I might be the Flash!

I really shouldn't be blogging because I'm supposed to have other priorities today. Sigh.

Yesterday, I set off to work from home, covering approximately 150 km in 4 hours to make it to an important meeting. On the same evening, I covered another 150 km in the bus and train to be back home to cover the B&B for two days while my mother was supposed to have a small medical procedure. Unfortunately, the return trip didn't have confirmed seats so it was two hours of standing in a crowded train until I finally got a seat to sit for the next one hour.

I was standing beside a young couple with a toddler. The toddler even smiled at me a few times and I smiled back of course. On principle, I make sure to acknowledge all smiles and waves from children. We shouldn't make them feel negative or rejected too early in life.

After some time, the people in the train were all lost in their thoughts as the train journey continued. I was daydreaming as usual while listening to calming music and watching the passing scenery when suddenly when one of the smaller bags in the overhead compartment above me fell. My hand reacted involuntarily and caught it mid air and it was only a split second after I caught it that I emerged from the depths of my daydreaming to realise what happened! I wanted to shake the people standing next to me and ask "DID YOU SEE THAT??? I'VE ONLY SEEN THE FLASH DO THAT BEFORE!!". I didn't of course, for fear of being thrown out of the train.

The Flash 

(Image Source: GTA 5 Mods)

It was a baffling experience for me. The best explanation I can think of was that I am the Flash! No, but seriously though, I think it was the presence of a toddler directly below the overhead compartment which kept a subconscious part of my brain alert since I recently watched a bag fall on a man sitting in front of me. That, or this incident never happened and I was just daydreaming all along.

Stress levels are really high these days and I'm trying not to go up in flames. Thankfully, there are plenty of good things going that keeps me afloat. Like learning new things on the job, or having moments of joy watching a sunrise from my seat in the train or having a group of incredibly supportive classmates (having similar levels of stress) to fall back on for lab reports, help with tutorials and revisions during exams.

From the Colombo Fort station

 Watching a sunrise always gives me a renewed sense of hope...

 ...and a reminder that each day can be a beginning of something new

 I even felt the warmth of the Sun's rays touch my skin through the train window. That, with the right music can easily take someone to Cloud 9.

What I need to do now is to find a way to shift to a lower gear because this hill is getting harder to climb.

The Tourist

Having caught two episodes of Cosmos just before bed and learning that Edmund Halley and Isaac Newton had an interesting history together, I woke up this Sunday morning with a thirst for an adventure! If not for Halley's encouragement, Newton may not have published his work on Gravity and history as we now have it would have taken a very different route! Anyway, Halley's comet passes Earth's orbit again in July 2061 when I'll be in my late 70's. If I'm alive and with passable eyesight and consciousness, maybe I'll catch it.

I decided to be a tourist today and visit the world's largest oceanarium - the S.E.A Aquarium at Resorts World Sentosa. Although the park opened about two years ago and I even had the privilege to interview for a position of Marine Mammal Specialist there, I was yet to explore it! I was overwhelmed with the sights of marine life in the enormous tanks. The park made it possible for visitors to see the enchanting beauty of worlds underwater, just like a scuba diver would. I sincerely hope that a good proportion of visitors leave with an idea of what it is that we are slowly destroying with our collective demands on the planet and be a little more environmentally conscious. 

Sri Lanka's Port of Galle was a key location on the Silk Route as displayed in the Maritime Museum...

..where exports included precious gems and pearls, resin, wood, spices, beeswax, coconuts, turmeric, sesame and even corals and Hawksbill turtles.

The journey begins!

Unbelievably graceful, delicate and evolved to resemble seaweed - the Leafy sea dragons

Jellyfish are made of about 95% water! 

Coral reefs teeming with life

No, there were no blue whales at the park, but this poster made me wonder how fortunate we are to live in the time of the largest animal to have EVER lived on Earth! 

After making a quick detour to the Universal Studios Singapore (it pays to have a 6-month unlimited pass since I play the the role of tour guide quite often) to go on the Transformers and the Mummy rides and watch a few shows I hadn't before, I headed home to catch the T20 Cricket World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka.

Settling In

When we were born, all we had in our possession were a few jigsaw puzzle pieces and the board it came in. As we get older, we find the missing pieces here and there in places where life takes us and this puzzle slowly takes shape. Travelling sort of helps with this project. Experiencing something new or realising something new or noticing a new change in you after you've travelled is the equivalent of having found a yet another piece of the puzzle that you are meant to complete. This might also be why there are Westerners travelling far (physically or intellectually) to the East of the globe to find missing pieces to their puzzles and the Easterners go to the West to find some of theirs.

Who's in the mood for puzzles?

It is not often that we (the quieter people) talk to random strangers. If you think about it, the start of a conversation with a stranger has the potential to change the course of your life (for good or bad)! On a less extreme scale, my unplanned chat with a stranger in a taxi stand yesterday saved me $5, reduced our would-be carbon footprint by about half, got me to my destination fast and very comfortably too.

A few months ago, I was collecting a couple of winter clothes for my trip (my friends from cold places laugh at me when I say I find 18 degrees Celcius unbearable. Give me 30 degrees and I'll be more than happy) when I saw a promotional advertisement from National Geographic. They were giving away a free fleece jacket with a new magazine subscription! I was sold within seconds, mostly owing to my unhealthy dependency on fleece blankets which make me feel warm and safe....from what could only be deduced as Yetis. I found someone else to dump the magazines on because I was not too keen on them. I just wanted my fleece.

Then the folks at Natgeo got mixed up with addresses (to my relief, my jacket came to my mailbox just 2 days before flying off!). In addition to where it was intended to go, I ended up getting an extra copy of the magazine. On asking for reasons why this happened, I got the following reply:

The reason why you also received a copy of the magazine was because previously the account was registered with your mailing address. We changed the mailing address later but by then a copy of the magazine had already been dispatched to your address and it couldn’t be intercepted.

Please rest assured that the situation is resolved right now. [Assured? Are you kidding me? I got a free copy! And I was not complaining.. Hahaha and Thank You for that!] If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us quoting the above membership number. 

Anyway, on reading this free copy that got offloaded on me by chance, I learnt that reading it was a lot of fun and informative (unlike how I felt about the same thing over 10 years ago). I was so amused by an article called Big Bird by Olivia Judson on cassowaries that I forgot I was in the train today and actually started to miss the zoo.

I found this awesome track playing on radio this morning. It's such a feel-good song, by Sara Bareilles with her powerhouse of a voice.

After a brief hiatus

Hello everyone!

Since my system has not downloaded its thoughts into writing in a long while, be warned, this post may not make much sense.

Psychology is perhaps a great choice of study. Even without generous research grants, laboratories or guinea pigs, plenty of field studies and theories can be formulated by just quietly looking around.

Social formalities can be confusing sometimes. There are hugs only and one-cheeked kisses and two-cheeked kisses and loud ones and quiet ones and ones inclusive of a hug and even "sniff" kisses where I come from. Basically, elderly people just sniff your cheeks and no one seems to question why it's done. But yeah, sometimes, Shuri gets all confused in the moment with these various options and ends up thinking later "Oh, I should have done this instead of that!"

In a moment of vain curiosity, Shu decided that curls would be an interesting change to her otherwise messy hair. She reasoned that getting curls through a salon would mean that the hair would be a "uniform mess" as opposed Shu's natural hair which is a "non-uniform mess". After braving through nearly two hours of chemical exposure and heat *shudders*, she was given a tutorial on how to maintain these curls. But she forgot most of it by the time she reached home and the next day she went to work as usual after a shower to realise that in place of the curls that were there on the head when she left the salon, was an afro! Slowly, she's learning to manage things with the techniques taught by the hairstylist.

Shu, you stupid girl.

Many weeks ago, two of my childhood buddies and their mother visited Singapore, while my mother was visiting me as well. My mother was practically their mother too, since we all grew up like siblings in the same house from the time we were aged 7 to around 18! So meeting them after goodness knows how many long years, was like a family reunion and it was really fun! Ahhhhh... we laughed and talked so much while visiting all the famous attractions of Singapore.

I even hosted a dinner party for my closest friends while my mother was here (something I rarely do)! I had many panic attacks, wondering how Friend X from Star Z on universe B would get along with Friend F from Planet T in Nebula K or what they would talk with Friend A from Constellation Q on Cluster V. But it turns out, humans are generally sociable creatures, and I worried for nothing (as usual).

Incidentally, I had a good three weeks with my mother and I think we were both able to mend the bonds that were somewhat strained by the long years apart. I do miss her and the family often.

My typical month has four types of weeks:
Week 1 - gets paid - lives like Royalty
Week 2 - lives like an average white collar worker
Week 3 - lives like a peasant
Week 4 - lives like a beggar

And the cycle repeats itself.

I'm coming down with a flu bug, so I'd better stop rambling and go sleep.

The Chek Jawa Tour

The route to Chek Jawa wetlands on the island of Pulau Ubin is a very interesting one, especially in the early mornings. Making it to Changi Village (it seems to take forever in a bus!) and after standing in the queues at the Changi Ferry Terminal, one finally gets to board an old fashioned wooden bumboat. Step into one and metropolitan Singapore is easily forgotten. 

Watching the sunrise as the boat makes its way to Pulau Ubin

Pulau Ubin is a rural village where some of the last kampong villages of Singapore can be seen. It is also home to Chek Jawa, a preserved coral reef area with an impressive collection of marine life and associated ecosystems. Without the pressures of urban development, the island has become a popular tourist attraction where people can relax in the laid back surroundings, cycle, camp and enjoy it's rich biodiversity not too far away from the mainland. There's also a curious family of Pied Oriental Hornbills who've been granted permanent residence in the island and seem to be quite happy with the attention they get from the NParks staff and visitors. Speaking of attention seekers, there are lots of wild boars and their piglets too.

The coastal boardwalk. It is worthwhile to mention that HSBC is a huge benefactor for the conservation efforts that go on here and it has set a good example for the corporate world

I once chanced upon an opportunity to volunteer at the Ubin-HSBC Volunteer Hub (managed by friendly NParks staff) as a guide for the Chek Jawa inter-tidal walk. I liked the place, I had a lot of time on my hands and the job was simple enough; introducing the different marine species and habitats to small groups of visitors. My only concern was public speaking because so far, I have successfully dodged about 98% of situations in life that involved any type of public speaking. It didn't require a biology background, however, mine certainly helped me during training. Training was on the job and we followed experienced guides on their tours and learnt by observation. Reading up was entirely up to us. There were only a few tours during a given month, as it was tide-dependent and most of the marine life is visible only during the inter-tidal period.

Rock oysters (left) and barnacles and limpets (right) firmly attached to the rusted pontoon that even the changing tides don't wash them off them

A very soft carpet anemone (left) and workings of a sand bubbler crab (right)

The relatively small area of Chek Jawa is prized for having six distinct ecosystems (coastal forest, rocky shore, mangroves, sea grass lagoon, sandy bank and coral rubble) lying very close to one other. This makes it an ideal area for researchers to observe and study various inhabitants that occupy these different ecosystems and their associations during varying tides. Experienced NParks staff dubbed "hunters" go early before the tours start and look for specimens on the sea grass lagoon and sandy banks. Their findings are displayed in plastic trays as temporary exhibits for the benefit and education of tour participants. This exhibit is an added bonus to see a larger collection of species that are not always visible during the walk to inexperienced eyes. The staff try to maintain a fine balance between the disturbance to the fragile environment (by human impact) and using specimens for public outreach /conservation efforts. The specimens are released when the tour groups wrap up.

 

A sea horse daddy carries the offspring in his pouch (left) and a sea hare (right). The area is also home to many types of anemones, sponges, corals, sea stars, sea cucumbers, bivalves, fish, crabs, squids, worms, mud skippers, seaweed, sea grass, to name a few - all easily spotted during the tour

Part of the challenge of being a tour guide will be to learn to adjust the facts to cater to people from different backgrounds. The audience can vary from people with a strong science background (more questions to answer!), to those from non-science backgrounds, to children (who have short attention spans) so not everyone will enjoy too much details. During one of my trainings, I was mildly annoyed to see a group of housewives ask the tour guide at each exhibit if these animals were edible and some went on to speak of their memorable experiences in trying out various seafood dishes. Not everyone sees the place with the same level of appreciation but what they all need to take back from the tour is some awareness and initiative to do what little they can to preserve these habitats.

Unfortunately, the Chek Jawa tour was put on hold for the rest of the year as the floating pontoon was due for upgrading, so my training will have to be completed when it resumes in early 2013. On a positive note, I think it'll be quite interesting to see the changes to the species populations and ecosystems when it re-opens after a prolonged period of minimal human impact by visitors to the area. Assuming the upgrading works are done carefully, that is.

A tray full of frogs

Frustrations of an active job seeker:
1. Waiting for a call, any call.
2. Spending a lot of time customising cover letters for different roles - and then not hearing back from any of them.
3. Filling online applications on websites - entering the same information for the umpteenth time, sometimes seeing messages like "Unexpected error. Please log in again." and having to start over again.
4. Capturing that fleeting will to go on with the job search.

Joys of an active job seeker:
1. No strict agendas for each passing day - free to sleep, write, watch TV, listen to music, eat, read, travel around and not having to worry about time.

~ ~ ~

On my way to the bus stop, I pass a restaurant. Judging by the number of customers, it appears to be a popular choice in the area. There are two wire-meshed cages stacked on top of each other on the side of  restaurant. The bottom cage has live crabs, tied up. And the top cage has a tray full of large frogs, submerged in a little water. The crabs seem partly unconscious, the frogs however, look very much alive though they have no space to move around freely. Usually by the time I return from my trips, a significant number of the animals are missing and have been processed to frog soup or sea food dishes.

~ ~ ~

Yesterday (after many weeks of planning), I decided to visit the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, which is supposedly 3 bus stops away. But I boarded the wrong bus and ended up at the Singapore Botanical Gardens (SBG) instead.

It was my first time in a botanical garden in a long time. The last time I visited the Royal Botanic Gardens of Peradeniya (Sri Lanka) might have been during my school years. Sri Lanka's gardens being very impressive in itself for the collection of plants and landscaping, was somewhat laced with a reputation for being a hot spot for lovers, usually seen making out behind trees and bushes. It used to be a parent's horror to take their impressionable young children there. I wonder if things have changed now.

The efforts that have gone into the planning and maintaining of the garden was evident in the aesthetically pleasing atmosphere. It is hard to imagine that an environment like this thrives next door to a busy central business district and I thought it did a wonderful job of showcasing the diversity of plants that make themselves home in tropical rainforests and educating the public on other classes of flora. That too, without charging any admission fees.

 

There are several lakes, different mini-gardens and plenty of places to relax, play, exercise and picnic. The Nparks Headquarters and the National Biodiversity Centre were also located inside the SBG. A rather cool play to have an office, I'll say! In my few hours there, I was only able to explore the Evolution Garden properly, walk from one gate to the other on the opposite side and sit by the Swan Lake to watch the swans, large fish and red-eared sliders. I'll need another day (or days) to explore the rest of it.

And that's how it all began. Millions of years of chemical reactions and evolutionary adaptations later, here WE are

 

 Cycads - they've seen the dinosaurs in the Jurassic period and have evolved little since then!

Not a pile of poop but a moss covered stone being touched by rays of sunshine that made its way to the forest floor. Also on close up, structures for spore dispersal were visible. Mosses are cute.

 

A commendable idea, implemented at several locations around the gardens

On returning home, relaxed and satisfied about taking some initiative to leave the couch and burn some calories, I saw the precautionary note I had left for my housemates "Gone to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve". Leaving notes like that might be a bad idea sometimes.

Oh, I'll also remember NEVER to try the mint and chocolate chip ice cream sold there again. 

Bits n pieces

Mediocrity is a defeating attitude. It's like a dulling of the senses and thoughts. It stunts growth.

After 1.5 weeks of looking out of my window into the park just outside, I finally decided to explore it. It's a nice little niche hidden in a corner of a forest of residential apartments. Several large rain forest-type trees and shrubs surround a few low cost gym equipment meant mostly for elderly folk. I noticed the trees attract several types of birds during the day. I also found it amusing that one of the benches in the park was still in the home wi-fi range.

Cooking is an art. It requires certain skills like creativity, greediness and an overdeveloped sense of smell and taste. And like with most types of arts, it requires practice and patience to master it. I have been forced to rediscover my cooking abilities, out of lack of convenient and vegetarian food in the area. I am not even half the chef I'd like to be, but my food tastes (to me) better than anything I can find here usually. It's funny how I have happily shed bits and pieces of my culture over the years, yet remain strongly and increasingly attached to my traditional cuisine. I dream of the day that I have a kitchen to experiment with food to my heart's content!

*sob*  I miss home

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" (the movie) was BRILLIANT. I watched it twice. And I just learned there is also a second movie. Which rock was I living under while TWO of these movies came out??

I have an orange coloured neighbour next door. Her name's Ginger. She loves to visit us when the the door is open and get a 15-20 minute shower of attention by rolling on the floor and giving our jeans a layer of fur with all that rubbing.

The act is convincing, but I try not to fall for those big eyes asking for cat food at odd hours. 

The other day, I visited the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research for an arranged tour. Though the place is rather small for a natural museum, they have a pretty impressive exhibit of animal and plant specimens. I was told they have many more specimens locked in cupboards in labs due to the lack of space. The good news for these specimens is that in 2014, there will be a new Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, built next to the University Cultural Centre. The proposed multi-storey building will resemble a giant rock from the outside and will house, not one, but THREE dinosaur (diplodocid) exhibits!! That's pretty cool! Sources have also revealed that the dinos are already in Singapore, just waiting to be assembled when the new building is up! I can't wait to visit the new museum in 2014!

I love Adam Levine's voice (plus my favourite line in the song is "All those fairytales are full of shit"!).

Rediscovering humanity

Today, I have my first real day of relaxation at home for the year 2012. I have refused to partake in any family events, chartered services or social events in hopes that I can blog and think about how I want to spend the rest of this year.

Let me get my thoughts aligned and archived up to speed since the last blog.

Driving through the countrysides. Balangoda, Sri Lanka

I had a very eventful and pleasant holiday back home despite the fact that I was always on the run and barely home. Holidays home are mostly about giving your parents a chance dote on you, fulfilling obligations to one's blood line, re-kindling old friendships, doing a little sight seeing (if time permits) and then enjoying the satisfaction of having achieved these. Relaxing in one's home country is not an option. Plans to read a couple of books and intentions to complete my memoirs on Nepal were utterly futile.

Jaffna Peninsula, Sri Lanka

Being away from my country, culture and society for nearly 8 years, I have begun to like living in a open minded society where sectarian and negatively-affecting conservative beliefs are to a minimum (or at least they are not openly expressed, thereby reducing barriers for interaction and forming bonds). Part of my resolution before the trip home was to be patient, less cynical and open minded to what I was about to experience. I think this mentality helped a great deal with the events that took place for the 3 weeks I was home and at times, made me see a side of that society my usual bias would not have permitted. I was touched on several occasions by the humanity displayed by the people there, which is not very apparent in people living in 'more developed' countries.

Views from atop Adam's Peak (2243m above sea level), Sri Lanka

I'll admit to feeling a bit intoxicated on life these days, mostly with the freedom, fortune, distractions and joys of youth. So much change has happened, is happening that I feel like I have stepped into the heart of a cyclone of mental states. In the midst of this unrest of mind, I have to strive to find myself and pin my priorities in place. That, is my new year resolution.

Keeping oneself busy

My mornings at work begin with a quick glance through the daily paper. In it, I look for local news in general (I hardly find anything inspiring, and most are depressing incidents), upcoming social events, letters to the editor and cricket news (to do with our team of course!). If I find anything interesting, I would either forward them to to family and friends or to myself, so that I can follow up on it at home.

Yesterday had two interesting social events lined up. One at a local reserve to release rehabilitated marine turtles to the sea and the other a volunteering event for breast cancer awareness. So early that morning, we (my guest and I) set out for a day full of fun activities.

For the turtle event, after what seemed like driving for hundreds of kilometres, we came to the area illustrated in the map mailed out by the event organisers. "7 km after gas station, take a right into security checkpoint". After passing the said gas station, there were no sign boards leading to a reservoir and seriously, who can tell how much 7km is when driving at 120km/h (heck, I can't tell 7km even otherwise). Then there came a small exit leading to a dirt road (no sign of a security checkpoint). I slowed down, unsure, because the consequence of missing an exit can be disastrous on a one-way highway leading to another state; you can't turn back for another half hour of driving. Call it a lucky guess, there came a 4WD with two women (who 'seemed' like the type to like turtles) and they cut right across us and took that exit. I immediately followed them (no time to think and miss an exit)!! Turns out, they even knew their way very well through the dirt roads leading to the reserve (again, without a single sign board). After about 5-10 mins of driving on dirt roads through the desert, we arrived. Now one might wonder, if these people were headed off somewhere else like a desert safari leading deeper into the desert dunes, what might have happended to us?? How could have we navigated back to the main road when the GPS had no coverage in this area?? Or what if they hadn't come in time and I missed the exit? Oh well, didn't have to worry about any of that!

The turnout was surprisingly huge. Nice to know there were so many enthusiasts who came to watch, along with their little ones. The weather here has take a turn for better here and the reserve was situated next to a beach, which was unpolluted. We had to fight to catch a glimpse of the turtles. I fought with the kids to get a chance to touch one, but they pushed me away when I was about two inches away from shaking hands with a little hawksbill.

All that story-telling aside, I do hope the turtles live long enough out there to make it back to the shore to breed. They are among so many amazing creatures shaped by millions of years of evolution to what they are today. Their habitats and breeding cycles have been vastly destroyed as a result of the parasitic menace, that are homo sapiens.

Event number two was more for my guest as she loves all things to do with crafts and sewing. We volunteered at an assembly line for sewing neck cushions for breast cancer patients. Now I am very skeptical if these will actually reach the patients, and if they do, would these actually make them feel better. Aren't there bigger things we can do for them than just sewing bags and cushions? But it was a good initiative to spread awareness and a good opportunity for selfish people like us to forget our lives for a bit and devote a little time for another. We weren't that useful; our line made just nine cushions and that was all the fabric the organisers had for our line. Only one thing hit my mind when I saw the pile of end products; please, let there not be as many patients as those cushions and bags imply.

My travel buddy for the day had fun and it did her a lot of good in terms of cheering her up. She even met a like minded sewing-lover. I overheard a conversation of theirs at a store for crafting items (went something like this):

The friend: OMG, LOOK at all these different colours of thread and fabric!!! [squeals]
The other person: Yes! It's amazing, they have a good collection.
The friend: I mean, it's such a turn on, seeing all this!
[Shu: o_O .... ]
The other person: People who are not into this type of thing won't get it.
[Shu: Hmmm.]

Made me think if I told someone that the sound of starting the Jeep's engine first thing in the morning and hearing its crisp and roaring sound was such a turn on, I'd get that same look (or worse). So yeah, whatever floats our boats!

Travel Blog: Musandam, Oman

Two weeks ago, I got the sudden chance to take a trip to Oman. Someone had bought two tickets from a limited period offer but her friend could not go in the last minute, so I was asked and I jumped on the opportunity!

Luckily, she asked me one day in advance, so it saved me many days' worth of hypertension in the form of nervous anticipation and excitement. I am never able to sleep well on the days leading to "The Trip Day". Back in the primary school days of class trips, I was afraid that I would oversleep and be left out! But now that I am older and have found digital alarm clocks quite reliable, it is more of a "OMG!! I can't believe I'm going on a trip!! OMG!! *faint*" or "Did I remember to pack everything???"

So early in the morning I set out with my stuff, the sun bright and hot (at maybe 45 degrees)! My friend with punctuality issues was late as usual. But we managed to flag a taxi and made it on time to the meetup point. We were actually early and the bus left nearly 30 minutes AFTER stipulated time. (Shuri, people usually tell you a time with a buffer level to cater for latecomers, it doesn't mean you have to go right on time...). Being the early birds, we grabbed 2 prime locations on the bus and made ourselves comfortable. Unfortunately, a bunch of 12-15 guys - same race, same age group - got in and started making the biggest racket, laughing and talking away loudly in their ethnic language. Now I've seen and been in too many similar situations like this, so while we had the chance, we shifted over to the other bus, with more cultural diversity and better behaved people. Turns out it was a good idea, even though we ended losing our perfect seats!

Mountains are a rare sight here. These are the crumbly sort of mountains made of sandy soil and rock flakes. Nothing significant grows on it.

 The drive through mountain-land.

At the port, getting comfortable on the dhow before sailing out.

About a 2-hour drive later with many camel sightings, we reached our destination: Musandam. I would not notice till after the trip, that I lost my specs somewhere on the way, maybe in the taxi, or the bus or at Macdonalds! We were immediately shuttled to a dhow (a traditional 2-tier wooden boat). The lower deck was occupied by the hooligans, so we moved upstairs. If looks could kill (and with the temperature as high as it was), we would have blown up in flames and died - what's with certain cultures who just would NOT stop staring, not even to blink :O Call me racist, but I find it a very disgusting habit. And no, it's not just the male creatures in one country doing this, it's actually ALL the countries located in close proximity near the Indian Ocean, with my wonderful country included. Retards, who can't tell a lollipop apart from a woman, I thought. My traveling companion took it quite well with her "Who gives a fuck? Let them stare" attitude.

The blue sea!!

The upper deck, with comfortable louge chairs for free tanning. No thanks, I'm brown enough ;)

Docked for snorkeling and swimming.

Stunning views of the fjords, overlooking the sea.

The trip on the dhow was very enjoyable. The sun was bright. The views were simply stunning. The sea was dark blue. The wind was soothing and made the heat a lot bearable. The world looked so beautiful. I was thrilled to be there. Crappy food was served on the boat. There were moments where I felt seasick. But I managed to keep the food down by drinking lots of Gatorade and chewing gum.

We docked close to the shore for 2 hours, where the "tourists" were allowed to swim and snorkel. There was nothing worth admiring in the sea bed. No colourful corals, only murky waters and coral-like structures covered in slime. No rich marine life that was worth looking at. So I got rid of my snorkeling mask and instead enjoyed swimming. Most people enjoyed themselves. Swimming gives the liberating feeling of being weightless. The oglers were busy ogling.

On our way back, the dhow once again anchored in the deep sea to allow the people to have some fun at fishing. I look down on the act, as it involves removing a innocent creature from it's natural habitat and killing it, just for the thrill of it. So I spent my time upstairs enjoying the scenery. Usually, this tour is known to have dolphins follow the boats, but we saw none. Soon we were back at port and we were once again ready to travel by land, back to the resident country. On the way we stopped at a gas station for a toilet break. And those toilets are definitely worth mentioning as they were unisex toilets, where no living creature would want to seat their asses. Goodness knows what infectious microorganisms it harboured.

Local architecture.

This country has the most interesting and creative roundabouts.

Funny signs spotted: "Royal Saloon" situated right beside "High Class Wedding". There was nothing of high class about it.

Back at the point of origin, it was dark. We were sun burnt, sticky, salty, stinky, hungry and tired. I find out I have lost my spectacles somewhere, and the shades were no longer helpful. I call home to find out my family members have gone on a long distance trip and I didn't have the house key with me. NOT a perfect end to an otherwise perfect day. I ended up following my friend to the hospital as she was developing a cough. After her appointment, we took a taxi back home, with a detour at Macdonalds to binge ourselves on food. My fries had no ketchup. Then I stayed at a neighbour's place, clearly troubling them late at night, until my family was back.

What a trip! I loved the change of scenery.