Cultural mix

Malaysia is rich in diversity, you have Malay, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian and others all living together. Penang is an intensified version of Malaysia, all those cultures and religions together in a smaller space. It's great to see everyone getting on, but at the same time everyone maintains their own cultural traditions. The are Hindu, Chinese and Buddhist temples, Churches and Mosques, all within walking distance in Georgetown, the biggest city and transport hub of Penang. There is also a little India and a Chinatown, with the little India having a street with just Muslim Indian businesses. Talking to Luqman and Anas we've got an insight into the day to day living between all the different cultures. They all speak to each other in Malay, but among themselves they speak their respective languages. There seems to be a great deal of mutual tolerance of all the differences. Maybe the most striking thing I saw in this regard was a large banner on a food market; it had the govenor of Penang (Chinese) stood next to an Indian man and a Malay man, with the words 'Happy Eid' written in Malay besides them all. I'm sure we can learn a lot from this

Kimberley pictures

Entrance, common room, bedroom, wayfarer

Penang and Kimberley House

After spending a night in KL we were ready to move on - didn't have any probs with the place - we stayed in Chinatown for one night and explored a little. No way did we do KL justice... it's massive and loads to see - but Deepster has been before and she knows i'm more excited about the non big city parts of our tour - like penang. Heard a few things about the island of penang - good things. Also there is a Sufi centre there... got a coach for 35 RM which is 7 poonds, real luxurious, same size as a UK coach but only 3 seats in a row, so very wide and reclining. Coached to Butterworth (which mandeep accidentally referred to as Battersby (from coronation st... ooh double brackets (woah triple brackets!)))

Lost my train of thought after them triple brackets.

I'll take this opportunity to mention some general impressions of Malaysia so far.
- Its clean in KL and penang, although they do gather piles of rubbish at night on the streets which can attract rats.
- get holla'd at in the markets but nothing aggressive. If you say you're not interested you are instantly left alone, often with a smile
- guides approach you to try and discern where you are going but they are pleasant enough, no one has tried to ad hoc ask for money which really annoyed me in morocco. No one is hostile.

Where was I.... yeah so penang. No butterworth. Arrived fairly late due to rush hour and THUNDERSTORM 4hr journey took 6hrs. Had to get the ferry across to reach penang. By this time it was about 20:30, chucking it down, hungry/tired/need a shower. So maybe it wasn't the most sensible choice to walk a mile to the hostel with 15 kilos on each of our backs..! No regrets, it gave us a feel for the business end of the island (Georgetown) and a little training for jungle trekking in Borneo.

After a wrong turn or 2 we got to our hostel.... and boy is it fly..! Spacious lobby, chilled out communal areas, really clean, powerful showers and super reasonable price wise. Kimberly House will definitely be getting good reviews from us! After a freshen up we decided to hit some street food. Found a vegi noodle stand and for 5 RM me n Deepster ate to our bellies content. Thats 1 POUND... AS IN 50p EACH!!! Simple tasty food just the way we likes it. Now it's time to relax for the first night since we left the UK.. pictures to follow

The solution for Egypt, and every other disagreement ...

- There are a few problems in Egypt... What is going on?

Some people are pro caps, some are anti caps.

- So they are fighting with each other?

No, they are not fighting. Fighting is between 2 groups of people. When a group of people are against the government it is not fighting. But I think Egypt can overcome this problem. All we need to do is listen and try to understand each other.

- Isn't that the way to solve every disagreement?

Yes

(conversation with an Egyptian brother)

Small world

The world seems like a small place when you travel 7000 miles in a day and have Tesco Value jam on your toast at the destination

just about to fly ....

Universal Prototype

So i was like, ''got this whole identity thing.... born in the UK but raised in a micro community - didn't interact with many white people till school.. realised how pakistani I was later on, but not really pakistani as I had many aspects of western culture within me, but didn't feel truly embraced by white British people..."

He replied, "I never had that problem... after coming to this country i realised - and I don't know where I got this from - that there is such a thing as a universal prototype. There is a way to be that applies in all cultures, where everyone will appreciate you regardless of race or background. Characteristics like truthfulness, love - who wouldn't like them?!"

And i realised, i'm going about this all wrong. "A blind man may mistake a snake for a coil of rope, from then on his reasoning may be perfect, but the fact remains - he is still holding a snake" (Gai Eaton). Be in the moment - meet people in that moment - no generalisations of race, no projected self definitions leading to insecurity. Just be.

Such is the teaching of Noah who teaches from Shaykh Nazim. I wonder, will anyone on the other side of the world inspire me like the man who lives in Nether Edge?

Specsavers, optics and the last 3 years

As Saira leaves my garden after a refreshing glass of water and the world smells like pickled onion monster munch....?! (really it does! Ask her!). The wife's at work, i begin to reflect on the last 3 years in optics. Taking great care not to mention anything that may get me into trouble (we've all heard about inappropriate facebook comments...). I want to thank everyone i've worked with over the past 3 years (cheese alert)

Little known story...
Once upon a time in ye old english town of Bradford,  a specsavers employee (me) was anxiously searching for that ever elusive pre-reg. Yes, it was the hot topic of conversation around ye old university of Bradford, some students seemed to have a pre-reg arranged before they started the degree. Such were proud in their strutting around campus, chests puffed as they went around exuberating a cool that could only come with job security... picking up girls with their pre-reg confirmation letters and their 'I have a pre-reg' smile. Alas, fez didn't have such priveledge, but he knew someone who might be able to help....enter Anj.
A no nonsence brother who means what he says, who could probably crack your ribs in a bear hug. Without hesitation Anj claimed 'I could get you a pre-reg with a phone call right now' and seeing the anticipation in my face, he made good his word.
Enter Paul McGinty... a man cut from the same cloth as Anj, only more archetypal. And there you have it, after a year of support and dedication this amorphous inexperienced blob was molded and chiselled into a shiny new optometrist.

True, sheffield speccys has given me a livelihood and financial stability. And I can not thank you enough for that. But really I feel blessed to have worked with people who are defined by their humanity, who beneath it all have love in their hearts. You know who you are, who have gone beyond the remit of work to help me, to show that you care, to extend the hand of friendship. And I know this is well cheesy but it's nice to receive a bit of gratitude sometimes :-)
God bless

Travel within

The highest knowledge is experience, and the only experience is now.

Travelling is movement. macrocosm mirrors microcosm. outside and inside, connected. nature and nurture... catch my drift? so yesterday when ibrahim and shibli dibley came round we spoke, connected, played some 1920s style new orleans rag piano mashed up with north african drumming. globalisation style baby. spoke some more.... and i felt an inner movement as i realised that the highest knowledge is experience. we travelled and that wisdom was the destination. don't expect a daily account of my physical movements as the entire universe is within me.... and you

peace

Test

Wanted to keep a blog for family and friends, thought it would be a good way for you all to keep up with what we're up to while we're away, especially with me not being on facebook n all..


So, this is a test blog. Let's see if it actually works...