Luggage Carrier

I'm not a small person, I'm 5' 6", and weigh a whopping 58kg. Still, I am not terribly strong and I am one of those useless people who could not carry a 10kg bag of rice. 


And I am no longer able to carry my cat in her carrier as the weight is now 9kg. I nearly dropped her, carrier and all, the other day, and both my arms ache for days after that.


So, today, I bought a luggage carrier (a.k.a. foldaway trolley) from Mr D.I.Y. for RM83.90. The exact same carrier, albeit of a different colour, is sold at RM350 at Ace Hardware. Yes, I checked, and the material, wheels, right down to every minute detail, is the same. Well, except for the stretchable cord that will strap the cat carrier to the luggage carrier. Ace Hardware sells it together with the cord, while I had to buy the cord separately from Mr D.I.Y. for RM2. 

Its maximum weight capacity is 70kg

Choi Sun Tiger Kissed My Hand

Last night, we arrived at Brem Mall, Kepong, to see a line of people queuing up. Curious, we went to the front of the queue to see what they are queuing up for. It was none other than the Choi Sun Yeh (God of Prosperity) giving out red packets to the mall's customers. Except that, it's not a conventional Choi Sun Yeh. It's a Choi Sun Tiger. 

At first, we thought it was for children. Then, we saw people who are much older than us in the line. Pretty sure the red packets do not contain money, but some vouchers, we decided to join the crowd.

When it was my turn, I was startled when the Choi Sun Tiger, after giving me my red packet, asked for a kiss. I offered him a handshake instead, which he then turned my palm downwards and kissed the back of my hand.


Hubby who was behind me in the line, wasn't quick enough to take a shot of it. He only managed to capture a shot of my hand being returned to me.  

And the red packets do not contain vouchers, but gold coin chocolates with a "value" of 120 Euro coins. 

Why Men Shouldn't Write Advise Columns

Yes, why indeed? Thanks to a cousin of mine, now we know. Enjoy........  :))

A Diary Entry of A Trip To Penang

Dear friends and readers,


The post below is meant as a diary entry for myself, to serve as a reference on where to stay, where and what to eat in Penang as I don't trust myself to remember these details when I next make a trip to the island again. And I do so want to go to those same places and eat those same things again.


As such, I have not taken care with the sentence structure, nor attempt to make it interesting. So, if you find it dull and boring to read, my sincerest apologies. This is merely a diary entry, and well, a diary entry is never terribly interesting to anyone else but its writer, is it?  :)


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Penang - 16th to 18th February 2010


We went to Penang on the third day of Chinese New Year.  The road was smooth from KL to Penang, but not so on the other side. Traffic was at a standstill jam for those travelling from the North to KL.


We stayed at Flamingo By The Beach, formerly known as Crown Prince. It's next to Sandy Bay Paradise at Tanjung Bungah. For those who love the beach and water sports, Flamingo is highly recommended. 


The water sports available there are:


1) Water jet ski - RM60 for 15 minutes
2) Paragliding - RM120 for 5 minutes


And the hotel facilities include a jacuzzi & spa besides the regular swimming pool. 

Hotel entrance at night

Hotel lobby

Hotel room with a balcony that looks out to the sea and hill

The pool 

The jacuzzi and pool bar

RapidTransit bus #101 stops right in front of the hotel, at 10 to 15 minutes' interval. It travels between Teluk Bahang and Jetty. A ride from the hotel to Batu Ferringhi is RM1.40 per pax. The last bus back to the hotel leaves at 11:15pm from Teluk Bahang.


Batu Ferringhi Food Court
We enjoyed the hokkien mee (Penang Prawn Mee), Ee Fu Mee, grilled fish and home-made spring rolls (it's served fried with a dipping sauce). Opens at night.


Song River, Gurney Drive
Not to be missed is the otak-otak, fried oysters and chee cheong fun. The fried koay teow is not too bad either. Opens at night.


A coffee shop @ Pulau Tikus (directly opposite the police station, next to Kedai Kopi Kwai Lock)
The mee goreng and fried koay teow is excellent. Hubby ordered the assam laksa which he enjoyed as it was not too sour. And the coffee, in hubby's opinion, is excellent. I ordered some strange drink which I don't remember its name or its taste. I called it "The Forgettable Drink". Opens for breakfast & lunch.


Another coffee shop @ Pulau Tikus (behind Kedai Kopi Kwai Lock)
The curry mee here is one of the best I've ever tasted. The mee goreng is horrid, one of the worst I've ever had. Opens for breakfast & lunch.


Coffee shop @ Tanjung Bungah (behind CIMB Bank & Maxim's, next to the market)
We've never failed to return to this nondescript little coffee shop each time we're in Penang for its wantan mee (dry version) and curry mee. It's probably one of the few remaining places in Penang where a plate or bowl of noodles is RM2.50.


What we'd like to try, but never succeeded, is their hokkien mee. It's always sold out when we're there. I'm sure it must be very good, as people just queue up to order it. Opens only for breakfast.

Gong Xi Fa Cai & Happy Valentine

I'd like to wish all my friends and readers a Happy Chinese New year and Happy Valentine. May love, health, peace, happiness and joy be with you always. Oh yes, not to forget, prosperity, too. :)

Identity-crisis......

No, I'm not having an identity crisis. Rather, it is one of my cats. After giving both of them a bath today, I noticed Blackie mumbling to himself......

The Empress Dowager and Her Eunuch Part II

Most people shop for new furniture or new curtains for Chinese New Year. But I'm not most people. 


And a new furniture to me is.......a new cat tree. Hubby thought I'm mad as the cats already have a couple of cat trees, but what he doesn't realise is, cats love novelty and nothing would delight them more than a new piece of furniture/toy to play with. Besides, their existing ones are already worn and the scratch posts nearly "bald" (in my opinion, not hubby's). 


So, here are my two monkeys having fun checking out the new cat tree..........

Am Back (online) with Digi Broadband

Finally, last Friday, we terminated P1 Wimax. Hubby refused to pay the cancellation fee. Instead, we listed the chronology of events, quoting the complaint code numbers when we filled out the termination form.


After doing a lot of enquiries, plus some help from Lupie who gave me more numbers to call (thanks Lupie dear), we have chosen to subscribe to Digi. 


The reasons are:
1) It has a 7-day cooling off period while some do not.
2) It allows you to terminate the service within one year (after the 7-day cooling off period), by just paying RM15 x the remaining months of the year.
3) The sales staff was willing to come to our home with a modem to test out the coverage before we sign up.
4) The connection is instant, immediately available upon registration.


So far, I am quite happy with it, and am keeping my fingers crossed that Digi Internet might live up to its slogan......"Broadband done right". 

P1 Wimax SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought Maxis sucks but P1 Wimax sucks even more. I have the misfortune of subscribing to P1 Wimax nine months ago, despite reading quite a few negative reviews about the service. Most of the complaints were that after six months of subscription, the subscribers found that they were no longer in the range of coverage. We couldn't believe that such a thing could happen, and disregarded all those complaints.

Since the beginning of this year......or was it end of last year? My cousin whom I contact online everyday might remember when I stopped being able to log in everyday to the internet......we have been tolerating the inconsistency of P1 Wimax. The line would drop every few seconds. As days turned into weeks, our patience started to wear thin. But, still, we remained cool. Those who know me will know that I don't anger easily, but when I do finally get angry, I am FURIOUS.

What got me so furious is that since last week, there has been NO internet service at all. The red light on the modem just keeps blinking, unable to capture a line. We called the customer service and lodged complaints after complaints. 

To cut a long story short, tonight, at 9:41pm, I called the customer service again, to report that although the internet service was restored for 1 hour and 40 minutes yesterday, and the whole day today, the service is yet again disrupted. 

The customer service told me that there is a problem with the base station, and it won't be resolved until 31st March!!!! WTF??? First, they told us that we were no longer in the range of converage, but then, restored our service for 12 hours. And now???!!!!

And of course, per our previous teleconversations, I can't terminate P1Wimax without paying a cancellation fee of RM299 because intermittent availability of internet service is not grounds for termination of service.

 P1 Wimax, at the rate of how you anger your subscribers, it won't be long before you fold up. And I hope you fold up soon. To tell you the truth, had your office been opened at this hour, I would have driven there and fling the modem in your face and scream obscenities at you, risking being escorted out of your building by security guards. 

YES, THAT'S HOW FURIOUS I AM WITH YOUR INTERNET SERVICE!!!!!!!!!