Baile Átha Cliath

I think I need to blog consistently again. I need to practice, I need to sharpen my writing skills. Hence this entry.

Anyway, I've been away for slightly more than 10 weeks (2 1/2 months). I was based in Dublin (in the Irish language is known as "Baile Átha Cliath", hence the title of this entry) the entire time, only being out of Ireland for roughly 2 out of those 10 weeks.

Of course there are many things I'd like to share, but for a start, I'll list a few things I miss about living in Dublin.

1) Temperature : I'm a winter person, so I enjoy the 5 degrees (on average) temperature. However, when it's snowing, the cold can be bothersome. And I've been told that UK and Ireland's summer isn't all that warm either, typically ranging between 15-20 degrees at best. Just my kind of temperature. Truth be told, I'm the sweaty type, so the low temperature helps me not perspire profusely like I do in Malaysia. And another plus, going around by just walking isn't a problem. You won't be drenched by the time you reach your destination. And the food don't spoil as fast and the drinking water in constantly chilled without having to refrigerate.

2) Cooking : I'm no Jamie Oliver, but I like to cook. Primarily because I get to eat what I cook and I love eating, but still. Being in a generally Catholic nation, halal food is an issue. So cooking is somewhat an easier solution. Just get the ingredients from your local Tesco, Aldi or Lidl and you're good to go. I managed, successfully mind you, to cook up the following: lasagne, baked pasta, honey-glazed citrus chicken, fisherman's pie, linguine/spaghetti aglio olio as well as the regular bolognese variety, baked salmon, Moroccan-inspired seafood couscous, ikan bakar and the list goes on and on. Oo, stomach is grumbling a little. ;)

3) Community : A friend of mine is living in Perth and I get the impression from her blog that Malaysians abroad tend to be more...communal. They do things together, host each other at their homes, basically be the family away from home. I got a taste of that in Dublin. My sister, whose house I called home the past 2 months, hosted several groups of people and in turn we were also invited to several houses. It's a more adult kind of socialising rather than lepaking at local mamak place. And it's fun really.

4) Shopping : My siblings and I left Malaysia near Christmas time. So Christmas shopping was in full gear. Shopping prior to Christmas was a lot of fun, but post-Christmas, it was another level of joy. Retailers start to offer ludicrous discounts to make way for spring collection. Those who've resided or even vacationed in UK or Ireland would be familiar with Primark (known as Penneys in Ireland). They offer cheap, trendy and good quality stuff. The amount I spent in the past 2 1/2 months is more than the past 2 1/2 years in Malaysia combined!

Note to non-existent readers: FYI, I am dead broke now.

5) Pace : The pace of things in Dublin is pretty slow. Granted that it can be a problem at times - like having to wait for 4 hours in a hospital just to get checked for fever, and the locals walk faster than we do in Malaysia but the overall lifestyle is pretty subdued. Stress is evidently less, the traffic jam is somewhat negligible by KL standard, things are just more...relaxed. Dublin is a city but the city-living there, as one would expect the likes in SATC, is different. Some have commented that Irish are lazy Europeans but I guess it's just how they are, no stress no mess.

6) Safety : Republic of Ireland has a population of roughly 4 million. So yes, it is much easier to police the Irish than the 28 million Malaysians. But it is a welcome change not having to sit through lengthy reporting of crime or accident related news every night. The RTÉ 9pm news is only for 1/2 hour and it's dead boring because there are not much to report. It usually comprised of just about 1 main news. In January it was the murder of Michaela McAreavey (whilst honeymooning in Mauritius) and in February it's all about the general election. That's about it, I think. Boring, but safe.

I think this is about it for now. I'll add more if I come up with anything else.

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Post-script : The following is a later addendum to the list above.

7) Pest-free : May I also highlight the fact that Ireland is basically pest-free? Well, it is! I don't recall ever seeing a lizard or fly or even ant. I can leave a sugary drink on a table without having to worry the mug will be covered with ants. I can leave the sambal tumis cooked with belacan without having to cover like we have to in Malaysia for fear of flies. And also I don't have to suffer the ill-sights of lizards everywhere like I do in Malaysia.