a fleeting stay ...

The locomotive joins the failed train A routine trip to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for a medical check up turned out to be a nightmare for Rabiaa Dani and her husband. Their ticket was for a day train ride to KL Sentral , leaving Ipoh railway station at 8.20am, and returning to Ipoh at night. The couple arrived safely at KL Sentral Station and proceeded to the hospital immediately. Everything went well at the hospital. They even managed to sneak a shopping trip to KLCC for a quick look see before returning to KL Sentral for their 7.40pm train back to Ipoh. The train (9032), like clockwork, departed at the scheduled time. Both Rabiaa and her husband fell asleep about ten minutes after the train had left KL Sentral station. They woke up shortly before hearing the sound of a heavy object hitting something; the train came to a halt soon after. Replacement train at Sungkai station Their nighmare had begun. Rabiaa and her husband later learned that the train had hit a pig...

Your nerves are frayed and you need a dose of pleasingly rustic ambience without having to leave the city. There is such a spot for you, if you are in Ipoh. All you need to do is head for a block of flats called Kinta Heights in Pekan Lama, Ipoh, Perak, which is next to the Kinta River, one of the main branches of the Perak River. Unbelievable, as it may seem, there are several nasi kandar outlets and sundry shops in the vicinity, set in the greenery, with a view and a walking path. I suggest that you have lunch at Ramli Nasi Kandar and after that, take a very short walk to the river bank for your rural retreat. You might be motivated to spend 10 minutes or more in total silence and tranquillity. This is the place I go to again and again. Ramli Nasi Kandar is next to the sundry shop A short bridge to the river bank  You will feel irritated by people putting litter on the ground but I refuse to allow that to distract me. There is a 'Do not litter' notice her...

I will not reveal the location of Pasar Karat -- the market for tacky and not-so-tacky trash. Until this morning I wasn't aware of its existence. Many people know about it but the street vendors don't want any publicity. I promised these hard-working individuals -- both locals and foreigners -- that I would not make trouble for them. They readily admit that they are unlicensed traders. Kuala Lumpur City Hall has denied them business permits despite repeated pleas. But the mart has been around for nearly 50 years, according to some old-timers, and 35 to others. Meanwhile, real bargain hunters join the throng in narrow alleys and pavements regularly. Somehow they are able to separate the worthless items from the valuable ones. The less discerning consumers visit the bustling bazaar to get cheap things. As I discovered during this morning's walkabout, there is something for everyone here. Daily trading begins at 5.30am and ends before 10am when entrepreneurs in the area sta...

Journalist and guest blogger Jehan Mohd was recently in Kuantan for the kick off of the fifth season of the RHB New Straits Times National Spell-It-Right Challenge. On the last day there, she took a trip to Telok Chempedak to catch the sunrise. Little did she expect to see an entire colony of monekys playing on the deserted beach. Her account and photos below. I've always had an affinity for the beach and the sea. Being based in landlocked Kuala Lumpur, I tend to go a little nuts whenever I do get to go to a beach. So when I was assigned to cover the SIR Challenge in Kuantan, I immediately thought that the beach was a definite stop I had to make. And that's how I came to be at Telok Chempedak at sunrise on my last morning in Kuantan. Sunrise at the main beach at Telok Chempedak A glimpse of the more secluded beach The more secluded beach has more rocks Sea shell, sea shell on the seashore Rocky terrain of the more secluded beach Awe-inspiring beauty...

A waiting cab takes these Middle Eastern visitors back to their hotel.  Gulf Arab women in flowing black robes dashing through fancy malls in the Bukit Bintang shopping belt clutching bags of cosmetics, accessories, shoes and toys with children in tow seem to have become a permanent fixture in the tourism landscape in Malaysia. They usually go for branded stuff and locals can barely keep up with the high-spending customers from the Middle East. They are Malaysia 's favourite shoppers because they have both money and taste. Malaysia projects an air of warmth and hospitality. It has taken steps to make visitors from West Asia feel very welcome here. Besides English and Malay, arrival and departure announcements at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport or KLIA are also made in Arabic. Many hotels in Kuala Lumpur employ Arabic-speaking staff and there is also an "Arab street" in Kuala Lumpur's "Golden Triangle" which offers all things Arab. Onl...

The ETS intercity makes life easy for those who have to travel to Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur and Seremban regularly. The ETS (which stands for Electric Train Services) intercity is another indication that Malaysians love travelling by train.  Since its launch on August 12, this year more and more people are catching the train to Ipoh-Kuala Lumpur-Seremban.  That is the observation of an Ipoh-based  KTM employee who declined to be named.  The Kuala Lumpur-Ipoh service is popular with professionals especially lawyers, he says.  They get on the early morning train from Kuala Lumpur and arrive in Ipoh in time for their court cases, he adds.  Some Ipoh residents who work in Kuala Lumpur are contemplating commuting between their hometown and Malaysia's capital city. The seats are comfortable and there is legroom in the front of the seat. I took the ETS from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh recently and understood instantly why my relatives and friends are p...

Life is seriously good in Sabah , says Berita Harian Sabah bureau chief Veena Rusli. "Every inch of Sabah is amazing. What is there to complain when you live, work and play in a holiday destination?" adds the bubbly Seremban-born, who has called Kota Kinabalu home for more than four years now. Veena looks at Sabah, known as "the land below the wind" , with the eye of a person who appreciates the simple things in life. Living in Kuala Lumpur for many years as a journalist had taken a heavy toll on her. She extols the virtues of a stress-free life which she has found in Kota Kinabalu. Veena Rusli jokingly describes herself as a full-time tourist guide and a part-time journalist. This refers to her hosting duties, which she does easily, when friends from the Peninsula visit Sabah. Unnecessary pressures such traffic jams and flash floods are minimal in Kota Kinabalu and these lessen the impact of  managing the worries of everyday life . I met Veena in Kota...