Johanna, Give Me Hope..

ahh.. I just got back from Africa abt an hour ago.. lots of pics this time.. and since I have not updated about my flights for a couple of weeks, I'll update it all here in a single posting..

WARNING: This is a *LONG* Posting.

It was my first time to Cape Town, coz previously, all the Cape Town flights that we did were shuttle flights from Johannesburg.. and for the first time, I managed to catch the beauty of the place, which I had heard abt so much from some of my colleagues who had been there..

We flew up to Johannesburg and stayed a night there.. didnt do much there coz the stay was short, and I had my dinner alone at the food court coz I missed the time to meet the crew for dinner at one of the best steak restaurants that u can get, called Butchers...

We stayed in the city, in Cape Town.. and the place reminds me so much of Australia and New Zealand.. it looks and feel the same. Even the weather and the seasons are the same. it was abt 10 degrees in the day. and it follows the same reversed seasons. itz April now and itz Autumn, going on to Winter, just like how it is Down Under.

Another similarities.. ppl dont go out at nite here as it would be in Down Under.. but coz of different reasons..

In Australia and NZ, u dont go out at nite coz all the shops are closed. People work till 5pm on normal days, so u just get some restaurants and convenience stores after dark.

Even the food courts will close at 5pm.

In Cape Town and Johannesburg, you dont go out at nite.

Coz if u do, u get killed.

In South Africa..

Someone is murdered every 30 mins.

A woman is raped every 15 mins.

So South Africa holds the record for the place with the highest number of rapes and murders in the world.. but then again, i dont think anyone is keeping a tally of those committed in Nigeria, Sudan, Namibia and so on..

South Africa holds the record coz they keep the records. But then again, the statistics in these two cities exceed the whole of United States. More than all 52 states combined.

But in United States, u dont feel secured. You dont feel safe.

In South Africa, it gives u a false sense of security. You'ld think that itz a beautiful day for a walk, but u might end up being shot. There are several towns that had been marked as 100% crime safe though. How they do it, i dont know.. but they exists.. and we passed thru these towns.. and u see children playing and joggers on the street and families walking around and so itz a real deal..

According to my tour guide, u just shouldnt go to the suburbs. Life is CHEAP there. and thatz the place where most of the crimes are committed.

Location info: Republic of South Africa is a country at the southern tip of the African continent. and itz where Mandela presides and it is where the Apartheid was practiced slightly more than a decade ago.

Johannesburg is the capital of RSA and Cape Town is easily *THE* most beautiful place in the world. None of the pics here that i took can actually do justice to the beauty of the place. You have to see it for yourself to know it.



Cape Town city, Downtown. Just like Australia.

On the first nite that we were there, the crew headed down to the Waterfront.. a beautiful marina built on a reclaimed land, and with pubs and restaurants at the side, similar to Boat Quay.. just a million times more beautiful..



The Waterfront..



This is in front of the restaurant that we were at, at the Waterfront..

We started the tour the next day by driving up to Maiden's Cove, to take pictures of the beach. This is at the Atlantic side of the country. I'll explain this later..



Maiden's Cove..

Saw some dolphins playing in the water.. but they were too far coz we were up on the rocks so we didnt get to snap the pics of them closeup..

After we are done there, we headed down to the ferry terminal to watch some seals.. since our tour guide, Soraya, an Indian Muslim lady born and bred in RSA, said that we *MUST* visit the Seal Island coz it houses abt 4000 seals..

but then again.. i had seen seals so often whenever i go down to the Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco..

We went there just not to disappoint her coz she's a nice person and we go WAHH.. though thatz like the millionth seal we had seen..



WAHH..

but ok lah.. if u had never seen sea lions before, u MUST see them here.. but there are certain periods where the flock will move away for a while.. and thatz when the water gets warmer in summer and the sharks starts to move around the area..

and when the whale seasons starts, the seals will come back and the sharks will move away..

weird ecological cycle..

normally, the sharks will move to Singapore during the football seasons..

bets are open for the Champions League final between Arsenal and Barcelona.. please contact your friendly neighbourhood loansharks for details.



the flea market at the ferry terminal.. the handicrafts here are good.. and MUCH cheaper than those at the Waterfront.. and i think they are much better..



colourful entertainers looking for tips..

after we are done with that and had our Fish and Chips lunch at the terminal, we headed down along Chapman's Peak Drive, up and down and across roads along the mountains to see some penguins.. but the sights along that drive itself was breathtaking..



Alex, our pilot on that flight.. with Michelle, Me, Cecilia, and Daniel taking some pics along the Chapman's Peak Drive..



Look at the background.. a picture is worth a thousand words.. but go spend some thousand of dollars instead to go there coz no pictures can actually show u the real beauty of the place..



i took this pic while we are driving away from Chapman's Peak Drive..



oh.. please do check..



these fellas seems to be the best of buddies.. they walked left and right and up and down, always together.. as if looking ard for a place to hangout..



you could even touch them if u want to.. but they bite though.. so i dont think anyone is silly enough to do that..



me, still at the Atlantic side.. so behind me, is the Atlantic Ocean..

after we are done with the penguins, we drove up to Cape Of Good Hope.. the Most South-Western Point of the African Continent..



See?

is there such thing as a Bad Hope?

anyway.. along the way, we spotted some Ostrichs..



weird rite.. 2 different continents, Oceania and Africa, and both have similar creatures native to it.. but since Australia and Africa is on the same latitude, thus they have similar weather, seasons and having similar creatures roaming ard..



Damn high waves splashing onto the rocks.. scary xia..



Still on the Atlantic side..



this is a Rock Rabbit.. looks like a rabbit, with short ears.. but they walk and run.. not like real rabbits that hops.. and it is said to be similar to the elephants in terms of skeletal forms..

but i dont see the similarities ley.. this one is the size of a normal rabbit.. i cant imagine it with tusks and a trunk..

after we are done at The Most South-Western Tip Of The African Continent, we headed down to Cape Point..

anyway.. i was disappointed not to be able to see whales.. coz itz not season yet.. but it is said that during the September season, it will be a fantastic time to visit Cape Town and then u will be able to see everything that u want.. and even the nude beach will be opened by then..

*drools*

anyway.. among the Caucasian girls.. i think the girls from South Africa are the most beautiful ones.. u rarely see whales among them..

in fact.. i dont think i saw even one overweight local Ang Moh girl there..

the fat ones are the tourists..

but..

a warning..



they are perpetually hungry.. but the rangers there do keep track of their feeding periods.. so the baboons will steal ur food coz they know that u cant do anything abt it.. and even if they snatch any of ur belongings, u are advised NOT to attempt to retrieve it..

so my married friends.. walk with ur wives in front.. hopefully some baboons might wanna snatch her..

dont forget to say Thanks though..



i had always thought that baboons dont have tails.. but they got red-ass anyway..



and here i am.. at Cape Point..



look at the pic, slightly to the left, therez a small white splash..

thatz the point that marks the meeting of two oceans.. the Atlantic Ocean on the right and the Indian Ocean on the left.. this point is called "Where 2 Oceans Meet"..

the currents move in the opposite directions and at times, it will cause a whirlpool in the middle.. a small one..

2 different oceans, 2 directions, 2 current strength.. and 2 different temperatures..

meeting at a single point..



the ugliest lizard i had ever seen..



Alex, Me and Daniel..

after we are done with the Cape, we headed back to the city to go up the Table Mountain.. itz called Table coz of the huge plateau on top of it..



this pic is taken from inside the lift in the hotel..



on top of the mountain..



the view of Cape Town from the gondola that brings us up on the mountain..



look at the clouds below.. anyway, clouds at this level just feel like fogs.. just cold air blowing thru..

i wouldnt know how it feels like in a rain cloud though.. might be the same, just thicker and electrifying..

after we are done with the mountain, we headed up to Signal Hill, just next to the mountain.. to watch the sunset..



at exactly 6.10pm..

the sun sets so fast when it hits 6.10.. i think within 2 mins, it totally disappeared..

itz like u can really see the sun sinking..

we then drove down to the Malay Quarters.. coz i have heard abt the Cape Malays.. or Malay population who had lived here in Cape Town for abt a hundred years..

there are lots and lots of them here.. and u can easily find Halal restaurants in Cape Town..

another place where the Malays populate, though not really widely known to most, would be in Sri Lanka.. though i had never been there to check it out..

i just wanted to see the difference between the Cape Malays and my Malay friends here..



at a Malay store here... selling groceries and food.. these are Cape Malays, and they look like Malays with a tinge of African looks.. and they speak a different slang of Malay.. but some of the words seem similar.. just that u have to listen closely to notice that the words are Malay words..

i have heard that the culture is almost the same as what u get here.. but very kampung..



a Malay makcik..



the group with Soraya and Adnan, our driver for the day..

and Adnan is a pure Malay.. though he dont speak that much of the Malay language.. mostly English and Afrikaan.. which is a South African dialect, derived from the Dutch language..

ok.. thatz it abt South Africa..

and here are some pics from my previous flights..

I was in Paris last week, then headed to Manila, before doing Johannesburg and Cape Town..



Paris.. Again..

Paris is just Paris.. didnt do much.. hangout with the guys most of the time.. me, my Leading Razali, the IFS Lenny, the Chief Daniel and a pilot, Siva..

so just took one of the days to walk around after a meal with the crew in a nearby restaurant.. which cost us EU35 bucks EACH.

thatz like $75 per person for a LUNCH meal!

i'd rather have my $3.50 Nasi Ayam Goreng.

but of course.. therez a nice Vietnamese restaurant nearby which sells cheap and good food..

cheap at EU10 per meal on average..

thatz only $22 for a plate of fried rice..

ermz..

but itz really cheap, according to European standards..



after the meal, just walked ard Champs Elysees.. for the dunno-how-manyth-times..



at the Peugeot showroom again.. i love this place coz they keep on changing their concept cars on display..

this is a three-wheeler racing car..



at the Renault showroom.. a REAL Renault Formula-1 car.



and gosh.. look at how compact the engine is..

ok.. thatz it for Paris this time.. and i didnt take much pics of Manila coz the time was too short.. and i shall not post it up coz itz not really that interesting for a picture.. coz we checked in late and depart early.. so didnt really have the time to go out that nite.. i was too tired anyway...

My Princess is back in Melbourne now.. i miss her now, as much as i miss the 4 boys.. my 4 nephews.. but I'm sure my friends are missing her more.. i'll be seeing them in a few days time in Melbourne though..

and this is one of the last pics of her in Singapore that i got.. taken when i followed her for a jamming session with her band..

The Story Of A Girl

Once upon a time, there was this young girl..

who couldnt understand why she wasnt as pretty as the other girls in her school.

Unlike these girls, who seemed to be popular among the guys from the other schools, as her school was an all-girls school, she wasnt noticed as she was fat and she wasnt pretty.

She was sad and depressed but she wanted to look strong, so she refused to show it to her friends, but deep down inside, it hurt her badly.

Let's call her Nana.

"Why doesnt the guys look at me, mama?", Nana asked her mom.

"I'm sorry dear. Maybe cause you are fat?", her mom replied.

"But some fat girls in my school have fat guys going after them. Why can't they look at me? ME! ME! ME! WHY NOT ME MAMA?!", she asked again.

"I think maybe it's because you are ugly? See, your teeth aren't straight, and you have the physiques of a man.", her mom said again.

So she went on and on through the years knowing that she was fat and ugly. But as she was growing up, she decided to lose weight.

So she tried and she tried, from looking like a heavyweight champion, to a middleweight champion, cause she was unable to attain a featherweight size. But that should be good enough, she thought.

So she went on her new phase of life being smaller, though sometimes, it's just so much one can do about her looks. But then again, that SHOULD still be good enough.

So she managed to gain a few attention from several guys and her life became better.

She found a new confidence in herself, but the trauma of growing up fat and ugly was still affecting her. So in order to feel better about herself, she had to bring people down. Insult them, even if they didnt do anything wrong to you. So what? They are just another person.

So she took up a nickname for herself, calling herself a name reserved for a female dog, a Bitch.

She thought that she had that talent in herself.

"I'm so smart, so witty, and I come from a top school", she often tell herself.

True enough, she was in a choir group, something similar to a church choir, just that their members seemed to shout and do weird dance while sitting down on the floor, and she managed to rise to a good rank among the group, which comprises of a LOT of people. How many, i wouldnt know. I dont go to church.

So she dated, and probably some guys did want to get her to bed. It's like a man, being a closet bisexual. Get a girl that can pass off as a man. Two-In-One.

So one day, she managed to get a popular guy as her boyfriend. The guy was known among his peers, and was a musician, being a lead Sitar player in a Bhangra band. Coincidentally, she knows one of the other musician in the band, the Tabla player.

So the girl was happy. She loved the guy, and he loves her too. For reasons unknowned to the rest of his friends.

The Tabla player had known her for several years, before he was playing in that Bhangra band. But they stopped communicating when she tread upon his personal space.

So the Tabla player, let's call him Rul, not wanting to associate himself to being aquantainces with her, distant himself from being friends with her as she seemed to be a person who likes to get involved in other people's life.

As far as Rul was concerned, Nana just seemed like the modern version of gossiping housewives who's lifes are not as interesting if they do not include the failures of others.

So Nana and her Sitarist boyfriend, let's call him Abil, went on for months and months, though her intrusive ways were quite obvious, as she used his MSN account to check on him, and to find out who he had been chatting with, and so on.

She complained to Rul often about him, and Rul always tried to put the best side of Abil to her as Rul thinks that Abil is a nice guy. But among their friends, they couldnt understand why would Abil stick to a girl like Nana when he can get a pretty girl for himself.

Nana was very supportive of the Bhangra band. She came to their practices and their performances and she was at ease with it. Probably a little bit too much.

So one day, Nana talked to Rul about the girl who plays the Xylophone. Apparently, Abil didnt like the girl and her playing and Nana didnt like her too, though Nana had never met the girl.

Rul had talked to Abil earlier that day about it, and both of them decided that the rest of the band should decide the matter. But Nana didnt like it when she didnt get to have a say, so she decided to criticize the girl herself. It's like a cold turkey, its hard to give up when your hands are shivering and you HAVE to HAVE a say.

When the rest of the band members found out about that incident, they were angry at Nana for interfering with the band matters. True enough, the band had decided to follow the suggestions of Abil, who was one of the band leaders, together with the other Sitar player, but the rest of the girls in the band had became friends with the Xylophone player, especially a girl who plays the flute, let's call her Nat.

Nat felt betrayed as she was the one who introduced the girl to them. And the band should have let Nat handle the situation to break it easier to her personal friend. But a girlfriend of the Sitar player, who was considered as an outsider, with no other ties to the band, should not have gotten involved, besides giving an opinion.

Nana went on to have her revenge on the people that she thought should have supported her instead. She femaleddogged the band, turning around from supporting them in the performances, to telling her boyfriend that she didnt want him in the band, using the fact that she didnt like Bhangra, but obviously more for having people in the band disliking her.

But how was it to like her?

She dont have a likeable character.

She's not pretty.

Anyone could forgive a beautiful killer. But a fat and ugly rumourmonger would be crucified.

Nana decided to befriends with one of Rul's ex-girlfriend, let's call her Mira, as she said that Mira share the same traits as she does.

But little did Nana realise that Mira wasnt as bitchy as she is. Mira has a conscience and Mira accepts anyone into her circle of friendship. Just that Mira would be strong on her own opinions, and normally it was a correct opinion.

But Mira was of a different class. Mira was beautiful and elegant. So unlike Nana.

So she went on to criticize a girl that Rul is dating. Let's call her Faridah. Faridah is a pretty and nice girl, and she fell for Rul. But not putting a title to a relationship was WRONG to Nana. So Nana felt that she has a say in the relationship too.

But what's the moral of the story?

The moral of the story is that, you shouldnt get involved in other people's life when you cant do basic grooming for yourself.

Everyone knew that she didnt trim her pubic hair. Cause there was one incident that Nana was at a cafe, and she was wearing a hipster jeans, and her pubic hair was sticking out of the top of her jeans.

That means that it was THAT long.

-------------------------------------------------
Spa Haven

Enjoy:
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Prior appointment is required.
* To be used by the same person.

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-------------------------------------------------

The above story was fictional and any relations to any persons, dead or alive, is purely coincidental.

I HATE MACSHOP AT FUNAN CENTRE

ok.. letz whine.. i got quite a lot of things to say.. of several different topics..

firstly..

I HATE MACSHOP AT FUNAN CENTRE



itz at the 4th floor of Funan Centre.. selling some Apple and iPod stuffs..

well.. ok.. iPod *IS* Apple for now considering that Apple are gonna jump ship and indirectly saying that their Macintosh products SUCKS by switching to Intel for their processor and to enable Windows to run on Mac hardware. so Uncle Bill wins again..

but thatz not what i'm gonna whine abt..

itz abt the stupid sales staff at Macshop at 04-11.. i went to Funan after the jamming session with the Pirates to look for an iPod accessory called iTalk, which is a mike that can be connected to the iPod so that it can have a recording function..

so i went into Macshop.. coz itz.. a MAC shop..

found the iTalk hanging on the product display.. so i took it and was looking at the specifications when one of the staff approached me..

"ermmm.. are u buying?"

me: yeah..

"ah.. erm.. ok.."

me: is there a problem?

"erm.. no.. its ok.. we will just order some more"

me: is this ur only stock?

"yes.. erm.. its ok.. its ok"

and he moved away..

abt a min later.. the IDIOT came.. i should think he's the store manager..

he said.. "sorry.. u cant buy this"

and took away the iTalk from me..

WTH?

then i realised that there was this tourist couple gleefully looking at the iTalk..

firstly.. if they had asked for it before i came in, EXPLAIN TO ME THAT THERES SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO BUY THE FUCKING THING. dont snatch it away.

secondly.. i dont think they had asked for it before i took it..

but hell.. this is not the first time it happened to me at the shop before..

a couple of months back.. i wanted to get an iPod Video.. so i went to the shop COZ ITZ A FUCKING MAC SHOP and asked for the latest iPod..

so there was this idiot who was showing me some samples of the iPod..

and when i said that i wanted to buy it.. he told me.. oh.. sorry.. we dont have it.. the whole place (meaning, the whole fucking Funan Centre) had ran out of iPod Video 60GB coz itz the latest.. so u might have to wait a month to get it..

i said thanks and left the shop..

and i went next door.. and bought an iPod Video 60GB at the same price that they sell it for..

within 3 mins.

WTF?

i still dont get the part where they would rather sell it to tourists..

issit to create a good impression to them?

i think they failed.. coz i went in the shop again to call out my friend to leave the place.. and i said loudly, within metres away from the counter and other customers..

"lets get out of this fucking place.. they are really full of shit"

i'm pretty sure the customers, including the iTalk-buying tourists, heard what i said.. so my dear Idiot, sorry.. ur impression didnt work..

we Singaporean iPod users will definitely come back to get the iPod accessories at a place where they provide good service.. whether they have the items or not.. ur tourists would go home and just tell their friends that therez a crappy shop who'd rather sell to them even though they are gonna be just a one time buyer..

as i had mentioned.. i dont mind if they tell me nicely that someone else had already wanted to purchase the iTalk.. just explain.. thatz it.. and i'll wait for a month for ur stock to come in if i need to..

i went round and round Funan, even to the Apple showroom at the 5th floor (where the sales staff were quite invisible but polite when u manage to hunt them down), and couldnt get the iTalk...

finally... i went up to Challenger and to the iPod/Mac dept and the guy there told me that the iTalk would not work for my iPod coz mine is too new and the only product available has not been shipped in from States..

and that was a blessing in disguise.. but still didnt give the IDIOT AT THE MACSHOP AT THE 4TH FLOOR the excuse to be rude..

anyway, i was being assisted by an extremely extremely friendly and extremely extremely helpful sales staff at the Printer dept, and crapping with 2 fellas who were Diners Card promoters for abt 10 mins. talking just pure nonsense..

the government is promoting GEMS for quality customer service.. and i think i shall nominate MACSHOP as the best in customer service.. if u feel like getting dissed by a shop staff whenever u are bored.

if u really wanna do that, do go ard town wearing a shirt with "FEEL FREE TO BITCH SLAP ME" while u are at it.. it might just make ur day..

jamming was sucky just now.. as in.. REALLY sucky..

so sucky that i dont think i wanna talk abt it..

so letz just backtrack to yesterday before i start whining abt politics..

me ShaSha-The-Princess met up with Umi, Shida, Din and Kotai at Esplanade..

had dinner at Marina, where i came across my blood-brother (yes.. we guys dont have best friends.. we have BLOOD BROTHERS) Alfan, working at a shop selling something similar to Osim but itz not Osim.. called VGO or something like that..

went back to Esplanade and caught 2 Indie bands.. Trent and Rushed..

TRENT WAS FREAKING GOOD XIA!



Trent

especially having the drummer from B-Quartet.. goodness.. the fella is fantastic..



Rushed

i had known Rushed for a long time.. several years already.. coz they used to play in gigs that i used to organised with my mates from Localmusic.. just that now my good friends from Seven Sundays, Rahman and Ayie, are playing for them too..

that reminds me.. i still have part of my DrumKit in Rahman's house..

and Ayie still have a stack of my drumsticks..

met up with Mariam and Mirza.. where Mariam the kakak-kakak now got pissed with me coz i showed her the middle finger.. where it used to be the norm last time but coz now she's an adult cannot show already.. ok ok.. sorry Mariam..

met up with Zul who was formerly from Afro Espanyol, now doing his own music, playing something similar to electronic dance music and had asked me to cover the drum tracks for him recently.. in which we have not sat down and discussed abt it yet..

and my princess.. hmm..



thatz Umi, ShaSha and 3/4 of a Din..

the set was definitely better than Ronin's, which i watched the nite before, when i was at GasHaus supporting Yazeid's band..

and damn.. Yazeid is a good bassist.. fucking fast xia..

i left with the impression that he has motors in his knuckles to play the bass strings that fast..

i think Ronin is overrated though..

and too political..

which brings me to another part of this lengthy post.. abt Politics, General Election and the Progress Package..

several days back, i read the papers abt a certain Taiwanese politician saying that since the ancestors of Singaporeans are immigrants who had no education, we are of a stupid stock and Singaporeans are generally stupid..

besides LKY and LHL, the only other Singaporean that is not stupid to him is Stephanie Sun..

ermz..

Stephanie Sun?

WTH?

just coz she sings in Taiwan and thatz the only Singaporean name that he can relate to?

somebody should knock his head with a Creative Zen.

and the carrots dangling in front of the Singaporeans now.. the Progress Package.. right before the General Election..

with or without the carrot, i think most Singaporeans will still be rooting for PAP.. and the govt denied that the package is an election sweetener.. though the timing is so damn close..

shouldnt the Progress Package that they had wanted to share with the Singaporeans had been given during the SARS period?

anyway.. being lesser of 2 evils.. the PAP candidates do look impressive.. comparing to the other candidates being fielded by the oppositions..

an IT entrepreneur with a highest qualification of an O levels cert?

u gotta be kidding me right?

to represent me in the Parliament?

this time, i'd throw my cards to the PAP and even if it is an election sweetener, i'll just hope that it remains sweet after the elections are called..

i had never been Pro-PAP.. but this time, with the candidates that they had selected, they are really too good to be cast aside.. and i do hope that these new faces make it to the Parliament..

they interviewed a 28 yr old Malay housewife who got 5 kids and her husband earns abt $800 per month.

they received $800 each.

she has a 12 yr old son.

28 - 12, meaning that she was only 16 when she got her first kid!

and still got 4 other kids after that..

in which, i think that someone should just whisper the word DUREX to their ears..

and she said that now they dont need to worry abt the utility bills for the next 8 months..

u got married and got a kid at 16.. barely able to feed urself, and u go on further to bring more lives whoz souls might have had a better chance of a proper life being born elsewhere..

for those of my friends who are still into marriages..

get married only when u are ready to get married..

and for the guys..

if u marry someone's daughter just to let her suffer with u coz u are unable to provide, next time, just go screw urself instead.

for those of u who are reading this and not old enough to vote.. too bad. u should have just skipped this part.

and.. a doctor was arrested for snapping videos underneath the skirts of women in a supermarket..

heh..

maybe he got kicked out from his gynaecology class..

Doctors are of a noble profession and they should be the least suspected..

those were the words of a certain Minister regarding doctors being suspected of a particular crime.. i'm not able to divulge the details of the case coz i was involved in it and i cant mention it due to the Official Secrets Oath that i undertook as a policeman..

true enough.. the doctor was innocent.. but the statement?

by the next day.. the Ministry officially retracted the statement coz the Minister should not have said it in the first place..

so could u trust ur doctors now?

so.. for a full female body checkup, call 1800-CALL-ZUL.

Ahlan Wa Sahlan..

*yawn*

i'm so so stoned..

but i need to blog...

itz been a while since i last did..

but i just need to blog now.. the sudden urge to blog..

but i dont have things to say..

so i'll make things up along the way..

so here goes..

i just got back from Dubai.. landed abt 3 hrz ago..

for those of u who dunno where in the world is Dubai.. itz in United Arab Emirates, or for short, UAE..

i think only in recent years that ppl started to notice this little city.. and most ppl who have heard of Dubai would not have heard of United Arab Emirates, or knowing that UAE is a country..

i wonder how my friends in Emirates can tahan living there.. oh God.. i cant imagine having to live in a city that dont have a band to play in.. or gigs.. or jamming studios.. or having to jam with a group of ppl playing tablas and doumbeks and accordions..

no way..

anyway.. Dubai is an extremely modern Arab city.. which is unArabic to start with too..

as much as we think that the Arab countries are made up of strict Muslims, therez a lot of hypocrisy involved too..

the countries are PORTRAYED to be made up of strict Muslims.. sure.. there are a lot of the good ones there.. but behind the scenes.. and what not seen in the eyes of the world.. hmm..

therez a traditional Turkish drink called the Lion's Milk, with 70% alcohol content, thatz popular among the locals..

anyway, Turks and Egyptians arent Arabs.. itz just that they are Muslim states close to the Middle East and the Egyptians speaks Arabic as their natural language..

and there are underground clubs in Brunei too.. according to my close friend who had worked as a Royal Concierge for 4 yrz in Bandar Sri Begawan..

Dubai is really a modern city, and itz clean.. and full of nice cars.. and very Americanised..

and very hot.. just like Singapore, without the humidity..

in a few months time, Dubai will be SCORCHING hot.. with probable temperatures higher than 50 degrees.. and the worst i've experienced there was abt 7 yrz back.. at 54 degrees..

anyone for a BBQed brain?

but itz a nice place anyway.. and beautiful..

Dubai is like Chelsea FC.. from nothing, built to perfection with lots of HARD CASH..

i spent the day meeting up with Nani, a friend of mine who is flying for Emirates.. and went out for dinner with her at a nice, cheap and good restaurant called Silver Eagle.. had too much to eat, spending less than S$15 for the two of us.. with a huge portion of lamb briyani, romali chapati, chicken-65 (this one is reaaaaaallllyy nice), and masala tea..

we met Raihan, the friend of mine who i met in London with her husband, Azim, both of whom are flying for Emirates too.. and me, the crew from Singapore Airlines, had to introduce the two Emirates crew, who works in the same company, living in the same city.. and never met each other before.. heh..

the other Emirates friend of mine, Yuliez, coincidentally was flying back to Singapore the day i depart for Dubai..

had coffee at Dome at Reef Mall, abt 10 mins walking distance away from my hotel.. and Raihan sacrificed her sleep to spend that hour with us before flying off to Osaka.. how sweet..

here we are..



Raihan, Me and Nani.. at Dome..

Azim couldnt join us coz he was bz entertaining himself in Bangladesh.. which was a waste coz i had time to spend in Dubai, rather than like the other time in London, which was just for a few hours..

but we'll hangout somewhere in the world again soon.. definitely..

ok.. thatz it abt Dubai.. and now.. backtrackking time..

was in Shanghai last week.. a flight where i always end up spending more money than i intended to..

initially, i wanted to go down to Xiang-Yang market, as usual, to burn some cash.. but some of the crew suggested that we go down to Shifu Lu.. or Tailor's Rd.. coz itz a shopping place too..

so 7 of us went down.. and arrived at Shifu Lu at 2pm, and split up and was supposed to meet up at 4pm..

so i had 2 hrz to walk ard on my own.. and was hoping to shop..



Shifu Lu..

walked round and round and all over the several malls there.. and it was such a disappointment coz there wasnt anything remotely interesting to buy.. most of the stuffs there were locally made clothes and the design were boring..

so i just walked ard and snapped some pics to pass the time..



some of the slums that i managed to snap..



some more slums.. and therez actually a wet market along the alley...

i was extremely hungry and i couldnt find any fast food restaurants there.. so i walked and walked.. and at abt 3.30, i came across a Muslim stall at Fujian Rd.. which was abt 5 mins away from Shifu Lu..



i couldnt understand the menu.. and couldnt understand what they said.. and they couldnt understand what i said.. and so i just gestured that i would take anything.. and one fella fixed for me a plate of fried rice with lamb.. which wasnt bad at all..

met up with the rest of the crew at 4, and they were just as disappointed as i was, and we decided to head down to Xiang-Yang to do some REAL shopping..

we spent abt 20 mins trying to get a cab..

so.. if u ever try to do that.. take a cab, in China.. here's a tip..

run to the cab and dont show pity to anyone else grabbing the cab.. and just board.. whether or not the previous fella had got down from the cab..

u have to be tough to survive.. or to take a cab.. show no mercy.. no pity.. treat it like getting a cab is the most important thing in the world that u have to accomplish..

ignore the hustling and the shoutings.. therez no queues at the taxi stands anyway.. everyone treat the TAXI stand sign as a place to fight a war..

if u are not tough, then u have to walk across China..



outside of Xiang-Yang Fashion Market..

and so we arrived in Xiang-Yang alive..



and this is the way to go mobile.. and u will never lose ur fone.. or ur reception..

and i spent 50 bucks in 10 mins..



inside Xiang-Yang market..



THATZ the real shopping in Shanghai..

but i've heard that this place might close down in June and the stalls are not gonna be relocated anywhere.. which would be kinda sad..

i spent the rest of my off days in Singapore with my princess and my band.. and we might be recording the first song for the Pirates this Saturday.. which is NOT gonna be Ska..

but then again.. we are still a Ska band.. always will be..



and here'z my princess, trying to be a musician..