The Art of Short Greetings

Xin Nian Hao! 新年好！Happy Chinese New Year Everybody!


DragonMart, Dubai, UAE

I don’t have much to write. I’m gonna post this blog the China way i.e. with as little words as possible. The Chinese are experts at doing away with unnecessary words. Here, I’m talking about the PRC / Mainland Chinese, not the ‘contaminated’ Chinese like yours truly …ahem, and the overseas Chinese.

First, in China, they’ve simplified the Chinese writing, so that now, there’s a Chinese (Simplified) used in China, and a Chinese (Traditional), which is still used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, etc. The PRC Chinese don’t only simplify Chinese characters, they simplify the whole friggin way people greet people. Heck! They’ve perfected simplification into an art form! Just look at the way they greet people.

In Malaysia, during CNY, we’ll greet one another,
“Goung Hey Faat Choi” (Cantonese) or “Gong Xi Fa Cai” 恭喜发财 (Mandarin) i.e. “Congratulations on Prosperity” in English.

And a whole list of four-worded standard greeting phrases like
“Maan See Yue Yee” 万事如意 (10,000 Things Go According to Wishes),
“Bou Bou Gou Sing” 步步高升 (Every Step Rise Higher),
“Sum Seong See Sing” 心想事成 (Heart Desires Become True), etc…
Depending on how close you are with the people you meet (and how much alcohol you’ve already consumed).

But with my PRC friends & colleagues, all I need to say is
“Xin Nian Hao” (literally New Year Good), or “Chun Jie Hao” 春节好 (Spring Festival Good)!

And that’s it! What sort of greeting is ‘New Year Good’!?

Which brings us to the standard everyday greetings when we meet Chinese people.

In Malaysia, we’ll ask, “Ney Hou Mou?” or “Ney Hou Ma?” (Cantonese) / “Ni Hao Ma?” 你好吗 ？(Mandarin) i.e. “Are you good?” in English.

But for the Chinese from the Mainland, that’s way too long. And since it’s a question, you’ll have to wait for a reply. No, that'll not do. “Ni Hao” is just perfect! “You good”, and walk straight away without needing to wait for an answer!

Good morning for the Chinese in Malaysia is “Zhou Sun” or “Zao An” 早安 i.e. "Morning Peace" in English. Guess what PRC Chinese will say?

“Zao!” 早 i.e. "Morning!”

Yeah, ONE word, ‘Morning!’ No ‘Peace,’ no ‘Good.’ Just plain ol’ 'Morning.' …It’s just a formality, isn't it?

But if they think they’re good, they’re nowhere near as good as I am. I’m a quick learner. Nowadays, I just smile and nod, or grunt (depending on my mood), and that’s it. No words needed, and you get a smile back! Hah!

Anyway, here’s to wishing everyone reading this cranky Chinese New Year Post a brilliant and good-beyond-your-wildest-imagination Year of the Rooster! (In Chinese, it’s actually the Year of the Chicken. The Chinese don’t give a damn between the cock and the hen. It’s only in English that it’s the Year of the Rooster. What can I say? Sexist bloody English! The language I mean :))

And here’re some pictures of DragonMart from last year to ring in the New Year!!!




DragonMart 1








DragonMart 2, the expansion to the original. It was already the largest China-product mall outside China (so boasts the website), but that’ll not do. Not for Dubai. We have to be No.1, ...all the time!

The Ruins of Jerash

More Roman ruins – The Oval Forum, Jerash, Jordan

2017 is turning out to be a bummer! Nothing’s improved so far. A few colleagues have left the company in the last week due to the continuing pessimism in the Middle East and beyond. One of them is a good friend, a true friend in our times of need, Jay. He’s going back to India because the railway project that’s supposed to connect all the Gulf Arab countries from Kuwait to Oman, has sunk deeper into development hell. The three highway projects which we ‘won’ last year have still not been awarded to our Company by the Government. What’s going on? I dunno. I’m gonna concentrate on whatever work I have, and when I have time, …on my blog hehehe.

Meanwhile (until I can think of what to write), here’re more Roman ruins… whether you like it or not.


Roman Theatre at Jerash, Jordan


The Arch of Hadrian, the entrance to Jerash after getting your tickets


Yours truly at the Arch of Hadrian (Anu’s a pretty good photographer, huh?)


Mommy & Jayden dwarfed by Hadrian’s Arch (Can’t say much about my photography skills though…)


The colonnaded street, Cardo Maximus, the main street in ancient Gerasa (ancient name of Jerash)


A race at the Oval Forum


The Oval Forum, Jerash – Looks more like a circle (than an oval) from down here, doesn’t it?


They didn’t build that column very well, did they?


That cloud had been playing tricks with us for almost our entire visit – ended up having to ‘Auto-Brightness’ some of the photos!


Finally, a Jordanian lunch, at a restaurant across the road from the ruins – 6 JD for that (AED 30), not bad huh?

City on Seven Hills

Amman, Jordan – view from the Arab Tower Hotel. The mosque in the picture is the Al-Husseiny Mosque

Happy New Year People!

2017 doesn’t seem to have started out very well with yours truly here. Was down with fever on New Year’s Day. Justin too. And the wife cracked her nice Samsung Galaxy S7 (last year’s birthday present) on the tarmac a few days back. Repairs will cost 45% of a brand new S7!!! That blinking piece of Samsung glass will cost the same as my brand new Redmi friggin Note 4?!? WTF! The wife’s not gonna get it fixed. She reckoned it’ll stick well enough with a screen protector on top not to have the pieces of glass fall off! Oh well, that’s her choice!

Anyway, I’m continuing my post on Jordan, since I’m already at it. Amman, the capital of Jordan, was built on 7 hills, like Rome! …Ya, friggin Rome?! (Everything’s about Rome in ancient times, OK?) People like to build cities on 7 hills. There’s just something about 7 hills that makes cities good. Don’t believe me? Just google ‘City on Seven Hills’ and you’ll get a long list of cities, starting with Rome. Try googling ‘City on Eight Hills’, or heck! ‘Ten Hills’, and you’ll probably get zilch for your results.

Amman has since expanded to cover 19 hills (but nobody shouts about that). Nineteen? Not a cool number. Like Rome, Amman has its own Roman theatre, temples and other Roman things! I guess, Rome was the one to follow then. Here’re some photos of Amman and its Roman remains!


One of our first glimpses of Amman when coming from the Airport – wow, nice view …what’s with the trash strewn all over the field? Some sort of art work?


The streets of Amman, Jordan


A view of the Roman Theatre & Hashemite Square (the space around the theatre) from atop the Citadel


A closer view of the Roman Theatre – the ancients didn’t really think of photographers when they built this place. Don't they know that it’ll always be shrouded in shadows if they build it on the northern slope of a hill? How are people gonna get a nice lighted shot of it??




More views of Amman from the Citadel




The Temple of Hercules …or what’s left of it, Amman Citadel, Jordan


I have no idea what this is, …at the Amman Citadel


Anu and a tree, Amman Citadel, Jordan


Jayden at the lobby of our hotel in Amman. Chess must be a favourite hobby here?