Away From Home Diaries: Part 1

The internet connection did not work in my apartment, but it work in Dr. Jeez's. Sucks. So my only hope is this shared terminal at the client's office, which will look funny if i hog on it all the time. i cant even connect from my own laptop - they provide a computer in our project room to share for email purposes. So to update blog susah sikit...

So what’s qoing on back home these days???

Last weekend we went jalan2 a bit (we means me and Dr Jeez). There's nothing much for tourists over here, ada lah some historical places. The other day we went to the museum, how boring was that. There are some stories and pictures i'm dying to upload in the blog.(baru belajar how to post pics from dora, so watch out for the next posting) Something so stupid happened, out of Jeez's stupidity...maybe not fair to call him that what with his PHD and all, but he's not very smart, in a street-smart sense....i have formed that opinion sometime back, but keep telling myself that's not nice to judge people like that, but the weekend smack-in-the-face prove my sentiment.

There's a cyber cafe in our apartment building, i have not checked out the rates yet. Everything here costs a bomb when we convert to RM. Makan lunch or dinner is between 1 to 2 dinar, which is 10-20 ringgit. Last nite a top guy from KL came so we went out for dinner at a Thai Restaurant....buffet costs 12 dinar per head i.e. 120, and tak sedap pun.

Dr.Jeez gets on my nerves a lot especially last week. He makes this sound with his mouth that irritates like hell, when driving (sssssssstetetetetettttttttt – try that for sound effect) . We take turn driving by week, this week is my turn, no wonder i'm not that irritated)...he purposesly takes wrong turns and we get lost, and it gives him the kicks.

When we order food, sometimes i get embarassed. You see before we arrive he told me we will share food coz the portion is plenty (and also pricy). He said all dishes comes with bread, and sometimes both bread and rice. Experience so far proved otherwise unless the menu is somekind of set meal. In every restaurant, when we order nan/ bread, he will ask...you give curry, then the waiter will say you can order seperately (per menu), then he will ask...then bread eat with what, no curry? God, the first 1-2 times takpe, after a while i cant take it. There’s more…I’ll save some for myself.

And it gets too much that day in day out there's only me and him. I get so excited when we have company for makan or something.

Oh ya, nak ngadu ni...can you believe it office ni takde surau for ladies. Men only. I asked the project manager (pompuan) kat mana ladies pray,. dia kata takde, diaorang will balik rumah. Note: Here lunch hour is 2 hours - ada a few yang sembahyang kat store kadang2, tapi dia kata macam susah lah. kita lagilah susah kan , dengan telekung, nak ambik wuduk kat mane. So, i terpaksa qada lah agaknya, until I figure something out. Prayer times pun very different Suboh 4.30, Z 11.30, Asr 2.30, Magrhrib 5, Isyak 6+.....

Coming soon: Part 2: About that stupid something…..

Notes for Lollies

Dear Lollies,

Sorry for the late reply......reasons i have explained in my previous posting.

About Doha. I didnt really have a good time there, my routine was apartment - office - apartment from early morning to midnight, so i didnt really get to see much. The easiest way to get around is if you rent a car. The part of Doha where i stayed was really crappy, but there are some nice areas with nice view of the sea up-town and around city center, which is more modern and cosmopolitan looking. The city is growing and the development in progress looks pretty impressive.

Food was difficult while i was there because it was Ramadhan and shops are closed until about 8p.m. Expect briyanis, kebabs and curries. There are supermarket like Carrefour in the city center. The exchange rate is almost dollar to dollar, 1 Qatar Riyal : 1 ringgit. There are souks (bazaar) which should be good for tourist shopping - i didnt get to visit any though. Generally everything is expensive, though i was told clothes are slightly cheaper than KL at stores like Zara, MNG. ( i did buy a few Zara stuff ;-) ). There's a Dessert Safari which is supposed to be a must-see.

My experience in Doha and Bahrain, they are not as tourist friendly as Malaysia. Language is not a big problem as most of them understand English, just be patient coz the "slang" of malaysian english and arabic english - message gets lost along the way.

Qatar is quite a strict islamic country, but you wont find any problems. I find them very female friendly.....banks has special counters for ladies, airport immigration has special queues and waiting lounge for ladies.

Post a question if you need to know anything else, but like i said i didnt get to experience much of Doha except for the 4 walls of the apartment and office.

My Abscence: From Doha to Bahrain

When I started this blog, Dora warned me that you have to update your blog daily or at least every other day to keep it alive. I was determined to do so, and i thot i was doing ok.......until that day in Ramadhan (14 Oct to be exact) , i was told to fly to Doha, Qatar for work the following day. In between getting the passport renewed, last minute packing, sorting out work, thrown in a "deep-shit" project (pardon the language).......it was supposed to be a 3 day trip, and it ended up to be a week. I arrived KL on Saturday morning, delivered a talk at a local Uni that afternoon, shopped frantically for mum n dad, managed to squeeze in a "release-tension" session with dora n lizzie, unpack n pack, and get on the morning flight home for hari raya.

I came back a week later, sort things out for my trip to Bahrain. Yup i'm now in Bahrain for work. Arrived on 16 November, so i've been here one week to be exact. While we are on dates, let me announce to the cyber world - TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!! Never mind the age......Stuck here somewhere in the middle east, on my birthday..No one here knows of course, and i'm not gonna spill the beans coz if i mention today is my birthday, they are bound to pop the how old are you, and you are still single question..

Drop me comments, guys. I so need to hear from home. Work n life here enough to drive me nuts.