Shah Faisal Mosques is the largest mosque in South Asia, it is located not more than 10 minutes drive from out guest house. Me and my housemate went there on Saturday afternoon to check out the sacred area of Muslims.
I feel a bit lazy to put the pic in my blog, however, you can check it from wikipedia if you are interested to find out how it looks like. :)
Due to we are foreigners, a number of Pakistanies viewed us like we are from different planet when we walked around the big mosque. There were lots of teenages there too, I guess may be is their school holiday or what (mostly girls around 12-15 years old). My good looking colleagues was dragged by a bunch of girls students so that they can take picture with her again and again from different batch like a celebrity. However, I also hope that I can take picture with the locals but the teenage girls shy away when me and another male colleague approach them. Well, we were invited by some guys too, they use their phone cameras to take some pictures of us... Perhaps Chinese faces are something new to them. Hahhaa. :)
Monday, November 27, 2006
Night Hunting
Just came back from a full meal in company canteen. We had rabbit meat as main course.
The night before I joined my colleagues for night hunting. I am not a fan of hunting game and I don't feel excited carrying a gun to shoot rabbit, fox or wild boar. I just join them for some lifetime experience.
We sat inside three Toyota Hilux pickup trucks and drove offroad to the plains surrouding a lake in Islamabad, I forgot what's the lake' name may be called Rawa lake or something.
The night was damn cold out there, I think is only few degree celcius out there. We waited at the hunter's house for half and hour before we start our hunting, at first, I thought we are going to hold the gun and hunt for wild animals, at the end, it is we who sit inside the car and watch the hunter fire their guns. One of the hunter that wear a glasses doesn't look like a "hunter" to me, from what I heard from my colleague, he is a lawyer. He explained to me about the difference of the 12 gauge bullets, blue color is for birds, red color bullets are for rabbits, the trasparent bullet with several iron balls are for hunting wild boars, etc... I checked out the hunting guns that they have, one is double barrel and another one is a Italian made hunting rifle that can load 4 shots. His said his uncle possess a M16 somewhere in the house when I ask him do u have a AK-47. However, his uncle refuse to take it out, so I don't have the chance to hold the real thing.
So when everyone is read, the driver drove everyone one out to the plains... one guy hold the spotlight wiring the power from the truck battery and another hold the rifle, whenever they spot the rabbit, the hunter will fire their shots. Once they hit the rabbit, they will rush to it and catch the rabbit. What they do is they will take out a hunting knife and slice the throat of the rabbit right away. The poor rabbit will start to bleed and died in a minute. The scene was a bit bloody and I don't think I can do that if you give me the knife.
There was a time while we drive around the bushes, the driver came a cross a fox that is very close to the truck. I think I can reach the fox withing three regular paces because I was sitting close to the window on the right side. I was praying inside my heart and tell the little fox to run quickly. Luckily, the hunters who stand behind the car trunk didn't notice the fox even though they shoot the lights to the bushes. The driver at the front keep on pointing the direction of the fox, but the fox manage escaped from their eyes through camouflage and with the protection of the bushes. I felt happy when the fox left safely.
In about two hours, we managed to hunt down three rabbits and then we stopped next to a rocky wall which the hunter let us do some "target practice". Off course, I don't waste such golden opportunity to try out the rifles. I had a few trial shots with the double barrel gun and the Italian made hunting rifle. I prefer the Italian made rifle due to it is more stable when you pull the trigger. I also found out that the lawyer hunter is a sharp shooter.
We reached home around 11:45pm at night...
The night before I joined my colleagues for night hunting. I am not a fan of hunting game and I don't feel excited carrying a gun to shoot rabbit, fox or wild boar. I just join them for some lifetime experience.
We sat inside three Toyota Hilux pickup trucks and drove offroad to the plains surrouding a lake in Islamabad, I forgot what's the lake' name may be called Rawa lake or something.
The night was damn cold out there, I think is only few degree celcius out there. We waited at the hunter's house for half and hour before we start our hunting, at first, I thought we are going to hold the gun and hunt for wild animals, at the end, it is we who sit inside the car and watch the hunter fire their guns. One of the hunter that wear a glasses doesn't look like a "hunter" to me, from what I heard from my colleague, he is a lawyer. He explained to me about the difference of the 12 gauge bullets, blue color is for birds, red color bullets are for rabbits, the trasparent bullet with several iron balls are for hunting wild boars, etc... I checked out the hunting guns that they have, one is double barrel and another one is a Italian made hunting rifle that can load 4 shots. His said his uncle possess a M16 somewhere in the house when I ask him do u have a AK-47. However, his uncle refuse to take it out, so I don't have the chance to hold the real thing.
So when everyone is read, the driver drove everyone one out to the plains... one guy hold the spotlight wiring the power from the truck battery and another hold the rifle, whenever they spot the rabbit, the hunter will fire their shots. Once they hit the rabbit, they will rush to it and catch the rabbit. What they do is they will take out a hunting knife and slice the throat of the rabbit right away. The poor rabbit will start to bleed and died in a minute. The scene was a bit bloody and I don't think I can do that if you give me the knife.
There was a time while we drive around the bushes, the driver came a cross a fox that is very close to the truck. I think I can reach the fox withing three regular paces because I was sitting close to the window on the right side. I was praying inside my heart and tell the little fox to run quickly. Luckily, the hunters who stand behind the car trunk didn't notice the fox even though they shoot the lights to the bushes. The driver at the front keep on pointing the direction of the fox, but the fox manage escaped from their eyes through camouflage and with the protection of the bushes. I felt happy when the fox left safely.
In about two hours, we managed to hunt down three rabbits and then we stopped next to a rocky wall which the hunter let us do some "target practice". Off course, I don't waste such golden opportunity to try out the rifles. I had a few trial shots with the double barrel gun and the Italian made hunting rifle. I prefer the Italian made rifle due to it is more stable when you pull the trigger. I also found out that the lawyer hunter is a sharp shooter.
We reached home around 11:45pm at night...
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Sad but true
While Malaysia fiddles, its opportunities are running dry
Michael BackmanNovember 15, 2006
MALAYSIA'S been at it again, arguing about what proportion of the economy each of its two main races — the Malays and the Chinese — owns. It's an argument that's been running for 40 years. That wealth and race are not synonymous is important for national cohesion, but really it's time Malaysia grew up.
It's a tough world out there and there can be little sympathy for a country that prefers to argue about how to divide wealth rather than get on with the job of creating it.
The long-held aim is for 30 per cent of corporate equity to be in Malay hands, but the figure that the Government uses to justify handing over huge swathes of public companies to Malays but not to other races is absurd. It bases its figure on equity valued, not at market value, but at par value.
Many shares have a par value of say $1 but a market value of $12. And so the Government figure (18.9 per cent is the most recent figure) is a gross underestimate. Last month a paper by a researcher at a local think-tank came up with a figure of 45 per cent based on actual stock prices. All hell broke loose. The paper was withdrawn and the researcher resigned in protest. Part of the problem is that he is Chinese.
"Malaysia boleh!" is Malaysia's national catch cry. It translates to "Malaysia can!" and Malaysia certainly can. Few countries are as good at wasting money. It is richly endowed with natural resources and the national obsession seems to be to extract these, sell them off and then collectively spray the proceeds up against the wall.
This all happens in the context of Malaysia's grossly inflated sense of its place in the world.
Most Malaysians are convinced that the eyes of the world are on their country and that their leaders are world figures. This is thanks to Malaysia's tame media and the bravado of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. The truth is, few people on the streets of London or New York could point to Malaysia on a map much less name its prime minister or capital city.
As if to make this point, a recent episode of The Simpsons features a newsreader trying to announce that a tidal wave had hit some place called Kuala Lumpur. He couldn't pronounce the city's name and so made up one, as if no-one cared anyway. But the joke was on the script writers — Kuala Lumpur is inland.
Petronas, the national oil company is well run, particularly when compared to the disaster that passes for a national oil company in neighbouring Indonesia. But in some respects, this is Malaysia's problem. The very success of Petronas means that it is used to underwrite all manner of excess.
The KLCC development in central Kuala Lumpur is an example. It includes the Twin Towers, the tallest buildings in the world when they were built, which was their point.
It certainly wasn't that there was an office shortage in Kuala Lumpur — there wasn't.
Malaysians are very proud of these towers. Goodness knows why. They had little to do with them. The money for them came out of the ground and the engineering was contracted out to South Korean companies.
They don't even run the shopping centre that's beneath them. That's handled by Australia's Westfield.
Next year, a Malaysian astronaut will go into space aboard a Russian rocket — the first Malay in space. And the cost? $RM95 million ($A34.3 million), to be footed by Malaysian taxpayers. The Science and Technology Minister has said that a moon landing in 2020 is the next target, aboard a US flight. There's no indication of what the Americans will charge for this, assuming there's even a chance that they will consider it. But what is Malaysia getting by using the space programs of others as a taxi service? There are no obvious technical benefits, but no doubt Malaysians will be told once again, that they are "boleh". The trouble is, they're not. It's not their space program.
Back in July, the Government announced that it would spend $RM490 million on a sports complex near the London Olympics site so that Malaysian athletes can train there and "get used to cold weather".
But the summer Olympics are held in the summer.
So what is the complex's real purpose? The dozens of goodwill missions by ministers and bureaucrats to London to check on the centre's construction and then on the athletes while they train might provide a clue.
Bank bale outs, a formula one racing track, an entire new capital city — Petronas has paid for them all. It's been an orgy of nonsense that Malaysia can ill afford.
Why? Because Malaysia's oil will run out in about 19 years. As it is, Malaysia will become a net oil importer in 2011 — that's just five years
away.
So it's in this context that the latest debate about race and wealth is so sad.
It is time to move on, time to prepare the economy for life after oil. But, like Nero fiddling while Rome burned, the Malaysian Government is more interested in stunts like sending a Malaysian into space when Malaysia's inadequate schools could have done with the cash, and arguing about wealth distribution using transparently ridiculous statistics.
That's not Malaysia "boleh", that's Malaysia "bodoh" (stupid).
Michael BackmanNovember 15, 2006
MALAYSIA'S been at it again, arguing about what proportion of the economy each of its two main races — the Malays and the Chinese — owns. It's an argument that's been running for 40 years. That wealth and race are not synonymous is important for national cohesion, but really it's time Malaysia grew up.
It's a tough world out there and there can be little sympathy for a country that prefers to argue about how to divide wealth rather than get on with the job of creating it.
The long-held aim is for 30 per cent of corporate equity to be in Malay hands, but the figure that the Government uses to justify handing over huge swathes of public companies to Malays but not to other races is absurd. It bases its figure on equity valued, not at market value, but at par value.
Many shares have a par value of say $1 but a market value of $12. And so the Government figure (18.9 per cent is the most recent figure) is a gross underestimate. Last month a paper by a researcher at a local think-tank came up with a figure of 45 per cent based on actual stock prices. All hell broke loose. The paper was withdrawn and the researcher resigned in protest. Part of the problem is that he is Chinese.
"Malaysia boleh!" is Malaysia's national catch cry. It translates to "Malaysia can!" and Malaysia certainly can. Few countries are as good at wasting money. It is richly endowed with natural resources and the national obsession seems to be to extract these, sell them off and then collectively spray the proceeds up against the wall.
This all happens in the context of Malaysia's grossly inflated sense of its place in the world.
Most Malaysians are convinced that the eyes of the world are on their country and that their leaders are world figures. This is thanks to Malaysia's tame media and the bravado of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. The truth is, few people on the streets of London or New York could point to Malaysia on a map much less name its prime minister or capital city.
As if to make this point, a recent episode of The Simpsons features a newsreader trying to announce that a tidal wave had hit some place called Kuala Lumpur. He couldn't pronounce the city's name and so made up one, as if no-one cared anyway. But the joke was on the script writers — Kuala Lumpur is inland.
Petronas, the national oil company is well run, particularly when compared to the disaster that passes for a national oil company in neighbouring Indonesia. But in some respects, this is Malaysia's problem. The very success of Petronas means that it is used to underwrite all manner of excess.
The KLCC development in central Kuala Lumpur is an example. It includes the Twin Towers, the tallest buildings in the world when they were built, which was their point.
It certainly wasn't that there was an office shortage in Kuala Lumpur — there wasn't.
Malaysians are very proud of these towers. Goodness knows why. They had little to do with them. The money for them came out of the ground and the engineering was contracted out to South Korean companies.
They don't even run the shopping centre that's beneath them. That's handled by Australia's Westfield.
Next year, a Malaysian astronaut will go into space aboard a Russian rocket — the first Malay in space. And the cost? $RM95 million ($A34.3 million), to be footed by Malaysian taxpayers. The Science and Technology Minister has said that a moon landing in 2020 is the next target, aboard a US flight. There's no indication of what the Americans will charge for this, assuming there's even a chance that they will consider it. But what is Malaysia getting by using the space programs of others as a taxi service? There are no obvious technical benefits, but no doubt Malaysians will be told once again, that they are "boleh". The trouble is, they're not. It's not their space program.
Back in July, the Government announced that it would spend $RM490 million on a sports complex near the London Olympics site so that Malaysian athletes can train there and "get used to cold weather".
But the summer Olympics are held in the summer.
So what is the complex's real purpose? The dozens of goodwill missions by ministers and bureaucrats to London to check on the centre's construction and then on the athletes while they train might provide a clue.
Bank bale outs, a formula one racing track, an entire new capital city — Petronas has paid for them all. It's been an orgy of nonsense that Malaysia can ill afford.
Why? Because Malaysia's oil will run out in about 19 years. As it is, Malaysia will become a net oil importer in 2011 — that's just five years
away.
So it's in this context that the latest debate about race and wealth is so sad.
It is time to move on, time to prepare the economy for life after oil. But, like Nero fiddling while Rome burned, the Malaysian Government is more interested in stunts like sending a Malaysian into space when Malaysia's inadequate schools could have done with the cash, and arguing about wealth distribution using transparently ridiculous statistics.
That's not Malaysia "boleh", that's Malaysia "bodoh" (stupid).
The office in Islamabad
There are only a few tall buildings in Islamabad, our company rented three floors in a tall building called Saudi Pak Tower, I am not going to use the word , "skycraper" because it ain't that tall.
The UN South Asia HQ was located at the same building too, you can see guards and white color UN vehicles in the neighborhood and office.
A Chinese staff told me that this is the worst office environment, I thought he is comparing with Shen Zhen office, so I tested him. I asked whether is his first time you go oversea. He said, No, he been to several other offices in different country and none of it was as bad as this one.
Ok, let me tell you why it is so bad, the first impression that you walk into the office, you feel that the ceiling was too low and it is over crowded, you feel that you have limited space and that makes you doesn't feel good about it. Secondly, it was dirty and old, design was very outdated, I start to cough for the few days and so does my colleague, she said she feel like she is inhaling dust and always feel very dry in the office. I am sure the filter of the A/C is seriously clogged and the floor really needs some mopping.. today I really feel like taking all of the filter out and clean it for god sake.
The UN South Asia HQ was located at the same building too, you can see guards and white color UN vehicles in the neighborhood and office.
A Chinese staff told me that this is the worst office environment, I thought he is comparing with Shen Zhen office, so I tested him. I asked whether is his first time you go oversea. He said, No, he been to several other offices in different country and none of it was as bad as this one.
Ok, let me tell you why it is so bad, the first impression that you walk into the office, you feel that the ceiling was too low and it is over crowded, you feel that you have limited space and that makes you doesn't feel good about it. Secondly, it was dirty and old, design was very outdated, I start to cough for the few days and so does my colleague, she said she feel like she is inhaling dust and always feel very dry in the office. I am sure the filter of the A/C is seriously clogged and the floor really needs some mopping.. today I really feel like taking all of the filter out and clean it for god sake.
Guest House in Pakistan
We arrived at our hotel about 9:30pm at night, the guest house we moved in was quite lousy, I would say, a Chinese colleague told me that he stayed there for two nights and moved out right away. I let my colleague pick the room that she likes, then I choose the remaining choices. The one on basement smells and the one on the top floor seems to me is a better choice.
I don't really like it but I have no choice, the bathroom on the top floor is not located in my room, I have to crossed the hallway to the bathroom. It was quite cold at the top floor due to the window was opened, I didn't take a shower that day because it is a bit late and too cold for me. The hot water is not hot enough in that house. Some of the paint from the ceiling is falling off, the flakes dropped on top of the bed and I have to abandon the other bed and changed to another bed so I won't inhale those chemical, the furniture inside the room is quite old... I woke up around 5am that day due to I am freezing out and start to feel hungry.
One thing that both me and my colleague like about the guest house is the manager of the guest house is quite friendly, however, the place is really beat up and we don't plan to stay there for the entire business trip, we moved out after four nights staying there...
Things that I like about the guest house:
1. Friendly Guest House Manager
2. Bigger TV with channels like HBO, Fox, CNN, Discovery, Nat Geo, etc..
3. Close to food court
Things I hate
1. Looks Old
2. Water Heater not good enough, water temparature is not consistent, sometimes you only get warm water.
3. My colleague saw a cockroach in the restroom when she take a shower. (Hope is not a big one)
4. Paint falling off from the ceiling
5. Too cold (I requested a gas heater the other day)
6. Toilet that looks old and you are not sure when the toilet is going to clog.
7. NO INTERNET CONNECTION!
Now I had moved to a new guest house.
Things I like:
1. Better room (after comparing another 2 guest house)and newer toilet
2. Internet connection ready
3. Bigger Room
4. Adequate TV channels with Chinese Channel if you want.
5. Close to supermarket, may be I should use the word, "Store".
Things I hate:
1. 13 inch TV (R u kidding me? Or they want to test my eye sight?)
2. Not so close to food source.
I don't really like it but I have no choice, the bathroom on the top floor is not located in my room, I have to crossed the hallway to the bathroom. It was quite cold at the top floor due to the window was opened, I didn't take a shower that day because it is a bit late and too cold for me. The hot water is not hot enough in that house. Some of the paint from the ceiling is falling off, the flakes dropped on top of the bed and I have to abandon the other bed and changed to another bed so I won't inhale those chemical, the furniture inside the room is quite old... I woke up around 5am that day due to I am freezing out and start to feel hungry.
One thing that both me and my colleague like about the guest house is the manager of the guest house is quite friendly, however, the place is really beat up and we don't plan to stay there for the entire business trip, we moved out after four nights staying there...
Things that I like about the guest house:
1. Friendly Guest House Manager
2. Bigger TV with channels like HBO, Fox, CNN, Discovery, Nat Geo, etc..
3. Close to food court
Things I hate
1. Looks Old
2. Water Heater not good enough, water temparature is not consistent, sometimes you only get warm water.
3. My colleague saw a cockroach in the restroom when she take a shower. (Hope is not a big one)
4. Paint falling off from the ceiling
5. Too cold (I requested a gas heater the other day)
6. Toilet that looks old and you are not sure when the toilet is going to clog.
7. NO INTERNET CONNECTION!
Now I had moved to a new guest house.
Things I like:
1. Better room (after comparing another 2 guest house)and newer toilet
2. Internet connection ready
3. Bigger Room
4. Adequate TV channels with Chinese Channel if you want.
5. Close to supermarket, may be I should use the word, "Store".
Things I hate:
1. 13 inch TV (R u kidding me? Or they want to test my eye sight?)
2. Not so close to food source.
Fast food
11/18/06
It happened in Karachi, Pakistan airport when me and my colleague wait for our plane for transit to Islamabad...
I felt a bit hungry and I am not sure whether I can find any food source once I arrive Islamabad, so I decided to order some fast food to eat before boarding the plane, local time is 6 something PM. I am glad I saw the big "M", once me and my colleague secure a seat, I go and place my order for a McDonald Meal.
I walked to the small McDonald Counter...
Me: Good Evening, Can I order the McNugget Meal?
(For your info, the Mc Nugget meal at the airport consider an expensive in Pakistan standard, it cost 210RS which is about RM13-14, if you have a meal in regular local restaurant, a plate of rice, a drumstick and two beef+potato cake only cost RS80-90.)
Attendant: Yes, no problem. Can you wait sir?
Me: Huhh??? (I am sure that I am ordering "fast food", am I?) ....... Wait for how long?
Attendant: Twenty minutes.
Me: Twenty minutes? Errr... Ok.. I will wait..
I paid that guy and look at my watch and prepare to wait...
After 15 minutes, I received my Mc Nuggets, one of the worst MCD meal that I had... The fries and nuggets didn't taste as good as it suppose to be, but somehow I tried my best to finish everything and wait for the plane...
It happened in Karachi, Pakistan airport when me and my colleague wait for our plane for transit to Islamabad...
I felt a bit hungry and I am not sure whether I can find any food source once I arrive Islamabad, so I decided to order some fast food to eat before boarding the plane, local time is 6 something PM. I am glad I saw the big "M", once me and my colleague secure a seat, I go and place my order for a McDonald Meal.
I walked to the small McDonald Counter...
Me: Good Evening, Can I order the McNugget Meal?
(For your info, the Mc Nugget meal at the airport consider an expensive in Pakistan standard, it cost 210RS which is about RM13-14, if you have a meal in regular local restaurant, a plate of rice, a drumstick and two beef+potato cake only cost RS80-90.)
Attendant: Yes, no problem. Can you wait sir?
Me: Huhh??? (I am sure that I am ordering "fast food", am I?) ....... Wait for how long?
Attendant: Twenty minutes.
Me: Twenty minutes? Errr... Ok.. I will wait..
I paid that guy and look at my watch and prepare to wait...
After 15 minutes, I received my Mc Nuggets, one of the worst MCD meal that I had... The fries and nuggets didn't taste as good as it suppose to be, but somehow I tried my best to finish everything and wait for the plane...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
