Management Outing

We had a management outing this evening, basically it was to thank all for the hard work they put in last year to make the hotel operations going smoothly and meeting the budgets. Well, nothing much we can do here in the desert, just eat, drink and be merry. Played some football, arcade games etc. There was also a lucky draw and I won a Seiko watch :)

My evening was well spent cos I manage to catch some nice sunset shots :)

It's raining!!

Yes, it's raining here in the desert. I woke up this morning and realised that the sky was dark and gloomy, and it is raining rather heavily. Flashes of lightning were seen. The rain lasted for a while, and after the rain, I could see that the city was cleared... no more dusty and fuzzy and I could see very very far away....

The day was spent idling in the room, reading, and then later went to the gym for a dip in the hot pool, steam, sauna and then when the evening came when the shops are finally opened, I went to Starbucks to have Arabic Coffee (not bad, though a little sour) and sit there to read til 10pm... and in between, I did some girl-watching, discreetly of course!! :P

You know what, if I ever want to start a business in Riyadh, I think the best business is cosmetics especially those for the eyes :) Why? Reasons is obvious, cos the only parts they're allowed to expose in public are their eyes, and so far I've noticed they placed a lot of emphasis on make-up for their eyes. And most of them, their eyes are big, round and beautiful, hmmm...

Anyway, out of some inspiration, I decided to start a new blog on photography... the link is at the side bar. It will showcase some of my 'can show people' work and also, will in future be a place for me to post and update my travel photos... :)

Vomit blood!

Okay okay, I did not literally vomit blood but that was what my colleague thought when I used that term! Well, it's another cultural difference here, just like in Maldives when I ask for 'liquid paper', nobody understands. :P

Anyway, here's the story - My job here is primarily debt collection and it's tough collecting money from people here, often either nobody picks up the phone or when somebody picks up the phone, he doesn't speak English well, and it takes while for him to understand me and a while for me to understand him. This afternoon when the staff was casually asking how's the debt chasing, I shook my head and goes, "Wah, vomit blood ah sometimes." and he couldn't understand what I was saying!! Hehe... luckily I smart, realised his confusion and immediately change my Singlish to English and he understood what I was trying to say :)

Never vomit blood lah, but nose bleed leh.... :P not because of anything lah, don't anyhow think!! It's because too heaty and too dry liao... But now better cos I force myself to drink at least two 1.5 litres of bottled water everyday!!

Life of Pi

That's the title of the book I'm currently reading now. About 2/3 into the book already, so I thought I might pen some thoughts and comments before I forget.

The book is the story about an Indian boy by the name Piscine Molitar Patel. He lived in a small town in India known as Pondicherry. The first part of the book describes his life, his family and the zoo that his father runs. There was also an interesting chapter on how he got his name, he was actually named after a swimming pool in France! And because people had difficulty pronouncing his first name, they always end up calling him 'Pissing' which 'pissed' him off. But through his wits, he managed to get a way to have people pronouncing his name properly. How? Read the book lor... if I tell you then no fun liao. :P

The first part of the story also tells you Pi's encounter and his practice of 3 religions - Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. I was wondering how come the author did not include Buddhism, that will make Pi's life even more interesting... :)

The heart of the story begins when the family had to crossed the Pacific Ocean to migrate to Canada due to the political situation. Unfortunately, the ship sank, and our little hero was stuck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with Richard Parker. Who's Richard Parker? Hehehe.... don't tell you... :P

Sing along session

Ladies and gentlemen, clear your throat and sing along with me... 1, 2, 3 and

I feel so bad I've got a worried mind, I'm so lonesome all the time
Since I left my baby behind on Blue Bayou

Saving nickels, saving dimes, working 'till the sun don't shine
Looking forward to happier times on Blue Bayou

I'm going back some day come what may to Blue Bayou
Where you sleep all day and the catfish play on Blue Bayou
All those fishing boats with their sails afloat
If I could only see That familiar sunrise through sleepy eyes,
how happy I'd be

Go to see my baby again And to be with some of my friends
Maybe I'd be happy then on Blue Bayou

I'm going back some day, gonna stay on Blue Bayou
Where the folks are fine and the world is mine on Blue Bayou
Oh, that girl of mine by my side the silver moon and the evening tide
Oh, some sweet day gonna take away this hurtin' inside
I'll never be blue, my dreams come true on Blue Bayou

Cultural Diversities - Part II

Been here for more than two weeks liao, it's really a different world here. Well, I don't mean a different world literally, but there are certain cultures here that is followed very strictly based on Islamic laws, and that's what makes this place so 'unique'. There are no cinemas, no theatres, no pubs, no discos, no alchohol at all.. Of course no beach also lah... But there are lots of nice big cars, limousines, big houses, huge palaces, big shopping malls and lots of sand :P

Due to the fact that women are not allowed to work, all shop attendants are male, even in female lingerie shops. Women are not allowed to drive, so all drivers are male. And because the Islamic Laws prohibit the proximity to women other than your wife, you're not allowed to speak to a woman who is not your wife! And in public places like fast food restaurants, there are separate queues for males and females. Even in banks and at ATMs, the queues are separate and well defined. You should never queue in the wrong line nor should you look at a woman directly. If you're caught by the religious policemen breaking any of this rule, then it's good luck to you :( And if a man complains to the religious policemen that you looked at his wife, then also good luck to you. I was stopped from bringing a camera into the mall the other time, it was for my protection cos just in case I 'accidentally' captured the image of somebody's wife in the camera, then it's also good luck to me liao... :(

So you may wonder how two persons get together and become husband and wife, well... 95% of the marriages in this part of this world are arranged through parents!! Not joking, it's true. You may ask me what about the 5%, that I do not know. :P But I can give one guess, let's say I see this lady in the mall, although she's all covered up, but my instinct tells me she's attractive and I think I want to get to know her more. What can I do? Well, I will write my mobile phone on a piece of paper, catch her attention somehow, then throw the piece of paper on the floor. If she picks up the paper and calls me, then ho say liao lor :P But if someone else picks up the piece of paper, then I have to change my mobile phone number liao.... hahaha.. :P

Next time then I'll write about the role of women in the Saudi and also the roles of the religious policeman known as the Mutawahs.

Found the love of my life (the other one)

For many years, I've been searching for the one...

The one who will go through thick and thin, ups and downs with me.

The one who have such a sexy body I can't keep my hands off her.

The one who can keep me company through those lonely nights.

The one who I find so irresistable and so charmingly beautiful.

The one who will see the world with me and capture its beauty in the most vivid colours.

The one who will help me tell the stories of my life.

The one who I will have lots of offsprings with.

The one who I will always be there for.

The one who I will love and protect.

And finally I found the one, the love of my life and I'm now happily married.....

.... to my Fuji S602Z and the wonderful world of photography :P

2 weeks and counting...

The 7th day of the Chinese New Year is called the 人日。Today is the 7th day and it's everybody's birthday!! So Happy Birthday to YOU!! :)

2 weeks in the Middle East liao, and guess what - I haven't shave!! Previously in Singapore, the hotel grooming standards requires male employees to be clean-shaven, but here, the law actually encourages the keeping of facial hair and the hotel is not enforcing the 'clean-shaven' standard on it's employees, so.... Haha... always wanted to see how I look like with some facial hair... Eh? Who is that macho guy in the mirror hah? Hahaha.. :P (hey, don't throw eggs at me leh!)

Anyway, will shave soon lah cos not used to it and actually quite uncomfortable also :( Don't want to scare my mum going home looking like Osama :P

Happy Valentine's Day !

"Love is patient,
love is kind.
It is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth.
It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres." - 1 Corinthians 13 v4-7

The chicken rice war

Got this straight off from a local photography forum:

This year being the year of the Rooster, they listed the best Chicken Rice in Singapore (I've also contributed some):

1. "Tian Tian" Chicken Rice in Maxell Food Center
2. Leong Yew chicken rice at Waterloo Street hawker n market
3. Tiong Bahru boneless chicken rice in Smith Street Chinatown
4. Wee Nam Kee (opp. Novena Square)
5. Sing Ho chicken rice near Sunshine plaza
6. 5 Star Chicken Rice on River Valley
7. The one beside Hotel 81 (Chinatown)
8. Chuen Chuen Chicken Rice (near Beach Road)

My personal favourites are 3,4,6 and 8

Ai jiak kueh berng mai? :)

Bad Boys

We ride together,
We die together.
Bad boys for life!

City Tour plus Desert Tour

My off day today so arranged for a desert tour, unfortunately due to a sand storm, I couldn't get to experience the desert in full, so in the end just did a city tour.

The road leading towards the desert was quite interesting, saw lots of camels and the guide told me that the road that we were travelling on was built by cutting through a mountain. Only took one or two pictures of the desert and we had to back off due to the sandstorm. My guide for the day then brought me to 'The Old Kingdom' where the ruins were left untouched after the Turkish attacks in the 'don't know how many centuries' ago. The place is preserved in it's ruined forms. Unfortunately being a Friday, it is not open to visitors so I can only take pictures from the outside.

We also went round the city, and the guide brought me to the 'poorer district' of Riyadh. And to me, the place looks just like any other Asian city, with shops lined up along narrow streets, very different from the Riyadh city with all the posh shops and wide roads, reminds me a lot of JB and KL. The meaning of 'poorer district', it means the people here owns only one car (usually Japanese car) and live in houses with less than 7 rooms. That is poor (??)

Next we went to visit the palaces. :) Not sure why they called them palaces, they're actually the residences of the many Prince and Princesses in Saudi. The guide told me that on the average, each Prince or Princess have at least a few Palaces in each of the major city in Saudi. The Palaces occupies a huge area, has got all the modern facilities and at least 10 to 20 rooms in each of them....

Can't take pictures of the palaces due to security reasons, but whatever I can take can be found at the following website (have to sign up for a new free account cos use up the quota for the other one)

http://community.webshots.com/user/kokwhee1

You can see how strong the wind is, have to cover my mouth, otherwise I'll be having 'sand'wich for lunch :P



Couldn't stay very long due to the sandstorm, only about one minute and we have to get back into the car liao... so disappointed :(

Night out!!

It's the weekend again!! Half day for me today and then move back to have my own room. This room showed me the other side of the city, still the same though, flat out but at least I get to see the other tall building in the city - Al Faisailah Centre. Feeling extremely adventurous, and against all odds and the cold weather, I took a walk alone to the Al Faisailah Centre. Outside temperature was 12°C, and I had to put my hands in my pocket to keep them from turning numb :P

It was a nice long walk to the Al Faisailah Centre, about 40 minutes and along the way were shops and eateries. One thing about the shops, they're all very spacious and mainly branded-brands which I've never seen before. The Al Faisailah Centre is also a huge place, there is residential apartments, a hotel and also houses a huge shopping mall with a theme park at the basement. If you've been to the Times Square in KL or maybe our very own Millenia Walk, the malls in Saudi is something like that, big, spacious and with lots of branded stuff on offer... got MANGO also :P As the women in Saudi are not permitted to work, the sales staff are all males, including those in female under-garments store, lingerie store and cosmetic products, funny huh?

One thing I find very funny is there are actually many women stuff on sale and most of them are very fancy and colourful, but when in public, they can only appear in their black cloaks and reveal only their eyes. So, the question is , they buy all these nice nice things for what ah? Hmmm... let me explore more and I tell you all okay...

That pointed building in the middle is the Al Faisailah Centre :)

The workforce

Almost all the employees in the Finance department are foreigners, except for the admin assistant who is a local. In this part of the world, the local women do not work or are not allowed to work, strange rule but this is what it is here. 100% of the employees are males, and don't expect to find any female walking in the backoffice area. With an all male workforce, you may imagine that it would be rowdy and there are a lot of 'f' word flying around just like in the army. Wrong, the guys here are mild mannered and very polite, in the cafeteria or around the work area or just passing by, they'll greet and acknowledged each other and ask how each is doing, very warm and friendly atmosphere....

Well, back to the Finance department, the foreign employees are from India and Egypt. The FC and the AFC are Egyptians, they are very competent in their work and also knowledgeable in their respective areas. It's my first time working with Egyptians and I must say they're good :) The Indians too, are hardworking and knows their work well. It's a farcry from the Indians I've worked with... It's really a pleasure working with them cos things get done and they do their follow up well.

But no female co-workers a bit sian also lah.... hahaha... no lah, but sometimes if there are pretty faces in the office or work area, it's kinda nice, you know what I mean :) Should have brought my niece's photo along, at least got pretty face to see.... Hope I don't turn gay by the time I leave this place.... kekeke :P

Food in the cafeteria

As the employees of the hotel are mainly foreigners from around the world, the food in the staff cafeteria is also setup in such a way that there is always something for everybody. Just to side-track a little, 90% of the workforce in the Saudi are foreigners, why? Because people in the country are so rich they don't need to work :) They're either business owners or somehow related to the Royal family. The workforce comes from mainly around the region - India, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Lebanon, Philippines, Egypt etc.

Back to the cafeteria food, this is also one of the better ones I've had in a hotel. There are at least 6 dishes everyday, each from one part of the world for eg. Arabian, Indian, Asian, Italian, African etc. There is also a wide selection from the salad bar and there is always cakes for desserts. :) And I've been walloping the cheesecake everyday after lunch... heehee.... getting fat liao :P

But one thing missing is the freshness in the fish dishes. After coming from a place where fish is the freshest, the fish here do not taste half as fresh at all. It's probably due to the fact that we're in the middle of a desert, the heat and travel times makes it difficult to maintain the freshness. Even in the restaurants, there are not much fish dishes or seafood. Mainly is chicken, lamb or beef.

Should have whack more seafood while I was in Singapore :( Oh chili crab, where art thou? Hahaha... I siao siao again... :P

1001 Arabian Nights

Does anyone know how it all began? No? Okay, let me tell you a story....

Long before I was born, there was this Arabian King by the name of King Shahryar, after discovering his wife's infidelity and killing her for it, begins marrying a woman every night and killing her the next morning (machiam the species of spider called Black Widow like that, but this one is male, so have to call Black Widower). But one gal by the name Scheherazade, thought of a way to save her own life... She would tell the King wonderful tales of magical transformation, genies and wishes, flying carpets and fantastical journeys, terror and passion to entertain the King. Every morning the King decides to let her live one day longer so as to keep hearing the tales she tells. And this went on for 1001 nights... not sure what happens after that liao... maybe she ran out of stories to tell and the King kills her eventually, or maybe the King is finally convinced of her fidelity and kept her alive.

Well, whatever happend after that, most importantly, fascinating tales of Aladdin and the magic lamp, Sinbad the sailor, Ali Baba and the forty thieves and many other tales of Heroes, Genies, legends and myths were thus born... And we have the pleasure of reading about them this modern day :)

Cultural Diversities

The Saudi Arabian state was first established in the central region of the Arabian Peninsula in the early 18th century. Modern Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by King Abdul Aziz Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Saud. The nation experienced remarkable growth over a short period, spurred by the discovery of oil in the 1930s. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enjoys a long and rich history that traces its roots back to the earliest civilizations of the Arabian Peninsula.

Conservative dressing is a must while in Saudi Arabia. Saudi men regardless of social status don traditional garb called "thobe," a loose fitting robe, and a headpiece called a "gutra". In public places, Saudi women are only seen in a black cloak called an "abayah" (I call it the ninja suit, no offence though), plus a scarf and veil to cover her head and face. Clothing in natural, light fibers are advisable to make the heat tolerable in Riyadh. Temperatures can go up to 40°C during the day.... And sweaters and cardigans are required to counter the chill of the Arabian nights. Weather conditions are at the extremes in this part of the world.

Islamic law forbids eating pig and drinking alcohol, and this law is followed very strictly throughout Saudi Arabia. Arabic unleavened bread (khobz) is eaten with almost everything. The other staples are grilled chicken, felafel (deep-fried chickpea balls), shwarma (spit-cooked sliced lamb), and fuul (a paste of fava beans, garlic and lemon). I've not tasted all of these food, but those that I've tasted, of course no fight with food in Singapore lah... :P

Happy Chinese New Year

Here's wishing all Chinese around the world - Happy Lunar New Year!!!

May the year of the Rooster brings Health, Happines and Prosperity to everybody!!!

Gong Xi Fa Cai !!!

Room moved

Due to the Anti-Terrorism Conference in the city, the hotel will be full house for the next 3 days and they have to move me to somewhere, as the suite was available, so I was moved in there with 3 of my other colleagues. And behold!! It was one of the BIGGEST suite I ever seen and it is just a normal suite room, not even considered a Presidential Suite but it is ENORMOUS!! The living room is BIG, the bedroom is BIG, there's also a walk-in wardrobe that's BIG, even the bathroom is BIG - got jacuzzi tub somemore....

Huh? You don't believe me ah? Look at the pictures lor... :P

http://community.webshots.com/user/kokwhee

Orientation day

Had one and half hour of orientation on Saudi culture this morning together with some of my other colleagues from the Maldives. Had an interesting history lesson, and also formally being introduced to the do's and don'ts while in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We were also told about some of the more interesting places to visit in the country. Hmmm... hopefully I'll stay long enough or have enough time to visit those places... and perhaps have a chance to ride on a camel :)

Staying too long in an air-con place liao, now my face also very dry and starts peeling little bit... now have to be like women, every night also apply lotion to the face before sleeping... hahaha... :P

Riyadh - Day 5

Working day for me today, managed to accomplished a few tasks today and they were amazed at the speed I do my work... Hahaha.. of course lah, I'm super efficient one leh... But seriously, cos I'm here to help and most of my work are task-oriented and not too difficult, so I am able to finish them on time, not really a big achievement actually :P

Finished work on the dot at 6 pm and was taking my time to walk around the hotel, galek galek to the cafeteria for some coffee when suddenly it struck me that it's Saturday and it's Premiership day!! And the Man U game starts at 6 pm local time.... so quickly finish my coffee and fly to my room, switched to the sports channel and glued my eyes to the TV, and it was only until half time that I remembered that I haven't remove my shoes... hehehe.. paiseh paiseh... In the end, Man U won the game by 2 goals to nil against Birmingham...

Lazy to go out, so ordered room service again... Wanna guess what I have? Thai Green Chicken Curry... Yummy!


And watching 'Panic Room' while having dinner... :)

Room Service

Room Service (RS) : Good Evening Mr. Lee, Room Service, can I have your order for this evening please?
Me : Yes, what's your soup of the day?
RS : It's cream of vegetables, sir.
Me : No, I do not want that, can I have the cream of mushroom and chicken.
RS : Certainly. What else would you like to have, Mr Lee?
Me : I would like to have the mixed grill with cinnamon rice, please.
RS : Certainly Mr. Lee. How about a dessert to go along?
Me : What would you recommend?
RS : How about having the oriental cheesecake, it will go well with the mixed grill.
Me : Sounds good, I'll take that. And can I have Earl Grey Tea please.
RS : Certainly. Allow me to repeat your order sir. Your order is cream of mushroom with chicken, followed by mixed grill with cinnamon rice, and your dessert is the oriental cheesecake along with Earl Grey Tea.
Me : Yes, that's right.
RS : Mr. Lee, your order will take approximately half an hour. Thank you for calling Room Service, we hope you will enjoy your dinner.
Me : I hope so too. Thank you.
RS : Thank you, Mr. Lee.

Half an hour later... 'knock, knock'... dinner is served...

tuesdays with Morrie

Author :
Mitch Albom

Story :
The book tells of a succesful sports writer re-visiting his college professor after he saw an interview of his dying professor on a TV program. His professor - Morrie Schwartz suffered from an incurable disease ALS and only had a few months to live. Mitch revisited Morrie and spent Tuesdays with him discussing about issues and life. Among the things they discussed were:

Death
Fear
Aging
Money
Marriage
Family
Society
Forgiveness
A meaningful life
the Perfect Day
Love

The main topic revolves around 'love' and as Morrie puts it 'Love each other or perish'. The book touches on each of the above subject subtly without going into too much depth. I guess that's how the author wanted it to be, to leave it to the readers how they would interpret each of the chapters. There were however lots of interesting points littered all over the book:

".. if you're trying to show off for people at the top, forget it. They will look down at you anyhow. And if you're trying to show off for people at the bottom, forget it. They will only envy you. Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone."

"You can't substitute material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for a sense of relationship." - Morrie on Money

"...the biggest defect we human beings have is our short-sightedness. We don't see what we could be. We should be looking at our potential, stretching ourselves into everything we can become...." - Morrie on Culture

"It's not just others we have to forgive, we also need to forgive ourselves."

"Make peace with yourself and everyone around you." - Morrie on Forgiveness

"..if you've found meaning in life, you don't want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more, do more." - Morrie on Aging

"People haven't found meaning in their lives, so they're running all the time looking for it. They think the next car, the next house, the next job. Then they find those things are empty too and they keep running."

There are lots more nice little messages in the book, and I shall not spoil your reading pleasure by listing them here. Go read the book and find out for yourself. :)

Reading the book will not change your life but it gives you a different perspective on how we can live our life. Like I mention, the book touches very subtly on each of the topic and leave a lot to your imagination and interpretation, but by and large I feel that the book still talks about 'love' and how you should spread it to your family and friends. Ever thought of how 'A perfect day' in your life should be? Well, perhaps after reading the book, you'll have your own idea of how your 'perfect day' should be :)

Happy reading :)

ALL shops closed

Slept a little more and when the headache went away, I went to the nearby mall and guess what - besides the eateries, all the shops are closed. And I mean ALL. Koazz!! I took a walk further down the road and it's the same. No shops are opened!! Amazing!! Haizz... LL, go back to the hotel room and this is what I had for lunch...

Riyadh - Day 4 : So bored!

Woke up at 8am, then realised I don't have to go to work cos it's an off day here. But can't get back to sleep... don't know whether is it the pillow or me, for the past few days I wake up with a very stiff neck and shoulders, and a slight headache :( But after a while, it becomes okay... Don't know why also, maybe the bed too comfortable liao or I'm not used to the bed and the pillow, I think the pillow is too soft. Anyway, I'm already beginning to feel the effects of staying too long in an air-conditioned place, my lips are beginning to crack and looks like I've to buy lipstick to apply :P

It's now 9am, what should I do today?

Tight security

I was happily bringing my camera to the nearby shopping mall to take some pictures to upload, but just as I entered the building, the security stopped me and asked me why I bring a camera into the mall!! NB, camera also cannot bring??!! @#%$*(&... Wanted to argue with the security guard but then on second thought, better don't... So LL, leave the camera with the security counter and claim it back later. Haizzz... too bad lor, wanted to take some pictures but now don't think I can liao... sian :(

Riyadh - Day 3 : It's the weekend!

Hee hee... I found my way to the staff cafeteria easily today :P

Thursdays and Fridays are weekends in this part of the world, so it's half day for me today. Nothing much to do, so read a book and put in some lines which I find meaningful and interesting to share with all. I also took some pictures of the room that I'm staying, the photos can be found here:

http://community.webshots.com/user/kokwhee

This was my dinner :)



Will be wondering what should I do tomorrow.... hmmm...

Trust

"Some people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

"You closed your eyes, that was the difference. Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them,too - even when you're in the dark. Even when you're falling."

- tuesdays with Morrie

Life = Wrestling match?

"Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shoudn't. You take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted.

A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. And most of us live somewhere in the middle."

"Sounds like a wrestling match"

"A wrestling match? Yes, you could describe life that way."

"So which side wins"

"Which side wins? Love wins. Love always wins."

- tuesdays with Morrie

Riyadh - Day 2 : Lost in the hotel

Day 2 was an interesting day. My job here is to call up companies for payments, something like a debt collector and Credit Manager job. I was on the phone when the FC asked me for lunch, I signalled for them to go ahead and I'll join them later. BIG MISTAKE!! I think I took a wrong turn on my way to the staff cafeteria and end up in some place where I don't even know!! And worst, at times like this, when you want to find someone to ask for directions, there's always no one around... :( Eventually, after a while I managed to land in the cafeteria but by then, they had already finished their lunch. They asked what took me so long, of course I'm not so 'dum dum' tell them I was lost, must save some 'face' mah... I told them I was held up on the phone... Haha... on the way back I took extra note of the turns and I'm confident of finding the cafeteria the next time round... :)

I went to the SPA in the evening, I wore my shorts there but was told by the SPA Manager that I should wear my long pants as it is not appropriate to expose body parts in public places :( Hmmm... what a country??!! Anyway, I went on to have a nice dip in the hot pool, steam bath and sauna, nothing beats a relaxing dip in a hot pool after a day's work. Wanted to go on for a massage but then it struck me that it'll probably be a male massue, so I drop the idea. Cannot imagine another man kneading and threading, touching and squeezing all over my body... Eeeeks!! Hahaha.. :P

Arsenal out of title race

With a 4-2 away win at Arsenal, Man U is on course to challenge Chelsea to the title... Let's hope Man U can keep up with the momentum by continuing to win games and put Chelsea under pressure!!

Riyadh - Day 1

Arrived last evening 1930 hrs local time and started work today. This morning 0600 hrs, the sun already rise up liao and by 1800 hrs, it's completely dark already. So daylight hours is rather short here.

I did a hotel tour this morning, and I tell you this place is HUGE!! This is the biggest backoffice area I've ever seen in any city hotel, everywhere is so spacious and HUGE!! Even my office is HUGE!! Bigger than my room at home, and there is only one big table and one filing cabinet in the room for me. The rest is empty space. Koazz!! I need a GPS to navigate within the hotel!! No kidding!!

About the city, there are no 'buildings' taller than 4 storeys. The hotel is the only 'building' in the whole of Riyadh!! At 99 storeys, it stands out right in the middle of the entire city. Will upload the pictures soon..

I'm staying in the hotel for the time being, and again as many have advised, DO NOT ROAM AROUND WITHOUT SOMEBODY WITH YOU! Haizz, so sian, after work come back here type blog... hahaha, so I'll be updating this almost everyday... and of course I've promised a friend to write book reviews so will be spending time doing some reading also... Not sure what else I can do here... Perhaps the highlight of tonight will be the Arsenal vs Man U match later in the night... Hope Man U wins :)