Of Tahmiah and Samak

View of the Burj Fateh from the Friendship Hall

Well it's the 2nd last working day before the 4Es embark on our holiday! Why 2nd last? Because I'll still be coming on Sunday morning for half a day of work.

Today Ckn tak larat nak masak lunch, pity her, since she has a few more of her MBA assignments to submit. At 12pm I went out to look for a driver to take me to any of the restaurants in Riyahd area.. Unfortunately, and this is nearly everyday, all the drivers have dissapeared. The office is running on a skeleton crew, and all the drivers have dissapeared...

So I thought - should I go starving waiting for the phantom drivers or should I find an alternative? I decided on the latter. I upped and walked about 10 mins to the Friendship Hall, which is west of the office, to have some 'Kusairi' (A cheap Egyptian dish, which is a bowl of various pasta shapes, topped with a nice sour onion sauce + shata) at the roadside restaurant.

It wasn't too hot; in fact it was nice and windy. The only thing is, no one was selling Kusairi today...Crap-usairi! I don't dig Sudanese Fuul, so I opted for the Tahmiah sandwich instead. Tahmiah is exactly like vade from back home - they stuff it in a bun (aish) with chili paste (shata), and sesame seed sauce (tahmiah), and it costs 1 pound (cheap, in any language!). I washed it all down with Pasgianos - it's only available in Sudan, but it tastes exactly like the cough syrup you can get in clinics back home; you know the kind in plastic bottles that them addicts like soo much...errr...

Today's lunch - scrumptious!

It was a pleasant lunch, and after finishing 20 mins later, I walked back. Only this time, it was a little hotter. I stopped to take some pics of the friendship hall, but all I got on me was my crappy Palm Treo cam, so I couldn't post nice pics - maybe next time!

Al Karaoke fi Khartoum

What have the Alleycats, Lionel Richie, Anuar Zain, and the incomparable Sudirman all have in common? They are all here in Khartoum!! Not physically, mind (that would be silly), but their songs are karaoke-d here.

Thanks to our friends who have a well equipped karaoke system in their appartment, we've been able to let some pressure off by singing. We'd always go just the two of us (and sometimes some of our friends tag along!), and our sessions will be on a Friday afternoon (single staff frequent the place at night). We have a whale of a time! But we really owe them as we are sort of intruding; but they insist on us crashing their place and even carry a tune or two themselves.

Ckn's permanent playlist includes : Amy Search's 'Tiada Lagi', the whole Alleycats catalogue, and some Rahim Maarof's 'Cinta Kristal'. Ezal's playlist covers : Zainal Abidin, Alleycats as well and Lionel Richie - no Elton John 'Sacrifice' here, unfortunately!. We're quite 'competitive' when it comes to hogging the mic but we recently discovered some nice duets that helps reduce the hogging!

Good to have a choice of activities here in Khartoum then eh?

Ezal striking a pose near the massage chair, while Ckn is picking her next song. Our host, Azizan is so impressed with my singing that he had to sit down...

The Attack

I think by now everyone has heard of the JEM attack on Khartoum, which is unheard of - I don't think since the Mahdi times (when he fought the British in the 19th Century) has Khartoum itself been under siege by armed groups. but then again, I've just been here 2 years and Sudan has been through numerous coups in its 52 year history! Anyway, it's been 2 weeks since the rebels descended onto Ombdurman, which is the old capital city of Sudan, and is located just under 20km from our home in Khartoum Two.

Friday, 9th May
We heard of it at first as a possible threat, and we were advised to stay indoors - which we did - I was supposed to bring Ehsan swimming that evening.

Saturday, 10th May - evening
When nothing happend, we assumed that it was just rumors flying about. Until the next day that is, when Ckn received a call around 6pm, from a friend who is working in Ombdurman (the person was specifically in a place called Souq Libya - a market next to where we have our kharouf breakfasts). She told us that she could hear gunshots and a huge commotion from the streets. The fighting had begun.

The first thing going thru my mind was the safety of my family; I knew it was safer to stay put, and not appear on the streets. Ckn took it on herself to start communicating by any means necessary with all our friends in the city (ym? facebook? u name it, she had it! both my cousin Azlie and brother Fyan helped manned the Malaysia end!) while I tried to contact our security manager. The phone lines were undependable due to the congestion. I received a call from Mama from Malaysia the moment the news broke on CNN. Although we have never been thru this kind of experience before, I think we all kept our heads as everyone in our block was kept informed of what was happening in Ombdurman.

I kept going to the rooftop to check the conditions on the roads (which looked pretty normal to me - people were milling about, but traffic was light. A curfew was being imposed). But I felt something in my gut (and gasped!) when I looked to the west; we can make out the smoke trails in the distance, and see flashes from the fighting - and once in a while, we can hear loud noises, booms and even felt vibrations in our appartment.

Saturday, 10th May - night
Major fighting ended at dusk. In all, heavy fighting lasted for about 3 hours that Saturday, although reports said it started much earlier than that. Khartoum was eerily quiet that night. Most buildings were lit, including the Fateh tower which can be act as a beacon for anyone looking for the Presidential Palace (which was the prime objective of the rebels). The main road in front of our block was blacked out, but a strategic bridge leading to Khartoum North was lit.

Ckn wouldn't leave her makeshift communications center (read:laptop in the bedroom!), so I made us a simple instant noodle dinner, which she readily devoured despite earlier protests. The kids were their usual selves, but even they noticed our anxiety and kept out of our way (most of the time!). I wasn't concerned about food or drinking water lasting a few days, as we just went shopping on Friday, but I did fill the kids wading pool and charged all 3 emergency lamps, just in case (Others weren't so lucky. My big boss was due to leave on the ill-fated day, but had to turn back as the airport was closed - and as he was not expecting to stay in Khartoum, he didn't keep extra cash or had fresh food for 2 days...)

Throughout the day, Sudan TV was only broadcasting folk songs and documentaries, until around 9pm when the first news report on the 'failed' attack was broadcast. We couldn't understand the news, but the pictures spoke for themselves - burning 4WDs on the roads, captured vehicles and heavy weapons being driven around by security personnel and militias, prisoners, and of course, bloodied corpses. I stayed up late to watch all the news channels to get any scrap of information possible.

Sunday, 11th May
Although the rebels didn't cross the bridge from Ombdurman into Khartoum, they did however, managed to disappear in the vast surburbs of Ombdurman. So the curfew was extended a few times, and we all just 'worked from home' that Sunday (hehe if you can call it that). The situation was calm, but we _think_ we heard some shooting in the distance.

Monday, 12th May - midday
On Monday we were told that the situation was under control and that we were allowed back to the office. Traffic was nearly normal, although Ombdurman was still closed off. There was a sense of normalcy at the office, and everyone was excited to share their experience of the attack.

But any illusions of safety were crushed when we started hearing about 'clashes' at midday - and in Khartoum no less! So we just put everything down, and scrambled for our block drivers to come and pick us up! hehe - got an earful from Ckn for that episode! (We learned later that there were clashes with students and not rebels, and that the city was secure). To be sure, we only went back to work on Tuesday, 13th May, and even that was at midday. Alhamdullillah, nothing untoward happend!

So that was how we spent a 'nice' weekend cooped up while the city was under siege. We have friends who have even revisited the kharuf market recently and reported things are back to normal. We didn't realise how many friends and families prayed for our safety. Life here may have returned back to normal, but it doesn't feel normal - not anymore. We are comforatble going out, but seeing the extra 'uniforms' on every corner does raise our anxiety occasionally. The rebels may have lost terribly, but they did win in some ways too.

Epilogue
Back in the office on Monday and Tuesday, we all came together to try and figure out how the rebels managed to attack Khartoum. I've enclosed our observations here for my benefit (there is nothing secret here; everything was as reported in the press, but the maps are mine). Click on the picture below for a bigger size :

p/s Our home in Khartoum Two is right next to the airport...

Mirai - A New Day (and the cool shows Ehsan Watches)

I think a lot of my loyal readers (Thanks Sayang, and myself...I'm sure there are a few more!) are getting tired with my tinkering with the my template. Well I've found the perfect one! It's highly customisable, and links nicely with Blogger so it makes my job of editing (or changing the elements within the template easier!). Thanks to ourblogtemplates.com! (link's at the bottom)

Now to a more serious topic. They say that our children become their parents, but in some aspects, there are loopholes that cause the parent to become their children. Case in point ; TV shows for the young...

When Ehsan was with Ckn in Malaysia last year, he enjoyed the Astro Ria channel, in particular 2 shows : Tom Tom Bak (Whatever that is) and ... Ultraman Ace (I think...). Of course, we don't get that channel on Showtime, so Ehsan can't get his daily fix on these two shows. I did the next best thing - and it involves the internet, and a software protocol made by the kind people at bittorrent (and utorrent). But where were we to get a regular supply of the 'good stuff'? Well, I managed to find a nice website called Fushigi-Chan Fansubs.

Ultraman Mebius (Brave) - upon combining his powers with Ultraman Hikari's Knight Brace in episode 18 where th... **groan** don't ask...

This cool website, based in Japan, provides 1) english subtitles to the most recent kid friendly Ultraman Mebius (Japanisation of the Mobius strip?) show, 2) torrent links to the TV show...28 episodes and counting (including one movie. The show has 50 episodes). Well, at first I downloaded just the odd 1 or 2 episodes, to keep the little tyke quiet, mind, but over time he got bored watching the same old monster getting the crap beaten out of him, so I was 'forced' to procure more...so much so, that said father (i.e. me) started to enjoy the show... The stories are actually really good, and the translators did a great job in capturing the humor. Nowadays, I can't wait for new episodes to be released by the Fushigi-Chan team, while Ehsan has moved on.(Yes, I have all 28 episodes and the movie in my Media Center). Mirai is the hero's name, and it does mean A New Day according to the subs...

'WAITTOORR'

Moving on to the second show that tickle's Ehsan (and my) fancy is a little known cartoon called Spongebob Squarepants. Now, I've heard of this cartoon for years; my friend Arman keeps praising it. But it's not until Ehsan caught it on Nikelodeon that I also started watching it. Let's just say that I enjoy - REALLY enjoy - their brand of 'comedy'. Which is absurd and hilarious, but cute in a way. We (father and son) don't bother with the regular TV episodes..we just watch the excellent Spongebob Movie. The best bits for me were 1) when Spongbob and Patrick get smashed on the Goofy Goober sundae and shouts 'WAITTOORR' 2) The Hasselhoff - like I said...hilarious.

Going Hero... Ooohh Maan!

Finally, we come to the creme-de-la-creme...of Ben 10... Oh Cartoon Network, you really hit me here! Ben 10 is a cool cartoon where the young hero, Ben Tenesson (or something) finds an alien watch called the Omnitrix (don't worry - Ehsan has his own. thanks to Ebay Malaysia) which allows Ben to convert to various Aliens like DiamondHead, Speedfreak, Grey Matter, Heat Blast, Four Arms (God Stop me!!) - and he saves the day. (p.s. check out the website - it's got tons of cool games!)

And the best part of all this? Erica's started to have the same interests too!! so I'll enjoy watching all the past episodes of Ultraman Mebius and Ben 10 all over again...

Our Pear turns One!

We celebrated Erica's 1st birthday last weekend on the 29th of March - for me and Ckn it was our very first kid's birthday party, that I can proudly say we planned and executed! by ourselves (well, Erica helped by turning 1, and Ehsan helped blow out Erica's candles...). We never had the chance to celebrate as a family as Ehsan was away in Malaysia on both his birthdays. InsyaAllah, we'll have one for Ehsan when he turns 3 in June!

Anyway, I created this video and put it into a VCD and gave it to the parents. We also had goody bags for the kids; I know Ckn is working on some updates on her blog so keep an eye out for her next posting on Erica's birthday bash!

Au Revoir dear Friends

We just came back from a lovely supper with our friends Razman and his wife Dila. So what's the occasion? Unfortunately our dear friends are going to leave Khartoum soon.

We first got to know them back when we first arrived on these shores. They were a lovely couple, and somehow we clicked. I guess we've had each of our families over for dinner/meals several times now, including a breakfast they invited me to when Ckn was in KL awaiting Erica's arrival.

We wish them all the best back in KL, and God willing, we'll meet up again for some 'teh kangkang' again! (OK the actual term should be 'teh cangkung' but my BM is BAD)

Blood Sucking Technician

We have had quite a few experiences with the medical facilities here in Sudan; it's been a year since Ehsan was admitted to hospital (...in an unblogged part of our story!), and we've paid a few visits to Dr Amanda Tadross, our paed, who has a clinic next door to the US Embassy in Khartoum.

What everyone experiences (most, if not, all the time) is that if you are sick and walk into a medical establishment in the city, the very first thing they will subject you to is a blood test. They love to look for 'parasites'; namely for Malaria and other mosquito borne diseases, in addition to the regular bacterial and viral infections. A Tip : I do not like me or members of my family to be pricked, so we do our best _not_ to get tested!

Well, the technician at Dr Amanda's clinic still uses his tried and tested (!) method of blood extraction. He uses a special glass and plastic tool (straw?) to _suck_ the blood. No disposable syringes here, friends - just a prick on a finger, a squeeze and controlled sucking (child crying optional). You can see the tech-dude with the apparatus in his mouth, in the pic above.

You can simulate this at home; use a straw to suck some juice then place your tongue over the straw opening (the juice will be suspended in the straw by the vacuum), then move the straw into another glass, move your tongue away, and let gravity take its course. Finally, celebrate how cool that would have been with OTHER PEOPLE'S BLOOD...

But don't fret as the hospitals I have been to uses disposable syringes - but then there's the problem of finding a vein - I'll leave that story for another day!

Iftar at Assaha Restaurant

I think Ramadan this year has been kind on me, Alhamdullillah. It's already past 3 weeks and insyaAllah we will be celebrating Eid next week flies. Yay!

As a huge thank you, I planned to treat Ckn to Iftar at a restaurant. It wasn't going to be the first time that we ate out for Iftar. Early in the Ramadan, I treated Ckn to Iftar at the As Salam Rotana Hotel. That was a good place to have dinner and it really helped build Ckn's spirits. So where could we go this time then?

Recently we've been hearing a lot about this new restaurant called Assaha; our friends claimed that their coffee easily beats Solitaire (a local establishment with an international menu), and a colleague was heaping praises on it after failing to get a booking due to it being full last week (obviously a good sign of patronage). Naturally, we'd thought that this would be a good idea to pay them a visit (pun intended).

Much to our surprise, we discovered that this new restaurant was just a 5 minute walk away; we could even see the roof from our unit. I went there directly after work last Thursday to make reservations and they managed to squeeze the 2 of us for that evening's dinner service. Ckn thought it was a good idea to bring Ehsan along as he had been cooped up in the house for far too long.


...yes, I'll go with the house red please! (Notice the Lebanese spread)

I suggested to Ckn that we ought to go earlier to give us the opportunity to take some snaps of the unique building architecture. So we set off about a half hour before Iftar. As usual lil' Erica had to be left behind (more on that later!). I tried to cajole Ehsan to walk with us, but he firmly said no, so Ckn had to carry him all the way - I wonder if it was related to the new shoes he had on?

We found out that the restaurant was actually part of a Hotel, which shares the same design and theme of a traditional/historical Lebanese building. I guess they mainly used shale rock to construct their homes (don't ask what they use for cement - it looked like 'mud' and it had straw in it...God please let it be just mud...!). The crowd came in fast, as a company had booked their corporate event for that evening.


...so Baba just follow my handwriting and surely you'll get that promotion, ok?

When we went into the dining hall, the concierge said 'sorry but we're full' - I had to point out that we made reservations earlier. He still said no...until I pointed out my name clearly written on the booking sheet!. He relented and we got a nice table in the nook of the main restaurant - He wasn't rude or anything so it was OK.

Unlike Rotana, the Iftar here was going to be served from a fixed set menu. It was traditional Lebanese fair, which I had to accept at face value since my knowledge of Lebanese/Arabic cuisine is limited to Fatoush and tabouleh salads.

We started with parsley potatoes, chick pea humus (lovely), yoghurts, fish and tomato salad, green salad of jirjir, cooked veg that looked like sawi (but tasted sandy!), fatoush, chicken soup (nice) and puffy lebanese bread. Our entrees were a selection of small fried tid bits (imagine curry puff and spring rolls), chicken breasts baked in a tomato sauce and a briyani (with pistachio nuts & raisins) served with roasted kharoof (lammmb!). We finished with watermelon, and mouhallabia, a surprisingly tasty desert - akin to semolina pudding, but smelling strongly of rose water. Ckn couldn't finish hers because of the taste, but she was looking forward to try their umm ali. Unfortunately, they were not serving ala carte dishes until after the dinner rush.



All in all, I can say that we were impressed with the Assaha. The food was nice (a bit too expensive perhaps), it had a nice ambiance and the building was really unique - it wasn't tacky or gaudy. The staff were also efficient, for a packed house. We even planned to come again later that night with friends to sample their coffee (and umm ali desert!), but they couldn't make it in the end. So, you can say we're glad that we have an excuse to make another date with the Assaha soon!

p.s. So what about Erica? I guess she made us notice that leaving her at home was a no-no! Ehsan went to bed quietly enough, but Erica really made us work - she was crying non-stop and not drinking from her bottle! Only when we sat down in front of the TV with her on our laps did she behave herself, the cheeky lass! I guess all she wanted was a bineeded our attention... Sorry darling, perhaps when you're bigger and have gotten all your shots, ok?

4Es Cup Cake Ventures (un)Ltd.

Cup cakes to die for!

There have been several things that I have aways longed to do with my life; for example, I wanted to go to outer space, but the Malaysian Astronaut program came 25 years too late... and I don't think Malaysians would have approved of an overweight, short sighted paper pusher representing them as the first Malaysian in space! So that dream of mine was confined to watching Star Wars and Battlefield : Earth (ask my brother - it's the worst movie we've seen!)

I also had dreams to become a cook - I don't know why, perhaps it was a cool way to be creative and it sounded more alluring then being an accountant! Well, I recently managed to realise that dream and another grown-up longing of becoming an entrepenuer! Don't get me wrong, I've been cooking for a long time now. I made a killer masak asam pedas when I was at Kent, and my tiramisu was legendary (i.e. its no longer being made, hence it becoming 'legend'). But I've never (knowingly) sold anything before!


The Tiny Cup Cakes being set by Ckn (not pictured - me working the hand mixer before!)

So the story goes; Last Thursday, I promised Ckn that I would help her bake some tiny cup cakes for iftar. We started with gusto after I got back from work at 4pm. Using a recipe our neighbour in Sg Buloh gave Ckn, we managed to produce a batch of the lil' scrumptious tidbits. It wasn't too difficult; but I was made to understand that cake making was not to be taken lightly, that it was a delicate process and that the wrong timing of ingredients going in or doing something too much will spoil the batter.


...now open wide for some uncooked batter!

We were fasting and someone had to be the batter tester! So Ehsan and Erica helped out; Ehsan with the cleaning (i.e. licking the mixer attachments clean! Hey that was supposed to be my job!) and Erica with the 'batter quality Assurance' test.

Erica's not into food yet, but she liked what we were putting in her mouth, I guess. She was squirming, asking for more, but we stopped at just giving her a taste as the batter had raw eggs in it. Don't want lil Erica to fall sick now do we!

We had our first taste at iftar...and we loved it! I just looked at Ckn and she did the same - we both had the same thought, that we had to share this with the world (you can say it was a Eureka! moment...)

After much soul searching (30mins or less only!) we both decided to go into business to 'bring the goods to the market'. The timing couldn't have been better as there was a Petronita ramadan bazaar the next day, on Friday. We agreed that the costs of producing a batch of 16 packs was minimal (each pack had 5 cup cakes), while the proceeds from the endeavour would be substantial! Ckn would be in charge of the coupon selling for the whole bazaar, so the cup cake marketing would be my responsibilities! yipee... Finally, an opportunity to become a businessman presents itself!


My 'muka welfare marketing gimmick' and I at the bazaar ramadan

As this was as much a business as it was a learning experience, I told Ckn that we should have a little fun; so I decided to take pictures of all the people who bought our cup cakes. I got some odd looks from the others selling their wares at the bazaar, but I was on a roll (of course I wouldn't have considered this if I had a few hundred customers la).


The lucky few who went to bed satisfied (hmmm!)

The bazaar started at 4.30pm and I had my tupperware opened and ready by 4.40pm. Nobody gave the goods a second look for the first few minutes (maybe because we didn't put signages..DUH!) so I resorted to telling (nay, shouting to!) the patrons about the cup cakes and how scrumptious and cheap they were. Once the crowd rushed in at 5.00pm, my cup cakes literally became... hot cakes!

Throughout the event, Ehsan was not really himself; we thought he would have fun running around making friends - but it was a hot evening, and he managed to have missed his afternoon nap earlier, so fatigue and grogginess was sinking in. He spent most of the time sitting beside me. Ckn bought some lin chee kang to cool him down, and when I left the bazaar later, he cried himself to sleep in the car! Such was his tiredness that he slept soundly till the morning (so it was a restful night for Ckn!). However, he did take a liking to one of the patron's cutey daughter; and Ehsan took a picture of her himself :


Cute little Nur Ain, thru the eyes of Ehsan

All in all, we made a profit of SDG 13 or about RM22; not bad huh? The only problem was that we spent more than SDG 70 (RM120) to buy food for ourselves...! (well it was for 2 days - and _it is_ Sudan!) I now know the feeling of making ones own money and can appreciate how tough it is for people to have to do this on a daily basis. We're still deciding whether we will continue selling the cakes at this week's bazaar... but I'd like to quote Mr Gooding Jr from Jerry Mcguire '...Show me the moneeey!'

Independence Day in KRT

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Those hallowed words were shouted proudly by all those attending last 31st August. And I was one of them!

This was our second Merdeka celebration with the Malaysian community in Khartoum and it was as meriah as last year, more so this year as it is the 50th anniversary of our independence. It was also an extra honor for us, as our Block J was 'selected' to help out in organising the event with the Country Office and the trainers from Giatmara. Ckn was already involved as she was on F&B detail with Petronita; I got the easy job of ushering at the main gate (not so easy as I was the only one there!) which was a great way for me to get reintroduced to the bulk our our fellow countrymen.

Our event started with Negaraku, followed by raising the Jalur Gemilang, and speeches from Petronas' rep, Hj Jabbar, and the Malaysian Ambassador to Sudan, Hj Zainal. While everyone else was seated, I took on my regular role of 'roving photog' - there were several of us, and we even had a pro from KL cover the event. The one benefit of this was that I could just stand infront of everyone and looking important taking snaps ...secondly, I didn't need to get all sweaty joining in the senamrobik we always do on Merdeka Day!



Then the fun started! Since it was Oil week in Sudan, we brought in our Performing Arts troupe for some shows in Khartoum. Naturally, they also joined in the festivities and handled the senamrobik event and even surprised us with an impromptu zapin performance. The MC later got them to perform one more time; the twist being that their partners would now be from the audience! Somehow one of the dances coerced Ckn to join in - she was game for it, and I was just happy snapping pics!

Well from the pic above you can see that my wife can really hold her own when it comes to dancing! later she told me that it was so tiring - it didn't look like it was, but she was panting and begging to sit down and rest!



The whole day had a festival feel to it, especially in the next few events where we all had a chance to make a fool of ourselves in the fun games. I entered the 'Mens-Single-Eating a Granny Smith on a Lidi' game (Open category). How well do you think I fared?

Incidentally, I was the only grown-up (and kid for that matter!) who had shorts on...and worse; a T-shirt with 'AUSTRALIA' written on the front...malu! luckily I had my wife's gadget bag slung over my chest...



Ckn then entered the 'Ladies-Fishing the Bottle' contest. The game looked totally hilarious - and it was, as she had to get the nail at the end of the string into the bottle and somehow pick up said bottle and transport it to the finish line...no she didn't fare any better than I did. But it was fun all the same!



I'm sure you're wondering if Ehsan enjoyed the event as much as we did...well we decided not to bring the kids this year; they would have had to wake up very early and we didn't want them to be left unattended while we were busy with our tasks. It was a fun day, and since it was a Friday, the event ended earlier than normal, at 11.45am.

A week later, on the 9th, we were invited to the Malaysian Embassy Merdeka reception at the GHV. It was nice to have the night out and it was also our first official diplomatic do! so only the best batik had to come out for this! haha!



There were quite a few of our colleagues in attendance. My friend, Izwan, was the roving photog for this event as he had just gotten a new Canon 400d camera and was itching to try it out! We also made some new friends - among others : Ms Machiko, the medical attache to the Japanese Embassy, Mr Hua You, a diplomat from the Chinese Embassy who served in Turkey for 5 years (hmmm... coincidence to our future holiday perhaps??) and we even met Wendy, a Malaysian working for UNCHR, whom we first met in Cairo during our holiday there last December!

Funny thing was Dr Machiko just loved Ismail's songket and couldn't stop touching it!! Sadly, he recently left Sudan to return to Malaysia - he'll be missed!



So, by the end of the week, we had celebrated 50 years of our nation's independence in Sudan and in the process made a lot of new friends and got reacquainted with old ones. I honestly believe I wouldn't have celebrated Merdeka this way back home. Oh, and as a bonus, I also turned 32 on the 8th! heh

Ramadan is Back!

Ramadan Kareem! Allahu Akram!

Time sure flies and so much has changed - Last Ramadan, there were only 3 of us; Erica was still some ways away! Now Ehsan has hair(!), we have a helper in the house, and finally Erica - who was made in Sudan, gets to see Sudan with her own 2 eyes. We are truly blessed, Alhamdullillah!

August was a hectic month, as I went home in early August to take charge of my wards that I have left under my parents' supervision since January. This was a truly hectic trip as I only had 6 days to repatriate my family. The most challenging I feel, was the packing - between the 4 of us and our helper, we had approximately 170kg baggage allowance, to bring back our clothing, foodstuff and RM400 worth of fresh fish! We managed to meet the allowance (thanks to group check-in!) and the fish (which was frozen solid) arrived safely in Khartoum still frozen solid.

Well it's the 2nd day of fasting, and while I don't consider myself a good fast-er, I guess I'm coping well (ask me again in 2 weeks time!). We do miss going out to the bazaars to look for juadah berbuka, but it's more laid back here. We do have our own Malaysian-organised bazaar that happens every Friday, but that only starts next week. So for the next few days we're going to iftar ala-carte, Ckn style!

What I had for Tea yesterday

Like always on a Friday, I would be walking to Amarat Hall to join the other Malaysians to play badminton (it's about a one-half kilometer walk). Before going any further, I would stop at the small fruit stall near my home and ask for SDG 1 (RM1.70) worth of bananas (I would get about 5 bananas!)

During the game (my stamina's totally off, so I only play a game!) I would usually finish one or two pieces of banana, so I have the remaining fast-riping bananas lying in the fridge. So what do i do with those bananas? Lemping pisang!

I shot a text message to my wife for a recipe; but being a man, I didn't wait and foolishly went ahead.

Ckn gave me this recipe : 1 level Tablespoon sugar, 3-4 level tablespoon flour and the bananas

And this is the actual that I used : 2 shakes of the sugar container, about 5-6 heaped tablespoons flour, pinch of salt, and 2 pours of milk (that's using Ezalman's metric system..) and the bananas.

I used a pancake pan to cook them dry - non-stick so I didn't use any oil and managed to get about 8 lemping . They look scrumptious don't they! How about the taste? well... I finished them all. I think they tasted fine, except it had a floury taste - I'm guessing I put in too much. Oh, and the flour expired 6 months ago...

14 months ago and Look what I found

I think I've posted this on ezalman_2 before but I can't seem to find it anymore... Anyway, rummaging through my drawer back home for some documents to fax to Ckn, I found this caricarture. It was made by our very own Dato' Lat, who was on a working visit courtesy of Petronas last year.

Well I'm a big fan comics and satire, and luckily Lat excels at both! Of course, Lat is at the point of his career not to do many of these caricatures for the fans, but he was a jovial bloke and very friendly... in any case, how many times would I be able to spend time with a celebrity right?

Hosting a Simple Get Together

I told Ckn last week that I wanted to host a simple 'do' at home - as a 'Thank You' to my neighbors who have helped feed me(!) since Ckn went home (if this do is succesful, then I'll *still* get free grub!). It's also been some time since all of us had a nice cuppa teh tarik and a chat. I'd hoped that this do would be a great way to do so.

Anyways, the more memorable comments I got after mooting the idea, was that everyone couldn't believe that I would host a 'hi-tea' without Ckn around(!). I admit, a women's touch is essential to the success of such a party, but I thought it would be a simple affair to handle (see my steps below!)

By the end of the day I think they were impressed (thank God), which was great! All the food was finished (either by eating or giving away; but there wasn't much to give away, anyway!) Of course I had a secret methodology for those who are single and want to host such an event too. I will share with you this secret...now :



Steps to Host a Simple Get Together

1. Send out Invitations - very important; you don't want to be slaving away for a 'lifeless' party, do you?
2. Cleaning - make sure the house is clean and conducive for your invitees, including the toilet; and the last important step...
3. Get someone to cater the party! hahahah. Easy as pie huh?

I ordered a pretty full menu; but I forgot that my neighbors were capable of 'sabotaging' it - by bringing a dessert each! haha - so it's a good kind of sabotage! Being the practical creature that I am, I suggested that I would set aside my dessert (not pictured; caramel custard), for the next day's event being held by my neighbor downstairs (irony - from NO parties in a while, to 2 parties hosted in the same weekend!). Well, everyone agreed! We don't want any food to go to waste right?

p/s by now I can admit that I took the very, very easy way out in using *a contractor* to prep the food. Hey, don't blame me; my wife wasn't here, was she? :-) haha sorry Ckn sayang

A Bit of Malaysia - Stored in our Larder

Another challenge for us living here is the lack of Malaysian essential 'stuff'; The stuff that we can find in any kedai runcit on any corner back home; The stuff we take for granted because it's easily obtainable; The stuff we can get cheaply...

But don't fret - we have a solution for that : Larders! or a place to stock-pile our consumables (read : food and soap...don't ask!)

We are given an allowance to transfer personal effects when we were 1st transfered to Sudan. Apart from the various personal effects (e.g. speedos, selipar jepun, Low yatt dvds, the usual...), we also send *some* food and household stuff ('Some' meaning a lot, enough for our 3 year tour of duty)

So you can understand the *excitement* whenever we know of a new transferree, because our sole duty would then be to 'hitch a ride'/'tumpang' - somehow, we have to get all the stuff we miss and want from Malaysia shipped together!

Well I got such a load 2 days ago (I've managed to secure several loads and 'milk runs' in the past, thanks!). Usually Ckn would be home to help sort out the mess...no luck this time! So I spent Friday morning clearing up the boxes (small shipment this time around - just 12 boxes!). We have 2 metal larders - the one on your right is for foodstuff and the other one is for the soaps...I said don't ask! Ckn reorganised the larders before leaving in January, and being such a 'wise' husband, I thought I'd just continue the sorting theme she had established.

It took about 1hr, and I _think_ I did a good job. haha! Anyway - here is a sampling of the stuff we have (or had) in the larder; perhaps this could inspire you to get your own!

• Large 1kg cans of Tuna chunks - hey, if it expires _only_ in 2009, then it must be good for you right?
• Maggi Mee - the ever-ready standby meal replacement...so what if they're *only* 6 months expired?
  
• Sardines - another handy alternative. Ckn has used them in sambals to laksa - works fine by me!
• Sanitary pads - after a few months in Sudan, Ckn *mysteriously* didn't need them anymore...
• Chili Sauce - due to some 'miscalculation', we've got tons of the stuff. I need to chug down One bottle every 4 days to finish it all before they expire; So... a splosh in my cereal, a splish in my tea...
• Curry Kerang Ayam Brand - 'nuff said!
• Soaps - (well you did ask) it's expensive here (we're talking about laundry soap), and it lasts forever, and somehow the Breeze fragrance just reminds me of Malaysia...
  

It doesn't hurt to prepare - and I think we got a fair amount of Malaysiana stock-piled for the times we yearn for home; just look at the picture (and that's just it being opened halfway somemore!). We just need to visit the larder for an expired tin goodie, or dry ingredients for that laksa. Failing which, we can always raid our friendly neighbors' larders for that 'air kotak' that we *didn't* bring at all!!

When You're alone You talk to Yourself

I've got so much to write about - imagine if you can : getting your friend (who just returned from a 6-month trek to Egypt - walking backwards) updated on your going-ons; in the least amount of time possible...indeed such a trek would take considerably longer than 6 months, I gather...

Well - since my last update, I've had the privilege of travelling - some locations in Sudan, and some, in other places around the world. I'm glad to remind myself that a MAJOR change is coming to my family unit. We also recivered from a near-near death experience for my son Ehsan (touch wood) - don't worry we're fine!

I'm currently alone in Sudan, but it'll be for such a short period - 7 months **trembling** My wife wife and son are back home because we're expecting a baby soon! numero duo! isnaini!

Arab-a-day (ha I have, like 200 days to update huh!) - food:

1. Kisrah - light pancakes (like putu mayam/tosai) to eat with...
2. Tagaliah - minced meat and okra savoury sauce, like bolognaise, which can also be dipped with...
3. Tahmiah - wade!!

March 22, 2006 : mmm-Food!

We have this BBC - Food channel in our satelite subscription, and it's a great watch - they have so many chefs concocting so many wonderful dishes. Even to the point where we're trying out some of the recipes

Wish Astro had this back home...now if only we can substitute 'kicap masin' for all the wine and balsemic vinegar that they seem to splash into every dish they cook...!

Arab-a-day:
1. Kharuf = a sudanese sheep, tasty but not smelly!
2. Samak = Fish, but I can't remember what they call tilapia here (this fish originated from the Nile and can be found in fresh waters worldwide!)

March 12, 2006 : Accidents do happen

Oh dear, oh dear - we've met our first true test of being expats here in Sudan - last wednesday, Ckn and Ehsan were caught up in a road accident. Ckn decided to come to the office to check her email after office hours. The driver misjudged the speed of an oncoming car, which according to Ckn was driving very fast. Turning into the office too slowly forced the oncoming car to slam into the van.

Ckn was holding onto Ehsan for dear life! she got knocked out of the seat, hitting her head on the side door (the one you see here) and scraping her kneecap on the floor. By the time I arrived on the scene - about 1 minute later - Ali had Ehsan, and Ckn was standing close to the van; my staff and colleagues were trying to help. I gave Ehsan a once over and he looked fine. Ckn wasn't so lucky; she had a nasty bump on the right side of her head and she looked faint. Getting them both into another office car, we sped off to Al-Faisal Hospital for checks...

Luckily the x-ray turned out ok, and Ehsan was happily drinking from his 'lunch' at the hospital. The swelling reduced overnight and we managed to go to a Sudanese wedding later on Thursday evening. Phew - it was a close one!

We partly blamed Ali on this one, and it's forced us to keep Ali at a distance for the time being. but he's been very concerned for both of them, I just dont know how well we can trust him again and when! The people here live by 'God's will' - I believe in that too, but as humans we do have a duty to do the best or make sure that we're responsible; after we've done all that , only then can we surrender our fate to God.

Oh dear, oh dear...

March 8, 2006 : Oasis in the Dessert

This is a map of Khartoum City - I've marked some places of interest that we have visited. I'll refer to the map in future stories, and hopefully will update it along the way.

I got the map from Google Earth, which is a great application to see maps; It's got a cool view of KL, but unfortunately this is as far zoomed into Khartoum as possible.

Anyway, legend-wise here are some pointers:

• Khartoum is made up of 3 cities - Ombdurman and Bahri in the north (Bahri means north in arabic)
• The city is at the meeting of the 2 Niles. Right smack in the middle is Tuti Island, a fertile piece of land full of farms. There's a small ferry jetty nearby and I plan to visit the island one day
• Souk means Market; this ranges from traditional open or wet markets to a large area made up of small shops. It's a wonderful experience shopping here; but be prepared to haggle! I'm not that good though

March 4, 2006 : A Tale of Elephant hair and Kindness

Yesterday was a fun day for the family - a fun, long and eventful day!

We started out early with Syikeen attending the women's association AGM, where, just like the Oscars, she was tipped to be elected as the Secretary. All of the 15(!) people who attended voted for her nomination! Well, good luck dear, I'm sure you'll do just fine!

In the afternoon, we already planned to visit one of the bigger Souks (market) in the city - across the Fitihab bridge, in Omdurman. Interestingly the bridge has 2 tanks guarding its approach; dont know if they're working or not coz I can see the crew sitting leisurely under some trees nearby; I for one am not finding out!

Anyway, we parked nearby the household-ware section of the market; it was starting to get a bit sticky, but we did go at 3pm! and started to do the rounds - goodness! there were so many shops, and we only had 1 hr before we had to surrender the van to my neighbour.

First stop: a shop selling china (we needed a fine set, but we'll shop around first I think!). One thing you'll notice here is that lot of the shops sell similar items, and confusingly, prices are quoted in USD, Sudanese Pounds or Sudanese Dinars. I've found the best way to circumvent this is to flash the numbers on my mobile and show a sampling of the currency i have. All said, the things here are all imported and reasnobly priced

There was one part of the Souk that had a lot of souveniors (sic) and trinkets. One item that I wanted to show my wife was a nice black bangle made out of ... elephant hair! now these hairs are thick and strong - it looks like plastic, until the salesman showed me the eneven size and textures. Well we took out a few and handled them - our driver Ali even put one on Ehsan's wrist - so cute (he looked hip, like his dad! haha). after a few minutes smelling (!) them, we returned them back...but the salesman looked at Ehsan and said 'mafi musykila' - 'no problem' : Ehsan got his bangle for free!

I was stunned! we didnt even buy anything. Quietly waving us away, I offered my Syukran and gave the good man a strong hand-shake and my widest smile, which he graciously accepted!

That was a good, valuable lesson - Up until now all i knew of Sudanese hospitality was from what my fellow expats told me or what i read from the Brandt book I bought back home; but to experience this first hand was quite a delight and a surprise...makes me feel at home already (don't think i ever got any free bangles from strangers back home tho...)

i wonder what else this country has in store for me and my family..?

Arab-a-day:
1. Tamam - I'm OK!
2. Kulu Tamam - I'm Very OK!
3. Mafi - a nicer way to say No (La)
4. Mafi Musykila - No Problem!