Driving Experiences in Dili

Timor Leste is a newly independent country and Dili is the capital city. Experience the driving and road condition along the coastal road of Dili.

Perfect Landing

Landing from Twin Otter, a photo by wanhashim on Flickr.

Thanks to the pilots for such a perfect landing. View of Kuching Airport runways from the Twin Otter cockpit.

KLIA and KLIA2

KLIA and KLIA2, a photo by wanhashim on Flickr.

The KLIA2 is getting to take its shape. Soon there will be a third runway completed to complement the existing two runways at the KLIA.

As compared with the existing Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), the KLIA2 will be better integrated with KLIA in term of passengers movement. Hopefully, passengers arriving at KLIA2 will easily transferred to the KLIA terminal.

I also wish that the low cost airline that will operate at the KLIA2 will allow the check-in baggage to be transferred to the KLIA terminal so that it will be easier for passengers to transfer to their respective airlines at the KLIA.

Don't Forget to Use Ferry Services While in Penang

Ferry services is still one of an essential mode of transport in Penang. The ferry services connect the main land (Butterworth) and the Penang Island (Georgetown). Majority of commuters prefer to use ferry services since it is very efficient and also very frequent. Next time you visit Penang, you can try the ferry services.

All of the ferries are still in a very good operating condition ensuring commuters of a safe travel.

The ferry is capable of handling all mode of transport i.e. passenger cars, motorcycles and pedestrians, 

The following picture shows the extensive pedestrian pathway leading to the ferry. The pathway separate the opposite direction using physical barriers. Traveling by ferry from the island to the main land is free whereas a nominal fee is charged for the other direction. For pedestrian, the fee is RM1.20 for adults and RM0.60 for children.

The ferry terminal is integrated with other public transportation facilities. A dedicated Penang Rapid Bus terminals are provided on both sides of the ferry terminals for passengers to travel to other destinations. Taxi services are also available at the terminals.

There are about three ferries operating at any one time in order to provide very short waiting time for users.  Picture below shows on e of the ferries approaching the ferry terminal while another ferry is approaching the opposite terminal.  

Pedestrian is only allowed to use the upper deck of the ferry. As shown below, there are ample spaces given for the convenient of the pedestrian. While on the ferry, the pedestrians can go to the lower deck using a staircase. 

View of ferry terminal on the main land. As shown below, there are two ferries at the terminal. Once one ferry arrives, the other ferry will depart the terminal giving a very convenient travelling option to commuters.

One of the ferries which is about to depart the terminal since our ferry is approaching the terminal.

At the terminal, specially constructed ramp enable vehicles and pedestrian to safely enter and exit the ferry.

Pedestrian path is separated from the path for vehicles.

Another view of the upper deck of the ferry.

Vehicles are queueing up to enter the ferry.

AES at work along North-South Highway

AES at work along North-South Highway, a photo by wanhashim on Flickr.

While passing through a stretch of the North-South Expressway, I saw an AES enforcement system in the process of capturing a picture of a vehicle speeding over the stipulated speed limit.

The following were observed while the AES system unleasehed its power to enforce the speed limit:

1. The system fired a very bright light upon the speeding vehicle even during a very sunny day. You can imagine what happen when the system is firing its bright light in the darkness of the night. It might cause temporary blindness to road user.

2. The speeding vehicle was traveling on the inner most lane and after knowing the AES had snap the picture, the vehicle slows down. I am sure that the image of his vehicle had been captured by the AES. At the same time, another vehicle traveling at a lower speed on the outer lane suddenly stop his or her vehicle upon realising that the AES system had releasing the bright light. The driver's was taken by surprise and got confused causing him to suddenly stop his vehicle in the middle of the highway. His reaction could cause major accident since the trailing vehicle could easily rear ended his vehicle.

3. In the above situation, hopefully the AES system will capture the actual speeding vehicle i.e. the vehicle on the inner most lane and not the vehicle which is travelling at a very slow speed on the outer lane. There is no way of verifying this situation until the driver of the vehicles get the summon letter.

4. The stretch of highway is going downhill and almost all vehicles were traveling at a very slow speed to avoid the speed trap. The slow speed caused localised traffic jam on the stretch of the highway.

Thus, there are vehicles which will automatically observed the stipulated speed limit at the presence of the AES system. Also, there are unfamiliar drivers whose action could cause secondary accidents due to the system.

Google Data Centers - Where the Internet Lives

I am sure that you are interested to know how the internet works and where all of your data, search history, youtube videos, pictures, etc. are being stored and alive in the internet. Also, we have heard about the data "CLOUD", but just where does all of the information being stored? 

There are 12 data centres around the world which store and serve all of the information. Explore the Google data center in the following video.

Visit the Google Green Blog for the latest news about Google's data centers in more detail.

Also, visit The Gallery for more pictures of the data centres.

Felix Did It and It is Crazy Awesome

It is official that Felix the skydiver breaks the speed of sound. After many delays, Felix did it. He reached the highest altitude ever reached by any man in a balloon,128,100 ft or more than 24 miles above Earth.

He also reached a maximum speed of 833.9 mph which is amount to Mach 1.24, breaking the sound speed barrier using only high-tech suit.

Image of Kuala Lumpur Taxi Drivers

According to The Star, Kuala Lumpur Taxi drivers were confirmed to be the worst taxi drivers in the world. I could not agree more with the article since almost everybody did experienced the bad side of the KL's taxi drivers. Most of the drivers just refused to use their meter and charged unreasonable amount of fare for the trips. From my experienced there are only certain taxi drivers who would behave in such a manner especially during peak hours. 

That is the reason why I would prefer to use coupon system for taxi services since I am comfortable with the fare being charged. The fare being charged is usually according to travelling zone. That is also the main reason why most taxi drivers against the use of coupon system since they cannot charge unnecessary fare to the customers. However, while in Kuala Lumpur, tourists could use other public transportation system such as LRT and Buses. Most of the LRT stations have coupon systems for taxi services and tourists don't have to confront taxi drivers regarding unreasonable fare for the taxi services.

Also, during peak hours, there are not many taxi available to serve customers at the location practising coupon system. Most of the time their reason is due to traffic jam which is likely to be true since it will take longer time for the taxi to travel in the traffic congested city centre during peak hours. I think part of the reasons is that the taxi drivers try to find customers that are willing to pay them so much money during the peak hours.

I am about to visit two of the most undeveloped countries in the world and I was advised not to use their public transport i.e. taxi and bus system for safety reason. Most of taxis in those countries are always in a bad shape and not safe for travelling. I think there must be some other reasons for such a reminder i.e. may be the attitude of their taxi drivers who would likely to haggle and fleece their customers. I am also surprise why the taxi drivers of the two countries are not included as one of the worst taxi derivers in the world.

I am sure that is also the traveling advice or perception of tourists that would like to visit Malaysia. Thus, the attitude of the Kuala Lumpur's Taxi Drivers does affect the number of tourist who wanted to visit Malaysia.

RC Quadrocopter

RC quadrocopter, is the latest development in radio controlled vertical lift platforms that are able to take off vertically, hover, and fly in all directions. As the name suggests, there are 4 propellers arranged in a cross type configuration. RC Quadrocopter is also called quad rotor RC helicopter or multi-rotor.

There is no single large collective pitch rotor or tail rotor which is used  on a conventional RC helicopter. These propellers are fixed pitch, two will spin clockwise and the other two will spin counter clockwise. By precisely and accurately spinning these four propellers at different speeds, all the common directional movements of a standard helicopter are attainable - Hover, forward/backward movement, left/right movement, and yaw (turn rate) movement.

Panoramic View Taken Using IOS 6

For those who already upgraded their IOS to the latest IOS 6 will notice that there are a lot of new features being presented. Firstly, it is just a breeze to upgrade the operating system as compared to previously where the devices need to be attached to PC's  in order to do the downloading and upgrading. Now, IOS 6 can be upgraded through Wi-Fi connection only and the downloading is not very long.

One of the features of IOS 6 is the ability to take panoramic picture. I had tried taking the panoramic picture using Iphone 4s and the result is as shown in the picture above. Use the Camera application of your Iphone and then press option and select Panorama. Just follow the instruction on the screen and make sure the arrow on the screen must be kept on the centre line. The software is intelligent enough to ask you to slow down if your movement is too fast.

Safety + First

It is a well known fact why the word "SAFETY + FIRST" is written on this type of vessel. Without such a reminder, repeat of similar incident involving a tanker carrying methanol that recently exploded while berthing at Labuan, leaving one crewman dead and four missing could easily happen anytime.

During recent incident, it was believed that lightning strike started the fire while the vessel was being loaded with methanol.

Maggi: Taste Bhi Health Bhi

Found this kiosk selling several varieties of MAGGI products at the departure lounge of Chennai Airport, Tamil Nadu, India. The motto of the kiosk is "Taste Bhi Health Bhi".




The soup, noodles and beverages are reasonably priced. Noticed that all prices are in rupees. Also the Noodles varieties are Masala, Atta and Cuppamania. I am not really sure what they are since I haven't ordered noodles from the kiosk.






Large pair of spoon and fork at the corner of the kiosk.

Planet One

Planet One is one of a luxury boat anchored at the Kuching Waterfront. The boat looks very impressive with an aerodynamic body design indicating that the boat can travel very fast in the open sea.



Communication and weather monitoring system is very sophisticated with the boat of its size. TracVision is an antenna system to pick up satellite TV design for boats and yatch. I am just wondering who is the owner of the boat.

Regatta Sarawak 2012

Regatta Sarawak and Science and Innovation 2012 was officiated this morning. The event started from 14 September until 16 September. The venue of the event is Kuching Waterfront.




As usual, there are many people congregating at the Kuching Waterfront to visit the Science and Innovation 2012 booths and also to watch the Sarawak Regatta.

Motorcycle's Safety

Motorcycle's Safety, a photo by wanhashim on Flickr.

What do you think about this motorcyclist with his modified motorcycle? It seemed that this motorcycle can carry anything. Furthermore, look closer at the limited space available for the motorcyclist to manoeuvre his motorcycle safely.

Loaded 4 X 4

loaded 4 X 4, a photo by wanhashim on Flickr.

If you have a 4 X 4, it can handle more than you ever imagine. I don't think it is legal to load your 4 X 4 to exceed its intended capacity. If it is legal, you know what to do with your 4 X 4. Please keep in mind about road safety and not to really overload your vehicle. Drivers usually don't have full control of overloaded vehicle.

JOM Heboh 2012

Jom Heboh 10 is currently being held today and tomorrow at Stadium Negeri Sarawak. As usual, there are a lot of activities going on at the carnival. Even though the weather is scorching hot, there are a lot of visitors to the carnival. The JOM Heboh will present the following artists:

1. Black 
2. Lan
3. Bunkface
4. Alia
5. Stacy

Once in a Blue Moon

"Once in a Blue Moon" is a phrase used colloquially to mean "a rare event". Also, "Once in a Blue Moon" also associated with the rare occurrence related to the physical moon. However, as long as the event is rare, it is "Once in a Blue Moon". The once in a blue moon events associated with the physical moon is discussed in the following.

Once in a Blue Moon on Merdeka Day
Because the lunar cycle is 29.5 days, most months only see one full moon. But every once in a while a full moon, exactly occurs once every 2.7 years, rises twice in the same month and becomes a blue moon. For example, this year, the second full moon in a month occurred on Aug 31 after the first one on Aug 2. This year's Malaysia Merdeka Day as reported by Bernama falls on a blue moon. The next time we humans will see a blue moon is on July 31, 2015. 

The Farmers' Almanac

The Farmers' Almanac defined blue moon as an extra full moon that occurred in a season; one season was normally three full moons. If a season had four full moons, then the third full moon was named a blue moon. Farmers' Almanac is an annual North American periodical that has been in continuous publication since 1818

For example, the first moon of summer is called the early summer moon, the second is called the midsummer moon, and the last is called the late summer moon. When a season has four moons the third is called the blue moon so that the last can continue to be called the late moon.

Visibly Blue Moon

The most literal meaning of blue moon is when the moon appears to a casual observer to be unusually bluish and the moon not necessarily a full moon. Of course it is a rare event to be able to visually see a visibly blue moon. The effect can be caused by smoke or dust particles in the atmosphere, as has happened after forest fires in Sweden and Canada in 1950 and 1951 and after the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, which caused the moon to appear blue for nearly two years. 

Aidil Fitri

Aidil Fitri, a photo by wanhashim on Flickr.

Today all muslims in Malaysia celebrate Hari Raya Aidil Fitri after observing fasting for one month in the month of Ramadan. I would like to wish all muslims Happy Eidul Fitri. Drive safely and hOpe everyone have a safe journey.

MRT Under Construction

Once completed several years later, Kuala Lumpur greater area will have its own alternative public transportation, i.e. Mass Rapid Transit (MRT). The proposed MRT system will consist of 3-lines and the total length is 150km.  The 3-line system consists of two northeast-southwest radial lines and one circular line looping around Kuala Lumpur city. 

Hopefully, all of the 3-line systems will integrate efficiently with the existing public transportation system in order to reduce traffic congestion in Kuala Lumpur area.

However, severe congestion are expected to occur along several routes within the vicinity of the construction area while the MRT lines are under construction. Users are encourage to use alternative routes which can be found HERE.

Disaster Waiting to Happen

Disaster Waiting to Happen, a photo by wanhashim on Flickr.

Irresponsible people are taking advantage of high price of scrap metal causing great danger to the public. The purpose of guardrail is to prevent serious injury to out of control vehicles. However, due to rampant theft of metals, the guardrail cannot serve it purpose to eliminate serious injuries whenever accident happen.

If you are very observant, you will find out that most of the guardrails are incapacitated due to the rampant theft of metal parts. The thefts cause great loss to the nation economy and also to any individual involving in accident involving the malfunction facilities.

Monorail Terminal

Monorail Terminal, a photo by wanhashim on Flickr.

A few days ago, more than 100 passengers were trapped in a stranded monorail train in Kuala Lumpur. The train was halted when safety mechanism of the train detected mulfunction of the train's traction. The safety mechanism of the train had cut off the power supply of the train to prevent the train from uncontrolled acceleration. In case of runaway train, it can be stopped using safety cushion installed at the end of the rail track as shown in the picture. Since the train has a built in safety mechanism, it is unlikely to encounter the runaway train scenario.

Please Keep the Pedestrian Walkway Clean

Pedestrian Walkway, a photo by wanhashim on Flickr.

In order to improve connectivity and safety, pedestrian walkway is provided thoughout greater Kuala Lumpur area. Now, pedestrian can conveniently travel between strategic destinations without crossing major roads, thus providing comfort, convenient and safety. However, pedestrian need to ensure cleanliness of the facility. As can be seen in the picture, throughout the pedestrian walkway, rubbish were thrown everywhere and the facility were not being clean for quite sometime. Otherwise, local authority needs to find measures to ensure the facility is kept clean all the time.

Great Tip for an Avid Traveller

If you are one of those who are frequently traveling, sometimes you might end up in some kind of emergency situations. Sometimes you might lost your wallet or you might get hit by a car in a strange city.

Without money, without credit card and without travel insurance, your situation might be so critical. You need to have a backup plan where you can store your most vital details and documents.



You need to have a secure flash drive loaded with all of the vital information all the time with you while traveling. The flash drive needs to be tough and tiny. The you need to organize the important data on your flash drive. Please refer to HERE for more tips.

Stress Free Tips

If your are interested to leave behind your stressful life and feel stress free at home, read these helpful tips.

Many of the tips are proven to be true through experience. I am sure that some of you have your own ways of keeping stress free while at home after returning from work.


Wan Hashim

Traveling via Twin Otter

Typical Twin Otter owned by Maswings.




One of the pilots busy working on the instruments panel.



Approaching Runway



Mukah Airport as of now can only accommodate small plane such as the Twin Otter.

Jet Ski

Pesta benak 2012, a photo by wanhashim on Flickr.

One of the attraction during the recent pasta beak 2012.

Auto Rickshaw

Auto Rickshaw, a photo by wanhashim on Flickr.

Auto Rickshaw or auto as it is called in India is a typical mode of transport in India. As shown in the picture, the Auto Rickshaw is also easy to maintain and reconstruct. Most of other developing countries also has many of such type of vehicles plying the roads. The vehicle is usually used as a taxi to transport either four or six passengers. The vehicle can maneuvers efficiently along a congested streets in any city.

Sound Horn

Sound Horn, a photo by wanhashim on Flickr.

Each country usually has its own set of traffic rules. Some country, the use of horn is quite taboo and can lead to road bully. However, in some other countries, the use of horn is encouraged and it is a common practice among drivers to sound their vehicle's horn. For example, as in the picture, most heavy vehicles have unique sign indicating other drivers to sound their horn. This picture was taken during our recent trip to Chennai, India.

Pedestrian Bridge

Pedestrian Bridge, a photo by wanhashim on Flickr.

There seemed to be something wrong with this pedestrian bridge. It must had been hit hard by some kind of vehicle that had carried unspecified load which exceeded the legal height limit.