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| Bangkok
A city of beguiling incongruities and overwhelming sensuality, Bangkok will scramble the expectations of even the most well-read traveller. A modern veneer of international brand names in blinking neon only partially disguises an encapsulation of all things Thai. As you emerge from the airport, the thick, jasmine-scented air envelops your body, the oceanic reverberation of distant traffic fills your ears, and you sense that Bangkok is a place you'll not easily forget.
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| Back to KL
Part 2
I woke up the next morning not knowing what to expect. I've ditched my original plan to make a trip down to Penang. It was a lazy morning and we didn't move out until about 2 in the afternoon. Plans just seem to fall into place. It was bah kut teh with Chin Nam and then seafood with Peter Long. I'm amazed at how my mistimed trip has turned out quite pleasant spontaneously.
 
We treated Chin Nam to lunch where he headed back to UM for choir practice while we continued with our plan of catching a movie. Berjaya Times Square was not far from where we were and a good half hour saw us reach the place in time for a movie. The same however could not be said about the trip to UM where Chin Nam would drive us down to Klang for seafood. None of us knew that Imbi station would be so different from Hang Tuah Station. The platform at Imbi station was small and I wondered if there were ever times people had to queue at the escalator leading up to the platform. The train itself was inadequate to say the least. It had two carriages and the squeeze was unimaginable. Shoving and pushing were unavoidable. Seriously, this has to go down as a major embarrasment to KL's integrated rail system.
 
It took us a good one and a half hours to reach UM. Chin Nam never told us how long he has waited for us, but I didn't want to ask either. The drive to Port Klang was long, almost another 2 hours, but enjoyable nonetheless when we tried to inculcate in Chin Nam the 'wrong' values.
It was round two of seafood, after that in JB with Jessie and Meeiyin. This time it was three crabs, kang kong, sotong, cereal prawns, oyster omelette and noodles. These mouth-watering treats on top of Peter's entertaining stories made the hard work at Imbi station all worth it.
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| Back to KL
Part 1
There was never any doubt that I would return to KL.Only the right reasons were begging.
The perfect opportunity came along soon enough.
It was a free day for my brother and Dawn who were in KL for a competition. They were planning to go Hard Rock Cafe. Hooi Ying would be free the day after, and I could pop by at Penang for some good food. And Pong was in KL for a debate. I haven't meet her for almost a year since my conference in Chulalongkorn University.
And so I packed my bag, for yet another trip to KL.
It was almost impossible to find the commonwealth hall in Bukit Jalil Stadium. 6 people pointed me in the wrong direction, until my brother came out to look for me. It was nowhere near where they pointed me to, and I wondered why can't they tell me they had no idea where the place was. Unless of course, if there were six commonwealth halls in the stadium.
Jessie had dragged Mei Fong and another medicine student out to meet us at Hard Rock Cafe. It was indeed a very nice gesture from her. But as the night dragged on, it became obvious we were not going to make it there in time. I was very apologetic, by the time we reached the place, it was way past 11pm and Jessie and friends had to leave the place.
The night however was never ending soon. I met up with Pong and her friend, Top. They were in KL for the World Universities Peace Invitational Debate which ended only a few hours ago. I dismissed the plan to go Hard Rock Cafe as Dawn didn't meet the age requirement. Instead, we made a long walk all the way down to Bukit Bintang, eventually stopping at some Arabian restaurant. I first met Pong when I was in Chulalongkorn University for an International Conference in January this year. She was part of her university team then. Pong is yet another impressive student. Debating competition has brought her to many places, and she speaks five languages: Thai, English, Danish, Japanese and Vietnamese.
The restaurant closed at 2am so we made our way to Hotel Impiana, where their university had an extra room as one of them left earlier. Pong retired early, she woke up early for the last round and it had been almost 24 hours since she last slept. And Top was really a nice guy, promising her that he would stay up with us, although it was obvious that neither of them wanted us to fall asleep in that room. Top would be making his way down to Singapore the next day, so we promised to meet up with him then.
It was also about then that Hooi Ying told me she would not be free to meet me in Penang later in the day, which means I would spend the time with the chess guys. The trip to Penang seemed more likely to be unrealized.
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| Stay over at JB
Part 2
Jessie's house surpassed my expectation in every way. She lives in a two storey terrace house furnished with a Samsung flat screen TV and a piano in the living room. The house is impeccably clean, impressive for a house of that size.
Jessie has a rather chatty 11 year old brother, who is very entertaining in his own way. I will remember him for talking to me about doraemon in the wee hours of the morning because he drank coffee at night. Jessie's younger sister is 14, very well read and is the also the walking directory of City Square and Plaza Pelangi. My interactions with them are very peculiar. They will speak to me in mandarin and my replies are in English. For many Malaysians, English is easily their fourth language, Mandarin being the first, then Malay, followed by their dialect and then English.
Jessie herself is impressive. She not only reads heavy Chinese literature like Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but also English ones written by Jane Austen. It is really a pity, in my opinion, that she couldn't gain entry into NUS or NTU. According to her, the requirements to gain entry into NTU's material science engineering is 3.9 out of 4. Her STPM grades is only lacking by 0.1. Put through the same grading system, I am confident that half of the Singaporeans in that faculty would never have made it. Her hardworking nature would easily see her in the top 20% of NTU. This is a classic example of how the cards are dealt. But surely, for an intelligent girl like her, failure to study in Singapore is only but a small obstacle in her academics. Her immaculate upbringing is also evident in her self-discipline. Trival matters like having drinks and meals only in the kitchen are strictly adhered to which explains the impeccable cleanliness of the house.
We woke late the next morning. Breakfast, or rather lunch, was hotdogs, salad, bread and coffee, where for the first time, all seven of us shared a table for a meal. I was constantly perplexed by the words they used, which served as a reminder for me to brush up on my mother tongue.
And finally it was time for my brother to leave for KL, Meeiyin back to Segamat and me and Shihao back to Singapore.
Trips to JB will never be the same anymore with Jessie around.
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| Stay over at JBPart 1
In the spirit of continuity, the follow-up to GACC was to take place in Johor Bahru (JB). Jessie was hosting us, and it was to be my most special experience in JB thus far.
Meeting over the weekend was not the best of ideas, but who was I to complain. I queued at the customs for almost two hours and, as usual, saw a couple of people faint. Indeed, weekend trips to JB are not for the weak-hearted.
Naturally, a couple of interesting incidents happened over those two hours. (No, people fainting are not included.) Amongst us was a Caucasian man. It had to be his first time crossing the border. He wasn't sure where to get the arrival card until a customs officer told him it was on a desk all the way in front. If I had the space to get my camera out of my bag I would. His disgusted face says it all. I mean who wouldn't be. You would have to make your way to the front and then rejoin the never ending queue at the back. Thankfully the officer took some initiative and started distributing the cards to the people at the back. And if you thought he managed to make his way into JB, then you would be absolutely wrong. After surviving an hour in the stuffy building, he backed out and made his way back to Singapore. Clearly, weekend trips to JB are not for the weak-minded as well.
Halfway through the queue, a couple asked me and my brother if they could join us. In other words, they wanted to cut queue. Naturally, we allowed them, one or two people wouldn't slow us down by too much. By then Meeiyin and Jessie would have waited for us in City Square for close to an hour. Jean and Chong, our new found friends, joined us for lunch. They had other plans so me, my brother Meeiyin and Jessie continued with our movie plans.
Shihao met us later in the evening. We took a public bus to Jessie's house where her parents would drive us out for seafood.
Her parents drove us to a restaurant called Orang Asli Restoran. This was a place that would have been inaccessible if not for locals bringing us around. we all owe Jessie a big thank you for making the dinner possible. It was located in a far end of a rather forested area, and where no taxi drivers would venture into. It was a pity her parents decided not to join us. The food was awesome. We had our standard crayfish and crab on top of some other dishes whose names I can't grasp. They were either in Chinese or Malay.
 Jessie's parents drove us back to their house. The night however was still young...
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