A Life Far Removed from Durian Trees

Getting a haircut: - There's a lot of hair on the floor, but I look the same Grocery shopping: -The fruit and veg look "plastic": picture perfect, no dust, no dents -That's the most beautiful onion I have ever seen! -The minced meat doesn't smell meaty, the chicken doesn't smell chickeny -Is it me, or does this taste really good? Other shopping: -12 euro for a bottle of body lotion??? -53 euro for a haircut...AND I look the same?!? Watching TV: -Set to English with French subtitles please...If no English, then with French subtitles

I overslept this morning, thanks to our uber-advanced alarm clock. I got it years ago for S' birthday. It projects the time onto the ceiling - very useful, no fumbling in the dark. It even receives the precise time from radio signals; this worked in Angola too. But last week, when I took it out of the suitcase, I was dismayed to find that the LCD digital display was out of whack. Thought maybe it didn't like the French voltage, but this should be the same as the UK. Then thought maybe it was because I had left the batteries in but in reverse. Or that it had been thumped at some point. So I left it alone. Last night, decided to give it another try. Plugged in it and whey...! Back in business. Managed to set the time (the clock's manual is in the shipment). Turned the projector on. Went to bed, feeling chuffed. This morning, I was half an hour late for work because the time had been reset one hour behind, because of the damned radio signal! S had noticed but didn...

Here's a tip. When looking for an apartment in France, be careful if the heating is "collective", even if it is included in your rent... because it will be under the complete control of the landlord, who's only legally obligated to keep your apartment at a minimum 19 celsius!

...et nous avons déménagé! We have arrived and we have moved, yes! Finally, after one month in a hotel, we moved into our apartment. Our shipment should have arrived in France a few days ago and we should take delivery of all 75 boxes (hopefully!) next week. Needless to say, as with moving anywhere, it's been stressful. ESPECIALLY after S' bosses threw a spanner in the works on his first day: Congratulations, buddy! You've got a new job in Singapore! When can you leave? I kid you not. So we are going to Singapore in less than six months. Both of us were very disappointed about leaving France so soon. Especially since we'd spent so much time buying stuff for the flat and were starting to get excited about our new life here (must admit, had some reservations initially). S even had the apartment Asian-ised, he somehow got the maintenance department to put in a little "bum gun" in the WC! ...So if anyone needs info on how to return/cancel stuff from IKEA or ...

With everything that's going on, no more air freight from Yemen so our schtuff is going by sea. Our container will make its way to Hodeidah port on this truck...and off it goes, insya-Allah!

Another thought: Be careful when packing leather jackets - if they get creased, those creases will be hard to get out! (I nearly cried when I unpacked my leather jacket in Angola, even though the packers had put it in a coat box with other coats)

Taking a break from the packing. Thought I'd share some tips on how to prepare and pack for moves to difficult countries, based on my personal experiences of going to Angola and Yemen. Since I don't have children, I couldn't give you good advice on kid-related issues. A few months before the move, try to find out from friends/employees in the destination country: What is and isn't available, and what they recommend bringing. If the plugs/voltages mean that you can't bring your electronics (different voltages) or if you need to buy plug adaptors (just different plugs). If the voltages are different from your base country, I wouldn't advise getting voltage adaptors because apparently these "die" after a period of use and you may still risk damaging your equipment. If there are daily/regular power cuts, in which case it is recommended that you get a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) for your computer equipment and high-end electronics (TV, stereo system, e...

Yes. We are leaving Yemen in November. I think my friends and family are more excited than me. To be honest, I'm dreading the hassle of leaving one country and getting settled into a new place - even if that place is Paris. I don't feel excited yet (although last month I got a wee bit excited after buying a winter hat), but I'm sure when the packers come and go, I'll start to feel like we're on the move again and starting a new adventure. I will miss Sanaa for the following small pleasures: 1. Frizz-free hair always 2. No housework to do 3. Good TV channels (bless you, OSN Network!) 4. Having someone else pick up laundry, run errands 5. Good enough internet that I can listen to Virgin Radio Dubai or RedFM 6. Great weather 7. Being able to eat everywhere This weekend I will go through the house and decide what to chuck out/give away/pack. And clear out (i.e. eating up) the old food in the cupboards.

Not sure if they still show that at the end of Malay movies ("The End"). We finished the Arabic textbook today, yay! It was my last class... I feel weirdly happy even though (i) I didn't get a proper certificate and (ii) I wouldn't say I can speak fluently. But there it is. Something achieved. "Tammat dirasat al-arabi" (The study of Arabic has been completed) I'm guessing that's where the Malay word "tamat" came from. (Image from www.tate.org.uk : Pakistan 19th century, Victoria and Albert Museum)

One of the fun things about living in a new country is discovering what's in the supermarkets. And when you live in places where the electricity is iffy (so you try not to leave food in the freezer before going on holiday) and the stocks in the shops are unreliable, canned foods are very convenient. No freezing necessary. Keeps for years. And you can buy stuff for a special dish while waiting for the other ingredients to show up on the shelves. In more recent years, it's been amazing to see the kinds of things that are canned. In Angola, a lot of the canned foods are produced in South Africa. Not only were there exotic African foods, but also, for the most part, South African products are halal. In Yemen, I get the impression most of the tinned products come from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. You can find Middle Eastern foods such as grape vine leaves, tabbouleh , hummus , pulses , etc. (A word of warning: canned hummus blows!) But I think the most "bizarre" stuff can be...

After messing around with matches and candles and smoke and soot, I finally learned how to burn charcoal properly and neatly. Just put it on an electric stove for a few minutes. Then turn it over and leave for a couple of minutes. Some parts should have a reddish glow, especially if you blow on it. Then put the charcoal piece in a bukhoor/oud burner and sprinkle the good stuff on top. No need to keep blowing to keep the fire going. And no allergic reaction! Here's a good demo .

Received a security alert this morning, after hearing fighter jets flying overhead the previous few nights. Apparently some AQ-related activity in the south and potential anti-government retaliation in Sana'a. Gulp. I'm home alone. I packed a bag.

We bought a couple of brass trays at the Old City last night, one oval-shaped and one circular. I loved the shop - the owner had all sorts of brass/metal trinkets and small pieces of wooden furniture. Every little inch of space was covered in knick-knacks. The brass tray were sold "kaamil" - complete with a good clean and polish, which was supposed to take 10 minutes but ended up taking 2 hours! But the pieces looked terrific and the young boys really put their backs into it. Brass trays in the Old City are mostly from India. Usually priced by weight and intricacy of the design. Between USD 40 and USD 100. Some may have been in stock for a while and look very old but with a good clean, they can look brand new. Some have brass legs that can be screwed on, for low-lying tables, but these are heavier and so pricier. The cleaning process: soap solution and a brush, then rinsed and dried. Coated with brass polish and rubbed vigorously by hand. Then tray is covered with sawdust and...

I kid you not! While I was at Al-Shifaa, I couldn't resist buying something for myself. According to the brochure: Magic octopus cream for locale weight losing (YER 600=USD 2) This cream is made of the black seed, peppermint, mustard and other natural materials that are ideal remedies for removing fats from the body. In combination with a special soap: Al-Anaqah soap 4-in-1 (YER 200=USD 1) The first soap of its kind that combines between chest tightening and skin flabbiness. It also whitens and disinfects the skin. Directions for use: During evening shower, use the soap and lather up in target areas such as belly and chest. Leave for a couple of minutes. Rinse off. Massage in the cream in target areas. Repeat every evening. Updated brochure below. These products are locally made, from natural ingredients.

Mum & Dad have asked me to buy any medicines/oils/toiletries with habbat-us-sauda (black cumin) in it. Found this brochure while I was cleaning out my office. Perfect timing! I know where to go. It's a chain of shops that sell honey, oud (incense), bukhoor (perfume), and traditional ointments and creams.

Some things to buy before leaving Yemen: Jambiyya Mafraj Silver jewelry Yemeni art Yemeni honey Yemeni coffee Qamariya Woven baskets Incense and incense burner Shisha Persian carpets Turkish/Saudi/Malaysian carpets Brass decorative items Egyptian/Syrian cotton jalabiyya Cocktail dress Jambiyya . Buy a collection of different kinds: the "judge", bedouin, Sana'ani, Saada, etc. With rhino or cow horn handle. Silver or metal. Old jewish silver or new silver. *** *** *** Mafraj . No need to get a whole set. Just one "block" to put in a cosy corner, next to a window? (Left: the mafraj at the Imam Yahya Palace near Wadi Dhar) Silver jewelry . Apart from "old Jewish silver", the rest are mostly from India and Nepal. Perhaps not as refined or good quality as silver jewelry sold in Europe but it's cheaper in Yemen and okay for casual dress. Depending on weight, a non-Jewish silver pendant with a stone is around USD 12 and around USD 60 for a heavier bracelet...

I'm one of those people who (i) are very sensitive to caffeine and (ii) become tired (instead of energised) after breaking the fast. So now at iftar I make a cup of tea... and I think now I can make decent Yemeni tea. For two people, use the tea leaves from two teabags and boil 2.5 cups of water. Since we are a Splenda household, I don't boil the water with sugar first, just with the tea leaves and the Secret Spices... After the tea has become dark and has a nice spicy aroma, turn down the stove and let the tea cool down to a slow simmer. Add the evaporated milk (depends how milky you like it) and turn off stove. Add Splenda at the end. Does the trick!

My first thought before starting this entry: myblogissomundane! Every lesson, during my teacher's five-minute break, I look forward to a sweet cup of milky Yemeni spiced tea... The secret blend can only be found in Yemen... Recipe: 1. Boil water with sugar. 2. When water starts to boil, add Al-Kabous tea leaves (Yemeni black tea, or any strong black tea) and a quarter teaspoon of the magic powder, and boil for five minutes. 3. Add evaporated milk and turn off stove immediately. Getting the ratio of tea leaves/water/milk will require trial and error!

Now, with the "end" in sight, my Arabic teacher and I are trying to finish the textbook before I leave for the Eid holiday. Starting chapter 15 tomorrow, to reach chapter 20 by September 8th. "I don't think so." That's what my driver said.

Big news: we are moving to Paris in the autumn! S had to fight hard to move this year; each international posting is usually three years but we've only been in Yemen for two. It's not that we don't like Yemen (I found it easier than Angola) - S wants to start a new job (he feels he won't achieve much more in his current role if he stays on another year) and I'm ready to live in a big city again especially after a lonely five years of working from home. We've just come back from a pre-assignment visit to Paris. In one week, we managed to: find an apartment (which involved a LOT of walking and scouting the area we're going to live in), open a bank account, submit documents for work permit/visa, talk to a tax consultant and meet up with a couple of friends. On top of that, I tried to take as little leave as possible and worked in the hotel room every spare second I had. It doesn't sound tiring, but I AM KNACKERED... and possibly coming down with a cold ...

Having been in Sanaa during the past two Ramadans, I know the streets will be jam-packed at night and prices will go up. And I'll be too knackered to do anything in the evenings. So last weekend, I went shopping for Eid outfits in the famous shopping area, Jamal Street. (Going home for Eid/Hari Raya, yay!) I bought 2 Egyptian dresses for YER 1,900 (MYR 27 / USD 8.50) each. I didn't try very hard to get the "Yemeni" price (YER 1,500?) because I couldn't even buy a Malaysian dress in Malaysia for that! And based on the "arbitrariness" of prices in Egypt, I'm sure I'd pay more for these in Egypt!! Sorted!

Great place for for pashminas and Yemeni sarongs/caps/scarves. Nice and helpful shopkeeper who speaks Bahasa! Reasonable prices. We often see other Malaysians and Indonesians here.

Sanaa is warmer now, in the high 20s or even touching 30...It will get warmer over the next couple of months. The house gets a little hot (sometimes hotter than outside) because there are no ceiling fans. The bedrooms have airconditioners but otherwise, there's one fan and a noisy "air-cooler" that we move around the house to wherever we are. Lots of short power cuts during the day, some days are better than others. World Cup fever hasn't reached us because we haven't been proactive enough to get the extra channels. (I thought it was on normal FREE tv in the UK and Malaysia??? ) But it's a big deal with the Yemenis - men and women - they love it. We discovered a new Indonesian restaurant just a few blocks from our house. Limited menu but not expensive. We tried the beef satay (quite authentic but the satay sauce was a little watery and they threw in some uncooked keropok, which was strange); chicken soto and bakso. The nasi goreng looked good - for next time. ...

I am SO happy we managed to visit Hadramaut during our stay in Yemen. It's still off-limits (company rules) but there was a special trip a couple of weekends ago for a small group of people. We flew to Seiyun, about an hour's flight on Arabia Felix. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a convoy of nine cars plus two security cars. Because our schedule was tight, this meant walking around in 40C heat under the midday sun. But it was worth it. Our itinerary: - Seiyun Museum - Shibam-Hadramaut - Lunch at a sheikh's house in Tariba - Tarim city: (i) Qasr al-Kaf (ii) Al-Mehdar Mosque (iii) Al-Ahgaf Manuscript Library - Al-Hawta Palace Hotel Seiyun Museum Shibam A meal fit for a king Qasr Al-Kaf Al-Mehdar Mosque Al-Ahgaf Manuscript Library Al-Hawta Palace Hotel - the best in Yemen

I'm mango-ed out. Finally finished a crateful from Taiz. Then hubby bought some more before he left (to make up for the fact that he's left me alone in Sanaa). These mangoes were much better. They're from a newly discovered fruit & veg stall close to his new office - better quality stuff and no crowds, but a little pricier. Photo: a typical "cafeteria" with fruity decorations outside

Our tour guide from Socotra, Mahdi, in the papers...

At the Taiz Zoo

Just got back from the historical city of Taiz - only a 30-minute flight from Sana'a on the new domestic airline, Felix Airways. We flew out on Thursday morning and back on Saturday morning... so we had almost two full days over the weekend. To drive down, it takes around 4.5 hours - but due to company-imposed security restrictions, we're only allowed to fly there. The roads are good apparently, except for one dangerous stretch called the Sumarra Pass. Our driver made his way to Taiz by car the day before our flight, and met us at Taiz airport. In case of a breakdown, he was accompanied by a second car (ironically it was the 'security' car that ended up with a flat tyre). Taiz is beautiful. Our first reaction was that it's very green ("very" being relative to Sana'a, not Southeast Asia!) and very hot (again, compared to Sana'a). Used to the cool highlands, the two drivers spent three hours driving around, looking for a hotel with air-conditioned r...

Back in Sana'a after a couple of weeks away. Before coming home, there's the familiar routine... "Did you call the maid?" "Have you told the driver to pick us up at the airport?" "Does your Arabic teacher know you're coming back?" As soon as we arrive, one batch of the laundry goes into the washer, the rooms are checked for any problems (like exploding boilers)...and long-running resolutions to lose weight are renewed (exercising more often and "just" soup for dinner)... So as I wait for my carrot and tomato soup to cook, I'll tell you what happened to my Arabic teacher this morning. I called her just before class to check if it was on. Sent an SMS the previous night but no reply - nothing unusual about that. Anyway, she answered and said she was going to be 30 minutes late and "I have a story to tell you." OK, I said. Take your time. (Let's call my teacher Ahlam.) So I went to her parents' house (where we have l...

My first ever attempt at karipap (curry puffs) - my favourite afternoon snack. Using Mum's recipe for the filling and a "low fat" pastry puff that I found in Shumaila Hari supermarket. Oven-baked, as opposed to fried. Not bad!

A couple of days ago: UK envoy in Yemen escapes 'suicide bomb'

...forgot to add: durian counter reset to zero - had some while I was in Malaysia!!!

I came home yesterday to find that: - there's no H1N1 screening at the Sanaa airport any more, straight to immigration - the rainy season has started, hot mornings (well, relatively) followed by rainy afternoons - rain water leaked into the house in some places, enough to wet the carpets (note to self: roll up carpets the next time we travel) - the boilers hadn't leaked (note to self: was a good idea to turn off the boiler switch before travelling) - my cleaner has been reunited with her passport and is much chipper than before (to make a long story short: her handbag was stolen by a taxi driver. He kept her passport/phones/valuables in his home in Taiz. She made a police report and somehow they caught him. He promised he'd return the passport but never did. Then somehow she found out that he had died in a car accident - at one point the police actually considered that she might have killed him. She went to Taiz with the taxi driver's wife to get her passport back. ...

It's been a long time...Just got back after more than a month away - in the UK, Malaysia and India. I feel relief. That I'm home again instead of living out of a suitcase. That the weather is a perfect combo of cool 18^C breeze and sunny skies. That I can work in my ergonomic, tranquil office. That I can (re)start my diet (yeah right!). BUT, it was a good work/holiday trip. Great seeing the guys in the office again, really enjoyed seeing the family back home, did some travelling in Malaysia and India, and ate lots of good (but unhealthy) food!

Remember when I said I was allergic to something here but couldn't figure out what it was? Turns out it's the bukhoor (Arabian incense). Now I know whenever we burn it in the house (like after cooking curry), I'd get an itchy rash on my forehead/eyelids and puffy eyes. Takes days to recover. Last weekend, someone gave me a couple of jars of bukhoor ; after just one sniff (they smelled good), I started to swell and itch. Even if hubby does the firing up and I stay away from the smoke, it still gets me. The weird thing is, it's a recent thing. At the beginning, I had no problems. So sad. I love bukhoor . http://www.bestincense.info/allergic_reaction_to_incense.html

Our next door neighbour is killing us. After barely hearing anything from them last year, the place seems to have turned into some kind of office. There's been construction work in the last month. Initially it was non-stop but now, it's random. Last night, someone was nailing something at 1 a.m. until we sent the security patrol over. I felt like hosing them down from over the wall. And they've got a new generator that's right by the wall that faces our bedroom; we can hear it from under the bedcovers - even with earplugs. We have a generator too but it's not as noisy and there aren't many houses at our end of the street, so I don't think it bothered people too much. And now, there's a police car parked just outside our front gate. It seems the president's son now goes to the school a few doors away. Not necessarily a good thing.

Postcard From Yemen February 7, 2010 By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Sana, Yemen Yemen’s former prime minister, Abdul Karim al-Iryani, got right to the point when I arrived at his Sana home for dinner: “So, Thomas, did it take Abdulmutallab to finally get you here?” Yes, it is true, I admitted, because that young Nigerian, trained in Yemen by Al Qaeda, tried to blow up a Northwest jetliner on Christmas Day, I decided I had to see Yemen firsthand. I further confessed to Iryani: “I was a bit worried coming here. I half expected to be met at the bottom of the stairs from my Qatar Airways flight by Osama bin Laden himself.” Fortunately, though, I found that Sana is not Kabul, and Yemen is not Afghanistan — not yet. The Walled Old City of Sana, a U.N. World Heritage site with its mud-brick buildings adorned with geometric shapes, was bustling with coffee shops at night and vendors by day. Walking through its streets with a Yemeni friend, we came upon four bearded, elderly Yemeni men — traditional dag...

Last week I was invited for afternoon tea by a Russian-Yemeni lady. I thought I'd have tea and make polite conversation in broken Arabic for one hour and then take my leave. But no, I stayed until 10 pm. And had a really good time. In spite of the language barrier, we managed to communicate. It was a small gathering of Russian ladies (in their 40s and 50s) who'd married Yemenis - and their GORGEOUS daughters who spoke Arabic, Russian and English. The daughters were in their teens and twenties; some had married mixed-race Russian-Yemenis like themselves but one married a pure Yemeni (saw his photo - would say he's the most handsome Yemeni man I'd ever seen). Most of the mothers remained Christian but the kids were raised as Muslims. All the daughters wore the hijab (hair scarves) and balto (black robe over their clothes); some wore the niqab (face veil). It was a real eye-opener for me, being able to meet people from this special community. I think there are a lot of ...

My Arabic teachers says I'm one of her top two students, the other being a guy that I know. She said he pressed her to admit who is slightly better ( wah! so kiasu! ) but she reassured me that we're both the same. I think he is better than me - we're not in the same class but I know he speaks Arabic very fast while I stop to conjugate verbs. Even if I were the better student, she'd favour him anyway because he's " nasheit " (energetic/hard-working) and " zhaki " (smart)...and is a tall & handsome Frenchman. Can't compete with that... Anyway, today I am sooooo S.M.U.G. because I got 19.5/20 and he got 12/20. Still, I cannot win against Golden Boy because teacher said he did the test in 15 minutes while I finished it in 35 mins. *sigh*

It's half past midnight on the eve of the weekend. My favourite time of the week. Because I know I have two delicious days of no work ahead. Why? I'm a data monkey that gets no respect. Day in, day out. But, for the next two days at least, this chump chimp ain't stepping into the office.

a HARDSHIP allowance. Hubby is not happy. His work shirts haven't been ironed and he'll have to do them himself on his business trip. "But I have a maid!" he said incredulously. Yeah, it's a tough concept when you haven't had to do any ironing for the last four years. I took a deep breath. "Well, the electricity's been going up and down, on and off. And so the iron is buggered. Every time you plug it in, the fuse trips. The maintenance guys came today and had a look around. It's not the wiring, it's the iron. They came after the maid had gone home. She won't be back until the day after you leave." (blank stare, blink, blink) "Don't you remember we went through FOUR irons over three years in Angola? It's the electricity." (puppy dog eyes) "Don't look at me. Isn't this why you get a hardship allowance?" Today, I'm getting Iron #2. The first one died just after the one-year warranty ran...

The weather has been chilly - quite miserable in the house because there's no central heating. All we've got is one radiator on wheels in the tv room, and in the study a small portable fan heater that I've had since my uni days. Thankfully the bedrooms have a combo air conditioner and heater, so we turn that on half an hour before bedtime and then it's nice and toasty. The guard house is cold, I'm told (never been inside). So the night guard now wears a few layers of jackets and a winter hat. They've got two radiators in there but it's still not warm enough. The weather seems to be warming up. I remember January being my least favourite month last year too because of the cold. We're planning a week-long trip to Socotra in February - the last month before the winds get too strong and it gets too hot. Struggling to find friends to make up a foursome (ideal number) but to be honest, I'd prefer it just being the two of us rather than inviting casua...

Have you ever seen a man and his goats use an overhead pedestrian crossing? Sorry, I didn't have my camera.