Ogon Carbon Passport Clip

As the current pandemic rage on, travel passport is pretty much sitting idle and collecting layer of dust. In fact my passport will expire next month and there is no plan to renew it for the time being. Even so, we shouldn't let an opportunity slip by when it presented itself at the right time.

Many online stores are giving massive discounts and I decided to purchase the Ogon Carbon Passport Clip at RM 306.35 from Oribags. This will be a long term investment for a protective cover for my passport as I been using cheap flimsy plastic protective cover all this while require constant replacement.

The packaging of the Carbon Passport Clip is about the same with their other wallet products. It comes with the Passport Clip and manual.

The Carbon Passport Clip (CPC) is made in France with genuine molded carbon fiber and its internal is padded with yellow soft spongy material which might get dirty over time.

The size is exactly the same with any international passport and weighted at 32g only.

The  CPC can carry passport, boarding pass and any other documents which have the same size of a passport. The manufacturer claims that the CPC is RFID safe and able to protect the chip inside the biometric passport.

Insert the passport from the side of the CPC and the passport will just smoothly slide into the clip effortlessly. I notice the bottom edge is curved slightly upward. I believe this is due to its design to hold the passport in place and the ease for the boarding pass to be inserted to the passport holder. The CPC holds the passport firmly and it will not come off unless you shake it violently.

With a thinner document, the upward bottom edge become less noticeable. As carbon fiber is strong and stiff, it will able to protect the passport from bend which can damage the sensitive electronic device embedded into it.

Retrieving the passport is also a breeze by using a finger to push down the passport. This is definitely a feature I like. With the previous plastic cover, it will be more cumbersome to remove the passport from it when going through the immigration clearance.

Ogon CPC is definitely pricey but this passport holder will last a lifetime without the need to change due to its durable material. The usage of carbon fiber also add to the aesthetic appearance of the holder while travelling.

Alamanda Shopping Centre During Lockdown

Today (20th July 2021) I decided to have a stroll around Alamanda Shopping Centre to have a look how it has been doing since the lockdown on 1 June 2021.

Aeon Big is one of the biggest tenant here has been closed for the past 2 weeks as some of their workers were tested positive. The hypermarket will be opened again tomorrow. This is where most of the patrons will go to during the lockdown period.

The rest of the area is pretty much deserted even though a few F & B outlets, pharmacy, book store, phone shops and optical shops are allowed to operate. It almost felt like walking inside an abandoned mall.

Over the past few months, it is quite dishearten to find out hotels, restaurants and other type of businesses I know of were forced to close permanently due to the bad policy in handling the pandemic. I am pretty sure they will not make a comeback when we are out of this storm.

I believe this type of lockdown can't go on for a long period of time. The way forward in my opinion is to let the all business owners/operators to operate and they should conduct self-assessment on their operational risk based on the latest data. Based on the self risk assessment findings, necessary steps can be identified to mitigate it (e.g. improve ventilation, air sterilization, barrier, manning of workplace and etc). 

It is time to let the business/industry to self regulate themselves during this tough time rather than the government gives the instructions and SOP on how to operate. Every business with their premise are unique in their own way and it is the owner/operator who knows best on how to best deal with the pandemic based on the available data/guidelines without incurring huge losses in their endeavour.

The government roles should be limited to disseminate data, guidelines and useful information to the public so they can make a fully informed decision.

However, to move to that direction, there must be a paradigm shift in our mentality as I am quite aware that we tend to be irresponsible in the name of profit. Unless we change, nothing will change and everyone will suffer eventually.

Safescan 50 UV Counterfeit Detector

Nowadays we do not use much of bank notes in our daily transaction but instead moving forwards into digital payment. However, cash is still relevant in the event of emergency where the digital payment system don't work at certain time.

I don't hear much news about counterfeit currency of late but it could make a comeback as we are pretty much in a great depression now.

With that in mind, I decided to invest in a quality UV counterfeit detector. After shopping around and some research, I opt for Safescan 50 UV Counterfeit Detector (RM 175). Their product was designed in Europe but made in China. This type of detector can be used to verify currency, passport, travel visa, credit card and identification card.

Inside the packaging is the main unit itself with the manual. Interestingly, there is a UV-lamp removal tool at the bottom of the unit and the manual clearly shows how to use it.

It was way smaller than I initially thought. It is compact (20.6 x 10. 2 x 8.8 cm) and light (625g)

It comes with a 2 year warranty with additional 1 more year if you register the product online within 30 days from the date of purchase.

It is quite straight forward on how to use it. Just plug it to a power source and then just turn the on switch. The UV-lamp will light up instantly.

Verifying the currency under this detector is like watching an amazing light show with the security thread and fibres illuminate in multiple colours. Here is how Malaysian currency looks like under the UV light.

Same goes with other currencies such as Singapore Dollar, Thai Baht, Euro and Chinese Renminbi. Such a beauty.

I also discovered our Malaysian passport has so many security features embedded to it when viewing it under the UV-light. The same goes to our identity card.

I remember a few years ago when I travelled to China the officials were verifying my travel visa under the detector. Now I know what they are looking for.

Even though I might not use this counterfeit detector for verification purpose in the future, it is still fun to see the beauty and learn more about the security features incorporated into the currencies and official documents.

AKIE Burger @ Putrajaya Presint 6

Malaysian are used to see Ramly Burger kiosk but I started to see AKIE burger kiosks mushrooming in some areas. One of the latest kiosk is located at Jalan Kajangan P6, just outside Apartment 5R1 in Presint 6 Putrajaya. The surrounding is clean with a park behind this kiosk.

Little did I know this franchise had its footing back in 2009 in Kuantan and had expanded to west coast of Peninsular Malaysia since then.

The kiosk here is manned by 2 friendly and hardworking guys. They open around 4pm until whatever time been allowed by the authority from the current standard operating procedure.

AKIE burger menu is pretty much standard and didn't differ much compare to the other street burger stalls. What set it apart from the others is probably the exotic meats which are the deer, rabbit, lamb and ostrich.

They still don't have any QR code for online payment as they don't know how to prepare it. Nevertheless, they display their Maybank account number for online transaction. I'm sure they will get better and have a QR code on display for online payment in the near future.

The packaging is just like any street burger stall. I ordered a beef burger special (RM4.50) and lamb burger (RM 4.50).

Eating a street burger is always a messy experience. So, expect the same here. The burger size will probably won't be sufficient to satiate an adult.

Inside this lamb burger is the lamb patty, lettuce, cucumber, mayonnaise and chili sauce. I wish they had add some slices of tomato into it. The lamb burger is satisfying. The lamb patty was not overwhelmed by the lamb smell. For those who crave lamb, this would be the burger to go to.

For beef burger special, they wrapped the beef patty with egg. The other ingredients that went into it is the same as the lamb burger except with the addition of seasoning sauce added to the egg which enhance the overall taste.

I will definitely fancy my chance to try their dear, rabbit and ostrich burger in the future.