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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

JPJ Vehicle Registration Application Guide

Read here on our new Nissan Navara LE (Facelift)!

As promised, here is the story of our experience during car registration process at JPJ. For more info, please visit JPJ Website on Vehicle Registration Application Guide.

Hubby was the one who eagerly wanted to have a nice number on our new 4x4. So he checked and munched the process on how to get it done. He then listed out the numbers that he wanted in a spreadsheet and proposed it to me. Some were really nice but some were not. He would prefer to have number that is related to our house number, house lane’s number, or even nice to pronounce. Vice versa, I would prefer to have number that is related to our birth year and month, or at least, something that is memorable.

With the help of blog posts and forums, we found that JPJ Selangor did display all categories of numbers. But current running letters for Selangor at that time wasn’t nice at all, which was BML. Hubby and I would prefer to have KL number, W….M, but anyhow, at that point of time, the letters were W….K. So hubby did play around with few numbers that produce a “sound” out of it. Hahaha!

We took a day off and went to JPJ Selangor at Padang Jawa, to view the numbers on board, as per described in the blogpost. We came early and “tapau” a homemade fried rice, where we ate in the car somewhere at the JPJ parking lot. Gigih tak?!

The atmosphere in JPJ was quite funny yet fun to be at, where we were surrounded with “ulat-ulat” a.k.a runners, who were trying their luck to persuade the officers to cut queue. Yes, you are required to get a number before you are to be attended.

With choices of numbers that we had in hand, we strike through those:


1)    golden numbers (single digits) – minimum bid is RM10,000.00
2)    interesting numbers (two, three, four digits with numbers)– minimum bid is RM2,000.00
3)    popular numbers (two, three, four digits with “kawin” or “apit” numbers) – minimum bid is RM300.00
4)    current running numbers (any choice of numbers that you want) – price is RM200+RM10 (processing fee)

Unfortunately, the number that we wanted has already been taken!

So we mingled around and got to know that there was a way of getting uncollected tendered interesting and popular numbers. What we need to do was to line up in front of the Pengarah’s room and play guessing game with him/her, with his/her said price. The reason being these numbers were not displayed publicly, coz they didn’t want other people get it a lower price but sell it at higher price. Like…what? Can you imagine that? Was this recorded as “a process” anyway? I don’t think so.

Knowing that the queue was long and one can take his/her own sweet time playing guessing game and negotiating the price, we opted to leave. It is said that women can get “better” price compared to men. Well, opposite attraction, perhaps. Hahaha!

We left JPJ Selangor and went to JPJ KL. The process of getting the running number, as well as playing guessing game with Pengarah, were similar! The only difference was JPJ KL didn’t publicly display all types of numbers, and they didn’t even know what was the current running numbers. Pfft!

So we decided not to proceed with the number booking and went down to proceed with another task. Earlier, we saw a newspaper cutting of JPJ introducing a new online system, which is MySikap. This system allows public to do JPJ-related thingy such as license renewal and what not. First step that you required to do was to register at the counter. Hence, we went to the counter and waited for the officer. It was quite long-waited process due to other officers who were passing by and lingered around weren’t able to assist us! The same excuse was given where we haveeeeeeeee to wait for that particular officer. Fine! We waited.

The officer later came and assisted us. She requested for our identification card and registered. She told us to wait for a verification email that is needed to be activated within a week. And that was it! Pfft! We asked her whether name transfer can be done via online but she said that stuff still not ready. We asked her whether we can renew our license via the same online system and again, she answered no. Huh?? She then explained that the system is not yet ready though it was announced in November 2013. Hahaha! This is ridiculous!

Few days after, we received a verification email and tried to activate it. Guess what? After so much hard work of inputting our personal info, the final page gave us an error message! Couldn’t register us? Ok…what else an IT person will talk about than condemning the system kan?! Gheeeees…teruk gile ok system camni…sedih!

We hibernated.

The day we got a call confirming that everything was approved, we ensued the car number booking. With Buyer’s Order Form from Nissan in hand, we took a day off and went to JPJ KL. And so the real experience began!

Again, we “tapau” homecook breakfast and ate at parking lot. We then walked to the 1st Floor and queued for number. Our number was 50 away from the current number. No issue as we had the whole day to spend. Plus, the running letters and numbers were W 96xx K. We asked one of the officers whether is there any chance that W xxx L (three digits) will be released on the same day, but they cannot confirm on that.

While waiting for our number, we went down to have a peek on uncollected tendered numbers but the queue was quite long. In addition, we got to know that though the starting price was RM300, you can never get a good number with that kind of pricing! What the heck! Ok, we should never waste our time.

We walked up back to 1st Floor and waited in the room. Our number almost getting near, hence I looked for other visitor with longer queue, to swap with mine. Hahaha! I can see that they guy was the happiest person on the floor, for his number was 70 away from mine. We then continued waiting, till one lady we met in front of Pengarah’s room came and joined us. She raised a concern on why didn’t I request to be attended at OKU/Old Citizen/Pregnant Woman Counter. I told her that the applicant was my hubby, not me. She then forced me to just give it a try.

And so I went to the counter and asked for new number, specifically for the special counter. The lady who was on duty, nearlyyyyyyyyyy gave me the number! But the guard who stood beside her asked me who the applicant was! I had to tell that it was my hubby lah kan…so, he didn’t allow me to do so. Pfft! Well, if that can be done, I’m pretty sure runner would be replaced with all pregnant ladies. Hahaha!

I went back and sat. Told the lady, it was impossible. Anyway, we had no issue pun kan. It was after lunch time when our number getting closer and closer! The running number still didn’t change. Owh crap! Suddenly, we overheard someone said that new letter was out! We got excited and re-confirmed with one of the officers. Yes! The letter K that was posted on the wall earlier was taken down and replaced by L. Now the three digits era had started!

While waiting for our turn, we kept on praying for the number that we wanted was not taken. The officer then called us and asked for our selection of numbers. The trickiest part was we wouldn’t know what the current running number was! She told us there were three JPJ centers accessing the system at the same time. So again, we were playing guessing game with the officer, to see whether the said number still available or not! Ya Allahhhhhh!

Four of our selections were not available but in return, we got a better three decreasing digits that were still available! Plus, it can be pronounced as a word! Hahaha! We paid RM200+RM10 (processing fee) and walked out with smile.

What an experience. We actually saved a lot for not using runner. Note that runner will charge up to RM600 for running numbers, so going through all this process by yourself isn’t a hard job, provided you have time to do it.

A pregnant lady can do this, so why can't you? :)

Friday, January 24, 2014

Now We Own A Nissan Navara LE (Facelift) 2.5 Litre Turbo Diesel, The Mother Trucker

Since hubby and I go to work together, I see no impact if I sell my car. Plus, that will make us live in debtless. So I sold my car last March to my sister in law without any feeling of missing my Black Pearl.

Anyhow…being human…the urge of wanting to have and breathe in a brand new car is almost unstoppable. Hubby and I started to discuss on the type, brand and model of the car that we should get. Any car that can top hubby’s car. Definitely not a two-doors car. Definitely not another sedan car. So, that left us with SUV, MPV, or 4x4.

Knowing hubby being a car enthusiast, who used to have a turbo-generated car, and very picky on the manufacturers, I let him make the decision. MPV was out of the conversation, for it wasn’t relevant at this point of our family-life. Nope, ah-ah…7-seater is not a preference at all. So we left with only two options that were SUV or 4x4.

We started to surf the net and visit almost all nearby showrooms, to have a closer look on the said cars. Ford Kuga and Mazda CX5 were the most two top listed in our heart BUT the price of these two good-looking cars were too expensive. I mean monthly repayment and maintenance wise lah. Confirm tak bleh pi travel oversea slalu!

Out of the blue, hubby popped out an idea of getting a 4x4! I was wondering, not a very bad idea. We can have a SUPER huge trunk at the back kan? So we started to compare which beasts are the best to opt.

First option was Mitsubishi Triton VGT Double Cab (full spec) with engine capacity of 2.5 Litre Turbo Diesel, 178ps max power and 350nm flat torque. What stunned us the most were the sunroof and open-able rear windshield BUT, the handling (suspension for cornering) was out of this world! Overly bumpy!

Second option was Nissan Navara LE (facelift) with engine capacity of 2.5 Litre Turbo Diesel, 170ps max power and 550nm flat torque. In other words, though the horse power is reduced with 8ps, the torque is HIGHER than Triton! And the most things that “held” our brain and heart was the handling, where it felt like we were in a car, not a 4x4. It came with leather seat, reverse camera, xenon light, shift on the fly, and the best part was, it can play DVD, mp3 and various format of USB movies!


Without any shilly-shallying, hubby straight away decided to go for this beast, also known as Mother Trucker. The shape looks more “American” and it looks beasty in 4x4 accessories. We sealed the deal with 3 free perks of RayTech Armor 60 tint, full tank fuel, and adjust rear seat setting by 2” (the rear seat was a bit straight).

It was end of the year, and we requested for 2014 model in twilight grey (as per below image, without the roof bar). I tried to force Nissan to expedite the delivery and guess what, the salesman did it in just 2 weeks time. Woohoo! Though the beast had minor scratches on gear console, overall, we were fully satisfied with the monster. As of today, we enjoy the feeling of sitting in this high-seated car, looking down into other cars and laugh on what they are doing. Nak overtake pun senang gile sebab keta lain takut! Hahaha!


And now we are officially own a Mother Trucker and live a motto of Work Hard, Play Hard! Hahahaha! Poyoooooooo... 


P/S : I will blog about Car Registration Number in the next post! You really wanna know how JPJ process is!

Read here on our experience with buying the number at JPJ KL!

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Brunei Babymoon : Brunei Museum, Brunei Technology Museum, Istana Nurul Iman, Taman Arca, Brunei Royal Regalia, and Brunei International Airport

It was raining heavily that morning. Hubby and I looked at each other and started to sigh. We had few other places to visit today before we flew off back to Malaysia in the evening. Without any uncertainty, we packed whatever needed and went out, though it was still heavily rain.

We asked the hotel reception on the direction to Brunei Museum. It was a big relieved to know that it is located just by the roadside. We had no issue in locating it, for we had the picture of the building in our Trip Cookbook. Hubby and I then, parked at the opposite site to take pictures of it. 

We decided not to pay a visit, for our time was quite limited. Earlier, we had discussed on both museums and we chose to visit Malay Technology Museum instead, since it is more interactive and presentable. Whilst, Brunei Museum is more on displaying MOU artifacts, journals, and history documents.

On the same bearing as this museum, we headed to Malay Technology Museum. It is located at Kampung Pelambayan, 10 minutes away from our hotel. We headed further inside the village and bumped into one signboard stated Malay Technology Museum. We stopped the car and walked under an umbrella that we borrowed from the hotel, earlier.

It was a small old green house (like klinik desa) and no one was seen on the scene. While hubby was capturing the info on the signboard, he noticed something.

“Eh ayang…this is not Malay Technology Museum la!” The info board stated Malay Technology Museum was 2km away! Hahahaha!

“Jom! Jom blah! Hahaha!”

Before someone saw us capturing photos of the old house that we had no idea what it was, we ran to the car and drove away! Rasa buduh sangat! And true enough, the Malay Technology Museum is located further inside, and the building is huge! This building was donated by Royal Dutch/Shell Group in conjuction of Sultanate’s independence back in 1984. It has 3 exhibition halls that are Water Village Traditional House Gallery, Water Village Traditional Technology Gallery, and Inland Traditional Technology Gallery.

We walked passing the entrance (oh ya, it’s free) and headed to the first hall, Water Village Traditional House Gallery. I smiled all the way looking at those replicas of Kampong Ayer houses, mainly built in the late 19th up to mid 20th century. I always love traditional kampong houses, and I do really want to own one.

Hubby and I started to imagine that all mannequins of villagers were alive and we were two of them. We acted along and played around the houses. I must say that it was quite spooky when we were the only two visitors in the hall but we had no time to over think of “that” entities.  

Credits to the curator, painter, and whoever involved in the making of the rebuilt, as everything on display are really good, presentable and well-kept. The mood was also at the right atmosphere and fell in place according to its century.
We then moved to the second hall where Water Village Traditional Technology Gallery is located. Here, they depicted various types of handicrafts and industries found in the water village. This included boat constructing, roof-making, gold and silver smiting, brass casting and cloth weaving. 
And we found more mannequins compared to the first hall! Again, it was only two of us in the hall and I must say that this hall was spookier that the first one. Why? Coz there was an old school swing with baby in it! Uiiiiii…scary, scary hahaha! 
We then went one floor up to the third hall, Inland Traditional Technology Gallery. I was amazed with myself whom carries a 5 months old of bellybean that still able to walk and climb stairs for the sake of travel :)

In this hall, they exhibited anything to do with indigenous technologies by Kedayan, Dusun and Murut people, for instances the production of Sago, brown sugar, and other handicrafts, including their houses. By this time, I told hubby that I need to do some acting with the ladies. So I quickly bended on my knee and adjusted the donning on one of them. Hahaha! Kak Ton sangat!

“Ayang, look…terselak sluar pakcik ni…” Hubby pointed to one “uncle” in kopiah, where his short was almost unlatched…up to his thigh. Hahaha! Seksi tau! Ish!
After had so much fun with this museum, we went out and headed to Istana Nurul Iman. Ok guys, stay put! This is where the real drama mama started!

Earlier, we had a good advice from the hotel reception to stop at one park, where we can clearly see the palace from there. So I told hubby to look for the park lah. It was still drizzling while we were driving towards the palace. I reminded hubby to drive super slow along the road, for the limit stated was 50kmph, and there were cameras being planted on most of the poles. But hell no, the locals drove like speedy Gonzales that indirectly turned hubby’s nerve to Michael Schumacher.

“Ayang, you have to practice now…just take photo while I’m driving.” Hubby instructed me.

“I can’t! Photos will be shaky! Why can’t we stop in front of the gate?” I declined!

“Just take lah…we cannot stop…” Hubby insisted.

“If visitors cannot stop, how come Supermeng can get the gate pictures?!” Begitu aku kata menggunakan nama Meng.

And we were right in front of Istana Nurul Imam! I quickly wind down the window and pointed the camera out from the car. The guard was looking at us! I was super scared that we would get caught! The car was moving slowly as I snapped the picture, EXACTLY like what paparazzi normally did.

We passed the palace! With shaky pictures!

“Make a u-turn! I didn’t get a good picture of it!” I shouted to hubby. “I am 110% sure that we can stop and ask for permission!”

Hubby then started complaining and I tell you…we argued like cat and dog! Hubby however, made a turn and this time, he parked right next to the guard house. IN THE RAIN, I walked to the guard and said “Sorry, we can take a picture of this palace?” and the guard replied “Sure…”

PANG!!! I slapped hubby in my dream. I TOLD CHA!

“Come out la, take picture…” I forced hubby.

“Nevermind, you take…” I think, dia malu kat guard.

I swear, I felt like screaming my lung out! How could a husband let his pregnant wife take photo of a GATE under a drizzling rain without an umbrella??? Kejam kan??? Nak sangat gambar pagar istana kan, amik! Amik!

This palace is the official residence of Sultan Brunie and there is NO WAY for outsiders to view the palace from outside, though it is the LARGEST residential palace in the world! Not even its wall! Only the gate and dome, I repeat, THE GATE AND THE GOLDEN DOME! And I was wondered who is staying with him when I got to know it contains 1788 rooms, 25 bathrooms, a mosque that can fit 1500 people, 110 car garage, an A/C stable with 200 polo ponies, 5 swimming pools, 564 chandeliers, 51000 bulbs, 44 stairs, and 18 elevators! Who??? WHOOO???

*pandang camera…basah kena hujan*

I thanked the guard and got into the car. I didn’t look at hubby’s face at all! I remained silent all the way and didn’t reply to any of his questions. THEN I CRIED! And being hubby, he ignored me! If Kiki (my cat) was there, Kiki will definitely console me! Pfft!

Hubby then stopped at the said park (right after the palace) called Persiaran Damuan, where Taman Arca is located. From the riverside, we can clearly see the golden dome and part of the rooftop. And that’s it! 

Next place of interest was Royal Regalia, where all presents and gifts to the Sultan are exhibited. It is said that, what do you give a man who has everything? Well, definitely something that worth not less than gold. Hahaha! True enough, we’ve seen soooooooo many gold and jewels in there. 
We parked the car opposite the building where the rate was a joke! 40 cents per hour weh! Hahaha! We went into the building where we were instructed to take off our shoes. We registered our names and were advised not to take any pictures in the exhibition hall. From right to left, we screened all gifts including the mother of all beer mugs, given by Queen Elizabeth II.

We ended the tour at the souvenir shop downstairs, where we bought fridge magnets, caps, and others, for friends and family back home. They had varieties of souvenirs to choose and the prices were quite reasonable. Plus, some of them were discounted.

Once we’ve completed the visit and souvenir buying, then only we were allowed to take pictures at the lobby. Nampak? Nampak tak permainannya disitu? Hahaha! 

We drove back to the Jubilee Hotel and waited for our free ride to the airport. Beforehand, we returned back the car to the owner and went up for final packing. Hubby started to talk nicely to me and I tend to talk to him back. That’s the beautiful of marriage life and travel husband and wife. You have no reason to prolong the argument! Hahaha!

The van came and sent us to Brunei International Airport. On the way, we saw the Prime Minister’s Office who happened to be led by the Sultan himself. 

At the departure hall, we saw new counters being setup. So whoever comes to Brunei in 2014 will enjoy this facility. In the waiting hall, we went into few souvenir shops and found that the price for fridge magnet was the same as Royal Regalia’s. So, you still can buy them if you miss it outside. 
 
“I’m sitting next to the window…I want to see Istana Nurul Iman from aerial view.” I told hubby.

I sat on the right side of the flight and I SAW NO PALACE, NEITHER THE GOLDEN DOME NOR THE ROOF!

 
I love Brunei :) The end.




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