Tunisia

I’ve just returned from a trip to Tunisia with Ham.  We took the SafirgoTravel tour package and it was well worth the RM 7,390 per pax that we paid for the 9D7N trip. We left by Emirates for Dubai on 15 Dec at 03:00 in the morning.  From Dubai it was just 5 hours to Tunis and we were scheduled to arrive at 2:00 pm local. But we arrived at 5:00 pm because of delays at Dubai due to some technical faults with the A340. We changed aircraft and took off 3 hours later.
A lot had to be covered in the 7 days in this country that is full of historical – Roman, Goths, Vandals, Arab, French – heritage. The Arab legacy, however, prevailed to this day; and Tunisia is one of the 5 countries – Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania -- of the African Maghrib.
Our tour started with Tunis, the capital city, to Kairouan to Tozour, to Douz on the edge of the Sahara; then along the Mediterranean coastal highway to Monastir with stops for the sights at Sousse and Nabeul before returning to Tunis for a final 2N stay. Most memorable were the 1 hour camel ride into the dunes of the Sahara and a 4x4 trip to the Atlas mountains. A visit to a date plantation by horse cart was equally memorable (see video).

Camel riding at Douz	Early start for 4x4 trip to Atlas Mtns.

At a date plantation in Tozour, Tunisia

New Smart Phone

I just got myself a Samsung Galaxy Note II smart phone.  It’s really smart and I am very happy with it, even though I am yet to master all it’s functionalities especially the S Pen.  For the time being, I am busy transferring my data (contacts, pictures, and other stuff) from the old Blackberry Curve.
Actually I did like the Blackberry because I made it dumb and had the battery last me some 7 days between charging.  But now with the Galaxy Note, it’d be stupid to make it dumb; so I have to accept the need to charge it every night, sometimes in the car as well. It’s biggish for a phone, but I got big hands, so that’s okay. And the screen is much bigger too compared to the Blackberry. For GPS, the screen is even better than my Garmin.
Now, let’s see: how many hand phones have I had since my first Nokia? Umm...the Motorola clamshell, the O2, followed by two China made phones with TV functions, then a Malaysia made CSL Android smartphone with GPS, then the Blackberry and now the Galaxy Note II.  I hope this will be my last.
Afternote:  Even Ham now got a Galaxy smartphone. But Mek will probably go for the Blackberry Q10 or Q5 (updated 16 Jul 2013)

Spanish holiday

Last September, we went on a family holiday after a lapse of 12 years. The last time we went on holiday as a family was in 2000 when we went to Lake Tahoe for the children to enjoy a bit of snowboarding. After 9/11 no more travelling to America. However, I did a lot of travelling since then on overland adventure trips by 4WD vehicles in a convoy. In fact I’ve done five trips covering the four continents of Asia, Europe, Africa and South America. So this recent family trip was meaningful since the children are all young adults.

We had about 12 days in Spain with Malaga as the hub from where we drove to Granada (Alhambra), Cordoba and Seville. From Seville we took the train to Madrid. Apart form all the sightseeing and shopping, I think our most memorable experience was the bullfight.

Nice weather, hard seats	Provoking the tired, confused bull

There were six bullfights over the 2 1/2 hour session. All six bulls lost.

Bullfighting is a cruel, blood sport. And many Spanish cities – Barcelona, Malaga, Seville -- have banned it. And pressure from animal rights advocates is mounting. Madrid may ban it too in the future. But my Spanish friends in KL believe it’s all political and economics. When the going gets tough and the tourist dollar is badly needed to upkeep the splendid bullrings and the thousands of people in the business, then they’ll bring back the bullfights, they said.

 
However, I certainly don’t like it; the poor bulls just had no chance. Even if it could gore a matador it’d still lose the fight and be killed.

iPhone video by Nazrin 10 Sep 2012 Madrid

Cataract Op

I have been postponing my cataract operation since early this year because of the travelling I was doing - Italy, UK and Spain. Having just come back from Spain I got the op scheduled for Wednesday 3 Oct 2012 at Ampang Putri with Dato Dr Baljit Kaur doing the honours.

	She did my right eye first with the left eye scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday 10 Oct. I now have a brand new eye with multifocal lens; and it's great. My vision is certainly much better with the right eye - I am writing this post without specs. And it'd be much better when the left eye is done.
So next week I should be a new guy walking about without specs, except for powerless sunglasses. I could have it done at our Military Hospital and being a pensioner, pay nothing, but my dear wife was willing to foot the bill. Furthermore Dato Dr Baljit had all my records.

On this note, I can't help but remember how my father had cataract back in the mid 1950's but he refused to go for operation for several reasons: firstly, he couldn't afford it, secondly he was a great believer in takdir or God's will and thirdly he didn't quite like hospitals. So for almost 20 years until his death in March 1975, he endured blindness.
I don't blame him considering that the technology back then must have been quite primitive compared to nowadays, where we have laser and ultrasound techniques, local anesthetics and very modern OT facilities.

Raya 2012

We had a good Raya this year.  The governmet's largese with generous bonuses, windfall for Felda settlers and the good economic climate the country is currently experiencing, made everyone look happy and comfortable. Despite the Opposition's effort to create racial tension, the harmony among us remained intact. This is evident from the number of guests who came for our "Open House" today. Our friends and acquaintances, be they Chinese, Indians, Japanese, Syrian, Caucasian (Dane, Spanish, Swedish, Aussie, English, Scottish), Singaporean and Malays of course, came from far and near. And they came with their children too; and the "duit raya" was disbursed appropriately.

Everybody had a good time enjoying the variety of food typical of Malaysian cuisine; and in some cases meeting some long lost friends or relatives. The weather also played its part by pouring a bit of rain in the afternoon to cool down the environment.

In the morning after the Aidil Fitri prayers at the mosque, we had our traditional breakfast as a family. Of my six children, three are away — Ida in England, Nani in Dubai and Fahd in New Zealand. This has been the case every Raya all these years.

I certainly hope one Raya in the future we would see all six of them home with us, with their husbands/wives and children. Wishful thinking, perhaps!

Ida Nikah

My first-born, Ida Mumtaz finally tied the knot.  Her beau, Philip Andrew Rolland, embraced Islam and took the Muslim name Faris, meaning “Knight” in Arabic.  They were later wedded at a simple ceremony at the Grand Mosque, Regent Park, London on Wednesday 18 July, 2012 attended by her parents, cousin Rozimi, relatives Adik Ja and Yennui, and officers of the Malaysian High Commission.

Ida and Philip	Shaykh Khalifa Ezzat

The Imam,  Shaykh Khalifa, conducted the ceremonies which were very simple compared to that in Malaysia.

Syukur alhamdullilah; may the couple have a wonderful life and live happily in wedlock.

Visiting Philip's Parents

Ham and I had a most pleasant evening on Friday 13 July when we visited Philip's parents in Birmingham.  They took us to dinner at an Indian restaurant near their home in the suburb of Birmingham. After that we adjourned to their home for coffee and "getting to know you" small talk.

It's a pity they won't be able to attend Ida and Philip's Akad Nikah on Wednesday 18 July at the Regent Park mosque in London, since they'd be departing for Spain for their holidays this Saturday (tomorrow) 14 July, 2012.

Ida is back

Ida is back home. She came back to attend a conference actually. It's her RCOG Annual International Scientific Conference 2012 held in Kuching from 4-9 Jun. She came home on 2 Jun and will leave for London on 13 Jun.

Last night Sunday 10 Jun, we had Japanese dinner as a family at The Shang. But two of her siblings were not there -- Nani is in Dubai and Fahd in Wanganui New Zealand. A family friend, Edward Kadar Shah and his girlfriend, also came.

Skyping with Fahd

	We did some skyping with Fahd in New Zealand to day.  He was sick a few days ago with cold and had been missing class.  New Zealand is having winter now, the temerature being around 9-10 deg C.
Anyway we are pleased to see him looking better and being quite chatty as well.  He also asked about Faritz winning a bicycle race and an iPad 2 as the first prize.  During his last semester break, Fahd went to South Island for a holiday and he promised to email some photos to us.  So Fahd, please concentrate on your assignments now and come home later this month with a good report.

AN ITALIAN HOLIDAY

I've just returned from Italy. My wife Raja Azma, her sister Raja Zabedah and husband (Raja Aziz) and I went on a trip to Positano (near Naples), Florence and Rome for two weeks from 14 Apr 2012. While at Positano, we were able to visit Amalfi, Ravello, Isle of Capri and Pompeii.

At Florence, Raja Azma had a wonderful time dragging me along to the Academia and Uffizi to see the works of Michaelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci and others. I wasn't too keen on the sculptures; you see one you see them all. So I reached my "boredom level" pretty fast and opted to sit it out while she wandered to all the showrooms. We also visited Tuscany where I did some shopping; and had a look at a factory making terracota statues and gate/garden adornments. Shopping at Florence wasn't that interesting but eating was, especially around the tourist area of the Doumo.

At Pompeii we went to the ruins of the old Pompeii that was overun by laha when Mt Vesuvius erupted almost 2,000 years ago. It was tiring walking on the cobble streets, but it did make me feel the sense of history.

We had three nights at Rome, one on the way up north to Florence and two on the way back from Florence. The hotel where we stayed at was at the best location near the Spanish steps. The branded shops were just below the steps and further on there were the various buildings and monuments of interest.  Here again Raja Azma dragged me to the Vatican Museum to see Michaelangelo's painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.  Fortunately, I didn't reach my boredom level here and toured the place with some enthusiasm, taking many photos with my new Olympus Pen PM1 despite the "No Photography" warnings (their law enforcement was rather poor).  Our Italian friends, Gianni and his wife Sandra also took us for a walking tour of the city before dinner and ice cream on the night we arrived at Rome.

All in all, it was an interesting and memorable holiday. A valuable lesson learnt is not to self-drive. One can always hire a car-and-driver to anywhere, or use public transport.  Both Florence and Rome being old cities, have very narrow roads, a legacy of the horse carriage.  Likewise roads to Positano and the Amalfi coast are cut on the side of mountains; hence very narrow and winding all the way.  Thus the Hertz Mercedes that we hired, had quite a few bumps and scratches and spent most of the time being parked in a garage at Positano and Florence. Secondly, do travel light.

Fahd going to NZ

My no. 3 son, Fahd will be going to Wanganui, New Zealand, to take up a degree course in Animation. He was allowed a 2-year stint on account of him already having a Diploma in Animation. He will leave for Wanganui on 4 Feb 2012. Afternote: 15:00 hrs Sun 5 Feb. Fahd called to say he has arrived safely in Wanganui.