For Quantity or for Quality?

This (blog update) is what you resort to when you run out of ideas, or time. Actually it’s time that’s killing the imagination nowadays. I’ve been a perfectionist my entire adult life (can’t recall much of my childhood times), a trait that’s both advantageous and disadvantageous I find. On one hand you strive to produce good quality work. On the other, because you want to produce only good quality work, if you can’t, you’d choose to produce nothing at all. Which is bad for your friggin working life, and so for a long time I’ve been fighting against my perfectionist tendencies. At work, the boss looks for output. If you sit around daydreaming for three days with no output just because you can’t kick-start your friggin inspiration, you’d better have some super excuse up your sleeve. My quest against perfectionism seems to finally be producing some results; I’ve been churning out blog entries more than I care for the quality of ‘em, just to keep up with my ‘New Blogging Strategy’ for example (see previous entry Sep 2007).

But I find that there is a price to pay for this – the birth of practicality and the slow death of the nonsensical. Is this how the child in you begins to disappear, how the practical aspects of life start to replace the imagination, how the fairies and elves start to be replaced by the pretty girls and the parties, how the Orcs start to be replaced by the annoying wife of your boss, how your humour start to give way to sensitivities where you never knew existed? I have no answers.

A Much-Bombed City

Ahem… as usual, my end of the month blog…


Guwahati, Assam

This is Guwahati (or Gauhati in colonial times), the de facto capital of Assam state. (The real capital is actually Dispur, a suburb of Guwahati). Guwahati is named after the betel nut – ‘guwa’ means ‘betel nut’ and ‘haat’ means ‘market’ in Assamese (according to Wikipedia, I don’t know Assamese). Assam and betel nut are practically inseparable. The betel nut culture is so entrenched that Assamese actually sounds like a language spoken with a mouth full of stuff …betel nuts I suppose. As the largest city of North East India and the gateway for the North East to the rest of India (and the world), Guwahati has become the favourite place for local separatists to bomb.

North East India is made up of many types of people with different cultural and religious backgrounds. Many of these people have their own terrorist outfits so that if they’re bombed they can retaliate by bombing back their bombers. An eye for an eye! The most well-known terrorist group currently is ULFA (or the United Liberation Front of Asom), which is the Indian Army’s favourite suspect for everything that is not right in Assam.

At times of peace, Assam can be very interesting because of its diversity. The original Ahoms who ruled Assam for 600 years were ethnically and linguistically related to Thais but are Hindus. The Bodo and Dimasa people are also Hindus but are of Tibeto-Burman stock. The Khasi who are mainly Christians are related to Khmers (Cambodians). And then there are the Bengalis and the Assamese who are mainly either Hindu or Muslim. Add a few dozen more tribes and communities and bang! you get present day Assam, land of diversity, beauty, terrorists and bombs.


The mighty Brahmaputra River that flows across Tibet, Assam and Bangladesh




Kamakhya Temple – Temple of the Mother Goddess, where sacrifices of goat and doves are an everyday thing.

Legend has it that when Sati, the wife of the god Shiva, died, he became so grieved and furious (at her father for forcing her to commit suicide) that he took her burnt body (she died of self-immolation) and began prancing around heaven in sorrow. In the process, different parts of her body fell onto different parts of the Indian subcontinent, and in time became prominent places of worship. Her vagina (yeah, you read correctly) fell onto the site of the Kamakhya Temple.


Anu & her momma at the Kamakhya Temple


Anu on the Brahmaputra


Mom-in-law on the banks of the Brahmaputra


Gary & mom-in-law at the Umananda Temple, on an island in the Brahmaputra

Look beyond the terrorists and the bombs and you’ll find that the majority of the people of the North East are peace-loving and rather laid back. North-East India has tremendous potential (according to me), it is abundantly fertile and rich in natural resources. The diversity of its people creates a cultural mix so rich that it’ll be hard to find anything close to what you can find here. (And the varieties of food? Simply unimaginable …fancy dog meat!!!?, pop into an everyday restaurant in Aizawl, Mizoram). The diversity also means that the command of English and other languages (as a means of communication between different types of people) is better than many other parts of India. The main problem of this area – remoteness and inaccessibility. Wanna travel by road from Aizawl to Kolkata? – 3 back-breaking days when the weather is good. (It takes 1 hour if you fly! Yes, when the weather is good).

A Long Time Ago in Thailand

Nothing much happening and have not explored new places for quite some time, so here’s something from the past – our family gathering in Bangkok in 2005.


The Grand Palace, Bangkok
(From right: big uncle (tuapek - dad’s eldest brother); big auntie (tuako - dad’s eldest sister); dad; granny (dad’s mom); big uncle’s wife (a-mm); and on wheelchair: second uncle (jipek - dad's second eldest brother)


The Floating Market in Damnoen Saduak


Granny & Jipek at the floating market


A Jedi Warrior (Gary Siteworker) in Ayutthaya


Pickle Art in the Ayutthaya Market

Thailand is seeing a little bit of unrest currently. Isn’t it strange that beautiful and peaceful places like these could sometimes become quite scary? I noticed that many of the places we’ve been to have had their violent spells at one time or another. I can recall a few more – the Mumbai terrorist attack, the bombing of Jaipur (May 2008), the frequent bombs in Guwahati (last one just last week), the Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan (June 2008), the never-ending Kashmir unrest, the riots in Darjeeling (June 2008), the on-going war in Sri Lanka.

Let’s just hope that violence does not spread to our own homes. On a brighter note, Anu’s 1 month pregnant. And for those celebrating their new years at this time whatever they’re called – Songkran, Vaisakhi, Thingyan, etc – Happy New Year!

Dubai Update: March Unfortunate

Since the day I came back here from my one measly week of leave in Malaysia, I’ve been writing reports, audit reports for the matter. Audit reports are boring things – we repeat the same bloody topics over and over again for all the audits we’ve done. And you must write it ‘professionally’ meaning ‘they suck’ should be phrased as ‘auditees are unclear about their job responsibilities’, things like these.

Of late, a few unfortunate things have happened at home.

About 2 months back, Anu’s mom badly fractured her leg, literally broke it in a freak accident at home. Had to have metal inserts fixed to the bone. She still can’t walk but thank god, she’s slowly recovering.

My dear old grandma, the mother of my dad, she’s in hospital just as I write, for a blood clot in her leg. According to dad, she’ll have to be there for another 2 to 3 days. She’s the essence of our family (dad’s side), she’s the one that holds the family together. She’s 92 years old, she’s frail and her memory is not as good as how it used to be. Can’t do much but pray that she’ll be OK soon.

Most saddening news of late was the passing away of my uncle, the younger brother of my mom, on March 15. He must be about 60 odd years old, don’t really know. My mom would’ve been 65 now if she’s still around (she passed on in 1985). He had a vomiting bout in the morning after breakfast, was admitted to the hospital at 4pm and by 8pm, he’s gone. Heart attack they say. He’s had a heart bypass surgery many years back. The last I saw of my uncle was about a year back when we had our small wedding dinner in Ipoh. Must be a hard blow for my maternal grandma, having to see 2 of her children go before her. I’m glad I listened to Anu’s suggestion and visited her while I was in Ipoh during that 1 week of holiday. She’s still strong and spritely. God bless her!

Apart from this, nothing much’s really going on here in Dubai. We’ve overspent the past few weeks, so have decided to lie low for the time being. The mood here is still slow, there’s been an unexpected bout of stormy weather, nice for a change. Must be the last big one before the onset of ‘glorious’ summer for the next one year - shit.

Tongue of Duck & Feet of Chicken

At least there’s one clear advantage I can think of in working for a Chinese Company, I get to sample authentic Chinese food everyday, and food you’ll hardly get to try in any other Company …things like
Vinegar soaked Jelly-Fish
Face of Goose
Tongue of Duck
Feet of Chicken
Soy Sauce soaked Peanuts
Stomach of Fish, Prawns & Broccoli Salad
Stomach of Cow
Bean Curd and Century Egg Salad
Shark Fin garnished Pak Choy
Sek Pan Fish
Crab fried in Century Egg Batter
Little Eels
Lamb Chops
Squid Soup
Teppanyaki Lamb
Century Egg Batter Coated Pumpkin Chips
Chicken in Chilli Sauce Salad
Prawn & Brinjal Yong Tow Foo
Seafood Dumpling
Beef Dumpling
Plank Noodles cooked in Seafood Soup

And that’s just in one sitting, a dinner treat for our staff from one of the Chinese Subcontractors, scary, but not bad huh?

Domain of the Rajas

Bundi, Rajasthan, India

OK, for a comparison (with the previous post), here’s a sample of forts from a small portion of Rajasthan, India. The state of Rajasthan is slightly larger than the whole of Malaysia (east & west combined) in land area. Rajasthan is landlocked and a large portion of it is desert (the Thar Desert). Camels are common and can be seen everywhere, mostly as beasts of burden for pulling carts, in market places, in the cities, plying on the National Highways, heck there’re weighing stations equipped with weigh bridges just for the camel carts.




The Palace, Fort and Town of Bundi in Rajasthan


Anu's eldest sister Manju and son, Kunal at Nahargarh Fort (aka the Tiger Fort), Jaipur, Rajasthan


The ramparts of Amber Palace from Jaigarh Fort, Amer


A watch tower on Jaigarh Fort


Some garden near Amer, Rajasthan (think it's called Kanak Vrindavan, not too sure)


Nephew Kunal at a temple pavilion near the garden

Forts of Gulf Arabia

Bukha Fort, Musandam, Oman - the fort is that tiny structure near the bottom of the photo, dwarfed by the immense mountains behind

Forts, castles and the ilk have always been one of my favourite subjects... The Arabian versions are smaller, way smaller than their Indian counterparts. Some of the houses around where we're staying now in Dubai are actually bigger than the old forts around here. Imagine how this area have changed huh?


Sharjah Fort, in the middle of a friggin roundabout surrounded by apartment blocks - beautiful?


The entrance of the Al-Ain Fort (a museum now), most of the old forts & houses are museums of one kind or another now.


The remains of a fort near the Badiyah Mosque, in the Emirate of Fujairah, east coast UAE


The Badiyah Mosque (the small cute looking mud building), reputedly the oldest standing mosque in the region (1300 years old)


Khasab Fort, Musandam, Oman


Khasab Fort up close with Anu


No this is not a fort, it’s our trusty hotel in Khasab, where we had to cough up 800 bloody bucks (dirhams) for a night in two adjoined rooms with a shared bathroom. (We went with our Malaysian friends – Sree Ganesh & family)


Members of the trip, in our dhow (Arabian boat) – from right, Sujatha, Anu, Vishnu (Sujatha’s son with face concealed by bag), Yashwini (Sujatha’s daughter), Sree Ganesh (father of the two kids), some total stranger who happen to protrude into our picture.

Perak #@*$!

Perak – beautiful land of cave temples and corrupt assemblymen (and woman)

Anyway, short update. Work SUCKS!

And throw them corrupted assembly men & woman out of Perak. Fuck them! The country’s corrupted enough as it is already…


Garden of the Sam Pou Cave Temple, Ipoh


Beside the tortoise pool, Sam Pou Toung


Ipoh Garden South, amidst the limestone hillocks


A beach bum at Pangkor Island




The Perak Cave Temple, Ipoh

The Road to Musandam

Musandam, Oman

And here's to keeping my blog updated the easy way, display the beauty of our surroundings and show off our 'incredible' (ahem) photography skills all at the same time.


Somewhere between Tibat and Khasab, Musandam Peninsula, Oman


Al-Darah, UAE’s border checkpoint to the Musandam Peninsula


The road leading to Musandam in UAE’s Ras-Al-Khaimah Emirate - Believe it or not, it friggin SNOWED in the hills up there just 5 days back - second time it happened in history (the 1st time was in 2004)

The Year of the Ox

Well, Happy New Year guys! I am working on New Year’s Day again, 4th year in a row now. Today morning was foggy and freezing cold, I feel dreary and grouchy, possibly from the late night I had last night. Nope, no wine, no gambling, no nothing else, just a late night out for a ‘Reunion Dinner’ with my fellow Malaysian & Indian housemates. I think I scraped the bottom of my friend’s car on a stupid manhole last night, bloody low bodied sedan, bloody manhole in the middle of the friggin path. (I’m used to driving a pick-up – manholes are just an insignificant part of the road if you’re a pick-up, but not for a low-bodied sedan apparently). This morning in the fog, I nearly got into an accident in one of the friggin high-speed 4 (or 5) lane roundabouts of Dubai while coming to work. Can’t the bloody drivers here drive with a little less speed and more courtesy? Or are my senses becoming slow… shit, another year, another year older… Anyway, I have a feeling my spirits will lift soon. For the time being, I’ll go back to sulking until some excitement comes around…

Here’re some pictures of past celebrations to spice up the celebrative mood… if that’s possible…


Our small wedding dinner at the Ipoh Swimming Club last year


Christmas 2007 - at June & Patrick's House, Damansara Perdana