Beijing Olympics in Jeopardy

China government is not taking anything for granted in the forthcoming Olympic Games after noticing a poster that was found in the capital city.Tags: Beijing 2008, Beijing Olympics, Olympic Game, China, Sports

Outskirt Teh Kangkang

We went outskirt for a work assignment and passed by this area where houses were made of tough clay. This place is roughly 20 minutes away from the city centre.

This is an actual simple bus stop.












While waiting for our stuff, we dropped into another teh kangkang stall. This stall was covered with bamboo sticks all over. Quite comfy. Of course you can't compare with air conditioned room but under a hot weather, this was a good cover.

Didn't really snap a lot of pictures as you just won't know when you could or could not.








As usual, we ordered three cups of coffee and one cup of tea for myself.

Notice my Sudanese counterpart, he's in his marvellous coat again.

Taken this at a nearby housing area. They got donkeys to pull their carts.

Only the main road was properly laid with tar. Away from the main road, it will be the original land itself.
Tags: Outskirt, Teh Kangkang, Coffee, Tea

Weirdest Hotel in Pyongyang

North Korea, shutting itself out of the world, is not far back in terms of building towering buildings. Unfortunately, a building that North Korea has committed into building is what I would say out of the world. It's the Ryugyong Hotel located in the capital city of Pyongyang.

It's set for opening soon with an Egpytian company, Orascom Group, continuing the final touch up for it.

The facts known about this weirdest hotel:-
* construction started since 1987
* construction value - US$2 billion (which is around 10% of the country's GDP)
* 1,082 feet tall
* 105 floors
* 3,000 rooms

With that number of rooms, any tourist going into Pyongyang area would still get to stay in the hotel even if all tourists in Pyongyang were to book a weeklong stay.

It has even gotten itself a nickname - Hotel of Doom or the Phantom Hotel.

Reading: North Korea's Ryugyong Hotel Gets a New Lease On its "Doomed" Life - HotelChatter
Reading: Ryugyong Hotel, the Hotel of Doom Isn't so Bad - Associated Content
Tags: Ryugyong Hotel, Pyongyang, North Korea, Hotel, Orascom Group, Egpyt, Hotel of Doom, Phantom Hotel

The Non-Growing Seed

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

"It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO," he said. "I have decided to choose one of you."

The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today - a very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed.

Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by - still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - he so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened.

Jim felt sick at his stomach. It was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful--in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed. A few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back.

"My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!" All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the financial director to bring him to the front.

Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!" When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed. Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, "Here is your next Chief Executive! His name is Jim!"

Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new CEO the others said? Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. "When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive!"

The moral that you have learnt?

Tags: Moral, Chief Executive, CEO, Seed, Boiled Seed, Honesty

Hot Drinks Being Served

Most of my malay colleagues would call this 'teh kangkang', the meaning of it created by them.

This lady has a tiny weeny stall (you are looking at it now). She could prepare coffee, tea, ginger tea, mint tea, etc. You could such ladies preparing hot drinks at almost every corner in the city.

In this picture, she was stirring the burning charcoals that were used to boil water.







Once the hot water in available, she will start preparing the hot drinks that you have ordered.

Sorry, no such thing as teh tarik or hot chocolate.
Some colleagues won't go for it with cleanliness in their mind.









Our Sudanese associate in his coat. I felt very hot for him.
The coffee served on a small tray. I ordered tea. She put a small cup of sugar so that you can put in the amount of sugar according to your taste. Better to do it ourselves as Sudanese tend to drink at quite a high sweetness level. I have seen the amount of sugar they put into such a small cup. So, it's better we do it ourselves.
For us Malaysians, one teaspoon full was enough. For Sudanese, some do put in three teaspoons.










Her small stall just for a day's living. Some ladies will have their young kids with them.
Tags: Hot Drinks, Coffee, Tea, Ginger Tea, Mint Tea, Sugar, Sweetness

Safer Neighbourhood in Hampshire

The Hampshire Constabulary (bobbies) is making efforts to be close to the public in their area. Putting adverts up on moving buses were one of the best ideas as it has more publicity. The appointed painter painted, or a poster pasted, on the back of this bus (as below) without any planning. Whoever is that person just went ahead without realising anything.
Just look at the bus' exhaust pipe!
Tags: Hampshire, Hampshire Police, United Kingdom

Enjoying Higher Standard of Living

The standard of living in Khartoum is getting better day by day (qualifying it at the same time - that doesn't mean I don't mind staying here long term).

A number of high range of restaurants and cafes are opening up in the city. One of them is Solitaire. This is a new branch which was near our house. Their first branch was opened quite a number of years back.
Their new menu.
Fairuz was trying to remember all the name of the drinks they served there. Peter was thinking which menu to look at.

Their internal set-up is quite spacious too. Now Fairuz has passed the menu for Nazril to remember all the names.
Ahhhhhh that beaming face - get to leave the house to enjoy the outside world. Otherwise stucked in office from morning till night.









We ordered finger food only - two plates of french fries, one plate of spring rolls (5 pieces for 5 of us) and small size chicken wings.

With each of us ordering drinks like banana juice, smoothies, hot chocolates, our total bill came to 102 Sudanese pound. That's US$51. In Malaysia we can order two rounds of such.

A colleague said, the reason for the high cost of living here is because of all this higher standard of living. But at crazy prices.

Tags: Solitaire, Khartoum, Travel, Banana Juice, Hot Chocolate, Chicken Wing, French Fries, Spring Roll, Food