Proton Malaysia Badminton Super Series 2011

Sorry... Been busy following in the High Court a trial which has been quite extensively reported in the newspapers. That gives me very little time to do work in the office, which consequently means later hours (slightly only, mind) and thus less time to blog.

Which means I have to wait till now to tell you about my most recent trip. But first, my Dad - he's 73 this year and still as active and zippy as they come. Plays badminton twice a week, goes out with his friends at day-break and chats up restaurant waitresses while fitting in 20 cigarettes a day. I wouldn't be able to keep that up for a week and I don't know how much longer my Dad can, so I figured I should go with him on more trips while he's still on turbo mode.

Following the success of our Asian Games jaunt, I figured 'sports tourism' was the way to go with my Dad. And one of my Dad's disappointments of the Asian Games was his refusal to succumb to the scalpers' requests for 2000Yuan a ticket to watch his favourite badminton player, Lin Dan. So when I found out that Lin Dan was playing in the Malaysian Open Super Series, I didn't hesitate to make arrangements.

Now, I know that 2/3 of my last few travel blogs have been about trips to Malaysia so I won't wax lyrical about KL or the surrounding sites, scenery or attractions, keeping the photos limited to things I haven't really shown before. Like, I don't think I've really shown a photograph of the exterior of the Low Cost Carrier Terminal in Malaysia before, have I? Mundane stuff like that...



Or the bus that for RM8 a person brings us from said terminal to the heart of the capital - KL Sentral...



Which looks like this...



Indeed, I think the highlight of this trip is not so much the places that we saw but the people that we met that fired the imagination. First up was Anton in the Airasia flight to KL, who worked for - Airasia! He was on his way back to KL after zipping down to Singapore in the morning for a meeting and was friendly, chatty and admirably zesty despite his day having commenced at 4am in the morning.

I was struck by his passion for his job as he held me spellbound with talk of Airasia's history, its progress and its vision for the future. Unassuming and candid, he nonetheless oozed the kind of enthusiasm and determination to continuously strive for excellence which has characterized Airasia's meteoric rise over the last decade. He spoke to me of his CEO, Tony Fernandez, and how approachable he is (the man does not even have a segregated office but a desk at HQ such that anybody can approach him for a chat).

What really got my attention, however, was talk of Airasia's contribution to Sport, one of my favourite subjects. We talked about the bet that Tony had with Richard Branson of Virgin (and how Richard 'backed out' from the forfeit citing injury). He told me that Tony was a West Ham fan (poor man) but that he personally supported Manchester United before we talked a bit more about Airasia's involvement in the Asean Basketball League. Cool conversation, cool guy. On the assumption that there are lots like him in the company, I have asked my broker to see how I can pick up some Airasia shares on the Malaysian bourse.

Yup, where was I? Oh yes, the trip. We stayed this time in the Melia Kuala Lumpur which was $25 cheaper than the Royale Chulan. It was not quite as luxurious as the latter but in its favour was the fact that it wasn't situated in a side road which necessitate a considerable walk but smack in front of Times Square Berjaya and Imbi Monorail. It was also very adequate and comfortable, the staff cheerful and pleasant.




I seem to be spending a lot of time at KLCC and the Petronas Towers these weeks and can happily report that there is a new live-sized F1 Car on display there. Lotus, right?




This is what happens when you take pictures in front of the Petronas Towers when the sun is directly behind....



This is what happens when it isn't...



In keeping with my different approach to photos this time round, this is a picture of the interior of a typical station of the Rapid KL train service. I don't think I've posted this before have I? Train fares are generally a lot cheaper than those in Singapore and I would recommend this mode of travel for the cost-conscious traveller.



Proton Malaysia Open
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I have to talk about this eventually, right?

The reason why I waited till now is that though the atmosphere was good, because we came only just before the first match started, the best seats were filled up such that we were quite a distance from where the action was.



The only consolation being that we were closer to the prize-giving podium.



All in all, especially because it was my Dad's first time watching a badminton extravagaza live, we quite enjoyed ourselves. A lot of it had to do with the atmosphere generated by the partisan crowd, who mostly went away happy after Malaysia's Datuk Lee Chong Wei put Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat to the sword in the final match.



KL International Airport (KLIA) Proper
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Despite this being a short trip, there were several firsts. Like this being the first time I had taken an SQ flight from KL to Singapore (I was too late to get cheap budget airline fares so I used my Points to redeem two one way tickets to Singapore). That meant that we got to take the KLIA express train to the airport (Note KLIA is not LCCT).




The price, as you can see, is RM26.50 per ticket from Bandar Tasik Selatan, which if I recall correctly, is not much cheaper than the fare from KL Sentral a few stations before.

For all the splendour of Changi Airport, I must say that KLIA is also very pretty. At least, for someone used to the bare functionality of LCCT, KLIA is hell of a lot classier.








But as I said, it was the people who we met who were fascinating. In the plane, my Dad made conversation with a lady from South Africa called Uluande (I think) who was almost as passionate as Anton as we spoke about a myriad number of sports, from football, to rugby, to cricket, to cycling (of which she actively participates in). She also regaled us with a very vivid description of her country as well as the surrounding countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

That was our weekend jaunt to Malaysia - the 1st of its kind for 2011- really. But now my Dad wants to go to South Africa...

On A Whim - Asian Games!!! - Guangzhou Olympic Sports Complex

Remember that the previous post I said that we were told to meet up with some kids the next day to collect tix for the Games? The rendezvous place was the Guangzhou Olympic Sport Complex so there we went.

As we milled around the entrance to the Complex, my Dad was quite excited as we had been promised Athletics tickets. I, on the other hand, was a bit skeptical as the Games website showed that the Athletics programme did not begin until Sunday.



And it turned out that I was correct. For the kid turned up with hockey tickets and asked for 380 Yuan. We did not really want to watch hockey but I told my Dad that the tickets would at least allow us to go in and see the facilities up close so we bargained down to 350 Yuan a piece and bought them, relieved in a way that they did not cost the 1200 Yuan we had been offered the day before.

We then proceeded to queue - for quite a long while - to get in...



And then just as we were about to get in, the kid called saying that he now had tickets for tennis, which was ongoing in the same complex and asked whether we would care for tickets at 600 Yuan a piece. Considering that my Dad watches a lot more tennis than hockey and considering that Peng Shuai is one of my Dad's favourite Chinese female players, we bargained down to 550 Yuan each and bought them.

We were quite pleased with our purchased actually - until we saw the offical selling price - 10 Yuan.



Minor glitch there. And we did not let it get us down as we feasted our sights at the magnificient Complex. Now, you know I'm a sucker for neatly ordered wide open spaces so its no surprise that I was very impressed by the layout of the place.





These are some of the pictures we took of the facilities and the decorative artifices...






But enough of the surrounding scenery. On to the Games proper. As I said just now, we had tickets for tennis. The Centre Court was a colossal crucible-like structure. The way it was shaped made for a tremendous atmosphere - great if the crowd was with you, intimidating to say the least if it was not.

Also, no measure was spared to ensure that the players could concentrate as fully as possible on the match at hand. To that end, we could only enter Centre Court in between points. This is a picture of us waiting to get inside...



And what we saw the minute we stepped in...



These are some of the views of the arena...






And this was the giant screen in showing goings-on in between points (Not during, because I presume it may distract the players). Notice how the crowd sits within the shade only?



Anyhow... On to the match we were waiting for... It was between Peng Shuai, this lovely girl here...



And Chang Kai-Zhen, this equally comely lass...



Peng was from China and Chang from Chinese Taipei. Despite that slight difference in geography, it was clear whose side the crowd, and my Dad, was on. Peng won in the end, after a tight second set. When she won the Gold medal a few days later, we were delighted to have watched the eventual women's champion.

Before that had happened however, I had queued 20 minutes....



To purchase this. It was very fragrant 'French Bread'. It did not have any fillings, but it was filling, but partly fulfilling. We were full - and filled - but not quite fulfilled.... (Ok, I know... This is overkill, right?)



I also had a chance to pass by Court No. 1, where the top seed Kimiko Date had apparently just beaten what, from a distance, looked like a cute Korean player by the name of Lee. I noticed that the seats there allowed far greater proximity to the players. Darn, maybe I should have watched there too.



But by the time the tennis matches ended, we hardly had time for the hockey, which, being between Japan and Hong Kong, didn't appeal to us that much after all...



So not so many pictures of that... Anyhow, that was our brief but tantalizing first-hand experience of the Games...

On A Whim - Asian Games!!! - Part 1

My Dad was to have undergone a minor medical procedure on Friday morning. I had taken leave to accompany him to the hospital.

When I returned home on Thursday night, he told me that the operation had been postponed. Without wanting to give further details, he said this, "It's just as well. I get to watch the Asian Games. Who knows, it may be my last Asian Games..."

I don't know what got over me. But I replied, "No Dad, it will be your first..."

My Dad thought I was crazy, but he is, if anything, adventurous. So hence began another spontaneous, last-minute, spur of the moment journey as I sought to let my Dad watch his first Asian Games in-person, on site.

To do that, we had to get to Guangzhou. And we had a few hours left to plot our journey. I tried to plan an itinerary which would give us enough time to spend at the Games but still allow me adequate time to get back for work on Monday. It had also to be preferably one which would allow me and my 72-year-old father to travel in relative comfort without us having to pawn the family furniture, what with last-minute tickets being notoriously expensive.

The way I saw it, either we downgraded the hotel or the plane trip. I opted to downgrade the plane trip. That meant that we had to fly budget the first thing in the morning to Hong Kong, before making our way overland to Guangzhou - the other alternatives were just too expensive.

Now, I know I have recently posted about a very identical trip so I won't bore all of you with the same old details and same old pictures of the same old places. To that end, I will moslty only put up pictures of things and places which were done and seen for the first time.

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HONG KONG
We landed in Hong Kong close to 11am and made our way to Tsim Sha Tsui, firstly because my best friend had done all she could to prevail upon me to buy her another box of Jenny's cookies (I now know how to get to Jenny Bakery in Stanley, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui), and secondly because it gave me an opportunity to change out my glut of Hong Kong dollars into Renminbi at a better rate.

We then headed North to Tai Po Market. Remember some posts ago I said how disappointed I was to have arrived at the Tai Po Market Food Centre in the late afternoon to discover that there was no more Dim Sum? I was not to be denied this time and returned with my Dad, luggage and all to the 4th storey of the Food Centre. Only to discover that by lunch time, there were only two items left. Oh well....



They tasted just about ok, by the way...

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SHENZHEN


It was then up North via the Hong Kong MTR again to Shenzhen, from where we once again took the speed train to Guangzhou.

I have already previously posted pictures of the train so....

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GUANGZHOU
We arrived in our hotel at Guangzhou in the mid-afternoon, where we had a present surprised. As I had booked the rooms last minute, I had merely selected the cheapest available room and presumed it was a Standard Room. I didn't know that I had purchased the Club package, which meant that we could check in at, and had unlimited access to the Hyatt Grand Club.

This was an exclusive area where entitled guests could sit all day long, nurse a drink and savour the quite delectable cookies while talking business or simply savouring the view at a table overlooking the 'Games Park', with the Canton Tower as a backdrop. Here, exclusive does mean exclusive, for the place was at all times quiet, with not more than three tables taken up at any one time.



By the time we settled ourselves in our room, it was already dark (Light starts to fade at around 5pm in this part of the world during this time of the year) so we went to the Club for cocktails, which are from 5.30pm to 8.00pm daily.



And this is what you see looking out of the Club window...



Having seen what it looked like from afar, we would have been stupid not to see the Park up close. And what a difference two weeks made! I had walked along the very same path 12 days ago but this time, the array of lights were far more stunning and the atmosphere just that more palpable.







How's this for a view?



Here again is the venue where the Opening Ceremony was held. It certainly looked different from the last time I saw it.



And this is the Asian Games Flame burning bright...



It was also here that we met some kids who claimed to have tickets for the Games. We had tried to purchase them through official channels but were told they had all been sold out.

They told us that there weren't any tickets for the night's badminton but that if we met them at the Olympic Stadium the next day, they would get us some.

We decided to go to the badminton hall anyway. There, we were offered tickets by scalpers at 1200Yuan a piece. My Dad and I walked away for a bit, shocked at the horrendous mark-up but later decided to go back and purchase them all the same. But by then the tickets had already been sold. Ho hum. The view from TV was so much better anyway.

And this was our first day at the Games...