Waterfall under a flyover

 So glad I went for my spa session yesterday and really so thankful that the weather was just so beautiful for me to snap pics of 

because whaddaya know , it's been pouring the entire day today .

Anyway , we went ahead and carried on as usual despite the strong winds and all that .

As we were making our way towards the airport , past the Tun Dr Awang Roundabout , this " waterfall " appeared right under the flyover .

The water didn't go through the downpipe but instead it flowed out from the expansion joint .

Umno building concrete and antenna crash - Macalister Road

Emporis.com states that

• The UMNO Tower is one of the few skyscrapers of the world engineered to use wind to create interior comfort. If necessary all office corridors can be ventilated naturally.
• All elevator spaces, stairways and toilets are ventilated naturally and lit by natural sunlight, which provides for safe use and low energy consumption.
• A set of wing walls has been installed in key positions according to an analysis of wind direction data at the building location; these walls direct the wind into special balcony zones, which serve the natural ventilation and cooling with containers with air locks.
• TR Hamzah & Yeang won the 1998 RAIA International Award for the design of this building.

Only passed by Macalister Road after the storm was over. Knew something was seriously wrong,as the police was diverting traffic away .At that time I was going to catch Man of Steel, so this had to wait.

Photo credit : NST

2 over hours later, after the show finished, at precisely 11.39pm, traffic was still being diverted as you can see below.

Thaipusam and the phenomenon of Chinese devotees

This is the road leading to 3 of the most important Hindu temples on Penang island .

The Sri Muneeswaran shrine, Natukkottai Chettiar temple and the beautiful Hilltop temple .

In Penang, it is nothing out of the ordinary to witness lots of Chinese devotees paying homage to Hindu gods on a daily basis.

Shopper or Shopkeeper ?

The lengths some shoppers will go to,  just to bag unbelievable good deals......

1. Gather trolleys at the battleline

2. Bring two lorries and park near the entrance

A Microwave that can do nothing except....

This microwave is useless.

Because it accepts nothing except a certain brand .

Wonder how long the owner can avoid getting sued by some huge corporation over this.

Flash flood at Gunung Semanggol R&R

At first, I thought there had been an accident

A police car passes by, while this man is striking a gangnam style pose.

No he didn't, he was just directing traffic.

Water pooling ?

PLUS personnel standing around for some reason or another.
Probably to prevent insistent drivers from bulldozing in.

Looks like the entrance to the r & r is blocked

Confirmed

How to get in ?

Bad luck if you desperately needed to use the toilet...

Hmmm.... wonder where the flood is coming from

With the school holidays round the corner and the rain showing no signs of letting up , hope PLUS solves this problem ASAP.

Stupid fest at the traffic lights

See for yourself why some motorcyclists sometimes get mowed down while waiting at the traffic lights.

In their mindless quest to be the first vehicle at the front , they've managed to block one oncoming lane .

A tragedy waiting to happen yet it's always the 4 wheels that gets the blame.

So many rude hawkers at Gurney Drive

26th October - Public Holiday.... yet I suffered from temporary amnesia when I suggested that we eat here tonight.

As we walked from Gurney Plaza towards the hawker centre, it became apparent that I had chosen the worst possible time to eat .
Scream ! Look at the crowd ! All I saw was a sea of heads bobbing up and down, ahead of me. Still we dove in.

Passing the first koay teow thng stall, I witnessed a drink stall hawker forcing a 20 something non customer, off a chair that he said belonged to him. Where did he expect him to sit ? He didn't care if he had to stand eating. Oh boy.

Weaved our way out of this mad sector and finally found a space somewhere in front of  Pasembor stall in front of G.P.Soon Rojak ( my fav) . Only problem was, the table was laden with every kind of dish, bowl and utensil which remained uncleared.

A 'looking' match began between us and the drink hawker next door to the pasembor. After a while it became obvious that they DID NOT want to clear the table for us and we had to do it ourselves. Giving up, we used a tissue to wipe the surface clean .

While my partner,  joined the queue at Stall no 71 (nice ckt for $5 with 3 huge prawns ), the owner (male) finally came over and showed me the menu.
Still seething over the 'waiting game' which I had lost earlier, I told him I didn't want to order. It was then he unleashed his barrageful of nonsense in Mandarin ( 3 quarter of which was lost on me but not the meaning ).

"You mean after having to clear the table FOR YOU, you now want me to place an order ??? LATER ! I'm waiting for someone to return "

He backed off leaving the menu behind on my table. I must have been loud as the table of Ah Bengs across me had begun grinning, after seeing our 'little exchange' as though I was some Ah Cher about to parang him in half and they were just waiting for action to unfold or tables to topple . Whatever.

Undettered by the promise of fat profit, this time he sent his wife in to eyeball me. I swear she looked deep into my iris to come to some sort of analysis.
" Wait ..." I told her. She swiped the menu. Someone's pissed..... No, She didn't take it out on me since her hubby probably warned her about my ' nice mood ' . Probably she saw the growl in my eyes . Instead, she took it out on a new arrival in front of G.P.Soon.

" Are you ordering any drinks " she asked them . I didn't hear their reply but I soon heard her banging plastic chairs she had pulled from them to stack up . She even went to the extreme extent of folding up the table,right under their noses as they looked on in shock .
Wow....real gangsta this woman. Repulsive behaviour.

It was only later, that I discovered that they had the audacity to compell me to order drinks, even though the table I was sitting on, belonged to the Pasembor stall ....not them. While that explains why they refused to clear the table at the time, it's certainly no excuse for them to force drinks down our throat.

So how'd I not get the short end of the stick ?
First of all , I was sitting on another person's table.But most important of all, when in Penang, you have to show some balls and give a loud rebuff with a good measure of outrage thrown in.
It's perfectly acceptable to show and sound ( don't bang, don't get physical, just use verbal)  your displeasure publicly , especially to hawkers or traders who like to shortchange or ill treat their customers.
Or else you will be clearly bullied like that family and man above.

Location : Gurney Drive Hawker Centre

Chowtime : night

Kidzania - Parent Survival Guide

Kidzania is a make believe playworld located at Curve NX a building furthest away from The Royale Bintang Damansara hotel .
It's an entire miniature city dedicated to making kids work hard for their money ( read : legalised indoor child labour)  like these window washers here.

Upon coughing up $55 per child and $35 per adult at the Air Asia ticketing counter ( yes really), you will be issued a Boarding Pass like what you see in the picture below....

...plus a tiny cheque (I'm not joking),wrist tag as well as a bankbook.

Someone will take you up to the Immigration counter where the custom officer (he even talks like one) will query your kid on his age....like for real.

Now,the first task your kid has to do is to go and locate the CIMB Bank and line up ...walaueh....

...so that he can cash out some sort of Monopoly money called Kidzos here...it's a materialistic world yo..

In the meantime,while waiting, you are already panicking because all you see, hear, bump into and try your best ( yet fail) to avoid are noisy kids,school kids, shouting kids, chattering kids, running kids , very excited and the occasional just escaped from the zoo kid

Worse still nearby, there are kids chilling in a (rubber) prison cell, since Paris Hilton made it the coolest place to be seen

All of them eventually did the Prison Break without the CSI next door ever suspecting a thing as the dears were truly concentrating on the task at hand.
Either that or they were terrified of the burly towering Tuan.

While the blur head of this department was too busy shuffling his stack of Uno card suspects for the new recruits.
Oh well....

The most important thing to remember is this.
Only kids can line up for whatever activity they wish to join. Adults cannot line up on their behalf.
No no no.

Adults also cannot go inside their 'place of higher learning' and help themselves to the delicious sandwiches whipped up by little chefs.
They made it, they eat it...understand ?
You have to use your real hard cash to spend at the f&b outlets outside.
Pathetic.

All big people can do is look on enviously as the small ones go live on air "only on Hitz"

If you could never get them to wash plates before, you'll be amazed at how many would line up patiently and risk their all just to fight a blazing fire

Heck $8 Kidzos can even motivate lazy bones to deliver packages far further than their bedroom door !
Maybe I should photocopy some for domestic use when we get back .

In the end, you will grow weary of the novelty of seeing TM and TNB midgets pretending to fix things around town.
After all the prayers you didn't even shrink one bit.
So just forget about donning the hardhats and passing off as a child.
Won't work.

When that happens, head upstairs where there is a sanctuary with absolutely no kids allowed .

At the end of the day, you will be reunited because time's up.
And from then onwards your now materialistic, worldly, 20 minute worker kid will be forever dreaming of working to be the first Kidzosllionaire with your bleeding contribution to the entrance fee again of course.
Your reward : they'll think you're the best parent in the world for bringing them here.

Website : www.kidzania.com.my

Location : Curve NX

Contact : 1300 88 5439

Opening times :

Mon - Fri:	10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sat - Sun:	10:00 am - 3:00 pm
	4:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Ticketing :

Baby (aged 0-1): Malaysian/Non-Malaysian (Free)
Toddler (aged 2-3): Malaysian/Non-Malaysian (RM35)
Kid (aged 4-17): Malaysian (RM55) Non-Malaysian (RM75) Adult (aged 18-59) : Malaysian (RM35) Non-Malaysian (RM50)
Senior Citizen (aged 60 & above) : Malaysian/Non-Malaysian (RM30)

Ship off Gurney Drive

Snapped this on Monday morning. Looks as if the ship is polluting the air off Gurney Drive.

Except that it isn't. It's about to pour. That's all . Which makes it hard for those who like to take their morning walk on this stretch. Oh well....

The Day Penang Hill disappeared

Heard about how misty Paya Terubong was.
What I saw along the way was pretty remarkable thus I decided to snap the following pics .

Where's Penang Hill ?

Must be real cold up there eh?

Turned towards the old Sunshine Farlim site and looked on my left but the hills where BL Garden etc was were not covered in clouds.

However on my right.....

Amazing

Can challenge Cameron Highlands

Ini Kampung Kami - Cucu Tok Non

Wonder why no newspaper has featured this yet.

The  Tanjong Tokong villagers fought off the eviction order hard as they could.

In their hopelessness this is a simple but powerful adieu that reaches deep into one's soul .

Don't know how long this will last but if you would like to view it, drive past Tesco Tg Pinang on your right, the painting is on your left just before the pedestrian bridge.

Hawker made Chai Kueh ( PF )

The kitchen is not state of the art, in fact it's just a makeshift table top at the corner of a kopitiam.
I'm intrigued as I've never seen these increasingly rare dumplings being made before right in front of my eyes . 
The price per piece costs just 60 sen with two stuffings to choose from.... turnip or chives .

Start with these essential ingredients below. The bowl of extra flour is to prevent it from sticking to your hands.

Penang Starwalk 2012

So I finally went and did it today . Participated in the non competitive walk that is.
Never been to any of these events before but here I was .

Parked across the road from Penang Times Square and the most amazing sight greeted me.A carnival like atmosphere at 5.30am lit up Jalan Datuk Keramat . A row of makeshift toilet cubicles fronted the complex. Gosh, I seriously hoped I could hold it long enough instead of being forced to empty my bladder in one of those thingeys .

First things first, collect my wristband .Made my way up the stairs towards the left hand side of the building only to be made to turn back by one of those in charge of crowd control.
Down the steps right into a sea of humans waiting to report in.We shuffled along, there was no proper queue.Those armed with loudspeakers might as well not have been there because we really could not hear/ make out what the heck they were trying to say to us.
Eventually I exchanged my green ticket for a pink lucky draw coupon and a flourescent yellow hairband ? Hmmmm......

Ok. Now what ? Wait I suppose but where ? After walking aimlessly here and there, I discovered that there was simply no way out whichever way you went, back or front,didn't matter.Once you got in unless you flung yourself over the waist high gates, you were boxed in.
There were no free refreshments or food. Everything wore price tags. On top of that you were a captive kill time audience to the various sponsors with booths. Capital boring.

Somehow we managed to put ourselves somewhere in the front tent near the starting line. When the barricades were about to open you could feel the urgency building. Thankfully no one pushed.
With a bang the gun went off and the swarm began. Various photographers provided some fun moments to remember . One was on an air lift crane close to the Indian temple . Another, on top of a car. Real attention getters who managed to coax the crowd to wave back at them for that great pix.

Once past them, I noticed many schoolkids making a run for it along the pavements. Thought this was a run with rules?
Stopped dead in my tracks just next to Gama, because a little girl had gotten her foot stuck in a hole in the ground due to the fact that some petty thief had stolen its cover. Luckily a group of men including one of our men in blue freed her. Don't know if she was injured but I saw no blood.

Turned right into Magazine Road and had passed the underpass from Komtar where a few cheats broke off when a traffic policeman blew his whistle and stopped the crowd from going forward. It was to make way for the competitive walkers but I could see that it was a tall order as this lone ranger had to muster up some horse muscles in his legs trying to keep them from lunging on.
Amazing that we could walk against the traffic flow past Traders, into the Prangin Mall underpass.Felt like the King of the Road ! From there we headed past the old Sia Boey and took a left at the traffic light after that. Policemen were stationed at junctions to ensure our safety. Really salute them.Downside on this lane, was attacks by hungry mosquitoes until we took a right towards the jetty.

Think we were next to the Nissan showroom when my partner in crime ( who said cheh 6km ONLY ?) said " don't know why my feet suddenly feels tired" Kah kah kah I went, even though the blister on my left ankle was beginning to gnaw through my brain . Two aunties took a shortcut from below the pedestrian bridge. Maybe they were tired.
Here,tourists lugging heavy trolley bags and sherpa like backpackers bravely dived in dodging the overtakers , in order to cut across to the other side of the road where the cruise ships lay.

We passed the clock tower on our right when I stopped to badger a Bulan Sabit girl for a plaster. She muttered (like I had just scared her) she had run out of it. A gallant young boy (aka hero waiting for grislier action maybe  )
knelt down to fetch one from his toolbox. Relief !
Down Lebuh Downing we went until a Barkath black bear mascot drew everyone to free Sunkist drinks and freebies. The sir bristled like a porcupine as we were jostling. Gave up and quietly crept into Whiteaways where we took advantage of the clean loos.

Continuing our journey we received Blue (hair)wrist bands this time from a checkpoint that was so so easy to miss . Straight into a road littered with disposable paper cups .
I swear,the smell wafting from a roti canai stall in front of the Kuan Yin temple made many buckle. Because by the time we cut out to Carnavon Street a few aunties were tucking into Hokkien Mee and still others had run across the road for pastries made by an old uncle. "Are these walkers tourists or what ?" a flabbergasted fellow remarked .
Passed the side of 1st Avenue again into the road on the left of Gama . Turned into Jalan Timah where a few stopped to take pics of a primary school named after P.Ramlee. Finally reached the finish line but it was a little stuffy as well as chaotic since many impatient people were trying to get ahead of others.

Having completed the route in an hour and forty, I received a certificate of participation for all that effort. Immediately retreated into the cool airconditioning. It was so nice I felt like sleeping right there on the marble flooring. But we were really hungry and I wanted some Marrybrown fried chicken.
Mission fail. The line was impossible to breach without fainting .

We were tickled when a guy in Spiderman costume started singing. He was actually good
Can't say the same about some outrageously fugly all about their ketiak and big bra belly dancers. Very teruk and very chekai.
Same for the steamy stripper like dancers with chairs whose sexy romp on stage was not suitable for this kind of event. It would have been better if they were in sync but they came off as lousy dancers because they either did not have much practise or they didn't dance as one team. Where do they get these people from ? A dance school. Worst part is I heard they appear every year at this event.Imagine that.
The singers from Soju on the other hand ,I really liked. Pros . Really entertaining and absolutely good at what they do .

Couldn't ignore the stomach rumbling anymore so we went across the road to a curry house for canai only to return for the draw which fetched 20 over k of us nothing. Not even me. Muahahaha.

Surprisingly people who were initially quiet turned into nasty yelling monsters when their view was blocked by those blur about the winning numbers projected onto screens . Heard some really loud heckles when the top and final prize was given out just because the emcee urged everyone not to go back in case the winner had already gone home and they would have to redraw.Never ever be a sore looser.Takes the fun out of everything.

What to say ? Mixed bag of feelings. Will I be back ? Maybe.
What I can say is, it was fun, challenging and the route was really interesting since some of these sights are what I would take for granted every day.

Chin Ho Chiak Charity Food & Fun Fair 2012

A word of caution before I start, the event happened in the middle of April and I have been sitting on the pictures I snapped, all this while of something related to it. Not the actual fair itself.

Laugh all you want but it's been bugging me and I just have to get it off my chest already.

It started when I spotted this sign below, 2 weeks before the actual day.

Due to the fact that they didn't label it as CHIN HO CHIAK , I thought that there was a new makan spot. Thus I followed the sign.

Gleefully rubbing my greedy hands . I imagined I was going to be among the first few to try it out ! Whatever it was. Yeah ! Wow, got unloading some more. Must be a nice restaurant.

To this next one.

Inspiring.

Onto this one.

I'm pumped.

But scratching my head because I just realised the signs go either way.

Drive till we see this small one at the corner.

Must be close.

Nope. Wrong.

But I'm not giving up.

Just follow the sign.

Gems take some unearthing.

Until we come to this.

Now I'm confused.

Because the direction points to this place.

Which, as far as I know, does not have a restaurant.

Still, I wanted to be 1000 percent sure. Thus we drove in only to have to make a red faced u turn to exit this entrance .

If you think we were alone, other 'treasure hunters' followed us in, up and down, the u turn slope . Last I counted, there were 5 cars tailing us.

I don't know about the others, but I certainly felt like such a big fool. Went home to eat bread with jam. Shy only.

Next time, can someone tell the organisers of this event not to put motivating signs like this so early ?

Chip Fong calls it a day

Located along busy Jalan Penang, I stumbled upon them as they were in the midst of packing up.

( U ) A&W Is Closing Down at Gurney.

I've made no secret about how much I love the food from this restaurant.
Besides the Coney dog, waffles,root beer, deluxe burger,onion rings and fried chicken, I have been obsessed with their Root Bear from the time I was small .

Therefore, it just broke my heart to see this notice. I think I stood there for a whole minute just staring at this.
Why ?????
Why print such sad news over the happy smiling bear, I've loved all of my life ? Makes me wanna pluck all the alphabets away from his body. Couldn't they just print around him ? He's defaced.

What to do ? Take pics and more pics to remember it by.

A or B - Last Day to vote

Don't mind the title. Apparently he's still open to suggestions and will be at his service centre Mondays and Wednesdays between 8pm to 10pm.

 Morever this is the first time I'm seeing a politician take up a booth in a popular shopping complex, with a good looking life sized cardboard cut out of himself to swing you over and check out him out.

Pulau Tikus assemblyman Koay Teng Hai grins back at you like a Madame Tussauds candidate.

Dead Bug Season, April 2012

I don't know if these bugs which I think are termites,  are suicidal or what, but it seems as if some Guyana cult leader commanded them to do so enmass.

Take a look at that and tell me if you're not as baffled as I am. It happens every year, all year round, different times , different bugs, for a few days in a row, littering driveways and entrances of complexes everywhere on Penang island.

Attempted Motorbike Theft , Tesco Tanjong Pinang

It was so ironic to hear the report by Bernama yesterday,that Penang's street crime index has gone down by 73.1 % .

We even had our car wiper nicked early this year,of all places, in Straits Quay before but this tops everything else.

Beware when you park your motorbike or car in Tesco Tanjong Pinang as there are practically no cctvs.

This bike was parked right at the entrance in broad daylight around 10am in the morning, yet no one seemed to notice that there were thieves in action because the two criminals, were dressed well as if they were earn regular paychecks.