The Festivity of Kuwait National Day

Photo by Bayu Adji:
Original link here.











UPDATE:

Some awesome pictures from the Kuwait Tower fireworks by Tid Bid Du Jour (click to enlarge)





Full video (49 minutes) by irelandii

Hiruk Pikuk Hari Kemerdekaan Kuwait

15:00 Suasana di City Center Salmiya beberapa orang mempersiapkan kendaraannya untuk arak-arakan keliling kota.



19:07 Suasana 5th ring road menuju City Center yang dipadati kendaraan arak-arakan. Beberapa malah berhenti di tengah jalan & tampak beberapa orang menari-nari di jalanan & di atas mobil mereka.



21:15 Suasana jalanan 5th ring road dari jendela apartemen kami masih hingar bingar terdengar terompet & sirene polisi.



21:30 Ada fireworks dari Rumaithiya!

Related story:
- Lampu Sorot di Bayan Palace
- Pesta kemerdekaan Kuwait di Salem Mubarak
- Pernak pernik kemerdekaan Kuwait
- Banner Kuwait

Cantiknya Lampu Sorot di Depan Bayan Palace

Menyambut kemeriahan hari kemerdekaan, Kuwait sibuk berhias diri. Salah satunya konfigurasi puluhan (atau ratusan?) lampu sorot di Bayan Palace samping 5th ring road. Amazing euy.

Panorama 360º Marina Jogging Track

Klik untuk lihat panorama 360º & lokasinya.

Snapshot:Jogging & Running

Mamin berolahraga jogging di Marina, Salmiya.

Makan Siang di Anita Bakso

Bertahun-tahun lalu saat masih di RCTI, makan siang bareng temen kerja di luar kantor atau mall dengan menu makanan Indonesia adalah ritual normal.
Sekarang, setelah jauh di Kuwait, akhirnya bisa lagi mengulang ritual yang sama: makan siang bareng temen kerja eks RCTi di luar kantor dengan menu (pause sejenak. wait for it) makanan Indonesia!

Satu lagi restoran Indonesia di buka di sebuah mall di Farwaniya, tepatnya di Makhateer mall (lihat lokasi). Terletak di lantai 3, bersebelahan dengan beberapa restoran lain seperti Shrimpy & Pizza Hut serta restoran-restoran Filipino.



Pilihan hidangan yang disajikan juga sangat variatif, dari mie yamin, nasi goreng sampai dengan ketoprak tersedia. Favorit Papin adalah es campur. Beneran berasa lagi makan di kantin koperasi RCTI jaman dulu.









Dengan makin banyaknya restoran Indonesia, semakin tidak terasa kalau kami tidak jauh dari kampung halaman. Semoga restorannya langgeng dan sukses!


Same old ritual: berangkat, makan, pulang tidur di mobil.


Lokasi:

View Mahateer Complex 1 and 2 Bldg in a larger map

GPS
29.279648
47.961792


Related post:
- Warung bakso di Old Salmiya
- Restoran Mama Lala

Ada Seven Eleven Palsu di Farwaniya

Warung Bakso di Old Salmiya

Nun di sebuah apartemen tua di Old Salmiya, di balik salah satu pintu lorong ini ada warung MIE BAKSO!



Warung ini adalah flat milik Mbak Santi & Mas Samsul, menyediakan menu mie bakso dengan mie & bakso olahan sendiri. Rasanya sendiri tidak jauh beda dengan bakso di komplek rumah kami di Bintaro :D

Seharga Rp 30000, lidah kami seperti mengajak kami mudik sesaat, apalagi ditutup dengan nyeruput Teh Sosro kotak (Rp 15000).

Tersedia juga camilan khas Indonesia seperti keripik tempe dan kerupuk. Cocok banget disantap saat winter begini!


Naik ke lantai 2, ambil ke kiri & masuk di pintu kanan pertama.

Lokasi:


Titik lokasi di panah hijau
View Larger Map

GPS:
29.3339054
48.0585122

Snapshot: Having a Break Time While Other Still Working

Hari Ini Malu Sebagai Bangsa Indonesia

Saat abah Daud pasang video 'pembantaian' FPI, tanpa sengaja teman-teman non-Indonesia ikutan ngintip & penasaran. Mereka terpukau & terhenyak melihat adegan-adegan sadis. Boss kita ikutan nimbrung. "Where is it? Indonesia?"
Kami iyakan & dia terkejut, "What are they? Animal??" (video).



Yup. Kami malu hari ini. Besok atau lusa atau minggu depan berita ini akan tersebar secara internasional & mereka akan sadar betapa bar-barnya bangsa kita. Memalukan.

UPDATE: Temen di BBC London pun merasa lebih malu dengan berita ini saat dipublish di BBC.


Berasa malu bukan kepalang buat kita yang di negara orang.

UPDATE: Boy Avianto shares:


Tough job for Indonesian abroad :)

Winter is still here to stay

Location:Fourth Ring Rd,,Kuwait

Sebuah Tempat Yang Tidak Berkesan Kuwait

Tapi berkesan di New Dehli. Tempat tersebut di bilangan Maliya atau Salhiya Complex. Suasananya seperti Pasar Baru Jakarta. Sangat sedikit orang arab, kebanyakan India (Pakistan, Bangladesh & Srilanka) dan beberapa Filipina atau Indonesia.




(click to enlarge the map)

Related post:
- Feel at home at Salhiya
- Pose Gaya India

Arab Times: Indonesian Rockstar Jailed

Another joke from Indonesia in Arab Times, a Kuwait newspaper.



A rockstar jailed for personal sex videos. The scandalmonger remain unknown.

Benihana Kuwait vs 248am.com (part 2)

Reblogging from 248am.com with permission (blog is being blocked in Indonesia).

(original post)

I’m being sued by Benihana

Yesterday I got served with a court order, Benihana are suing me because of my post about my experience at their restaurant. If you haven’t read that post yet you can check it out by clicking [Here]

I’m currently getting legal advice from my lawyer Khaled Al Shamali who is actually a fan of my blog (that’s important) and I will be fighting this case in court. Originally my lawyer told me not to discuss this case with anyone but I feel it is important to share this with everyone since it doesn’t just effect me but the whole blogging community be it in Kuwait, UAE or anywhere else in the region. So after talking to my lawyer again, he’s now given me the green light to be transparent and open with everyone regarding this case.

I’ve uploaded the court order I received yesterday and you can download it from [Here]

The court order is in Arabic but if someone ends up translating it to English I will post it up as well. Benihana have the right to sue me but I don’t believe I said or did anything wrong and I stand behind everything I said and wrote in that post.

I’ve personally been threatened with lawsuits a number of times before, I know another popular blog recently got threatened with a lawsuit from a restaurant as well and I am sure there must be other bloggers who at one point in time have also been threatened. If blogs were recognized like newspapers or magazines we would all be protected from lawsuits like this but at the moment we aren’t. I find this unfair and if I end up losing this case what will it mean to all the other bloggers? Should bloggers be afraid to say anything negative about a company? Should all our posts just be happy happy joy joy?

I’m hopefully not going to lose this case and will try my best to win it and set an example so that other companies understand that if they don’t like something they read on a blog they can’t just sue the blogger.

I’ve been receiving an overwhelming amount of support on twitter. Honestly as much as I am a geek I never really understood or realized how powerful twitter can be until now. I literally have over 50 pages filled with tweets from people all over the region offering support. It’s really unbelievable and a lot and I mean A LOT of people from UAE have also been rallying behind me on this and according to one twitterer (is that the right word?) the Benihana topic is currently trending in the UAE at #8 at #3. A lot of people have also been leaving comments on the Benihana’s twitter account @benihana__ and on their Facebook page. But a few moments ago they deleted ALL the comments from their Facebook page but luckily I saved a pdf with some which you can download [Here]. They were actually a lot more than that before they were deleted. a reader saved a screenshot of all the comments which you can see [Here]

So thank you everyone for your support, I will try my best to keep everyone posted along the way on everything that takes place regarding this case.

Update: I just finished an interview with the Dubai Abu Dhabi based newspaper The National. I will also be on air live tomorrow at 11AM Dubai time on the DubaiEye 103.8FM.

Update2: An amazing reader translated the court order to English. You can download it [Here]

Update3: Please no one call and harass Benihanna or their employees. You can show your support in other ways. Thank you.

Update4: The National article on this lawsuit is up and you can read it [Here]

Update5: I’m now on Gulf News [Here] CNN iReport [Here] and TNW Social Media [Here]

Benihana Kuwait vs 248am.com (part 1)

Due to silly filter by Nawala, people cannot open Mark's 248am.com blog in Indonesia. Now I'm reblogging his blog with his permission.

(original post)

My Benihana Experience

A few days back I posted about Benihana opening up at the Avenues and yesterday night I decided to pass by with Nat and try it out. The service wasn’t too bad for a restaurant that’s just been open for a few days and the staff were really friendly. The restaurant itself is made up of islands and bars with a grill in the middle of each one. You sit around the grill and the chef will come to your table and prepare the food right in front of you which makes things entertaining. It’s actually why I prefer sitting at the bar in Japanese restaurants in general, since you can talk to the chef and watch them put your dish together. The problem with my experience last night though was with the food, it was disappointing to say the least.

We ordered beef negimayaki for starters followed by an Orange Blossom maki and a Hibachi Chicken. The negimaki arrived looking good and was probably the best thing we had there even though I prefer Maki’s negimaki which has a richer teriyaki sauce. The Orange Blossom was very ordinary, wouldn’t order it again. Now the Hibachi chicken which is basically grilled chicken, that was the worst. The chicken was very chewy (I could swear it was undercooked if not raw) and tasted terrible. Even after I had the chef add some more teriyaki sauce in hopes of improving the taste it didn’t work. I tried to dip it into the sauces that came with the chicken but it was hard to figure out if they were actually making things worse or not. Nat only ate one piece of chicken and left the rest while I needed my protein since I’m on a strict diet and forced myself to eat my whole plate (I can do that) but the after taste was really bad. Even the rice and the veggies that came with it tasted bad AND were under cooked. Once we left I considered picking up a frozen yogurt from Pinkberry even though I hate frozen yogurts but I just needed something to get rid of the aftertaste. A few moments later we ended up at Chocolate Bar ordering the gooey chocolate cake (bye bye diet).

I shot the two videos above of the chef preparing our meal. Benihana are known for the live shows they perform when preparing your dish so I was expecting to see [This] but ended up with the above . Would I go back to Benihana? No I wouldn’t. Their sashimi and maki’s are pretty cheap (KD1.5 for 5 pieces of Salmon sashimi for example) but there are two other Japanese restaurants at the Avenues, Wasabi and Maki, and I would prefer either one of those to Benihana.

Update: Comments have been closed.

Update2: If you read the comments below you will see that the Benihana GM Mike Servo threatened to sue me. Well, Benihana have actually gone ahead with the lawsuit, I got served my papers and my court date is in March. I have been receiving a lot of support from people via twitter, email and blogs. For now my lawyer has advised me not to discuss the case or talk about Benihana, but as soon as he gives me the go ahead I will be sharing all the details.

--- comment from Mike Servo - Benihana GM ---

Mike Servo says:
December 16, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Dear Mr. Mark,

We are from Benihana management of Kuwait; my name is Mike Servo the GM of the Company .

Thank You for visiting us in our restaurant and dining in with your wife .I had found your comments and in your web site on Benihana.

I also found it out that our rights and name is being used in a wrong way and broadcasting the video without a proper consent from us is really annoying specially Benihana is just opened up its doors to the public.

We are seeking and consulting our legal dept. on how we can form a type of law suit against your website to be brought up to the Kuwait authorities.

We respect opinion, but we see it in a way that Benihana name have been destroyed and abused on your website.

We are eager to know your name and meet you personally if you don’t have anything to hide.

You mentioned clearly on a detour way on not to go to Benihana and go to Maki or Wasabi or Chocolate Bar and we believe that this is against the law of Kuwait, We respect our rights on not to advertise in your website and if we don’t, this will not mean that we will be hurt by your side and if this done, the court in Kuwait will be in our side to give us our rights. to make this conversation short . We want you to give us your information, your name, your number and your address so our lawyer will take it from there and be sure that you in Kuwait were the jury is
100 % clean and fair.

We also expect that you might be sending people to Benihana to make a play and that is why we have informed the CID about that, In the past we encountered your add in Subway and it is one of our companies franchise, we really didn’t give it any attention, and it very clear now that Subway is an elephant while other competitors are closing down, however this time we will not let it go and we will follow you legally.

This is the last comment from my side and LPRC side; we wish that you will be free to give us your info. BTW are you Lebanese?

Thank for your concern and we have that you are brave to give us your info and we will meet in court soon.

Salute,

Mike Servo

Restoran Indonesia: Mama Lala

Setelah baca dari blog Mas Ardi & Mbak Susi, hari ini kami mencoba restoran Indonesia Mama Lala di Mangaf (20-25 menit dari rumah kami - cukup jauh untuk ukuran Kuwait). Saat kami tiba, dari luar suasananya sudah bukan di Kuwait dibantu oleh aroma rokok kretek & obrolan dalam bahasa Jawa oleh mereka yang duduk-duduk di luar. Masuk ke dalam, ruangannya sendiri tidak besar, sekitar 5 x 5 meter. Tayangan TV-nya pun SCTV & RCTI :D



Mas yang jaga restoran "Mau makan apa mas? Ini menunya." Wihihi.. sudah lama ngga masuk restoran ditawari dalam bahasa Indonesia. Biasanya inggris, arab atau tagalog.



Yang pertama kita jajal mie ayam. Kalau di-rupiahkan kira-kira Rp 40000. Cukup murah untuk ukuran makanan restoran di Kuwait. Buat papin, rasanya sudah sangat membantu pikiran ngelamun lagi nongkrong di warung mie ayam Bintaro. Sayangnya Teh Botol-nya habis, jadi es teh manis saja sudah sangat cukup.





Dan ada kabar bakal nambah beberapa restoran Indonesia di Kuwait sini. Woohoo! Semoga sebentar lagi ada Padang Sederhana!
Kalau mau mampir silakan tengok lokasinya di sini.

Lokasi:

View Mama Lala in a larger map

Koordinat: 29.101444 48.133705

Foursquare: http://4sq.com/dUWBOL

Snapshot: Kuwaiti dan Radio Transistornya

Foto ini diambil sekitar winter 2009. Seorang Kuwaiti sedang santai & tenang mendengarkan radio transistornya, di toko gerabahnya yang terletak di Mubarakiyah. Love this!

Ditemukan: 'Mi Goreng' dari Saudi Arabia

(click to enlarge)

Perhatikan tulisan 'Mi Goreng' di bungkus produk mie instant buatan Arab Saudi ini. Familiar? Sepertinya tulisan tersebut memang diambil dari produk Indomie buatan Indofood. Dan kebetulan produsen mie Toya ini adalah Pinehill Arabia Food di Jeddah - manufacturer Indomie/Indofood untuk wilayah Timur Tengah.

Jika produk Indomie ada keterangan 'Under Licensed of Indofood', maka produk ini tidak ada keterangan apa pun. Jadi diasumsikan produk Toya ini memang diproduksi tanpa lisensi pihak manapun.

Menariknya lagi, instruksi & keterangan bahan di belakang menggunakan bahasa Indonesia. Indofood, is this your product?

UPDATE: GM dari Pinehill Arabia Food adalah Noor Wahyono dari Indonesia. Masih bagian dari sub-product Indofood?

UPDATE: Th 2000, Pinehill Arabia Food pernah mau diakuisisi oleh PT Indofood Sukses Makmur. Semakin jelas ujung-ujungnya memang produk Indofood. Hihihi.

Nawala Project Blocks Mark's 248am Blog

Just got report from friends in Indonesia that they no longer can access http://www.248am.com in their BlackBerry. The reason: porn, gambling, malware, racist. As we know, Mark's blog has tons of useful information about anything here in Kuwait. And I know Mark in person, there's no way that he will post such things.

248am.com is being written by Mark, Lebanese who lives in Kuwait for more than 20 years. His blog captures so many things about Kuwait. Even our craft activity has featured in his blog (yay!): IKEA hackers. Yup, craft! Nothing to do with porn or gambling!

There was one touchy post regarding the government's plan to give KD 1000 (US$ 3000) for every Kuwaiti. A Kuwaiti girl is seeking an expensive operation for her underbite defect & I tweeted on Twitter. Friend of mine was curious & clicked the link, this is what he got:



Seriously?

One of 248am.com regular reader comments:

As a Blackberry user, I didn't give a tiny rats a*s when I heard/read about the porn blockage on RIM by the minister of Information. Until now. When I was trying to open the www.248am.com on the BB browser, there appear : unable to open due : porn, gambling, malware. I was like, WTF?!?

I lived too long in Kuwait and still can't get over it. When I miss Kuwait, www.248am.com is the site I used to visit just to see what's happening there. Because Mark, the author really writes what matters the most. I adore his writings and the way he gives out informations. And they're useful for those who are looking for a place to eat, shop, and other important informations for the locals, expatriates or us who are living outside Kuwait.

Hope the minister & his team will fix this silliness soon.

Ismet & Citra, thank you for the report.

UPDATE:
248am.com can be opened in Indonesia, use Google DNS. Change DNS settings to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
Thanks, @ted_kho!

Harley Davidson Sportster 48

Surprise! Jaber datang ke kantor bawa HD. "I'm a biker now!"



Kita semua langsung keluar melihat tunggangan baru si Jaber, HD Sportster 48 th 2011.

Semua beramai-ramai mencicipi si HD. Memang lain ya rasanya nunggang beginian.

Harganya jika dirupiahkan menjadi sekitar Rp 115,000,000. Cukup murah dibanding harga Jakarta kan? (AFAIK Rp 350,000,000 lengkap dengan surat.)

Mau?

Angin Kencang & Hujan

Seperti yang diramalkan hari ini hujan. Pagi jam 9 saat papin lari pagi mulai gerimis & semakin deras saat sampai rumah.

Setelah berhenti sejenak, angin kencang yang dinginnya menggigit berdatangan hingga akhirnya diikuti hujab deras sejenak jam 12 siang.

Segar rasanya walau tubuh harus menggigil di bawah suhu 10℃.





Angin kencangnya 'menabrak' Neo yang terkaget-kaget.

A Day Without Sun

Hari ini gerimis seharian. Sejuk walau langit mendung tanpa awan. Suhu 15℃.

Kejutan dari Wataniya

Dapat SMS dari Wataniya (salah satu operator selular di Kuwait) dalam bahasa Indonesia.

Tapi siapa yang mau bela2in bayar KD 1 (Rp 30,000) untuk service begini?





Sebelumnya, Wataniya juga memberi kejutan pada tanggal 17 Agustus, diskon 50% buat SMS ke Indonesia selama hari kemerdekaan. Muncul sekali tahun 2009. 2010 lalu ngga ada lagi. Mungkin ngga efektif promosinya :D

Eyecandy on Highway

Salah satu yang menyenangkan & menyegarkan mata di jalanan Kuwait: mobil-mobil keren bersliweran seperti ini.

Oleh-oleh Dari Baghdad

Luigi "Eh gue mo berangkat ke Iraq besok. Mo titip apa?"
Saya "Err... apa ya? Titip live-tweet & foto2!"
Luigi "Mau gue cariin duit Saddam Hussein nggak?"
Saya "Mau mau mau!"

Begitu pembicaraan saya dengan Luigi Pralangga via telpon sore-sore sebelum besoknya berangkat untuk UN Iraq Mission. Seru rasanya mendengarkan cerita langsung di Iraq. Karenanya saya akan share beberapa yang diceritakan Luigi via SMS, email & Twitter.

Twitter:

Eduun, subuh2 dibangunin alarm: "Berlindung..berlindung!..jgn keluar tanpa PPE (Personnel Protection Equipment = Rompi anti Balistik) Edan!.
(link)

Kalau ke zona merah kudu punya autorisasi dan kudu dikawal 1 peleton USF dgn humvee-nya
(link)

Email:

"Kantor saya persis disebelah markas besar USAID - Baghdad dan US Airbase, jadi ribut banget dengan lalu lintas heli yang datang dan pergi macam pangkalan ojek.. dan belom lagi pengumuman indikasi ancaman hujan roket dan mortir naik setahap... PPE itu rompi balistik dan helem, juga IDF adalah Indirect Threat yaitu bahaya serpihan mortir yang pecah dan masih melesat kecepatan tinggi akibat dihadang oleh berondongan meriam C-RAM (Counter Rocket Artilery Mortar).. setusan senapan dan dentuman mah sepertinya udah biasa di telinga ini.. saat menulis email ini aja ramai suara tembakan senapan diluar - persis kayak anak kecil main petasan disaat bulan ramadhan."

"Saat ini suhu di Baghdad dan keseluruhan Iraq mencapai 12-15 celcius, jadi lebih dingin dari Kuwait dan AC di kebanyakan kantor kita pasang, dan tinggal di akomodasi mission yang notabene berada dibawah struktur beton dan dikelilingin oleh karung pasir (Kecuali pintu keluar/masuk) membuat kita selama didalam kabin akomodasi (Baca: Rumah Kontainer) tidak bisa mengetahui apakah diluar itu bersinar matahari atau bulan, kecuali beranjak dan pergi keluar bunker..."

"..disini itu semuanya berlapis baja: kendaraan lapis baja, ambulans lapis baja, helikopter lapis baja, pakaian kerja - anti balistik plus helem dengan radio ini itu.. rasanya seperti beratnya menggendong tubuh kedua, ampun dah!"

Foto suasana akomodasi & kantor markas besar USAID di Baghdad.








Selamat bertugas! Stay safe & good luck!

UPDATE:
Sudah ada cerita lengkap di blognya, silakan baca di sini. Seru pisan!

Bus Trip To Fahaheel

Seumur-umur tinggal di Kuwait baru sekali naik bis kota, itu pun saat masih jomblo tanpa Mamin & krucil. Maklum halte jauh & nggak direkomendasi naik bis saat summer.

Hari ini kami mencoba petualangan baru, menjajal naik bis ke Al Kout mall di Fahaheel, 31km dari area rumah kami. Ke haltenya sendiri terpaksa numpang Jamal, maklum haltenya jauh dari rumah & tidak ada angkot hehehe.

Kami naik bis nomer 102. Di Kuwait sini terdapat beberapa armada bis, namun semuanya melayani route dengan nomer yang sama. Misal kalau di Jakarta nomor 69 Blok M - Ciledug, nomor tersebut dilayani MetroMini, Mayasari Bakti, PPD dsb. Penumpang tinggal milih mana yang paling nyaman.


Supir merangkap kenek dengan mesin kasir kecil digital

Setelah membayar tiket dewasa 250 fils (0,25 KD atau Rp 7500) - anak-anak gratis & boleh tidak dipangku - kami duduk di bagian yang terdapat tanda 'Ladies Seats'. Tiba di pemberhentian terakhir di Fahaheel, kami masih harus berjalan 500 meter menuju Al Kout.

Jelang malam, kami memutuskan kembali pulang sebelum anak-anak kelelahan. Dan kembali menggunakan bis nomor 102 untuk pulang.



Rute bis kami dari Salmiya ke Fahaheel

First Dusty Morning in Dec 2010

Suhu pagi ini tidak terlalu dingin. Hanya 18C tapi anginnya cukup kencang & menusuk. Terlihat pasir berterbangan di udara.

Lamborghini Di Dalam XCite Store

Lamborghini dipajang di dalam toko sebagai hadiah itu tidak luar biasa. Yang luar biasa adalah saat seseorang masuk ke dalamnya, menyalakan mesin & menginjakkan pedal gas berkali-kali.

Really? Di dalam toko? Penjaga toko juga malah membiarkan si penjajal menikmati suara raungan mesin, ngga sadar orang-orang langsung menggerutu? Dan kadang suka ngga ngerti dengan isi kepala orang-orang ini. Luar biasa ajaibnya.



[foto diambil setelah si penjajal melengos pergi]

Toko Buku di Avenues Mall?

Satu hal yang menyebalkan saat berjalan-jalan di mall Kuwait sini: tidak ada toko buku macam Kinokuniya atau QB seperti di Jakarta. Harapan bertahun-tahun tampaknya jadi kenyataan saat menemukan salah satu sudut Avenues Mall: That Es Salasil Bookshop - opening soon. Semoga penampakannya tidak mengecewakan & mengobati rindu akan toko buku seperti Kinokuniya. Amin.

iPhone 4 seharga Rp 4,790,000

Ada penawaran menarik di XCite store di Avenues mall. iPhone 4 16gb dijual 150 KD (Rp 4,790,000) & 32gb 175 KD (Rp 5,600,000), dengan ikatan kontrak Zain selama 2 tahun - 16 KD (Rp 510,000) perbulan utk paket voice, SMS & 2gb mobile internet.

Paket Zain-nya sendiri cukup ekonomis, walau tidak bisa dibilang murah. Dan iPhone-nya sendiri sangat menggoda. Tergiur? Silakan datang ke XCite Alghanim di cabang mana saja. Penawaran berlaku sampai dengan 31 Desember atau barang habis. Buruan, stok terbatas!

Exhibitionist di Taman Salmiya

Dekat kami tinggal ada sebuah taman yang kami namakan Taman India karena saking banyaknya orang India yang beraktivitas di situ, dari jogging hingga piknik saat udara sejuk. Dan banyak ibu-ibu bergerombol yang berolah raga jalan cepat mengelilingi taman. Sehingga memberi kesan aman dan tidak ada yang aneh-aneh dengan taman tersebut.

Namun pagi ini sedikit berbeda. Seorang teman wanita kami dengan wajah pucat seperti baru melihat sesuatu yang mengerikan menghampiri papin "Di dekat semak-semak situ ada bapak-bapak arab pamerin 'burungnya' ke aku." Ha? Ada exhibitionist di tempat ini? Papin menghampiri tempat yang ditunjuk, tapi sudah tidak ada siapa pun di situ. Sedikit tidak percaya karena saat itu cukup ramai orang berolah raga, termasuk ibu-ibu & wanita dari kebangsaan lain termasuk India & Arab. Dan sekian tahun kami beraktivitas di tempat itu, baru sekali ini ada peristiwa ajaib.

Kami tanya "Bentuknya kayak apa?"
Teman "Gak jelas tapi yg pasti butut keriput!"

Besok-besok mesti siapin iPhone buat difoto & upload online :P

Jamal's English part 2

Hari ini Jamal memberi perbendaharaan baru: SINGLE yang artinya sendiri.

Jamal's English part 1

Bahasa Inggris kami tidaklah bagus. Grammar kacau dengan pelafalan yang medhok jawir. Tapi ternyata bahasa Inggris Jamal - sopir langganan kami berkebangsaan Bangladesh - lebih absurd dan surreal. Butuh effort & pemahaman yang tinggi untuk bisa mengerti apa maksud omongannya.

Contohnya:

Punisher artinya furniture.

I am understand artinya I know.

I am tell me artinya I say.

I am down artinya saya sudah di bawah.

Uncle artinya mas, mbak, dik. Contoh: Uncle Arwen artinya mbak Arwen.

Berikut salah satu kisah bagaimana kami menerjemahkan bahasa Inggrisnya:

iPhone 4

Terima kasih kepada @aperdana yg memberikan kesempatan kepada kami untuk menyicipi iPhone 4-nya.

Al Watan Daily on Ariel & Luna Maya's video

Teman di kantor membaca sebuah judul berita di surat kabar lokal Al Watan Daily (sekelas Kompas di Indonesia) dan bertanya kepada kami "What's this???"

Kami pun sibuk menerangkan sesuai dengan apa yang kami ketahui. Menarik, kasus ini ternyata 'sangat mendunia' & sempat mampir di Kuwait.

note: Al Watan Daily sendiri mengutip dari Jakarta Globe website.

More in Al Watan Daily
http://alwatandaily.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?Id=81610
http://alwatandaily.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?Id=80838

Our Podcast is Back

Enjoy our journey documentary videos in our video podcast (iTunes link)
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=377643579

Download the episodes & view it in iTunes or sync to your iPod, iPhone & iPad.

50℃ & counting

Note: Beberapa orang melaporkan bahwa suhu mencapai 56˚C di indikator (tingkat akurasi rendah) mobil mereka.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Krisis Listrk di Kuwait

Tingginya suhu di Kuwait (mencapai 55˚C pada siang hari) mendorong pemakaian listrik yang nyaris melebihi total kapasitas listrik Kuwait. Dari 11,000 megawatts yg terpasang, sudah terpakai 10,800 megawatts hari ini. Pemerintah Kuwait mengadakan pertemuan darurat untuk mengatasi krisis ini.

Jangan-jangan bakal byarpet seperti PLN juga di sini. Tanpa AC, bakal gosong penduduk di sini :-/