A Sunny Day in Belle Done

From the first day we reached here, on September 17th until now, we hardly stay in the hotel for 24 hours. Whenever there is a local holiday or weekends, we'll try to make use of the time to go out exploring and hang out.

But this Sunday, we decided to stay in, after spending the whole Saturday outside. Frankly speaking, we need to rest a while and this is a perfectly nice place to do that.

This is a sunny Sunday, there's some occasional wind, but overall not windy or cold. The weather is dry here, so even if the sun is burning, unless we stand under the sun, we can hardly sweat.

After a late breakfast and spend the whole morning in the room watching random channel in the TV, I decided to come to the patio and online, and of course, puffing. Belle Done is kind of isolated from the town center, expect of some faint noise from distant vehicle, there's only some birds' chirping accompany me here.


This is nice, and I'm happy that we chose this hotel or more accurately guest house instead of those conventional hotel that lack of human touch. It is time like this that our reality blurs, for we feel like we are on a holiday rather than on a business trip, with an important mission to accomplish in 5 weeks.

Tomorrow will be another start of working week, and it will be a full working week, for there is no holiday. But even in work we feel little pressure, save for a lack of direction, since what we learn here is not exactly what we suppose to do. Well, I mean, they way of doing is different, and we need to learn the smart way, absorbing the core essence, rather than expecting to replicate all that is done here.

Still, a challenge in work is better than just work. For things will be boring if there is no challenge. Right?

South Africa is not for sissy

"South Africa is not for sissy" said a guy in the SA office.

I guess that is pretty true. But so far, I don't think why a sissy can't survive here. So far, things are good.

Or perhaps we just have the balls of steel...

Haha~!

Dinner in the room

So, today is Raya, we spend the morning travelling for more than hour from Witbank to Pretoria trying to reach the residence of some officer / advisor in Malaysian embassy. Our transport does not know exactly where the place is,and ultimately we fail to reach on time for Nazlyna to attend the takbir, but nevertheless, we spend some great time there beramah-mesra with some fellow Malaysian there.

The afternoon, we walk around a so call very big mall nearby and had a rather late and heavy lunch, thus we decided to postpone our dinner or maybe have it in our own room. So, when dinner time, this is what delivered to my room. I already know the menu, but do not expect it will look this good (but so far every meal in Belle Done looks good to me)

As usual,a three course meal for dinner, your choice of starter, main course and dessert. As for drinks, I mostly will order the local Castle beer. Not bad, man.

Today's starter is something familiar, vegetable spring role or fried popiah. It does not taste different from those that we can get back in Malaysia. Pretty nice.

My main course is medium beef fillet, with grilled pepper, potato and some local thingy.

Well, another surprise this evening is the beef. I ordered medium, and medium I get. But unlike any steak I had back in Malaysia, this beef is so tender and juicy that I cherish every bite of it.

And the dessert is this quite little strawberry cheese cake. One thing good about the food in Belle Done is, for the dessert, it is never too sweet. Just nice, and the dressing is simple but elegant. Apart from the sour strawberry, this dessert is almost perfect for me!

I wonder why those came here before me complained that the food here sucks. Either they frequent 50 stars place everyday in Malaysia or I'm too kampung or they are just don't know how to appreciate really good food, I don't know. One thing I know, to food here, so far there isn't one big disappointment yet.

Mission to Witbank

And so the journey begins with a sip of a pre-flight champagne. What awaits us, we have no idea. News from those who went before is not promising. They say it gonna be hell, and thus, in the more than 10 hours flight and transit, where we still close to the touch of civilization, we must utilize all of it.

What this trip will bring me is a new job role, learning things that I never thing I will going to learn, and doing things that I did not plan to do in short term. What bizarre about this situation is, it is just hours after I tell my lead that I am always game for anything new, and that very evening, I got the news. Ha~

If I say I'm not worried at all about this trip, this mission, then I am lying. But thing is, this is just a job, not about life and death. My job now for the next 6 weeks is to learn from the people there, and their job in the next 6 weeks will include teaching me what they got. Strictly business, nothing personal.

With that idea in mind, I am more relax and decided, when work, I give my all. After office hour, I'll enjoy the best. I'll eat the best, and drink the best (as long as it is reasonable) and I definitely won't let the fact that the cultural difference in this country to be a detractor of me having fun. If you are not open to other's culture, then you shouldn't even be a Malaysian. Wahahaha~!


Although Eve can not make it with us, but this two comrades are good enough. Oddly enough, all three of us are analytical and a bit of introvert. But that means we can cope with each other better. Nazlyna is a cute fella, and Annie, a mother of two acts a bit like Ziva in the NCIS series, but still have a good dose of humour in her.


Looking back after we landed on Jo'burg, it is rather surprising, at least for me, that for the past 24 hours, the only thing we have done is all about travelling. Seeing what welcome us is such a beautiful scenery, I feel that, although the knowledge transfer maybe taxing, but at least the none working time will be such an interestingly peaceful vacation.


So the plane has landed, and our mission begins. Wish us luck, my friends~!

Cause I'm Leaving...On A Jet Plane...

It's final, I'm here in the Cathay Pacific's Lounge, waiting to depart for my first business trip which bizarrely due to unknown fate, have to be South Africa. I always wanted to travel out of Asia, but never know the very first non-Asia country I'll go is South Africa. It's not even in my Top 10 list of country that I must visit some day~!

But still, fate is weird, and G** may be gay.What lies ahead is unknown. I am to get trained on what the guys in Africa is doing so that I can take over their job and they get retrenched. Half a year ago, it was the other way round. How ironic life is, sometimes.

I do hope that I will get a good karma. Last time I treated the Chinese quite well, give them full co-operation, and be supportive. Just that their then boss from kiasu land is a bit of a queer. So, lets hope that I will at least get a similar level of treatment here, but still, I prefer it will be better.

Too bad, team lead is not going in the same trip, I don't have kaki minum here then. When is she coming? Hmmm...

Trailer : Italian Spiderman

This should be cooler then the upcoming Spiderman 4~!!!

Yumcha in Starbuck, Centro

So, in Starbuck Centro, Klang. First time having coffee and browsing the Internet here and first time I organize a yum-cha session with my Klang gang here, trying to well, pull the off from the 99 mamak. I'm rather sick of it, but since most of the time no one has other idea we end up going there every time.

So, now don't know how well they accept this arrangement. Perhaps the parking fee and the price of the drinks here may be a detractor as the 'usual' place for us, but anyway, it worth a try, and really hope it works.

Even if they don't like this, I'm good to settle for Old Town...

Say....is there such cool coffee place in Witbank? I wonder....

There's always one such thing in every organization...

There is a talking chair in the department and it is stupid, or an idiot, but branding it as idiot is such a huge humiliation towards all other idiot in the world.

Speaks in such a monotonous insincere, fake and unintelligent, it is such a surprise that it is given such important task. This further strengthen my believe that any wise boss will fall victim to someone that appears to be confident and has a fake “can-do” spirit (just for the sake of making boss happy and try stupidly to impress the big guy). There’s one such character back in Lenovo and there is one here. Luckily, this thing is not in the same team as I do.

So, it will be nice if I never have to work with this substance, but if the ill twist of fate force me to, for sure I will act professionally and device a way to topple and destroy its future here. But it will be cool if someone else can bump it off.

Anyway, friends, help me, pray that this thing will die horribly, and burnt by the fire of hell real soon. It will be nice. Thanks~!!!