ritan Posted September 7, 2012 Posted September 7, 2012 Greetings from Malaysia! I thought I'd better drop by here and introduce myself to everybody. I lurked for a while to get a feel of the place and while I noticed several BOTLs from South East Asia are active here I'd like to add to the diversity of the community, if I may. I've gone through erratic periods over the last fifteen years where I enjoyed periods of cigar smoking but work commitments, business travel and golf somehow took precedence and I never really caught the bug until September / October last year. At the tail end of a long and tiring business trip, I lit up a CC at the Radisson Hotel in Dhaka and after a couple of moments, realized how much I really, really enjoyed it - the complexity of flavors, how nice the smoke smelled, the ritualized calmness and especially how much it slowed me down and relaxed me. As many of you know and experienced, that was the defining moment - there was no turning back. On arrival home at the airport, I headed for duty free to check what was available. ISOMs are easily available in this part of the world and I've puffed on my fair share. But they are expensive and carry too much snobbery. It's largely a hobby for the rich in Asia. And I'm trying to do it on the cheap, or so I thought. In the walk-in humidor at duty free, the familiar names greeted me - the Cohibas, the Montecristos, the Punch and H. Upmann and many other legendary Cubans but I thought I'd better be smart and start easy. I picked up a box of Partagas SD4 and spent a lot of time talking to the salesperson who showed me around the humidor. And what a joy it was, walls of cigars all in their boxes and 5 packs, enveloped in dark, cool humidity, the scent of tobacco. She was friendly enough to show me their stash of Fuentes which was hidden in a cupboard in the humidor - OpusX, Hemingways, Short Story, Anejos, God of Fire and other NCs, but they will always be a novelty smoke, hard to take seriously with their over-the-top strength and one-dimensionality. I've been buying the odd box or two from the LCDH at Dubai airport whenever I was there, never with the thought of expanding my taste profile…just as something to smoke. I recall then my wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I said a humidor. I decided if I was going to start buying boxes and cabs, I needed a place to keep them properly. Famous last words, yes? So down the slippery slope we go. I picked out and ordered a Daniel Marshall humidor based on the 'buy it once, buy it right' principle. And all my wife said was: Don't go overboard! Well, my 150-count DM humidor is full, I’ve spilled over to several Tupperdors and I’ve just ordered a larger custom-made from Daniel Marshall. Oh yeah, apart from the new DM humidor and boxes of cigars, I got my wife a new set of Cleveland irons and a new golf bag to go with it for her birthday. I look forward to getting to know as many FOHers as possible and being as active in the community as I can. Please let me know if I can be of help to anybody.
theholmesmob Posted September 7, 2012 Posted September 7, 2012 Very much enjoyed your introduction.... I'm glad you qualified 'problem'. Like many here enjoying what is on offer we have more than one problem. Like you I share a golf addiction as well as the cigar... As you know it 's a great spot,
Squarehead Posted September 7, 2012 Posted September 7, 2012 Welcome to the FOH forum and happy smokes. What an introduction.
BMF98 Posted September 7, 2012 Posted September 7, 2012 Terrific intro! Think we can all identify what you've experienced so far! Welcome and enjoy!
harmesh Posted September 7, 2012 Posted September 7, 2012 Welcome to the FOH! Glad to see another BOTL from Malaysia, have fun and it's a fantastic problem which will continue to add on
Trevor2118 Posted September 7, 2012 Posted September 7, 2012 Welcome to the Friends of Habanos Cuban Cigar Forum. All new members are encouraged to spend some time familiarising themself with the rules and guidelines of this forum. Our mantra is Laughter, Friendship, Loyalty, and Fraternity. Trevor
Charltonc Posted September 10, 2012 Posted September 10, 2012 Welcome my friend, excellent intro. One of the better i have read in a long time!
davidl Posted September 11, 2012 Posted September 11, 2012 Welcome! I also enjoyed reading your intro very much.
ZinZan Posted September 11, 2012 Posted September 11, 2012 Welcome fellow Malaysian, great intro by the way. You found FOH, your problem just started mate.
victorgkw Posted September 11, 2012 Posted September 11, 2012 Hello fellow Malaysian. Good to have you on board. We should get in touch and fire up some cigars while enjoying some golf. Be in touch! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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