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Thursday, December 29, 2022

That's IT! 2022 Done and Dusted

Kicking back, relaxing, letting it all out: The year 2022 is over, done and gone. It has been a VERY good year, although a tough one. Lots has happened and many things fell into place. Been wonderful to go crazy here and there and to explore new places, sights and foods. Could have grilled a little more often, but won't complain. Good thing to have an amazing partner that keeps me going straight (Jacqueline). 

Kuantan 4 times, Penang 3 times, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and a #SuperNicetour2022. The Tour will continue as we are making travel plans for both, business and leisure. 

Highlight of the year... where to start? I tell you over a beer or coffee. 

#YearEnd #Resume #Done #2022 #NYE #NewYear #2023 

 

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Tourist Welcome - Batteries not Included

 

Things that make you go MMMMMmmmmmhhhh
Two headlines I found in Malaysian media today:
"New Penang water park shuts down two weeks after opening, offers refunds, ticket extension"
and
"Tourism sector looking forward to the return of China tourists"

#Tourism #Tourists #Vacation #Location #Staycation #Exploration #Licence? #Ticket #Venue #MICE #Confusion #ExplorationOf Spaces

Saturday, December 17, 2022

Van Life

 


When you have four families and you want to go to the beach for a birthday celebration: get a van!

Using just one van means that 3 others don't have to pay toll, petrol, snacks etc. Tricky bit is the music selection which we managed from the cockpit with Jacqueline in control. A bluetooth speaker created the right vibes and moods to keep everyone jolly. Not pictured is the driver (me). Tough job as I had to herd these cats to the various stops. This CAM Kingo sits 15 and we had enough space for all the chips, swimming gear and wine too!

Thanks to Sendok Group for making it possible to van around

#Van #Kuantan #TestDrive #VanLife #All-in-One #GroupTour #TourGroup #Vacation #Event #Birthday #Family #Familyouting #babyseat. 



Friday, December 2, 2022

Tick Tock

 


Better be quick as you don't know how much of that countdown is left before the shop attendant will have to dash off. I like the ones that say "Lunch Break, back in 1 hour". Cos they never state when that 60 minute break started. You could be walking away the moment the proprietor of the shop surfs around the corner to re-open after said break. 

#Signs #Signal #timing #Watch #Moments #Shopping

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Came home to this!

 


Was out of town for a few days and the folks smuggled in a giant Godzilla (Whisky bottle for comparison). This makes it number 17 or so Godzilla. I would really need to re-rig the not-yet-a-man-cave room and have a dedicated corner for all the toy monsters. While I am at it, I could just as well fit in a bar. 

#Godzilla #GodzillaOnTour #ExplorationOfSpaces #Ancnoc #Mood #evening #LazySunday #Ball #lighting #Monster #Toho #Japan #Scotland #Malaysia #German

Sunday, September 18, 2022

What Else Can it Do?

 


Cleans, greases and can be used as door-stopper...

#Purposeful #Meaning-less #Meaning #Shopping #Finds #Supermarket #Confusion #Fusion #Labelling #expensive

100 Shopping Days to Christmas

 


Great Railway Journeys in Asia

A pick of 34 of the best trips in South, Southeast and North Asia. The journeys chosen by David Bowden, an avid rail traveller, range from quirky trains used as essential travel for locals, such as the North Borneo Railway, to trains on which passengers can experience 5 star luxury as they travel through stunning scenery, as, for example, the opulence of India's Palace on Wheels. Other journeys are chosen for the marvel of their engineering, Thailand's Death Railway for instance, features the 300 metre-long Tham Krasae trestle bridge or for the length of a country that they traverse, like the Trans-Mongolian Railway that connects Beijing with Moscow via vast plains and steppes. Some are slow trains and some travel at super-high speeds.

           For each journey, there is historical, technical and practical information as well as interesting details on the places accessible from the main stations. Each is accompanied by a route map.

           Whether you are planning a special trip by train or delighting in discovering Asia's best railway journeys from the comfort of your armchair, this book is an informative and entertaining read.

David Bowden is a freelance journalist based in Malaysia, specializing in travel and the environment. While Australian, he’s been living in Asia longer than he can remember, but returns frequently to his home country and has a particular enthusiasm for the revived railways there. He is the author of Great Railway Journeys in Australia and New Zealand, Enchanting Australia, Enchanting Bali & Lombok, Enchanting Borneo, Enchanting Indonesia, Enchanting Langkawi, Enchanting Malaysia, Enchanting Singapore and Enchanting Vietnam, all published by John Beaufoy Publishing.

• 260 x 215 mm
  (10¼ x 8½”)
• 160 pages
• 55,000 words
c. 120 photographs +
  34 route maps

• ISBN 978-1-913679-30-9

• £19.99 hardback

·   Publication   
         October 2022

#Reading #ReadingList #Trains #Asia #Books #Publishing #DavidBowden #Relax #Armchairtraveller #Planning #Tour #Travel #Riding #Weekend #Journey


Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Dinner Time

 


We have just concluded an epic trip around Malaysia in a Bus! As my report on this is more slanted towards the business side of things around buses, here the tourist version: https://asiaphotostock.blogspot.com/2022/06/the-wheels-on-bus-go-round-and-round-to.html This is written by Mike Smith, who joined us from Singapore. After over three years locked up in Singapore, this was his first time out of the country. 

Tried this "Dessert Platter" last night. Sourcing from new shops, we found a nice place that sells all things pork and there was a pack of salami / ham that I could not resist. Paired with honey dew melon and Soju.

Friday, June 3, 2022

Barrage of Content Coming!

I am just gaining momentum for the publication of a bunch of things to put up here. Having been travelling for some time, I did not have much time to put thoughts into text.

Watch this space!

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Office Rocks!

 


I like being in the office real early. The sun was just creeping up over the horizon and I got the kettle going with fresh coffee. YouTube provides some random vids that I can play loud (Or TedTalks etc).

Yes, the shirt is my own creation. I picked the fabric from my favorite shop in Ipoh and had it stitched up. In case you want to know: I wear jeans, long. "Proper" office attire lol. 

#Office #Work #BackToWork #AsianTruckerMedia #Shirt #Jeans #working #Fun #Rocking

Monday, May 9, 2022

Just a Strawberry


I finally tapped into the "Special Occasions Shelf" and pulled out a bottle for our wedding anniversary. Celebrations lasted a full day with a nice, lengthy nap in the middle. First time we did a "Champagne Breakfast". This was followed by the uncorking of a Scotch that I have kept for this particular day. This is why I like breakfasts! 

#champagne #Drinks #Strawberry #Fun #Drinksathome #Event #DateNight #Booze #Bubbles

Thursday, April 7, 2022

A Diet that is Hard to Dis-like


Dietitian says that we need to have more meat in our diet if we want to drop some KGs. Seeing how the BMI and body fat is a bit on the high side, I am more than happy to follow instructions. 

So, here is day 1 of my new, meat-heavy diet. 

#Burger #Dinner #Food #HomeCooking #Cooking #NomNom #Pickles #Stacking #Ham #Patty #Beef #Meat #Hungry

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

The Pertzi 500

 


THIS IS IT!!!! This is post number FIVE HUNDRED. Yes, you right that read. I have put down 500 posts here. Mostly: well, silly stuff. But nontheless. 

As you will notice, there has been a loooong gap from the last time I posted. I was actually thinking very hard about what I could post here. I wanted to make the 500th post something extra special. But then... nothing really smart came to mind. While I think there hasn't been much excitement, you, my dear follower, reader and fan, might think differently. I just tend to think that what I am doing is neither special, nor exciting. But then again... I am doing a lot of stuff. 

500... Cheers to that. 

Photo was taken in MeatFeds. Some place I have yet to try for their food. But the Portuguese wine we grabbed for a family gathering was apparently quiet something. 

#Wine #Dine #OutAndAbout #Selection #Dinner #Dining #Meats #Steak #Restaurant #Hungry #DateNight #Grab #Present #Red #White #Portugal #Malaysia #Sitdown #location

Monday, February 28, 2022

Inspiration None

 


Went to the pool. Had my picture taken. Needed to do something with it.

#Movie #Poster #MoviePoster #pool #Inspiration #Photo #Photoshop #History #Attention #Detail #CopyWriting


Thursday, February 17, 2022

Won't Taste the Same

 


I don't know the reason behind this move. I like to call it Bangkok / BKK. It has a nice tune to it. "One night in Krung Thep Haha Nakhon"... Won't work in a song.

Same as "I'm still only in Ho Chi Minh City... Every time I think I'm gonna wake up back in the jungle. When I was home after my first tour it was worse. I'd wake up and there'd be nothing." uttered by Captain Willard won't work... for me.

Can't wait to go to Thailand again. Several places to visit. 

#Thailand #Bangkok #BKK #excitement #Travel #Food #Thai #Soi11 #Phuket #Holiday

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Travelling with my Toaster

 


I am a big fan of www.agoda.com where I manage all my hotel reservations. Just browsing for some staycation, I came across this gem last night. 

One would hope to have breakfast included at this price point though. Guess I will have to bring my toaster along. Seeing how I am a Platinum VIP with Agoda, I get a discount, so I am thinking of staying two nights. Can't pass up a bargain, right?

(I usually divide just by 5 for EURO, 4 for USD)

#Toaster #staycation #Toast #Breakfast #Hotel #Vacation #Accomodation #Visit #Travel #Touring #ExplorationofSpaces #Godzillaonthemove 

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Colour Overload

 

I put that  in the corner. Like in the Blair Witch Project. Awesome movie by the way... I digress...

Floyd found this aaaawwwwwesome shirt in Tang's on Orchard Road, SG. Thanks to the postal service, this thing arrived in a jiffy (bag). Had to be tried IMMEDIATELY. The pants don't fit this shirt though as I was wearing a different top. 

Now,... I can hit the bars in style. 

#Shirt #Fashion #Style #Godzilla #AsianTrucker #MixNMatch ##DressUp #Icon #Fan #Japan #Monster #GodzillaOnTheMove


Wednesday, February 9, 2022

GearPatrol

 


Chinese New Year marked the most difficult grilling session I have ever put on. Not because I couldn't find a shirt, but because there was no mesh around to put the food on. As I had sent my gear ahead with the vanguard, at least I had some of them holders that are originally designed to hold a fiss. 

The entire affair was made even trickier as the meats hadn't fully defrosted. A careful measured distance to the heat was required to first de-ice the food and then finish it to perfection. Otak-Otak came in the hundreds and needed to be fried up before the night ended....

Eventually, I fed the hungry. And got a shirt. 

#BBQ #Burger #Grilling #Event #CNY #Villa #Bungalow #Cooking #Chef #Hungry #eating #Cook #Grill #charcoal #Meat #Fish #Veg #Chickenwings #WellDone #MediumRare #Summertime

Yet Another One!

 


Floyd found this gem in Tang's in Singapore. I don't think he would have considered me seriously wanting this... However, I plonked down some $$$ and asked him to send the thing. Transacted on Monday, now awaiting delivery to my office.

This will make it the first fan-shirt I have worn in a long time. The last such one would have been the "Sydney Motorcycle Club" one that I have gotten with my membership in 1999 in Australia. 

I sometimes pity the missus. Imagine you have to go out, sitting in a pub / restaurant with your husband wearing THIS! And the questions from the family about the choice of partner....

#Godzilla #Fashion #Singapore #Retail #Store #Browsing #Fun #Print #Shirt #Clothing #Friends #Colourful #Dashing #Daring #Sleeves #Export

Friday, February 4, 2022

If You Had Enough or Oranges for CNY

 


Vitamin C is important. During Chinese New Year, one gets plenty of it from the omnipresent organges. At some point though, one needs to balance all that with some other fruits. And when CNY gives you lemons, you make Gin & Tonic, one of the most boring, yet refreshing drinks. Super for the tropics. 

Here is what I do:

- Priceworthy Gin (read cheap): Add 4cl into a wine glass (who owns G&T glasses, really??)
- Dunk in a sourplum
- Add ice
- A few drops, or a few more, of lemon
- Top up with tonic water. I recommend Fevertree Tonic Waters

Personally, only rarely do I feel the Gin makes a difference. But the Tonic Water does. And with the Fevertree ones, one can sample a few different variations, elevating the cheap Gin (oh, sorry, the priceworthy beverage) to something else altogether. Just my take on this. 

Cheers.

Saturday, January 29, 2022

DIY?

 



There are singers. And there are song-writers. Some people do it all (Freddy Mercury comes to mind).

Some people are great writers but can't sing. Other have awesome voices, but don't have the jive to rhyme. Just like actors oftentimes depend on screenwriters. And directors. 

But I guess that Damon Albarn

- Doesn't eat food prepared based on someone else's recipe
- Won't live in a house designed and build by someone else
- Watch movies that are not en-acted by the very people that wrote the script
- Buy art that was originally commissioned by someone 

I now need to google "Damon Albarn"... 

Drinking Frenzy About to Begin!

 


In an earlier post I spoke about this beverage already. After several weeks of it being totally unobtainable, it is BACK! Yay, Captain Speedy is back on the shelves. And with a vengeance: the price. The first bottle I bought back in 2020 was RM 139. Now this!

A lil trivia copied from Wikipedia:

In 1871, Speedy sailed to the Straits Settlements in Malaya and became superintendent of police on the island of Penang. He resigned in 1873 to raise and command a body of Indian troops to restore order in Larut, a mining district in the Malayan state of Perak, for the Mentri (Chief Minister) Ngah Ibrahim.

In 1874, Speedy was appointed assistant British resident of Larut and established and named Malaysia's oldest town, ‘Thaipeng’, meaning 'Heavenly Peace'. He remained there until 1877.

Friday, January 28, 2022

Clever Messaging Now Requires me to Test!

 


Smart! This is one clever way to announce that this kitchen towel is really powerful. 

But now I need to:

- Check a bottle of cooking oil as to how many calories are in 100ml
- Then extrapolate how many ml are 127Kcal
- Pour that amount of cooking oil worth 127Kcal onto a smooth surface
- See how much surface that covers

Good activity for a Friday evening!

Thursday, January 27, 2022

Why bother with this either?

 



In Malaysia,

.... They do that cos nobody is cycling or 

nobody is cycling because they do this?

Happy to see that someone put a nice path in place. But seeing this, I no longer wonder wonder why people cycle on the street instead. 

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Awesome Packaging



I expect this packet of chips to be mostly air. However, this is totally awesome. Found this among other rather bizarre items in the MiX Korean Convenience store... Yeah, the one the is open 8:00 to 26:00.

Wonder if I could scare the kids with this?

Sunday, January 23, 2022

Gearing-Up!

 


As this is customised, my Christmas present took a little longer to arrive. With this, I now have the grill and the attire! Will need to find a reason to put this to use...Oh, look! Chinese New Year in a few days. Guess that settles it. Maiden grilling in this then. 

Saturday, January 22, 2022

A New Book Project?

 


Snapped while driving around on Friday. There are a lot of these "911"s around in Malaysia. Amazing quality this must be that these trucks are still running!

Every morning, there is a convoy of these, moving timber, coming trough where I live. One day I need to intercept them to take pictures too. I think there are enough of them still in operation to allow for enough pictures to be taken for another book. Maybe each with a story about the owner / driver?

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Being Officially Sexy

 


Having completed a training session with the fire fighters, I am now certified sexy and hot. I had so much fun with the hose...

#FireFighters #Certificate #Hot #HotBod #Training #Bomba

Sunday, January 16, 2022

Do You Still Need an Office. Well, I Do.

 


Back when I was working for Wilkhahn, some makers of office furniture already offered "trolleys" that one could stuff with ones tools for the job. Forward looking companies would offer staff the possibility to just come in and pick a table wherever they felt like working that day. Sometimes one would need a quiet place, other days a view out the window inspires. (I left Wilkhahn in 2001, so this idea of hot desking and remote working is not an idea that the pandemic brought about).

I was recently asked if we still need an office. The short answer is "yes". And here are some thoughts about that. 

Asian Trucker does a few different things. We need to store our magazines for a few days when they come out. Offering merchandise, we have to store that someplace too. Then there are assets such as the A-Boards and pull-up banners, backdrops and signage that we use all the time. As we are legally obliged to store company records for several years, those get parked there too. One could say that all that could be done in a self-storage. That is true. However, that also costs money. And if one needs something, then it needs to be coordinated. One thing good about an office: After an event on a weekend one just dumbs everything and tidies up on Monday.

Then there is the issue of internet access and scanners, copy machines (Photostat / Xerox by other names). Again, there are service providers or one can have a small 3-in-1 unit. Which means that everyone needing to print / scan would have to have one. And maintain it. During the lockdowns, I could not go to the office to scan documents. Using third parties proved to be a nightmare. Go there, park, drag myself through the entire mall: place closed, gone or machine broken. Repeat with next place. 


Well, HELLO!!!! We got meetings. Often. Yes, you can have a virtual office and then have meetings there. Which you need to schedule and then pay for the space. And the coffee (most likely). If scheduling a meeting with multiple parties is not difficult enough, juggling the schedule of the meeting room on top makes things just much more fun. Deliveries are another aspect. If we receive something in the office, then it has just arrived. Receiving goodies in a virtual office still means a drive, parking, planning etc. Yes yes.. you CAN plan to just go once a week or so, but still. Recently we had a delivery that needed to be returned and after that received again. 

Being the crafty operators we are, we also offer our space as advertising space. As seen in these pics. Not only does this give us context, but revenue. Looking good, the latest MAN wall feature has been photographed a dozen times already and it is a big hit among those that come to the office. There are some sponsored oil drums and other items that we use to promote brands (For a fee). I believe that an own office also adds to the credibility of a company. Having decorated it with content related to the business, it looks the part.

Lastly, and I am only going to touch upon this briefly: It is soooooooo much easier to get things done with colleagues when everyone is on one place instead of remote. Just shout over and done. No need to have a Zoom session scheduled to get the smallest things sorted. 

I KNOW! that there are also many benefits that speak for working remotely. I have had a home office for the past 20 years and been talking to my parents using all sorts of "Apps" for more than 24. As I have just spent 70 minutes driving 16 Km in rush hour traffic on Thursday, I am with you. However, I think that overall, having an office is still awesome and it adds layer upon layer of possibilities. 

Just having a coffeeeeeee. Sitting outside the office. As one would. 

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Unboxing - First Try

 


"Unboxing" videos seem to be all the rage. And here is me giving that one a try as well. Recently, I have done some more video pieces. Got to admit that this is not easy. Just getting the camera set up in a way that makes sense for this took 12 minutes (exact time !!!). 

In case anyone is interested in the timepiece after this review: www.eugenwegner.com will allow you to order one. Or two. 

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

A Filthy Horror Show – Swiss Garden Hotel & Residences Genting Highlands

 Date of the very short stay was 7 January 2022, 3pm to 9pm


(Items shown not to scale...snapped on arrival, right on sight)

Arriving at the locale, confusion set in as the signage of the property suggests that it is a shared place or not the right place. Several branded items bear a different name, e.g. the ticket for the car park.

A 20 minute Odyssey through a car park and lifts that are badly designed in terms of wayfinding, one eventually arrives at the lobby. The car park could use a few more lamps, but that turned out to be one of the smaller issues.

At the registration one is confronted with a “Health Declaration From” that makes no sense.  For instance, it asks for “Last Embarkation”. Well, that was “Hokkaido” for my wife. When? Don’t matter much, does it? For this to make sense, the addition of “… in the last 30 days” would work.

Said form asks if one has been to a country on a WHO list. No access to the list. So, how? No time frame either. Asked if Malaysia is on said list, were told “yes”. Truthfully, as we are / have been in Malaysia and it is “on the list”: yes.

Obviously a couple, we were not presented with a choice of bed sizes. If a hotel does not have a king / queen size bed, typically, the question would be if single beds are ok, which they are, considering that there is no choice and it is never a big deal.

In 2 of the 3 lifts the spout from the hand sanitizer bottle had come off. Pressing on the remaining pump mechanism gives guests a sanitiser-bukkake experience. The markings for the social distancing are worn out, a sign that nobody seems to bother to replace them since they have been pasted back when.

The windows to the corridor stand open, allowing birds to come in. Hence bird-poo. Nice.

Rounding the corner to the room: dead cockroach. Nicer

Into the room: sticky stains on the backrest of the sofa. Yuck

Bed sheet: stains right there!

Floor: peppered with tumbleweed of hair, presumed the pubic type

Aircon: cannot be adjusted despite best efforts of staff

Beds: of the single type. Rather surprising

We departed within a short time of checking in. The only comment from the front desk “You only need to check out in the morning. If I was an Inn-Keeper, I would be in shock and surely ask “Is everything ok?” It has happened that a trip was cut short due to personal issues. In such case, never mind. But…

An empty soft drink bottle perched on the counter. Why?

Monday, January 10, 2022

Why Bother?

 


In Malaysia,

.... They do that cos nobody is walking or 

nobody is walking because they do this?

I don't call these pedestrian crossings / zebra crossings, but "Kill Zones". Anyone having tried to use the traffic lights in the way intended will know why:


Wednesday, January 5, 2022

The Messy Business of Banking


Not that my account is with this bank, but I don't feel they put a lot of emphasis on their brand image. Hopefully, this is not a reflection on how the company goes about record keeping and overall business practice.

(See what I did here? This is about branding and image and how this artifact can have an impact on your perception about a company)

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Top 3 Weird Things in 2021

With a couple of days distance to the year that has passed, I am reflecting on the 12 months that were 2021. A weird year that was. Generally speaking, there was so much "stuff" happening that it was a most bizarre year. 

Here are, however, my top 3 weird moments in 2021:

3) Being asked by a fairly young (and therefore assumed tech-savvy) Product Manager "What is SEO / SEM?" Where I thought this is a) common knowledge as it is being talked about everywhere and b) oh the irony, you could use a search engine to find out...

2) A marketing manager asking me point blank for the amounts of money their competitor spends with us. 

1) The reply of a Managing Director of an internationally operating firm to my enquiry if he would like to buy a copy of our book, Iconic Trucks, "What do I do with a book?"

I hope I wake up soon and it was all just a semi-bad dream. 

Monday, January 3, 2022

Reaching Out

A while back I was contacted by another media house in the US, asking for input on the topic of the shortage of truck drivers. This was originally scheduled for last week, but Vox's editors decided to push it to the very last day of vacation, but it's finally published: Where have all the truck drivers gone?

Intersting commentary that shows how depended we are on a group of people that most won't give much thought. 

Sunday, January 2, 2022

Never Mind the Facts and Research

 

I will safe you some work and disappointment. This vehicle is an autonomous one and hence, there is no "Driver". Guess someone just looked for a cool vehicle. And didn't bother to ask Scania about this (Or read my book www.iconictrucks.asia).

"in the Canada"...yeah, the low cost of proof reading might also surprise you.