QA: To The North

This morning, I woke up late. My plan was to relax a bit and to recover from my travel earlier of the week and exhaustion from yesterday's picnic (and late night karaoke... :-))

Then after noon prayer, I asked SK whether he wanted to go somewhere (SK never said loudly what he wants to do, so I have to ask) to which he just smiled. Apparently, Zal has something in his mind. If anyone knows Zal, he is full of "wicked" ideas that will increase the number of places that he sets his feet on. I sort of know his plan since he never stopped mentioning about going up to the north of Qatar for few days already.

When I walked into the living room, Zal told me that SK wanted to go out. "SK nak gi jalan-jalan ke north Qatar"... yeah right...like SK who made that suggestion :-)

Without hesitation, I agreed to the suggestion. Zal gave me one condition - I have to drive. The reason: he doesn't have the sunglasses. (Reason macam ni pun boleh ke?)



We left my apartment around 2pm and followed Al-Shamal Road towards the north. The first stop is Umm Mohammed, which according to the Marhaba guide (a comprehensive guide to Qatar - but seldom updated with latest info), there's suppose to be a fort over there. Unfortunately, we were not able to find it. Maybe it has dissapeared or destroyed by the bulldozer to make way for development.

Next stop is Fuwairit Beach. This is a wonderful beach, a lot better than Wakrah or Messaied. The only drawback is the journey takes slightly more than an hour from the city. Adjacent to the beach (however have to go back to the main road and turn into the next junction) is a resort. Don't be fool by the word "resort". It is not even close to the resort that we used to know in beautiful Malaysia. To get to the resort compound, a cover charge of QAR30 per pax is (supposedly) collected. However, Zal's negotiation skills are top-notch, and we were able to have a look at the resort free of charge. Verdict: Don't bother to stay at this resort.

In less than two hours, the sun will set. And we were not even reached our planned destination yet. Drove quickly to the Madinat-al-Shamal (or the North City) and its nearby town, Al-Ruwais. These two towns are originally a fishing village. Very calm neighbourhood. Performed our Asar prayer at the small mosques on the way to the Zubara Fort. At the open field near the mosque, two Arabs were playing with their dogs.

We reached Zubara Fort less than an hour before the sunset. I let the pictures explain it all. :-))

It was a tiring trip but very satisfied. For sure, I will not go to the north again hehehehehe. The furthest probably be Fuwairit Beach.


~ MT @ Qatar
~~ Madinat-al-Shamal

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

QA: A Dip in Salt Water

After nearly three years in this country, I finally decided to have a dip in a blue Persian Gulf. With few other friends, we decided to have a picnic at Messaied Beach, south of D0ha. This is the area where tourists come for a Desert Safari. However, driving a non-4WD vehicle only allow us to reach the beach near the resort. Further into the desert, you need a 4WD and good driving skills to maneuver the sand dunes.

Driving from D0ha to Messaied takes only 30 minutes and utmost 45 minutes - unless you are harrassed by the brutal drivers in 4WD who think the roads are theirs.

Messaied is a refinery area, if I am not mistaken and a home to Qatar Endurance circuit. Our current King, Tuanku Mizan participated in the Qatar Endurance race before and was featured in the local newspaper. His Majesty has to withdraw from representing Malaysia in Asian Games last year since it coincided with the oath taking ceremony. Well, if he was here during thegame, I would not be able to watch the endurance race. Hehehehe.... don't have a pick-up truck or 4WD to follow the racers 80km into the desert. And it started at 6am in the morning..... :-)

Messaied is the nearest beach for the urbanites from Doha. There are more beautiful and secluded beaches up north and west, but these are quite far. The one at Fuwairit (north of Q4tar) is nice and beautiful. Another that local frequent is Wakrah Beach, just situated at near the end of runaway 14 of DOH international airport. Messaied on that day was a bit crowded too - with beach buggies zooming on the sand near picnickers spurting sands into the food :-(

The weather was nice and we had only 1.5hrs of day time when we reached there. During this "summer" season, it is too hot to do any outdoor activities before 4pm. In fact, the best time is around 5pm, but it will shorten your day time enjoyment since the sunset is at 6pm.

Had "fried beehoon" and KFC for our late lunch. What more satisfying after the deep in the salt water than a hot KFC... hehehehehe.... thanks KM for "sponsoring" KFC... :-)

Enjoy some photos... guess which one is me ;-)

~ MT @ Qat4r
~~ Messaied Beach

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

QA: Dinner

Just got back from one audit firm dinner at Sharq Village Resort. I was not part of the firm, but a friend who is working with the firm invited me and Zal to be his guests at the dinner. I was a bit reluctant at first since there was no formal invitation. It is by word of mouth from Zal who told me that RK wants both of us to attend the dinner.

The resort is the latest in D0ha. It is managed by the Ritz Carlton D0ha and its spa is managed by Six Sense Spa. The resort itself has been built based on Arabic elements, from its architecture to the internal deco. Very nice hotel indeed!

Back to the dinner. This firm is one of the world's biggest audit firms and for this country's practice, it has less than 50 staff. Majority of the staff are from South Asians, which is not surprising given that most of the financial sectors here are conquered by South Asians.

It was a buffet dinner and the food is Indian. I guess by now, you know why :-) As per other functions that I attended, be it wedding reception, company annual dinner, I don't eat a lot. So, I just sampled the food a bit of here and there.

Overall, it was good to mingle with some of these auditors. Introduced to new friends and contacts.

~ MT @ Qatar

~~ Sharq Village, D0ha

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

QA: Rollin'..

After dinner last night, Zal told me that few of our friends are going to play bowling tonight. Since I have not met some of them since I arrived here, I agreed to go. Persuaded SK and managed to get him to join.

Reached the newly refurbished Qatar B0wling Centre and saw KM, Shah, Dom and couple more others enjoying themselves rolling the ball.

Am not a good bowler, and it shows..hehehehehe... but Zal looked like a pro... see the picture below.... look at that cuuurrrvveeeeee...... :-))

More photos here.

~ MT @ Qatar
~~ QBC, D0ha


~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

QA: Back to reality

I arrived safely at DOH around 2140hrs local time. While transiting at AUH, both myself and JJ had a coffee at C0sta coffee and stayed there from the moment we reached AUH until the boarding time. The 4 hours waiting was uneventful. The terminal was not yet crowded since most of the EY departures are past midnight.

I always feel claustrophobic everytime I am at AUH terminal. Its sphere design sort of makes the place looks smaller.

Boarding started around 2100hrs local time and no separate boarding for Pearl Zone guests. Well, not a problem since the flight was not full. It was a smooth boarding although I believe the crew were not that ready. I noticed that there were only two crew in Pearl Zone in which I think it should be more than that. I was right. After half of the guests boarded, two more crew join the flight. And it included the Cabin Manager... hahahahhaha...the Cabin Manager was late for duty.

I was so tired and the moment the pushback started, I fell asleep. Only to wake up when the crew served snacks, which I declined politely. But not before I snap some photos :-) Snapping is a must!

One of the great things flying business class into DOH is you get to disembark the plane first. Not that other airports not doing the same, but the immigration situation at DOH is a chaos. I was right. Just before us, there were flight from MAA and MNL. And the queue overflowed to Marhaba Meet and Greet section.

(In DOH, if you are travelling first time to Qatar and want to avoid queuing for immigration, you can book for a Marhaba Meet and Greet service. They will settle all your visa related and escorted you until you out of the arrival hall. This also means, no need to queue. Just stay back at their lounge enjoying snacks and drinks).


Have no problem on my visa. Was granted to stay for three months as usual. The baggage reclaim was at carousel number 2 and to my dismay, it was not working. I have to pull my 27kg Samsonite from the "bridge" connecting the baggage carousel from the outside one. Only after 15 minutes they changed to another carousel.


No problem as well for my luggage.. I was expecting to be stopped by the Customs since I am carrying two bottles of "kicap" (don't laugh... - they don't have Malays1an "kicap" here). Customs normally will ask you to open your bag if the x-ray machine detects there are bottles in there.

Outside the arrival terminal was crowded. Called Zal whether he's here to pick me up (although I didn't ask him to). And yes he's at the airport and I asked him whether the can drop JJ home. His Tiida is big enough to for two big suitcases, two medium size boxes and two cabin luggage. Hmm.. perfect score for Tiida.

Went straight home after dropping JJ. Unpacked, had a shower and off to bed. As my dearest blogger friend said, back to reality... back to life in hot and dusty D0ha....

~ MT @ Qatar
~~ Sadd, D0ha

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

In-Flight: KUL-AUH

Today is the day I will be traveling back to dusty and hot Doha. Couple of days before, I had requested for extra luggage allowance and the Etihad Country Manager, Mr Lindsay White has approved it. I thought it was a nice gesture from Etihad… Thanks a lot Lindsay.. If you are reading this blog, do leave a comment and I can assure you that I have written a positive feedback to EY management on this :-)

My journey started at 11 am. Drove to KLIA with my family and BH entailed in his car with my younger brother. Received SMS from Shah wishing me bon voyage. Then Famil texted me and followed by Zal.

Checked in was abreeze. It was at counter island A. Altogether, I checked in 51.3kg of luggage, mostly belongs to my friends in D0ha. EY check in was managed by KLIA Airport Service (unlike Qatar which was handled by MH staff). The staff in charge, Azman was very helpful. Spoke to him a bit about EY in general. They have only three people (including the supervisor) at the airport working in shift and two people at the town office for reservation. Also I praised him on the excellent cooperation given by the staff which is way better compare to Qatar Airways staff.

Post checked-in, had a light lunch at McD KLIA with family. At 1.30pm, I said goodbye to my family and went directly to the satellite building. Today, EY411 is at gate C12. Apparently, this gate is synonym with Middle East destinations. I flew MH to DXB last year and it departed from this gate as well. Same went to BH when he flew to DXB last Saturday.

Stopped at the cigarettes shop to buy Gudang Garam for ZI. I didn't know they sell Gudang Garam here. Bought a carton at RM39 only. Pretty cheap I guess. Then went directly to the MH Golden Lounge for a short relaxation moment. I only have about 15 minutes before boarding time, so I didn't eat much. Just had few slices of fruits only. Before leaving the lounge, performed a Zohor/Asar "jamak" at the lounge prayer room.

In my opinion, the MH Golden Lounge (Business Class) has marginally losing its appeal. I was not greeted appropriately when I showed my invitation at the reception area. The condition of the seats, prayer room and washroom has deteriorated. The signs of wear and tear are obvious. Hope MH can still maintain its Lounge as one of the best in the world. When I left, I gave a smile to the two guys at the reception, but in return one of them looked at me differently. I believe it is my dressing :-) I am wearing a green tee bought from a factory outlet and a brown corduroy slack with a black sandal. (Actually, BH laughed at my colour coordination!) Maybe the receptionist thought that I sneaked into the lounge without his knowledge... hahahhaahaha...

When I reached the gate, I saw a familiar face at the nearby seat. It was JJ. JJ is a CSD with QR. She is flying back to DOH on the same flight with me after 2 days in Malaysia. Haven't seen her for quite sometime. It was nice to be able to catch up with her.

I am updating this entry on board. Seat 11A Pearl Zone. We have 2 hrs and 21 minutes before landing in Abu Dhabi. 3335km from Mecca and flying at 38000 ft. Just passed India and now over the Indian Ocean heading northwest.


The aircraft today is A345. Out of six times per week (except Saturday), Sunday turnaround flight is with and A345, while on other days, it is B773. The Captain is a Malaysian and I guess the same goes for the FO. The crew are a mixture of Filipinos and Middle Easterns. For the Pearl Zone, all are female. Comparable to B773, this A345 has smaller overhead bin. There is no overhead bin in the middle and this creates a feeling of a bigger space. The lavatory is nicer compare to B773. There is a window and is upholstered with a wood-like panel just like the galley.

The Diamond and Pearl zones are full while the Coral zone is around 90% full (based on my observation).


The services were nothing to shout about. I noticed that it is better than my AUH-KUL leg last two weeks. I had Nasi Lemak Sambal Udang for my lunch. It was spicy. Just like the rendang ayam served on AUH-KUL sector. As far as I can remember, I never taste spicy food like this on any airlines. Even Nasi Lemak on MH didn’t taste spicy like this. Being a true blue Kelantanese, I don't eat spicy food. The portion is a bit smaller than QR or MH, which I think is appropriate. I don't eat a lot in flight. The juice was great. Really fresh. I had watermelon juice and I can assure its freshness.

Couple of hours after lunch, I walked to the Coral Zone looking for JJ couple, but she was in the Dizzyland… Better not disturb her :-)
Etihad entertainment has quite a good selection. From classics in the sixties to the latest movies in this millenium. I watched three movies, Casino Royale, Happy Feet and Dreamgirls, in that order. Being me, I seldom understand James Bond movie until I watched it at least twice hehehehe…. While watching the Dreamgirls quarter way, the system down. Aarrghh…

The aircraft is also equipped with a forward camera and down (belly) camera for guests to view what is ahead of the aircraft and the world down below. It was a good "entertainment" for the guests I would say.

Overall, I would rate the sector KUL-AUH today as fair. Out of 10, I gave 7. Nothing outstanding.

For more photos, click here.

~ MT @ International Airspace
~~ Indian Ocean

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

MY: Counting Days...

Every time my vacation gets into the final week, I start counting number of days left before flying back to D0ha. I hate this feeling. It seems the time is getting shorter and more and more things are yet to be accomplished.

Before I came back, I made a list of what I want to do and to buy. As of today, I have yet to complete all. And tomorrow is already Saturday. Aarrgghhh.... I hate asking a friend to do things for me. I feel guilty.

This week has been a hectic week. I went for a light dinner with Famil who then told me that I am a "cereal" killer.. :-), met my friend who is now heavily in the bio-tech business, paid a visit to a chiropractic at GE Mall, politely decline the contract job offer with previous client, shop..shop..shop.. [unfortunately not for me, but for one of "beautiful" men in D0ha...hiks.]

~ MT @ Malays1a
~~ Ampang, Selangor

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

MY: Photo Blog (6)

~ MT @ Malays1a
~~ Melawati, Kuala Lumpur

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

MY: Distress, looking for direction...

Distress... caused by traffic jam in KL. I guess I am used to light traffic as in Doha. It took me 45 minutes to get from Bkt Antarabangsa/UKPerdana junction to Tesc0 Amp4ng which normally takes only 10-15 minutes. aarrghhhh...

On the other hand, I had three calls (2 phone calls and one interview) on potential prospect for me to come back to Malays1a for good. Another world of "D1lbert".. seems that I will never be out of "D1lbert" world.. sigh.....

~ MT @ Malays1a
~~ Ampang, Selangor

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

MY: Sesuatu yang diingini....

Just got back from Dewan Merak Kayangan attending AI & MR wedding reception.

Semoga Berbahagia ke anak cucu.....

~ MT @ Malays1a
~~ Ampang, Selang0r

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

MY: It has been a week...

It has been a week since I landed at KUL. And this whole week has been very tiring. Every day there's an appointment that I have to attend. Let's recap what I have achieved:

Thursday: Arrived and dentist appointment
Friday: Ordered my contact lens & picked up dad from LCCT (delayed for 2 hours until past midnight!!!)
Saturday: Met Famil & "Azam"
Sunday: Parents wanted to see their grand-children at TTDI, met "Azam" at The Curve & bought some stuff for Zal
Monday: Shopped for some stuff to bring back to DOH, repaired few pants & queries to refinance my current house (which was denied by that Tiger Bank with a reason "we don't finance house on the hill")
Tuesday: Settled Income Tax
Wednesday: Interview at TechPark, pampered myself and met ex-colleagues
Thursday: Met Shah, picked up road-tax for BH and met NH
Friday: To meet AT & Datuk MSA for lunch....

Letih..letih..letih.... not due to meeting people, but driving in this city makes me feel very tired!

~ MT @ Malays1a
~~ Ampang, Selangor

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

MY: Bertemu & berduga plus riang ria

In the morning, I drove to TeknoPark near Bukit J4lil for an interview withone of the companies there. I don't have my proper office attire since all my shirts are in D0ha - so, I settled with a blue Banan4 Rep check-shirt and a red tie. :-)

The interview went smoothly with the MD. I would say my chanve is 70%. Let see the outcome next week. And the MD did make comment of my shirt...hahahahhaa.... no problem... I can wear different "hats" when the situation warrants it.. Actually I am not sure whether I want this job or not.

In the evening, did my "metrosexual" thingy... didn't see much differences, but need to continue doing so. Have signed up for a package as well... :-)) This "metrosexual" thingy caused me to be late for the next "riang ria" gathering with my ex-colleagues (LY, II and AZ) at the Red House (next to Exx0n building). Have not seen them for nearly a year, although all of them work at Kay-Ell-See-See and I frequent the place everytime I come back home.

LY and II

AZ

~ MT @ Malays1a

~~ Ampang, Selang0r

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

MY: Cukai

Managed to drop by at LHDN Jalan Duta this morning and submitted my tax return. As I am employed by overseas company, the filing is simple. Just enter "zero" for all the income. The bad thing is there is no rebate at all...

And thanks to RR (Zal's friend at LHDN) for helping me out. If you are reading my blog, do leave a comment..

~ MT @ Malays1a
~~ Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

MY: Clumsy...

While reversing my car at my brother's in-laws, I hit the automatic gate.... arrgghhh.... scratch on the bumper and crack on the light..

~ MT @ Malays1a
~~ TTDI, Kuala Lumpur

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

AE: AUH Lounge

Will write an entry on my trip from DOH-AUH and AUH-KUL.

Conclusion: Nothing great about Etihad Airlines...... :-)

~ MT @ U A E
~~ Al-Dana Lounge, Abu Dhabi International Airport

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

QA: The Start of the Journey....

[IGNORE THE FORMATTING... WILL FIX LATER]

Zal drove me to the airport around 7.15pm. The plan was to check in first and then went to dinner at the airport vicinity. Reached there within 15 minutes and noticed that the airport was so crowded. Out of three x-ray machines available, only two were operational. At DOH airport, the moment you enter the airport, you have to scan your luggage. Only passengers can go beyond this point.

EY check in counter shares the same counter for all business and first class passengers for other airlines, except QR and BA. QR check in for premium travelers are at the Premium Terminal while BA premium passengers have their own check in counters at the main terminal.
















While queuing for the security, I noticed a familiar sign. OMG… I put all my toiletries in my hand luggage and the hand luggage was in the car with Zal. Asked the nice QAS check in lady and she told me they do enforce the new “liquid transportation” rule (as per Lond0n’s and US’ airports). I have no choice but to check in only one luggage and brought back the other one to transfer all my toiletries. This means I have to go through that “stupid” x-ray machine again. Aarrgghhhh….

Once everything was done, we went to the Central Indonesian restaurant for dinner. Met up with ZI over there who asked me to give some money to his wife when I got back home.

After saying goodbye to Zals, ZI and SK, I went to the departure hall. The immigration and security was a breeze. Actually after traveling via this airport for numerous times, I know what to do when go through the security (in which I didn’t really practice it AUH later on – will blog about this later).

Went to the Oryx Lounge, the premium lounge for all first and business class passengers traveling with other airlines than QR. A windowless lounge and crowded. Not much food selection and no seat for me. So, I decided to go to the new “surau” located on the first floor to perform my Isyak prayer. Hold and behold, I bumped into my ex-colleague who was traveling from Pak1stan to the US. I knew he was travelling the same night, but never have intention to meet him. Unplanned things always happen and what ever you plan, seldom materialized…. Hahahahaa

Browsed duty free, same old stuff and nothing interesting. At around quarter past ten, went to Gate 2 for boarding. I was greeted with a familiar sounds… hmmm… it took sometimes for me to figure that out… after hard thinking, hah! I got it… it was CT Nurha1iza song! Looked around and saw a bunch of Malays1ans at one row and they were listening to the tune from their handphones! Hahahaha.. I bet they miss Malaysian song so much.

Premium zone guests have their own transport. At that time, there were only three of us traveling in the Pearl Zone. EY called their first and business class Diamond Zone and Pearl Zone respectively. Coral Zone is the economy class.

The aircraft today was A330-200 – delivered to EY in June 2006 and interior is specially designed to suit EY needs.

Will blog about the flight in the next entry….

~ MT @ Q4tar
~~ D0ha Int’l Airport, D0ha

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

QA: Pre Hols

I am leaving tomorrow for two weeks holiday back home. So, to all my blog readers, if you need anything from Qatar or nak kirim barang kat sedara2 di Malaysia, do leave a comment.

~ MT @ Qat4r
~~ Sadd, D0ha

~To Travel Is To Discover Oneself~

QA: Photo Blog (5)

Venue: TG1F Landmark D0ha
Date/Time: April 1, 2007 @ 9:18PM

"Love to one
Friendship to many
and goodwill to all"

Kind of nice, isn't it?

~ MT @ Qat4r

~~ Sadd, D0ha

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~

QA: Project Dukhan (Day 3)

Today was the last day of the festival. It started at 10am until 6pm. Last night, we reached home around midnight and stayed up until 2am to prepare for today's sales. We did not cook earlier because we want tomake sure our stuff are freshly cooked few hours before the sales.

Unfortunately, due to lack of stove for cooking, we were not able to be at Dukhan before 10am. There were few stuff that needed to be cooked that morning. We reached there around 11am and our customers were already there waiting for us. Yes! Our customers were waiting for us when we got there. I felt so honoured :-)) There were people who wanted to eat our Nasi Lemak. The sales were not as good as Day 2 due to the fact that the crowd were locals and not many new faces.

We wrapped up around 4pm and left Dukhan with a very sweet memories and valuable experiences. Now, time to count the money :-))

~ MT @ Qat4r
~~ Dukhan

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~