ETS train October2015

Ets timetable has been changing recently and the picture above shows the new timetable that effective from 10th October 2015.
To have a clearer view, click me . Download it to see the timetable.

For you to have a clearer picture of it,

North Bound 
7 trips from KL Sentral to Ipoh - 2hours and 20minutes
1 trip from KL Sentral to Padang Besar - 4hours and 40minutes
1 trip from Butterworth to Padang Besar - 1hour and 45minutes
1 trip from Ipoh to Padang Besar - 3hours 40minutes
1 trip from Gemas(South) to Padang Besar(North) - 7hours and 5minutes
1 trip from Gemas to Butterworth - 6hours 10minutes


South Bound 
8 trips from Ipoh to KL Sentral
1 trip from Butterworth to Gemas 
1 trip from Padang Besar to Butterworth
1 trip from Padang Besar to Ipoh
1 trip from Padang Besar to KL Sentral
1 trip from Padang Besar to Gemas

Getting to the Malaysia Airport

Going for a vacation soon? or coming over to Malaysia for a visit?


Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is located at Sepang, which is bordering the states of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.It is about 45 kilometers away from the Kuala Lumpur city and it is one of the major airport in the Southeast Asia. It's grand opening of the airport was during 1998, a week before the Commonwealth Game at Hong Kong. It can accommodate 25million passenger and the terminal size is about 479 sqm.
Coordination: 2.7433° N, 101.6981° E

How about LCCT? Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) was build to cater passenger of low-cost airlines. For example, Air Asia. LCCT is located about 20KM away from KLIAs and LCCT has been replaced by KLIA 2 in May 2014. In July 2014, this terminal is converted to a cargo warehouse.

KLIA 2 is officially open on 2nd May 2014 which is 257,000 sqm and was planned to accommodate 45million people rather than LCCT which could not.
Coordination: 2.7433° N, 101.6981° E


There are a few ways to get to the airports:
1. Drive
2. Taxi/Cab
3. Aerobus
4. KLIA Express
5. Airport Coach Sdn Bhd



1. Drive
KLIAs - 2.7433° N, 101.6981° E
There are 6 highways that can lead you to your destination. If you're not familiar, using Waze will be a good choice.


2. Taxi/Cab
There is Airport Taxi counter and you can easily get one from there. It takes around 50munites to city and the price is range from RM74 to RM120


3. Aerobus
There are few buses that transport you to the airport and I've sat on a bus name AEROBUS. I would recommend you this as it is easy and really convenient.

You can board on Aerobus to KLIA from Paradigm Mall (Petaling Jaya) - RM10(1hour) , Premiere Hotel (Klang) - RM12(1.15hours) , Genting Highlands - RM33(2hours) and KL Sentral - RM9(1hour).


4. KLIA Express/KLIA Transit
There will be a train every 15 minutes to 20 minutes and it only takes you 30 minutes from the first station (Sentral Kuala Lumpur - KL central)  to the KLIA & KLIA 2 at the price of RM35 and vice versa. Operation time is from 5am to 1am.
Take a look with their official website: https://www.kliaekspres.com/

KLIA transit is just few minutes slower than KLIA Express. It stops at 3 intermediate stations:
1. Bandar Tasik Selatan (TBS)
2. Putrajaya & Cyberjaya
3. Salak Tinggi  

You can basically go anywhere from KL central as it is the main station and most transit can be done at this station. It really brings much convenient to everyone. You can grab a taxi, bus, LRT/Monorail, KTM and ETS.
What is ETS? visit http://wavelikethewave.blogspot.my/2015/07/ets-train.html .

5. Airport Coach Sdn Bhd
There are buses every half an hour and wifi is provided on board. Buses are available from 5am till 12.30 am daily. Not only that, booking ticket online are cheaper than buying it from counter.

KL Sentral - KLIAs - RM8.50 - RM10
Hotels in KL - KLIAs - early reservation (4 hours), ticket: RM25
Official website: https://www.airportcoach.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&view=featured&Itemid=435


Q&A

1. Which one would I highly recommend?
Aerobus would be a great choice. There are many trips everyday, cheap and it is so convenient.
If you're at Cheras, you can get a taxi or take LRT to KL Sentral.
If you're at Subang Jaya, take a taxi to Paradigm Mall which is 10minutes away.
If you're at Klang, Premiere Hotel is just near you.
If you're enjoying the breeze at Genting Highlands, there is a bus too.

Unless you're going to the airport during peak hours or you're in a rush, you can consider going by KLIA Express. It might be a little costly, but this bullet train only takes 30minutes to reach and it is very punctual.


Have a safe trip!
Gie

A small town

You might be curious where have I been and what have I been doing since I have not appear for some time. I was having my final examination for the trimester. I was really tense and worried about my examination a day before but I'm done with it already! Not ready for the result day which is around two and a half week away.

Anyway, I would like to introduce you a small town located in Perak, Malaysia. Perak region is above the central region and it takes around two hours to reach Ipoh (the city of Perak) from Kuala Lumpur (Capital of Malaysia). Ipoh is a food paradise and I hope I get to introduce you some good food there. For now, I would like to introduce you Kampar. Kampar is a small town and around 10 years back, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) was built at this small town, however, a few years before the establishment of UTAR, Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman [(KTAR) also known as TAR University College now] was already there at the town. Before having UTAR main campus at Kampar, Kampar was known as the died town because of not having anything (hotel, hypermarket, numbers of shops, badminton court, snooker, mamak and others. Malaysia Mamak is Indian Muslim of Malaysia nationality and in Tamil, the word means maternal unlce "ma-maa" but everyone has been pronouncing it as Mamak maybe due to slip of the ear.

Kampar town is divided into New Town and Old Town. The differences is both university and college are placed at the new town and new town is somehow the students' town; the old town has many old houses, shops, building and it is a convenient place for bank, to pay bills, bus station and convenient shops. The language most spoken is Mandarin but it would be best if you can speak Cantonese. In Perak region, almost everyone speak Cantonese  but if you don't (like me), Mandarin and English is fine, they are good to you even so. Even though it is just a small town but you can spot some foreigners around this town too because they are exchange students that came from places like Germany, France, Nigeria, Korea, Japan, China and many others. Not to mention, don't feel strange to see a numbers of people who cycle at this town despite new town or old town. A lot of elderly can cycle better than you do. They can cycle with one hand holding the handlebar and the other holding the umbrella. Not only that, students cycle to class everyday and isn't it healthy as you can exercise even though you does not have time for a good exercise. The distance cycling from hostel to University can be as near as 5 minutes but it can also be as far as 20minutes depends on the location of your class and the speed you cycle.

This place is not as crowded as Kuala Lumpur, if you don't like the big city, you can always consider this place. The price of food might be increasing due to the economic today but it is cheaper than KL. It is not worth to eat a plate of chicken rice for RM5 but RM3.50. You can always travel to the New town at night to have a cup of drink and for some chit chat at the Mamak stalls. Grocery shopping nearby hostel bring great convenient to students too.

This is a brief introduction of this place for now. Stay tune for my next post about Kampar with further details.

Have a great weekend.
Gie

How to save money?

I'm back after a month, was busy with my academic and my finals is just around the corner. Anyway, did you save any money every month? Why is saving important? I believe most readers reading this have face this kind of question in your examination paper so you know it well. Some of the reason will be emergency use, to get something for yourself, the key to travel and many other reasons.
As a university student, I think this is very important and it should be in one's discipline list. Spending money is never hard but saving money is something to learn. Therefore, in order to have some saving, one need to remember a few things.


1) Health

Do not neglect your health just because of saving money. If you are sick you need money to consult the doctor or to buy some medication. So don't 'spoil' your body when saving. Taking care of our body and stay safe should be in the top list in everything to do. Be healthy and stay strong to keep on fighting.


2) Identify your needs

Needs are the things you really need while wants is something you can not have it.
For example, cornflakes can be your needs or wants. why? need=breakfast; wants=snacks


3) Record book

Prepare a book to record the expenses for the day and be discipline to do it daily and make it a good habit. Not only to record, set a daily budget, know how much you can use daily and don't over spent.


4) Do your math

Know how much you get per month and decide how much you want to save, set a minimum sum and the others will be your left over amount for you to spent that month. However, remember to spend whatever necessary and it will be great to save more than the amount you want to save per month.



There are also a few things to note:

People think you are stingy and anti-social because when you tend to save money, you'll somehow reject people's invitation for high price restaurant meals, some activities like karaoke and others. You can go, don't restrict yourself. So plan your finance properly and carefully.

Don't forget you can also cook yourself and it is not just cheaper but also healthy. You can control the amount of oil and salt you want to add into your food. There are a lot of website that teach you how to cook on net. Mr.Google is your best companion and helper.



A good practice to do, start it today, it is never too late.
That's all for now, All the best!

Stay tune for more post.

A day at Kuala Lumpur

It was a sunny day where me and my cousin went to KL for a half day activity. I went back to my hometown for my raya break and it was my cousin's second week at my hometown to further her studies. Since she don't know much about things around so I brought her to places I know how to go and it is so limited. haha! I don't have a car and I don't really drive when I'm back so since public transportation is so convenient, why stuck in the jam? Our plan for the day was to go to KL central to buy cousin's ETS train ticket back to her hometown, KLCC, Central Market and China Town aka Petaling Street(茨廠街). The day starts of with the first transportation, the newly launched bus service, BRT Sunway line at USJ 7 (the last stop). When we reach the station, I got to know that there is a new bus service also. Felt like I haven't go home for a long time although it is just a month. It is free people and there are a number of stops. It really brings convenience to the citizen here. Use public transportation, save the world, go green. haha.

 

 So this is how the bus looks like and the map of the bus stops.

 

  

Not only that, the USJ 7 station will not only have BRT station but also Kelana Jaya LRT line soon. Kelana Jaya line is an extension project and the last station after the extension is Putra Heights Station. This Kelana Jaya line will have a number of stops at Subang Jaya too. I no longer need to call my parents to fetch me from KTM station which is quite far from my house when this LRT extension line is done. Hopefully everything will be ready before I graduate. 

The doted line in Pink is the Kelana Jaya LRt and the one in Brown is Sri Petaling LRT are both under construction. Also, (something I just realise) the Green doted line is also under construction for MRT.

Let's move on with my half day trip. That's how the BRT here looks like. The bus was quite empty due to public holiday. So i was chatting with the bus driver and he told me something to my surprise. It was still free of charge that day for a month and i was told that the charges from the first station to the last station will cost RM5.40. SO FREAKING EXPENSIVE! check out the Rapid KL website. It is too pricy! It brings convenient by having public transportation but if it is this expensive then no one will board on and this makes no difference of having one right?

 

We sat from station 1 (USJ 7 station) to station 7 (Setia Jaya KTM station). Then we had a transit. We board on to KTM (komuter) to go to KL Central. Kl Central is a transit station to KTM, LRT, KLIA Express(bullet train), Monorial or bus.

KTM route map

After we arrive at Kl Central we head to the 2nd floor ETS counter to get my cousin's ticket to the north. This ETS train extended their route to the north. I've wrote about it and you can visit the website. After that, we went down stairs, going towards the direction of NU Central Mall to LRT station.

LRT ticket

 

Board on the Kelana Jaya LRT line to KLCC. The fare was around RM1.60. LRT are very punctual and they come every few minutes. When you reach KLCC station, just follow the sign board and you'll be able to reach the mall. You can go straight when you reach, take the escalator to the next floor and look for the exit to capture the building of KLCC. Find a great spot and take photos of this baeutiful twin tower.

 

Me and my cousin has nothing to buy or look so we wanted to head back to the station but on the way back, how can I forget KLCC outdoor park at 3rd floor. It is a park and it links to hotel and I didn't really explore the place due to the hot weather. Took some photos and then we left the place.

Gentle reminder: don't get lost, it is kinda big, remember where are you from and you can just ask for direction at information counter, they're kind and helpful.

Next stop, Pasar Seni (Central market) Station. Just a few stops away and we arrive at a very crowded place. Central market is a place for you to get some sourvenir. I bought some postcards and each costs me RM0.80. I didn't go to the second floor but I know there are a lot of food stalls. Maybe I can go some day when I'm back and free to taste the food there. 

 

After that, I wanted to look for a beef noodle shop but I didn't manage to find it. However, i was asking the way to the shop and the aunty told me that it is not operating due to public holiday. It was few years back when my senior brought me there for lunch and it was the best beef noodle I had before. 

 

So we went to Petaling Street (click me or me click me)which is just opposite Central Market to walk around and to look for a shop for lunch. Petaling street sells a lot of things (check the price and quality and start bargaining if you like it), there are also repetition in the products at Petaling Street. So you can check the price for a few stalls too. 

We was a little tired and thirsty and we bought drinks. Remember to get yourself Lou Han Guo Herba drink at the intersection point. the Lou Han Guo drink is nice and you'll just feel like ordering another cup. 

So we had our lunch at a Wan Tan Mee shop KOON KEE WANTON NOODLE (冠记） which is spotted behind the stalls. It is delicious other than a little bit oily. I think I will look for this shop again the next time there. There are 3 size and I ordered medium and it is kinda big.  

After our meal, since we did not order any drinks, we ordered a Soya Bean at the intersection point of Petaling Street by the name of KIM SOYA BEAN, another must try drink there.

 

Gentle reminder: Please be careful with your belongings and safety. It is good if you carry your backpack infront. 

So that's all for my KL half day trip with le cousin. It was good to be able to see the beauty of the capital again after years. Hope you all enjoy reading. 

Happy a great night,

Signing out,

hhgie.

ETS Train July2015

Electrical Train Service(ETS) is one of the railway transportation available in Malaysia. It has start operating in 2010 and it has brought convenience to the citizen. This train transport passengers from Kuala Lumpur(KL) Central to Ipoh, which is from the Central Region of Malaysia to the Perak Region.

Here is a Map of Peninsular Malaysia

 

The picture below shows, driving from KL to Ipoh will need 2hours and 11 minutes but the traffic on road might not be good. Traffic jam can takes up more than half and hour. Seriously accident can lengthen the journey to Ipoh. However, buying a train ticket will be worthy and save time especially during festive season/peak seasons. You can take a look with the timetable below

 

  

 Timetable

KL to Ipoh (website)

Ipoh to KL (website)

There are two different fare. It is call Silver and Gold train. Silver train stops at more stations compare to Gold train. In this case, boarding a Gold train save a little of your time but the price will differ around RM10. Also, there are only 3 different time(Morning, Afternoon and Night) for Silver train whereas Gold train operates every 1 hour or 2.

For example, KL to Ipoh for silver trips is RM25 but Rm35 for Gold trips.

The fare for ETS train. North bound and South bound.

 

The next question would be, Where to buy your ticket? 

You can just buy your ticket at 2nd floor of Kl Central(on your Right) or any station as long as there is people to serve you at the counter. 

or

You can get it online too! Go to KTMB ETS website (press me) to buy but you first need to create your own account. Note: there will be a 2 Ringgit charges buying online.

The difference between buying at the counter and online is that, ETS train have a discount card for students. The card costs RM30/year and you won't be able to use it buying ticket online. I've did some calculation on it and it will only be worthy if you're a regular customer. For example, traveling for than 5 times a year. 

Seat Availability 

You can also check the seat availability online (press me). You will find it useful if you happen to decide to travel last minute but this online apply to those that buy from the counter.

 ***

Earlier this month, July 2015, the ministry of transportation had announced that the ETS train has start operating from KL Central to Padang Besar (Central region to the north border of Malaysia).

You might ask WHERE IS PADANG BESAR? Padang Besar is located at Perlis and it is just beside the border of Thailand. 

Back then, there are only KTMB trains, local train (Senandung Langkawi Express or International Express Train) daily overnight sleeper service. However, ETS train has really bring much convenience to everyone of us. 

ETS train (Hyundai Model) from KL to Padang Besar costs RM80(adult), RM44(children) and would take 5 hours and 30 minutes at the speed of 160km/h. There is only one service trip up and one service trip down daily. The trip to Padang Besar is 9.30am from KL Central.

Note: The price is for Gold service(which means that there will be more trains)

 Timetable

 

While for the train from Padang Besar to KL is expected to be 4 hours and 15 minutes journey at the speed of 160km/h. The fare will be RM80.

Note: The price is for Gold service(which means that there will be more trains)

 Timetable

In my opinion after traveling with ETS train for 2years or more, I would be sure that ETS train are punctual but will delay a little when they need to wait for the signal from the traffic control. It rarely happens but when it does, it won't take more than 30minutes. 

You can reserve ticket at 03-22671200 by telling your date and time of departing and giving your name, phone number and Identity Card(IC) number.

I hope through this blog post, everyone will have an idea of ETS train and this is the opportunity for us to visit our neighbour country. Do not hesitate to leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Will find time and with partner to visit Thailand one day and I'd be happy to share with all readers. 

signningout,

gie. 

Penang Island 4D3N June 2015 – Day 3 & 4

It's the 3rd day!　

Remember I mentioned that aunty wanted to bring us to the famous Chay Keow Teou? but we were too full? So early in the morning around 8.30am, aunty and uncle brought us to the hawker stall near Zoo Road for breakfast. I ordered Chay Keow Teou and it was just okay for me. I remember there is one very famous Chay Keow Teou stall opposite a police station over at Pulau Tikus. I miss that plate of Chay Keow Teou deeply! But due the inconvenience and I wasn't sure the exact location, I didn't make it there. 

 

The plan for the day was to go for shopping at several shopping malls and to worship 牛奶神. Since I don't really shop and I don't worship the god, I've decided to meet up with my Penang friend. It is Saturday and is a day for church so I went to church around 11am and help out with the activities they will be having for the day.

It was around 4.30pm after service and we all went to Penang hill. It was my first time there despite visiting Penang for more than 5 times. So here we are and I wasn't too excited because I think it will be some ordinary tourist spot.

Where is it? 

 

So reached Air Itam Penang hill around 5.30pm

 

Bought the ticket right after we reach(many people, be fast) while others taking photos.

After buying tickets, walk to the entrance and start lining up for the cable car for about 30mins.

 

Taking this picture inside the cable car while going up to the hill top

A beautiful view looking down 

It was cooling and humid up the Penang hill and took the photos below near the cable car stop. It was really beautiful and I didn't expect so much.

 

You'll have around 8minutes walk up. There is a space that gets to see Penang and you'll be able to spot Penang bridge! The time you visit really matters, you'll know why later on. Too many ｂｅａｕｔｉｆｕｌ　ｐｉｃｔｕｒｅｓ　Ｉ　ｄｏｎ＇ｔ　ｕｓｕａｕｌｌｙ　ｇｅｔ　ｔｏ　ｔａｋｅ　ａｎｄ　ｓｅｅ．You'll be able to see a very big word behind, BUKIT BENDERA (Penang hill). That's where I took all these pictures.

 

 

After taking photos, we headed to the other side of Penang hill, which is the love lock and canon. After visiting those places then we went back to the first we were at for night view! Below is only a picture of the night view because snapping night views using handphone don't give the best out of it.

 

Time to leave, time for dinner. It was already 8pm I guess. We need to wait for our turn to board of the cable car and that alone took us around 45minutes. The locals were deciding where to eat and was told that gurney drive is for tourist, not the locals and the food there isn't tasty. Therefore we went to Northam Beach Cafe for dinner or supper. 

We order a lot and so we can taste a little of every varieties. 

Jawa Mee, Fried Oyster, Curry Mee, Chay Keow Teou, Rojak, Ikan Bakar, etc.

 

 

Stingray!

 

ABC (Ais Batu Campur in Melay Language) refers to shaved ice.

That ends day 3 with delicious Malaysian local food. Leaving tomorrow! 

Day 4!

We will be leaving after lunch and so we did not really go out this day. We went to buy some local famous biscuit before leaving Penang.

 

RM7.40

So it is time to leave after 4 days at Penang. The friend that fetch us was so kind to buy us cold 豆腐花/Tau Fu Fah (Cantonese) for us. He bought it at Air Itam, somewhere near Penang Hill. It taste good but unfortunately, I'm not sure where to get this. I'll try to find it out and update it here.

 

"For every beginning there is an ending, with every ending there is a new beginning"

Time to get back to classes and assessments. Looking forward to more trips. 

They might not see this but I would like to thank my friend's family for allowing us to stay 3 nights and have so many meals at their place. Really grateful for the hospitality and sacrificing up their rest time for us.  Good-bye and take care! 

To readers: We only spent around RM100 for this budgeted trip. The transportation up to Penang costs RM20 per trip. If you're planning a 4D3N trip there, accommodation and few meals will be around RM150.

Gentle reminder: Curry Mee and Mixed pig intestine porridge in Penang has pig blood. If you CAN'T eat, remember to inform when ordering. 

Hope you enjoy reading it. Feel free to comment below if you have any thoughts or questions. 

Have a nice day!

Signing out,

gie.