Luncheon Meat

Just made a discovery today... turkey luncheon meat tastes exactly the same as pork luncheon meat! Made myself spagetti with turkey luncheon meat today. Tastes great!

One of the small sacrifices a Chinese has to make in order to survive in the Middle East is to abstain from pork since it's not so easy to get them here. I'm not really crazy about pork but somehow this is the first time in months I had something that tasted like pork in my mouth! Though it's not even pork.

Well... much to my surprise, pork is actually available in the U.A.E. although it is at inflated prices. One can purchase pork in Abu Dhabi and Dubai at the Spinney's supermarket chain (in some obscure/ secluded corner). Besides that, you can also buy liquor provided you have a license! And I found out that in order to have a license to buy liquor, one must have certain earning power because the license is given based on income. And the amount of liquor you can buy per year is a percentage of that income! Interesting fact! But of course, if all you want is a drink, just go to a hotel/ pub and liquor is served without any license required. Oh... one more thing a drinker must know in UAE. It's not only illegal to drink and drive, apparently it is also illegal to drink and walk out into the streets! Yup, if you drink then get someone to drive you home afterwards. Don't roam around because that can land you in the jail!

Well... considering that this is an Islamic country, I guess the social liberty available is quite good and if you are in Dubai for example, you'll feel like you are in any western/ modernized nation.