How do you cope?

My ex-colleague's wife passed away yesterday. I believe she was only in her 30's. Cancer took her away. She left behind 2 young boys. It is difficult to imagine .. the sorrow of losing someone dear and close to you.

My friend made a remark - "husband and wife" are meant to be together. Being married, is fate that brings them together and to think that yet, there are so many couple out there going through divorces.

Few years ago, my close friend lost her husband in a car accident. He left behind 3 girls, the youngest was just months old. It is tragic to lose someone you love this way... and I do not think is easy to cope with such losses... My prayers goes out to these two friends of mine who lost someone dear to them..

Hyderabad as I see it

This is my 3rd visit to Hyderabad. This time around, the weather is hot, about 38 to 40 degrees. Yes, Hyderabad actually has 4 season and it is summer right now.

Walking on the streets of Hyderabad is very different than here in Malaysia. There are scores of people everywhere, literally packed with thousands of people walking on the street. The poor are very poor and when you sit in your car, being a foreigner, you would find poor children, ladies with their babies, old man and women knocking on your window screen begging for money. As you travel along the outskirts of Hyderabad, you will find rows of tents made of torn fabrics by the roadside. Yes, that is where the poor lived. Cows, chicken, goats can be seen loitering at the roadside. It is a common sight in Hyderabad.

Another sight that is common is the habit of the people peeing by the roadside. Within a 1km stretch, you will sight at least 10 people or more peeing everywhere and anywhere. Most of them are men but I was told that the woman does the same but I have yet to witness it.

Driving in Hyderabad is almost impossible. It is a norm for the drivers to honk ... infact is a must to honk if you want to reach your destination fast. You must be bold and be prepared to have your car scratched or knocked when you drive in Hyderabad. So forget about driving luxurious car. Not only do you have to watch out for the millions of motorist on the road, you will also have to watch out for the countless pedestrians among the crowd of cars, busses and lorries. Traffic light are very much useless but you will find that the police force controlling the traffic does command respect from the motorist.

I like the people in Hyderabad. Being a chinese girl, most of the time, I do get pleasant stares from the people. Makes me feel like a superstar! They would be very happy when you take their photo and would willingly smile and give their best post. However, it would be a disadvantage to visit street markets. There was this one time where I was being "mobbed" by the local traders trying to sell me their products. This was after I made a big purchase at one of the stores. So, shopping is almost impossible at the street markets...

Streets at Charminar - the place I was "mobbed"

One of the things to learn in Hyderabad is the terms of communication. Certain words are used differently there. Example, cars and motorbikes are called 4 wheelers and 2 wheelers. The taxi is actually a 3 wheeler vehicle. Bungalow is termed as independent house and the word square feet is just called SFT. I have still a lot to learn.

As for food, I have not mustered the courage to eat the food by the roadside coffee shops. Most of the time, I frequent good restaurants and cafes. However, if one were to work in Hyderabad, restaurants and cafes would be too much of a luxury. It is advisable to be careful with the water that you drink. So I either drink from a sealed bottle of water or fresh coconut water which is abundantly sold by the roadside. It is extremely cheap to drink coconut in Hyderabad and in the hot weather, it can be very refreshing.

Refreshing coconut

There is one restaurant in Hyderabad which serves Malaysian food. The staffs, chefs are from Malaysia and it is a ritual that I visit this restaurant, Awana, before I take my flight home to Malaysia. The food is simply delicious and is a good place to be when you misses home. It has a touch of old good feeling you get when tasting your mummy's food.

Delicious local Malaysian food served at Awana Hyderabad

Being here in Malaysia, a place so different than Hyderabad, I would say that I am very fortunate to be living in Malaysia. I would say that anyone who has been there would find our homeland to be the best place to stay...

Hubby's Birthday

Hubby's birthday was celebrated earlier this year as I had to be away to India on his real day.

So. on Saturday night, we went to the Curve for a sumptous dinner at Itallianies with Khor, Lisa, brother and Hui Yin. It is packed as usual at most of the restaurants at the Curve and we have to wait for 15 minutes to get a place. It is the first time for us at Itallianies. The ambience is just right for the occasion, lively and yet cosy. Staffs were pleasant, friendly and helpful. We ordered few different servings. I find the chicken lasagna to be good.

The staffs sang a birthday song for hubby of which hubby was then asked to say a thank you speech to all of us. I would say that hubby is always a good sport in these kind of gesture. A delicious chocolate cake and the company of good people makes the night a pleasant one.