges against DSAI... tolongle... be more original occay!!! To Tan Sri Musa Hassan, should you need a matress to be carried to the court as evidence, please do come to my house in Taman Cempaka. Tapi bila dah amik tilam aku tu, ko replace le ngan tilam Vono akak Ziana. Kesian kan kat ko, bapak mengajar ngaji, tapi dapat anak macam ko!!

Taman Bunga Nusantara

2008-06-10T20:26:00.000-07:00

Picking up from where I left in my previous entry...

So, without any pre-determined destination, we continued our ascend up to Puncak until we saw a huge billboard of Taman Bunga Nusantara (Nusantara Park).

Unanimously, we agreed to check out the Taman Bunga.

The park was huge. There were trains (they were actually modified pick-up trucks) provided for visitors to move about within the park, but we decided to explore the whole area on foot. Furthermore, the air was cool and it was a better way to enjoy the scenery.

Naturally, the most ethusiastic among us was my father. Suka benor dia. Sampeikan nak amik anak pokok bawak balik.

Some areas of the park reminded me of the park along Portsmouth's Southsea during spring. Ala... tempat favorit Jamaluddin Mat and Zaharah menenangkan perasaan dolu. Ina.. ko tak pergi taman bunga kat Southsea kan?... sebab ko memanjang terperuk dalam bilik study sambil masak maggi mee guna microwave Argos.

Anyway, we left the park after a couple of hours and headed to a restaurant called Rindu Alam situated on the hillside which offered magnificent views of the tea plantations. The food, unfortunately was so-so.

Then, came our worst nightmare. The "macet" while we were descending from Puncak. It took us two hours to reach the foothill. The traffic was really bad. The cause? Three bloody tourist buses parking indiscrimanately by the road side blocking half of the lane. Phuantekk sangat!! What irked us more was, a mere 10 metres from where these buses were parked was this huge parking area where they could have parked their buses without disrupting the traffic flow.

What can I say but some people were born stupid!! In this case three bus drivers who, rather than being bus drivers, should have been placed along with the animals in the safari for they have the same IQs.

On another note, I'll be moving out from my Pondok Indah home soon. I'll be occupying an apartment in Permata Hijau. I hate it there but this was the instruction given by my CFO. I'll be sharing this apartment with another staff from KL, temporarily. Well, that's what my CFO said, I'll be placed there during the "transition period". But then, knowing how they are, TEMPORARILY could well mean permanently. Sedih la macam ni.

The apartment is nice, huge and has its own private lift but then I would not have my privacy. The guy I'll be sharing the apartment with is a nice guy, but then I need my own space. Hopefully this transition period won't last more than two months.

Otherwise, my mental well-being would be seriously affected.

Taman Safari Indonesia

2008-06-09T23:46:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while since my last update. You see, I was really busy entertaining guests.

Mid May, Steve came to Jakarta for the 4th or was it 5th time this year? Sorry ahh Steve... I lost count. This time around, his airfare was fully paid for by a friend who also tagged along with the wife. Seronok dapat kawan macam Fendi kan Steve... dah la sponsor flight, accommodation pun dia bayorkan.

Steve is unlike any other guests. He could not be bothered with shopping. 90% of his time in Jakarta was spent consuming caffeine in cafes. And errr... not to forget nicotine. Actually, although he has been to Jakarta countless number of times, he still could not get enough watching beautiful people of Jakarta. Hence the long hours in open air cafes.

Then, my parents came to Jakarta together with my sister and nephew. The visit which I most looked forward to.

I took 5 days off just to be with my family. As expected, I gained a few pounds (dah hilang dah pun) from eating delicious meals prepared by my mom. Lama benor tak rasa masakan mak aku.

My dad, being the green-fingered person that he is, trimmed the small lawn at my house and planted a few plants. He even pestered me to buy more plants to beautify the empty lawn. I then showed him the almost dead orchid (a gift from Steve and Atian) - a way of telling him his son prefers zero-maintenance artificial plants.

Since my eight-year-old nephew was so bored with grown up people's agenda (read : shopping and more shopping), we decided to pay Taman Safari Indonesia a visit.

Taman Safari Indonesia is situated in Puncak. I did not know this until the actual day we were our way there. I had always thought it was in Bogor. Had I known this fact, I would not have chosen Saturday to go to the safari.

You see, from the foothill, Puncak is only accessible via a two-lane road, one for each direction. On weekends, the traffic volume escalates and naturally, causes super "macet".

We were lucky we left the house at 7 am and our ascend to Taman Safari Indonesia was quite smooth. The traffic jam was bearable. But the descend was a nightmare. More on this later.

Ok. Having never been to a safari before, I was actually quite excited. Masa kecik-kecik dolu teringin nak ke safari yang kat Desaru, tapi tak mampu. About a kilometre before reaching the safari's entrance, there were many roadside stalls selling carrots.

The sopir (Pak Toyo le... sapa lagi) asked whether I wanted to buy some. My mom answered yes. Dia kan pantang tengok mende-mende jual tepi jalan ni, mesti nak berhenti. I wound down the window and the boy manning the carrot stall handed over carrots worth Rp10,000.

Aku tengok je carrot2 tu terus mintak tukar yang elok2 sikit. Pehal bagi aku yang kecik2. Aku nak buat juice pakei juicer aku nanti mesti nak carrot yang besor2.

Done. Off we went continuing our journey heading towards the safari gates. Then my nephew asked my mom :

Afiq : Pah, you want to give carrots to the animals ke?

Mom : Yes, nanti Afiq feed the animals ok.

Bodoh tak aku? Aku ingat carrots tu untuk buat juice ke, buat mak aku masak sayur ke. Patut le muka budak yang jual carrot tu macam heran je kenapa aku mintak tukar suruh bagi carrot yang elok2 sikit. Sure dia kata bangang tul Om tu. Nak bagi binatang makan pun nak yang elok2 ke??

We spent almost 3 hours at the safari. The safari is divided into two areas i.e the safari and the recreational area where they have animal shows, all sorts of rides and even a haunted house.

We managed to catch the elephant show. Then my nephew begged to be taken on the cable car ride.

The cable car looked ancient. Rp30,000 per person for a less than 10 minutes ride on a cable car which seemed to be made in the year Rhoma Irama made his first album.

After the safari we continued our journey further up Puncak.

Those who have been to Cameron Highlands, the journey up to Puncak is somewhat similar. Vast areas of tea plantations could be seen on both sides of the road.

We then stopped at the Taman Bunga Nusantara. Well, my dad is a green- fingered person, remember?

More on this in my next posting.

The Weirdest Payment Schedule Ever!

2008-05-19T00:15:00.001-07:00

This morning, while having breakfast, I went through a draft contract from our client. Flipping through the pages, everything seemed fine. No discrepancies from our earlier agreement.

When I reached the Payment Schedule page and started to scrutinise the proposed schedule of payment, I almost choked on my beef risoles.

Kontrak apaan ini?

I read through the payment schedule again and again. I was not halucinating. The words were correct.

I don't think I'd be able to meet their demand. I'd have to send my staff to claim the 3rd and 4th payment.

We are the "Pihak Kedua". For the 3rd payment, I'd suggest my staff to take Viagra. But not for the 4th payment. Taking Viagra might cause further delay in getting our money.

I Don't Need Your Assistance, Thank You.

2008-05-15T00:37:00.000-07:00

One of the things I like about Indonesia is the politeness of the sales promoter or shop assistants. From the high-end super malls like Grand Indonesia to the modest shop lots in ITC Kuningan, you'd find that the sales promoters are very attentive, ever willing to serve you and most importantly polite.

But of course, there are some bad apples among them but as far as I'm concerned, its rare.

Here in Indonesia, you can try on clothes without the unecessary pressure to purchase them rightafter. You can simply walk out the store without being verbally hurled at by the shop assistant.

That only happens in Malaysia.

Go and try on a few clothes in a shop in KL and you'd either find the sales promoter putting on the ugliest frown you've ever seen or worse, they'd make some nasty remarks. But before that, they'd trail you all over the shop as though you're a potential shoplifter.

That's why I love window shopping in Jakarta. The key phrase here is window shopping because heyy... I don't get paid thousands of USD a month ok.

But then, there are times when you feel intimidated by the presence of a sales promoter next to you. One good example is when buying your underwear.

I was in Sogo recently in the men's undies section. As usual, my mind gets confused when presented with a lot of choice before me.

Shall it be cotton or lycra? Or combination of lycra and cotton? Or modal? What the hell is modal? (but it feels strangely nice)... Sports brief or just brief? Boxer brief or plain boxer? Or maybe tanga... but wait, there's contour brief.. hmmm.

While the above was running through my head, a sales promoter was all the while standing a couple of feet away watching me.

Pehal la minah ni. I can manage to choose my own underwear, thank you. Really, you don't have to stand there waiting for me to seek for your assistance.

Besides, what am I supposed to ask her? Is lycra or cotton more comfortable for the family jewels? Or, would she be able to answer which type of undies would best suit a particular "parking" orientation? Kannn......

For you ladies out there, just imagine if a male sales promoter is stationed at the bra section, wouldn't you feel intimidated? I don't think the male sales promoter would be able to provide any help on questions related to bra, unless he is a drag queen by night.

In the end, I politely told the sales promoter that I do not need her assistance. And she left me alone.

Heyy... when it comes to a crucial thing such as choosing the right underwear, I need a clear mind to help in the decision making ok.

Gue Sibuk Banget

2008-05-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

Dah bersawang blog aku ni yes??

My schedule has been super duper hectic the past couple of weeks. Bertambah uban kat kepala aku nih.

Ok. A bit of updates. The CFO and the head of internal audit from HQ were in Jakarta recently. In short, the CFO has instructed to extend my stay in Jakarta until end January 2009.

My reaction? Mixed, to be honest. A part of me wants to go back to Malaysia but then there's also the feeling of wanting to stay. Confused betul le.

Why do I want to be back in KL? Well, on top of the list, I miss my family, terribly. When I was assigned to this post back in Jan 2006, I was told that I would only be here until 31st January 2008. That information had been programmed in me. Whatever nonsense and challenges I faced here, I would console myself by saying - toughen up, it won't be long before you go back.

Now, I have to do a bit of "re-programming". I have to endure the challenges, whatever they may be, in whatever form, for another eight months. BUT, I have to also prepare myself should my CFO decide to extend my assignment beyond January 2009.

Don't get me wrong. I don't hate living in Jakarta. I've grown fond of this megacity despite the glaring shortcomings it has compared to Kuala Lumpur. That's the other part of me that would be sad when the time comes for me to bid adieu to Jakarta.

Jamaluddin Mat, it is now confirmed that you and your entourage will have free accommodation in August. Lega tak?

Inacraft 2008

2008-04-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

Hari ini saya akan menulis dalam Bahasa Malaysia piawai.

Pada hari Sabtu 26 April 2008, bersamaan 19 Rabiulakhir 1429 Hijrah, saya meluangkan waktu untuk melawat pameran Inacraft 2008 bertempat di Balai Sidang Jakarta atau Jakarta Convention Centre (JCC).

Inacraft merupakan sebuah acara tahunan di mana para pengusaha hasil kraftangan Indonesia dikumpulkan untuk mempromosi hasil kraftangan masing-masing.

Kraftangan dari seluruh provinsi di Indonesia dipamerkan dan dijual sepanjang berlangsungnya pameran ini. Seperti yang kita sedia maklum, Indonesia terkenal dengan kraftangan-kraftangan yang mempunyai kualiti yang tinggi.

Saya tidak sangka menulis dalam Bahasa Malaysia piawai adalah amat mencabar. Oleh itu, sekarang saya akan menulis dalam Bahasa Melayu Perak.

Kome-kome yang peghonah pergi ke JCC taule betape besornye tempat ni. Letih aku keliling tempat ni. Adele dekat 3 jam aku kat situ.

Banyak hasil kraf deme ni. Ate, Indonesia ni kan ke lueh, banyakle kraftangan dari Bali sampei le ke Sumatera. Elok bebenor ropenye. Regenye pulak jangan ceritele... murah-murah. Sampei tertelan ayor lior aku nengoknya.

Ghonsing nengok banyak benor yang cantik-cantik. Udoh-udohnye aku beli le jugak 5-6 jenih barang. Ate, udoh dekat 3 jam meghonde takkan tak beli apa-apa kan?. Buat rogi tambang teksi je.

Manusia usoh cerite le. Ramei bebenor. Bersesak-sesak kat dalam dewan tu. Berlaga-laga bahu sampei meghonte-ghonte nak berjalan. Idak le peronah aku nengok orang ramei macam ni kat JCC. Kalo kome nak datang tahun depan, kome datangle awe pagi hari biasa. Usoh datang hujung menggu. Udoh ghope Batu Cave mase Thaipusam.

Aku ade amik gambo tapi gambo pintu gerobang Inacraft aje. Nanti aku bubuh kat sini. Talian internet ghope sial aje sekarang ni.

Obsesi Abreviasi

2008-04-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

I've been having flu since Sunday. With on and off fever. I was given two days medical leave on Monday and Tuesday.

However, Monday morning I had to attend a meeting with officials from the company which manages the Soekarno-Hatta airport. Corrupt officials.

I was at the meeting venue at 11-ish with two lady directors from the joint-venture company which I work for.

The venue was in one of the buildings inside the vast airport complex. It was my first time stepping inside the rather old looking two-storey building. We were greeted by a lady officer (whom I had met once before, also corrupt) who was smiling from ear-to-ear. Probably she was expecting "ang-pau" from us. Sorry to disappoint you lady, I don't operate like my boss. And by the way, wasn't it a fortnight ago you received an envelope from my boss?

So, this corrupt lady officer led us to the meeting room. Along the way, I could see staff standing around having casual conversations and there was even one staff playing games on the PC. None was doing or seemed to be doing any serious kind of work.

But the office setting was of an acceptable standard. Idak le hudduh bebenor. Wayyyy much better than the local immigration office. I've been there three times (the immigration office). Strangely, it looked like a Turkish bath. Not that I've been inside one but I've seen how they look like on telly. Lebih kurang macam tu le rope immigration office deme ni.

Ok. Back to the meeting.

The meeting could be done with in a matter of less than 10 minutes but it dragged on to almost 45 minutes. I don't know whether they had done it deliberately in anticipation of getting "ang-pau" from us. I was cursing inside. Tak nampak ke hidung aku ni meleleh-leleh hingus tengah flu. Banyak benor pulak acara balas pantun nih.

I was feeling restless. Just like a kid would be when forced to sit quietly. I started reading the meeting agenda distributed earlier on. I stifled my laugh. Here's why.

"Anak makcik keroje kat mana?"

"Tu ha.. kat lapangan terobang"

"Apa kerojenye?Pangkat apa?"

"Alah.. tu ha..keroje dalam unit bisnes lapangan terobang. Pangkatnye tinggi le jugak. Deme kata ASSMAN"

People here are so obsessed with abbreviations. They would coin a new term by abbreviating two or more words.

For instance, from the pic above:

KADIV = Kepala Divisi
KADIN = Kepala Dinas (or unit)
ASSMAN??? Whaddya think?

Scroll down for the answer....

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LELAKI PANTAT....

Hahahaha!!!!.....

On The Verge Of Losing My Sanity

2008-04-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

You are working your ass out in the office meeting deadlines. You call your colleague on his mobile to know his whereabout. He then said he'd call you back.

When he finally return your call, he nonchalantly say that he was having creambath (a popular scalp massage treatment). Not an ounce of guilt.

How would you feel?

Creambath is the latest addition to golf, massage and social meetings (which have nothing to do with the company's business).

Sometimes I wish I was back in KL. No. Most of the times I wish I was back in KL.

Business Trip

2008-04-16T01:48:00.000-07:00

Supper with the supplier of "Spiderman" mechanical pencil and "Batman" pencil box.

Me with one of the shareholders of Below 100 Inc.

Courtesy of Peanutbutter, I might have a temporary butler/maid/gardener/cook by end of the month. Ms Peanut, I'll make sure she doesn't flirt around with the good looking security guard (matila ko Stephanie, ko dah ada competitor!).

One more thing Ms Peanut, there won't be any physical abuse. Paling kuat pun aku penampau kalo dia main cak-cak ngan aku kat pintu.

Coterie Home, Kemang

2008-04-02T21:06:00.000-07:00

For the past two months, I've been searching high and low for a single seater sofa which would nicely match my three seater.

I came across a few which were to-die-for but they were waaaayyyy beyond my tiny budget. On the other hand, there were many which were within my budget but the design was not to my liking.

Last Saturday, as I was having my weekly chocolate gellato dose in a nice cosy cafe in PIM 2 (bukan PIM-PIM yea), my eyes were drawn to a nice looking single seater sofa featured in a magazine that I picked up in the cafe.

That led me to Coterie Home in Kemang the next day.

As I entered the shop, the exact same sofa which I saw in the magazine the day earlier immediately caught my attention, in all its regal and splendour, nicely placed in a corner of the shop.

I called the store assistant and asked about the price. A big relief!!.. it's within budget.

Then I asked if there were two new ready-stock of the same sofa. The store assistant said that's the last piece left. I'd have to wait about a month for them to make a new one. However, the store assistant said, to my dissappointment, they ran out of the exact fabric which was on the displayed single seater. I'd have to choose another.

Later, the store assistant showed me several fabric cuttings for me to choose from. I spent almost 45 minutes looking through the samples and trying very hard to imagine if they would match my three seater sofa. I narrowed down my choice to five.

Sensing my exasperation, the store assistant told me to take home the fabric samples so that I could match them with my three seater.

Her offer caught me by surprise. A pleasant one of course.

Now, these fabric cuttings were not the size of your palm. It's almost a metre long!. I was not their regular customer, in fact, it was my first ever visit to the shop. I didn't arrive in a luxury limo and I was only dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans. And yet this nice store assistant allowed me to take home five fabric samples, each about a metre long! (I could make several cushion covers from those samples you know).

Chances of that happening in Malaysia? Zilch!! In Malaysia they would probably tell me "Lu kasi angkat gambar lu punya sofa la..." or "lu kasi angkat lu punya sofa mali sini" or worse still they would just ignore me or attend to me half heartedly. I've been in Malaysia long enough to know these probable scenarios ok.

So, back to Coterie Home. I was more than pleased to take home the fabric samples. And this made my task a whole lot easier.

I've chosen the fabric and made my order. I'd take delivery of my new single seater sofas early next month.

Thank you Coterie Home for the excellent service. Let's hope they don't screw up by delaying the delivery. Fingers crossed.....

I Got Nothing To Do Now.. So I Blog-lah

2008-04-02T01:39:00.000-07:00

I was happy hopping in the bloggersphere when I found a blog maintained by a former Menteri Besar (I hope it's really him maintaining the blog and not his UMNO balacis).

I guess he has so much free time now that he is no longer the MB of Selangor that he decided to be a blogger (and also, probably, now he has more time to do facials... kulit kena maintain youuuu).

Now, I wonder what the intellectually-challenged Nazri Aziz and Zam have got to say about Dr Khir being a blogger.

Speaking of Zam, I'm so glad he lost in the GE and is no longer the Information Minister. You have done your fair share of humiliating Malaysia Zam. Go hibernate in a cave and never to come out until you die.

Many Faces of Glen - Entry Basi Part 2

2008-03-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

Pics above were taken at Java Jazz 2008.

By the way, a famous person asked me last night about a new Malaysian singer named Najwa. I had a blur look on me and said I know not of a singer by that name.

Then the famous person said " Udah lama gak pulang ke Malaysia ya?". Maluuu aku....

Any of you in Malaysia heard of Najwa? Care to enlighten moi??