Missing the Point.....

I lifted this article from the Star 26/4/11:

GEORGE TOWN: A honeymooning couple from Saudi Arabia was among some 2,000 tourists and locals who boarded the Penang Hill funicular train, which resumed operations after a lapse of 14 months.

Alaa Abduallae, 30, and Wafaa Ali, 23, were thrilled to take the 10-minute ride up the hill.
“However, the train was going too fast for us to snap any good photographs,” Alaa said.
The train will run for charity till April 30. The return fare for the charity ride is RM10 for adults. It is free for children aged 12 and below.

The proceeds will go to the Penang Welfare Department to help underprivileged people identified by the state government.
The service started at 6.30am yesterday.
Among those who tried it was a group of 37 Year Five students and three teachers of SK Pulai in Baling.
Their counselling teacher Khaizuran Isa said they made the trip to give students an opportunity to ride on the train.
“We want to expose them to new things and let them learn about tourist spots,” she said.
Penangites Les Leong and Jane Ooi, both in their 30s, also brought their six-year-old twin sons to enjoy the train ride to a friend's birthday party on Penang Hill.
This is their second time on the train. They were very excited and said that the ride was faster than the previous tram,” Ooi said.

From May 1, the return fare for Malaysians will be RM8 for adults (below 55 years) and RM4 for children (aged three to 12).
Senior citizens (aged 55 and above) and Malaysian students will enjoy a reduced rate of RM4.
For foreigners, the return fare is RM30 (for adults) and RM15 (for children aged three to 12).
The revamped train service runs from 6.30am to 9.30pm daily.
The service was suspended since Feb 22 last year for the RM73mil upgrading project by the Tourism Ministry.
Penang Hill Corporation marketing and promotion division senior assistant manager Anne Goh said 1,500 people rode on the train from 6.30am till 4pm"

Now then, I've just got to highlight a couple of points that to me are a bit symptomatic of why the tourism industry in Malaysia is not as good as it could be...

1. Foreigners pay more than locals.-in this case,nearly 4 times as much!
This also happens at the KL Tower and all the National Parks...
Can you imagine a tourist attraction in the UK or USA charging tourists 4 times more than the locals...they'd never get away with it!
and....
2.They don't really get it do they...read the quote "the train was going too fast to take pictures"
A lot of fuss was made last year when the old,charming,creaky and dilapidated hill railway was replaced with a shiny and new train that would get people to the top of the hill faster than before.
The whole point of the slow train ride was that you enjoyed the view on the way...now it just whizzes by.

UPDATE 10/6/11...and the "new and improved" service has broken-down 3 times in the last 5 weeks.....

Are They Sure.....

Malaysian advertising companies can be a bit too creative at times,whilst at other times they completely miss the mark.

As for this example,I'll let you decide...
But I never thought that I would see the words 'naughty" and "Volvo" in the same sentence....

OK-It now seems that I was wrong.
This is a global campaign,not just in Malaysia
so whatever advertising company came-up with the slogan needs to do a bit more "creative brainstorming"

TwinTowers @Live 2011

I didn't really get this.....
A free concert held at the front of the Twin Towers in conjunction with the F1 weekend.
A real mish-mash of bands.

No Beer.
Nothing to do with the actual F1.
A lack of atmosphere-for me at least.
and...No Beer (yes,it's worth repeating)
But then again,I'm definitely not the ideal demographic/target audience.
So, I'm sure that some people really got into it.
The crowd seemed to be either young/teenagers or mums and dads with their kids plus the occasional "lost" tourist.
I don't think that many in the crowd would be attending the actual race,it was more designed to give young people something to see and to keep them out of the bars and clubs.
It started at 6pm....but the first band didn't come on until 9pm.
So there was 3 hours of inane chatter by host DJ's....I honestly can't abide it when told 'Make Some Noise" by some idiot DJ...I mean,it's so much of a cliche isn't it?
Perhaps it was that that put me in a bad mood...
First band was a girl wearing a Tudong singing "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse....Oh! the Irony!
Then there were then a few local metal/rock bands that I think I've seen before and are actually rather good and quite refreshing.
But by then I'd had enough.
Headlining on the night I was there were either Wonder Girls or Hoobastank.
The last band would have come on at around midnight....far too long a wait as far as I was concerned.
Main act on the second night will be a version of Earth Wind and Fire but you will have to put-up with Colby Adonis (whoever they are) and a host of local bands (who will all probably be OK) before you hear Boogie Wonderland....

Tired of Traffic Jams in Kuala Lumpur?

If ever you've sat in one of KL's horrendous traffic jams,especially on a Thursday or Friday when it's usually very hot and is always quicker to walk to your destination you may find yourself wanting one of these new MPV's....

I think they would be particularly useful when one of those motor-cades of VIP's or Tin-Pot Dictators snarl-up the traffic even more....

....if you don't want an MPV they also do a sports version.....

T-Bowl Restaurant 3rd Floor Sungei Wang Bukit Bintang Kuala Lumpur

I swear that this is true!
A new type of concept restaurant has opened on the third floor of Sungei Wang Shopping Mall.
The theme is crap.

Literally.
And that's the only joke I'm going to make about a restaurant where diners are seated on toilets.
The entire decor consists of toilet bowls,urinals and squat-toilets.
Some of the food is even designed to look like excrement (use your imagination) whilst other dishes are served in miniature toilet bowls.
I was quite taken aback when I stumbled upon this place,situated on the 3rd floor at the back near the Roller-Rink it is amongst a small collection of restaurants in a newly opened sort-of mini food-court.
I can't tell you much more about t-bowl as almost all the signage is in Chinese.
I've not eaten there but the few times I've walked past it's fairly busy and seems quite popular with teenagers and children with a scatological fixation (as Freud would put it)
I've no idea on menu or prices and their website was no real help either,so if you decide to go and try it please let me know.
I just think it's bizarre.

St.Patrick's Day Street Party Changkat Bukit Bintang Kuala Lumpur

You have to hand it to the guys at Guinness-they certainly know how to organise a street party!

In honour of St.Patrick's Day-when the whole world turns Irish (except maybe Saudi and Kuwait),Guinness threw what is probably the most successful street party we've had on Changkat Bukit Bintang for quite a while now.
It makes such a difference when the street is closed for traffic and it's really great to wander up-and-down the street to check-out the various establishments.
A Great Party Atmosphere!
There were temporary beer dispensers outside most pubs and table and chairs arranged in the street so that the bars did not get overwhelmed....but boy,did it get hot and airless on the street later on!
Indeed the street was overflowing with people whilst the inside of some bars were almost empty..
Changkat Bukit Bintang was packed! I mean,where did everyone come from?
At 7.30pm just about the entire street was bustling with activity....
By 10pm if you fell-over you'd probably remain upright!
Face painters,Balloon folders,Stilt-Walkers and Juglers and the compulsory "over-the-top" sound system PA with-a-girl-with-the-most-annoyingly-over-amplified-voice-ever were trying to entertain the crowd who were really only intent on one thing-Drinking!
OK two things...Drinking and then More Drinking!
It was
Chaotic,
Loud
and
Hot.
and
Gave a feeling that it might suddenly collapse and descend into real anarchy....

Everything a party should be!
I couldn't work out if it was free Guinness that was being given away in plastic cups or somehow you had to pay for it...I was told the bars were selling a (plastic) glass for RM 10 for "street use" whilst inside it was "buy-one-get-one-free"
I don't like Guinness ( a result of excessive over-indulgence visiting their brewery in Dublin many years ago)
so I stuck with the Tiger Draft as ,sadly Tiger Crystal is no longer available....
But,what a great party!
Now...if only this street was closed to traffic every weekend.....

Now,This Is Going To Get Confusing!



Petronas Mercedes

 Malaysia has been hosting an F1 event for something like 13 years now and if you're an F1 fan you're probably used to seeing Petronas sponsorship.
But this season there are Malaysian interests sponsoring 6 cars... 25% of the Grid!


A Lotus

 We have the Petronas sponsored Mercedes
Then the Air Asia sponsored Lotus with a Renault/Red Bull engine
and
Lotus-Proton sponsored Renault with Lada written on the side...


• 

And Another Lotus!

 I think.....
This is not bad for a country with no real racing pedigree and it must cost them a fortune.
Anyway,lets hope that they all qualify and deliver some exciting racing this season