1 month has passed and finally I will be leaving Abu Dhabi for home! I can’t say it was a very tiring job this time – I pretty much had a lot of free time to do a 2-day job in 1 month! Obviously I shan’t divulge information on how I did that lest my boss finds out! But it was a much more easy-going and tensionless 1-month at work – so I can’t really complaint about this assignment. But it has to come to an end. Finally got the green light to demobilize from site today and by middle of this week I should be back in Kuala Lumpur. And of course if my leave is approved, I’ll only be back in Pasir Gudang next week.
This shall only mean that I will have a break before returning in February for another bout of life in the desert. Only hope is I get to spend CNY at home before that! By the looks of it, I have a fair chance that I will get to pocket all the angpows before leaving! Insha-allah (إنشاءالله)!
So… for the time being, I have to say again (in advance) –
Good bye Abu Dhabi!
(!مع السلامة أبو ظبي)
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Pan the Network
Maybe everyone already knows this but I just tried it today. I used my mobile phone to connect to the Etisalat 3G internet network. Then I connected the laptop to the mobile via bluetooth using the ‘pan network’ option. And from there I used my laptop to surf the internet through my mobile! Quite useful considering I have no permanent internet connection nowadays in my site office. But if only the 3G network in Jebel Dhanna is a bit more stable. It keeps on dropping back to GPRS every now and then and it’s really very slow with GPRS. Anyway, I was just checking updates on my flight details and it was confirmed! Next Etihad flight out of Abu Dhabi to KL!
Global Warming, Region Cooling
I listened attentively to a friend giving his theory on the effects of global warming on the Middle East. Of course we’ve heard of rising sea levels inundating Bangladesh, crazily hot summers in Europe, more typhoons and storms, etc. as a result of global warming. I’ve even watched ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ which made as if the world is coming to an end soon unless we act now. Anyway, I’m not going into the long story of the global warming issue. But what I’m really interested in is how it affects the Middle East. Of course, I’ve no data or statistics for this region, so I’m just relying on a Pakistani IT guy who has some theory of his own.
According to him, the global warming phenomenon has a reverse effect on the Middle East – does it mean we are having a global cooling here? Well… from his experience, the summers are no longer so hot in this part of the world compared to say 10 years ago. Well, at least it did not top 50 degC in Abu Dhabi this year or last year. Ok… perhaps it did make it to 49.5 degC but the point is it’s still not 50degC yet! And he further mentioned that the winters are getting colder and colder nowadays. I’ve made a check on the UAE metereological records and the MIN temperature recorded in Fujairah was 4.5 degC during the last winter. Apparently, the winters now are cold enough that you will freeze to death unless you have some proper warm clothing. His experience told him that this was not the case 10 years ago.
He also expounded on the necessity to have proper drainage system now because it’s raining more in recent years. Only recently has the government been building some kind of drainage system. In the past it was not necessary since there was hardly any rain. Nowadays, heavy rainfall and flash floods are becoming common during the winter. That’s true – I’ve seen pictures of flooded Sharjah and Al Ain. And it’s true that the drainage is grossly insufficient here. But then again, the drains (if any exists) are always clogged with sand especially after a sandstorm – so I don’t see how they’ll help to drain the rainwater. For the record, it tends to rain after a sandstorm!
So while the rest of the world is worried about global warming – maybe there’s a respite of sorts for the Middle East. That is if the words of my Pakistani friend are to be trusted! A cooler winter, a not-so-damning-hot summer and a bit more rainfall may just be what this region needs to be a bit more habitable.
According to him, the global warming phenomenon has a reverse effect on the Middle East – does it mean we are having a global cooling here? Well… from his experience, the summers are no longer so hot in this part of the world compared to say 10 years ago. Well, at least it did not top 50 degC in Abu Dhabi this year or last year. Ok… perhaps it did make it to 49.5 degC but the point is it’s still not 50degC yet! And he further mentioned that the winters are getting colder and colder nowadays. I’ve made a check on the UAE metereological records and the MIN temperature recorded in Fujairah was 4.5 degC during the last winter. Apparently, the winters now are cold enough that you will freeze to death unless you have some proper warm clothing. His experience told him that this was not the case 10 years ago.
He also expounded on the necessity to have proper drainage system now because it’s raining more in recent years. Only recently has the government been building some kind of drainage system. In the past it was not necessary since there was hardly any rain. Nowadays, heavy rainfall and flash floods are becoming common during the winter. That’s true – I’ve seen pictures of flooded Sharjah and Al Ain. And it’s true that the drainage is grossly insufficient here. But then again, the drains (if any exists) are always clogged with sand especially after a sandstorm – so I don’t see how they’ll help to drain the rainwater. For the record, it tends to rain after a sandstorm!
So while the rest of the world is worried about global warming – maybe there’s a respite of sorts for the Middle East. That is if the words of my Pakistani friend are to be trusted! A cooler winter, a not-so-damning-hot summer and a bit more rainfall may just be what this region needs to be a bit more habitable.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
70% Pay Rise?
That’s how much a pay rise you’ll get if you are an employee of the UAE federal government. The 70% pay rise was just announced and will take effect in January. Apparently, the government employees are facing a hard time with rising cost of living of late. Furthermore the Dirham has dropped 20% against other major currencies (dragged by its peg to the USD). Therefore, the pay rise was ‘timely’! Gosh… can you imagine it? 70% pay rise! If I earn Dh10000, I would end up with a rise of Dh7000! That’s life for you in UAE and some Emiratis are still complaining that their government ain’t listening to them. I was told each Emirati is given a free villa and that electricity (or was it water) is free! Too bad, in Malaysia we don’t get a free villa (not even a discount for me). There is no free water or electricity here although we almost give water for free to Singapore. And since we do not have a 150-year oil reserve, I guess we have to wait ‘long-long’ for such benefits. On top of that, the locals have a passion for big cars. Some have so many maids in their free villas that the family members are outnumbered. How I wish I can become a local too? Besides the hot and humid summer, life is not bad with so many benefits.
Other news in UAE – it has been foggy in the mornings for the past week across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the northern emirates. The worst affected was the Abu Dhabi airport which had to be closed for hours every day (usually from midnight till morning). I calculated that my Etihad flight from KL lands in Abu Dhabi at midnight and that the flight to KL departs at 3 am. Therefore, I guess the KL flights were definitely paralysed by the fog. And it seems that the weather forecaster found ‘no reasons’ why the fogs would not persist for some time! Great news indeed! But at least fogs are better than sand storms.
Other news in UAE – it has been foggy in the mornings for the past week across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the northern emirates. The worst affected was the Abu Dhabi airport which had to be closed for hours every day (usually from midnight till morning). I calculated that my Etihad flight from KL lands in Abu Dhabi at midnight and that the flight to KL departs at 3 am. Therefore, I guess the KL flights were definitely paralysed by the fog. And it seems that the weather forecaster found ‘no reasons’ why the fogs would not persist for some time! Great news indeed! But at least fogs are better than sand storms.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Korean Taboos
I gathered the following top taboos in Korea on a program which I watched yesterday on Arirang. Aren’t most of them quite similar to Chinese customs?
No. 5 – Unlucky numbers
The number 4 because it sounds like death (very Chinese huh?). The Koreans also dislike the number 9 as it symbolises the ending. For example the age 29 is the end of 20’s before you enter the 30’s.
No. 4 – Things not to eat before an exam
Everyone knows Korea has one of the toughest university entrance exams in the world. And they also have some taboos on what not to eat before exams. Seaweed is a no-no because it’s slippery. In Korean, stick = pass and slip = fail. Students will also not eat banana, as the banana skin is slippery! They would also avoid eggs or doughnuts since these look like the number zero! In fact they will not eat anything round during a run-up to an exam.
No. 3 – Things not to do at night
Don’t these sound so Malaysian?
Do not whistle to avoid an encounter with snakes.
Do not sweep after dark as this will sweep the Gods away. (Koreans believe than the nights belong to Gods).
Do not trim your fingernails, as this practise is part of a funeral ritual.
No. 2 – Mind your spoons & chopsticks
In Korea, it is considered rude to stick your spoon or chopsticks into rice. This is part of some ancestral ritual, pretty much like the Chinese! Also you are not supposed to place your spoon upside down as this means that you refuse to eat what is served to you.
No. 1 – The colour ‘red’
Do not writer your name with red ink. This is because when someone dies, a person’s name in the register is crossed out with red ink! Although the modern register in Korea is computerised, they still use red letters to indicate removal of the name of a deceased! Do you also know that until recently, the colour red is considered taboo? This changed after the 2002 World Cup when red was used to symbolise the Korean spirit. Nowadays, red has become auspicious in Korea!
Besides watching the program on taboos, I also watched a Korean film called ‘Perfect Roommate’. It was a story about a lady writer who just got a new roommate (actually a housemate) who is a nice and attentive guy. The guy was the perfect housemate as he cooks, takes care of the house and took good care of her as well. Now, the lady has a boyfriend (who’s married), i.e. they are in a complicated relationship. In one rendezvous the boyfriend met the new roommate and since then avoided her! It turned out that the boyfriend had a homosexual relationship with the ‘perfect roommate’ at one time. And the perfect roommate was not really that perfect as he is staying with the lady with an ulterior motive! The ending was quite sad but in case any of you are interested to watch, I’ll avoid spilling out the beans.
No. 5 – Unlucky numbers
The number 4 because it sounds like death (very Chinese huh?). The Koreans also dislike the number 9 as it symbolises the ending. For example the age 29 is the end of 20’s before you enter the 30’s.
No. 4 – Things not to eat before an exam
Everyone knows Korea has one of the toughest university entrance exams in the world. And they also have some taboos on what not to eat before exams. Seaweed is a no-no because it’s slippery. In Korean, stick = pass and slip = fail. Students will also not eat banana, as the banana skin is slippery! They would also avoid eggs or doughnuts since these look like the number zero! In fact they will not eat anything round during a run-up to an exam.
No. 3 – Things not to do at night
Don’t these sound so Malaysian?
Do not whistle to avoid an encounter with snakes.
Do not sweep after dark as this will sweep the Gods away. (Koreans believe than the nights belong to Gods).
Do not trim your fingernails, as this practise is part of a funeral ritual.
No. 2 – Mind your spoons & chopsticks
In Korea, it is considered rude to stick your spoon or chopsticks into rice. This is part of some ancestral ritual, pretty much like the Chinese! Also you are not supposed to place your spoon upside down as this means that you refuse to eat what is served to you.
No. 1 – The colour ‘red’
Do not writer your name with red ink. This is because when someone dies, a person’s name in the register is crossed out with red ink! Although the modern register in Korea is computerised, they still use red letters to indicate removal of the name of a deceased! Do you also know that until recently, the colour red is considered taboo? This changed after the 2002 World Cup when red was used to symbolise the Korean spirit. Nowadays, red has become auspicious in Korea!
Besides watching the program on taboos, I also watched a Korean film called ‘Perfect Roommate’. It was a story about a lady writer who just got a new roommate (actually a housemate) who is a nice and attentive guy. The guy was the perfect housemate as he cooks, takes care of the house and took good care of her as well. Now, the lady has a boyfriend (who’s married), i.e. they are in a complicated relationship. In one rendezvous the boyfriend met the new roommate and since then avoided her! It turned out that the boyfriend had a homosexual relationship with the ‘perfect roommate’ at one time. And the perfect roommate was not really that perfect as he is staying with the lady with an ulterior motive! The ending was quite sad but in case any of you are interested to watch, I’ll avoid spilling out the beans.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Foggy Saturday
It was a really foggy Saturday morning when I headed to Abu Dhabi for a day trip. The fog was really thick and the radio DJ actually commented that the fog was ridiculous. As I was driving, I could not even see beyond the next street light and mind you, I was on the highway! It feels a bit like driving blindly, not sure what is ahead of me and what to expect! According to the newspapers, the wind from the north has brought the humidity inland from the sea but the wind from the desert did not blow out this moisture. As a result, fog was formed when the temperature drops over night. Some parts of the UAE have already recorded temperature below 20degC now. All I knew was it makes driving tiring since at times, I cannot even drive above 80kph as I could not see anything ahead of me. Many cars and trailers actually pulled to the side of the road to wait for the fog to clear. It also makes Abu Dhabi rather hazy throughout the day.Anyway, I still made it to Abu Dhabi. I visited the Heritage Village at the Breakwater. It was more like a handicraft village with live demonstration of handicraft making of pottery, bronze ware, Arabian daggers and carpentry. I strolled around and felt quite bored. It was a far cry from the Heritage Village of Dubai. It does have an ‘old souq’ in it selling typical Emirati souvenirs. I also find a cow used to lift water from the well to irrigate farmland, which I thought was quite interesting. And as usual I enjoyed looking at black and white photos of what Abu Dhabi was like in the days before they found oil. I always had a liking for B&W photos – dunno why.
After a short stroll there I went to Marina Mall to chill out. Hey, I need some civilization after spending days in the desert. And some crazy part of me actually submitted to the idea of catching a movie at the cinema despite it costing Dh30 (approx. RM27)! No wonder I saw people paying for their movie tickets with credit cards. This was actually outrageous, as the last time I was here the ticket only costs Dh20. A 50% inflation? And another funny thing was the cinema is actually free-seating, i.e. no seat numbers assigned. Funny… And the advertisement part before the movie – I actually saw the ‘Malaysia Truly Asia’ advertisement. Kind of a reminder of Malaysia for me even in Abu Dhabi. And what did I watch? Well… I watched Ben Stiller’s latest movie ‘Heart Break Kid’. It was not bad, typical Ben Stiller movie about a guy who got married with a girl whom he later regrets. Lots of suggestive humor and the use of the f*** word which is surprisingly not muted or censored here! But it was not really the best comedy from him in recent years… and he does look a bit old now with grey streaks on his hair.
That was basically my Saturday. On Sunday, it’s back to work. Yes, we work on Sundays here.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Site blocked
Ladies and gentleman, may I present to you the famous page that pops up every now and then when you access the internet in the UAE. I use to call it the Etisalat red page (Etisalat is the ISP that creates this page on behalf of the government) Found out that some applications on facebook like moods, likeness and even virtual bookshelf are banned in UAE. Skype is banned as I've learnt long time ago. And I was trying to check the Big Sweep results to see if I've turned into a millionaire over night, but lo behold the page is banned. Maybe my millionaire dream will have to wait.
Recap on UAE
Many people still can’t get it – where on earth am I now? So to recap, I have here the map of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). To the south of UAE is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to the east is Oman and to the west Qatar. I have marked the place where I’m working now (Jebel Dhanna – جابل الظنة ) as well as the nearest town (Al Ruwais - الرويش). The locations of these places are approximately 250km south west of the capital Abu Dhabi (أبو ظبي ). But both Jebel Dhanna and Ruwais are located in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. You can consider an emirate as a state with its own ruler like the 9 states of Malaysia with Sultans.
The United Arab Emirates is known as Al-Amarat Al-Arabiyah Al-Mutahidah (الامارات العربية المتحدة ). Translated it means ‘the Emirate the Arabic the United). Don’t ask me why there is a ‘the’ or ‘al’ before each word! The UAE comprises 7 emirates (which I’ve underlined in white in the map) of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Um Al Quwain, Ajman and Fujairah. Each emirate has its own Ruler (pretty much like each state in Malaysia has its own Sultan). By tradition, the President of UAE is the Ruler of Abu Dhabi which is now Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. The Vice-President and Prime Minister is the Ruler of Dubai, which is now Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.
Of course most people have heard of Dubai which is somewhat the ‘New York’ of the Middle East with its mega projects like the 7-star Burj al-Arab hotel as well as the tallest building in the world Burj Dubai. Abu Dhabi is lesser-known but is the capital city of UAE. Abu Dhabi is also the main source of UAE’s wealth with about 90% of the oil wealth coming from it. The place where I’m staying (Ruwais) is actually the biggest oil refinery town in Abu Dhabi – something like Kerteh in Terengganu. The other emirates are probably unheard of outside of the UAE. Sharjah is known for its cultural legacy. Sharjah is to Dubai as JB is to Singapore! Fujairah is the only emirate facing the Indian Ocean and is known to have beautiful beaches. I don’t know much of anything of significance in the other northern emirates. If you remember I’ve just visited the oasis town of Al Ain which is a part of the Abu Dhabi emirate. Al Ain borders Oman and is the birth place of the ruling Al Nahyan family.
If you wish to visit the UAE, the best times to come are between the months of November till March. After that it gets a bit too hot. From April, the weather would be more or less above 40degC. Avoid July and August at all cost (even though this is the cheapest time to come) as the weather will be more than 45degC with humidity touching 100%. Basically you’ll perspire amazingly and the air is so stuffy it’s hard to breathe. Don’t be conned by the ‘Dubai Summer Surprises’ campaign… you’ll not be surprised, you’ll be shocked! For Malaysians, no visa required to enter UAE – at the airport you’ll be given a 30-day visit pass. Etihad flies daily from KL (except Monday) to Abu Dhabi while the Emirates and MAS flies to Dubai.
If you need some guides for things to do in UAE, my virtual tourist pages of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Ain may be of some assistance.
Mystery of the missing laptop
A terrible thing happened yesterday. Someone’s laptop was stolen from the power station much to the shock of everyone. This has never happened before here and as anyone in UAE will tell you, crime rate is generally very low. It created quite a lot of fuss as somehow someone got their hands on a laptop and escaped amidst tight security. And of course the laptop owner was very upset over the whole incident.Power station security is very tight. Every car entering and leaving the station is checked by the guards. The guards will actually scan the underneath of the car with a mirror to check if anything is hidden underneath. The boot has to be opened for inspection each time. Laptops and cameras to be brought into the plant need permits. There is even an army stationed at the gate and the main road leading to the station has an army checkpoint. The army makes regular patrols around the perimeter of the station as well as the surrounding areas. Therefore the security is extremely tight here compared to a regular power station in Malaysia.
So, when a laptop goes missing from the plant it created a hell lot of commotion. A police report was actually lodged and the CID came investigating. Hmmm… I wonder if a CID will actually investigate the case of a missing laptop in Malaysia? And now I take an extra few minutes to clear the security checkpoint each time, as the already tight security has just become tighter.