Well, I crossed swords with Maxis again. It may be me but I think they seriously need to re-think and retrain their staff with respect to customer relations.

Maxis are very, very good at publicising and giving out bumpf on their services, but they are absolutely atrocious and defensive you ask for details. Or, you could say, they do a very good job of hiding the details that matter and may turn people away from using their services.

A lot of their information is on their website, I have to say (although it wasn't there the first time I tried to find this stuff a few months ago). For example, they have local call charges and also international call charges as well as a very informative page on charge areas and how they work.

"So what's the problem?", you might ask. I asked a very simple question: How much does it cost to send and receive SMS's to and from Malaysia when I am abroad?

The first time I asked this was sometime in December 2002. The lady behind the counter said that it depended on which countries I was in. OK, so I gave her a list. She said that she couldn't find them out right away and that she'd get back to me with the details.

She didn't.

The next time I went was early this month (Feb 2003). I met another lady at Maxis and explained to her my situation. This time, she called me back three days later and gave me the prices.

Today I went to activate the IDD account, and I mentioned to the lady behind the counter that it was really difficult to get the prices. She explained that Maxis Malaysia had no control over the charges and that it was up to the individual telco provider and that the rates changed over time, which was not what I was expecting.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect Maxis to be able to publish these prices, even if they are subject to change. To be told that was the only reason, really, that they didn't do it was because they couldn't be bothered to update the prices regularly is galling. I expect to know how much something costs before I buy it. Where else on the planet when you ask how much something costs, the answer is "I'm sorry, we're not sure, we won't even give you an estimate, you'll just have to buy it first and see what you're billed later".

What a shocker! The latest version of the great football management sim Championship Manager has included Singapore as one of it's 39 leagues but not Malaysia!

I suppose the FIFA world ranking bears this out, ranking Singapore at 105 and Malaysia lower down at 110. But I would like to point out that there are other countries above Singapore that don't have their leagues implemented, such as the Congo (102), Albania (100), Bahrain (97), Libya (96) and Barbados (93).

Another friend called me and berated for not responding to a single-line 25-character SMS that she sent weeks ago. At the moment, for me, SMS lies somewhere beneath postcards but above junk mail in importance, but I shall have to rearrange priorities before my Big Trip, so it ranks just under direct phone calls.

Promise. :)

A friend pointed out that I chose to post up thoughts on some things and not others. In particular, things that should be close and dear to me didn't feature so often. Well, the only thing I can say is that I don't really think very, very hard about what to post. I just post what I feel at the time to post.

Rougly speaking, the order in which I decide what to post are as follows:

• It's something I need to get off my chest.
  
• It's something that I think would interest others.
  
• It's something that is not particularly important to anybody else except me and I'm exercising my prerogative to write whatever I want.
  

OK, I've put up some pictures from Manila now at http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/dzof/lst?.dir=/manila+feb+2003&.src=ph&.view=t.

I must write something down about the impending war (the word "possibility" now seems hopelessly optimistic) in the Middle East. I've wondered if this is some sort of diversionary tactic, and at the last moment the US will turn its guns around and point it at the Canadians or something, but I doubt it.

They have lacked subtlety in anything they've done in this 'war against terror' of theirs. The first Gulf War back then had UN sanction. The mandate was clear: to liberate Kuwait and no more. The current mandate does not seem so straight-forward. Certainly overthrowing Saddam Hussein is top priority, but then, what next? Will the US be satisfied with this or will they want to consolidate their influence in the Middle East in order to strike at "the source of the very terror that they fight against"?

The world balance is slowly turning to "might is right" and I despair that only a show of force against the Americans will affect their thinking.

That the US will win a battle in the Gulf is of no doubt. But what about after that?

One obvious way that people will strike back is through the very method that began all this in the first place. The US mainland and their interests overseas may become a prime target using terrorism/guerilla (take your pick) tactics because they would be easier to strike against than military targets.

Disruption of utilities and vital infrastructure will be the key. The Internet will dissipate into a collection of trusted private networks.

Alternatively the countries of the world can make a stand. The UN will show it's true colours. The true test will be whether the UN can stand up to an aggressor who is also a major world power.

But there are other ways of battling the US without using guns and bombs and depending on nations to apply the pressure. It may also be time for the little people to get in on the action. Remember that the strength of the US is not only in their intrinsic might, but also their influence around the world. We can make a difference if we imposed consumer-based sanctions on US exports. That's right, this is what I'm saying: No more McDonalds, no more coke. Refuse to purchase anything whose profits delve back to the US. Better still, drop all pretence of respect of IP rights and pirate to your heart's content. Take what you can and minimize benefits to the rest. The lesson must be taught that globalisation cuts both ways. The worldwide recognition of brand names can also turn against them as we associate American brands with American values. Remind people that part of that Big Mac they're eating will wind up in US corporation coffers, and part of that goes in the form of taxes to the US war machine. It's about time that we stand up and realise what globalism is all about and it's about time that we educate the masses about this.

It's probably impossible to cut it out completely without a drastic lifestyle change. The fact is that when I subscribe to Astro, part of it goes to HBO and ESPN, and I don't really want to be without by Saturday night football matches, so I doubt I'll be ending my subscription soon. But we do what we can, yes?

The stores here open a little late. I'm at this shopping mall now at nine and the doors are still closed. They do close late-ish though, so I suppose it even out (although last night it looked as if they were closing at 9pm or so). There are scores of people waiting to go in. I'm not sure if they're workers or shoppers. It is a Saturday, so it's probably the latter. It's interesting to note what people do while they're waiting. Over here there's simply a lot of... well, waiting. Looking around, looking to the left, looking to the right. People spotting, I guess. Some are chatting to one another, but most look pretty bored.

I'm surprised that they're not SMSing one another or something. Handphones are plentiful here. The other day I saw somebody SMSing with both thumbs with unbelievable dexterity and speed. About as impressive as me being able to type this and look around at the same time.

You'd be surprised at how many people here in the Philipines hold both political office and are entertainers at the same time. I'm sure it's not a pre-requisite or anything, but there are so many of them that the local press has been running a mini debate on whether politicians should be allowed to perform entertainment shows on TV. The law clearly states in some cases "no", but this hasn't stopped some people.

I suppose, if they wanted to, they could always make use of the karaoke king vending machines about town. They're like mini recording booths. You go in, pick a song and then croon away. What you sing ends up on CD, with a picture of you on the cover. And, yes, people outside can hear you sing as you are doing so. There was a queue of about three or four people when I saw it at lunchtime.

They have odd school ties here for the girls in the Philipines. It's like half a tie held up by a thin loop that goes around the neck. Very unusual.

Why do we travel? St Augustine said it nicely: "The whole world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page". We travel to see new things, to add to our world experience, for we believe that more is better. Yet we are constantly hampered by the success of globalisation. Every street corner in Manila has a McDonalds or a San Francisco Coffee or a carbon-copy design store. We, as tourists, have a responsibility to strike out and seek new things away from the comfort of air-conditioned malls and grand broadways. I try to make the promise to myself before I travel: No Big Macs, No Whoppers, No Coca Cola. And yet, it is almost impossible to stay away from all this. Today, I have already had a Gatorade. I would feel as if I had betrayed my community of World Travellers, except that I've never had that flavour before.

The temptation is strong to reach back to what is familiar. We could say that we want to experiment to see if the Big Mac in the Intramuros tastes the same as the Big Mac in Petaling Street, but we know that the answer is almost a resounding "yes". We could argue that there are McDonald dishes unique to each country, but deep down inside we feel as if we're cheating.

No, the right thing to do is to strike out and eat that set of things that the locals eat but is not available back home. Yet, still there is a conflict. What about Jolibee? It's a local fast food franchise. Eating Jolibee chicken and rice is not like eating balut, but are we short-changing ourselves if we consume a local version of a genre made popular by multi-national corporations?

Incidentally, I have no interest of consuming partially-developed duck embryo, feathers and all, hard-boiled from it's own shell. There is a certain extent of adventuring that should be considered "too far".

It's the same with watching films. I really should be looking for Filipino cinema. I'm more attracted to Daredevil (not available in KL, so it is a 'new experience', I suppose). It's not a problem here in Manila. Every shopping mall has a cinema in it, and every cinema, it seems, is showing "Daredevil", "Shanghai Knights" and "Two Weeks Notice". Globalisation again. Live with it.

It's easy to forget that Manila is actually a coastal city. The inside roads hide a seafront boardwalk that entice residents to walk, amble, cycle, sit and eat by the sea. It's more reminiscent of Guerney Drive than it is of Langkawi. The sealine is dominated by cargo ships and the cranes of the docks to the north. The Manila Yacht club lies to the south but the yachts are all safely anchored up. Seagulls look for food by the quayside, competing with local anglers, so there must be something living in these waters. The smell of the sea is present (the smell of the seaweed sometimes mixed up with sewage, actually - never been a favourite of mine!).

It's tougher than I expected to look for touristy t-shirts here in Manila. I expected the sea-front to be dominated by the usual array of cheap knick-knacks and bric-a-brac, but it's mostly pavement with the odd cafe. The presumably prime seafront estate is taken up by five star hotels. It feels odd to go in and ask "Is there anywhere I can be cheap, corny, touristy souvenirs?".

There's a statue on a bench near here that I think is perfect for Ed to sit on for a photo, but it is currently being occupied by a couple. I'm waiting for them to get up and go so I can take my photo-op, but they seem engrossed in the scenery and one another.

Everybody here assumes that I am Philipino. They talk to me and when I don't immediately respond, they look at me curiously. I almost feel sometimes that they might prod me with a stick just to see if I'm alive.

And many of them do have sticks because there are security checks at all shopping malls and hotels and just about every covered public area. They stand by the door with one of their sticks and then you open your bag to them and they push things aside with their sticks and then they let you through. It's ritualistic and not very effective, I feel.

It's not as if any of them spotted my very-odd looking Alphasmart and I reckon if I just put a bomb into a Ritz cracker box, they wouldn't notice or care about it and just let you in. False security is worse than no security, because you think that you've mitigated risks when you actually haven't done anything at all.

I'm not entirely sure what it is they're looking for. Bombs? Guns? Anti-American literature?

There are two metro/train lines in Manila. The Metro (that stretches from the west to the east through Paysay City, Makati City, Mandaluyong, San Juan and Quezon) and the LRT (which has a short run up and down the coast from Paysay City through Manila metropolitan area and Caloocan city).

I am staying at the Edsa Shangri-La and there is a Metro Line in front of it. The only map that I could find in the hotel of Manila and its environs was not very detailed. It gave a rough indication of where the suburbs were and some slightly more detailed maps of downtown Manila. I had asked the ticket counter how to get to Rizal Park, and he mumbled "A-B Avenue" after consulting with a colleague. My simple mind simply bought a ticket and travelled north (as Manila is the the North-West of Mandaluyong).

There are no train maps or area maps in the train or most of the stations, so I had to depend on my eyes to find out which station I was in. It was only when I reached the end of the line past Quezon when the nice man at that station pointed out to me that I should have gone in the other direction, towards the south, where I would then have to change trains and go back north. So to get from Mandaluyong to Manila city I must first travel south west away from Manila and then go north.

Yes, I feel dumb. But at least the train tickets are cheap (between 10-15 pesos per ride) so that it was a more a mini-adventure than a pain.

The Intramuros is a city within the city, a haven of peace from the otherwise never-ending traffic. Walking within the Intermuros is like walking within one of the colleges at Oxford, away from the bustle of city life. There also isn't very much in the way of things to do there. One cathedral, one church and one fort. There seem to be lots of places where you can find a job on board a ship.

As I was leaving the Intramuros, it coincided with the end of school. I walked the streets with scores of school-children. It got me thinking - were they on lunch break? Do they on go to school for half the day? Do they have afternoon school? They were everywhere, it was like I walked into a world populated only by school children. Well, they were 16+ I guess, so High School Children would be a better descriptor. The backstreets were filled with cheap eating places and internet cafes. And the Internet cafes were filled with school children playing counterstrike and what-not. Some things don't change over thousands of miles.

Manila is one large sprawling suburban crawl. The traffic is headache-inducing, bumper-to-bumper cars that line exhaust-filled streets lined up against the pedestrian way. Walking through Manila town is like navigating by shopping malls. These air-conditioned oases act as waypoints and are unmissable landmarks for the pedestrian.

A lot of time is spent waiting in the Philipines. Waiting for the taxi to come pick us up from the airport. Waiting for the hotel to check us in. Waiting for the lady at the tourist desk to give me a map. Waiting in the MRT for the train start when it had stalled in the middle of a route. But I have to admit that I'm the only one that I notice waiting.

The outskirts of Manila is like an Asian town based on US values. Wide roads, drive on the right, and billboards dotting the sidewalks. The slow traffic encourages entrepreneurship when people combing the stationary cars offering drinks and food for sale.

Characteristic of Manila is the Jeepney. Over-long pick-up trucks with seats inside, gaudy colouring and their apparent right to rule the road. They seem happy cutting in a nd out of traffic looking for customers. Why are jeepneys so colourful? I can't think of a good reason why. Maybe it's like why the peacock's tail is so large. One thing comes to mind. How the heck do you know which jeepney to get on? It's painted onto the side of the jeepney.

Basketball is a big deal here in the philipines. Alongside the squatter housing where you would normally find a football square in other countries, you instead find basketball courts.

Not speaking tagalog doesn't seem to be a big problem. Every sign I've seen so far is in English.

There are more than a few abandoned buildings on the outskirts of Manila. Industrial areas that have fallen on hard times, presumably. In fact, the whole industrial area looks a little run-down.

I finally found a machine with a USB port, but it wasn't happy to accept it, it being Win 98 and all. Instead I just ripped out the keyboard port and plugged the Alphasmart in. Technically, you have to have the machine off to do that, but what the hey - it worked for me. :)

The flight was on a 737 - I didn't realise that they flew such planes still. The approach into any town is the first impression you always get when coming in by plane. Geometric fields and snaking highways lined by houses give way to a veritable metropolis, with housing covering all available land and in the distance, tall buildings that mark the centre of Manila.

Customs was relatively hassle-free - I like that in a country - but there was a small fuss before we could leave the airport. This is the only airport that I know of where they check your luggage tags before you get to leave the airport.

It's not difficult to find an Internet cafe in Manila. It is difficult to find a nice Internet cafe that isn't overrun by school kids playing counter-strike. I wonder if any of them try to play international games or if the connection isn't good enough to do that. All the stuff in my Alphasmart needs a USB port to dump to.

NAM is coming to town. I know this is true because the traffic jams on Monday in town were so severe they crippled KL for a few hours. The other way I know this is because the newspapers are full of articles emphasising how good security is for the NAM conference. I guess the more articles you write about it, the safer it must all be.

They've even got a special lane in immigration just "special" guests.

I'm writing this from the Golden Club Lounge at KLIA while waiting for the flight to Manila. It's a very snazzy place. Really nice, like a five star hotel lounge.

What's cool about the lounge:

• All the food is free
  
• The Internet access is free
  
• You get a nice view of the runway
  
• There's this beautiful "flowing-water" landscape within the lounge
  

What's not so cool about the lounge:

• You need to fly Business or First Class to even consider it.
  

How did I get in? Mama's flying business, that's how!

George Bush has just said that he disagrees with people who don't view Saddam Hussein as a risk to peace. I think the greatest threat to world peace at the moment is the US waging war, and they are a risk to peace.

We should come up with a resolution recognising the US as a potential threat.

Conducted yet another poster run. This time I acted as the getaway driver in the car. It took us 3 hours to do Jalan Petaling, Bangsar and Pusat Bandar.

I'm typing this from an internet cafe in bangsar, working on nice g4 macs. They're playing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in the background, which I'm sure is a bit of a job well done, since they haven't officially released the video or the DVD yet...

I spent some time yesterday at the Astro Light and Easy radio station, playing chauffeur to the ladies that make up the cast of the latest play to be staged by Dramalab, Visits. It was actually my third time in Astro, and it's kind of fun sitting outside in the booth watching the people do their stuff inside. Shockingly, only five-ten minutes were spent talking to the guests, since they have programmed music and what-not. The DJ handles everything with the help of a computer, so I wonder where the skill is really, apart from sounding good on the radio.

The girls were wild in the car trip to and fro. My Proton Iswara is not amazingly large and everyone was a little cramped in, but it all seemed ok, I guess. However, I was distracted (yes, distracted) by the fascinating conversation in the back and I kept making wrong turns. They must think I'm some sort of dolt or something!

The security at Astro was incredibly fussy. It's as if they have top secrets in there or something. Well, it's not bad that the security is strict, but it is bad that they let the security aspects override the service aspects of the job. Bleuch! They don't treat guests well there at all. Well, except for VIPs, I gather.

I was told today that the police are allegedly the best source of marijuana in KL. They have a good variety (allegedly) and you are also sure that their stuff is not cut with any other junk and is relatively safe.

And no, I do not intend to find out too much more about this!

Yesterday and today have been very busy days. Many, many, many interesting things have happened in the last 48 hours.

I was at Fiske, which is a furniture shop hidden away in the deepest darkest corner of Selayang. In the midst of a typically dank industrial park is this oasis of post-art deco furniture, mostly from Scandanavia. It's filled with 20th Century antiques, as it were. Some of the stuff there is really incredible, and all of them are expensive. Really, really expensive. But it's a really cool place, and it's worth looking at.

Have to type this up quickly while the appropriate emotions are still seething in me... ;)

Valentine's day is a crock. It is a shining example of what commercialism can do to an otherwise innocent and pure celebration of love. It compels people to expect irrational things from one another and puts unnecessary pressure for innocents to effectively kowtow to corporations and their artificial notions of what should be done to celebrate this day. Women of all ages expect their loved ones to pay RM10 and upwards for a stalk of rose, to indulge in the fantasy that, yes, this means he really loves me, when all that is needed is a quiet reaffirmation of what should happen on a daily basis anyway. And it is us to blame, the consumer! Why do we get sucked into this maelstorm of publicity generated by companies who strive to increase their profit margin at the expense of the people? Because we let them.

Blogger is pretty wonderful. This text is here to show Raman how good it is.

Really.

Watched the comedy week yesterday, and I must say, it was a bit of a disappointment. There is a comedy week being run at The Actor's Studio in Bangsar Shopping Centre, and there's been a big promotion for it. COMEDY WEEK! starring COMEDY COURT, HARITH ISKANDAR, JIT MURAD, AFDLIN SHAUKI, introducing JASON LO, RASHID SALLEH and SCOTT HANSERLING.

BUT, what they fail to point out is that not all people are on every night. I only so five of the advertised 7 people. What else? That of the five people presented, one is an MC, and another has like a 'cameo' role in the last skit. So, that leaves three. What else? Yes, the tickets are RM62 or RM82. Read that again: RM62 and RM82. You can buy 10 Big Mac Meals with one of those. And? Not all of them are very good. OK, let me get this off my chest: Rashid Salleh was not good. At places he was downright bad. I can remember laughing out loud a grand total of twice during his routine.

The other two people were Afdlin and Harith. Afdlin was so-so, but not great. Some good high points, but c'est tout. Only Harith delivered the quality that I expected, and he was very, very good. Yes, his routines are regularly rehashed, but he's funny - funny, funny, funny - enough that I don't really mind. In fact, all the stuff he did last night was new to me, but I was assured that there were some repeats.

If I knew it was going to be like this, I would have saved my money. I may have paid RM100 for the show on Saturday night, which would have featured Harith, CC and Jit, but that would have been pretty steep. I would have paid RM80 for it and been satisfied with it, probably. Anyway, what really irks me is that I feel short-changed. And they think they can get away with it?

Well, as long as people buy the tickets, I guess they can.

Participated in my first DramaLab press conference today. I guess I have to adjust myself to the way things are done. They started putting things up at 2pm for an event that was meant to begin at 3pm, which actually only began at 3.30pm. Zahim and then Jit said a few words, and there was a video presentation. Dang! If I knew this, I would have set up a powerpoint presentation to go with Zahim's speech. Too much aural, not enough visual.

The video presentation was pretty good if a little uneven. Too much time was spent on one play and not another. I'll see if I can host it on the server.

They're now running a preview of Visits on the second floor of Telawi Street Bistro. It's more like a balcony and it faces outwards into Jalan Telawi. Street Theatre, if you like.

The newspaper articles that weree mounted don't look so good in the light of day, but it did the primary job of distracting people as they were streaming in. It worked ok, but could be better.

I like this job. I'm seeing and learning new things. This could be good.
---
There's a comedy forum going on at the Actor's Studio. Lots of famous names from Malaysian comedy will be performing - Harith Iskandar, Jit Murad, Afdlin Shauki, The Comedy Court and also new comers like Jason Lo and... well, somebody whose name I've forgotten.

The tickets are extremely expensive though - RM64 and RM84, or something like that. I wonder if they are worth that price, but knowing KLites, the tickets will probably sell at that price. The only way they won't is if I organise some sort of boycott, and that ain't happenning soon.

Busy day today. Rushed from place to place - first to the airport, then to E's for lunch, then to DramaLab and then to the hotel for my friend Verghese's wedding. Not that I knew he was going to get married until late last month.

A lot of head-scratching today at DramaLab. I'm not sure how to put up newspaper articles so that they're interesting to read. I found myself regressing to my MDC persona - emphasise the Malaysianess of the whole thing, highlight the world-class products. Tough to get out of that frame of mind!

Villa lost yesterday 1-2 against Fulham, and an _incredible_ goal (no, really, _incredible_), and I think it's fair to say that I'm gutted. Barry scored again, which is good for my Fantasy Team (and the fact that I think he's the most impressive left-sided English midfielder around).

However, they haven't picked him for the England squad against Australia. Peh.

The strange thing about working in theatre is the hours that people keep. It's like there's no point in trying to wake up before noon. Conversely there's so much procrastination that there is no point thinking about finishing work early, even if it is possible to do so. Instead, the thing to do is to wake up late, stumble into work, do it very intensely for several hours, and then take several hours to unwind. This is part of the 'culture', I gather, and it's quite easy to segue into it. It's easy to be part of it, and pick up the habits.

It would be tempting to say that things are "unprofessional" and time is spent looking for order within chaos, but the truth is that it's not all that different from work in the office. You do spend several hours in the day goofing off a little (well, I used to, I suppose) and only three to four hours are really work well spent.

This is completely different from when I'm programming, where I do work solidly for six to seven hours non-stop. That's why it's so tiring sometimes, but it's also so rewarding because you actually get a lot done in the time (even if you feel you've taken a lot longer than you should).
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Today I finally sent a TT to Monkey Star for the trans-siberian trip. Money gone from my account, that's what it is. It'd better be worth it.

In case you're wondering what the damage is, it's about USD1700. For two weeks in Russia. I must be mad.