Odd balls... and other photos

I've seena number of rather quirky things during my travels, and yes, at work too. Here are some pictures of those worthy of mention.

This picture was taken in Bali, Indonesia. I was surprised that all the motorcycles actually stopped behind the white line. We don't see this often, even in Malaysia.

Unfortunately, this picture was taken in Bali, Indonesia as well. It tells a completely different story, with five fellows on one bike. Kids without helmet. Once again, not common in Malaysia.

Lorries / trucks in India (especially in Mumbai), love to have the "Horn Please OK" 'bumper sticker'. I have no idea what it means. The place is certainly noisy enough without additional encouragement. This particular truck as transporting dangerous chemicals - but the it indeed has a very colourful warning. If you zoom into the photo, the danger sign is spelt "Dagner".

These two pictures are my all time favourite. It is taken at the Mumbai International Airport. This must be the biggest Emergency Break Glass in the world. Usually, it is small pieces of glass. But how on earth is someone expected to break this piece of glass? In an emergency? India is indeed truely unique. I reckon there is a chance that one might get more injuries from breaking the glass than the actual emergency.

Pics!

Well, here are some pics of my latest trip to Germany.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has to be one of my favourite airports. It has a great selection of shops and prices are very reasonable - especially liquor, cigarettes and perfume. Lots of restaurants, from high end to low end. Duty free is good - ciggies are only RM 45 per carton (less than EUR 10). In case you are wondering, I do not smoke. The only place I've seen with slightly cheaper ciggies is Singapore Airport.

I have no idea what this building is, but it is in Hannover, Germany. This pic turned out very nice. It was taken on my Nokia 6800. After I arrived, I've decided to walk around a bit. I try not to sleep during the day, otherwise, it would take a long time to get over the jetlag. Got over mine in less than 24 hours upon arrival. Sweet. :)

I had my first Magnum Yogurt in Munich, 2 years ago. I fell in love with it at first bite. Yummy. Every since then, I have been craving for this ice cream. Strangely, they do not have this flavour in Malaysia. It's not very sweet and it's frozen yogurt!

Hannover Hbf (main train station). A good landmark to meet someone in Hannover. However, if you want to shop, there is a Kaufland (I think that's how it is spelt), just behind Etap Hotel. Etap Hotel is on the left, after back exit of Hannover Hbf. Pic is the front. Don't be deceived by this picture. The skies were clear, but it was rather cold - at about zero degrees Celsius. Cold for a Malaysia, where the sun practically shines every day and the average temperature is 24 degrees C.

Was in Hamburg for a day trip. One of the few cities in Germany with a lake. A very nice place, more happening than Frankfurt. And yes, there's a lot of good seafood and a red light district. Not that I was spending much time with the gals!

Here are two pictures of my hotel room in Steigenberger Hotel. A welcomed changed indeed. It was luxury compared to my room at Etap Hotel. The large LCD TV as a nice to have but unfortunately most programmes were in German, I think. Deco was nice. Bed was very comfortable. Oh, if only I could share the room with H. I am sure we would have enjoyed the room, and each other!

Curiously, I cannot remember where did I take the picture below. Was it in Frankfurt or Hamburg? Hmmm. I have a terrible memory.

This is the first installation of pics. More to come, of my other trips event perhaps. Got some very nice pics to share. Most of them are not that great, but one always gets one or two good photos.

Short Restaurant Reviews

Here are a couple of short reviews on restaurants:

Yesterday nite, I was in The Gardens, Mid Valley with H. No no, no sex. Just some good food a a movie - Charlie Wilson's War. Ok, it is the wrong subject, but what the heck, this is my personal blog.

The cinema, which I have been to a couple of times, GSC at The Gardens is indeed a very lovely cinema. Only with Premier and Gold Class. Worth the extra money, no queues and yeah, I get to hug H. The seats are great. Lots of food too, which one can order and they will deliver it to the seats. Only complaint - GSC, please note, - the place is freezing. Good excuse to hug a gal! Then again, I don't need excuses for hugging H. Sadly, business isn't too good, still very empty. I don't think GSC is doing enough promotion. How about free upgrades for some customers at GSC Mid Valley? Just like airlines, travellers do get free upgrades.

The movie, well, rather meaningful. But censorship was heavy. No good. All in all, I would only rate it about 6 out of 10. It is based on real life, on how the USA supported Afghans and in the screwed up the end game. The supported the Afghans during the war against Russia. When Russia left, the Afghans were abandoned. Well, the results are clear - look at Afghanistan today. Terrorrist, narcotics and largely poor.

Back to food, dinner with H was at Gurney Drive, The Gardens. BTW, The Gardens is part of Mid Valley, Kuala Lumpur. Gurney Drive offers various Penang 'street food' or hawker food. We had a 'mee suah' ( a noodle in hot soup, with chicken and chinese herbs), one 'fried kuay teow', and satay. Food wise, it was great! Smelt good, tasted good but being typical Malaysian food - not the most healthy. Price wise, I would say it is a bit expensive for hawker food, but the ambience is great. I would term it as a high class collection of hawker food. Will I return - definately. Out of 10, I would give it a 7.5. Worth a visit!

Above - mee goreng mamak at Gurney Drive. And the delicious satay, below!

***

Was doing my filing and I saw a receipt from my trip to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah a few months ago. I was there with H, and we did put the bed to good use, to say the least. It's a good place to be on holidays. Back to my restaurant review, one of the best seafood has to be the restaurant on Manukan Island. Manukan Island is in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine park, a protected area. Great place for the sea, snorkling, etc. I would prefer to dine, as usual. Took H there mid day, by speed boat - which was a fun ride! The restaurant there served the best seafood and it was definately worth every cent. No rip off! We had prawns, satay, crabs, fish and squid. All for about RM 100 only, including drinks! Value for money, great food, outdoor dining by the sea! Out of 10, definately a score of 9. Good service too!

Manukan Island - the beach!

For travellers to Kota Kinabalu (KK), Manukan Island is a good place to stay - only down side is, water supply is short. With the exception of drinking water, all is salty. But hey, I don't mind. It's fun and we do not get that often!

In KK, there are tonnes of over-rated, expensive, rip-off seafood restaurant. How to spot them? If they are in a nice place with a huge neon sign, well, that's the first sign (no pun intended). A good place to eat is at the Kedai Kopi Fatt Kee. It's on the ground floor, Number 28, Jalan Bakau, Jalan Pantai intersection, KK. It is a typical chinese restaurant. Lots of good food, fairly healthy (not a lot of oil). We had a fish - deep fried, sweet and sour prawns, one claypot tauhu and a vegetable. Food was delicious. Too much to eat (we had to rest a bit before we started our sexercise). The bill - oh, RM 48.83 - which works out to be 10 euros or about USD 15 - for two. No tips required. Rating - 7 out of 10. And yes, I will definately be back there when I am in KK!



This is sabah. A very nice place to be. Still natural. At night, fire flies are aplenty.


And here, a picture of sexy H. Hmmmm... don't I miss her. She's not on the menu!
***

Paddington House of Pancakes - I was there with H about 4 weeks ago. We were walking around, wondering what to have for brunch. Not the typical American style pancakes - where they load you with a stack of no less than 6 pancakes - and good grief, they taste good but I can never finish half of it! We had a Tenderloin, a Tuscany salad and H took a Ham and Cheese Crep. Food is fantastic. A wide variety on the menu. Serves are just nice - not too large, not too small. Don't want to over-eat! Very tasty. I would summarize it as a refreshing change. Something different. Something for every taste bud. Definately will return to try other offerings on the menu. Costs only about RM 100. Very reasonable. Rating - about 6.9 out of 10. All in all, one of the better places to dine (for Western food) at Mid Valley or The Gardens. I have to say - service was only reasonably good. I would rate service at no more than 5 out of 10.