1. Today will be a historic day for Malaysia. For better or for worse. I am referring to the Bersih 2.0 rally that is going to be held in KL later in the day. What will happen? I don't know. I am not into dirty politics and rallies - all I want is a peaceful country where I can live happily.
2. Please don't ask me if I support Bersih. I cannot tell you. There are so many hidden motives among all those involved with this issue that I don't know what to believe anymore. All I can say is "Trust No One".
3. Last night, I had beef noodles for dinner. I simply love the beef noodles at Pho Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant. If you have not tried it, please go and try!
I simply love the tasty soup which is filled with fresh coriander leaves, bean sprouts and basil leaves. And of course the beef in the form of brisket, flank, tendon and tripe! The chili sauce also gives the dish lots of oomph!
4. PappaRich changed its menu and hiked the prices recently, much to my horror. I already found PappaRich to be quite expensive earlier and now I think it's not even worth eating there!
The new menu looked more "high class" and there were over 30 new items but the food quality did not improve in any way. In fact, at certain outlets, the quality was downright terrible. If I am going to pay RM20 for a plate of char koay teow and a cup of coffee, I might as well eat at Pho Hoa!
5. I was tempted to try the durian mochi at PappaRich but they told me the mochis were out of stock! Oh well, I don't even expect it to be nice anyway. At that price, I wonder how big or small the mochi is!
In any case, I think the safest food to eat at PappaRich is their bread, especially their steamed bread! Now that is the only food I highly recommend at PappaRich!
6. Do you know you can now play Angry Birds on your PC using Google Chrome? I have already completed Level 7 in Angry Birds Rio on my iPhone. Now I am patiently waiting for the release of the next level. Meantime, I think I shall play Level 1 again and try and better my previous scores!
7. Late one night, I woke up from my sleep at about 3am and did what I usually would not do - looked out my bedroom's window. Imagine my shock when I saw a dark figure staring at me from my neighbour's room!
I even took a picture of it using my iPhone. What do you think? Is that a person looking at me?
The next night, I peeked out my window again but that room was all dark so I could not be sure if anyone was standing in there! Whoever that person is, I am very sure he or she is not one of my neighbour's family members.
8. I think I am not very fond of Mille crepe cakes anymore. I don't know why but since I ate the crepe cakes at Nadeje in Melaka, I have lost interest in such cakes. I am not even keen to eat the ones at Food Foundry in PJ.
I wouldn't say the crepe cake at Nadeje was bad or anything, in fact, I loved it at first bite but after that I just found it way too creamy for my liking! Oh well, maybe I should try Humble Beginnings - perhaps it can rekindle my love for crepe cakes?
9. Besides crepe cakes, I also ate grilled chicken salad at Nadeje. It was quite nice, but not fantastic : )
10. I don't normally buy breads from the bakery nowadays. I used to buy breads from Bread Story or Bread Talk, but not any longer. Bread is just not a very healthy food!
But recently, I bought some bread from Lavender Bakery at Mid Valley Megamall and fell in love with them!
Eating these breads with a cup of coffee is just perfect! Looks like I will be indulging in some "unhealthy" bread for some time : )
I was a little late in catching the movie Source Code which created quite a stir recently. I am glad that I did not read any reviews before watching it. Just like the movie Inception, people were either hating it or loving it. I belong to the latter category.
Many people did not like the movie because it did not make any sense to them. And I don't think I can really blame them. It is hard to understand about parellel universes or alternate realities, which was explained quite briefly in the movie. In fact, I don't think I am smart enough to really understand completely anything that has to do with Quantum Physics!
But first, a little about the movie Source Code. It is basically about Colter Stevens (played by Jake Gyllenhaal ) an American Army helicopter pilot who woke up on a train and discovered he had assumed the identity of another man named Sean Fentress. Before he could learn more about himself, the train exploded and he found himself in some kind of pod where he soon learnt that he was in a project to save Chicago from a bomber via a program that enters him into alternate realities.
This is as brief as I could get. For the full story, read HERE.
The movie got me engrossed right from the beginning all the way to the end. The way the story developed each time Colter enters a different reality was really interesting. Character development was also executed perfectly and I really think the actors and actresses did a great job!
I particularly like Vera Farmiga as Colleen Goodwin, the mission controller. Her facial expression was excellent and her acting very believable.
Michelle Monaghan who played Christina Warren, Colter's love interest, was very natural and Jake Gyllenhaal was totally warm and compelling in his role as Colter.
The only problem with the movie is the inability of the audiences to fully understand the plot. Or to be more exact, the scientific theory behind it. My friend who watched this movie with me thought the Source Code is a simulation device. It is not, as told by Dr Rutledge (played by Jeffrey Wright) to Colter at one point in the movie. This is not Matrix or Avatar.
A lot of people thought this is about time travel and that Colter was travelling back to the past to uncover who the bomber is. Again, this is NOT correct. There is no time travel involved at all. If it is time travel, Colter would have gone back to the past and changed history. But he could not and did not. Those people who were killed in the train were still dead and even after he prevented the bombing and saved everyone towards the end of the movie, they still remain dead.
Source Code is all about parellel universes or alternate realities, a mind boggling topic even for the most educated and intelligent amongst us. If you go into the cinema with absolute zero knowledge about this topic, you will have a hard time trying to make sense of it all. Consequently, most people will come out of the cinema saying the plot is unbelievable or ridiculous or even far-fetched.
Luckily for me, I was exposed to this topic of parellel universes a few years ago. Thus, I think I was a bit more successful in making sense of the movie and more accepting of the storyline.
So what exactly are parellel universes? If I am not mistaken, Quantum Mechanics defines parellel universes as universes that are separated from each other by a single quantum event.
I am definitely not an expert but this is what I understand from my limited knowledge about parellel universes. It would seem that there is an unlimited universes or realities co-existing with our present reality. All the universes are happening in the moment of NOW. Do I make any sense here?
Simply put, whatever choices you make defines your present reality. In another reality, you will be making a different choice which leads to different pathways or consequences. For example, you are reading this post now. You decide to leave a comment after you finished reading. This is your present reality. In another reality, you are reading this post and decide not to leave any comments. Your actions in both realities will lead to different consequences which will lead to more decisions to be made later which will play out in yet many other realities or parellel universes.
In other words, all the different pathways you choose are already happening all at once, but in different realities. Mind boggling? Absolutely.
Back to the movie Source Code. OK, this is my take on what actually happened. I may be wrong here and this is of course, open for discussion.
In the very beginning before the movie even starts, there is this man named Sean Fentress who got onto a train and a bomber blowed up the train, killing him and all the passengers inside. The crazed bomber planned to continue with a second bombing. To prevent this, the Government or the authorities needed to find out the identity of the bomber. They enlisted the help of Dr Rutledge who is the inventor of Source Code, a program that can place someone's consciousness into another during the latter's last eight minutes of life at a different reality.
Dr Rutledge and his team discovered that Colter Stevens who supposedly died in a war, was most suitable to take over Sean and therefore, they kept him alive (or at least his brain alive) and connected him to the Source Code.
Colter was sent to a different reality each time to progressively identify the bomber. As you can see, all the different realities were almost the same but with some events changed because Colter took a slightly different action in each of them. Basically, he was just jumping from one parellel universe to another. In the process, he fell in love with Christina Warren, a passenger in the train.
Finally, he found out the identity of the bomber and informed Colleen and Dr Rutledge. With the information, the bomber in this present reality (which I shall call the Original Universe) was tracked down and caught, thus prevented a second bombing.
Dr Rutledge decided to erase Colter's memory so that he could use Colter again to help with another case. But Colter himself wanted to die, so that he is free to go to the alternate reality to save Christina and the passengers of the train and live happily ever after in that reality. He managed to convince Colleen to help him.
So Colleen pushed the button and Colter died in the original universe but lived happily in the parellel universe. And the movie should have ended there and then and I would get out of the cinema happy and satisfied.
But no, they had to come out with a twist at the ending and that's where I started to get confused.
In the last part of the movie, Colleen received a text message from Colter on her phone. Now a text message sent from a parellel universe cannot possibly reach the original universe. So I figured that the last scenes in the movie are actually showing Colleen in an alternate universe, the same universe where Colter is already living happily, having saved Christina and the passengers in the train!
And because in that universe, the bombings did not happen and no one died, that means the Source Code had not even been used yet! Yet, how come we see Colter's body there and connected to the Source Code? He's supposed to be alive in that universe!
But of course I forgot! Colter's consciousness was already in Sean Fentress so the person who saved everyone on the train was actually Sean but with Colter's consciousness! In other words, Colter has two consciousness in that particular universe, one in Sean and the other in his own body! Astounding!
I hoped I figured it out correctly. But I may be wrong so if you have a different idea, do share with me here.
There are still a few unanswered questions.
One, why did Christina's face glitched in one of the scenes? She is real and alive in that particular universe so why the glitch? This is not a simulation!
Two, why and how did they choose Sean for Colter's consciousness to go into? There are so many other passengers in that train they could have chosen.
Three, why did Colter felt cold in the pod at one point in the movie? Besides, the pod is not real, but only what his consiousness sees.
Still, I enjoyed this movie tremendously. I'm rating it 8.5/10. Entertaining and absorbing, with an ingenious plot and superb acting all round. A movie you cannot afford to miss!
YES!! Finally! I am a proud owner of an iPhone! Yes!!!
OK, this may sound terribly outdated since I bought the iPhone 3GS a few months back. Besides, iPhone had just released their newest version iPhone 4. I should have blogged about this then but I guess it's better late than never!
Now many people tell me they don't like iPhone. They prefer Blackberry, Nexus One, Samsung Galaxy S, HTC, Nokia N series and a host of other smart phones.
Well, I don't like smart phones because they are smarter than me. That's why I own an iPhone! LOL!!
Here is a picture of my iPhone.
Oh, if you want to know, the one on the left is a condom for my iPhone. Haha! It's to protect my iPhone you know, just in case...
With the iPhone, I can now check my emails, update my Facebook, chat on yahoo messenger and msn, tweet on Twitter and watch YouTube videos on the go!
I can surf the web, take pictures and post on my Facebook, record a video and post on YouTube, play games and even update my blog if I want to!
I can also listen to songs on my iPhone's iPod. There is no need to get an iPod!
Recently, I have been using my iPhone to record my piano playing and share with my blog readers. It was cool! Perhaps you want to listen to my rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars with a twist? Enjoy!!
Oh by the way, do you know iPhone can save your life? Yes, if you are lost in the jungle, and there is no line, you can use iPhone's compass to navigate your way out!
Since I am not a very technical person, I won't go into details about the iPhone. Suffice to say it is giving me hours and hours of enjoyment! I don't think I can survive without it!
There are however, two things I don't like about the iPhone. One, is its high power consumption. If I tweet a lot or play games on it, the battery will drain off fast and I would need to recharge it. That's such a hassle and can sometimes be very inconvenient especially when it takes close to two hours to fully recharge!
The other thing is if I set the alarm and switch off my iPhone, the alarm would not work. Unlike my previous handphone, the Sony Ericsson C902, I could set the alarm, switch the handphone off and when the time comes, the phone will switch on by itself and sound the alarm. Not so with the iPhone!
I bought this iPhone from Digi, and subscribed to its iDigi88 plan which requires me to pay RM88 per month for 24 months. Recently, Digi lowered the iDigi88 monthly payment to RM60 for new subscribers. That was a reduction of RM28!!
This is the new iDigi plan. Click to enlarge.
I was quite upset with this but what could I do? Looks like early birds never really had it good! RM28 per month for 24 months would mean I would be losing out on a total of RM672!!
Imagine what I can do with RM672!
✔I can stay one night at the Sea Villas in Pangkor Laut Resort! ✔I can dine at the dinner buffet at Le Meridien KL at least 6 times! ✔I can watch my favourite movies in Gold Class at GSC Signature at least 11 times! ✔I can enjoy crepe cakes at Food Foundry 74 times! ✔And if not mistaken, I can enjoy up to 672 sundae cones at McDonalds!
So am I pissed off? You bet!
But did I regret buying the iPhone? Hell no!!
Now go get that iPhone if you have not already. And tell me what you can do with RM672.
Happy Merdeka to all my Malaysian readers, bloggers and friends!!!
Since today we are celebrating our 53rd Independence Day, I am coming out with a Top 10 Reasons why I love our beloved country Malaysia!! Let's begin, shall we?
1. Malaysia's weather is hot and humid all year round. Although this may be uncomfortable, the humidity is good for our skin and helps all of us look younger!
2. Malaysia has some of the best food in the world. Think nasi lemak, char koay teow, roti canai, teh tarik, cendol, satay, chicken rice, keropok lekor, bak kut teh, etc. etc!
3. Malaysia is home to some of the best variety of fruits in the world! Where else can you get durians, mangoes, papayas, pineapples, tarap, mangosteens, dragonfruits, rambutans, guavas and bananas in one place?
4. Malaysia is free from major natural disasters! We do not have earthquakes, volcano eruptions, typhoons, twisters and blizzards!
5. Malaysia has some of the best beaches in the world. Think Sipadan, Perhentian, Tioman, Redang and Manukan!
6. Malaysians are generally peace loving and all three major races live in harmony here! It's only the politicians who are trying to spoil it all for us!
7. Malaysians love to eat and we have 24-hour eateries! The only downside to this is we are getting fatter and fatter!
8. Malaysia has the tallest Twin Towers in the world! It's also the most beautiful Twin Towers!
9. Malaysians are generally warm and friendly. In fact, we are in the Top 10 most tourism friendly countries in the world!
10. Malaysia is among one of the countries in the world with the most public holidays. Now I like that a lot! Haha!
Sunrise in Redang Island
Although Malaysia is not perfect, and no country in the world is, I still think the positive aspects of Malaysia far outweigh the negatives. So let us focus on the positives, shall we?
The grass is not always greener on the other side. Let's appreciate our beloved Malaysia.
Thank you Malaysia for being such a wonderful and beautiful country. You are indeed my home sweet home, my Heaven on Earth! Happy Merdeka Day!! : )
I am supposed to resume blogging about my last year's China trip but I am afraid watching the World Cup Final had taken the toll on me!
Paul the Octopus had successfully predicted the winning team 7 times in a row. Will he predict the winner correctly for the final too although Germany is in not involved? I hope so. Because Panda (that's me!) had predicted the same too. Haha!
Today I did an experiment. Or rather my friends did an experiment on me.
I was asked to choose between an egg tart and a siew bao. (Please google siew bao if you do not know what is that. I have to keep this post short! LOL!)
My friend used the egg tart to represent Spain and the siew bao to represent Netherlands. Of course they did not tell me about it.
I chose the egg tart. Cos I actually prefer egg tart to siew bao.
And I was told by my friend I had picked Spain as the World Cup champion. Wow! Didn't know I, the Panda had the power of Paul the Octopus too! Haha!!
Anyway, today's post will be short and sweet. A slight departure from my usual long winded posts since I am posting this at 4.30am in the morning while watching Netherlands and Spain battling it out at the World Cup Finale!
OK, do you notice something different with my blog? Yes? No?
There are 4 things I added to my blog.
1. Well, for those of you who are not very observant (read could not care less), I have a new favicon! Don't know what is a favicon? OK, read my old post on Favicon. Do you see that icon next to my blog's URL at the top of the screen? Well, that's my favicon.
2. Do you see the green Retweet button on the top right corner of this post? If you tweet, you can click on the Retweet button to retweet my post. If you do not tweet, why not start signing up with Twitter now? It's so fun!!
3. Do you see the blue thumb icon and the word Like button at the bottom of this post? Well, if you like my post, please click on it! Of course, you would need to sign up with Facebook to do so. If you are not with Facebook, why not sign up today? Perhaps you want to put this Like button in your blog as well!
4. Lastly, do you see the Share button next to the Comments right at the bottom of the post? If you like my post, feel free to bookmark it or share it with online social networks like Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit etc.
The only problem is I do not know how to place this Share button in the middle instead of sticking so close to the Comments link. Anyone can help me here?
Note: The World Cup Final had just ended. Spain is the Champion!! OMG! Paul the Octopus got it right 8 times in a row!! And I got it right too! Haha! Now if you still think that is coincidence, I don't know what else to say! I am going to celebrate this by taking my Monday off! Woohoo!!
1. I love my Random Notes posts! Do you like my Random Notes too? Sure hope you do. Haha! Anyway, today is the 13th in the series. Hey it's Friday! So shall I call it Friday the 13th? LOL!
2. Last night, I had the WORST asam laksa noodles for dinner in my entire life! Guess where did I eat? OK, let me tell you. It's at OldTown White Coffee. I won't mention which outlet but it was really, really horrible! I could only find one thin slice of shredded fish in it! What kind of asam laksa is that?
3. Do you want to know my latest hobby? OK, it's not really my latest cos I have been at it for years! Haha! I am talking about afternoon naps! I love taking short power naps and I call it Panda Power Nap or PPN for short. Why panda? Go figure! Do you take PPN? : )
4. OK, some people will say taking naps are only for lazy people. If that is so, then Bill Clinton, Leonardo da Vinci and Thomas Edison are lazy people! I am so privileged to be in this list of famous people. Hmm, wonder if Obama is in this list as well?
5.You want to know the benefits of taking power naps? And the difference between nano-nap, micro-nap, mini-nap and power-nap? Read HERE
6. Of course, not everyone can afford to take power naps, especially if you work in the office. Really, all offices should have a room just for people to take 20 minutes power naps! Look, it can increase productivity as you will feel more alert after a nap and can focus better. Of course, employers are strictly against this since they know most of their employees are either busy blogging, tweeting, msn-ing, or facebooking instead of working! Haha!
7. Want to know 5 ways to change your IP address? Watch this video.
8. Recently, I had so much fun irritating people with my Vuvuzela! If you don't know what a Vuvuzela is, obviously you have not been following the FIFA World Cup that is going on now. Here's a picture of a man blowing the Vuvuzela.
Oh no! I did not buy a real Vuvuzela! Just downloaded the app on my iPhone and started blowing it to annoy people especially those who hated the noise made by this trumpet-lookalike instrument. Haha!
9. I was laughing and laughing when I saw these photos of Lady Gaga on those super duper high platform shoes and she stumbled and fell on her face at of all places, the airport! So bloody funny!
Well, that's over-the-top Lady Gaga for you!
Hope you had enjoyed reading my Random Notes today! Have a great weekend! : )
1. Now that I have finished my Bali posts, I would like to resume my Lake Kenyir posts which I stopped halfway a few months back. However, for today, I would like to take a break from my travel posts to give you Random Notes 11.
2. The other day I posted this sentence on my Facebook. I wrote :
I AM FEELING H........... NOW AND I AM CRAVING FOR S.......... !!!
Someone responded by commenting "So just go and M......."
What do you think I am feeling and craving for? And if you know what M stands for, then you are really having naughty thoughts! Haha! : )
3. I love to tweet! Now with my newly bought iPhone, I can tweet from anywhere at any time of the day or night! And checking my emails have never been easier! Thank God for iPhone!
4. The days of sms are over, at least for me. Previously I was known as the Sms King in my family as I loved to send text messages to my friends. My phone bill used to be quite high because of this!
Nowadays I hardly use sms to communicate with close friends. What I use instead is Twitter. By using the Direct Message feature in Twitter, I can send private messages to my friends who are also on Twitter.
Why pay for sending text messages when you can do it for free via Twitter? So want to send me text messages? Come follow me on Twitter! : )
5. According to a 2010 Reader's Digest Poll, Nicol David is the Malaysian that Malaysians trust most! Surprisingly (or should it be not surprisingly?) feng shui master Lillian Too made it into the Top 50 Most Trusted Malaysians this year!
Judging from the list, Malaysians seem to trust actors and singers a lot! And is it any wonder that not a single politician is on that list? Haha!!
6. Now do you know what is the 10 Most Trusted Professions in Malaysia? They (in ranking order) are :
Pilot
Teacher
Doctor
Paramedic
Firefighter
Surgeon
Scientist
Dentist
Pharmacist
Nurse
Are you in one of the above professions? Looks like Malaysians trust mostly science and medicine oriented professions.
Surprisingly, CEOs ranked no.27, way below musicians (no.21) and tour guides (no.23) !
7. I am sure most of you know who Dr Pornthip is don't you? Yes, she's the famous forensic pathologist from Thailand. Well, according to Reader's Digest Poll, Dr Pornthip is Thailand's most trusted person! No wonder she is much sought after - even in Malaysia!
8. Recently, I checked my resting heart rate and it was at 68 bpm. I think I am not as fit as before! I am aiming to bring my resting heart rate to 60 bpm in 3 months time. I hope I can achieve this!
Do you know what is your resting heart rate? To know the proper way of measuring your resting heart rate, read HERE.
Do you still believe in coincidence? Let me tell you this - there is no such thing as coincidence. Everything happens for a reason and you are the cause of everything that happens or will ever happen to you.
I know, some of you would say I'm talking nonsense. A few years back I would have agreed with you. But I learnt that if you look at the bigger picture and you become aware of the big picture and you stand outside of you observing yourself and your life, you will soon realize that every event, everything that happened to you had happened in the most perfect way imaginable.
As such, I have stopped blaming others for my misfortunes. Firstly, blaming others means you are not taking responsibility for what happened. Not taking responsibility means you are giving control to that person you blame. In other words, you are the poor, helpless victim.
Secondly, do be aware that you are the cause of your own misfortune. It's difficult to comprehend this at first. I mean, how can you say that I cause my own sickness? It would be madness to tell a victim of a robbery that he or she was robbed because he or she wanted it! Ridiculous right?
Well, not really. In actual fact, everything that happens to us must first come to us by the way of attraction. We are like magnets that attract things and events into our lives.
Take for example, you and your neighbour work nights and both of you walk back home every night. You get robbed twice but your neighbour is unharmed. Why? Are you more unlucky than your neighbour?
The answer lies in your beliefs. Probably you believe that people are basically bad and dishonest. Or you are always fearful of being robbed because you heard a lot of such robbery cases. Your negative beliefs attract the negative energies creating a physical manifestation that resulted in you being robbed!
Your neighbour on the other hand, probably believes that people are basically good. Her positive beliefs in turn attract positive energies and therefore she gets home safe and well.
Now you may not believe that people are bad, but probably you did something dishonest at work and this guilty feeling will also attract the negative energies because you subconsciously believe that you should be punished for your dishonesty.
Some of you may lash out at me and say this is complete rubbish! You may ask, do you mean that those people who perished in the recent earthquake in Haiti deserve it because they attracted the misfortune to themselves?
To answer this, I will not say yes or no. That's because I'm not fully enlightened to provide an answer to such a question!
But personally, I would say there is no coincidence in life. Things happen for a reason, and if you happen to be a victim of an earthquake or a tornado or a tsunami, you are probably there at the right time and the right moment for some reason.
Everything is happening perfectly. There are no chaos or random events although they may not seem to be so.
That is why do not fight life. Do not fight events and circumstances in your life. Instead accept them and go with the flow. Start thinking positively and create positive energies. Even though it may seem that your life is fated, I believe that we are in this world to create and re-create.
You can change your fate. You can change your beliefs. And as such, you can change your life for the better.
For more information on this topic, read books by the following authors - Deepak Chopra, Wayne W Dyer, Neale Donald Walsch, Christopher Stone, Shakti Gawain, Esther Hicks, Masaru Emoto, Eckhart Tolle.
Note: I am taking a break from my usual Bali travel posts. They will be back in my next upcoming post, so stay tuned : )
First of all, this is not a political post. I don't do politics in my blog. However, this is going to be a short post. A very short post. But don't count on it! Haha : )
Today I am going to do a lot of comparisons. This vs that! Here vs there! Old vs new! Just let me know what is your preference! All your comments will be treated private and confidential....NOT! : )
By the way, if you want to win a prize from me, scroll all the way down for the details!!! : )
I've been driving for many years now and I still don't think I am very clear about some of the traffic rules in Malaysia. So let me ask you, my dear readers, to help me out here so that I can be a better driver.
1. Is the emergency lights only used when your car is having a breakdown and is stationary? If yes, why do I still see cars in front of me with their emergency lights flashing every time the driver brakes? It irritates the hell out of me!
2. Imagine you are driving on a two-lane road and you reach a junction with traffic lights. You intend to go straight. Is it wrong to stop on the left lane when the light turns red?
The other day, I was given the horn when I stopped on the left lane of a two-lane road. Obviously the driver behind me wanted to turn left and my car was blocking him. So was I wrong to stop on the left lane when I had no intention of turning left?
3. When you are on the right lane of a four-lane road, do you still need to switch on the right signal to indicate you are turning right at the traffic light? Isn't it obvious that you must be turning right because if you are going straight, you might be blocking the car on your left lane which may also be turning right?
Besides, if you switch on the right signal, wouldn't the driver behind you think you want to make a U-Turn?
4. Is it even remotely possible to switch on the left signal light when you want to turn right and vice versa? I have seen this happened so many times there is no doubt that this is very possible but I just don't understand how it could possibly happen! Do you?
5. I am driving on the main road intending to turn right into a small road. A driver on the small road intends to turn right onto the main road. Who has the right of way? I would think I have the right of way, correct? Then why do some drivers force their way out from the small road as if they have the right of way?
"Petaling Jaya is not a favourite place and I am definitely not a PJ person." so said Jacqueline Pereira in her article "Tales Of Two Cities" in The Star paper dated December 6, 2009.
I was stunned when I read what she wrote. As a long-time resident of Petaling Jaya (or PJ for short), I don't think she was being very fair in comparing PJ to KL (or Kuala Lumpur). I even think her article smacks of sarcasm.
If you have not read her article, read it here. Then tell me if you agree with her.
It's not that I don't like KL, I do. I fell in love with KL many years ago and I'm loving this wonderful city still. But please don't compare PJ with KL. Why the need to compare?
But since Jacqueline Pereira had so sarcastically denounced PJ and in her obviously flawed opinion thinks that KL is far superior, I, who is a PJ guy at heart, will not sit still and keep silent about this! I shall now give you 10 reasons why PJ is evidently more superior compared to KL.
Ready? Here goes....
1. PJ has less traffic jams I don't know about you but whenever someone invites me to go KL, I always need to think twice before saying yes. The reason? I have to make sure I don't get stuck in KL's notorious traffic jams. You really have to plan your journey around KL, or else be prepared to spend an hour or two stuck in the jam!
2. PJ does not get flooded easily Besides traffic jams, KL is also famous for floods especially flash floods! That is why I am very fearful of driving to KL whenever there is a heavy downpour. I don't want my car to be trapped in deep waters! Looks to me as if the SMART tunnel is not that smart after all!
And if you park your car in KL, you better make sure your insurance covers car damaged due to floods!
You better pray your car does not end up like this one in KL! (Images courtesy of Urban Reality)
Or like this in Corcorde Hotel's car park just after three hours of rain!
Believe me, this kind of flooding in basement car parks can only happen in cities like KL. It is virtually unheard of in PJ!
A friendly advice to Ms Pereira : Make sure your car insurance covers floods!!
3. PJ has many shortcuts to avoid the jam I am not saying PJ has no traffic jams, but definitely not in the same level of severity as KL. Even though there are many bottlenecks, you can actually avoid them if you know all the shortcuts. Obviously as a long-time resident, I have learnt some shortcuts around PJ. I really think shortcuts are non-existent in KL. Some high class city that!
4. The best shopping malls are located in PJ Don't believe me? Let me name a few shopping malls in PJ - 1Utama, The Curve, Sunway Pyramid. These are huge malls and are favourites with residents from all over PJ and KL and some say, Shah Alam.
1Utama - my favourite shopping mall!
What does KL have? Lot 10? Sungei Wang? Come on, these are so outdated I don't even want to go there if they are the last standing malls left on earth!
Oh, OK, you have Suria KLCC and Pavilion - sure they are prestigious but let's face it, who goes there to shop except the filthy rich? Average people like me won't even bother to go there for my shopping needs!
Not to mention of course, the exorbitant parking rates at these malls is enough to deter me from going there regularly! How much is the parking rate in 1Utama? A very affordable RM1 per entry. At Pavilion, it already costs RM5.50 for parking just 2 hours there!
Actually, I do like Mid Valley Megamall, but I think it can get really jammed up there. Besides, I do think Mid Valley is more like somewhere in the middle, it's neither in PJ nor KL.
A note to Ms Pereira : So where do you normally shop? I hope it's not Sungai Wang Plaza!
5. The world's favourite furniture retailer is in PJ Yes, and by this I mean IKEA, the world famous furniture retailer. Do you find it in KL? No! It's located where else, but in PJ!
IKEA Mutiara Damansara (image courtesy of IKEA Malaysia)
A note to Ms Pereira : You don't ever go IKEA right, or do you? Now don't let me catch you there!!
6. Great, quality food are found in PJ Even though PJ does not have as many eateries as in KL, but seriously, I think almost all food you can get in KL can be found in PJ and at a much cheaper price too! Obviously, you won't know that unless you are a long-time resident of PJ.
Besides, going to a restaurant or hawker centre in PJ is so much less hassle compared to braving the traffic and flash flood in KL! Not to mention of course the lack of parking spaces and expensive parking rates in KL!
7. PJ is home to most multi-national companies Let's be honest now. Where is the main service centre for LG? Or Samsung? Or Electrolux? In KL? You wish! They are all found in PJ! There must be a reason why these multi-national companies base themselves in PJ. Needless to say, PJ is the far superior place, haha!
Oh, the list of companies located in PJ is endless. Go do the research yourself! I pity the KL-lites - they need to drive all the way to PJ just to have their appliances fixed. Boo hoo!
8. PJ is a happening place You think KL is a more happening place compared to PJ? I beg to differ. What's so happening about driving through horrendous traffic jams and flash flood and then have this urge to curse because you can't find a place to park your car? It's so not cool!
And have you been to The Curve at night? It's definitely a more happening place with large crowds compared to Pavilion KL! Not to mention more beautiful too! And do I even need to mention about the cheaper parking rate? Duh!
9. PJ has more holidays! Sorry to say this to those living or working in KL but PJ trumps KL by having more holidays! While KL gets ahead with their Federal Territory holiday on 1st February, PJ residents get to take the day off for Nuzul Al-Quran in September and Sultan of Selangor's birthday in December.
You see, living and working in PJ does have its perks. I am afraid I can't say the same for KL.
10. PJ is an exceptionally trendy place In Ms Pereira's article, she talked about dingy and run-down PJ streets and buildings that need some sprucing up. Has she been to Bandar Utama? Or Mutiara Damansara? Or even Sunway Subang? If the only places she had been to were Paramount Gardens and SS2, no wonder she had this completely wrong and myopic view of PJ!
The fact is, PJ is a very trendy place, even more so than KL. Try comparing Mutiara Damansara with Pudu in KL! Which is more trendy? Or compare BB Plaza with The Curve. Which is more trendy?
You see, you can't really compare this way. It's like comparing Penang with Muar. Or Proton with Mercedez.
My point here is, do you really need to compare? So even though I am giving KL a good thrashing, it's not my intention to do so. For I love both PJ and KL! And both these cities are so near to each other, they actually complement each other!
Anyway, as a response to Ms Pereira's sarcastic article, I now hereby declare I am a PJ person, who will never cross over to KL, ever. And of course I invite debates on this PJ vs KL topic - just don't invite me to KL!
Note: I wonder if Ms Pereira works from The Star office which incidentally is located in PJ. Hmmm.....she must be hating every minute of her job there! : )
