Category: Malaysia

• Beef Noodles

  03.23.11 |Food, Malaysia, Penang| Permalink | Comments Off on Beef Noodles

  I love beef noodles. I missed Pho, Vietnamese beef noodles from San Jose. It is the best I tasted so far. I don’t know how they make the soup to be so tasty. It is best eaten on a cold day. The serving is humongous.

  Near to Penang, the local beef noodles also very delicious. I found one along Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, next to Ayamas which is superb. You have to try it. I will ask them to add more vegetables and beef tripe. Now I feel like having a bowl of this. :P~~~

  
  
  

• Berjaya Langkawi Resort Hotel

  12.07.10 |Hotel, Malaysia, Travel| Permalink | Comments Off on Berjaya Langkawi Resort Hotel

  
  
  

  It is a great resort in Langkawi. I did enjoy my stay there for 3 nights without much problem. Before the trip, I did read some feedbacks on tripadvisor.com about the hotel. It was a mixed feeling. I was kind of confused why certain people gave lots of positive feedback and the others gave negative. Probably the negative ones didn’t get good rooms or they had high expectations.

  I must say the kampung chalet does give me a feel that I am closer to nature. However the condition of the rooms does not portray a 5 stars hotel room for the value they charged. They do need some sort of refurbishing. The bathroom has a couple of stains, bottom of the bathtub is slightly cracked, TV is old, furniture is outdated and the resort facilities are limited.

  The swimming pool is very wide. If they add in a slide for kids, it will be perfect. I kind of like the water wall by the side of the pool. There is a portion of the pool that provided some sort of Jacuzzi.

  There are other activities available in the hotel like nature walk, water sports, beach play, swimming in the sea where they block off from water sports and lots of beach chair for a nice tan.

  One more thing that may cause an inconvenient, some of the chalet are a distance from the lobby. You need to ride shuttle van to and from the room. However the wait is just 5-10 minutes. I am pleased that the chalet given to us is walking distance from the lobby.

  The price of the rooms is a little steep if you asked me. I would go back if I still get the Berjaya Membership rates from my good friend. My family did enjoy the resort.

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

• Efficient Malaysia Immigration

  08.25.10 |Malaysia, Penang, Service, Travel| Permalink | Comments Off on Efficient Malaysia Immigration

  I must say the Malaysia Immigration for passport renewal has improved. Kudos to all the staff there in Penang!! First they sent me a reminder stating my passport is about to expire. I will travel soon so it really helps me to get it renewed. I don’t want to be at the immigration gate only to find out my passport is not valid.

  Secondly, I can download the renewal application form from their website. I remembered I used to queue for that form and also need to pay RM1 for it. It is also a waste of time because a number is given only after you filled up the form.

  It only took me 30 minutes to get everything done. However it still takes 2-3 hours before I can collect the passport on the same day. I collected the next day instead.

  Next is the US Visa application. The online form is driving me crazy. Imagine I filled up half of the form and it all vanished into thin air.

  You can download the form here.

• TNB Online

  08.16.10 |Malaysia, Service| Permalink | Comments Off on TNB Online

  TNB has just provided a way for us to check the payment or status of the usage of electricity in our home. Lately there were some news about tenants not paying their electricity bills and it was amounted up to a shocking RM50K (~USD20K) without the land lord knowing it. After the tenants left, the land lord is left with a great debt. Worst is the land lord cannot sell or rent out the property with money owing TNB. The land lord must clear the bill.

  However, most of us will wonder why TNB didn’t cut the electricity when the tenant didn’t pay the bill. Worst was, one of the case were related to an employee of TNB where he went through the back door to have his electricity re-connected back after it was cut. More stories here for TheStar newspaper.

  If you are a land lord, better go sign up to the TNB Online and monitor the bill of your property closely. You can go to www.tnb.com.my and look for the e-service.

  
  
  

• What Holiday?

  08.26.08 |Malaysia, Penang| Permalink | Comments Off on What Holiday?

  So close, yet so far…

  By now, I am sure all of you know it is the Permatang Pauh’s election. Lim Guan Eng said “This is not an ordinary by-election as it is an election to choose the next Prime Minister”. He wanted a full attendance for the election, he declared a public holiday for Penang.

  However many companies do not agree with his proposal due to money loss for 1 day of holiday. So it is a working day for me. How sad? Anyway, many companies do give 1 day or 4 hours off for voters of that area to vote.

  We should have an election to vote who we want as a PM. That will be so cool. Then it will be power in the hands of the people and not the party. Oh well back to work for me!

• 13 Days To Pay Up

  04.18.08 |Malaysia, Tax| Permalink | 2 Comments

  April is the month of tax for most employed folks in Malaysia. How many of you are still submitting paper form? Shame on you! Try to submit through online, it is easy, fast and paperless. Opps, it is not exactly paperless because you still have to print a copy for record. You do not have to use liquid paper or worry is the entry right justify or left justify.

  It is a simple 4 steps process:

  
  
  

  Info on some of the Rebates:

  Individual – RM8000
  Medical for parents – RM5000
  Education Fees for listed courses – RM5000 (IT courses applied)
  Books/Magazine/Journals – RM1000
  Computer – RM3000
  Children below 18 – RM1000 per child
  Life Insurance and KWSP – RM6000
  Medical and Education Insurance – RM3000

  By the way, do NOT cheat tax by putting RM1000 for books if you do not have any purchased receipts. It is a matter of time before the IRB audit you. If you cannot produce the receipts you will be fined.

  
  
  

  Another tip is that if you cannot afford to pay the full amount of tax, you can always visit the tax office to request to pay by installment. You can also request them to issue a letter to your company to have deduction from your future salary.

  Remember you have to submit the form and pay the tax before 30th April to avoid fine. Have a good tax month. Next month I think I can just eat roti and drink water only.

  More Info on Malaysia Tax on http://www.hasil.org.my/english/eng_index.asp

• 12 Beautiful Girls and 6 Left

  04.14.08 |Malaysia, RealityShow| Permalink | Comments Off on 12 Beautiful Girls and 6 Left

  What am I talking about? Haven’t you heard about Malaysian Dreamgirl? Malaysia Dreamgirl is the first online Malaysia production of a reality series. It started with many Malaysian girls who wannabe famous in one way or another. Some has the beauty, some has the look, some has the attitude, some has the heights and some has the X factor.

  
  
  

  Pictures From Malaysia DreamGirl

  It ended with the chosen 12 beautiful girls, a choice of 3 judges. I must say that one of the judge has lost it because he couldn’t get pass his second brain to really make a good judgment. In simple terms, he is just attracted to every sexy and pretty girl that walks in for audition and said yes to them. Go watch the first few episodes and you know who I am talking about.

  First few series was alright, lots of talks and all. There wasn’t any excitement cooking. I quite like the “White Summer” shots. It was pleasant, cheerful and looks great. Shots below:

  
  
  

  Come Episode 10, part 5, drama and tension begun. Hey girls are girls, they need to be a drama queen at times. Guess what was involved in the fight? Shoes and tomatoes, how cute? Like there is nothing better to fight about. I guess it is very real because these gals are staying together for days or maybe months. Competition is tough and I suppose they have their differences.

  My pick for the Malaysian Dreamgirl would be Jay. She has the model feature, good attitude and she presents herself very well. Actually I like Eyna but she is out. Her picture does have excellent model quality.

  
  
  

  There were some girls with unappealing attitudes like talking too much, boasting too much, childish fights and unfriendly. Go watch it online @ http://www.malaysiandreamgirl.tv/ and match who is who.

• Penang Golden Sands Hotel

  03.15.08 |Hotel, Malaysia| Permalink | 1 Comment

  
  
  

  It definitely has a great view of the sea and the staffs are friendly. First time I am greeted with a big smile from hotel staffs. While I was checking in with my family, the staff served us all with a welcome ice cooling refreshing lemon tea.

  The room was just nice, not too big. I took the sea view room and it was excellent. You are able to sit on the balcony and enjoy the pleasant view. It has a nice bath tub too. Too bad the TV is not a LCD or flat screen TV. It has wifi at the pool area, lobby and the room.

  They have also renovated the pool area that gives a Hawaiian feeling with lots of huts, coconut trees and sun bathing benches. It looks like I was in Hawaii for a while.

  If you enjoy water sports, there are water ski, sky parachuting, Jet Ski and banana boat. You can also do some sun bathing or walk on the beach. It is really a great affordable vacation!

  
  

  

  
  

  Cleanliness:
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• Keep The 1 Sen Change

  02.19.08 |Malaysia| Permalink | Comments Off on Keep The 1 Sen Change

  
  
  

  I don’t understand. The government has already announced in the papers to eliminate the 1 sen coins by April 1st. However I am still receiving 1 sen coins from cashiers. How am I supposed to dispose of it when you keep giving it to me?

  By the way do you know that copper price increase so much that it takes 4.2 sen to make 1 sen. However it is illegal for us to melt the 1 sen coins to make a copper bar. Don’t get any ideas.

  A few ways to get rid of your 1 sen coins. One way is to give back the cashiers, you can spend a maximum 200 of it at one go. I heard once that a guy gave 50 of it to the toll collector. Do not give it to the car parking attendant, they will throw it back to you. Last method you can just exchange it with the bank before 1st April. Malaysia got rid of a dollar coin and now 1 sen, what’s next?

• Malaysia 2008 General Election

  02.18.08 |Malaysia| Permalink | Comments Off on Malaysia 2008 General Election

  March 8 is the date for Malaysia 2008 General Election. Everywhere in Malaysia, you can see banner of parties. If you do not know where you are voting, here is the place to check:

  
  http://daftarj.spr.gov.my/daftarbi.asp

  Be sure you know who you are voting for. I wonder when will published the contestants for my area. I know the BN contestant but not sure about the opposition’s party. Details will be published at the SPR website.

  Do practice your rights to vote.