Spring In My Step: Step III

Thursday, 4 May 2017

There were many sounds during the night from the Piazza del Campo and other street noises: vehicles and people walking and talking and laughing. Being so close to Piazza del Campo, this was something I expected. I didn’t sleep all that well but it was OK. Either I stay in the centre and put up with the noise or stay outside the centre and end up walking to the centre and bus stations.

Palazzo Pubblico

Torre del Mangia

Piazza del Campo, Palazzo Pubblico and Torre del Mangia

I went for a brief walk this morning around Piazza del Campo before returning to the apartment for breakfast. Eduard had told me there would be new guests checking in today, early check-in too, and that it would be better if I didn’t leave my bags behind and collect them later as he didn’t want to be responsible if the new guests removed or did anything to them. Also, he needed the keys back so that he could hand them over to the new guests. What this meant is I had to bring all my bags along with me to San Gimignano and back.

I left at 08:05 and headed for via Tozzi. The bus to San Gimignano was already there and I had to bring my bag on board the bus (no storage compartment below the bus). We soon left Siena and took country roads heading deep into the Tuscan countryside. Spring was definitely in the air. The bus stopped at a few towns along the way and picked up quite a few Japanese passengers at Poggibonsi. It took about 75 minutes to reach San Gimignano from Siena.

Now San Gimignano is a walled medieval hill town and I was initially worried if it would be anywhere as hilly as San Marino. There were cobbled streets and yes, there were steep hills too but there are alternative streets you can take. The main artery through the historic centre was not exactly flat but still manageable. The bus stops at Piazzale Montemaggio outside the town walls and you enter and walk along a street lined with shops selling leather products, souvenirs and even truffles. Thursday is market day at Piazza del Duomo, one of the squares in town. I asked some of the traders at the market where the tourist information centre was but when I got there, found it to be closed. Having managed to conserve 14 towers of varying heights (don’t think I saw all of the towers), the town is also known as the Town of Fine Towers. The town is small and you can easily cover it in two hours.

San Gimignano

I took the 11:45 bus back to Siena and arrived via Tozzi about an hour later. I had planned to take a later bus to Pienza and thought if I could find a kebab place near Porta Ovile bus stop (where the bus to Pienza departs from), then maybe I could have a kebab and perform prayers there like I did in Bologna. So from via Tozzi I walked down via Vallerozzi to Porta Ovile. Boy, was I glad I was walking down that steep road and not up! I reached Porta Ovile in less than ten minutes and at first glance couldn’t see any cafés or kebab restaurants around. I looked up and saw the bus to Pienza approaching and made a quick decision to just board the bus. At least it would provide me shelter from the sun. So I got on, hoping there’d be a kebab place in Pienza. I had bought the bus ticket earlier. Oh, one more thing, there are only a few bus 112 services to Pienza from Siena and all start in the afternoon. If you go at 13:12 as I did, you will arrive in Pienza at 14:25 while the bus back to Siena is at 14:41. Obviously, this is too short a time to spend in Pienza so if you’re planning to return to Siena, you need to change buses somewhere.

Pienza is a much smaller town than San Gimignano. There’s a terrace that overlooks Val d’Orcia which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in itself. I walked to the terrace (stumbled upon it by accident) and spent a while admiring and enjoying the view before taking the long route back to town. I walked leisurely through the town area and even then was done before long. I tried finding a halal eatery but couldn’t sight any. After a while, I went out and sat in Piazza Dante Alighieri. I had planned to take the 17:56 bus to Monteroni and from there take the train to Pisa Centrale and I had about a couple of hours to kill.

Looking out to Val d’Orcia

Pienza

The time finally came to say goodbye to Pienza and I reached Monteroni at 18:45. There was another bus behind ours and a lady was gesturing for me to get on the bus, indicating the bus was bound for Siena. Well, I had planned to take the train to Pisa Centrale and I would need to change trains at Siena but I was didn’t know where this bus would stop in Siena. If the bus passed the train station, it would be fine but if it went all the way to Porta Ovile, I would have to walk to the station and I wasn’t keen on that as I wasn’t sure of the terrain (Siena is pretty hilly). So I thought quickly and decided to stick to my plan of just riding the train. I asked directions to the train station and headed there.

Well, I found the miniscule train station alright but it was closed. No one was there at the station or any one of the two platforms and there was no sign of life. I decided I wouldn’t start to panic just yet and went back up to via IV Novembre. Sighting a pharmacy, I went in to ask. Alhamdulillah, one of the girls there could understand a bit of English and after discussing with her colleagues and a pharmacist in store, she advised me to go to a tobacconist further up via IV Novembre. I hurried on (it was a good thing I had a screenshot of the train schedule and knew how much time I had left before the train arrived) and finally found the tobacconist. I told the lady at the counter I wanted to buy a single ticket to Pisa Centrale and showed her my screenshot so that I could travel at the chosen time of 19:36. That done, I paid €11.50, thanked her and hurried back to the station.

The timetable showed that trains to Siena would depart at platform 2 so I hauled my bags down the stairs across to platform 2. Not long before the train was due, I heard an announcement which mentioned binario uno and due. I looked across to platform 1 and saw the screen lighted with the word Siena on it so I hurried back down the stairs with my bags to platform 1. The train was approaching when I got to platform 1 and saw to my dismay that the train continued on to platform 2 so I ran down the stairs again with my bags and rushed to platform 2. Seriously fmfl.

I didn’t know if the train was waiting for me but I somehow made it huffing and puffing and panting. I put my bags down at the first vacant seat I found and rushed to use the bathroom. The train was a regional one with only a few carriages and the bathroom is like the one in KLIA Express. I performed ablutions and performed prayers in the train.

We reached Siena at 19:53. I had to take the 20:18 train to Empoli and change trains again at Empoli for the 21:32 train to Pisa Centrale. As I had more than 20 minutes, I decided to go to the washroom at the shopping mall to freshen up. All that running and huffing!

The train for Empoli left Siena just as dusk was settling so I performed prayers on the train again after a few minutes. At the few stations it stopped at, I noticed the ground was wet – it had rained and stopped in some parts of Tuscany. I did see some dark clouds in the distance while in Pienza earlier. I decided that if it was still raining when we reached Pisa Centrale, I would wait a bit or take the PeopleMover to Pisa Airport.

We arrived at Pisa Centrale at 22:08 and I walked the 1 km to Pisa Airport as the rain had stopped. I sat down and decided to try taking a nap after checking the social media, knowing full well that we’d be asked to vacate the terminal building shortly anyway. It had been such a long tiring day of travelling.

To be continued

Spring In My Step: Step II

Tuesday, 2 May 2017

I woke up early today and left after performing prayers and a light breakfast. I walked quickly to the bus station at 18 Stycznia for my 07:03 bus to Modlin Airport. I arrived at 06:50 and stood there waiting. 07:00 came and went. Then 07: 03. 07:05. 07:07 and still no sign of the bus. I was starting to panic and thought of my options. I had run out of Zlotny and my other option was to hike it to the train station and take the train to Warsaw Central and take a bus to Modlin Airport from Plac Defilad. I was starting to really panic when the bus finally arrived after 07:10. Alhamdulillah! The bus was quite empty but picked up passengers in other towns. Despite the late start, we arrived Modlin Airport at 09:56 (ETA 10:15). I sat down and repacked my toiletries. My larger ziplock bag tore at KL Sentral just before I boarded the bus to KLIA and I filled up my smaller ziplock bag and then placed it in the larger ziplock bag (I usually bring a lot of toiletries and would need about three ziplock bags but alas, each passenger is only allowed one bag). After a light meal and repacking, I went in and Alhamdulillah, cleared security check.

We boarded the plane and as luck would have it, my seat was at the very last row (row 33). I saw that there was a row of three vacant seats at row 32 so I moved up after the door had closed so I could stretch out and also perform prayers.

We landed at Bologna Airport at 14:40 but it took a while before the doors were opened. At the terminal building, I bought an Aerobus ticket for €6 to the train station (I had earlier bought an ordinary bus ticket for €1.30 as I had planned to walk to Birra; unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be any pedestrian lane and no one I asked could point me in the right direction so I had to return to the airport and buy the Aerobus ticket). The journey took about 25 minutes.

I went into the station briefly before heading out. Spotting a hotel across the road, I headed for it to ask for directions and a city map. Ever since my bad experience in Madrid years ago, I had found that hotels are the best place to head for to ask for directions or at least get someone who can speak English. I was not disappointed; the kind lady at the reception handed me a map and some general directions and I set off. I walked down the seemingly endless city arcades until I reached Le Due Torri (Two Towers), i.e., Towers of the Asinelli and Garisenda, which are the main symbols of Bologna before walking back towards the train station. I also managed, with the help of another lady at another hotel, to locate the canal of Bologna.

Back at the station, I queued at the ticket office to buy a ticket to Rimini. The chap who attended to me was a jolly friendly man and he told me to take the 17:35 train as it would take me less time and cost me less. I reached Rimini just as it was beginning to get dark and went to find Hotel Alibi (I had booked and paid to stay at another hotel but due to their system error, the other hotel was unable to accommodate me and arranged for me to stay at their another hotel in their group). Unfortunately, there is no underpass at the train station which meant I had to walk the long way to cross the train tracks to get to my hotel which is on the other side of the tracks. I finally found my hotel (got a bit confused with the directions) after 30 minutes. I checked in and went to my room and stayed in for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, 3 May 2017

After prayers and showering, I went for a brief early morning walk to the beach. It was an overcast morning and as I walked, it started to drizzle. I walked up to the beach which at that hour was deserted except for a lone jogger. I returned to the hotel shortly after and gathered my things before checking out. Turned out I had to pay €1.50 city tax for every night of stay. The bloke at the reception told me I had to pay this tax at all hotels in Italy.

I left and began the trek back to the train station. It took ten minutes brisk walk to reach the station and I bought ticket for the 11:47 train to Bologna for €9.85 (I could have bought a ticket to Siena – with a train change at Bologna - but this would cost me either €52.10 or €57.10 depending on time of travel. I found it more economical to break the trip: Rimini-Bologna ticket for €9.85 and Bologna-Siena ticket for €36.10. Total cost would be €45.95 compared to €52.10/€57.10! When I first started my research, the total cost was €31.10 from Rimini to Siena *cries*). It would leave me a short time to visit San Marino and although I could have taken a later train, I wanted to reach Siena earlier. Then I walked to the bus stop for the bus to San Marino which is outside Albergo Moderno, a 3-star hotel. The bus arrived at 07:55 and after storing my bag in the bag hold beneath the bus, I went up and paid for my ticket. I didn’t manage to buy a return ticket from the driver (I later found out that I could do that at the Tourist Information Centre. A return ticket costs €9 while a single ticket costs €5) and settled in for the ride. We reached San Marino bus station at 09:10.

 This is what I meant. If I had bought a train ticket from Rimini to Siena, it would cost me either €52.10 to €57.10 depending on time of travel. Ticket price had increased since I first did my research!

I decided to check the Rimini-Bologna and Bologna-Siena ticket prices and they turned out better. I only had to queue at Bologna station to buy the ticket to Siena but still, it gave me some saving

From the coach station, there’s a lift going up – the Old Town of San Marino is very hilly and I had to struggle walking uphill with my bag (no left luggage that I could spot). The republic is made of a few towns with the capital (also called San Marino, like Singapore) high on a mountain top. The day started to clear when I was there and I could see the Adriatic Sea far in the horizon. It was fun walking the narrow winding streets although I could do without the cobbled parts and the steep climb especially when I had to haul my bag behind me! You can appreciate why San Marino has one of the highest life expectancies in the world when people there walk up- and downhill every day and observe a healthy diet.

 Palazzo Pubblico and Piazza della Libertà

Looking down at the town below and the Adriatic Sea in the distance

After a whirlwind tour of the historic centre, I returned to the coach station for the 10:30 bus back to Rimini.

From Rimini, I rode the train to Bologna and queued to buy ticket to Siena. As I had time to kill, I went for a walk around the train station. I found a kebab restaurant and asked if they have a prayer room. Yes, they do have it at the basement and yes, I could use it to perform prayers so I hauled my bag down to the basement. After prayers, I returned to the station and had to go to platform 18 which was a few levels below ground. I was glad I decided to return early to the station as it was quite a bit of a walk to get to the platform. The train was a very comfortable one and we travelled mainly in tunnels under the Apennines for it was dark outside most of the time except when we neared Florence. I had ten minutes to change trains at Firenze Santa Maria Novella and of course the train would have to stop just before the station. We finally pulled into the station and I practically jumped off and ran to the boards to see which platform the train to Siena would depart from. I made it to the train with about 4 minutes to spare...

We pulled into Siena on time and I followed the directions to exit via the shopping mall. A series of escalators connect the train station to the old city; I think the escalators took me up about 4 or 5 storeys and I was so grateful for this because no way could I climb up any hill that high with my bag without help. From the station, I walked to the Airbnb which I had booked – accommodation in Siena is frightfully expensive. The nearer to centre, the more expensive of course but I wanted to stay as close to the centre as possible as I planned to visit San Gimignano and Pienza the next day and the buses depart from different stations in the town centre.

It took me more than thirty minutes to get to my Airbnb at via Cecco Angioleri, mainly because I stopped every now and then either to take photos of the buildings or to consult the map. I enjoyed the map and no one bothered me, no one looked at me strangely and at no time at all did I feel any hostility or being treated like a stranger. I did ask a few locals to determine I was indeed going in the right direction. This is yet another thing why I love Italy and the locals: it’s a beuatiful country and the locals are unfazed at strangers.

I didn’t realise I had to turn off at Piazza Tolomei and went on and when I discovered I had missed my turn-off, I retraced my steps back to the piazza. I finally reached the building and buzzed my host. The apartment is right on top of the building and I huffed and puffed up the stairs with my bags. I got acquainted with Eduard (my host), received some tips, placed my bags in the room and had a quick online connection before leaving to explore the historic centre. Good thing I had performed prayers in Bologna eh. I heard some drum noise while in the apartment and when I looked out the kitchen window, I saw people practising drums for the annual Palio di Siena at the little square below.

The heart of Siena, the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, is literally a couple of minutes’ walk from the Airbnb apartment with the Gothic Palazzo Pubblico and Torre del Mangia forming one side of the piazza. Before heading there however, I went to check the bus station at via Tozzi for the bus to San Gimignano the following morning. I walked around the area before asking at a hotel about the buses and was told I could buy the ticket at the ticket office below the street level. So I returned to via Tozzi and searched for stairs to go down. I then bought a return ticket for the bus the next morning and a good thing too for I found from the timetable given to me that the first bus for San Gimignano would leave at 08:20 and not as indicated in the timetable. I then walked along the streets of Siena before heading for Piazza del Campo. I then had a quick visit to the Duomo, a mixed Gothic and Romanesque building, before returning to Piazza del Campo. Dusk was settling then.

After a while, I walked to Pizzeria San Martino at via del Porrione and bought a slice of pizza margherita for dinner. Eduard recommended this pizzeria. It was good but I think the pizza at Pizzeria Spontini in Milan was wayyy better. I then explored some alleys before taking a circuitous route back to the apartment. There was some noise again and when I looked down the kitchen window, I saw some people enacting a play in the square below. This at almost 11 in the evening!!! The Sienese are indeed fiercely proud of their culture and history and take them very seriously.

To be continued

Spring In My Step: Step I

Another spring is here and I decided to spend another short break in Europe. This time, I decided to go to Poland – I’d been to Krakow and Warsaw before and got pickpocketed in Warsaw – so although I was apprehensive about visiting Poland again, I decided to give it another try. Tickets were bought via Expedia after some research (both the fare and travel times were better on Qatar Airways compared to Etihad) and I then set upon my research and booking accommodation. Finally it’s time to go.

Saturday, 29 April 2017

I only realised that the battery for my Tag had to be replaced so I went to my trusted reliable watch shop in downtown KL to do it and got caught in the downpour. No watch shops in KLCC could do it immediately (I’d have to leave it behind for 2-3 weeks, what nonsense!), not even the Tag Heuer boutique (and they charge a whooping RM130 too!). I finally took the bus to the airport at 18:00 and reached KLIA at 19:10. After dropping off my bag, I went to clear immigration and security and only headed to the boarding gate after performing prayers. It’s the same boarding gate as the cancelled one to Iran via Doha back in December but Alhamdulillah this time we took off just slightly later than scheduled.

Sunday, 30 April 2017

We landed in Doha after midnight and had to take a bus to the terminal. The plane door opened late then we had to wait for the bus to fill up. By the time we reached the transfer queue, it was mayhem. I was beginning to panic as I had about an hour only to clear the transfer process and walk to my gate. Boarding process commenced not long after I arrived at the gate.

We landed at Warsaw Chopin Airport at 06:05, 20 minutes earlier than scheduled. After freshening up and picking my bag, I went to find money changers. The rate at the airport was horrible, averaging PLN3.68 for every Euro. There was also a machine that offered rate of PLN3.7 for every Euro so I changed a bit for the bus fare before walking out to the bus stop. It was barely 07:00 and still so cold then. It being a Sunday, the bus 175 to Centrum came only after 15 minutes. I got down and walked towards Pałac Kultury i Nauki (Palace of Culture and Science) before spotting the Tourist Information Centre. I headed there to ask where Plac Defilad is for the buses out of Warsaw. She told me it’s on the other side of the building. I also asked where the nearest money changer is and if it opened on Sunday. Turned out there was one diagonally across the road so I headed there. I had to wait though until the office officially opened at 08:30 even though there was already someone in there. The rate was PLN4.18 for every Euro there.

After changing money, I walked to the open air bus station. While waiting for the Big Bus for Zamość to depart at 09:25, I went to check out the Drama Theatre wing of the gigantic Palace of Culture and Science. To my delight, I spotted washrooms and after asking around, I went to the ticket office. I was not able to buy the bus ticket to Zamość but managed to buy bus ticket from Warsaw to Toruń for the following afternoon and ticket from Toruń to Modlin Airport in two days’ time for PLN35 and PLN45 respectively.

Pałac Kultury i Nauki and Plac Defilad where the bus station is

When I returned to the open air bus station, the Big Bus to Zamość was already there. I went and tried to buy a ticket but when I said I had no reservation, the driver started speaking Polish to me. I asked if he could speak English but he said no. Shortly after though, he appeared with a young man (another passenger) who asked me where I wanted to go so I told him I wanted to go to Zamość and that I did not have any reservation. He said, that was all right, I just needed to pay PLN38 for the bus fare. I asked if that was all and he said yes. Hmm, so why did the driver asked if I had a reservation and acted like I couldn’t get on if I didn’t have it. Oh well. I paid the driver the fare and the young man then asked when my return trip was. He consulted with the driver before telling me I should take the 06:50 bus the next morning. Well, I suppose that was OK too (my plan was to take the 07:25 bus) and boarded the bus. Man, the company may be Big Bus but the vehicle was anything but! It was small and cramped. Like a Russian marshrutka. If I were any taller or had longer legs (sadly, I don’t), it’d be very uncomfortable indeed. It was like sitting in an AirAsia flight. Still, beggars can’t be choosers and all that.

So we settled in and the bus left promptly. I alternately read and dozed off. We stopped half-way at a rest area and I got down gratefully to use the bathroom and stretch my legs. We continued our journey after 20 minutes and pulled into Zamość just before 14:00. It was an overcast day and started to drizzle as I walked to find Hotel Jubilat. At check-in, I asked when breakfast started and when the lady at the reception said 08:00, I asked if the hotel could pack me some food to go as I would be leaving early the following morning. She said that wouldn’t be a problem and I thanked her and added ‘No meat please,’ before heading off to find my room.

After performing prayers, I left and walked to the Stare Miasto, armed with maps and a long brolly which the lady at the reception kindly lent me. The Old City is about 2 km from my hotel. I knew about this when I was looking for accommodation but I’d rather stay near to the bus station (as I planned to leave Zamość first thing in the morning anyway) than lug my bag the 2 km to the city and then back again the following morning. It was a pleasant spring afternoon walk and I reached the seventh bastion of the fortress (the only preserved bastion) which surrounds the Old City after 30 minutes. It started raining when I reached Rynek Wielki (Great Market Square). The tower of the Ratusz (Town Hall) looms over the market square while centuries-old former elite merchant apartments surrounded the market square. There was a stage to the right of the square with a band performing and the music played was very loud. Much too loud for my taste.

I spent about two hours exploring the alleys and streets of the Old City before returning to my hotel. I spent the rest of the evening resting and staying in.

Monday, 1 May 2017

An early morning start. I realised yesterday that I’d have early morning starts for every day of this trip except for the last two days and even then, I still had to get up to perform morning prayers. I left my room at 06:25 and went down to the lobby. There was a different person manning the reception, an elderly matronly looking woman. I asked about the hotel printer and if I could use the hotel computer in the lobby – she said yes – and how much she charged for using the computer and printer. She said no charge and I was so happy and grateful to hear this. I quickly checked in for my RyanAir flight on Friday, 5 May 2017, and printed the boarding pass. See, now RyanAir has reduced the online check-in for basic fare passengers from one week to four days before departure and if I didn’t get to check-in and print my boarding pass then, I would have to find an Internet café somewhere to do that. You can check in more than four days before your flight at a cost of £6.

After printing off my boarding pass, I thanked the kind woman and went to use the bathroom before leaving the hotel with my packed breakfast. The bus came and left on time and we stopped at the same rest area as the day before.

We arrived at Plac Defilad at 10:35, 40 minutes earlier than scheduled. My bus to Toruń was at 12:05 and I didn’t feel like walking to the Historic Centre of Warsaw, having been there before. I did consider crossing over to a shopping centre across the street but I would need to take the underpass and lug my bag up and down the stairs so I decided against it. So instead I walked around Pałac Kultury i Nauki to pass time.

The bus for Toruń arrived and quickly filled up. I was glad I had the foresight to buy the ticket the day before as they had to turn away some people. I was so glad I managed to go to Zamość the day before even though I came without any reservation or ticket purchased prior to the trip. We left Warsaw at 11:59; well, no point in waiting when everyone had already boarded.

We reached Toruń at 16:00. Now, there are two stops in Toruń. The nearest to the Medieval Town is at 18 Stycznia and that’s where I got down. My hotel, Hotel Kopernik, was about a ten-minute walk from the bus station. My room was at the end of the corridor and after Hotel Jubilat, looked somewhat shabby. It’s not en-suite and the two shared bathrooms are near the lift.

I left after performing prayers to explore the Medieval Town. The sun was out, it was May Day and a public holiday so there were many people about. I had a fun time walking around the many monuments of architecture. The city has preserved almost intact its medieval layout and Gothic brick buildings as unlike most other historic cities in Poland, it managed to escape substantial World War II destruction.

The Gothic Town Hall

I returned to the hotel as it was nearing dusk and stayed in for the rest of evening.

To be continued

Less Than 48 Hours In Georgetown

I was in desperate need of a short break and the unexpected public holiday on Monday, 24 April 2017, to celebrate the installation of Sultan Muhammad V as the new King provided me with the opportunity. I had already made reservation for a dim sum lunch on Saturday and thought of taking a bus to Penang on the same afternoon (this was before I read that it would be better to take bus to Butterworth and take the ferry across as you would avoid the traffic jam on the island). However, I would arrive too late to have mee sotong for dinner (to think I schedule my trip around meal times and the operating hours of a stall operator!). I even explored taking the ETS but I would still arrive too late. Finally, I decided to reschedule the dim sum lunch to Monday and fly out on Saturday afternoon.

I arrived at KL Sentral just before 12 noon and thought of having pulled noodles/lamian at Food Loft; however, the Food Loft had closed and there was a banner stating the stalls have relocated to Bukit Bintang monorail station. What the -? I don’t think there’s enough space at Bukit Bintang monorail station to house the stalls. And I was so looking forward to having some lamian too (the Food Loft was still there when I checked it out in February or so). Disappointed, I decided to take the train to the airport (sometimes the KLIA Express and Transit services are combined on weekends or public holidays as they want to carry out maintenance) but lucked out again as the screen showed the next train was in 16 minutes meaning I just missed the earlier train by a few minutes. It was then I saw the email and text message from MAS informing that the flight had been rescheduled to depart half an hour later, which meant I would arrive into Georgetown later. Strewth!

I went to the gate and read while waiting to board. The flight had only arrived as there were still people disembarking so that explained the delay.

We landed at 15:15 and I was at the bus stand ten minutes later. It was a hot bright sunny afternoon in Penang. I didn’t have to wait too long, the bus 401E came along within 5 minutes. We reached KOMTAR almost an hour later and too late for me to have a late lunch at Bee Hwa Café (I did go there but was told they were closing). Dejected, I continued on to Muntri Grove, my hotel for the first night.

Check-in was quick and I was shown to my room within 5 minutes of arriving. I rested a bit enjoying the longan drink a staff brought me before venturing out to the Esplanade. Finally I got lucky, the queue for the mee sotong wasn’t too bad. I ended up queuing for 37 minutes *only* this time. As my last meal was breakfast, I had both mee sotong and mee rebus before returning to the hotel, stopping en route at Purrfect Cat Café (bought a couple of bookmarks there). I spent the rest of the evening reading and only a bit of TV.

On Sunday morning, I ventured out to the market at Jalan Chowrasta/Jalan Kuala Kangsar then to the few stalls at Lebuh Carnarvon before returning to Jalan Kuala Kangsar. The crowd was already building when I returned and there was a long queue for the vegetarian wan tan noodles so I left after buying some dried mushrooms. On a whim, I decided to go to Lorong Macalister for chee cheong fun (arrived too late on my previous visit) and got lucky this time. The chee cheong fun tasted so much better than when I first had it back in end-August 2015.

I returned to the hotel and rested before hitting the shower. Breakfast was had after 10 and after breakfast, I went and spent an hour reading before checking out. I mentioned to the lady at the reception that I didn’t want to venture out and would just wait out in the lobby until I could check in at Muntri Mews. She offered to call to find out when my room would be ready. At 13:30, she came to inform the room was ready and offered me a brolly. She said it was raining in some parts of the island and true enough, there were dark clouds overhead although you wouldn’t believe it then as it was so dang hot and humid.

I must say I was disappointed with Muntri Mews. I had expected it to be better but Muntri Grove is so much better. I wished I had stayed there on the first night and then only at Muntri Grove on my second night but there was no vacancy at Muntri Mews on Saturday hence why I booked the hotels in the order that I did. Both hotels did not provide any bedroom slippers, body lotion, bath robe or even a robe to lounge in. For the rate they charge, you’d expect and entitled to more surely.

I ventured out to find lunch and decided to have laksa instead when the vegetarian stall that I went to was closed. There was a ridiculously long queue outside Joo Hooi Café and the cendul shop so I went to the small restaurant I had my laksa on my previous trip instead. This time around, it was disappointingly tasteless and I couldn’t remember if the portion before was as small. I left feeling let down.

I headed back to the hotel after buying some snacks at Mydin and stayed in reading. I was determined to finish my book and even skipped siesta. So I was not happy when a hotel staff knocked on my door and I had to get dressed to open the door. He wanted to know if there was anything left in the fridge and I said no, not unless you count mineral water as something left behind. He apologised for disturbing me and left. Not five minutes later, there was another knock. I was getting seriously irritated because I was interrupted and had to get dressed again. This time, another man was with the hotel staff. He claimed he was the previous guest and he was sure he left his water container (I think) behind. I told him there wasn’t any such thing and he looked disbelievingly at me, asking me the same thing again and again. Finally, I said he was letting in all the mosquitoes and said he was welcomed to come in and have a look. As if I wanted to have your precious water container, mister! He repeated again and again that he was sure he left it in the room (oh yeah, then where did it go? Have you tried asking Housekeeping? Or are you accusing me of taking it?).

I was finally left to my own devices again and as it still hadn’t rained, decided to venture out to find dinner. Well, the menu at the Mews Café looked scant so I walked around a bit before returning to my room. And no, nothing appealed to me. I wanted to have some char kuay teow but wasn’t keen to walk.

I stayed in my room for the rest of the evening. There were only about six TV channels and none showing footie so I had to follow it on Twitter.

On Sunday, I woke up early and checked out at 08:00. I had breakfast at Mews Café (again, limited choices) before walking to Jalan Penang. I was lucky to catch the CAT bus within a couple of minutes and even though it looked like I just missed a bus to the airport, another one came within 5 minutes and the journey took only 30 minutes.

I was at KL Sentral just after 13:00 and was tucking in to dim sum lunch an hour later.

So that was my short trip to Penang (17 hours in each hotel!) and I must say that it was a bit of a disappointing trip. Still, I’m sure I’ll be contemplating another trip there although it may take me some time to get over the disappointment of this recent visit.

Barely Coping

My dad fell down early last month while he was about to sit down at a restaurant. His back/spine has been hurting since and he has visited the clinic twice, even a Chinese medical practitioner, taken various medications, tried a few ointments and pain relief cream and whatnot but his condition is improving only slightly. It hurts me to see him suffer and it’s not been an easy time for me either. I don’t want to come across as complaining, suffice to say that I’ve been shouldering a lot more of household chores on top of my previous share and like I said, it hasn’t been easy especially as I’m nursing tennis elbow syndrome for some time myself too. I’ve been performing special prayers on a daily basis but the relief has been slow. It isn’t time yet for us to heal. Soon, insyaAllah, please, for I don’t know how much longer I can stand to watch him suffer.

The worse thing is feeling like my brothers don’t even care. Sure, I know they’re in Johor and have their families but surely they can take some time to visit and care for dad? Surely they have their filial duty to play; they’re the sons after all. Just because I’m single and seemingly don’t have responsibilities (read: my own family) doesn’t mean they can wash their hands off their duty. Like they, I have my own life to live too. I don’t mind taking care of dad and the house but I do wish my brothers will understand that I have my own life to live too. They don’t call often to ask how dad is and never ever asked how I’m doing or coping (they hardly wonder if I’m bearing up but when I go on trips, I feel this unspoken disapproval for leaving dad behind). Yes, I do feel like I’m being taken for granted. For now, I just grit my teeth and try to multi-task as much as possible so that I can tackle all chores without taking too much extra time which is not at all easy when you live with a messy person. Sometimes I feel like I’m all alone in this but I refuse to indulge in this thinking often because there’s just so much to do around the house. Thankfully Akak is around to help out occasionally.

All these made me wonder how it would be when I’m old myself too. I don’t have any spouse or child(ren) to help care for me (presuming that one’s spouse and children will care for one when one is ill) and I always pray that I won’t be infected with some disease like dengue or H1N1 or anything worse that requires medium-term hospitalisation or frequent visits to the doctor because if that happens, what would happen to my dad then? Who would care for him then? Akak has offered him to stay with her but he doesn’t want to.

Dad has talked about death a few times. I hate it when he does that. Yes, I know we are supposed to think about death because we must prepare for the afterlife, that life in this world is fleeting and is never meant to be permanent, but I just don’t like it when he talks about it. I know death is a natural occurrence and that dad is blessed with a relatively long life so far but I just can’t bear the thought of him gone. I know I didn’t think I could live if either or both of my parents passed and even after 6.5 years, I still miss Mummy badly. I’m not naïve to think that I will have my parents with me all my life, I know death is inevitable and that I will lose them one day, I know death is natural but somehow I can’t accept or bear the idea of living without them (and yet Mummy has passed and I’m still here).

When it comes to grieving, I don’t think anyone understands what someone else is going through. You can sympathise and empathise but because you don’t know the deceased as well or the relationship between someone and the deceased, you can only at best guess what is going on in the person’s mind. There is no time limit for grief although society demands it because after all, life still goes on and the dead would want the living to continue on living. The thing is, the living does somehow continue to go on living but it’s a different life now. And while I know people mean good when they say things like the dead has had a good life, that at least the dead is no longer suffering, they don’t know how much the world has changed for those left behind who now have to deal with the loss and living without the deceased.

Time doesn’t really heal, it just dulls the pain and lets you live with your sadness and grief. There will always be good days but there will also be bad, difficult, hard, shitty days. I still cry occasionally, even at work.

I can’t imagine how I would cope if/when dad goes too.

Mad World

It has been six years and counting since the Syrian civil war started (truly, it’s a shame that it is still continuing on and that we keep on failing the Syrians). But on it goes and there was the chemical attack on 4 April – which Assad denied, but of course – and explosion last Saturday, 15 April. It doesn’t make sense that a power-mad crazy dictator who doesn’t think twice about mass murdering his own people is still allowed to stay in power and it’s shocking that the United Nations have not managed to do anything about it.

People say that Hitler was a crazy evil heartless sick bastard so I don’t see why Assad isn’t one either. How low can one get for forcing the evacuation of people from their homes and let them wait 40 hours without food, water and use of facilities, but instead got themselves bombed? Have we forgotten the Srenrenica massacre/genocide already? How we failed the Bosniaks and let more than 8,000 of them perish? I’m not belittling the attacks in Saint Petersburg, London, Stockholm and Dortmund at all but why isn’t more shock and anger and action poured into the situation in Syria?

@SiegeWatch project contact in Madaya struggled to describe his feelings as he faced the reality of being forced to leave his home forever

~~~~~~~~

A little update: the Cat Man of Aleppo has opened a new cat sanctuary in Aleppo (yes, life goes on even in war-torn areas). He has also been asked to save what’s left of an Aleppo zoo, i.e., care for two tigers and two bears (there was a gazelle but it had died of starvation, poor creature). The owner is however refusing to allow the poor animals to be moved to Turkey where they would have a higher chance of survival. As long as the animals are in Aleppo, the only one who can care for them, and help them is Alaa. It would be great if we could all help him out too because the food for the bears and tigers cost at least €100 a day:

PayPal: ilgattarodialeppo@libero.it

Subject zoo (NO Aleppo or Syria as subject please)

Bank Account - Iban: IT 49 P 07601 11400 001035 493376 - Bic: BPPIITRRXXX - Name: Il Gattaro d’Aleppo - Country: Italy
NOTE: some Banks do not allow you to use the account Il Gattaro d’Aleppo to transfer funds. PLEASE, if your Bank has difficulty with using this account, use the following one:

ALTERNATIVE Bank Account: Iban: IT 32 i 07601 05138 284479 884481 - Bic: BPPIITRRXXX – Name: Alessandra Abidin

By the way, Alaa was near the explosion on Saturday. He was distributing sweets to the children (the children died with the sweets still in their hands) and the cat-ambulance used by the sanctuary has been destroyed. There was food for tigers and bears and some dogs he is also helping to feed and the food had all burnt. Alhamdulillah, Alaa himself was not injured although he was mere metres away from where it happened. Only the keys to the ambulance remain... my heart was breaking when I found out about this.

Do support his efforts with sharing this information, prayers and donations if you can.

I’ll end this post with a message from Khaled Salama. We have a lot to learn about the meaning of humanity, loyalty and peace, love and hope from the Syrians.

The Beauty Of It All

I went to watch Beauty and the Beast on April Fool’s Day and was not disappointed. I watched the animation one back in 1992 (I’m still only in my late 20s by the way) four times at the theatres (yes, four!). Even then and now, I was not offended by the character LeFou, Gaston’s sidekick, who is supposedly gay. I viewed him as someone who admires and is besotted by Gaston (yeah, I’m not sure why either) and to me, that is not unusual among men and even women then and now. Why, we had the five Malay warriors (Hang Lekiu, Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, Hang Lekir and Hang Kasturi) who were close but were not sexually interested in each other. I’m not sure why director Bill Condon decided to make the LeFou character gay but it’s not as if we don’t have previous movies featuring gay characters before. Note that in no way am I condoning this; after all, I am first and foremost a Muslim. I went to the movie without thinking of the character’s sexuality as I just wanted to enjoy it and before long, I was singing along to it. There are some additional scenes (and songs) in this version of the story which I don’t know the lyrics for.

Then as now, I left the theatres reinforced with the following life lessons:

i.   Internal beauty is greater than external beauty. Beast learnt the hard way that true beauty comes from within, about being kind, considerate and thoughtful of others and not being selfish.

ii.  Learning is a continuous lifelong process. Never ever stop learning and always be curious. Have passion in learning, discovering and exploring new things!

iii. Be yourself and dare to be different. Don’t ever compromise your personality and interests just to fit in, even if the whole village thinks you’re strange and peculiar or have gone cuckoo. Don’t limit yourself and don’t other people stop you from achieving. Embrace your individuality.

iv.  Believe in miracles and the power of prayer. Because falling in love is magic in itself.

v.   Perfection isn’t everything. We have Chip, who is a chipped cup in his enchanted life, but he’s among the important characters in the movie. Will the movie work without his character? Possibly. But it doesn’t hurt to have him and he shows that even though he’s not perfect, he can still have fun.

I may be imperfect but I’m still beautiful

vi.  Look beyond what you can see because, yes, beauty is just skin deep. Overcome your fear and prejudice towards another and you might just find the other person appealing and interesting. On the other hand, a good-looking, strong and popular person may actually have evil plans for you. You just never know.

vii. Love will conquer hatred any day. It’s his hatred and fear of Beast that led Gaston down the evil path and he even managed to influence the whole village with his idea and beliefs. But despite the attack which took the castle inhabitants by surprise and the number of villagers who supported Gaston, he still lost.

viii. Don’t let fear paralyse you and hold you back from experiencing life. Don’t let fear get in the way. Push yourself out of the comfort zone, be open-minded and don’t be afraid of making friends no matter how different they may be to us.

ix.  No one knows what tomorrow brings. One day you might be in a small provincial village, the next day, imprisoned in a tower. And another day, you might discover new friends, a library, a new friend, a new feeling and who knows, a totally unexpected happy ending.

x.      Have dreams, hopes and ambitions for a better life. Above all, have faith.

xi.     Don’t settle for second best. Even Gaston knows he deserves the best.

xii.  Every rose has its share of thorns. A pretty face is not free of imperfections as Gaston demonstrates.

xiii. Wealth isn’t everything. You may be rich and live in a castle but you may still lead an empty existence.

xiv. A cup of tea never hurts. The English believe a cuppa can help make any situation better. Yes, even though the movie’s setting is in a village in France.

Tea, anyone?

Oh, and I must say that I can totally relate to the songs especially this part from Madame Gaston:

I want so much more than this provincial life

I want adventure in the great wide somewhere

I want it more than I can tell

And for once it might be grand, to have someone understand

I want so much more than they’ve got planned

This part really spoke to me when I first heard it and it still does now. I’m from the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur, a mere 6.4 km or 4 miles from KLCC so I’m hardly from a provincial town but, like Belle, I want so much more and I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. And insyaAllah, I will continue to work hard so I can go on adventures. In the meantime, I’ll dream and hope and plan of course.

(By the way, I also like the song A Whole New World from Aladdin. I always sing it when I’m on a trip.)

It may seem funny to some to draw inspiration from a movie based on fairy tales but I always believe we can always learn something from what we see and experience. And I’d rather do that than focus on something that I can just ignore like whether or not LeFou is really a gay character and whether he should be portrayed as one.