Romantic Sudanese Sleeps Outdoor Admiring Thousands of Stars!

Hmm...I Failed To Write More Than Once A Week

I have declared to the whole world in my previous posting that I planned to write more than once per week. I failed. Here I am writing to you again once a week on Thursday night because tomorrow, Friday is a weekly rest day in Sudan. At the time when all the husbands in Muslim world are normally making love passionately with their wife during Thursday night ('Malam Jumaat') one of the preferred nights in Islam to make love according to one hadith (the saying of the prophet), I am in my room passionately too, writing this blog-posting.

Why Am I as Busy as Barack Obama Lately?

I was very busy lately handling a lot of enquiries, proposals, paper work for my newly set-up branch here in Khartoum. As I wrote in my earlier posting my company provides the following three services; namely consultancy on "Doing Business in Malaysia" consultancy on "Malaysia My Second Home" programme (not "Malaysian My Second Wife" programme, although some of prospective clients told me they would love to be my first client if I ever introduced "Malaysian My Second Wife" programme because in their eyes Malaysian ladies are generally known worldwide for their natural beauty, lady-like and politeness) and the third service that my company is doing is consultancy on "Malaysian Higher Education"

If you refer to my website at www.pro-versatile.com and then double-click the heading 'Roles', under consultancy on 'Doing Business in Malaysia' itself' my company would be able to offer 40 different kinds of chargeable scope of works, while for 'Malaysia My Second Home' programme we can handle 22 different types of services for each particular client and last not but not least, for 'Malaysian Higher Education' consultancy we are determined to provide our clients with 9 scopes of chargeable services.

All Gorillas Look The Same, Am I Not right?

If the big boss of Amwaj Restaurant Khartoum reads my blog he will instantaneously recognize that the above photo is 'Steam Lamb with Rice', one of the dishes in his restaurant menu. Oh come on....he will surely recognize the above photo because even a 'Mama' gorilla can recognize her own child among all the gorillas although in our eyes all gorillas look the same, right? None of you can say this gorilla looks like Brad Pitt or that gorilla looks like Sylvester Stallone, because all looks perfectly the same, the big buttock, the sexy nose, all the same..., am I not right, mate?

My Mouth Was Eating, My Big Tummy Was Definitely Smiling, But My Malaysian Brain Was Working While Enjoying Lamb Rice at Amwaj Restaurant!

My company does marketing activities through different ways. We regularly advertise in local newspaper. We do telemarketing to create awareness and we also make phone calls to prospective clients to set-up appointments. In addition, we send business proposal to big establishments in the country that we are operating, that still do not have any business presence in Malaysia to set up their branches in Malaysia.

Take for example, recently my Sudanese partner, Mr Abdul Jalil celebrated one of our successful business deals that we managed to clinch by buying me a sumptuous lunch at a very good Sudanese restaurant in Khartoum called "Amwaj Restaurant". The Sudanese dishes served in this restaurant are simply delicious and the portion of servings were generous too. Imagine a person like me unable to finish my dishes. That shows how generous the portion was.

While eating, I said to myself: " Today you take our money for eating here, don't worry we will get back more money from you very soon". Why was I saying that? Although my mouth was eating the nice lamb cooked with Sudanese spices and my big tummy was definitely smiling like hell enjoying the dishes, my Malaysian brain was working out how can I translate this experience to 'money'. At that particular moment itself, I have planned to write a complete proposal to the big boss of this Amwaj Restaurant, suggesting his company to set up exactly the same establishment in the posh area of Kuala Lumpur. I want all Malaysians to taste this mouth-watering Sudanese dishes and at the same time the owner would be able to make tons of money. And not to forget my company has the possibility to make a 'kilogram' of money too by handling all his A-Z matters that fall within the ambit of those 40 different of services that my company can provide under consultancy on 'Doing Business in Malaysia'. You see...I am sent by Allah to Sudan to make everybody happy, everybody benefits.

A 'Virgin' Sudanese Man Ask Me To Provide 'Malaysian My Second Wife' Services Too, Not 'Malaysia My Second Home' Programme Only

I always try my best not to talk too much about my business activities because the purpose I started my blog is to give me a platform to share my thought with all those who know me all over the world .But I can't resist myself to share with you my great amazement with the response that I got so far from the Sudanese business community for those three consultancy services that my company are offering.

After two times advertising my three services in a Sudanese newspaper, I can't believe that we have recorded in our Enquiry Book more than 70 enquiries until yesterday evening. Some just called, some walked-in. Some asked us about opening business in Malaysia, some wanted to know more about the 'Malaysia My Second Home' programme and some requested us to enlighten them on 'Malaysian Higher Education'. Although not all enquiries will later be translated into real sales, at least the first stage of sales-cycle was perfectly encouraging.

The funny thing was two of them even really, really, really asked my assistance (or shall I say even begging me to help him) to find a Malaysian wife besides setting up their business in Malaysia. I told him: "Brother, I know your face 70% looks like our very own Malaysian film star 'Nordin Ahmad' although your hair is definitely the North African Arab curly hair type. I also honestly think you surely can melt the heart of at least 3 out 10 Malaysian ladies that see your 'Nordin Ahmad' face but at this moment my company really does not provide the so-called 'Malaysian My Second Wife programme". He immediately replied: "No..No..This is not my second wife, this will be my first wife. I myself is a 'virgin' Sudanese man!" You see...Malaysian ladies, the mere mention of the word "Malaysian lady' enough to make at least these two Sudanese businessmen's saliva flow from their macho mouth. So...is there any Malaysian lady interested?

Why Do I Use Queen Tuanku Zahirah Picture? Why Not Datin Seri Rosmah, PM's Wife ?

Each time anybody asks me how a typical Malaysia lady looks like, I am very proud to show the above picture. For me, Tuanku Zahirah our Malaysian Queen is a symbol of a charming Malay lady. Although she is wearing a head-scarf, she still looks perfectly beautiful, stunning, naturally sexy and charming. What? No...No...No...I will not put Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, our PM's wife picture here. How can I put a naturally-'garang' (fierce) face like hers as the epitome of a typical Malaysian lady face? How can I ever think to put a 'mother of tiger' face like hers to show how lady-like a Malaysian lady is?

I want to stress here that I have nothing personal against Rosmah Mansor. She is not my ex-girl friend and although her name is Rosmah Mansor, she is definitely not my 'Nyonya Mansor' like in the 'Ibu Mertuaku' film because I have never fallen in love with any of her daughters. But please...there is surely a huge difference between a Queen's face like our Queen Tuanku Zahirah's face and a 'Queen-Control' face like Datin Seri Rosmah's face!

How About Reading Fiji Times, USA Today or Nigerian Tribune During Your Breakfast or Fancy The Jurusalem Post the Israeli Newpaper Too?

For my blog readers who are still not aware, starting from 1st July 2009, you can read in my blog itself any of 149 different daily newspapers from more than 100 countries in the world. The best part are these newspaper are updated on daily basis. You will be spoilt for choice. Just see at the right hand column of my blog. Below the 'Read My Previous Topics' heading there is 'Read Daily Newspaper From All Over The World' heading.

In my blog you can find a list of 149 different kind of daily newspapers in one screen, ready for you to read just by double-clinking the name of the newspaper. I cannot deny the fact that even without visiting my blog you still can read these newspapers but you have to search and surf 149 different websites in order to read these newspaper. The beauty and uniqueness of my blog is just by visiting my blog alone all the 149 newspaper are there, nicely arranged according to alphabetical orders, all in one same screen without you have to do searching for 149 different websites. No more searching here and there. Unless you are now working for '911 Rescue Team' who naturally love to 'search and then rescue'.

The good news for you is perhaps it is not wrong for me to say among millions of websites and blogs in the world, my blog is the only blog that you can find 149 newspapers from all over the world, and the most important thing is these newspapers are updated on daily basis and all the name of 149 newspapers appear on the same one screen so that easy for you to choose which one stimulates your reading interest .

Want To 'Bet'? I Am Willing To Do 'Ronggeng' Dance or 'Inang' Dance or 'Bergulingdance'

With tongue-in-cheek I told my friend if he or anybody can prove to me there exists some other website or blog that also put on the same screen these 149 different newspaper which have all the links that can easily be double-clicked to read it, then I am willing to run from The Embassy of Malaysia in Khartoum to the busy Arkaweet area, by wearing only my track-suit, just to cover the compulsory area to be covered in Islam for a man ('aurat'), from my navel or belly button to my knee!

And not only that, if that thing can be proven, I also promise you after every 15 minutes running I am willing to stop near the road side and perform one type of Malaysian dance for each time I stop. So you will have Khairul performing 'Roggeng' dance at the first stop, 'Inang' dance at another stop, then 'Zapin' dance at another stop, not to mention the famous Chinese 'Lion Dance' or shall I say in my case it is more appropriate to say 'Baby-Elephant Dance' considering my body size and also 'Indian Classical' dance at another stop. What about 'Iban Gawai' dance and 'Kadazan Sumazau' dance at one stop until we reach Balabil Station at Arkaweet.

If you want me to do 'Breakdance' I simply can't but instead of 'Breakdance' I will replace it with 'Bergulingdance' where my body can roll ('berguling') on the ground with different beautiful styles. All the dances will be done by me passionately and willingly near the road side.

However this free show is only possible if you can prove to me, not on the balance of probabilities, but beyond reasonable doubt that there exists other blog or website created before 1st of July listing down 149 daily newspapers around the world that were put in one same screen similar to mine all the name of the newspaper updated daily together with its properly functioning link ready for the reader to read it at one click of the mouse.

I must put the condition 'created before 1st of July' because if I do not, maybe after this somebody just spent hours and hours creating exactly the same thing like mine, and there you go, I will loose my bet and the Sudanese will have a good time watching a sexy XXL-Size man like me running from the Embassy of Malaysia to Arkaweet area and performing different type of Malaysian traditional dances every 15 minutes of my stop.

All In English, The Language That You Can Understand

We set aside my friendly but scary challenge first. Another thing that I want to highlight is all the newspapers that I put here are English language newspapers, which simply means language is not a barrier for you to read. Opps...except three newspapers i.e "Jawa Pos" , "Kompas" and "Bisnis Indonesia" which are in Bahasa Indonesia (but Jakarta Post is in English). As a way to remember and commemorate my Majapahit royal heritage, I have left with no choice but to read and speak Indonesian language at least 5 minutes daily. That's why I read "Jawa Pos, "Kompas" and "Bisnis Indonesia" internet edition on daily basis too.


If Majapahit Empire Still Rules, I Surely Have Nothing To Do Except Politely Scratching My Ball From 9am To 5pm In My Majapahit Palace!

My dear friends, you can kill me, you can throw me to the sea or you can dump me 1000 meter down under the seabed of Atlantic Ocean but you can never in your life time take out the Majapahit Royal blood from my blood arteries. Unfortunately Indonesia nowadays is a republic and no more under the rule of that powerful Majapahit Monarchy Empire. If not, most probably I am now still living in the Majapahit Palace with nothing to do, except politely scratching my balls from 9am to 5pm on daily basis. Seriously.


The Story of My Friend Buying a Tamil Nesan Newspaper!

Talking about reading a newspaper that we can understand its language, I remember when I was about 9 years old most of the evenings or during school holidays my friends and I enjoyed doing outdoor activities like playing football, fishing at our village river or just cycling all over the village. Thus, all of us have darker skin since we were always exposed to direct sunlight. One day, one of my friend's father asked my friend to go to the nearby newspaper vendor to buy newspaper for him. This particular friend of mine has a rather darker skin than mine and he maybe looks like an Indian kid although he is perfectly a Malay boy. He told me that he felt very strange because as far as he can recall this was the first time his father, who was just a villager, wanted to buy a newspaper.

So my friend asked his father the name of the newspaper that he wanted him to buy. His father briefly said "any newspaper". My friend quickly cycled to the nearest newspaper store and told the vendor that he wanted to buy any newspaper regardless of the name of the paper. Looking at my friend at a glance, the newspaper vendor quickly took one newspaper and put it inside a plastic bag. Since that time we were actually in the middle of a football game on a small field near our houses, my friend without checking what newspaper inside that plastic bag rushed back to his house nearby and handed over the newspaper to his father. Exactly 3 minutes after that we all can hear his father screamed loudly: "Damn! Why on earth you bought for me a Tamil Nesan newspaper, how the hell can I understand this Tamil newspaper, huh???"

Gengis Khan and Kublai Khan Would Be Very Proud When They know You Read Their Country's Daily Newspapers.

By the way, don't you want to know, out of your curiosity, what an Israeli newspaper looks like? Have you in your entire adult life ever read any Israeli newspaper? Why do I single out Israeli newspaper? Because any right-minded Muslim like myself surely hate and despise what the Israeli leaders have all this while did to my brothers and sisters in Palestine. To say just by reading their newspaper means we are supporting the Israeli is not only border on stupidity indeed but also insulting our intelligence as a smart Muslim. That narrow-mindedness is the highest level of silliness that a human-being can go.

And why not enjoying our breakfast while reading "Mongolian Today" or "Ulan Bator (UB) Post" newspaper? Out of curiosity don't you want to read what's the story today in Mongolia. Is The Late Altantuya, who is also accused of having intimate relationship with the current Malaysian PM, the only Mongolian girl that you know of? Come...read the Mongolian newspaper. I am sure Gengis Khan and Kublai Khan will be very pleased and proud if they know people all over the world read their country's daily newspapers.

Gone are the days when we used to enjoy reading Utusan Malaysia, NST, Sin Chew Jit Poh or Tamil Nesan newspaper only during our breakfast. After this, if your friend asked you what's you are doing now, maybe you can proudly said something like this: "Oh now I am having my breakfast while reading Bangladesh Today, The Sun UK, Jakarta Post and Herald Zimbabwe newspapers. I think if you answer like this to your friend who called you early in the morning, perhaps he may think he has dialed a wrong phone number or he may say you have acted so strangely as if you are going to die in two days time!.("buang tabiat")

What Would The Reaction From Your Wife?

What's the possible reaction from your wife? I think the moment you tell your wife in one fine morning that you are now reading Tehran Times, Nicaraguan Post, Moscow Times or Kabul Press newspapers perhaps her reaction will be: "What? Kabul Press? Nicaraguan Post? Really? What newspaper is that? Why not you said to me that you are now reading Benut Times or Sungkai Daily or even Batang Berjuntai Gazette then?".

Or the other possibility is she maybe immediately refrain your 5 years old hyper-active son from disturbing you by saying: "Boboy, please don't disturb your Daddy today. Mummy thinks your Daddy's business must be in a very big trouble or maybe your Daddy is very stressful now because he acted strangely by reading those funny-funny names daily newspaper loh!"

149 Newspaper To Read? Are You Crazy or Is it Information Overload?

Yes...sure...correct...It can lead to information overload if you read each and every single 149 newspapers via my blog. The best way to start is by choosing any newspaper that you are very curious to know more.

For example, maybe those who used to study in the UK want to refresh back the good old days and their sweet memory living in the UK by reading the daily newspaper such as The Sun UK, Daily Mirror, or News of the World. For more serious reading, maybe The Times and the Independent will be a good reading too.

Don't you worry. There is no "Page 3" column that shows photo of British topless girl exposing various design of woman's breast in The Sun UK web edition, unlike in its print edition.

But I maybe wrong and I maybe has overlooked this matter. If, but only if, after reading The Sun UK via the link that I put in my blog you manage to find somewhere hidden at The Sun UK newspaper website there are indeed 'Page 3' column that shows topless girl picture, please for goodness sake do not keep quiet and keep to yourself. Please let me know immediately. No! You are wrong. I do not want to see that topless picture. On the contrary, I want to completely take out The Sun UK from my list of 149 newspaper worldwide in my blog!

My dear brothers and sisters, please do not be silly. Nobody asks you to read all 149 newspapers. Nowadays every professional or businessman like you and I are forever very busy. Only the aunties and uncles in villages like 'Kampung Bongek Rembau' or 'Kampung Mengabang Pok Jin Terengganu' (no offence, just to name a few) who are not busy. In this modern time, even my cat also very damn busy searching for the best mouse available for his lunch, dinner and not to forget supper too. The key words here are 'find the time!' and then read it for your reading pleasure.

The Story of a 'Talking Dog'

Talking about my cat, do you know that last time I used to to motivate my cat by 'talking' to him. My cat name is 'Tompok', not 'Tomok' the famous Malaysian young singer. I whispered to my cat: "Tompok...Tompok, look at me here, look at my eyes when I am talking to you. You are not just an ordinary fat lazy bunch of cat, You are indeed descendant of a tiger. Yes Tompok, tiger..., you hear me right, t-i-g-e-r. Don't believe me? Look at your mustache and your body design. The only thing is you just a little bit smaller in size than the real tiger. Just a little bit only. So go for it! Catch the damn mouse in our house"

Of course you know what Tompok replied to me. "Meooooooooow". The cat just stared at me without blinking his eyes. Maybe that time he thought I was such a crazy and weird guy who tried to motivate a cat. But I cannot imagine if my cat ever responded by really talking to me, surely that time I would drop-dead in total shock.

No matter how good an animal is, they can't talk to us in our human-being language. Even if they really can talk, nobody will believe them. In the UK, they really love animals. They treat animals with a very high degree of humanity. However for hygienic reasons, they normally will not allow any dogs or cats to enter a pub or most of the restaurants and they will put a sign "No Animal Please"

This reminds me of an interesting 'story' in Manchester. On one Sunday, during beautiful summer evening, a British man walked into a pub with his dog. His dog name is 'Johny'. But the barman told him: "Sorry mate, no dog is allowed". The man responded: "I know...I know...but this dog is no ordinary dog. Its a kind of human-being too. Aha...this is a 'talking dog'! Really. Let me show you"

So the man try to prove to this barman that his dog is a dog that can talk, just like us human-being. He proudly asked his dog in front of this barman: "Now Johny my dog, tell us what grows on trees?" And the dog replied: "Bark...Bark...Bark". What's on top of a house? Johny the dog said: "Roof...Roof...Roof". So far so good. Finally the man asked the dog: "Tell our friend here what's the opposite of smooth?" The dog, with great style, answered it: "Rough...Rough...Rough"

Unfortunately and naturally the barman was not impressed. He thought we do not have to be a rocket-scientist to know that all the answers given by that dog are just a different kind of dog's way of barking. I must say this barman is right. Have you ever heard a dog said: "Meow...Meow...Meow' or "Moo...Moo...Moo", have you?

Since he is not impressed, he threw them out and not let the dog in..

The story is not over yet. Puzzled, the dog looked at his owner and to the amazement of the barman, the dog said loud and clear: "Which one did I get wrong?"

So moral of the story is even if a dog can really talk, nobody can believe it! Likewise, there are times even after we have managed to prove our capability, some close-minded human beings still prefer to look down on us. Let them live in their small world. Leave them alone living in denial. Who says life is fair...

You Are Assured Can Access The Newspapers Except If Your Computer Was made When Elvis the "King of Rock & Roll" Still Alive

I assure you the moment you double-click the title of your chosen newspaper's name located on the right side of this blog, automatically you can read and access the newspaper, except if your computer is a very outdated piece machine which was made during the time Pele was still the "King of Football" or during the era when Elvis the "King of Rock & Roll" still alive, rolling here and there.

How can I be so sure? Because I have sacrificed more than 5 hours of my sleeping time searching, one by one, for the 149 newspaper websites. Then I patiently did the linkage properly at my website, again one by one for all the 149 newspapers. After that I tested each and every single of the links to really ensure that you will not cry and angry with me if you fail to access the newspaper when double-clicking the name of the newspaper.

Remember...all the 149 newspapers are updated on daily basis. So you are invited to visit my blog daily, 24 hours a day, free of charge.

Why Am I Doing this? Do I Want to Be the New Mother Teresa? Nope!

Who has asked me to do this? Nobody. Do I want to be the new Mother Teresa? Nope. So why am I doing this? Look.....I am a practicing Muslim who believe in "What Goes Around, Comes Around", which simply means a person's actions, whether good or bad, will often have consequences for that person. If you do good thing to Mr 'A', it is not necessarily that same Mr 'A' who will return your favour. By the grace of God, you will be surprised to see that someday, somewhere, somehow, sometime later perhaps Mr 'E' or Mr 'Z' who will return the same favour to you. Believe it or not it has happened to me many times!

Everything I do, I do it with the purpose to win the 'heart' of Allah because I solemnly believe when Allah is on my side, He with his mega super power will help me in my life, in my business venture, in my after-life and in everything I do. That's why I plan to do as much charitable work as I possibly can. My friends, remember! Not everything in this life is all about money.

Alright then. Enough talking about 149 newspapers from all over the world that you can read in my blog, let's proceed to discuss about a typical Sudanese house and their tradition sleeping in their bed outside their house admiring thousands of stars in the nice night sky.

The Uniqueness of a Typical Sudanese House

As you can see at the above photo a house of a typical Sudanese house is simple but so comfortable. Their house compound is their territory and 'kingdom'. Almost every house have a wall or clay brick fence surrounding the parameter of their house. Later I will explain as to why it is significant for a Sudanese house to have wall usually made from clay bricks around their house. The roof of a Sudanese house is also flat and not diagonal like in most Malaysian house. They can afford to have this kind of roof because there is hardly any continuous rain in Sudan. If we have this kind of flat design of roof in Malaysia, I am sure especially during December raining season, the flat roof like that can turn to be a mini swimming pool on the top of a house.

The above photo is my Sudanese staff, Badreldin Babiker Mohamed Eltom who is a very smart, talented, very hard working and no-nonsense Sudanese young man. No wonder he graduated from the most prestigious university in Sudan, the University of Khartoum (U of K). He was standing in front of his Khartoum house where he lives. Unlike in Malaysia where almost all houses are painted at least at the outer part of the building, I notice many of Sudanese landed-houses are not painted. Like the above photo, the colour of the house and the colour of the earth ground around it looks almost the same. Their house is made from bricks but it looks very soothing.

Initially I do not realize that behind the clay brick fence and the gate there is actually a house because a typical Sudanese house is normally just a square-design building. This is very different from a typical Malay house or a Minangkabau house which normally has got a very distinctive design and architectural structure. I did not notice that square building is indeed a house. Initially I thought all the square chocolate colour building is a warehouse or a mini godown. No, it is not. It is actually a Sudanese house. The colour of the house and the colour of the surrounding ground looks harmonious. Its cool in the eyes of everybody who looks at it. I was told that nowadays more and more Sudanese paint their houses to look nicer.

Similar to houses in Malaysia and UK, you can see that inside Sudanese houses also have got many rooms and partitions. There are main family room where you receive your guest, master bedroom, children bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. No different from any other houses in the world. I try to understand as to why their house look simple on the outside but still considered comfortable and awesome inside.

I understand that as the most durable of building materials, stone survives from the past, while other materials have succumbed to rain, rot, or termites. Rectangular and circular stone farmhouses have been built by the Sudanese for centuries. Earth and clay constitute a major building resource, the characteristic soils of much of Africa being semi-desert chestnut earths and laterites (reddish residuals of rock decay). Most of this clay bricks are totally hand made. Unlike in Malaysia where all the houses look very striking and visible in colour, it's not the case here in Sudan. Sometimes when I am are in the so-called housing estate in Sudan I still do not realize that I am in a housing area. The structure of the building are normally square and flat like the above photo. The houses are also generally chocolate in colour (the colour of the clay bricks) and surrounded by a clay brick walls that act as a barrier or fence surrounding the house compound.

What About the Ethnic Nubian House? Why Can't This Nubian House Built in Malaysia?

Similar to the Minangkabau ethnic whose houses architectural design are quite unique, there are also certain ethnic group in Sudan where you can identify their house with the place they come from. A good example is people from the far north of Sudan which is formerly known as Wadi Halfa often belong to the Nubian group of people found in southern Egypt and north Sudan. Coming from geographically different part of Sudan, they have their own traditions in dress, dancing, language and housing. When Lake Nasser drowned Wadi Halfa, the inhabitant of Wadi Halfa called the 'Halfawis' moved to new places whether in the east of the country or in the capital itself. When come to the architectural design of their houses, traditionally they used to decorate their houses using china plates and to this day some of them still continuing this tradition. As you can see at the above photo a Nubian family's house in Khartoum has got a doorway or main gate written on it animal motifs, verses from the Koran, and abstract designs. The shape of the doorway is typical, and along the wall can be seen china plates.

But I if you try to do like this in Malaysia, I think a lot of uninvited writer or vandal will write anything from a young lover boy who may write "I love you" to an 'Ah Long' (money lender) who most probably may write on the main gate or along the doorway something like this 'When are you going to pay my debt. My high blood pressure already 'went upstairs to 99 floor' because you still have not paid back your debt. So please pay!".

Believe me, the above scenario will happen in Malaysia if the house has the main gate painted with all sort of wordings like the Nubians.


What about the Road in The Housing Area?

As we can see at the above photo, roads in the housing area are normally wide because it is not necessarily bitumen roads. The colour of this natural road blends well with the colour of the clay-bricks of the houses. It's so matching that everything looks chocolate in colour to me.

What a Romantic Night! Sleeping Under Thousands of Twinkling Stars

The other interesting part of dwelling in Sudan is it's absolutely common for them to sleep outside their house in the courtyard but still within the compound of their house, in-between the house itself and the clay-brisks fence. This means normally the area between the actual house building and the clay brick fence are wide and can accommodate a row of beds for the Sudanese to sleep during night time.

The photo above shows the type of bed that they drag outside the house in the courtyard but still inside the fenced-compound area. The bed is simple and of course for married couple the bed is bigger. You can see that they nicely arrange the bed so that everybody can sleep nice and well.

One of the main reasons they sleep outside the house is because the temperature inside the house is quite hot and not comfortable for them to sleep inside the room. Even though nowadays they can buy air-conditioner, majority of them still sleeping outside because not only it is naturally comfortable but it is very peaceful too, to close their eyes while admiring thousands of stars in the sky directly above them.

It is so beautiful falling asleep under the stars. The sky is jet black and beautiful . I believe after all this while sleeping outdoor like this, the Sudanese will be really feel uncomfortable to sleep under a roof again if they stay in Malaysia. The weather in Sudan is also ideal for sleeping outside. There is hardly any rain that would make you madly rush back into your house in the middle of the night in order to avoid being totally wet sleeping under the rain. Raining only occurs in-between the season. And it does not rain so heavily like in Malaysia where the weather is a bit more unpredictable and to sleep outdoor in Malaysia it's definitely a nightmare if every now and then you get woken up by a midnight thunderstorm!

You Stay In a 5-Star Hotel, Sudanese Sleep Witnessing Thousands of Stars

Sleeping under the stars is just amazing. you can see the incredible hugeness of the sky. You can really see thousands of stars as you gaze up at the heavens above you. You will experience such a wonderfully clear, starry night! If you claim that Hilton hotel is 5-star hotel, what is that only five stars compared to the Sudanese who every night sleeps witnessing thousands of stars in the nice night sky!


How Many Star is 'Hotel Car'?

Every time I talk about 'star' ranking of a hotel and each time I hear the "Hotel California" song by Eagles I can still remember last time I used to travel extensively by car all over Malaysia doing marketing and training for my own software company that I used to have.

Before I started this "Pro-Versatile Ventures" company with my two other partners, Huzaini Binti Hussin (ex-MRSM Terendak and partner of Huzaini & Co) and Nafisah Wahab (ex-MRSM Jasin and partner of Fahm Management Services) I used to be a shareholder and co-owner of a software company named "Eurosoft Solutions Sdn Bhd". My partner in Eurosoft Solutions Sdn Bhd was Mr Lai Song Tsair who is a talented software developer. He was in charge of software programming and software development, whereas I was in charge of the marketing and clients training.

But now upon setting up this Pro-Versatile group worldwide, I already sold my shares in Eurosoft Solutions Sdn Bhd. Previously, as the co-owner of that company, I took some practical measures to save the company cost. So I really love to just sleep in the car, instead of in a hotel if that particular night I have to drive between the cities in order to do software presentation or software training that I normally conducted at my clients office.

It is still clear in my memory that one fine day one of my Johor Bahru clients asked me after I finished conducting training to his staffs: "Where are you going to put up tonight, Khairul?" I replied ;"Since tomorrow early morning I will have to conduct software training in Penang, tonight I will put up at "Hotel Car". My client looked puzzled when I mentioned the name 'Hotel Car' because he never heard the name of the hotel before. He asked me again "Is that a new hotel? How many star is the Hotel Car" I said: "Well...it depends...If it is not raining I can see a lot of stars, but if it is raining there is no star!".

I guess sleeping in the car is the best experience that I have ever had during my time travelling practically all over Malaysia because sometimes when I woke up in the middle of the night I can just drive to the nearest beachside say at 2a.m in the morning. Quite a number of times I slept inside my car parked just a few meter away from the beachside at Port Dickson Beach, or Rantau Abang Beach, or Kemasik Beach and many other places. Its a very romantic experience sleeping with the voice of seawave as your musical background and in front of you the vast sea looks like a painting on the wall.

Can We Sleep in the Bed Outside Open Air in Malaysia? You May Be Bombarded With Bird Dropping!

I told my Sudanese staff, Badreldin that if in Malaysia you drag your bed into the courtyard to sleep, other people who can see you through your see-through steel wire fence may say you are crazy and tired of living. Then in the middle of night, chances are you may end up have to rush back like hell into the house if it is raining. The worst part is some 'uneducated' birds may fly overhead at the wee hours of the morning while you were still sleeping (that's why they are called 'early-bird') and they may bombard you with their bird droppings everywhere on your body!


Waking in the Middle of the Night Seeing The Stars in the Sky, What's Actually May Have Happened?

In Malaysia if the moment you wake up in the middle of the night you can see all the stars in the sky, this simply means there are only two possibilities. The first possibility is while you were sleeping in your tent during your camping session somebody has stolen your tent that you have just bought from Tesco. That's why the moment when you wake up you see the sky and the stars directly on top of you, instead of the roof of the tent! The second possibility is because somebody has miraculously managed to steal and dismantle completely your whole house including the rooftop while you were sleeping!

What About Safety Issue? Is it Possible In The Middle of The Night You Find Intruder Sleeps Beside You? Or Will The Intruder Been Punched Until He Sees 'Stars'?

At first I myself found it's very strange in Sudan people can sleep outside their homes in the courtyard some with just a short walls without worrying for their safety. But after spending more than 30 days in Khartoum I can feel the safety of living here. You can feel it. People in Sudan is generally very friendly and the crime rate is absolutely low.

Everybody knows that behind the clay brick wall fence in a Sudanese house there are people sleeping in the bed in their courtyard. So if you break into a Sudanese house it is indeed more challenging than breaking into a Malaysian house because you have to face this row of people first. There is a very big possibility that you will wake them up and get caught instead of getting away with jewelery or personal belongings that you plan to steal. That time it will be hell for you because these people will wake up and no matter how friendly they are they will whack, kick and punch you until you can see 'stars' all over the place!

What About Husband and Wife? Are They Also Sleeping Outdoor?

I asked Badreldin and also Mr Abdul Jalil about the privacy issue of a married couple if they sleep in their bed in the courtyard. They explained to me that normally the children will sleep in the courtyard at one part outside of the house and the parents will sleep in the courtyard on the other opposite part of the house separated by the house building itself. Definitely you can't see each other. Since the whole house become a 'wall' between your outdoor bedroom and your children outdoor bedroom, chances are it automatically becomes a sound-proof barrier.

Besides separated quite far from your children bed which is normally on the opposite outer side of the house, all the beds are in fact still within the compound of the house. So it is still safe to sleep in the courtyard. I think that's why the fence around the house made from solid clay brick, and not the type of see-through perimeter fencing like in Malaysia. If that kind of perimeter fencing like in Malaysia, you and your wife will not have a privacy to sleep outdoor like this because every one passing by your house will have a free show on what you are doing with your wife in your outdoor bed. The steel wire chain-link fence like in Malaysia definitely does not serve the purpose to give you privacy that you need while sleeping in the bed outdoor here in Sudan.

So the only thing that the Sudanese cannot prevent is if an idiot uses a helicopter to be a 'Peeping Tom' but my question is how many Sudanese can afford to hire a helicopter just to win the "Sudanese Peeping Tom of The Year" Award?

Yes, this is the best part. It is actually so romantic for a husband and wife to sleep on the bed in the courtyard in-between their house and the clay bricks fence with thousands of stars up there for them to view romantically. As you can see, the above photo is the photo of the moon taken by Badreldin two nights ago when he was about to sleep in his bed outside the house.

Have You Ever Made Love Under the Twinkling of Thousands of Stars?

It is not wrong for me to say that romancing and making love in the bed outside the house under the shining stars while appreciating the beauty of the full moon has certainly qualified Sudanese as the most romantic couple in the world.

In Malaysia and UK you can only express or say it (about the stars and moon) when showering or expressing your deep love towards your wife or lover. In Sudan, they really can make love witnessed by thousands of stars and moon!

I still remember the lyrics of a romantic love song by Malaysian band (Headwind) entitled "Kita Serupa" (We Are The same):

"Kalau dapat ku petik bintang di awan biru kan ku sematkan ke dalam dada mu..Kalau dapat ku capai bulan mengambang penuh kan ku hadiahkan di hari jadi mu. Begitulah janjiku kepada mu"

Literally translated: "If I can ever pick up the stars in the sky, I will stick it on your chest. If my hand can ever reach the moon, I will make it as your birthday present. This is my promise to you".

Wow! I can't imagine Mr Abdul Jalil sings this Malaysian romantic song while sleeping in bed with his wife witnessing the twinkling stars and moon in the night sky. How romantic!

So it is not wrong for me to say that the best the Malays can do is singing this romantic love song but the Sudanese couples can actually make love passionately under the twinkling of thousand stars and moon. There are indeed a very big difference between just saying it than actually doing it.

Wake Up In The Morning Seeing The Beautiful Sun Rise

If you look at the above picture, another good thing sleeping outside your house is your mind will start the day viewing a very beautiful, atmospheric and scenic phenomena called 'sunrise'. But as a Muslim, they wake up before the sunrise to perform your Subuh (early morning) Prayer. After viewing this mother nature phenomena, normally the Sudanese will go back inside their house to start preparing to go to work and when the sunset this evening they will go out to their outdoor bed again,.

Oh God! Even on the Rooftop of My Apartment Somebody Actually Sleeping Outdoor!

What about me? Have I slept outdoor under the twinkling of thousands of stars? To be honest, not yet. In fact I can't because the house that I am staying now is an apartment, not a landed house which has a courtyard.

However, last week when I met the owner of my apartment, who happened to live on the upper floor of this three storeys apartment, I can see he also put beds outside his 'house' which actually sits on the rooftop of the apartment building. This means every night he also sleeps outdoor on the rooftop. The rooftop where the apartment owner is living is rather unique. The rooftop is huge and flat. So in the middle of the rooftop he built his 'house' and in-between the house and its four corner walls he nicely put his bed at the courtyard.

Aha...maybe...just maybe...we never know...in the middle of this beautiful 'Malam Jumaat' (Thursday night) when I am in my room at the second floor of the apartment building 'sweating' to finish writing this blog-posting, maybe at the very same time my landlord, the 'Lord of the Ring', also 'sweating' on the rooftop passionately making love with his wife under thousands of star in the sky! Who knows...Haven't I said sometimes it seems that life is not fair? Haven't I?

Jumpa Lagi, Ma'as salaama, Salam, Permisi, Khoda Hafez, Pamitan, Bye For Now..
(My next posting will be my story regarding my meeting with another exemplary and admirable Malaysian who has been all this while through his excellent services spreading the good name of Malaysia by working with the 'United Nations Office for Project Services' (UNOPS) in Timor Leste, Cambodia and now in Darfur)