Moroccan Dinner party

Having availed myself of other people's hospitality, last night I decided to have a Moroccan dinner party. So after playing 18 holes of golf early in the day, I then got cooking. Had a nice beetroot salad plus another salad followed by a chicken tagine, a beef and vegetable tagine and couscous with apricots. Then for dessert had orange slices sprinkled with cinnamon. Thankfully everyone enjoyed the food and a fun evening was had by all. (Plus I even have a few leftovers to eat!)

Here are the happy diners

Beef tagine, apricot couscous with the beetroot in the background

Chicken tagine with olives.

Slack again!!

Again I have struggled to update my blog. I suppose that means I haven't been doing anything exciting. In between work, just the weekly game of golf to give some respite from the crowds and staring of Dhaka. A little bit of shopping, a few meals out, Sunday evening spent at a school function and doubts about whether I would even stay here next year.
A long weekend this weekend so I am heading out of Dhaka for a day with a few friends and I will take my camera so hopefully will post some photos. back to Dhamrai, the brass village, with stops along the way at the Savar Golf Course to see how you go about playing there and also the Independence monument at Savar. Then a stop for pizza on the way back at Little Italy, the close relative of Bella Italia. Both restaurants have the same owner I believe. It is always nice to get out of the crowds of people and the polluting traffic jams although I expect travel will still be quite slow. Should also be nice and green with the rice growing since we are coming to the end of the dry season. Also having a dinner party, Moroccan style. I have to cook a tagine or two plus a few other bits and pieces. Should be good though and I'd better take a few photos as I get a bit slack at times.
So hopefully will manage a post after the weekend.

On the way home from work

Yesterday was a slow trip home from work, well the first part anyway as the main road was packed with people heading home from Ijtema, a Muslim religious festival just outside Dhaka. It is said that more than 2 million devotees attend and spend 3 days in prayer but afterwards, clothed in white, they walk, ride in buses, on top of buses, pile into rickshaws, pack into the back of trucks; basically travel in any vehicle they can. The result is a huge traffic jam. Our first challenge was to get on the road. The second was to travel far enough along the road so we could turn off.

Here are some photos. The first is of the cowshed we drive past most afternoons. Occasionally they are even busy milking them by hand. I do feel sorry for them having to spend all their time on concrete but the shed is always clean and they appear well fed.
The rest are of the crowds and traffic.

It has been soooo . . . cold, well for Bangladesh anyway.

Since I came back from the break over Christmas, it has been so cold - well for Bangladesh anyway. By far the coldest in the 18 months I've been here. So bad has it been that I had to get out my Winter woolies and unpack my doona that I haven't used since I lived in Morocco. Plus I wear my moccasins around the house to keep my feet warm.

Even yesterday after going for a walk to the ATM at the Westin Hotel then to the supermarket, I was a little warmer when I got back. Then cooking helped warm up the apartment a little. The trouble was that there was not a hint of sun all day. Instead it was fog or smog all day long so as a result felt quite damp.
During the early morning and evening I had to wear two long sleeve layers - unbelievable. I suppose electricity is being saved though as no need for a/c and I don't have a heater. I am lucky though that my apartment is one of the warmer ones. Plus I really enjoy getting all cosy in bed under the doona.

Today is a little warmer but I will wait and see if the weather is on the improve.

Really I shouldn't complain as all too soon I will be complaining about the heat!!

Some people are never happy!

A few Morocco photos

Here are a few photos from my holiday in Morocco.

The first three are from a group of spice and dried fruit shops hidden up a short alley.

Small shops selling sweet pastries

Miniature babouche

The minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque in black and white

Donkey cart

Hand-carved wooden chess set

A little bit lax, I know!!!

In between work at school and a Christmas break in Morocco plus golf one day each weekend, my blog updating has been rather slack. Then in a minute I am off out to dinner and a local Bangladeshi-Indian restaurant not far from where I live. Looking forward to some phuska (I'm sure its spelt wrong). Thin pastry type cases (sort of like cream puff cases) filled with a mixture of vegetables and chick peas and sometims served with a thin yoghurt dressing. My mouth is watering as I type . . . . . . . . . .

Must go

Escaping the bloodbath - R & R in KL

Last weekend was a long weekend due to the Eid celebrations, according to those who stayed a wholesale slaughter and bloodbath of cattle. Not a pretty sight and very unhygienic. Instead I escaped and went to Kuala Lumpur for a couple of days. Wasn't it wonderful to have wide streets, traffic that obeyed the lights, modern shopping centres with lots of shops, bookshops with up-to-date English books, Christmas decorations spread around and the freedom to go anywhere and do whatever I wanted without being stared at.

In between the shopping I did manage to fit in a bit of sightseeing but ran out of energy fairly quickly. When walking got too much, the monorail and light rail train were a cheap and good alternative.

Not far from where I stayed was Petronas Towers, below which was a good shopping centre. The towers were best seen just after sunset.


Then there was the older Kuala Lumpur Tower, frequently visible, but I didn't make it to the top of that either.I did head off to Chinatown and the nearby Merdeka Square area, home to a humber of old, colonial buildings including the Royal Selangor Club.

Guandi Temple

Chan See Shu Yun Temple

Royal Selangor Club