Whinges of an Alien

I absolutely hate buses with those facing seats: they are narrow, you get dizzy when you're facing the back of the bus, not to mention that you also have to be staring at other passengers doing the same thing to you; what's worse, THIS:   This person here thinks he owns the bus and had his feet up the whole journey! I was tempted to tell him off but would I dare risk my life dealing with someone this rude and inconsiderate so openly? No, I won't - especially when this is a Seri Kembangan bus route in Malaysia. No offense to the residents there, my family lives there too so trust me - I KNOW. And yes I'm just a coward who only knows how to take a picture and rant about it online, and wished that the bus driver could've done something about it. But then again, this is Malaysia, and this was a Rapid KL bus No.540. You get what I mean, if you're one of the locals.  Such a disgrace to the local people!

Just when I'm about getting used to this 1 road in Petaling Jaya being changed to right side driving last month, walking across this road this morning, it has just been changed back to left side driving!!! Picture taken on 3 Feb 2018 Picture taken this morning Not that I would complain about it being reverted back to normal, but is this really a matter can be taken so lightly that some "authority" can just decide to change twice in such a short period of time? What exactly is the standard of healthy & safety of this country? Or should I just be thankful that no one got killed because of that? Mind you, that's only my hopeful assumption.

The last time I checked, Malaysia is a left-hand driving country - at least that's how I remembered it. However, walking to work one morning, a familiar road has been changed to right-hand driving. I was just about to tell the driver off for driving on the wrong side of the road, only to realise that I was the one who was in the WRONG. I have absolutely no idea why this particular road had a change in driving rule overnight, all I know is that this is a really dangerous thing to do, and that it probably can only happen in this country. Another fame to the Boleh Land! I can only pray that no one gets hurt because of this.

Bangsar South -  one of the upcoming and most rapidly developed township on the hill, complete with a new shopping mall, hotels, offices, condominiums and even a few medical centres and clinics within the neighbourhood. Sounds great. Is it really? Once upon a time, this area was called Kampung Kerinchi (Kerinchi Village), which had a good mix of different residential buildings, local shops and food stalls, and a big farmers' market that opened twice a week. Most importantly, residents used to be surrounded by lots of greenery but not short of necessary modern conveniences. BUT, ever since the renaming of the area from the not-very-cool-sounding one to Bangsar South several years ago, there hasn't been a pause in development. This of course, involved the sacrifice of many many trees and bushes and destroying the landscape with the leveling of the hilly lands.    We can foresee what the residents downhill would be experiencing on stormy days: mud floodi...

I've not been whingeing for so many years now, I must've grown to be more tolerating and forgiving. Just when the slightest of that thought hits me, I saw this AGAIN today: a pile of unused remaining cement and bits & pieces of construction materials being left unattended by the KL Gateway Station. I believe these are construction debris from the building of KL Gateway mall and the connecting link bridge to the station, and these are left right under the bridge. So what happens after the latest shopping mall in town is completed and launched? Perhaps conveniently forgetting to clear out all rubbish, is an option. This pile is not only creating dirt and pollution, is also an obstruction and a hazard to pedestrians and users of the station. Oh yes I forgot - Malaysia is never known for its considerateness for non-car users 🙄 It's bizarre how this could've been overlooked; isn't it easier (and common sense!!) to just clean them up? Oh no no no, tha...

Just when you think I'm gone forever, I'm back in whinging mode again. This time it's our beloved public transport in Klang Valley, namely Rapid KL. Not to be horrible, but everything in Malaysia just seems to be a beat slower than other countries (except for our reckless drivers on the road), even getting on a bus! Apart from most people just love being so "laid back" and moving ever so slowly, this prepaid ticket device called Touch 'n Go also gets in the way. Touch 'n Go Device There is only 1 device installed each at the entrance and the exit of the bus (some hidden in a narrow corner), so passengers will have to crowd to one corner to tap their cards on the device. Whilst doing that, they get in the way of those paying with cash, and vicé versa. What's worse is that, despite the card being called Touch 'n Go and the device clearly says "touch", the last thing you can do is touch! Because the device will then tell you off in a v...

This afternoon, I went to Giant Supermarket in Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. The security guard at the entrance stopped me and demanded me to leave my handbag in an open cupboard (note: not a safe locker). Well for those who are not familiar with this, you may want to know that there is a funny rule here in Malaysia where certain supermarkets require customers to leave their shopping bags in the cupboard prepared by the supermarket. If you insist on having them they will lock the bags with cable ties so that you can't steal anything with those bags. They will usually let the ladies bring have their handbags in but God forbids, they somehow think that I may steal the whole shop with my "gigantic" handbag. So I refused and told them that it is in fact my handbag and I will not leave my handbag with them. He then demanded to know the content of my bag which I refused again because he simply did not have the rights to invade my privacy. Then he decided that he will lo...

Whilst the hole on the pavement in Bangsar South is still wide open, they've just topped themselves by doing this just less than 50m up from the very hole: The hole is just by the 4wd which you can see parked further down. This pile of building waste has been here since January and I'm guessing like the hole, it is here to stay. Oh by the way, these cars are parked illegally by the pavement. The car owners/drivers have either gone to the shops on the right or to the road side restaurant on the left in the picture. And right after that 4wd that is where the traffic lights are, so yes they are parked right at the traffic light. This, can only happen in Malaysia. What's wrong with these people?!

"Malaysia Truly Asia". Have no freaking idea what it means, but THAT is the tagline for the Malaysia Tourism Board advertising campaign all over the world, particularly targeted at countries where the sun doesn't scorch your skin, and where there isn't an average daily temperature of 34C all year round. In it you'll see pretty snapshots of white sand beaches, blue skies, blue sea, clean places and good food. Obviously, they will never show you this -- Signboards (put up as directional boards to weddings, loan shark advertisements, etc) and rubbish on the road side, pavement, and in between plants on one of the major motorways in Kuala Lumpur: A pay phone booth (without the phone) filled with litter: OR, their infamous public toilets (although there has been some "improvement" in certain shopping centres only recently), or those people who burn their rubbish openly and frequently. And they're so proud...

Receipts. One of the most annoying and pointless yet unavoidable things in life. It is necessary as evidence that you did not steal something from a shop, for making claims when you return the goods, as proof that you've been overcharged, etc. But most of the time you'll find that you have more receipts in your wallet than money. As if it is not bad enough, we've just got ourselves what's probably the longest receipt in the world, from a book shop in Kuala Lumpur. We only bought 2 books but the total length of the receipt is 37.4cm. What made it this long is the 2 paragraphs of very meaningless text (some "receipt stories" thingie) printed on the end of the receipt, taking up more than half the length of the paper. Did it serve any purpose? We have no idea. But we're sure that halfway trying to read the 2 paragraphs, we nearly fell asleep. While some of us are trying to reduce wastage and stuff going to landfill, there are those who try every possible way ...

Just when we thought things couldn't get worse after the scary walkway in Bangsar South , they just did. This is leading down to the scary walkway in Bangsar South . From where the red-ish tiles end, almost 10m of this pavement has been left untiled since last year. Yes, all they have done was putting some cement on it because it was really rocky and sandy after they were done with widening the road for the ever-increasing number of cars. And even the cement was put on weeks after the road was done. And as if walking on unfinished pavement isn't bad enough, we have to now deal with this big, deep hole. God knows how and why this happened, but I was glad I managed to notice it just feet before the hole. I saw this last Monday, and it's still here now - a week later. I'm guessing it is here to stay, since these people around here seem to be pretty happy about it. Maybe, unlike me, they all drive instead of walking down hill to get the public transport. Of course, it'...

The whole purpose of having a walkway is so that pedestrians have a path to walk on instead of venturing on to the side of the roads where motor vehicles zoom by. This sheltered walkway leads to some expensive highrise condominiums up Kerinchi Hill in Bangsar South (anything named or part-named Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur represents "prestigious living"). By all accounts, it should be a breezy walk on this walkway but it's really not the case. Not only it gets flooded on a stormy day, the locals have been abusing it to an unbelievable state. Rubbish everywhere If you are not one of those privilege enough to have a car, but have to walk up the hill every day, you'll know what I mean. You'll find rubbish, broken stools, mud left from the flood, etc, along the walkway as well as inside the wrecked open drain holes. It is disgusting yet hazardous, because you can easily trip and fall into the deep holes especially in the dark (no I have never seen the lights working). I ...

If you're ever coming in to Malaysia via Singapore, one of the most drastic differences you'd spot between the two vastly similar countries is the queueing system, especially when waiting for public transport. You may think that I'm joking, but hey, most Malaysians just can't queue! Just look at the picture below. Perhaps, it's because these bus stations do not have a very good platform system, so these people have no idea where to start standing (duh!). What's not helping is that, these buses also do not have a fixed timetable and you'll never know which bus would go first (no the first bus in the line is not always the first to go). But, even if you and your friends were to deliberately start a queue by standing neatly in a line (I have tried this experiment before), those who come after you would just hang around on your left, right, or loosely behind you, if not in front of you. And when the driver is spotted walking towards the bus, these people will al...

Every year those who live in Malaysia and Singapore would somehow have to live through a 4- to 6-month period of haze. An age-old issue that has never seemed to be solved, is believed to be caused by the forest fires in Indonesia. Woke up this morning, I looked out the window to see hardly anything but a grey shade hovering my daily scenery. Telekom building is now a blurry silhouette and Mid Valley has disappeared! It looks really cool and misty on photograph, but the strong smell of smoke lingering in the back of your throat will bring you back to the cruel reality. There is nothing we can do if these farmers don't stop thoughtless burning. Just drink more water, perhaps wear a mask even when at home, AND do a rain dance!

On 28th March 2009, right before 8.30pm, I heard this screeching voice of a woman shouted at our apartment block: "Hey everyone, turn off your lights for 1 hour to support Earth Hour! Do your part for the environment please!" 3 minutes later, she shouted very rudely again: "Hey turn off your lights you stupid people!" and it sounded like she was going to punch anyone who does not obey. This, is a very IMPORTANT day for these - I believe - new "earth lovers" who got converted after being brain-washed by the biggest pretence amongst the environmental organisations, who now suddenly became nobles! Ambassadors! Spokesmen and spokeswomen! Doesn't that just make you (and I), who have probably been trying to live a sustainable life for the past 15 years, want to slap her? I am not against turning lights off when not in use, nor would I keep the lights on just because this woman disgusted me. If she thinks by conforming to the Earth Hour symbolic act makes her...