July 09, 2007

The New 7 wonders

I did a post on the naming of 7 new wonders of the world in January of last year. This year on July 7th 2007 (777 oohh!) 7 new wonders were named. Among them Petra in Jordan, The great Wall of China, Taj Mahal in India, Machu Pichu in Peru and the Collosseum in Rome.

In my previous post I wrote down the seven wonders of my world, asking you to come up with the seventh wonder. Here is a recap of them, and the invitation still stands so start your mind machines and get creative!

The seven wonders of my world:


1. The rickshaws in Pakistan: tiny, three wheeled yet carries up to a total of 4 grown ups, still maintains a high speed and manages to re-arrange your entire organ content, ending up with your heart literally in your throat, for a mere price of 15 rupees.

2. The taxi cars of Cairo: some have doors, some don't. Some have windows, some don't. And should they have windows, they don't have the device needed to wind it down. But they all come equipped with your own state of the art driver who manages to make even atheists call to God for help once in their life.

3. The donkeys of Petra: I lay my life in their hands and surprisingly I survived. Taking a ride on a donkey up a steep, narrow mountain is something of a death wish, but these donkeys knew exactly where to go without needing their master show them. Props to the donkeys! Which is more than I can say for Jordanian cab drivers...

4. PIA (Pakistan International Airlines): or Perhaps I'll Arrive... I once took a flight from Lahore to Islamabad that later was bound for London but after landing in Islamabad, picking up a few passangers, it went back to Lahore again. Why? They said they had to fill the tank...need I say more?

5. The Pakistani People: Whenever the son or daughter gets married and it's time to "move out", they always amazingly enough manage to find the only available apartment or house in that city at that time, directly placed in front of their own. Sometimes it's so close that you can actually look into each others living rooms and wave!

6. Microsoft Word: Can you believe that the word "Kaaba" (I also tried Kaba) doesn't exist in its "dictionary". The most famous and holy building for Muslims. Instead I got the suggestion of "Kaibab" and "Kabala". However when I try writing the Jewish words "Kibbutz" and "Bar Mitzvah", there is no problem whatsoever. I am happy for the Jews, don't get me wrong. It's great to be represented with words that are of significance to your faith or culture. Still, it sure makes you wonder. Microsoft... Get a grip.

As for the seventh wonder, I invite my readers to come up with suggestions... now be fair...

12 comments:

Lirun said...

ELAL

ever landing always late

secretdubai said...

The labourers of Dubai. They toil for hours in heat that I wilt in after just 30 seconds, despite living here for six years now. Their ability not to die en masse is wondrous.

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

Lirun, I am guessing ELAL is an airline...there is a trend here I see lol a worthy seventh candidate.

SD, I couldn't agree with you more. I put up a picture of them on Global themes for this weeks theme of (Wo)men at work and I am equally amazed everytime I visit The UAE seeing them work in full gear under the hot sun. It defies everything we think we know about humans and extreme weather.

clayfuture said...

Well I have something simpler in mind: the stapler!!! it's a necessary stationery item in any office. Imagine office life without staplers. Paper clips are no substitute. Even the so-called paperless offices have staplers!

gary said...

i think Mumbai Suburban Trains, while u leave one for less crowd, the later comes even more crowded, and yes, you may have a seat atop sometimes.

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

Clayfuture lol Absolutely, it is quite a fabulous invention and in any office a must! Hail to the staplers!

Gary welcome! :) Transportation seems to be attracting many nominations lol Thank you for your suggestion.

Anonymous said...

Damn that is so true. I took my stapler home yesterday along with some work and forgot to bring it in today. Alas, how miserable to have to ask someone else for their stapler every ten minutes.

STAPLER .. I second the nomination !!!

Radha said...

shopping malls of dubai !!
they keep getting bigger & bigger; and yet the number of visitors just keep increasing to keep pace! :)

Boo! said...

Did you never fit more than 4 in a rickshaw? you under-utilized it SS. Six can fit pretty easily! 4 in the back and one on each side of the driver.

PIA isn't THAT bad, come on. They always arrive... its just the time where the uncertainty lies. I was once flown to Karachi for a three hour stop there on a 'direct' flight from Lahore to London :)

Pakistani people are wonderous in more ways than just what you mentioned. With all that's been going on, I wonder how the country is surviving!

As for my pick... I don't know where to start...

Hong Kong people... the swarms and swarms of them walking in tight streets make me wonder how they survive in such closed spaces. Because I'm tall, at times I can look around and all there is, is a sea of heads...

Physical and mental abilities of humans make me wonder where the limit lies... recently I've been looking into some extreme sports and when I see what people do at triathlons and rock climbing and other events, makes you wonder...

Corporate world in Hong Kong is another. I'm not sure how people have been here for years and still continue to work 14 - 16 hours a day! The admin staff leaves office around 7pm... wonder how many labour rights are being violated by corporate HK, wihle the world focuses on factory workers in China.

And I wonder how you know so much about so much... I think that could be my pick... you!

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

Welcome feo! :)

Radha, how very true...I would say Dubai in itself is one big wonder, isn't it? How is your move going?

Boo! kya haal hai? So good to see you :) Good HK points made indeed...me a wonder? lol :)

Anonymous said...

Funny post :-)

Let me share an ironic story since you mentioned PIA in your post. Emirates airline is one of the leading names in the industry today. But many people don't know that back in the mid eighties, it was in fact PIA which helped in the formation of Emirates airline. Even the first airline was leased from PIA & the first flight was also to Karachi !!

bas kamal said...

hmmmm....ill also prefer pen coz widout it stationary word iz incomplete...