I was in KL for 3 days 2 nights with my boss for some business venture. We stayed at the rented condominium in Subang Jaya and also went down to Melaka, and exit via the Ayer Keroh Toll. It was a visit to a factory there for a sports project. My boss measured the sports court to confirm the size for the pending project. The next day, we visited an old friend and potential client in Star Bucks cafe in The Submit, which is just a stone’s throw away from our rented condo. Hopefully the project in Terengganu will materialise giving out workers constant jobs to support their families. It is very relaxing to see all the greenery, the oil palm estates and hills on the way to KL and back. There are a few rest areas such as Tapah where we go often during out outstation trips.

I stayed in Grand Continental Hotel in Kuala Terengganu 2 days ago. My boss drove us from Penang to Kulim, then to Baling, Gerik in Perak, Jeli, Machang in Kelantan and then down to Kuala Terengganu which is about 2 hours’ drive from Machang. It was a fruitful trip and we secured the business deal. It was my first trip to Terengganu which is nearer to drive from Penang rather than Karak Highway in KL. All in all the journey took about 7 hours by car moving at 80-100km per hour. Below are the photos I took during the trip there.

This photo was shot just behind the registration counter in Grand Continental Hotel which incidentally was located by the beautiful beach.

Here is the lobby with lifts leading to the hotel rooms. Further in the photo is the restaurant serving buffet and ala carte food.

This is my hotel room with twin single beds.

A rather beautiful view from my hotel room of the blue seas and some atap roof houses of the Malay ‘kampung’ (village)

My simple buffet breakfast of sausages, curry chicken, French toast, etc.

A bill board next to the lifts.

I was in Kuala Lumpur a couple of days back and will be going to Kuala Terengganu by car on Easter Sunday. Though I heard that the roads leading to Terengganu is not good, I hope the ride will not be bumpy. My boss and I plan to meet up with our client for sports project over there and hopefully the sale can be closed on the same day. This will be my first trip to Terengganu, the only state that I have never been in West Peninsular Malaysia. Also, I have been to Bintulu, Sarawak before, leaving Sabah as the only other state that I have yet to visit. We plan to stay 2 nights there in Grand Continental Hotel.

I prefer to travel using the North-South Highway that is smooth and easy flow of traffic. Going to the East Coast gives me jitters whether the car will break down halfway in the God forsaken place. There is very little traffic and asking for help from PlusLine is almost impossible. So, I better pray for a smooth, unhindered drive down to Kuala Terengganu.

I am going to KL today on the 2nd of January 2008, the new year. In a short while my colleague will come pick me up by car. I should be back in a couple of days time, but I am not sure when. This is the start of the new year with a bang. I missed the fireworks display this year as I was in Pesta site in Bayan Lepas for the last day of PESTA. I tried the ferries wheel and another heart wrenching ride for RM6 each. Last year I was in a hotel during the new year and saw the fireworks in Esplanade. This year, I avoided Esplanade as there were news of cars being sprayed with paint by hooligans during the new year. Anyway, Happy New Year 2008 and may the year bring in more prosperity, blessings and friends.

I was back yesterday but was too tired to blog. So, I just checked for emails. The recent trip to KL lasting 3 days 2 nights was very fruitful. We visited a few places and projects are waiting for us right up to early next year. We also got some orders from our 2008 calendars sent out. So, I just sit back and count my commissions each month. During the trip to KL, we also drove down to Tangkak in Johor for site visit. I need to also lose some weight as I have put on 2 kg extra due to the delicious buffet dinner in Ipoh’s Casuarina Hotel.

Later this afternoon after lunch, I will be going down to KL with my boss and stay one night in Subang Jaya. The following morning, we will drive down to Negeri Sembilan to Port Dickson and visit a client for sports project. We were supposed to meet up earlier immediately after Hari Raya, but my colleague overlook this and forgot about it. So, we plan to meet up on Friday or Saturday for the job. Thank goodness, I have recovered from my fever two days ago. That time I was having a headache and body temperature rose to 38.6 degrees Celcius. Hopefully, I can buy back from fruits like pomelo this time around.

I arrive my home yesterday evening at around 5:00pm. My boss drove from KL starting at 1:00pm and we stopped for a while in Tapah to buy some fruits before continuing the journey. It took about 4-5 hours to arrive home safely. There was no traffic jam and the cars moved along smoothly along the highway. I bought a pomelo and 4 apple custards back home. We even went down to Johor the day before by car for a small potential project. Thank goodness we rented a condominium in Subang Jaya and this saves us a lot of trouble and money booking hotel rooms.

I have been travelling so frequently. Tomorrow morning, my boss will come to fetch me for the trip to KL, to meet up with a client and maybe we might drive down to Johor for another meeting. I am not sure when I will be back but hopefully by the weekend I can be back to Penang. Now it seems that I travel about twice a month outstation mainly to KL. I guess I need to get used to this frequency of travelling at a short notice.

Travelling to KL was not easy. It takes plenty of time on the road driving along the North-South Highway. On top of that, the workmen were repairing roads on the one side making the lanes narrower and slow down the traffic a lot. From 2 lanes, it becomes one lane and I shudder to imagine what if one car breaks down. They seem to be taking a long time re-surfacing the tarred road along the big stretch. Thank goodness, as I came back, traffic was smooth and there were no traffic jams.

Yesterday, I came back last night at around 9:00pm. We set off from KL in the afternoon at about 4:00pm and stopped by in Sungai Buloh at Baskin Robbins for some ice-cream. I had a scoop of green tea and another scoop of pistachio ice-cream. They were delicious and spoon-licking good. We went to three different places in KL before coming back. It drizzled a little on the way back while I was driving from Tapah to Ipoh where we had out dinner in Kenny Rogers in Jaya Jusco.