Something is not right ...

These few days, I felt something is not right.

A sudden feel of moodiness, anger, frustration... all the negative "qis" suddenly came to me like tidal waves which I tried to fight.

A sudden feel of suffocation, which it can't be a delight.

I wanted to run, but where can I hide.

I wanted to speak, but there's no listener nearby.

Am I lost? Am I afraid? It's all the answers I can't find.

So help me, if you may, come to me with utmost confined.

Medical Service in Comparison

I was meeting with my friends who have been to Australia and the UK for study. From one of the our discussion of their encounters and experiences, I realised that Malaysia is having a much "friendlier" medical treatment (facilities and medical staff) than any of the two.

How could it be? Let's us look at a few real examples which took place (the blue is Malaysia's plus points):

1) Immediate attention to critical patients. White man's system requires prior appointment even though you are down will illness, and SOP is always given most priority (everything by the book) whereby Malaysian is more flexible;

2) Affordable medical services (RM1 for government clinics); my friend who was in Australia paid AUS54 just for consultation service;

3) One-stop center - consultation and pharmacy; Australia and the UK likewise, you will need to take your prescription in pharmacies, which may be far away from the doctors;

4) Satisfactory medical cleanliness; in operation theatre in Sdyney my friend worked at found cockroaches around (scary to have stereotype thinking of first class medical service);

5) Customer-oriented service; pregnant mothers were turned away by the same hospital they were registered in because the due date was early (real case with law suits in Australia);

6) Shorter queue. You thought you are waiting very long in the government hospital? Think again. My friend who was waiting in the hospital in London, though without many visitors also waited 2 hours.

I have never sought medical attention before in overseas, and it was facinating to me to note such shortcomings that these famous countries for medical services have. There's a sudden feel of "katak di bawah tempurung" in me and made me think it in a different light.

So, next time, if you think you are waiting for too long for medical attention at home, think again... the convenience (maybe unavoidable long queue at times), the affordable charges, the amiable medical staff, etc... so many good points which we overlooked. What more can we asked for.

What I Hate About AirAsia

Last week, for some reason due from my brother, I had to cancel my one-way departure to Bali and booked him the next flight out.

I called +603-21719333 (sales inquiry of AirAsia customer "care"line) and spoke to the sales personnel a day before the departure. I was told that I could still change time with a small fee if I were to change my flight 48 hours before, which is obviously I could not, that's why I called.

So, I asked her "since I know that I am not going onboard this flight, can I get my refund back on the airport tax (RM25), fuel charge (RM75) and meal (RM6) (I have pre-booked to save RM1, and now instead I had to pay RM6 for not being able to enjoy it even on the trip back, what a waste of money! Moral of the story: NEVER BUY AIRASIA MEAL ONLINE!)?" I know for admin charge, I could not take back, which I am fine with it.

Then, the lady told me, if I were to cancel before the departure, I would have to pay RM80 for cancellation. I said "WHAT!!!!". Then, she told me that if I call again to ask for refund after the trip, there will only be RM10 charge. It's a weird arrangement even though I already know that I am not going to take the flight. But, I am still a losing customer in the end.

Talking about the meal, I cannot even enjoy the meal on my way back also because the stupid system a year ago put my preference as the departure from KL (there was NOT EVEN A CHOICE TO CHOOSE whether you want to meal-to-go from KL or from Bali, STUPID system!). And I have to pay the price for this system flaw! I think AirAsia could check whether I have redeemed the meal or not from the system during check-in and just give the damn pre-booked meal when we want to enjoy it from our way back. The worst part of the personnel on the other line, who is like any other "customer service", like to use "it's our company policy, miss" and all those crap!

In the end, I lost RM75 for fuel, RM6 for the meal which cannot be enjoyed even on the way back, and RM10 cancellation charge.

MORAL of the story:
(1) Never book your meal online, you will never know what will happen;
(2) Never buy your ticket too early (e.g. free ticket), in the end you lose even more because now without fuel charge (those who bought earlier, no refund on fuel charge) and better promotion packages;
(3) If you have to cancel or change flight, make sure you remember the 48-hours-before policy of AirAsia;
(4) Kill your brother next time if he does that to you again!

Beautiful Bali

Bedugul Temple

Exotic and beautiful Bali. That's how I would describe a small island of 65,000 square kilometre with 4 million people.

Exotic because of its culture. 90% of its population practise Hinduism and very religious. There are more than 25,000 temples in Bali itself! Balinese have Temple Festival every six months, which are known as Galungan and Kuningan. During these time, people from the villages will all help out in the preparation of the temple festivals. These preparations include offerings item, decorative items, food, performances and many more. So happened that during this trip, they are having temple festival preparation so I can witness the process of preparing for the big day.

Balinese new year is very different from the rest of the world, where everyone celebrate in high note. Theirs is a silent new year, which this year fall on 26 March. In Balinese tradition, everyone has to be confined in their homes, and all shop will be closed during this day. New year's day is a day for self reflection.

Tanah Lot Temple with Holy Spring

Beautiful, not only the scenery but also its people. Bali boasts one of the few beautiful scenery, like Kintamani's Batur volcanoes, Uluwatu temple, Tanah Lot temple, Jimbaran beach for sunset and dinner and many others. During the early 80s, government has restricted construction of high-rise building, whereby no building will be taller than the height of a coconut tree, approximately 20 metres height (4-storey building height). Therefore, you can see beautiful starry night there. Also, when you are up in the sky from your plane during night time, you can see beautiful illumination of Bali, breathtaking indeed!

Besides picturesque scenery, you will also find amiable people around. You will always find Balinese people smiling and greet you with courtesy. Even tourist guides do not bring you to expensive places for shopping-slaughter. I was told by our guide, Mr Pari, that every Balinese is a born artist. You will find many craftsmen in-disguised, like our tour guide, who is a wood carver part-time. Furthermore, you will notice that Balinese keep everything neat and presentable, and you can witness this by looking at the cleanliness around. I truly feel very much at home, no, even better than home.

Lots of other activities are available besides sightseeing. (i) Water rafting on Ayung river, which I think it's worth the trip because you paddle 9km downstream from Ubud to Badung for 2 hours! Along the river, you will find beautiful sculptures under construction telling stories from different Indian epics like Ramayana, Maha Baratha. (ii) You can choose to do mountain trekking, hiking or biking in west Bali where the National Park is, covering almost half of Bali island. (iii) Dolphins watching is a must do as I was told from the visitors there. The journey from Kuta town takes around 3 hours to reach. The only things is that you may need to wake up at 2:30am to be in time to travel to sea coast to see sunrise and dolphins in action (I was told that dolphins are visible during sunrise). (iv) Romantic couple into honey moon could opt for sunset cruise with meal and show.

After all these strenuous activities, you could then proceed to your relaxing spa session. The pricing of spa is reasonable, but book through agent to enjoy greater discounts than walk-ins. Along the Legian street, you will be spoilt with choices and varieties of massage parlors available to you.

Last but not least, shopping! You can choose factory outlets or wholesalers which offered reasonable price merchandises for you to choose from. I was told that Tanah Lot has the most affordable priced retail shopping besides wholesalers. You could get master-art wood carvings, paintings, silver, furniture, rattan baskets, batik clothing and other unique and exotic (even erotic) souvenirs to bring home with you. Not forgetting RM3 pirated DVDs are up for grab (Buy 10 free 4)! Food items like Bali kuih lapis (layer cake) and Rahayu brand peanuts are must-buy items to take home sharing with colleagues at work and family. If you are into branded items, try look for your favorite items in Kuta Square, Matahari shopping mall, Discovery shopping mall, and the exclusive duty free malls in Bali Galleria. All these are definitely cheaper than you can get in Malaysia.

Bali, a place I will truly recommend to my other friends. For me, I will definitely be back to see more of Bali and discover more of her beauty.

遭殃的愚人節後

今年至今最大的愚人節禮物是我的車子被人撞。而且還是愚人節的隔天夜晚十一點。這個玩笑開得真大。

雖然我知道沒有人想要遇上交通意外（誰想？），可是說起撞我的人也真夠氣！撞了我還惡人先告狀，說我把車開得太靠近（好像是他開得比較近而撞傷我的車），而且只是願意賠賞一半以下的損失，還叫我不用報案。談判不果，軟硬兼施，說起他的悲慘失業半年的故事來。

原本還有點惻隱之心，不過因爲他的舉動改變了我。還好之前我已經下決心去報案，而且在報案之前的隔天下午好心給他一個通知。怎麽知道當我到了警察局才發現，這位阿哥比我還快一步，一大清早就到警察局報案，好像有心向我報復。如果他可以賠賞我的損失我可以幫他一個忙，不讓他的保險有個不良記錄。怎麽知道他的這個舉動不讓我對他有任何的同情。他不給臉，我也不會留情。要是你們任何人遇上車牌BJN 5434 帶藍銀色豐田VIOS， 千萬別上他的當。被他撞倒，不用談判，趕快報案。

車子已送到車廠修理中，人倒是沒事，算是幸運。我真的不希望再遇上車禍，老天爺可否幫個忙? 無論怎麽樣，願大家路上平安。