A disastrous comeback

After a 2-year hiatus, I embarked on a journey of treasure hunting once again...with disastrous results...

Location: Kijal, Terengganu

14 November

Dragged myself out of bed early in the morning. Had to get ready to leave for Lanai. Decided against giving morning calls to teammates as I trust them to be able to wake up.

6.30am. Received call from teammate. Wondering what happened to me as I did not call and was late. Actually already reached the traffic light towards the bank.

Arrived 5 minutes later. Found my teammates at the multi-purpose hall. Lavish breakfast spread for this year. Buffet style.

After morning briefing, took group pix and finally flagged off around 7.40am. Our car clocked out at 7.44am. The moment we arrived at the destination, we started checking out the questions. To our horror, we failed to answer the first 6 questions. Things only improved marginally better in the other destinations. It was quite disheartening to encounter such obstacles from the start. Throughout the journey, many times, we felt like giving up and just speed off to the hotel. But we didn't. By the time we had completed the questions, we were past our time limit and were late more than 10 minutes. In spite of that, we were in good spirit.

As we had 3 hours before the dinner, we adjourned to our rooms for a break. SS and I was given a room on level 2, which was a level below the hotel lobby. The room was stuffy and the view of the tennis court was half-blocked by the roof of a store room. We were given only bath towel. Compared to the room my other friends got, this felt like a third-rated room. To make matters worse, the lift to our level closed after midnight. We had to use the staircase to get back.

Luckily, we had a good time during dinner. The theme was "Battle Night". My team dressed up as ninja. Not many people could recognised us in our masks. The event was very well-organised with a "Billy Jean" performance by 6 of the bank staff and a hilarious MC. We played a Q&A game using a device handed out by the organisers. I thought that was pretty cool. The night ended with the prize-giving ceremony. My team didn't even make it to top 40. Sigh...

15 November

Took a walk around the beach before heading off in search of famous places to eat. Our first stop was at Kedai Kopi Hai Peng. We ordered some coffee and their local buns. Turned out to be pretty good. We ended up buying some instant coffee and kaya back. Note: Mom commented that the kaya is very expensive but it tastes very good too.

Next, we went for lunch at Tong Juan Restaurant. One of the specialty is baked crab. I thought the food was alright.

Before heading back to KL, we managed to buy packets of fish crackers, raw keropok lekor, salted fish, dried anchovies, dried shrimps and try a local delicacy called sata (made of fish and similar to otak-otak). The car was full to the brim! I was left with only RM3 in my purse :P

I dare say this has been a very delightful trip back. Should do it more often but with more cash :)

Felt cheated in Prague

4 November

Took the 8.58am train to Prague. Unfortunately, this was not the direct train. Ticket seller merely informed us that there is a train every hour to Prague. Ended up having to change station. Luckily, a kind ticket officer helped us to get off at the right stop. The change caused us additional 2 hours long journey. Along the way, we witnessed several change of season, from the beautiful autumn, to snowing, to shining sun and lastly to what appears to be a wonderful feeling of spring. The view was breath-taking.

When we arrived in Prague, the weather was gloomy. As hotel stated it is near the station, we attempted to walk, dragging our luggages behind us. We were caught in a downpour. Took us awhile to locate the Prague Square Hostel, given it's obscurity (entrance via a narrow "lane" between buildings).

Upon entering, to our horror, there was no lift. Well, actually there was but we had to take a flight of stair up to the lift which does not stop in front of the reception. Very weird setting. At the reception, the person in-charge refused to accept euro as payment despite being noted in the website that they only accept euro. Another confusion which caused us a great loss of koruna.

Our room was in the second floor. The key, a rather old one where we had to twist in the keyhole. While the room was relatively clean (still a massive downgrade from the one in Vienna), we disapproved of the transparent curtain. Our room faced other buildings plus some construction work outside. We also discovered that the shower room on our floor is a common one i.e. shared by both male and female. The only female shower we could find was on the first floor. Very inconvenient.

Seeing that the rain had stopped, we ventured out to the old town. It was only a short walk away (likely to be the only major plus point of the hotel). The famous astronomical clock was quickly found. Many tourists were already there. After finished taking photo of the old town square, we still had another 15 minutes before the clock strike 5pm. We decided to wait. The crowd grew. The result was pretty funny. At the end of the show, some of the people clapped. I shan't reveal what was seen as it was best experienced by oneself ;)

Our next stop was the Charles Bridge. Once again, the place was brimming with tourists. Enroute, we were stopped by a man selling ticket for a mini concert which started almost 15 minutes ago. He was willing to give us major reduction from CZK200 per person to CZK100 to CZK50. He assured us the seats are warm. Finally, we relented. It was a pretty interesting experience to watch concert inside a church. One of the composition was Four Seasons by Vivaldi. I must say Vivaldi is very popular in Prague. Wonder why...

For dinner, we decided to try a local restaurant. I ordered the goulash (beef soup with dumpling) set, costing CZK175. My set comprised of a starter and main while DJ opted for main and dessert. The dumpling was not what I expected as it was merely bread. The soup (or rather stew) was pretty good but there were only 4 pieces of beef. When dessert came, the waiter served not only DJ but I was given a serving of the apple doughnut too. As I could not eat anymore, I tried to tell the waiter that he made a mistake. He checked and said I could keep the doughnut at no extra charge. However, the bill was higher than expected due to exorbitant service charge :(

5 November

This morning, I accidentally set my alarm at 5.45am not realising that I have changed my clock to Czech's timezone. The good outcome was that I get the shower all to myself, not having to worry about other occupants coming in. Note: There's no lock on shower door.

The sun was shining brightly. We wasted no time and rushed out of the hotel to reach the Charles Bridge where it's almost empty. It was fun taking photos without having to avoid the crowd.

We spent the morning at the Prague Castle, located only after we got lost in the maze of roads and confusing signboards. The entrance cost CZK350. The ticket seller tried to convince us to take the audio guide but after considering the cost, we refused her 3 times. Our first stop was the St Vitus Cathedral. The queue appeared long but the wait was probably only 5 minutes, not 1 1/2 hours as claimed by ticket seller. Then we went to visit other smaller churches within the area and later stepped foot into the quaint homes where Kafka once lived. It was not easy to capture the whole row of houses as there were just too many tourists!

The remaining of the day was spent at Wenceslas Square. We opted for McD for dinner after the horrifying experience the night before.

6 November

I decided to wake up early again to have my quiet, uninterrupted shower.

We left the hotel at 7am to take photos at the Powder Tower and Municipal House. While there was no bright shining sun, the sky, nevertheless, remained clear.

At around 8am, we returned to the hotel for our breakfast. Later, we went out again to purchase our souvenir from the market on Havelska Street. We had discovered the day before that goods are sold at a lower price in the market compared to shops. After making our purchases, we returned to the hotel for a second time to deposit our souvenirs.

Our next sight-seeing itinerary was a stop at the Petrin Hill via the furnicular (CZK26). Saw the Petrin Tower but did not go up because of price. Went in search of some other monuments on the hill only to be confused by the multiple signboards and getting lost. Met many other lost tourists. Gave up in the end and returned to town. After the long hike up, we had to return to the hotel for a third time to take a break. My feet was killing me. At this point, I must say the location of the hotel is mighty convenient.

Our final night in Prague was spent on Charles Bridge and having McD. I also bought a chocolate and banana crepe from the weekend market at the old town square.

Discoveries in Prague:

1. There are hints that Malaysians like to visit Prague - shop keepers recognising my friend as a Malaysian, some greeted her with "apa khabar" and we bumped into a Malaysian family. They recognised us through our language cause we were speaking to each other in BM.
2. Haggle over prices in shops when you purchase souvenirs. Although most often unwilling, the shop keepers will still lower the selling price. I am sure their profits is more than 1x.
3. Toilet and sauces in McDonald are charged a fee.

Beware in Prague:

1. Selected money changers charged no commission. Choose wisely. Unfortunately, some may still charge commission as they may claim that the no commission only applies to the selling of koruna.
2. Service tax is part and parcel of eating in restaurant even though it is not mentioned in the menu. Be sure to ask how much is the tax as some restaurant can charged up to 18.75%.
3. Forget about paying the CZK350 for an audio guide in Prague Castle. The line into St Vitus Cathedral is not 1 1/2 hours as claimed by the lady ticket seller.

Captivated by Vienna

Location: Vienna, Austria

31 October

Arrived at the airport in the evening. Weather colder than London! Found train to city centre. Confusion over tickets. No one around who could help :(

Finally managed to get the right tickets (EUR3.60). However, missed the stop and ended up at the last station, Flosidorf (think that's the name). Wouldn't have realised if not for kind Austrian lady who told us to leave the train in her language. She went to the extent of asking the train driver to help us. Luckily train driver speaks english. Took us to main entrance and showed us which platform to get on. We were about to make our move, after thanking him, when he turned back to tell us we missed the train and had to move to another platform. So very kind of him. At that moment, I truly think Austrians are the nicest people.

At last, we arrived at wien sudbahnhorf station. According to the direction given by hotel, it is only a short distant away. So, we walked. But we walked and walked and couldn't locate the hotel. It was cold and we were tired and hungry. Frustration set in. There were hardly anyone around. Shops closed early that day. Called the hotel but they weren't very helpful. We relied on ourselves before locating the hotel which we thought were the wrong one.

Luckily, hotel room was very nice. Ensuite. TV with CNN channel. Everything was nice except no breakfast provided. Also reception not very friendly.

1 November

Next morning, found out the nearest metro is Keplerplatz. There was a bakery and supermart around it. Very convenient to buy breakfast and water.

First stop was Schonbrunn Palace. Bought combined tickets for EUR22.50 (I think). Received discount vouchers for other places. DJ didn't get. Went to ask counter. Apparently, mine was a mistake but since given to me, I got to keep it :)

Learnt a lot about Sisi, Franz Joseph and Maria Theresa. Too bad can't take photo inside. Made a stop at the cafe to use one of my coupon to order Kaiserschmarren (imperial pancake served with apple jam). Quite nice but too sweet after a few more bites. Later walked up the hill and found the view breath-taking. Can't stop snapping photos. I pronounced autumn as my favourite season.

Next, went back to city to search for the furniture museum (incl in combined ticket). Nothing much but DJ loved the furnitures. Me no fan.

Lastly, headed to Stephansdom. Day getting dark. Interrupted by a man selling tickets for a mini opera. Claimed to be a student from Albania. Offered us a buy 1 free 1 for the EUR36 ticket (seat C) and upgraded us to seat B. Decided to try our luck.

Dine at the local fast food, serving only fish. Bought salmon baguette plus bottle of mineral water (EUR6.40). Baguette was nice but water was sparkling! What's with these people anyway?

Lucky for us, he was not a cheater. We found ourselves in a mini concert hall with many other people. Some famous composer (think Mozart) played there before. There were two sessions - compositions by Strauss and Mozart, accompanied by opera and ballet. Photographs allowed. Was very happy when the Austrian lady sitting next to me, commented that the concert is quite good. Not cheated (yay)!

2 November

Another nice day. Bought croissant (EUR0.79) for breakfast. Walked around Stephansplatz. Visited Hofburg for more stories on Sisi and her family. Found hundertwasser haus. Was not easy as it was not near metro. Had to rely on map. Kind Austrian lady offered to give us direction (noticed how many kind people are there in Austria?). Best part about the place is the nearby shops selling cheaper souvenirs!

Took metro in search of Strauss statue at Stadtpark. Didn't take so long.

At night, had dinner in cafe near hotel. As day still early (even though it was pitch dark already), went to buy train tickets to Prague. Most unfortunate, ticket was not prices EUR29 as expected. Was told that cheap tickets were sold out. Had to pay EUR59 in the end. Also decided not to go to Bratislava as there's till much to do in Vienna.

3 November

Rainy day! Plan is to spend most time indoor. Visited the Kunsthist. Museum (EUR10). While waiting in line to buy tickets, I was standing behind a Korean girl. As she made payment, the ticket seller gestured to me to put in my euro with her. I dared not refuse but I suspected he thought we were travelling together. The Museum housed some very interesting items. Enjoyed spending time taking photo of the magnificent staircase and photos of the paintings.

In the afternoon, went to the State Opera House for a tour (EUR6.50). Tickets to the shows could be very pricey. For example, tickets for tonight's show, Swan Lake, cost between EUR30 to EUR80. Seats at the side balcony can run up to several thousand euros while the main balcony is reserved for VIP. For poor tourists like us, might be better to invest in standing tickets. The booth only opens an hour before the show starts. So no reservation allowed. We were rather late when we returned to the opera house in the evening as DJ thought it will start at 8pm.

The ballet was 3 hours long. During the first session, I was standing rather far back. Yet, I still managed to watch the show as the people in front were standing on lower platform. Plus I am not really that short. After the first intermission, people began leaving. They were there just for the experience while I wanted to watch the whole show.

The composition was beautiful, the dancers were amazing. Everyone clapped at one point when the lead dancer spun several times continuously and elegantly. However, I was shocked to find the sad ending where the lead characters perished. I remembered clearly from my childhood cartoon days that they survived and lived happily ever after. It was hard for me to accept the ending :(

Summary of inner thoughts:

All in all, I enjoyed my experience in Vienna. The city is filled with characters and the people are generally nice. I was surprised to find the city so serene, unlike the bustling London. The minus point is the high cost of living. For example, travelling on metro is not cheap, costing EUR1.80 per way. Nevertheless, I remained impressed by how much faith the operators had on the citizens. There are no barriers. Payments rely entirely on commuters' sense of honesty to stamp their tickets whenever they used the metro.

4 November

Left Vienna early to board train to Prague. It turned out to be a long ride ahead...

Two weeks of adventure

Second day back in Malaysia after two weeks of dreamland. Much had happened.

Title : A series of unfortunate events

Location : London, UK

24 & 25 October

Excited to be going back to UK again since my last trip in January. Unfortunately, mood dampened by flight delayed by about an hour due to technical problem. To make matters worse, the video on my seat was not working. Luckily, I slept through most of the 13 hours, waking up only to eat. The last two hours or so was probably the most unbearable. This is the wonderful MAS service to its customer.

Arrived at Heathrow at 7 plus. Could not understand the two hours delay. Flight ticket stated arrival time as 5.20am. Later found out the time confusion due to UK changing its clock.

Decided to take tube to hotel. Travel interrupted several times. First, had to take replacement bus halfway through to get to Hammersmith. Just when I thought I can finally get onto the Hammersmith & City line to Great Portland Street (GPS), that particular line was disrupted. Had to take another line to stop elsewhere and then changed to another line. Very confusing given my fatigue.

Finally arrived in hotel after more than an hour of travelling. More bad news. Hotel misunderstood my booking. Thought I was supposed to arrive the day before. Now forced to wait an hour for a room to be ready.

When I received my room key, I was taught how to use the lift. I wasn't really paying attention and ended up rushing into the next available lift and found myself unable to press any button cause there weren't any! I went all the way up to 6th floor and stepped out at the lobby. Realised that I had to press my floor number on a hi-tech computer near the lift and then it will indicate which lift I should enter. Amazing.

Room was very comfortable with large TV. Unfortunately, complimentary internet access only for own laptop. Tried searching for some mineral water but none provided. Darn.

Despite the misfortunes, I tried to minimise the interruptions to my plan and arranged to meet my ex-schoolmate later in the afternoon. After briefly freshening myself, I set out to search for oxford street using the map I printed from google. Unfortunately, I had too much confidence in myself and ended up losing my way. Resorted to asking for directions to the nearest tube station only to find myself already pretty close to oxford street.

Having found nothing interesting, I moved on to Covent Garden in search of Radley and perhaps obtaining ticket to Lion King. I only succeeded in the first task. Sadly, tickets were sold out for Lion King. Went back to Oxford St to meet friend. Later had dinner at Mayflower in Chinatown. Thank god for good dinner. We were given a small opening under the staircase. Very private and cosy with seats enough for four only.

26 October

Arrived at bank station but could not locate the large black door of BOE. Went round building only to discover I missed it the first time. Quite an idiot. Went in to reception. Found that most participants had already arrived. I wasn't late. They were just earlier than me.

Each of us was given a name tag to gain entry into the building and a pass (which must be returned to the security before we leave the building). No photos were allowed anywhere :(

Guided through the mysterious hallway of the building by the coordinator (HS) up to the 7th floor where the training room is. We were to use that way for the rest of the week. The tea break room was well-equipped with 4 PCs, drinks (orange juice, coffee, tea, sparkling/still water), biscuits, publications from the bank and most importantly, daily newspapers.

Event began at 9am with introduction by course advisor, OR. The first session focused on the theoretical aspect of exchange rates. Found myself feeling sleepy. Must be jetlag. After lunch, we were taken out for group pix. At the end of the day, we had a welcoming reception at the City Rocket Restaurant.

I made fast friends with RLO and RRA. A game was played in which participants had to answer questions related to all the countries where the participants are from. I couldn't answer the one for Msia cause I didn't know the height of KL Tower. In my panic, I texted my msian friends in warwick and also another friend whom I knew will have a pc in front at that very moment. Thank god one person replied. Can be quite humiliating not to know especially when participants from neighbouring countries began approaching you for answer.

After the reception, a few of us left together only to discover none of us remembered the way back to the bank station. Luckily (or perhaps unluckily as we discovered later), we met another group and one of the member has a GPS. BU attempted to take us to the right direction. While we did find our way in the end, it was to another tube station which was a bit further. Kinda funny to be so lost.

Back at hotel, managed to catch the last part of an episode of House. I miss the show :(

27 October

Found my favourite Crunchynuts at the breakfast room. Vowed to eat only Crunchynuts and yogurts for the rest of my stay in the hotel. Left hotel early to take a walk at the Regent's Park. Unfortunately, got a bit lost and hence, had to cut the walk short.

Was feeling sleepy during class again. Thought I had enough sleep. Very baffling.

Met ex-coursemate, MK tonight. Supposed to watch ticket but cheap tickets mainly sold out due to school break. Decided against watching anything as I preferred to catch up with MK. Went into a Mexican restaurant, Navajo (???) near Covent Garden area (I think). Had a great meal. Although too full, still continued for a drink at a nearby pub. Bought camomile tea. MK remarked that it's her first time seeing a friend have tea in a pub. Halfway through, fire alarm rang. Saw angry waitress running around. In the blink of an eye, firemen appeared. Nothing major happened. Phew.

Departed at tube station. On the way back, tube got interrupted. Geez. Bad luck not ending yet.

28 October

Woke up, switched on bed light and poof. Room went dark. Nothing working. Called reception while cursing my luck. Luckily can still switch back light from main switch box. The bedside lamp was faulty. When is it gonna end???

During lunch, a few participants organised a walk to the Tower Bridge. I chose not to join as I wanted to run over to the museum to attempt to purchase some souvenirs. When other participants found out about the walk, they wanted to go there too. AB asked for the direction from RJ. Would have been uneventful if not for RJ's blunder in speaking too near to the mike. So, when he was explaining the route to AB, all of us could hear him in the room. That was seriously funny. Yet, no one else seemed to be laughing. These people were just too serious or was I too ticklish?

Wanted to try my luck at getting some theatre tickets tonight. But RLO wanted to go to Oxford St. Decided to go with her and HE. Unfortunately, road work at Oxford Circus. Got stuck. Finally detoured and ended up in Starbucks with RLO where we spent the evening chatting.

Back at hotel, caught a bit of True Blood. Fell asleep before the ending. Was exhausted.

29 October

Another uneventful day during the course. By now, RLO and I had submitted to our routine of sitting at the same spot during lunch. A new mate, OG began to adopt the same routine.

In the evening, we were taken to a tour of the British Museum. OR and HS had to make sure they get everyone to the location via tube during rush hour. OR claimed he has not lost anyone yet. By the time we got on the tube, only half of the participants were still following OR. All was not lost as the rest managed to find their way and arrived earlier.

The tour was led by a volunteer who told us interesting stories about some of the artifacts. That was a truly memorable tour. Later in the evening, I joined a few of the participants for dinner at a pub around Russell Square. 3 of us ordered fish and chips and it came out really hard. Couldn't finish the whole thing plus the peas were yucky.

30 October

Last day of course. Two highly-respected professors were invited for the last two sessions. One of the professors began by greeting everyone in their own native tongue. Truly impressive.

Farewell lunch was a few minutes walk away from the bank, Mehek Restaurant. Indian food which OR love. As everyone began to say farewell, a few of us made plans to meet for dinner.

RLO had to meet a friend. So, I thought I can do some last minute shopping at Oxford St. Plus I was supposed to meet a colleague but she couldn't turn out at the last moment. I found out later she did heavy shopping during the day and worn herself out. While I was busy shopping (or attempting to shop amid the massive crowd on a Friday afternoon - where do these people come from???), another ex-coursemate called to tell me we can meet up later that day. Darn.

Had to rush back to hotel to meet AN who was to arrive at GPS at around 6pm. Invited him to join us for dinner but he had to rush back to Oxford.

Went to a pub with the gang. Had to sit inside since no seats available inside. Ordered orange juice again. Two guys ordered a beer and discovered the sweetness, making it a girl's drink. Never knew there was such a thing. While we were there, we saw lines of cyclists passing by causing traffic to stop. Wonder what's the event. Halloween?

After awhile, we switched to another pub where we can get food. Some of us were hungry (incl myself). This time, I decided to save money and ordered only tap water to go with my food. We talked and talked. One topic came out was about the fish we eat in our respective countries. Topic came out because OG ordered fish finger burger. When question came to me, I went blank. I seriously have no idea and in my panic, I blurted out tilapia, saying it's probably alien to them since it's in BM. To my horror, they said they know tilapia. Darn. Didn't know is English.

When the gang were finishing their second round of beer, BU turned to me and asked if I was gonna order my second beer :) Should have said something witty but I can't.

We departed at the hotel lobby, not knowing when we will meet again. These were really nice people. Now we are FB friends.

Summing up some inner thoughts:

1. Latin Americans are a friendly lot. They smile a lot too. I like them and hope to visit someday.

2. European seems so distant and cold. Where's their sense of humour?

3. Sparkling water baffles me. Why would anyone want to drink that? I kept to still water and orange juice the whole week.

31 October

Colleague came to visit and picked up my stuff for temporary deposit at her home. Very kind of her. If it hadn't been for her, I would have struggled through my trip to Vienna and Prague.