Coming to an End

Ramadhan was coming to an end. No more Tarawikh. No more Pasar Ramadhan and as usual, the city dwellers left for their kampung. And KL was practically empty. Traffic was going to be a breeze.

But I was sure the Raya break would also turn KL into another atmosphere all together. Where else could you get to visit Dhaka, Jakarta and Yangon within a space of a few minutes? Come to central KL during the holiday period and you would get to see that!

Selamat Hari Raya.

To Gleneagles We Went

My Dad-in-law woke up this morning after sahur with a touch of chest discomfort. The pain was in the upper tummy area but with his history of heart condition, I did not want to take any chances. He had similar pain a couple of days ago which settled on its own. Since it returned again today, he decided to let me know.

He tried a tablet under the tongue as well as some antacid but with only modest relief. I still thought that it was a bit of indigestion and reflux, but I did not want to take any chances. He was reluctant to go to UMMC, electing to see his previous doctor in Gleneagles instead. Will be accompanying there him shortly.

Monday Morning Traffic!

Monday! Argh! At least the weather was dull, so one dis not feel too much of a Monday blues having to be tied indoors at work. But one thing I could do without on this fine Monday was getting stuck in traffic first thing in the morning. Unfortunately that was what happened this morning. I got stuck again at the Duta flyover into the new Istana Negara. This was starting to become my pet rant. I now wish that a public transport service was able to take me to work everyday.

Even though I got into work well in time, I must say, the amount of time I wasted in traffic was a hell of a lot. UMMC was not exactly people friendly as far as public transportation were concerned. Yes, much was made about the bus service from the Universiti LRT station, but one would still have to wait for the bus. If only there was a direct service into UMMC by tram, a lot of problem could have been solved. We could have cut down the number of cars into the carpark at the hospital for a start. Not only it would benefit the patients and staffs, visiting the place would also be much easier.

I thought, one of the main emphasis in face-lifting UMMC might not be just new buildings and more car park spaces, we should have been planning for the long term. These extra car park spaces might be good for the next five years or so, but eventually, a more long-term strategy were needed. Trust me, an LRT station right next door. Would this make too many people, specifically those who might be up to no good turning up at the hospital? That argument was rather lame. Especially at a hospital where security was only taken seriously very recently - only in the last months that the staffs were assigned smart cards to access the doors to the wards and the main entrance at off hours.

Well. Long term solution for the traffic situation was definitely needed. Getting in and out of the hospital was slowly becoming a drag, and not just for the reluctant patients.

Of Flooding

We often hear scary stories about flash flooding in the middle of KL town. Yes, it was getting less frequent with the advent of the SMART tunnel, but it was still an issue after heavy downpour. And one such downpour happened this morning.

Luckily the rain abated by 10 am. The main areas where it was still a problem was around Jalan Duta-Semantan intersection as well as Brickfields between KL Sentral and Bukit Persekutuan. I was caught at one of thses points before, and it was so bad that I would avoid these spots everytime it threatened to rain. And I must say the recurring theme at these places were constructions and road building. Bracing myself again this morning.

Rather Quiet

First day of school holidays today. As usual, the traffic going into work was predictably lighter than normal. That was great. Rather than spending almost 45 minutes in my journey into UMMC, it was only 25 minutes today. It would have been faster if it was not for AZRB still messing about with the fly-over on Jalan Duta leading into the new Istana Negara. It was supposed to be ready before the end of 2010. It was now close to June. It looked like it would take at least another couple of months before everything sorted out. But I digress.

The main Suria KLCC foyerMy boys running around the hallway at Alpha Angle. As I said, it was rather empty.Heading back home in the afternoon, I stopped at KLCC to deposit some cheques. I was expecting the crowd to be bigger there, but instead, it was surprisingly quiet. Later, when I went out to do the groceries, Jaya Jusco at Alpha Angle, it was quiet there as well. Maybe everybody took the opportunity to head back to kampung. This must be what KL was like back in the 80s. Traffic was much lighter, and the pace of life would have been much more manageable.