A LITTLE OF DUBLIN

Cold is never my strong point. I had to quit my Everest Base Camp trek in Nepal years ago because of biting cold. My fellow trekker joked I should acclimatised in the freezer at home before I left for Kathmandu.

It's 10 degree C here in Dublin. I have been here for the last 4 days. I was hoping for a warmer weather. A 20 degree C is just wishful thinking, so I had to keep warm as much as possible. Donning up a few layers of clothes is a little bother but necessary.

Shamimi, our youngest daughter has moved three times since she came to Dublin. Her current apartment is located in Dublin 1, pretty much where the major shopping malls are located and where halal foods are also easily available. Just across the apartment where she lived, there is a bicycle shop, well-stocked with bikes and accessories. She obviously had the right strategy to get her dad to re-visit Dublin!

On my first trip in the winter of Jan 2007, she lived a stone's throw away from Dublin Business School where she completed her degree in Finance. Now that she is working while completing her ACCA, she can now afford a bigger apartment. That is an acceptable progression.

We are also here to check out on Mimi's elder sister, Shakira who came to complete her degree in Cinema and TV. Shakira (Ila) arrived Dublin during Ramadan to enrol in her third year of study. Unlike her other siblings, Ila chose to gain working experience first after her diploma studies. This she did for 3 years. It is our hope that her working experience will bode well in her degree program and that she will be able to acquire further working experience here before returning home.

Dublin is a cycling-friendly city with dedicated bike lanes, taking space on the roads in the cities. Another pleasant addition now to the city is Dublin Bikes.



The city provides bicycles for rent, conveniently located at major sections around the city. Recently launched in September this year, 450 bikes are now made available and follows the same system as that currently working in Paris. One can check out the relevant websites for further info on this new scheme. I have yet to rent one.



On our third day here on Sunday, Mimi brought us to Kildare, to visit a factory outlet for branded products. A visit is the right word. We bought nothing. At this twilight age, there is really nothing that we are short of, unless one is never short on desires. The trip was more for makan angin - makan angin sejuk....





and a little family bonding amongst the ladies in the family.





Apart from the trip to Kildare, we had not moved around very much except to the streets and malls neighbouring the apartments.

A band from the Red Indians of America gave a splendid reverbating performance on their giant-sized bamboo flutes.

And the Palestinians were there on the streets too, wanting to get the attention of the Irish shoppers to boycott Israel products.

We did, a long time ago.