North Of The Border

This trip had been planned since last year; I had even bought the return train tickets for a trip in November 2010. However, I cancelled my plan following Mummy’s departure. The flood at the northern states which led to KTMB cancelling its train services turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I got a refund for my ticket.

Despite having earmarked last weekend as the dates for my visit, I procrastinated long enough and when I finally went to buy my ticket, I could only get an upper berth for my outbound trip – and only up to Padang Besar (don’t ask. I did ask but couldn’t understand the answer - especially when I managed to buy ticket for a lower berth for my return trip all the way to KL. I was also told I could only buy the ticket from Padang Besar 24 hours before the trip). The berth ticket to Padang Besar cost RM50, while the berth ticket for the return trip cost RM60.

So last Friday evening, I joined the crowd at KL Sentral before making my way to the platform (I had earlier in the day bought my ticket from Padang Besar to my final destination for RM13). The ETD was 2120; however, we only started our journey about ten minutes later. Unfortunately, I was unlucky enough to have to share my coach with a group of extended family/relatives/friends who acted like they owned the whole darn coach, talking loudly among themselves, cracking jokes, passing food around… I tried to read but it was hard to concentrate in such a racket. Finally, I tried to sleep as I was feeling knackered. I managed to sleep somehow although I woke up every now and then. The noisy passengers finally went to sleep too and though I was relieved of their chatter, I had another noise to put up with: their symphony of snores. Being surrounded by a symphony of snores was simply neither smashing nor splendid.

I was up by 5 and went to use the bathroom (not too bad for a train and a Malaysian one at that ;p) as I wanted to beat the crowd.
Performed prayers then tried to sleep again, only to be woken up by, you guess it, the noisy passengers talking excitedly on the top of their lungs. Fortunately they all went off at Arau and I had the whole coach all to myself (yes, I was that outnumbered). Peace at last!

We pulled up at Padang Besar at 7.30 am. Actually I didn’t know we had reached Padang Besar as there was no announcement and my view out of the window was obscured by work barriers. I only knew when I saw one KTMB staff walking towards my coach and realised this
must be my stop then. I hopped off and in my confused state somehow found the entrance to the passport control (to be honest, I was actually looking for the dining room. Heh!) so I joined the queue. First, we went through the Malaysian immigration then we walked around the corner for the Thai control. Very easy that way and nowhere as chaotic as at Woodlands. After that, I went up to check out the food on offer (limited food but I managed) before making my way back to the platform.

The ticket said the departure time from Padang Besar was 0935 but 0935 came and went and no train was in sight (our earlier train had pulled away). Finally the train came at 1015 and we boarded it. This time, I joined a coach with seats. We moved at a leisurely pace and
pulled up at Hat Yai Junction railway station at 1015 local time (Thailand is an hour behind).

The Saturday morning bustle in a border town greeted me on my way into town. There were many gold shops along the road as you exit the railway station. Sighting Robinsons, I stopped to check it out. I spent some time there before walking on. There aren’t many buildings that attracted me (Thailand is one of the few countries which didn’t succumb to any colonial rule and as such doesn’t have any colonial building or colonial-influenced architecture). It was threatening to rain so every time I felt raindrops, I ducked into a shopping complex. If you want to shop, you should check out Central and Lee Garden Plaza (opposite each other). I wanted to find some products at the Boots pharmacy (there’s a small Boots outlet in Central and a slightly larger store in Lee Garden Plaza). My early lunch was earlier had at Maliam Restaurant along the main road leading from the railway station and I must say, the noodles I had were not much to speak of.

After the brief retail therapy, I walked to the Clock Tower to get a bus to Songkhla. I had earlier booked a hotel in Hat Yai but having read the reviews, became reluctant to actually spend a night there. I read of the poor conditions of hotel rooms, the noise, hustle and bustle and the general fact that the town is usually over-run by Malaysians especially over the weekends did it for me. I finally booked a hotel in Songkhla.

I had read that I was supposed to take the green bus 1871 to Songkhla and was surprised to find the white mini-vans at the Clock Tower (though one had the number 1871 on it and one chap confirmed it was indeed heading for Songkhla). The fare was THB27 (I read it only cost THB9 so perhaps that’s the fare on the bus, which I suppose I can board from the bus station but oh it was quite a walk away). I had help from my fellow passengers and one Thai Muslim girl offered not only to show me the way but also take me to my hotel on her motor bike ;’) She could speak Malay but in Kelantanese dialect (which I don’t really have a grasp on ;p).

So she took me to Sun City Mansion and helped me check in. Then she helped write down the instruction to the motorbike taxi to take me to the minivan station the next day for my ride back to Hat Yai. She insisted on seeing me to my room and then, when I asked her about some pictures of Songkhla in the hotel, offered to bring me around. And get this, she later told me she was not well. Oh my God. I just couldn’t believe her kind hospitality and generosity and selflessness... I was really touched.

We went to Samila Beach and took some photos there. And of course, there were busloads of Malaysians there too. Next, she took me to Tung Khuan hill but I decided against going up (there were also a lot of Malaysians here). We stayed for a little while looking at the monkeys and as we set to leave, one of them actually grabbed my leg, prompting a surprise scream for me.

She sent me back to the hotel and headed home.

After freshening up and evening prayers, I went out to find dinner. There were some stalls set up along Thaleluang (Talay Luang) Road where my hotel was and a few Muslim-owned stalls. Again, I had to rely on some locals to help me communicate (this time, from a lady from Narathiwat who also spoke with Kelantanese dialect). Then I strolled along the road before heading back. Already knackered and sleepy, I stayed up to watch a Thai drama. I was glued to it (it lasted for more than an hour I think) despite not understanding the language – all because the hero was good-looking. Ha, predictable me!

I woke up just after midnight (Malaysia time) to catch footie only to discover that not one channel had footie at all. This happened when I was in Bangkok 2.5 years ago; then, no channel was showing the FA Cup matches. Grrrr...! And not to mention, I had initially booked this hotel because it promised me free WiFi but I didn’t enjoy any Internet time at all during my stay. Double grrr...!!! (I have just given my feedback to Agoda and definitely included this in my comment).

On Sunday, I lazed in (not much to see outside anyway. It showered for a while at around 11 and was I glad I stayed indoors) and read my
novel, glancing at the TV every now and then. At any one time, there was always a channel that focussed on the floods in Thailand. Don Muang airport was totally submerged. Left after prayers and asked the hotel staff to help me get a motorbike taxi (I gave the paper with my new friend’s instruction). The ride lasted only a few minutes and cost me THB50 so you can bet I wasn’t pleased with that at all. The minivan fare back to Hat Yai was THB30 (my new friend had already told me of the different rates: THB27 from Hat Yai to Songkhla but THB30 from Songkhla to Hat Yai).

We reached the Clock Tower at 1.30 pm and I walked to Odean Shopping Centre before making another repeat visit to Central. Then I went to have lunch. It started raining as I left the restaurant so I sought shelter at Robinsons before making my way to the railway station. I was lucky that the rain showers I experienced over the weekend were brief.

I boarded the train (I was surprised that there were only two coaches heading back to Padang Besar and figured the rest of the coaches were at Padang Besar). Again, luck was not on my side. This time, there were four rowdy, noisy unruly kids sharing space very close to me - and the parents doing hardly anything to control them. Really! It irks me to see people not being bothered about their offspring disturbing others. The kids were running around, after each other, up and down the metal staircase from the upper berth to lower and lower to upper… it was enough to make me simmer. When I drew the curtain, one of them pulled at my curtain and peeked in. Honestly, did he think I found it cute and endearing? No, I found it irritating and annoying and I felt like smacking the kid. It was the closest I felt to murdering someone and had it happen, it would be Murder on the Orient Express, my version of course.

We finally left Hat Yai at 1620 (scheduled at 1600) and reached Padang Besar after 5. we had to go through the same passport control but in the reverse order: the Thai side first before the Malaysian. Then we waited and waited and waited before we could re-board the train together with all the other passengers who joined the train at Padang Besar.

It was a good thing the kids fell asleep almost immediately so we enjoyed some peace at last. Luckily I packed a bit of food too as there was hardly anything at the canteen when I went swaying through a few coaches to find it. I was told that perhaps fried rice would be supplied when we reached Bukit Mertajam which was then two hours away (we’d reach it after 10 pm) and I pondered if I should be eating my dinner that late. In the end, I totally slept through Bukit Mertajam (I heard someone remarked we stopped there for two hours but I was dead to the world so can’t confirm this).

I woke up at 3.30 and fell asleep again until I heard someone said it was close to 6 am. I got up then and went to the bathroom. After performing prayers, I remained in my berth and read my novel. We only arrived at KL Sentral at 7.30 am (scheduled to arrive at 5.30 (?) according to the timetable).

Would I return to Hat Yai? Perhaps. Would I endure another train journey? Perhaps not. Perhaps I’ll take a flight or bus and join the train closer to the border. But it’s an experience I don’t regret for sure. Yes, even the noisy inconsiderate rowdy passengers formed part of the experience of this trip.

P.S. Thanks to my power of prowess and research ability (ahem), I now know that the Thai drama I was glued at on Saturday night is Game Rai Game Rak (Evil Game & Love Game) and that the handsome hero is Barry Nadech Kugimiya ;) - remember that name!

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We drew at home in last Saturday’s match against Fulham (boo hoo) and lost last night’s quarter-final match against Man Shitty. It’d be nice to win or draw but I can’t say I’m too affected by our loss.

November March

Arsenal’s November march continues with last weekend’s win at Norwich and last night’s win over Borussia Dortmund.

After a disastrous start to the season so much so there were even doubts on our continuance in the Champions League (especially as we didn’t automatically qualify), who would have believed it of us to become the first English team to make it into the last 16, to top our group with a match to spare (and correspondingly avoiding any meeting with Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid in the next round), and to be the only English team to be unbeaten this mid-week? Who would have thought the future of Chelshit, Man Shitty and even ManUre in the Champions League this season is still in doubt? Only us, the true loyal supporters, the believers, are not in doubt as to our ability to march on. Onwards and upwards and Forward Arsenal!

Cool shave: Arsenal legend Titi and tennis legend FedEx were at the Emirates, no doubt supporting The Arsenal. Cool!

Our head boy ;)

Tennis legend with future Arsenal legend after the match

AVB = Always Vulnerable Boss. RvP = Really valuable Player.

On the domestic front, young Tigers overcame hostility at Gelora Bung Karno to win the SEA Games football gold defeating host Garuda in the penalty shoot-out (they lost to Syria last night though in the Olympic qualifying match. I blame it on fatigue). The traffic was horrendous on Monday evening – I suspect a lot of KLites were rushing to get home to watch the match. I turned on the TV just after 8.30 pm thinking the match started at 8 and was surprised to discover the match had only started. Within seconds, Garuda scored from a corner. Afraid I was going to jinx the young Tigers, I switched to watch the Korean drama instead. Not to worry, Dad provided live commentary when he came back. I couldn’t even bear to watch the penalty shoot-out. Cowardly custard, that’s me.

Last but not least, if you haven’t already read L’Equipe’s interview with Arsène, check out the full transcript here.

The Roaring Lion

We used to go to Singers when I was small as we had (and still have) some relatives in the island state. My aunt, like most Singaporeans, lives in a HDB flat while another relative lives in a house (not common especially for a Malay family). We stopped going for some reason and it was only in 2005 when I next set foot on Singers soil. Since then, I’ve had opportunities to revisit the island city but I never stayed for long, not until my recent trip.

Regular readers of this blog may be aware of how I feel for Singers. I don’t like it and resent some of the people there but I have to relutantly admit that I have grudging admiration with how the country is run. Everything works. You can say that it has achieved a first world status in a region of developing countries. It’s amazing how it transforms itself over the years to where it is now despite no natural resources (no mineral deposits or oil and gas), low population (and hence low local labour supply), limited land space (to plant rubber, palm trees or cocoa) and scarce resources (it doesn’t even supply enough water for its inhabitants). How does it achieve so much from so little and in the face of so many constraints?

Well, for one it has/had a visionary leader. LKW is an astute leader who knew where his country should be and he worked hard to realise those dreams for his country. He turned Singers’ location into an advantage by developing its port and also turning it into a financial centre. There are many more foreign financial institutions set up in Singers than in KL (in fact they are also moving into Islamic finance). As if being a successful lucrative port is not enough, it has also turned itself as an air traffic stopover between Europe and Australia. It also invests heavily into high-tech industries and provides broadband Internet for its people. In short, Singers is a bit like Hong Kong minus the movie industry.

Realising that it needs a first class population to go with the first world status, it invests in its people. You can’t be a first world country if half of your population live in squalor or are homeless so they set up the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to provide decent, affordable housing for the masses and the Central Provident Fund to help the people save for their retirement, healthcare, home ownership, education and investment (similar to our EPF).

To attract visitors/tourists, it positions itself as a shopping destination. Why, it has more Gucci/Prada/LV boutiques than KL does! It built a world-class airport at Changi - that’s more like a city within a city - linked to the city by MRT making it convenient for even backpackers to travel around (if you’re in transit, you can even join a free tour with a choice of either a Cultural or Colonial Tour). If you can’t join the tour because your transit time is short, no sweat; there are other ‘transfer experiences’ options open to you to capture your attention (and while KLIA is too far from the city to make a similar concept feasible, don’t forget Singers is compact enough to make it work). It preserves its buildings (something we don’t do in KL) and build new architecturally interesting buildings like the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay and Marina Bay Sands. It even copies London’s attraction and renames it the Singapore Flyer. It has also developed Sentosa Island (after renaming it from the unglamorous Pulau Belakang Mati) into a multi-park resort island with the Universal Studios Singapore being the latest addition to the attractions. Funny why residents of an island would need an island getaway but there you go. At least they are visionary.

Not content with that, it has also forayed into gambling with two casinos built and resurrected the Grand Prix (which was discontinued after 1973). So now it has become Macau in those respects. Let’s face it; ethics aside, gaming is a big money-spinner and a lucrative cash cow for the country. No local labour? No problem. Filipinos, who are largely fluent in English (albeit American English at that) are only too ready and available for hire. (Also, ever wonder why despite being a British colony, Singapore adopts American English rather than British English? Center rather than Centre and no Ground Floor anywhere; it’s Basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor, etc? Some examples: Ngee Ann City, Wisma Atria, 313 Somerset). Most stores at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands (well, those which I entered) employ Filipinos.

So yes, I do have a grudging admiration for them in how they develop and progress to becoming the major financial centre in the region. You always feel like you’ve arrived into a clean and super-efficient country intent on offering you the best the modern world has to offer. The world-class airport, the efficient and very affordable MRT system (well, I dislike the long waiting time to board the train at Changi), the broad pavement, the clear road and direction signs, observance of rules by everyone (including foreign workers! Something you won’t see here – because the locals flaunt the rules too), the shopping and dining delights offered by the myriad shopping malls and eateries that seem to sprout by the day... like I said before, everything works. They even preserve old buildings instead of rushing to tear them down. Same goes to trees. Trees are allowed to grow unlike in KL where they get chopped down. I was in the cab to and fro Changi and admiring the roadside rain trees – and do you know they even have heritage trees? Why can’t we have those in KL too?

It’s also so very safe in Singers like in other developed Asian cities like Tokyo and Taipei. You can walk late at night without fear of being mugged or raped. This despite not being a Muslim country (shame on us for calling ourselves a Muslim country but not implementing Muslim laws that God knows will protect everyone. And by the way, hudud is only applicable to Muslims so non-Muslims need not fear them. Unfortunately, it’s the so-called Muslims who not only oppose hudud but have taken it upon themselves to instil fear of hudud into the hearts of the non-Muslims. Fie on you. You call yourselves Muslims and believers but don’t believe in God’s words/refuse to obey God’s words? Anyway, I digress). Everyone obeys and respects the law/rules. No chewing gum, no spitting, no littering, no graffiti, no illegal motor racing, no traffic jam.

Of course all these make Singers sound boring. Sterile. Hard to please. And it is boring and sterile. It’s become impersonal. You’re treated politely but indifferently. Not many people offer you a smile, a nod, a direct look. Sometimes they don’t make space for you in the MRT. Visitors are welcomed especially if they have money to spend or can benefit the locals. Like in other big cities, there is a veneer here that fools visitors and those who go on about how clean and orderly everything is have no clue of how things really are. What you see is an artificiality right up there with their high-spending materialistic lifestyle. That is why I can never spend too long there. Of course once in a while you feel like going there if only to get away from the bureaucracy and the way things are done here but before long, you’ll be longing to get back.

Well, at least that’s how I feel.

But then again, I’m a product of Malaysia. Not malaise, mind you. Heh

SIN City - November 2011

I flew to Singapore on Monday afternoon after Eid al Adha to attend a seminar. The seminar was held at Amara Hotel in Tanjong Pagar but I stayed at The Residence at Singapore Recreation Club instead for a number of reasons: staying at Amara would cost TheOrganisation more; Amara is in the business area, and the vicinity would be ‘dead’ after office hours; as it’s not centrally located, it’d be more difficult for me to find food, specifically halal food there (its proximity to Chinatown would not help me at all in finding halal food). My four-night stay The Residence gave at least S$200 cost-saving to TheOrganisation. It’s only a two-minute walk from the City Hall MRT station so it’s so much more centrally-located. Not to mention, both the North-South and East-West MRT lines serve this station.

We were supposed to land after 55 minutes but we were circling for a while before we could land. So when we finally landed, we had to join hundreds of other passengers from other airlines at the immigration. It took more than 20 minutes to clear immigration and when I finally joined the taxi queue, it was well past 6.15 pm. We reached The Residence at close to 6 and it was already getting dark.

After checking in and performing prayers, I walked out to Bugis Junction to find a store. I had dinner there before walking back to the hotel.

On Tuesday morning, I went for a morning walk after morning prayers. It was a grey overcast morning and in fact it was drizzling lightly. I walked a few blocks before turning back and had reached the posh Raffles Hotel about 100 metres away from The Residence when the skies opened up and the rain came down hard and heavy. I waited out the rain for about ten minutes, increasingly feeling hungrier by the minute. Finally the torrential downpour slowed down to steady rain and I decided to brave it back. A kindly Singh staff offered to lend me a brolly (I didn't ask, he offered) and I accepted it gratefully. I told him I’d only be able to return it later in the day and he said not to worry about it. I returned to my room and had a quick shower before going down for breakfast.

The rain had gained momentum in the meantime and had returned to a torrential downpour when I emerged. All the taxies seemed to be on hire and I reckoned it would be ages before I could find an empty cab at that hour in that weather. So I braved the rain and walked to the MRT station. It was a good thing I went ahead and packed my pair of Crocs footwear as they came in very handy indeed in that weather.

Tanjong Pagar MRT was full of employees all stranded in the station and even the escalators were stopped for this reason. I walked through the running water and before long, my Crocs were soaked. I quickly changed footwear in the washroom before making my way to the ballroom where we would be cooped up in for the next couple of days.

The rain resulted in the seminar starting later than scheduled as we waited for the remaining participants. Even the chap who was supposed to officiate the seminar and deliver the opening remarks arrived an hour later (he was caught in the traffic for two hours)! And in case you forgot, there's the ERP charge slapped on during peak hours...

Thankfully, the organisers were thoughtful enough to allocate a prayer room (this being Singapore, you won’t find any prayer room in hotels or shopping complexes) so I performed prayers there before having lunch. We finished after 6 pm on the first day and I hurried back to my room to change before going out again to Orchard Road. I was at the MRT platform on my way back at exactly 10 pm but not to worry, Sin City is a very safe city. Whenever I peeked out of my room, I could see people walking even at close to midnight. You don’t need to worry about suspicious characters lurking behind a bush or tree ready to ambush you. You don’t have to worry about being pick-pocketed in crowded trains or snatched while walking alone. And there’s no illegal motor racing (especially since my room faces Stamford Road)! Hate it or like it, we have a mighty lot to learn from our neighbour.

It didn’t rain on Wednesday but I decided not to go for any morning walk. The day pretty much was a repeat of the day before. Different speakers of course, different levels of concentration needed. I sat at a different table and met new people. We finished just before 6 and again, I hurried back to change before taking the train to Orchard Road. Yes, again. This time, I cut my browsing time and returned back to City Hall after 8 pm and walked to Marina Square.

We had workshops in the morning and afternoon on Thursday. I had filtered through the speakers from the previous couple of days and earmarked those I thought interesting. The morning workshop I was in was over-subscribed, so much so the room was cramped. But we all gained a lot from the active interaction and participation. We ended just after 12 for lunch. It was a two-hour lunch break today and we started our afternoon workshop at 2 (I wouldn't have minded having a one-hour lunch and starting again at 1 so that we could end early but well, I wasn’t part of the organising team...).

I left at 5.30 pm and hurried back to change before walking out to the Marina Bay Sands. It was an easy fifteen-minute walk. I wandered around the shops, got chatted to by a hottie salesman and even checked out the casino. I left after about 20 minutes and walked back to Raffles City. I had dinner there before returning back to my room. No shopping today, just lots of visual treats.

As I’d decided to buy some fragrance for Abah, I had to return to Orchard Road again on Friday morning. I decided to take a leisurely walk there instead and set off after breakfast. It took me 30 minutes to walk to Orchard Road and I managed to get the items I wanted. I hurried back to my room and checked out at 1215.

I took a cab to the airport and reached Terminal 2 at 1237 (flight was at 1340!). I still managed to browse some shops, buy a lion key chain for my nephew and checked out the Golden Lounge before running all the way to gate E26. The queue was such that we only took off at 1400. There were a lot of clouds (it was threatening to rain in Singapore) that there were some turbulence (I hate turbulence).

Despite the later take-off, we landed at 1445. I was already reunited with my bag at 1455 but missed the 1500 KLIA Express train by about ten seconds. How annoying! So I had to wait for the next train out. From KL Sentral, I took a cab home. It rained all the way but not thankfully in Ampang.

So that was my fourth trip to SG this year. I don’t think another trip would come so soon, especially not when the SGD keeps appreciating and when Johor Premium Outlets open on 2 December (grand opening on 11 December 2011 - originally supposed to be today, 11.11.11).

This definitely warrants a trip to Senai in the near future. Watch this space!

P.S. In case you are wondering, yes, I rely on my watch a lot. I have this tendency to time myself, how long it takes me to get from A to B, whether it be on foot, by bus, taxi or train. I set time limit on myself (I’m not rigid, I just like to set a timeframe and plan my schedule like this and I do adjust my schedule as necessary), I set aside how much time I reckon I need to do something, I clock myself...no, I can’t explain it and I don’t know why I have this obsession to time myself (I think it's because the first surah delivered by the angel Gabriel to prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is al-‘Asr). So yes, when you see reference to time in this blog, it’s because of my obsession to check the time and tendency to place things in their time.

‘Twas The Night Before Eid Adha

The last match before the last Eid (Fitr) saw the Gunners beaten badly at Old Trafford with an embarrassing score line. Needless to say, it put a damper on my Eid. In fact, I was contemplating such a bleak future as an Arsenal fan; I mean, how on earth could we attract anyone to join the club after such a humiliating defeat? Thankfully, we somehow managed to attract some new blood and loanee - on transfer deadline day, no less.

This Eid (Adha), we hosted West Bromwich Albion, the Midlands team which came last year and defeated us. That day, the Gunners played badly and we needed two late goals from $amir Na$ri to make the score line more respectable although we still lost. So, it was with some apprehension when they came a-calling yesterday in what was to be the first of many 11 pm local time kick-off.

To be honest, I don’t think we played all that well. I was nervous and was slightly relaxed when Robin (who else) scored a tap-in from a Theo attempt (received from a wonderful Ramsey delivery – he’s such a play-maker and is really bossing the midfield these days *beams* and has gone a long way since his horrific injury). TV5 then underlined his return with a goal before half-time. Then Arteta scored his first Emirates goal to make it three nil to The Arsenal. And finally we now have a positive goal difference – although it’s not enough for us to leapfrog Liverpool although we’re both tied at 19 points.

So, are we a one-man team? Of course not although of course it was telling that van Persie scored one goal and provided two assists. Rambo had a good match and Carl had a solid one too. Let’s hope this good performance continues until the end of the season.

Oh and has anyone else noticed that we always win whenever Cesc doesn’t tweet us and lost when he did?