From Dubai to Riyadh

Work

Have started work in this new company: PCard. A new company specialisation in smart card personalization services for the Saudi market...newest player in town (Riyadh).

Still a very young company, a start up. Now, officially we only have 5 staffs (CEO, COO, CMO, VP Sales, and office manager)...gua buat apa? Amende lagi VP Sales ler...nama VP, hopefully will have lots of staffs to take care of...! Jgn nama jer bombastic tapi tak ada mendenya...

Watever it is, gaji naik, better than before...it does help, coz since USD currency jatuh merudum nih..., punyalah teruk that my current salary (better in AED & SAR currency) is basically the same as before in MYR...hmmm...rezeki, rezeki...Allah nak bagi...kalau tak, leceh jugak...makin hari gaji makin turun, barang2 kat UAE tuh makin hari, makin naik.

Office baru is in Ajman UAE, tapi will be going to Riyadh very often. Of course ler...target market is KSA, nak buat amendenya peram telo lama2 kat Ajman (Ajman is not Dubai, Ajman is in UAE but a different Emirate, so stay kat Sharjah, opis kat Ajman...very much less traffic).

Last Thurs, atas sebab2 yang tak dpt dielakkan (administrative, visit Visa validity period), gua kena dtg Riyadh asap...to process my iqama in KSA (resident visa ler tuh)...so have to stay here for a few weeks...hmmm...kelam kabut ler jugak...and have to stay here for a few weeks lak tu...I am using "the secret" to get the iqama faster and go back Dubai before end of next week...hehehe...


Riyadh

So Riyadh...? What is here...? A part from being the capital city of KSA...there is nothing much here...compared to Dubai, memang jauh berbeza...good for family man...rules are strict here (don't prey prey huh...!!)

I have not had the opportunity to go around yet...malas lerrr...but will do so soon...current office is at Kingdom Tower (tallest tower in KSA, don't prey prey huh...! Tapi tak la setinggi mana pun....). Kingdom tower nih is a landmark in KSA/Riyadh (bangunan bentuk botol opener...can't understand why the design is like that...have to investigate...). Will not be here for long though, later will move to the actual perso centre (the plant ,basically) when everything is ready (may be next month).

Funny thing is that in Riyadh, there are a lot of police check points. It seems that there are some "terorist groups" who try to carry out bomb attacks...Iyolah tuh...!! Basically, I think it is actually to control any anti-government activities. This country is a "Monarch Absolute' country...the King is the Boss (like Brunei laaa, not Constitutional Monarchy like in Mesia/UK)...I guess some people are not very happy with the King (for being pro US, for example - among other reasons I guess...) and they do not have any avenues to voice their disagreement on the way the country is governed...so apa lagi, main bom mengebom laaa...always the extreme measure...jadinya, there are check points everywhere...especially near banks, near govt buildings (Ministry of Internal affairs/security/police punya hq usah cerita lerrr...all access points to the bldng ada check points). Kat bawah Kingdom Tower tuh pun ada check point kalau nak masuk ke parking...siap bukak boot engine lagi nak check kalau ada bom...siap dgn machine gun lagi...! Sumpah tak tipu never bohong one...!!!

Well, lain negara lain caranya...kat Kuwait security agak strict jugak, tapi mainly to access important bldngs (hotels, banks etc etc...) siap ada body search lagi (ala2 mcm nak naik kapal terobang)...

So far, only in these 2 countries in this region, which have strict & tight security...kat Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, tak la camni...but I haven't been to Lebanon (Lubnan) & Iraq yet...I guess, it is worse there... depa main bom tiap2 hari...!

In SEA, have seen such thing only in Manila & Jakarta...(well, they do have bomb threats from time to time...)

I haven't bought Riyadh map yet, so I don't actually know where I am in this city...


Saudis

Saudis are nice people, especially towards other Muslims....when I arrived at the hotel, they thought that I was filipino...(mcm biasa lah kan... dah rupa Pinoy, nak buat camna? serumpun katakan...) so the treatment was not so nice...but when they took my passport for registration (and discovered that I am Malaysian)...huaaaa!!! suddenly the treatment changed drastically...!

It seems that they love Malaysia so much...! (thanks to Maha...Mahathir. Hehehe...tribute must be given to the person who earns it, even though sometimes I don't totally agree with some of things which happened during his tenure) Hmmm...

Like other countries in GCC, treatment towards the workers is less nicer...(Filipinos, Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis). Arab2 nih sombong gak kengkadang terhadap pekerja2 bawahan depa...camna nak buat, depa nih kaya raya...kira sama la tuh mana2...have noticed that it is similar in Indonesia as well (sometimes, the rich ones treat their workers, drivers, maids like piece of shit...)

Well different from Mesia & SIN city...the country's wealth is quite well distributed among the citizen (as a country, the middle class people represent the majority of the citizen) Kat sini, yang kaya banyak (dan terlalu kaya) dan yg pekerja2 depa semua depa ambik dari negara2 miskin. We (Mesia/SIN city) tend to be nice to even the person who does the dirtiest job on earth...well, that's the way we are...I remember one occasion, I was staying with my parents in a hotel apartment kat Kuching, and I basically scolded the operator (coz nobody came to clean up the room that day, and after calling once, still nobody came, so 2nd call, depa kena scold la...) my father complaint to my mom that I have become very sombong...!! Huaaa...!! That remark has taken me aback...!! Well...I realize at that time that we (well, especially malays) bila marah pun tetap bersopan...(hmmm...sometimes it doesn't work though...bila kena maki sekali, baru nak kelam kabut buat kerja...) Btw, to make story short, somebody has actually switched on the "Do Not Disturb" button in the room...sebab tuh depa tak dtg kemas bilik...hehehe...(and it was not me...!! Sumpah tak tipu never bohong one...!! :))


Al Lughatul Arabiah...

If I can get away in UAE with English....it will not be the case here in Riyadh... they are not so good in English...am not talking about the people in the office, but the people in the street...(thinking of it... they might not be Saudis in the first place... hmmmm...).

So like it or not, I have to start learning some Arabic expressions for survival...everybody is expected to know some basic Arabic (even the Filipinos here can understand & speak Arabic...broken one laaa but at least they can understand...). Same case like the Bangladeshis in Mesia, I guess...they go back to Dhaka/Chittagong and proudly speaking Malay among them (the ones who have been to Mesia).

Nak ambik teksi pun, tengok driver dia sapa...kalau ala2 Pak Arab tuh, tak nak ambik...kalau ala2 Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani...baru tahan teksi...sebab senang nak communicate in English...what to do...


Office

The current office is nice (am squatting in the mtg room)...Well it is the Sheikh's office...besar lak tuh...kalau ada accountant Mesia, memang sure dah kena trim down very much...! Basically, the office is only for 5 people (1 boardroom/mtng room, 4 bosses rooms + a table for 1 person outside - ala2 secretary to all), but the overall size of the office is big & luxurious. Big mtg room, canggih IT equipment, beautiful interior deco, in office toilet & pantry (tak share with other people on the same floor)...and got 1 person who will make coffee for you...tak payah mintak pun...sampai2 jer terus dapat kopi...dia cuma tanya sekali jer masa mula2 sampai - and the question is "tea or coffee, and how do you like it, how many spoons of sugar, with or without milk". Lepas tuh tiap2 hari dapat...sampai opis, dpt 1 mug, at 11am dapat anthr mug, and at 2pm get another mug...kalau nak lagi in between (for people like me who are addicted to coffee), bagitahu jer, and they will do it immediately. Hari tuh, I went to the pantry coz I wanna make my own coffee (belum jam 11am lagi, errr...I need coffee every hour maaa...), the "coffee guy" - Rashid immediately come and tell me that he will do it...smiling he said, "Let me do it, it is my job, am here this work..."... Segan teman...kang dia kata kita curi kerja dia lak...hehehe...

Well...well, I am now at the group's head office...(Sheikh's office...he is seldom there though), bila dah pindah ke Perso Centre nanti lain la ceritanya for sure....kena buat kopi sendiri ler...hehehe. so, moral of the story, enjoy it while you can...

Kat sini, depa solat kat office hall jer...bentang carpet solat (carpet OK, bukan tikar sejadah simple tuh jer...really nice comfy carpet...!) Dan solat sama ada sorang2 atau berjemaah...I have notice that after joining them for solat jamaah, the bosses are nicer to me...talk to me more often, drop by at the mtg room to check if everything is OK for me...huaaa...!!


Hotel

Last thing to talk about is the hotel...after coming here a few times (with previous company), I did notice that the hotels are not that great...! Well, I have only been to a few Holiday Inns here...for this trip I didn't have high expectation coz they will surely put me in a budget hotel (coz I will stay here for min 2 weeks)...memang betul pun...

Room not so nice - no window, k...! So without a watch I wouldn't know if it's day or nite out there. No coffee maker in the room, no electric kettle, no hotel restaurant (cuma coffee shop selling basic tea, coffee, snacks...), no cleaning everyday (if you want your room to be cleaned, have to call room service and tell them), no restos nearby (or may be I just dunno coz I don't go out that much)...but got wireless internet access, gym & sauna (reasonable, not Fitness First standard, but not community gym standard neither...)..got small sundry shop just at the exit (same building), coffee shop prices are very reasonable...so am just making the full out of what is there...

To make my stay here nicer, went to buy a cheap electric kettle & nescafe 3in1 ystrdy...yeah...!! If no, no coffee whenever I want...bought at Carrefour located next to the Kingdom Tower (not many people ystdy...). Also bought some food for dinner (first time that I have proper dinner since arvng here... kalau tak burger & fries jer lah...)

But one thing has been annoying me in this room...it has some kind of smell whenever I enter the room...I think I know what it is...it's the toilet smell, dunno why but the toilets here have some kind of smell...noticed it ystdy when I went to the public toilet at Carrefour....same smell...I think it is because the room is not "fresh", no window...so cannot aerate the room properly...well I have resorted to buying room deodoriser ystrdy...put one in the toilet, and have a freshener spray in the room...less odour now...later kalau tak tahan jugak, I will request to change room...nak tukar2 bilik nih leceh la, have to pack, unpack....tak koser...!!


Prepaid line

Eh, got one more thing to story-story...I have changed my mobile line...previous line was cut by the stupid French arsehole!! Can't get a postpaid line (since I do not have any resident visa yet in both countries - UAE & KSA), so I have to use a prepaid line. This is the first time in my life that I use a prepaid line...my goodness gracious!!! Benda2 yg simple pun tak gheti nak buat...eg loading credit into my account...mana tidaknya, beli E-voucher top up, so no instruction on how to reload the credit, bila beli the actual "top up card" baru tahu camna nak top up (baca instruction maaa...)

But then, when you go abroad, the way to top up lain pulak...!! Hai siksanya...!! Kena bekal Etisalat Wasel top up cards sebelum pegi travel. Nih kat Riyadh nih pun guna local Mobily Hala prepaid line...went to Mobily website to learn the basic stuffs (what denomination is available for the top up value, kat mana nak beli etc etc...), guess what...? no infos...I guess that it is just too basic that they do not bother to put it in the website anymore...I can comprehend that.
But for new prepaid users, it is really a challenge...(controlling your credit available for the line - especially when you are travelling, mana nak dpt Etisalat Wasel reload card kalau credit dah habis...? I can call using the local Mobily Hala line, but if anybody needs to call me on my Etisalat Wasel line? how?...). Hope that I will get my resident visa for both countries soon, so that I can get a postpaid line in both countries...if not very difficult to do business one you know...!

OKlah, dah panjang lebar dah bercerita nih...next time I go back Dubai, I will take more photos and put in the blog, k...!! Baru nak dpt laptop, sejak berenti kerojer kat OCS dulu, tak berlaptop, so susah skt nak download photos...PC yang ada kat rumah tuh Imran punya...dia pun nak "main komputer..." (ada ker...? Whenever he's using the PC for blogging ker, surfing internet kerrr...dia kata dia tengah "main komputer"...)... macam dengo my nephew/nieces cakap...but the difference is that they are really playing computer games...hehehe...

Ciao cincau!