Khartoum Life

The van in front of us has a spoiler right above the van ..... preparing to take off ???

Over here, the owner of this office made sure that people knows where to find his office.

Before we start our meeting, we indulge in the Sudanese breakfast called 'foul' ...... pronounced as fool. FYI, I'm still clever after eating it.

You eat the foul by dipping your bread into it and try to scoop the right amount of foul in tandem with the size of the bread in your hand.

What's foul? Egyptian dish made of fava beans. First the beans go in the bowl, then it is time for the toppings: a little cumin, chopped onions, fresh parsley, pepper, salt, and olive oil.

Street mobile vendors - nope, they don't sell mobile phone but they are mobile enough to walk at all the traffic light junctions showing the goods they in their hands.













Sometimes I would notice that when a driver bought something from them and gave them a big currency note, the street vendor would take that money and run over to his other fellow street vendors looking for smaller note denomination.

By that time, the cars would have moved a bit to the front and this street vendor would be running towards that car.

Normally, the street vendor would be walking around cars that are quite far away from the traffic lights, in case the car moves on during a green light with their goods still in the hands of the car driver.

Lots of them. To me, at least they are trying to make a living with their own two feet.

But one of my local colleagues did mention that some of those goods could be stolen goods and sold off to unknowing car drivers.

Tags: Khartoum, Street Vendors, Foul Breakfast

Batman Suparman in Singapore

Voice message recorded in a call centre:-

"Thank you for calling, this is BATMAN"

"Who am I speaking to?.."

"Batman..."

"May I have your name again pls?"

"My name is Bat-man..."

"Trying to be funny huh?!. What is your surname?.."

"Supar-man..."

"I want to speak with your manager... !"
Tags: Batman, Suparman, Funny, Humour

Fees for Toilet Usage in Aeroplane

Pay for seat reservation ......

Pay for food ......

Pay for usage of blanket ......

Pay for pillow ......

Pay for additional check-in luggage ......

These are the things you may need to pay when you board low cost carrier across the world.

But when I heard that you may have to pay for the usage of the toilet, I think it has really gone too far this time.

I can bear with the running on the airport tarmac to the aeroplane or walk a bit faster than the rest of the passengers ...... so can do without the seat reservation.

I can sneak food into my waistpouch and hence, I don't need to buy food during the flight.

Normally I'm afraid of warm weather or place. So, no blanket is still alright.

No pillow? What difference does it make by trying to sleep with a pillow since you are sitting up.

Lesser clothings, lesser space required for luggage space .... problem with ladies usually ... hehe

But the toilet issue .............. you are asking which airplane is going to do that?

Well, it's the Irish budget airline Ryanair. They won't be placing an additional crew in front of the toilet door to collect money but a coin slot would be installed for your sake. Their sake or yours actually?

No coins? Sorry mate, wait till the plane lands. Meantime, get a plastic bag ready if you are about to let go .......... haha

What else will they think of? Pay for your life jacket ...... ?

Reading: Ryanair mulls charge for toilets - BBC News
Tags: Ryanair, Toilet Usage, Low Cost Carrier

Dinner - Amwaj Restaurant

This is a road side stall (one of those larger operations).

We opted for Amwaj Restaurant for the night. Definitely will try out this restaurant each time I'm in Khartoum.

Four stooges went for the dinner. Two here.

The other two stooges.

They will lay a piece of plastic sheet over the table. Less hassle in cleaning the table later.










All the four walls have been lined up with mirrors. Looked classy. It has an area without air-cond. This is the part of the restaurant which has air-cond. You could occupy first floor too but we were lazy to climb up.












Normally people would order a plate of salad each that comes with a bowl of soup plus those giant bread ..... what kind of soup was that already?













A small plate of the really hot chili ........... pure chilli taste.











This our lamb dish that comes with their special rice that has raisins cooked with it.















Our KFC chicken style ...... of course it doesn't taste like KFC.











A frightening dish itself. All jumbled up. If I didn't know what was ordered, I wouldn't be able to guess this dish.














Looks like a squid but it was a fish.

Have you heard of the word "grogs" ???

On the way out of the restaurant, took a quick shot at their big hot plate which was like preparing for a huge banquet. This is how fast they sell their foodstuff ...... could be even better than the local fast food companies.
Tags: Khartoum, Amwaj Restaurant, Food

Dinner - La Pergola Khartoum

It was late in the afternoon where I was relaxing at my residential garden and saw some bees flying around.

Followed them to the garden fixture and was wondering what the bees were going after on this garden fixture.




Don't see any food or some leftovers being thrown there.















Later on the same day's night time, we decided to pamper ourselves a bit by going over to La Pergola at Riyadh area. About 5 minutes drive.

First time for me (not my the other 3 colleagues). The place was packed with many foreigners and local Sudanese too. The local Sudanese people have found such places to be of good value and with nice environment / setting for a nice peaceful dinner.

We sat at the outdoor area as cool winter wind (presumably from the Mediterranean Sea) was still blowing in Khartoum.

I ordered the veal emance that came with a large serving of mashed potatoes. Fantastic gravy for the veal which was hot. Cost me 26 Sudanese Dinar (2 Sudanese Dinar = US$1).

One colleague ordered this fish fillet that came with fries ..... I think it was 23 Sudanese Dinar.










This was the Grilled Tenderloin Beef ....... a bit too 'grilled' hehehehe. Came with the mashed potatoes too. Also about 20++.














Another said he was on diet and ordered a sliced beef with salad (something like that) but I found the serving quite big too. So much for the diet.

All in all, our bill came up to 115 Sudanese Dinar. In KL, we could have ordered double of everything with that sort of pricing. But this is Khartoum, just bear with it. If we kept counting the figures, we won't get to have dinner at all.

The external building was erected with their signboard with green background lighting. Just can't miss it when you pass by this road.
Tags: La Pergola, Khartoum

Contribution to Safe Drinking Water

We are blessed in the sense that we have clean water to drink wherever we go in Malaysia or in any other major cities in the world. We can turn on the tap anytime, boil the tap water and there you go, you have safe drinking water.

There are people (those who could afford of course) who have installed water purifiers, water filters, reverse osmosis or water treatment system to ensure that the water they consume is even cleaner than before. I would say in Malaysia itself lots of people that I know of would have some sort of equipment to obtain safe drinking water.

Unfortunately, there are also people on some parts of the world who don't have drinking water within their residential area. They may have to walk miles/kilometres just to bring back some water for drinking. That water may not be clean.

Waterborne diseases in such areas are so rampant that the young ones die from the diseases. About six thousand people die from such unfortunate situation, most of whom are children.

Recently I have read about a small gadget which could help save many lives due to this waterborne disease or to overcome the shortage of safe drinking water.

There is this private company by the name of Vestergaard Frandsen that produces a 10-inch plastic cylinder that filters the bacteria, parasites and some viruses at a cost of less than US$3/-.

The product is named LifeStraw®. LifeStraw comes in two packages, LifeStraw® Personal and LifeStraw® Family.

This LifeStraw could be used on the spot itself. It's an invention that safeguards lots of people from any waterborne disease especially those faraway from any tap water or clean water. Its lifespan is about 700 litres of water (if saline water, it's limited to 350 litres).

Important facts to know:-
* LifeStraw Personal has been referred to as 'One of the Ten Things that will Change the Way We Live' by Forbes Magazine.

* LifeStraw Family delivers water as per EPA guidelines for microbiological water purifiers.

* February 2008, LifeStraw Personal receives the Saatchi & Saatchi Award for World Changing Ideas in New York.

Today, you can play a part in this life saving tool by donating a small amount of money. Following organisations have organised and will distribute the tools on your behalf to places where most required:-

*World Outreach International seeing it as a beneficial tool has organised a donation campaign to purchase this tool for people who need it

*IMA World Health

*Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale, Florida (for US$ dollar donations)

*Rotary Club of Menorca, Spain (for International currency contribution)

*Rotary Club of Brynmawr, UK
Tags: LifeStraw, Water Purifier, Clean Water, Vestergaard Frandsen, Waterborne Disease, Unsafe Drinking Water, World Outreach International

Most Famous Tree in Malaysia

Malaysia has unveiled its most famous tree recently. This tree shaded the 'unrecognised' Perak state government's assembly (this state controlled by opposition parties was unrecognised by the present ruling federal govt of course). Major decisions were proposed and voted upon under the shade of this historical tree.

The Perak state govt (as I like to call it that way) has unveiled a plaque at the feet of this famous tree.

Some people will find it a waste of time to do such a thing. Why not carry out the works instead of standing under the tree again.

Well, the unrecognised politicians have been barred from entering the state government building and all thrown out from their offices even though they were elected by the people for the people.

This tree has been given the name of The Tree Democracy.

The plaque in its glory.

Not long after that, Malaysians who passes by that area will take opportunity to take picture with that glorifying tree and plaque. Name me one tree in Malaysia where large group of people line up to take pictures with.

There are people who don't like this plaque at all. They found it offensive and illegal. They can't stand that this tree and plaque have been idolised by the general public. So, in order to stop the people from forming a cult, they destroyed the plague for the good of the people.

To them "Gloryfying plaque? ......... my foot!"

We will see when they plan to destroy that famous tree. Maybe a town council plan will state the the road needs to be widen and that tree is in the pathway ........... as the saying goes, Malaysia Boleh.

(Photos were sourced from Lim Kit Siang and Muslimeen United)
Tags: Famous Tree, Tree of Democracy, Ipoh