News Flash!

I have to admit, this news flash is actually just gossip that has been passed onto me. Nevertheless, I believe it's true.

After a friend of a friend was held at gun point and robbed of her jewelry and money, the burglaries started to hit closer to home. Our friend was just seeing her husband out of the gate and as his car drove away, the burglars managed to slip into her yard before the gate fully closed. They came into her home, wielding "parongs" (what I would call  machettes) and a gun!

Imagine her shock. She had a serious medical condition and so was already in a weakened state before they arrived. They aimed their gun at the dog, threatening to kill it and she pleaded for its life. Whether she fell on the floor or was pushed, I haven't ascertained, but she was on the floor and couldn't get herself up. The bandits locked her maid into her bedroom. (The maid took advantage of the situation to call our friend's husband, who turned his car around and headed home. Although too late to catch the robbers, he at least helped his wife.)

Now, these men had been making the rounds in that particular neighbourhood where other of my friends happen to live, so we had prayer against this inroad of the enemy!

A while later, the Police chased down the robbers in their car! They even managed to shoot one of the men without killing him and discovered that the team is from South America!

It seems their looting has come to an end, at least in my friends' neighbourhood! We can all breathe a sigh of relief. (I include myself in this, since I stay at the house of friends' in that neighbourhood overnight once per week.) Many of the yards have low walls or walls that are easily penetrable. The guard house has been out of commission for years and it seems the local Police don't even know how to find their way around the area!

Still, we are very grateful to the Seremban Police for a job well-done! THANKS GUYS! You deserve a doughnut. Or, at least a Papa Roti or something...

I guess it just goes to show me that there is a time and a place for weapons, although I hate to admit it.

Twisted Taxi!

So... here I am, free and clear of Immigrations with a three-month stamp in my passport. Light as air. Still, I had to look, just to make sure. ...Yep, 90 days from date of arrival. Good to go.

I decided to buy a ticket for the taxi so I could get the budget price and went outside to find one. I was directed to a car across the traffic island and got in. The young driver asked where I was going and I told him. He wanted to make sure how to get there, so he got out to talk to another driver.

"Better safe than sorry," I thought, even though I could tell him the directions once we were in S2. (Seremban 2).

After a quiet ride (which meant he could not speak any English), we arrived in Seremban. But, instead of U-turning into S2, this guy passed into Seremban 1 and, before I could stop him, headed off the road to a TOLL BOOTH!

"What are you doing? Don't go there! Don't! Stop!"

Did he stop? Nope. He went right out to the toll booth and PAID THE TOLL, heading to Port Dixon or who-knows-where-else!!

"Why you sleep?" he accused me.

What? I said, "Ok, you have to turn around. Get off the road as soon as you can and turn around." So, he did. But, this time we entered Seremban from the other side and I completely lost my bearings. I was trying to read the signs to direct him, but before I knew it, he had gone off the road AGAIN.

"Wait. Wait. What are you doing? Where are you going?"

He was driving without listening and apparently wasn't able to read the signs. I said,

"Jusco. You know Jusco?"

"Ah, Jusco. I know Jusco. Why you not tell me Jusco first time?"

I'm thinking, "Phew, he knows where Jusco is. We're home clear." But, he headed off in another direction, again, trying to go to Port Dixon!

I leaned into the front seat and said,

"See that sign? It says Seremban. Seremban is back that way," pointing behind us, "Make a U-turn, now. You know U-turn?"

He looked like he was falling off a cliff. But, he pulled into the right lane, so I was hopeful. Then, he drove off to a road leading off to the left without making a U-turn. That was it for me.

"STOP. STOP THE CAR." I said. And I jumped out.

So, there I was standing at an intersection somewhere in Seremban 3, in the middle of the night. There was little traffic and no taxis seemed to be passing by. I was too fuming and frustrated to care. My friends were waiting for me and I couldn't just sit in that guy's taxi all night. He would have ended up taking me to the coast or God-knows-where, round and round in circles

and I wouldn't have been able to explain to him how to get back.

So, there I stood. Then I started walking. Then a motorcycle pulled up.

He asked if I needed help and whether he could help me and I said he could and instinctively got on the back of his motor bike. (After using motorcycle taxis in Cambodia, it seemed like the natural thing to do.) He seemed a bit surprised and said I had no helmet but that he could take me to S2 anyway. So, he did. Friendly chap.

He let me off at the taxi stand at Jusco and I got the last taxi that was there. He took me to my friends' house, finally. Bless his heart. (I even gave him a tip, which is very uncharacteristic of me.)

My friend in Seremban 2 welcomed me back to Malaysia and then said, "Good-night."

Kinetic Rain at Terminal 1 (Official video)

Singapore's Changi Airport! Wow!

Time for a visa chop! Yay! (Not my favourite time.)

Now, why should a Westerner, such as myself, feel uncomfortable, annoyed or even stressed out over a simple visa trip? Shouldn't we enjoy the change of visiting another country and re-entering Malaysia, being greeted by welcoming and friendly immigrations officers? Shouldn't it be something to look forward to?

After all, countries like Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand welcome us for as long as we want without question. Pay the visa fee. Welcome! Welcome! Come and stay as long as you like.

I'm not selling guns or drugs. I'm not smuggling. Or kidnapping people. I don't even have the strength to be any kind of a threat.

So, why do they hate me?

Ah, yes another visa trip. We pray the next one will be less painful than the last. This time, I decided to fly to Singapore, rather than do the ride-the-bus-all-day-for-two-days thing. Granted, it is a little more expensive. But, you know, sometimes, that extra comfort is worth a little more. Don't you think so? Less stress...

Just a joke.

First, I had to take a three-hour bus trip into K.L. (Kuala Lumpur) before boarding the airport bus at the terminal. But, when I went to buy the airport bus ticket, the girl behind the glass insisted that I absolutely did not have time to take the airport bus from that terminal because I needed to be at the airport two hours in advance. (Take heed, all you would-be-fliers to Sing.)

She sent me out to hail a taxi to K.L. Central, but as I got in the taxi, we were at a stand-still in a jam. Right about then is when I started to feel like I was going to have a heart attack. Talk about stress. The friendly taxi driver offered to take me directly to the airport.

"But," I lamented, "You're going to charge me 100 ringgit and I can't afford it."

"No!" he said. "I only charge you 75."

"Still too much," I said.

But, the wheels are going around. (At least the wheels in my head, not the ones on the cars!) And I'm thinking, Yeesh, I'm going to be out a lot more than 75 ringgit if I miss that carnsorn plane.

When I realized we were going nowhere fast, I finally accepted his offer. He went on to praise himself for how fast he could get me there. To which I replied (like the seasoned travel veteran I am)

"Hao le."

Well, true to his word, he got me there an hour later and I had an hour and thirty-five minutes to spare. I found my way to "Air Asia" and waited in the snail pace line. When I finally got served, the polite young man said,

"I'm afraid I have to inform you that you have over-stayed your visa by five days."

What?

They ushered me into "the back room". I just love back rooms. Not. And told me to take a seat among a group of other people who were standing.

"Fill the form."

Form Question: Why did you over-stay your visa?

My writing: I counted the days wrong. (Seriously, could there possibly BE another reason?)

I sat there thinking this minor infraction was going to empty my entire bank account and wondering whether I even had enough money to pay the fines for five whole days.

But, the man handed me back my passport after writing something in it in his language and began to speak. He had a vacant look on his face even while looking into my eyes the whole time.

"You have applied for a visa several times in Malaysia and have been refused. You will most likely not be allowed back into Malaysia and if you are refused entry into Singapore, we will only be able to give you a one-week pass."

Of course I tried to argue that I'd been in Cambodia for a whole month, but then I realized, he was just quoting what he was taught and had not the least interest in anything I had to say. I was so surprised that he didn't issue a fine that I went on my way light-heartedly to queue up yet again.

Arriving in Singapore airport, the first thing that hit me in the eye (after using the WC) was a chocolate shop! Wow! Chocolates from all over the world. I dared not go in.

Wandering around, you come across interesting sights like the kinetic waterfall sculpture. It's thousands of copper rain-drops that fall in patterns on perpendicular lines from the ceiling. Very soothing and entertaining.
Then, of course, there's the "Burger King" with its outrageous prices. (For those of us who are used to Malaysian prices, paying three-times the usual price feels like a gouge. Especially when your onion rings are stale.)

Changi has a swimming pool and sauna up on their roof! And you can swim for free. Once you're finished, try the huge high-speed slide. Then take a walk in the cactus garden. Fun.

Legs tired? Get a free mechanical massage in one of their massage chairs. Want to smell pretty? Try on some perfume. I love Channel. Although, I'm not sure which one it was, exactly.

Four hours later, I'm back on the plane and totally exhausted. Having your body transported around seems to wear it out, for some reason.

As we were landing, an idea came to mind. I thought,

"I can walk faster than all these people even if I get off the plane last. So, I'm going to get myself to the front of the line at Immigrations."

(Why haven't I ever thought of this before? I have always lagged behind, milling slowly with the rest of the herd like cows to the slaughter, when I could have just moved a little more quickly.)

So I charged ahead of hundreds of people until I was up at the front, catching up to a lone speeder who apparently had gotten off the same plane. I followed his lead past four "No Entry" doors into "International Arrivals" and into "Immigrations" which was totally and completely void of people! In fact, he was the only one who went all the way to the front and up to the counter. I followed.

When I arrived at the white line, an elderly man said,

"Go."

I looked at him with a little amused grin and said,

"Go, la?" to which he nodded. It was a little funny. The only two people in the entire Immigrations.

I went to the counter, smiling and asked the young attendant,

"How are you?" He also seemed amused and smiled.

Then came the passport perusal. I watched as his eyes scanned the hundreds of stamps and stuck in visa extensions, holding my breath and not breathing one single word. After thirty seconds of suspense, he lifted his friendly hand and stamped a three-month visa into my passport.

And I smiled even bigger.

Petrol Prices and Break-Ins

Does the hike in petrol pricing explain the reason for a rash of recent break-ins in Seremban and Kuala Lumpur?

According to a friend of mine, the petrol hike is the reason for all of Malaysia's woes and worries today!

"The sky is falling, people!"

Well, what's done is done. And what goes up, stays up. And it will never come down again. I'm talking about food prices, now. Yes, that dried milk you must buy to keep your baby alive is going to sky-rocket. That bag of rice is going to cost you an arm and a leg. And possibly a few fingers.

But, please, good people, don't let it drive you to burglary!

For all of us "sitting ducks" with our useless security bars and less than useless Police back-up, what to do? The latest B&E criminals are brandishing parongs and guns. Talk about a total lack of respect. They've got us on the run. In fact, they just walk up to your door and demand entry.

And the residents let them in!

There was one elderly lady who had been keep all her savings in her house because she didn't put any trust in the banks. She lost it all to these masked marauders!

What they do is, they wear a ski mask or something black that covers their entire head and face with only a slit for the eyes. And they talk in one word sentences, like,

"Money." And, "Go."

That makes it very difficult to identify their nationality or identity. And, the fact that they're doing rich neighbourhoods and getting away with it "Scott free", is more-than-likely a great encouragement for them to keep doing what they're doing. Wouldn't you say?

So, it's time to take a stand against this inroad of the enemy! And, what's my bright idea?

Let's see: pepper spray?

I suggest setting up alarm systems to at least allow for an early warning. A buzzer of some type can be set up inside the house where you can hear it when it's triggered. From the buzzer, a thin, barely visible line can run across the yard in the path of would-be intruders so that it is tripped when a foot pulls on it.

Don't allow fear to be your master.

A loud alarm system installed inside so that if a bar or window is touched, it will go off, will deter most robbers. Once the alarm goes off, all the lights inside and outside of the house should go on immediately.

I've also heard that rubber bullets really sting! Without killing anyone.

Another option is to assemble a night watch team to patrol the neighbourhood. Those guys in the guard boxes are anything but guards. In fact, more often than not, they're the ones cuing the intruders!

The price of petrol is up. Whether or not it stays up, the cost of living will. Survival is the name of the game. Both on the home front and on the financial front.

So, hang in there, Malaysia.