Penang - Phuket

Phuket Trip - Part 1. Getting There and Accommodation

Recently planned a trip to Phuket. First time into Thailand. Yes, the irony, we've been across the oceans but not to our northern neighbours. Well there's always a first time.

Bought the tickets in advance. Firefly was the choice. Or only choice. Initially when Firefly started off, they had a number of destinations from Penang, but alas, now down to only 5 destinations at time of writing, namely Phuket, Langkawi, Banda Acheh, Medan and Subang. You can quickly summarize that the Penang - Subang route is the highest demand route, just by looking at the frequency of flights, 7 flights daily! (at time of this entry). I did a Marketing Study on Firefly last year, and now finally I'm flying on Firefly!

No shocker, as many people I've talked to specifically staying in KL areas, PJ, Subang, find flying in and out from Subang a better option then going all the way to KLIA.

Back to our Phuket trip. Ironic. Overall the flight was good. It took off early, so we arrived early, but alas our pickup was late. Yes we arranged for pickup instead of taking a taxi as my next day Phi2 Island tour was arranged with the same company, so I wanted to meet them.

For your transportation options from Airport to Hotel the check out the TripAdvisor discussion forum. There are many helpful tips and hints. Also check out Phuket : Taxis and Rental Car.

For hotels, there is always a balance between preference and budget. Some friends stayed on some of the islands of Phuket, the benefit is you're probably closer to the smaller islands, get there first in the mornings, the negatives is definitely it'll cost more.

We chose to stay at the Aspery Hotel. We chose Aspery hotel based on comments by travellers at TripAdvisor. It is highly recommended with a popularity index of 13 out of 149 hotels in Phuket. I used the 'check rates' options from Trip Advisor and found that www.booking.com offered the best price relatively. I even went the extra step to email the hotel and ask them their rates and they suggested to use booking.com for best negotiated rates. We paid around RM100 per night for off-peak rates. Anyway try a couple of online sites and compare.

Aspery hotel was around 7 minutes walk from the Patong Beach, once u step out of the hotel you can see the sea. Opposite it is Andaman club.
The frontier was clean and welcoming. Staff were friendly especially once you get to know them. They've got around 6-8 PCs with flat screen offering complementary internet. The rooms were cosy, roomy, and nicely designed. The bed was hard and pillows too soft for my personal preference. They had the standard amenities, lent beach towels at the counter, had a fridge, no iron though. The kitchen staff were very helpful and offered to heat up our food.

During our stay the construction was on-going at the neighbouring building, so you will need to note that, and try to request for rooms away from the construction site.

Get the detail address of any hotel you plan to stay at and try to get close-by landmarks in case the driver doesn't know where is the hotel. It takes around 45mins during normal hours from Airport to Patong beach I'd say.

You can also opt to say at the other beaches, Karon, Katong etc.

Harvard Business School to study 'Najibnomics'

An interesting article on New Straits Times (NST), Harvard Business School to study 'Najibnomics' .

Among mentioned in the Najib Economics study:

• The Harvard Business School in Boston will undertake a case study, highlighting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's courageous and bold initiatives to tackle financial crisis.


• The previous case study on Malaysia published in April 2002, entitled "Malaysia — Capital and Control” written by Rawi Abdelai and Laura Alfaro, has been one of Harvard’s most successful case studies.

The study by Rawi Abdelai and Laura Alfaro is very interesting and consists of critical observations. I found it useful in my previous write-up Malaysian Banks and the Current Meltdown.

I wrote it early 2009 for my class submission coinciding with the meltdown hitting Malaysia. I too will be looking forward to the new publication and see how my own write up tallies with it.

If you are looking for other journals and reference on the 1997 Financial Crisis that hit Malaysia and other South East Asian Countries, you scroll down to the last portion of Malaysian Banks and the Current Meltdown & can read the write up and read through the Referencing Section at the bottom.

Energizer Battery Leak

Updated :

On around 4th June 2009 I had passed the leaked batteries to Energizer for evaluation and requested an update on the issue, besides getting replacement batteries. For the time being, pending the investigations, I volunteered to remove this posting, however as till now, 13 Sept 2009, I have no received a reply, therefore I am reposting this entry.

Energizer AAA Alkaline Battery Leak!

Yes, believe it or not, the Energizer AAA Alkaline Battery I bought leaked even before I un-packed them. I bought the batteries early 2009 I believe, and when I took them out of my drawer, still packed in the standard Energizer packing, my was I surprised. It had leaked real bad. Once I took it out from my drawer, the leak was apparent. You can see in the below photo that some of the batteries leaked, up to the extent of the plastic packaging itself shows the 'rust' like contamination. Are this leaks dangerous?

This actually happened to me in March 2009, but never got around to blogging or complaining about it. And how do I remember it happened in March 2009? Well easy, just look at your pictures, RClick, Summary Tab, then click Advanced>>. Or just hover your mouse over the photo in your PC and it should show you.

Anyway, the expiry date (Use By) shows 2011 as you can see above. So it is 2009 now, so it has gone 'bad' TWO years before its expiry date. It is interesting to note, that not all out of the 4 pieces leaked. And yes, I being Malaysian salvaged the one good battery and used it. Threw away the rest.

Here's a close-up of the leak. Actually when I physically looked at the batteries, I never took the effort to closely 'inspect' the leak. Looks like some rusty coloured liquid surrounded by snow leaking out, doesn't it?


Here's a picture of the back cover. Looks ugly doesn't it. Well so much for the energizer power guy that's on the packing. Looks like it's leaked out of power.

So now what? Well, learn from experience. Here's what experience (and advice from learned friends) has thought me. Sometimes the not so famous brands are actually better and longer lasting. They might sometimes come with a premium though.


If given a choice, for normal Alkaline Batteries, I'd go for Toshiba. And for re-chargeable batteries, I'd go for Sanyo Enelope. Yes, a not so famous brand in Malaysia. I believe the brand itself is actually famous, it's just that they don't market it here. You can buy if from Singapore, Mustafa and other electronic stores.


Referring to my other blog, http://everythingalsocan.blogspot.com/2008/12/mustafa-24-hour-shopping-in-singapore.html, I bought the Enelope re-chargeable batteries somewhere in November or December 2008. Charged them once (or didn' t charge them at all, can't remember as they come pre-charged), and now May 2009, my Phillips Electric Razor is still working. Yes with one charge only till date. To be fair, I am not a heavy user, but could say use it 4 times per month. But the fact that the charge in it is still there, is surprising for a re-chargeable batteries. Yes Sanyo claims the charge holds up to 1 year I believe!

Charcoal Dehumidifier

Arang Charcoal Dehumidifier

I've written quick a bit previously on humidity, de-humidity, relative to Malaysian weather, among others at Wood Fungus, Mould, Kulat Kayu and Fungus Mold.

We're all quite familiar with brands like Thirsty Hyppo or Tesco's alternative version. So today I was reading the TheStar and Guardian had a full page advertisement on Charcoal Dehumidifiers. Yes, Charcoal, aka Arang. Interesting isn't it.

Guardian Charcoal De-humidifier

Isn't Charcoal prescribed for food poisoning as well? So I tried google'ing it and there seems to be many Charcoal products available. Yes and you'd have probably noticed some water and air filtration systems also employ Charcoal.

So googling led me to this CNN article. The article states that charcoal has a vast array of cavities creating a huge surface area, i.e. Luas Permukaan.

So well it's sounds like a worth try. Baking soda, now charcoal. Cool!

Enjoy dehumidifying.

Flyover to Jln Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim - accident trap and queue cutting

Coming from the Gelugor Round-About thru Green Lane, there is a 1 lane flyover going to Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim. This ramp is pretty tricky and also some times vehicles try to swerve into the middle lane last minute to continue on GreenLane. That's why if you notice, the middle lane usually jams up here, and in this case the left lane is now usually the faster lane during peak hours.

So what do we do about this type of concerns. Or maybe other ideas and feedback we have, be it adding a left turn signal option since there is a separate left turn (e.g. the road turning into Tmn Tun Sardon/Brown Garden from Gelugor)?

Well for Penangites, you have the option of submitted a feedback, complain and / or suggestion thru penang gov's website, http://epintas.penang.gov.my/.

E-Pintas is Penang Complaints and Information System. Syabas to Penang.

For the Jln Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim, below is my f/back to the website as below

Maklumat Aduan
Tarikh Aduan : 15-06-2009
No Aduan : 0906-3596
Perkara : Flyover to Jln Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim - accident trap and queue cuttingAduan : From the Gelugor round-about thru Green Lane, the most right lane ramps to the \'overpass\'. And the other two lanes (middle and most left) continue towards Masjid Negeri. The problem is alot of motorist from the most right lane, last minute after passing the last traffic light before the overpass/flyover, try to cut lane into the middle lane to go towards Masjid Negeri instead of using the overpass. This creates a very accident prone area, and queue cutting. I\'d suggest, put up a \'Pastikan Lorong Anda\' Signboard indicating the right lane goes up to the ramp, and the other 2 lanes head straight. Also make it a double line once you cross the last traffic light before the ramp to Jln Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim overpass to avoid queue cutting. The area I\'m referring to is http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=penang+green+lane&ie=UTF8&ll=5.392702,100.303717&spn=0.013373,0.022659&t=h&z=16


Maklumat Tindakan
Dimaklumkan garisan berkembar untuk melarang kenderaan memotong, lorong dan tanda anah panah di muka jalan akan dibuat pada malam 29.06.2009. Sekian, terima kasih Bahagian Perhubungan Awam Jabatan Khidmat Pengurusan Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang

What to do in a car accident

I've always asked myself, "What to do in a car accident?"


Here's some info, catered more towards smaller accidents.


First of all, don't panic. Second remain calm. Accidents are something we try to avoid, it could be dangerous, takes up a lot of time and requires a lot of running around. So why do we still drive like hooligans or Formula 1 drivers? I don't know...


I think if it is not a bad accident, i.e. no major damage, it would probably be best to move your car carefully away from the main road and to the road shoulder. Indicate to the other party also to do the same. Try to memorize the other person's license plate number, just in case they decide to drive away, even jot it down on a paper. Having a paper and pen in your car is a good practice.


Carefully alight from your car. So now it would come to 2 possible solutions. First is settlement, i.e. the person responsible for knocking to settle based on an estimate for knocking, repairs and paint. If you do agree for a settlement it would be best if you know a car workshop and get a quotation based on the accident, usually the panel workshops of insurance charge rather high. (even higher if they claim from the insurance, even up to 2x??). Remember though if you decide to claim insurance, you'll need to make a police report in 24 hours.


So for the person who's 'guilty' , usually the one who knocks from the back, probably would need to consider a couple of things before deciding going for settlement. I guess if the accident is severe, probably best to claim insurance. However if it is minor, maybe consider the 'cost' of claiming insurance.
1. Police compound, which is RM300 or RM350 I think.
2. Lost of NCD / NCB, i.e No Claim Bonus. So if your insurance policy is more then a few years, once you claim insurance you'll loose this 'rebate' upon your next renewal.
3. Whether your own car's insurance is comprehensive or just third party. If your own car is badly damaged and you have comprehensive, then it's probably best to claim insurance as otherwise you'll need to pay the person you knocked, and also for your own car - that's a Double Whammy.
4. Time running around.


So if you decide to claim insurance, first you'll have to make a police report. Even if you're the guilty party, I think it's better to make a report, not sure if the fine is more or not if you don't. For Georgetown area, the Police Office to make a report is the Patani Road police station. Yes this is another good question, how do you know, which police station to report to for car accidents, as they go by district. Even more if you're traveling outstation.
--> Anyone got a complete list of which stations cover which areas?




At the police station (Balai) to to the trafik / traffic police counter, they will give you a form (report) to fill up. An example of the report is usually posted on a wall. This does make reporting easier and more user friendly. Once you've filled up the report, go back to the counter, and they will assign a queue number. Once your turn is called, they'll set up they PC (computer) to file your report. If you're familiar with the keyboard they'll let you type it out, otherwise just tell them don't know how to use computer if you don't know. Once done, you'll be assigned an investigating officer. Wait your turn and meet the police officer. Another point to remember is to always have your car grant (geran kereta) and insurance cover letter and a copy of it at least since you'll need it in this situation and maybe during road-block inspections? The officer will record your statement and ask you to confirm it again. Then the officer will ask you (or accompany you) to your car with a police officer with a camera to take a picture of the damage.


And you're done for now. You'll be given a receipt and if it's during office hours you can purchase the report. Otherwise you'll have to come back next time. Anyway you'll have to come back to get a copy of the investigation result report (keputusan siasatan) for you insurance claim. In your receipt usually it'll have the investigating officer's name, if not, ask or write it down as it'll be easier to follow up for the 'keputusan siasatan'.


Ok now for getting your car fixed (based on someone knocking you) . Not sure what's the difference if you're on the other side. The car knock company will usually ask you to provide copies of your driver's license, IC, car grant (geran kereta), 2x copies of police report of the each car involved in the accident (i.e. the knocker and the knockee :) ), 2x copies of the investigation report, insurance cover note. If someone else was driving your car, then the persons Identity Card and Driver's license.


It seems insurance companies usually charge 'excess' for
1. New drivers, usually below 2 years experience (P drivers I guess) So if you have 'graduated' to full, it's best to keep a copy of your P license to prove your number of years driving.
2.Not named driver. So if the person is not named in your insurace policy, there would be excess as well I believe.
3. Also most insurance company have a policy like for claims, you will have to pay e.g. first RM200 of the claim. For my Takaful Malaysia, since I took the additional wind-screen coverage, they do not apply this excess to me.


So for the person knocked (non guilty party) according to the workshop, if you meet any of the above criteria, you will have to pay first and them claim back from the third part (knocker) insurance party.


For your geran, if your car is still under hire purchase, you probably would not have the latest copy. So you'll have to call the hirer purchase company and request them to fax it to you (or your claim workshop) however they usually required a written authorization from you, which you could send by fax.


Few things to note, it is best to negotiate and clarify your expectations with the workshop BEFORE you commit to give them the car for claims. ( I guess this depends also how bad your car is hit, i.e whether you can drive away or have to leave your car at the workshop I guess, or negotiate before authorizing the tow??). Among items
1. If a replacement / temporary car is provided. Any charges ?
2. How many days you need to leave your car. Better try to talk to both the person in charge 'outside' and the 'clerk' in charge in-side.
3. Whether you need to pay any charges?
4. Whether you need to leave the car for the adjuster to come over. It seems for minor claims, they can just snap photos and submit online. Not bad!


Also if you are the 'knockee' (yg kena langgar), you can claim 'Lost of Use', which the workshop told me is RM30 per day, i.e for your taxi charges etc. Don't know if this covers weekends. Best to keep all your receipts until you get the payment. Not sure if you are the knocker (yg melanggar) you can still claim or not.


So as precaution, here's a summary
1. Keep a pen and paper around in the car.
2. Keep a copy of your geran (Car Registration / Pendaftaran Kereta, i.e.the JPJ geran) and cover note (or the original I guess)
3. Keep a copy of authorized workshops that your insuran has published (usually available from their websites). I'm not sure what's the difference or additional difference if you go thru a non-panel, or even if you're allowed to do it. For Takaful Malaysia, they even have a 1800 number you can call during emergencies for support and towing, Takaful Malaysia's 1800 is 1800-888-788. Seems like a 'lucky number.
5. Don't Panic
6. Call someone if you're worried.
7. Be aware of where to make your police report.


And most importantly, DRIVE SAFELY. I remember what my cousin Samir says, BETTER LATE then MR LATE!.


Ok take care. This is just my understanding of the procedure, might have someerrors.


p.s I know knockee and knocker probably aren't correct English, but it gets the message thru. And well if Google can become a work, why not knockee and knocker. But maybe for another meaning?? See, here BM would be nicer, Si Pelanggar and Si Kena Langgar. haha.

Giant Bayan Baru - Resolved

Syabas to Giant.

On February 2009, I had blogged about a potential accident trap at the entrance/exit of Giant Bayan Baru. I had also sent a copy to Giant thru email of the concerns hilited on the blog. Giant has since then, replied to me and taken corrective action.

In this entry, I would like to extend my congratulations to Giant for being very responsive, looking into the matter seriously and coming to a resolution. I had actually updated my February 2009 entry to include that the matter has been resolved. However I think it's best to share with you how the issue has been resolved.

Basically when you entered or exist Giant for one of the entrance, there were a lot of cars and bikes parked very close to the should of the road. So it creates a very tight area to manoeuvre between cars parked, entering and exiting. As well as creating some blind spots.

Based on below pictures I recently took, you can see that Giant has placed barriers to discourage people from parking dangerously.

So basically they have cordoned off the shoulders of the road by the entrance. Avoiding the possible chocking of that area during peak times.

Finally, SYABAS to Giant Hypermarket for a superb Customer Relations Management (CRM) and also taking their customers seriously.

ps- If you like to shop at Giant, you might want to consider the Giant Citibank Credit Card. You can find me review by clicking here.

English to Malay Translations

Malay Language

I recently read an article in the Newspaper, you can read the online version by clicking here. The Firefox Mozilla people were saying that they were hoping more Malaysians put in the effort to help out the effort to translate Firefox to Malay (Bahasa Melayu / Bahasa Malaysia) however response to help out in this effort was luke warm. If I remember correctly efforts for translations into Thai, Indonesian etc have already been completed for some time now. He urged Malaysians to contribute.

Yes, so true, if you go to Firefox's website and choose Other Systems/Languages, you can browse through the many languages it is available in. In the article someone argued that possibly one of the reasons why there isn't any huge concerted effort to translate it is because most Malaysians are well versed in English (or other available languages for that matter) so they can easily manage without a localized version. And I quite agreed. But what the Firefox guy answered moved me. Yes, possibly most Malaysians who are on the net, know English pretty well and can manage easily. But the purpose of having a local Malay Language Version is for the Malaysians that are not yet online, and probably one of the factors stopping these Malaysians to go online is (besides other factors like not having internet access apparently) is that they just don't know how, find the English version difficult and so. And regardless, why not right? If you go thru the list of already available languages, it'll be nice to have a local one.


Here's the excerpt

"Additionally, feedback that he received also suggested that most Malaysians do not think there is a need for a localised Firefox since they understand the English language well.

However Kanai begged to differ.

According to him, what these English-proficient users fail to see is that there are plenty of other people who are not yet part of the Internet community because they do not understand the language used in the browser.

With this initiative, Mozilla aims to overcome the language barrier which is a key obstacle in bridging the digital-divide, he said."

Imagine this - Mozilla Musang Berapi. (Fire-Fox). Just joking on that one. Hmm, is Musang Fox or is it Serigala or Keluang (what's Keluang?). Or Rubah? Yes now this brings me to another point. The lack of online English to Malay (vice versa) dictionary or translation tools.

Surf you favourite translation website, say Google Translator , and nope, the pull-down for language does not have Malay.

Google the word Kamus, and the top results are all Kamus Indonesia. So how? What I wanted to share in this post, is the interesting answer. There is a very nice person who has taken the effort to make available a simple Malay - English Dictionary online through Scribd. However it states not to hotlink the url. So I won't put the link here. But you could easily go to http://www.scribd.com/ and search for Malay Dictionary.

And yes, Dewan Bahasa Pustaka (DBP) has made available a pretty decent dictionary. I just discovered this. I was going to suggest they should but yes, they've already done it!.

Go to http://prpm.dbp.gov.my/and the just type in a word you want to translate, make sure you have PRPM (Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu) selected and tadaa!. Interestingly it works both ways.

Note- you need to select which tab you want to display, e.g. Kamus BM, Kamus BI by clicking on it. The results are pretty good!

Last question. So why didn't I myself blog this in Malay Language? Don't get angry, but I found it difficult to blog in Bahasa Baku (i.e. Proper Malay Language, by the book). I actually started a Malay Language Blog but well, see for yourself, by clicking here. Seldom updated. Honestly Malay is a very easy language to pick-up. Just see all the foreigners and how quickly they've picked it up. Spoken Malay usually is 'simpler' then written unless you use Bahasa Pasar (market Language) to write as well!

Well. Ikutlah....:)

Rebate on Insurance

Reading the Star today, at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/5/18/nation/3924369&sec=nation it hilites positive news where consumers get rebates for the motor insurance. Excerpt from there

"Come July 1, car owners who buy motor insurance directly from insurance companies without using the services of an agent will qualify for mandatory rebates, a move that could render agents redundant.

The move would see new customers being given a 5% rebate on their insurance if they buy it via channels such as the Internet, telemarketing, direct mailing or by walking into the insurance company. These customers would also get a 10% rebate for renewals in the second year."

Interesting, and good news for the general public. Maybe not for the agents though.

Anyway, just a point to ponder, I blogged about Takaful Malaysia some time back, and I have been using them for my motor insurance for years plus. I have been enjoying mudharabah sharings of 10% & above on my premiums at the end of each renewal. They send it by cheque.

Definitely a welcome to the other insurance players. Mmm, our bike insurance with Kurnia expires end of June. What timing! Should I wait till July to renew?

Aerogramme

Here's one more quick money saving tip. The Aerogramme

To those who still remember and use the postal mail, that has existed long before the email, here's a good tip for you. Why still use postal mail? Coz somehow it still exudes more of a personal feel rather then getting an email.

Did you know you can save at least 40% and above when you use an aerogramme for overseas letters. I guess some of you answered yes, and some no. When I went to purchase aerogrammes from the post office, the officer was rather surprised yet delighted. Why? He told me that sadly not many people know about the aerogramme and its benefits.

Typically you send a letter outside the country, it is considered as an internation Air Mail. (Par Avion sounds familar?)

International postal rates here in Malaysia are broken mainly into 5 Zones, e.g. ASEAN countries are referred to as Zone A and have the lowest rates. So if you go to the Post Malaysia website or office, you should be able to navigate your way thru to the postal rates.

So say for example to send anything below 20grams to Zone A (e.g. Singapore), it would cost you a flat rate of RM0.90. And to send the same thing to USA say, it would cost you RM1.80.

Now mostly, the letter we're sending is an envelope with a couple of sheets of paper with letters in it (pun intended). So here's where the aerogramme comes in, purchasing an aerogramme at the post office which only cost RM0.50, you get a fold-able sheet which has ample writing space and the 'stamp' pre-printed on it.

So basically looking at the above picture, you have the whole side of a page and 1/3 of the front page to write on. Becareful not to write too much on the edges. Once you're done, just fold the aerogramme per the fold lines, glue it and post it. Yes all that just for RM0.50.

Writing this entry, I've come to realize for the minimum weight, say you send a letter of 5grams, it is CHEAPER by Air Mail compared to Land / Sea Mail. But once you go heavier for parcels,Sea Mail is definitely cheaper.

p.s - Did you know that the stamps you purchase at the post office is self-adhesived, ie just apply water to it and it'll be sticky and you can just press it against the envelope and you're done. Look, no glue!.

Best Call Rates from Malaysia to India & Bangladesh

The Best Call Back Rate to India & Bangladesh

Believe it or not, there is now a super value call back card for Malaysians, to call countries like India, Bangladesh, and even Nigeria. It is called Accha.

Achha in Hindi basically means good or ok. And this card seems to have a very good descriptive name of itself, as it is a good value for money.

(If you already know about the card, & would like to purchase it, just leave a comment with your contacts, fill up the form below otherwise keep-on reading or call/sms 017-5952524.)

As I have blogged before, we typically use iTALK to make calls locally from our house phone to mobile and national numbers in Malaysia. The rate is also pretty good for places like UK. However to call countries like India and Bangladesh, iTALK doesn't really offer the best deal. To read more about iTALK and maximising your savings, click here.

This is where Haja Call comes in, and offers great value for money, mainly calling to Indo-Pak (Bangladesh inclusive). If you're calling from your house phone, Haja Call is definitely the best value for money. You can read more on Haja Call by clicking here.

But as life has it, we're always on the go, we're in a rush, and need to make calls to family and friends while on the go, i.e. the advent of the mobile phone. Furthermore, there are many people especially foreign workers who wouldn't have access to a landline phone, and therefore need a call-back to their mobile phones to make a call (coz everyone knows making overseas calls direct from your mobile is just way too costly in most situations). And here is where Accha comes in.

The recently launched Accha - strictly a call back card. We've been using Achaa call back for a couple of times now. Call quality was good, it felt like calling from a home line to a home line. Didn't give a VOIP feel. It was pretty impressive for a call-back card.

What you need to do is just miss call (so you shouldn't be charged) and wait. Now the system calls-you-back, (i.e. where the term call-back comes from). Interestingly for my case, the call back number that shows on my mobile is my own number? Not sure how that works :)


Ok so for the first time you'll need to key-in your pin number which you can purchase by filling up the below form. Next it'll ask you to make a call. For future calls, just miss-call the call-back number and it'll recognize your number, so you can then call the number you want to call by just pressing the number on your mobile, followed by # of course.

Remember DO NOT press the Call/Send button on your mobile, otherwise you'll be actually calling the number using your mobile and not the call-back.

Another good thing about the call-back is you can top up your current account easily if and when you buy additional call back card.

The talk time of 48 true minutes to India for RM10 for a call back felt really worth it. They've now also changed the call back number to a 1800 number, which is more convenient and should offer a better call back sucess rate.

Basically Accha offers call-back to most of the countries around the world. Here's a comparison table between Accha Call-Back and iTALK. This rates should be true on date of this blog posts unless the reference I am using are outdated. iTALK rates sourced from http://www.i-talk.com.my/ and Acchaa rates sourced directly from the Accha people.


I have been selective in the below table, so as to indicate where you'd get the best call-back value using Accha.

Click table to enlarge for a clearer view

To read the table, if you want to know how many call-back minutes does Accha give you for your RM10 call-back card, refer to column B. Column D gives you how much it cost per minute. So then looking at column E & F, you can now directly compare how much cheaper it is relative to iTALK. Easily put, what you're looking for is the lowest number (i.e. how much does it cost per minute) when comparing column D,E & F.

For comparison sake, e.g for calling India, using Acchaa for every minute you call to India, you'd be paying RM0.208 compared to using iTalk you'd be paying RM0.50 for every minute to India.

In another perspective, for RM10, using Accha you get to call India for 48minutes, and for the same RM10 on i-Talk, you get only 20minutes. So you're getting more then double your value when using Accha.

Basically you can see that Accha offers a very good call-back rate, namely for the following countries India,Bangladesh,Greece - Athens,Hong Kong, Ireland,Sweden,Thailand,Australia,Austria,New Zealand, Pakistan, Nigeria,Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates

Summary : Till date this is the best available call back card to India, Bangladesh and a number of other countries. In a few words, Accha Call-Back bahot Achaa hei. (Accha is really good).

To purchase Accha (or Haja Call) or for any other queries, you can fill up the below form and I will get back to you. Otherwise just leave a comment with your contact details or call 017-5952524. You can purchase this card at selected retailers, or if you would like to purchase online, the pin number and details will be emailed to you after receiving payment thru Maybank, you can click on below.

ACCHA CALL-BACK / HAJA CALL ORDER FORM - CLICK HERE

Zaminib Query/Order (Haja Call / Achaa etc)

Your Name
Your Email Address
Subject
Message
Quantity
Order Item	Haja Call Normal Accha Call-Back Vicco Others(please mention)
Contact Number	php captcha
Image Verification Please enter the text from the image [ Refresh Image ] [ What's This? ]

ps - If you call India often, you might want to consider planning a visit there as well, it is an amazing experience. For some info about India click here, or click here for a guide on travel options.

National Taekwando Championships 2009

The 22nd Traditional Taekwon-Do Championship (Open) 2009

It's the time of the year again. National GTF Taekwando Championships.

As last year, the LMTC gave us the opportunity to be the team managers working with the LMTC instructor May Li to the championships, to be held in the Summit Plaza, Subang.
So on the 3rd of Aprill 2009, my dearest co-manager and I gathered at teacher's house in Tanjung Tokong. Both of us were excited. Last year was a nice and refreshing trip for us. The responsibility was huge, but the satisfaction was worth it. We arrived there around midnite. It was definitely refreshing to meet up with the team members and friends. They're all friendly and helpful.

1.30am the bus arrives. We put our stuff into the bus and board, all ready for the trip. A total of 31 of us. Quite a number of black belts this year.

I get a buddy as well to sit next too. She's great company I would say. Nice and relaxing to talk and chill with.

Both of us haven't had the chance to practice and grade up since have been busy with other stuff on the weekends. Sad.

We stop at Bukit Merah R&R. We use the word so often, R&R, but do we really know what it means? I think it's Rest and Recuperate. And look at the beauty of this acronym, in Malay, R&R also brings the same meaning! Yes, believe it or not. Rehat dan Rawat. Amazing.

Initially no one gets down. But the bus was really cold. And I mean really cold. So alot of people get down, and some go buy some hot drinks to dring along the ride.

I request the bus driver and co-driver to reduce the aircond. Now, how do I tell someone it's too cold. Should I say, can you lower the aircond? or Can you increase the aircond? Yes I could just say, can you increase the temperature of the aircond, but what if he thinks I'm saying increase the aircond. So finally what do I say? Pakcik, sejuklah! (Uncle, it's too cold here) Ha-ha.

He says ok "I'll make it less cold". He even shuts off the engine and aircond while waiting, so it doesn't get too cold. Allright. Now I'm going to enjoy the trip, and hopefully fall asleep. Usually I dooze off easily.

Now everyone's on the bus, and the pakcik starts off and drives, turns on the aircond. Guess what. Less cold seemed to be like just less by 0.5'C. Everyone's still shivering. I go to the uncle again and tell him it's still too cold. He says that he can't reduce the aircond (increase the temp) cause it'll make the engine stop. Now this I don't get. How can reducing the aircond do anything bad for the aircond? I'm confused to say the least. To be fair, I'm no mechanic and haven't driven a bus, but when I drive my car, I thought the cooler the temp, the more petrol it uses. In fact, if you turn OFF your air-cond, the pickup is better, i.e LESS strain on the engine? --->Anyone any idea??

Anyway, we reach Summit Hotel around 7.30am. The to the hotel and ask if we can check in early. Standard reply - sorry we're full and need to wait until people check out. Check-in time is 2pm...

So we head to the rest room to freshen up and then walk to Summit Plaza. This year the competition is held on the Ground Floor. Nice.

We're participating in a number of events from Individual Coloured Belts Pattern, Sparring to Black Belt Sparing and Patterns. (Coloured Belts just means which all belts except Black)...Now that I'm writing about Coloured belts. I guess it's scientifically true if I remember correctly. As Black is actually not a colour, but the absence of one. If when light shines on it, it absorbs all the light and does not reflect any color, so its black. Yellow belt color would reflect yellow color right?
Here's some of the pictures.
Warm up and practice before the tournament. We arrived early and had some time for practice.

Free Sparring

It's interesting to note this year, even for the coloured belts, no body protector was allowed. Only head gear, and the gloves for hands and legs. Last year, head gear, body protector and no gloves. This year looks more 'aggressive' to say the least. Yes, it's pretty hard to do chopping kicks when you're wearing a body protector.

Round 1. Actually there's only 1 round here. 1 minute.

Most people like to jump and move around. Does it really keep you alert or just tire you? Guess depends on your fitness.

One of our team members getting his medal. (Most right)

The younger participants category lacks no action. They're usually more eager and all out sometimes. What's important is to be vigil, well prepared and wear proper protection.

A very interesting fight. Both were strong competitors and made the match a good watch.

Returning kicks. You usually want to be careful not to slam shins with each other unless you've been practicing some moi-tai or wearing a shin-guard.

Some like to keep their foot raised, to reach quickly when the opponent nears.

Whoops, a kick to the back. Actually that's not allowed and could lead to penalty points.

Here's an incoming back-kick.

Here comes a slapping kick, ready or not. Remember in Taekwando it is always wise to keep your hands up. But sometimes that leaves your stomach vulnerable.

You see the kid in blue is launching a kick, but has left himself open.

Somehow the kicks seem predictable looking at this snap shots, but when you're in the ring, nothing is slow motion. A blink and you might have a whopping headed your way.

Incoming flight. Look carefully, both feet are in the air. Watch out, he's kick might just land on you.

As you can see, most have different starting stance as well. But basically one arm protects the ribs and the other the head.

Wow, that's a pretty high chopping kick.

Ouch, that might have hurt.

Here's the referee breaking them up, either due to a fault or time-over.

Here's the individual pattern. It is also interesting to see besides the free sparring. The art, breathing, chi, and also how perfect the kicks and punches are among the things to look out for.

Closest to the camera is our contestant. He has a real fine pattern mastery and superb kicks and form.

A well done Red Belt Pattern by our contigent member.

Another of our proponents in the individual pattern.

Here as well. Our team did take part in a number of the sparring and patterns. Below is the red belt pattern.

The beginning of the pattern among blue belts.

Want more, here's a video snippet of the pattern.

One for the team.

The official opening ceremony. Interestingly the 'opening' is done halfway through the tournament.

Saturday's event ends around 8.30pm. Some of the black belts are still waiting for their turns. We decide that the rest should go have dinner before the stalls / restaurants close. Most of the teenagers go along with their friends for dinner. We took some of the younger ones with us. Had dinner at some restaurant names Mandy's or something. Was on average.

We head back to the hotel. I'm ready to have a nice hot dip in the bath tub, to relax and relief all the sore muscles, especially my leg and back muscles. Nope, I didn't spare, but I was running around...And guess what, the bathroom was not vacant. One of the kids, or now was it 2 of them together, were enjoying themselves in the tub for some time. Even brushing their teeth in while soaking in the tub...:p

Anyway, I finally get to bath and my wasn't it relaxing and soothing. Yes a hot dip in hot tub really works for the aching muscles.

I request for some additional pillows and covers so we can spread them on the floor. I let the kids sleep on the bed and I bunker on the sheets. Finally the 3 kids are asleep. Suddenly a mobile phone rings. One of the other kid picks it up and says it the other kid's mother calling. I tell him to tell the Aunty that her son is asleep. But she still insists to talk to him. OK, might be an emergency I think. We shale and shake the kid till he wakes up, and talks to his mum. He hangs up and I ask him what happened? He says his mum wanted to ask him whether he's asleep or not yet..HAHAA.

Sunday - kids in my room wake up a little later as their events were done yesterday. Today is for the open category and black belts mainly. And guess what, yup, the kids are hogging the bath tub again. Ok, let's wait again.

Teacher sends the other kids to my room as well to take care of. Wow, I've got a handful of kids now running wild in the room.

After everone's ready we head to the ring to support our team members.

This friend got a walk over victory.

Here's a time-keeper which might look familar.

Sometimes we try our best to take photos of the action but it is hard. However this fluke here sure gives real feel of what's happening in the ring.

I'm hungry for lunch. So is my dear. I decide to try something interesting in one of the stalls. Crispy Double Cheese & Onion. Wow, it was really nice. Just the crispy part and with the fillings. My co-manager loved it as well! A must try. Same floor as McD in Summit, opposite it and Mr Teppanyaki.

It's now 1pm, and we need to check out. The hotel is calling. I talk to the hotel personel and request late check out for some of the rooms and check out the rest.

The bus is here. Those that are done with their events gather and head towards Sunway Pyramid. We reach Pyramid at around 2.45pm and walk around in our own groups, with each group having at least one responsible person.

4.45pm, we gather at Sunway Pyramid's exit and board the bus and head towards Summit to pick up teacher and the remaining team members.
5.20pm, we leave for Penang. Teacher suggest we stop at one of the R&R that sells fruits. I say, ok, Sg Perak it is, and request the bus driver to do so. This time we're more prepared. We have hot soup and hot tea.

Also Sungai Perak R&R is a great place to get fruits, including Buah Salak. Fresh Buah Salak. Yes, you can get alot of Jeruk Salak from Penang but not fresh ones.

And around 11pm we reach home safely. Thank you God for the safe trip and journey.

Anyway, if you want to know more about Taekwando, Learning Teakwando and contacting LMTC for classes, you can read about it by clicking here.