In Kuala Lumpur. Now.

Finally... The family is re-united in Kuala Lumpur. Spike is soooo happy! Not to mention Nicole.

Saturday I was all by myself at the pool. It was so quiet, it felt like in one of these apocalyptic movies where there is only one person left on the planet. An hour later the place was swamped with relocation vans, evacuating the last tenants of Flamingo Valley before the entire lot is being handed over to the new developer.

It has been a long wait. Since July, when Nicole, and with her all our belongings moved to KL. During that time I must have been on the bus at least 10 times. Not to mention the 2 moronic trips on the scooter. One all the way to Kuala Lumpur. 360 Kilometers on that thing! And again to Melakka. That one was rather enjoyable. I loved to see the sunrise at 6:30 on the highway just after the border crossing.

Now it has been raining for 2 days. Slowly I am settling in. There are a lot of things to discover in my new home. For example: Where to buy shoelaces. Last time I tried to buy shoelaces in KL it took me a full day of running around. I think people just made fun of me. What with the shoelaces and all. Buy new shoes! Easy!

My parents are currently in Vietnam. Somewhere between Hanoi and Saigon (Ok ok ok... I know it is called Ho Chi Minh City, but Saigon sounds more umpf "right"). Their second holiday this year. They report no problems with the food. I guess they only eat in hotels. Boooring. Nothing beats a decent stomach pain after some half cooked chicken! Great story to tell when you are back home.

Speaking of which, we are heading out for dinner. Nicoles oldest brother (lots of brothers..) now also works in Kuala Lumpur and we are having a bite.

Ghost Town

Flamingo Valley (where we lived) will be handed over to the new owner. Most of the tenants / owners have moved out. it really feels like a ghost town. From the pool you can see all the apartments, most of them are deserted and dark at night.

I will hand in my keys on Sunday morning. Then hop on the bus for a family re-union in Kuala Lumpur.

As of this week I am also a frequent traveller on the bus. Got my official card now.

Leaving Singapore after almost 2 years now. Time to explore another place. Kuala Lumpur has changed a lot since I first went in 2000. The only thing that is the same is the traffic jam.

More ways to stay in touch

I have now signed up to "Linkedin". Not sure what that will do for me, but it is good to have, no?
There is also a temporary mobile phone number. I added it at the bottom of this page where all the other contact details are listed.

Friendship 2.0

Remember when we were young(er)? We had a best friend. Today we callem "Mate".
One used to have a best friend. You would meet that person every day. Do all sorts of things together. Exept for homework. Useless stuff. Most likely it was the guy next door. And maybe... only maybe he would have an older sister you did not understand. Why she would talk so much about Rick Astley, what is so great about the moron up the road who has just started shaving.

Anyway, research will show you that it takes longer to form a bond (aka Friendship) when you are getting older. In additon, people move around. I have met a businesss owner in KL this week and was told that people are being posted to Malaysia for 3 years tops. This means that you end up meeting people, getting to know them and zip they are gone again. Ok, then you have friend that lives someplace else. I am not saying that friendship cannot be found. But! the nature of the friendship is different. Take MXXXXX for instance.. He has been promising to visit me for the past 99 years. We talk almost every day though.

I believe that the way friendships are kep will change significant in the next years. More people will travel more and friends will be in touch via the internet. Friendship will also be more intense. If you see your mate only every 6 months, 1 year... there is a lot you have to compress into a short period of visiting time. Then again, it is a small world. In another post I shall report about that.

Here is to friendship!

Live aboard

Passion. Hobby. A Calling. Wouldn't it be great if you could combine all of it in your job?
I have met Simon about 2 years ago. Ever since, he has told me about boats. Well, yachts that is.
There is a lot more to it than just floating fiber glass constructions. Sailing looks easy on TV, but boy, there is a lot to it.

Last year Simon made a dream of his come true. He joined a company selling, building and brokering yachts (http://www.simpsonmarine.com/).
He had this amazing boat in town and he managed to let me have a look at it. Well, look... A personal tour. This superyacht (there are Megayachts too) is about 50 meters long.
It was a jaw-dropping experience. If you think these boats are uncomfortable, small and inconvenient... think again.

This "boat" left me breathless. With a permanent crew of 11, all the bells and whistles attached and the whole nine yards in terms of entertainment it was better than any 5 star hotel I have seen. If needed, a masseuse could be flown in with a helicopter, landing on the upper deck...!!! Dig this!

The craftsmanship was superb. The tabs were set in a way that you could properly read "hot" n "cold" when they were turned off.Tons of teak wood, plush sofas and an on-board gym got me thrilled. By the way, this beauty is for sale. Over the past years the crew (and boat) had been to Fiji, Haiti, Australia....

It is for sale! Let me see how I could finance it....

An amazing event

This was just awesome! We have seen Singapore turned party town!
Not only was the race sensational, but also the entire set up for the Grand Prix. Needless to say that everything (at least on the surface) went smooth as silk. The organisers of the inaugrual Singapore GP have done a great job. The spirit of the helpers on track was amazing and I liked the fact that the Formula 1 ticket was a ticket into numerous parties as well (NB: in KL you would have to pay to get into most venues). The only thing I really hated was that there was no live commentary on the radio. Earmuffs with Radio were advertised as "Race Radio" and did cost a fortune. When asked, the sellers told me how cool it is to listen to music at the race. Honestly,... I don't listen to radio when I am in the cinema. You know what I mean...?

Kersten (above) made the trip from Hong Kong, just to see the race. He left Monday morning at 4 to catch his flight back to the office. Thanks to him I actually got to see a lot of sights I haven't seen so far. Like the Cafe del Mar on Sentosa. Now I need to get some sleep.

They pulled it off

Amazining. From zip to Circuit in less than 6 months. When they announced they are having a Formula 1 race in Singapore, I did not think they can pull this off.

Tonight, 24 hours before the free training, the race track is ready, lights, camera and action are good to go and all the access points are clearly labelled. The entire town is brightly lit and abizz with activities.

Nicole can't make it for the race and luckily I managed to sell off her ticket. Kersten is hopping over for the weekend and we are going to see all the action.

The skyline looks absolutely stunning!!!

VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM