Where the Sun Don't Shine

Pre-script : I know the title isn't grammatically correct but it just sounds better.

In the previous entry, I wrote about the things I miss about being in Dublin. Now it's only right to balance that with an entry on the things which I don't miss about Dublin. Here goes:

1) Weather : You may be thinking, this dude just said he loves the temperature (re: previous post), so how can he not like the weather? Well, the chilled cooling part is great but the rain and the strong winds, not so much! It's like an established fact there, even the ads acknowledge it, that the weather is simply unpredictable. By unpredictable I mean it rains a lot and when it's not it's mostly cloudy. The irony is, when it is sunny, it tends to be especially chilly (the uncomfortable kind). And the wind, imagine me being somewhat pushed back by the strength of it. It's that strong...and bothersome.

2) Nightlife : Or rather the lack of it. Eh wait, the lack of variety of it. Yea, that's more precise. Everything is closed by 6-7pm. Save on Thursday which they're open till slightly later. Beats me 'why Thursday', so don't bother asking. Being Malaysian, we're so used to our kind of nightlife. We have malls closing at 10pm for the mall rats, 24 hours mamak restaurants so we can lepak till the wee hours, and we have the clubs and pubs for those who club and drink. But there, the people are left with only the last option which for me isn't an option at all. So night times can be rather dull.

3) Food : It's no secret that I love food. So while it is still possible for me to get fatter during my stay there (which I totally did) because of the self-cooking and all, but it really sucks that I can't just drop in any eateries and chow down on the plethora of choices available. Not that I resent the halal requirement, but it's nice to be able to try some local delicacies, which I obviously cannot. I know, I know, there are those in my position who don't give a damn, but hey, I do. And it's not just the local food, I can't even have any of the fast foods. Which was why the first thing I did when I came out of the arrival hall in KLIA, was to head to McDonalds and treat myself to a Double Prosperity burger - large set.

4) Dogs : Let me start by saying that while I find most dogs are adorable, save maybe for the Rottweiler and Chihuahua breeds, but handling of dogs is rather tricky to us Muslims. So to make our lives simpler, most Muslims simply avoid contact. Hence this problem. Like most Mat Salleh countries, the people love their man's best friends. And thus their canine companion tend to be very...playful a.k.a manja. They're cute and all, but like I said, problematic. But I'll give this to the Irish, they keep their pets well-maintained. I mean the pooper-scooper is ever-ready with them, unlike Parisians whose pets just...go.

There are probably other petty stuff that I may have missed out but the above are basically the gist of it. The underlying point here is this: I enjoyed many things about Ireland (and the UK and Rome), but at the same time, as tremendous an experience the past 2 1/2 months was, there are just things that I won't miss.

I have this to sum up the whole trip. It truly was an experience of a lifetime there, but it's not where my heart is, it's not home, it's not Malaysia.  I know I may complain about the heat and humidity here in Malaysia, but that's just about my main complain about this country. To cut the story short - Malaysia, I loike! ;)