Bon the architect

Last week i was in Dubai,more of an obligation being a President of a particular oil and gas association where some of our members showcase their companies and product.

The Expo ,"The Malaysian Services Expo" organised by Martrade was graced open by the Malaysian Federal Minister YB Tan Seri Muhyiddin Yassin.

My Dubai trip was also partly sponsored by Martrade who also get the Minister to launch the Malaysian Oil and Gas directory...well my small claim to fame was there was a small forward page by myself besides that of the Minister and 2 other associations presidents. ha ha mine was the shortest!!!

I was interviewed too by Dubai TV , don't get this often so not so used to it as the interviewer kept telling me to look at the camera!!! well it did run OK ...said few good things of course about Malaysia and its oil and gas industries..hey man make KL your gateway to the ASEAN market and likewise we Malaysians will make Dubai our gateway to the middle east and central Asia market.

Indeed a very meaningful trip to me but was those that i related the real highlights of my trip?

NO!!! it was not!! The real highlight was i met with a good friend of mine who i have not met since University days in Birmingham ,wow almost 26 years .We were also housemates.

I met my friend Bon the architect....was such a great pleasure and his architectural firm was also having a booth at the expo. Bon the architect true to his nature always have a pad and a pencil,scribbling images of what he foresee as the ideal building of the present and the future.

Bon the architect showed me his firm(and his idea) conceptual proposal of a building they proposed for a Saudi Arabian firm...and nothing though has changed in our relations, his buildings still confused me!!!!

He has now a project materialising in the Pacific at the island called "Palau""
"Hey Bon..are you kidding, you know what Palau means in the Iban language?"

It was indeed the real highlight of my trip, it was just like yesterday that we both roamed the streets of Birmingham, him with his non stop chatter and me with my perennial cynicism of his ideas.

Well my friend Bon i was wrong you still can have buildings that look like a pro trudging sausage mixed with mashed potatoes!!!!

Bon...it really has been great meeting you and i was equally proud to see you succeeding as an architecht selling your ideas and concepts to the world , i promise i will not be cynical any more!!!

PS: Palau in Iban stands for being drunk,,maybe you need to be one if one needs to come up with a mashed up sausage building!! oops sorry i was being cynical again. Sorry Bon.