Yeah... maaaannnnn....!!!! (to read : Yaman...!!)

Picture speaks a thousand words... begitulah katanya... so instead of teman mengomel seribu bahasa campur2 macam rojak singapore, kita layan gambo2 kat Yemen (sambil memberikan komen2 manja yang mungkin irrevalant to the photos... haha...)

the flight to Sana'a, Yemen was scheduled at 7h00am... maknanya, have to be at the airport by 5am latest... nasib baik boley buat online check in, so did that the night before (siap boley pilih seat lagi..!! yeah..!!), maka paginya tak la kelam kabut sangat kena beratur utk check in... just go to luggage drop off area, then go into the terminal... sebab dah dtg awal kan..., sanggup tuh menapak sampai ke T1 semata2 nak pegi ke Diners lounge...!! bukan aper, sajer nak memanjakan diri dgn makanan2 yg super duperlicious tuh... Diners lounge nih, kira first class lounge laaa... bukan calang2 boley masuk beb... hehe...

matahari baru nak baik masa flight nak gerak... ekcelli, it was a bit cloudy that day... UAE macam kerap hujan lak sejak dua menjak nih...

masa tengah terbang mendaki awan, I could see clearly the skylines of Dubai... very clear view (cuma kat sini tak clear coz camera handsetnya yg kurang kualitas...!! haha...)...

do you see what I see....? (if you don't see, normally it means tmrw you nak mati oledi...!! haha...) Burj Dubai tuh.... the tallest building in the world...!! hehe... Er, itu Taukebuku aka tauketahu work just below that Burj Dubai... haha...

also saw Palm Jumeirah masa flight tengah naik... tapi tak sempat nak ambil gambarnya... you see more things if you pay attention to them... :)

and after climbing the skies for awhile, we were above the clouds... tengok tuh betapa birunya langit...!! terpegun beruk kejap....!!

initial view of Sana'a, a city 2000 feet above sea level katanya... cooler temperature...

spotted the brand new Presidential mosque.... the one and only significant landmark in Sana'a...? may be... Sana'a masih agak ketinggalan, it seems that in Peninsular Arab, Yemen adalah negara yg termundur... aneh, kerana suatu masa dulu Yemen sangat terkenal, dan menjadi rebutan kuasa2 Eropah... Pak Arab Pak Arab Yemeni & Omani lah yang membawa Islam ke Nusantara... teringat geng2 keturunan Arab kat Mesia... si Alias, si Fendiosman tuh.... a few of the AlJunieds, Alattas, Al Bukhari and Alsagoffs that I know... anyhow, these Yemenites in Mesia are not from Sana'a region, they are from the south of Yemen (coastal area), called Hadhramaut...

bila touch down, kelam kabut semua orang nak turun... awatnya yg ribut sgt tuh...? kecoh...!! tu yang teman tak suka tuh...!! nak turun dari flight pun kelam kabut, ribut2... nak mengejarkan queue immigration counter ler tuh...

errr... sori ye, no sky bridge ker amendenya...? sila turun flight, naik bas utk pergi ke terminal... mcm kat T2 Subang airport lak rasanya (shuttle flight KUL - SIN dulu2....)

Cobus bus... jemput2 naik... kejap jer, tak payah duduk pun...

ni lah yang berebut2 sgt tadi nih nak keluar flight...? mengejarkan queue immigration... tak la lama sgt menunggu dalam barisan....? abih tuh, awat kekwat sgt depa nih tadi...?

btw, Malaysian passport, hulur jer passport, can stay up to 3 months on visit Visa (but have to register with Immigration department after 2 weeks of stay)

tak dapek eden menolongnyo...!! kat Sana'a pun ada traffic jam (sebab depa tengah buat major construction of one big flyover), akibatnya, traffic jam bertambah2 buruk... flyover due to open in May apparently...

what is interesting about the traffic jam kat Sana'a nih, ianya adalah traffic jam tak bersistem... siapa berani, masuk dulu.... haha...!

not many traffic light in Sana'a.... masih guna Pak Polisi yang tersangat power menahan kenderaan2 supaya berhenti, atau membenarkan kereta lalu....:)

Sana'a is in mountaineous area... funny, kita kata "balik kampung", mat Saleh kata "go back to the village", depa kata "go back to the mountains..."!! which is actually very true...!! :D

Sana'a in the morning...

Yemeni architecture....

a more modern/recent Yemeni architecture,...

like in a few countries, depa nih buat style rumah setingkat setingkat sikit sikit... buat 2 tingkat dulu, when there is more need and more money, tambah 2 tingkat lagi, then later, tambah lagi...

Yemeni typical attire... jubah putih, talipinggang arab berselitkan pisau tradisional khanja, dan pakai coat/blazer.... serban sama ada diikat atau kainnya di letak di atas bahu....

a group of Yemeni men

Yemenia, national airlines of Yemen... somehow, I have noticed that they have quite a few Boeing737-800 series... Rasanya Malaysia Airlines pun tak ada (apatah lagi Air Asia...). it's the latest B737 plane, kepak dia ada terangkat sket... mcm gambo kat atas nih...:)

Yemenia...? dah naik dah a few times (Dubai - Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta - Dubai, Sana'a - Dubai....), oklah... nothing to cry out loud about... biasa2 jer, setimpal dgn rege tiketnya...

nih masa dah nak balik Dubai balik dah... going to the flight from the terminal

food served.... may be a bit too much, I think....

what I like the most is the chocolate (to eat with coffee... sedaaaapppp...) and somehow I like their hand wipe... berbau segar...!!

sempena konsep jgn membazir makanan yang diajar sejak kecik ("habiskan makanan! tengok budak2 kat Afrika tuh yang tak cukup makan! jgn membazir...!!" said my mom years ago...), maka makanan yg dihidang akan cuba dihabiskan mana yang larat....!!

view near to Oman/UAE border.... unique landscape... berbukit bukau, tapi bukan bukit batu kapur, macam bukit metal besi lak rupanya... hitam berkilat...

again, unique and interesting view from above... masa dah nak sampai Dubai...

just before touch down (sentuh bawah...????), can't identify which area this is... rasanya macam Mirdiff, tapi betul ker... rasa macam banyak sgt villa la pulak kawasan nih... which area is this?

nih nak citer sket.... kat hotel tuh (Mercure Hotel Al Saeed, Sana'a), utk breakfast depa, sesapa nak coffee, sila buat sendiri... guna instant coffee jer, siap depa letak dlm mangkuk jer... one nite including breakfast : USD120, boley....? rasanya 3 star jer kut (may be 4, but I doubt...)... ketawa menengoknya.... haha...

and guess how much above meal costed me...? a plain omelette, 3 buns, and a cup of coffee...? in a budget hotel nearby a customer office (tersampai awal for mtng, tunggu customer balik dari lunch), in Sana'a, Yemen... a country where stuffs are generally cheaper than in KL.... Gua kena ketuk MYR10.50 beb...!! kalo kat Dubai, kira tersangat murah laaaa... tapi bila pikir2 balik, kalo kat Mesia, sure dah melenting dah tanya "macam mana kira nih...?", hahaha.... especially bila the telur dadarnya tersangatlah plain, kalo tak tambah lada sulah & garam, memang terasa tawar ya amat.... begitulah adat bila berjalan, kengkadang tuh, terasa macam kena rompak in broad day light... tak pa laaaa... kompeni yang akan bayarkan nanti...

ciao cincau

Libang Libu... (unsettled mind)

Dunno why, I have been having this “unsettled” mind since coming back from my holiday in Malaysia. I am wondering what is actually disturbing my thoughts and feelings… hmmm… feeling “libang libu” bak kata oghang utagha…

Could it be due to the “good” holiday that I had back in Malaysia (that coming back to Dubai was just a drag…)? Could it be due to work (trying to find ways to get new business opportunities)? My mom who is currently not well…? Life in Dubai and all its bureaucratie? Hal rumah Bangi? Hal projek BUTL, Dataran Mantin…? The workout…? Or, all of the above…? :(

Hmmmm… need to find a “closure” to this “unsettled” feeling… hope that I will feel better soon… a calmer and relax feeling…

Anyhow, esok kena bangun awal sebab kena ada kat airport by 5am… so have to wake up latest by 4am, go out by 4h30am… hope that this biz trip will be fruitful…, insyaAllahhhhh….!

Semangat mesti ada....!!

Kengkadang, bila ada orang yang dtg menziarah kita, we can get all excited/delighted about it (for whatever reasons, eg sedara mara yg dah lama tak jumpa, long lost best friend, wakil rakyat yg sudi menerima jemputan utk dtg ke rumah etc etc…)

Well, that was what happened to my mom… sebab tersangat gumbira nak menyambut cicit2 dari Sarawak (yang tak pernah jumpa sebelum nih), dan berjumpa anak2 & sedara mara yang dtg dari jauh (Kedah, Kuching, Dubai etc), my mom pulun perabih masa nak kemduri hari tuh… ke sana ke mari dia mencari barang, memesan makanan, menyediakan hal2 kelengkapan kenduri… (she doesn’t like to rely on other people… perfectionist katakan, to ensure that it is done, and it is done the way that she wants it, she will either do it herself, or monitor the work closely…)

Well, yeah.. 70yo, but still semangat power punya… walaupun kederat sudah kurang… still driving one your know….!! Kita orang anak beranak oso dunno what to do… serba salah… mana boley sorok2 kunci kete, siap kena sembur kang dek my mom…

So, sempena kenduri nih, dia pulun abih, walaupun kederat tak ada… akibatnya, selepas kenduri, dan selepas semua anak beranak, sedara mara balik, maka my mom pun tersadai kat atas katil demam… hmmm…

My mom nih pulak diabetic… ada lah pulak luka kat kaki masa kenduri tuh… akibatnya… now my mom dah masuk hospital… to treat the fever and the cut on her foot… she was admitted a day after I came back to Dubai… still in the hospital till today… risau gak… so calling2 ler to check how she was doing… like all mothers, re-assuring the children, dia kata… “tak ada apa2… dah baik dahhhh… esok dah nak balik rumah dah…, lepas keluar hospital, boley buat hyperbearing oxygen treatment kat Ipoh ataupun Lumut…. Ok jer, tak payah risau2…!”… hmmm, that was last week… but today masih kat hospital lagi… memang kena goreng bagus2 punya anak2 dia…!!

Well, hope that everything is OK, calling every other day or 2, to check on her status… siapa tak saying mak weh…?!!:)

Return to Dubai... :(

aaaahhhh... Dubai...!! mimpi2 indah di bumi Arab...!! :)

Dunno why… I have been terribly occupied since coming back from holiday in Malaysia… well, first, the holiday was superlicious wonderful…!! spent some time with family, and on the 2nd week, spent some time in KL mtg up with friends and basically… “partying…”… hehe…

Luckily the holiday was only 2 weeks, if it was a week longer, I dunno if I would be coming back to Dubai… haha…

mimpi2 di atas kayangan...!!

After arriving back in Dubai, had 2 days to rest a bit, then started work… wow, a lot of stuffs to catch up…! Was a bit quite in the office trying to catch up with whatever work load that needs to be attended to… furthermore, dunno why, I was a bit anxious in the office, with heart palpitation… relax sgt agaknya masa holiday, bila start kerja balik, dah kelam kabut…

Well, after nearly 2 weeks, am back to the normal working rhythm.

di kelilingi taman2 syurga...

Btw, after returning from holiday, received some good news – a PO valued at USD210k is being prepared by a customer in Syria, and should be sent to me soon. Alhamdulillah…. Syukur….!

What’s the plan for the next coming weeks :

• minggu depan, gi Sana’a Yemen, customer visits 3 hari
• at the same time Alex will arrive on Sun and would be staying at my place, so he’ll get to use the car while I am away… dunno how long he will be in town
• the following week, going to Damascus for 2 days, customer visits…
• at the same time, another friend, Nasir would also be in Dubai… so, have scheduled to meet to meet up with him at the end of the week for the usual “Dubai Tour”. Apa nak dikata, orang dtg ziarah kita, kena lah bawak jalan2 & entertain sket… depa kata kalo org rajin ziarah kita, rezeki kita murah nanti….!! Yeah kaaa…? Tak menang2 loteri pun lagi…!! Ahaks…!

reality... traffic jam...

then it is alrdy end April… huaaa… my besday is coming soon…!! The past few years, I have noticed a trend when my besday is gttng near… Gua jadik cranky giler tuh…!! Tak leh salah sket pun, sure melenting power nya…!! Haha… but that didn’t happen last year… Alhamdulillah… ntah aper ler agaknya, buang tabiat bila besday dah nak dekat ni…

yup, have lost some weight, but still a lot to go… still monitoring food intake, still doing exercise regularly… hope that in 2 months, will see a significant difference… wish me luck…!

oklah, ciao cincau…!!

and expensive lifestyle

Smart child...!

A first grade teacher, Ms Neelam was having trouble with one of her students. The teacher asked, "Boy, what is your problem?" The Boy answered, "I'm too smart for the first grade. My sister is in the third grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the third grade too!"

Ms Neelam had enough. She took the Boy to the principal's office. While the Boy waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms Neelam he would give the boy a test and if he failed to answer any of his questions, he is to go back to the first grade and behave. Ms Neelam agreed. The Boy was brought in and the conditions were explained to him. The Boy agreed to take the test.

Principal : What is 3 x 3?
Boy : 9
Principal : What is 6 x 6?
Boy : 36

And so it went with every question the principal thought a third grader should know. The principal looked at Ms Neelam and told her: "I think the Boy can go to the third grade." Ms Neelam asked the principal if she can ask the Boy some of her own questions. Both the principal and the Boy agreed.

Ms Neelam : What does a cow have four of that I have only two of?
Boy : Legs!
Ms Neelam : What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?
Boy : Pockets!
Ms Neelam : What starts with a C and ends with a T, is hairy, oval, delicious
and contains Thin whitish liquid?
Boy : Coconut!
Ms Neelam : What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and sticky?

The principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer, the Boy was taking charge.

Boy : Bubblegum!

Ms Neelam : What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down
and a dog does on three legs?

The principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer...

Boy : Shake hands

Ms Neelam : Now I will ask some, "Who am I" sort of questions, okay?
Boy : Yep!
Ms Neelam : You stick your poles inside me. You tie me down to get me up. I
get wet before you do.
Boy : Tent
Ms Neelam : A finger goes in me. You fiddle with me when you're bored.
The best man always have me first.

The Principal was looking restless, a bit tensed and took one large Patiala Vodka peg.

Boy : Wedding Ring
Ms Neelam : I come in many sizes. When I'm not well, I drip. When you
blow me, you feel good.
Boy : Nose
Ms Neelam : I have a stiff shaft. My tip penetrates. I come with a quiver.
Boy : Arrow!
Ms Neelam : What word starts with a "F" and ends in "K" that means lot of
heat and excitement?
Boy : Firetruck!
Ms Neelam : What word starts with a "F" and ends in "K" and if u dont get
it u have to use ur hand?
Boy : Fork!
Ms Neelam : What is it that all men have one, it is longer on some men than
on others, the pope doesn't use his and a man gives it to his
wife after they're married?
Boy : SURNAME!
Ms Neelam : What part of the man has no bone but has muscles, has lots of
veins, like pumping and is responsible for making love?
Boy : HEART!

The principal breathed a sigh of relief and said to the teacher:

"Send this Boy to College! I got the last ten questions wrong myself!"

Rendang Unta...

Lupa lak nak citer... remember the 5kilos of camel meat...? sampai Ipoh, Wah immediately cooked rendang unta... special dish only served to relatives, and close friends during the kenduri... senang kan? nobody asked, "bawak aper balik dari Dubai..."?

voila... rendang unta, sedappppp...!! tender meat.... and dimasak rendang lak tuh...! perggghhh...! towards 3pm, dah abissss...

daging unta is red meat, so you get all the good & bad elements of red meat... itu jer... tak ada maknanyer "panas ler, itu ler, ini ler...". Unta tu jer yang panas sebab duduk kat padang pasir, makan daging dia biasa jer mcm makan daging ler... Macam2 hal orang kita nih mereka2 "modern myths"...

Thanksgiving...

Selama nih, my mom has been like moving from one villa to another for her nursing home... sebabnya, tuan rumah nak rumah balik laaa, rumah dah tak sesuai sebab kecil laaa... etc etc... so banyak kali dah pindah... maka rezeki di beri Tuhan, terdapat lah rumah yg sebijik nih, yang menetapi ciri2 keselamatan & keselesaan penghuni, yang ingin disewakan, dan preferably, dijual terus...

Maka apa lagi, seperti semua "wise lady shoppers", cepat2 my mom "chop" the house... Rumah disewa dahulu, masuk bersama penghuni2 yang sedia ada, then later (1 year after moving in), my mom bought the house... banyak jugak karenah2 birokrasi yg menyebabkan urus niaga pembelian rumah nih tertangguh2 beberapa kali... Jadik, apabila hal2 jualbeli rumah ini settle a few weeks back, my mom pun nak ler buatkan "kenduri kesyukuran" sempena terlaksa sudah niat ingin memiliki rumah tersebut. kecil ajer kenduri nya... tahlil & yassin...

itu punca pertamanya...

then my abang pun join ler sekali.., sempena dia dah selamat khatam belajo utk mendapatkan gelaran "Doktor Falsampah" dia tuh... Jeles teman.., how can...? Pple pay him to go study2 one huh...? huaaa...!!! I haven't even finished paying back my degre scholarship (kena bayar balik daa... kes langgar kontrak... tak mau keje gomen...)

maka sedara mara, jiran tetangga dijemput dtg... then my abang sulung, Yeop, yg menetap kat Kuching confirm balik utk kenduri tuh... Jarang Yeop dpt balik, balik sekeluarga banyak belanja tuh, the last time that we had a complete forum (during raya) was like more than 10 years ago... Kali nih, Yeop balik bersama Yong (bininya), dan cucu2 deme sekali (sesi suai kenal cucu2 baru bersama ahli2 keluarga kat Peghak.. terutamanya Tok Wan Tok Wan dan cicit2nya...)

Maka apabila my Mom got the news that the 2 cicits will also be there, apa lagi... ini kes nak menyambut ahli2 keluarga yang baru nih...!! maka tertimbul lah idea buat "naik buai & marhaban" for the 2 cicits... Dari kenduri kecil, maka bertambah besar ler kenduri nyer... Asal jemputan 200 orang jer..., but I think the people who came were double that figure...

the big towkays.... from left, my mom, Mak Yong (Yong sebab she is the sulung from bini kedua Tok... after my natural grandmom passed away tumpah darah giving birth to a stillborn baby... in between my Mom & Mak Yong, got Wah, my makcik aka nanny aka 2nd mom...), Yeop yang balik dari Kuching nikit belon Air Asia..., and my dad... semua anak sulung, kecuali my dad, anak bongsu... hehe, my gang...:)

Atikah, anak bongsu Mak Yong, dapat 6A1 utk SPM (which was a surprise, coz, I for sure, was expecting her to score at least 8As..., tak ada rezeki ler tuh...)... and for the good result, dia dpt Ipod from her "Dubai cousin"... alaa... Ipod tuh, I got for free... drpd bagi kat anak2 buah tanpa sebab2 tertentu, baik bagi kat depa who deserve it, as motivation to do better, rite...? btw, yang ambik gambo nih is Nabil (the new Pak Su of the cicits), who also sat for SPM, but keputusan hancus terbarai... sajer jer suruh dia ambik gambo nih, kasik dia jeles sket... hehe...

so, still nobody picking up the grand price huh? return ticket to Dubai for straight As... takkan tiap2 tahun nak extend offer...? macam dah basi ler pulak...

Kak Eda on the left (bini Dr Falsampah baru tuh... haha...), dia pun tengah mengabihkan tesis dia utk juga menjadik Dr Falsampah jugak (insyaAllah abis this May)... on the right, Dr Haikal... err Kapten Haikal one huh...? perghh... askar bidan terjun daaa... latihan tentera sekadar cukup syarat jer utk masuk army... Haikal is Dr gigi... Bapaknya kepada Khairun Nisha'...

Doktor tak doktor, bakal Doktor tak bakal doktor, bila kenduri, jangan nak perasan best... tolong gotong royong buat kerja kenduri sekali... Yang kat belakang tuh, the Bibik(s) yang menolong menjaga warga emas...

My sister... pun lecturer jugak asalnya... kat Politeknik Ungku Omar.... kita orang nih anak cikgu, so ada ler beberapa yang juga menjadik pendidik (Yeop, dulu trainer kat Bumiputera Bank, kak Hanim, lecturer kat PUO and abang Razak kat UUM)

Partners in crime...!! the twins... tarikh lahir same as mine one you know...!! so, a special bond with the twins..:) Jangan jadik setan mcm Aichu depa sudah laaaa... ahaks...!!

the food... btw, table cloth merah tuh...!! so prosperous oneee...!!

Gulai terung

ulam2... perghhhh....!! sedapnyer...!! and so healthy one...!

sambal belacan satu "besen nasi", ikan terubuk kering

" ikan terubuk kering"... err... or is it "ikan kering terubuk"...???? which is correct?

rendang tok Mak Nik... (popular rendang tok maker in Ipoh... often trading kat Pasar2 Tani sekitar Perak)

acar buah

kuah kacang utk satay (gambar satay lupa ambik laaa...)

ikan kembung & keli bakar....!! hmmm yummy...!

kek lapis specially brought from Sarawak (home made one you know...!)

manisan, buah oren (Indonesian kata buah jeruk... apa2 sajalah Labu...!!)

missing in action, manisan dadih (sampai lambat, but cepat abis....), dan satay2 yang beribu2 cucuk, makanan paling laku during the kenduri...

so, the event started with the cicits naik buai (morning 10am)... marhaban, marhaban... welcome, welcome...! I must say that the marhaban group was really good... sedap dengar dia orang bermarhaban... I also, nearly fall asleep, mendayu2 kena dodoi dek lagu, dek suara lunak merdu of the "Opahs" from the neighbourhood... :)




after buai, the "Opahs marhaban" proceeded to eating2... depa start dulu...

the "Opahs Marhaban" got uniform one you know...! must got style maaa... walaupun group nih sekadar aktiviti masyarakat sekampung (er, "setaman perumahan"...?)

after Opahs marhaban, the Toks came in, bertahlil, bersyukur, berdoa.... 11h30am

then the Toks bersantap makan tengahari...

other relatives arrived as well throughout the kenduri, makan2... sembang2, tanya khabar, gossip2... the usual gebang2 sedara mara... Makcik Sa'ayah seberang sungai (rf entry : teratak usung tepi sungai) is in the photo... simple and sempoi as usual...

meeting bawah pokok...? deme kate sekarang nih dah jadik trend memanjang ler pulak kat Peghak nih... "bermeeting bawah pokok" macam Dewan Undangan Negeri Perak bersidang baru2 nih... hehe...

yours truly in action... bukan gaya jer tau...! memang bertungkus lumus tolong one...! baru sampai sehari dari Dubai, terus kena pulun perabih...!!

the partners in crime, with the head honcho...? haha... the twins Azizi, Azri, and Faizal, my cousin's (aka adik) husband...

Dr Haikal, kira nak tunjuk tough ler tu, sempena dah jadik askar nih kan... haha... mencuci the last few bekas2 after the kenduri...

the kenduri went well, alhamdulillah... meriah, ramai sedara mara, jiran tetangga, rakan taulan yang dtg... 3 of my classmates in France dulu pun dtg gak (Sani sekeluarga, Bob, Jijoi...)... it rained a bit in the morning before the guess started to arrive, and it rained again when we were packing up later in the afternoon... Hujan berkat tuh...! alhamdulillah...

It was a good meaningful event, especially to catch up with relatives... sambil dapat mengimarahkan rumah jagaan warga emas nih... semoga mendapat berkat yg berkekalan... aminnnn...

p/s Makcik Sa'ayah came with putu piring kuala kangso sebekas kecil sebagai buah tangan (you see, orang beradat tak dtg tangan kosong...!!) and guess who finished them all.....?! siapa lagi...? muka yang ini ler... dah berbulan2 tak dapat putu piring tu beb...!!