All My Bags Are Pack, I'm Ready To Go...

Wow...that is fast~!!! Almost unbelievable. It's tomorrow? We gonna leave tomorrow and back to Malaysia!

I'm even more excited. In less than 24 hours after arrive in Malaysia, I'm going to depart to Taiwan!

Funny how things happen. Now I starting to miss South Africa already. Although we live in Witbank, a place that generally agreed by all, even the local to be the most boring town in South Africa, but I'm glad we can still enjoyed our short term stay here. Ultimately, it is not the place, it is the people. Who are we and who we are with actually plays a big part in determining if a trip is a dream or a nightmare.

There's a lot of first time here in SA. First time being out of Asia, first time on a business class flight, first time touching a lion, first time being to a safari, a reserve land where all the wild animals roam and live freely, first time eating springbok, a local cute animal with very cool horn and many more.....

Well, in less than 24 hours we will be in the airport waiting our flight. Can't wait to be back, but I'm sure will miss this wonderful place.

Furniture in Witbank

In the first two months in BHPB, we, the newcomers, the Colonists (not people living in the colon, ok) have nothing to do in the office. For most of the time, we moonlight as furniture. The most productive thing we do, other than training, is monitoring the traffic in Federal Highway and decide when is the best time to leave to office, or should we go have some coffee for a while to wait for the traffic to recover.

Before even my real work started, I am to change my role and travel 16 hours to South Africa to learn what I need to do for my new role. Well, it may not be the most glamorous place to be for training, but we like it so far.

After more than a month here, today, a day after the payroll run has ended, we end up being furniture again in the aged office in Witbank. And in such a good day, I have a headache. Fuck!

Pictured: Me

Maybe tomorrow, or next Monday, the training will presume and that is bad, for me, as you know, are one hell of a lazy piece of protein (with rather high fat level).

Countdowning now...

Less then two weeks, then back to Malaysia for a day, and head straight to Taiwan for the long awaited vacation.

The couple returning from UK has returned, and don't know if I will see them first in my one day in Malaysia before departing to Taiwan. Ah, how I miss them. It has almost been a year since I last see them, the dinner in Restoran Boston, if my memory hasn't fail me yet.

Sigh, how time flies. Sometimes, I wonder if it is travelling too fast.

Life here...

Not even a month here, in Witbank, South Africa I have already get use to it. Rise morning, breakfast with cereals and my choice of eggs and sides.

A short trip to the office, work till lunch, where we will usually buy some pre-cooked or frozen food which we'll reheat in the microwave, and a little chat after lunch.

Then work again until 5, wait for our ride, shower, then maybe a dip in the bath tub, followed by a three course dinner.

After that will be an hour or so on the net, until my thinkpad's battery reaches the critical level, then head back to the room, watch some TV, then sleep.

Curiously enough, I do not miss home much, save for a few things, the people, the food and my little car...Well, still have 20 odd days to go. Seriously, I hardly make countdown to home here. Haha~

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.