During the one day trip to Dubai to check out TAM Auto Engineering I met up with some friends to get a bite to eat and go to the movies. They didn’t have a place in mind so I directly went to Meat Company, they have been very consistent with their food, specifically the meat, and the service. We were all ridiculously hungry by the time we got to the restaurant, it was a simple order, lots of beef ribs for apetizers then straight to the steaks.

One of our friends was so hungry we was staring intently at the Kabab that came hanging on a skewer. I perfer the Rib-eye for the best steak, a combination of juicy and tasty, and on their menu I order the Wagyu Rib-Eye which is a satisfying 250 gram steak. It really hit the spot for us, cold cokes to cool off and the steaks to fill up. I’m happy they have kept up their level over the years, and will continue to go their when I’m in Dubai.

A lot of people travel to Europe for vacation or business, there is a lot to see and do, so I was surprised to here this happened to a colleague of mine. He is Kuwaiti and applied for a Schengen Visa, he wanted to travel to Germany for a medical check up and a short vacation. He had a schengen visa and his reservations ready to go. As soon as he landed in Frankfurt they pulled him aside at the passport counter, they told him his Schengen Visa is a forgery and he can not enter Germany, they will bring him a translator.

A Sudanese translator came, and he explained to him clearly that he understood and that is clearly wrong. They asked if he applied for his Visa himself at the German Embassy, he said no, the travel agency applied for him and they got the Schengen Visa from Spanish Embassy. They kept claiming it was a forgery, so he contacted the Kuwaiti Embassy, and they tried from their end but the counselor said that no matter what they did they were still claiming its a forgery and refused him entry. So he had no choice but to fly back to Kuwait, luckily the Lufthansa flight lands at 5 am and leaves at 4 pm to Kuwait, so he was arguing for hours but with no luck.

When he got back to Kuwait, he contacted the Ministry of Exterior to file a complaint and contacted the counselor as well. After jumping through a few hoops, he got the explanation that it isn’t a forgery but they have seemed to apply a new law in Europe that if someone travels to a Schengen country that he must get a Schengen which originates from that country to travel to it first then to other European countries, so in his case he should have went to Spain then to Germany. I don’t know if this is completely true because I just went to Italy on a Schengen from the German Embassy, so it doesn’t make sense. Also to get a Schengen from the Spanish Embassy takes one day, and to take it from the French or German Embassy takes about 2 to 3 weeks, the Italian Embassy takes about a week to ten days, so you can understand why large quantities of people apply for it through the Spanish Embassy. Also another explanation that was presented was that the other Embassies were complaining about the Spanish Embassy so they complained that they were taking a lot of income away. So it seems this is the action the German Immigration took, so how do you prove that it isn’t fake.

Now this is an interesting development from British Airways, out of all the large airlines operating in the region British Airways has been on the more expensive side. This new route has seemed a bit odd to me since its not the most successful route, and Emirates used to fly there but they stopped because a lot of the times their planes flew empty. It seems they want to take a knock at Virgin Atlantic over this route, I didn’t know they viewed them as that much of a threat. I don’t know how much more bookings this route will bring them but I know the British Airways is hurting the most from all the major airlines.

I was checking the booking for British Airways to Las Vegas from Kuwait and it came out to be 1590 KWD which is a lot less damaging then the quote I recieved a couple of months ago for Virgin which was a ridiculous 4260 KWD. I even called to make sure that they aren’t quoting British Pounds, but they were serious about that price and it was the same online.

Link: Luxist

I got in a few days ago for family and work, since then I haven’t had a moment to breath. Its been a bit hectic, I haven’t even had a chance to un-box a few items I bought while I was traveling. In Kuwait you get caught up with work and family that you really don’t have a moment to scratch your head, and even when I did have some time I called up one of the guys to play Halo ODST.

British Airways seemed to have upgrade their planes again, and I have to say that the beds are much flatter and more comfortable then before. The plane before that when coming to Kuwait was two generations old, I was upgraded to first from business on my trip before this one on the return trip to Kuwait and even my iPod touch had a bigger screen then the monitor in first, I just passed out. But this new place is pretty nice, but I still slept on this one and still had to sleep early when I got in on Sunday. Terminal 5 is a very nice terminal and also very big, if its between Terminal 3 of Emirates and Terminal 5 of British I would prefer Terminal 5 but Emirates seems to have a more comfortable planes and a better entertainment system, and cheaper prices.

Now this was an interesting day, I was walking down Totenham Cour Road looking for a camera tripod and access point. That road is filled with electronic and computer stores selling most of everything you would look for in London. As I walked out of the last Nikon/Canon store admiring some expensive lens, I walk out to see the Dianetics and Scientology center right next door. I instinctively took a picture of the sign and stand out front, then just looked through my lens to see somebody looking directly at me, but I snapped any way. She walked up to me and asked me if I’m interested in Dianectics, walking me inside to a wall filled with L Ron Hubbard books and DVDs. She asked where I was from, told her from Kuwait, she grabbed a book in Arabic and gave it to me as well as DVD, assuming I would be willing to pay for it. I told her I read a little bit about it a while ago but didn’t really read up, she was being very forceful to take the book or at least the DVD.

She asked where I was from, I told from Kuwait and she said then I must be Muslim, I told her that is the case. She asked if I had 30 minutes to spare, I said I’m a bit tight on time, she wanted me to watch to 5 minute videos and do some testing, I opted out of the videos but was curious about the testing. She took me to the lower floors to sit in an area where they do some testing, I was ask a lot of questions about what I do, and what I do on a daily basis, how I feel and some many things. Then the infamous E-Meter was brought out, it looks like some contraption out of the 1950s, radiation testing of some sorts. Then that machine was going off for a bit, then after all that the testing was done. The results is that I have a lot of pent up negative energy and I need it solved and that requires further treatment. I thanked them and walked out, it took all the will power I had not to laugh at certain points in the testing, I can understand how they can turn a few people into Scientologists,and some of these people are extremely strong willed with an answer for every statement, the cult feeling of it is there but they are much better organized. That was an interesting experience but I continued looking for my access point in the shops down the road.

I was in London for about a week visiting family and getting a few things done. The weather was fantastic between 12C and 18C, sunny most of the days and no rain. I enjoyed walking around outside, and I would have Chinese food at the Phoenix Palace when ever I have a chance after a good walk. I would take my backpack, play my iPod and walk around with my camera snapping pictures and just walking in any direction.

I usually have a pattern when I go to London, a few places I visit and a few places I eat. For movies its usually in the Piccadilly Circus area with Odeon, Vue, Empire and Apollo Cinemas all within walking distance and lots of movies to choose from. I watched a lot of movies this time around, even though I wanted to watch some more I had to do a few other things. One of the places that I visited for the first time was Forbidden Planet which was a really interesting store, selling all types of models from movies, comics, and tv shows as well as an interesting library in the basement, it is a movie/tv/comic fan’s dream shop with so much to see and buy. I didn’t buy anything but I did enjoy walking around and looking at all the different models they have, and they have an online store which has a lot of items as well. I had to visit Waterstones book store to check out a few books and I did pick up a few, I think I have too many books piling up, I have a few laying on the ground and I can’t seem to find the right place to put them. I do enjoy going around London in those Black Cabs, I take them when ever I can, they usually have very interesting stories. New cabs seemed to have been introduced to London, they are now using Mercedes Vitto which is very nice van and it can seat 6 people and turn the required 25 feet turning radius as the current cabs by enabling steering in both the front and rear for a better turning radius, this is an addition to the normal cabs but I didn’t have a chance to snap a picture of one.

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There is a long standing relationship that I have with this restaurant, I have been the best Chinese food in this restaurant for over 5 years. Its just off of Baker Street, I have been to it with friends, and I have been to it countless times on my own. This is the place the Chinese go to have authentic and tasty Cantonese Food in London, and it has all the dishes you could possibily imagine. The staff are effecient and know their food, and they are very fast, expect good service and friendly people. Over the years I have seen a lot of the same faces and they have a stringent process for the waiters to progress within the restaurant and a lot of these people have been there for years. The place looks like small restaurant from the main door but it is huge, with a private room if you need one and they are expanding. Almost every time I go to London I stop and eat at this place, even if its just a 10 hour lay over I leave the airport to get some of that amazing Peking Duck. I have had dreams where I taste the Peking Duck and remember Phoenix Palace even though it might have been over a year since I have gone to this place.

The food is just on another level, you have a very large selection. I love their prawn toast, spring roll, and hot & sour soup to start off with. And if I’m on my own I tend to have a full Peking Duck just for myself. When I eat there on my own every time I take my laptop with me and watch some anime, and recently a few tv shows and the staff doesn’t mind at all and there are always those who are curious. The staff is always friendly, when ever I’m low on Coca Cola they bring another one quickly, and by the time I’m done I am extremely satisfied and walking outside to the cold London air feels good. I walk around for a while after that with my backpack and head phones listening to music and pointing my camera as I walk. This is probably hands down one of the best no nonsense Chinese Restaurants I have ever been to and it has only gotten better over the years and hopefully many more years to come.

Phoenix Palace Chinese Restaurant
5 Glentworth Street, London NW1 5PG
Tel: 020 7486 3515
Fax: 020 7486 3401

I don’t know how to describe this country, I love everything about it, the cities, the streets, the men, the woman, the children, the art, architecture, food, attitudes, machines, cars, motorcycles and especially the language. I have been wanting to come to Italy for the past few years and it hasn’t worked out for me and suddenly something came up that I had to go, and for the time that I have been here I love very part of it. Italians are so passionate and amazingly friendly, even when they are angry they sound fantastic, and their language just roles off so smoothly and easily. Sometimes when someone speaks Italian to me I want to reply in Italian and then I realize that I don’t know any Italian and I stay silent with my mouth open for second waiting for the words to form up and exit.

The weather is amazing and luckily it only rained when we went to another city, I have to say that I enjoyed the streets of Rome. There is so much to see, so much art, so much architecture. At night it feels like the city is alive and the whole city is lit up, they have designed it amazingly, you pass so many Pallazos (Palaces), Vatican City, Castel Sant Angelo, Pallaza Navano, the Collossium, and so many other places. Its amazing how Italy is, even during the week the restaurants don’t get filled up until its 10:30 pm or 11:00 pm unlike many other cities which are quite by 9:00pm, if you go to any restaurant at 9:00pm it would be empty and won’t start filling up until 9:30 pm. This city is amazing and I loved every moment of it, I just felt like a kid in candy store. Then there are so many motorcycles and scooters, I saw so many Ducati Street Fighters on the street and a lot of BMWs to my surprise, and so many other machines in abundance. The motorcycle culture is part of their genes, there is a form of organized chaos in this city that can’t be described it can only be understood when you are in it, for how aggressive people drive in Italy they are extremely considerate of motorcycle and scooter riders flying all over the place.

Landing in Heathrow early in the afternoon for a nice cool breeze and a Sunday is a nice start to London. I walked over to the Taxi Cab line and as usual there were a lot of cabs, but to my surprise there are new black cabs look like those Volkswagen and Mercedes Vans. they are more spacious and the interior of the cab is design in the same idea with five people in mind with two people facing the three but to me its just not the same as London’s Black Cab. I am one person who enjoys riding in a black cab because it spacious and its fun, also the cab drivers do have a story to tell.

I just took a black cab to the same location that I always do, and prices have really changed. Black cab prices have hiked up, there is a bit of inflation to it but still its one big jump.

• In 99 – (45 – 52 GBP)
• In 05 – (60 GBP)
• In 09 – (78 GBP)

Over the years I have gotten used to Heathrow Terminal 4, I even look forward to it when traveling, the food counter, and the location of the shops. Now with Terminal 5 things have really changed, even when checking in its different and when going to the lounges of British Airways its very confusing as to where exactly you have to go. Security is better since there are a lot of terminals for people to go through but they do have a lot of flights taking off at any one point in time. I haven’t been using British Airways much since I haven’t been going to London for a while now, mostly on Emirates or Lufthansa since both airlines are cheaper then British Airways. After getting done with security I went to the Club Lounge to drop off one of the bags I was carrying and only carry my back pack.

One thing I’m happy about is that the electronics store, book store, magazine shop, and music store are really close to each other. I didn’t have a chance to walk as much as I wanted since I was pretty tired and I just wanted to sit in the lounge, and the lounges are all a bit intertwined, not that you can use the other lounges but the other lounges can see each other. There is a Concorde Lounge which is the flagship lounge, the First Class Lounge, and the Business Class Lounge, but I’m not sure I missed one of the lounges since its a bit confusing the first time around. When I came to look for my terminal to take off to Kuwait I almost missed since they don’t announce flights in the lounge any more for some reason and it was very far, I really had no clue where I was going. Overall the terminal is nice but a too big, I still want to explore when I have the chance and the energy to walk around, but it does feel nice and spacious when walking around and now I have to look for a new food place to try out in the terminal.