13/07/09 - KL

I wrote this yesterday but as there was no internet access...

13/07/09 - Kuala Lumpor

Funny day really, got up a bit late and played around a bit with my photos, thinking that a trip to the Indonesian embassy would be pretty easy, the guy in the hotel said 5-6 ringotts so I went with that. Found a taxi and then he said 6 ringotts which was reasuring. But on getting there I find that I need trousers to enter the embassy! hmm, fair enough I guess apart from the fact I own no trousers at all. So I am told I can buy a pair outside of the embassy, now this is where tourism is crap, places like this attract scammers and scumbags, where there is an embassy there are obvioulsy people without photos/photocopies and mostly will pay just to get things straight. So I am offered a second hand pair of trousers that even your Dad wouldn't wear and told they are new, on pointing out they had fraid bottoms and dirty marks the guy gets all aggressive. He wanted 25 ringotts and basically had taken them out of a bin! I offered him 5 to rent them for 30 miniutes, so he would make money and still be able to sell them again. He didn't like this idea and told me I was trying to rip him off! Anyway, I decided I would go and buy a pair of trousers I wanted to buy even if it did cost me more, so I head for a taxi to take me to Bukit Bintang and surprise suprise 20 ringots is the asking price. I telling him how much had paid on the way there he charged my 5 in the end, actually cheaper than before...

So I get to Bukit Bintang and mooch around some new shops, Topman and other brands you would of heard of, KL is not a really poor city and prices can be the same as home. So I headed for the plaza's and bought myself a nice pair of jeans for 50 ringots, not exactly cheap cheap for Asia but at least I chose them. So now to get money from the cash point and a taxi back to the embassy. Cash point worked (surprise) and then the taxi, 20 ringotts, I told him to stick it and he really didn't bat an eyelid, I get so bloody annoyed with these locals thinking they can rip you off just because you have a western face.

So back tot he Embassy with my new Jeans on and finding that I need to have more photo copies than expected! running the gauntlet of touts and the such like I find another nice person! who points me to where all the locals are gathered around the 1 ringot photocopier, result! all I needed which I can provide tomorrow is a cope of my flight to Indonesia, another downside to E-tickets...

Right then, the next challenge to find and resolve my Canon G10 issue, actually the next challenge was to find someone to take me to the canon repaiar centre.
20km outside of KL is to far for all the dodgy drivers, took me about 10 until one actually said yes, surprise as well as he was cheaper than all the others, definitely the case of there are nice people in this world.

Right, I get to the Canon care centre and it is amazing, a nice building and all setup pretty much as you would expect from a company such as Canon. Lady takes my camera and tells me it can be fixed in 20 minutes whilst "Roy" the indian/malaysian taxi driver waits outside.
All I can say is that the customer service here is amazing, even trying to find the underwater case for my camera, people phoning all over the place and making me cups of Milo at the same time!
So the news on that is bad that there are none here, but they will DHL me one to Bali when they come in stock, also the fact that Scuba Symphony were telling me that the G10 and housing are discontinued is an obvious attempt to get me to buy the hugely expensive 3rd party housings, yes you can go to 60m with them, but I have no plans to go to 60m!

Right, so off to a random shop in KL to pay for the case as Canon can't take payement, found it, eventually after walking up and down a street for an hour, paid and had a good long chat with the owner and then left for "Time Square" for some long earned food.... only to walk through the door and see the elusive DC-28 housing sat on a shelf. Once we had discussed I knew what the retail price was rather than what a white man should pay I made a dash to cancel my order at the shop. So all done and now I am nearly the proud owner of an underwater housing... lets hope customs don't want me to pay any extra duty...

So now I am sat in "Tepanyaki" which is a poor Wagamamas, finished my dinner and writing this, hopefully this will be the first of many of my updates.

Actually feel in the mood again for ranting!

Simon x

A TIme to start Writing again...

How can I sum up my last few months....

After leaving Nepal I travelled overland from Kathmandu to Delhi for two weeks, pictures are on my facebook if you would like to see them.
From Delhi I travelled to Bangkok and then met up with Andrew and Sam from the Everest Trek, from there it was down to Krabi and Phi Phi. This is where I started diving and to be honest that is what I have been doing since. From Phi Phi it was onto Ko Samui and Ko Tao, travelling with an Israely/Russian girl (Olga).
After Ko Tao it was off to Phuket and my flight to KL and onto Bali. This was my thinking time as to if and where I would continue my diving education and maybe take my Divemaster course and qualification.

So thats where it is really, spent a month in Bali and 3 weeks at Geko dive in Padangbai, have gained another 30 dives which leaves me on 52, hardly experienced but heading the right way.

So I will now try and update this more often, I am in KL re-doing my visa and then heading back to Bali for around another 6-8 weeks. I will be a divemaster then and can maybe pick up a bit of work here and there.

Updates to follow...

Si

Sorry...

Well, this is a sorry to say that I haven't written one thing since I have been away.
I am currently in Kathamndu and joining my trekking group today to walk to Everest Base Camp (fingers crossed).

I will be back dating this and will fill you and me in on the 6 weeks in India and the past week in Nepal.

Anyways, I need breakfast...

Simon

Um, the airport.

Well hello everyone, the day has finally arrived! Currently sat at the gate waiting for BA147 to Kolkata.
Everything gone smoothly so far, thanks to Wilsy and my mum.
So there you go, finally on my way, just need to stick it out now.

Big thanks to everyone at work for my leaving presents and all the cards. Martin for dinner yesterday!

Flights just been called!

See ya, Simon x

Thursday Tomorrow..

Hi,

Well today is Wednesday the 28th of January 2009, as you will notice, I haven't updated this for ages and to be honest nothing has really changed!

I am pretty much set to leave on Saturday morning at 10:15.
Lucky to have Wilsy to take me to the airport, as Mum won't do it!

I have been so lucky with everyone at work being so kind over the last couple of weeks, without some very kind words I think I would have been crying already.
Had an excellent leaving dinner and a "few" drinks on Friday evening and it was great to see a good cross section of Twinings there.

So as of Friday I am no longer a Twinings employee, something I can say has had its ups and down over the years, many of you have shared this with me, not many the full 7.5 years though.

All of you who have listened to my gripes and moans, helped with kind words over threats or redundancy, relationship "issues" and general Twinings moments, thank you (especially you Helen).

Its going to be hard not coming to Twinings any more.

See you on the other side of the turnstiles x