eXtreme Nights

Ever heard of it... Me neither until someone from my office called me up and told me I was going for it. See what happens when you work in Traxxfm is every once in a while you get to go to functions and act like a famous person. Cuz I'm not really famous, but when I go to these function I like to act as if i am. So anywayz its like a PC fair for the 2 Fast 2 Furious crowd. Cars modified like crazy and is in no way practical. A lot of the cars aren't even Malaysian I think. There was also a model search competition, B-Boying competition, concert performers and ofcourse Traxxfm's prize giveaways. 1st is Rm6000 worth of equipment mind you.

4 Speakers in your door is normal apparently.

Just gimme one of them lah.. Freaking stingy people!

The Finalist for the model search dancing to Gimme more. This they allow but they have problems with Beyonce? Why?

Me Trying to look cool next to the car.

Prizes given away and another with a fellow supporter

DO...YOU THINK ...IT..HAS..ENOUGH..SPEAKERS?

Two of the many models there. Think I was checking them out more than the cars. If it wasn't for security giving me a stern warning after i "accidentally" groped one of them, I would have taken more photo's with/of them. There was one is a school girl uniform that was just..right back to the cars.

Gaya..Mutu...

Small cars also got. There are some wicked toy car drifters.

Wah the cars here got makan orang also!

Gotta get one of them Gatling guns for my cars. No more traffic jams for me! Oh don't wanna get outta the way ah... Target locked..

Oh No they've come for me!!

This is Barricade from Transformers. He's quite nice in person and not all Decepticons are bad. don't believe everything you see in the movies.

Now this car sounded like CNY firecrackers and had fire comin outta its exhaust. When your standing behind it you can get blown away and die of carbon Monoxide poisoning .

They got me!! (short post this time)

Ok you guys know how i'm always lecturing you all about be carefull with your credit card details. Don't give any info over the phone and yada yada yada. 3 years in HSBC has thought me that fraud is very real so be very careful, and I am one of the most paranoid people I know when it comes to these kinda things. However even though I try my best to be aware of all this, I'd like to think more so than the average person. They got me!.. yup you are reading the words of a credit card fraud victim.

Maybank called me today and asked me if I made 2 credit card tran sactions to Airasia. So I'm like..what? Uh no. So then I realised ok maybe my sister used my credit card. Most of the time when she uses it she does ask me 1st though(most of the times) so I thought it was a little weird. Just as I was asking the Maybank CSR if she could call me back while i confirm with my sister, my sister calls me. So I pick up the other phone and my sister is hysterical on the other side because she was just in an accident? Whats it now? like accident 4 this year Jula? I think its because your car is too red and people just like to hit it. Well anyway I'm hysterical asking her if she made the credit card transaction and she's hysterical cuz she just got hit so you can probably guess that wasn't a very calm phone call.

Finally we get our messages across and i tell the nice lady from Maybank it wasn't me so then she gives me the name of the people that the ticket was issued to

Manfari rafqul ulum
Ailing chay

If any of you know who these two are pls kick them in the groin for me. I'm pretty impressed by Maybank actually. I mean usually when i speak to the branch staff it seems like they are missing a chromosome or something. Lately however Maybank seem to be improving. The jury is still out though. So now I gotta use my VISA.

Apparently its not a credit card clone. They got my credit card details from somewhere. I know a lot of ways this can be done. The easiest way actually is lets say you pay something at a restaurant with your card, they take your card take a photo of the front and back with their phone then return it you. All the info is there.

One way to prevent this is to remember what the last 3 digits on the reverse of your card write it down somewhere else and scratch it off your card. You only use that number when you're making purchases on-line anyway so it's safer if its not on. Yalah I know me! pandai give advice but never do myself. Lucky I have a VISA as well so I'll scratch off the numbers and use that in the meantime.

Just be careful guys there are so many other ways you can be defrauded. Wow this is one of my shorter posts. I'm pretty proud of myself. *GIVES A TAP ON SHOULDER*

The adventures of Shaz in Singapore

Well some of you might not know but I recently went down to Singapore for a 3D2N holiday. It was kinda interesting as I haven't been down that south since 1995 and as you all know. I do love to sidetrack from my intended stories, and this post would be oh so left out without that trademark sidetrack, and yes in case any of you were wondering. This IS going to be a yet another long post. Good news is i have photos this time.

Now Singapore and Malaysia are kinda like Canada and the United States, UK and France and maybe even Taiwan and China. All of these countries are sorta similar they are neighbors but at the same time your not really sure if you really like each other. Well my mum almost became Singaporean and i have a lot of family in Singapore but does that mean I think they're ok? Not really. First of all I want to address the fact the Malaysians are split into 2 : one side hates those kiasu Singaporean bastards, and the other love and admire the fact they are so successful and how we should be more like them.

Well people are like that I suppose. Nobody wants to actually analyze a situation. people just want to know who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. The whole word is in black and white so choose your sides. In actual fact there is no such thing. The whole world is in different shades of Grey. Singapore has its advantages and disadvantages. Same and us. So both of you shut up.

I would like however to clear some misconceptions about Singapore. There are a few, but I wanna point out 2 very common ones.

1. Singapore left Malaysia. This is in fact very incorrect. We severed Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia. At the time they were not happy but I'm sure now we are all better for it.

2. Singapore is a richer country than Malaysia. Well this is up for debate. It really depends on how you look at it. How rich a country is is based on several factors.

All these facts are international placings in the world based on the World Bank

1. Largest Ecomonies in the world based on GDP . =>How much trade actually goes on based on gross domestic product.
37 Malaysia
41 Singapore

Malaysia 1-Singapore 0

2.Foreign exchange reserves (also called Forex reserves) in a strict sense are only the foreign currency deposits held by central banks and monetary authorities. => This basically measures how much foreign currency a country has.

8 Singapore
12 Malaysia

Malaysia 1- Singapore 1

3. Gross domestic product (GDP) derived from Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) calculations. =>This basically compares living standards and inflation.

34 Malaysia
54 Singapore

Malaysia 2- Singapore 1

4. List of countries of the world sorted by their Gross Domestic Product (nominal) per capita, => Roughly I understand its hoe much the country earns divided by how many citizens it has.
24 Singapore
62 Malaysia

Malaysia 2- Singapore 2

Ok we are tied here. They got some, we got some. So who is richer? Well let me put it into perspective for you. Which country do you think is the richest country in the world?

If you answered the United states then we are looking at.
1 United States -- Largest economy in the world followed by Japan and Germany.
37 Malaysia
41 Singapore

1 United States-- Highest Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) followed by China, India, Japan and Germany
34 Malaysia
54 Singapore

So if you believe the US is the richest country in the world based on that same belief, we are richer than Singapore.

If youre basing it on Foreign exchange reserves, here is the richest country.
1 Mainland China
2 Japan
8 Singapore
12 Malaysia
14 United Kingdom
15 Italy
20 United States

So if Singapore is richer than us does that mean we're richer than the UK, and US?

What about if its based on Gross Domestic Product (nominal) per capita?
Who is no 1? Is it US? UK? Japan? China? India? Germany?

Well the answer is actually no to all.

1 Luxembourg <= ever heard of them? Me neither
8 United States
23 Brunei
24 Singapore
25 Spain
34 South Korea
56 Botswana
62 Malaysia
67 Turkey

Yup people are living it up in Botswana compared to us I tell you!!

Ok Ok this blog has been very bias. However i would like to stress I do not hate Singapore. Opposite actually I really respect them for how they have dealt with their country. I just wanna poke some fun at those people who constantly say how Singapore are doing so much better than we are.

Lemme break it down for you.
1. We are a richer country compared to Singapore. We earn more money and have a bigger economy.

2. Singaporeans individually though are richer than us, and an average Singaporean has more spending/buying power than a average Malaysian. This is because they have 3 million citizens while we have 26 million. While our population is about 8 times theirs our economy is not.

So the next time somebody says to you Singapore is richer than us correct them.

Ok now lets move on to my trip....

Well about a month ago I was planning a trip down to Singapore for the Deepavali weekend. So I got my passport done and things look set to go. So I was looking for a place to stay and man oh man after you convert the currency things are crazy expensive. I found this place called South East Asia Hotel and it was charging
$88 SingDollars with breakfast(so times that by 2.3). Sounds good but then by the time I got around to booking it and got a reply from them it turns out they are fresh outta rooms. So in a panicked state I asked and found out there is this chain of hotels called Hotel 81. Now I know it sounds dodgy but its actually a respectful hotel line. When I was booking it on-line I saw it was $90. Ok not bad. Just a little more expensive. So i saw there were a list of places where the Hotel was located. I saw Geylang was one of them.

Now for those of you who don't know prostitution is legal in Singapore, and they operate outta Geyland. The red lantern district. Ok I'm not going to Singapore for that..really... I'll book somewhere else. Then i saw Orchid road. Hey ain't that like their Bukit Bintang? Yeah sounds like a posh area. Why not? Turns out that was Orchard row, and Orchad row and Orchid road is not the same. So i specifically didn't want to go to Geylang and guess where Orchid road is? Yup!

Too late so now I check in at the Singapore immigration and this dude asks me where I'm staying. So i say geylang. So then he says "banyak banyak tempat you tinggal kat geylang". Then hinted i was looking for hookers and asked me to not spend all my money. Welcome to Singapore.

So anyway there is this place called bugis in Singapore and its kinda like all these small shops selling everything from earrings, to The "Singapore is a fine Country" T-shirts, to Dildos (yup) to food to clothes.. everythinglah. Walking distance to Bugis is Bencoolen and there was a Hotel 81 there as well. So I thought hey maybe I can stay here instead. I mean its the same hotel chain why not? Turns out the prices are not the same. I ended up paying around $300 for 2 nights. Yikes. Ok time to eat more maggi. Haha. Ok its not that bad. I still managed to stay within my budget. Kinda. However what i was very unhappy about was the hotel breakfast. it was really bad. The worst hotel breakfast i have ever eaten. I think alang-alang no needlah if ur your gonna serve such crappy food.

Travel advice No1 for you guys who are planning on traveling to Singapore, stay in JB. Because for about RM350(roughly what I paid) a night you can get a really nice hotel. In fact I think nice hotels in Malaysia start at RM90. Cross the border everyday if you need to. Really its not that bad and you'll save a lot. Plus JB is so nearby it doesn't really make a difference in terms of distance.

1st day I go went to VIVO city which is Singapore's biggest mall, and to be perfectly honest with you I was kinda let down. I mean some people have been raving about how Singapore is a like a shopping heaven. Their goods are all branded and cheaper than ours. Their malls are better. Its all lies! I mean its a nice mall. However it definitely falls short compared to Mid-valley or One Utama. Our malls are giants compared to theirs. Of course they do live on a tiny island and have a little problem when it comes to space.

So i hear they have this theme park called Sentosa and I go to check it out. Turns out its not really a theme park. I mean not in a roller coaster kinda way. So scrap that idea.

Their MRT though is pretty amazing. Most of it underground and it even has two layers of trains at some parts. I mean the system there is really changgihfied. Everything is linked up like their trains and buses and stuff. Weird thing is their trains are wider and longer than ours because it transports so much more people but its so much quieter than ours. For a few reasons I think.
1. Their trains are generally quieter
2. Its underground and no ambient noise.
3. Singaporeans are actually pod people!!!!!

I mean really. Everybody kinda whispers and is really placid. Almost emotionless. I tried to play along so that they wouldn't assimilate me. I mean really the crime rate in Singapore is so low they actually put up posters hoping people will spot some so that the police will have something to do.

I guess if you do commit a crime you don't really have anywhere else to run. I mean your on an island. The police will bust your ass. They were also having this whole be careful of terrorist thing on how you be wary of bags left by other people. I think its good to make people aware but they keep on playing it in the stations and it makes me wonder if the Singaporeans are so bored that they have to stir up something. Well I guess being safe rather than sorry is always the better way to go.

I was also checking out the chicks in Singapore, and I can very proudly say Malaysian girls are hotter and we have more variety. I mean even if there is a hot Singaporean girl, they all kinda look the same. The only mixed couples I saw we're Ang Mo and Asian. Not so many mixed couples like in Kl. I mean Gurmit Singh is proof there are mixed couples in Singapore so I know there are lah, but I didn't even see 1 when I was there. Also Singaporean guys all kinda look like Magic players.You know the kinda awkward looking but brainy and nerdy type. Yeah magic players will know what I'm talking about.

So i go to this place called Queensway that sells sport Gear and just basically go crazy. Spent a lot of money I shouldn't be spending. Oh well. Go Arsenal!

I was also looking for some Black shoes as mine have torn and found a pretty nice pair of AND 1s. Some stuff in Singapore is really cheap. Basically the Old stuff. If it newer it may only be a few RM cheaper. I did see a lot of good buys though, but this was more within my price range. Really you guys should check it out though. Queensway if your looking for shoes especially, and Jerseys and stuff. The older designs are cheaperlah and me being the Kiasu person that I am I only get the best deals.

So the second day I go to JB since i figure I very rarely go south so why not kill 2 birds with one stone. when you cross the border from Singapore to JB there is a huge difference. Like Singapore is so calm and well organized and clean, JB is the total opposite. It was dirty, chaotic and loud. I really feel the government needs to clean up Jb as people will be comparing the two and when you hold them close to each other Jb is kinda like an eye sore. In some parts. Not everywhere. One thing is when i was in Jb I felt really rich paying in RM. Spent a few hours there went back and I start to think how ridicules that Singapore and Malaysia is not the same country. Its so near by and yet so different.

Like for example their Burger King sells BBQ chicken. BLASPHEMY!!!! BLASPHEMY I tell you!!

I mean I'm from Sabah so in terms of distance I found this very unusual. Them not being from the same country part not the Burger King part. Although that was kinda weird also.

So the next day I head back to Kl and I feel this was an interesting trip. At least i know what to expect the next time I come down and stay in Geylang..uh I mean Bencoolen..uh I mean JB.. Singapore is a very nice place. Very clean and slightly sterile but worth visiting for a few days. Don't stay too long though or you'll soon be broke like me or be assimilated into the collective or become a pod person.

Damn I bought the away kit as well. I don't earn that kinda money. Ok time to go eat some maggi, for the next 5 months. I hope I don get sick from MSG poisoning.