To Dubai and back

For all the environmental talk that I have spoken, it’s ironic that I landed myself in Dubai in my first official business trip.  This piece of land is a desert not too long ago. Today, Dubai is a full fledge metropolitan city.

I was told the temperature has come down a bit but coming out from an air-conditioned shopping mall to catch a cab in the open, I felt as though a fireball was thrown at my face.  It was really hot!  Moving in between the hot open space and the winter chilled air-conditioned building can make you sick, literally.

Do you know… that 99.999999% of the working population in Dubai is foreigner?  My colleague told me the Emiratis don’t work, or more accurately… don’t need to work. They are freaking rich already.  He said even the govt agencies and police are foreigners! 

Well, I saw 1 Emirati who worked though… the guy who stamped by passport at the immigration.  He made up the 0.000001%.  For the rest, money comes out from the ground for them… literally.

Throughout my stay here, I have been having meetings with Jordanians, Lebanese, Pakistanis (yes, a lot of high flyer from this nation), Indians and some Brits.  Oh… one Lebanese I met looked exactly like… I kid you not… Takeshi Kaneshiro!  A very nice guy and I am working with him on some transactions.   Any girls want his number?

I went up the Burj Khalifa, the pride of Dubai.  This building makes the Petronas Twin Tower look like a dwarf.  The lift which took us up was amazing… 124 floors in less than 30 seconds. No kidding.  124^th floor is not the top by the way.

The view from the top? Well... everything just look small…

Don’t think I like being here but my colleague who is based here said it will take a while to settle down and once settled, this is quite a nice place to live.  I am not sure if I can agree with him. This place is an insult to mother nature, the amount of electricity used is beyond comprehension… they built an ski-mountain in the middle of a desert!!!!!!

You know the news about buildings being empty and all because the economy collapsed and there is an oversupply of real estate?  Well… somewhat true… I see a lot of construction and yet, a lot of buildings are vacant.   Rental has crashed… what used to be Dhs120,000 (SGD45,000) a year is now Dhs70,000 (SGD26,000) a year… and you can even get a bigger place!

Being a city born into metropolitan state, there is no cheap coffee shop type of food here.  A meal will easily cost you Dhs40.  Well, the guys here (those who worked in the same company as I am) are all paid in USD and they don’t need to pay tax so… no problem for them.

And so… my first business trip…

Oh… being flown in business class and at arrival, chauffeured to my hotel in a Lexus… and the same tomorrow morning to the DIFC… I felt like a small kid who just got his first taste of candy… and I guess this is why I became a modern slave.

1 year ago… Satu lagi peristiwa berkenaan bahasa… A first of such

2 years ago… Hypocrites aplenty

3 years ago… Once is enough… Conference dinner tales

A great 3rd day at the Wall and Tomb

“Wang Li Chang Chen” (translated as 10s thousands miles long city), famously known as The Great Wall of China is located out of Beijing. We booked an English guided tour, thanks to PurpleMushroom’s recommendation. It was a good choice.

We departed from the hotel an hour before the meeting time but the morning traffic chaos is akin to KL, we were late, albeit just a little. Glad they waited for us. We were they only Asians in the tour.

The guide, Iris; gave us a brief introduction of the Great Wall before telling us to take a nap for the 1 hour+ journey.

We opted for “Mutianyu”, the most scenic part of the Wall. There are other more challenging parts where it was said that one has to literally “climb” up the wall. Me and Jules were not feeling that adventurous. Well, it’s supposed to be a holiday; I don’t intend to tire myself. Hence, we opted for the cable car.

Scenic view from the cable car / Wall…





It is not easy to walk from one tower to another. The steps are huge and some stretches can be very steep. It makes me wonder, how did the soldiers during ancient times run up and down the wall? They must be quite well built and have extremely strong leg muscles. Hats off to them!


A few options to get down from the Wall, we chose the most intriguing one… via the Tobagan. It’s roller coaster ala Great Wall! It was one helluvan experience!



After the Great Wall, we had lunch and headed to the Ming Tombs. As the name suggests, these are the tombs of former emperors of the Ming Dynasty. The structure there pretty much resembles the Forbidden City.
This piece of monument is very unique. On one side, the glory of the Ming Dynasty is written on it. When the Qing Dynasty took over from Ming Dynasty, the Qing people wrote about the stupidity and wastefulness of the Ming people on the other side of the monument. If only I could read Chinese…
Having been here, I believe Rome comes out on top in terms of monuments and culture. The entire city of Rome is well preserved while most part of Beijing has been turned into a metropolitan city, thus making Beijing losses that bit of magic. Nevertheless, it is still a must-visit for everyone. If you have not been, you should consider making a trip there.


1 year ago… Uri-update… A new trend with the couples

2 years ago… Significance of non-voters

3 years ago… A very close encounter with the rempit kind

Bali take away

It was my maiden trip to Bali. In fact, it was also my maiden step into Indonesia. And if there is one thing I can take away from Bali, it would be my impression on Indonesians. It has changed tremendously.

As judgemental as it may sound, most Malaysians (myself included) have got rather bad impression on Indonesians. If we are matured to admit it, we do not like to be in their presence here. There is a stigma about them. I believe I do need to elaborate why.

But the Indonesians in Bali are a totally different lot. They are so gentle, friendly and always carry a smile. And their command of English is quite impressive, from villa staff to restaurant staff to taxi drivers.

I guess one explanation of this phenomenon is that Bali is a tourist spot. But then again, KL is a tourist spot too. Are our people friendly and our taxi drivers give others an impeccable impression?

I know Hinduism influence is strong in Bali but I never thought that it would be that strong. 70%+ of the people in Bali are Hindus. You can see charms and offerings outside every store, hotel and villa in Bali. According to the driver, the balance of 30% non-Hindus only started coming in from Java in the past 3 years. So prior to that, almost 100% of Balinese are Hindus.

Another interesting point… the driver told us that Indonesian govt tried implementing Syariah law in Bali 2 years ago after the influx of Muslims from Java. But the Balinese people fought back and threatened to break away from Indonesia. They believe that the economy of Bali will suffer if that is to take place.

In the driver’s exact words, he said… “If tourists are not allowed to wear bikini or go topless at the beach, no one will come. We will all die…” He also sounded sore from the bombing that happened there, and of course, the reason behind those bombings.

And so they fought and the Indonesian govt gave in. The issue was not brought up again. Wow, don’t you just respect these Balinese people for their courage and strength on what they believe in?

And to close it up, I think one can forget about the food in Bali. Nasi Padang… Babi Guling… Bebek… not overly fantastic if you were to ask me. In true Malaysian spirit, I will say that our food beat them anytime.


2 years ago… Are you prepared?

Greetings from afar...

Greetings from the extreme heat of Bali! But it’s great to be able to sit in the pool, watch TV and blog at the same time, all in the comfort of your villa. It’s bliss after all…

Just want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Blessed Christmas and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. Have a fantastic year ahead and stay great and stay healthy…. always!

2 years ago… What’s your “X” this X’mas?

Of temple and palace on the second day

AZAIG’s first multitude of photos post…

We made our way on foot to “Tiantan”, a.k.a. The Temple of Heaven, which was rather near our hotel. It was a pleasant walk.

Upon entering the west gate of the vicinity, I was greeted with the sight of a host of people engaging in very interesting activities. There were people dancing to all sorts of music, including waltz/disco; there were people practising martial arts; and there people playing Tai-Chi ball. Not an easy feat as some tourists tried and could not return the ball at all.




The trees are known as “Trees of the Scholars”; and an American once claimed the world can never reproduce these trees. There were speakers hidden within the trees playing smoothing traditional Chinese music. The presence these trees together with traditional Chinese music in the background made the path towards Tiantan a very serene one.




3 main architectural wonders formed Tiantan; with Hall of Prayer of Good Harvest being the main attraction. I was actually quite disappointed that we are not allowed to go into the building. But then again, the sight outside the Hall is already quite incredible.

The other 2 elements of Tiantan are the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Mound Altar (no picture). There is a stone right in the middle of the Altar where they said that anyone standing there will sound extraordinary. I didn’t bother as the queue to step on it to give it a try was already quite… extraordinary.

After lunch, we went to the Pearl Market which was nothing overly spectacular. Thereafter, we headed to YiHeYuan a.k.a. The Summer Palace.

It’s located quite out of town, but still accessible via subway. It’s said the emperors would come here to get away from the summer heat. Thus, it is known as The Summer Palace.

There is a lake next to the palace. The climb up to the palace is an excruciating experience. I really wonder whether the emperors got people to carry them up. But it was good for me, strengthened my leg for the up coming marathon.

I don’t usually pose up a lot of pictures, even after my Italy trip. For this one, I shall let the pictures do the talking though I don’t really have a sophisticated camera.

Up next… the WangLiChangChen a.k.a. Great Wall…


1 year ago… Any difference?

2 years ago… If you think you’re ugly… Don’t ever let this happen to you… And she placed her hands on your inner thigh

Maiden encounter of the city

“How was Beijing?” has been the most frequent question posed to me in the course of last week. Well, I must say I enjoyed my trip a lot. You may not like the people for their rude and often unhygienic antics, but I would consider Beijing as a city that one should not miss.

Upon landing, I was greeted with a first glance on Chinese efficiency. Initially, there were only 2 counters opened at the immigration checkpoint for foreign passport holders. Within minutes, there were officers appearing from nowhere and suddenly, all counters were operational.

I kept track of the time. We landed at 6.30am (thank God for MAS and on-time flights)… me and Jules got out from the plane, settled immigration, collected our baggage and got into the taxi… all before 6.50am. I find that quite amazing.

The hotel we stayed in was fantastic. If there’s anyone heading to Beijing, drop me a mail and I will tell which hotel it is. They allowed us to checked in at 7.30am and we had a nap till 11am before beginning out adventure.

Our first destination… Qianmen, which means “Front Gate”. It’s located to the south of Tian’anmen Square. By the way, Chinese are obsessed with the 4 winds. If you are heading there soon, bring a compass.

And to the north of Qianmen… Tian’anmen Square.

Nothing overly spectacular except the fact that they have security checkpoint for every entry. They x-ray all your bags. X-ray machines are also located at the entry of all subway station. I was stopped a few times because I had my tri-pot in my bag. They thought it was some kind of weapon.

To the north of Tian’anmen, it’s the great Forbidden City.

I think the Forbidden City has gone through quite substantial restoration work, which made it more magnificent. It is truly a structure of ultimate Chinese grandeur. It is always a great feeling to see ancient monuments such as these. It really makes you wonder, how in the world do they manage such feat without modern technology. The amount of thinking involved is just too mind-boggling.

We didn’t manage to cover the whole city. It was just too big, and just too much walking to do.

We went to the National Centre for Performing Arts a.k.a. The Egg. You have to pay to go in and I think that was a mistake. Nothing to see inside structure and so, if you do go, there is no need to go inside.

We went to a nice Sichuan restaurant for dinner. Let’s save that for food post, shall we?


1 year ago… More keywords splendour

2 years ago… What would you do?

Back from China with a China riddle

Yo! I am back!

It was a fantastic trip, blessed with the perfect timing and weather, except perhaps for the last day. But I am not complaining, because…
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… … snow is always beautiful!

It delayed my flight for a couple of hours but it’s certainly a nice feeling to see snow again.

Anyone care to use your brain juice?

When I spent a few months working in ShenZhen and now about a week holiday-ing in Beijing, I noticed that China doesn’t have one particular thing… can you guess what it is?


1 year ago… Tuesday reflection on a recession… I have not made it

2 years ago… Are you part of the mess?… The mess continues… Wednesday blues… Appreciating life

Delay No More

I actually didn’t manage to take that many pictures of the food I had in HK. Reason being, the first thought that came to mind was to eat them as soon as they are on the table. They looked so yummy, the instinct to snap a pic only came after the food is half way in my digestive system.

Anyway, I manage to snap this, a very special breed of mooncake. Click to enlarge… check out the DIY… haha!!

Also, there is this new concept in HK, known as “Delay No More”. You can see things like… Do it now, Delay No More… Recycle, Delay No More… Stop smoking, Delay No More… etc.

But, I was informed that “Delay No More” actually means something else. It actually rhyme with a particular Cantonese phrase.

Can you guess what it is? Come… make a guess, Delay No More… hehe…

2 years ago… 3 tales…

A first of such

Back from Hong Kong… and we were in Sai Kung, renown for its seafood delicacies. I must say this small town gives you a totally different perspective of Hong Kong. But then again, the people here don’t consider Sai Kung as Hong Kong per se. To them, Sai Kung is part of the New Territory (“San Kai”).

By the way, my bro-in-law was the driver. He has been living here for almost 10 years. Picture below is the convoy to Sai Kung with his mates. Yes, that’s a Porsche and an Aston Martin. Life is good when you are an investment banker in Hong Kong.

Anyway, after lunch and a nice dessert, we went to get the car. I must say, parking here is truly horrendous. Getting into the parking lot and finding a space is huge task. Getting out is equally challenging.

On the way out, there was this pink Honda Jazz ahead of us, looking for car park. The driver tried to squeeze into a few lots but failed. The final attempt was this parallel-park slot. By now, traffic has already built up behind us. And unlike here, there is no way you can drive past the car until it is completely parked inside the slot.

In… out… left… right… left… reverse… forward… tension was building. I think my bro-in-law was getting impatient and suggested… “Eh Zewt, why don’t you go do it”.

It was then that the driver got out of the car and approached us, who were right behind her (yes, it’s a she)…

“Ho jak ah, ho em ho yi pong hah ngo ah?”
(It’s very tight, could you help me please?)

I got it done within a minute and as I walked back to my bro-in-law’s car, I saw drivers at the back applauding in their respective cars. I wonder if this is common in HK.

A first of such experience for me, what about you?


2 years ago… When ARK seems impossible… Once is enough… Choices and regrets… Today, I remember