Hong Kong Visit – Part 1

 

 Hello blog readers and sorry for the delay in writing.  I have been very busy with work, and when not at work, I managed to go on a very relaxing trip to Hong Kong.  The post here and the next one will be to highlight the experience I had at the wonderful land of Hong Kong.

Early November, muslims celebrated the holiday associated with Hajj (pilgrimage).  This is the last official holiday by my employer (5 workdays) til the fasting month of Ramadan next year in August.  So, I decided to take advantage of this holiday, and go on a trip away from it all.  My goal was to stay away from work email, and any of the everyday concerns I usually deal with.  I picked Hong Kong because I find it an interesting place, it is part of China, yet still has the signatures of the British era.   To get to Hong Kong from Jeddah, I took Qatar Airways to Doha, then connected to Hong Kong.  I understand that Qatar Airways is voted #1 carrier for 2011.  Personally, I did not see it being much better than other airlines like Emirates (my favorite so far!).  When I arrived at the Doha, Qatar airport, I was surprised that they are using a temporary airport until the great new airport construction is complete in by 2015.  However, in the duty-free zone there was a drawing on some really fancy cars, one of which is a fancy Lamborghini!

Qatar Airways in Doha

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Duty-free area in Doha airport, Qatar

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Lamborghini for the lucky winner at Doha Airport

Ok, I arrived at the Hong Kong airport and zipped through immigration and customs in no time.  Took a taxi to the Holiday Inn Hong Kong - Golden Mile (40 minute drive), and checked in to a nice hotel room.  The hotel is located on a really busy street in the neighborhood of Tsim Sha Tsui.  However, the rooms are very quiet.  I arrived tired, so I ordered dinner in, and went to sleep.  The next morning, I walked in the neighborhood looking for a brunch, and I was brave enough to enter Macau Restaurant, get seated at a table with random other restaurant customers, and order food by pointing.  It was great! The soup even had a smiley face if you look close enough!

Holiday Inn Hong Kong - Golden Mile

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Macau Restaurant is a chain that I do recommend while in HK

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Great seafood delight!

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soup smiling at you (see the smile?)

Hong Kong is a really shopping place.  Every building has a mall in it, and every street has none-ending lines of jewelers and tailors.  The area of Tsim Sha Tsui has Art museum, Science Museum, Space Museum, and Culture center.  I did not enter any of these places!

busy streets of HK

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shopping everywhere in HK

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Streets of HK

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HK Museum of Arts

There are many street markets, so that is where I went.  Temple street night market is a fantastic place.  It is open 4 pm til midnight, but is busy only after dark.  I went there about 8 pm, and enjoyed walking the different stands, bargaining for good deals in all things from electronics to clothes to souvenirs.  I did not buy anything!  People from all around the world seem to visit this street either for the experience or really for a good deal.  Goldfish street off Prince Edward street in Mong Kok, along with the flower market and the bird garden are only for serious shoppers, but you can still walk around and enjoy the unusual living beings, fish+birds+humans!

Temple Street night market

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Temple street night market

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Shopping on Temple street

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busy Temple street market

Every night, Hong Kong water front hosts a symphony of lights for free.  Now that is something that interested me.  So, at 8 pm a nice lights show was organized, and the tall buildings in the city are used as the background for this show.  The show lasted about 15 to 20 minutes.  The best place to watch it is the Avenue of Stars (yeah, just like in Hollywood).

Buildings ready for the light show

 

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Colorful light show in HK with great music

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HK waterfront at night with light show

One day I went for lunch to a place that had the setup of Denny’s.  Of course the meal is asian but the menu is in both chinese and english.  I enjoyed my meal there.

Noodle soup on a rainy day in HK

Another thing you have to try when in Hong Kong is the double-decker bus.  After worrying about how to pay exact change and how to ask the driver to stop, I managed to ride the bus (top floor) and had a fantastic view of the city.  Much better than the open double-decker tourist bus. 

Double-decker bus a must!

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Finally figured out how to get on this crazy bus!

I also tried some excellent crabs at one of the busy restaurants in town (Crab Kitchen).  Language barrier was eased with sign language, although I ended up with crabs cooked on chili peppers!  I ate them while sweating.  Good meal though.  Hong Kong has many bakery places, and I made sure to enjoy sweets at least once a day.   If you are interested in a Shesha (hookah) smoke, go to 109 in Wan Chai.  I was walking down the street and was attracted to the smell of double apple tobacco.  Had to try it.

Crab Kitchen Meal

Some of the malls have top brands, and others also have things like ice skating.  Restaurants in malls are high quality.  Many of the malls are in tall buildings where the mall is the first few floors, then it is office building.  Many are also connected to the train station.

Tall buildings in Hong Kong

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Ice Ring or (Rink) as they call it in HK

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I was in Hong Kong for 5 nights, and I really enjoyed it.  I learned to take the train and that is how I got back to the airport.  From Tsim Sha Tsui station to the airport is about 15 minutes and costs $90 HK, or about 12 USD.

Here are some additional images without comments!

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Stay tuned for my next post on Disneyland Hong Kong!

Holiday Meals

At the end of August, I enjoyed some fabulous meals with mom and dad.  My post here shows some of the meals I had at home, including ones I have not had for over 20 years.  It was great to see the family for a short break.

The first meal is the national dish of Makloubeh (direct translation is upside-down, for the way it is presented).  It included the rice and vegetables and a choice of meat (beef or chicken).  Some add Chickpeas and other nuts for decoration.  The meal was great. I requested mom to cook it twice in the short week visit!

Makloubeh on day 1

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Makloubeh again!

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The second day I had moloukhiya, which is like spinach but tastes better.  With the right amount of garlic, and is eaten with rice and grilled chicken.  It is one of my favorite meals.

 

moulokhiya

 

 

 

 

 Two of the days had beans and foul as the dishes of choice, one with tomato sauce and the other in goat milk sauce.  Both were served with beef.

Beans with beef and tomato sauce

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Foul with goat milk and beef

Another day, I enjoyed beef liver baked in the oven with parsley and garlic.

Baked beef liver

Mansaf is a signature meal that is as rich and fatty as it can get.  It is rice over bread, with goat milk sauce, beef, and nuts.  I really enjoyed it.

Mansaf

Sweets and ice cream are abundant around the holidays.  Here is Qatayef, the sweet that is stuffed with either cheese or nuts and soaked in syrup.  Also, you see below ice cream from Rukab.  It is the best ice cream anywhere. 

Qatayef

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Rukab ice cream

I also had a chance to visit the local park with the parents.  Here are photos of the water fountain and a tree of pomegranate ready for harvest.

Local Park

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Pomegranate tree

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Finally, I would like to share a photo of an olive field in my neighborhood.

Olive Field in the neighborhood

Visit to Mecca

As the fasting month of Ramadan is celebrated in the Muslim world, I took advantage of the convenience of the chartered buses and travelled to Mecca on the 2nd Friday of the month.  I live about 2 hours away from the holly city by bus.  On the way to the city, I was able to see the difference in the terrane, changing from the slightly green, to completely desert like with plenty of dry land and camels! 

The road to Mecca

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The road to Mecca

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There is life even in the dry land

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More camels

 

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Friendly wild camels

 

When I arrived in Mecca, I saw plenty of people from all over the world.  Many of the men were dressed in a white cloth and ready to perform Umrah, or mini-Hajj.  I got off the tour bus and got on the shuttle from the parking lot to the Harram, or the holly mosque that encircles the black rock in central Mecca.  The shuttle bus was very crowded and I gave up my seat many times to older ladies who were very anxious to reach their destination.  When we got closer to the mosque, the bus stopped and we all got off.  It was an amazing river of people flocking to the mosque, mainly dressed in white. 

I arrived at one of the gates to the mosque at 10:30 am, I noticed that many people have already taken a spot on the grounds outside.  This was a sign that the mosque is already FULL.  I was determined to enter the mosque, so I followed some people and we were directed to the second floor.  When we got up the stairs, it was clear that there is no way up anymore as it is already full.  We all took the stairs back to the ground floor.  I walked outside and entered the mosque from a different gate, and we were moving.  I was so excited about it.  However, at some point in the entry hall we were stopped and asked by the security personnel to sit right where we were.  The place is full, and can’t move forward any further.  I was happy to find a spot to sit down, and it is an air-conditioned area.  Despite what you hear about segregation of men and women in this part of the world, it is not seen in this spot.  Women sat on the left, and men sat on the right in this hall way, with no barriers.  All were there for a purpose, pray and get the blessings! The prayer was finished by 1:10 pm, and all exited the mosque.  I have never seen this before, a river of bodies pushing you towards the area where the buses were assembled. 

The holly mosque in Mecca

Holly mosque in Mecca

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Departing after the Friday prayer

  

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Tallest clock in the world is in Mecca

I managed to step out of the crowd for a second and do some shopping as all shops opened right when the prayer ended.  The city came to life!  When finished shopping, I tried to figure out which shuttle can take me back to the place where the chartered bus is waiting for me.  I walked for about 45 minutes in 120F straight sun and dry heat, with no luck.  I finally flagged a taxi, and was ready to pay whatever he asked for.  He charged me for a roundtrip “because no one is coming back at this time”.  I paid without any complains, and was glad to see my chartered bus with 5 minutes to spare!  It was a nice trip home.

On unrelated topic, I bought a grill and had a nice BBQ for my friends before Ramadan started.  It reminded me of the good BBQ days in USA.  Also, the palm trees in our neighborhood are full of dates nowadays.  However, they are the kind used for oil rather than for food.  I have some photos to share from both of these topics.

Grilling in the heat of Saudi Arabia

Good BBQ does not know heat or snow!

Palm tree in front of my house

Palm trees with dates line up our neighborhood streets

Singapore – Part III

This is the third part of my report on the trip to Singapore.  Here, I would like to share some photos from the meeting and from National University of Singapore.

The meeting that I attended had 3,500 people attending from all over the world.  Many Nobel Laureates were present, and four of them gave presentations.  The opening ceremony started with traditional Asian music with a nice show of dancing lions.  The guest of honor was the minister of development (housing?).  The meeting had many oral presentations on new developments in materials science, and also included several impressive poster sessions.  Everyday, lunch was served in a large hall that was able to host all the guests.  It was a nice opportunity to sit at a new table every time and meet with different scientists from around the world.

Dancing lions at the ICMAT2011 opening

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More dancing lions at ICMAT2011

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Lunch at ICMAT2011

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A Nobel laureate giving a lecture at ICMAT2011

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Another Nobel Laureate talking at ICMAT2011

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A third Nobel Laureate at ICMAT2011

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A fountain at Suntec

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A poster from a fine university in South Korea

At National University of Singapore (NUS), I attended a reception and presentations by two of the Nobel laureates.  The reception included few words by the event organizers along with a nice selection of food.  While waiting for the event to start, I managed to take a quick tour of the wonderful museum at the University Community Center.  Displays of skeletons, art, and fashion were available.  I managed to walk through the place in 20 minutes.  

Dumblings and other options at the NUS reception.

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NUS Museum Entrance

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Asian art on display

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Islamic art on display NUS

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Some of our old relatives!

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Some just never landed, and are gone forever!

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Some preserved dry!

Others preserved in fluid!

Selection of tools to defend the civilization!

I was there!

This concludes my report on the trip to Singapore.  In summary, Singapore is a lovely country with rich and diverse culture. The people are great and the food variety is impressive.  The weather is like that in Jeddah right now, hot and humid.  Singapore can feel crowded at times with people from everywhere, and particularly from China.  The cost of living is high, and the country spends a lot on research and science.

Singapore – Part II

Singapore is famous for all the new technology and building design.  As I walked around, I found myself entering many malls.  The weekend is the busiest time at these huge shopping centers with the very familiar American and European brands.  In this post I would like to share with you some of what I saw in the shopping areas.

Marina Bay Sands is a hotel/resort that is famous for its skypark and its long swimming pool.  I visited this place and was impressed with its design.  It looks like a boat that is standing on the top of three towers.  Inside the resort, you can do shopping, have a nice meal, listen to some relaxing live eastern music, take a boat ride, or do some ice sports.  If this is not enough, you can pay SGD $20 and take the elevator to the 56th floor.  From this outdoors (was very hot) observatory, you can get a great 360-degree view of Singapore.  If you want more, go to the 57th floor and visit the North Garden.  Here you can see the longest roof-style swimming pool.  If you look from a distance, it appears that the pool is on the edge of the building and you are about to fall down 57-floors.  On the other side, I found a heated pool with a view of the busiest seaport in that part of the world.

Marina Bay Sands Resort

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Another view of the Marina Bay Sands Resort

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Live music at the Marina Bay Sands lobby

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Boat ride inside the Marina Bay Sands

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Ice ring at the Marina Bay Sands

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View from the skypark on the top of the Marina Bay Sands

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Another view from the top of the Marina Bay Sands

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Singapore Port as seen from the top of the Marina Bay Sands

 

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Ships as seen from the Marina Bay Sands

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Unique swimming pool on the top of the Marina Bay Resort in the North Garden

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You have to check out the North Garden at the Marina Bay Sands

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Overlooking the port from the North Garden at the Marina Bay Sands. Easy living!

Coming back to the area around Marina Mandarin, I walked into a mall that had Kenny Rogers Chicken bright sign, and a Long John Silver.  On a Saturday morning, Long John Silver was a happening place.  It reminded me that restaurants have different reputations in different countries.  It looked like a 5-star restaurant here, but I still refused its fast-food idea and kept walking.  I guess kids need a place to go on weekends, so the mall had a great offer and plenty of kids were participating in this “make your kids smart kids” campaign!  Needless to say, I tried to get out of this mall as soon as possible with all these kids crowding the place and screaming.

Kenny Roger's in Singapore

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Long John Silver in Singapore!

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Kids entertainment at the mall in Singapore

It has been a long time since I had a good Vietnamese soup, Pho.  Outside the mall, there was a nice Vietnam restaurant where I had an average Pho.  When I requested Thai iced-tea, they didn’t have it and tried with several translators with no success.  I settled for flavored Iced-tea that had real mango pieces in it.

Pho in Singapore

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Some decoration at the Vietnamese restaurant.

Back to Chinatown, I saw plenty of interesting things.  There was a park in front of the Buddhist Temple that had plenty of men playing cards and other table games.  Many were standing around and watching, it was a pleasant scene.  Also, there were many stores selling items that I have no clue what they are.  I like that kind of places, I took photos and bought nothing.

Men Playing cards and other board games in public in Chinatown, Singapore

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Chinese foods on display in Chinatown, Singapore

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I think they sell seafood!

I will write more in the next post…some will be about scenes from the conference and from National University of Singapore.

Singapore – Part I

 In late June, I had the opportunity to visit Singapore while attending the International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies (ICMAT2011).  In the next several posts, I will share with you my great experience in Singapore.  I was impressed with the city state, its push for science and research, its mixed culture, and the interesting feeling of being only 80 miles north of the equator.  The weather was similar to that in Jeddah with the high temperature and humidity, but it also rains on the top of that!  This makes it a very green country.

Green Parks in Singapore

I arrived at Singapore Changi Airport on a flight from Dubai (about 8-hour flight), via an Emirates flight.  This was a Boeing 777, but I was not impressed considering the flight from Jeddah to Dubai was a double-decker Airbus 380-800.  The airport service in Singapore was so efficient, and I was in a taxi within 30 minutes of landing.  I stayed at the Marina Mandarin hotel, and it was a nice place and a convenient central location. 

Arriving in Singapore

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Marina Mandarin Singapore Hotel

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View of the dining area in Marina Mandarin as seen from the 12th floor.

I took a walk in the Chinatown part of the city state and was impressed with the religious diversity.  On the same street, there was a buddhist temple, a mosque, and a hindu temple.  I decided to walk inside the buddhist temple and see what it looks like. I was impressed with the many statues that covered the walls of the temple.  I also had respect for the clear devotion and faith some of the guests had, demonstrated by kneeling and burning incents.  Two things I thought were interesting included the fact everyone had to cover above the knees before entering, and the donation box (every group has that, all religions agree on this!).

Buddhist Temple in Singapore

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Mosque in Chinatown in Singapore

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Hindu Temple in Singapore

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Statue in Buddhist Temple

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Statue in the Buddhist Temple

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My favorite Buddhist statue at this temple

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Devoted worshipers at the Buddhist temple

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Donation box at the Buddhist temple

I tried the Singapore traditional dish of chicken rice (cold boneless chicken on rice, served with chicken broth soup).  It probably is not my favorite dish!  In any case, I enjoyed the experience of walking up to those infamous food stands (Maxwell Food Court in this case).  The food is very cheap, and is routinely inspected, so it is clean.  You order and pick up your food, then take it and find a seat in the area between the rows of food stands.  This has a feel similar to the state fair with the funnel cakes.  Food selection is huge in Singapore and does reflect the diverse population.  Not a surprise to even see many restaurants with signs in arabic indicating halal meat, catering to native folks of Singapore and those of places like Malaysia.

Chicken Rice, Singapore national dish

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This is where I bought the chicken rice, you can see the chicken bones on display!

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Maxwell Food Court, Singapore

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Entrance to Maxwell Food Court, Singapore

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Muslim food served in Singapore

Clark Quay is an area on the Singapore River where a lot of restaurants and coffee houses are.  I spent some time in this area and enjoyed looking at some of the seafood that is about to be cooked.  Apparently Sri Lanka crabs have the most meat and are very popular.  However, I saw some frogs for those interested in French food.  I was amazed by the 3-story buildings with the wonderfully colored windows.  While walking in an underpass, I ran into a music group who hopes to be famous one day, and I saw a sign that reminded me of the strict laws of the land ($1,000 for riding a bike in the underpass). 

Clark Quay

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Boat on the Singapore River in Clark Quay

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Fresh seafood served at Clark Quay

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More seafood at Clark Quay

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Trout ready to be served at Clark Quay

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Meaty Seafood from Sri Lanka on display in Clark Quay

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Frogs on display at a restaurant in Clark Quay

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A famous band in the future!

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Strict rules in Singapore!

I hope to write more in the next few posts about this trip.

Frankfurt Visit

 

    This past week, I had to go to Germany on a business trip.  I am always impressed with many of the things I see in Germany, and the list can also expand to the rest of Europe.  In Germany, I hear many languages, I see reliable train system, I watch people depend on bicycles in their runs around town, and I see a lot of green trees and grass.  You also see a contrast between the modern tall buildings and the very old surviving castles.   In this trip I visited Hannover, Frankfurt, and Heidelberg.

 

 

   In Hannover, I visited a nice university and was taken to great lunch at the faculty lounge.  The chemistry buildings are about 100 years old.  Heidelberg is a very historical city where many chemistry experts like Bunsen and Mendeleev lived.  It has a castle that is over 1000 years old!  Tourists are about 30% of the city’s population.  The streets in the”Altstadt”, or old city, are made from bricks, with coffee shops and restaurants on both sides.  The city has a beautiful river and nice hills.  It has about 35,000 from the 120,000 total population, so it is relatively a young city.  I stayed at the Crownplaza in Heidelberg  and i do recommend it.  However, the old city has smaller historical hotels if that is what interests you!  I took no photos in Hannover and Heidelberg as we were very busy with work. 

 

    In Frankfurt, I stayed at the NH Frankfurt city hotel.  I liked the location, the room, and the breakfast at this place.  It is about 20 minutes by taxi from the airport which is also a plus.  When the work was done, I had some time for shopping/sightseeing.  The photos below are the ones I took on my last day in Frankfurt.  I walked in search for the Old Frankfurt Opera Place, and I found it.  It was about 10 minutes walk from the hotel.  This is an older Opera building that was destroyed in the war and renovated in the 1970s.  It has many statues and sits in a large square in the middle of the city.

Old Opera House in Frankfurt

Approaching the old opera house

 

Old opera house in Frankfurt

 

Old opera house in Frankfurt

 

Statue at the Old Opera house

Side of the old Opera house in Frankfurt

Not too far from the old Opera, there is a nice green Park.  This park separates the Opera from Mozart’s’ street.  I really liked that.  On the other side of the Opera house there is another green park.  I was impressed to see rabbits and birds enjoying a nice sunny day, just like the city residents.

Mozart street in Frankfurt, right behind the Old Opera Place

 

Fountain the park behind the Old opera house

Rabbits and birds enjoying a sunny spring day at the Park in Frankfurt

 

 

Closeup look at the art in the garden

  

 

Garden in Frankfurt

 

Zeil street is the fashion and shopping street in Frankfurt.  It is near the Old Opera and not too far from the Financial District.  It has many malls, small stores, restaurants, and cafes.  I bought a couple of ties and a shirt from the Galleria Kaufhup.  This place is like Macy’s, except it has 6 floors, and you can even enjoy a meal on the roof.  The best part about this street, it is for pedestrians only!

Galleria Kaufhup on Zeil street in Frankfurt. Nice Place!

            

Zeil 123. Easy Address!

Walking down Zeil street!

 

 

 

Statue at the entrance to the train station by Zeil Street in Frankfurt

 

Closeup look at the art on the statue

 

    As I walked back to my hotel room to get my stuff and checkout, I saw some older structures and a nice park/garden.  I took some photos and wanted to share with you. One is also for the Frankfurt stock exchange.

      

Old building by Zeil Street in Frankfurt

 

Old building in Frankfurt

interesting old building in a park across from Die Welle

The Park across from Die Welle in Frankfurt.

 

 

 

Frankfurt Borse, or stock exchange

 

Finally, some of you know that I enjoy interesting road signs.  Here are a couple that I saw in Frankfurt:

kids, moms, and bicycles. Side by side, yet segregated, in Frankfurt.

 

I am glad I was not driving in Frankfurt, interesting sign!