AdamGiles.com

Sarah sent me a text saying that she’s been reading my clog, and it looked like I was having fun. I’m working on the assumption that her mobile phone’s predictive text feature needs to be brought up to the 21st century - but it’s nice to know I have a ‘readership’.

In return, here’s what I’ve learnt so far:

1. Like the song says, ‘Wear Sunscreen’ - too many close calls for comfort.
2. Local things are cheap. Anything that would attract a westener is expensive.
3. Always take your cap with you - always. You look stupid wearing it but it helps (see point 1).
4. Your colleagues will laugh less if you only refer to it as ‘my stupid cap’.
5. Because of the heat, things that shouldn’t be, are runny: Here are some of the more disturbing things..
• Toliet Duck
• Ketchup
• Toothpaste
• Butter
• Road markings
6. Talking of which, Road markings are purely decorative - if the road is phyically capable of having 6 cars abreast then you should go for 7. That’s what the hard shoulder is for.
7. As Einstein’s theories predict, time is in fact, a variable. Don’t expect anything to happen on time - that is the road to disapointment my friend.
8. When you get a phone installed in your apartment you aren’t told what the number is, which isn’t as big a problem as you would think as it won’t make international calls so is no use at all.
9. The swimming pool is better after dark as you can float on your back a look at the stars (admittedly through a layer of polution).
10. When it rains, it really rains - we’re talking flash floods, people drowning that kind of thing.
11. The time zone difference between here and the UK is really really inconvenient for calling home.

One thing that brings peace of mind though are the constants.

1. Mini-cab drivers will take every oportunity to fleece you.
2. Starbucks charges an obscene amount of money for a cop of tea.
3. Vodka in swanky bars tastes better than the stuff you have at home.
4. Heinz tomato soup is still the best type of soup money can buy.

So, yeah, in summary. Sarah is right - I am having fun.
Hugz
-A-

hmmmm. Yesterday’s SinFest was a little too close for comfort.

This is where you leave the country to work on a project in a far-away-land and then get insanely busy and don’t update you blog often enough. You then get SMS messages and emails from both sets of parents complaining about the lack of info!

Admittedly, I have been lax in my blog updates, but unless you want a daily dose of ‘Got up, skipped breakfast, went to office, worked hard, fell even further behind from the schedule, went back to apartment, passed out’ you’ll have to wait for something more interesting to happen.

As is happens, since I last posted, I’ve been to Brunei and gotten drunk (which is quite an achievement given that Brunei is a dry state), toured the Empire Hotel (that’s where Bill Clinton stays at when he’s in town) and watched the most gorgeous sunset across the south China sea (but no photo due to dead phone battery – DOH).

Back in KL I’ve discovered a drinking buddy from one of the vendors we’re working with, so some normality in the Friday-night-out-for-a-beer stakes has returned (photo’s coming soon). We’ve been exploiting insider information to locate the clubbing district and an open air bar on the 34th floor of a tower looking across to the Petronas towers. Luxury by local standards, regular pub prices for us. 50 ringits cover charge (about £7.70) to get in – no problems. Then you realize that a local restaurant will give you a plate full of food for about 5 ringits. Hmmm eat for a week or get into the bar? No contest.

I’ve also adopted the local custom of leaving bottles behind the bar. This is something unique to the East and is where, instead of buying drinks all night, you simply by a full bottle of your favorite tipple (Vodka, naturally) and pay for mixers as you use them. When you’re done, they mark the side of the bottle so you know how much is left and you leave it behind the bar. The next time you return you simply ask for your bottle back. The only problem being is that you need to have something left in the bottle at the end of the night – I need to work on that

In other news…
My laptop has died and has had to be rebuilt – so I’ve lost most of my abilities to check mail, upload photos etc etc. I’m slowly rebuilding it so should be back up to full steam soon.

I might be getting broadband in the next few days (I’ll believe it when I see it!) so hopefully that will also help in the update-frequency-rate.

Gathering by the emails and SMSs from home, life is ticking along with a gratifying level of normality.

And before I forget, work friend Rashni has given birth (2 weeks late) to a bouncing baby girl, Maia. Many congrats.

Phew, I guess quite a few things have happened since my last update. I promise not to leave it so long next time

Hugz
-Adam

PS Instant noodles again for dinner tonight - No wonder my body hates me.

I’ve just heard that Louis Selo, a friend from work, passed away last week while on holiday with his family. A heart attack in the taxi on the way from airport and apparently it all happened very fast.

Farewell Louis.
I’ll miss the Selograms.

A Friday night in a resturant in an area called ‘Bangsa’. Very westernised, I have a chicken pie and a bottle of Australian wine. Old habits die hard.

My companions for the evening were two ladies from work, Siok-Hwee on the left and Xiao-Min on the right.

Some people have expressed skepticism that I’m actually here. But look, here I am..

Also of note in the resturant was the clever toilet - the sink was the top of the cistern. When you flushed the tap ran until the cistern was full, and you washed your hands in the meantime. Very clever.