Planning an urban commute trip to KB June 2012

Things to do/buy for the trip:

1. buy two 16" bicycle tubes as spares;
2. fix new bicycle rear racks for panniers to Curve D3;
3. get extra batteries for blinkers;
4. re-lube bicycle chains;
5. batteries for walkie talkies;
6. book Tune Hotel room @ KB;
7. bus/train tickets to Pasir Mas;
8. Apply leave - done and approved by boss.
9. transfer photos taken in Ozzie to HD & reformat - done.
10. Cameras D40 & kit lens self service - done.
11. Check Google Map for terrain - done (but was later informed that its probably not accurate!)
12. self repair shoes.
13. Minyak angin & medications for the trip.
14. Install rear view mirrors.
15. Install a horn (was thinking about hon benggali roti!) or just bring along a wisel.

Still long way to go. Soon the dream of exploring KB on two wheels folding bicycle will come true,
Insya Allah.

May day Vacation @ Melbourne

My wife bought the AAsia X flight tickets on the cheap about a year ago. Damage done was around RM1600 to and fro, baggage fees (35kg and 55kg) and meals all inclusive for two persons. This time I left all the planning part to my wife. I just simply follow her lead. Initially there was a plan (did not materialize though) to crash at an old friends house, Dr Zahar, but the man himself got stuck in UUM and another friend, Syed Isfandiyar just moved to Melbourne...hish...kacau daun aje. We stayed at a reasonably rated hotel at Flagstaff,  walking distance away from the Queen Victoria Market. Sampai aje pepagi ke hotel lepas simpan bag dlm stor kami terus ke QVM dulu to buy our groceries. Had fried rice & salmon curry for lunch... yummy!

Our flight berlepas awal dan sampai 45minit ahead of schedule. Alhamdulillah the ground temperature taklah sejuk sangat i.e. 11 darjah celcius. Still okay for me. After collecting our luggage, we headed to the immigration counter to get our passport stamped and since we declared that we brought in some food, we were asked a few questions on what we brought with us. Maybe it is still too early in the morning depa tak buka pun our bags and the so called dog to sniff or bags for contraband pun tak datang bertugas lagi.. We brought with us 2 kgs of brown rice, some canned tuna (pastikan takde ingredients berasaskan telur dan daging) and semuanya lepas (termasuklah a packet of serunding yg sepatutnya tersangkut). Baca-bacalah ayat dari surah Ya-Sin tu. Even the person in charge to scan our bags pun belum sampai, so selamatlah kami keluar untuk mencari lokasi nak naik Skybus kami untuk meneruskan perjalanan ke hotel.

Skybus tickets kami dah beli di Malaysia secara online - for 2 persons 2 hala. Maklumat lanjut mengenai perkhidmatan Skybus yang sangat efficient dan beroperasi 24/7 boleh dilihat disini. Macam tak percaya aje kami dah sampai ke benua Australia! Perjalanan ke terminal bas memakan masa lebih kurang 20-30 minit. Dan dari Southern Cross Station ada Hotel  Transfer Service untuk menghantar kami ke hotel di Flagstaff dengan percuma.

Tak jauh mana pun sebenarnya tapi dengan 4 bag yang berisi penuh... kalau takde transport memanglah naya, since my right arm is still injured (until today). Tah ganas sangat kot masa ambik selekoh masa riding kat Tasik Shah Alam hari tu. Dah sampai awal pepagi, waktu check in kami hanya bermula jam 2 petang, so lepas simpan bag kat setor belakang reception counter, apalagi mengembara jalan sekitar Melbourne ... dan pertama sekali kami menuju ke Federation Square untuk medapatkan maklumat...lastly baru kami pi ke Queen Victoria Market untuk mencari apa yang boleh dimasak.

 Jangan dapat daging Koala buat rendang sudahlah!

Setelah beberapa kali berulang kami dapati QVM tidak dibuka setiap hari dan menurut pengamatan kami juga kadangkala para peniaga barangan kering yang berniaga disesuatu tempat akan berniaga pula di lokasi lain. Mungkin ikut teori siapa cepat dia la dapat spot yang bagus. We were aiming for barangan cenderahati kat sini yang murah berbanding dengan tempat lain. Rasanya kalau datang hari ahad ada diberikan sedikit discount. Datang hari lain harga lain la pulak! Bodek la sikit untuk dapatkan extra kat student yang berasal dari Jakarta yang berniaga secara part time.

There was one stall yang menjual compass, sextant, teropong dan sundial amat menarik hati penulis. Bukannya original tapi dibuat replika semula, Tapi harganya tak munasabah... dan aku nak buat apa dengan gadget oldschool macam tu (kata-kata memujuk hati ini) dizaman Internet dan GPS ni, unless kita masuk zaman perang or darurat... ok takpe I'll give it a miss... tapi dok teringat aje... hmmm. Bahagian sayur, buah-buahan, ikan dan barang basah yang lain memamang menjual barangan segar... geram tengok scallops, tiram, lobsters size XXXL... rasa macam nak beli semua sekali!!!

Bayangkan pula bahagian pasar yang menjual daging... macam-macam jenis ada.. ayam, itik, lembu, kambing, ba*i, kangaroo, buaya, arnab.... pening aku tengok! Semua depa sapu tolak batu dengan kayu aje. Obviously kedai daging halal takde kat sini.

Sepanjang kami tinggal di Ozzie ni, Alhamdulillah jarang hujan masa kami berjalan. Adalah juga gerimis, tapi either kami dalam bas, tengan naik tram atau tengah shopping.  Penulis tiak mahu gamble dengan cuaca sejuk ni. Most probably pakaian sejik yang kami bawa dah lebih dari cukup. The best part, a few moons ago I bought a sport shirt long sleeve tujuannya untuk cukupkan pakaian tangan panjang untuk balik ke Bukittinggi. Brand ni penulis tak pernah beli sebelum ni... macam tulisan "K" sehinggakan sedara mara di kampung tanya ini baju brand Kawasaki ke? Masa shopping kat DFO, terjuma lagi brand pelik ni, made in Malaysia. Wah! mahalnya harga baju yang aku sedang pakai ni!. Apasal sama je harga dengan winter jacket! Rupanya it is a reputable and a well known brand "Under Armour". Tipis tapi amat kalis sejuk. No wonder mamat kedai tu commented that "You do not need additional layers if you have on you one of those" sambil menunjukkan baju yang sedang aku pakai. And I bought mine in Shah Alam merket for a mere RM20-00 aje. Try buying it in Aussie and it would set you back AUS90-00 lepas discount....

Cara menentukan arah kiblat arah matahari terbenam

Hanya boleh digunakan pada 28 Mei jam 5.16 petang dan 16 Julai jam 5.28 petang waktu standard Malaysia setiap tahun.

1. Dirikan objek lurus seperti tiang di tanah lapang dan rata.

2. Pastikan ia tegak dan lurus. Bagi menyemak ketegakan tiang, letakkan tali yang diikat pemberat pada hujung tiang.

3. Tempat yang dipilih tidak terlindung sinaran matahari. 

4. Semakan perlu dibuat tepat mengikut waktu yang ditetapkan Sirim seperti waktu televisyen dan radio.

5. Oleh kerana fenomena itu berlaku pada waktu petang di Malaysia, bayang tiang akan jatuh ke arah timur.

Maka, arah kiblat ialah yang menghadap barat.

Husband for Sale

A store that sells husbands has just opened in Ottawa where a woman may go to choose a husband from among many men. The store is comprised of 6 floors, and the men increase in positive attributes as the shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch..... As you open the door to any floor you may choose a man from that floor, but if you go up a floor, you cannot go back down except to exit the building.

So a woman goes to the shopping center to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads: "Floor 1 - These men have jobs."

The woman reads the sign and says to herself, "Well, that's better than my last boyfriend, but I wonder what's further up?" So up she goes.

The second floor sign reads: "Floor 2 - These men have jobs and love kids." The woman remarks to herself, "That's great, but I wonder what's further up?" And up she goes again.

The third floor sign reads: "Floor 3 - "These men have jobs, love kids and are extremely good looking." "Hmmm, better" she says. "But I wonder what's upstairs?"

The fourth floor sign reads: "Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love kids, are extremely good looking and help with the housework." "Wow!" exclaims the woman, "very tempting. BUT, there must be more further up!" And again she heads up another flight.

The fifth floor sign reads: "Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love kids, are extremely good looking, help with the housework and have a strong romantic streak." "Oh, mercy me! But just think... what must be awaiting me further on?" So up to the sixth floor she goes.

The sixth floor sign reads: "Floor 6 - You are visitor 3,456,789,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping Husband Mart and have a nice day."