Progress in Penang with the Gurney Wharf Project (and other topics)

Compared to the activity on the Gurney Wharf Project a few months ago, it’s very quiet now. In the photo below you can see a tiny bit of activity near the shore, and more activity on the island.

Other than what can be seen in this photo, taken two days ago, all is quiet. Having read the documentation it appears it is in the settling stage. This is where they put another layer of (what appears to be) sand on top of the reclaimed land. So the land can settle. And then they leave it for six to nine months. This they call surcharging the site and you can read how it is done here.

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The engineers monitor the settlement, and when the seabed clay reaches the targeted settlement magnitude they remove the surcharge layer to the designed platform level. To use their terminology.

Once they remove the surcharge the site is reportedly ready for construction. As I understand it, then the construction company site turns over the site to the Penang government so they can develop the park. So perhaps this will happen from the beginning of next year on. Depending on how quickly the reclaimed land settles.

Internet troubleshooting with Telekom Malaysia

There was no Internet yesterday at home, so it was time for Internet troubleshooting. At 1 AM suddenly the Internet became unavailable. The only light on the modem / router is the Power light.

No one has told us why. The phone still works. But the line had a lot of static. So I put in a report around 6 AM.  They said if the problem was outside the house they would fix it for no cost. If inside it would cost RM57 + SST.

 

No Internet from TM today

 

No Internet today

 

At 1AM suddenly the Internet became unavailable. The only light on the modem / router is the Power light.

No one has told us why. The phone still works, so I put in a report.

And I changed all the cables and the splitter. But to no avail.

5G is moving forward

According to this recent article, 5G is moving forward in this country. And also in other countries. Thus I am revising and updating my previous blog on this topic only a month and a half later.

If you look at the news at all it’s hardly a surprise that 5G is coming. The question most likely is, “When?” Much less likely is the question, “If?” or “Will scientists research it for safety before it’s introduced?”

In fact, almost everything you find on this topic in Malaysia promotes the advantages and potential new uses. Security concerns, with Huawei getting a special mention, are sometimes noted. But in a very narrow sense.

Malaysian Communications & Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chief digital officer Gerard Lim said in April 2019 that will be possible for Malaysians to start using 5G by 2021 or 2022. Some areas may have it earlier.

It is time to look into this issue before it becomes too late. If you want the truth on this and other topics you can subscribe to my new free newsletter. But get it while you still can – Internet censorship is more and more rife and soon you may only be able to view what the corporate media want you to.

5G – what is it good for?

So, who would be opposed to much faster Internet? Probably no one.

 

This week in Penang

This week in Penang I noticed – not much, really. Firstly, a quick video of the Gurney Wharf Project. Not that much different from a few weeks ago, that I can see.

Then, I think it was Tuesday, it rained and rained all day. Kind of unusual. Some other days was just a short period of rain. No haze this week that I noticed. And plenty of nice sunny periods towards the end of the week.

Bangkok tips

13 Bangkok tips for you. I’m just back from a few days in Bangkok.

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Transport

1. Traffic congestion is very bad. Plan to stay where you don’t need to rely on road transport much, if you can. This is one of the best of the 13 Bangkok tips. In other words, stay near the BTS, the Metro or the river.
2. Ask for coins in change; for example 2 x 10 coins instead of a 20 note. This is because there are often long queues for tickets at the BTS, but usually almost no one using the ticket machines – and the ticket machines only accept coins. I think one station on the BTS cost THB 16, from memory.
3. If you use the BTS a lot look into getting a Rabbit card – it may save you money and time.
4. You can use the river for transport. It’s very cheap – and you get a very different view.

 

Papaya leaf tea aka free tea

Papaya leaf tea can be free tea. If you pick and dry the leaves yourself.

Get some papaya leaves, cut them up, dry them in the sun and steep in boiling water for around 10 minutes.

Growing papaya

If you have no access to papaya trees it’s very easy to grow them. Buy a nice papaya, eat it, but save the seeds.  Put a few seeds in a big pot with soil where it will get some sun. A balcony will be fine.  Their germination rate is phenomenal, so you should just thin out the seedlings so you have one per pot eventually.