Second Dubai Report

Well it’s about time. I’d thought I would return to Dubai a lot earlier. It has been over a year since my last visit, which was pretty much a stopover. But in November 2012, another chance to visit Dubai surfaced because the Arabs want another demo, but this time I will conduct more fact finding and requirement gathering. Euphoria aside, just as the deal was nearly clinched middle of January, HQ pulled the plug on my poor some-saw-it-coming project. Had I known of this gloomy outcome, I’d be a little less excited.

So this marked the second and possibly last trip I would make to Dubai. This time I had 3 things to look forward to. One, I was travelling alone, which also meant performing the demo alone, a big step I might say. Two, my trip would be for five days, four nights, so it’s unlike the short layover like last time. And three, A380 baby! I skillfully scheduled myself aboard the A380 from KL to Dubai.

You can’t go wrong with Emirates. But apparently economy class is all the same, A380 or not. I thought there would be lounges, bunk beds, and bars but apparently they were reserved only for business and first class passengers. Passengers travelling coach get the usual cattle herd treatment. To be fair A380 economy class seats are probably an inch wider. And the aisles a couple inches wider or something. Hooray for economy.

Dubai in autumn is a much better place. The air is a lot drier, and temperatures lower than the summer. This time I got to see more of coastal Dubai, the thin strip of land fronting the sea and the manmade ginormous palm island which also cradles the development boom that Dubai is so well known for. From far in the desert inland, the coast is marked by a jagged wall of gleaming pinnacles all arranged along the coastal Sheikh Zayed Road.

I didn’t get much time in the day to visit Dubai’s tourist spots, I was either in the company’s Dubai office or the location is the desert where the client was. My excursions were mostly limited to the night. My hotel was located in Dubai Media City, one of the many ‘city’ developments that are actually industry specific free zones intended to suck in foreign investments like a straw.

There is one observation, or rather fact I’d like to point out. Dubai is not friendly to the budget traveler. Every tourism project is catered to the extremely wealthy. Every taxi I saw was a Toyota Camry. 7 star beach resort hotels mushroom out of every corner. The only place that could be considered cheap is downtown where Dubai’s older character can be uncovered. Old Dubai is kind of like Kuala Lumpur’s Chow Kit with the occasional museum here and there.

In Dubai’s old town, there are Arabian bazaars called souks bearing informal names like Textile souk, Old souk, Gold souk and Spice souk. With the exception of the gold souk which is basically a road full of jewelry shops, the other souks carries that griminess and character that we associate with third world market places. The souks are a great place to visit at night especially in summer when temperatures are intolerable.

Other attractions accessible at night are of course the malls. I visited Dubai mall before (at the base of Burj Khalifah) and I did it again but this time round I managed to visit the aquarium within. Another mall I visited was the Mall of the Emirates, which is the one with the artificial ski slope, SkiDubai.

Also not-to-be-missed is the tacky Ibn Battuta mall which has themed districts like Sunway Pyramid. The mall designers got their inspiration from the travels of Ibn Battuta, a Muslim Moroccan explorer in the fourteenth century. So they distinctly separated the mall into Andalusia (Muslim Spain), Tunisia, Egypt, Persia, India and China zones. What’s impressive is that they have a whole Chinese junk in the Ming dynasty courtyard.

None of these places, I could visit conveniently without the Dubai metro, which is a God send considering the vast expanse of Dubai and that the major thoroughfares although very wide are chock-a-block with traffic at peak hours. As of 2012 there are only two lines, the red line (52km) which follows the coast and connects the airport and the green line (22km) that horseshoes around the airport and Old Dubai. The architecture of the stations is impressive to say the least. Its futuristic curved golden shell like roof wraps the station in air conditioned comfort against the harsh Dubai heat and occasional sandstorm.

If I had time during the day, I would love to have visited Atlantis on Palm Jumeirah, possibly a waterpark, the Dubai creek, maybe take an abra or boat across the creek and definitely museums. But I made good on the time I had. Dubai is definitely a manufactured tourist attraction, but the catch is that it is specifically targeted at high net worth individuals and not the average salaried tourists. Places such as Burj al-Arab are exclusive to guests and are strictly off limits.

Our office in Dubai got downsized from the last time I was there. There are only 5 people supporting an office in charge of the whole Middle East region and bearing in mind the nature of our business, it does not suffice. Anyway I made friends with whoever was there. Altogether three Arabs and two Indians but none of the Arabs were local Emirati, but all three spoke French. It’s always interesting the things that a resident can share with you.

For example, there are many churches in Dubai but only one Hindu temple although there are 1.7 million Indians in Dubai, 85% of the expatriate population are of Indian descent. There are zero Buddhist temples. The churches probably cater to European and Filipino residents. If we compare to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where Islam is also the predominant religion, we would see a startling difference. The ratio of Hindu temples to the Hindu population is highest among the minority religions. New churches in Peninsular Malaysia on the other hand find it hard to get official approval and have to resort to setting up at shoplots or industrial plots. So there exist divergences of thinking in the Malays, who are more afraid of Christianity, in comparison to the Arabs who find Hinduism too pagan to allow for Indian migrants to practice their religion freely. Generally Arab Muslims regard Christians and Jews as “People of the Book” who basically believe in their same monotheistic God. Food for thought indeed!

 

Dubai is quite Americanized. Little known American fast food franchises, GM pickup trucks, right down to pavement design all contribute to the American inclination. However one aspect is absent, the rigid grid like road layout is sorely missing in Dubai. Despite my Dubai colleagues being longtime residents of Dubai city, I proved my geographical skills once again when I helped them navigate the maze of roads while using GPS. They were of course lost while I’m just a tourist. Score!

And so concludes my second and possibly final report on Dubai. Dubai is an incredible place. Construction is at full swing again, the 2008 financial meltdown was merely a speed bump in Dubai’s race for world domination. A country whose local inhabitants are outnumbered 4 to 1. A country where business is good, tax does not exist and life’s a beach. A monarchial country which, compared to its immediate neighbours, is open and tolerant. Dubai I wish you the best in your future projects and whatever form you may take.

 

 

 

 

Propecia and Me

I’ve been losing some hair gradually over the past 10 years. My affected region is the crown, or the top of my head. So with a doctor’s prescription I tried Propecia, or finasteride. I took 1mg of finasteride everyday (almost) for six months. I am well aware of its most conspicuous side effects which include impotence, abnormal sexual function, gynecomastia (male boobs) and other sexual symptoms.

So after subjecting myself to a self guinea pig test, I’d like to report the following symptoms. I did not experience any side effects of the sexual nature. However:

• More hair grew on my crown region
• My scalp was less itchy and less oily
•  No untoward side effect seen until 4th month, where I experienced unusual random muscle twitches and slight muscle pains all over my body. I also experienced pains in my ribcage, leading me to believe I had chest pains
•  Fatigue. I find myself sleeping a lot more than I’m used to. I got tired easily at the end of the day.
•  I did not gain any muscle although I worked my ass off at gym

After the six months I decided to stop treatment. My muscle pains and twitches and fatigue went away. Muscle mass noticeably increased after stopping Propecia, although diet and workout regimen had not changed. No despite what reports indicated, my hair did not immediately fall out. I wouldn’t take Propecia again for more than 3 months in duration given the side effects I encountered.

Merlin

The story of Merlin and King Arthur has been told countless times, sometimes together sometimes apart. But I was drawn to this BBC produced television series, a fantasy reimagining of a classic legend, from the first season or series as they call it in the UK.

It is only after the finale aired that I realised great it really was. I initially liked it because of its youthfulness, humour and the magic. But the producers had more adult undertones for just an ordinary children's programme. Over five seasons, I noticed a solid story progression ticking off all the major milestones of Arthurian legend. It bears more likeness to a miniseries rather than an aimlessly wandering fantasy TV drama hoping for a season renewal with a great pilot but no end in sight.

There are a few running themes in this series, among them are the chemistry between Merlin and Arthur, the elevation of Guinevere from servant girl to queen and associated unlikely fairy-tale romance, the prohibition of magic in Camelot, Morgana’s transition from nice to naughty and last but not least the whole magic-old religion-destiny enigma. But it's really the finale that shows you what Merlin is really about. Finale spoilers later.

True, Merlin follows a formula almost every episode. Something magical happens, Merlin sweeps in and saves the kingdom, despite the fact that his efforts go unrecognised. That is what makes it fun, and it meets the returning fans’ expectations. Merlin’s motivation? To fulfil his destiny as told by a great dragon, to be by Arthur’s side, fighting to uniting the kingdoms of Albion (old name for Britain) and returning magic to the land.

But first, a story arc summary of all the five seasons of Merlin

Season 1

Merlin, a young warlock is sent to Camelot under the charge of court physician, Gaius. Gaius becomes mentor to Merlin not only in medicine but also in witchcraft, as Gaius has dabbled with it in the past. Camelot is under the reign of King Uther Pendragon, a tyrant ruler who has outlawed magic and would execute anyone who has it or practises it, so Merlin practises it in secret.

Merlin meets a caged dragon who tells him that it’s his destiny to protect and serve the king’s son, Prince Arthur Pendragon. Merlin soon becomes Arthur’s personal man-servant who becomes a little too personal as we see the beginnings of a budding bromance.

The Lady Morgana is under Uther’s guardianship, and lo and behold her personal servant is the not too attractive Guinevere or Gwen for short. Lancelot arrives in Camelot and has the hots for Gwen. We find that the lady Morgana has the power of premonition through her dreams which Gaius tries to ‘treat’. Morgana showed signs of rebellion against the king’s punitive measures against magical persons. It was triggered when Uther tried to kill a small druid boy called Mordred.

The main magical villain this season is Nimueh, a high priestess of the Old Religion. The Old Religion is what they call all the magic we see on screen. Nimueh was involved in King Uther’s past which is related to Arthur’s birth itself. Merlin ultimately defeats Nimueh but the lives of Arthur and Gaius were put at risk.

The common consensus is that Uther is over zealous and irrational when it comes to magic. Sorcery is not evil but instead good or evil lies in the heart of the practitioner. Gaius believes that Merlin is the only one who return magic to Camelot.

Season 2

While Gwen reveals that she has feelings for both Lancelot and Arthur. The season’s main villain is Morgause, another high priestess of the Old Religion who has a serious grudge against Uther. Morgause approached Morgana, befriending her, and slowly turning her against the King. In the end Morgause kidnaps Morgana, leading Uther to launch a nationwide search.

Merlin releases the caged dragon, but it takes revenge on its former captors in Camelot. Merlin becomes a dragonlord, with the ability to summon, command and kill dragons in order to save Camelot. And finally Merlin falls in love for the first time, but she dies and becomes The Lady of the Lake.

Season 3

After a year of being missing, Morgana is now in league with Morgause and lays siege to Camelot. However Uther prevails in the battle but was duped into thinking that Morgana’s loyalties are still with him. She has fooled all but Merlin (and Gaius) so they are ever vigilant of her every move. Also Morgana learns that she is really the King’s illegitimate daughter, which would give her rights to the throne. And she conveys all of this to Morgause which she secretly sees from time to time.

At the end of the season, Morgana manages to overthrow King Uther with an army of immortal dead, locks him in the dungeon and takes the crown for herself with Morgause at her side. But her reign would be short lived as Arthur heads the knights and forms the legendary Round Table. Lancelot one of the few people who know of Merlin’s wizardry, becomes a knight under Arthur though he is not of noble blood. Arthur then retakes Camelot but Morgana and Morgause managed to flee.

Season 4

A year since the end of last season, Uther is ill and depressed about Morgana betrayal. Morgause dies leaving Morgana as the ultimate magical baddie. Arthur is governing Camelot on behalf of his father with the assistance and council of his maternal uncle, Agravaine. But unbeknownst to all, Agravaine is secretly colluding with Morgana.

After much magical plotting and scheming, Morgana manages to kill Uther. Prince Arthur becomes King but still takes advice from Agravaine.

Morgana learns a prophecy that Emrys is both her destiny and her doom. Emrys is the Merlin’s magical name that only a select few people like druids know, but not Morgana. So Morgana tries hard to discover and destroy this mysterious Emrys.

At season’s end, Morgana conspires with a warlord and the mole Agravaine to conquer Camelot castle and installs her as Queen for the second time. The Sword in the Stone scene is re-enacted and with that, Arthur confidently leads the guerrilla attack on their sieged castle. Arthur reclaims Camelot, and takes Guinevere to be his queen in the grandest ceremony Camelot has ever seen.

Season 5

An unspecified number of years have passed by since end of last season. During that time, Camelot experienced its golden age. The defeated Morgana however faced imprisonment with a baby dragon at the hands of some foreign king. But she rose to power eventually, becoming a dark queen herself.

The once druid boy, Mordred showed up early in the season, but now as Arthur’s saviour and ally. He soon joins the other knights at his famed Round Table. But Merlin receives a prophecy that Arthur will die at the hands of Mordred after an underhanded betrayal, so Merlin remains distrustful of Mordred throughout.

There is a subplot where Morgana captured Gwen and psyched her into an extreme case of Stockholm syndrome, forcing Gwen to be her double agent. But that problem was resolved with Merlin’s help.

But then, as it was foretold, Mordred turned against Arthur when his childhood crush, a druid girl was sentenced to death by Arthur. Mordred went running to Morgana and revealed secrets about Merlin and Camelot. They soon joined forces and launched an attack on Camelot with the aid of Saxon kingdoms.

Finale Spoiler and Review

For what may have begun as a children’s series certainly has a very dark ending. As each season passes, villains become unyielding in their viciousness, and the consequences of actions become graver. But in the end, there is no happily ever after ending, but left us with a James Dean ending, a star struck down in his prime. I guess that makes the best legends, when the young die, they live forever.

I thought Merlin was about magic. How Merlin discovered his powers, but after the he became dragon lord, the magic was same old same old. I hardly even mentioned any magical story arcs in my summary of the seasons above because it was pretty much inconsequential. How about a long drawn out war between two magical adversaries, Merlin and Morgana. No, Morgana didn’t even know who Merlin really was until near the series end. Others thought it was the forbidden love between the African servant and King. But their marriage was over and done with in Season 4. And, if Merlin is the really about King Arthur, they would name the series Arthur, wouldn’t they?

The finale sets the story straight. Like most prophecies in Merlin, they usually come true. Merlin kills Morgana as foretold. Mordred did hurt Arthur in the final battle at Camlann. But he didn’t die straight away, Merlin was to take him to Avalon where a possible cure may be found. All this runs according to standard Arthurian legend.

The final episode wasn’t epic like it’s penultimate one. It was a very intimate duologue between Merlin and Arthur on his way to Avalon, during which Merlin finally reveals himself as a sorcerer, practising outlawed magic right under his nose. Arthur felt betrayed but ultimately sees the hidden hand of Merlin throughout the years. They arrived at Avalon, but it was too late Arthur had passed on. The dragon then told Merlin “This is not the end. Arthur will rise again when Albion needs him most.” Where was that unified Kingdom of Albion the dragon promised? Are the magical peoples truly been liberated at the time of Arthurs passing? No.

And then we see the last scene of Merlin in modern times. Old and haggard but very much alive. Thousands of years later, still waiting to serve Arthur during his second coming. So that’s what’s Merlin’s about. It is the story of destiny, friendship, loyalty and unending love – not the romantic but the ‘bromantic’ kind. In one episode alone, we see Arthur having to come to terms with Merlin’s years of ‘betrayal’ and Merlin coming to terms (or not if you see it the other way) with Arthurs death, a destiny unfulfilled.

The Adventures of Merlin to me represents one of the best fantasy story arcs on TV ever. And no other series can ever have a finale so tragic, so predetermined and so afflictive as the story of Merlin and Arthur. A fitting end to a truly magical series.

Les Misérables

A Miserable movie? Far from it, it’s based on the musical by Cameron Mackintosh, the same acclaimed musical that’s been running worldwide since 1980. That musical is in turn based on the French novel of the same name by Victor Hugo.

It is the story of Jean Valjean, a relatively ‘innocent’ prisoner turn thief turn mayor turn fugitive, weirdly in that order. He faces his lifelong archrival police Inspector Javert who wishes to bring him to justice, in his eyes. He fathered a child, the daughter of a whore which he had no relations with. All this with the backdrop of the politically tumultuous France in the first half of the 19^th century. Jean Valjeans’s story culminates with the Paris Uprising of 1832, a Republican rebellion which comprised primarily of young students.

Coming from a family of musical aficionados, I am by default a LesMis fan. I have caught the stage production once in New York while the soundtracks are staple in my playlists. I join the legion of bright eyed LesMis devotees waiting for this very movie. And so my review will be from the perspective of a fan. First and foremost, I must state that this movie doesn’t disappoint.

Hugh Jackman’s Jean Valjean surpasses all expectations and delivers a soulful, grimy and tense portrayal of a broken man, despite Hugh’s relative youngness. On the other end of the scale, Russell Crowe’s Javert leaves me wanting. He has the look, he has the charisma of the formidable inspector, but he doesn’t have the voice to suit. Vocal duels with Valjean always results with Valjean winning.

While the rest of the characters did what was expected of them, one small part stood out, thanks to Anne Hathaway. She played Fantine, Jean Valjean’s adopted girl’s mother. Fantine is the character who delivers the well-known ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ hit song. Ordinarily in the play, this song comes before ‘Lovely Ladies’ which was the time she entered into the circle of prostitution. The producers must have switched the sequence, ‘I dream a dream’ comes after that and now takes on an added innuendos. Anne pounced on that opportunity, so watch out for a version unlike any other that brought this writer to tears, so early on too.

For those who may not know, this musical is sung through. This means that about 99% of all dialogue is sung. The beauty of Les Miserables is that they have many songs that stick in your head. Each melody elicits a certain emotion or context and are continually resung by different characters at different scenes throughout the musical.

Les Miserables is arguably the best musical of all time, in my opinion. This more-than-good-enough movie musical satiates my need to relive those memories of the stage production, which due to my non-strategic geographic location, prevents me from watching again. And for all the musical haters, an outing to Les Miserables is an excellent boot-camp, so to speak. I don’t give this easily, but this deserves a 10/10.

Tandoori Subway

Yes Malaysia's subway restaurant has its first ever special menu. And it's brilliant. The Chicken Tandoori obviously borrows cuisine from our Indian brethren. And because it's already heavily spiced, the sauce combination required is minimal. Alas, a strong flavour Malaysians rarely get from Subway. For the sauce, try mayonnaise, sweet onion sauce and if you really want another, barbecue sauce.

Petite Millie

There's a first time for everything. So this is my first food blog. Located at 1 Utama, this unassuming French restaurant serves gratifying French and Italian fare. We had a a smorgasbord of entrees, main dishes and desserts to try out, so much so, that we Asianized the eating of French food, breaking whatever related taboos.

To be explicit, we had the salad, Luv a Duck Tartine, Fish Pie, Chicken Aglio Olio Spaghetti, Clam Spaghetti  Mille Crepe and Bread Butter Pudding. My favourite would be the Duck Tartine and the Strawberry Mille Crepe.

The Duck Tartine is the perfect combination of a done just right duck slices, a lightly dressed salad and a cream buttered bread. It is not to be missed.

The strawberry cream mille crepe is served ala mode. The strawberry cream is all natural and delicately made. I'd recommend this melt-in-mouth dessert to finish off your meal.

Toastmasters - Toasting Each Other

Subra the speaker, like a magician, transfixed us with a matchbox which he held high. He told us to watch. Removing a match from inside, he then struck it against the side of the box. The match lit aflame, but he continued to let the fire swallow the wood till it reached his fingertips. With a puff, he snuffed it out; a trail of white fumes decorate the air.

He coached us, “All your speeches must be like a match.” – A fiery beginning, a steady burn, and a lingering finish. I’ve heard of the Toastmasters before, and their public speaking prowess but this was my first encounter with this organization. I was enrolled in Toastmasters Speechcraft training course along with the rest of my colleagues.

Speechcraft is a program where the fundamentals of public speaking are introduced to non-members in an atmosphere of a Toastmasters club meeting. Speechcraft is therefore under the guise of a public speaking seminar, when it really is a recruiting platform. My company was interested in building confidence among some employees and fostering overall communication skills. Hiring the Toastmasters is an interesting albeit indirect approach towards that end.

So, through a slightly misdirected company initiative, Speechcraft let me into some of their secret rituals. Meetings are held regularly. Each club has around 40 members plus or minus 20. They wear full suits and tie to all their engagements. They have worldwide annual speech competitions, many of them quite impressive.

In meetings, they have impromptu speech exercises called Table Topics. A random topic is revealed to the terrified speaker only seconds before he or she is supposed to present. He has to organize his thoughts on the spot, just like a politician would.

Besides that, Toastmasters present speeches in front of each other. Their speeches will be evaluated by a fellow toastmaster or two. Their evaluations highlight what they did right, while suggesting a few points to improve on. One good thing is they would never blatantly disparage the speaker.

Because of their overly forgiving and self-praising nature, Toastmasters rarely shun a prospective new member. Therefore, they are not an elite club as I envisioned them to be. Instead, judging from the speakers that presented topics in Speechcraft, I deduce that they can range from the remarkable, awe-inspiring and charismatic to the god-awful, please-shut-your-face and please-use-half-a-brain nitwits.

The Toastmasters may not pique my interest at this point of time. Maybe I’ll join them if my career edges me in that direction. Nevertheless, the best thing I can take from them is the analogy of the matchstick, that every article must have an explosive start, an enduring body and an unforgettable end. It probably means I have to polish up my endings with ones you can’t forget, like a smoke after the flame.