Wandering Wirelessly in Jakarta

Left for the Kuala Lumpur LCCT (Low Cost Carrier Terminal) airport at 4:30am this morning. It had been raining the whole month and it was no surprise that this morning it was raining cats and dogs. I was worried about my wife whom had to send me to the airport and then driving back alone in this crappy weather. I was relieved when she called me 40 minutes later and told me that she was back home safely.

I decided to eat breakfast at the Asian Kitchen restaurant in LCCT before proceeding to the departure area. Lets just say that I will never ever eat there again. Should have just stuck to McDonalds!

Was the AirAsia flight to Jakarta delayed?

After getting through the immigration and then waiting for some 30 minutes, we boarded the plane right on time. BUT the bloody plane was sitting at the airport parking bay under the rain for an hour if not more, before taking off. So do we consider the flight to be delayed? In any case, we arrived in Jakarta 45 minutes after the scheduled time of arrival at 9:45 am (local time). Anyway, I am thankful that we arrived safely... :)

Blue Bird and Only Blue Bird Taxi

After getting my luggage, I passed through custom and headed to the Taxi area. A man asked me if I wanted Blue Bird Taxi, and I replied yes. He guided me through the door and wanted me to cross the road to his "taxi". I told the man, I wanted Blue Bird Taxi, and he replied that he was taking me there. My spider sense was tingling and this chap seemed highly suspicious to me. I told him I was not interested in my broken Bahasa Indonesia/Malaysia and went back inside the airport lobby. I checked with the airport information counter and they pointed me to the right direction and before I knew it, I arrived at Aston Rasuna Residences through the shortest route (according on my GPS software at least... LOL). Three cheers for Blue Bird Taxi. I was a very satisfied customer!!! Yeah!

Not All Starbucks are Created Equal


In front of the Aston Rasuna Residence.


View of the Aston Rasuna Residence apartments from the Bridge Restaurant.


The dissapointing Starbucks at Setiabudi 1 along Jalan Rasuna Said.

After registering at Aston Rasuna apartments, I had to wait until 2:00pm before I get the room. So I had about 4 hours to kill. I decided to look for a Starbucks to get online. I learnt a valuable lesson! Not all Starbucks are created equal! I don't know about the rest of the Starbucks in Jakarta, but this one does not have free WiFi coverage. All the available WiFi requires subscriptions. Crap!


Jalan Rasuna Said, one of the main road of South Jakarta, was almost completely devoid of traffic due to the Hari Raya Haji holiday.


Jalan Rasuna Said from another view, almost devoid of traffic.

After about an hour of time wasted there, I decided to walk back to the apartment. On the back, I came across a cultural market of sorts, called Pasar Festival. There was a giant banner saying, "Free Telkom WiFi at the food court". Cool! I thought. So I went in and wasted time finding the food court. This time, I did not break out my notebook, instead, I used my D810 phone and tried connecting to the WiFi there. Again, I could connect to the WiFi but could not access anywhere at all.


Pasar Festival, where there were supposed to be free WiFi.

Finally, I made my way back to the apartment entrance, and that was when I noticed across the road, another giant banner stating, "Free WiFi at the Bridge Food Center". I decided to give it one last try. I used my D810 again and this time, I hit the jackpot!!! I was connected and I could surf!!! It was about 12:30 pm.


The Bridge Food Center with free WiFi.


Inside the Bridge Food Center.

And now I am eating my Fried Chicken Rice while updating this blog. Heck, now I am running out of battery power... and the electrical sockets are different. I NEED an power ADAPTER!!!

Two Mango Trees in Batu Gajah

A couple of weeks back, I took the family back to Ipoh for the weekend. Since my wife's parents have not been staying in their house in Batu Gajah (about a half hour drive from Ipoh), she told me to go there and pluck some mangoes before they all get rotten.

Everyone in the family loves mango, whether the mangoes are sweet, sour or even unripe, my wife will find a way to make them into something really tasty. The favourite being sliced mangoes in "rojak" sauce.

I took my eight years old son, Joel and we spent the afternoon plucking mangoes from two mango trees planted by my wife's grandma. She passed away a couple of years ago and everyone really misses her, including my kids, whom till today, always refer to Batu Gajah as "Tai-po" place.


Joel plucking mangoes.


In the end, we plucked about 30 mangoes.


Joel looking for mangoes.


Finally, he spotted some mangoes and managed to pluck one.

While I was plucking the mangoes with my eldest son, I remembered thinking that, we all get to enjoy these mangoes simply because Tai-po had planted them. At that moment, I asked myself, what will I leave behind for my children when the time comes for me to go? Will it be something as simple and as enjoyable as a mango tree, where every so often they will come by and enjoy the fruits? And perhaps tell stories to one another underneath the shade of the mango tree?

I have no answer for myself now, but I think I roughly know, where the spiders are.

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Will I ever take a vacation in Hanoi again?

On Nov 8, I went on a 4 days 3 nights company organised trip to Hanoi and these are my experiences.

Risk Management

The 50 plus of us were divided into two teams and sent packing on two different AirAsia flights to Hanoi. The reason for two teams were due to our company risk management policy... that is, in case one plane crashed, at least half of the employees would survive and the company can still go on... LOL. Yeah I know... just so comforting and reassuring to know... LOL.

I told you so!

Anyway, my wife and I were on the early morning flight and we were to assembled at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at 4:30am. Well, most of us arrived at LCCT at about 5am... LOL. So much for following instructions. In any case, the AirAsia ticketing system was down and this caused a massive jam at the check-in counter. The early-birds were cursing and the late-comers were having a "I told you so" look on their faces... LOL. Surprisingly, the flight was not delayed and we managed to depart on time... :-)



The Sound of Hanoi

The cool and dry weather in Hanoi was fantastic. It was like walking perpetually in an air-conditioned room... lovely... LOL. After checking in to the Trade Union Hotel, everyone went off in their own groups exploring this city of perpetual NOISE!

The noise I am referring to was the sound of vehicle horns. As if the sound of engines and the normal hustling and bustling were not enough, a cacophony of horns of all types filled the air as they assaulted your ear drums.

This unwanted symphony will not play itself out until you leave the streets (if you are lucky enough to have a sound-proof room) or the country itself! After staying in Hanoi for 4 days and 3 nights, I could not understand the Vietnamese language even if my life depended on it... but I have come to understand how the drivers communicate with me using their horns.

The horns, unlike in Malaysia, were not used out of anger or displeasure. They just wanna announced, "Hey, I am here. Get the f**k out of my way dude! I am coming through and I am not going to stop. So move, move, move..." LOL.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

One very important survival skill I have mastered in Hanoi was on how to cross the road. If you have ever been there, you will know exactly why this skill is ranked above the rest in terms of importance. The idea is to just walk across the road in a slow to normal pace. There will be horns blaring at you. It's normal. So just stay calm, wipe the sweat on your forehead (only for extreme cases), take a deep breath and cross. They will somehow manage to swerve around you and before you know it, you are on the other side of the road... EASY... :-)

Take me to...

One way or another, you will have to take a cab in Hanoi. Just make sure that they are using the meter, said the tour guide. "Baloney" I say! There are discrepancies in the calibration of their meters. Some meters just flies... LOL. I could not see any way around this, unless you wanna walk.... so we were at their mercies.

Also, watch out for the change they give back. Count the change and make sure that it is correct before you leave the cab. If not they will just drive off leaving you short-changed... :-)



What do I most enjoy in Hanoi?

There are a number of things I really enjoyed doing in Hanoi.

• One of them was the many varieties of food! At the top of my list was baguette stuffed with lettuce, pork slices and pate. Ah... I really missed that. Next on my list would be the Snail soup noodles (Bún Ốc), wish I had some right now! Also, I have tried all the food and then some, on my must-try food list... :-)
  
• Tour to Halong Bay. Before I made the trip, I was not keen at all to go on the tour. When I heard about the 6 hours bus ride to and fro, and a 4 hours boat ride, I was totally turned off. Thankfully, my wife "convinced" me and I must say that I really enjoyed it. The view was fantastic, but what I most enjoyed was just seating on top of the deck and relaxing in the very cool weather.
• Walking the streets of Hanoi. Ah... I really liked strolling down the streets on Hanoi, taking in the views and observing the livelihood of the locals.

So... will I ever take a vacation in Hanoi again?

The answer would be a resounding YES... but only if someone pays for my ticket and lodging... :-)