The City Stands Tall

Thank you, UAE. Thank you, Dubai. For the excellent job in protecting us from the missiles, and drones for the past weeks. For keeping us safe, and letting us go about our normal life as much as possible. For your sacrifice, restraint and wisdom, despite the destruction around the country, in not getting us dragged further into this ridiculous, unnecessary war, started by outsiders who have no regard at all for the people living here. I stand with you and salute you. I pray that there will be no more deaths, no more injuries, no more destruction and that this war will soon end.

I wish and pray that some wisdom will come to that President who started this stupid war (yes, the same one who covets the Nobel PEACE Prize. He can shove it up his arse now). May he go back to MAGA, and not poke his finger where it doesn’t belong, and cause misery for the thousands affected. May the world have mercy on the poor, normal Americans who suddenly find themselves to be the ‘enemies’ of so many people in the world, just because of some daft act of their MAGA-leaders.

I wish and pray that Iran’s leaders will have a change of heart, and a realization, that they are not going to ‘win’ anything, with those outdated revolutionary ways of the theirs. May they realize that without the support of their populace, no regime can stand in this modern age. May they channel their resources and efforts into enriching their people’s lives to ‘buy’ back their loyalty, instead of putting money and resources into silly weapons and militias that do nothing for their people, or their country. (C’mon be real, how can your ragtag, under sanctions since forever country-machinery compete with 2 of the most technologically-advanced and rich countries in the world in terms of weapons. Look at the world now, the way ahead is intellectual and economic strength, which is where your people are important, and Iranians aren’t stupid).

I wish and pray that Israel will get benevolent leaders of unity and reconciliation (like Mandela or Gandhi), not hate-spewing bigots like Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir, Smotrich, Katz, …and who else? Who makes things worse, not better. Or, make these hardliners have a change of heart. Don’t they know that this Mafia mentality of eliminating all your rivals, will only breed a new generation of rivals who will take you down when you are off-guard, and continue this vicious cycle of hate and vengeance? May Israel learn to live in peace and harmony with its neighbours, and help build a separate and independent Palestinian state that is free from terrorists, insurgents and extremists. And may all its neighbours, and detractors across the world accept and embrace Israel, and forgive it for the wrongs that it has done.

I wish and pray that International Law will prevail, to prevent the fiasco that has been going on for the past few years from happening ever again. I don’t want the world to go back to the age of empires, when the powerful could do as they like at the expense of the weaker countries without any fear of retribution (yes, that includes Russia). May the perpetrators of the war and its atrocities be brought to justice, and may there be help and hope for the countless people affected.

I have so many wishes and prayers for this region and the world, for Palestine, for Lebanon, etc, but I can’t put them all down in this post (I have work to do as well, OK?) Ultimately, I pray that the warring parties in this stupid war will find a way to deescalate and return the region back to its peaceful norm, as soon as possible, and let diplomacy take over to make this region a haven of peace and cooperation.

Ending this post with pictures of the resilient city of Dubai, my home, our home. Stand strong, stay strong. Happy Eid Al Fitr everyone! Eid Mubarak. Selamat Hari Raya.


Dubai Business Bay, from the Paramount Midtown Hotel’s infinity pool deck, Aug 2025


That deliberately misshapen building in the middle of this photo is the Opus Building, which was one of the many offices yours truly happened to work in… Sadly, this ‘office-hopping’ routine still hasn’t stopped, sigh…


A street view inside Business Bay – This one features the UBora Tower on the right (yeah, I found that out, now, when doing this post), Feb 2024


The Burj Khalifa on a cloudy night, Jan 2024


An aircraft takes off from Dubai’s International Airport, Jan 2025 – I sure hope normal flight schedules resume – so many people’s travelling plans were disrupted!


Dubai Silicon Oasis. Or what everyone calls, ‘the Pineapple Building’, May 2024


Dubai city’s skyline at dusk, from the Al Jadaf Walk, Jan 2025


Dubai Marina at night, Dec 2024


Dubai Marina in the afternoon, Feb 2025




Dubai Marina (again), Aug 2025… O yeah, it was hot, but what the heck!


Dubai Marina from the Marina Mall – I know Emaar built many of these buildings, but must they name them all 'Emaar'??


The Address Beach Resort, Dec 2024


See you! Take care! Have a blessed and safe Eid celebration!

Desperately Needed: Leaders of Unity

Continuing closely from where I just left off in the last post, I wish for a world filled with leaders of unity, and peace. In recent times, our world seems to have ended up with warmongers, hate-mongers, and extremists as leaders. What happened to all the peace-makers? Leaders of unity, reconciliation and tolerance? (One who was showing the way, quit her Prime Minister job, and moved to Australia… shucks.You know who I’m talking about?) Now, we have imperialists (yup, that’s you, Putin, and Trump… Greenland?!? What were you even thinking of? You land-grabbing bully); stubborn, religious zealots (you know who you are); right-wing, hate spewing extremists; warlords bent on staying in power, whatever the costs…; and so on, and so forth…

If only we have the likes of Gandhi, and Mandela, leading us again. I just hope that we’ll get out of this hostile situation soon, here in the Middle East. May all the countries here (yes, including Israel, and Palestine), live in peace and harmony with one another. May there be tolerance and understanding among people of different believes and cultures. May there be everlasting peace and friendship in this region, and the world.


Ending this post with some photos of a past leader of unity… Mahatma Gandhi, may he rest in peace.


Here’re pictures of our visit to the Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India in July 2024.


Om shanti… a memorial of Gandhiji


At the Hridaya Kunj, Gandhi and his wife’s residence from 1918 to 1930, when he was not travelling, or detained (which happened quite often, thanks to the British, being the imperialists that they were…)


A small hut near Gandhi’s residence, where 2 of his followers stayed (at different times…)


A small temple in the Sabarmati Ashram compound


A replica of the Salt March, the first act of civil disobedience in British India against India’s colonial masters, which eventually led to independence…


Enjoying the view by the Sabarmati River, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, Jul 2024 - not much of a view though, with gloomy skies (it's in the middle of the monsoon season!)


This monkey had the same idea as us… And so did a crow, and it friggin poop-bombed me!! Why?!?? What did I do??!?? (Now, you know how Iran felt like?)


OK, let’s go. Autorickshaw, anyone?

And Happy Holi to all those celebrating out there!

The Age of the Bullies

Bravo! You meddling dumbfucks! Look what a mess you’ve done here in the Middle East. We’re living peacefully, and some shithead (one of who, by the way, covets the Nobel Peace Prize) comes and upends all that joy and camaraderie… with this war to put that ‘evil’ Iran regime to rest once and for all. Well, you did it. That old man’s friggin dead, and all hell’s broken lose. And you said Iran is a threat?! I can’t imagine for the world, how a country, who, like a sitting duck, was bombed to near oblivion 8 months ago, and who has been sanctioned since time immemorial, can take on the might and the power of two of the richest and most technologically-advanced countries in the world?!?? C’mon… do you really believe yourself?

Well, the old man you killed, in addition to being the Supreme Leader of Iran, (and being responsible for the deaths of many helpless people in Iran while at it), happened to be the Imam of the entire Shia world (well, …a significant part of it anyway). He’s like the Pope of the Shias, who has millions of followers around the world, and you killed their ‘Pope’!?! Just imagine the amount of hatred you’ve created for the poor, normal American people from that one act alone. (Doesn’t make a difference for the Israelis, because they’re already hated before that). You could’ve just sat tight, and sooner or later (and I don’t think it’ll take that much time), that ‘evil’ regime will collapse from within (because in this current age of information, leaders who do not adapt to cater to the needs of their people, will ultimately fail and fall, and that ‘evil’ regime doesn’t seem to be able to understand any of that. Their mindset is still set in the 80’s with their stubborn, outdated revolutionary stance). You would’ve thought that after that disastrous 12-day war of last year, the Iranians would’ve woken up, and changed tactics. Maybe, start improving their economy, by ditching that silly, decades-old, weapon-building agenda, and start channelling action into improving the livelihoods of their people, because how else could its enemy penetrate so deeply into Iran’s network, that it took out all its air defence systems from within the country before bombarding the hell out of it, if it wasn’t for the hate that its people harboured for the regime?!? But no, they went the other extreme, arrested, imprisoned and executed anyone whom they suspected to be infiltrators…

Aww, well. Too late for that now. We’ll just have to wait it out, and hope for the best.

I still wish you peace, Mr President (because you are the most powerful person on earth now, and only YOU can make the world a better place). May you have the wisdom, to be a better leader, one of unity, not of division… (and if you can’t, may you go away as soon as possible). But I can’t say much for your collaborator, Mr Bibi (is he the one who prompted you to take this stupid action, in the first place?) Don’t you think Mr Bibi is beyond redemption? Blood of a million lives in his hands?!? I can just imagine him with his evil smirk, and devil’s horns, holding a trident. Evil incarnate…

The Party at the Hacienda

Talking about haciendas, here’s a real one, in Spain. With horses up close. Perfect for the New Year of the Horse, init? 马年大吉！龙马精神！身体健康！步步高升！Hah, didn’t know I could blurt out these Chinese New Year greetings, eh?!? That’s what you’d learn when you get involved enough with the culture… a benefit in working for a Chinese company! But I actually already know the Cantonese version of them when I was in Malaysia. (Literally, they mean… Horse Year Big Luck! Dragon Horse Vigour! Body Healthy! Step-Step High Rise!)



Most of these photos are compliments of IPMA, the International Project Management Association. They’re mainly from the IPMA Global Awards Gala 2023, which was a black-tie event held in the Hacienda Azahares, near Seville, Spain in Sep 2023. The IPMA Global Awards are an annual function organized by the IPMA that celebrates and gives out awards for achievements in Project Management. Our company participated in the awards in 2023, and 2 of our company’s projects were finalists in the category of Large & Mega-Sized Projects.

As luck would have it, the awards ceremony was held in Spain, and most of my colleagues (who’re Chinese, Egyptians, Indians, etc), including my bosses, needed a Schengen Visa, to attend. And yours truly, being a Malaysian, ahem, could just fly straight there!!! (Schengen Visas, for some inexplicable reason, takes months to apply, here in the UAE!!! Maybe, it’s just because there’re too many rich people from the difficult passport countries here wanting to visit Europe…) And so, there I was, with a British employee of our company, to represent the Company in 2 Projects which we had no involvement in at all! And We WON! Gold & Silver! Applause! Applause!


Andrew Battershill (the Project Manager of our company’s NEOM Tunnel Project), and yours truly, holding our ‘awards’!




Dinner at the Ballroom of the Hacienda Azahares, Seville, Spain, Sep 2023. (Trivia: All the IPMA photos above featured yours truly… Can you spot me??)


What’s Spain, without a flamenco performance?!?




The IPMA Global Awards group photo, Sep 2023


It’s not all party & play, by the way. We also have to do some work. Learn about the Projects and explain how our company accomplished them! At the Torre Sevilla, Seville, Spain


A group photo for the IPMA Global Awards presentation at the Torre Sevilla (or the Seville Tower in English), the tallest building in Seville, …in the whole of Andalusia, actually! From the left, an Iranian delegate; my colleague Andrew Battershill; yours truly; Dr Raymond Young from the IPMA; and a delegate from Kazakhstan


A view from my hotel room, the Eurostars Torre Sevilla…


In front of the Hotel Vincci at the Plaza de Molviedro, another hotel which I stayed in Seville on the 3 nights that we were there… (Eurostars was fully booked for one of the nights). I prefer the Vincci actually. It’s closer to the older (and nicer, to me) part of town, a mere 10-minutes’ walk to the Seville Cathedral.

That’s all for today. For the Chinese and those celebrating the New Year, Happy New Year! Hope you have a joyous reunion. For those who’re fasting, have a fulfilling Ramadan! (Or Lent, for the fasting Christians).

A Place or Two about Horses

Meydan Racecourse, Dubai, UAE

Yippee. I just realized that I’ll get a couple of days off for Chinese New Year next week!! That’s the perks of working for a Chinese company, hehe! (It’s not a public holiday here, in the UAE, by the way). I’m now rushing to finish off some work here before the end of the day so that I’ll get a blissful, long weekend…, and ummm, should I slot in a post?

Here’s one superfast, filler of a picture post coming up. Have had these photos for an eternity now… What better way to ring in the Year of the Horse than some photos of a racecourse and a polo club!

Gong Xi Fa Cai to you all! Wishing you a super, terrific, happy & prosperous new year!


I don’t remember exactly what this function was… It was an invitation by Justin’s old school, the Royal Dubai School, and it was in 2019, February, about the same time as Chinese New Year in that year!




Look at how small the kids were! Justin was umm… 9, and Jayden was only 4!


Giddyup… Who won? Who cares, we weren’t paying attention… and there’s no betting…


Here’s another horse-related place, the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club – it’s in Dubai Studio City, the neighbourhood next to ours


Doesn’t this place remind you of a hacienda in Spain?!


Whoa… Diamond Man! Is he in anyway related to Emma Frost? (of X-men fame). Jayden was invited for a birthday party here 2 years ago. Thanks to the parents of Talia, Jayden’s classmate


The Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, May 2024


Yours truly, at the Meydan Racecourse, Feb 2019… I wouldn’t mind being that young again, haha

Anyway, wishing you a fantastic year ahead! 新年快乐! 恭喜发财!

A Successful Snow Mission

I’m back in action! But still recovering from that dratted fistula surgery, or you could call it, re-surgery (that’s the problem with fistulas, there’s always a chance for it to friggin recur!). Anyway, continuing on the snow theme, here’s a snow mission that succeeded, …in 2023! See for yourself!


The top of the Amirsoy Ski Resort, Chimgan, Uzbekistan

One of our main aims, when we visited Uzbekistan in Dec 2023, was to see snow and, ski! (If the kids wanted to). It’s the easiest (and cheapest, ahem) country to get to at that time, because they allowed UAE residents to enter visa-free!! And nobody (OK, almost nobody), visits Central Asia in friggin winter (it’s frigid! Parts of it was -21C when we were there) So, before the situation changed, I bought the tickets and voila! We were there! The catch is, that while Uzbekistan is pretty big, the mountains are all tucked up in one small corner of the country. The rest of the country is pretty much flat, with large areas of it, a desert… Luckily, the corner where the mountains are, aren’t too far away from its capital, Tashkent. Here’s our story in pictures!


Yippee, we’re on the way! On the road towards the mountains from Tashkent (this was one trip which we decided not to drive. Heck, the attractions are mostly in the cities, and they’re far apart, much easier to travel by train! For Chimgan, we took a cab from Tashkent)


Welcome to Chimgan!


Around our hotel… It’s called …something Apachi something something… (it’s in Russian Cyrillic, OK?!) This is when Google Translate, or Yandex Translate, can come in really useful!


Looking fresh… on the day we arrived (before all the falls I’d have. Darn! Look out when it’s sunny and nice, after a snowy day. The snow will melt and refreeze to become friggin ice!)


We tried to get to the Charvak Lake, but ended up in Chinorkent instead (that’ll happen, if you don’t know Russian or Uzbek). But we have no regrets. It's not bad at all, just look at the views! (Yup, Charvak Lake is visible from up there!)




There’s even Santa Claus and his missus! (I didn’t know Santa Claus had a wife?!?) I searched it up, my bad, it’s not actually Santa Claus, it’s Ded Moroz (Father Frost), the Slavic equivalent of Santa Claus, and the girl is Snegurochka (Snow Maiden), his granddaughter, not his wife! And interestingly, the Uzbeks, although they are 95% Muslim, celebrate the Christmas season, complete with Christmas trees, music, dancing, Ded Moroz, and what have you, as a non-religious winter festival! A nice legacy from its past Soviet communist rule, I'd say. I think this should be how society is, celebrating each other’s festivals, and respecting each other’s cultures and beliefs. Imagine how Afghanistan would have been, had the world let the Soviets take it over in the 70-s.


We’re in Amirsoy! Care for some skating?? Nope… Justin can't wait to ski!


And he’s a natural. Successful on his first try, ever! (This was our first ever skiing!) And on his second try, he could already bring himself to a stop at the bottom! (And me? Don’t talk about it. I fell, and rolled, and fell myself all the way down the beginner’s slope, twice!)


And that was what Jayden and mommy were doing, while we were skiing (or falling, in the case of yours truly…)






The Amirsoy Ski Resort, Chimgan, Uzbekistan, Dec 2023


OK, time to get back to the city… On the way, you’ll pass thru this strange resort, which features an aeroplane! It’s the Sevarsoy. I read that it’s a health resort…

That’s all for today.