Amazing sound of music by YAWA

We're watching the Yayasan Anak Warisan Alam (YAWA) band perform music with their "everyday" instruments: woks, dustbins, pails, used bottles, etc. Amazing stuff!

Oh yes, and it's Climate Change week over here in DiGi. Feel the heat? Time to change.

The public phone is cool again

Hmmm, I sense the Vodafone influence with these "new" phone booths all over KL. Still the same old Telekoms public phone under all that - I just hope it works!

Swedish remedy for tummy aches

It must've been all the over eating at O&S. Thankfully Ikea provides great Swedish "facilities".

Diabetes kills!

Nice use of ad space on the MRT. (Yeah, I'm back in Singapore)

Get real, Air Asia

"If we keep you waiting, you'll get a RM200 e-gift voucher"

All nice and good. But it's only for delays exceeding 3 HOURS!

Ta Ta

Headed back home now. Pangkor Island (Beach Resort) is a splendid place for a holiday, and great for team building outings.

*p/s: always remember to bring your own booze

Sunny side up

The egg station is my favourite. Scrambled eggs please.

I'm gonna dance with somebody

I've lost count of the beers I've had. But we're having a blast of a Friday night. Dance floor on the beach with massive speakers all around. DJ Alex from Zouk is spinning the best retro and R&B.

*p/s: wish you were here!

The hornbills are back!

They must be hungry from all that flying.

Where are the hornbills?

There are lots of hornbills here in Pangkor. Not after they've been fed though.

Yes, we're not just partying

Contrary to popular belief, we are doing some work. Breakout sessions.

Girls can drink too!

Nothing beats a party with booze on the agenda. Birthday boys and girls going head to head on stage now.

An engineering degree has some benefits

Here's what you can do when you're only given one door access card for your hotel room.

First try using any credit card (or something similar). In our case, we've had to improvise as the slot is much larger. Put two spoons to hold the switch down, and voila! You can now take your key with you, and leave the air con turned on. It's not energy efficient, but it's definitely cool!

All on board!

We're finally here! Pangkor Island Beach Resort. Oh, and I'm hungry.

One big ferry

We're finally at the jetty! Another 30 mins to Pangkor Island. Oh, and I'm carrying the beers.

A must have for long road trips

An inflatable neck pillow. Only 6.90, from Guardian.

Are we there yet?

We're packing up for a road trip. Waiting for the buses. Over 100 of us. 4 hour trip.

C'mon, guess where. I'll blog about the destination when we get there.

WANTED: Bangkok travel guide & street map

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M and I will be traveling to Bangkok in July. It's our first time, and we're excited. I'm looking forward to street food and muay thai. She's looking forward to making me carry gunny sacks of shoes and dresses.

We booked a couple of cheap AirAsia tickets back in February, but have yet to plan anything else (yes, it's my fault). I'm looking into budget hotels now. Preferably something that's really close to the Skytrain / MRT, has a swimming pool, is not too far from a 7-Eleven, and is in either Sukhumvit / Siam.

In the meantime, do you have any good travel guide books and street maps which we could borrow (or buy)? We're making full use of the Internet, but nothing beats something you can touch, hold, flip, fold & tear (ok, maybe not the last bit).

Germany vs Poland, live in Shah Alam!

We're playing futsal in the office today. It's a mini Euro as each department is representing one of the 16 nations. I'm playing for Germany. Jersey number 14, defender. Can't recall the last time I kicked a ball.

Wish me luck?

WANTED: Second-hand camera phone

I'm looking for a second-hand camera phone. Preferably something that let's you take photos, has some games, and is in good condition (and reasonably priced?). It's for my 9-year old cousin. He recently broke *his* phone.

Do you have one?

Don't take risks, use covers!

I never knew you could find disposable toilet seat covers in Guardian. 15 bucks for 10 pieces.

Would you waste your money on this?

How far would you go for Indian food?

The best "home cooked" South Indian food in Malaysia can be found here in Shah Alam. Sree Kasturi's serves superb meals for under 5 bucks. And I dare say better than the usual banana leaf fare we're used to in KL.

The next time you're here, buzz me and I'll take you out for a meal. You'll be stuffed, but you won't regret it.

How to speed up your tax refunds

I just received my tax refund from the Inland Revenue Board (aka income tax / LHDN).

Clincher: in 18 days! That's even better than the publicised commitment of 30 days.

How: e-Filing. Just sign up on their website and you can submit your taxes easily via the web. To encourage citizens to use the web, LHDN is committing to refund all excess tax payments within 14-30 days.

Side note: it's always nice to receive a cheque in the mail box after a weekend of impulsive "buys".

Would you bite the carrot?

There's intense competition in Singapore as they approach full number portability which kicks off June 13th. (Malaysia will enjoy this in August) Everyone's throwing 'carrots' here. Lots of roadshows to build awareness.

Given a choice, what would make you switch to another telco if you could keep your number?