BurPPP !!

Last Night's Dinner Menu 100% cooked by mommy:

- A nice tender and juicy chicken chop+ gravy
- Coleslaw
-caramel pudding
-baked potato topped with creamy butter and

What a super wife! We all love you!

Cooking Activities with My Princess

I always wanted to do this... good oven and kitchen really important to encourage me to do more activities in the kitchen. This includes cooking with my loved little one.

Last nite, while daddy went out to do some groceries, Lana and I have some secret activities in the kitchen. Lana wanted to surprise daddy with the cupcakes. Alhamdulillah we managed to finish baking and decorating the cupcake just in time. And by time daddy is home... we surprised daddy with the cupcakes....

Walla....

Terimbau Zaman Sheffield, UK

Oh I must put this... to all my sizzlers friend... ku jumpa barang2 di bawah at one hypermarket here in Khobar, Saudi. They really reminds me of our time in Sheffield last time.. ha.. kan best kalo kita buat trip balik sheffield pastu sewa semalam dua kat havelock street or brunswick...

Walkers > Kegilaan semua org... Anne paling suka yg vinegar version. Anne dah selamat tunang ke?

Mcvities > Antara benda wajib ada kat dapur.. tapi kita selalu beli yg version murah sket dulu kan? Time study kena jimat2

Muller Yogurt > This is my favourite. Macam nak menjerit dalam hypermarket tuh bila nampak yogurt nih... dah berapa tahun tak jumpa.....

Cadbury Hot Chocolate > Ini favourite hana... sedap betul minum hot chocolate time sejuk2 nih

Changes: Adapting to one

Wah, mencabar jugak menjaga anak2 di rumah.... i am just 2 weeks full time mother and now i am down with cough and slight fever. Ya Allah, kuatkan semangat hamba-mu ini.... Actually whole house are down with fever, cough and flu, weather changes i guess. This time mommy cannot manja2 sakit amik MC hahaha.. u sakit u still have to continue the routine, plus no more bibik around this time to help. huhuhuh.

Frankly i am enjoying what i am doing rite now, just being a bit flat - kena boost up energy level nih. Exercise dah lama tinggal sudah... kena start back exercise then only can be more energetic and motivated.... "ok encik husband, hopefully adala apa2 alat exercise yg menarik kat rumah ye mengenangkan saya tak bley keluar rumah sendirik di sini"... :)

Saya rasa sungguh puas skrg as all my kids will be around me most of the time and they will get to me anytime they wanted... tapi agak penat la gak sebab si kecik twin masih belum pandai bertoleransi antara satu sama lain.. jealousy level among them quite high.... pening jugak la nak handle and satisfy everyone. Paling kesian Princess Lana keseorangan sebab mommy tak sempat layan :(

Now, with a nice oven in the kitchen, i enjoy cooking delicious and healthy food for the family. I am now feeding hubby and kids really well and not to forget feeding my ownself well. Oh no... the last one is not good... not good. I just bought a weighing scale recently just to watch out my weight. My mom keep on encouraging me to eat more and more as i have been too skinny since having the twin huhuh...

Some of the accomplishment so far....

My own version of Nasi Arab with roasted chicken and "Mac N meatball"

Homemade Meatball

Roasted Chicken

Baked Mac n Cheese

Mixed Pasta

Playtime @ Saudi Playground

Went out to compound playground with baby Mia, our new neighbour. Thanks to ummi Mia for inviting us for the walk. Kalo tak, mmg kami duduk memerap dalam rumah je la mommy nih :P timing tido masing2 semua lain2 and I cant imagine myself handling the 3 kids alone outside the house.

Pukul 3 tuh mesti ada one of the kids having their nap. Fortunately yesterday, erfan and sophie tak tido siang. Just need to wake lana from her nap. The kids were very excited being out of house during daytime. Usually we will get out from house after isya' prayer. As now we are in saudi cold season, the day time is short. Maghrib prayer is around 440pm and isya will be around 620pm

Playtime at the playground here in saudi is equivalent to playtime with the sand huhhu.... next time bawak sand castle bucket pon syok gak. Balik rumah, for sure kasut penuh dengan pasir.

Erfan, Sophia n Mia

Sophia termenung jauh...

Lana n Erfan trying to build sand castle

Erfan familiarizing himself with the sand

Back @ home >> Sophia n Erfan berebut Mommy :)

3 Days and Counting

Well, time really flies here. Insyallah, 3 more days to go for me to go back home to see my wife and kids n family .. can't wait and can't really focus in the office now...hahhaha...

After all the hassle with the courier service provider and long wait, Alhamdulillah we managed to buy a new set of "toy" for our twins. It is called the "Sit and Stroll" as shown in the picture below. Cool car seat that can be converted into stroller in seconds! Thanks to my wife for coming out with this idea of buying this for our twins. It would have been much expensive if we had purchased this item from the US, coz you can't get this item in Malaysia.

The best thing about this car seat is that it can be used in Airplane and it has the certification from FAA. Insyallah, hopefully those plushy cushion will make our journey with the kids more enjoyable and less stressful.

Observation- Oct 27th 2010

- Poor housekeeping after work by the Pakistani contract workers... Imagine plastic wrappings and sealing straps are all over the places along the pavement. They simply don't know how to pick up those stuffs and get rid of it. What a clear attitude problem. Kalo macam nih keje kat Esso, dah lama kena kick out from the refinery by the refinery manager... hahha

- Temperature is getting lower and it gets foggy in the morning, extremely dangerous to drive. But these Pak Arabs still drive bloody fast and crazy.

Cars or Cars....!

Waaahhh.... Was bloody busy studying daily for my upcoming API exam in December . No time to update this blog.. hahha...Everyday must study at least for 2-3 hours...

Anyway, I went out with my friends to pick up their newly purchased cars ,
Lexus ES 350 for just SAR93k - Harga kat malaysia RM430k
Honda Civic for SAR 33k .- Harga kat malaysia RM 120k

Crazy cheap huh? That's how much our government tax is all about. My car ? relax laa dulu... hahaha.... Here are the candidates...
-Honda Odyssey 3.5 V6
-GMC Acadia 3.5 V6
-Chevrolet Traverse 3.5 V6
-Chevrolet Tahoe 5.7L V8

I will wait for my wife to be here to test drive and survey... huhuuh.. Can't wait to have a car actually, since we have been blessed with a saudi license last week. We just converted it from Malaysian Licence, no need to go thru all the hassle of taking the lessons and driving school test!

That was a major milestone for taufik and rahman. owning a car is very important here, especially if you plan to bring family along.

Hari Raya Open House in Jubail

KRMJ has organized a nice hari raya celebration for all Malaysian expats here in Jubail + Khobar. A lot of people turned up for the event. Macam2 makanan malaysia ada... For once, I can see that we are celebrating Hari Raya in malaysia. Suasana meriah aa gak...A lot of children running around, isteri2 pulak semuanya bergaya dgn baju kurung/ kebarung... tak der nak pakai arbaya hitam dah... Wish that my wife and kids were there too..

Apa lagi.... I really took this opportunity to blasah rendang, satay , kuih raya, laksa , laksam, spagetthi, nasik dalca, etc2...

Met quite a lot of new guys/friends there... Problem is I cannot remember all of their names.

To watch or not to watch TV ?

Another challenging Week..

I have just installed the HD Satellite TV channel sometime this week. Cost is more expensive than our ASTRO HD in malaysia. Lantak lah... janji we have some sort of entertainment here, especially for my wife and kids .. All their favourite channels are there. Picture quality is very good, especially for the HD channels. What is lacking now is just the LED TV!! Citer bess2 plak...

Mau angkat ka itu LED TV haaa ? 32" Sony LED is just 3000 SAR.... hmmm, cheaper than in malaysia. Itu nanti2lah, kalo dapat pindah rumah to royal commision, maybe I will buy it, definitely not now man...

Training Arab Engineers

This week has marked the starting point where my work load + responsibility has increased dramatically .... Alahaiiii... baruu saja seminggu balik raya ... mood raya pon blum hilang lagih... wife and kids pon still on my minds all the time.... I was given another 3 engineers to train and help my work doing the RBI stuffs. Insyallah, we will have to meet the target by the end of this year. Need to speed up the productivity. One thing I have noticed about these pak arabs are that diaorang nih mmg lambat pick up sket and suke curik tulang. Anyway, I enjoyed transferring my knowledge to them. Best gak kalo jadik expert trainer and be in the training/consultant business nih... One of them said, " why are you working here? you should be a professor ! " hahaha.....

Bored to death with the current TV channels at this temporary house. Terus aku pergi angkut OSN network of 76 english channels, for my wife's and kids entertainment when they are here. The cable guy is installing the dish right now while I am writing this blog. Will update on this real soon..

Lucky Din !!...one of my housemate here has got one really nice 3 bedroom flat at royal commision area. We surveryed a total of 8 houses , satu2 reject until the last one.... Save the best for the last eh ? Nice area, near a hospital , park and mosque, groceries... This is called a flat but in reality, this looks like a very big apartment/condo in terms of space and build quality ... I really hope that Allah will transfer us to royal commission house asap, insyallah. Targetting in November/december timeframe.

Back to KSA !!

Fuyyyyooo.... It has been a while since the last time I updated this blog.... What can I say, hari raya vacation/balik kg was a superb one , although it was a really short one week. Time really flies when you are fully occupied with schedules, open house, visiting family and relatives. Thank god we managed to escape from all this raya routine for 1-2 days to spend some time together as a family.

Really excited when I got back to my home sweet home in Seremban 2 . Feels like I am back into my nest again. Don't want to even go out. Can't imagine how I am I going to rent out the house to somebody else when all of us are here in KSA in November. Certainly ,there were many sweet and hardship memories of me and my wife, putting all pieces together to purchase, renovate and stay there in that wonderful home. Will never forget all that memories. Buying , planning, surveying, renovating, searching and decorating your home is a very very wonderful experience.

Believe it or not, I am still having the jet lag after a week here.

Talking out house, my housemate and I are moving out to company family compound housing here this week. This is a temporary housing before we Have just finished transferring all of our stuffs from one place to another... Byk gak barang2 kami....! Gile aaa... ingatkan orang bujang tak banyak barang... hahhaa...

Will share some of our new temporary housing stories soon...! Need to catch some sleep now, esok nak jalan2 pi IKEA and pi survey kereta kat Al Khobar..

D' Menu For Hari Raya Vacation !!!

Finally, with 6 days and counting , these are the malaysian favourite foods that I really wanna hentam abis abisan this raya in Malaysia. I am sick of eating Arabic foods!!

I have allocated 3 kg maximum allowable weight gain in this celebration week... hahahha.... Workout nanti cover balik kat arab nih....... Puasa 6 hari Syawal tak dapek nak buat kot minggu nih, buat kat Arab saja nanti insyallah...

Here it is..

- Dodol pulau indah
- Kuih Kasui Mama
-Ketupat pulut 3 segi
-Rendang Ayam
-Rendang Daging
-Sate
- Kuah Kacang
- Mee Kuah Mak
- Dalca mak
- Ikan terubuk goreng panas-panas
- Char Kuey Teaw Penang
- Nasik Kapitan Penang
-Nasik Kandar Penang
-Bihun Singapore Mak
- Nasik Lemak
- Nasik Tomato
- Ayam Percik
- Biskut Mazola
-Biskut Almond London
- Biskut Samperit Kuning
-Biskut Samperit Coklat yang square ( penang panggil kuih lidah buaya)
- Brownies Mak Ngah Shah Alam
- Biskut Makmur
- Kuih Batang Buruk
- Kuih Putu Kacang
- Lontong Klang
- Mc Donald's sundae ice cream with Lana n Mummy!

Wah wah wahhhh..... The all great Malaysian Foods...!

Last 10 Days

Alhamdulillah, we have reached the last 10 days of Ramadan...

Fransly speaking, I really don't have any mood to work this week as there is only 8 days left to balik kampung to see my wife n kids!

Barang2 tak beli lagih, ader yang still kurang like kurma and all those stuffs. Air zamzam nak kena top up 1 more bottle, i think..

In the office, there is a bunch of work coming, but these Pak arabs are bloody lazy fellas..Ramadan does not means that you have to work unproductively. Have to finish off all my assignments before wed 8th's departure.

Berdesup hati dengar lagu raya kat sinih... hahahah... mmg layan abih beb..Especially lagu anuar n elina + lagu m nasir + lagu sudirman + lagu P Ramlee

Best Iftar Ever in KSA , yet.

Burpppppp..!

Today's buka puasa was the best ever since we were here in KSA. We were invited by generous mr Muslisham, our Ibn Zahr's colleague to join the event...

Mula2 macam malas nak gih, sebab ader bende nak kena disettlekan... But then , managed to squeeze some time to go there with my housemates...

Walla weyyy... the food was great... a few families were there, with kids running around the house, feels like in malaysia... Met a couple of new guys from other sabic affliates...

ayam percik, ikan bakar, cucur udang cicah kuah kacang, agar2 , samosa, mee kari, roti jala , kari ikan, udang besar sambal, kambing rempah, cheese cake, cocktail juice, etc2.... perghhh... mmg masyuk... This is keje2 kaum muslimah yang anjurkan bende2 nih... potluck based... I can hear those mum dok bersembang bukan main....At least they can socialize among malaysians here and make friends...good...tak der aa asyik kena duduk rumah 24/7.

Tarawikh was at Fanateer Ibn Tamiya popular mosque, pak imam baca ayat2 pendek, dua tiga ayat jer terus rukuk... cabaran sket for me since my tummy was packed with nice foods and drinks.. Finished the prayers 30 mins earlier than our normal time in our mosque...

Since dah abis awal, mula laa pikir bukan2... We went to KIA , Nissan and Hyundai show rooms.... Surveyed a few potential cars but tiada yang berkenan di hati... Still, Honda Odyssey 2011/2010 model is the best value. No wonder it swept the best MPV award every year ...!

I have to dream driving a new honda odyssey 2011 model tonite.. manalah tau... kot2 jadik kenyataan.... aminn... hahahaha...

A True Mother's Touch

Today, I am very very surprised to see that my wife can actually sew !! Nice work sweetie...


This is a really nice cute pants for my boy Rayyan...

This is the telekung made for our eldest princess , elana ... Can't wait to see lana put on this telekung to pray...

I gues my mother in law was right.. My wife really has what it takes to sew. She is the only one in her family that inherits the sewing skills from her grandma. The rest are not into sewing...huhuuh

The best part of this is that, I don't have to search for a nice pair of Dockers pants anymore. It can be made with love from my own wife... What can be better than wearing a pants specially made by someone you love?

So, what's next in the production line.... school bag for lana ? baju kebarung with laces ? tudung arianni? huhuuhh..

Another Fast Week

We are entering the 2nd week of ramadan, which means 2 weeks to go before balik kampung to see my wife n kids n families..!!

This week will be another super fast week, due to ramadan short working hours, 6 hours a day work and hectic schedule at the office.

Things that are on my mind now are:
-Settle thing bank account stuff... I was trying to open a bank account with a Bank, it was so bloody troublesome trying to open a simple savings account with them. I went 3 times to the bank for 3 hours session each and my bank account is not ready yet. I haven't got any ATM card, no online banking, nothing!! Piece of crap service. Sometimes I wonder how efficient Maybank in Malaysia is...

-Correct my son's birth cert translation in Arabic
- Submit for Family visa application this week
- Finalize what car to buy

Glad that I can talk to my wife after 3 days... Felt like we were sooo far away and miss her so much. It's amazing when we are trying to plan what to do this Raya vacation of just one week... Need to have a proper schedule to maximize my time at Malaysia...That is covering Raya at Klang, raya at Penang, visiting relatives, going back to my home sweet home in seremban, open houses, and not to forget, family vacation ... All in one week ..!! I think I just want to sleep for 3 hours a day ... hahaha.. We'll see about that... :P

Ramadan at KSA

Ramadan Mubarak

Alhamdulillah, syukur kerana dipanjangkan umur utk menjalani ibadah dalam bulan ramadan. The first two days of fasting here in OK...although we have to fast 16 hours in the peak weather of summer, where temperature is always above 43C + higher humidity. It is like walking next to an Air fin Cooler heat exchanger. Insyallah, Allah will make it easy for us.

Things that I miss the most in Ramadan in Malaysia are:
- Sahur with my wife . She will wake up earlier to prepare the food for me...Now that we had been using a maid for the past 3 years or so, things gets easier for her.
-Sahur with my family , when I was not married yet, mom used to cook ikan terubuk besar goreng panas2 belasah dgn nasik masa sahur... Mmg nanti berebut dgn bro ajit nak amik ikan cepat2...hahaha
-Sahur at my parent in law's ... Food is always hot and fresh. Mama always cook daging masak kicap and ikan tenggiri goreng panas2.... Wallamak...mmg mashuk !
- Breaksfast together with my wife at my home
- Breakfast ramai2 at Pulau Indah ... The food was like super good sampai makan tak abih2..
- Breakfast ramai2 kat Penang with my family.. Miss those mee , bihun and kuetiaw masakan mak
- Of course, tarawikh at our malaysian mosque where u can hear the pak bilal punya selawat ramai2... Kat sinih tak dak selawat2 semua... terus saja solat..

Smoga Ramadan kali ini dapat membersihkan hati anda mudah-mudahan amal ibadah kita diterima Insyallah...

Iqama is Ready Finally!

It has been a while since the last time I updated this blog. Schedule is getting hectic as more workload are coming thru. My boss is out for a nice 2 weeks vacation in London. Met him this morning and he told all the nice things about his vacation in london, all those places that I have walked thru with my wife, about 8 years back... Mmg bess kalo dapat gih sana balik to reminisce those sweet romantic memories zaman2 bercintan-cintan... hahahha

Alhamdulillah, after about 1.5 months waiting, I finally got my iqama, which means that I am not a foreign slave anymore. I am a resident of Saudi arabia... Somehow, as anticipated, they have mis-spelled my name, forgetting to include the "bin".

Things to do next with the Iqama in hand
1- Open a bank account with Riyad Bank
2- Process family visa >>> Stucked with my son's birth cert... Thinkplus salah translatekan nama....budak laki dia kata budak pompuan...siap jantina= pompuan lagih... sabar jer laa dgn thinkplus nih...
3- Book a family house with the company
4- Survey keta ape nak dibeli
5- Apply for reentry visa for balik raya nih...
6- Convert license to Arab licence
7- COunting days to go back to see my wife n kids...!

An Iqama is just a small green book, like buku hutang 555 tuh... with your picture and details inside in arabic... I had to get one of my arabian friends to translate it for me...

The holy month of ramadan is approaching... Grateful and can't wait... Insyallah, may Allah bless us all in this barkah month...We have to work only for 6 hours a day.... Isnt that amazing..? Starts at 10am and ends at 4pm everyday.... I think all companies in malaysia shud do the same...

Time for bed...

Ziarah to Madinah Al Munawwarah

Alhamdulillah, with His Merciful blessings, I was allowed to join KRMJ's Ziarah trip to Madinah. We set on the journey on Wednesday, july 28th, at 5.30pm. My housemates and I were so excited to go to the fact that we have packed our stuffs a day earlier.

Since the journey will take around 15hrs (plus breaks and prayers), and we are having this Ziarah on a weekend, the KRMJ organizer has decided to depart from Jubail at 5.30pm that evening. A total of 2 express bus, filled with 100% Malaysian expats in Jubail joined the trip.

Tgh rileks berenti solat subuh jap at one of the petrol station a.k.a R&R ...Dah sakit bontot2 and kebas bontot2 kami semua, sebab duduk kerusi lama sangat... Tapi takper, ramai2 seronok and suasana budak2 n anak2 ahli KRMJ memeriahkan lagi... But trust me, PLUS punya R&R kat Malaysia is 100 times better... Pengalaman di negara orang... terima jer la... :)

A journey of 15 hours landed us at Masjid Al Qiblatain, dekat outskirt of madinah.

This is Masjid AL Qiblatain, masjid dimana pada mulanya Allah Swt memerintahkan agar menghadap ke Masjidil Aqsa di Palestin, tetapi atas Doa Rasulullah, Allah memindahkan kiblat kearah Kaabah, di Masjidil Haram...Subhanallah...

Subhanallah, ramai gak orang kat masjid Qiblatain nih...Tak lah besar sangat masjid nih, tapi penuh dengan berkah... You can feel it once u enter it.

Pandangan disekitar luar Masjid Qiblatain....I was almost lost here, but alhamdullillah, found my way back to the bus...Kalo tidak, dah kena tinggal aper...

We then head on to one of the historical site of Islam. Bukit Uhud.... This is where perang Uhud berlaku... Alhamdullillah, diber peluang utk menziarahi kubur2 para2 shuyada termasuk Hamzah Saifullah a.k.a Pedang Allah.

Dapat peluang untuk naik ke bukit Rumah dimana Rasullullah menempatkan pasukan pemanah di atas bukit utk menyekat kemaraan musyrikin. The prophet was a genius with this strategy.

Then, we head on to Masjid Quba' , masjid yang mana Rasulullah selalu datang sinih once a week to pray. Banyak fadilatnya seolat di masjid nih.. 2 rakaat solat sunat bersamaan dengan pahala Umrah...Mudah mudahan diterima amal ibadat semua muslimin/muslimat yang solat di sinih...

Alhamdulillah, at last, Allah Taala makbulkan doa utk menatap Masjis Nabawi yang tersergam indah, besar dan penuh dengan Nur. Dalam masjid nih ada Makam Rasullullah, Abu Bakar and Umar Al Khattab....Subhanallah...

Perut sudah berkeroncong, dah pukul 5pm, carik makan bersama Ameng and Sufian Saudi Kayan. Kat sinih cakap Melayu saja, kebanyakan peniaga arab, indon , bangla, india , afghan, pakistan semua tahu cakap Melayu..So, senang aa nak beli makan/barang2.

Kawasan Ar-Raudah, tempat makam Rasulullah. Sesak nak pergi ke tempat nih sebab ramai betul orang. Alhamdulillah, dapat jugak ucapkan salam to Rasullullah... Syukur..Mudah mudahan Allah makbulkan doa2 org Islam di situh..

Keadaan Masjid Nabawi pada waktu malam... Payung besar dah diretract/tutup...Open space at the outside area..

Alhamdulillah, kalo dapat datang bawak wife n kids sinih, lagih meaningful.. Insyallah, next time when they are here.

Waktu lepas Asar, payung masih terbuka sebab still hot.

One of the scenery of the desert along the highway...By the way, highway tak der toll sinih...Speed trap pon tak practise sgt...Ader lah satu road block dia buat kat area Riyadh tuh...Lain tempat org pederaih jer... KRMJ seniors said that kalo naik keta, it will take around 12 hours , in which 1o hrs are for driving and 2 hours for prayers and breaks...Kire OK aa tuh, compared to expensive flight of 700SAR per person.

Alhamdulillah, this trip was really a good n meaningful one. Perasaan rindu to Masjid Nabawi/Madinah masih ada and no wonder Pak Arabs visit here. Insyallah, mudah-mudahan Allah makbulkan hajat utk bawak wife n kids and parents semua datang sinih...Aminn..

Insyallah, trip to Umrah -masjidil haram in this upcoming 3rd week of Ramadan... Hopefully Allah selects me as one of the guest...Aminn..

Going Once....Twice...... SoLDDDD!!!

As part of preparation to get ready before our families are here, we head out to the famous car auction place, situated in Dammam..... The hunting begins..



Here is how this car auction place looks like... Its a congregation of a lot of people who wants to sell their cars , car dealers and people like us who wanna search for cars.. This is a really big area.. next time I am here, better to bring a small bottle of mineral water... It still hot at 5.30pm u know...

Muscular car for muscular guy like hulk hogan.... Dodge charger... 4 wheel drive with tonnes of power.. tak sempat plak tanya harga dia...

Fantastic Lexus ES 350 enthusiasts... Taufik tawaf keta tuh brapa kali ntah..... Initially, I don't like elxus that much, but once I am inside, it feels like the bond between me and the car has been established , ala2 cerita Avatar.... This baby is for 98k, unregisteres, full specs, navigation, reverse cam, superb engine, and all computerized.

The Merz CLK 350 red car beside this is just SAR 60k...

This BMW 745i beauty really made all of our jaws dropped ... SAR 55k ajer dude!! 2003 model. mileage 100k . Full specs bro... meleleh tgk rim and tyre dia.... aduhhhh... U wanna use this in Malaysia, we would have to be a very sucessful businessman or a CEO/MD kot.... RM 700k over wooo....

This is it.... Honda Odyssey 3.5L , imported from US... Unregistered recond...SAR 65k ...Mileage 20000km...Two power doors with a lot of space, air cond blowers at every seat, big boot impressive control panel/dashboard...quality finish....I bet my wife will love this... I personnaly think that this is better than Estima ACR 50 that we are eyeballing at... and cheaper too...

Here is how it looks from behind... Unlike the Malaysian Odyssey, which is small, this one here is about the size of estima, 7 seaters, leather seats... multiple arrangements... the best part is the 3.5L engine...

This is how the Lexus ES350 looks from behind... Like I said, kalo anak baru 2 orang, mmg dah amik dah keta nih.... perghhh... keyless, touchscreen, GPS, etc2.... If u use lexus here in Saudi, it is like another higher class in society...

After dah penat pi carik keta... we stopped over by EXTRA giant electronic mall.. U can find anything here for cheao price... Found my GARMIN Nuvi 1200 for the price of 1199 SAR = 985RM , with all Maps of GCC = Oman, Saudi, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE preloaded... Just buy and get movin'... What I really can't take it is that the LED TV , yes...it's the latest son of TV technology... is much cheaper compared to the price in malaysia... 32" super sexy slim LED sony/samsung is just SAR 3200 =RM 2560 .... Punyalah geram tgk TV tuh...rasa macam nak angkat time tuh gak..hahaha...Argghhh... Yang 52" is also cheap compared to Malaysian price...

Surveyed my Nikon D90 kit with lens ..total price after conversion is RM3500... excellent... My next target....It feels so weird using the normal digital camera... tak bess langsung...

Mesin basuh, big Fridge, dryer, kenwood blender, microwave oven, sandwich maker, not to mention laptops, home theather systems, blue ray player, oven stove, etc2 are all cheaper here... and yes, I am talking about branded ones yeah...not brands like haeir , sanyo, pensonic ok ? hehehe...

Tuh diaaa aihhh...nice lai chi kang to quench my thirst...... Perghhh..mmg layan....we stopped by Malaysian Kitchen Restaurant, the famous restoran runned by a malaysian guy from saudi aramco....( Smart guy, gaji dah lebat pon bukak restoran side income lagih...respect..I wish I cud do the same thing.... Bukak Restoran Nasik Kandaq Kg Melayu kat sinih...) hahaha .. With this lai chi kang and a nice bowl of Mee Jawa, it feels like home....the waiters are all malaysians and speaks malay... For the first time ever, I felt like ordering food was never any easier than this!

And this metal machine here is a Harley Davidson , brand new stuff... Got this picture from Din and Taufik... I didnot get the chance to touch this baby yet...Maybe next 2 weeks in another trip to dammam....Price is around SAR 70k, it is very cheap, compared to Malaysian price of 200k. Insyallah, I will buy one of this before we return for good to malaysia ....after X number of years maybe...? Use AP without tax...: ) ....motocycles are easier to be sent back home since there is no left hand drive or right hand drive hassle like cars do... U simply have to use both hands to drive...hahahha..Kalo mat rempit lain cerita laaa.... If this baby roars beside a mat rempit, I think those guys will pee in their pants....hahha...

In summary,

1) I can't wait to bring over my wife n kids over here.... For all these are for them... Life is so much different without ur wife n kids by ur side ....

2) money is never enough..no matter how much u make, u will always wanna have more, as long as u are a human. U will always want to have more... Thas's what Allah called Nafsu.... To treat this, let's improve our pillars of iman...

3) Hope time flies fast now...

IQAMA on the Way!!

Alhamdulillah, tonite all 4 of us went out to celebrate one of our Housemate's milestone in KSA. He finally got his iqama a.k.a national ID for Saudi Arabia. This ID will allow him to live like a normal Saudi citizen guy, except that he cannot buy real estate properties and of course, he can't vote. ( Tapi saudi nih mana ada election maaaa... :) ) What am I talking about here? Of course, he can now go back to Malaysia this upcoming Aidilfitri.

That small green book ( ala2 macam buku hutang 555 malaysia) is very previous to us. Kabsa Lahm+ Dajjaj are on Din tonight...

Taufik is aiming for the chicken, and I book the lahm (soft , tender n juicy lamb chunks) ...Workout diet plan is off today yeah..!

These 3 musketeers are getting ready for work. That is our uniform up there. No coveralls provided except during shutdown and TAs when requested!! From left: Myself, Taufik and Din.

This is some of the example of what u can get at the wet market....Tuh diaa aihh....Kepala kambin' for mutton masala.... Pak arab makan dgn mata2 n otak2 dia skali beb...! Looksmore like fear factor to me..

Fresh Kerapu ... Great candidate for sweet n sour Kerapu...

Hopefully we can get our Iqama next week before the end of next week. May Allah make it easy for us, Insyallah!

Training Week

Wow... The last 3 days have been a good one... I was away from office for a free food and nice software training for RBI. If only my previous company had invest in something like this, things could have been really straightened up... RCM and RBI methodologies can be centralized and can be easily linked to SAP system.

I have also started browsing/surveying for our family car candidates over here in KSA. The list will be announced soon insyallah. My housemates are eager to go and see a Car Auction in Dammam. People said that u can really get a good bargain over there for 2nd hand cars... Imagine, car like 2004 Audi TT can be purchased at only 25000 riyals. Crazy huh?

Wonder what my lovely wife n kids are doing this week... Hope that there are doing fine.... 51 days left! Hopefully my Iqama is ready for ziarah trip Insyallah.

Tomorrow is a special day for me... Wanna go out for a nice steak dinner tapi tak der wife and kids kat sinih... So, postpone jer la niat ...Insyallah, some other time.

Genap Satu Bulan At KSA

Today, it is exactly one month from the moment I step my foot on the land of Saudi Arabia. It feels like a year .

So many things happened this month, a change...a life change . I simply believe that we should be ourselves no matter where we go but with improvements as days go by.

No doubt, my family and work life had been impacted quite seriously, as I am away from my wife n kids, new boss, new job, new housemates, new friends, new intereaction, new languange, new routine, new food, new environment , new super hot weather!, etc2...

I guess if I could make one change, I would change the law to allow all expats to bring their wife and kids since day 1. At least a month ok...? not 3 months ..! I just hope that Allah will give my lovely wife the necessary strength and will to move on wihout me being there all the time. Used to do soooo many things together when we were office mates. I missed those moments.. Hopefully time flies real quick until my family are here! But wait a second, that's about 4 months from now.... Ouch!! Wake up Firdaus!

I have also realised that my culture shock is normalizing now. Getting acclimatized to the weather now as well.

Arabic food = nice but I prefere malaysian foods better.

When I get back home this Raya Insyallah ,I wish that the time will move super slow. With a lot of things to be done at raya aidilfitri, time will definitely be flying fast....9 days will surely not enough. Perhaps I need to sleep just 2-3 hours a day... Maximize my time with my super wife and super kids....I would rather just watch them sleep rather than sleeping and missing those precious time

Awareness Campaign

1) I was doing a reliability improvement awareness campaign this week. We went to PP and MTBE control rooms to give briefings on RBI, RCM , RIS and RCA stuffs to all the guys as part of the campaign. I was really amazed and surprised to see many many operators, including shift superintendent working their fingers with tasbih ! Masya Allah... This is the kind of example that we want to show to all . No wonder SABIC tak pernah rugi since 2001. Asyik untung ajer...berkat kot agaknya...

2) Noticed that Arabs are very friendly guys. Kalo dia jumpa member rapat, mesti cium2 pipi masing2...siap bunyi tuh... Kalo dah rapat sangat, siap cium hidung member dia tuh....walla weyy... Itu dah tahap rapat giler aa tuh...

3) Bad drivers are everywhere. U simply have to practise defensive driving here. Here, it is a mixture of drivers from India, Arab, Phillipines, Myanmar, Pakistan and not to forget Malaysians!

4) Whenever there is an accident, onlookers will be making traffic jam worst...same like in malaysia...

5) If u are caught in an accident, u are advised not to move your car until the police arrives.

6) One average-size arab guys can amazingly finish up a big tray of rice + lamb/chicken..

Tomorrow is a weekend... Yeay!! relax and enjoy... Next week is a training week...rileks lagih..!

Work Picking Up...

Wow... it has been a week since the last time I updated my blog... Work started to pick up i guess..

Enjoyed meeting new friends and of course, new malaysian buddies yang seperjuangan over here in KSA. Obeserved that many Malaysian brothers from Petronas, BASF, Titan, etc2 left their families utk mencari rezeki halal.....Sometimes, I really don't get it how can these guys be so resilient and extra sturdy emotionally, being away from their wife n kids... I really really cannot take it... This one whole month was like crazy for me man.. Feels like a year.. Miss my wife , lana and my miracle twins...

Imagine u just met these a few malaysian braders next door and we managed to ice break real fast...and managed to blend together real fast... Kitaorang terus kamcing and siap tgk world cup matches sekali, borak2 and kutuk2 team lain.....Amazing huh? ...Kalo semua melayu bersatu macam nih kan bagus kat malaysia...takyah pecah2...kejap pas, kejap umno, kejap keadilan...apekemendee aaa brader..Bila melayu nak maju weh...? We need to unite. Kalo still gado2 lagih kat mesia, bawak diaorang dtg sinih kat arab...insyallah bersatu... hahahah

Fresh and pure mango juice is cheap and abundant here... I will have a small glass everyday... rich in vit C .

Bought a new ab trimmer and a set of dumbells last week in Dammam... time to change my figure back to where I was ... The Ab Trimmer is really effective and kicks ass.... Set a target to try to have a six pack before I go back to Malaysia this Raya...Insyallah... Diet is on plan... I have not touched any arabic food for almost 2 weeks now... impressive...haha...

Weekend nih maybe nak pi usha car dealers in Dammam... getting ready to buy a car when my wife n kids are here this november insyallah..

Hope that my wife is coping very well with the babies, considering the fact that this Esso TA's month.. Be strong sweetie!

Facts Thru My Observation

I observe the following things over and over again in KSA....

No 1.
When Pak Arabs buy a new car, they will simply leave the plastic wrappings for the sunwiser, seat belts, seats and even with the price tag posted on the front wind shield.... Konon2 baru laa tuh...nak menunjuk... Dah seminggu pakai kereta pon still macam tuh.... Kalo aku dah pening bau plastic...

extreme hot + bau plastic = perfect vomit will take place

No 2.
Cars are everywhere dirty and filled with sand,except those with high value/expensive cars, in which they will maintain the car to look sexy and clean. In conclusion, if u are a lazy bump to wash your car and u are staying here in saudi, try to choose white color. Black color is simply a disaster for 2 main reasons.... Black absorbs heat and you are gonna have to wash the car at least 2 times a week.

No 3.
Water is more expensive than petrol here . No doubt. Water is the fuel for life...

No 4.
Try to watch wold cup with an arabic commentator. You will enjoy the commentator more than watching the football match itself . I like it... hahahaha...

No 5.
If you do not susbsribe to a satellite TV, most programs will be repeated everyday, same time for a week...

No 6.
When it is hot and humid, it's a bad bad bad idea to even step ur foot outside of the house.. Stay cool in the house with air cond running

No 7.
I can't find a dog anywhere in the city/streets :)

Jauh perjalanan, luas pandangan...

Picking Up

Not a good day for me today.... I was in a shock fever due to sudden temperature change...Office was bloody cold (around 12C) and the temperature outside was 45C . I was shivering in the office and was not lucky enough as I did not have my jacket on.....

I could feel my thermostat sensor on my back side of the brain tickling everytime I shivers .. These pak arabs acts normally like nothing is going on...

Work is picking up and time seems to be movin' faster now... Can't wait to get my iqama ready so that I can

Good news.... our KRMJ is organizing a trip to Madinah al Munawarrah this July 28th to July 30th... The president of the club is renting a bus to take us all there to Masjid Nabi for a Ziarah... Not sure whether they plan to stop over at Makkah for an Umrah or not.... I wish I have my Iqama ready so that I can tag along... :( Hopefully, I will get it before the trip is fully booked..!

Esso TA has officially started today.... My wife has to be onsite everyday from 7am - 8pm , for a month or so... I am very worried as she will be extremely tired with the onsite work and then, have to take care of my babies during night time at home as a mother of 3 ... But I know she can do it Insyallah...My prayers and support are always acoompanying her... If only I can be there during the TA....

Hope that she will be super vigilant and super careful during this TA kay sweetie? Practise SPSA and LMRA !

Miss my twins....

Happy 1st Birthday Miracle Twins !!

Alhamdulillah, today ( July 2nd 2010) is our miracle twins' 1st ever birthday.... Praise be to Allah for blessing me with this magnificent twins to add even more love, passion and happiness in my marriage life with my wonderful, super wife.

Daddy is so sorry for not being able to be there to celebrate your 1st birthday ever... I wish I can hug both my sophie "bam bam" and my rayyan "pumpkin" right now ....Daddy prays so that both of you will be a great son and daugther in the future, with success in Dunia and Akhirat...

Anyway, it is amazing how time really flies....A year has passed us by....I have got to get myself a new nikon D90 kit soon, to not miss all the sweet and great moments of my wife n kids...

Sophie and Rayyan with daddy and mummy at Cik Ani's house

The ladies behind all these happiness ... Super wife

These are their face expression when the twins are sleepy and boring

Celebrated Kak Long's 4th Birthday at Atuk's house....Just like Kak Long, Sophie and Rayyan also love balloons very much...

Sophie posing with a cute girly smile

Yiiiihaaaa... Rayyan's hobby is flying/swimming on the ground since 6-7 mths old.

In Penang, Auntie Fizah's engagement

Play Time!!!!! Great to have someone to play with huh?

Still flying, even at 9-10 mths old... :)

Raya Aidilfitri at Atuk's house..Bukan Main lagih Rayyan smile

Tuh dia aiih...pandai posing btul flower girl nih...

Rayyan with his fuel charge

Sophie manja with Daddy

Hello....where is my steak ?, why can't I eat like mummy n daddy?

Enjoying his special bread, with a face 100% like mummy.

Apple and Orange of my eyes, before daddy took off to Arab

Conclusion : Time really flies... Cherish all your family moments together in moments of happiness and pain. Looking forward for years and years of never ending happiness insyallah!!