Tuesday, November 30, 2010

No Ice Cream?


I was craving for some ice cream yesterday. So I decided to go to McDonald for their Cornetto Sundae. I asked a friend of mine to tag along since he live nearby. I know he sweet because he always free for me. Plus, he know he get free ice cream. Hahaha.

Anyway, the usual place is SS15 drive thru. So we went there and to our surprise their machine was broken. My friend make the funniest sound until it startled the cashier. I, of course can't stop laughing about it. No ice cream here.

Then the next nearest McDonald is at SS15 near the INTI College. Go there also no ice cream. We were like WTF. How come both also no ice cream one. They don't like us is it? Haih.

So last resort is eiher go to Sunway Mentari McDonald or LDP Sunway McDonald. We try out the first one dulu since it on our way. I was excited already when I saw someone was eating the cone. Yeay.

Now no seat pulak. Lucky got people ciao so we can buy the ice cream. I think the cashier girl a bit blur or my English too powderful already. I told her I want Cornetto Sundae, she said ChocoTop. Then when she got what I was saying, she go make Cornetto McFlurry pulak. Haih.

Nevermind lar. At least I got to eat my ice cream.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

In Common

What does Chris Brown, Katharine McPhee, Skillet, S Club 7, Jordan Knight and Deborah Gibsoh have in common apart they are all singers?

Friday, November 26, 2010

Review: Garuda Indonesia (GA)

Date: 5th November 2010
Sector: Jakarta (CGK) - Kuala Lumpur (KUL)


Garuda Indonesia is the national carrier for Indonesia. They are based in Jakarta as well as Bali airport. Garuda Indonesia re branded their product with new color scheme, uniform and service concept.

Check In


The check in is always a breeze. There is no long queue as few counters were open to accommodate the passenger volume. The information board is displayed to guide you to the respective counters. If help needed, the help desk officer will always there to assist you.

Departure Hall


As Soekarno-Hatta International Airport located far from the city, be sure to plan your time ahead to avoid traffic congestion. The new security system were implemented at the International Terminal 2 blocking the gate area from the duty free area. So be sure to do your shopping before passing through the gate. No shops available after the security. The gate mostly no very well lit.

Aircraft


The aircraft is Boeing 737-300. It's a classic version. From my understanding, this aircraft is use for regional route mostly and only to certain destination. Garuda Indonesia is currently transiting to the newer generation of Boeing 737-800 progressively from year 2011. The interior as well as the exterior is nicely maintain making the aircraft look like a brand new.

Cabin Crew


It is the culture where you never see the smile cease from the face. The only flaw is that they only approach you when you asked for their help. Having said that, they are very helpful indeed attending to the passengers need.

In-flight Entertainment

Since this is a regional flight utilizing the old aircraft, the only IFE is located at the overhead section with small TV monitor. Headset were given to all passenger. A short comedy series were shown until the aircraft were about to land.

Meal


The flight were delayed for an hour. However, the airline did provide all their passenger a snack box while waiting. A nice gesture to the passenger. Whilst boarding, juice drink were given to the passenger as well. The meal is simple but yet delicious. My choice were the Grilled Chicken with Gravy accompanied by Soft Chocolate cake and Potato salad.

Overall Rating

Check-in 4/5
Departure Hall 3/5
Aircraft 4/5
Cabin Crew 4/5
In-flight Entertainment 3/5
Meal 4/5

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Review: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL)

Date: 3rd November 2010
Sector: Kuala Lumpur (KUL) - Jakarta (CGK)


KLM is based in the Netherlands and serve from their main hub located at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

Check In


The check in was easy. I am traveling under the stand by ticket so there are chances of me not getting a seat for the flight. Fortunately for me, I managed to get the seat at the very last minute.

Departure Hall

As I am not departing from the hub, I can commented a little bit about KLIA. The waiting area is a secure section. So before you enter, I would suggest for you to walk around the airport first before entering it. Ample of seat available in the waiting section. So you don't have to worry about the need of standing up.

Aircraft


Boeing 777-200 was use for this flight. The flight was from Amsterdam connecting via Kuala Lumpur before continuing to Jakarta. The interior is very nice and very well maintain. The seating configuration for this aircraft make it easier for passenger to move out from their seat especially for isle passenger. Comfort level for the seat is good.

Cabin Crew


Well, the cabin crew are nice and helpful. I think you heard me talking about the same thing again. They don't really smile a lot but they also does not show that they are unhappy. It's just neutral look on their face. They did their job profecionally. However, I do hope they could attend to passenger need more.

In-flight Entertainment


The personal IFE is at every seats. It start a bit late so for a short flight, not much can be view. A complimentary headset is given to every passenger and it can be brought home. A nice gesture from them. The IFE system is almost the same as any other airlines. It is AVOD but for some passenger who are not familiar with it might find it a bit difficult to use. The selection is acceptable but for a long haul flight this might consider to be a little choice for entertainment.

Meal


The meal is serve in a very cute box shape. There no selection of meal so everyone is having the same meal. The main dish is Fried Rice with Satay accompanied by Chocolate cake and Mango salad. I love the rice and Satay particularly. Around of hot drinks were serve right after the meal.

Overall Rating

Check-in 4/5
Departure Hall 4/5
Aircraft 5/5
Cabin Crew 4/5
In-flight Entertainment 4/5
Meal 3/5

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Jakarta Short Visit Trip

Travel Date: 3rd November 2010 - 5th November 2010

I have been planning to try out different airlines by flying around the world. So to make things simpler for me I choose Jakarta as I know there are a few of international carrier fly out from KLIA. It is always a last minute plan for me as I simply just go to the airport and buy the ticket at the very last minute. Lucky for me I managed to checked in moment before the counter closed.

Day 1 


The flight is about two hours and since it already in the evening, I arrived at Jakarta with darkness accompanying me. Due to travelling in budget, I did not purchase the taxi ticket from the terminal. Instead, I waited outside along with few other passenger for the taxi. Be sure to take the Blue Bird taxi as it it safer. This is well known for frequent travelers.


Jakarta is known for their culture as well as their traffic jam. So be patient is all you need every time you are in Jakarta. What might seem a 45 minutes drive might end up you to two hours stuck in the traffic.


It's already late when I arrived at the hotel. Fortunately for me, the room I have book earlier was taken and they upgraded me to Penthouse Suite. It is nice and big. Basically it look just like a Studio apartment.


Grabbed a taxi and straight went to the Grand Indonesia for dinner before the restaurant were closed.

It was a long day for me so I retired to the bed right after dinner.

Day 2

I woke up a little bit late. It was already afternoon to be exact. But hey, I wanted to relax. So practically there is nothing for me to rush about. Today agenda was to explore the shopping malls and markets around Jakarta. As always, the traffic congestion made the travel limited to certain area only.


The first stop was Passer Baroe (Pasar Baru). It does looked like China Town without the Chinese vendors. The whole stretch of street are shops selling all sort of stuff.


I had my lunch at the A&W. I was surprised actually as most of the fast food served rice as their main meal. However, I still prefer the old meal thus making me to order Fish Sandwich set. Since I don't really know how to speak Indonesian language and yet again understand it, most of my conversation are in English. I guess I was giving some of the people a hard time to understand what I am saying.


Since, it is going to rain soon, I had to move fast and this time I am heading to Mangga Dua. A very famous place for people to shop in bulk at cheap price. I was thinking of buying some shirt or pants but somehow I remembered that I don't really like coming here due to the cramp space and uncomfortable smell in the air. So in just 30 minutes, I already felt uneasy and decided to just continue to my next place.

Mangga Dua Square is a huge shopping mall. Unfortunately, there are not many shops open and most likely seem to be a dead mall to me. I ended up with foot massage at one of the shop there. It is very very cheap and I can recommend it to everyone who are visiting there.


Dinner at Nasi Padang Garuda. I love the atmosphere but the price for the meal seem to be a bit to overpriced. Well, since I am doing it once awhile I guess it is alright for me.

Stayed at the hotel and watched the DVDs which I bought earlier at the mall. So one after another until it almost 3 am I think. It just like a little picnic at the living room with food all over the table.

Day 3

Basically I just stay at the room as I woke up around 11am. Watched some TV before packing back to home. I thought the traffic would be bad but I ended up early at the airport. I had like 3 hours before my flight depart back to Kuala Lumpur. Just hanging out the terminal. Lucky for me there is free Wifi at the nearby cafe so I could go online to kill my time.


Oh ya, the immigration officer asked me questions as if I were a criminal or something. So since I don't like his attitude I simply answered it each with just one word and sharp stare at him. Be polite and I am more than happy to answer the questions properly.


I was lucky to be back at Kuala Lumpur as to my understanding, a lot of flights were cancelled on the next day due to the volcanic ashes reached Jakarta area already affecting the airspace. Otherwise, I might stuck at Jakarta.

So I bid Jakarta goodbye for now. Maybe I fly again someday.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Please Don't Do It Again

0234hrs

Mom called saying she is having difficulty in breathing. I know something was wrong. She never called at this hour before.

0237hrs

Mom called again starting to tell me that I should take care of myself and be a good boy and she started to talk something she shouldn't be saying at all. She was trying to say goodbye but I wouldn't listen to her. I told her she would be alright and I will see her when she is back in Malaysia. I heard the ambulance siren on the background as she continue talking to me. She is having trouble saying it because she was trying to breath at the same time. The call ended in less than a minute when she said she going to sleep already.

0239hrs

I started panicking. I called my brother to call mom fast. Tears starting to fall from my eyes as I dialed to call some of my relative here in KL. I really don't know what to do. She is in Saudi Arabia doing her Haj with my dad. I can't just fly there to see her even if I wanted to because I need to apply Visa for it. All I can do now is wait.

0945hrs

My auntie called as she managed to get trough my dad. He said my mom condition is stable now and I should stopped worrying. She asked me to get some rest.

1242hrs
1330hrs

I tried to call both my mom and my dad but nobody answered the phone.

1541hrs

Mom called. She said she is alright now. Well I want to believe it but I can still hear her voice is very weak and tired. I also now know that she DID stop breathing just after she called me in the morning. Luckily they managed to revived her back. I keep asking for her to come home but she said she can't do that yet. She had to complete her Haj. I hope she will stay healthy and I shall see her home.

God, please take care of her. I only have one mother and I am not ready to lose her yet.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Review: Virgin Blue (DJ)

Date: 7th October 2010
Sector: Sydney (SYD) - Gold Coast (OOL)


Virgin Blue to me is a low cost airline operated in Australia. It is also Australia's second-largest airline as well as the largest by fleet size to utilise the Virgin brand [1]. As always, if you purchase your ticket early, you will get the best rate from them. As for me, I bought it on the day itself thus leaving me with higher fare. Just like any other LCC, you pay for only what you use.

Check-In


To buy the ticket, it is advisable to do it online. However, the service counter will gladly help you with the purchase. They could even check you in straight and all you have to do is to drop off your luggage (if applicable) at the dedicated counter. All this is easy and at breeze.

Departure Hall


The Sydney Terminal 2 offer an ample seating area and dedicated Gate for Virgin Blue. So it is easy for you to get around the terminal. Terminal 2 is mostly dedicated to low cost airline and regional airline.

Aircraft


For the flight, the Boeing 737-800 is being utilized. It is consider to be a brand new fleet and nicely maintain by DJ. The seats are a bit cramp but it does serve it purpose. Might not be so good for tall or big person though. All the seats are in leather and I personally find that leather seat if alright for a short flight but not for long distance flight.

Cabin Crew


The crew are nice and cheery. They are very efficient in doing their job. From my observation, they work nonstop right after departure until the time the aircraft land. Still I can see they smile.

In-flight Entertainment


Every seats are equipt with personal IFE. In this case, you have to pay if you like to use the IFE. I am not really sure if the headset is given free or you need to pay for it as I did not use it. The flight is just under 1:15 hours, I think I better save my A$10 for something else. The flight information still available free for viewing.

Meal


The meal need to be purchase as well. They do have set with drink available for sale. In my case, I can't review this section as I did not try it.

Overall Rating

Check-in 5/5
Departure Hall 4/5
Aircraft 5/5
Cabin Crew 4/5
In-flight Entertainment N/A
Meal N/A

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Planing A Holiday


I love to travel a lot. When I say a lot I mean every single chance I get. So basically most of my friend would be surprise everytime they call me to hang out with them as I normally just pack and go at the last minute without telling anyone. So how did I do it? Well put aside the money of course. I know a lot of you sure say "He got money sure can do one"

Ok. It pretty simple actually. I am talking about the planing. Not the grab your bag and just fly. That you need money and lots of it. Hahaha. This is what I normally do if I were to travel. Since traveling is consider one of stress factor, I always follow this simple rule.

Transport, Accommodation and Meal.

So put aside some budget say RM 500 (excluding flight ticket) for a 3 days trip. That is more than enough already. Hahaha. I am blank already now. Don't know what to say.

I usually do everything online. It is easy and fast. Try and look at all available resource.

Like example for flight. I usually open up few airlines site at a time just to compare the price. That way I know which cost the least.

For hotel or hostel, I usually go to www.booking.com or www.hostelworld.com. These two site always give the best price and most of the time the hotel will actually upgrade you to a next type of (a better) room (which happened to me twice already). Alternatively, you can go directly to the hotel website. Sometime they offer a lesser rate compare to the booking website.

Done with that so I can Google map the place I will be visiting. With that I could know what mode of transportation I could use. Sometimes what good in that country might not be good in other country. For example taxi should be strongly use in Jakarta compare to other mode of transportation but MRT or Bus is good enough in Singapore.

So that how I roll. All this can be done in just an hours. The rest is just small adjustment on where to go or what to do at the destination. I normally would do the read up on board the plane or better yet I always have a chat with the person next to me. If I am lucky, they could be local and mostly willing to recommend you on places to go and do. It always best as they know how to get things cheaper.

Don't worry, I am still in Malaysia right now. I think. ;)