10th of August, 2009:

I decided to start this blog with Ola-so, having been my home for the past 7 years it felt only natural. When I moved to Syana in 1998, like many foreign nationals, I settled in the capital Kaan-daal. However, after my first 3 years in the country, I decided that the fast-paced metropolis life just isn't for me. Not wanting to move too far from the friends I had made in the city (and also wanting to stay in the South where English was a common second language), I packed my bags and moved down to the shining coastal city of Ola-so.

The urban capital of the Kima Bia-di-adaad region, Ola-so is a small but still bustling city knows for its miles and miles of shopping streets. Now, when I say that this city is small, I'm speaking from the perspective of the supersized nature of Syan cities. Boasting a population of 1.2 million people, Ola-so makes my quaint British hometown look like a desolate hamlet. The first thing you notice, after the distinct smell of salt-water that is, is the noise. As soon as you enter the city you're bombarded with a symphony of traffic horns, shop music and the many MANY street performers. In fact, Ola-so brands itself with the slogan "City of Music". These performers, often hammering out local traditional drumming songs, are charming enough for the first few months. Yet after a while, the constant thumping on every street corner would give anyone a slight migraine.

On that note, keep in mind that a lot of my opinions of this city have been shaped by my living here for the better part of a decade. On the whole I actually think that Ola-so is a wonderful place to visit, with a few important caveats. If you're thinking about staying in Ola-so for a Syan holiday, please be warned, this city is NOT built for tourism. It may be because the huge Syan capital is just to the North, or the fact that there is very little to do here besides shop and watch boats at the harbour. But regardless of the reason why, Ola-so gets very little in the way of tourist attention throughout the year. Without any world-famous landmarks or essential Syan experiences, this city is relatively unknown to anyone outisde of Syana.

The main selling point of visiting Ola-so is the insane amount of shopping potential. When I say that there is a lot of shops, I'm not kidding. I'm not even talking shopping centres or retail parks. Everywhere you go you'll see streets packed to capacity with storefronts. The ground floor of most buildings in the city center are up-market boutiques or outlets for western fashion brands, only really affordable to the people living in the luxury apartments stacked above them. But fear not, the city isn't all so pricey. If you have the time to wander the tight grid of roads that sprawls out of the historic center and grimey harbour, you'll be able to find a shop selling anything you could ever think of. Trust me. I've come across all manner of niche stores, ranging from vintage American car parts to a shop selling customised bowls to be gifted for special occasions, hand crafted while you wait.

It should be said, however, that Ola-so is not just a shopaholic's personal heaven. The city also has an extensive harbour industry. All along the pebble-strewn coast of the city you can find hundreds of warehouses and a near endless sprawl of docklands. Whilst a necessary pillar of the local economy, I must admit the docklands are very much a noisy, grubby eyesore. I worked for at least 2 years in an office building overlooking the Kanada-so Harbour and let me tell you, for a dock named after Canadians the people who work there are anything but kind and welcoming. The only time I have ever been threatened over being a foreigner was when I was walking from the office to a bus stop after working the late shift. Never again will I even consider braving those barren concrete streets in the dead of night.

Having said all that, what is my final concensus? In short I think Ola-so is an amazing place to visit... for a day. That may sound harsh but there really is nothing here for tourists. On the other hand, I would absolutely recommend living here as opposed to Kaan-daal, even if there are some less than appealing areas of the city. But let's be real, no city is perfect. They're loud and kind of grimey by nature. We can't let some smelly docklands sour the image of what is a vibrant and interesting little city on the far-south coast.