At last, I managed to get to a loo and pee. It took me 2 hours to get to work this morning. A warning bell triggered in my head when DJs started their traffic report by saying folks trying to get into KL should expect massive traffic jam on all roads leading into town today and tomorrow. But still, we were already on the road by then so all we could do was become collateral damage with the rest of the morning commuters.
Why? Well from where we came, cops were having a road block thingy in Cheras. Out of the four lanes (five for people who considers the emergency lane is actually a lane they are allowed to use even though they're not having an emergency) the cops only opened one. One freakin lane.
Why? Apparently some idiots are organising a demonstration in KL tomorrow, and things might get ugly.
Why? Those idiots like getting dirty on other people's expense, on the pretext of shoving justice up the system's ass, and they think they can get things done like that.
Really? Why? Yeah really. Because they're idiots.
Idiots who obviously don't care that some folks around here just want to get to work, get paid, and live a normal life. They don't care that some folks just want to send their kids to school and get them educated. They don't care, obviously, that they're causing other folks problems, just cause they think that their cause is a just cause.
Those idiots did not see what I saw this morning.
I saw in one car a couple was fighting - it looks as if the passenger got angry when the driver kept letting other cars jump the queue.
I saw two kids in school uniform crying, most likely cause they're running late to school.
I saw about four cars scratching each other as each of them try to align their vehicles into one lane, and one can't even tell who's got the right of way.
I saw two cars, on separate occasions, spluttered to a stop as their engines started to choke then die.
I saw a guy falling asleep behind the wheel!
And most importantly, I saw my bladder trembling as it fought the urge to release! Hell yeah, those idiots didn't see me hold my pee. Bastards.
"Goin hermitty!" - said Siti Rosman while she was swept away to Outuland. She is currently residing in Pastensu, all happy and nice there, and she's no longer askin' "Why am I here?".
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Lessons learnt from holiday trip
As a responsible citizen of the Internet I felt obliged to share some knowledge gained from my recent holiday trip.
1. For destinations you can reach with Air Asia, go with Air Asia. MAS is shitty. Comparatively the former's seats are more comfortable, the stewardesses are more friendly and look at having to buy food off the catalogue as having more choices. Instead, the latter's plane is small and smelly, stewardesses prefer to address Mat Sallehs first locals second (and with an attitude that is not at all appealing as well), and with that kind of preference you end up eating the leftovers (whatever the Mat Sallehs didn't choose, that will be your meal). So for the price you pay, MAS is totally not worth it. Just as how Singapore Airlines is so not worth it compared to the more affordable Silk Air.
2. You can survive peak season holiday just by enjoying it, instead of cramming it.
Going for a holiday to a place that is experiencing its peak season (like school holidays peak season, not World Cup peak season) without booking ground arrangements is doable. You just have to allocate time and budget cut-offs as you choose your accomodation and check on the Internet the rates if you want to book for day-tours only after arrival. Do not aim too high (like trying to go to 6, 7 places in one day), rather, target the few must-go places that you really want to see and as for the rest, take it as bonus.
3. Be friends with locals, most of them are more helpful than you can imagine.
There are a lot of scammers and nasty people anywhere you go, but in most places, there are more good people around if you care to make time to make friends. Locals might not know which is the best hotel/motel/hostel to book, but they can tell you which parts of the place is most happenning, and perhaps most importantly, safe. They can also tell you where you can find good food at good rates, or how to avoid getting into trouble with the authorities.
4. Stop converting as you shop, specially when buying stuff you'll never find at home.
While most of us who travel on a budget tend to convert to local currency before buying souvenirs, that practice might make you bring back a whole bunch of foreign currency which you'd unlikely get to change back at a good rate. So why not set a rough figure on how much you'd want to spend (and not bring back) and only convert that much for souvenir shopping. If you find something you truly like, bargain like hell if it is overpriced. In cases you do not find anything worth lugging home, then save the currency on some other cool stuff like spa treatment or room service.
5. In places where transportation options are aplenty, do survey.
Many tourist spots tend to offer multiple transportation modes to get tourists from Sightseeing Spot A to Sightseeing Spot B. Spend your first day at the place surveying your options (as you go surveying for accomodation) so that you'll end up paying not only a cheaper rate but it might also get you there quicker. Plus, compared to car rental or private tours, when you jump into a group in a public transport, it is less likely that you'll be scammed (or sent to places where they scam you into buying) or get lost.
1. For destinations you can reach with Air Asia, go with Air Asia. MAS is shitty. Comparatively the former's seats are more comfortable, the stewardesses are more friendly and look at having to buy food off the catalogue as having more choices. Instead, the latter's plane is small and smelly, stewardesses prefer to address Mat Sallehs first locals second (and with an attitude that is not at all appealing as well), and with that kind of preference you end up eating the leftovers (whatever the Mat Sallehs didn't choose, that will be your meal). So for the price you pay, MAS is totally not worth it. Just as how Singapore Airlines is so not worth it compared to the more affordable Silk Air.
2. You can survive peak season holiday just by enjoying it, instead of cramming it.
Going for a holiday to a place that is experiencing its peak season (like school holidays peak season, not World Cup peak season) without booking ground arrangements is doable. You just have to allocate time and budget cut-offs as you choose your accomodation and check on the Internet the rates if you want to book for day-tours only after arrival. Do not aim too high (like trying to go to 6, 7 places in one day), rather, target the few must-go places that you really want to see and as for the rest, take it as bonus.
3. Be friends with locals, most of them are more helpful than you can imagine.
There are a lot of scammers and nasty people anywhere you go, but in most places, there are more good people around if you care to make time to make friends. Locals might not know which is the best hotel/motel/hostel to book, but they can tell you which parts of the place is most happenning, and perhaps most importantly, safe. They can also tell you where you can find good food at good rates, or how to avoid getting into trouble with the authorities.
4. Stop converting as you shop, specially when buying stuff you'll never find at home.
While most of us who travel on a budget tend to convert to local currency before buying souvenirs, that practice might make you bring back a whole bunch of foreign currency which you'd unlikely get to change back at a good rate. So why not set a rough figure on how much you'd want to spend (and not bring back) and only convert that much for souvenir shopping. If you find something you truly like, bargain like hell if it is overpriced. In cases you do not find anything worth lugging home, then save the currency on some other cool stuff like spa treatment or room service.
5. In places where transportation options are aplenty, do survey.
Many tourist spots tend to offer multiple transportation modes to get tourists from Sightseeing Spot A to Sightseeing Spot B. Spend your first day at the place surveying your options (as you go surveying for accomodation) so that you'll end up paying not only a cheaper rate but it might also get you there quicker. Plus, compared to car rental or private tours, when you jump into a group in a public transport, it is less likely that you'll be scammed (or sent to places where they scam you into buying) or get lost.
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