The Other Train - KLIA Transit

The ERL at Bandar Tasik Selatan...

View from the platform at Bandar Tasik Selatan KLIA Transit station...
From here, we can see the newly-built bus terminal that's scheduled to open by end of 2010. Traffic at Bandar Tasik Selatan (BTS) is already heavily congested now, and is bound to become more so after the bus terminal starts its operation for good.

I Love ETS

I'm currently addicted to train-rides. I like the speed, comfort and good service. The ETS...

Rainbow on a gloomy morning

Rainy mornings often remind me of a rainy morning in summer '05. This beautiful rainbow further sweetened my nostalgia down memory lane.

Here's a zoomed in image of the rainbow...

Once in a blue moon

Weekend getaway the other day by ETS...

The New Babe called ETS

Friday the 13th... 13/8/2010 ~ My first ride on the new train from KL to Ipoh. Yes, the new KTM ETS has finally come into service on 12/8/2010. :P

At Platform 2, KL Sentral:

Getting There

At KL Sentral, ETS passengers are required to buy their tickets at the "ETS Counter" which is located at Level 2, opposite the Genting ticket counter. There's a lounge (with wi-fi) for passengers to comfortably wait for the trains. I managed to get a ticket for 8.30 am. About 30 minutes before departure, a stewardess came to guide passengers to the platform at Gate B.

Crowd-wise

There weren't many people taking the train at the time when I took the train, mainly due to the fact that it was during office hour on a working day. Comparatively however, I remember the KTM Shuttle Train to Ipoh being very largely occupied on similar days. It's probably due to cost factor as the tickets cost a little more those of the DMU trains.

The Trains

The promotional ETS ticket price for KL - Ipoh is currently set at RM30 per trip, while ticket price for the KL - Ipoh shuttle train is set at RM22/trip (Second Class) and RM12/trip (Economy Class). If it's the First Class coach on the train to Butterworths, a trip from KL to Ipoh is RM40. The ETS is classified as Premier Class, as indicated on the ticket. The trains are manufactured by Hyundai Rotem.

View from my seat:

Inside Coach B... there are a total of 6 coaches per train.

The train reached its top speed at 148 km/h when I took it. This picture was taken when the train reached 144 km/h. The top speed of these ETS is 160 km/h, which is reasonably fast (nb: ETS is not bullet train). I like the display of speed and time, it really reminds me of such similar screen in the plane.

Through the windows, a scene away from the concrete jungle:


At the railway station in Ipoh:
Here are my comments in a nutshell...

1. Comfort

Nice and smooth. I like the ETS for its quietness sans the sound of diesel engine. The overall train design is very pleasant.

2. Speed

The train achieved its promise travel-time at about 2 hours ++ for the Transit service.

3. Service On Board

The crews are polite, friendly and helpful. Well done. :)

4. Conclusion

I like this new service and look forward to riding the ETS more often. If possible (i.e. if cost does not matter), for every trip to Ipoh. It's like an addiction, where after taking the train once, I feel like taking it again and again.

I've heard about the proposed new price after this introductory period, at RM45.xx per trip. I've also heard about the possibility of the introduction of monthly pass for this service. Well, if it's going to be somewhere a little above RM5xx per month (the maximum that I can afford with my novice income), I seriously consider shifting back to Ipoh for good and commute to work in KL by ETS daily. I really love Ipoh very much; the food, the place and of course being my hometown. Right now at RM30 per trip, if I were to take the train daily, it will cost a handsome total of RM1,200 per month - as good as buying a house in KL.

I'm so in love... with the new trains and the fact that folks travelling to Ipoh have even more transport alternatives now.

Overdosed of Delicious "擂茶"

Food-wise, this is one of my latest addictions:


It's "擂茶" ('lei cha' in mandarin). I love this one from 'Big Tree' or "大树脚" in Pasir Pinji, Ipoh. There's more than just 'yong tau foo' at Big Tree. Only if I'm in Ipoh everyday to be surrounded by yummy food all time time!

KTM ETS Spotted

Voila... On my way to Ipoh recently, I spotted a few sets of new KTM ETS while bypassing KTM Workshop in Batu Gajah. The train that I was travelling in was on the move while I took these photos, so they're not as clear as I've intended them to be:

Long & cool!

New train sets at the workshop

KTM had earlier stated that these new trains will come into service for "KL-Ipoh" & "Ipoh-KL" in April 2010. However, a few weeks back, it said "June 2010". I really wonder. In any event, trips from KL - Ipoh and vice versa should be interesting once these trains come into service. :) However, I have a feeling that it won't be so soon.... typical :(

My Induction Programme in a Nutshell, etc

I had recently attended a work-related induction programme at Felda Residence Trolak (FRT) in Sungkai. It's a compulsory 1-week programme for all new staff of the organisation. I wish I have pictures to share here, but I haven't got any yet from the facilitators at the moment.

The things that we went through, in a nutshell:

1. Early Morning

Physical exercises and jogging started as early as 6.45 am every morning. Went up and downhill the compound of FRT. I felt extremely heavy to get up early when in fact we're only allowed to go to bed from 1 am onwards (5 hours of daily sleep for 6 days).

However, I realised the things that I've been missing for the past few years since I left school - vigorous physical activities. Nonetheless, with the teamwork and motivation gathered from each other, everyone managed to complete everything smoothly.

2. Briefing Sessions

Some of the sessions were fun, while I felt drowsy in a few other sessions. Insufficient sleep at night, so it's not unexpected and obviously not because the speakers were boring, but it's all because of my own exhaustion.

3. Outdoor Day

a) Low Rope & Flying Fox

It was my first time experience with Low Rope. It wasn't scary, but was exhausting. We had our activities in the recreational jungle nearby.

As for Flying Fox, this was my second time. So, I was better-prepared at this. The first was during a workplace-related activity at Klana Resort Seremban back in 2008.

b) Cooking the Old Way

We're only supplied with matches, some bamboos, rice, tapioca & salted fish. In an hour, each team was required to cook these things using limited resources by the riverside. In the end, all teams had their tapiocas & salted fish pretty well-cooked (surprise). But all had raw rice.

c) White Water Rafting
We had one session at Kampar River. To get there, we went past the area near Gua Tempurung and some hills. Since we're expected to get wet, 2 lorries were assigned to transport us, the participants. It felt nice to be on the lorry on the outside because it allows clear viewing of the countryside.

We went through Grades 1-3 of the river. Safety is of utmost importance; from proper safety attires (life jacket, helmet), to the proper technique of holding the paddle and what to do in case if the raft overturns. It's also important to fully listen to all instructions from the raft masters who are professionally-trained. Ours was conducted by Riverbug.

d) Paintball
I don't fancy paintball, even before I started to get into the compulsory game. And my worst nightmare turned into reality as soon as my eye got a mysterious shot and before I knew it, I felt paint being "injected" into my left eye on the sideways. It's mysterious because I was well attired with suitable and well-fitted helmet. It's okay to be shot, but it isn't okay to feel pain on the eye. So, I stopped.

I took a look at the mirror and asked my pals. There wasn't redness when it was painful. Already afraid, so I removed the contact lens on the left eye to see how it goes. Fortunately it was just a 1-day lens, which means it's ok to throw it away just like that. However, when the pain disappeared, came redness. A few others saw it and told me. Seriously concerned, I spoke to the facilitators.

This is something that I didn't tell anyone at home though. Later that night when everyone's supposed to go for a blind-folded jungle walk, I stayed back. Instead of participating, I had to forgo it because I had to get medical attention. A staff from Felda drove me to the nearest hospital, which is Slim River Hospital for help.

Over there, the waiting time wasn't long because there weren't many patients. As opposed to the emergency units of any G.H. The MO checked on my eye, told me that it's nothing serious, and gave a prescription. At least I know it isn't an internal injury, or else the redness surely will be accompanied by great pain.  Thankfully...

What was next:

Fortunately, the redness went down partially after a night's sleep. After applying the prescribed eyedrop, the redness reduced significantly and became almost invisible in 1 day. However, if I were to take a close look at my left eye, I could see a few fine capillaries. But things looked much-improved.

But I remain afraid to wear my contacts. Having said that, I didn't wear glasses either, because I didn't bring them with me (yeah right, so confident that I won't injure/irritate my eyes.  I forgot). So, I lived by what I could see and was glad that I managed to get my way through everything. A colleague tried waving at me from a distance and had asked if I could see him. I could...not his face, but I could recognise his tall and built figure. It's okay anyway, because I'm not severely myopic and can more or less make do temporarily without glasses or contacts. Let's not divulge any deeper about this and my vanity, which are different matters altogether.

Speaking of which,

Digressing to another point, I've always end up with urges to cut my hair short whenever I'm back from similar events. Perhaps, by going for such activities, I had pictures taken of myself and could therefore have a better view of myself. Gosh, I always feel that while long hair makes most girls look sexier, it makes me look older and... tired. Maybe because I don't know how to care for long hair and letting it free pushes up my age, appearance-wise. Especially when the fringe has grown long, since I need a little fringe to suit my feature (from advice).

Back to my usual place now and browsing through a few recent photos, I'm seriously thinking of getting a haircut now. "Sayang" to cut what I've grown for the past few months, but my "ai sui"-ness keeps me wondering whether I should go for a difference rather than keeping up with flatness. Plus, long hair tend to break more easily and have dry ends.

Go for a dry cut after working hours (dry cut, because it's only what I can afford)!

Nostalgic Batu Gajah

Batu Gajah, or simply known as BG is my adopted hometown, besides my real hometown in Ipoh. During my latest trip back to Ipoh, I was glad to have the opportunity of stopping by at Batu Gajah, which is about 20 minutes away from my home in Ipoh.

One of most exciting things of all was the long walk from Jalan Dewangsa to Changkat. It brought back the sweet memories of the days when I was at St Bernadette's Convent.

Below are a few random phone-captured photos during my stroll up the slope of Changkat from the town center:

1) The town playground:


I used to go to this playground a few times in a year when I was in pre-school. I used to go there together with my brother, being looked after by my babysitter while my mom went to work.
2) The old Court House in Changkat:
This building used to house the Magistrate's Court of Batu Gajah until the new court building was completed about a decade ago. It's obvious from the architecture that this building was built during the British colonial times. If I'm not mistaken, this old Court House building accomodates the land office now.
3) St. Joseph's Catholic Church
The church looks pretty far away from where I stood to take this picture with my humble Sony Ericsson S302.
What's sentimental about St. Joseph is that it formerly had a pre-school, in which I was one of the pupils.
Not as if I've attended many different schools though. But I notice that all the schools that I've attended consist of Catholic schools. I suspect that this is possibly attributed to the fact that my dad is educated in a Catholic school (St Michael's Institution - SMI), and thus, he's prone to sending his beloved kid to similar type of school. Maybe because (now formerly) missionary-run schools are mostly old and pretty well-known?
Conclusion
It's been many years ago since I formally bidded farewell to BG. However, I was there for a few times in between.  Meeting my friends on a few occasions, and going there with my mom for her business one a few other occasions.

Dining in Ipoh

It's been a really long time since I had time to blog. It's good in a way, because it means I either have no time to rant (because my blog consists mostly of rants and reminiscences) or that I'm too happily occupied with work (really?). :P

Here's a little update on what's in Ipoh recently. I was back for the new year, and the week after.

Ipoh & I - An Introduction
Although I'm born in Ipoh and my home address is somewhere in "31650 Ipoh" (yes, exactly in the city of Ipoh), I'm actually a stranger to Ipoh. I've never studied in Ipoh before, and I used to spend only 30% of my time there over the weekend when I was younger. It's only in Dec 2003 that my family are officially back in Ipoh for good.

Each time a new friend asks "where are you from", I'd just tell the fact (Ipoh), but deep inside, I hardly consider myself "Ipoh-girl". Physically yes, but not at heart. The only factor that attaches me to Ipoh is the fact that my family lives there and my home is there. Speaking of home, again, I question how often am I there to call it my home as in the place where I grow up. The worst thing is that I know where to go for nice dim sum in KL, but not knowing the number 1 dim sum in the whole of Malaysia - right in Ipoh itself. So near and yet so far.

An Instance of Being a Stranger to My Own Hometown
Call me "ignorant about Ipoh" despite being somewhat "Ipoh girl". Prior to watching 'Ah Xian' food documentary on Astro AEC, I had no idea that the most famous dim sum is found in Ipoh. Jalan Leong Sin Nam, no, I had no idea where the place is until I became a regular user of Google Map. Oh, it's near Excelsior Hotel.

The Breakfast Place
I was rejoicing and excited when I unintentionally discovered the new Foh San dim sum restaurant at Jalan Leong Sin Nam. The place is big, beautifully-renovated and looks really nice! So nice that I couldn't help resist taking pictures as if I were not from Ipoh.

The front entrance... nice!







One of the windows at the first floor:

Roaring business...


Delicious egg tarts at the takeaway counter:

Another view inside:

As to whether I've dined in at Foh San, the answer is "no". In any famous dim sum restaurant, the key to getting a seat is to be there very early in the morning. That's what I was told. So, this is the place that I've been looking for all my life, and I've finally found it almost 27 years down the line.

Since I only discovered Foh San at about 10.30 am that day, there's no way of finding a place to sit in the restaurant, in light of the school holiday and weekend when the restaurant was full of customers. And thus, my mom decided to take away a few varieties of dim sum. At home, I was totally fascinated by the tastiness of every single piece of the dim sum - from the 'siu mai', 'ha kao', 'char siu pao', to the egg tart. They're as addictive as what I'm already addicted to - my all-time favourite sushi. Now, I've become a fan of Foh San's dim sum too.

Walking Around

Syuen Hotel from side way...

The Dinner Place
Here's another local Chinese restaurant that I went in for the first time... Tuck Kee in Pasir Pinji, Ipoh.


The interior looks nice... I didn't know that until I went in. The restaurant looks so-so on the outside, but the inside is cosy and generally has all the pretty decors of a Chinese restaurant.

This was pictured on Chinese New Year's eve when the staff were busy preparing to open the restaurant for reunion dinner. Nowadays, there are quite a number of people who choose the convenience to dine out for reunion dinner as opposed to cooking big scale at home. The food there are generally good and very reasonably-priced.

Bukit Bintang reminds me of my beloved summer...

Monday was public holiday, so it's a day to walk around. I met up with my bro for lunch at Lot 10... there's a 'cha chan teng' feeling at the food court of Lot 10. We've not met for a long time in about 3 months already, although we're not that far from each other.

The "Shibuya" of KL...

A few years ago during the first time I stepped onto this place around Bukit Bintang, this place reminded me a little of Shibuya (a district in Tokyo). I've been there during my summer holiday visit at grand-aunt's in Japan (my paternal grandmother's youngest sister) in '05. I remember going there by densha from Tama Plaza station in Yokohama, and if I remember correctly, took about 30 minutes. I thought I was just being sentimental for thinking too much of the 'surprise holiday'.

Later on, I read somewhere that this particular place here in KL was indeed inspired by the street design of Shibuya. Oh, no wonder. To me, this place looks more beautiful during night time when the streets and signboards are brightly-lit. Here's another view, facing the monorail track.

This is near outside Lot 10:

View of Sg Wang from the overhead bridge connecting Bukit Bintang station to Sg Wang & Lot 10:

In conjunction with Chinese New Year that's around the corner, there were a few Chinese cultural shows in Sg Wang to entertain its patrons.

Chinese New Year decor outside Sg Wang:

Sg Wang was very crowded, so we walked to Pavilion for a drink.

"Hanami" (flower-watching) in KL? ;P

Cherry blossom decoration at Pavilion... though we actually don't have the plant here in our country. Looks pretty real isn't it?

The New "Toy"

This is the new Dell Latitude E6400 at work. :)

With Windows 7 Professional, a bluetooth (and hence cordless) mouse, a nice Targus knapsack and lock. This laptop is recently provided at my workplace.

Love the Windows 7, which is a combination of the goodness of 2 worlds - nice to use (like Windows XP) and beautiful (like Vista). Since I'm no authority on computers, so I'm not going to elaborate on the new Windows or the detailed specifications of this computer.

So far, I'm happy with this computer. For a laptop, the speakers are good... music sounds reasonably good when played with this Dell Latitude compared to other laptops I've tried before this.

In terms of battery life, I'm happy and like the fact that under active usage, the battery can easily last for 6 hours and more without problem. This is real mobility... real freedom. However, the laptop is little heavy.

A Sunday at Market

At the Central Market (or Pasar Besar) of Ipoh... Below are just some random shots taken over the phone on one of the few privileged days when I could be at home.

At one of the beansprout stalls there. Ipoh is known for its good qualitied beansprouts, possibly due to the greater alkaline content of the water there.

Next, a vegetable stall with various vegetables readily weighed and packed up...

Kampung eggs...

Vegetables and fruits..

"Yong tau foo"... I've actually got 2 more pictures that show a colourful variety of yong tau foo, however I've not uploaded them here as the pictures were blur due to my own unintentional movement while taking the photos. After all, I only took the photos when I think it's time when people are least likely to notice that I was taking photos. Didn't want to appear as though this was the 1st time I went to the marketplace when in fact, I've been my mom's companion to the market since I was in school (the *bonus* of having daughter at home).

The fish market... I've got a few more photos too, but they're not uploaded as those pictures may appear gross to those who either do not like fish or those who do not consume meat.

So, the above are where we normally go to at the market. Just in case if anyone were to think if I don't consume other meat, well I do, which is chicken. But on that particular day, we did not buy chicken. As for red meat, I hardly take them nowadays, especially pork.

Contrary to what most people here think (i.e. that pork is synonymous among the Chinese), I actually don't like pork and so, I generally don't eat it. Speaking of this meat, roasted suckling-piglet particularly scares me because it makes me imagine of "eating up" a baby who's still nursing on its mom's milk. So, that keeps me even further away from the meat during festive occasions (so, people... please never serve this dish on my wedding if at all I marry).

Back to the topic... Last, but not least, after buying a number of things from the market, we went to a vegetarian restaurant located opposite the market.


I'm not a vegetarian, but I like some of the dishes served by vegetarian restaurants. Long ago, I had a different impression about vegetarian dishes. However, after being exposed to such dishes when I joined my vegetarian colleague cum friend from my former workplace for lunch, I started to realise that there are nice vegetarian dishes around.

Delicious "Lui cha"

Just discovered this stall at "Big Tree" at Pasir Pinji in Ipoh. Prior to this, I've only tried the "yong tau foo" at Big Tree. But recently, my mom and I discovered this stall that sells tasty 'Lui cha'.

The stall's name in mandarin reads "lao ma zi lei cha" (yes, I can read Chinese now... ;P ), or "lou ma chi lui cha" in cantonese (being the frequently-used dialect on the streets in Ipoh), which simply means "mom's lui cha".

From what I know about the cuisine, it's the native cuisine of the 'ho po' hakka people. The stall owner is a lady, who told us she learnt to make 'lui cha' from her mom-in-law who belongs to the 'ho po' community.

The dish is healthy and nutritious because it's a blend of a few types of vegetables. It has got only vegetables. I'm not sure about the ingredients to prepare the dish though. 'Lui cha' is in the form of soup, which is popularly served with rice.