My little room in the new house

My family moved into our new house in January (yes, that’s the house beside the “hutan simpanan kekal” – hah!). Parents of course took the master bedroom. My brother joined 2 rooms for himself (one of it is for his toys – boys will be boys).

The room they left me must be like an afterthought, “what shall we do with this tiny room? Oh, right, we can let her stay here”. Even the storeroom is bigger!

Anyway, its cheaper to furnish a small room. And since I may not be there too often, I’ll dedicate it to the cats.

Cat platforms for them. To save space, my stuff hangs below.

View from the mirror.

 

Platform leads to above the door, where they can have a snug snooze.

The sofabed, where they can perch on and watch the world go by outside the window.

Unfortunately, handsome boy Kobe has went out of the house and has not returned since. Its been just over 3 weeks now. If anyone sees him, tell him to come home. We (and the dogs) miss you.

Red Shirt rally around Bangkok

The red shirts are doing a rally around Bangkok today.

Map taken from here.

Part of the route passes by near where I live. Rallies in Thailand are normally peaceful (even attended by kids). So, I thought this would be an interesting event to watch and photograph.

There are still many supporters of the red shirts. People rushing to the streets, dressed in red or carrying a red handkerchief to wave to the passing rally.

People of all ages were at the rally. Its sort of like a family outing. Even foreigners and dogs joined.

   

The train station had to close temporarily.

 

Police were around, of course.

Some people even take advantage of this to make some money.

More photos of the rally:

 

  

But, though it is a lot of people, just go back one alley and things feel normal again.

 

Life goes on in Bangkok

You hear rumours of the gathering. People warning you to be careful, even stock up on food, just in case. They say that 1 million people will gather. Rumours of violence.
However, life goes on as usual. You get up on Sunday, the day of the red-shirt protests, and nothing feels unusual. News reports from 10,000 to 150,000 supporters have gathered together in protests. It is mostly a peaceful protest. Heck, I even went and watched a movie (Food, Inc – go watch if you want to know about the conspiracy behind food).
Anyway, lets hope nothing else happens. We shall see what happens tomorrow afternoon, when the deadline that they supposedly give the current prime minister to dissolve parliament.
What is true “democracy” anyway?

Changes in KL after 2 years

Its been 2 years since I started working in Bangkok. Being back in KL after that time, even when I’m back every few months, there are certain changes that I noticed.

In an earlier trip back home, while queuing up at the duty free in the airport (LCCT), the lady behind me produced this stack of money to pay. At first I thought she was trying to pay in Chinese Yuan. But after a close look, what do you know, we now have new RM 50 notes!

Other things I noticed is that there are lots of developments in the outskirts areas. New shopping malls, new housing estates, new high-rises, new highways. So many new ‘happening’ places that I have not heard before. Even familiar places becomes a bit alien. Imagine me telling people, “yes, I know that place”, but after further details I realise I know none of the new landmarks, buildings or roads (except for “Bali” – apparently that reference is still used even if that place has been burnt down 10 years ago). The city is growing - where did all these extra people come from?!?!

Road rage is definitely more prominent than ever. It is becoming a norm that people describe incidences of violence on the road and how drivers try to pull over other drivers to give them a piece of their mind. I always say that Malaysians have split personality while driving (me included), even the most docile person will turn into a foul swearing monster behind the wheel. Nothing much is being done to upgrade our public transport, so more and more people are forced to drive their cars, even with the escalating price of petrol. And KL is definitely more jam than ever (and I forget how stressful it is until I am stuck in one!). Is it really surprising that there is road rage?

More people are speaking English – Malay, Chinese, Indians – more people in KL are just speaking better English these days.

Inflation is horrible. All prices go up. I realise a simple lunch costing more than RM 5 is normal these days (before I left, RM 5 was a bit extravagant). While in Bangkok the prices remain about the same despite the global economic crisis, simple lunch there still costs not more than RM 3. Our currency is being devalued, but does your salary remain the same?? Another thing, I know that the 1 sen coin has been discontinued, but I was surprised when nobody now cares to return your 5 sen change anymore. What is happening to the value of the Ringgit?

Politics – ah, how to summarise this? After the GE 08, each time I read the news its like one of those HK drama series. You never know how the plot twists and you’re always looking forward to the next episode to know what happened. At least people are now more questioning.

Anyway, I’m now back in the land where the switches are terbalik.

Left side is on, right side is off. Confusing huh? (I still am after 2 years!)