First Day of Eid

There were so many events yesterday, I'll just give a brief 'report'... hehehe...

Early in the morning (at 7.45 am), the special Eid prayer was held at laman Mesra... yep, on the field where we had our Ramadhan Bazaar. After that, we had the 'personal' salam raya at home. Those who asked for forgiveness the longest would normally be the one with lots of 'dosa'... hehehe... aka me!!

Hadi 'forced' to beg forgiveness from Kak Long...

After that we went to the multi-purpose hall for the official raya breakfast. The food was cooked by students. The kids loved the soup and nasi impit. I like everything... hehehe

It's impossible to look good when gobbling your food! sigh...

More people eating...

At 10 am, we invited some people to our house (those who won't be in Khartoum when we're having our open house). Faridah & family, Nadzifah & family, Ruzien & family and Zarin. Faridah's going to Switzerland, Zarin's going back to Malaysia while the rest are going to Paris. We had nasi impit, 'bad' rendang, kuah kacang, sate and murtabak.

We were chatting...

Right after the last guest left our house, we went to Sh. Najwa's house. Proceed to eat more food. The most memorable dish would be her beef rendang... yummy...

The gentlemen lining up... hehehe

After Najwa's house, we had a 'break' from eating... The malays has a saying , "macam ular sawa kekenyangan"...literary meaning like a satisfied and full python... also could be translated as 'nap-time'... hehehe... woke up at 5 pm and straight to Norima's house... more eating...

After maghrib, we went to the Malaysian ambassador's house in Soba. Quite far from the Complex. There were so many Malaysians there (most were Petronas staff...hehehe). Can't remember what I ate because I was too busy chatting and trying to keep an eye on the kids... Came back at 9.30 pm and my husband and I finished cleaning up the house only after midnight... sigh...

Selamat Hari Raya

On behalf of my family, I would like to wish everyone, Eid Mubarak... Selamat Hari Raya dan Maaf zahir dan batin.

The whole family infront of our block.

The kids in white...

To Mummy, Daddy, Angah n family, adik Fatiha, Mamud : Selamat Hari Raya, ampunkan dosa kami dan halalkan makan minum kami...

To Kak Normah, Abg Sham, K. Arah, Along Zali, Hani : Selamat Hari Raya, maafkan segala dosa kami dan halalkan makan minum kami... Kak normah, jangan 'senyum' lebih2 sangat raya ni...hehehe

To Ema, Zali, K. Ida, Abg. Mus, Ina, Man : Selamat Hari Raya, maaf zahir dan batin, bila makan tu ingat2lah kami disini...

To my mpm and SSP friends : Selamat Hari Raya, maaf zahir batin, 0-0 ye...

To my new friends (Kak Olie, Syikeen, Kak Shidah, Sh. Najwa, Rozie and countless others) : Selamat Hari Raya dan Maaf zahir batin. Kalau ada nak buat makan2 tu, ingat2 la kawan kat A-1-7... hehehe

Takbir Hari Raya...Part 2

Some of you might ask about what did the ladies do? Why, cooking of course! We prepared the spread for the takbir group (each house prepared a simple dish or kueh) and at the same time, cooking for Eid!

The leftover spread...

It was a struggle for me because I had never cooked rendang or kuah kacang before. Since small, there's always various other individuals that would have the responsibility to cook for Eid. I was never roped in to cook simply because they knew that I was hopeless in the kitchen... hehehe

But here, I had to do it on my own... I googled the simplest recipe and managed to cook rendang and kuah kacang. The rendang was a disaster, but the kuah kacang was not bad... hehehe. But I could not have done it without the help of my husband, of course... I had to refrain from making any comments about his skill with the knife, lest I lose the only help I could get... hehehe... I think the pictures would help you to understand my predicament.

He was concentrating...

Did I mentioned that he was extremely shortsighted... hehehe

Takbir Hari Raya...Part 1

After maghrib on the 29th of September, I heard the first takbir from the Complex's surau. It was a sign to confirm that Eid would be the next day on the 30th of September... Aliah was so excited because she's finished with her fasting for this year... hehehe, glad that she's managed to complete her fast.

True to Malaysian tradition, a group of men (students and residents of our block) went round to recite the takbir from house to house. It was wonderful! Even the small boys would follow their dads... I truly believe that these efforts would make us (as a group) stronger. Look at the pictures...

Those involved...

From another angle...

Shopping spree at night

Last night, we made arrangement with Haithem, for him to drive us to Souk Omdurman, just outside Khartoum. Fasri's friend, Shahrir also tagged along. To avoid the unpleasant experience like last week, we left Hadi and Aliah at home. We left after terawikh, around 10 pm. Before we made our move, Syed Marzidi (our neighbour) mentioned that there's a Syrian trade fair at the Friendship Hall.

We decided to check it out. Yea...thank you Syed. From afar we could see that there's a lot of people milling about the area (a very good sign that shopping is in the air!!!). The car park was full, so Haithem dropped us off and we could see that there's two entrances and chose the right side. True enough, it's shopping time!!! Hehehe, it was so full of people, it was quite difficult for us to move. The first stall that caught my eye was a stall selling egyptian jubah... yea, yea... and it was cheap... I started picking up several pieces and they were really nice, simple designs and beautiful colours (just the way I like it). As usual when I see something I like, I just grabbed as many as I could (without breaking the bank... wink! wink!)

Nice and simple...

It's made from cotton, so hopefully it'll be comfortable to wear... It's not for me mind you, it's for souvenirs for people back home... Ema, the red one is yours... hehehe... The ladies can wear it as pyjamas... I am definitely going to go again...if not today, tomorrow would not be soon enough... hehehe...

We didn't linger because there were too many people, it became very difficult to move... and with Amir with us, we just decided to get out of there... Well, we did have Souk Omdurman to go to. We reached Souk Omdurman around 11 pm and since Haithem lived there, he managed to help us manoeuvre our way through a very crowded area.

It was truly a 'market'... It was worse than the stalls in Masjid India... the road was littered with plastic bags and it was full of traders shouting their wares. And to my delight, some young men even sang for the crowd. It was definitely cheaper than Souk Bahari... the same type of abaya could be bought for around 30 SDP while the haggled price in Souk Bahari would be 45 SDP. There's definitely a marked difference in price.

But I was not interested in abayas or jubahs anymore, (*grin), so we tried our luck finding Fasri's jalabiya... and we got one for Fasri, Shahrir and Hadi... hehehe... with Haithem's help in haggling, we got a good bargain... After that, we decided to make our way back to the van and back home to the kids... We arrived at the new complex around midnight and I gave one of the jubah's to Haithem (for his mother), for helping us with the haggling and more importantly for helping to carry Amir throughout the shopping spree... hehehe (must remember that Amir is still chubby and weighs about 15kg...)

When we reached the apartment, Hadi and Aliah were still awake... and everybody went to bed around 2 am... sigh... so tired...

update: we went again 2 nights later... Managed to get good bargains for Aliah's jubah and Hadi's jalabiya. But unfortunately, there were only limited choice available for the egyptian cotton jubahs...sigh... must have been selling like hot cakes. I think I have to go to Egypt to satisfy my craving for shopping...hehehe

Ramadhan Bazaar revisited...

On the 20th of September, I went to the Petronita's Ramadhan Bazaar. It was the third (and the last) of the series this year. Why is there only three bazaars? Because by the third week of Ramadhan, many Malaysians would be back in Malaysia to be with their loved ones (especially those with single status). Only those of us 'poor unfortunate souls' would be left in Khartoum... sob, sob...

Anyway, I missed the second bazaar, because my dear husband took his own sweet time going downstairs and by the time we arrived, most of the food was gone... hehehe... serves us right for dilly dallying.

So, this time round, we were really early. By 4.30 we were already there... We bought pasembur, laksam, mee bandung and a variety of kueh. We managed to finish all our coupons...yea! Did we finished the food? Yes, glad to say that we did, even though it was quite a struggle because we bought so much... hehehe...

The early crowd...

The cheery ladies doing brisk business!

Amir, glad to be let outside!!!

The souk at night

Last night we went to the souks for 'experimental' shopping.Why 'experimental'? because it was my first time shopping at night and I just wanted to test the water... hehehe... The first thing that I noticed last night was the fact that there were so many people out there. There were a lot of people along the Nile river having picnics with family and friends. There was a carnival-like atmosphere everywhere (plus the fact that it was a weekend).

The first souk that we went to was Souk Alfredi, and it was full of men. I think Aliah and me were the only female around. It's actually a leather market, full of shoes, belts and other male necessities. My husband was in need of a belt and it was not so easy to find a belt that could fit his belly... hehehe... We were lucky because Haithem, the driver was there too, so it was not that expensive.

The second stop was Souk Arabi because I wanted to buy abaya, the long jubah. It was full of people, must be because Eid's just round the corner and people were doing their Eid shopping. As Heithem rightfully said, the souk was definitely not a good place for kids. It was hot and full of shoppers. My kids were thirsty, hot and very cranky. I did not have the time to choose to my heart's content because whenever I stopped at a stall, Aliah would say, "Can you just choose and buy it already?"... sigh... how can a girl shop without touching the material, browsing at the pattern etc...?

So, I ended buying just the one, something that I grabbed and bought just for the sake of buying... hehehe... at least the night was not a total 'lost'. Anyway, I'm definitely going again, maybe to Souk Omdurman?!! I have to make some kind of arrangement so that Aliah and Hadi could stay at home... hmm... The haggling process was not that bad because Haithem was there. It's definitely something to look forward to... hehehe...

On the way back, we were entertained with the beautiful view of the Nile river and the brightly lit bridges. It was a shame that we had left our camera at home. The moon was shining over the Nile and we could clearly see that it's approaching the last 10 nights of Ramadhan... It was a beautiful ride home.

The spirit...

The spirits are alive and well in Khartoum... What spirit you might ask? Heheh... Well, first the spirit of giving is very much alive in our community. Since the start of Ramadhan, neighbours have been busy exchanging dishes for iftar. Living in a Malaysian community means that the good old tradition of giving continue well through the generations.

When I was young, I used to be the one 'forced' to send dishes to family and neighbours. When my kids were small, I 'forced' my brother to go and now it's my daughter's turn... hehehe. I hope that she'll remember this tradition and continue with her kids in the future.

I am not a good cook. I'll only cook for survival... hehehe... Anyway, I want to share a story... When I was staying in Taman Sri Rawang, I had such good neighbours. During Ramadhan they'll be giving us lots of dishes without fail... Come six o'clock, we'll have a few dishes for iftar ready... supplied by neighbours... My late brother Ayang was my accomplice... hehehe... Then, one day, we waited in vain... by six o'clock, nothing from the neighbours... we panicked and the two of us rushed to the nearest Ramadhan bazaar in Kg. Kenanga... hehehe... 'Padan muka'... I was laughing like crazy and my brother was so mad at me... hehehe... Those were the days...

The second spirit is the spirit of solidarity. I am glad to say that being part of a Malaysian community fosters this spirit of solidarity. Yesterday, we had a 'pot-luck' iftar for the whole complex... Supposedly catering for about 200 people. And the ladies decided that instead of having a normal 'pot-luck' (where everyone bring a little bit of this and that), why don't we have a more 'structured' pot-luck.

It was a brilliant idea because we'll have enough food for everyone. Block A ladies had to prepare fried chicken, mix vegetables and the deserts. We had a meeting and agreed that each house fried two chickens. We assigned 'volunteers' to prepare the mix vegetables and deserts. For deserts we decided to have four, sweet and savoury (santan jelly, doughnuts, pau sambal and currypuffs). Those who do not cook would come and help the others. It was a simple arrangement but fun... Well, it was fun for me... hehehe

It's also an excuse to go round other people houses and get to know each other. I strongly believe that this kind of helping each other (well, in my case... as an innocent by-stander...heheh) is good to foster the spirit of neighbourliness as well. And by reports, it was a success... Yea!!! To those who laboured over the stove yesterday, you deserve a pat on the back!

The spirit of Ramadhan is really alive and well in Khartoum...

Goodies from Malaysia...

My husband just got back from Malaysia 3 days ago armed with a lot of goodies... 2 suitcases and 5 boxes, actually... Hehehe... Aliah was so anxious for her father's return or more likely, her expectation of all the goodies... I think definitely the latter. She was counting the hours when her father was supposed to be back.

He finally arrived about 6.30 pm, and we started our 'journey' of opening boxes after boxes. The kids stopped pillaging after they got their stuff... school bags, baju raya, shoes, water bottles etc... The father was jet-lagged and it's up to the mother to settle everything... well, most of the stuff are mine anyway... Two boxes of sate, enough to invite people for an 'open house'... heheh, that's the plan anyway and various other food stuff.

My husband also brought back 5 types of raya cookies among other things. Amir promptly asked to eat them and I had to open one of the london almonds... hehehe... I just hope that there'll be some left for raya... sigh...

The kids rummaging through everything...

The sate...

Aliah n her baju raya and school bag!

All three with their own baju raya... hehehe... so happy!

With all the excitement, I forgot that we had to pay thousands of ringgit for the 'overweight' luggage... Well, what to do, at least everyone's happy with the goodies... especially me! hehehe...

The first Ramadhan Bazaar...

I just got back from the first Ramadhan Bazaar, organised by Petronita. It is held every friday, and starts after asar, about 4.30. The food is prepared by Petronas staff or their wives. The location is at Laman Mesra, at the new Petronas Complex.

My verdict? A little bit disappointing, after all the hype about the bazaar. The selection is quite limited. I'll try and list the spread as accurately as I remembered it. They have the 'heavy' section with fried meehoon, sarawak laksa, nasi dagang, pasembur and curry laksa. The 'kueh' section is a little bit better with a variety of offering.

I had to hurry home to cook for the kids afterwards. I was expecting to see chicken rice on sale at the bazaar, but was disappointed. I hope the second bazaar is a little bit better because I still have a lot of coupons to spare...Take a look at the pictures below...

Quite a lot of Malaysians came down to support the bazaar...

Doing brisk business!

Waiting for customers...

Home alone... with the kids

My husband is currently in Malaysia, participating in a professional course. So, I'm left to 'handle' the kids in Khartoum... Well, it was planned months in advance, but in view of my recent lost, I felt more alone than ever...sigh... We can only plan, Allah has the ultimate say...

The kids were really looking forward to it actually. Looking forward to what, you might ask? Looking forward to sleeping with me, no ayah to boss them around kind of thing...hehehe... Look at their pictures below...

This is the best part, sleeping together...

Look at how mischievous Amir looks...hehehe...

My husbands away for 10 days and I was dreading it actually. But Allah is indeed great, the kids keeps me so busy, I don't have a lot of time to mourn... Last night, when I was emailing a friend, I got suspicious when there was a lack of noise... Sure enough, Hadi and Amir tried to eat nutella it seemed, but most of it was on their pyjamas...sigh...

We had some scary episodes though. The first two nights, when we were about to go to sleep, we thought we heard someone knocking on the door, but when we checked, there was no one at the door. Aliah was so scared, she said it was creepy and blessed with a good and active 'imagination', I sort of scared myself too...hehehe... But on the second night, we found out what made the knocking sounds, it was our neighbour upstairs... he must have been decorating or rearranging his apartment upstairs...

We also had two sandstorms and a blackout to boot! We slept through both of the sandstorms, though... The blackout is a different matter... we were left with only one torch light and one emergency light (which is not charged...so, what good could it do?). Anyway, after about half an hour, the electricity was restored but it was a long half an hour... We still have about 4 days before my husband comes home... Wow, never thought of Khartoum as home before now! Well, whatever it is, Khartoum is definitely our home for now...

The first day of Ramadhan

The first day of Ramadhan would always be special. Yesterday was my first Ramadhan in Khartoum. Even though my husband's away in Kuala Lumpur, it was special. It was Aliah's first day of fasting as well because last year she 'cheated' on her first day because she said drinking is not considered eating... yeah, right...

Anyway, the first day here is not too hot because there was a sandstorm the night before. It was quite a bad one it seemed, though we slept through it... hehehe... Only in the morning we saw that the corridor was full of sand and our shoes were all covered with red dust... Our driver, haithem met with an accident early in the morning, so the kids had to go in another van. It was also my first day 'not' sending Hadi to school. Normally I would go and carry his bag for him. He just wanted me to carry his bag so he could straight away play in the playground. So, I decided that enough is enough!

When Amir woke up, I went to the ground floor to complain about our tv reception... the sandstorm had done some damage to the satellite dish... Then, we went up in the lift... and I walked out without realising that I've left Amir in the lift. I could hear him crying and in panicked I went into the lift again... he was not there, so I assumed he went out on one of the floors. But instead of going up, it went down and I had to wait for a lady to get on and went out on the second floor before I reached the sixth floor... and he was there looking scared but there were a few workers there, trying to calm him down... I was so glad to see that he was okay...

I cooked a simple meal for the family but since we're in a Malaysian community, we had several 'extras'. K.Shidah gave karipap, Rozie gave kuih keria and Norima gave a fish dish. We had lychee drink to quench out thirst... hehehe... Aliah and Amir's favourite drink... Today, I have to crack my brain what to give my neighbours... something simple... am still thinking about it...