Summer in Oran

The place where i am staying now is far away from Oran city. It is a place called Eye-Turk, which mean the eyes of the Turkish. It is a 40 minutes drive from the city, and it is a small town which is similar to the Gurney Drive in Penang.

From the villa which i am staying, a 1 min walk from the house will lead me to the Mediterranean Sea. Since it is summer now, people from all over Algeria will rush to Eye-Turk to enjoy the sun and bathing in the sea. Almost all Algerians are Muslim, yet they are not the same as the Muslim in Malaysia. They are more open when it comes to relationship and dressing. The first day when i touched down i was told that a colleague has just spent his night with not one but two ladies! When i walked around i see girls in spaghetti straps, mini skirts and even bikinis on the beach, and they are Muslims. For this i am glad that the clothes i brought along will still be usable and i will not need to bag myself up all the time.

There have been a rush of Chinese from China coming to Algeria for the past 2 years. They came to build roads, bridges, houses and etc. I think they must have made quite an impact on the locals because anywhere i go, the locals will turn to me with a smiley face and shout "Ni Hao", meaning how do you do. I think this is the only phase they know in Chinese and since Algerians are very friendly, "Ni Hao" is the only way to communicate with us. Most of the time i will just give them a smile and nod, or sometimes i will return my friendly gesture with a "Hi" or a "Ni Hao". But sometimes, i pretended not to understand, all because the "Ni Hao" became too overwhelming. Imagine having to walk 1 block down the street but were greeted with 20 or more "Ni Hao" and being starred at the moment you stepped out from the house. I must confess that although they meant no harm, it does feel very uncomfortable some time, especially if i were to walk alone.

Anyway i took a walk to the sea side the other day. The beach is not as clean, maybe it is as bad as our Port Dickson, but the view was magnificent. From where i stay, i will have to take a 1 minute walk and down a few flights of stairs. Like i said they are many tourists now on the beach enjoying the summer. 1 more week and the Ramadhan will be here and by then the beach will be deserted. Meanwhile, despite the litters on the beach and the crowd, the view is still breathless. Just imagine 1 more week i will be able to have the whole beach to myself, sitting there, feeling the breeze, listening to the sounds of the waves, while sipping my coffee and read a book. Awwweeee.......