I had an interesting chat with Chan the other day. He was working as a "fixer" with CNN (or was it BBC, I can't remember) and stationed at the Majestic Hotel (near Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad) and I was supposed to see him to pick up my Starbucks mug that he got me from Cairo.
We ended up talking for a bit. Heh. After all, we haven't seen each other in yonks. Actually, I have not seen him since I left NST. And I kinda miss our banter about life and sports. (Yes, we're both Gooners. Heh.)
So yeah. We spoke. About life. And mid-life crisis.
"So you spent about 3 months in Cairo because you had mid-life crisis?" I asked.
"Ye-aaap.. and to learn Arabic, of course," he replied, with a grin.
And I smiled too.
I was in awe, actually. Here's a guy who just wanted to explore life. I think it's kinda cute to have a non-Muslim Chinese guy traveling halfway around the world just to learn Arabic, which is the language of the Quran.
And to study it in Egypt too, of all places!
"But what about the travel advisories.. stories on Thahrir Square, riots etc?" I asked. Still curious.
"Hahah.. You know how it is. Almost everything is always just being hyped up by the media," he said. "Cairo's very safe."
And I was reminded of the times when I was a reporter. Hmmm. The power of writing. Or reporting. Most times, what I wrote in the papers was only 10% of what I saw or heard at the Press conference.
And yes, I'm sure Cairo is safe. Like Kuala Lumpur is still a safe place to be, despite the Bersih protests at Dataran Merdeka.
Only Malaysians (or rather KL-lites) know that while some of the yellow-tshirt supporters at Dataran Merdeka were getting water sprayed by the police, there are thousands of other Malaysians and tourists who are doing their shopping at Pavilion or KLCC. Heh. And ironically, you watch tv or surf the net and you would think that KL is in chaos! Hahah.
Oh well.
See. I'm digressing again. I started this entry with the intentions of writing about Chan's adventure. About the road less traveled. Yet I ended up talking about Reformasi and all that.
Well anyway, yes.. I admire Chan for taking the road less traveled. For having the guts to leave the comfort of his own home.. to be away from his wife, dogs, cats, family and friends to learn a new language.
Not many people are that brave. I know I'm not THAT brave. While I am living far from home etc.. I know I'm in good hands. The Company made sure that someone waited for me at the airport when I first arrived.. and I was taken straight to my own apartment.
And even now, when I'm moving around in Khartoum, I'm hardly with strangers. The driver would send or pick me up.. or I would be going to places with friends.
For the life of me, I can't quite imagine spending weeks (and months) alone in a foreign land.I'm always afraid that I would die somewhere all alone and no one knows how to reach my family.
Yeah. That's my greatest fear. Dying alone without my loved ones by my side on my final journey.
Sigh.
Ok. It's getting too morbid.
It's lunch time and I wanna head home. Toodles! xoxo
We ended up talking for a bit. Heh. After all, we haven't seen each other in yonks. Actually, I have not seen him since I left NST. And I kinda miss our banter about life and sports. (Yes, we're both Gooners. Heh.)
So yeah. We spoke. About life. And mid-life crisis.
"So you spent about 3 months in Cairo because you had mid-life crisis?" I asked.
"Ye-aaap.. and to learn Arabic, of course," he replied, with a grin.
And I smiled too.
I was in awe, actually. Here's a guy who just wanted to explore life. I think it's kinda cute to have a non-Muslim Chinese guy traveling halfway around the world just to learn Arabic, which is the language of the Quran.
And to study it in Egypt too, of all places!
"But what about the travel advisories.. stories on Thahrir Square, riots etc?" I asked. Still curious.
"Hahah.. You know how it is. Almost everything is always just being hyped up by the media," he said. "Cairo's very safe."
And I was reminded of the times when I was a reporter. Hmmm. The power of writing. Or reporting. Most times, what I wrote in the papers was only 10% of what I saw or heard at the Press conference.
And yes, I'm sure Cairo is safe. Like Kuala Lumpur is still a safe place to be, despite the Bersih protests at Dataran Merdeka.
Only Malaysians (or rather KL-lites) know that while some of the yellow-tshirt supporters at Dataran Merdeka were getting water sprayed by the police, there are thousands of other Malaysians and tourists who are doing their shopping at Pavilion or KLCC. Heh. And ironically, you watch tv or surf the net and you would think that KL is in chaos! Hahah.
Oh well.
See. I'm digressing again. I started this entry with the intentions of writing about Chan's adventure. About the road less traveled. Yet I ended up talking about Reformasi and all that.
Well anyway, yes.. I admire Chan for taking the road less traveled. For having the guts to leave the comfort of his own home.. to be away from his wife, dogs, cats, family and friends to learn a new language.
Not many people are that brave. I know I'm not THAT brave. While I am living far from home etc.. I know I'm in good hands. The Company made sure that someone waited for me at the airport when I first arrived.. and I was taken straight to my own apartment.
And even now, when I'm moving around in Khartoum, I'm hardly with strangers. The driver would send or pick me up.. or I would be going to places with friends.
For the life of me, I can't quite imagine spending weeks (and months) alone in a foreign land.I'm always afraid that I would die somewhere all alone and no one knows how to reach my family.
Yeah. That's my greatest fear. Dying alone without my loved ones by my side on my final journey.
Sigh.
Ok. It's getting too morbid.
It's lunch time and I wanna head home. Toodles! xoxo
Nanti sambunglah cerita Chan ya? (Kalau ada lagi lah hehe) I nak baca :)
ReplyDeleteHahah.. Takde lah citer sangat. He spent 3 months in Cairo. Boleh bertutur bahasa Arab sikit sikit now. Boleh lah kalau nak beli barang kat Souq.
ReplyDeleteTapi I'm still so kagum dia nak pergi Cairo just to learn Arabic. Cam.. kita boleh ke tinggalkan semua, guna semua duit yang ada just to mengembara di negara orang for a few months?
I know I can't do it. Not brave enough.. heheh..