Current Global Economic Situation

This is my opinion:-

- Inflation due to earlier US expansionary policy. Globally, the world is flooded with liquidity and cash.
- Prices of assets are inflating especially in Asia. Property prices have been increasing since end of 2009.
- Prices of food have also been inflating. Food in Singapore are getting more expensive. Prices of transportation have also been going upwards (Bus fare and the most recent taxi fare).
- However, interest rate remains low. Interest payments cannot cover inflation.It encourages people to stay away from saving and encourages spending. Because saving will mean depreciation in the value of cash. Inflation is further induced.
- It also encourages people who have cash to invest, in equity, in real estates etc.
- People who had retired are the biggest loser as their savings are affected by reduced purchasing power. Expansionary policy had in fact spread the burden of the financial and economic mess to the general public. Each one taking a slice of the losses made by companies who had paid CEO in millions during better times.
- Prices of equity are very much affected by global markets. When Euro financial markets are not doing well, Asia markets are affected.
- Real estates prices are still resilient. Question is when will it be back to a sane level. When real estate prices fall, people who had purchased at higher prices would suffer losses. This is another way in which expansionary policy helps to spread the woe of economic troubles to general working class public.

Star Cruise on Virgo ~ 18 to 20 Nov 2011

Three words - Food and Food....

Cruise to nowhere. It was actually cruising on sea near Kukup, West Malaysia. The speed of the cruise ship was 7km/hr as measured by my GPS. Almost like brisk walking speed. Being such a huge ship, it was very stable and I could not feel the waves pendulum motion.

Food was available from breakfast, lunch, break, dinner and supper on buffet style. First night dinner was superb with grilled beef, chicken etc (available only on first on 18 Nov 11). Fantastic for people who want to put on weight.

Dawn on the sea was beautiful. However, there were clouds on the horizon. Night time crusing was cool on a quiet and pitch black sea. The only sound on the deck was only the crashing waves.

The crowd were drawn to the casino on board. I lost $60 on jackpot, an amount which I was prepared to loose (in less than an hour).Crew on board were mainly filipino and Chinese.

Penang Food 4

Local Dim Sum at Jalan Anson. Took a taxi there as we were unfamilar with where it was located. For about 10 dishes with chrysanthemum tea costed only RM30 (SGD $12.3). Quality of the dim sum was acceptable. It was crowded with locals given the reasonable price that it charged.

The best dish was shown above, a crispy fried toufoo with mayonaise. It was served hot and taste good with mayonaise. Overall, while quality of food had been average, it was value for money.

Subsequently we walked to Komtar via Sun Yet Sun Museum

Penang Food 3

Local Penang Food. These 2 dishes were eaten consecutively during lunch. The first photo(top) was the famous Penang Laksa. 90% different from Singapore Laksa. Similarity lies only in the bee hoon (rice noodle). The store was located at Air Hitam, at the foot of the hill where Kek Lok Si Temple is. It was well known and cost RM3.3 (SGD $1.35). There was not many people at around noon time. The environment and condition of the store was less than ideal (next to a road and a wet market). Penang laksa has a strong dose of prawn paste (the type used in rojak) and it was towards a sour side (probably due to influence from Thailand). I would not say I like it but must give it a try since I came a long way.

The second food is wanton noodle. The impressive part was it costed only RM2.50 (SGD $1.03). It was value for money. Although the quantity was not substantial, I guess it would suffice for local. I saw an elderly gentleman had 1 of the same order. The stall owner had already started packing up when I asked for it. I went off disappointed. But she came back and said she would prepare one for me. I was absolutely delighted. The wanton noodle was prepared in dark sauce and it was to my liking. Incidentally, I just had the same quantity, a few days ago, wanton noodle in Singapore. The Singapore one cost me SGD $3,80 (RM9.2) in a local shopping mall and was cooked by some foreigners. I would take the RM2.50 anyday. The home-made barley cost only RM1 in the same coffee shop. The stall was located at the five foot way (corridor) of a coffee shop diagonally across the road where the Penang Laksa stall of Air Hitam is.

PS. Singapore has just been ranked the 6th most expensive Asia city for expatriate. The first 5 were all Japanese cities. Sigh.

Penang Food 2

This nyonya curry chicken was from the Little Nyonya Restaurant in the basement of Gurney Plaza. It is highly recommended as the taste is fantastic. Enough spice and enough sweetness. I was pleasantly surprised by this good food from this restaurant. I think it costed about RM15++. Not cheap but it had matching quality. The strawberry smoothie was also good. How to recognise the restaurant? There was a photograph of "Ah Xian", the Malaysian TV host clearly displayed at the front entrance of the restaurant. Recommended to give this restarant a try. Would definetly try again when opportunity arises. Wonder whether they had subsidiaries in other M'sia states?

It was much better than the Kim Gary Restaurant we had visited in Penang. The standard of food from Kim Gary had deteriorated. Food quality was mediocre and did not match the price they charged. The same can be said for the one in Singapore.

Penang Food

Taste and standard are comparable to Singapore. Ordered a steamed fish with light sauce, wheat fried prawn, fried egg and hotplate toufoo. Ordered also 4 drinks and rice. Paid about RM80 for the food. The dinning area offered a choice of non-aircon and aircon. Location of the shop is located at Pulau Tikus. We took a crowded bus (Bus 101 or 102)from Komtar to the restaurant and fortunately there was a kind chinese man who offered to show us where to alight after we were discussing it. Price was considered reasonable in my opinion as we had ordered the steamed fish (size: small) and prawn.

The lady boss offered to call a taxi for us as I had earlier asked for direction. But we decided to walk a distant of about 700-800m to the hotel.

Thanks to the Penangite who offered the direction.

Immaculate Conception Church Penang

The Immaculate Conception Church, Penang, founded in 1810. Church is more than 200 years old. This is even older than Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore. Nowadays, you can't see the sea from the Church. Perhaps back in 1810 when the Church was founded, the sea (about 300m away) was visible.

The external structure of the Church still looks good despite its 200 years history. It is located just next to Berjaya Penang Hotel.

Strangely, on a weekday morning, the Church only opens a small compartment with glass enclosure, for prayers. Not able to visit the historically significant aisle. The stain glass looks good.

Penang Rapid Bus

The much cheaper way to get around in Penang. Taxis are expensive in the context of what Locals earn and the distance travelled. Eg. Taxi fare from Penang International Airport to Georgetown is about RM45. Bus provides an alternative provided you know where to alight, what number to take and don't mind standing with the crowd. The fare starts from RM1.40 for a short journey. The trip can sometimes be long due to service distance and the usual jam in city area. For example, the time required from Batu Ferringhi (Holiday Inn) to Penang International Airport by public bus (No 102) can take between 1hr 30mins to 1hr 45mins.

I understood from Taxi drivers in Penang that each taxi driver served a particular zone of the island and they could not pick up customers from other zone. They explained that because of this, the rate was higher as they could return in an empty cab. System doesn't seems right as this creates monopoly. However, locals didn't bother with this as many of them drove with a car or a motorcycle.

Penang should build a Mass Rapid Transit to serve both locals and foreign tourist /businessman, just like KL.

Penang ~ 21 to 25 Nov 2011

Berjaya Penang Hotel

Accessible from Airport by bus 102

3 nights stay - 21 to 24 Nov 11

Walking distance to Gurney Plaza and the Gurney Food Market

Next to Midland Plaza with a KFC that opens from 10:30am

Strange smell within the room, next to a dilapidated office building.

Wireless access at RM5 per hour. Hotel service is average.

Hero 336 Fountain Pen - Part 2

After pumping Montblanc black ink into the reservoir of Hero 336 pen, I began testing the quality of the pen. Being a China made pen, of course, I wrote some chinese caligraphy. Do note that the nib is fine in thickness, which I think is appropriately sized for chinese characters. It turns out that I am pleasantly pleased with Hero 336 writing in chinese words. The fine nib means that the outflow of ink is highly controlled, this enables the curves and stoppages which are of high importance in chinese caligraphy to be nicely manupulated fully by its nib. Of course being a pen of this price, the smoothness is definetly not present. In fact, it is hard to write. But the deficiency is overcome by the nib capability to control outflow of ink. The medium size nib of Montblanc 146 does allows more ink to be delivered, thus making writing chinese caligraphy slightly difficult. The writing is done in a single piece of paper, thus the paper factor is constant. However, this paper quality is of highly absorbent type.

Waterman Expert II Dune Red

This is a made in France pen bought at Mustafa. Reason why I bought it is due to the deep red body colour combined with black and gold. It has a nice polished body. The nib is medium size. For writing, it is not as smooth as the Montblanc 146 but for the price of the pen, the smoothness is deem reasonable. The length is similar to the 146 and instead of a turn capping mechanism, Waterman chooses to use a push and click closing. The pen uses a converter method of extracting ink. The pen uses Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue ink. It is lighter than my liking. Perhaps I should choose a darker blue ink. But Pelikan 4001 ink is really value for money.

Hero 336 Fountain Pen

Hero 366 Fountain Pen. Made in China with iridium nib. Cost only SGD1.20. Bought at Mustafa. Gold cap with red body. Nib is available only in fine thickness. Gold cap is surely going to be faded in time. Mustafa offered an buy 10 get 1 free incentive. Has a manual pump feed that draws ink to a plastic reservoir. Very light in weight. The carving on the cap shows "MADE IN CHINA" and "Hero (in Chinese) "336"". I have not loaded in the ink.

Montblanc Meisterstuck 146 vs Parker Sonnet

Montblanc Meisterstuck Fountain Pen 146

Lighter than what I had expected. The gold plating on its cap is lighter than Parker Sonnet. But the polish on the body is more shiny than Parker. The gold nib is of M size with the number 4810 carved (understand it is the height of Mont Blanc). The ink pump works by turning the rear of the pen in clockwise motion. It is 6 times more expensive than the Parker. Bought at Bee Kar at People's Park Complex with full warranty of 2 years. It has strong rooted history and Montblanc is the "Rolex" of pen. Depreciated it will be.

Parker Sonnett GT Roller Ball

Matt black. The deep coloured gold is in strong contrast with the black body. Heavier and shorter than MB. Does not need to turn to pull the cap. The closing sound of the cap is nice. Bought it at Popular Bookstore. Overall value for money. Parker has a strong history but the prices can range from a few dollars to hundreds. It makes consumer difficult to associate it with a prestige product. I have owned Parker since High School/College days as it is always easy on the price.

2 of them are good pens, but for working, I have my reliable Pilot V5. Nothing to shout about but always a good workhorse.

Tree Top at Macritchie

15 Oct 11 (Sat) - Park my car at Venus Drive. Weather was good. Underestimated the terrain of the walk to Tree Top. To and fro distance from Venus Drive and Tree Top is estimated to be between 6 to 7km. Good way to loose fat. The last 100m towards and after the tree top requires climbing slope. Good thing I had exercised weeks before this visit. Time taken is about 2hrs and 15 mins on fast pace walking. There was a ranger station with toilet facilities just before the last stretch. The last stretch was a 1 way direction trial. Overall, it is a good walking experience if you like the tranquility of the forest and would want to touch the leaves on top of a tree, which I did.