What is wrong with Gulf Air?

Had a most unmemorable flight on Gulf Air. No wonder, this is the only airline from the GCC which almost folded...

• I had to wait for half-an-hour to check-in my luggage despite having only 1 person in front of me. The check-in crew was disorganized and she did not give me a seat-by-the-aisle which she has promised me!
• My first flight from Damascus to Bahrain was delayed for more than an hour. Nobody was around to handle the impatient crowd and an Arab lady almost fainted in the commotion.
• The flight from Bahrain to KL was even worse. It was operated by Jet Airways India. Apparently, the "flight attendant" button was merely a decoration on the console. None of the attendants bothered to respond to calls. In fact, I saw some just walking pass briskly ignoring calls from the passengers. I almost died of thirst trying to get a cup of water from them.
• As we almost reached KL, breakfast was served without drinks. And they started collecting the breakfast even before we dug in. Still without drinks.
• Flight attendants are generally not courteous, especially males. Reminds me of Qatar Airways.

GCC Airlines as ranked by me:

1. Etihad Airways
2. Emirates
3. Qatar Airways
4. Gulf Air

Goods and Bads of Syria

Having spent some months in the Syrian Arab Republic, I believe I can sum up some of the good and bad sides of Syria.

The Good Sides of Syria

1. Untainted - still relatively isolated from the outside world. The country is still untainted with modern development. Makes an interesting visit for those who likes to explore things as it is.
2. Heritage - never did realize the many historical sites in Syria until I visited this country. Definitely a must-see for those who are into ancient civilizations and history.
3. Hospitality - Syrians are generally helpful and they go all out to assist anyone that comes along. Only problem is they can't speak English.
4. Safe - Despite widespread poverty, Syria is incredibly safe with low rates of crime.
5. Scenery - North western Syria is green and beautiful especially in winter/ spring. If you just ignore the Arabic words and rundown buildings, the scenery is exactly like Switzerland.

The Bad Sides of Syria

1. Ignorance - Syrians have been (and pretty much still is) living in a cocoon and is therefore ignorant of the outside world. Many still think that the way things are done in Syria couldn't have been better! This couldn't have been farther from the truth.
2. Food - Arabic food is not exactly rich in diversity and in Syria, you hardly come across food that is not Arabic. Taste one, taste all!
3. Disorganized - Syrians are incredibly disorganized, whether in terms of driving or government bureaucracy. They definitely bring a new meaning to the "tidak apa" attitude of Malaysian civil servants.
4. Disconnected - Telecommunication and internet couldn't be worse in this country. Not to mention many web sites including Facebook, Youtube and "politically-sensitive sites" are banned.

All in all, Syria is nice to visit and holiday in for short periods of time. For a non-Arab, I wouldn't really like to stay too long in this country.

The Long Journey Home

It was a really long journey home from Syria. I woke up as early as 6 AM and I left Jisr Al Shoghour at 7AM. I headed to Damascus and was at the airport by 12 NOON. The queue was not too long but somehow the management of the check-in counters was absolutely chaotic and disorganized. This of course I've learnt to be a trademark of Syrians. Anyway, immigration clearance was smooth and I entered the duty free zone. There is a pathetic restaurant which only serves cheese sandwich. I just grabbed that with a glass of orange juice. Thereafter, I walked around. Nothing much of interest. The flight was delayed by an hour due to late arrival of the airplane. The crowd was impatient and an Arab lady almost fainted while waiting to board.

The airplane finally departed from Damascus at about 4.15pm. By the time we arrived in Bahrain it was dark. There was a sandstorm and everything was dusty. I changed the remaining SYP1000 into Bahraini Dinar. Shopped for some souvenirs and dates. Time flies and by the time I know it, I'm already on board the connecting flight to KL. Gulf Air aircrafts were quite good but I could not say the same for their flight attendants. Their service is horrible and they do not seem to attend to the passengers even after repeatedly pressing the flight attendant button. During breakfast time, they delivered the food minus the drinks. Before we even touched it, they were collecting it back again. I've always thought that Lufthansa was the worst in service but from now onwards the honor goes to Gulf Air. No wonder the airline almost folded some years back.

After a long 8 hour flight, we finally landed in KLIA. It was such a good feeling to reach back home. Bought some stuff at the airport, cleared immigration and customs. Took the taxi and by the time I reach home it was past 11am. Counting back, I spent almost 24 hours travelling from Syria to KL. The journey home was definitely not an easy one!

Fig season

The season of figs has arrived. I have never really seen fig before- looks like onions but it tastes sweet. Apparently there are two types..... yellowish green and black.

Up next: Grapes and then promegranates.... which will be in season in few months time. And according to the locals, it would be the last seasonal fruit for the year. But I won't be able to see them in Syria as tomorrow will be my last day in Syria. I will be leaving tomorrow from Damascus to KL via Bahrain. Can't wait to be back to tanahair tercinta.

Power cuts

The power cuts has intensified in Syria. From weekly, it has now become daily. Last Thursday, there was a 5-hour power cut in the day time (thank God I was at work). On the same Thursday, as we were preparing for dinner there was yet a 2-hour power cut in the evening. Yesterday, as I leave for work there was again another round of power cut.

Syria is severely short of power in summer when A/Cs are in full-blast and winter when heaters are also in full-blast. And there seems no respite for the time being. They couldn't plant up power stations fast enough neither are there many companies willing to work in power projects here.

Zuyao's guide to Arabic for survival

In an undeveloped Arabic country, the only language spoken is Arabic. And for a non-Arabic speaker from Malaysia, the best way to survive is to tembak some Malay words when you are at a lost of words. Chances are it may be correct. Some examples (Arabic in brackets).

Days of the Week
Ahad (Al-Ahad) - comes from the word wahid meaning 'one'
Isnin (Al-Ithnin) - comes from the word ithnin meaning 'two'
Selasa (Al-Thalatha) - comes from the word thalathi meaning 'three'
Rabu (Al-Arbia) - comes from the word arba'a meaning 'four'
Khamis (Al-Khamis) - comes fromt the word khamsi meaning 'five'
Jumaat (Al-Jumaah)
Sabtu (Al-Sabt) - comes from the word sabaa meaning 'seven'

Other Words Here and There
Mati (Mat)
Kerusi (Kerusi)
Musykil (Musykila) - used to mean problem
Arif (Arif) - used to mean 'to know'
Amal (Amal) - used to mean work/ profession
Majalah (Majalah)
Riadah (Riadah)
Akhbar (Akhbar) - used to mean news
Sebab (Sebab)
Tabib (Tabeeb)
Faham (Fahim)
Mungkin (Mumkin)
Sifar (Sifr)

Words not Related to Malay
Welcome (Ahlan wa sahlan/ Ahlan bekum)
Silakan (Fadalo)
Thank you (Shukran)
You are welcome (Afuan)
Chicken (Faruj)
Tomato (Panadura)
Potato (Batata)
Lamb (Karuf)
Fish (Samak)
Briyani (Kabsah)
Yes (Na'am)
No (La)
All (Kulu)
Tomorrow (Bukra)
Tonight (Alaila)
Fork (Shauki)
Generator (Mualid)
Rain (Matar)
Airport (Maatar)
Money (Masareh)
No Money (Mafi Masareh)
Sure (Akid)
Understand (Malum)
Old (Qadeem)
New (Jadeed)
Correct (Masbut)
I (Ana)
You for male (Anta)
You for female (Anti)
Crazy (Majnun)
Complete/ Kau Tim/ Finish/ Settle (Khalas)

A sugar factory

There lies a huge sugar factory complex just a few kilometers out of Jisr Shoghour. It is probably the biggest factory around this area producing a very important ingredient which is used much too liberally in Arabic tea and desserts. Basically they are not drinking tea with sugar, rather it is sugar water with tea. Despite the "importance of sugar" to the Syrian diet, the factory looks as if it has just survived a war. Definitely it lacks the dignity that should have been accorded to it. The entire building looks like it is going to collapse any time soon - rusty, dillapidated. Rusty trucks and buses lie abandoned in its compound. Almost half of the windows of the factory are broken. Wonder what they do when it rains (and it does rain quite a lot in winter) And somehow rather conveniently, exhaust pipes stick out of the broken windows billowing smoke of some sort. A sign that the factory is still in service. The only thing in the entire complex which looks in perfect order is the huge picture of the President mounted at the front entrance with some arabic slogan. Needless to say, the Syrians have incredible respect for their President.

But the most bewildering thing of all is the sugar factory is swarmed by trucks loaded with tomatoes every morning. Since when is sugar processed from tomatoes? Maybe this is some kind of Syrian innovation. Bring in the tomatoes and out comes the sugar. We have called it panadura shukar (tomato sugar in arabic). We have referred this incredible query to the locals and nobody has yet been able to respond affirmatively. Meanwhile, the mystery of tomato sugar continues in Jisr Al Shoghour...

Stay extended and it rained

My stay in Syria has been extended till the end of the month. It's only a few more days to go and I suppose I can bear with it although I'm dying to be back in Malaysia.

As if to mourn for my extension, the sky opened up and cried. It's been a long time since it rained. Summer is usually dry in Syria. So, it was a welcome to smell the fresh air as drops of water descended to earth. Only bad thing was my satellite TV reception was affected and I could not finish watching my weekly series of "Fringe". But as usual, the Arabian rain is nothing compared with the usual thunderstorms we have in Malaysia. It is more like a drizzle here...

So far, the summer has not been punishingly hot. It barely touched 40degC on only a few occassion. Most of the time, the afternoon heat is somewhat the same as in Malaysia (minus the humidity). The nights are still somewhat cool. But the wind is bloody strong. It is those kind of wind which will blow you off your feet! Thank God I'm not staying in the desert or surely the wind would've kicked up quite a severe sand storm. Nevertheless, the air in Jisr Shoghour is as usual dusty! It is amazing how much strength and tenacity the wind has. It has been blowing like this the entire summer with no sign that it will die down anytime soon.

Gonna go home soon

My stay in Syria will finally come to an end. Last Thursday, I was informed that I could be released from site. So what is left to do is just to clear up some stuff, handover some information and goyang kaki in the office. Meanwhile, I wait also for my return flight ticket to Malaysia.

Arabic food

We do have quite a number of Mid-Eastern restaurant in KL thanks to the influx of Arab Gulf tourists every summer. But I doubt many (if any) Malaysian make it a point to visit and dine in any of these restaurants. Therefore, besides kebab, I guess most Malaysians don't know much about Arabic food.

Therefore I decided to blog a bit about the Arabic food (Disclaimer: pictures are not mine, plucked from the web).

There is first shish taouk which is BBQ meat. It is usually chicken (but can also be lamb or beef). Sometimes it is the filling of a sandwich but mostly eaten like the following picture.

And there is also the kebbeh which is ground lamb meat mixed with some herbs and wheat.
Hommus is the sambal of Arabic food. It makes an excellent dip to go with the bread, salad and meat. There are two types... the original one is made from chickpeas. They have another type which is mixed with eggplant to give a coarse texture and darker color.

Another appetizer is the falafel. It is chickpea mixed with some herbs & spice and fried.

A typical appetizer would look something like this. Salad with kebbeh, hommus and of course the most important item - kubus (Arabic bread). The version here is quite small. Some of their kubus can be as big as a respectable table cloth.

Another popular dish is yabrak which is rice + lamb meat wrapped in some leaves. Sometimes it is also served in soup:

Actually, taking an Arabic meal is more like having a BBQ as everything is either grilled or BBQ-ed. Whilst I wouldn't say their food tastes bad, but personally I feel they lack creativity with food. Perhaps they have very limited ingredients here. And if you can't live without fish, Syria will be a challenge to stay in. Fish is almost non-existent and whatever fish they have is not fresh. And the only way to cook fish here is to grill, you can forget about steam. And come to think of it, the Syrians don't seem to have been acquainted with prawns, crabs or oysters.

All in all, the best food I believe still has to be Malaysian food. Can't wait to savor all those nasi lemak, char kuay teow, chee cheong fun, roti canai, asam laksa, dim sum, pan mee.... gosh the list of Malaysian food is endless. Malaysia Boleh! Malaysia Truly Asia!