Thursday, February 28, 2013

can't believe how efficient this morning was

woke up today with a mission which i have been procrastinating for the past 2 weeks..

1- renew my driving license at the post office

2- update my ASB book at the post office

set my alarm to wake up at 7.15am, but as usual it's snoozing all the way until i really woke up at 8 hahaha. finally i left home close to 9. my head was thinking whether i could make it for the 10am shuttle to Penang today. ah well, if not i'll have to drive there.


surprisingly, this morning was really a smooth sailing! i'm not sure it's just pure luck or it's just being efficient.


it was a gloomy morning (hence not so many people around, less traffic?). checked my wallet and realized i only had RM100 and i'm not sure whether this would be enough to renew my license for 3 years. well, it would be enough if it's ngam-ngam 3 yrs (RM30/year) but my bday was in Jan, and it's already end of Feb. so in case i have to pay more to round it up, i had to make a stop at the bank.


reached Public Bank around 9, go to the ATM (no need to q) and withdraw. while i was there, maybe i should just draw my $$$ for ASB. and i was out in less than 2mins. drove to the post office, take the number and walla! few seconds after that it's been called.


i ended up renewing for 5yrs (i thought u can only renew max up to 3yrs @ post office but i guess not anymore). my case, it's close to 6yrs.. march 2013 - jan 2019 to round up to my next bday. i'm not sure how it's being calculated but i had to pay RM167 ( [RM30 x 5yrs] + RM15 for the extra months + RM2 for service). so kire ok la tu.


since it's still early, i stopped by CIMB to make my deposit. parked the car, crossed the street. from outside i could see a lot of people at the cash deposit machine. actually, there are 3 of them but i was kind of curious why everybody was queuing at the 2nd and 3rd machine. so i peeked to check whether the 1st machine is out of order but it worked so straightaway make by business there hehehe. luckily the CDM accept all my notes so i was in and out in less than a min!


9.15am i was on my way to Intel Kulim and 9.30am in the cafe having my bfast.


wooshhhh!~


this morning i accomplished 3 things (renew my driving license and update my ASB book at the post office, and pay my ASB at the bank), all within 30mins.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Day 1 :: PM – KUL – Labuan

W.P. Labuan & Brunei Trip 2013
Date: 10 (Sunday) - 13 (Wednesday) February 2013

Day 1
Location: LCCT, KL - Labuan
Weather: Fine
Transportation: Air Asia

PM

Due to the fact that this was a last minute trip, the biggest expense was of course on the plane ticket. Bought less than a week prior to the trip, it costs me around RM480 for a return trip (no check-in luggage).

I had already checked in for return few days before, so this was my 1st trip without luggage. Figuring that since this would be a short trip, I packed my 30L bagpack for 4 days. FYI, 30L does fit the size for carry in luggage. Then, came a big problem. I had to bring my laptop due to I have to work between the days and believe me when I say, my 15-inch LENOVO is HEAVY. But don't fret! Convertible laptop bag (bagpack/sling bag) to the rescue!~

At home, I weighted my bagpack. It was around 4kgs but my laptop itself weighted close to 5kgs. There goes my 7kgs! I was really worried. Worries that I might need to checked in my luggage. That would be a big hassle.

Anyway, me and my dad ended up people watching a bit at the airport. Well, not really people watching, but AA staff watching. There was this particular staff randomly weighting passengers’ bag before the queue for ticket and identification check. So I basically sneaked into the line while he’s busy checking other people’s bags hahahaha!

So, the flight departed on time and I reached Labuan arrival around 5.30pm. Pretty fast since I don’t have to wait for my luggage. So how did I go to Labuan town? It’s easy. Just u get out of the arrival hall, go straight ahead u can see a taxi counter. Buy a prepaid ticket from there and wait outside near the “Taxi” post. When a taxi arrived, just hand the driver the tic and tell him where exactly u want to go. For my case, Pulau Labuan Apartment. Well, as everybody knows; no cheap things in the airport. So a 3-km ride cost me RM13.

Honestly, I don’t know what to expect of the hotel. I reached there around 6 and the uncle stopped the taxi right in front of the door hehehe. After all the checking in etc etc, I’m finally in the room. Unfortunately, no photos here. Do take note that only the name is “apartment”. The room looked like a hotel room. Not so big and not so small, for me at least. As long as the bed is comfy and the shower is great, I’m satisfied. A room with a queen-bed, with fridge, hot shower, TV, huge dresser (not sure what u want to put there) and it’s smacked in the middle of the town.

Across the street are Fratini’s and Hotel Ambassador 2. Ferry terminal is just a 5min walk.  Do ask for the total of ur stay when u call to book (oh ya, for some reason I couldn’t find any online reservation for affordable hotels in Labuan. So it’s all Google and phone calls). On the web, it’s stated there RM128++ /night for the room but somehow I ended up with RM450 for 3nights..

To cut short, dinner was near the jetty. After a quick detour to the Ferry Terminal to check on for my Brunei's ticket (unfortunately the ticket counter closes at 5.30pm!), we walked down further a bit. Ferry Terminal here is referring to the terminal for long distance ferry e.g Labuan, KK, Menumbok etc. I can't recall the name of the restaurant but it's right after the local water taxi jetty; "something-something-Seafood". Since we're there right after Maghrib, there were not many people around. We chose Sotong Masak Telur Masin (seriously sedappp), kailan goreng and sup sayur with tonnesss of ingredients. Yes, just these 3. Cheap and surprisingly delicious. Total of RM13 per pax. Again, no photo since we're starving.

Finished dinner around 9pm but it strangely felt like it was already 10+.. Already tired and sleepy, so it's straight back to hotel to doze off... bagusss... lepas mkn jd ular sawa...

Note: I just knew that if there is NO check-in luggage, u can just check which gate ure boarding at and straightaway go to the departure hall. No need to queue at the counter.  If ure not sure, u can double confirm ur document at the Document Check Counter near the departure hall of LCCT.