From talkingcock.com


MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

ps. I didn't know how to spell Christmas. Was it 'Chris' or 'Christ'? Google saved me.

Photos from Ground Zero

Here are hell lotsa photos from the landslide in KL. My family and I had to traverse through ground zero to get back to our house. We needed to go back home coz my sisters and mum needed to take more clotes, and we had to lock up the house properly for fear of looters.

Before that, here's a gloomy photo of the Petronas Twin Towers, some hotel and some bank in KL. Took this shot from our 19th floor hotel room in Concorde.

Peter and Jean drove us back to Bukit Antarabangsa. The police cordoned off vehicles from the area near ground zero so we had to park the car nearby and walk all the way up to our house.

Here's the view as we approached the Control Centre. Looks like a market place.
Ma holding Anne, as if Anne is gonna burst out crying when she sees the two-storey-high landslide.
Mary and Jean looking into the distance trying to get a good focus on the landslide.
Traffic police.
A father and his daughter walking out of the stranded neighbourhood.
Concorde Hotel providing free catering to the stranded, police, army, rescue teams and volunteers. And my family just came from that hotel.
More traffic police.
Like a market.

I bet the food is good. The hotel breakfast buffet was good. And the dim sum was much better.
We had to register our names as we entered the neighbourhood. For accountability.
Peter, Anne, and Mary.
Market place. With lotsa cops and army personnel.
"Registration. Enter/Exit of disaster scene". I think my translation still holds.
Concorde food.
Crossing the Bailey's Bridge ie. the bridge made by the army engineers to provide access to one stranded neighbourhood. This is Part 1 of the ad-hoc emergency access road.
Bailey's Bridge to cross this hugeass drain.
Such a gloomy scene at Bukit Antarabangsa. Captures the spirit of the day, or rather the lack off. It was drizzling and cold.
After crossing the bridge, we were heading towards the footpath. We would have to walk past the tip of Ground Zero.
Trucks bringing out rubble?
Mud entering nearby houses.
Hugeass truck.
Passing Ground Zero.
Tip of Ground Zero. The landslide created that bulge.
Damn...
Peter looking in bewilderment. Notice how the road is bulged upwards.
...at least they can salvage some items from their home. Can you image about the other bungalows behind these two houses? Everything covered in mud. Nothing to salvage.
Since it was raining and the canal was clogged with mud, water overflowed from the canal and came here. We had to cross this muddy path. Army personnel were stationed throughout the path to help residents like us moving in and out.
More photos of destruction.
Walking towards the hill.

So freaking muddy.
Up the hill, there was a long line of residents waiting to hike down. To get out of the stranded neighbourhood to buy groceries or whatever. The fences of this condo had to be removed to make way for this footpath.

Walking through that condo.
While walking through the condo, we saw the landslide, just a small part of it. Everything else were blocked by the trees. The house on the left is freaking lucky. Untouched.
A family moving back into their house beside the landslide. They were ordered to evacuate, but I think now that things are safer, they are permitted to move back in. Or maybe just to take more clothes and stuff and later stay out again.
After traversing Ground Zero, we had to make a 100m uphill walk to our neighbourhood. Cars lined the road. What the stranded residents did was to drive down, park their cars here, and then continue on foot. If they were to walk all the way, it would take a good 20 minutes from their house to the muddy hill in the photo above.
A relief centre at a nearby condo. By UMNO?
More cars lining the street.
This is the old muddy hillpath that my fmaily had to walk through on the first day to get out of the stranded neighbourhood. The path that I showed above is the new one.
More cars.
Another relief centre.
Finally, reached my neighbourhood. Another 5-10 mins and another small uphill, and HOME SWEET HOME.
When we reached my street, we saw our neighbours (middleground). They decided to stay put since Day 1.
We had some food and drinks when we got back. Then my parents decided to stay at home. I guess nothing beats the feeling of home, even when there isn't water and electricity. The police said that water and electricity is expected to be restored by 6pm that day. We decided to take our chances.

So after resting, we had to hike down again to buy food from the nearby supermarket. The initial plan was to collect clothes, then go to my granma's house in Subang Jaya. But since we decided to stay at home that night, we needed food.

On our way down, we saw an entourage of some minister. He saw us and shook hands with us (to show concern), and chatted a bit (to show face). I didn't get a good shot of him.
Going down that muddy hill again.
Walking past Ground Zero again.

Seeing the long queue of residents waiting to hike back up.
Waiting for the group coming downhill to clear before they can move uphill.
Epic.


As of today (Thursday 11 Nov), road access has been partially restored. The army engineers have constructed a temporary path along the hills. Entry and exit into the stranded area operates on a schedule e.g. 6-10pm exit only, 10-2pm entry only <-- that is NOT the confirmed schedule. I am just illustrating the situation.

Electricity is restored, but they have to cut it off intermittently while conducting some reparation works.

Water supply is good.

Phone lines are operational, as evidently I can connect to broadband.

I've been stuck at home for the past 4 days coz if I were to go out, I need to be out the whole day. Long story, but it has something to do with the entry/exit schedule. I was so sian at home I decided to take a drive around the neighbourhood. I saw for myself the queue of vehicles waiting to get out of the neighbourhood via the temporary access. It was so freaking long. about 75m of cars? Just sitting there by the road, waiting for their turn to come.

For the weekend, my parents decided that the family should stay out. Booked a hotel. Also booked lunch and dinner La'fite and Shangri-La to celebrate my dad's birthday, and just to give ourselves a good meal after all this shit.

I'll be going back to Singapore on Monday morning. Then come back to KL to celebrate Christmas, then back to Singapore right after xmas, Bali with the dudes, and wow, end of holidays.

...oh, and Law play stuff too.

...and lotsa talk cock, suppers, and xboxing with Michael and Jupiter.