wahlau's online hut

am home now for almost 1 week. So far did see some family members and friends. Time just flies when you don't pay attention to it. Was also in Subang Parade and KLCC during the weekend. Here you see some pictures i took using the nokia handphone (have no digital camera with me all the time, since kiawin needed his own camera.)

going to KL is much simpler with KTM Kommuter and Putra LRT. From Klang Kommuter station until KL Sentral only takes around 1 hour and then i can change to LRT. Having Touch 'n Go in my MyKad, things are even simpler. The third picture above on the right is the giant christmas tree in KLCC. Magnificent view.

i was again in KL on Tuesday, because TzeYing had to do her TOEFL. While waiting for her, i visited bush at his office. Realised that KL with car during the day is crazy, so i opt for Monorail. I think my visit home this time changed my view on public transport (at least the rapid kl system only). With good planning, one can visit KL interesting places with the nice connections of the combination of LRT, Star, Monorail and Kommuter. some you might need 5 minutes walk (well, walking in Malaysia during day time is not as pleasant as in Europe mind you) to change from one to the other. It is really convenient to go around.

For example after the test TzeYing took the same monorail to come over to Titiwangsa, then we left for KWSP after lunch with bush using Star Line.  Right after that we walked a little through Sogo and headed back to Jalan Sultan Ismail. We decided to leave the car near Sheraton Hotel and use the Putra Line to go Petaling Street, where we have an appointment at 6pm with some friends. So we walked to the Dang Wangi Station, and soon we are in the Pasar Seni station.

Petaling Street is the same like before. It looked much cleaner, eventhough KL had a short rain in the afternoon. The rain kind of cooled down the busy city. We went to Popular bookstore then Mydin and Rejectshop, and they are all within walking distance (around 10-15 minutes from Pasar Seni). Soon it was time to go to our favourite ikan bakar(baked fish) store to meet friends from Yin Qi choir.

Seeing the old friends was nice. We had nice chat, laughs and of course, baked fish and la-la (clams). They (the food) are still as spicy and tasty as before... while they (the friends) still talk and look the same. We talked about their trip to Europe this May (where they have visited us in Kassel) and singing experiences in Yin Qi. Catched up with things we have left behind since we left for Germany and our interest in classical sacred music. After ikan bakar we went on to chat in a coffee shop since many are queueing up and waiting for available seats. Now you know how busy this ikan bakar store is!

In the cafe we got comfy - coffee and fruit drinks plus cakes. Laughters and sharing of travelling stories continued. It was quick that we have to say good bye since Lian Ming needs to attend to a friend, and tzeying and i wanted to head towards home since we have been out since 7am. And to go back to pick up the car, we took Putra Line LRT back to Dang Wangi. Manage to catch some night view pictures and you can view them here.

Overall both of us think that the right way to visit KL nowadays is to use the public transport instead of driving around with a car. Petrol, jams, traffic and even parking fees are not going to be far less than the cost of public transport. So why stress out trying to drive from point A to point B? We do have some wishes for who-ever out there who can make decision to improve the system:

1. how about a day ticket? I think if i am going to spend 8 hours in KL and to use the public transport more than a few times (like hop around interesting areas) i don't mind paying RM10 for a day ticket that allows me to travel unlimited times with RapidKL, both busses and LRTs, better still, plus Kommuter. Now for every short trip i am paying Rm1.00-Rm2.00, so i believe a day ticket from Rm5-10 should be cheap option for both tourists and locals.
2. bigger/longer trains. I personally think that our LRTs are too pack. You see people rushing in and out, and we should improve and upgrade to allow more people to travel comfortably. I know we have very frequent trains, but if every train is like also sardine packed, it must be a sign of high demand. A timely upgrade will encourage more people to enjoy travelling with it, hence increase income to the company.
3. Handicap-friendly stations. We do observe not all stations are handicap-friendly. It is not majority that need the facilities, but we should never neglect their needs. Some putra stations (or is it all?) have lifts and facilities for handicap travelers, which is good. But the monorail and Star line we took yesterday have only escalators... perhaps it is already in their plans in 2006, i hope.
4. Be courteous.  We keep seeing people rushing into the trains before anyone can get out. First it is not nice to fight to rush in. Second this is slower than letting people first out. I believe if we are all more considerate, it is not difficult to let passangers out before we enter to the trains.

that's all for the lengthy post. I think i have seldom the chance to sit down and write something besides my work. Wife is like surprised "you want sit at home and do nothing?" but i will tell her "hey, i want to enjoy my leave!" So i assume i am making the most out of it.

shall visit TzeYing's granny tomorrow, shall keep you all updated if i manage to snap some photos.