The Littlest Gulf Country

Eid Mubarak everyone! Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri! OK, it’s a little late, but better late than never, right?


Manama City skyline showcasing the Bahrain World Trade Center (WTC – those twin towers with the wind turbines), Bahrain

For this post, I’ve decided to skip to Qatar’s little neighbour, Bahrain. The beauty of staying in an aviation hub like Dubai, is that we have myriads of airlines to choose from and myriads of stopover points that we can pick for a short trip! Envy? Come over, wouldn’t mind having more friends to hang out with, hehe!

Here’re photos of our 1 day stopover in Bahrain in 2017. That one day, we found out after we reached, also happened to be Bahrain’s National Day! (And that’s why we couldn’t find a friggin car to rent – all the car rental companies were closed for the day!) (And taxis were whopping expensive, according to our hotel. …Hmmm, come to think of it, we didn’t even check whether what they said was true, we just assumed. Maybe they said this just to convince us to hire the hotel cars!!!)


Lobby of our hotel, the Bahrain International Hotel, decked with the red & white colours of the Bahraini flag, …for National Day I guess

Bahrain is the smallest country of the 6-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Its name literally means “two seas” in Arabic. Which 2 seas it refers to, I have no idea. Just Google it, willya?


Anu and the WTC, Manama, Bahrain – Anu must be pretty informed on Bahrain. How did she know to dress in red and white for the National Day?!?


A close up view of the Bahrain WTC


Another twin-towers in Manama, the Bahrain Financial Harbour


The kids looking at the Four Seasons Hotel (building on the right), and the "Drill" (don’t know the real name of the building, but doesn’t it look exactly like a drill bit?), at Bahrain Bay, near The Avenues Mall, Manama


The kids, Manama, Bahrain


Where can workers hang out on a public holiday without spending lots of money? Why not try fishing? – Manama, Bahrain


Mommy and the Bahraini skyline


Taxis at the Bab Al Bahrain (Gateway of Bahrain) – According to Wikipedia, this used to be near the sea (maybe like the Gateway of India, in Mumbai, huh?) but years of reclamation has pushed this back by a few kilometres. Bab Al Bahrain also forms the entrance to the Manama Souq


Papa & son, entrance of Manama Souq, Bab Al Bahrain


A mosque near the Bab Al Bahrain – the Friday Mosque


The minaret and clock tower of the Friday Mosque / Yateem Mosque




Tea break at a nice street café in Manama, Bahrain

The Impasse Continues

A meet up with friends in Doha, Qatar, Mar 2017, before the ‘blockade’

Wow, it’s a year now since Qatar’s Arab brothers broke off ties with it. I thought it’d be a short spat. Doesn’t look anything like short now. When the Arabs fight, they really fight, huh? Guess I’d have to forget about my favourite news channel, Al Jazeera for now, and Qatar Airways, and friends in Doha. Here’re some photos of our visit to Qatar just before the ‘blockade.’ Click here to see even more photos. Ma’a salama. See ya when we see ya!


Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar


Flowers at the Corniche, Doha


Entering the Museum of Islamic Art or MIA for short – best thing about this place – Entrance is FREE!








Inside the MIA, Doha


Chilling out at the MIA




Doha skyline from the MIA, Doha

Gatherings 2017

Here’s my annual posting of people whom we hung out with. 2017 was a particularly fruitful year for family visits. We managed to coax dad to come for a visit. He chose the hottest of the hottest month. (He hates the cold, but he never expected it to be so hot. Told him so). Our niece, Sweety from Silchar, also visited around that time. (She was waiting for her exam results). Nuff said, here’re the photos.


Family gathering at Al Sahra Desert Resort, Dubai – compliments of niece Karishma for the treat


Sweety, Burj Al Arab, Dubai, UAE 2017


Justin and his granddaddy, Yas Mall, Abu Dhabi


Anu with nieces Sweety & Karishma, Sun Tour Restaurant, DragonMart 2, Dubai


Dad, Pier 7, Marina Mall, Dubai Marina – Dad & I went for a dhow cruise on Dubai Marina, another treat from niece Karishma!

Here’re the friends!


Madhavi, Roby and Jasna (parents of Justin’s schoolmates, Aria and Mashel) at Walnut Grove, City Walk, Dubai


“Pat a cake, pat a cake, baker’s man…” – Justin with his schoolmates, Mashel (right most) and Aria (tallest) at Cloud 7, a play zone where you can decorate cakes, paint ceramics, make candles and make soap. Justin ended up with a ceramic cake. What good is that?? Can’t even eat it. The little girl is Vivah, Aria’s little sister


Justin at classmate’s Antranik’s (in orange) birthday. With them are his two best friends Rayaan (in blue) and Jiexi (black). The girl is Antranik’s sister. Antranik is Armenian with a Syrian mother, Rayaan is Pakistani and Jiexi is Chinese. That is what you get in a multinational city like Dubai


Back home, Durga Puja Festival with niece Karishma


Karishma & Anu, getting ready for a party


A gathering at home with Karishma’s colleagues and friends on Jayden’s birthday


At a neighbour’s – Birthday party for Yusuf (middle). Yusuf’s sister is Mimi and his little brother is Jan. They're also of mixed parentage - Pakistani father, Filipina mother


Justin’s Chinese language teacher, Ms Wang …there’re so many Wangs that it seems like almost every Chinese is a Wang, …including us (Ong is Hokkien for Wang). This is his second Chinese teacher named Wang


A colleague for a change – enjoying some noodles at a Xinjiang (Chinese Turkestan) Noodle Restaurant (Buhaiwan Restaurant) with colleague and friend, Gang Yongxian – He said it’s the ‘best’ noodle restaurant in Dubai


And here’re my work colleagues – from left, Yasir (the Consultant’s Resident Engineer), yours truly, Aruna our QA/QC Manager, Rajesh our Planning Manager, John our Engineering Manager, Shaji our Contracts Manager, and Emad our Senior Project Manager at a farewell dinner for Yasir at Lebanese Flower (Zahrat Lebnan) Restaurant, Abu Dhabi

Ramadan Kareem!

Ramadan decorations at Mirdif City Centre, Dubai 2017

Blessed Ramadan to all the Muslims.

It’s that time of the year again, where Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, and Non-Muslims just hitch along and enjoy the nice changes that comes along with Ramadan in this region.

Now we work only 6 hours a day, Alhamdulillah. And the kids go to school a couple of hours less, Alhamdulillah. Meaning there’s more time with the family, less traffic (usually, unless there’s an accident, which is really common during Ramadan), and less crowds at the malls, cinemas, etc. Nice, ain’t it?

But there’re drawbacks.

First, the shorter working hours means I have less time to do trivial stuff during work hours like updating this blog! So, forget about Facebook, Twitter, and so on and so forth, OK? I have less time to do my banking errands, and other important personal stuff, like paying my bills on time. (Really hope I don’t forget something like that!)

Second, driving a hundred over kilometres at friggin 2, 3 or 4pm in a hot afternoon is a recipe for disaster. It’s the sleepiest time of the day for driving, especially if you’ve had a heavy meal (therefore I suggest, eat light, and take a coffee before you drive). For those fasting? I can only imagine (coz I’ve never tried!) That, I think, is the main reason why road accidents go thru the roof every Ramadan in this country!

Third, …I can go on, but I’ve used up all the time I’ve set aside for this blog, so I’m gonna end here and post some pictures instead. Enjoy your holy month while you still can!






Ramadan 2017, Dubai Festival City Mall


Dubai Festival City is always nice for a sunset


The light, smoke, water and fire show, Imagine, at Dubai Festival City


ENIGAMI? – Imagine seen backwards, Dubai Festival City Mall


Anu & Sweety in Ramadan 2017, Mirdif City Centre


Ramadan Kareem! Ramadan Mubarak!