هذه دبي

it has been a whirlwind trip, the shortest in my 20-odd years away from home. as it is with short trips, my informal itinerary was chock-a. missed meeting a few mates but there’ll be raya in a few months’ time.

this was also the first time i flew emirates, after hearing rave reviews about it. the actual reason i flew emirates was that they were one of the cheapest at this time of the peak season. i’d prefer to have flown malaysia/singapore/koninklijke luchtvaart maatschappij, but the tix were nearing (or already past) the four-figure mark. the flight home wasn’t too bad as i got to be at the gate for my connecting to KUL as soon i arrived at DXB. however, the trip back to MAN was a different kettle of fish as we had to be in transit for 4 bloody hours. i’m no budget traveller so i don’t bloody do this:

[photos rembat-ed from google]

the last time i was in DXB was when malaysia airlines actually stopped there for an hour or so, and that was in the late 80’s. i’m sure this now commonplace sight wasn’t what greeted me as i rushed to buy cheap EDT’s. also, there’s only so much duty free that was available to check out in four hours. despite what they’ve been raving about the prices, i reckon my next point-and-shoot will be bought at pertama.

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as i am typing this, i’m ripping my newly-obtained CDs. i have to say i am impressed with faizal tahir’s award-winning debut record. for what it is (polished production, great for radio airplay – you know the drill), it’s bloody good and a great rock voice to boot. padi’s latest and kerispatih (the belated purchase of) were good, but in the “well, what do you expect” vein. despite coming recommended, i wasn’t too impressed with elyana’s jadi diriku (there’s this one track which had this poor avril-wannabe kinda vibe that makes you go “can you stop, please”). i’ll give her tunes the benefit of the doubt for one more week, though, to see if they can grow on me.