Well, thank goodness that’s over and done with. How something about 5cm (2inches) long can cause such acute suffering is beyond me! But once the little fiend was out, he’s now out for good. At least that’s one headache less. Now all that’s left is a pain in my side and waves of nausea. But they’ll pass too.
I’ve just discovered that one side of the hospital gives a great view of the Petronas Towers and city centre (view from my window) and the other side looks out into the deepest jungle! Talk about contrasts.
I actually really do not want to leave Malaysia, especially not KL. Somehow this city has woven her web of magic tightly around me. Just thinking about going back to cold, cold Switzerland in October gives me the shivers.
September 26, 2004
September 24, 2004
I'm in hospital
Well, aren’t I having a grand old time in KL. Wednesday, I was admitted to hospital with acute pain in my lower abdomen. Since then I have been put through various tests, some more uncomfortable than others, the most memorable of which (til now anyway) was definitely the CT scan. The pain when they injected the dye coupled with having to hold my breath whilst being scanned was a sensation I never want to experience again. That, and of course this horrific abdomen pain which has lodged itself firmly in my gut. Thankfully antibiotics do provide some relief until they know the definite cause of my discomfort. They’ve just ruled out acute appendicitis as well as urinary tract / kidney infection so I’m happy. (Thursday 23rd September)
*News flash* in 45 min I’m undergoing surgery to remove my appendics after all. That’s the latest after waking up to a horrific pain this morning.
At least having Wireless Lan in hospital distracts me from the pain a bit and keeps me from getting bored!
*News flash* in 45 min I’m undergoing surgery to remove my appendics after all. That’s the latest after waking up to a horrific pain this morning.
At least having Wireless Lan in hospital distracts me from the pain a bit and keeps me from getting bored!
September 20, 2004
Pulau Tioman
Well, the 2 M’s, K and I finally managed to lug our bodies out of KL this weekend, despite a minor hitch in the proceedings. Originally K & I had planned to take Fri & Mon off and go off with the boys to Pulau Tioman, for 4 days of rest and relaxation. But, on Tuesday our boss suddenly informed us that he’d taken up an unexpected offer to go to China the next day (!), so now he needs someone in the office on Fri and Mon! After some doubts as to our destination for the weekend, we decided to continue with our original plan, with K following us a day later and me going home one day earlier.
Anyway, the 3 of us boarded a bus on Thursday evening after nearly collapsing from carbon monoxide poisoning – they make the passengers wait down in the garage for the bus and although there are some environmentalists out there, most locals remain unconvinced by their campaigns and fimly believe that if you turn off the motor you risk that the engine will die on the spot! Well, judging from the state of the busses, I would tend to agree with them.
So, we started our 5 hour trip down to Mersing (East Coast) and after 5 minutes we started to get out towells, clothes, anything to protect us from the actic cold gushing out of the aircon above us. Shivering we arrived at 5.30 am, were welcomed by a tout who sold us our tickets and recommended a beach on Tioman in about 5 minutes. Desperately trying to stay awake and not caring where we would land, we made our way to the newly opened food stall and braved the local delicacies of fried rice and hot noodle soup at 6 am. Yummy.
3 hours later we were proud holders of two aircon chalets (complete luxury) and 7 hours later I had laughed myself silly over the first “shopaholic” book (something along the lines of Bridget Jones Diary), had snorkelled around our fantastic beach (Tioman is known for its diving and snorkelling) and was burt to a crisp as I had forgotten to put sunscreen!!! My whole body could rival a lobster, that’s how bad it is. Especially my legs, sitting is almost agony!
Well, as the day drew to the end we come to a part of island-life I I love: dinner! Usually the fishermen bring in their booty and you wander from beachside “restaurant” (shack is more like it) to the next, deciding which fish you’d like. We chose a huge parrot fish on the first night and then a jet fish on the second. Nothing beats eating fresh fish grilled in banana leaves, watching the sun set on clear blue sea and knowing that a pullover would cost more then that experience!
We befriended a Singaporean Malay group, who were real drinkers! (Most Malays are Muslim and alcohol is forbidden) Everybody got together in the evening, a guitar was produced, as was ample alcohol, and then the singing and merry making began. They really do like singing / karaoke here. Doesn’t mean they’ve all got good voices though (on that night alcohol mainly improved the confidence of those without an ear for music).
On Sunday I took the first ferry back to Mersing. The ferry stops at every beach to pick up passengers on their way back to the mainland, so we gaily turned the corner to the next beach and I was just thinking “hmm, I’m actually really enjoying myself”, when my eyes lit upon grey / black spots and to my horror I counted 18 huge (and I really do mean huge) army ships slowly gliding into the bay! Whilst the new passengers boarded, more and more ships appeared on the horizon and as we left for the next beach I counted 22 ships. 2 of them actually had a flat helicopter landing area! It was like a scene out of a war movie.
Army seemed to be the order of the day, because as I rode back to KL my neighbour turned out to be a military officer, in charge of making bombs! Well, I guess it’s a job too!
Anyway, the 3 of us boarded a bus on Thursday evening after nearly collapsing from carbon monoxide poisoning – they make the passengers wait down in the garage for the bus and although there are some environmentalists out there, most locals remain unconvinced by their campaigns and fimly believe that if you turn off the motor you risk that the engine will die on the spot! Well, judging from the state of the busses, I would tend to agree with them.
So, we started our 5 hour trip down to Mersing (East Coast) and after 5 minutes we started to get out towells, clothes, anything to protect us from the actic cold gushing out of the aircon above us. Shivering we arrived at 5.30 am, were welcomed by a tout who sold us our tickets and recommended a beach on Tioman in about 5 minutes. Desperately trying to stay awake and not caring where we would land, we made our way to the newly opened food stall and braved the local delicacies of fried rice and hot noodle soup at 6 am. Yummy.
3 hours later we were proud holders of two aircon chalets (complete luxury) and 7 hours later I had laughed myself silly over the first “shopaholic” book (something along the lines of Bridget Jones Diary), had snorkelled around our fantastic beach (Tioman is known for its diving and snorkelling) and was burt to a crisp as I had forgotten to put sunscreen!!! My whole body could rival a lobster, that’s how bad it is. Especially my legs, sitting is almost agony!
Well, as the day drew to the end we come to a part of island-life I I love: dinner! Usually the fishermen bring in their booty and you wander from beachside “restaurant” (shack is more like it) to the next, deciding which fish you’d like. We chose a huge parrot fish on the first night and then a jet fish on the second. Nothing beats eating fresh fish grilled in banana leaves, watching the sun set on clear blue sea and knowing that a pullover would cost more then that experience!
We befriended a Singaporean Malay group, who were real drinkers! (Most Malays are Muslim and alcohol is forbidden) Everybody got together in the evening, a guitar was produced, as was ample alcohol, and then the singing and merry making began. They really do like singing / karaoke here. Doesn’t mean they’ve all got good voices though (on that night alcohol mainly improved the confidence of those without an ear for music).
On Sunday I took the first ferry back to Mersing. The ferry stops at every beach to pick up passengers on their way back to the mainland, so we gaily turned the corner to the next beach and I was just thinking “hmm, I’m actually really enjoying myself”, when my eyes lit upon grey / black spots and to my horror I counted 18 huge (and I really do mean huge) army ships slowly gliding into the bay! Whilst the new passengers boarded, more and more ships appeared on the horizon and as we left for the next beach I counted 22 ships. 2 of them actually had a flat helicopter landing area! It was like a scene out of a war movie.
Army seemed to be the order of the day, because as I rode back to KL my neighbour turned out to be a military officer, in charge of making bombs! Well, I guess it’s a job too!
September 13, 2004
2 Ms in KL
Well, M&M, my 2 visitors sure have discovered the delights of KL! Barely here they’ve already hit the shopping malls and are going strong! To understand my shock you must know that these two normally flee if one even dares to mention the word shopping, so it’s all the more surprising that they’ve mutated into hardcore shopaholics! Supposedly out for a nightcap they return with shopping bags full of t-shirts, leave them to amuse themselves for an hour and they turn up with 4 pairs of shoes and 38 (!) DVDs between them.
Another week
On Perhentian Islands, we spent 1 night luxuriously reclining in a beachside chalet at Flora Beach Resort on Besar, the big Island.
We’d booked our flight with Airasia and true to their no frills policy you really do get what you pay for! The landing on arrival in Kota Bharu was memorable; it nearly broke my back so hard did we touch down on the runway!
The flight back was a bit better, although the plane was delayed for over an hour, a bit rich for a flight that only takes 55 minutes.
Back in KL I sped of to another audit on Monday. Barely able to keep my eyes open I had the privilege of observing how shoes are made (very interesting, but so hot in that factory! AND we have to wear business clothes too!) .
This past week saw me climbing up ladders in my finery to count stock, so whoever said auditing is boring (could actually have been me!) should really rethink their attitude. After having to edge along a 20cm wide gap, 4 shelves and 5 meters high, scared stiff that I would plummet to the ground and frantically keeping a good lookout for spiders, I definitely have!
A minor setback to all this auditing is that most companies do not have English as their corporate language in the factories or subsidiaries. The previous company we audited had all their flowcharts and daily business documents in Chinese, but luckily most of it was translated into English. So that was ok. But this company… help!
On the first day I was standing in the office, trying to make head or tail of a document when someone approached me and started babbling along in Malay. After establishing that I did not speak the language, he started waffling on in really bad English about 19 shoes. Ah, I thought, not really understanding him, my boss must have requested some documentation on those particular goods. After a few minutes of us trying to understand each other, (and failing miserably) a rescuer appeared and it turned out that this person was a customer who was here to pick up some previously ordered shoes!
The setbacks of not understanding the language…
As from yesterday, my brother and boyfriend arrived in KL, they’re here to do some travelling and eating, as the latter seems to be their preferred choice! Well, Malaysia is known for its fabulous food, so I guess it’s a reasonable goal to pursue.
We’d booked our flight with Airasia and true to their no frills policy you really do get what you pay for! The landing on arrival in Kota Bharu was memorable; it nearly broke my back so hard did we touch down on the runway!
The flight back was a bit better, although the plane was delayed for over an hour, a bit rich for a flight that only takes 55 minutes.
Back in KL I sped of to another audit on Monday. Barely able to keep my eyes open I had the privilege of observing how shoes are made (very interesting, but so hot in that factory! AND we have to wear business clothes too!) .
This past week saw me climbing up ladders in my finery to count stock, so whoever said auditing is boring (could actually have been me!) should really rethink their attitude. After having to edge along a 20cm wide gap, 4 shelves and 5 meters high, scared stiff that I would plummet to the ground and frantically keeping a good lookout for spiders, I definitely have!
A minor setback to all this auditing is that most companies do not have English as their corporate language in the factories or subsidiaries. The previous company we audited had all their flowcharts and daily business documents in Chinese, but luckily most of it was translated into English. So that was ok. But this company… help!
On the first day I was standing in the office, trying to make head or tail of a document when someone approached me and started babbling along in Malay. After establishing that I did not speak the language, he started waffling on in really bad English about 19 shoes. Ah, I thought, not really understanding him, my boss must have requested some documentation on those particular goods. After a few minutes of us trying to understand each other, (and failing miserably) a rescuer appeared and it turned out that this person was a customer who was here to pick up some previously ordered shoes!
The setbacks of not understanding the language…
As from yesterday, my brother and boyfriend arrived in KL, they’re here to do some travelling and eating, as the latter seems to be their preferred choice! Well, Malaysia is known for its fabulous food, so I guess it’s a reasonable goal to pursue.
September 11, 2004
Pulau Perhentian
What a relaxing weekend I´ve just had! On Thursday K & I spontaneously decided we needed sun, surf and relaxation so Friday evening saw us boarding an Airasia flight to Kota Bharu; we were off to one of Malaysia´s most beautiful islands Pulau Perhentian!
Kota Bharu´s claim to fame is a bustling night market – pasar malam - which unfortunately was not as spectacular as usual because the place where it’s usually held is under construction at the moment.
Whilst wandering from one hostel to the next looking for a place to stay without any unwelcome guests (bedbugs / fleas or similar) we met 2 German girls. Now 3 blond girls can attract quite a lot of attention, too bad it was negative this time. A group of pathetic guys desperately sought our attention and even resorted to throwing plastic bottles filled with cigarette butts at us! One actually followed us into the hotel, but got scared away after I complained bitterly to a very understanding receptionist (you could almost see a speech bubble appearing above his head with “just let this crazy woman speak, she’ll get over it soon, just keep smiling, I wonder what’s on TV later”).
The next day we took a taxi down to the pier and one of the little speedboats out to the Perhentian Islands. Zooming out on a very narrow, extremely shallow boat for one hour, jumping over waves with the wind making your hair stream out behind you is pretty exhilarating! We were racing along until suddenly, a huge bump jerked us forward, and the boat stopped! We’d swept over some kind of chain or rope which was attached to a nearby ship. But everything seemed to be ok, so they started the motor up again and off we went. Just as I was thinking “this is life” I felt the boat slowing, til it stopped, quite near to the little island. Hmm, everyone went, and looked back to see 2 Malay guys frantically tugging at the motor string, then when that didn’t work, they packed out their tools and proceeded to fix the motor. The trip which was supposed to last 30 minutes was prolonged by one hour (!).
Anyway, we finally arrived and spent a very relaxing 2 days pigging out with a backdrop of the deepest jungle and the clearest, bluest water imaginable. What a change from KL!
Kota Bharu´s claim to fame is a bustling night market – pasar malam - which unfortunately was not as spectacular as usual because the place where it’s usually held is under construction at the moment.
Whilst wandering from one hostel to the next looking for a place to stay without any unwelcome guests (bedbugs / fleas or similar) we met 2 German girls. Now 3 blond girls can attract quite a lot of attention, too bad it was negative this time. A group of pathetic guys desperately sought our attention and even resorted to throwing plastic bottles filled with cigarette butts at us! One actually followed us into the hotel, but got scared away after I complained bitterly to a very understanding receptionist (you could almost see a speech bubble appearing above his head with “just let this crazy woman speak, she’ll get over it soon, just keep smiling, I wonder what’s on TV later”).
The next day we took a taxi down to the pier and one of the little speedboats out to the Perhentian Islands. Zooming out on a very narrow, extremely shallow boat for one hour, jumping over waves with the wind making your hair stream out behind you is pretty exhilarating! We were racing along until suddenly, a huge bump jerked us forward, and the boat stopped! We’d swept over some kind of chain or rope which was attached to a nearby ship. But everything seemed to be ok, so they started the motor up again and off we went. Just as I was thinking “this is life” I felt the boat slowing, til it stopped, quite near to the little island. Hmm, everyone went, and looked back to see 2 Malay guys frantically tugging at the motor string, then when that didn’t work, they packed out their tools and proceeded to fix the motor. The trip which was supposed to last 30 minutes was prolonged by one hour (!).
Anyway, we finally arrived and spent a very relaxing 2 days pigging out with a backdrop of the deepest jungle and the clearest, bluest water imaginable. What a change from KL!
September 01, 2004
Hungry Ghosts and Audits
I have now discovered the pleasures of auditing, a field where one’s sadistic streak can come to the fore and cause pain and suffering to the poor auditee as one stands over them checking their work / business practices with an eagle eye!
We were on an island for the entire week, checking out a company which manufactured jeans – right up my street! The brand is moderately well known and I found it extremely intriguing to observe how my favorite trousers are made, from the ordering of raw material in huge quantities to the cutting, sewing, washing and ironing. I’ll say one thing about auditing: it sure gives you a good overview of all sorts of jobs available.
The audit itself consists primarily of following a checklist, asking questions and trying to establish where one could improve business practices.
In the evening we (my boss and I) generally went out for an Indian meal. In my enthusiasm to be as culturally aware as possible I tried eating with only my right hand and nearly broke my wrist trying to tear chicken off its bone! At least I managed not to spray food and fragments all over my boss, a nice impression that would have made!
On the last day of the audit, the whole company celebrated the Hungry Ghost season. Comprised mainly of a Chinese workforce (People are quite race-conscious here, the Chinese are perceived as industrious, the Malays as lazy and the Indians as sly; In a job interview the employer would most likely employ a candidate of the same race as himself – no joke!) almost the entire staff turned up laden with as much food (=offerings) they could carry. I’ve never seen such a spread of Chinese delicacies. They then proceeded to stick incense sticks into the offerings and lit them under prayers. Someone pushed some incense into my hands and told me to go round the table, holding up the burning sticks, jerking them at intervals and ask for good health for myself, my family and also for a good husband! Quite funny that was, they tried to sell me on the perks of a Chinese husband. When the incense burnt down, they lit a fire in a metal cauldron and proceeded to throw in paper symbolizing money, passports, clothing and gold. Judging by the amount of paper we burnt, the ghosts are complete shopaholics, they must have been influenced by the worldly pleasures of Merdeka Sale (whole of Malaysia has a sale on for the entire month of August every year).
All that done (yes, we did actually manage to get some work done that day!) the women practically charged up to the table where the food was spread out and took all the incense sticks out, dusted the stuff off and shot away with their treasures. We then ate all the offerings for lunch, as the ghosts had thoughtfully left the physical chow for us, having only eaten the spirit of the food. The fare was all homemade, absolutely scrumptious! These Chinese women can really cook! Hope my brother ends up with a Chinese woman one day; the men are apparently terrible in the kitchen…
Yesterday was Merdeka Day – Independence Day in Malaysia. We went to the Petronas Towers to witness the event, and got caught up in the surging crowd. It was quite awful actually, there were so many sexually deprived imbeciles out that night we went home left that place quite quickly! Moving along to Bukit Bintang (the main shopping street) we encountered people spraying colourful streamers around, out of aerosol cans. That was far more fun, seeing them really go wild!
Before I left for the Audit, K & I relaxed in KL’s largest park, the lake gardens. They had a huge aviary, with hundreds of bird species. I’ve never seen so many funny looking birds on such close quarters before!
Today our coworker just suggested that we need fattening up, as Malaysia is famous for its fantastic food and our parents would feel that we’d been well cared for! Funny their mentality! And contrary to expectations it was not a Chinese women who suggested it, but an Indian (!). (Most Chinese women I’ve encountered tend to ply one with food, one woman at the office practically shoved stuff down my neck - I nearly had to be rude to get her to stop.)
We were on an island for the entire week, checking out a company which manufactured jeans – right up my street! The brand is moderately well known and I found it extremely intriguing to observe how my favorite trousers are made, from the ordering of raw material in huge quantities to the cutting, sewing, washing and ironing. I’ll say one thing about auditing: it sure gives you a good overview of all sorts of jobs available.
The audit itself consists primarily of following a checklist, asking questions and trying to establish where one could improve business practices.
In the evening we (my boss and I) generally went out for an Indian meal. In my enthusiasm to be as culturally aware as possible I tried eating with only my right hand and nearly broke my wrist trying to tear chicken off its bone! At least I managed not to spray food and fragments all over my boss, a nice impression that would have made!
On the last day of the audit, the whole company celebrated the Hungry Ghost season. Comprised mainly of a Chinese workforce (People are quite race-conscious here, the Chinese are perceived as industrious, the Malays as lazy and the Indians as sly; In a job interview the employer would most likely employ a candidate of the same race as himself – no joke!) almost the entire staff turned up laden with as much food (=offerings) they could carry. I’ve never seen such a spread of Chinese delicacies. They then proceeded to stick incense sticks into the offerings and lit them under prayers. Someone pushed some incense into my hands and told me to go round the table, holding up the burning sticks, jerking them at intervals and ask for good health for myself, my family and also for a good husband! Quite funny that was, they tried to sell me on the perks of a Chinese husband. When the incense burnt down, they lit a fire in a metal cauldron and proceeded to throw in paper symbolizing money, passports, clothing and gold. Judging by the amount of paper we burnt, the ghosts are complete shopaholics, they must have been influenced by the worldly pleasures of Merdeka Sale (whole of Malaysia has a sale on for the entire month of August every year).
All that done (yes, we did actually manage to get some work done that day!) the women practically charged up to the table where the food was spread out and took all the incense sticks out, dusted the stuff off and shot away with their treasures. We then ate all the offerings for lunch, as the ghosts had thoughtfully left the physical chow for us, having only eaten the spirit of the food. The fare was all homemade, absolutely scrumptious! These Chinese women can really cook! Hope my brother ends up with a Chinese woman one day; the men are apparently terrible in the kitchen…
Yesterday was Merdeka Day – Independence Day in Malaysia. We went to the Petronas Towers to witness the event, and got caught up in the surging crowd. It was quite awful actually, there were so many sexually deprived imbeciles out that night we went home left that place quite quickly! Moving along to Bukit Bintang (the main shopping street) we encountered people spraying colourful streamers around, out of aerosol cans. That was far more fun, seeing them really go wild!
Before I left for the Audit, K & I relaxed in KL’s largest park, the lake gardens. They had a huge aviary, with hundreds of bird species. I’ve never seen so many funny looking birds on such close quarters before!
Today our coworker just suggested that we need fattening up, as Malaysia is famous for its fantastic food and our parents would feel that we’d been well cared for! Funny their mentality! And contrary to expectations it was not a Chinese women who suggested it, but an Indian (!). (Most Chinese women I’ve encountered tend to ply one with food, one woman at the office practically shoved stuff down my neck - I nearly had to be rude to get her to stop.)
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