Looking for New and Crispy USD

While doing my research on Myanmar, I read with concern that USD must be new and crispy, with no creases or other blemishes. In addition to USD100 and USD50 notes, readers were also advised to bring small USD bills such as USD1, USD5 and USD10 to pay for hotels, airlines and entrances to tourist sites.

I had with me sufficient USD100 and USD50 which I managed to obtain in Port Moresby. However, I did not have the small bills and I was unable to obtain them in Port Moresby.

Now, I am from small town Sibu. I checked with the two money changers there, i.e Yewon and Segi Bintang Ganjaran prior to departing for Yangon. No luck! They did not have new crispy USD and no small notes. Earlier, I was in Kuching on the way back from Port Moresby and there was insufficient USD at the lone money changer operating at Tun Jugah shopping complex.

There was one last place I could check and my last chance to find the small bills, i.e. at the airport in Kuala Lumpur. When I arrived at Airasia Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) from Sibu, I went straight to change my USD100 bills to the small notes. Both money changers there shook their heads. I could not believe it! Did they mean they did not have the small bills or they did not want to change my USD100 bills to smaller bills! They did not say anything, just the negative response. I suspected that they did not want to change my USD100 bills because they would not make any money by doing that.

I bid my time and when I saw a different counter clerk at one of the money changers, I inquired with her. She told me that she could not change the large denominated USD to smaller bills with me but I could buy them. My guess was right. Now, I did not want to buy more USD because I had enough of the currency with me already. Under this circumstance, I had no choice but to pull out my Malaysian Ringgit (from my wallet and ATM) and bought another USD200, which I requested to be given in small clean bills.

How crispy and clean should the USD be? Bloggers have described them as followed:

Quote from www.southeastasiabackpacker.com

Quote from www.legalnomads.com

Quote from http://www.go-myanmar.com/

I had bills in the following conditions. 

Guess which were not accepted!

The USD10 which was my deposit with OK Travels and Tours was initially accepted but when the tickets were delivered to me, I was asked to replace it.

The USD20 was rejected by White House Hotel where I stayed when I tried to pay for my final night's stay.

As far as I could see, there was no crease, no spot, no tear nor folding lines in both bills. The only reason I could offer was both bills did not "feel" crispy new. The "new" here means the feel of freshly minted notes, not the year.

Home Again

Yesterday, 15th October 2012, I left Port Moresby for Singapore. Departing at 3:15 p.m. PNG time after a short delay, I landed at Singapore Changi Airport at 7:15 p.m. Singapore time after a six hour flight. From Singapore, I left for Kuala Lumpur at 9:15 p.m. and landed at KL International Airport at about 10:15 p.m.

It's 6:30 a.m. now. I took two breakfast just now. Chicken at KFC and Curry Mee at Ipoh Old Town Coffee. The Curry Mee is quite good, except the portion is very small, for a sum MYR10.40.

The flight to Sibu is at 8:55 a.m. I should land in Sibu by 11:00 a.m. this morning. It feels good to be home again.

Last Meals in Sibu before Departure Part II

This is Part II of my last meals in Sibu. I continued this from Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, as I disconnected my internet access in Sibu on the afternoon of 23rd November 2009.

23rd November 2009 - Seng Bee Cafe, Lanang Road

I discovered this place very late, i.e. in late 2008 only. CTT told us that the beef kampua here was great. The business was owned by an ethnic Chinese but the cook was (probably) Malay or Indonesian. There were actually two sections to this cafe, one non-halal and one halal. The beef kampua was at the halal section. The cook who dished up the excellent halal beef kampua made excellent Sarawak Laksa too, probably the best I have in Sibu. It was creamy and yummy. So, I had both for breakfast this morning with CTT.


23rd November 2009 - Aborted Lunch - Wan Siang Cafe
My planned lunch at Wan Siang Cafe with TSC at Lanang Road did not materialise. The owner of Wan Siang Cafe stir-fried excellent Malay style mee goreng. I can testify that even Malays cannot prepare such excellent mee goreng. Just when I was about to get moving to Wan Siang at about 12:15 p.m., the sky turned cloudy. I had to call TSC to cancel the lunch date.

24th November 2009 - Another Aborted Lunch - Sing Kwong Food Court
My planned lunch for today at the new Sing Kwong foodcourt with TSC was cancelled, again because of cloudy sky. My favorite food here was the Bak Kut Teh and the stir-fried sambal noodle. The owner of the sambal noodle stall onced promised LKF and me that she would teach us her skills, after we commented that her sambal noodle was so good. We however never took up the offer.

24th November 2009 - at a corner restaurant at Bukit Lima Timur Road
Four of us, CTT, TSC, LKF and me, came together for one last meal as a farewell dinner for me at a restaurant at Bukit Lima Timur Road. I forgot to take a picture of the restaurant but I was told that this was a very popular place. There were a few stalls here, and we ordered roti canai, pork satay, fried noodles, etc. The pork satay was very good, and TSC sapu almost all the satay and the sauce.

Finally, I Am Leaving Sibu

[This blog was drafted on the day I left Malaysia on Wednesday, 25th November 2009]

I woke up early, at 5:40 a.m. I tried to continue with my sleep but could not. So, I decided to do what I must, i.e. to go through the checklist of items to bring. By 8:00 a.m., everything was more or less ready. I watched satellite TV for a while and decided to have my last kampua mee at 9:30 a.m. at the kopitiam in front of Tiong Hua Road Market. Then, it was back for a last bath.

The taxi arrived at 10:15 a.m., 15 minutes earlier than scheduled at 10:30 a.m. Arriving at Sibu Airport just before 11:00 a.m., the check-in counters were choking with passengers. I did not queue up immediately because I wanted to weigh my check-in bag first to ensure that it did not exceed 20 kg. It did not.


Flight MH2715 left Sibu for Kuala Lumpur as scheduled at 12:20 p.m. and touched down at about 2:00 p.m., and by 2:30 p.m., I was at the arrival hall at the main terminal building (MTB).



My flight from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Port Moresby (POM) was at 10:40 p.m. I had 8 hours to explore the MTB. The arrival hall was on Level 3. After 1 hour, I had explored the lobby area. Then, I went up to Level 5 to the departure hall, and spent the rest of the time there, waiting for Air Niugini check-in counters to open.



As I was taking photographs at Level 5, suddenly two familiar figures passed by me. Those who knew them would recognise them from the photograph.

While exploring the departure hall, I realized that there was no security check on the luggage. The luggage was checked in straight away. I called CTT and TSC back in Sibu and neither could offer any explanation. So, I asked a security personnel and was told that unlike the domestic check-in at other airports, no luggage screening was done here. It would be checked after the luggage was checked in.

The wait was long and boring. Tugging a 15 kg check-in luggage with a hand-carried bag restricted my movement. I could not check in my luggage as the Air Niugini counters have not opened. Other airlines have opened theirs. I had actually wanted to explore all the five levels at KL International Airport. I moved around Level 5 only. During this time, I exchanged MYR346.80 for USD100, more expensive than my first purchase of USD back in Sibu.



It was not until about 8:30 p.m. that Air Niugini counters finally opened for business. There was a small crowd, consisting of Papuans, Fuzhouese, Cantonese, mainland Chinese, families with young children, etc.


There was one lady, at another counter, who was told that her passport has less than 6 months' validity, i.e., it was expiring in January 2010. I thought what tough luck for her. She must have paid over RM1,500 for the one way ticket. With two children in tow, the amount paid would have exceeded RM4,500. Just like LCC when he checked in for Bangkok with less than 6 months' validity - he was refused permission to check in. As I left, the lady was still there.

I left the departure hall for Gate C33, passing through Immigration and going down to Level 4 for the immigration exit stamp. Then, it was a short wait for the Aerotrain to arrive, the mass people mover system at KLIA, to bring passengers to Satellite Building A, where the actual departure gates were located. I arrived before 9:00 p.m. and went straight to Gate C33 and after a thorough luggage screening and body check, cleared through the airport police check. As I was entering Gate C33 to the seating area, I was asked by a policewoman where I was heading. I replied, "Gate C33". I was told that Gate C33 had not opened and I must wait outside. Well, you see, I cleared through the police check for Gate C31 for Singapore, instead of Gate C33. The two gates were side by side. What a country bumpkin.



As I was waiting outside, the lady with less than 6 month passport validity appeared. How did she convince the check-in counter staff to issue her the boarding pass? Then, she was on the phone, speaking in Fuzhouese. Must be from Sibu too!

Two ladies, both with a child, started talking. The communication was initiated by one of the woman's son, who was trying to befriend the daughter of the other woman. Soon, both mothers were talking.

The woman with the son was working in New Ireland (not the Ireland in Europe but in PNG), and she was saying there was hardly anything there. Port Moresby would be much better. There were a lot of restaurants in Port Moresby. She said she was from the state of Sabah (in East Malaysia), whereas her husband was from the town of Banting (in West Malaysia). The other woman replied that she was from Banting, and was going to PNG to visit her husband during the school holidays.

Gate C33 finally opened for business at 10:40 p.m. The air hostesses and stewards arrived soon after. Not one of the air hostesses was attractive, with none being slim and beautiful. Some looked like grandmas and nannies. Was that a contributing factor to the lack of tourists to PNG? (Please do not flame me for this comment).

At 11:00 p.m, it was announced that the flight to Port Moresby was rescheduled to 2:10 am, 26th November 2009, due to an eruption of a volcano.

We were given a voucher for refreshment, valid at either Noodles or Burger King. I chose Burger King. The value of the voucher was MYR13. You take more than the value, you pay for them. I took 1 Double Cheese Burger (MYR13.90, I cup of Sprite (MYR3.50) and potato chips. I was told to pay MYR1.00 extra only.

After the light refreshment, I thought of re-entering Gate C33 seating area to take a nap. However, I was denied entry. The gate would only open at 1:00 a.m. Seats outside the gate were mostly taken up, so that ruled out sleeping. It was then that I decided to pen this blog on paper.

While sitting at a quiet corner writing, there was a power blackout. Hmm! This was KL International Airport. Looked like power outages were not only occurring in Sibu!

At exactly 1:00 a.m., feeling very sleepy, I dragged myself to re-enter Gate C33. The scanning machine was undermanned. I was the first to re-enter. This would be the third time my luggage was being screened and I being frisked by airport police. I was given customs and immigration cards to fill.


Finally, the plane took off at 2:17 a.m. It was a Boeing 757. The pilot was apologising for the delay and explained that due to an eruption of a volcano at Medan (in Indonesia ? or was it Madang in PNG?), the ashes would be in the path of flight PX 0395, hence the delay as a safety precaution.

There were a few occasions which I might have fallen asleep in the plane before the late supper was served.



I kept myself awake until after the supper. By then, it was 3:08 a.m. (Malaysia time) already. I dozed off at about 3:25 a.m. I have not slept for the past 22 hours.

At past 5:15 a.m., I woke up. The sun had risen and sunlight was entering the cabin through the window.

I tried to get back to sleep. It was futile as I could only catnap because of the bright sunlight and uncomfortable sitting position. When I went to the rear of the plane, passengers were lying on their back sleeping on the empty seats. Why didn't I thought of that? The hand rest could be pushed upward to allow passengers to sleep on the row of empty seats! Too late for me! Breakfast was served at 8:18 a.m, Malaysian time.


The plane landed at about 9:15 a.m. Malaysian time, or 11:15 a.m. local time.



Jacksons International Airport was small, with one wing for domestic flights and one for international flights. There were only 3 or 4 parking bays for planes. It was about the size of Miri Airport and looked old. It has no staircase but ramps leading to the ground floor to the Immigration counters.

Instead of picking up the luggage on arrival and then going through Immigration, it was the reverse here. I queued up at the line for those with visa (the longest queue), then picked up my luggage, queued up once more to exchange my US$ to PGK at the sole moeny changer, Bank South Pacific, and queued up the third time to go through Customs.

The custom officer really meant business. He asked me what was inside my bags. I said clothes and some documents. Then, he asked me to open up my bags and he went through my belonging. The department was really concerned about smuggling. I was through only when he was satisfied.

From arrival until exiting the airport, it was a slow and long process. By the time it was over, it was almost 12:00 noon local time (or 10:00 a.m. Malaysia time).

My "predecessor" was there waiting for me as I exited from the airport. In about 7 minutes, we arrived at my new employer's compound.



Within it were the office block, staff quarters, a big sport complex with three badminton courts, a gym and separate spa for male and female employees. Behind was a hypermarket.

I was then led to the guest room where I would be staying for one night before moving into the new staff quarters on Friday, 27th December 2009.

Last Meals in Sibu before Departure Part I

I was awoke already at 5:40 a.m. this morning, and could not sleep any longer. Time is getting shorter. There are still many things to do and I have only another 3 1/2 days in Sibu to arrange everything. Setting my priorities have become more difficult.

I shall be disconnecting my internet/ fixed line telephone in the afternoon of Monday, 23rd November 2009, i.e. I have only another 32 hours' connection to TMnet. Therefore, getting this blog out is a priority.

For the last few days, I have been taking my favorite food for one last time. That meant hanging out at my favourite eateries for meals. I have another two or three places to go, which I shall not be able to blog this time because by the time I visit these places, my internet connection would have been terminated.

17th November 2009 - Tiong Hua Road Market


In Sibu, I have tried these at Sing Kwong food stalls, pasar malam, restaurants, etc. , and nothing beat those from Tiong Hua Road Market. The siew mai came in frozen packs.


The sausage is among the best I have tried. In fact, it was better a few years' back, before the price of pork started to go up. As the price of pork went up, the quality of this sausage somehow dropped, with less meat being used. For the siew mai, freshness is an issue. If you are unlucky, the packet you bring home may not be made with fresh pork. Price: sausage - RM1.50 per piece, siew mai - RM5.00 per packet of nine pieces.


18th November 2009 - Breakfast of Dian Bian Hu at Chop Hing Huong
I have lived in Sibu for the past 14 years. I have been told that it was at a lane somewhere at the old Sibu bus station, read blogs about the fame of its Dian Bian Hu, about how established this place is and how it has been passed from father to son, etc., but I have never been able to find the place. I found it only yesterday after asking and looking for it persistently these few days.


For visitors to Sibu, this is to let you know that this eatery, called Chop Hing Huong, is located at the lane beside Ah Hee Kopi Tian. Yesterday, the price was RM3.50 per bowl and today, with two friends, the price was RM3.00 per bowl!!!. Was I being scammed yesterday?


Dian Bian Hu (spelt differently from person to person) is a traditional Fuzhou (also spelt as 'Foochow') fare, and is found only within the Fuzhou Chinese community. Dian (wok) Bian (side) Hu (paste) is basically cooked rice paste which is produced after the freshly milled rice paste has been poured over the side of the wok to cook. Once solidified, it is scraped into a boiling soup and cooked with other ingredients to produce the Dian Bian Hu.


18th November 2009 - Lunch at Dung Fang Cafe No. 2 (near Farley Supermarket)
This place was a favorite of mine for its cheap, delicious meals of RM3.30, consisting of rice and two servings of meat and two of vegetables. However, with the prices of food going up late last year, the servings have become smaller. Now, it is not worth the money.



19th November 2009 - Lunch at Shabu Shabu
There are many choices of food and I have tried a few of them. However, my favorite are Xi Shi Cao Mien (Xi Shi fried noodle) at RM4.50, seafood dumpling (RM4.90) and prawn dumpling (RM4.90). I am slowly getting tired of them.




21st November 2009 - Tiong Hua Road Market
I bought taro/ yam dumpling, Di Bian (Fuzhou pronunciation) and Cai Kui (Fuzhou, pronunciation, literally, vegetable dumpling) for breakfast. Di Bian (also called oyster cake in Singapore), on the right of the picture, is a traditional Fuzhou dumpling. In Singapore, it is named oyster cake because it has oyster as filling but in the plain Sibu version, it has none. There is another version with meat filling. The cai kueh on the left has no vegetable in it, but it tasted great.


21st November 2009 - Dinner at Cafe Cafe
This is one popular place in town. When we arrived at about 7:10 p.m., there was no vacant table. We were lucky that we waited outside for less than 10 minutes before we were called in.


Ayam Kapitan (RM9.50) has always been my favorite here. However, after paying the bill and when we were at the car already, we realised that we have been billed Nyonya Set (RM14.90) instead of Ayam Kapitan. Was this a genuine mistake or a scam?

Yummy!


22nd November 2009 - Sing Kee (1999) Confectionary Kompian
Kompian is another traditional Fuzhou food. Many Sibu bloggers wrote about it. Even some West Malaysian food bloggers wrote about it, though they mainly wrote about the Sitiawan (another Fuzhou town) version. The Sitiawan version has filling while the Sibu version has no filling. That was why, non-Sibu folks have no feeling for it and never promoted it while the Sitiawan version with filling has people feeling for it and was promoted actively. I have great feeling for the plain kompian with no filling. Price: RM1.00 for 5 pieces.