The Reader

Boat cruise in Putrajaya

I took this photo using Lumix LX5 last September,2011.The gondolas reminded me of my trip to Venice,Italy way back in 1987 when I was on an European tour with my wife to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversay.Actually it was our first honey moon overseas for us because when I got married in 1977,I could not afford an overseas trip-so we just did Cuti-Cuti Malaysia.Better late than never...

To younger couples who cannot afford an overseas holiday like me before,this is a nice place to enjoy a gondola ride in Putrajaya with your loved ones.In fact, Putrajaya offers a catamaran cruise and even speed boats.By the way,I have not tried any of these facilities yet-too busy cycling and taking photos around Putrajaya.

Of course, you may not be able to smell and taste the real cappucino from the cafe at St. Marks Square in Venice but you can have teh tarik and roti canai at The Souq or you can have a mee basah at Umai Cafe and board the Cat from there.Further more info,kindly call Perbadanan Putrajaya.

Above the clouds #2

One of the things I enjoy on a flight is watching the world from 10km above.A few days ago,I was on a flight from KBR to KUL.We were just above a carpet of white clouds.They look like an ocean!It was around 7:30pm and the I saw a beautiful sunset with the waves of white clouds forming the new horizon..Sadly,I could not capture the view using my camera phone.

Most of the time we earthlings see clouds from below.When we see from above,the view and the feelings are totally different.Just imagine the sight to behold if we were given to chance to explore the Milky Way...

Another bag?

I am not going to ask the  ladies how many bags they have for their personal usage,especially hadbags but nowadays men are getting more bags.I am guilty as charged and I will not reveal the exact figure but almost 10-old and new.I have a bag for my business documents,project documents,a PC,two for my bicycles,two sling bags(business and leisure) and two compact/light travelling bags.Did I forget anythings else?My gym bag!

As we grow older,we collect a few things and they become our baggages-either physical,sentiments and prejudices.Personally I prefer  to travel light as my destination is more important than my journey.It is too cumbersome and heavy to take along everything we encountered over a few decades,so I decide to take what matters most to me at any one time...

The photo above is my new bag for my new bicycle to usher me into the New Year 2012.That was my excuse for buying this bag when my wife made a remark that I have bought two bags already this month.[Honestly I like the colour and the shape of the bag that matches well with my bike,not to mnetion it is from Lancaster,UK].Whenever my wife buys a new handbag,my usual remark is how nice it is.It matches your new dress...[that is wisdom after being married for more than 30 years..]-C'est la vie..

Melaka Revisited

I am just back from Melaka to have a little celebration with my schoolmates and to visit one who is sick and house bound.I was very happy indeed to see a real effort by the state government to get the city to be recognised as World Heritage City since 7th July,2009.Here is one the photos I took but more can be viewed at my flickr website.I look forward  to have dinner at the Quay Side Seafood Restaurant.

From KL to JB by train

I planned to blog every hour on the train but I could not not.The main reason is the connectivity to Internet.From KL to Seremban was a bliss but after that,I lost my patience when I had intermittent connection until I arrived at Kluang-most time no connection at all).By then,my mood was not there any more as I was getting hungry.Hungry men are angry men;-) I am using Celcom broadband with 3G wireless card.

Another reason that I did not proceed with blogging was due to lateral movements of the train as I type on the keyboard with my two fingers. Last but not the least was I am worried the vibration from the train may cause damages to some parts inside in pc.So I chosed to update using Twitters via my Treo680 smartphone-as and when I could get connected to Digi.

By the way, when it comes to writing/blogging on the train, the old fashion way of a notebook and a pen will do just fine. That was what I did along the way...

One interesting discovery I made is the direct distance from JB Railway Station  to KL Sentral is about  329km but the real distance I travelled by railway is 376km.This figure shows that the route constructed is only 14.3% longer than the straight line. Considering our railway lines were done more than 50 years,it was an good engineering work done by the engineers at that time.

Using my GPS device to track the travel,here are some figures:

Max speed                   101km/hr
Moving average speed     55km/hr
Travel time                      6.5hrs
Ttotal time for Stops          25min
Distance covered              376km

At Tampin and Gemas railway stations,I saw a few old trains and old buildings being left to rot away. What a waste..I could write more but nothing is good to report about. In a sentence,our KTM needs a major overall overhaul in order to keep it relevant and modern.

Here is something to smile about:

When I bought the ticket for KL/JB, the ticket officer told me I have made the right choice compared to travelling by plane or bus.When I enquired why, he told me that I can enjoy the ride much longer for every ringgit I paid compared to travelling by plane or bus!

Note on the photo:The photo showed how people sleep on the train.I saw one with a plastic bag to cover his head!

MAS Policy?

On Tuesday, I arrived at KL Sentral at 0915 to check in for 1045 flight from KL to KB. As I was about to walk to in to MAS counter,I was stopped and was informed that I could not check-in unless I buy the ERL ticket first.So, I obediently followed the lady's intruction. It took me 5 minutes to buy the ERL ticket. Then, I came back to MAS counter to check-in. The girl at the counter looked at my ticket and told me that she could not check me in because the rules said that I need 90 minutes before depature time to check in at MAS counter at KL Sentral. When I told her that I donot have any check-in luggage, she insisted that she could not do it.It is our procedure/policy.

That really made me angry!On leaving the counter, I asked her to tell the management that MAS has a stupid policy! I just wonder what is the purpose of having high speed ERL and KL Sentral as a transportation hub??

Notes on my reading: Completed all Tuesdays with Morrie.Now, back to Musee de Louvre(Da Vinci Codes).