It was some two weeks ago when there was a blackout here in Sibu. It was not very long, less than two hours from around 4.00 to 6.00 p.m. and it was still bright at the time so we could go outside where it was cooler but when that happens in the night, even though there may be the pleasant night breeze outside, one would have to fight with the mosquitoes and whatever that would be lurking in the dark.
Two days later, it happened again early in the night around 7.00 p.m. but that one was quite brief, around half an hour only, thank God!
I have the electricity board’s technical assistance number on speed dial so everytime that happened, I would call them right away. One had to be fast or one would never be able to get through – the line would be engaged and I wouldn’t know if some other people were calling or they just left the receiver off the hook. Tsk! Tsk!
These days, when you call that number, you would get through to their customer service and firstly, the answering machine would tell you to press 1 for English, 2 for Malay…and then if you want to report a blackout, you would need to press a certain number and so on and so forth. Finally, when all that has been done, they will tell you, “Sorry, all our lines are busy. Please hold!” So you would have to wait and wait and wait and listen to some horrible music and I was thinking, perhaps they should play some relevant songs instead like this one, for instance…
If I am not wrong, the people running that service are in Kuching and they would ask and say a lot of things and at the end of it all, they would just tell you that they would inform the people concerned. When? Don’t ask me…but what I can tell you is that if you are calling on your mobile, that would cost you quite a bit. Thankfully, I have free landline calls using the complimentary cordless phone that came with my internet package so go ahead – say what you want, take your time!
Coming back to the blackout, I was thinking of buying a fan that would run on rechargeable battery. I bought this one…
*Archive photo*
…some two years ago for my girl to take to her school in the jungle. They have electricity there but are dependent on generators and those would break down sometimes. Thankfully, there had not been any need to use it and one fine day, she told me it was not working anymore. I heard somewhere that these things have to be used regularly or they would just call it quits for no reason whatsoever. Ah well! What can one expect for RM15.00 only and from something made in China some more? For this very reason, I did not want to get one of the same for her or for myself.
I remember seeing a box fan with a fluorescent light by the side at a shop in Selangau that time when my girl first went over to teach in one of the schools in that district…and I was looking and thinking of buying one for her but the mum went nag…nag…nag…so I just walked away and abandoned the whole idea. I was contemplating on going back there to see if they would still be selling it there but in the meantime, I decided to drop by the electrical shop a few doors away when we went here for lunch (we were there early, around one hour before opening time) that day and yes, they had this…
…tagged at RM145.00 but they were willing to let me have it for RM125.00. I told them I would be getting two and they reduced it further to RM120.00 each.
It is made in Chinaย too but these days, what isn’t? For one thing, you will only use it in the event of a blackout, sitting right in front of the 12-inch fan…
…enjoying the wind while waiting for power to be restored and if it is in the night, there are these LED lights as well…
…so you would not be sitting in the dark and I do think it would be quite safe since it will not be running on electricity, just the battery in it. For one thing, it is very quiet unlike the aforementioned cheap one – I used that when there was a blackout before my girl took it to her school and I wanted to have a nap but the noise was so loud that it kept me awake the whole time. I guess when something is THAT cheap, one has no cause for complaint.
Of course, this one needs recharging as well! According to the manual, full recharging the first time would take some 12-15 hours and even if you do not use it, you would need to recharge for around 8 hours every 3 months. When it is recharging, the red light…
…will come on and according to the people at the shop, it will go off when fully recharged. So far we have not waited that long to see it happen. LOL!!!
Well, if anyone is interested in getting one…
…as well, you can drop by the electrical shop at Laichee Lane here (2.290842, 111.829440) to see if they have any more stock. I hear blackouts are a lot more frequent in Kuching and Miri and a lot worse in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah…and thank God for small mercies, it isn’t so bad here but still, it pays to be prepared. In Malay, there is a saying, “Sediakan payung sebelum hujan!” (Get ready the umbrella before it rains!)
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Blackout, eh? It seems to be more and more of that happening! We’ve had some storms this year and have had blackouts because of them.
That orange and white fan looks COOL. I’m a fan of that shade of orange, tho!
We’ve been working a lot over at http://sororiteasisters.com – I thought you might enjoy it now that we are back up to 2 posts per day! Our mailing list is back up and working, too, if you want to try it out for us! I told Nichole to check out your blog and she said she was going to visit and comment as well – I think she’s now following your site!
LOTS of tea to review so little time LOL ๐
Hope you and the family are well!
http://myblissfuljourney.com and http://sororiteasisters.com
Oh? There too! I thought that is a Third World country problem, things we have to put up with. There was a storm last night here – pouring rain, very strong wind, thunder and lightning but thankfully, no black out – though the lights did blink once. It has been scorching hot for so long here, no rain for weeks – we were indeed thankful for the rain, scary though it was and thankfully too, there was no flash flood. The streams and the drains must be bone dry so they did not overflow.
Oh? Sisters are doing it for themselves, eh? ๐ Will hop over to check it out. Hope your sister enjoys it here too. We’re all good here, thank you, hope you and your family are over there too. Cheers!
Is blackout common in Sibu? Ahhh… i think i’ve asked the wrong question… it IS common in Malaysia… even during polls ๐
I hear it is very very bad in Kota Kinabalu and quite bad in Kuching and Miri. Maybe development is too fast for the supply to keep up, overload. Not so bad here, it happens but it’s not all that frequent…and no, it did not happen at all in the recent state polls here even though the left wing swept most of the urban seats.
So sorry about the power outage! Take good care of yourself.
Not really frequent here, thank God for small mercies but it pays to be ready at all times. In our intense tropical weather, it can be very very hot when there is a blackout.
Do you know what causes the blackout? Is it an overload on the system? What produces energy over there? Hydro?
In the bigger cities, probably an overload – development way too fast, too many buildings, houses and all coming up here, there and everywhere. May be a bit of that here too once but it is ok now since the big hydro dam upriver came into operation…and floods here have become a thing of the past.
That day of the blackout, word had it that there were upgrading works in another town some 4-5 hours away and there was a mishap – a worker was electrocuted and hence, the shutdown – dunno if there is any truth in this.
I have that cordless phone that came with the internet packages too. Free calls to all fixed lines so I really make use of it. The homa plus fan looks handy. Great idea to have it.
I hardly ever use the phone…or even my handphone, for that matter. Will make calls if there is any call I would need to make, short sweet ones. My missus would make use of the phone but the other parties must have landline phones – some people have terminated theirs, all on mobile phones now.
Thankfully we’ve had no blackouts this winter. Sometimes a storm brings down power lines. This time of year we don’t have to worry about fans, and our heaters run on gas.
I can’t stand the heaters – would rather put on 4 or 5 sweaters at one go…but the problem comes when it is time for a shower or to be exact, coming out of it. Brrrrrr!!!!!
Two blackouts in one month! This reminds me of the way things were back in the 1980s, when we used to have blackouts every couple of weeks in malacca. I remember it used to last for hours, and we’d often go to sleep without knowing when the power would be back on. The not so good ol days, heh ๐
I would not be able to sleep until power has been restored and thankfully, we have not had blackouts that last all through the night, touch wood!!! It did not matter so much in the not-so-good ol’ days as the weather was not so hot then. These days, it is absolutely unbearable, global warming…plus we all have been over-pampered too.
I heard from a cousin that in Kota Kinabalu, they had a blackout for three days and everybody had to throw everything in their fridges away…and it is so frequent there – ever so often, you would see his post on Facebook – “Earth Hour” again! That’s bad.
I remember the one you gave me. Used it a couple of days ago as the light in my family hall upstair blown off. Then I noticed the big light was not working. The small light at the side and fan are still functional. Oh well it did served its purpose.
The Home Plus sounds good!
Very useful in an emergency, glad to hear it is still working, more or less. Can’t expect too much, so cheap. ๐
Good buy since there is frequent blackouts… I only have those cheap,torch lights and candles…so if no current, I will be sweating and being bitten alive by mozzies! ๐
Must get one like this and keep on standby. Not expensive, why suffer? And can just use the fan, run on electricity on normal days.
I should get a rechargeable fan to standby, just in case, my side blackout…
You have blackouts in Singapore too? I thought that is a Third World problem, for poor countries and deprived, neglected states like us over here.
Im so lucky I dont experience black outs anymore, back in the Philippines there were heaps but here in New Zealand I think there was only one time it happened at our house, luckily it was on a cold night so no need for fans ๐
I guess it happens a lot more in developing and Third World countries like ours. Worse in the big cities, lots of development and the supply is unable to cope with the heavy demand. Should upgrade to keep up. ๐ฆ