Today was my first Monday back at work and the past two months travels already seem like a dream if it wasn’t for the fact I’ve all the pictures that prove it was real. Oh, and a tan! Jet lag is already receding. I’m still waking up early but not half-way through the night, although tiredness in the evening is still hitting me. It’s not as if I’ve been exerting myself physically as I’ve been stuck behind a desk for the vast majority of the day because I’ve been busy wading through emails and a pile of real mail that’s been accumulating whilst I’ve been away. Then there’s been the weather. We had heavy, gusting rain during the night that’s disposed of all of the remaining snow. The rain returned this morning and never really went away. Persistent precipitation meant that I didn’t even get out for a walk today – making it only the second time I’ve not hit my steps target this year. I’m hoping to make up for that tomorrow although the forecast looks bleak.
On the bright side, I’ve got a lot done today even though I’ve been trying to ease myself back in to my usual routine slowly. I’ve edited the final selection of pictures from my trip although most of them still need to have captions added. I did get a few dozen completed which you can find in the Malaysian gallery (link) on my Zenfolio website. There’s many more to follow tomorrow. Now it’s time to call it a day as the jet lag’s beginning to catch up with me and I’m planning on an early night. But, before I go I’ll leave you with a sample shot from my latest Malaysian pictures.
Homelessness is a problem in Malaysia, just as it is in the UK, although as a more developed and richer country we have even less of an excuse to allow it to happen. People find all sorts of temporary places to live. In the case of the chap in the green shirt it’s the bus station underneath the Komtar centre which provides a roof over his head (and that of several others). His belongings are hung on the rail next to him and stored underneath seats to the right. With the constant to-ing and fro-ing of buses it’s hardly the quietest or least polluted place to live, but at least it’s safe…
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I’ve had a fantastic time travelling through Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore these past two months, but I have to admit it was rather nice to get back to Bigland Towers yesterday after such a long journey back to the UK. Dawn was a star and prepared food for the pair of us whilst I unpacked and got used to being home again. Come early evening the lack of sleep caught up with me. Apparently, I fell asleep by 20:30. I was wide awake again by 05:00 so crept out of bed so as not to disturb Dee and spent several hours editing pictures in the office before Dawn woke. My body clock was telling me 05:00 was early afternoon Singapore time. I suspect my sleep patterns will take a few days for my natural rhythms to adjust which is why the two of us have had a slow, relaxed day today. Well, that and the fact we’ve both been on our own for the past couple of months so have to get used to being a couple again. In truth, we’ve both had a lovely day at home catching up with each other about all those things you can’t fit into a weekly video call which is what we kept up whilst I was away.
Come late afternoon with the yesterday’s snow having nearly all melted we walked down into Sowerby Bridge for the first time this year. It being Sunday the place was quiet. The supermarkets and most other places were shut. Even the few pubs that were open were quiet. All except the ‘Hogshead’ brew pub where we called in for a drink. That place was full but not overflowing so we managed to find a seat. It felt strange to be back in a pub after being in Asia for so long. I’d rarely visited any bars whilst I’d been away – and those that I had were very different to a British pub full of white faces!
Now, having enjoyed the fruits of Dawn’s efforts in the kitchen which produced slow-cooked chicken with pressure-cooked veg we’re having a quiet night in and about to enjoy each others company whilst watching a film. I’ll be working from home for much of this week as there’s loads to catch up with but I plan to have a day out covering some of the changes going on with the rail network in the North-West – weather permitting…
The nearest I got to a local pub in Malaysia was this beer and wine shop in Georgetown. In the evening customers would grab a stool or two and take over the road outside. There was a fantastic mix of locals from different communities, expats and travellers from all around the world.
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This is a short blog from me as that was a long 24 hours – and then some! I was up at 05:30 yesterday in order to pack and make my way to Changi airport where I arrived at 08:00. I finally left the airport on a Singapore Airlines flight at 02:15 the next morning! Then I had a 14 hour flight during which managed a couple of hours sleep at best (so my Fitbits tells me). After landing at Heathrow at 08:25 Dawn met me at terminal 3 for a delayed but wonderful reunion after my 2 month absence. I’d enough time to grab a shower at the hotel room Dee had booked for us (but I never got to share with her) before it was time to leave and head back North. Making our way to Kings Cross via the Piccadilly line we were soon speeding our way up the East Coast Main Line to Leeds before catching a local service to a snow-covered Halifax and the Calder valley. In the space of a day I’ve gone from the 31 degree heat and humidity of Singapore to temperatures hovering around freezing! There’s so much that I could write about the journey but tonight’s not the time. I’ll flesh this blog out more tomorrow when I’ve had some sleep. It’s great to be home and now it’s time to have some quality-time with my wife. See you all tomorrow!
The view from our bedroom window looking out across a snow-covered Calder Valley with the next load on its way…
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I’m now at Changi airport waiting for my flight to Doha. Changi’s always been on of the world’s best airports when it comes to facilities. Rather than being confined to the usual regimented rows of airport seating I’m relaxing in a single seat recliner with a table fitted with power sockets. I’m sat next to a large garden water feature, complete with fish to watch if you want to pass the time!
To give the Qatar airport staff credit. I was dealt with by a lovely young woman of Japanese extraction who heard my tale of woe regarding booking and immediately took me to a desk and found me window seats on both flights. I’d have thought they’d have all been taken but I expect I’m not alone in having problems checking in via their website!
I was looking forward to coming home but now the news has broken that the shitshow we call a government has postponed building sections of HS2, the new high-speed railway on cost grounds. The idea that a 2 year delay will save money is the stuff of fantasy, but it does show just how economically incompetent they are. They’ve already wasted hundreds of millions on the project with dither and delay which has led to plan revisions and more waste. I really can’t wait to see the back of this lot.
No doubt I’ll be blogging about this at greater length when I get back to the UK and there’s no travel tales to regale you with, In the meantime, I’m going to relax, enjoy the facilities at Changi and enjoy my flights. I’ve a rapid transit in Doha so there’ll be no time to blog there. What I won’t be doing in Changi is enjoying a drink. Apart from the fact it’s far too early this is one expensive airport. Here’s the bar prices. $21.50? That’s £13.35 a pint!
There’s no Wetherspoons full of drunks here…
The next you’ll hear from me us when I’m back in the UK. Dawn (blizzards in the Pennines permitting) is coming to Heathrow to meet me. We’re having an overnight in a hotel before travelling home together, so don’t expect to hear from me later today, even though I do arrive back in the UK this evening!
10:30.
Oh, shit! We’ve just been told our flight is delayed by at least an hour, so that’s my connection in Doha almost certainly missed (I only had 80 mins to connect). I’ve been told I’ll be put on the next available flight to Heathrow, but at this stage I’ve absolutely no idea when that will be.
12:45.
I’m still at Changi airport. The Qatar staff had promised at 12:00 update. This has now slipped to 13:00. Looking out I can see our plane on the tarmac with the cowlings around one engine lifted. That means we’re going to be delayed for several hours yet. It also means I can kiss goodbye to getting back to the UK today. The last flight from Doha arrives at Heathrow at 22:00, two hours behind the one I should have been on. The maths simply don’t stack up. I await the 13:00 update with interest…
17:00.
The 13:00 update was to move the time of the update to 15:00. It was clear by now this was no minor problem. Shortly afterwards we received the news that the plane was was being rescheduled – to 04:00 tomorrow. We were all to be taken back into Singapore where we’d be put up in a hotel until coaches came to collect us at 01:00. This meant going back through the faff of immigration and filling out online passport checks first, then collecting our baggage and jumping into taxis to take us to our hotel, the £200 a night Grand Park City Hotel, not the sort of establishment I’d normally stay in on my own unless I was on a press trip!
Dinner (on Qatar) is at 18:30. In the meantime I’m going to relax for a bit and enjoy the luxury.
17:15.
Whilst I was writing this I had a phone call from the airline. They’ve pulled out some stops and rebooked me on a direct flight from Singapore to London with Singapore airlines. Now, instead of arriving God knows when, I’ll be in London at 05:55 tomorrow morning. Still later than arriving today, but a lot better than having to change at Doha and get a flight whenever.
19:15.
The saga continues! I’ve just received an email from Singapore Airlines to say my new flight (SQ322) is delayed! Instead of leaving ay 23:45 tonight it will now depart at 02:10 on the 11th. I’m really not bothered as it means I land at a better time – 08:20, which means Dawn gets a lie in at the hotel!
23:45.
I have this feeling of Deja Vu! I’m back at Changi airport only this time it’s terminal 3 not 1. 3 is rather like having an airport tacked on to the side of a shopping centre. Admittedly, there’s some interesting architectural features and lots of planting, but – it’s still a shopping centre.
Having been fed and watered at the hotel earlier I’m fine so resisted all the temptations. To be honest the price of local dishes isn’t bad. It’s the Western stuff thats ‘chingy’. But, right now I simply want to get on that plane and head home.
00:35.
Still waiting for the call to head through security to the gate. Apparently (in contrast to the size of the rest of the airport) the holding area’s small. In an effort to stay awake I went for a long wander into terminal 1 where I was earlier. Changi’s a truly International airport. There’s folks from all corners of the planet here. Quite a few have bedded down as their flights aren’t for ages. No-one bothers them. It’s a marked contrast to the last time I spent a night at Stansted before catching an early morning flight. The airport had security going around harassing anyone who tried to get in a horizontal position as it was ‘forbidden’. I’ve ensured I’ve never used that airport since.
Don’t try this at Stansted, and don’t expect any carpet either.
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I was hoping to have a full and busy day here in Singapore but that was thwarted by my airline – Qatar. I’d tried to check-in online with them the other day but their website’s crap. It keeps hanging up. I even tried on my phone where I got a little further before the same thing happened. In frustration I tweeted about it and tagged them in. This gained a response which I thought was hopeful but it proved to be anything but. Whoever was on the other end of the Direct Messages went through the standard checklist. Not quite ‘have you tried turning if off and turning it back on again’ but not far off! When I was asked for information I’d already supplied I started to get a tad tetchy – especially as we were getting nowhere slowly. I was asked if I’d tried using another device – after having explained I’d used both my laptop and smartphone from the initial message. In the end, their bod on the ‘help’ desk gave up, basically. Their ‘constructive’ suggestion was that I turn up at the airport an hour early as I might get a seat I want! FFS! That’s it? What pissed me off even more was that I didn’t even get an apology, never mind any real help. To add insult to injury, Qatar sent me an email this evening asking me to check-in online. They’re oblivious to my earlier problems. Just for fun I clicked on it to see if it’d work. Did it hell…
After getting p*ssed off with Qatar Airlines and with the clock ticking I decided to head out to salvage at least some of the day. I found a local Indian establishment that served and excellent Masala Dosa which I scoffed for brunch before catching an MRT train from Little India down to Marina by the Bay – an area of Singapore that never even existed the first time I came here. It’s developed a lot since my last visit in 2017. In truth, it’s a fascinating ‘green’ area as it contains so many ecological sites as well as brilliant architecture. There’s ‘cloud forest’ which puts all Victorian palm and greenhouses to shame. Plus, there’s also ‘supertree grove‘ which makes you feel like players in the film ‘Avatar’. As if this wasn’t enough there’s also some great views across the serried ranks of ships waiting their turn to dock in the harbour. There’s so many that they look like a WW2 invasion fleet – on steroids.
The new waterfront.
In finest ‘mad dogs and Englishmen’ tradition I walked almost all the way back home via a couple of places I’ve long memory of. Needless to say, that culminated in the 2nd shower of the day!
Afterwards I went out again to travel on the MRT whilst getting a few pictures. I pitched up at the end of the line, Marina Bay. Formerly Known as Keppel harbour the place has history, much of which is to do with WW2 evacuations but also a rather audacious seaborne raid launched after the island had fallen to the Japanese. The raid’s remembered by this plaque on the waterfront.
This evening I stayed closer to home as I needed to pack ready for a silly ‘o clock start (thanks, Qatar) whilst giving myself a free few hours to have something to eat, then write this – which was delayed by the fact I got into conversations with total strangers. The first was a retired Air Force technician around my age who now runs fitness classes. He was fascinating to talk to as we both shared a similar (although not identical) perspective, The rest we could agree to have differing opinions on. The second chap I met I bumped into purely because we ended up sharing a table at a popular Indian eatery. He was a wagon driver, originally from Tamil Nadu in the very South of India. He’d left his family behind to come and work in Singapore where he could earn good money and send remittances home. What a lovely way to end my trip, talking to locals and incomers about their very different lives out here.
My last Indian meal in Asia for now. This was a gorgeous chicken curry, full of the rich flavours of individual spices.
Now I’m back in the hotel, not quite believing that tomorrow I’ll be flying back to the UK. And what a time to do so. I won’t even touch on the shambles that passes for Government right now. My immediate concern is that there’s up to 40cm of snow predicted for West Yorkshire. A bit of a contrast to where I’m travelling from. But, whatever the weather, I know I’ve a warm welcome awaiting me as Dawn’s coming down to meet me at Heathrow, where we’ve a hotel booked for a night as I land far too late to get a train North.
So, this is my final blog from Asia – on this trip anyway. It won’t be long before I’m back The past two months have been fantastic but I’m not going to try and sum up the trip in this blog as it’s late and I’ve got to pack. Instead, here’s a few pictures from today’s wanderings.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Well, that was an interesting day. Yesterday I mentioned that my hotel wasn’t exactly what you’d call ‘top flight’ and probably rented rooms by the hour. Well, I was up at 06:30 this morning and when I went to open the bathroom door – it fell off in my hands! I get the impression that some of the clientele aren’t too bothered about the way they treat the place. This suspicion hardened when when I got the lift to the lobby and spotted a long list of repairs to be done to various rooms which had been left atop a toolkit by the lift door. As I was only here for the night I wasn’t too bothered. I’ve stayed in some far worse fleapits in my time travelling. At least here they’d got someone going round repairing things!
I was out early as I wanted to get some shots of the Johor Baru-Woodlands (Singapore) ‘Tebrau’ shuttle train crossing the causeway before it was my turn to ride on it. I also wanted to have a look at construction work on the new Rapid Transit System that will replace it in 2027. It took me a while to find a good spot overlooking the causeway but I was in place in plenty of time for the 08:30 departure from Woodlands. The light was good and I could frame the train with the backdrop of the massive Woodlands customs and immigration checkpoint. Of course, this is railway photography you’re talking about so the law of Sod came into play. Just before the train appeared the sun disappeared behind some clouds! Here’s the less than ideal shot I was left with.
Oh, well, I’ve got until 2027 to try again! The pipes you see in the foreground carried water from Malaysia to Singapore, although I’m not sure if they’re still in use.
Further East of the causeway construction’s progressing on the piers to carry the new RTS line.
The RTS will terminate just North of the existing Johor Baru station which means it has to loop around the station on a series of viaducts. Here’s Bukit Chagar station under construction, adjacent to the existing railway.
Having walked a serious distance to amass these and many other shots I headed back to have a last shower (sans shower door) and one last Roti Canai breakfast before reporting to the railway station to await the departure of the 11:30 shuttle to Woodlands. The system at JB’s very efficient. Barriers open 30 mins before departure. You don’t need your ticket. Instead gates scan your passport (the number’s recorded when you buy online). Heading downstairs you pass through Malaysian Immigration then you’re held in a waiting area until the train’s ready. There’s no seat reservations, you just pile on. The journey across the causeway to Woodlands takes around 10 minutes, then you’re hurried off into immigration. No photographs are permitted on the platform. As you’d expect, Singapore customs and immigration staff are very efficient, you’re through in no-time. What was unexpected was they also have a sense of humour. A middle-aged female Officer joked ‘follow the handsome one’ about her older male colleague who was directing people through the barriers! Once through I caught a bus to Nearby Woodlands MRT before jumping on the train to Little India where my hotel is. It’s certainly better looked after than my last quarters, but then it’s over 3 times the price!
The rest of my day’s been spent catching up on some work and wandering Little India. The colours, sounds and smells are wonderful – as is the food. My friend Nicholas joined me for an evening meal at one of the Biryani stalls he knows in Lekka market. He had the chicken, I had mutton – which was excellent. the price was 7 Singaporean dollars apiece.
This is known a dum biryani because it comes with a curry sauce.
Sadly, we won’t have to catch up again on this trip. Now I’m back in my hotel writing this before enjoying my last full day in Asia, so it’s goodnight from me as I want to be up early in the morning…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
There’s another rolling blog from me today as I’m on the move again. It’s time to say goodbye to KL and begin the trek back towards Singapore ready for my flight back to the UK on Saturday. Shortly, I’ll begin my journey from Pasir Seni to KL Sentral to catch train EG9321, the 12:10 to Gemas, which is the junction for the ‘jungle railway’ up the East Coast to Tumpat. It’s also the present limit of electrification so it’s where I change to a diesel-hauled service which will take me down to Johor Baru.
I’ll blog throughout the day, so feel free to keep popping back and see how the trip goes. I won’t get to JB until late this evening which means there’ll be plenty to write about…
12:34.
The journey to KL Sentral was easy. The MRT station at Pasir Seni was only a couple of hundred yards away from my hotel.
First train of the day. On the MRT heading to Sentral
From there it’s one stop to Sentral which despite it’s size, is hardly a busy station as there’s so few trains at the moment due to the Klang valley double tracking project having such an impact on capacity. There’s also acres of wasted space.
Waterloo it ain’t…
Sadly, KTM have gone down the airline route of corralling passengers in waiting areas, only letting them down onto the platform a few minutes before the train’s due.
When my train turned up it was stopped short on the long platform to allow departing passengers off first. It then crawled forward to pick up the next load – us! I can sort of see the logic in this but when you consider how most railway work this does seem a time-consuming faff.
Now I’m on-board ETS 204. One of the earlier CRRC sets built in 2014.
14:00.
A few minutes ago we left Seremban. It’s the furthest point on the KL commuter network and home depot for the SCS trainsets. It also retains one of the old station buildings which makes it a rather attractive place.
15:15.
Despite our late departure from KL our train had no trouble making up time and delivered us to Gemas spot on 14:50. It’s a cross-platform Interchange here so I went from this…
ETS204 at Gemas, having left Butterworth this morning the set’s preparing to head back North.To this! ‘Blue Tiger’ 26113 ready to take us to Johor Baru. It’s unusual to find this class of loco working passenger trains.
17:15.
We’ve just stopped in the middle of nowhere to let a Northbound service pass. Whilst the track has been doubled at the MP 642.75 (just North of Paloh) it hasn’t been fully commissioned and only works as a passing loop. It was a great location to stop as the rather nice house on a hill was nearby, surrounded by new palm oil plantations.
There’s worse places to live, and at least you won’t get flooded…
23:30 (Malay time).
Apologies for the blogging gap. It’s been for several reasons One was because I was too busy watching the world go by, and the second was that my Singaporean friend Nicholas Lim had travelled up to Kluang to join me on the trip down to Johor Baru! What I’d missed whilst I was in KL was that the state of Johor had been hit by torrential rain this week which has led to extreme flooding. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve never known it as wet this time of year, but Johor really has copped for it. When we left Gemas I saw sights around the railway like this. Low-lying land totally under water. Thankfully the railway has been rebuilt and raised otherwise there’s no way I’d have got back to Singapore by land.
The next person who tells me climate change is a myth is going to get a real mouthful. I’ve been travelling this part of the world for 31 years and I’ve never known the weather to be so unpredictable.
Fortunately, the floods were subsiding and the weather was picking up, so I could snatch the occasional picture from an open train door, although this crew were rather strict about me doing so.
Passing an up train in the middle of nowhere North of Paloh. This is a temporary loop until the double-tracking is completed.
Nick joined me at Kluang. As we’d seats reserved in different coaches we adjourned to the buffet car where we could sit together. Now, I know Mark (the man in seat 61) recommends independent ticketing companies where you pay a fee, but I’d heartily recommend the KITS app from KTM. Not only is it so easy to use but you get to choose your seat (the others don’t let you) you also get to see just how many seats are available on the train you’re looking at. Plus, you get instant confirmation that you have a ticket and you can download it straight away, or just save it in the app.
We had a great journey, with Nick giving me some very interesting historical and background info on Malaysian railways operations. At JB we parted company until tomorrow. I’m back in the hotel I stayed in when I first arrived but I have to say it’s not what I first experienced. I’ve now got a crap room on the 5th floor which is lacking so many things – a flushing toilet being one of them! If I was staying for more than one night I’d be kicking up merry hell, but it’s literally just a place to crash for the night. Johor Baru’s an odd place. You’d think it would be trying to mirror Singapore on the other side of the causeway – and in some (foreign investment) ways it does, but it also feels really seedy. Looking at my hotel I’m surprised they don’t rent rooms by the hour. There’s a few very unattractive ‘ladies of the night’ hanging around the main drag, although I suspect ladies may be too gender specific. There’s a backstreet off the main drag called Jalan Meldrum (no, really!) which seems to have the most life as one side of the street’s lined with restaurants. I did escape my hotel for an hour and had a rare (and bloody expensive) beer so that I could watch the world go by. Like everywhere in Malaysia all the different communities mixed freely, but it’s not a patch on Georgetown.
I don’t believe it!
Anyways. I’m off to nice, clean and even more expensive Singapore tomorrow. That doesn’t mean I don’t like the place – far from it. When I’ve been travelling the backwaters of Asia it was always a great place to dip into for a few days. I christened it ‘the land where everything works’ (even in the cheap seats). It’s just all a little more safe and sanitised.
Time to bring this blog to a close. I’m going to be up early as there’s a lot of pictures I want to get before catching the 11:30 shuttle train across the border to Woodlands.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
My final full day in Kuala Lumpur (on this trip, anyway) was one of those days where I’d no expectations so just went with the flow and the day was all the better for it. I was up early, nipped out for breakfast and was back at my desk just after nine. This prompted me to to do the research for my earlier ‘crazy anti HS2 campaigner of the week’ blog as I’d seen their nonsense on social media earlier. I do despair of the English and Welsh ‘green’ party (The Scots have their own which is far more sensible) as it’s so out of step with European green parties when it comes to railways and actual solutions to climate-change, rather than just protesting and posturing. The greens have always been much happier protesting as it means they don’t have to come up with solutions and make the compromises we need to tackle climate change. Instead they can just play ‘holier than thou’.
Having got that off my chest and edited more pictures from the past few days the day changed. Social media can be very divorced from reality. You have ‘friends’ or followers whom you’ve never met and probably never will. I’m fortunate enough to have met several and found they’re just as likeable in real life as they are on the internet. Today was a good example. Alan Bligh and I follow each other on Twitter as we share the same interests and some friends. Alan also reads this blog and following something I’d posted earlier about my enjoyment of Laksa he extended an invitation to meet up for lunch at a place in the suburbs of KL he highly recommended so that he could introduce me to Sarawak Laksa. Why would I say no?
I had a lovely afternoon. Alan was a very gracious and informative host. His parentage is a mix of English and Singaporean and his family history’s fascinating. I learned an awful lot about life here in Malaysia which I found really interesting. It’s the sort of insight you can only get by talking to someone who’s led a full life. We ended up talking for several hours – and not just about railways.
Alan with a bowl of Shrimp Laksa
Oh, by the way, the food was delicious! Laksa is a dish that has so many variations depending on where in Malaysia you are. Alan told me there’s yet another variation where I’ll be tomorrow because a previous Sultan of Johor Baru liked spaghetti so that was added to the mix. I may have to seek it out.
After being dropped off back at my hotel I’d intended to head out to get a few more rail pictures but the glorious blue skies we’d enjoyed this morning had changed to dull cloud so I opted for a wander around the area where I’m staying and ventured further afield in order to take some street-scenes. I’m glad I did because as I walked back past the local Hindu temple they were setting up for a procession – the one thing I’ve not seen on this trip. This being 2023 the two gods on tour were in rubber wheeled palanquins towed by the sort of tractor you’d have found at airports followed by a lorry carrying a generator which was hooked up through cables to power all the lights. It’s a far cry from when the gods would have been carried on several sturdy shoulders. But, when you see the physiques of some of the priests who would be carried along with the Gods, you can understand why.
The whole thing was great fun and the people were very friendly to a curious photographer like me. Here’s a short video of the procession.
Now I’m relaxing back at the hotel, writing this in-between packing as I catch a brace of trains tomorrow in order to head South to Johor Baru once more. I’ll blog about the trip as it happens. In the meantime, here’s a couple of pictures from today.
One of the Gods gets lifted into a cart before going for a ride around town. I couldn’t work out if the route followed some religious boundary as they crossed the river, and no-one could explain.No event like this is complete without music…
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It’s back after a break over over a year – the crazy anti HS2 campaigner of the week! To be honest, at this stage in the game it would be fair to say that those left pretending they can somehow stop HS2 all fall into this category, so whilst the talent pool is more of a puddle, they all stand a chance of being featured. But this one is so deliciously bonkers as well as being a great illustration of how that’ll say anything it’s hard to beat. It’s actually Pythonesque! You’ll see why later…
A small new group has sprung up called ‘Greens against HS2’. It’s a panicked response to the success and growing influence of ‘Greens for HS2‘ who’ve done a very credible job influencing green party members by presenting them with reasoned and logical arguments. The difference between the two groups couldn’t be more marked. Those for HS2 stick to the facts and science around railways and climate change, reference their arguments and contain many experts in their fields. Those against rehash the same tired and trite disinformation and seem to be little more than individual party members with no experience or expertise in either climate science or transport or in some cases, reality!
The panic is due to the fact the Green Party is having its annual conference next week and (yet again) there’s a motion being put forward that the party ditches its hypocritical stance of supporting a new North-South high speed line ‘in principle’ but opposes it practice. That’s clearly crazy, but that’s not why I’m writing this blog. There’s something far more batshit and it’s dug up former Stop Hs2 organiser Joe Rukin to spin like a decaying top once more.
Take a look at this!
As usual, Rukin just can’t stop lying! A ‘chemical process’? What chemical process – unless you call mixing mud with water a chemical process as the slurry concerned is just that.
The leak at Ruislip was caused as a tunnel boring machine was tunnelling beneath an old borehole. Someone had forgotten to cap the borehole and a small amount of slurry foam escaped. The TBM was halted for a couple of hours whilst checks were made, then continued on its way. The borehole was sealed from the inside when the next ring of tunnel lining segments were put into place. It was a minor (if slightly embarrassing) moment. Note that the slurry escaped upwards to the surface, not outwards. The idea that this will pollute the aquifer and poison London’s drinking water is hysterical nonsense.
Here’s a link to the emergency motion, calling for “all HS2 operations around the Chiltern Aquifer to be paused”
‘StopHS2’ even tweeted out this handy little diagram pointing out where the incident allegedly occurred.
There’s one big problem they’ve neglected to mention. Guess which way these two TBMs are heading? Eastwards – away from the aquifer towards South Ruislip!In fact, by now they’re almost certain to be outside that blue coloured area! They’ve never been a credible threat to the aquifer, and now they’re even less of one! The emergency motion will be redundant before it’s even debated! Oops…!
Problem number two is that this ’emergency motion’ is nothing more than posturing. Even if the Green party accept it and even agree it, it’s nothing more than hot air. It’s as meaningful as Monty Pythons spoof ‘Popular Front for the liberation of Judea’ resolutions!
Let’s talk realpolitik for a minute. Truth be told, no-one really cares what the Green Party’s stance is on HS2 as the Green Party will never, ever hold the reins of power. They can pass as many resolutions as they like, but as long as they have no way of making them reality is it’s a waste of everyone’s time. The party has 1 MP and will never have any more. Opinion polls give them a rating of 5% nationally but that doesn’t reflect the reality of our First Past The Post (FPTP) electoral system which means they don’t stand a chance of beating anyone in any other seat. Sure, they may get a few more local Councillors in the May elections, but this is way above their political pay-grade.
If the Green party do finally change their hypocritical posture on HS2 the only thing it will do is give them back some of the credibility they’ve lost (especially with transport professionals) with their mad policy – and may attract back some of the members who’ve abandoned them in frustration over it. No-one’s stopping HS2 – construction of phase 1 is well advanced and no-one’s ever abandoned a project of this magnitude at this stage of the game, so why have a policy saying you’ll stop the unstoppable when all it does is make you look incredibly stupid. The ‘green’ party is in great danger of becoming known as the anti rail party as it’s allowed its headbanging wing to morph opposition to HS2 into opposition to Northern Powerhouse Rail also (see some of the nonsense put out by greens against HS2 for evidence of that).
Meanwhile, two other HS2 TBMs are now well over half their way through boring the 10 mile long Chiltern tunnels without any serious incident and with no pollution to any aquifers in the nearly 2 years they’ve been tunnelling. The other scare story HS2 antis trotted out was that sinking the piles for the Colne Valley viaduct ‘could’ have polluted an aquifer. There’s one problem there. That work’s been completed with all piles successfully sunk – without any problems. No Londoners have keeled over through drinking ‘poisoned’ water and no lakes and streams have been polluted. Soon the various Nimbys and faux ‘greens’ are going to have to cast around for new things to scaremonger about.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’ve had an enforced lazy Sunday today. It’s nothing to do with my back as that’s pretty much fixed now. The weather here in KL was gloriously sunny this morning after I’d finished a few chores and nipped out for my usual Roti Canai breakfast.
I’ll miss this! Two Roti with a variety of curry sauces and a coffee for breakfast.
Afterwards I decided to have another look at a couple of monorail locations to see if the sun was in the right place for blue sky shots. The only problem was when I got the the monorail station my prepaid card claimed ‘insufficient credit’. The ticket office was closed and the only one of three ticket machines that was working didn’t recognise my prepayment card meaning I was unable to top it up. So, I trekked back across to Pasir Seni, my local MRT station where the ticket office was staffed, only to find out they were ‘offline’. I then trekked across to Masjid Jamek station to the North and found out the whole ticketing system was down! Deciding someone was trying to tell me something and I was fated not to travel today I gave up and went for a wander on foot. That part of town was very busy today as Sunday’s the only day of the week the Indian construction workers have off, so most of them were out shopping or hanging out with friends. The rest of the city centre (including Chinatown) was crammed with cars. The place was virtually gridlocked which actually made crossing the roads easier as long as you kept a wary eye out for the scooters weaving through the static traffic like minnows.
Making the most of a bad job I spent a few hours editing and captioning pictures which have now appeared in my Malaysian rail and travel galleries before going for a wander around Chinatown. With it being so busy it’s been a good day for people-watching, seeing the different communities (Malay, Chinese and Indian) mixing with tourists from East and West. There’s a mélange of cultures, skin-colours and religions all accommodating each other. Scantily dressed Western or Chinese women rub shoulder with conservatively-dressed Muslim Malay women who even have their hair covered, never mind anything else. Admittedly, not all Malays dress this way, which is what makes it all so fascinating. Everyone seems to get along and no-one’s stressed about the attire of others.
Wandering home and recognising the time difference between the UK and Malaysia (8 hours) I said good morning to Dawn via Messenger before making our regular weekly video call and catch-up. After all my decades of travelling when letters were the only communication being able to talk face to face seems such a luxury – and for free! This will be our last call as next weekend I’ll be back in the UK which seems slightly surreal as 2 months seems to have flown by! Dee’s coming down to London to meet me at Heathrow, which will be lovely. I’m not used to being met at an airport!
But before then, there’s still some travelling to do and people to meet. Oh, and weather to experience. We’ve not had any rain today but we have had hours of the most intense thunder and lightning storm. So, my picture of the day is actually a video, shot from the window of my hotel…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 