Lynx to Fafa

Ah, choices choices....

2010-05-24T22:31:00.000-07:00

Life is all about choices.... of course, it would be good if you have those choices available to you.... like which job you'd like to accept, which mode of transport you can take, which holiday destination you can go to.....

In my case, at the moment, I'm thinking communication.... I'm thinking, Nokia E72 or the Iphone... well, in the case of the Iphone, entertainment too!!! helluva difference in the finances required though.... will have to give it more thought.... and continue to sleep on it haha....

How's it been...

2009-12-09T17:40:00.000-08:00

Its been awhile since my last entry, and no wonder... th things that I have on my plate right now.... work-wise i mean.... and there has been loads of weddings to attend, and not to mention my recent dancing activities covering tango, salsa and bachata.... not forgetting I do have relationships with family, girlfriend and friends to manage....its the attempt at keeping an adequate work-life balance that's making life very tiring....

If I were to have somehow scraped the time to put in regular posts into this blog in the past few months, the blog title should be changed to "Rants of Fafa", such is my current state of mind....

2009 has flown past, another 20 days to go.... it doesnt matter anymore, what time it is, what day it is, what month or year I'm in anymore.... as long as I get all the reports, audit plans, proposals, etc all out on time....

I'm taking a break between Christmas and New Year, hopefully the break will help me recover from all the recent traumas.... That break cant come soon enough!!

Its Merdeka!!

2009-08-31T00:58:00.000-07:00

Has it really been that long since I last put in an entry here?

Many things have happened since my last entry, namely the Standard Chartered Run, which went reasonably well... Though I would like to improve on my time in running the 10km, but then again, completing it was an achievement in itself as I had never run 10km in my life until that fateful day....

Oh, and the tango performance went well, a lot of people had nice things to say.... Good to know all the stress was worth it, and that all went how it was supposed to... And.... I may even do it again haha...

SL has gone off to Australia for a holiday, she's been gone for a week, not a day goes by when I'm not on the phone with her, waiting for her return to me, which will happen in another 2 weeks.... it is true, how absence makes the heart grows fonder, but I already knew that even before she left....

Fasting month has started, and it's all going well... have started reading the Quran, and I do hope to finish at least 20 chapters, finishing it all this month would be a tall order, as I only started it a few days ago... but you never know.... if i reach 25, that would be a heck of an achievement, why, it would be exceeding expectations!! hmm....been listening to my bosses too often there...

No special celebration for Merdeka, just some personal pondering on what this day means, what happened 52 years ago.... and how lucky I am to be a Malaysian, living in Malaysia.... and how I wish we would all realise what a good thing we have.... but also not forgetting how much more we need to do in order to progress even further as a nation...

Happy Merdeka y'all!!

All that hard work!!

2009-06-24T04:55:00.000-07:00

I'm doing something I've never thought I would do... then again, i said the same thing about salsa and tango.... I signed up for the Standard Chartered Marathon... Of course i'm not doing the full marathon, but am starting with th 10km run.... The target is to at least register a time, where the cut off time has been set at 90 minutes....

For a guy who couldnt last a minute running, this is a big thing.... yes, i play futsal and all, but its very different when you're running around chasing a ball, there is a moving target.... now i find myself having to motivate myself to just keep on pushing....

And I'm quite surprised that I'm now able to run for 40 minutes, covering 6km.... impressive considering there are no balls in sight!! This is due to the work I've put in the last couple of months....

And then disaster struck.... the run is on this Sunday, and I came down with food poisoning on Monday... I'm feeling very weak, I havent trained since Sunday, and I dont think I'm in any shape to run the 10 km.....

I'm going to give it a shot anyway, walk if I have to, but I'm going to complete 10km.... But i'm giving a serious thought to signing up for the Siemens 10 km run in mid July.... We'll see how it goes on Sunday before I plot my next move.....

The Grand Ol' Lady

2009-05-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

Hehe, its been awhile since I got my baby back.... as in my Accord, after a near 4 month absence, who underwent a rehabilitation back in JB.... I call her the Grand Ol' Lady because she turns 25 this year, a quarter of a century old, but she still runs beautifully....

While I had no problems driving the Wira or the Merc, my favourite is still the Accord, I have a soft spot for her.... Being the only manual car in the house is another attraction, as I find automatic transmission cars boring to drive....

The mechanics here couldnt figure out what was wrong with her, despite what the AAM fella told me when she broke down on me earlier this year.... My uncle had done wonders with her, she's so much more powerful, hehe, she feels like a much younger woman now :)

A changed carburetor and distributor has added the missing 'oomph' and she powers ahead whenever I push her..... hehe, my uncle has said that he doesnt see any reason why the car cant serve me for the next 10 years.... And I dont disagree either!!!

Whooooosshhh!!!

2009-04-06T02:04:00.000-07:00

Sigh, what a year 2009 has turned out to be. I was just commenting to my friends during our new years eve dinner, how quickly 2008 passed us by. The first 3 months of 2009 had tip-toed past me without me realising it, and I suddenly find myself in the month of April. It doesn’t help that I commute to JB on a weekly basis, which seems to make time pass by even quicker.

I suppose this could be aggravated by the fact that I look forward to returning to KL, but only to find the weekend fly by and before I know it, I’m back at the airport in the wee hours of the morning waiting for my flight to JB.

Gosh this is tiring. And depressing. Depressing because my life is flashing by, and I don’t really get to enjoy it. Even the things that brings me joy takes its toll on me, as I sacrifice my lazy Saturday and Sunday afternoons to attend the tango and salsa classes.

Or perhaps its down to lousy time management. Perhaps I should make an assessment of the time spent on my daily activities, and if I can identify the unnecessary and non-value adding activities, I would find more time for myself.

Oh, how I have let my work get the better of me, approaching the problem the way a consultant would. Yet, that doesn’t solve the problem of how time flies by and me not enjoying life.

Perhaps the best thing to do in slowing down the pace of my life would be to quit my job. But with jobs being hard to find at the moment, I doubt I’d do that. I guess for now, I’ll just try to enjoy as much as I can, until the day I finally embark on a new adventure in my professional career.

On the move again....

2009-02-03T02:00:00.000-08:00

I've been so used to being based in KL.... for work I mean.... the last time I had to travel was to Bangladesh, and if my memory serves me right, I returned in August 2007, before my a bit over a year posting to Shell began.... and I must say, I had become pretty set in my ways, and had started salsa seriously again, not to mention having another go at tango....

I was informed sometime last week that I was being seconded to another department, for a national project.... oh no, I thought, that's not good, because if I'm not wrong, the team is based mainly in JB..... And my worse fears were confirmed on Thursday afternoon....

I am to be seconded to this project until June, and the team commutes on a weekly basis to JB.... At least I come back for the weekends, but its exhausting to be wake up so early that I have to leave the house at 5.30am, and arrive in JB, at a time when on a usual day, I'm just finishing my breakfast before walking out of my house to go to the office!!

I was thinking of having dinner with my grandmother at least once a week.... after getting here, I'm now told that we work late every day, and have a late dinner, which is why everyone is getting fatter..... I'll save that topic for another day.....

I'm missing everything there is to miss about home, my family, my girlfriend, my bed..... haha, though I suppose its a matter of getting used to.... I dealt with it pretty well all those years before August 2007 after all.....

I guess I'm going to be even better acquainted with JB, since I'm going to be here for quite awhile, perhaps I'll go and see what Danga Bay has to offer..... hehe, but one thing is for sure, I know I'm going to love the food here!!!

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!!

2009-01-28T05:28:00.001-08:00

Sing Jia Yu Ee, Sing Ni Huak Chai.... i just wished you a happy chinese new year in Tew Chew, may it be a prosperous year ahead..... Its a little sad that I could not be in Bangkok this year to celebrate it with my family there.... the line above is a necessity if you are to collect your ang pows, wishing ur elders in Thai isnt enough for you to be given ang pows.... which is no wonder why us young ones picked it up so quickly..... its also no wonder why i cant say anything else in Tew Chew :)

I spent a very quiet and uneventful CNY in KL, and while I missed the merriness I'd have enjoyed with my Thai cousins, I also appreciated the quiet downtime I could not get in the earlier 3 weeks of the year, due to the workload.... so it was good to have a break and wind down.....

I also enjoyed the lack of jams, though the malls were still crowded with people who chose not to travel back to their hometowns (or did not have any hometowns).... Its the first time in many years that I stay behind in KL during the CNY break, and I loved the peace and quiet I never get during any other time of the year.... even today, the carpark in the office was less than half full, a spectacle I've never witnessed in my many (wow, it has been many) years in EY....

And i wish all those people would stay where they are, and let me enjoy a few more quiet moments in KL.... the not so jammed roads..... the ample parking spots in the carparks..... the simple pleasures in life.....

Or i guess i could just get out of Klang Valley and stay in some kampung....

Happy CNY everyone, hope you all have a great year of the Ox ahead!!

Hellow 2009, goodbye 2008

2009-01-02T01:03:00.000-08:00

Its been awhile since my last entry.... Its something I've mentioned to a lot of people, time passes by so quickly, as 2008 has flown by in a blur.... I almost dont want to blink as 2010 might creep up on me without me realising it!!

2008 was a landmark year for me professionally, where I've finally made it to Manager.... even though it was 6 months later, one could argue it was due to company policies, still.... I suppose, at least I've made it....

But I cant really remember much of what has happened, life seemed to have revolved around work, though I did manage to find time to continue my salsa classes, I joined a gym, started tango (which I am finding it hard to keep up with now).....

2009 I feel may prove to be much tougher, and not just because of the economic situation.... I feel as if I've reached a major turning point in life, where I have to make certain decisions.... I hope I make the correct ones.....

Am hoping for the best, and may all of you also have a great 2009 ahead!

The Sartorial Inerview

2008-09-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

Tagged by Afti.
*Job?
A police checker who is supposed to add value by providing earth moving recommendations

*Best sartorial advice from your parents?
Perhaps it goes to show I don’t really pay attention to what my parents tell me when I say I cant remember any sartorial advice from them.

*Style icons
Errr, I’ve been accused of not having much actually, I suppose its because I never gave this much thought.

*Describe your personal style
Whatever is at the middle of the clothes pile (The one on top I’ve recently worn, the bottom ones, probably I don’t like anymore)

*I build my daily look around...
My pants.

*Personal Style quirk
Nothing comes to mind...

*Favorite designers
Cant say I have one

*Most cherished item
My pillow.

*I feel best wearing?
A shirt and a pair of khakis.

*The first thing I look at in another Sartorialist’s outfit...
Sartorialist? What’s that?

*I always break this fashion rule...
What fashion rule?

*I never break this fashion rule...
What fashion rule?

*Never caught wearing?
Erm, tights….

*Most underrated item in menswear/womenswear?
Your underwear.

*Dress to impress who?
I don’t usually bother, but my significant other on special occasions.

*Shine your own shoes?
Yes. Of course, I try to every 2 weeks, whether I do is a different matter entirely.

*Favorite stores?I don’t have one really, anything that fits and isn’t too expensive… but damn CK and Dockers fit me well….

*Your next “must have” purchase?
I’ve been saying an external hard drive for months now.

*I only buy __________ in Europe.
Chocolates!!!

*I skimp when buying …
Anything but food!!

*I splurge on…..Food!!! Err…sometimes la….

*Favorite item of clothing
Actually, I like the CK and Dockers shirts hehe

*Guilty pleasure
The pleasure stops me from feeling guilty hehe

*Cologne, skincareHugo Boss, Biore facial wash

*Most stylish city (Milan, Paris, London, New York, other)
In all my years in London, they were ok, New York wasn’t too bad, nothing caught my eye in Paris, so I guess I answer Milan out of ignorance as I’ve never been to Milan

*When I was high school I wore?
White shirt, white pants, white socks, white shoes, but GREEN TIE!!!!

*Sports?
Love it. Wish I could indulge myself in it more often, if not for work, and not to mention age :(

*Favorite fashion magazine?
Forget it, its not applicable to me.

*Favorite vacation spot?
Nothing has beaten the island of Crete in Greece thus far!!!

*Favorite neighborhood restaurant?
haha, there are too many to list down

Tag: Darren Koh

The Tango

2008-08-15T03:57:00.000-07:00

The Tango King, that was what they called my late granduncle.... because apparently, he loved dancing.... I say apparently, because its based on what I've read, and what people told me.... he passed away 8 years before I was born....

There isnt anyone else in my family that does the tango, not that I'm aware of anyway.... hehe, till I came along.... which was more of an accident..... I took my an introductory lesson to argentinan tango a few months after I started taking salsa classes.... And I didnt really take to it as naturally as I would have hoped.... In short, it was a horrible 1 & 1/2 hours, as I struggled to dance with my partner.... I blame it on the instructor (but of course I would), who was actually a brilliant dancer, but his english wasnt great, which meant I was struggling ALL the time to understand what he was trying to say....

So when Stephan, a German argentian tango instructor came along, I took it as a personal challenge when I signed up.... Even though my only tango experience wasnt exactly a pleasant one, I wasnt satisfied that I couldnt tango due to my own limitations.... So I signed up, paid the RM250 fee and committed myself to 8 one hour lessons....

And the result after 2 lessons? I've surprised myself, I dont suck at it as much as I thought I would.... Its the total opposite to the salsa, which is more casual and carefree.... tango requires more focus and concentration, it is very much a serious dance unlike the salsa where you can still talk and grin at your partner.... with tango, there's no mucking around as you really need to concentrate to ensure the connection with the partner is there... the dance steps are also very different, not very symmetrical like the salsa, and there are no rules to it unlike the salsa.... the leads you use to communicate with the girl is also very different... where the salsa requires you to use the pulling, pushing and even nudging of your partner at various points, the tango on the other hand, your 2 hands are always at the same place ie holding her right hand and having your right hand at the centre of her back.... the tango movement is also slower, and more deliberate (reminds me of taichi at times!!) as compared to the salsa where the movements are quicker and snappy.....

Of course, so far, we've only covered the basics, I hope to learn how to perform the more complicated crosses etc.... thankfully, Stephan's english is so much better, and is able to teach better (even if he isnt as good a dancer as the other instructor)....while tiring, it has proved to very interesting, and I must say, I look forward to the remaining 6 classes.... I wonder what I'll be like after completing all the 8 lessons!!

What was I thinking??!!!

2008-08-10T22:45:00.000-07:00

I was trying out something new a few weekends ago.... actually, i'm quite surprised I even tried it, but probably due to the fact that my darling SL was away in Bangkok, leaving me with a weekend to twiddle my thumbs.... or so I thought.....

Friday night..... have dinner....catch a movie..... go out for drinks....... yeah, the normal boring stuff that people do on a Friday night.... I dont even go dancing these days (I think I really should try to resume my salsa nites again soon).....

So when the invite from my colleagues came to go rock climbing (actually it was actually wall climbing) in Camp 5, One Utama on a Friday night, I didnt have that many excuses to decline.... the "I'm feeling quite tired" excuse wasnt met with a forgiving looks from my colleagues, so there I was, finding myself in front of the Camp 5 counter, registering my name, and placing all my trust (and my life!!) in RL, we had both signed the agreement that I was not to climb the walls without her supervision as it was my 1st time.....

MS and MT were also there, and being seasoned climbers, MS showed me (rather belatedly too as they were nowhere to be found when we got there!!) how to create a figure 8 knot to get started.....

Climbing up the 1st few footholds was a piece of cake..... after awhile, then only did the rationale of the advice of not looking down became clear, as for someone who is afraid of heights, I could feel the confidence drain away.... and the other advice of putting up a hand, and then a leg, and then a hand and then a leg wasnt so straightforward anymore.....

The fear started kicking in, and while it was do-able to ignore the fear to go higher, I did reach that stage where I was high enough, such that the fear overcame all rationale thoughts, and I was scared silly, and just hanging there on the wall..... oh, and i was using up precious energy too, and tiring myself out, but the thought of falling just kept it impossible for me to move (upwards or downwards)......

Why oh why did I agree to come along for this stupid climbing outing..... "Come'on Zuf, its easy, just like climbing up a ladder" yelled Mark..... "Errrr, I dont climb ladders" was my reply.... silence...... ok, they didnt have any more advice to sooth my fear..... and I was losing my arms too.....

A minute later (based on some rather lousy time estimation), I was still hanging up there"I wanna give up, can I come down now??!!!" I asked.... rather hopefully..... "NO!!!!" was the empathic reply..... "But I've pulled a stomach muscle getting this far!!" I heard myself say..... "Rubbish, keep on going!!" was the reply.....

Fine, with my energy levels plummetting, I thought to myself, lets just go for it.... and so I started moving again, till I nearly reached the top.... "Are you happy now? Can I come down now??!!!" I yelled, almost hysterically..... "You need to touch the ceiling before we let you down."

What the hell, there I was, hanging in mid air, and they want me to touch the bloody ceiling..... Fine, up a step I go, bumped the ceiling with my head, and a round of applause broke out from my friends down there....

Phew, time to come down.....the thing is, to come down, I needed to let go of the walls and just hold on to the rope while leaning back and kicking into the wall while I go jumping down..... looks easy from down there, but from way up there? Let go of the rope, are you out of your blithering mind? Wont I just fall down?

"We've got you Zuf!!!" I heard them say....That's the thing with wall/rock climbing, the amount of fear rises exponentially the higher you go.... and it peaks when its time for you to come down..... when you just let go.....

With a huge sigh, I let go of the rope, felt my whole weight shift onto my back, and instantly my heart skipped a beat, this is crazy I thought, I'm actually falling!!! Before the rope holds me back in place, and I realise its actually ok, and all I have to do is kick the wall as I come down....

And down I came.... landing back on the ground, heaving a huge sigh of relief, before collapsing onto the floor, panting..... my arms had given way..... the laughter of my cruel friends, ringing in my ears..... ok, more like amused friends......

Would I go again? aiyo, why would I put myself through all that stress again.... but did I have fun? actually, I did, (when I wasnt feeling terrified)..... we'll see, never say never, I have been known to be a sucker for punishment.....

I will follow you!!!

2008-08-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

The power of branding.... It is mentioned a lot more and more these days, the importance of developing a brand.... But it isnt easy to develop one, much less rate and assess the success of such brands.... how do you know that your marketing efforts have been successful?

I suppose the easiest way to measure it is if people start using famous taglines like "Just Do It". or when people make jokes related to all your advertisements, or your ads form becomes topics of conversations among friends....

Well, here's a new one..... when people start singing the bloody theme songs in public toilets.... yeah, i will follow you, whereever you may go, etc etc etc....oh, and did i mention he was singing it off tune.... in the public toilet.... out loud too..... i'm sure the ladies could also hear it through the wall.... its bad enough when these songs make a sudden appearance in your head and you end up humming the tune for the rest of the day....

But it sure is something else when people around you start singing it out loud.... off tune to make matters worse.... funny though, despite all that lousy singing, it still didnt rain.....

2008-05-08T19:59:00.001-07:00

It was one of those crazy weekends.... There were numerous sales going on over the long weekend, as Labour Day fell on a Thursday, SL and I had taken Friday off to get a 4 day weekend.... And to go for the Zara/Ted Baker sale at Corus Hotel, the FJ Benjamin sale at Bangsar Village, MPH sale opposite the Income Tax office in Kelana Jaya and the RSH sale near Summit....

I was quite disappointed with the things on sale, though I wasnt too surprised at the turnout.... well, at Corus Hotel anyway.... a line of around 100 ppl waited ahead of us when we arrived 15 minutes before the sale was about to start.... Note to self, Ted Baker warehouse sales prices are exactly the same as those during the sales at the regular stores, so in the future, dont bother....

Using the Corus Hotel experience, I thought getting to Bangsar Village half an hour before the sale was due to start was sufficient time to get ahead of the crowd.... After all, it was meant for HSBC card holders only, and not to outsiders.... So imagine the shock when we had to start lining up to enter, from one floor down..... there must have been a good 500 people in front of me, and the sales hadnt even started yet.... Either there are plenty of HSBC card holders out there, or they had no choice but to open it up to the general public a day early....

Thankfully, RSH and MPH sales were less chaotic, though I was 10 minutes away from paying for my books when there was a power cut, forcing me to return the next day to pick up and pay for my books....

Still, it never ceases to amaze me, the length at which Malaysians go through in order to get themselves a good deal.... or so we think anyway.... because some of the things in the FJ Benjamin sale was still downright expensive, and ordinarily, I'm sure people wont buy it at that price.... but because you're in that mindset where its a warehouse sale, everything in there must be a good deal, so if you like it, you buy it as you wont be able to find a better deal elsewhere, and end up buying stuff you may end up not wearing or buying in the future.....

I hate big crowds, but I must say that people were very civilised, making the experience less painful.... would i ever want to go back for one? of course not!! haha, but knowing me, I probably would make that trip, if my other half wants to, and if there was something that i really really needed.... like books and perhaps a pair of running shoes.....

and oh, i believe Levis and Calvin Klein are having a sale somewhere on Jalan Tandang too this weekend :)

Simply Inspirational

2008-04-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

Its amazing, how 3 letters can push a person to greater heights... that word is CAN.....

And what is even more amazing, how much a 4 letter word, LOVE, can push people to greater heights, to achieve what was thought not possible.... All this, very apparent in the link below, which someone had forwarded me earlier this afternoon....

http://storiesinspirational.blogspot.com/2008/04/father-and-son.html

Thought I'd just share....

A Sudden Burst of Change

2008-04-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

I've always found cutting my hair to be quite stressful, simply because I have no idea what I'll look like at the end of it.... Though the number of surprises are few and far in between as I usually go to the same Indian barber, this time, it was different.....

This time, I allowed myself to be persuaded to change my erm, hairstyle, I'm still not sure how it happened.... I finally got around to it after 3 weeks of hassling, and having never gone to a proper salon to do it, I had no idea where to go, how much it would cost, and ultimately, how stupid I'd look....

It was quite an amusing experience indeed, from the time I started looking for a place to get it done.... I had chosen to go to Midvalley and had surfed the net for places to go, and thought A Cut Above and Jantzen sounded like safe bets.... I was horrified at the ludicrous prices plastered on the glass wall of A Cut Above, and duly proceeded to Jantzen, where I failed to see any pricelist displayed..... A verbal quote of RM40 was given to me, which was around the most I was prepared to pay for anyway.... I was told a week later that the prices were displayed on the other side of the lot.... Which was a good thing as there no mention of RM40 anywhere on the list I was told :)

I was led to a seat, where they put me on a fancy chair as opposed to the ones I'm used to at the Indian's barbers..... I was also bemused at what the "hair stylist" had to say, and that I needed to straighten my hair, to rebond my hair..... Obviously I was having none of that, and I was in a hurry.... Maybe next time I said.....

I cant say I took too kindly at first to the way he shaved my hair off, I felt like a lamb brought in to have its fleece sheared off..... The amount of hair floating down with each upwards stroke was unnerving to me.... After a lot of shaving, a few snips here and there later and finally we were done.... Or so I thought..... The hair stylist called a girl over, he mentioned to me my hair was to be gelled into place as my hair was too "soft" to stand on its own..... right.....

She was putting a lot of what I thought was gel into her hands, and slapped it onto the top of my head, and started rubbing it quite vigorously.... So imagine my surprise when white foam started to form, and I then realised she was shampooing my head!!! While I was sitting upright!!! While I was still in my clothes!!! How absolutely bizarre!!! And she was washing my hair for so long, I would have been able to wash my hair 3 times over if I was doing it myself!!!

I guess this is why girls like to cut their hair when stressed, the pampering did feel nice.... I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I wasnt rushing off for dinner.... The gelling of the hair finally came, and as hard as I tried to see how the girl did it, I could not re-produce the way she shaped my hair....

What was most amusing about this whole episode, were the reaction of everyone.... Myself included.... I thought I looked like an arse, but everyone else thought it was a huge improvement.... I looked a lot younger (but people already said I looked younger than my age), it looked good, some girls said it was cute.... now I take exception to the word cute, as its usually defined as ugly but adorable..... now you can call babies cute, dogs are cute, but me cute? I cant say I liked that....

But not everyone liked it.... My sister said it was ugly, my dad called it ridiculous and absurd.... I lauged after washing my hair that night, I thought I looked ridiculous too!!! Oh well, I now get to style my hair to whatever mood I'm in, that should make my mornings more interesting!!

The rubbish that my ears are subjected to!!

2008-04-22T23:39:00.000-07:00

The stuff that comes out of the radio these days…. You cant call it the jukebox anymore, or the boombox, or whatever other fancy name that has been given to the radio…. Simply because nothing nice comes out of it…..

Its bad enough that things have gotten sooo commercialised, you hear more ads than anything else…. And irritating ones at that too…. Coupled with the annoying DJs, who more often than not either have the most annoying voice, an exaggerated “foreign” accent (or so they think), and lousy songs that hits the airwaves….

Well, not all DJs are bad, a small handful of them aren’t too bad…. There are some who I don’t mind listening to, though it helps that it takes me a mere 12 minutes to drive to work, hence my limited exposure to the radio…. But on days when it rains and I’m caught in a jam, without any CDs of my own in the car, then I’m in trouble….

The songs that are being churned out these days are simply too painful to the ears…. Well, my ears anyway…. Gone were the days when the melody was good, and the lyrics were smart and meaningful…. Now, its all about a catchy beat, it doesn’t matter what the song is all about as long as you can dance to it (this may not even be the case these days either!!!) while you don’t need to have a voice or talent, as long as you show off enough skin….. the state of the music these days is just disgraceful….

The most recent case in point has to be Paula Abdul…. I remember her fondly for the songs she gave us in the 80s, but her latest, “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow” is just downright horrible…. She can no longer sing, the tune is non-existant, and the beat is downright annoying…. And to think she’s a judge on one of TV’s most popular reality show….. Do singers these days think its enough to speak into the mike, with a background beat to give the song its rhythm and timing?

I hate to live in the past, but the music in the 80s had the best rhythm and beat, whereas the 90s R&B has got the most soul in it…. The last noteworthy artiste that has emerged in the past 10 years has to be Craig David, I loved his 1st album, with catchy songs and incredibly smart and witty lyrics to go along with it…. But even he has fallen short of the lofty standards set by his first effort…..

So fed up am I that I have resorted to listening to various Spanish songs, which are more likely, jazz and lounge music when I feel tired and in need of something pleasant to listen to…. I hope when we enter the second decade of this century, the artistes will wake up and come up with better music…. I sure feel sorry for my kids who have nothing to look forward to otherwise…..

Bravo Idris Sardi

2008-04-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

It was a wet night indeed, with the rain pouring, as it usually did on a daily basis in today’s rainy season…. The many puddles of water that I had to skip across on my way from the car to the entrance of Istana Budaya, where my family and I were to watch the performance of Idris Sardi, a renowned violinist from Indonesia….

The night did not began well, when I had to wait behind a queue of 5 people, and we were not moving… The ticket attendant was using only 1 computer to serve people buying as well as collecting tickets (like myself)….This despite having an additional 2 computers, which were idle, and obviously caused much irritation, myself included…. I later found out that the server was down due to the lightning, and that only 1 computer was functioning…. If only they had put up a sign, informing us of their difficulty, I’m sure we would have all showed much more patience while trying to get our tickets…. The idiot trying to keep us off the red carpet (a lot of us didn’t notice as we were all lost, trying to get tickets, trying to buy merchandise and CDs, trying to find a place to put our wet umbrellas, finding out way to the right entrance closest to our seat, etc) for the pending arrival of some VIPs also didn’t help our mood… Again, signs or clearer announcements would have been more than welcomed…..

Luckily, the performance itself was enjoyable, and the inconveniences faced earlier in the night were soon forgotten as the orchestra was introduced, and Idris Sardi himself strolled in….. They had projected scenes of a village backdrop, or still pictures to suit the mood of the songs throughout the performance…. While the music was a little loud, and the various musical instruments were competing to be heard, one instrument clearly stood out, that of the violin belonging to Idris, who turned out to be a true maestro….

While there was clearly a western influence to the intro of all his music (very Hollywoodish in my opinion), there was no mistaking the Malay flavour (he is after all Indonesian) which made you think of the countryside, and the kampong way of life… and the richness of his music, and the different emotions triggered by the melodic tunes from his violin, I never did realise you could have such a wide spectrum of feelings being expressed from one musical instrument…. A guest appearance by friends playing the flute and traditional drums (for ignorance of its actual name) only made the performance even more unforgettable….

His musical compositions were very interesting, and ranged from the slow full of emotion piece, to the happy and very danceable joget number.... He also displayed his versatility in the music that he played, belting out snippets of Besame Mucho, Yellow Bird and a dangdut song which I was not familiar with…. But it was his tribute to P Ramlee (he played 7 of the legend’s songs) that got the loudest applause…. We also got an insight to Idris Sardi the man, when he spoke at great length about himself (errrr, close to 30 minutes actually), of his opinion of the music that he plays, how his father (who was also a very accomplished violinist himself) had influenced him, and made him wake up at 5 in the morning to practice….

I’m glad my dad had asked me to join him for the show, and while I’m sure the Salsa Congress over the weekend would have been a blast, I must say I have no regrets attending Idris’s wonderful performance, if anything, it has opened my eyes to the wonderful world of Malay music!!!

What bonds us together....

2008-04-14T00:35:00.000-07:00

Nothing brings people closer together than the death of a loved one…. Which is ironic, considering the fact that we need to lose one in order to get the rest of us to bond and unite….

Which was exactly what happened, when one of my uncles passed away… A mere few hours after his death, family and friends gathered at his residence, my family included, and we have not been to his new house since he moved in 4 months ago…. And a nice new house it is too, it was horrible though that we had to go to the new house under such circumstances….

Most of my cousins were there, you could feel the sadness in the air…. My uncle was only 57, and my dad and cousins of his generation who were much older probably felt it the most… My uncle’s death was so sudden, it just reminded us of how short and unexpected life can be….

This sad episode brought back memories of one of my close friends from school, when his mum passed away, and the rest of us, who have not been in touch since we left school all assembled at his house to pay our respects….

In current times, and considering how busy we are, we really should take more effort in staying in touch with those close to us…. Because you just never know when's the last time you'll get to see them….

Post Election

2008-03-25T04:47:00.001-07:00

Yes, its been awhile since my last post, too many interesting things happening i suppose.... i must say i'm quite surprised at the results of the election, or rather the quantum of it all.... never would i thought that selangor would fall into the hands of the opposition.... and while i was very apprehensive at the beginning, i suppose it would be good for the country to have a stronger and more powerful opposition challenging the government....

However, the early signs do not thrill me, and the PR stunts such as waiving away of the summons by 2 states, while another bozo move to issue free football tickets which subsequently caused chaos at the stadium only vindicated my feelings about the opposition.... the fact that they had so much trouble forming a government is the strongest piece of evidence that not only were they prepared to lead the country, but they were not even expecting such a result.... though i must say the ruling government themselves are in quite a mess trying to sort out their own states to govern....sigh....

oh, and i still see election posters lying around, though at least most of it have been taken down.... still, i'm quite amused that the pages and pages are still filled with post election events, it makes me wonder, what was in the newspapers then before the election date was announced by our PM.... oh well.....

for me,life goes on as usual, and i'm still waiting to see what happens.... i sense a lot of disgruntlement from a lot of people, and they're not solely from a single race.... its a new beginning for Malaysia, and i do hope that our so called "leaders" will heed the lessons dished out by the rakyat, and make this country one that we can all be proud to call ours......

Election Fever

2008-03-02T23:26:00.000-08:00

Its an event that only comes around once every 5 years or so.... and along with it, comes the candidates, making all sweet promises, saying all the right things, or saying the things that they think the rakyat would like to hear....

And as citizens of our country, we have a duty, a duty to go register ourselves as voters (if we have not done so already) and cast our votes..... and until then, we listen and we ponder, before the big day this Sat....

Honestly, I already know who I'm going to vote for, so all the things that I hear doesnt really matter, my mind is more or less made up.... so I would like to say that the elections doesnt really bother me, neither does it affect me....

Only that it does.... it bothers me that promises are made, which later are not kept.... it bothers me even more when some of the promises made are so ridiculous and outlandish, that these people were of the opinion that I as part of the voting public would believe such promises....

I'm also annoyed with how some of the campaign posters are plastered all over the place, making places such as ugly eye-sore, that I'm glad these posters are not found anywhere near my house....

I'm concerned that the posters are placed with little regard for the safety for the public.... These posters are plastered all over roadsides, creating all sorts of blindspots when I have to navigate my way to work.....

I'm annoyed that come the end of the election, these posters are left flapping in the wind.... The posters could be put up with such enthusiasm, but neither the winners or the losers bothers to take it down after the dust has settled....

I cant wait for the elections to be over, perhaps then the right people will start work again and actually act on their promises..... But in hoping for the posters to be removed, I guess that's just something that's too much to ask for....

Stairway to Fitness.....I hope......

2008-02-12T20:38:00.000-08:00

Tiring it was...Crazy is the word that definitely went through my mind as I was doing it.... I climbed 7 flights of stairs to get to my workstation at the client's.... Sure, this isnt the 1st time I'm doing this, as I used to go up and down 5 floors each way to the surau from my office when I was based in KA.... But with my laptop and bag on my back and 2 extra floors, my legs felt heavier and heavier with every step!!!

It all started out as a pact amongst my team members, I'm not sure whether it was suggested by SV or RZ, but AA was definitely enthusiastic about it.... It would help us lose weight it seems.... Only for AA to be the only one not to have taken the stairs this morning....

And yes, its the peer pressure that has driven me to do this, not so much my new year resolution to lose 5 kilos.... You should see the dirty looks given by SV and RZ when I didnt do so on Tuesday morning.... Well, I did get a waiver from doing it that morning as I had played futsal the previous night, and my legs were left all aching.....

Today, it felt better, but not for long though.... My inner voice was screaming at me at how crazy i was for doing this.... or maybe it was the pain shooting from my legs, or the inability to take in the required amount of oxygen to carry out such a strenous activity, so early in the morning....

Well, assuming we're able to keep this up till our last day at this client at the end of next month, we should be much fitter than we currently are.... but dont expect me to keep this up once i'm back in MM, as being based on the 17th floor, that's 10 floors too many!!!

A Special Day

2008-02-11T23:56:00.000-08:00

It was my birthday a couple of days ago... and while I dont really think of it as a big deal, as I'm not particularly thrilled to be one whole year older....Well, a year wiser perhaps, as suggested by some friends.... While I can honestly say I am richer in experience by a year, I'm not so sure it gets translated into me being nicer.... Only time will tell, and whether do I make the same mistakes, or make better decisions in the time to come....

But one thing I did like however, was certainly the pleasant feeling of surprise when I received birthday wishes.... It feels nice that people remember, and that they took the trouble to actually wished me well for the coming year.... In all sorts of forms, being text messages, phonecalls from as far away as Spore, and of course the current favourite among modes of communication, Facebook....

Of course, presents will make any occasion more pleasurable, and my birthday was no different.... Thank you all for all the presents and well-wishes, I'm very happy to be in the thoughts of my friends, and I hope to be a good a friend to you as you all are to me..... And of course, wishing you all good fortune and health for the coming year......

The Wicked Witch from the Client

2007-12-12T22:35:00.000-08:00

She was terrible. An absolutely horrible, nasty, witch of a person. She was dripping evil from every pore of her body. An absolute nightmare to deal with.

We held a meeting with her the other day, and from the moment she waltzed in 20 minutes late for our meeting, I could already feel the unpleasant aura filling up every space of our room. She threw a hissy fit about how she wanted more senior people to be involved, or otherwise, the meeting should be cancelled. It was a good thing that the person who called for the meeting remained firm, and handled her very well too I must say.

Are people born nasty, where its just second nature to them to be mean and rude to everyone around them? Surely they know how their words and actions affect others?

Or are they just naturally oblivious to everyone and everything else, and that the whole world revolves around them. Everything should be done to their liking, how they want it. In short, its all about them.

Do they even have to try to be this unpleasant? Does it take much effort in being this mean to everyone around them?

And why, why are they such terrible people in the first place? Were they brought up in a household so devoid of joy and happiness, that they simply do not have it within themselves to be even remotely civil to others (and we're not even talking about being nice here). Just civil, polite and proper.

Maybe they were beaten at home when they were kids, bullied at school, where everyone poked fun at them. Maybe they grew up in an environment where they were used to being belittled, and everything that they said or did were laughed at.

Could that be the reason why people are so mean and horrible to their fellow beings? Gee, if it is, I almost feel sorry for them. But then, I remember how unpleasant that meeting was, that I struggle to even wish no ill-will towards that monster of a person.

At best, I hope I never see her again.

2 Englishmen, a Brazilian, a Russian and a Norwegian

2007-12-05T19:03:00.000-08:00

I just did something interesting a few days back.... it has been 2 and 1/2 years or so i think, since i last corresponded with some of my coursemates from my Masters course in Southampton, UK.... and so i thought i'd drop them a line via e-mail, wishing them early christmas and new year greetings, as well as asking how they're getting on....

I only mailed 5 of them, of which 2 of them are English, 1 Brazilian, 1 Russian and 1 Norwegian.... the 2 Englishmen have been travelling quite a bit, and one of them had a new addition to the family, a baby girl...thrilling news actually.... while the Brazilian, who had married an English school teacher shortly after I left Southampton, recently divorced her after a 5 year marriage, sad news indeed for such jovial and fun-loving guy, as only Brazilians can be..... the Russian bloke, the coursemate I was closest to is still unmarried, but now has a wealth of experience in a variety of areas, probably due to his father's many business interest areas in Moscow.... The Norweign, the only girl in this group is now pregnant, and was telling us of how she had moved from London back to her hometown, and has actually joined the advisory arm of EY.... and even better still, the EY practice there allows her to take a year off!!! and if she wanted to, she could split that year with her fiance (yes, i'm always amazed at how easily these people make babies without getting married 1st!!), but as he is self-employed, she gets that whole year off to herself taking care of herself, and the baby when the time comes..... How I wish the EY office here would be as kind.....

Its great to keep in touch with these people, and such a pity we are all so far apart from each other (me especially being away from them)... hehe, its also ironic that they expect me to be the one pop over for a visit, being the furthest and all.... ahaha, though i would LOVE to oblige them.... one day.....

its hard to concentrate....

2007-12-05T00:47:00.000-08:00

yes it sure is, what with it being the last month of the year, you'd think most of the hard work was done in the previous 11 months, you're looking forward to the xmas and new year break, and you need to utilise whatever leave balance you have left..... working during this month is an absolute chore, and i cant wait for my leave to start....

of course there are still things to do, deliverables to complete and deadlines to meet, but once the holiday mood kicks in...and yeah, its still early dec, but i'm already thinking of hari raya haji, followed by christmas, and then new year.....

i'm looking forward to the return of many friends working overseas, mainly London and Australia.... ppl i've not met up with in a while.... it just adds to the anticipation..... and also to get away from all the work.... it would be nice to wake up and not have to get up and drag myself to work.... and face all of them horrid ppl (ok, not all of them are horrible, but still)

so i find myself facebooking (yeah, its probably my fav online activity now), or chatting, or writing mails..... yeah yeah, i'm still professional enough to actually complete what i need to get done.... its just the enthusiasm for the work isnt there anymore.... enthusiasm..... work..... seems to mix as well as oil and water does.....

anyway, i'd better get back to work, some workpapers to review.... while looking at my watch, thinking i can go in about 40 minutes from now.....

how time flies...

2007-11-19T22:33:00.000-08:00

Ah, yes, finally, a belated but new entry to my very neglected blog.... its been a while, late july was my last entry made.... i was in bangladesh then.... many things have happened, and while i've been kept busy, very busy in fact at times, at least i'm no longer in a place of severe hardship.... boy am i glad i'm not in bangladesh, where the hurricane has wrecked havoc, and taken so many lives..... my time in shell doesnt seem so bad in comparison.....

nearly 4 months have gone by since my last post, time really flies when you're really busy.... there's always the work.... then there's the people i spend my time with..... i had also gone off on a short holiday to the US (maybe i'll write about that later) and then of course, there's facebook.....

well, now there's facebook.... i didnt think i needed it, as it is, my friendster is hardly used (it came in handy to remind me of birthdays tho), so when facebook came along, i wasnt exactly jumping with enthusiasm....

took me a while, but what has changed is that i'm very much into the spirit of facebook, wanting to add or accept new friends (well, they're not new, i've known some of them for about 20 years!!).... ah great, facebook has now made me feel old.... but unlike friendster, its a lot more interactive, so while playing the games and taking part in the quizzes are loads of fun, hooking up with old friends are even better... i just met up with some ex primary school mates over the weekend, people i've not seen since i left La Salle for BB more than 15 years ago.... damn, facebook is doing it again, i feel old.... and yes, all the fight club invites are getting kinda irritating, specially as i abhor violence hahaha.... but there are simply too many pros about this for me not to be able to leave it alone, not even for a day.... well, unless its a wkend of course, and i avoid the computer like a plague....

not that you can call me an addict, but i do wish that i can spend more time on that rather the mundane tasks that i perform to earn a living.... still, that's life, and getting back to work is exactly what i have to do right now.... unless of course i get another notification from facebook....let me just take a quick peek 1st b4 i really get back to work... i mean.... who can resist? ;)

a tale of a crazy bus driver and 4 banana trees....

2007-07-22T22:50:00.000-07:00

It was drizzling that day, with tiny droplets of water being sprinkled all over the roads as they travelled on their way to their destination...."God's pissing on us again", he thought.... it was something that his friends used to say during their days in London..... It never rained in London, not when they studied there at least, and his friends being the jokers that they were would poke fun at anything they could, including rain.....

They were driving on small country roads now, passing through paddy fields, houses made of straw, and he could see cows and goats grazing, oblivious to the rain..... the people didnt really seem affected either, and why should they? after all, they're probably used to it, he wasnt surprised if they found it cooling as they were in the middle of a hot blazing summer....

He remembered them approaching a corner, feeling the car slowing down..... he suddenly felt the car swerve suddenly, and then the realisation of the situation dawned upon him..... the sound of screeching brakes hit him 1st before he saw the bus coming from the opposite side..... the bus was taking up the whole road, and there was no room for his vehicle to manouvre....

his driver frantically jammed on his brakes, swerved off the road and tried to bring it back into control again.... the bus blazed past their 4-wheel drive, seemingly unable (or unwilling) to slow down, and passed harmlessly by..... "that was close", he thought..... or so he thought anyway..... the driver was unable to regain control of the car, as the vehicle slid around in the mud off the road.....

he remembered the 3 trees, as the 4-wheel drive crashed into the trees headfirst..... the side of the vehicle slammed into a 4th tree, pinning them all in..... it all happened so fast, he barely had time to raise his hands in front of him, bracing himself for impact..... "thank goodness for safety belts", he muttered to himself...... amazed that he was allright..... he was also thankful that the driver, and the other 3 occupants at the back was also unhurt.....dazed, in shock, but thankfully unharmed.....

he stares at the trees, banana trees they were..... and beyond the banana trees, they was no road.... if not for the trees, they would have flown into a 3 metre high ditch, and with that, he feared, they would not have been so lucky..... he stared outside the window of his front passenger seat," I cant get out of the car this way"...... the ditch was much bigger than he thought, and the 4th tree also saved them from falling in as well....

he was amazed though at the response of the villagers, who happily helped them push the car out of the mud, and back onto the road.... feeling very shaken but very fortunate, he read out a quick prayer of thanks to God before re-entering the car, and back on their way to work.....

just another normal day in bangladesh eh.....

So far away from home, yet i feel the pain....

2007-07-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

I've been away from home for 16 days now, am more than 1,600 miles away from KL, and yet, it hurts.... i'm left to monitor the developments from Dhaka through the internet, its something my friends no longer discuss, and i suppose a lot of us have already given up hope on them.....

I'm talking about the national football team back home.... we went through all the hassle of winning the bid to become co-hosts of the Asian Cup, we turned away arguably the world's most widely supported club, Manchester United and in the process, deprived its fans of seeing their favourite stars play in our own backyard......

And then we get whacked, 5-0 and 5-1 by China and Uzbekistan respectively..... Even though we manage to restrict Iran to 2 goals, the damage was already done..... Our pride and dignity torn to pieces, we were a laughing stock within the football community..... the national coach was sacked even before we completed our 3 game fixture, and the deputy president of our football association resigned in shame.....

But should we really be surprised at the results? What made these people think a more positive outcome could be obtained? Unlike our neighbours and fellow co-hosts, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, who managed to surprise their more fancied opponents (Vietnam even made it to the last 8 of the competition), we were a big joke, and the AFC probably thought they made a mistake in letting us co-host the competition.....

Looking at the standard of our current national league, the limited pool of talent that we have available, i cant say i'm surprised about this debacle.... we dont even have a proper development programme, unlike the europeans, so we dont pick out young talent and develop them further.... and among the current pool of players that we do have, they lack the ambition and drive to succeed.....

We never stood a chance really, and the whole competition became one big farce, leaving everyone who cares about football in malaysia feeling embarassed..... i dont see why we even bother with all the competitions, there will be not be an upswing in our fortunes anytime soon, and there isnt anything even the best footballing brains can do for us at this point in time.... maybe if we start having a proper programme to identify and develop young talent (and there must be some amongst us 24 million malaysians), we'll see something happen 15 years from now....

But until then, i wont be holding my breath.... and i hope the government and the national football association wont throw anymore good money in all these futile initiatives..... there's many other better ways to spend our money in developing our sporting talent.....

Back in Dhaka again....

2007-07-17T23:30:00.000-07:00

People have made the observation that my blog is often updated on my travels.... which was the purpose of my blog in the 1st place, to keep those who would be interested updated on what's been going on whereever i may be at any point in time.... well, until now anyway.....

its been a while since i last updated my blog, i've been horribly busy, what with work, and trying to spend enough time with family and loved one..... before i make my usual pilgrimmage to bangladesh for work.... which is where i am again..... alone in Dhaka.....

i touched down in Dhaka on 4th July, and i'm only scheduled to leave on 4th August..... that's 30 days too long if you ask me..... yet here i am..... the team and i have not had much time to ourselves, and when we do have some down-time to spend, its used resting and catching up on sleep (and for some of us, watching the many DVDs we bought at the Bashundara mall on our 2nd day here).....

i'm all alone now in Dhaka, feeling terribly lonely, with the rest of the team out at the villages performing their audits.... this must have been how an ex-colleague, CMY felt 2 years ago..... waking up to have room service for breakfast, sitting in the coffee shop alone for lunch (i try to have a book to keep me company) and having dinner in front of the TV (or computer) while waiting for DCKK to come back from his village visit.....

this is my 4th trip here in 2 years, there are many other places i'd rather be, home being the main place i wanna be, with my family, my darling SL, amongst my work colleagues, my badminton kakis..... i'd love to be able to play futsal.....and maybe pick up salsa again.....

i guess i'll be counting the days till i return home.....

How KL looks from 170 metres in the air....

2007-06-15T01:01:00.000-07:00

One and a half floors per second..... that's how fast we went up in the lift.... much faster than the lifts that I take when i'm in my office.... half a floor faster than the lift used in the KLCC twin towers.....

I'm talking about the lift that took us up to the 41st floor of the Twin Towers, to the Skybridge..... My colleague had come to work early, to wait in line for tickets.... you get a ticket for a pre-determined time to go up to the Skybridge.... Our allocated time was 1.00pm, so we chose to have an early lunch, and were told to be there by 12.45pm.....

While waiting, they had various exhibits on the KLCC Twin Towers and some simple games amongst other things on show.... At 1pm, we were ushered into a mini theatre, where we were shown a short screening of the history behind Petronas and their exploits, and climaxing with the construction and completion of the Twin Towers....

We were then made to wait, while the other half of the hall went up the Bridge.... Left standing in front of the X-Ray machine, we were reminded by a recording of the do's and don'ts..... At around 1.40pm, we were finally allowed to scan our belongings and selves through the machines before being ushered through into the lift...... which brought us up to the 41st floor in under half a minute....

The Bridge itself was quite a structure, suspended 170 metres in the air, exposed to winds of up to 60 km/hr, the engineers had allowed the Bridge to move 10 inches either way..... Unlike the Canopy Walk in Taman Negara, this Bridge felt more secure.... the view was so-so, as it was limited by the 2 KLCC towers themselves....

A mere 5 minutes on the Bridge was all we were allowed before being instructed to go back down..... By the time we reached solid ground, it was nearly 2pm..... and time to return to the daily grind of work.....

Well, at least now I can say I've gone up the KLCC Bridge :)

Surprise Surprise!!!!

2007-06-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

In my line of work, I dont stay in one location for very long.... Usually, within 3 weeks, I'll be off to my next client..... Its good in a sense that boredom never sets in, but bad in a sense that as I'm always on the move, I never really settle in anywhere.....

Even in my own office, I rarely stay in any longer than a week, usually for report writing purposes.... I have my own cubicle now, yet there are probably others who occupy it for far longer durations that I do..... Hence the reason I've not really taken the effort to "personalise" it.... although it is stocked with all sorts of stationary..... I've not bothered putting in much food, as it may spoil as I'm hardly in the office anyway.....

Right now, I'm based in KLCC, in Tower 2 of the Twin Towers to be precise..... Now I always hate having clients based in the heart of KL, simply because the traffic getting in and out of the place is absolutely horrendous..... One can spend hours on the road, and when it rains, you may as well cancel all after work plans as you'd be 2 hours late, if you're lucky that is..... And to top it all off, I'm assigned to this for about 6 weeks..... far longer than my usual 3.....

Doing a pros and cons study on the benefits of driving versus commuting via LRT, the results were mixed..... I enjoy driving my manual geared Accord, but in the snarling jams of KL, I dont think the poor girl could really handle 6 weeks of madness on the roads.... On the other hand, she provides me the comfort which I would not be able to get in the LRT..... Well, I'm thinking of my space of privacy in particular.....

So I decided to take the LRT to see how it would go, and what I've learnt is that surprises are always pop up when you least expect it..... No, the trains are still jam packed with people, in the morning especially as I make my way to work..... but I was amazed by how people actually queuee to enter the trains!!! This phenomenon was previously observed only in KL Sentral (by my very own eyes anyway), and from what I heard, in Taman Bahagia.....or was it Kelana Jaya..... But now, it happens in ALL the train stations that I pass by on the way to work..... Even in hugely crowded stations such as KLCC, we somehow line up obediently......

And the next big surprise towards this curious new development is...... that we do it willingly, and without supervision...... I have seen station staff equipped with bull horns, telling people to line up and to allow passengers to get off the train before we board them ourselves.... but again, I've only seen this in KL Sentral, and on the rare occasion, in KLCC during peak hours.....

I cant say I know how this came about, neither can I think of how this was actually done..... As a mere 3 months ago when I did take the train, I saw no lines getting into the train, it was still a free-for-all situation for gaining access to the trains.... Its an amazing development nevertheless, and regardless of how we speak of Ugly Malaysians who roadhog, misbehave in cinemas, take more food than they need, displaying their kiasuness in almost everything that they do in their daily lives, I'm extremely happy about the fact that LRT users have learnt how to line up!!!

And for that reason alone, I'm willing to continue braving the crowd and packed trains to go to work..... Oh, and doing my part in maintaining a more greener environment for everyone!!!

The end of the exam blues.....

2007-05-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

Its finally over… I’m done with my exams…. Paper 3 & 4, though I cant say for sure how I did…. But the days leading up to the exams were very stressful, I had not left the house in more than a week, and aside from SL and my family, I don’t think I had any interactions with anyone….

All those nights of mugging, its finally over…. The exams took place somewhere near the hockey stadium in Jalan Duta, and it took me quite a long time to get there once I reached LHDN, but the jam at the roundabout where I needed to make the U-Turn proved to be the bottleneck on my way there….15 minutes from my house to the roundabout, and another 15 minutes to clear the roundabout…. Oh well, it was good that there was ample parking….. I flew through the past year paper for 10 minutes before rushing over to the exams hall… where most of the candidates were already seated…. And there was still 5 minutes to spare!!

But the jam at the roundabout wasn’t the only thing to threaten to wreck my day, my stomach was at sea the whole day, and I just about managed to put up with the massive discomfort till in between Paper 3 & 4…. So I had more than one reason to be relieved for getting over Paper 3!! Looking back, Paper 3 was the one I thought I’d have loads pf problems with, for a Chemical Engineering student to deal with statistics, accounting (Financial & Management) and IT, along with a little sprinkle of Law thrown into the mix, I thought it went allright…. Not that I’m saying I’ll pass, but we’ll have to wait and see…..

Paper 4 on the other hand, was deemed to be the easier paper, but I was given a rude shock when I had a look at the questions…. It was much more difficult as compared to the questions in the textbook, as well as the past year questions released by the IIA…. No wonder then that the global passing rate for Paper 4 is a mere 40%.....

I cant say I’m relieved yet, but I am happy its all over…. Relief will set in once the results are out, and that I passed both papers…. But even if I fail either paper, or both, at least I already have a foundation to work on, and not have to start from scratch, which will be a big help I’m sure come the next time I sit for the exams….

So its back to work tomorrow…. I cant say I’m looking forward to it, as I’ve been on leave for the past 3 weeks…. I’m going to miss waking up at 8, having my afternoon naps, eating my afternoon tea….. the bright spot is that I work for one day before it’s the weekend again!!!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I’m too tired to celebrate the end of my exams….. what I’ll do instead is to curl up in bed, with that Robert Ludlum book I’ve been eying for the past 3 weeks!!!

grumpy....as usual....

2007-05-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

I opened my eyes this morning, to the sound of the rain pattering down on the roof.... such a nice day to sleep in.... i was glad that it rained, as it has been unbearably hot the past few days.... i dont feel like doing anything when its this hot, which really makes me miss the cold and gloomy days in UK.... i welcome the cold chill and strong gusts of wind..... rather than the humid and hot conditions over here, which leaves me feeling hot, sticky and uncomfortable.....

As it turned out, i stayed in bed for quite a while.... i'm on leave, study leave to be precise.... my exams are on 17th may, not too far away now... while i was surprised to get through the first 2 papers on my first attempt in November last year, i doubt i'd be so lucky this time around.... i should pass paper 4, but the third paper is a different kettle of fish altogether.... with chapters covering Financial Accounting, Finance, Management Accounting and IT, i see now way out of this jam.... what students do in weeks, or even months, i will attempt to cover it in days..... coupled with the fact that i neither studied, or have much experience in the above topics leaves me worried and distressed....

The fact that i dont understand what i read in the textbook, and the feeling of bemusement at the questions at the end of the chapter, where formulas and rationales were not included in the chapters that i had just gone through..... I'd probably find it easire reading something in Spanish, I'm sure i'd be able to get more out of this, which seems as if it was written by beings from another planet.... maybe there is some truth to all the alien abductions that has been claimed, only that those abducted are all accountants, and returned to Earth to carry out the practice of Financial and Management Accounting..... and it seems the only way i'll get to pass this paper is by being abducted by the aliens themselves, so as to pass on the knowledge to me in time for my paper on the 17th of May.....

My mood was not helped either when I read the headlines in the papers today, where Manchester United are not going to be coming to town, due to all the ruckus kicked up by the Head of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).... The rationale is that the visit could dilute the prestige and value of the Asian Cup organised by Malaysia, who are one of the four hosts for the tournament..... This, despite the visit by Man U occuring after Malaysia having finished hosting their matches, and that the remaining Asian Cup matches would be held in another country......

No, i wasnt planning on going to watch Man U play, but the fact that this Hammam fella, the AFC President from Qatar, who obviously wants to maintain the interests of his Asian Cup baby..... So Man U has been asked to cancel their entire Asian tour, out of respect of the Asian footballing community.... "Asia for Asians", was what he said when asked about the reaction expected from the Man U fans in Malaysia.....

I'm upset that the Malaysian football fans have been deprived from watching stars that they previuosly only get to see on TV.... Be they Man U, Liverpool or Arsenal, Barcelona or Real Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan or Juventus, fans worldwide would jump to watch them.....

It is not the fault of the European football clubs that they play a more exciting and entertaining game, as compared to the football fare that is expected to be dished out by the Asian countries during the Asian Cup.... That is entirely the fault of the individual national Football Associations, and of course, the AFC, led by Hammam himself.... It is only now that they start to make the right noises on how to increase the standards of Asian football, to match their counterparts in Europe..... but in the meantime, we will not allow them to come to Asia, so as to not embarrass the Asian teams on their inferior quality of football....

Oh well, I'm sure Man U, and the other football clubs will make their way to this part of the world again, and that this will not prevent them from their usual globe-trotting ways in their quest to enlarge their pockets....

As for me, its back to the books again, or maybe I should look for Mulder and Scully, for tips on how to get abducted by aliens, for a crash course in Accounting.....

An engagement party, a politician and an old schoolmate

2007-05-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

I’ve come to that stage of my life where I receive constant invites for weddings or engagement parties…. While a number of girls I know have been tying the knot over the last few years, the guys are quickly catching up….. As far as I can remember, there are 2 wedding invites coming up over the next 3 months…. But its also a time for me to catch up with friends I don’t ordinarily get to see due to the hectic life schedule we all have got ourselves sucked into…..

Last weekend, I went with my parents to an engagement party of my cousin with my family…. Now what makes weddings of relatives more difficult, which I’m sure a lot of my single contemporaries face is the question we like to avoid most….. “So when will it be your turn”…. Usually asked by aunties, who seem to really enjoy all these wedding ceremonies….. I suppose why this question seems more relevant to my aunties is due to the fact my cousin is a mere 2 months older than me…. 2 years is when they expect to receive my wedding invitation…. Wait and see was my response….

Back to the groom, well, good for my cousin I say…. He has been extremely lucky to have found a beautiful bride, a Malay girl who like him, is also a doctor…. In such a small world, it turns out his bride is the sister of one of my schoolmates, who was also there that night…. A reunion of sorts it was for me, as I also got together with all my cousins, whom I have not seen in more than 6 months….

There were a lot of people there, unsurprisingly, as my family do know a lot of people…. Yet it was a surprise to me when the UMNO Youth Chief comes straight up to my sister and me, and promptly shook our hands while thanking us for coming….Hehe, I wonder whether he knows my sister works in the law firm named after him…. Typical of him being the friendly politician, my sister says…..

Another thing about weddings, you wonder whether you’d meet your other half here…. And there were many attractive Malay women, aside from the future bride, so why not? Hehe, the tricky thing at weddings of relatives, especially my family, you just have no idea who’s a relative and who isn’t…. I’m sure I know only a fraction of my family members, so making a move on a girl last Sunday could have seen me chatting up a distant cousin instead!!

Also amazing was how my sister knew a football mate of mine, whom I’ve not seen for more than a year as I have not been able to join them for a futsal session for the last 14 months…. My work colleague from EY was also there, being the best friend of the groom’s sister….

It’s a small world after all….

Reclaiming back my life

2007-04-19T23:33:00.000-07:00

The weekend is near, I can already smell it…. Well, its more than welcome, considering the amount of work I’ve had to put in, and all the stress I’ve had to endure…. I wonder if it will be as good as last weekend…. Only thing was, I was too busy this week to make an entry to the blog….. the amount of comments I get about my blog, “how come you don’t update it more often” is one, “I notice you only blog when you travel” is another…. My entries to my blog really depends more on whether I have the time to blog, not so much me being lazy and all….

I am trying to reclaim back my life though, having been so busy with work….. I can never seem to find enough time for myself…. So it was with great pleasure when I heard from one of my futsal mates last week, asking if I was interested to join in for a session during the weekend….. of course I was….. And so I came out of my premature retirement from futsal, even if it was just for a weekend…… After 14 months away from the court, I put on my futsal boots with delight, and had an extremely good time too…. Though the price that I had to pay afterwards, I was fully reminded of my age, and being at the wrong end of 20, although the mind is still willing, the body I must say isn’t quite what I remembered it to be : ) but it was all worth it, after all, it reminded me I was still very much alive!!!

So that was how I spent my Saturday afternoon…. I had dinner with my salsa mates, and a mere 3 and ½ hours later, I was on the dancefloor, salsa-ing for the first time in 4 months….. Despite the aching muscles and limbs, I was able to have a good time…. The workshop was fun as usual, and dancing with the girls, hmm…. I think I need to put in more work into my routines….. I cant say I remember very much after being away for so long, I felt the rustiness showed….. Oh well, am hoping to rejoin classes again after my exams in mid May…. And hopefully, this time, I can be more serious about it, and actually go dancing on a regular basis….

I spent my Sunday morning, getting my usual dose of weekly badminton (yes, I really paid for all this physical activity on Sunday evening and the whole of Monday!! ). And I went to see RA, and her baby daughter, who was simply adorable…. She had such a wonderful temperament, and had no qualms having so many strangers around her….

Yes, the day did end with me rushing out my report, to be sent to my poor manager who was away on leave…. Not a way I would like to have ended such a fine weekend, but like all good things, last weekend had to come to an end….

As for what I have planned this weekend, there will be no futsal, no salsa….. in its place, will be studying ( I do have to start preparing for my exams), but hopefully I’ll be able to fit in more sleep, its something I’ve been lacking for some time now…. But who knows, maybe there’ll be a few surprises as I make my way through the weekend…..

Back from Taman Negara

2007-03-11T23:56:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, i'm back in KL now.... the trip back on Saturday was uneventful, I was grateful the day wasnt as hot as it had been the previous days, and that the motorized sampan that we took had 2 layers of cushions instead of the 1 when we rode into the Taman Negara resort..... so it was a relatively more comfortable trip compared to our trip in.....

What is different now you ask? Well, for one thing, I have to deal with the traffic, work is no longer next door, rather I have to drive to work now..... I dont bump into anymore my good friends, the wild boars, neither will I come across those sugar bowl stealing monkeys.....though what I'll miss most about the resort in Taman Negara is the sound of crickets that I have grown accustomed to hearing, the sound of the crickets that helps me to fall asleep every night after an exhausting day at work.... though I'm glad i no longer hear the rustling of the bats in the roof (I was worried that I'd wake up with a snake coiled snugly under the blanket with me (hehe, i was reading too many storybooks in my younger days)

But I do enjoy being able to watch TV again, and to catch up with my favourite series, CSI Las Vegas.... though I think I'm too far behind Heroes to make any sense out of it now.... will have to look for someone with the soft copies..... i hope you're out there..... but most of all, I love being able to spend time with loved ones again, when my mum flies back in, my family will be complete again....

Oh well, who's to say it will be my last audit there anyway..... and my mum did say she wants to go there for a holiday..... apparently she's been trying to get my dad to take her there for the last 20 years!!! maybe i'll be reacquainted with them boars sooner than i think!!!

Our adventures in Taman Negara

2007-03-04T19:24:00.000-08:00

The weekend arrived, and we started Saturday by waking up half an hour later than usual, had breakfast and proceeded to the office to work for half a day, in line with the rest of the Taman Negara resort staff…. Ah well, no fun I know, but the day ended quite well with Manchester United taking all 3 points at Anfield, leaving Liverpool and their fans stunned at the Kop, thanks to John O’Shea’s late strike…..

But back to my adventures here, we had to wake up early on Sunday, because the client had arranged for a full day of activities…. We had our breakfast at 830am, and we started just after 9.30am, for the Canopy Walk, which has been given recognition as the longest hanging bridge in the world. However, we could only walk across 200m instead of the usual 500m of the bridge as the remaining 300m was closed due to maintenance work…. Not that I would complain either, because of my fear of heights, I questioned my wisdom, and my misplaced sense of adventure in agreeing to have a go at this suspended bridge…. The bridge is held together by rope, planks of woods and an aluminium ladder at the base of the bridge. Each section would be between 5m to 10m long before you reach a checkpoint on a tree…. Here, you can take pictures, catch your breath, and gather your courage for the next 5m to 10m of bridge….. You would tend to look forward rather than downwards, and the sight of the drop should your bridge fail is quite frightening…. I wasn’t quite sure whether I was perspiring profusely due to the heat or from the fear….. or maybe it was from both, I would never know…. Though I eventually did get the hang of it, and started to relax after about 20m or so…. It was a crowning achievement indeed when we reached the end of the suspended bridge :)

Canopy walk from the front and bottom views respectively

Up next was the shooting rapids, where we travelled upstream along the Tembeling River from Kuala Tahan…. Undoubtedly, we did get wet as the boat negotiated seven set of rapids during the 45 minute ride…. I was disappointed though at the relatively pedestrian pace of the rapids, as I was expecting much much more…. Yet, it was a pleasant ride, and due to the breeze in our faces, we didn’t really feel the strong rays of sunshine…. Not that it stopped us from getting sunburnt though….. We didn’t realise how wet we were until we arrived back at the resort, and after a change of clothes and a nap, I felt much better….

After lunch, we proceeded along the Tahan River in order to make our way to Lata Berkoh, a popular waterfall spot among tourists and locals alike located approximately 8 km from our resort…. The journey up the river proved to be picturesque with overhanging trees forming a shaded avenue…. We saw a lot of wildlife along the way, including birds, fishes and even monkeys hanging on the branches over the water…. The water was clear, despite its blackish appearance…. Its cool water was also refreshing as we dipped our hands over the side of the boat, to cause splashes of water to fall onto the person sitting behind us in the boat :) We arrived downstream where it became too shallow for our boat to proceed any further, and NMS and I proceeded to trek for 20 minutes into the forest, alongside the river…. Along the way, we saw many types of trees, heard different sounds which resembled a siren as well as a bark like sound coming from across the river…. We also saw many different of plants, including mushrooms on rotting logs, and posed for pictures next to huge trees….

The trek was all worth it, when we finally reached Lata Berkoh….. There were huge rock formations there, with many people having arrived earlier and just sitting there, soaking the sounds and atmosphere of the waterfalls…. Soaking our feet after the trek felt really good…. One by one, the other people started leaving, with us being the last ones to leave…. We also thought that we shouldn’t stay too long, or AMRRA and the client who accompanied us would start to worry about us…..

We arrived back at the resort at about 6pm, very much tired from our adventures, but I must say it was loads of fun…. I’m glad we did it all, I’m glad I ignored my fear of heights, I’m glad we braved the hot weather, and most of all, I’m glad I forgot about work for a day!!!

Off to Taman Negara

2007-03-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

On my second day of work after CNY, I find myself making my way to Taman Negara…. Wow, you’re so lucky my friends say, always being on the move you jet-setter you…. Well, for your information, I’m now officially tired of all the travelling, and would like nothing better than to stay at home, put my feet up and read a good book…. Or to catch up with all the TV that I had missed, or to watch the growing pile of DVDs that was purchased by my dad….

Oh well, that can be another entry on its own…. But this one is all about my trip to Taman Negara…. I’m going there for an audit of the resort there, and a tiring journey it proved to be too….

We were told to be at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in KL by 815am, which I duly obliged…. Only to find that the bus was only due to depart at 9am…. The bus journey took a little over 3 hours to the Tembeling Jetty, inclusive of a 10 minute toilet break at the Lanchang Rest Area…. We had a lousy lunch at the jetty, tasteless fried rice with a lukewarm piece of chicken drumstick….

We were told we were taking the 1.30pm boat to the Taman Negara Resort, but left about an hour later instead, due to the unusually huge crowd departing for the various resorts in Taman Negara…. The boats were nothing to shout about, as it was merely a long sampan with a motor, able to accommodate up to 14 people…. A lil bit worrying as the boat was constantly creaking as we made the 2 ½ hour ride upstream along the Tahan River…. We were told that the trip would be half an hour longer as we were going against the current….

It didn’t take long to fall asleep, due to the monotonous sound of the motor…. However, I woke up after an hour and managed to stay awake till the end to enjoy the pleasant breeze blowing in our faces…. The river was winding due to the dry season, hence the boatman had to manoeuvre the boat accordingly to ensure we were always at the deepest point of the river, as well as avoiding smashing into the many rocks along the river…. Along the way, we saw many birds, a monkey, prawn traps as well as people fishing by the river bank…. And as we neared the resort, we passed by many floating shops and restauarants….

Our arrival at the resort turned out to be quite a noisy affair, as there was a welcoming party, singing and clapping as we walked into the resort…. Not a bad start, and neither was the welcoming drink, which was very much appreciated after the long boat ride endured in order to reach the resort….

We’ll see if the rest of my stay in Taman Negara proves just as pleasant as the welcome we received upon our arrival…..

Happy Chinese New Year!!

2007-03-01T17:57:00.000-08:00

I made my usual pilgrimage back to Bangkok… I arrived in KL from Dhaka 2 hours late, but very grateful that my flight was not postponed (or rescheduled as the MAS jokers call it) so I managed to catch my outward flight to Bangkok a mere 8 hours after touching down on Malaysian soil….

We were looking forward to seeing the new international airport in Bangkok…. To our surprise, the 4 month old airport was a tired sight, and as big as it was, it was as lively as a wilted plant, in dire need of some loving attention….. the minimalist concept that is so popular in Europe just did not suit this airport, situated in a country whose people is well known for its warm and friendly people…..

CNY celebrations in Bangkok was muted however, as a loved one in the family had just passed away while I was in Dhaka….. So not that much shopping was done, and we did not get to go to Hua Hin, a seaside resort north of Bangkok…..

We did spend some time in Chinatown though, which was full of people, tourists and locals alike…. It was quite a sight, everywhere you turn you see a sea of red, because everyone is dressed in red…. Only the previous day, Bangkok was a sea of yellow, as people wear yellow in conjunction with the King’s 80th birthday later this year…..

Oh, I finally made it to Chatuchak Market, which is apparently a must for all tourists…. But as I usually make my way to places such as MBK and Suan Lum Night Bazaar, which sells more or less the same thing, I guess I didn’t think it was very important…. And I had dinner at the Loft in Central Chit Lom, and while the food isn’t that great, I would have loved to have had the pleasure of the company of that certain someone with me there due to the lovely ambience….. Oh well, maybe one day that will happen…..

My birthday....

2007-03-01T17:50:00.000-08:00

It was quite a busy day for me on my birthday….. Woke up early, went for breakfast, watched a movie, had lunch….. and then only coming back home to finish up my packing for Bangladesh….. 4 days I tell myself, its not anywhere near as bad as the 4 weeks I had to endure earlier, and this time around, I wont have to go out to the villages to conduct branch audits…..

But I suppose one cant fault me for not really looking forward to this day….. But as it turned out, I enjoyed my outing, the movie was entertaining, the company I enjoyed immensely….. received my first birthday present of the year….and the number of smses I received….. Why, I even took a call from AA, who is currently working in London at the moment….. Ah, to feel special, for at least one day in a year…..

The trip to Dhaka wasn’t too bad, I was seated by the window, and as the flight wasn’t full, the seat next to me remained free…. If that wasn’t enough of a birthday present from MAS, a steward woke a very groggy me from my near slumber to present me my birthday present….. ah, the second present for the day…. It turned out to be aftershave…. They were made aware of my birthday by my partner PSR…. A nice gesture I must say……

I suppose it wasn’t too bad a birthday, as a couple of days later, I was to be surprised by the Bangladeshi auditors, who had bought a birthday cake, a tie as a present, as well as a bouquet of flowers!!! Wow, not many people make feel as special as those guys…. I think PSR was a lil jealous :D We can only wait and see if my birthday is as interesting a year from now…..

Back where i belong....

2007-02-11T20:43:00.000-08:00

2 Feb, late in the PM

I’m home….. we took off a little after 4.30pm….. Radisson is a fantastic hotel, I had no complaints whatsoever…. But still, I’d rather swap arriving in KL as scheduled rather than stay the additional 14 hours…..

Drama to get to the airport, we only received the call from the hotel 10 minutes before our airport shuttle to the airport…. We could not fit all the MAS passengers holed up in Radisson into the van, so AIO and I had to wait for the next shuttle to come….. I found out that the hotel was only informed (by MAS presumably) to get the passengers to the airport 5 minutes before I got the call from the hotel…..

Fantastic customer service, once again provided by MAS….. One must wonder how important passengers are to MAS, for us to be treated this way…… But it is of little consequence now, I’m finally home, and that’s all that matters….. Now if only I didn’t have to go back there again in a weeks time….. sigh…….

Fog Strikes Again!!

2007-02-11T20:37:00.000-08:00

1 Feb 07, PM

I don’t feel like flying today, thought the pilot….. Why would I want to fly myself to Dhaka….. After a very brief discussion with the co-pilot, they both came to a consensus, we both don’t want to fly to a place with very little to offer….. Oh, there’s a fog in Dhaka you say, they tell their supervisor…… It wouldn’t be safe for us to land there, we could crash, and god only knows how many passenger casualties we will face…. It would be much better if we were to stay in KL……

This was a possible scenario behind why my flight was delayed….. We were told to go home by airport staff at the airport entrance….. Impossible we thought, our home was precisely where we were trying to get to…. We’ve waited 4 weeks for this day to come, and now that the day is here, you’re telling me that I cant fly back home??!!!

It was 11.45pm, our flight was due to depart at 1.40am, but we were told that the flight would not be taking off…. Delayed till 1600 was what we read on their notice board....We marched off to the MAS office to demand for an explanation….rescheduled was the term used by the MAS Dhaka Station Manager ….And it was not possible to take off any earlier than 4.00pm, more than 14 hours later…. Simply because the plane never left KL…… There was no plane available to fly us home….. Ridiculous was what we told him….. Another 2 electrical engineers who had arrived at the airport earlier stood there, and continued where we left off when we went silent, pondering on the options available to us….. which was none at that time…..

In the end, we were booked into the Radisson Hotel, a more than decent 5 star hotel….. It was very nice, but it was of very little consolation to us as we were all looking forward to getting out of Bangladesh….. I’ve been affected by the damn fog twice in a little more than a month now….. It almost feels like the fog is following me, intent on ruining whatever plans I have for myself…..

On the roads of Bangladesh....

2007-01-27T09:42:00.000-08:00

I’m glad I don’t have to go out again to the villages…. Its not just the harsh conditions out there that I don’t like…. Its not just the absence of hot water to shower in everyday….. its not just the dust that surrounds wherever I go….

I’m glad that I don’t have to get into the car, and drive out on the highways of Bangladesh….. I cant say I share the same devil-don’t-care attitude that a lot of the people have here while on the roads…. They don’t even seem to value their own lives, if the way they cross the roads are anything to go by…. Why bother look both ways before crossing, when all the drivers will stop for you…. The way drivers zig-zag in between lanes with little (or actually no) regard for other drivers….

Which is why you see people sitting on top of buses, and you see little boys hanging on to the back of the buses…. Loud headlines, revealing tens of people who were killed in accidents on roads nationwide are the norm in the newspapers…. Why, on my way back from the villages a few days ago, I went past 2 accidents, where the buses were left in a carnage….

The scariest of all drivers on the roads here must be the bus drivers…. Crazy mother f#*%@#s is what I call them, but the locals call them “pagel sagol”, or crazy goats in Bengali…. With some of them doing 140 km/hr, its not funny…. In fact, its downright frightening….. whereas accidents back home involving buses does not yield that many casualties, people surviving crashes are the exception rather than the norm…..

And the lack of initiative by the government, the lack of interest in reducing the accident rate by the authorities is what I find very disturbing, especially considering the amount of time I spend on the roads while out in the villages, moving from location to location…. Maybe that's how they control their growing population.... people who have to take public transport, those who cant afford to buy their own cars would be the main target group for this population control measure.... or if you dont have the qualifications for any other job other than that of a truck driver..... cynical i know, but it sure seems that way to me....

On my way back, with 2 buses parked on each side of the road, we were about to drive in between them…. Well, until we saw the bus coming from the opposite side started flashing his lights at us….

My god, is he actually going to squeeze his way past the 2 buses, and us? Coz that just isn’t possible…. My car swerves and brakes at the tail end of the bus, and the bus on the opposite side speeds past the 2 buses, and drives past my car….. it was probably the most frightening experience I’ve ever faced…. More so as my car rocks from side to side as the bus sped past my car….. oh, and it wasn’t over, as a second bus went speeding past us…. WTF I thought…..

I hate being in Bangladesh for this reason…. Everytime I go out, its like a lottery…. Despite having drivers with amazing driving abilities, I fear for my life everytime I go out…. The allowance I get during my time in Bangaldesh just isn’t worth all this fear and emotional trauma….

Do you ever wonder whether you’ll come back home safely after a holiday overseas? Whether you’ll return from your outstation audit engagement in one piece…. I don’t, unless its to Bangladesh…..

Boy am I glad I’m back safely in Dhaka…. But my thoughts and prayers are out to my 2 colleagues who are still out there in the villages, and that they arrive safely in Dhaka come Monday…..

Feeling claustrophobic

2007-01-27T09:10:00.000-08:00

Its the night before the weekend, I enter the lift from one of the top floors of the building with a colleague, joining another 2 men….. Moments later, the door closes and the lift descends towards the ground, the lift comes to a shuddering halt….. the lights then go off…. No, this cant be happening I think…. Not with all the audit files that I’m carrying…..

I’ve seen it happening on TV shows, I hear about it from friends who were unlucky enough, I never thought it would happen to me though….

But here I am, in a lift, stuck somewhere on the 12th floor, and yes, I’m still in Bangladesh…. Of all the places for this to happen…. Don’t panic I thought…. No one else in the lift is anyway…. So I guess I shouldn’t try to open the hatch and get out then….

One of the guys looked as if he knew what to do, he pressed the intercom, spoke into it (yeah, that’s something I cant do here in Bangladesh)….. we moved downwards towards the ground floor, and then, to my surprise, we ascended upwards again to the top floor….. where we stayed for a minute or so…..

And down we went again, this time all the way to the basement….. never been there, but thankfully, we didn’t stay there long, before we made our belated arrival onto the ground floor…. I have never felt that relieved in a long time, I was the first one out the door….. I hope it’s the last time I ever get stuck in a lift…..

Pictures of Spain are IN!!!

2007-01-23T22:05:00.000-08:00

yep, i finally gotten around to putting in those pics in southern spain... of course they're hundreds more, but i cant fit them all in....

ah, how i miss spain already!!!! cant say i'd ever say the same about bangladesh :D

Finally, back to Dhaka....

2007-01-22T01:41:00.000-08:00

21 January 2007

Today’s the day we finally make our way back to Dhaka..... its our 3rd weekend in a row that we worked, hopefully we’ll be able to take it a little easier….My team finished the audit of our last branch late last night, we only arrived back at the Training Centre at 9.30pm…. We woke up a little later than usual, and had a nice leisurely breakfast…. AIO and his team had come down from the Panchagarh region the previous night, and we travelled in 2 vehicles back to Dhaka

We stopped by at the Chatra High School on our way back to Dhaka, thanks to the promise made by the one of the Bangladeshi auditors to the students who mobbed SM and I a few nights ago…. That the Malaysian auditors would drop by their school for a visit…. And excited these students were when we made our way in…..

When we arrived at the school premises, like true superstars, our drivers brought our 2 vehicles across their football field, while all the students stare at the 2 four wheel drives making their way towards them….. the students who were at our Training Centre was happened to be there, and we were greeted with looks of delight when we opened the door….

It was quite amazing, the reaction our short visit made…. All the kids flocked around us before all the teachers appeared, and ushered us into the school library to show off their book collection…. We were then brought to the Headmaster’s room, where he chatted with the Bangladeshi auditors….. when we stepped out of his office, the students all came out and assembled in front of us in lines, before proceeding to sing the national anthem….

It was quite an unforgettable experience, though I suspect the Bangladeshi auditors enjoyed the adulation more than AIO or I did…. Still, it was nice to see all the delight in the faces of the students….

Visit to the Big Sea

2007-01-22T01:18:00.000-08:00

19 January 2007
It’s Friday, it’s the beginning of the weekend here in Bangladesh…. But….. my team decided to work half a day so we’d be able to return back to Dhaka earlier…. Progress was slow though, which was to be expected I suppose, being a weekend and all…..

We didn’t get as much done as I had wanted, but we’ll just have to pick up the slack tomorrow…. We left for our half day sight-seeing trip after Friday prayers and lunch, an hour away from the client’s location…..

It was a man-made lake, measuring 1200 by 400 yards, which was excavated in the mid 18th century, called Ramsagor…. Ram meaning big, and Sagor meaning sea….. Ramsagor was dug up by a Maharaja in that region of Bangladesh…. Legend has it that the daughter of the Maharaja had walked into the lake, possibly for a bath…. And she was pulled in by a mythical creature, and never to be seen again….

Further inside the area are the ruins of what could have been a rest house of the Maharaja, and a deer enclosure, who were very happy for tourists to come and feed them fruits and peanuts…. They were so tame, they came right up to the fence, and ate the peanuts out of my hand….

Hehe, this time I didn’t forget to bring my camera :)

Never leave home without it k

2007-01-22T00:54:00.000-08:00

18 January 2007
What a day to forget my camera…. You never know what you’re going to come across during your time here, and today was no different…. My team was on the way to one of the villages, in between paddy fields (as usual), when we encountered a slow and lumbering obstacle in our way…..

This obstacle I’m referring to was an elephant, with his handler…. I’ve no idea where they were headed, but the elephant strode purposefully towards our vehicle, used his body to block our path and preventing us from moving forward, and thrust his trunk out onto my window….. Oh, and I was sitting in front too, I guess he can tell us foreigners from the locals….

I thought it was a pity I didn’t have any food to give….. so the driver took out some Bangladeshi money, for me to give to the elephant instead…. Right, what would the elephant do with the money anyway…. So I gave the 20 Taka bill to the handler instead…. And when the handler put it into the elephant’s trunk, the elephant blew the money back in his face!!! This happened twice more before the elephant finally received it graciously, returned it politely onto his handler’s hand…..

And then only did the elephant move out of our path, and we were allowed to continue our journey to the client’s place….. what a day to forget my camera…..

17 January 2007
Well, I have written about the trouble facing Bangladesh now, with all the political uncertainty and all…. As I was on my way to another village, our car were set upon by a mob, hurling missiles at our 4 wheel drive…. We were forced to stop, and I was quite worried about the damage that would be inflicted by these people….

Hehe, when I say a mob, I meant 3 little kids… when I say missiles, I mean pieces of wood :D It is quite usual for kids to come and run up to our car, and for the bolder ones, they would even chase our car…..

The oldest of the 3 yelled at the other 2 boys, or possibly his brothers that we were about to drive by…. The 2nd boy then threw something at us, which hit our window…. I was quite glad that the window did not shatter….. the youngest boy, upon seeing his older brother throw something at us then followed suit….. the object hit my door, and the driver jammed on his brakes and got out of the car to inspect the damage…. He picked up a piece of wood, and asked the boys sternly who threw it…. The 2 young boys started crying, and I thought he was really going to give them a shelling….. but being the nice man that he always is, he left them and got back into the car, and we continued on our journey….. kids……

Well, it is always an adventure in Bangladesh, and today was no different…. The roads soon got too small for us to travel by car, and I was told to get on a motorbike driven by the client….

It was quite fun actually, to have the cold wind in your face…. If we were on the main roads, it probably wouldn’t have been very safe due to the absence of a safety helmet for me, but as the path was winding and VERY bumpy, we were going very slowly….

We proceeded to go in between paddy fields, banana estates, fruit orchards, and the many residential huts…. We even crossed 2 streams, where the water was so clear, you could see the tadpoles swimming….. I must say though, I had my doubts as to whether the bridges could hold the weight of the motorbike with 2 grown men on it…. You see, the bridge was made of very flimsy looking bamboo trunks, which looked old and weary, after prolonged exposure to the weather….. But we made it through in one piece…..

Oh, if you had watched the Amazing Race Asia last week, where the participants were made to mix cow dung and stick it on a wall, which would later be used as fuel to cook their food etc….. This is a common sight during my trips to the village…. They not only put it up on their housewalls, but on their fences and trees…. I noticed a house which even had their dung skewered and hung out to dry….. hmm…. I’m glad we use gas to cook our food…..

From left to right: View from the hut of one of the programme participants; a programme participants with the livestock provided by the programme; the living quarters of a programme participant; and dung slapped on the fence of a resident

Not something i'd forget anytime soon....

2007-01-22T00:30:00.000-08:00

16 January 2007, even later in the PM
As we were in the middle of dinner, AR, one of the Bangladeshi auditors told me that I had some girls waiting to talk to me when we’re done with our meal…. Yeah right I thought, as AR is always, and I do mean always full of nonsense….

But to my surprise, after dinner as we left the dining area, he led me to the lounge instead of allowing me to retreat to my room as I usually do after dinner…. And true enough, there were 3 young girls in their teens, waiting for me, along with 2 older men…..

This little group soon grew into a small crowd, comprising of both boys and girls…. These kids were between 12-14 years of age, and were in the Training Centre I was staying in as part of a sanitation programme that they were attending….. they were filled with curiosity regarding the 2 strangers (SM and I), who looked so different from them, and who spoke English…. Actually, SM doesn’t look too different from the locals, if anything we tease him by calling him a local J but I guess they were curious about me, as unlike SM who wasn’t there at that time, I don’t join them for their nightly badminton sessions as I prefer to retire to the comfort of my bed, while I write my blog, or on many sad occasions, to continue with work…..

They asked many questions, such as my name, where I came from, my age, etc….. the going really got tough when they asked me what I thought of Bangladesh…. Hmmm…. Tough one…. Considering I cant wait to get out of here….. I answered truthfully however, by replying with a grin….. the people are very nice and hospitable…. And I LOVE the food!!! Which drew a hearty laugh from everyone….

The fun really started when SM arrived back from his client’s location. A very suspicious SM finally allowed himself to be led back to the small crowd, and it was the only time I have ever got to see SM speechless…. His expression was priceless, as he tried to figure out what was going on…. He finally warmed up to them, and after another 5 minutes, we left behind a group, who if possibly, was even more excited than before they got to talk to me…..

As for SM and I, I guess we finally got to feel what it was like to be celebrities, though its not something I would miss when I get back home though….. the less attention on me the better if you ask me!!!

16 January 2007, PM
We managed to finish work early today, or earlier anyway….. we left the Nilphamari Sadar office just before 5pm, and was told by the auditors from Bangladesh that we were going sight-seeing…..

Ok I thought, we deserve the break…. Where are we going, I ask….. a hindu temple was the answer…. It was situated about 45 minutes from where we were, in the region of Dinajpur…..

The temple is called the Kantanagar Temple, which was built more than 250 years ago, by a ruler who ruled the large region off South Asia, which covered India, Nepal and Bangladesh among others…..

It took nearly 50 years to construct the double storey temple…. However, we had to be happy by just looking at the temple from the outside, as no one was allowed to enter the temple…. Well, that, and it was well after closing time, we only managed to squeeze in, after telling the guard that I came from a land far far away :)

Kay Poh Chees, Ducks and Sing Songs

2007-01-22T00:25:00.000-08:00

15 January 2007, PM
Its one of those things that irritates me, people who come and ‘kepoh’, even if they are not involved….. it happens sometimes back home, but it happens all the time here….

I interview one person, but many other people would also come and crowd around us….. I found it quite amusing though, when on one of my checks on the motorcycles earlier tonight, I walk out of the room along with my Bangladeshi auditor, and along with us, 3 others followed….. and as we reached the motorcycles, another 2-3 more people appeared….

Digressing a little, the Bangladeshis suffer a lot of power cuts, as they ration the power supply around the country…. So they need things like torch lights….. people also need mobile phones, regardless of where you are, and that includes Bangladesh…..

So here in Bangladesh, they actually combine the 2, torchlight and mobile phone…. You press a button, and a tiny light bulb lights up at the head of the phone, and voila, you have a beam of light which you can point at anything you fancy….

It must have been the only time I was glad to have those people around me, it sure made it easier inspecting those motorcycles!!!

15 January 2007, AM
I do a lot of travelling in Bangladesh…. As I travel from village to village, we take main trunk roads to little side alleys to get to where we need to go…. Many of the things I see include roadkill….. mainly dogs I think, not that I really want to know though….

Have you ever seen a duck waddle? To be precise, have you ever seen a duck waddle real quick, as it tries to hurry across the road before they become roadkill themselves…..

They strain their necks forward, shifting their weight from left to right and back to left…..While willing their bodies to move more quickly than its accustomed to…. This is difficult, as most of their body weight seems to be in their fat behinds which holds them back, hence it was quite a comical sight as they struggle to force their bodies forward….

Not so funny for the 4 ducks crossing the road though as they see our 4 wheel drive hurtle towards them at 100 km/hr…. not to worry, they made it safely across…. Well, there was one final duck that was left behind by his friends…. And in a desperate move to join his friends, he started flapping his wings in order to move more quickly…..

I don’t know whether he made it safely as he only attempted to cross as we passed him….. but you have to wonder why they didn’t just fly over the road though….

14 January 2007
I’ve always wondered why people would swim in icy cold water during winter…. I believe this happens annually in certain parts of Russia, South Korea and even in England too….. you also wonder how the cold feels like…..

Well, I may not know why they do it…. But I do now know how it feels…. It’s the middle of winter now in Bangladesh, and I’m stuck with cold showers ever since I moved to the countryside….

I cant say I really look forward to showers under such conditions…. You turn the shower on, and slowly put a leg in, pull out, then put the other leg in….. you take a deep breath, and then jump under the shower…..

It feels like your entire body is engulfed in a blanket ice, and you start to shiver almost at once…. Your teeth starts chattering, and you quickly soap yourself down to get the shower over with…. When you step out of the shower, your whole body feels numb, but only for a several seconds before you get hit by an extremely cold sensation again…..

Yeah, I now know how it feels like, but why people subject themselves to such situations is simply beyond me….. as for me, I cant wait to return to Dhaka, and to get my hot shower again….

13 January 2007
I take my place in the room, and a row of men and women are staring at me, and the other 2 Bangladeshi auditors with me…. One of them holds a tambourine, another holds a pair of metal like castinets, another has a bongo like instrument, while a fourth man controls an accordion….

They start singing a song, about how village people who go to a big city (I’m assuming they mean Dhaka), with their home village never far from their thoughts….. despite not understanding what was being said, I must say it sounded pretty good…..

10 minutes earlier
We were hard at work, when the Rural Drama Programme Organiser indicated to one of the Bangladeshi auditors, that we were invited to move to the room next door…. Why, I thought to myself…. We had so much work to do, I wanted to get it all over with and go back…..

Then I was told that the people involved in the Rural Drama Society were waiting for us, and they wanted to give us a short performance…. We felt obliged to go, and to my surprise, there were 6 men and 4 women, waiting for us patiently, and proceeded to introduce themselves , and wanted to know who we were…. Interesting how they wanted to perform for us despite not knowing who we were…..

20 minutes later
It turned out to be an interesting show, not something my EY colleagues who came with me to Bangladesh were able to watch….. but for now, its back to work for me!!!

Drama in Bangladesh

2007-01-21T22:52:00.000-08:00

12 January 2007, AM
My phone beeps twice at 7.30am…. 2 messages, I thought…. Who would send me smses at this hour….. After all, this is my Bangladeshi line, and everyone should still be asleep, as being a Friday, it is the start to the weekend in this Muslim country….

Groggily, I reach for the phone…. Open the messages…. Oh, its my manager from home…. With more updates….. No, I’m being told the teams are to stay where we are as the situation has now improved with the resignation of the acting President of Bangladesh…. Sigh…..

2 minutes later, my phone rings, its my EY colleague from another team located 100 km from us, asking me, now what….. a few smses to the team and the manager, followed by a phone conversation with the same manager followed….. we are now staying in Bangladesh, to continue with work for today, and we will wait till the afternoon to see how things are before we make the decision on what to do next….

All this uncertainty…. All the strain and stress has returned, two fold in fact…. I’m not happy, very much distressed, and worried for my safety, as well as that of the team….. with us breaking up into 4 teams to cover more areas also makes it more difficult to stay connected with each other…. I cant contact the 4th team, I can only hope that he has received my smses, as he has not responded to any of my attempts to get in touch with him…..

I’m so tired of this country, my morale is now non-existant….. If my last trip here in July was tough, what with the lousy weather, frequent electricity cuts and horrible living and working conditions, this audit has turned out to be a god-damned nightmare….. What on earth did we do to deserve all of this…. Why aren’t we being brought back home…..

11 January 2007, PM
We were informed that a nationwide curfew had been put in place, everyone is to be indoors from 11pm to 5am…. Not that it would affect us, we should be back in our quarters by then…. Worse come to worse, we would just bring work back with us and work in our bedrooms…. So it would be business as usual….

Or so we thought…. It was a surprise when I received a call from one of the other teams, informing us that his driver had been notified by someone at the client’s head office to bring us back to Dhaka tomorrow morning…. a lot of confusion followed, and many phonecalls later, it turns out that the situation in Dhaka had deteriorated to such an extent that the client felt that it was too risky for us to stay out performing the audit, hence the decision to bring us back to Dhaka, and even possibly sending us home…..

As we have already started the audit, the general feeling among the team members is to finish it off, so we wont have to come back up north here again…. However, in our conversation with one of the branch staff of the client here, we were informed that the northern region of Bangladesh where we are now stationed is the opposition strong area, hence the likelihood of further violence spreading from Dhaka and arriving here where we are is very real…..

Several more phonecalls home to our manager later, we were told to pack our bags and return to Dhaka tomorrow morning, and take the next available flight home….. well, so that is that then we thought, I could feel the tension within me since we arrived in the midst of all this conflict slowly subside….

Oh, and to celebrate the decision to return, the 2 teams played badminton for the rest of the night J

11 January 2007, AM

Delighted screams greeted us upon our arrival at the village households…. Our purpose of the visit is to verify the asset transfer process of cows, chickens and goats to the beneficiaries of the poverty reduction programme that we’re auditing…. Of course the screams were from the kids, who were really excited to see us…. As we left the car, they stared at our 4 wheel drive, fascinated by their own reflection, staring back at them…. With silly grins over the dirt covered faces….

Their natural curiosity also got the better of them, and they started to walk after us… everywhere we go…. The adults would try shoo-ing them away, and they would scatter in multiple directions before reassembling around us again in 3 minutes…..

As we were walking around the villages, I also observed the behaviour of the livestock…. The little chicks would follow their mother everywhere, and mimic her every move…. Every scratch on the ground followed by a peck by mummy would be imitated by all her chicks….. However, 2 ducklings adopted by a hen though behaved very differently, with the mother having to follow her lil kids…. They moved as a pair everywhere, and unlike the chicks, showed no fear, waddling in between people with little hesitation….. The chicks and ducklings were so cute….. the simple things that would make me smile if I were someone who lived in these villages…..

10 January 2007
We moved out of Dhaka with a feeling of trepidation, would the demonstrations that were so active (and violent) over the past 3 days affect us? The last thing we wanted is to be caught in the political crossfire and get into trouble….

So it was with great relief that we moved out of Dhaka without coming into contact with any demonstrations…. We were luckier than our manager, who got stuck in many demonstrations on her way to the airport….apparently, she saw people getting beaten by the police….

Once we left Dhaka, I relaxed, and tried to enjoy the sights…. As I was on my way to regions that I had gone to previously in July, hence the sights were familiar, and not so exciting…..

We stopped by in Bogra for lunch with the other 3 teams….. it was a tiring 4 hour drive, but good to still be with the rest of the EY team…. From there, it was another 4 hour drive to the northern region of Rangpur together with another team…… we will spend the night here at the Training Centre before moving onto villages 75 km from here…..

However, the announcement of travel restrictions due to the unstable political situation means that we have to readjust our working schedule and work a lot faster….. we somehow have to shave off around 4 days off our schedule in order to return to Dhaka before the next nationwide blockade on the 21 January, which is the eve of the national elections…..

I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes…..

Off to Start The Audits

2007-01-09T19:15:00.000-08:00

9 January 2007, 11.30pm

We’re going out to the branches tomorrow morning…. We have got all the documents printed, I’ve just finished packing all my things I’d need when I’m at the various branches…..

I’ll be going to 2 different regions in Bangladesh, both up north, about 9 hours drive from Dhaka…. I will be gone for a bit over 2 weeks, I’m sure it will be tiring, as we will be auditing 4 very big branches…..The decision to go was only made this afternoon at 3pm, and we will be departing as planned, assuming the strike announced by the opposition party is not extended….

The situation here is very tense now, what with running street battles between protestors and the police…. I’m sure everyone sees it on tv, reads about it in the newspapers…. We are concerned about the situation, but we are assured by the client that we will be safe… apparently they do not attack foreigners….

The uproar is due to the elections being held on the 22 January 2007 by the ruling party, but the opposition parties have denounced the government, and have announced that they will boycott the elections…. As such, many foreign governments have declared that they will not recognise the results of the elections….

Another strike is expected to be announced on the 14th January, but as we are no longer in Dhaka, our movement will no longer be affected….. However, if the elections are held as announced, we expect trouble a couple of days after the elections…. And as we are scheduled to complete our audit and travel back to Dhaka on the 24th, we will have to see what the situation is like before making the drive back to Dhaka….

The thought of having to stay out longer than we have to doesn’t appeal to me…. I’m sure that my EY team members feel the same way….. well, I suppose all I can do is pray for the team’s safety, and hope for the best…..

Lost in Bangla Land.... again....sigh.....

2007-01-09T05:18:00.000-08:00

The day has finally arrived…. We’re off to Bangladesh…. During the trip to the airport with my Senior Manager, my phone rang, with one of my team mates who had already arrived at the airport telling us that our flight was delayed by more than 2 hours…..

As we sat in the plane, waiting to take off, we noticed the technicians performing repair works on the wings of the plane…. And so the prayers started for a safe trip to Dhaka…. A safe trip it was, but a peaceful one it wasn’t…. We had a screaming baby sitting 2 rows ahead of me….

If that wasn’t bad enough, security was really tight at Zia International Airport, Dhaka…. How tight was the security you ask? Armed security guards greeted us at the airport the moment we got off the plane…. Quite a different reception as compared to the tourists flying into Malaysia during the Visit Malaysia Year 2007…..

2 of my colleagues were stopped by the immigration officers…. Not that it was a big problem, it was resolved fairly quickly…. We were also asked to put our bags through the X-Ray machine, which is unusual as foreigners are usually allowed to walk through uninterrupted…. A colleague of mine was also stopped for his suitcase could be checked, where they proceeded to ruffle through his belongings and asked him all sorts of questions regarding his clothes and medicine…..

This could be due to the uncertainty brought about by the looming general election, to be held on 22 January 2007…. In view of the general dissatisfaction with the Government, the opposition parties have stated that they will boycott the elections…. Instead, many public demonstrations, sometimes violent, are held, with many people being arrested….

The weather was cold in Dhaka, possibly 10oC or so…. Good that I had brought along my jacket…. But it only means that I’ll be facing even more colder conditions in the northern parts of Bangladesh for the audit of branch outlets of the client….

Well, what with the unstable political situation and the cold weather, this could be the most challenging audit in Bangladesh yet!!

Jetlagged!!!

2007-01-09T05:16:00.000-08:00

I’m jetlagged…. Never thought i'd say it, but sleeping isn’t easy.... I go to bed at night, only to wake up at 2am, and I’m unable to fall asleep again till 5….. then I’m up again barely 2 and 1/2 hours later to go to work….

Post holiday syndrome, that’s what I call it…. Recovering from your holidays, working is the last thing you’d want to do…. And coming from Europe, with a 7 hour difference, getting enough sleep is indeed a huge challenge…..

And no, I don’t take coffee, hence that’s not an option…. Yes, I’m one of those that cant take coffee…. Oh well, walking around does help, as does short quick chats with friends in keeping me awake in the mornings at least….

Not that I’m that stressed…. I’m still preparing for the trip to Bangladesh, and no, its not something I look forward to…. Am sure my relatives in Bangkok will be dismayed that Bangladesh has moved ahead of Thailand as my 2nd home, as I spend more time in Bangladesh than I do in Thailand….

Oh well, if everything goes well, I’ll finish the engagement in time to spend Chinese New Year in Bangkok with my family, so that’s something to work towards to!!!

Highlights of Southern Spain

2007-01-09T05:12:00.000-08:00

Spain turned out to be fabulously fabulous…. I thoroughly enjoyed myself there, despite joining my families 2 days late…. But it wasn’t enough to spoil what turned out to be a lovely holiday….

I didn’t really get to see much of Madrid, and my only disappointment was not going to the Bernebeau Stadium, home to Real Madrid (even though I am more of a Barcelona fan)…. After all, it was a mere 6 minute walk away…..

But visits around the southern parts of Spain yielded many breathtaking scenery, stunning architecture, beautiful landscaped gardens, hungry monkeys and very friendly people…..

The highlights of the tour had to be the Alhambra and the ancient mosque, which was later converted into a cathedral…. This is not unsurprising as Southern Spain was once a stronghold of the Muslim empire in the 9th century, which was later taken over the by the Christians in the 13th century…..

The trip to Gibraltar also proved to be delightful, where we were driven over the airport runway to reach the city centre…. There are more cars (70,000 of them) compared to people, it is so safe in Gibraltar that people do not lock their doors and windows…. Crime rates are so low, hardly anyone is ever arrested, the prison in Gibraltar holds a maximum of 19 people, which has proven more than adequate over the years…. And the apes…. Apparently, Winston Churchill said that everyone must take good care of the apes, as should there be no apes in Gibraltar, Gibraltar will cease to belong to Britain…. But the apes proved to be very comfortable in the presence of humans, as shown in the photos attached….

I also attended a flamenco dance performance, which used to be a form of expression (singing and dancing) by gypsies in the Andalucian region of Spain, of how they tell their life stories…. We had dinner, while the food was so-so, the performance was a whole lot better…. The costumes were colourful, the dancers fabulous…. Whether they used castinets, fans, or just plain tap-dancing, we enjoyed the 1 and ½ hour show….

I was very sad to have to go home, for obvious reasons…. It also meant I had to go back to work, which also meant that I would be departing for Bangladesh by the end of the week…. Not something that I look forward to….. but at least I will take the memories (and photographs!!) of Spain along with me!!!

Ed's Note: Apologies over the lack of photos, will post them as soon as I can get a fast enough connection to attach it....

I'm Off to Spain!!!

2007-01-09T05:09:00.000-08:00

I’m finally on my way to Madrid to rejoin my family…. I’m looking forward to it, and I’m not going to think about all the drama that had prevented me from joining my family as scheduled….

But with London being on such high alert due to imminent terrorist threats, it was going to be a trial in itself to board the plane and leave Heathrow…. Long queues are the norm now, with all bags and coats to be opened and checked…. Even belts had to be removed and put through the X-ray machine….

There were very strict regulations concerning bringing on fluids of any kinds on board the planes…. Any gels, toothpaste, medicine, baby instant formula had to be packed in transparent plastic bags which would then be inspected by security personnel…. They were helpful enough to have posters illustrating such rulings, which included a statement which allowed containers containing any liquids below 100ml onto the plane….

But the implementation of such rulings leaves a lot to be desired….. I had a little bottle of water, containing 100ml of drinking water, which I packed into one of the transparent bags provided…. So you can imagine my surprise when I was stopped and told rudely that I was not allowed to bring it in…. Despite me pointing out the ruling on the poster, my protests were brushed aside, and I was not allowed in….

What irked me most was the manner in which I was treated…. Here you are, being singled out as a terrorist target, hence such security measures are to be expected…. But with treating visitors with such disrespect, it is difficult for me to sympathise England for the position that they now find themselves in…. it is precisely such high handed behaviour which got themselves into this situation in the first place…..

Oh well, I still leave London with many happy memories, such as my visits to all the tourist attractions I never got to visit during my days there as a student…. Or my reunion with my friends and ex-colleagues….. plus, there is a lot more for me to look forward to, after all, I am on my to Spain…..

Utter Chaos in Heathrow

2006-12-23T05:52:00.000-08:00

I woke up really early today.... with barely 3 hours of sleep due to yet another late nite conversation with my friends, i made my way to the airport.....£20 poorer from the train ride to the airport, i arrived at 7am at the airport, to be greeted by a huge crowd at the departure terminal..... there was a lot of anxiety, due to the heavy fog hanging over the airport, which resulted in many flights being delayed or even cancelled..... all domestic flights were cancelled, but my flight to madrid at 920am was still on, or so it said on British Airways' and Heathrow Airports' websites......

after waiting my turn, i managed to speak to someone regarding my flight, only to be told that my flight was one of those cancelled..... but how could that be i asked, i checked it online, i told her..... i just get a shrug of the shoulders, and a mumble of how such things arent really reliable..... so much for the communication era..... so what do i do, i ask......

like many other travellers, whose flights were cancelled, i was led outside the terminal building to a huge tent that was erected for us, and we had to wait in line to get a ticket number.... a ticket number to line up for reservation enquiries.... i ended up queeing in order to queeu.... just great, i thought.....hmm..... about 45 minutes later, i managed to get a number..... no. 251...... what number is it now i wonder...... 20 minutes later, my questions was answered..... no. 130..... great, a long wait this will be.....

finding myself a chair, and a blanket that someone had left behind, i took up my spot and waited alongside hundreds of other tired travellers.....despite what was going on, i found that a majority of people here were very patient, which is not the usual reaction you'd get from people back home in similar like situations.... they were also serving out hot drinks, complimentary biscuits, sandwiches and bottle drinks were also made available to all of us....blankets were also being distributed.... and so the waiting game began.....

what made it very difficult was the bitter cold.... while i felt that it must have been close to freezing, it only got colder despite us being in a tent.... you could see the breath of everyone in the air, everyone was shivering, my toes were numb, i could no longer feel my nose.... i felt sorry for the senior citizens and the young children, who must have felt the cold even more than i did..... boy was i glad i spent so much money on that winter jacket!!!!

i noticed a few performers, a woman in very colourful stockings, not to mention a striped mini skirt, with her basket of balloons.... and a guy with a hat, and one wheeled bike, as he balanced himself on it while pushing his baggage trolley.... a few hours later, the British Airlines staff managed to get their act together and started to manage the crowds better, with the setting up of a proper queeing up system, by simply adding velvet ropes.... things got a bit better.... though a mere one hour after i got my ticket, i overheard someone saying that her ticket number was 421.... and it number 160 was being called out..... another hour later, tickets were no longer being given out, instead, they were being booked into hotel rooms near the airport and were given toll free numbers to call regarding the rescheduling of their flights.....

i considered myself very lucky, i only had to wait a mere 4 and a half hours in the bitter cold before my number was called out.....i couldnt get a flight out that day, or the day after.... the earliest flight out available was on xmas eve, but i was grateful i could actually get out of london..... while i would miss the 1st day of the southern spain tour, at least i will arrive in madrid while my family are still there,..... according to our itinerary, we are due to leave madrid only on xmas day..... and so with that, i rebooked mu flight, and made my way back to the city of london, tired and cold, but glad to know that my tour of spain was still somewhat salvaged.....

its not the most ideal of holidays, and it wasnt nice being one of the 40,000 travellers affected by the fog in london, but i refuse to be stressed and upset while i'm on my break!!!!

A Well Earned Break....

2006-12-23T05:24:00.000-08:00

I'm really happy...or maybe its relief.... actually, its probably both, which is why i cant pinpoint my feelings exactly.... i'm finally done with work, and while i had to release my 2 weeks of leave in early dec, but at least i was able to keep my leave in the last 2 weeks of dec, and able to see my friends in london and join my family for a tour around southern spain.... aah, life is good again....

and so today, i sit in london....i'm quite a lousy traveller, and so i absolutely detest long haul flights, which was what i had to endure to arrive in london.... i flew in via amsterdam on a KLM flight with a code sharing arrangement with MAS.....

for the 1st time, i noted that people didnt get out of their seats as we landed on the runway and taxied onto the airport terminal in amsterdam.... people dutifully waited till the seatbelt signs were turned off, just as they announced over the PA system!!! unlike my experience during flights to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Dhaka and KL.... and there was no rush to get off the plane either,so it was quite a chilled time...i suppose people were still groggy, being 6am and all.....

amsterdam airport is huge!!! and there's sooo much shopping to do.... yes yes, i dont usually indulge in such vices, but i was quite bored.....it was a pity that all the airport phamplets related to the shops were all in Dutch, so i couldnt make any sense out of it..... nevertheless, a lot of walking around and 2 cds later, i discovered that the airport actually had an art museum.... such a cultured place.... not that i could see what was on display as it would only open 3 hours later, by which i would have arrived in london by then..... then there's also a casino for people to spend their time, not to mention their money.....

the measures in place for air travel though is much stricter than anything i'm used to..... they distributed clear plastic bags for storage of any liquid items, such as gel, and toothpaste... didnt realise the gwailos were so hygienic :) so it was good to see airport staff posted all over the airport to explain the new regulations (well,they're not so new anymore) to ignorant air travellers such as yours truly..... but in the end, i didnt have any problems getting on the plane.....

what i observed in heathrow airport in london also surprised me.... and it wasnt a pleasant surprise either....there were long queeus for people entering their departure gates, due to the manual checks of ALL hand luggage.... the waiting time is bad enough, but i cant say i appreciate strangers rummaging through my belongings..... but i guess we just have to live with the times.... its something the brits have to put up with due to their government's foreign policy..... anyways, i have to take note of this as to not be late for my plane when i leave london for madrid a few days from now.....

but its all good, i'm just happy to finally be in london.... arriving in london, i had friends to meet, sights to see (stuff that i never did while i was still a student in UK, ironically enough)..... i'm sure i'm going to be in for a good time.....

Sometimes, on the road.....

2006-10-10T01:30:00.000-07:00

i was driving to work this morning, as usual, listening to the radio, and was puzzled by the high volume of cars at such an early hour..... coming off the kerinchi link, joining into the damansara highway, i had to cut across 2 lanes to get onto the outer lane, which was the lane i needed to get into eventually to get into our carpark.....

Cutting across one lane wasnt a problem....the Battle of the Sexes was just about to start on Mix.FM, the guys were leading 5-1, i was in a considerably good mood, which is unusual so early in the morning.....

Peering into my side mirror, i saw a 2 and 1/2 car gap in between a light blue kelissa and a silver camry..... this is a good opportunity for me to switch lanes, since we were all driving at a relatively slow speed of 50km/hr..... as the kelissa started to pass me, i turn on my right indicator and start inching in..... by this time, i was looking straight ahead in case the kelissa were to brake suddenly..... to my surprise, i heard 3 sharp honks from behind me..... checking my mirrors, the camry wasnt that close to me..... a second later, another 3 sharp honks followed..... and she was so much closer now..... geez, this kiasu woman actually accelerated to try to prevent me from cutting onto her lane!!!

the selfishness of such people never fail to amaze me.... well,they irritate me as well actually, does allowing one person into your path make that much of a difference? especially when you cant go that much faster anyway due to the heavy traffic? you'll probably be held up somewhere further up front and lose those 2 seconds that you gained from not allowing me to cut in front of you anyway.... you also use up more fuel in trying to accelerate suddenly, and then wear out your brakes faster by jamming it to prevent yourself from colliding with the car ahead of you..... so what is it do you gain from preventing me from cutting in front of you?

As a result of such drivers, lets call her WMN 3349 (yes, i noticed it was a WOMAN, and the car plate no. has since been etched into my dodgy memory), no one uses their indicators, because they are not allowed cut in when they need to..... this isnt good, because it leads to potential accidents, due to the simple reason that these drivers dont make their intentions on the road known to other road users....

So WMN 3349, because of drivers like you, the roads are a more dangerous place, filled with stress.... the lack of a "give and take" spirit makes the experience of driving on the roads so much more unpleasant..... i wish there were fewer drivers like you, WMN 3349..... well, i guess i'll just have to do what little i can do..... take a deep breath, and try not to get too agitated..... if i have to be the bigger person among the 2 of us, well then, so be it......

BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!

2006-09-26T23:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not too surprised that i've not made any new entries into the blog since my return from Bangladesh..... life has been very hectic since i recovered from my horrendous flu, which laid me low for nearly a week.....

I've been put on an engagement which is very large, something that is new to me, and quite frankly, i think i'm struggling to keep up and meet the expectations of the people around me.... though i am amazed to find myself talking to the client as if i'm such an expert in such matters.... guess its something that i have developed over the years in my line of work..... hehe, i could go on about this, but then, as it has been pointed out to me, i seem to do a lot of complaining when i submit entries in here....

but life is like that, i cant say its smooth sailing.... though it hasnt been all bad.... i went to genting, had a ball of a time with my salsa mates, went for gravity defying rides i usually wouldnt go for.... i've finally watched a movie, no wait, make that 2..... while the banquet was allrite, miami vice was a blast..... a typical guy flick,filled with violence, gunshots and explosions..... and gong li and colin even managed a few salsa moves on their own..... nothing i couldnt have done though :)

CRASH / I'm Home!!!

2006-08-28T01:34:00.000-07:00

CRASH

26 August 2006
No, no, don’t worry, I didn’t get into an accident…. But I have fallen sick though, yes, again…. Well, I don’t think it really went away, whatever I had when I was still in Bangladesh, because I never really took any time off to rest and fully recover, due to the heavy workload…. Now that I’m on leave, its really come out in full force…..

I woke up this morning, with a temperature of 37.1oC, coupled with a slight sore throat…. No cough or running nose, so I could still handle it…. By lunch time, I was struggling to cope with the fever, as it had risen to 38.2oC….. By late evening, my body was a burning 38.9oC, and I could hardly keep my eyes open, watching football on the telly later that night didn’t lift my spirits, I couldn’t even watch Man Utd play Watford till the end…. To make things worse, the diarrhoea also made its return…. So an early night it was for me…..

I was so dehydrated, the fever was punishing, as was the headache that accompanied it, which pounded at my head relentlessly…. The panadol and other drugs that I took didn’t seem to have any effect…..

I suppose its all due to the fact I pushed myself too hard over the previous 7 weeks in Bangladesh, and my body is simply telling me that its payback time for all the neglect, in the name of work…. So my weekend has been wrecked, with me being bedridden and spending most my time resting….. instead of playing badminton and football….. instead of salsa-ing with my friends….

Well, I do hope to make a quick recovery, as I don’t want to waste next week, when I’ll be on leave…..

I’m Home!!!

24 August 2006
The flight home was uneventful, as usual, being the lousy traveller that I am, I hardly slept on the flight….. we took off at around 1.30am local time (3.30am Malaysian time) and arrived on Malaysian soil 4 hours later….

It feels great to be home again…. My colleagues and I are already planning what to do when we get back home…. What we are going to eat first when we get back….

One of the first few things I noticed, was the eerie silence when we were making our way home from the airport…. In Bangladesh, blaring horns are the norm, so much so its part of the background…. But here in KL, its just silence…. And I don’t notice vehicles swerving crazily in between lanes here…. Well, not on a regular basis anyway…..

And it isn’t as hot here either…. Which is a good thing….. though the heat had become tolerable when we left Bangladesh…. But it was really hot when we first arrived nearly 2 months ago…. How hot you may ask….. well, in the middle of the shower, you already feel the heat when your shoulder is no longer under the shower….. and you get all hot and sticky within 10 minutes of stepping out of the bathroom after your shower….. and no, I don’t have an air-conditioner when I was out at the villages, where it seemed as if Bangladesh was at its hottest…..

Its also nice that I don’t have to eat the same food day in day out…. Why that happened at the villages, was simply because the ‘chef’ was only able to cook those 3 same dishes, and nothing else, hence the absence of variety in the villages…. It’s a good thing I don’t have the same problem back home :)

Time to Head Home

2006-08-28T01:25:00.000-07:00

23 August 2006
Today’s the day we go home…. Its also the day we print out the reports, and get the partners from both Ernst & Young and SF Ahmed, our Bangladeshi audit counterparts to sign off on the accounts and the report….. we said our goodbyes to the Bangladeshi auditors, the client, and the drivers that served us so well in getting us from place to place…..

It’s a huge relief to finally be going home…. My colleague has this theory that we start to change after spending 40 days in Bangladesh…. I have to agree with him, I had started losing it after breaching the 40 day mark….. so its with great relief that I get to say farewell to Bangladesh after 45 long days in Bangladesh…..

I’m looking forward to claiming my life back, being reunited with family and friends, being able to do all the things I enjoy back home….. nothing could possibly spoil today…. Well, unless they cancel the flight, or I get held back in Bangladesh for visa problems, or….. well, touch wood nothing like that happens….. what happened to those 2 unfortunate KPMG auditors comes to mind…..

Well, below are 2 lists I compiled from the things I noted during our time in Bangladesh….

5 Most Favourite Lines Uttered by the Locals in Bangladesh

5. It is a fact, nothing to do. (“That’s the way things are over here, there’s nothing we can do about it”)

4. Problem? You have problem? (“Is there something bothering you?”)

3. One more piece, one more piece

2. Boshen boshen!!! (“sit down, sit down!!!”)

1. Shama Sha Nair!! (“No problem!!”)

In Bangladesh, Things That Make You Go EEEwwww, Yuuuuccckkkk, GAAAASSPPPP!!!!!

1. You’re in conversation with someone…. they suddenly feel the urge to pick their noses, right in front of you, in the middle of your conversation….. they then proceed to examine their findings with 2-3 fingers, spreading the lurve…. If that’s not enough, at the end of the conversation, its Bangladeshi culture that they MUST shake your hands….

2. People around you clear their throats….. and then spit out their contents in the spot right next to you….

3. On the roads of Dhaka…..you’re sitting in a car….. you approach a junction, a car shoots out of nowhere….. your car swerves out of the way….. you jump back in your seat….. you curse and swear, then you sigh in relief….. an accident is avoided by mere inches…. you’ve just suffered one of many heart attacks on the roads of Dhaka….

4. After a meal, the guy next to you drinks his glass of water…. then gargles….. loudly…. And then swallows it in…..

5. You’re in your room, doing your thing, you hear a knock, a quarter of a second later the door bursts open, another quarter of a second later, a Bangladeshi walks right in….

6. You’re in the shower, and then from the corner of your eye, you see a black patch moving….. turns out to be your friendly cockroach…..

7. You’re again in the shower….. the lights then go out……

8. You’re lying on your bed….. the lights go out….. so does the fan…… and its bloody summer…..

9. Body odour…. Need I say more?

10. In relation to body odour, the locals here actually wear the same shirt for 2 or more consecutive days…. Urgh…..

2 More Voted Off!!!

2006-08-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday, 19 August 2006

Yes, that’s right, another 2 team members were sent back home today…. Obviously they were quite delighted to be flying home, though they did claim it was weird that we were not going back together as a team like we did in January this year…. Hopefully they’ll get upgraded to Business Class…..

I think this place is beginning to get to me…. I’m losing patience at a much quicker rate than usual…. I’m now very much annoyed everytime I have my meals at the hotel café…. I think its down to the fact that my food takes so long to arrive, coupled with the lack of urgency shown by the waiters (and probably chefs)….. I felt like throwing the vase, and whatever I could lay my hands on earlier to chuck at the waiter during breakfast today, because he didn’t bring me what I had ordered……

I also got irritated during dinner today when I was made to wait for nearly an hour before I got my food…. It didn’t feel so long because I was in good company, but that doesn’t prevent me from getting hungry, and boy am I grumpy when I’m deprived of food…. I was timing them today, so when my dinner finally did arrive, I promptly cancelled my dessert, and curtly told the shocked waiter that I was no longer interested in my fruit platter….. after a certain hour, I don’t want to eat anymore, and we had gone beyond that hour…. If I was alone, I would have probably walked out of the café….. I’m not sure if today’s show of petulance will make a difference, but I do intend to tell them tomorrow night that I will wait for half an hour for my food….

Maybe I’m impatient because I’m tired of this country, and that I want to get the hell out of here…. Or maybe its due to the fact that I’m not well, being feverish and feeling nauseous wouldn’t leave anyone in a good mood….. Being grumpy for being kept apart from my dinner was definitely a contributing factor to me reacting the way I did tonight…. I’m a little surprised at myself, but I don’t feel the least bit sorry though, as I don’t see why I should put up with such shoddy service…. I have better things to do with my time, time which I will not get back, because some moron in the kitchen is unable to prepare meals promptly….. waiting an hour for my dinner is simply UNACCEPTABLE!!! We’ll see how it goes for the remaining time that I have left here….

Send Off

2006-08-18T05:34:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 17 August 2006

We sent one of our team members home tonight, as he’s due to go to China next week for another engagement…. So we’ll be down to 4, not inclusive of our managers of course…. We held a farewell dinner for him at Chicken King, with dessert at Andersen’s Ice Cream….. hehe, we forced our 2 drivers, Mirren and Jahangir to join us…..

Fast food joints in Bangladesh are a little bit different from the ones back home….. well, it looks the same, smells the same….. but the prices are sky high, for the locals here anyway….. you can get cheaper alternatives elsewhere, so it was no surprise that the type of people you find patronising these places are of the higher educated and more privileged….. So it was quite a treat for Mirren and Jahangir to join us, they were very shy at first before settling in….

We reckon if you're a Bangladeshi, this is the place you’d bring your girlfriend to, just to impress her…. Of course it wont impress our girls much if we were to take them out to KFC or McDonalds on our first date…. But we saw many couples, we observed the couple next to our table was just moving closer and closer to his girl, his arm over her chair, while he kept on positioning himself closer, till their legs were nearly touching…..

Foodwise, it was just like what you’d get back home, for just one night, we felt as if we were back home again…. We had 2 pieces of fried chicken each, with some fries and coleslaw…. 2 of us were adventurous enough to order mango juice, a drink which we wouldn’t find back home….. it was a mixture of young mangoes,and other local spices….. it wasn’t for the faint hearted, and the 2 of them eventually only took a little sip before abandoning it…. Even Jahangir could not stomach the drink….. but it proved not to be a problem for Mirren, but being the tough guy that he is, why am I not surprised….

Danish nougat….. that’s the ice cream flavour that I picked, together with Belgian Chocolate at Anderson's Ice Cream…. Everyone had a cone to go with their ice cream, though our Senior Manager decided to go for the ice cream milkshake…..

2 hours later, it was time to send LLW off, he was happily dressed in his t-shirts, shorts and cap, looking like a school kid with his backpack….. it was sad to see him go, one of us commented its like he got voted off our little reality show…. In another 2 days, 2 more team members will leave for home…. As for me, its another 7 more days till I get on that plane, and I just can’t wait!!!!

I Got Hit Again!!

2006-08-18T05:07:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 16 August 2006

Yes, not even a week has gone by, and I’m down with food poisoning again…. My body had barely recovered from the last bout of diarrhoea, my stomach had shrunken considerably and I was just about to regain my appetite…..

While the food at the village was the cause of my last bout of food poisoning, the food at the hotel proved to be the culprit this time around…. The chicken ala kiev to be exact…. You would have thought that my troubles with food would be over now that I’m back in Dhaka and eating only hotel food…. This experience has proved that this is not the case….

Yes, I’m tired of falling sick, having to deal with a tummy in distress, fighting my sinuses and coping with a fever….. I’m looking forward to going home and eating without worry and sleeping without worrying about power cuts….

It doesn’t help that I’m feeling heavy and bloated…. It doesn’t help that I’m unable to get any form of exercise…. I have to do away with my badminton and futsal sessions…. I don’t get to go for salsa anymore….. instead we stay cooped up in the hotel building, if we’re not in our hotel rooms, or in the café for meals, or in the Finance Department doing work….

So when we get the chance to go out, we do….. my manager who just flew in early this morning wanted to explore a shopping mall called Eastern Plaza, which was about a 20 minute drive away from the hotel….. it turned out to be something like Pertama Complex…. We spent a small fortune on Indian bangles on the 1st floor, found that the 2nd floor was dedicated to saris, the third floor had lots of materials and handicraft while the 4th floor was filled with lots of electrical goods….

On the way back, we decided to have dinner at La Vinci, which served Indian and Western food…. Hehe, despite the weak stomach, I was tired of being so careful over what I eat…. Though I did avoid ordering Indian food, I thought grilled chicken was the safest option for me to take…. So far so good….

On the way back, we had to pass by a street filled with people…. Homeless people, who live on the street…. The pavement was filled with people, in tattered clothes, while some were just lying down on the pavement, others were “fortunate” enough to be sleeping in round rattan baskets….. These are the homeless people of Dhaka, who have nowhere else to go, with nothing much to live for….It does make you count your blessings…..

Our Drivers in Banglaland

2006-08-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

Some drivers are more attentive than others…. That is a general observation that I’ve made….. I’ve come across quite a few in my short lifetime…. From the drivers assigned to my dad during his time with the Ministry of Health and now with the International Medical University…. I must say that all of them, with the exception of one, were quite hopeless….. To them, their sole purpose is to drive the car, and nothing else…..

Then there are the drivers who work for my relatives in Bangkok…. Now these fellas were good, they were attentive to your needs, they would never allow you to carry anything, they’ll open doors for you….. You feel assured whenever they drive you….

So it was to my surprise that the Bangladeshi drivers assigned to us are also very helpful, and even on par with the Thai drivers employed by my relatives in Bangkok…. And they are amazingly good drivers, after all, we are delivered safely to our destinations in one piece!!!
I was driven by someone called Rauf for my first trip out to the villages, who is a small man, who reminds me of a mouse, but possesses a huge voice, especially when he gets excited….. There’s also Mirren, who is built like a tank ….. He can easily get a job as a bouncer in a night club in KL, such are his imposing looks, we always feel safe and secure knowing that he’s there…. But I rate Jahangir as the best of the lot who took me out for my second trip, as he is perceptive as he is attentive….. As he had also driven me during my first visit to Bangladesh in January, I was already quite comfortable having him around.....

Jahangir, sitting on the railing, alongside Alum, one of our Bangladeshi auditors

Jahangir is the type who would watch you, identify what your habits are and remember them…. He will also watch you to see what type of food you like and how much food you usually take at a time….. he’ll make sure you have everything you need, from the the use of multiplugs as the source of power for our laptops, to our working room, tea time(s), the menu of our meals, etc….. And he doesn’t litter like your typical Bangladeshi either!!! I find him quite extraordinary, as a driver who would take so much initiative to ensure that things run as smoothly as possible for the people under his care…. And not to forget the fact that he’s a fantastic driver, with an impressive knowledge of all the village branches in Bangladesh, we have never ever gotten lost finding our way to any of the branches…. Which cannot be said for Rauf, who needed a couple of days before remembering where our Regional Office was :)

Trip Back from the Villages.....

2006-08-12T07:44:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 10 August 2006

I guess sometimes when things get really unbearable, something happens to lighten my mood and make me smile again…. Even if its just for a short while, its a relief nevertheless…. Today’s my last day at the villages, we will be going back after lunch, taking a 1 ½ hour ferry ride across the Ganges River and a 2 hour drive back to Dhaka….. And with this trip being our last trip to the villages, it is something to be happy about…. During the course of my 5 day outing in the Madaripur region, I’ll categorise some of my experiences into the following categories….

The Good….
After work yesterday, we set off to the riverbank of the Ganges River…. We saw the locals setting up their stalls, selling fish and prawns (they were still jumping around!!), and food…. We then got on a huge sampan, well, it also had a motor, so we went off on a 30 minute “cruise” along the river, and floating in the middle of the river, watching bigger ships and ferries go by, getting swamped by the waves as they go by…. It was very peaceful, and having the breeze in our faces was a huge relief after a stressful day at work…..

The Bad….
The bus drivers are as arrogant as usual, hogging the roads, and even preventing us from overtaking at times…. It can be scary sometimes to be behind such vehicles, but even more so if you’re a passenger of one of these crazy drivers…..

An example of a bossy and arrogant bus driver (if you look real hard, you can see the bus conductor hanging out the door)

The Ugly….
I noticed human faeces floating on the surface of the Ganges River as I boarded the ferry on the way home from the Madaripur region…. Urgh, I wouldn’t be buying any fish or prawns from the Ganges River anywhere near that region…..
The geese that were left at the top of the bus on the ferry mentioned above…. In the sweltering summer heat exceeding 35oC, the poor geese which were clearly distressed and dehydrated were left on the top a bus with the owner nowhere in sight….

The poor neglected geese

The bus that crashed into a ditch as we were on our back to Dhaka…. We must have arrived soon after the accident as there was no traffic jam, and I could see the bus driver struggling to get out of his seat….

The Irritating…..
The ants that invaded my computer bag and their attempt to conquer yours truly….. I was working on my computer, when I suddenly felt something (in this case, many things) crawling all over my left arm… to my horror, I found it filled with ants, going all the way back to my left shoulder, across my th left side of my chair, and my computer bag….. it looked as if it was alive due to the number of ants on it….. I miss MM and its lack of ants!!!!

The Funny….
We were very tickled when we noticed a village boy in his lungi (sarong), as he ran along the road in our direction….. what made us laugh was that he was pulling his lungi upwards as he ran, sometimes pulling it up too high…. He wasn’t wearing any underwear…. Enough said…..

The Beauty…..
We were trying to overtake one of those crazy buses I wrote about earlier, when we were forced to duck behind a bicycle with a cart due to an approaching bus….. the cart contained 4 to 5 girls, and we teased our driver for purposely doing so….. one of the girls noticed us laughing, and proceeded to give us the sweetest smile I’ve seen in Bangladesh…. That’s enough to make my day….. for today anyway :)

Things aren't going so well....

2006-08-12T05:47:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 09 August 2006

I’m just tired…….
We’ve been in this country for a bit over 4 weeks now, time seems to be going by more slowly too…. I’m down with diarrhoea, and feeling very weak… It’s a lot hotter today compared to yesterday….. Thankfully the electricity is back at the Shibchar village branch, making it bearable for work, though not quite comfortable….. its good that people around me are in high spirits, which is in contrast to me, I’m feeling quite miserable…..

I’m tired….. tired from being sick….. from the low grade fever, to the diarrhoea, which prevents me from sleeping….. I’m tired from sleep deprivation, as due to being a light sleeper, I’m awaken at night from unfamiliar sounds outside our rooms….. I’m tired from the amount of work that we do at the villages…. I’m tired from the worry of the hygiene of the food (I’ve fallen sick because of it after all)…. I’m tired from having to cope with all the dust, and with the heat, which affects my sinuses, resulting in watering eyes and a leaking nose…… I’m tired of altering my speech to make myself understood by the locals here….. I’m tired of having to listen and think so hard to interpret what they are trying to tell me….I’m tired of having to tolerate such low levels of hygiene maintained by the locals here….. I’m tired of shaking hands with nose diggers….

Most of all, I’m tired of missing home, missing my family and friends…. I’m tired of not being able to play futsal (its been 5 months now since my last game due to work commitments) and badminton…. I miss my salsa as well, from going for classes, to the clubs and hanging out with my classmates….. I wish I could see my friends leaving for a new life overseas for the last time before they depart…..

I wish I didn’t have to be in this country for such a long period, and to think that there is another 3 more weeks to go doesn’t help…. I don’t see why we could not be flown home at least once during this 7 week ordeal…. Its as if we are being punished for something that we did, and while I’m sure that it is not the case, it sure feels like it….

Most of all, I’m just tired of being tired, and while I try to look for the nice things about Bangladesh, I’m too tired for that now…. We seem to be limping in the direction of the finishing line…. I ….. just …… want ….. to ….. go …… home…….

Tuesday, 08 August 2006

Today was tough…. We had our closing meeting at one village in the morning, before proceeding to the next village called Shibchar, arriving only at 1pm…. To our dismay, there was no electricity…. Apparently, it had been that way since morning….. And as it turned out, the power failed to resume even after our departure at 7.30pm…. Thankfully, it was a cloudy day, yet it was hot enough to be very uncomfortable….. We were making futile attempts at cooling us down, such as fanning ourselves, drinking plenty of water and taking lots of fruits….. The feeling of beads of sweat dripping across your brow, and feeling your soaked t-shirt sticking to your body proved very distractive throughout the day as we struggled to maintain our working pace of the last 2 days….. As a result, we will not be able to depart for Dhaka tomorrow as we hoped…. But I suppose going back on Thursday isn’t too bad, as we would still be a day earlier than scheduled……

Stock Counts

Stock counts are not very pleasant to carry out….. That’s because the store room is usually the most basic room around in the whole building…. In some cases, there are no lights, and the fans don’t work (that’s if there are any fans in the first place)…. Big items are usually stored outside, and knowing how hot our country is, its not a very pleasant experience….. hehe, the external auditors would especially know all about this……

So what about performing stock counts in Bangladesh? I’d say the experience is even worse….. The air in the store rooms are usually stale, the items are arranged haphazardly, its back-breaking work retrieving some of these items for the pesky auditors to count….. If I were a staff in the branch, I’d hate it everytime the auditors come around….

Today, I performed a stock count on medical items stored. As the Health Programme is handled by 2 female Programme Organisers, they were the ones assisting us in locating and counting the stock items…. What was embarrassing were the presence of 2 other men from the village branch management who didn’t lift a finger to help the 2 women move boxes in their effort to locate the stock….. I guess its the culture here, that the women do all the work, while the men smoke, read the papers and drink tea….. I’m sure its not true for all men, but in some places, men would have volunteered to help…. I have offered in the past to assist during the process, but have always been stopped by the men, presumably that it is not a common practice for outsiders to get involved, together with the fact that being a guest, I should merely observe and not get physically involved in any of the counting here…..

Monday, 07 August 2006

In Bangadesh, its really difficult to sleep in .… The sun rises so early in this country, 6am here is more like 8.30am back home…. Because its summer here, the day starts a lot earlier than what I’m used to at home….. I try to turn away from the sunlight pouring into the room, but resistance is futile…. So I end up tossing and turning, waiting for my alarm clock to go off, I refuse to get out of bed until I really have to….. After all, I have a long day ahead….. Actually, every day in Bangladesh is a long day for me….. So what do I see in the early mornings, on the way to the village branch? I see people walking around while brushing their teeth, and chatting with other people, mouths still foaming…..

I see mothers bathing their kids as we drive by….. I also see kids of a similar age in uniforms walking in groups, chatting happily, presumably on their way to school…. I see older girls, also in uniform, in rickshaws, who are also probably going to school…. I see bus drivers washing their buses…. Let me correct myself there, they wash the rims of their buses, but its still a lot more than what some of the car owners back in KL would do, where you see a 3 inch layer of dust on their cars…..

I also see people walking their livestocks, I would presume the cows are being sent to plough the fields, the goats and sheep are probably being sent to the markets to be sold…. I see people opening up their stalls, selling food and everyday items….. I see other people chasing after buses, some walking, some taking rickshaws….. I see rickshaws carrying other types of cargo aside from people, including bricks, jute, hay, sacks of rice, bamboo, metal rods, just about anything really….. I hear bells of the rickshaws and bicycles ringing, horns of trucks and buses…. I also see women processing their jute, soaking them in the water, stripping the jute of the bark and leaves….. I see men drying the jute on the roadside….. (by the way, jute are the plants used to make rope, its apparently a very big thing here in Bangladesh….

Men processing the jute

Harvest of the jute

I witness a hive of activity on my way to the village branch, it would be wise not to just sleep in the car, as you’d miss out on a lot of things…. I’m glad though that I don’t lead such a lifestyle, as among other things, I would just hate having to brush my teeth out in the open…..

PS: Another startling observation was made here in Bangladesh, most men here wear collared shirts!!! From rickshaw riders to stall sellers to bus drivers, all the common people, 9 out of 10 men would be wearing a collared shirt/t-shirt, of which probably 7 of then would be wearing a shirt (usually long sleeved)….. makes our people back home look really shabby!!!

2006-08-12T05:08:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 06 August 2006

I feel a lot better today, looks like the fever has died down….. but the bumpy roads out of Dhaka made me feel sick though, the contents of my tummy seems to be swirling, so it didn’t help that we had to take a 30 minute ferry trip across the Ganges River on the way to the villages I’m visiting…..

I’ve been on this ferry in January, I elected to go right up to the top, and sat quietly on my own, dozing on and off….. I think the rest were a little concerned about my quietness, but they left me alone….. but the strong breeze, no, the strong wind seemed to make me feel a lot better…. You had to squint your eyes to see what’s ahead due to the wind….. even the crows were struggling against the wind…. I noticed two of them landing on the ferry roof, slid off the roof, and then had to fight the wind to reclaim their place on the roof…..

There was also a lot of activity going on in the ferry…. Lots of traders were selling fruits and drinks at the bottom floor of the ferry…. The top floor of the ferry on the other hand had people selling snacks, similar to the Indian cookies like murukku, hard-boiled eggs in salt and pepper, and peanuts….. There were even two cobblers, who were polishing people’s shoes for a nominal fee….. You’d also find the odd beggar or two, whom you’d have to ignore, or you’d be swamped by his fellow beggars if you’d give any money to any of them…..

We encountered an interesting event once we reached the village branch…. There was a middle aged man, sitting in a room as we walked past….. My Malaysian colleague was curious, and requested one of our Bangladeshi counterparts on why the man was there…. It turns out that this man had defaulted on his Microfinance loan and moved to Dhaka without paying his instalments…. Today, he had decided to pay part of his loan, and found himself locked up in that room for 30 minutes as punishment for moving away without paying off his loan…. I find it quite bizarre actually, can you imagine if that’s what we do to people back home who default on their bank loans…. It was quite amusing at the time, but it makes you wonder….. I came all the way back to pay off part of my loans, and I end up getting locked up in a room, with no where to go…. He was eventually released after we had queried the Branch Manager on the rationale behind the idea of holding him….. but we do wonder, if we didn’t come across him on our way to the documents storage room, how long would he have remained in that room?

The man locked in the room, flanked by the Bangadeshi auditor (left) and Village Branch Manager (right)

Funny isn’t it, how things are done in different countries….

Saturday, 05 August 2006

I’ve fallen sick…. Which is just great, considering I go out to the villages again early tomorrow morning…. The fever which I thought would surface after my last trip finally materialised…. I hate taking panadols, but I had to take two tonight….. and getting an early night would be a good idea….. as I needed to be up by 6.30am, going to sleep at 10pm sounded just about right…..

The only thing is, despite not feeling too well, I ended up watching the telly…. And sleeping an hour later….. I couldn’t help it…. Fast & Furious III, Tokyo Drift was showing….. yeah, they were showing a lousy DVD copy on the telly, so it slowed me down while I packed….. there’s this thing about cars which just fascinates the male population, or most of it anyway….. of course having girls in the show also doesn’t hurt :)

I wish I could make my car drift…. Apparently, my 22 year old Accord should be able to drift, as in theory, all rear wheel cars will be able to drift…. But the thought of punishing my dear Accord, I don’t think I’ll be attempting it anytime soon….. but it looks sooo cool, and if I could drift, I’d be drifting my way out of the MM carpark everyday, just to show how desperate I am to get out of the office….

When that movie ended, I thought I’d go to sleep….. but I needed to check what’s on BBC for the latest news before I went to bed….. and lo and behold, Top Gear was on…. This show is about the review of all sorts of cars…. They will put the car through its paces, just to prove the facts and characteristics of the car…. The only difference between Top Gear and Tokyo Drift are the absence of women…..

The cars under review were the CCX and Porsche Caryenne? What I enjoy about the show is the presentation of the review, the English humour that is part of the show, and their innovative ways of showcasing the capabilities of the cars under review…. The CCX sports car was test driven by Jeremy Clarkson, famous for his dry English humour, you can read his reviews in your Sunday Times….. he was pushing the car on a straight track till it reached 192 miles per hour….. that’s more than 300 km per hour!!! Then he lost control of the car….. not surprisingly, he looked quite sick as he got out of the car…

To show how fast the Porsche is, a race was designed over 2.6 miles….. the Porsche was to drive through the winding rough terrain, and pitted against an army parachutist, who would dive diagonally across 2.6 miles…. Who would ever have thought of pitting a car, against a man dressed like a flying squirrel diving down from an airplane….. the amazing thing was, the Porsche was actually the underdog, as it had to average 100km/hr in order to beat the parachutist….. so who won the race you ask? Why, despite the spirited drive of the Porsche, the flying squirrel prevailed by a good 5 metres or so……

So was it all worth it staying up, delaying my bedtime by a good hour knowing I had to be up early the next day? Hehe, you bet it was!!!

The Roads of Bangladesh.....

2006-08-04T07:41:00.000-07:00

Friday, 04 August 2006

I get nervous everytime I’m out on the roads in Bangladesh…… its not so bad when you’re in Dhaka, as we don’t really go out very far from our hotel…. What worries me is when I have to go out onto the main highways of Bangladesh, travelling from region to region for hours at a time….
The view along the way to our destination is very different from urban Kuala Lumpur..... the paddy and jute fields, cows ploughing the fields, harvested paddy being dried on the roads, the never ending rivers, the rickshaws transporting various types of goods….

Now, I’d be able to enjoy all of this, if only I didn’t feel I was taking a risk every time I take a roadtrip out of Dhaka…. The drivers here are just mad, everyone thinks they’re a Schumacher, from the drivers of their little kancil-like cars, to the 4 wheel drives (inclusive of my driver at times), the public buses and the huge trucks, who incidentally are carrying twice the load they’re permitted to…..

Here’s how it goes….. we’re doing 100km/hr, and all of a sudden, we hear this blaring horn from behind, I look outside, and to my sheer astonishment, I see this bus overtaking us, with the bus conductor hanging outside like a broken branch of a tree blowing in the wind, yelling at us, and gesturing wildly for us to move out of the bus’s way…..

Here’s another terrifying picture….. as we’re driving merrily down the road, we notice a line of trucks on the opposite side…. Then one truck driver gets impatient and overtakes another, totally oblivious to our approach…. or ignoring our presence, it doesn't matter..... Our bleating horns go unheeded, and my driver has to get us off the road to avoid getting squashed like a roach…..

Everyday, I read in the newspapers that there has been accidents on the roads, involving many fatalities…. You wonder whether you'll be another statistic who has suffered the same fate.....Considering that we will be using the same route to our destination, how can one not worry…. The notion of queuing and waiting your turn is as foreign to these people as I, a Malaysian am to all the villages and the people I visit…. A silent prayer is always uttered before stepping into our vehicle, thankfully our drivers are good, no, actually they’re very good, so far, we’ve always arrived safely and in one piece….. still, I cant help but feel nervous come Sunday when its time for me to go back out to the villages again…..

2006-08-04T03:13:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 03 August 2006

It doesn’t matter where you are, people are all still the same…. You’re talking to someone, but they don’t let you know when they don’t understand the message you’re trying to convey to them…. You even ask them, “is there anything you don’t understand?”, and they’ll just nod their heads and say no everything is fine….. and at the next instant, as proven by the way they answer your question, or by their subsequent actions to your instructions, you know your message didn’t get through…..

That explains why the waiter didnt bring me the food I ordered.... or why something was not done the way I wanted it...... or why I was brought to the wrong place…. It would also explain why I get the wrong documents when speaking to clients, or in Bangladesh, to my fellow auditors from Bangladesh….. I ask one question, it gets translated to Bengali and delivered to the villagers, the answer is given by the villagers to the bangladeshi auditors, translated back into English and delivered to me….. gee, that answer didn’t make sense..... sigh…. now, let’s try again…. That’s how it goes, over and over again in a day, for every working day I’m at the villages….

Many things make it difficult when working in the villages…. The working conditions are hard, it’s a lot dirtier, filthier and dustier and I’m accustomed to, its also a lot hotter than I would like it to be (the cold is the only thing I miss from my days in the UK), the amount of work facing us in the short time-span that we have at each branch is overwhelming….. But communicating with people here is definitely the biggest challenge facing us Malaysians here in Bangladesh…..

So what is required during our time in Bangladesh is a huge amount of patience, something that I’m told I have an abundance of, but even I have my limitations…. You explain again, you use illustrations, make comparisons…. Basically you use your imagination on how to deliver your message across effectively to the people here.…. All the aggravation I go through cant be good for my health, not to mention the heat, dirt and dust…..

But sometimes, its not because they are not able to understand….. instead, its due to the lack of effort made on their part…. What really irritates me is when the people don’t listen…. They’re too busy talking, they do not do enough listening, because they think they know what you’re going to say…. So they switch off, and in the end, the message is lost….. what’s even more annoying is when these same people get impatient and angry, and blame you for not relaying the message more clearly….

No, its not easy working with people, regardless of where you are….. more so when you have to work with people who don’t share the same language as you do…. It has been a long 3 weeks, and it will be another long 4 weeks till I go home….. I guess I’ll just have to persevere on when dealing with people…. As they say, when at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again!!!

Back in Dhaka, and happier for it too!!!

2006-08-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 02 August 2006

Its been a while since my last entry, which coincided with my return to Dhaka…. The trip back was uneventful, yet I was relieved to be back at the hotel and reunited with the rest of our Malaysian team…. Am not looking forward to going back out to the villages this Sunday, but until then I might as well enjoy it while it lasts…..

While I have been busy in the office, documenting the results of our work at the villages, I am definitely more relaxed and at ease as compared to the past 2 weeks…. I have been able to catch up with the world news, and I found it distressing to read and watch what is going on in Lebanon, sad that Ruud Van Nistelrooy has left Man United but pleased that Michael Carrick has finally been signed by Ferguson…. Its so nice to be able to catch up with all the football going-ons as the new season approaches…..

Then there’s the internet, I found my mail inbox filled to the brim, not that it was a problem…. I was delighted to find myself connected to the internet (somehow there’s wireless connection in the office, slow as it may be, but its better than no internet at all :) ), hence I was able to catch up with what has been happening at home…. I was also able to chat with friends from home, Penang, Australia, Singapore and even Senegal…. Hopefully I’ll be able to get hold of my friends in India and the UK in the near future…..

Of course, let’s not forget the hot showers I’m now able to enjoy again after a hard day at work…. Nothing washes away the tiredness as well as a nice hot shower….. and then to step into a cool and air conditioned room, where I wont have to worry about any power cuts…. No more hot, sweaty and uncomfortable nights as I toss and turn in our mosquito infested bedroom…. While I was at the villages, I had a frog, a rat and plenty of roaches as room mates….. how I managed to get enough sleep I will never know, but I guess when you’re so tired, after a while, you just push it to the furthest corner of your mind, you close your eyes and drift away to sleep…..

Of course, being able to watch reruns of Friends, Will & Grace, new episodes of Joey, the OC Season II, lots of ESPN and Star Sports does wonders to one’s morale…. We had a shock though when we returned, as the Ministry of Culture or something like that had banned the sports channels and the Z series channels, which had all my Friends and Will & Grace’s so we were not happy…. As one of us said, what’s a country without a sports channel, hehe, something that I am in total agreement with…. But its all good now, all the channels have been reinstated, and I’m happy again…..

Anyway, I’m off to watch more Friends and Joey, so till the next entry then!!!

Bangla Chronicles Part I

2006-07-30T21:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday, 29 July 2006

We achieved the impossible today, or what I thought was impossible today….. the other team in the north of Bangladesh had moved quicker than we did, so if we were to go back with them as scheduled, it meant us having to cover 2 village branches in 3 days….. as compared to the original schedule of covering a village branch in 3 days, it meant us having to work twice as scheduled……

And somehow, we managed to achieve it!!! It helped that the last 2 branches were smaller in a sense that they did not have the Educational Programme, but I would have thought covering a branch in 2 days was about as fast as we could go….. working like crazy the past 3 working days certainly paid off, and now I look forward to tomorrow where I’ll be reunited with another 2 colleagues from Malaysia, and we get to travel back to Dhaka, where hot showers and regular internet connection awaits!!!

To make things better, we managed to finish early too, well, 6pm is typically early for an auditor to finish work…. So unknown to us, we were brought to the dam of Tistaberej, which controls the flow of water from India into the northern parts of Bangladesh…. Surprisingly, we were told by guards on the bridge on top of the dam that we were not allowed to take photos….. I was quite annoyed when one of the Bangladeshi auditors insisted on us taking his photo, and the guards were still only a few feet away…. I got quite impatient after awhile when he wouldn’t let up, and promptly told him off, as did the Senior Bangladeshi auditor…. He wasn’t happy, but settled down after we found a place where we could snap away freely….

Further down from the dam, there were a few men fishing, their catch included those little fishes, that would be nice when marinated with salt, pepper and kunyit powder, and deep fried till crispy :D yum….. and the fact that there was a constant gentle breeze made it very comfortable to walk around and enjoy the view….

One thing I’ve noticed about the countryside in Bangladesh is that its very beautiful at dusk…… in the wide open space of the countryside, there is so much water around, in between paddy fields, and in this particular spot, the river that flows towards the dam reflected the brilliant colours of the sunset, and coupled with the dark shadows provided by the surrounding trees, it was a beautiful sight indeed….. I could appreciate all this from the comforts of our air conditioned 4-wheel drive of course, I don’t think I would want to stay out there very long otherwise :)

Thursday, 27 July 2006

This is how a typical day in the office is like for us….. we leave the regional office at around 8am, and went by all the paddy and jut fields via a path they call a road, which are filled with potholes…. So it’s a very bumpy ride indeed….. we will be greeted by everyone at the branch, and led to our working quarters….. on our first day at a village, we’d be ushered into the Branch Manager’s office, where we would sit down and he would ask us the same set of questions, which amongst others (or rather, the ones that I can understand anyway):

1) Which other regions are we auditing
2) Which part of Bangladesh are the local auditors from
3) Which country are us Malaysians are from

Once in our working quarters, the first thing that you’ll always notice is the amount of dust everywhere, as you see patches of brown all over the floor, you can practically smell (or at least I can due to my sinus problem) the dust….. As I lay my bag down and set up my laptop, I never fail to see the cobwebs at all the joints of the tables and chairs….

Then it’s time to request for documents, and play the waiting game….. unlike in Malaysia though, we do get our documents within 15 minutes, which is great for an auditor :D otherwise, they’ll get screwed by the Bangladeshi auditors…. But they’ll get it from the auditors anyway, it’s a matter of when rather than if when dealing with the Bangladeshi auditors….

It does seem like we get food on our table every hour or so….. you get better service here compared to a business class ticket on an airplane!!! These snacks would range from biscuits, fruits ( which is very common, now that mango and pineapples are in season, we usually get those) and on those rare occasions, some Bangladeshi goodies…. And it is usually accompanied by ‘cha’, better known as tea where we come from….. It can get very irritating though as us Malaysians have no interest in food due to the huge load of work…. You cant say the same about the Bangladeshis though, its eat first and work later attitude in this part of the world!!!

So amongst all the documents and files, you’ll see plates of biscuits, grapes, mangoes, pineapples, cups of tea…. I worry soo much about it all spilling on the documents, but I don’t see anyone else sharing my concerns…. Then there’s the issue of flies coming in at some branches, attracted to the scent of the food no doubt…. Although it slows us down from completing our work, I guess its part of their culture, and I just have to work around it…..

Our lunch hours are not fixed, it depends on the amount of work we have to finish…. Lunch is pretty standard, you’ll get rice, dry potato curry, curry chicken, fried fish, water (only MUM Mineral Water will do for us :) ) We were working again 30 min later, going through the same drill all over again…..

Then they are the power cuts, which you will suffer at least once at every village branch…..within seconds, sweat will start pouring down your face, you’ll be tugging away at your t-shirt (yes, we don’t have to wear office attire when out at the villages, thank God for that), grabbing anything you can to use as a fan, and taking gulpfuls of water every 5 minutes….. and you start praying that the power will come back soon…. Which it usually doesn’t…..

At the end of the 2nd day at a village, after the completion of our audit, we’ll compile all the findings that we have encountered, and present it to the branch management in a closing meeting…. Here, the Senior Bangladeshi Auditor will describe our findings, inform them of why the should not continue their current practice and what it is they should really do…. Or at least that’s what I think he’s telling them….. basically, everyone among the branch management will get whacked, these are all reflected in their expressions….

At the end of the meeting, much to my surprise, the branch manager will voice his appreciation and thanks for us coming, promises that he’ll act on our findings, and the meeting is adjourned…. To my greater surprise, none of them object to signing the list of findings that we produced, getting this list signed in Malaysia would prove very difficult indeed, if its ever possible….. maybe they don’t realise the implications of their signature on the list…..

As we move out of the room, towards the car, the branch manager, accountant and all the programme organisers will rush up to us to shake our hands…. Everyone is happy again, I definitely am as it means I move a step closer back to Dhaka, and of course, a day closer to going home….

The journey back to the regional office would take between 45 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes, depending on the distance between the village and the regional office…. We usually have dinner 45 minutes after arriving back, and while the Bangladeshis chat away animatedly, my Malaysian colleague and I are eat silently, exhausted from the day’s activities, and thinking of what next needs to be done to prepare for the next working day…..

And that’s how a typical day when we’re out of Dhaka is like…..

Wednesday, 26 July 2006

More than 2 weeks have gone by, am quite glad we are already entering the third of seven weeks of our engagement in Bangladesh…. I hope the next 5 weeks will pass by just as quickly if not quicker…. Actually, I do hope it passes quicker :) I guess it helps that we have sooo much work to do, the days just fly by…. Having to keep up with the other team in the north of Bangladesh to ensure we go back together drives the Bangladeshis on my team to work harder, which only helps me….

Today, we left the village at around 7pm…. The sun was soon to have set, and along the way back to our regional office, we, or rather I was privileged (as the rest of the team weren’t paying any attention to what was going on outside) to a breathtaking view of the sunset in the wide open space of the Bangladesh country side as we drove back to the regional office….

The sky was a beautiful shade of reddish purple, and in between the many padi and jut fields that we drove past, lay a lagoon or water catchment of some sort, where the water was eerily still…. There was no wind, the trees stood motionless, there were no birds flying around, neither were there any people or animals…..What I saw was the reflection of the sunset, and the many trees that was on the other side of the lagoon on the water surface….. it was a magnificent sight, and the water was like a smooth mirror, and the view stretched on for what seems like forever……unfortunately our camera wasn’t capable of taking in view….. for once (possibly the only time too) during my trip in Bangladesh, I was glad to be here, to be able to take in this view…..

But I was soon brought back to earth and was reminded of the crappy living conditions upon my return to the regional office, which was surrounded by endless and black darkness….. yeah….. it was another one of those damn power cuts….. I guess I have to put up with all this nonsense to be able to enjoy 5 minutes of a gorgeous view….

Tuesday, 25 July 2006

You know what amazes me about the people here in Bangladesh? It has to be the warmth, friendliness and respect that they give to everyone, despite the harsh and tough conditions that they are in…. The people at the branch office at the villages rush and attend to our every need, I feel quite bad eating all their food, and the Bangladeshi auditors don’t help matters by piling food on our plates while the branch staff eat very little ‘lauk’, (but Bangladeshis eat a helluva lot of rice though!!) ….

The people at the village itself are always so curious, you’ll see people, mainly children following our 4 wheel drive in as we make our way to the houses where we have to make inspections on their livestock…. And when we reach the houses of these people, they would hunt for wooden chairs for us to sit (though we never take up their offer as we never stay long enough due to our short timeline for each village audit)…. But they’re always ready with a smile…. I have to admit that it also amazes me how perfect the alignment of their teeth, whereas people in KL who have that same set of perfect teeth would have put on braces at somewhere in their life…. You wonder where these people would be if they were born in different circumstances and in a different place, would they be able to make something more of their lives….

Having said that, they seem perfectly happy the way they are…. The kids seem oblivious to the hardship around them as they run and play in their shorts…. They followed us all over the place, from the car to the schools, to the villagers houses….. screams and shouts are quite common, not to mention the mooing of cows and bleats of goats and sheep…..

Some of them would wave at us when we leave, one cheeky fella even greeted me in arabic, trying to illicit a response from me hehe, which I duly obliged…. But they keep their distance, and the elders would never allow them to get to close to us….. the only thing that can be unnerving at times is the unbreakable stare that they give you, which is probably more to their curiosity than anything else… but you’ll get used to it after a while…..

Monday, 24 July 2006

It seems the Bangladeshis wants to try to finish a village audit visit in 2 days instead of the allocated 3 days…. Which is fine by me…. But like I mentioned earlier, who would be the ones to facilitate such a wish to happen? Looks like my Malaysian colleague and I will be staying up late again tonight doing work…. I’m not gonna think about what the rest of the team is up to while the Malaysians slog tonight…..

The Bangladeshis wanted to leave the client’s place at 6.30, for us to finish this by tomorrow, that may not be such a good idea…. But oh well, that’s why the Malaysians are bringing the work home after all….. We were hoping to have an early dinner and start on our work immediately….. So when we took a detour rather than go straight to the regional office where we spend our nights, we were not too happy…..

It turned out we went to a popular picnic spot, a lake in the Nilshapur area…. But it was quite pretty out there at sunset, so I settled down after a while, and was glad to be able to stretch my legs….. though they could have done a lot more in landscaping the area surrounding the lake :)

You could see the reflection of the sky on the lake surface, it was a pity that our camera was low on battery, so we could not take as many pictures as we would have liked to….. so after a while, I lost my grumpiness, though it took a little bit longer for my colleague to loosen up…… I suppose with this bunch of Bangladeshis, despite the misgivings that I have about them, they’re not all bad…..

I guess I’m just tired of how rough their manners can be, it gets to you after a while…. They don’t realise that their behaviour can be considered by some as rude and unbecoming….. and it doesn’t help that their vocabulary is so limited, so you really have to try hard to look beyond their words, and some times their action as well before determining their intentions….. but its sooo exhausting doing so, and at the end of the day, my energy is spent not on work, but mainly managing (and tolerating!!!) the people I work with…..

PS: will have to try to remember to post those pictures on my friendster page :)

Sunday, 23 July 2006

I was lucky today…. I had finished showering, and when it was the turn of my colleague to take his shower, the water had run out….. I wasn’t aware that there was a limit to the water, guess we’d better wake up earlier tom to ensure today’s incident doesn’t repeat itself….

I was in the bathroom after dinner, in the middle of brushing my teeth when the lights went out….. the groans from everyone outside my room confirmed my worst fears, oit was another power outage…..luckily my colleague came to my rescue, giving me a torch light, so I didn’t need to take my shower in the dark…..

The Bangladeshis annoyed me today…. The Malaysians in the team are working so hard and burning the midnight oil, we stayed up last night to help on their part, whereas 2 of them decided to watch TV while the third tried studying for his exams for a while before falling asleep…. And today they had the cheek to push us and ask us why we’re so slow, and why are we feeling so tired…. Bloody hell….. ah crap, as I write this, the power just went off again….. I’m gonna lose track of how many times I’ve mentioned I hate this place…….

Anyway, I’m signing off for the day, before my computer screen attract more insects……

Saturday, 22 July 2006

We shifted base today, moving from our Training and Resource Centre (TARC) in the Rangpur region further up north to the Nilphamari region which is about an hour’s drive away. We will cover 4 villages in the Nilphamari region, starting with the Syedpur village.

We worked quite hard today, covering about 60% of the work…. Not too bad for 1 day’s worth of work…. Leaves us with a lot less to do tomorrow….. we brought some work back with us too, and we stayed up till 12.15am doing it…..

We miss our old TARC already…. Its bad enough that we have to work weekends in this place, but when we go back to places like this to spend the night….. sigh…… there was a power outage (haha,funny how I use all these industrial terms after doing the Malakoff audit) which delayed us from having dinner, I guess the cook couldn’t cook in the dark…. Eventually the food was ready and we had dinner at about 9.30pm, and the power came back on close to 10pm, after leaving us about an hour and a half in the dark…. Apparently this happens daily over here, which is really shitty, because there are so many insects in this place, we are left at the mercy of the mosquitos with our electric insect repellent being out of commission….

The water is quite bad too, tap water from the sink and shower reeks of rust…. If we were deficient in iron, our stay here for the next 10 days may help….. Apparently one of my colleagues used bottled water to wash his hair during our trip in January 2006….. luckily my hair isn’t as sensitive (I hope not anyway) but we’ll use bottled water to brush our teeth…..

To make things worse, this place is really really dusty too, it doesn’t help that they laid out cheap carpets in the bedrooms…. It means they don’t sweep this place, you bet your life on it that they don’t vacuum the floors (vacuums, do they even sell them in Bangladesh??!!!), so my nose is all runny and blocked again…..

I was working on weaning myself off the anti-histamines, I was down to just having to take them once every 6-8 weeks, now I have to take it almost on a daily basis….. and the side effects is that it makes you drowsy, and how am I supposed to get the mountain of work done when I feel like sleeping….. damn this place…… I can’t wait to leave this dump and go home……

Friday, 21 July 2006

It’s a weekend in Bangladesh, where people take Friday and Saturday off….. however, we work on Saturdays, which leaves us with a one day weekend through out our stay in Bangladesh…. Today being a weekend, the Bangladeshi auditors had arranged for a fieldtrip to a national park located in the Shopburi region…. Its about 2 hours drive from our TARC, and we go through the usual paddy fields to get there….

We left at 9am, after a leisurely breakfast, I was a little worried as my sinuses were acting up again, so I decided to take some polaromine, an anti-histamine…. My colleague was concerned as usual, as one of the Bangladeshi auditor, but I assured them I’d be fine…. It didn’t look that way though 2 hours later, when we arrived there…. I was bracing myself for a difficult day out in the open…..

5 minutes after we left the 4 wheel drive, my sinuses settled down, to my obvious relief…. I managed to enjoy the rest of our outing in the park, which was landscaped quite nicely…. The openness, coupled with the constant breeze made it very enjoyable to walk around the park, where we had lots of fun posing for pictures all over the park….

The park were divided into several parts, which included the flower garden, dinosaur park, cultural houses and a small amusement park…. There were also a few lakes, but we didn’t see that many birds…..

We stopped by one of the village branches of the client for a late lunch, who were hospitable in true Bangladeshi fashion….. the fried fish and dry curry chicken were excellent, so it was worth having to wait till 3pm for lunch…..

By the time we got back to the TARC at 4pm, we were exhausted from all that walking, a nap was most welcome by most of us….. now its back to the grind of work, so we can get back to Dhaka a lot earlier….

Thursday, 20 July 2006

I’m not sure what happened overnight… maybe God thought, let’s cut Zufar some slack, and give him something to smile about….

So what has changed then since yesterday to put a smile back on my face? No, I’m still due to leave Bangladesh only in late August, so that hasn’t changed….

No, its still unbearably hot, (while today was overcast, its still much hotter than it is back home)….. No, we haven’t moved to a better standard of living by being transferred to a hotel with all the facilities I’ve come to take for granted at home…. And no, this place is still as dusty and dirty, not to mention is still filled with litterbugs, spitters, nose diggers and hand shakers…..

Actually, it was the attitude of the Bangladeshi auditors I work with…. I’m not sure exactly what happened last night…. Maybe it was getting news that the team west of Dhaka managed to finish their village visit in 2 days instead of the scheduled 3 days…. Which means they get to go back 2 days earlier after visiting 2 villages…. Which is a long time to spend outside Dhaka, if you’re accustomed to the simple pleasures of life such as air conditioners, internet connection, hot showers etc…..

Or maybe the Senior Auditor on the Bangladeshi side received a call from his manager, telling him to hurry his team mates, as us Malaysians are keen on working overtime so we’d be able to get back to Dhaka as quickly as possible….. or maybe he wants to go back early to Dhaka himself, as its not very pleasant being out here in the northern region of Bangladesh, which is known to be one of the poorest parts of Bangladesh…..

Whatever the reason is, I’m a lot happier now that there is a possibility that we could work longer hours and return to Dhaka earlier…. Who knows, maybe I may even be able to return to Dhaka 3-4 days in advance!!!

PS: I made a second visit to the cobbler, to repair the sole on my other shoe… only this time they didn’t light up my shoes!!!!

Wednesday, 19 July 2006, PM

I couldn’t leave my last entry of the day on a sour note….. things weren’t that good when we got back to the TARC where we were staying….. A gathering was being held in the dining hall, which meant me being delayed from being fed…. And nothing upsets me more than being deprived of my meals on a timely basis….

It turned out that it was a cultural night, which is held every Wednesday night at every TARC in Bangladesh…. Unfortunately for my colleague and me, we were too tired from work to want to go watch a show in which we wouldn’t understand what was going on or what was being said….. too much brainpower needed, and we didn’t have much left in reserve, what with dinner being delayed and all…..

But in conjunction with cultural night, special food is served for dinner, which I was very pleasantly surprised to find out…. You see, you can predict with a fair amount of certainty what you’ll be served for your meals…..

Breakfast – Chapati, fried egg, mixed vegetables
Lunch – Rice, curry chicken, fried Rui fish, mixed vegetables
Dinner – Rice, curry chicken (which soon became curry mutton, we’ll be having that probably till we finish eating the whole goat that was slaughtered for us is my guess), friend chicken, fried Rui Fish and mixed vegetables

So to my delight, what I found on my table included the fine grain Bangladeshi rice (quite similar to padi bukit from Sarawak, yuuummmmmm) and special mutton curry :D and of course, fried chicken and fried Rui fish… and there was some sort of sweetened curd, which was soooo sweet, I could only take a fraction of a mouthful….

Such simple things to brighten up the mood of this simple kampong boy :D

Wednesday, 19 July 2006, AM

What is it that bothers me the most during my time in Bangladesh? Could it be the hot soaring temperatures during a searing summer? Which is excarbated by frequent electricity cuts, which deprives us of the fans that provides valuable air circulation in the little room in which we work in?

Or could it be the lack of facilities that we are so accustomed to back home? Simple things like air conditioners, a TV with decent reception, uninterrupted internet connection…..

Or could it be all the dust and dirt that floats in the air…. I know I’ve had my sinuses flaring up in 2 out of 2 villages that I have been to so far…..

Or could it be the fact that each mouthful of food you eat, each gulp of water you drink, you face the risk of contracting food poisoning…. 2 of my colleagues came down with food poisoning in January, with one of them even being sent to the Dhaka Diarrhoea Centre….

The filthy habits of the Bangladeshis, who seem to be spitting everywhere, littering rubbish wherever they are, digging their noses in public, even while talking to you, and then rubbing the same fingers together, and then insisting on shaking hands with you…. You can imagine how often I wash my hands in this country…..

All of the above does make life very very difficult…. Actually, that is putting it very mildly…. However, what really makes it unbearable for me, which makes me to pine for home is actually the people…. The people I work with to be precise….. Don’t get me wrong, the Bangladeshis are very respectful people, who do their utmost best to make your life as comfortable as possible… they go to great length to get you things they think you’d like, try to provide us with the best food available, and places to sit when we’re at the villages…..

What really gets to me is the attitude of my audit counterparts based in Dhaka…. To them, everything can wait, and work can be done later….. it is very frustrating, as what my fellow Ernst & Young team mate and myself would like to do is to finish everything as quickly as possible, and get ourselves back to Dhaka, instead of being stuck in the villages…. Our Bangladeshi counterparts on the other hand prefer to read the newspapers, drink tea, take naps, and insist on wanting to leave just after 5.30pm…. which is a huge problem, considering we have to cover 2 programmes within a village within 3 days….. yet, the urgency from these people is just not there…. with such a mentality, is it such a surprise that the country is not as developed as one would have hoped? What is more irritating is that this attitude persists among the auditors of a very well respected and known audit firm, whose name is filled with prestige and glamour when mentioned within Bangladesh….

I think I should just end my bitching session for now, or I’ll just end up even more depressed than I already am…..

Tuesday, 18 July 2006

The sole of my shoe came loose yesterday…. So it was decided that I go to a cobbler today after work…. At the insistence of my Bangladeshi counterparts, we left the village branch at 6pm to head to the commercial centre of the Gangachara region…. Which isn’t much I must add compared to what we’re used to, though there was a lot of people nevertheless…..

We found a cobbler just a few metres away from a small shopping centre…. The next 15 minutes were the most fascinating 15 minutes since I arrived in Bangladesh…. He ripped off nearly the whole front part of the sole, and proceeded to wipe and scrape off all the dirt and any remnants of glue, before using sand paper to even out the surface…. With his index finger, he wiped glue all over the bottom of the shoe as well as the exposed part of the sole…. After smoothening out the amount of glue, he then lit a match and put the bottom of my shoe one fire!!!! Half a second later, he put it out by quickly putting the sole over the bottom of the shoe….. he did this again, before repeating the process on the sole of my shoe…. Why he did this, I couldn’t find out as the Bangladeshi auditor either did not know why this was done or did not know how to explain this process to me when the question was posed to him…. I have to admit though I was worried his index finger might also catch fire, as he used the same hand when handling the match!!!

5 minutes after setting my shoe on fire, he then put the sole to the bottom of my shoe, and proceeded to hammer away with a little hammer…. Again, I was worried he may crush a finger or two as he the hammer head was pounding in between his fingers….. now that’s what I call a pro who is extremely confident in his own abilities….. hehe, I wont be surprised if the sole on my left shoe outlasts the one my right shoe :)

PS: and it only cost me 15 taka, equivalent to RM1!!!!

Monday, 17 July 2006

When in Bangladesh, who needs the I-Gallop…. Well, as it is, I don’t think many people could afford it anyway…. Of course I’m referring to some of the roads here….. today marks the last day I’ll be using a particular road for the Kawnia branch, which is about 30 min away from the TARC where I stay…. We’ll be bouncing up and down in the 4 wheel drive, for a good 5 minutes before the road evens out again, much to our obvious relief…. Well, if what they claim is true about the I-Gallop, by travelling on these roads, I should also have tighter muscles around my waist and the back of my thighs, not to mention shapelier buttocks :)

Another thing I noticed over here is how people over here are cut off from the world…. Whether they want to know what goes on outside their village is another matter….. I don’t see (or hear) any radios here, the odd hut or two may have a black and white TV, which is very popular everytime there is a cricket match on…..

Which is why from time to time, you’ll see a little scooter, with a speaker horn, blaring out news and announcements, informing the village people of any important news that they need to know….. its very distracting, not to mention noisy, perhaps my irritation stems from the simple fact that I don’t understand what is being said….. I suppose in time, I’ll get used to it…. I hope so anyway…..

Sunday, 16 July 2006

I went back to school today….. 5 in fact….. this isn’t the ideal way I’d like to spend my Sunday, but as we would like to return to Dhaka, to the relative comfort of our hotel room, we need to get all our work done as quickly as possible…besides its also a working day in Bangladesh after all ….. our hotel room is nothing to shout about, but compared to what we face out in the villages, it is still something to be thankful for…..

The school visits are part of our audit, we went to a sample of 5 selected schools within the village to ensure that the Education Programme is being implemented as intended….

The children in these schools ranged from the ages of 8 to 11, and are housed in a small hut, made of clay and a zinc roof…. A class typically have approximately 30 children and a teacher will teach them for the next 4 years….. these kids are taught how to read and write in Bengali and English…. We made them count themselves as we took the attendance, and before we left, the children even sang and danced for us….. it must have been strange for them to see people that looked so different from them, yet they were eager to show off what they’d learnt, which included reading, counting and even reciting countries from all over the world, including Malaysia :)

Moving from school to school meant us travelling quite a bit today, and we saw a fair bit of the countryside…. Here in the villages, they are more rickshaws and sleds being pulled by people and bicycles rather than cars and vans…. Its amazing how strong these people are, whether they are pulling their sleds, or even carrying their load on their bare backs or heads, such as fruits, sacks of rice, jut material to make rope etc…. who needs the gym to stay in shapre when all you need to do is undergo all this hard labour….and you get paid for it too instead of paying for gym fees, where back home, we don’t necessarily make use of such facilities either…..

But seeing this people live this way, for people seeing this for the first time, it really hits home the message of how much we have to be thank for in Malaysia, how lucky we are that we have things that we actually take for granted…. Such simple pleasures of life, such as a comfortable bed and a hot shower is something we view as necessary, whereas these people would consider themselves lucky if they have a roof over their heads to keep the sun and rain away…. Nevertheless, I cant wait to get home to the comfort of my own bed and have myself a long hot shower…..

Saturday, 15 July 2006

The first day of our audit began with a plateful of chapatti, vegetables and fried eggs…. We were off to the branch 30 min later…. Being summer, it got bright very early…. When I opened my eyes just before 7, I thought I had overslept and that it was 8am….one look at my colleague sitting relaxed across the room told me I needn’t worry….

One of my main concerns in Bangladesh would have to be the cleanliness of the place and the stifling heat…. True enough, by mid day, my sinuses had acted up due to the dust in the villages and the high temperatures left my eyes watering, my nose running, and I was sneezing my head off…..

The Bangladeshi auditors with us were very helpful as usual…. After lunch, they got some anti-histamines, and got me to take a nap in one of the guestrooms at the branch…. The nap did me a lot of good, I managed to get back in one piece…. Another 2 more days at this branch is all we have before moving onto the next village…. I’d better get well quick then if I’m gonna be in optimum shape to get all the work done!!!

PS: AXN seems to have been taken off, there goes any hopes of catching my Lost and CSI : (

Friday, 14 July 2006

After spending 3 days in Dhaka with the team, it was time to move out of Dhaka to the villages…. The 6 of us split into pairs, with 2 teams going 9 hours north of Dhaka while the third team moves towards the west of Dhaka…. It was quite sad to be separated, as the third team is only due to leave tom morning….. I was on my way to the very tip of Bangladesh with the other 3 fellows, where we split up after 5 hours of driving…. Well, at least we managed to have lunch together….

This is where it starts to get really stressful….Due to many of the villages chosen being up north, we decided to hang around in the northern region of Bangladesh, spending at least 22 days covering 6 villages, rather than the initial plan to cover 2 villages over a period of 6 days at a time before returning to Dhaka….. the long journey to and fro would have meant us wasting so much time, hence the decision to stay out longer….The first 2 villages are located in the Rangpur region, and we will move on to the Nilphamari region a week later for the next 4 branches….

The drive was of course an experience on its own, while the roads were quite decent, the drivers on it on the other hand were not….. everyone seemed to be in such a huge rush…. The reason behind the traffic jam must surely be due to the presence of so many types of modes of transportation, namely men pulling their sled of cargo, bicycles and their rickshaws, motorcycles, LNG (or tuk-tuk as they’re known in Bangkok), cars, four wheel drives, buses and trucks….. no prizes awarded to those who can guess who causes the jams :)

What’s really frightening is the overtaking manoeuvres performed by the bus drivers…. As we travel between 80-100 km/hr, we are being overtaken by buses filled to the brim with people travelling between 100-120 km/hr….. and who I identify as the bus conductors are hanging out the bus by the door, waving for the cars to get out of their way….. of course it’s a given in all this madness that everyone is horning frantically….. accidents are quite common on the roads of Bangladesh, my previous trip in January this year had me reading about many major accidents in the newspapers, and I don’t see why it should be any different this time around…. And of course the sight of people sitting on top of the bus travelling at 100 km/hr is no longer a surprise to me….. what does amazes me is that these people don’t seem to have a problem worrying about their own lives as the bus zigs and zags in between cars at top speed….. just imagine what would happen if the bus had to brake suddenly, which I’m sure it does happen from time to time…..

Arriving at the Training Regional Centre where I’ll be staying for the next 6 days, the people were very warm in greeting us, and tried their best to make us feel at home…. Its one of their oldest TARCs, over 20 years old, but they did try their best to make it as comfortable as possible for us….They even put their only TV in the whole centre in our bedroom, and I currently have Star Movies on right now as I write this, not that I know what’s showing…. If I’m not working till late, I may not have to miss my Lost and CSIs after all :)

Last Weekend in Civilisation.....

2006-07-13T04:13:00.000-07:00

Friday, 7 July 2006

Another busy day at IJN, also supposed to be my last day there….stressful it was, trying to tie up loose ends, and to prepare for the handover of my part to my colleague….

It was also a the day we had a farewell for another colleague who is leaving for greener pastures (we think anyway) at one utama. It was fun, we made her stand on the stool to give her farewell speech, but being so typically shy, we ended up singing her a farewell song instead…..it would also be the last time I would be seeing another ex-colleague who is leaving for UK….by the time I come back from Bangladesh, they would have left…..

Going for so many farewells recently, I do wish them well….its a little sad though, there’s a feeling of being left behind, seeing the changing of the guard too as well, as most of the people who joined around the same time have more or less left….there’s just 4 of us left now from the 1st half of 2003 now if I’m not mistaken….we’ll see who’ll be the last one standing, though I don’t think that’s an honour I would necessarily want…..

There was also a classmate’s bday at Salsa Havana (SH) to go for that night, and while I was exhausted that day due to the stress encountered in IJN and having gone for the farewell dinner…..well,it was his bday, and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on that….As it was, it turned out to be quite fun, as following typical SH tradition, he had girls lining up for a dance with him…. It was also the bday of 2 girls, and the guys were the ones to sort of line up for a dance…it was amazing how they could take turns dancing with the bday girls so seamlessly, they all somehow knew how to step in and for the other guy to release her…. I wonder how long before I get to do all that…. Haha, well, with my bday being in February, barring any more trips outstation or overseas, am sure I’ll learn how to do the same….

Saturday, 8 July 2006

How good a friend must you be to be able to be a Heng Tai? I asked myself this as I attended the tea ceremony of a friend today…. There must have been at least 15 of us, driving our cars to the bride’s place, horning the whole neighbourhood down….. I do hope her neighbours were aware of her, because I’d be very annoyed to be woken up by so much horning at 9am on a Saturday morning. Apparently the girls were very kind to the Heng Tais, because all we had to do was to dance in our suits in the morning sun, drink unknown substances from 10 cups ( which I found out later to include among others soya sauce, vinegar, a block of butter, dodol topped with wasabi and a spoonful of wasaibi) put on women’s bras and singing Chinese songs on the way to the bride’s room.

It was amazing how the guys would just come up and perform these tasks for the groom….Thankfully I only had to dance along with the rest in my suit in order to get us into the house….. not to mention how expensive the tolls these days to get into the house…. I cant say I like anyone enough to want to take a spoonful of wasabi for, if you want your bride badly enough, you’d better be the one to take that wasabi……
The tea ceremony was quite uneventful…..for me anyway, but still, it was a very interesting morning, being my first time attending such a ceremony…. Not a surprise as he is the first among my Chinese friends to get married…. While I suddenly thought maybe I should finally get a move-on, as everyone else seems to be taking several steps forward, I still have yet to even take that first step in getting someone to tolerate me for the rest of her natural life….hehe, now that isn’t going to be easy, no wonder the girls have been avoiding me :)

The evening reception was even more fun….held in Senja restaurant in Saujana Hotel, it was very nice indeed…. The groom and bride even performed for us before dinner, doing the Cha Cha, much to the delight to the invited guests….however, they were too shy to repeat their performance when asked for an encore….the food was not too bad, the speeches made by the Best Man and Brides Maid were humorous, and gave us a small insight to the couple, who had been together for 9 years now…. We were supposed to raise a toast, instead we ended up “Yam Sing’ing them, as they moved from table to table…. And the amount of pictures that were taken, I don’t think my group of friends have taken so many pictures together before…. It seems as if we need people to get married in order for us to meet and catch up….

A very tiring day, I left the hotel at close to 1am I think…. hehe, bets are now being taken on which falcon is to get married next….

Sunday, 9 July 2006

I woke up feeling quite depressed today….. knowing its your last weekend for nearly 2 months, I would think its enough to make anyone depressed….of course, oversleeping and missing out on the Germany-Portugal game didn’t help, neither did the prospect of working for most of the day….. I had to skip badminton, meaning I wasn’t going to have another game for nearly 2 months…..

I had gone for my 1st intermediate class, and it was really tough…. A really tough workout doing our shines left me weak in the knees, bewildered, not to mention sweating and out of breath….. this should only be happening when I’m on the futsal pitch!!! my only consolation was that my fellow intermediate classmates who had been attending these classes for months…. Its just too bad that I have to go back to the improver level when I get back in 2 months time…. It was fun nevertheless, and my new classmates were really friendly and helpful. At times, the girls were leading me, as to where my arms were supposed to go, to avoid us getting into a tangle…. On second thought, maybe it wasn’t an accident then to see the guys make those mistakes….

Monday, 10 July 2006

I’m feeling tired…. I guess 3 hours of sleep would do that to you….I had stayed up to pack, and of course, to watch the World Cup final…..the last World Cup game, and I now have to wait for another 4 years for the next World Cup….. it was sad to see Zidane end his playing career in such a manner, however, he was a legend, and his contribution to the game will never be forgotten….

It’s a good thing mum didn’t know the extent of my packing, as packing stretched on till an hour before I was due to leave for the airport….that would have stressed her out no doubt…. Oh well, I’m quite sure I packed everything I’d need, as I had drawn up quite a comprehensive list of items to be brought since I seem to be sent for outstation engagements so often these days….

The flight was uneventful, for the first time, I managed to actually get some sleep…. here was a kid in front of me, but it wasn’t the kid that annoyed me, rather the idiot who was sitting across the aisle, who kept on trying to attract the kid’s attention….with all the funny noises and faces the fella made, no wonder the lil kid burst into tears from time to time…..

It was the same ol Dhaka I arrived to, dusty, noisy and crowded….the immigration was as slow as I remembered it to be….how long can it possibly take to process a red book and a piece of paper called the disembarkation card….. trust the immigration fella handling my entry into the country to keep the rest of my team waiting…. Being so grumpy at 1.30am local time (3.30am M’sian time).

It didn’t take long to get used to the crazy way the local people drive….at full speed, horns blaring and zig-zagging in between cars, with the brakes being jammed periodically….near misses are common in this country, and the sounds of horns is just part of the background….the idea of a queuing is foreign in this country, and a free-for-all mentality is prevalent, which are not just limited to the roads of Bangladesh….. all I could do was close my eyes, and I was very grateful when I finally arrived at the hotel….

7 weeks in this country, I may as well make the most of it I guess…..

2006-07-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

i never thought i would actually do something like this....writing a blog i mean....i always used to wonder why people maintain blogs....why would i want to share my thoughts and views with just about any tom, dick and harry in this world....

my colleagues at work are very curious as to what will appear on my blog....interesting it should be they say.....and so i'll try to oblige :)

i have been reading some of those blogs on friendster, and i found it to be quite interesting....it was also a good way to stay in touch with these people, to know what they feel and what they are going through without even having to talk to them.....its a little impersonal i know, but with how things are at the moment, we dont seem to have much time to stay in touch, so i suppose blogs can be used to tell your friends how things are with yourself, aside from providing a platform to rant and complain about what goes on in your life.....and trust me, you will probably hear quite a fair bit of ranting and complaining.....

its actually a friend who had just wrote about an evening spent with friends, eating ice cream....reading her blog about it was quite fun, and it also gave me an insight as to what she thought about it, and just reading it, i knew how different we look at things....ice cream is just ice cream to me, regardless of the presentation and all.....i actually enjoyed the company of my friends that day, the ice cream just made things sweeter......

she also told me the kind of things i could include in this blog, which i thought would be quite bare, or that i would lose interest in it one day......i guess salsa would dominate my blog, as will my upcoming trip to Bangladesh next week.....but that shall be another entry on another day.....i'm actually having fun already writing this up, and just letting the fingers do the typing.....quite a lot of freedom, and not having to worry how it sounds.....i suppose if people arent comfortable or disagree with the contents of this blog, they do have the freedom to stop reading.....just about.....here.....

but yeah,when i get home today, i'm going to tell my sis i just started up a blog, and see what she has to say....."its not something you would do" is what i'm guessing she would say...having said that though, salsa isnt something i would do either ;)