KFC Open Buffet

Last Thursday, two of my colleagues and I laboured from morning till lunch hour to move a whole lot of stuff into the villa. Hence by the time we were done, we were simply famished. To put things into better perspective, our grumbling bellies can give the thundering sounds of a H2 Hummer a run for its money ... haha.

Anyways, we unanimously decided to head for KFC's All-You-Can-Eat-Open-Buffet. For RM25.00 per person, you can basically eat as much chicken (Hot & Spicy or Original), fries, coleslaw and fizzies as you can possibly consume.

The three of us devoured and most definitely made our money worth. When all is finished and JJ's pant's button undone, we wolfed down 16 pieces of chicken in total, heaps of coleslaw and at least two helping of drinks each.

Siao man. But then, Hiskandar (a friend in Abu Dhabi) told me he walloped 9 freakin pieces of them chickkies all on his own. Crazy huh ...

The first day ...

Today ... the 29th of August 2008, my colleagues and I officially move into the villa. It took our driver, Basheer several trips to ferry the lot of us including our luggages / belongings there. Upon settling in, we unpacked as much as we could. With only the bed installed, we needed a whole lot of other stuff. So first, the two ladies, Marita and Norie went to Carrefour and Ikea to purchase mostly electrical applicances. They came back with a receipt for a washing machine + dryer, a fridge, blender, toaster, rice cooker, microwave, TV, water dispenser and some other stuffs. The guys went back to Carrefour a second time and we managed to fill four huge trolleys FULL with items like bedside table, small study table, chair, dustbins, shower curtains ... and the list goes on and on. We came back and straightaway got down to work to install and fit those items. By the time I was done, dinner beckons.

We went to a tiny restaurant nearby and took away burger and fries. We wolfed it down instantly. Tastewise ... I'd give it a 2 / 10. But alas ... beggars can't be choosers. The other nearest restaurants are not within walking distance. Boo hoo.

With bellies filled, it was time to continue working ... a whole lot of sweeping, vacuuming and mopping my own room. Finally managed to shower at 10pm and am now sitting on my self assembled chair, blogging on my self assembled table. :P

Hope you guys enjoy your upcoming weekend. I'll be stuck working. KNN!!!

Girls ... don't bother watching please ... (don't say I didn't warn you)

Guys ... you can thank me later. *wink*

The Villa @ Al Bateen

I'll be moving in to this villa tomorrow with a couple of my colleagues. Located in the upmarket residential Al Bateen area, we're surrounded by other luxurious villas. So how's the layout ... well, it has 3 storeys to begin with ... Ground, 1st and 2nd floor. On the ground floor lies the driver's room, a maid / cook's room and a tiny room (which I will be occupying on my own). Unlike the rooms upstairs, mine is fitted with just a split unit air conditioning and has white fluorescent lightings. I chose the smallest room in the house so I no need to share it with anyone else. :p All the other rooms have central air conditioning and warm yellow lights. Cis!!! The rest of the ground level is occupied by the garage, a huge kitchen and a communal bathroom.

Two separate staircases lead to the first level. Up there is where our living room and office is going to be (see photo above). There will also be two huge bedrooms available there each with its own attached bathrooms.

The 2nd floor houses four huge bedrooms ... again all with ensuite bathrooms also.

The flat roof is accessible and I guess we would be spending some time there during the winter season.

Bought the beds and all its fittings from Ikea and as you can see, we have to help with all the ku-li job. :) Good exercise though ... so not gonna complain.

Oh the date tree (in the photo above) opposite our house bears dates similar to those sold in the supermarket. It's edible. :)

Will post up more photos once the place is better furnished. We're getting the bare essentials for now and will eventually add in the rest over time. There's also plan to install a billiard table there. Muahahahaha. Pai seh pai seh.

Arabs ... their watch don't tick. KNN!!!

If an Arab tells you to wait 5 minutes for him ... you can afford to go home, take a crap, shower, eat, watch some tele, give the missus some love ... twice, take another shower, crap again if you have too, catch 40 winks ... come back and you'll still end up waiting for that mofo. Why???!!! ... coz they do not honour time. They're perpetually late. 5 minutes can literally end up being 5 hours. Bloody tulan man dealing with these peeps. Maybe their watches all kena masuk desert pasir already.

So angry ... feel like stomping on cute furry animals. ARGHHH!!!

Got a meeting scheduled at 8:00pm. We see la what time those buggers will turn up. Better numb the brain with some good ol' camel's piss first. :p

The one where I got scammed

Today was another first for me since coming to Abu Dhabi. I got scammed. Was talking on the phone with SY and after I was done, I decided to go get a haircut. Really couldn’t stand it anymore as my hair had grown long and thick. So I walked out of the hotel and found a men’s barber / saloon not far away. Another plus point was that there weren’t any customers in it too. I pushed open the door and looked at the fair skinned guy with too much hair cream at the counter. A rather young chap not a day older than 27. He smiled and gestured me towards one of the four empty barber chairs. I sat down and scanned the surroundings. A very huge poster of New York city donned one side of the wall and the other side was occupied with various photos of men in laughable hairdos.

Barber dude came over and I immediately asked him how much it would cost me for a haircut. He looked puzzled as if he didn’t understand what I was saying. I then asked him “Dirhams???” and he answered “Nineteen”. I thought the figure was a li’ll odd and asked him again “One nine???” and he nodded. Sounds reasonable to me and I signalled him to proceed.

Placed a towel over my neck and then the staple plastic coverall over me. Started with the razor at the back portion of my head and about 7-8 minutes later used the scissors to trim the front and top. The dude then pointed towards a sink nearby and he took a whopping 40 seconds to rinse my hair with a li’ll bit of questionable smelling shampoo. A quick dry with my neck towel later and it was all done. He asked if wanted some hair gel and I declined telling him that I was going to sleep soon.
Time to pay up, so I whipped out a 20 Dirhams note and handed it over. He said “NO NO ... nineteen”. I replied “Yes, this is 20 Dirhams”. He opened the drawer and took out a calculator and hit the buttons ‘8’ and ‘0’. I was shell shocked and asked “80 Dirhams???!!!” He merely nodded. I said “But you said nineteen” Con man barber pointed at the digits in the calculator and answered “Yes, nineteen”. I knew this was a scam job but decided not to create any trouble and handed him the money. Before I walked out I told him that it was too expensive ... that S.O.B merely shrugged his shoulders. KNN!!!

I walked back to my hotel and complained to the front desk manager. He said there’s no way that that barber could’ve charged me that much and that he would advise hotel guest never to patronize that place ever.

So there you go, that was how ‘lim peh’ was scammed in Abu Dhabi. Hopefully it’ll be the first and last time. *Grumble*

Suria Brasserie @ Eclispe Hotel

Dinner last night was good. Why??? ... coz I had some good ol’ local food. No, not Arabic cuisines but authentic Malaysian food. Before I go further, let me just get this out of the way ... the bill came to an obscene 171 Dirhams for 2 persons. It’s like WHOA huh ... yea I know.

Hiskandar, my ex-uni mate invited me for dinner and he brought me to Suria, located at the top floor (penthouse) of the Eclipse Hotel (located on the intersection of Liwa Street and Khalifa Street). Now this classy chic hotel apartment is ran by a couple of Singaporeans and they hired this chef hailing from Langkawi to do this magic at Surai Brasserie. Woo Hoo!!! On the menu are the local favorites like nasi lemak kukus, laksa, mamak mee goreng, popiah, tom yam kung, soto ayam etc.

I know I know ... some of you might think ... so special meh??? Normal everyday food only ma ... but get this, if you’re away from home for a long period of time, this is comfort food at its best ... so trust me on this one.

The ambience is great ... a quiet place with not too many people around ... kind of a perfect place to catch up with friends. According to Hiskandar, they usually play P.Ramlee tunes as well which should compliment the tasteful decor’ of the restaurant really really well.

Ok, back to the food, Hiskandar had the soto ayam while I had the tom yam kung. Great appetizing soups to kickstart the night’s dinner. For mains, His had the laksa and I went for the recommended roasted chicken rice. Sedap yo! Sufficiently authentic and the portion is pretty decent too. We washed it all down with 20 Dirhams worth of fizzies.

So there you go, nice company, great food and fantastic ambience. Came back to the hotel and downed two packs of Chivas with my colleagues to help ease the road to la la land. Oh and I’ll finally get my one day break tomorrow from work. Yay! :D

Hanoi Cafe & Restaurant

Yesterday, my colleague, Wong was generous enough to treat me to dinner after work. We took a two minute walk away from the office and nestled ourselves in a cosy li’ll Vietnamese Restaurant called Hanoi Café & Restaurant. Once inside, we were warmly greeted by Vietnamese waitresses who were all ready to sit us to our table. We browsed their laminated menu and found that the dishes offered were rather authentic … no fusion unlike the many eating establishments here who wish to please to local tastebuds.

After a while, we ordered the aromatic crispy duck wrapped in pancake as the appetizer. The duck itself was deep fried and served with crunchy vegs like strips of carrots and cucumbers. The accompanying sweet sauce complimented the egg based pancakes wonderfully and serves well to work up the appetite.

For mains, Wong chose to go with beef pho while I had the spicy beef stew. Both were good and together with Wong’s green tea and mine Vietnamese Iced Milk Coffee, it was a satisfying dinner indeed.

The bill came up to almost 100 Dirhams ... a li’ll bit on the high side but I guess it’s worth it since it’s not everyday we have a good meal here.

Another point to note is the presence of many Malaysians and Singaporeans there. A few of them seems to know each other too ... perhaps Hanoi Café & Restaurant is a regular hangout place for them huh.

Well, if you’re in the area and craving for authentic Vietnamese food, Hanoi Café & Restaurant is located along Khaliffa Street, opposite the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

Why???

Who do you blame when things don't go your way???
What can you do when your dream is shattered and all that was once familiar and secure suddenly becomes totally uncertain???
How loud will you scream when you realize that your feared nightmare came true???
How do you wake up to a morning knowing that there's nothing to look forward to???
How do you fight a battle knowing that no matter how hard you try, you might never win???
Who do you turn to when you are feeling so alone and dissapointed???
Where can you go when your bleeding heart has lost its way and its will???
What do you say to Love for blessing you with joyful bliss and then hurting you deeply so the moment after???

:'(

Late Night Quest

Monday evening ... the desert sun is just beginning to set but the dreaded heat decided to linger on for just a bit more. The office is rather quiet except for the rapid tapping sounds of fingers on the keyboard. Only Wong and I were left. With a huge yawn and a good stretch of the arms, Wong decided to call it a day. Who am I to argue huh. :p

So off we went, walking along the busy intersection of Khaliffa Road ... prowling for some grubs to fill the grumbling belly. A couple of days earlier, we noticed a Chinese Restaurant in the area, City Palace Restaurant if I’m not mistaken. Upon reaching the place, disappointment sank in as the place was closed. Damnit!!!

So we trod the surroundings and finally landed our tired selves in The Rock restaurant. I had the chicken fajitas with fries (pictured above) while Wong had two helpings of the chicken kebab. We washed it down with fizzies and took a slow walk back to the hotel as I had my daily chat with SY on the mobile.

I wanted to hit the gym, hence changed into my gym attire before my Project Manager knocked on our room door. He walked in and chit chatted for a bit before taking a swig at what’s left of our Chivas. Before you could even say KNN, another knock came and this time around the Deputy PM came swaggering in. They finished the alco and soon suggested that we go out to get some more. So the four of us hopped into a city cab driven by an Afghan. A really nice chap who spoke suey-suey (little) Arabic but very passable English. Have the tendency to say ‘Shit’ to almost anything. We joked and laughed loads throughout the entire journey. Upon arriving at High Spirits (the name of the place), we found that it was closed. Double DAMNIT!!! We dejectedly went back into the cab and Alim, the Afghan cab driver suggested another place that just may have what we were looking for. The name of the other place is African and European and this too was closed. ARGHHH!!!

Anyways, we decided to give up on the quest for alco tonight and headed back to the hotel. Perhaps it’s just wasn’t meant to be. Wong and I went back to our room as the other two gentlemen proceeded to have dinner at a nearby restaurant.

I was watching Blade Trinity on the idiot box when the PM and DPM came knocking again. They purchased some Indian ghee sweets and so on this full moon night, we drowned our Chivas cravings with some Diabetic inducing sugary goodness instead.

Will tomorrow night be a ‘high spirited’ on ... only time will tell but as for now, I’m just chillin’ with my IPOD (not more Ipoh, Sharon :p) as I’m typing out this entry with a steaming mug of herbal tea on the bedside table.

I’m gonna answer the call of the sandma ... so g’nite folks.

She came over ... :D

Two and a half glorious days. Very short lived but it was wonderful nonetheless. SY flew over for a visit. :) I picked her up early Friday morning and we just spent every minute there after enjoying each others company. Honest to be told, there’s really nothing much to see or do here in Abu Dhabi. So we ended up browsing through three different malls and watched two movies in the cinema. The first mall we went to was Marina Mall. It’s the biggest and the best one compared to the rest. We had brunch (at the Food Court) and tea (Cinnabon City) there. Shopped a li’ll as well ... bought SY a 2GB ipoh Shuffle as she misplaced her Nano sometime ago. A couple of rather cool T-shirts for our respective brothers and a new mobile for moi. My new toy is the very basic Nokia 1680 and it set me back by approx. RM250. A simple device to keep my Malaysian Maxis line open. SY said it looked very much like a toy … literally and it has Arabic written on its plastic keypads too.

We had a simple dinner at a Chinese Filipino restaurant, Chow King and the food was rather disappointing.

Oh yea, also at Marina Mall, we watched Tropic Thunder. Freakin’ hilarious I tell ya. Starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr and get this … Tom Cruise as a fat, balding, mean motor mouth cursing machine. Also cameo appearance by Jennifer Love Hewitt and Lance (the gay N’Sync dude). Really funny scripting but a word of advice … DON’T BOTHER WATCHING IT BACK IN MALAYSIA. Our censorship board will kill the movie. Get the uncensored DVD and prepare to laugh your guts out. What’s the story about??? … go google it yourself la.

The next day, we went to Abu Dhabi Mall. Lunch was also at the food court and we then watched Mirrors. Some horror flick with that guy from 24 in it. Forgot his name ... Keith something if I’m not mistaken. Quite a decent watch le. Now the recipe for a good scream film is to take something simple … something easily available in our everyday lives and spook the hell out of it. This time around … as it so blatantly points out in its title … it none other than mirrors. Demon wrecking hell on humans from the other side of the mirror. BOO!!! I’ll give it a spook rating of 3/5. Oh and we met my friend Hiskandar at Starbucks too … small city Abu Dhabi is.

After that, we went back to the hotel to rest and freshen up before heading to Khalidiya Mall. We overstuffed ourselves as Chilly’s and then bungkus-ed Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Sinful fluffs of sugary goodness but it’s worth every calorie man. SY gave it a double thumbs up and so did my colleagues here.

On the third day, I went to work in the morning before sending SY to the airport in the afternoon. Goodbyes are always painful. I’ve been really looking forward to her trip here and it really felt like a blink of an eye before she needs to return home again. So much TLC while she was here … really gonna miss it now that she’s a couple of thousand miles away. Sighhh … going to plan her 2nd visit her as soon as possible. :P

Kampai!!!

All I wanna say is that having shots of Chivas before bed is the best damn lullaby one can ask for. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam Seng!!!

Randomness continued ...

My current hotel’s room view is really great. I wake up facing the sea and a nice li’ll green park. You don’t get too many greens in this part of the world.

Indian woman in sari can work out. I saw one a couple of days ago on a gym bicycle. Now I see the same woman on the treadmill. Just hope she doesn’t trip over. :p

Jaywalking is prohibited here. But then again, I haven’t seen any cops around either.

Today I saw a man walking his dog. The dog was literally the size of an adult wolf or perhaps even bigger. Simply a huge beast but its droopy eyes made it looked so adorably tame. Couldn’t tell its breed but it looked a bit like the one in the movie Beethoven. Have not seen any strays here as well … neither cats nor dogs.

The weather is getting worse. The heat scorches through the entire day. Let’s just say if you if got eye wax and you walk out at the mercy of the sun, the eye wax will melt and trickle down your face. Yucks.

I’ve eaten more Indian meals here in the past two weeks than I’ve consumed in the past two years back home.

Today I mistakenly sent a sms to the wrong person. Very very awkward.

Not having a camera while I’m here is a real drag. So much I wanted to share. :(

Today I toyed with death by dashing across a highway. Trust me … not my choice. Oh and I got some desert sand in my shoe. HOT HOT!!!

Yesterday I took a cab from our consultant’s office back to the hotel. The cab driver told me to direct him the way. I told him I wasn’t certain because I’ve only been in Abu Dhabi for less than 2 weeks. He told me it’s his first week here. KNN!

The Dodge Charger looked so menacingly awesome. I want!!!

My first Arabic vocab … Tarbelect … it means Fu*k You!!!.

That’s all for now folks. Tune in for more next time. Hope you had a good weekend.

Randomness ...

Nothing in particular to blog about ... hence, here are just some random stuff that I'm sure you'll have no interest in.

Here in Abu Dhabi, in selected KFC outlets, from Saturday to Thurdays, from noon to 4:00 p.m., for approx. RM25, you can have an eat-all-you-can open buffet. Apart from the fried chicken of course, other items included are coleslaw, fries, buns, drinks etc. Crazy huh. Eat so full for lunch, how to work after that la???

I saw an Indian lady, in her full sari attire working out in the gym today. She was on the bicycle ... pedalling real slow but her heads keeps shaking from side to side. I reckon she'll burn more calories from all that head action than the actual cycling itself. :p

I gained more weight. Don't ask. KNNCB!!!

I've learned to wash my clothing using a MANUAL washing machine.

I'll be moving over to the Grand Continental tomorrow and shall remain there till end of the month at least. The current hotel apartment I'm residing in is being sold off by its owner and everyone have been given 1 week notice to vacate. The hotel's staff looked really down and dejected today and I felt for them. They have been treating us real good for the past 2 weeks ... taking care of our needs and the hospitality services provided was top notch. So much to pack ... so much to move. Gotta be careful with that RM30K Xerox photocopier we newly purchased. And I heard the Grand Continental's internet service is real sucky. Sighhh ...

After much contemplating, I treated myself to ice cream after dinner today. Popped in Baskin Robbins and had meself a huge scoop of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Not done yet ... I topped it with delicious chocolate sauce and lots of peanuts. So sinful but every mouthful brought instant joy ... so ain't gonna bother bout the weight gain. Gonna whack all the goodie foodie and be happy. Hehehe.

Watched part of the Beijing 2008 Olympics grand opening and I was utterly jaw droppingly amazed. This is Chinese pride at its best. So proud to be a Cheenaa!!! :D

That's all for now folks. Shall blog again when I get the chance ... soon I hope. Till then, take care and to all a good night.

12 days here ... 10 things I learnt

Yes, it's been 12 days since I boarded the Etihad flying machine and landed myself in the Middle East ... well, Abu Dhabi to be exact. I've seen things I never thought I would ever see, I've experienced new teachings and living a new life. Below is a short summary of the previous 12 days :

1.) The sun here is harsh and unforgiving. One can feel the intensity of the heat as early as 8:00 a.m.

2.) I've turned a couple of shades darker.

3.) My palms and feet can sweat. Not a nice feeling I tell ya.

4.) I've put on no less than 1.5kgs due to the amount and type of food I consume thus far and with very very minimal exercise. Blehhh.

5.) Under different circumstances, you'll get to see the true identity and character of a person. Sad to say, this is not always a pleasant encounter.

6.) There are all types of cars here. The sound of the thundering Escalade (an American 4x4) brings music to my eardrums. Even spotted a Proton Waja along Airport Road yesterday. What the heck is a Waja doing here ... well, it still puzzles me.

7.) Locals, even at a young age are mostly rich. A 10 year old made news for winning a tender bid for a vehicle number plate. When asked what is he going to do with the license seeing that he's not old enough to drive, he responded that he'll use it when he's old enough to own a car. When asked what would his future car be ... he looked at the female British reporter as if she was a retard and cooly answered "Ferrari of course!!!" Oh and he paid a 'meager' RM1.5 million for the license plate.

8.) I saw a Hummer stretch limo today outside the Abu Dhabi Prison.

9.) I saw the most magnificent hotel ever ... to me the grandeur of the Emirates Palace exceeds that of the Burj Al Arab (the infamous 7 star hotel in Dubai).

10.) Almost everyday, I'm learning something new in my course of work. Today I went and met up with my civil contractor alone. After taking two different taxis (the first one took me to the wrong location), I was seated with this 65 year old man with wrinkled skin and thinning ivory white hair. Again he's forcing me to eat the dates and drink more camel's piss (read previous post). Luckily this time I requested that I had mine added with a li'll bit of sugar.

We were discussing bout the project schedule and I enquired about his availability for my project. He told me yesterday that he had already committed to biulding 12 villa units within the next 18 months. Crazy huh. Anyways, he looked at me and smiled. It's the kind of smile given by an adult to a silly li'll kid or at least that was how I saw it. He then proceeded to ask me :

Mr.Hani : Mr.Adrian, do you have any kids?

Me : No Mr.Hani. Not yet. Maybe in a couple of years time.

Mr.Hani : InsyaAllah you will have them when the time is come. I have 5 children, 4 boys and 1 girl. Now do you think I feed them separately or all at the same time.

Me : *I just smiled ... I got his meaning*

Mr.Hani : Each project is like my children. If I am not capable, I shall not be taking all this project at the same time. My reputation is important. If I lose my reputation, I lose my life. *all this explained with vigorous hand flinging motions*

Me : Ok, you have my trust. *I felt truly humbled by his answer*

I just hope his work is as good as his words.

The one with the Turkish camel's piss

Today was interesting. We had a productive meeting with our civil contractor ... FINALLY!!! In their office, I was seated with our local partner, my Deputy Project manager and of course a couple of the contractors. So most of the conversation was carried out in Arabic and boy do they look intense. The flinging hand gestures, the raised phlegmy voices, the awkward pauses ... so fascinating just to watch. On the table was a box of sesame cookies and one of the contractors kept on motioning for me to try it. It’s impolite to decline, so I took a piece ... each the size of our 50 cent coin. It looked good anyway and tasted sweet and crunchy. Apparently, the cookies were from Syria and not available anywhere else. Lucky me I guess. Each time he (the contractor) nudged me, I had to take a piece. By the time he was done, I had consumed no less than 15 pieces.

What was more interesting was the coffee dished out later. Served in a porcelain cup slightly bigger than a expresso shot glass, this Turkish coffee as they called it was so strong it felt as if it could melt my tounge. Oh and it tasted VILE!!! … if I have to choose words to describe it ... I’d probably say it’s worse than camel’s piss. How do I rate camel’s pis ... I dunno but I’m guessing that can’t taste very good either. No sugar ... no milk. Just horribly bitter and it leaves a herbally after taste. In comparison, our Starbuck’s double expresso back home tasted like diluted Ribena. As I let it trickle down my throat, the sensation is akin to letting fiery poison into my body. Ok la ... I may be exaggerating but you get the point. Each torturing sip was accompanied by large pacifying gulps of ice water and that bloody contractor to my right kept on insisting that it’s good coffee and I should take seconds. KNNCB!!! It was suppose to compliment the cookies well. Where got???!!!

Also on the table was a saucer pan filled with yellow and black dates. This was also supposed to go well with the aforementioned poison coffee. Where got???!!! But have to admit that the sweet dates went well with my pallet indeed.

Then kena teased for not smoking also. All of them were filling the room with Marlboro and Davidoff 2nd hand smoke and mentioned that as a man, I should give smoking a try. Oi ... lim peh just trying to live healthy and longer ok. You wanna spend money to kick the bucket ... then go far far please.

Anyways, the clock is now ticking 10:45 pm and I’m still working with the Deputy PM. The only consolation ... well, there’s a fine bottle of Lindermans 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon to keep me sane and happy. *Hic* Let’s just say it was a gift we received earlier today. An interesting story went with this bottle of red. After dinner, we realized there wasn’t a cork opener in the room. So off I went to the nearest supermarket, took me 15 minutes to locate the opener, 20 minutes in the cashier queue only to return and found out that the bottle had a twist cap. Sib beh MCH!!!

Hey you ...

Hey you ...

I miss our precious times spent together
I miss listening to your adorable laughter
I miss our frequent naughty gossips
I miss our dvd nights with coke and salty chips
I miss our early Sunday morning plans
I miss holding your tender li'll hands
I miss our short trips and long holidays
I miss it when I have to give in to your silly ways
I miss hugging you oh so tightly
I miss waking up to you when the sun's shining brightly
I miss the way you lovingly look at me
I miss it when we chit and chat over coffee
I miss looking deeply into your soulful eyes
I miss those days when there were more smiles than sighs
I miss sharing our dreams and planning our future
I miss picking names for our son and daughter
I miss the fragrant smell of your ebony hair
I miss the way you cling to me like a koala bear
I miss us listening to our dedicated songs
I miss driving us around aimlessly all night long
I miss simply saying 'I love you'
I miss it more when you say 'Love you too'

:(

Night out with an ol' friend, Hiskandar

I woke as the morning light spills through my apartment curtains. I realized that today’s Sunday. And over here, Sunday’s a working day. Blehhh.

Anyways, let me tell you about last night. At approximately 7:30 in the evening, I took a 3 minute walk to The Crowne Plaza. There I met up with one my ex-uni mate, Hiskandar Hashim. Hiskandar have been based in Abu Dhabi for the past 2 months or so. He’s posted here with a glamorous position as the Second Secretary (Political) with the Singaporean Embassy.

We took his rented Toyota Altis and drove to Khalidiyah Mall. One of the many malls in the city and is located in the upmarket residential area of Khalidiyah. We parked the car and looked for dinner. The first thing that greeted me put such a big smile upon my face. Two words … two magical words … Krispy Kreme!!! Yes peeps, they have here in Abu Dhabi. My heart sang songs of joy as Hiskandar looked at me as if I’ve been possessed by a mad gleeful ghost.

After staring dumbstruck at the doughnut heaven sign for a good 5 seconds, we proceeded up to the higher level and surveyed the gastronomic offerings. We finally settled for Chilly’s. The menu is 99% identical to the ones we have back home in Malaysia, so it didn’t take long for us to decide what to order. Hiskandar had the chicken enchiladas and we shared the Triple Play. The fried mozzarella, the tangy buffalo wings, the stuffed veg rolls … all were real yummy. Our mains consisted of beef fajitas with jack shredded cheese and beef bacon toppings while my friend had the massive bacon burger. By the time we were done, I had sour cream leaking out of my ears. Hehe.

It was also someone’s birthday at the restaurant and for the first time in my life, I heard a birthday song being sang in Arabic. Totally different tune to the one I use to hear but nevertheless, it put a huge grin on the li’ll birthday kid’s face.

We then scouted the mall for electronics, I’m looking to get a mobile phone for my local line here while Hiskandar is searching for a DSLR for his wife. His wife just took up a photography course backing Singapore.

After checking out the prices, we headed back downstairs where I purchased ½ a dozen of Krispy Kreme’s finest. Super delish yo … now if you think J.Co or Big Apple are good, well, you ain’t eaten nothing yet my unfortunate friends. Every bite sends the tastebuds jingling into a cheerful frenzy. So moist yet so light. The sweetness of the glazing supplemented the sinful creamy texture like no other. It was simply divine.

My bloodstreams filled with sugary goodness, we took a drive to The Cornish. An area by the beach where the locals swim, ate, drank or just relaxingly chill the night away.

Also passed by the Emirates Palace and this is quite frankly the most regally exquisite hotel building I’ve ever seen I my life. I understand that it’s also serves as a state house to accommodate any VVIPs or royals coming to stay in Abu Dhabi. Amongst previous guests were George W Bush, Tony Blair, Nicholas Sarkozy, Elton John etc. So obscenely massive and utterly jaw dropping beautiful. Wonder if I could ever fulfill my new found dream of spending a couple of nights there throughout my stay here in Abu Dhabi. Maybe I should opt for the AED1,000,000.00 package for two (approx. RM1 Million) which include :

• First class return trip from any international destination serviced by Etihad Airlines to Abu Dhabi
• Seven night stay in a 680 sqm Palace Suite at Emirates Palace on an all-inclusive basis.
• Chauffeur driven Maybach at your disposal daily during your stay in Abu Dhabi
• Daily spa treatment in the Anantara Spa
• Day trip in private jet to Iran to create your own Persian carpet from the most exclusive and well-renowned hand-maker
• Day trip in private jet to the Dead Sea Jordan to experience the famous sea and an afternoon Anantara spa treatment in the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar
• Day trip to Bahrain in private jet for a pearl deep sea experience. Your pearl will then be hand designed with jewellery settings
• Royal Golf experience at Abu Dhabi Golf Club
• Make your own perfume with experts from YAS Perfume
• Deep sea fishing trip
• Gifts including champagne sunset and desert island tour.
• Gifts including the rarest pearls in the world from Robert Wang and a selection from Holland & Holland Sporting Guns

So there you go … an answer to the million dollar question. Opulence at it’s best. Damn, I should’ve proposed here instead of at Pangkor … at least this would incarnate a certain sense of grandeur no??? :P

That’s all for now folks. Back to work for me while you guys enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Sob sob sob. :p

My first Friday night out in Abu Dhabi

Last night, the Deputy Project Manager, Mr. Sathis and I planned to dine at the Golden Crown. A place I’ve never been before, a place he told me served something deliciously different. Being a foodie, how could I have said no to that. At the hotel’s lobby, the duty manager, Mr. Bijoo was chatting with us and he recommended that we give Orchid, an authentic Thai restaurant (located along Salam Street) a go. He mentioned that the food was excellent there except that the spiciness in some of the dishes were beyond imagination. He only went there once … and never again.

Sathis and I, both boldly claimed that no spicy food was ‘too much’ for us and hence, we decided to take up the challenge and set foot towards Orchid. Half an hour later, huffing and puffing at Salam Street, we couldn’t locate the place. The landmark building provided by Bijoo was clearly insight but no Orchid was visible. After another 15 minutes of aimless searching, we gave up and trekked back dejectedly towards our hotel. On the way back, Sathis delightfully spotted Sri Krishna Sweets. Apparently, it’s a rather well known sweet shop originated from South India. Very elegantly presented, these ghee products are sure pleasing to the eyes as well as the pallet.

We then stopped by Golden Fork, a Filipino Chinese chain of restaurants and satisfied our bellies there. I noticed that the locals here eat late … I mean compared to what I’m used to back home. Back in Malaysia, usually by 8pm, I’ll be relishing desserts but here, even at 9:30pm, people are only beginning to seat themselves down at café’s and restaurants scattered all over the Arabian city of Abu Dhabi.

I had the Manchurian beef with egg ‘flied lice’ (as highly recommended by Jamie and SS) while Sathis opted for the fried tilapia. Before that, our appetizer came in the form of creamy seafood chowder. Not too sure bout Sathis’s fish, but all which I ordered were real delish. Perhaps I was famished or perhaps my tastebuds are appreciating the change from all the staple Indian meals I’ve been having since I arrived here. Nevertheless, it was a good night out for a change. :)

So how was your Friday night???

The thoughts swimming in my mind

Working ... working helps. Sitting alone in the hotel apartment, the brand new spanking Xerox photocopier on my left, the empty bathroom on my right. Only the whirling tunes of the exhaust fan can be heard. Otherwise ... silence. From a distance, a speeding car screeched to a halt. No sound came after that, I guess it must that driver's lucky day.

Today had been productive. The clock tells me it's lunch time and I've gotten some work done this morning. Looking out of 5th floor window, I'm wondering what's good to eat out there. The sun ... as usual have been most unforgiving. It's a non working day today and I see clusters of people lazily throng the streets below. A li'll kid skipping joyfully as he holds on to a man's hand ... his dad's I'm assuming. So little needed to bring happiness to them innocent buggers no? :)

Had a lengthy chat with SY last night. We've decided to try our best to brave this through. Not going to be an easy journey as I've never been in a long distance relationship. Others might laugh at this, saying that it can't be that bad, that it's only for a temporary period. That I've had it better than most. Well, good for you then, you're a lot stronger than I am. Perhaps you're a much better person. The workload I can take, the pressure I can handle. The living conditions, let's just say this isn't my first time travelling for work. And I adapt sufficiently well with people or so I've been told. The luxuries I'v been blessed with back home, I can do without but to see her being miserable ... that's hard to bear. Worrying over her safety and well being all the time isn't something that's going to get any easier with time. This mental gymnastics is the only thing that's gotten me thinking if my posting here is going to see its way till the scheduled end.

Others might not understand ... they might never will for every individual is made and programmed differently. Words can be spat out cheaply. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I have mine too. So why are you trying to tell me how to lead my life, how things ought to be done???!!! Who put you up on a pedestal and made you KING???!!! Yes, I might find difficulties coping with certain things and almighty you may probably think all these are peanut issues ... well, perhaps you've been born a Sherlock and I was brought here a Watson. I'm ranting now ... so sue me!!!

It matters not what I think about who does what or what's your two cents worth on my issues etc. What matters more to me are the priorities in MY life. And the experiences gained especially over the last few years have taught me not to take these things for granted. Sometimes there aren't second chances and bitter regrets only serve to tarnish the chapters of our time here on God's green earth.

Work is work. The monetary factor helps. The experience will be most beneficial. I should be able to hold my own here without too much difficulties ... that I'm sure. Adaptation is part of the evolution us humans are designed for. But at what cost ... only time will tell I guess.

KNNCB!!! ... man that felt good. :)

Disclaimer : This entry does not serve to diss anyone in particular, so do not take offense *honest*. I haven't got the time really to worry about you, you and you. I've got enough on my plate to handle at the moment.