After three fantastic years at the University of Lethbridge, I am off again to travel the world...

Some First Impressions & Interesting Tidbits

- two guys that I work with (they are both quite clean cut) indicated that they only wash their jeans every 3 months!!

- gas costs about $0.60/litre CDN over here

- when I buy (take away) iced coffee from our little coffee stand on the way to work, rather than a plastic or cardboard cup, they put it in small a plastic bag with a straw and a string tied around to use as a handle

- at work, a typical work day is about 8:30 - 6:00; maternity leave is 2 months (for a maximum of 5 children); the standard lunch hour is from 1.00 - 2.00 except on Fridays when it is from 12.00 - 2.00 (for Muslim prayer times) & a typical work week is Monday - Friday + half day on Saturday

- if you are caught with drugs, they test you for drugs in your system.  If you don't have any in your system, it is assumed you are trafficking and you are then sentenced to death by hanging; if you do have drugs in your system, you are assumed to be an addict (in which case you are sent to a rehab center).  I know this because young guy, Tim, (18 yrs) that I work with was asking me lots of questions about the penalties for drug possession in Canada (which of course I knew little about...) Turns out the horror stories are true here...he has several friends of friends that were caught with drugs...they are simply sent to jail and then in a couple of days, you attend their funeral.   

- over here they have little identity cards with a small chip in them.  The information it holds includes:  a photo of you, your birth place, your race, your religion, your address, your drivers licence and it can also be used as your bank card.  These cards do have a PIN but this can be overridden by police if they decide that they want your information.  It was this card that saved my friend, Tim, when he was arrested during Ramadan.  Although he is a Christian, he is often mistaken for Muslim since he is a mixture of Malay, Chinese and Indian.  Therefore, when the police saw him eating during daylight hours during Ramaden, he was arrested immediately.  Although he tried to explain that he was not Muslim, they cuffed and beat him and would not believe him until they checked his identity card.

Posted by: deannaketcheson at 15:28 | link | comments (1)

I Work in a Palace...but I Live in the Ghetto

As some may know, I am doing my internship at The Westin Hotel.  The Westin over here is quite unbelievable even to describe...all I can say is WOW!!  I have seen a few hotels in my time but nothing quite this one.  It is not fancy in the Victorian or opulant sense, but in a contemporary modern style.  The floors are marble and the decorations are simple and modern.  One person decribed the furnishings like Ikea-style furniture only very good quality.  There is an open-air trendy mezzanine like thing with everything on it from a bakery (they bake their own) and chocolate-making shop (they make their own), a coffee shop (they roast their own coffee) a wine cellar area, several fancy restaurants, an in-house florist, a cigar shop and a beautiful black grand piano where they play jazz several nights a week.  The gym is beautiful and is very modern with each treadmill having its own TV, DVD player and headphones.  They face a glass wall that overlooks the city and the Petronas Towers.  They also have a virtual trainer that tells you what type of program you should use and how you are progressing, etc.  They have a separate room for yoga, and latin dance classes during the evenings.

 

The ballrooms are extremely grand and their trademark is the "Martin Lighting"...apparently Westin is the only place in SE asia to have this which is a specific type of lighting that can allow you to produce special effects on the tables and floors and it also synchronizes with the music to produce different effects. 

 

Within the hotel, they have 6 different restaurants that all have their own unique twist.  My favorite is Qba (pronounced Cuba) and it is a set like a courtyard out of Havana.  It is absolutely stunning and there is so much attention to detail.  It is broken in to three sections:  a wine & cigar lounge with huge leather chairs in dimly lit seating areas separated by glass walls filled with wine bottles on display right to the ceiling.  The bar is beautifully carved wood shaped with large grooves all along the bar (apparently this is so that when a man walks up to a lady sitting at the bar, he can lean into a groove and really face her with his shoulders, (rather than standing beside her and not really facing her), and thus building a better rapport and better first impression..ha ha)  Very clever...  The second area is upstairs with all marble flooring.  The shape of the restaurant is in the shape of a square and is like a courtyard that overlooks the bar downstairs with wrought iron railings the only protection from falling.  The walls are painted in pastel colors like frescos found in Havana.  Downstairs is the lively latin bar with a live band from Cuba and latin dance classes there every day.  Also on the way home from work, I saw a guest master cigar roller all the way from Cuba...he had big patches of tobacco and a giant roller all set up and was about to demonstrate his talents.

 

The other restaurants are equally as authentic and include Prego (an Italian restaurant) EEST (Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Malay & Japanese...like 5 restaurants in one with a very Zen-like atmosphere) and The Living Room (a buffet place)...but Qba is definitely my favorite.  Also, the staff (associates as they call us at The Westin) are soooo friendly.  Everyone is so smiley and so helpful.

 

We had a tour of the rooms too and of course they are amazing.  The Westin's signatures include the Heavenly Bed & the Heavenly shower.  Both look amazing and the rest of the amenities in the rooms are fabulous:  views of the Petronas Towers, glassed in balconies, plush slippers & robes, nightly turn-down service, beautiful fresh floral arrangements, etc.

 

So basically I work in a palace...but...I live in the ghetto.  Apparently Chinatown is one of two of the worst areas in KL.  Oh well...I guess I get to see all the culture that KL has to offer. 

Posted by: deannaketcheson at 15:23 | link | comments