"Shu Man-Chu"?

When I first started working here in Abu Dhabi, I was quite proud of my work experience in Canada, where everyone at work had great understanding of different cultures, and rules and regulations were in place to ensure a harassment-free work environment. In fact, not only I was proud, I was maybe a little snobbish about it, thinking that I have seen it all.

Well, it didn’t take long before things started to bother me at work. A month ago, an Australian joined our team and we got along fabulously well. Then a few days later he walked into my cubicle calling me “Shu Man-Chu”! Now that did not sit well with me. In Canada, everyone knows how taboo it is to address co-workers by hinting his/her ethnic background. A few days later I jokingly mentioned my annoyance to the Australian colleague, who, to my surprise, was very offended that I didn't like it. You see, his logic is that it was a show of endearment and friendship. This was further confirmed after I confided with another Australian friend – apparently Aussies like to give each other politically-incorrect nicknames. Other examples of Aussie nicks include "Baldie" (for a girl!) and "Little Man". Q also reminded me that the Dutch are also famous for being very un-PC.

So after this and a few other incidents (such as an English colleague giving me fashion critism on my work outfit and calling another girl colleague ‘fat’. *GASP!*), I have come to a better understanding of the work environment here: Not only it is multi-cultural, but also multi-national! As much as confusing, it is also great fun and eye-opening experience. I just have to grow my skin thicker!

To end this blog posting, maybe it is best that I pull a survey and enlist everyone’s input: Do you think Shu Man-Chu makes a cute nickname for work?

More on UAE Driving

Our friend Richard suggested that we should blog about the "Arabian Airbags", so here it is. They are commonly known as referring to those infants who parents hold them in their arms while sitting in moving vehicles. Sad really. I suppose every city has its ugly side just like its grand side.
Anyhow, now you know.

Sheikh Zayed Grande Mosque - for the mailinglist

So I used a new feature in that last posting which does a neat trick of showing a slideshow of the pictures I took. But as it turned out, that doesn't show up on the e-mail people receive whenever we update the website!
So for those who didn't click to find the pics on the actual blog, here are the pics, the 'old-fashioned' way :)(still, the gimmick in the previous post is really cool, check it out by looking at it on the blog itself!)

Sheikh Zayed Grande Mosque

Here's a short photographic impression I shot with my old Panasonic compact digi on the newly opened Sheikh Zayed Grande Mosque in Abu Dhabi. I'll have to come back and do some 'proper' shots with my DigiSLR and Hasselblad soon!

Observations on driving in U.A.E. - part II

By all means, don't just take my word for it... the frontpage of our local newspaper Gulf News today said in big letters: 'Fiery Deaths in Fog'.

(image courtesy of Gulf News)

Yesterday, Sara and I wanted to visit Dubai. 40k's out of Abu Dhabi we ran into traffic, very heavy traffic. My immediate thought: it must be an accident, because there is no other reason why it shouldn't be moving. There's nothing out here, Dubai is still at least 40kms away! So I turned on the radio and listened to reports of one of the biggest accidents in the history of the U.A.E.! At least 3 killed, 350 injured, at least 60 vehicles involved in the crash! One of the main reasons why this crash could happen was that, even though heavy fog reduced visibility to less than 50 meters, people were still speeding! A recipe for disaster :(
Click on the picture for the full article.

(on a lighter side, finally, after having waited for almost 3 months, we have our car back! and yes, it looks like new! and now starts the selling...)

New lens!

I purchased a new lens for my camera, a lens with a serious high drool-level :)
It's a Canon 135mm f2 L (thanks again, Twyls, for bringing it over for me!). The first couple of shots I made with it turned out like this:
I'm very pleased with the results! Gotta love the depth-of-field it gives!

Very cool demo

(nerd alert!!)

So for once, something that has absolutely nothing to do with Shu, me, Abu Dhabi or our travels...
A serious cool demo on the use of online images! I was very impressed with it, and some parts of it are already usable online!
Click on the image for the demo:
(thank you, Os, for the tip!)

(nerd alert off)

Ok, a short update on us, Shu is still in the Philippines, backpacking southern Luzon, together with Sara. And I, meanwhile, am back in Abu Dhabi. Even back to work!
The trip was excellent! I got to see parts of the Philippines I hadn't been to before, did plenty of diving (I can recommend going wreck diving in Subic Bay, I dove the LST and El Capitan), on a sourer note, I dropped my dive computer and the glass has a slight crack in it... So I'll need to get that fixed!
And then there was the family reunion! Not planned as such, but when people discovered that my parents were going, just about everybody starting to fly in! Serious fun!

Pictures, as usual, will follow!

The ever-present soundtrack that is Vietnam! - part 1

My Lonely Planet guide book to Vietnam suggested to bring 'ear-plugs to the ever-present soundtrack that is Vietnam' :) and it's very true...
From early morning on (at night it does actually go quiet) until the wee hours, the streets of any town in Vietnam are LOUD! Whereas Abu Dhabi drivers have their horns hooked to the robot, over here, the honk is connected to everything; the steering wheel, the indicator, the gas pedal and the brake! Honking is a way of life here, and it's also a means to survive! But it's definitely not a complaint, it's part of the whole experience, and I loved it!

My trip to Vietnam was wonderful. I really had a great time. I traveled mostly through the north of the country, saw the coast, the beaches, the mountains, small towns, big cities. Used all kinds of mode of transport, trains, small tourist buses, large (sleeper) tourist buses, local buses, 'xe oms' (motorbikes, you get pestered 100+ times a day by guys who want to ride you to where ever you're going 'MOTORBIKE, one hour, cheap, cheap!', they would shout), scooters (I drove one through Hue traffic!), rickshaw's and cabs. All modes of transport were very memorable in their own sense. And all these different modes meant I got to see a lot of different sides of the country, cities, towns, rice paddies, mountains, you name it.

The kind of trips I usually like to make are independent, I like to travel to places where I either can blend in (U.S. for instance) or where I am one of the few tourists and can leave the beaten tourist trail (China). But unfortunately this was not really possible in Vietnam, I tried, believe me, but since especially the middle of the country is very narrow, the tracks one can go on are limited. So after arriving in Hanoi and spending a few days there (I love cosmopolitan and/or Asian cities), I went on an organized trip to Halong Bay. Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to beautiful karsts, giants rocks (or small islands) that stick out of the water, quite impressive. There were hundreds of tour operators to offer this trip, and even my guide book said that you couldn't possibly do it any cheaper if you do it yourself, so I went ahead and booked a trip. We left Hanoi around 8 am with a bus and drove to Halong Bay. Arriving there, I realised how huge this whole enterprise really is. There were at least 100 junks (that's what the boats are called!) moored waiting to take on passengers. Our boat took a maximum of 16 people divided over 8 cabins, but our group consisted of only 13 people (I had a cabin to myself!). This sort of was the catch, you have this beautiful nature reserve, but it's filled with boats with tourists, and unfortunately the waters were pretty poluted.

After coming back to Hanoi, I connected to the night train to Sapa. Sapa is a mountain town home to a weekly market where indigeonous mountain people meet. From here one can take single- or multiple-day tours (hiking, motorcycle, biking, etc) through the many different mountain tribes including doing homestays. I opted for a 2-day hike and doing one homestay. Our guide was a girl from one these mountain tribes, quite a smart, quick-witted girl, not shy at all, as one sometimes gets to think most Asians are. The hike was not too strenuous, but took the greater part of the day. I had two Dutchies in my group (such coincidence!), and another group with two Australians joined us at our homestay house. Good fun!
The 2nd day was much easier, we only walked half an hour or so around the little village to see some sights, then the bus picked us up and dropped us in Sapa. From there back to Hanoi. Next destination: go south!

Ok, this was part 1 for now, more to follow! I'll leave you with a well worth piece of advice found in the Lonely Planet:

'Pedestrian survival rules in Vietnam
Foreigners frequently make the make the mistake of thinking that the best way to cross a busy street in Vietnam is to rum quickly across it. This does not always work in practice, which can make have you wind up like a bug on a windshield. Most Vietnamese cross the street slowly -very slowly- giving the motorbike drivers sufficient time to judge their position so they can pass on either side. They won't stop of even slow down, but they will try to avoid hitting you. Just don't make any sudden moves.'
I can full heartily agree with this! It really works :)

The Koreans are taking over!

In the Philippines right now for a impromptu family reunion... The biggest change to 2 1/2 years ago, when I last visited, are all the Korean signs everywhere. Apparently the Koreans have 'discovered' the Philippines and are busy buying property, setting up businesses, etc. And they're here as tourists as well. Some refer to them as the 'new Chinese' (and that might not be a compliment...).

Funny thing: when diving in Cebu last week, my dive guide said that Koreans practice a whole different concept of scuba diving. Where most divers want to go diving for as long as possible, go to the most beautiful locations even if it means having to boat out for hours, the Koreans are a different breed. The guide said they 'only dive just outside the harbor, stay in for 15 minutes, in which they take some pictures underwater and couples kiss, and that's it'. Weird people, those Koreans ;)

O, and yes, I know, I still owe you my piece on Vietnam... I'm working on it :)

Movie Review: Seachd

I had the honor of watching an absolutely amazing film called Seachd last night. The free screening was organized by the British Council in association with the Abu Dhabi Culture and Heritage Foundation. Being cheap and a movie junkie, I obviously didn't pass on this opportunity, and am I glad!

(Photos from Seachd Website)

The most peculiar thing about the drama feature is that it is in Gaelic with English subtitle. The stories, characters, music and settings had so much of Scottish soul - it was incredibly heart-felt and magical! Within minutes into the movie, I already knew it was a master piece and I was in for a treat. It was movie back to basics and at its best.

The last time I raved this much about a movie was for Little Miss Sunshine (and previously Grave of the Fireflies). Similar to LMS, Seachd made me laugh out loud at times, but further more, it reached a lot deeper in me. I suppose it's one of those movies that the more you are open to it, the more it gives back. In fact, I was so touched that after I stepped out of the movie theater, I just couldn't help but started choking up. Yes, it's very embarrassing but I couldn't care less - I just had to stay connected with the movie a bit longer!

Do me a favor and try find it on your local big screen! Go, Scotland!