Football Updates: €URO 2012 And The Greatest Team The World Has Ever Seen

The group stage matches and even the quarter-final matches had all been played with all the jokes surrounding them with Oranje being peeled, crushed and quashed; the Czechs checking out; the Greeks deserving some cr€dit for beating Russia; the German efficiency; the Spanish Inquisition resulting in the murder on the Gdansk floor (got it?); and the Italian Job being done. Oh and let’s not forget the Ashes to Ashes blown away by penalty shootout. Guess no one will be naming their sprogs Ashley anytime soon. How about Andrea, then?

The Iberian derby will kick-off the first semi-final match later tonight. The efficient Germans will meet the hot Italians tomorrow night and the final match will be played this Sunday.

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Following the signing of Herr Lukas Podolski aka Prinz Poldi on 30 April 2012, there have been plenty of other rumours of those going and staying. And yesterday, the greatest club the world has ever seen signed le buteur de charme himself, Monsieur Olivier Giroud. I’m beyond happy, I’m ecstatic!!! Now let’s put to rest these stupid rumours about Ramsey going to Fulham and about RvP and Theo leaving.

I’ll leave you with the fine specimens that are now part of the greatest team the world has ever seen.

1. Well, hello there Prinz Poldi ☺

2. And oh hello, Monsieur Giroud ☺

Well, is it getting hot in here or what!

12 Hours In The Lion City

I had planned to check out the (not-so) Great Singapore Sale (or GSS) and as usual, checked the various airlines. I even contemplated flying to JB and then crossing over but discounted the idea after more research, figuring I might as well just ride the night train like I did before. So I bought the ticket upon my return from Europe (KTMB tickets can only be bought one month in advance anyway), having bought a flight ticket from the red airline for the return trip earlier.

So on Friday evening, I left micasa just after 9.30 pm and took the bus to KL Sentral. We boarded the train heading south at platform B (funny, as the ETS train to/from Ipoh also arrived/departed from this platform) at 10.50 pm and the train left the station at a quarter past 11 pm. I was very sleepy and fell asleep soon after ticket check but woke again after 2 am when the train vibrated as it rumbled on its journey. Indeed, the train shook so hard at times I had morbid thoughts about the train rolling off from the track. Sleep wouldn’t come no matter how hard I tried so I checked my Twitter timeline to update myself of the Euro scores.

We pulled into JB Sentral at 5.45 am. From my berth, the platform looked like the one at KL Sentral. This time, there was no boy boarding the train with his basket of nasi lemak or Malay kuih to sell to passengers. How I miss that. It’s a link to the old days and I wonder if the scene has vanished altogether in other stations as well.

The immigration officers came on the train to check our passports and we only pulled out of the station at a quarter to 7 and before long, we were on the Causeway and entering Singapore. The train now terminates here instead of Tanjong Pagar because of some stupid deal the Malaysian side had made. I was in no hurry so I decided to get to Woodlands MRT station on foot, not realising that Marsiling MRT could be nearer. Well, I had given my map of Singapore to Anita just a couple of days prior. I asked for directions and vague as they were, I managed to find the way by sticking to the bus route and checking the bus stands that I came across.

I took the train to Newton then walked down Scotts Road, dropping by Royal Plaza on Scotts to change clothes and freshen up. It had only gone past 9 in the morning and the shops were still closed. I emerged out again and crossed over to Far East Plaza. I took a rest, had some breakfast and read my novel.

I left Far East Plaza just after 10 am and went to H&M, stopping by Lucky Plaza en route. H&M would be opening soon in KL (at long last!) in September 2012 so I didn’t bother with the clothes. I only wanted to find brooches – I have fallen for brooches and want to add to my collection. After H&M, I checked out some stores in Paragon and Ngee Ann City. Lunch was had at Wisma Atria.

My headache which I had been nursing since early morning (due to lack of sleep) worsened but not enough to spoil my day. I continued to wander along Orchard Road aimlessly before going to Hyatt Hotel to rest. Then I did another visit to Far East Plaza before going back to Lucky Plaza. From Lucky Plaza, I made my way to Orchard MRT and took the train to the airport. I managed to catch a quick nap on the train, ten minutes or so. It was better than nothing.

We boarded the plane quite early and took off on time. I slept all the way until the plane started its descent. I took the 8.30 pm bus back to KL Sentral but as the Rapid KL service in my area is lousier than lousy, I ended up waiting 45 minutes for the unreliable bus.

Due to the increasingly horrible exchange rate, I doubt I’ll be making a return trip to SG anytime soon. But never say never especially as I’ve discovered some stores there selling vintage goods. I managed to get a good bargain last October and on this trip too. Alhamdulillah.

Euro 2012: It’s Almost Here!

The various national teams would have arrived at their bases in Poland and Ukraine for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2012. Matches will be held at stadia in the joint host countries, four in Poland (Warsaw, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Poznań) and four in Ukraine (Kiev, Lviv, Donetsk and Kharkiv).

The 16 participating countries are Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine. I think Croatia, Denmark and Sweden will progress maybe up to quarter-finals and France, Portugal and Russia maybe up to semi-finals. As much as I don’t mind Hodgson, I won’t be supporting for England and as much as I have a soft spot for the Irish, I don’t see them progressing far. Similarly, I don’t see either host progressing far but perhaps it’s because I don’t know many Polish and Ukrainian players. It’s tempting for me to root for the Netherlands and I would have but for despicable players like Robben, Sneijder and van de Faart (Vaart). I also dislike most Barcelona players so I won’t be rooting for Spain either. Greece have a boring defensive approach to playing and while Italians are usually guilty of this, at least the hot Italians make up for the boringness. If I’m a betting person, I think Germany will be in the finals, the question that remains is whether or not they will lift the trophy.

The tournament will kick off tomorrow and end on 1 July so there’s plenty of time to revise our predictions as to who will progress and who will be sent home packing in the early stages. It all boils down to consistency, teamwork and performance on the pitch, and to some extent, the referee, linesmen and the players themselves. No cheating, no diving, no rolling around on the ground acting and this will be an entertaining tournament.

Let’s see how it all goes then!

12 Hours In Melaka

I had discussed with Akak to go on a trip to Melaka before I left for Europe. We had settled on last weekend as it’s currently school hols and it was also Abah’s birthday on Sunday. However, as Abah wanted to have some small ceremony done for his birthday on Saturday evening at the local mini mosque, we had to rearrange the trip to a day earlier.

Before braving the nasty Friday evening jam, we went for dinner at De Palma Hotel. Abah decided not to go to Melaka as my brother was coming from Johore so he drove separately to the hotel. We finally left the hotel at almost 10 and took the Ampang-Hulu Langat route before joining LEKAS highway. The traffic was heavy, I dare say it rivalled the festive season traffic. We finally reached Melaka at close to 1 am but spent considerable time locating our hotel in Little India – blame the one-way streets! My bro-in-law parked the vehicle at a nearby car-park and we immediately checked in for the evening.

After morning prayers on Saturday, I went for a morning walk. My nephew, el niño, came along and we walked along the river to the nearby Dutch Square, up the hill to St Paul’s and then back to the hotel. It was still deserted at 7.30 am and if you want to take pictures at the Dutch Square, this is the best time to do so. We went to search for breakfast after 8 am and then returned to the hotel to check out.

After checking out and loading the vehicle with our luggage, we walked by the river to the Maritime Museum. We wanted to go on a boat ride and the ticket counter is near the museum. The fare is RM10 for adults with MyKad and RM5 for children below 12. Foreigners pay RM15 per adult. The boat ride lasted around 45 minutes and we passed villages and the buildings at the waterfront. Some of the buildings have been painted to resemble the colours of Malaysia – and by this I mean the fruit, the local dessert, the different cultures… I enjoyed the boat ride.

It had gotten quite hot and humid by the time we finished the boat ride. We walked to Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Heeren Street) and then turn to Jalan Hang Jebat (Jonker Walk). By then there were already a lot of people descending on the little narrow streets of the city. I do wonder how the city copes with its visitors and I do hope that the environmental impact of these visitors (including myself) is minimal. Or that the city and its good people are at least prepared to deal with it.

We sought advice from some tourist police on where to get the best asam pedas dish and walked to nearby Medan Samudera. There are some stalls at the food court on the first floor from which you can enjoy the local Malaccan cuisine.

We then walked back to the car-park and left. There was a long almighty traffic stretching all the way to the highway on the opposite side of the road, all trying to enter the city! I had in fact made one such trip myself during the March school hols (big mistake as I spent an additional hour on the highway to Melaka) so I know it’s not a good idea to go to Melaka during the day on a school hols weekend. I mean we left late at night and still encountered heavy traffic ourselves but nowhere anywhere as bad as that Saturday afternoon.

I can still see myself doing another trip to Melaka.