Faizal and Anna

New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T23:24:00.000+08:00

Wow, agak lama jugak yea kami tak bercerita. Maklumlah sejak Faizal ada FB ni, makin asyik dia kat situ. Ok lah, kat sini Anna nak berkongsi sikit cerita tentang menjelang Tahun Baru. Semalam, sebaik saja melangkah keluar dari office, tiba2 rasa sayu, tak pasti kenapa? Adakah sumbangan di office tak cukup atau masa bersama keluarga yang tak cukup sebenarnya? Betul lah seperti kata Steve Job, our time is actually limited. It's just how to pick what's important in our life. Yang mana sepatutnya kita utamakan? Family or career? Whatever we choose, biarlah ianya tidak mengabaikan sesiapa di keliling kita.

Jadinya, sesiapa yang masih single, please...please go out and have an adventure, try, fly , eat , run ,walk, do things that you never done before; because sometimes there's no next time or later. Sometimes it's Now or Never!

Tapi pada yang dah berkahwin(macam kami) life is like a roller coaster, sometimes scary but most of the time it's Fun! Rasa takut pada mula, lepas tu taknak turun pulak...he..he..Anyway, bagi yang ada cahayamata, lagi best because kids are your lifetime adventure!

So guys, for the year of 2012, fasten your seat belts and enjoy another ride! Wooohooooo!

Passion is a Fashion...

2011-11-10T12:45:00.000+08:00

November? Wow!..cepat betul rasanya time flies. Lagi dua bulan kita akan menyambut tahun baru 2012. So, dah tercapai ke "target" anda untuk resolusi 2011? Hehehe… insyaallah, ada rezeki umur panjang mana yang tak sempat tu kita sambung untuk resolusi tahun hadapan pulak ya...

Well, tahun ini sebenarnya kami agak kerap juga traveling. Cuma ia lebih berkaitan kerja and less backpacking. Anna is busy with her job and classes. (expanding her knowledge on baking and membuat kuih tradisional) while Faizal pulak busy with his “It’s Not Junk” stall, flea market, garage sale and “mencari barang” ala-ala American Pickers and Storage Wars.

Btw, Faizal has finally surrendered himself to Facebook and opened an account under his name "Faizal Mahmood". (yeahhh..! ). He also opened an account for his “It’s Not Junk” business on FB pages.. (search: It’s Not Junk) and jangan lupa to click “Like” ya..hehehe!

So, if sesiapa yg ada barang2 seperti cd, kaset, vinyl, buku or other collectibles yg feel like nak buang or malas nak semakkan ruang stor dan rumah..can give him a call or sms, maybe ada benda yang might interest him.

Oh! Speaking of collectibles, Anna just add another Simpsons stuff in her collectibles list. This time is “The Simpsons Homer Cruzer Collections by Santa Cruz Skate”. It is 1 out of 4 design collections by Santa Cruz Skate. Apa yang paling menariknya, belum beberapa hari dalam simpanan dah ada buyer yang offer to buy this Cruzer from her… Sorry, not at this moment ya… Well..macam nilah kalau dah Passion is a Fashion.

Insyaallah, this weekend we'll be going out for a road trip. Where to? Tunggu on our next post ya...hehe!

Only the goods die young...

2011-10-06T22:39:00.009+08:00

Remember that line? At this time and moment, Steve Jobs had it all. He is one of 10 influential people on earth...Besides his brand that will be remembered most...I think he has left us something more precious than that...His inspiring and priceless quote...It makes us think what shall we do with our life from now on...

Read "All about him..." here:

http://allaboutstevejobs.com

Kemana menghilang...?

2011-09-18T23:30:00.000+08:00

Apa khabar semua, we guess the first thing in our readers/followers mind is "Mana pergi agaknya diaorang ni ya, dah lama tak update blog?".. Actually we’re still around cuma been keeping ourselves busy with things. (we'll sum-up the stories later ya…hehehe!). Kalau nak diikutan, boleh saja diupdate citer2 pendek (short notes) melalui facebook. Ntah, but I guess we prefer it to be a bit “old school” suka bercerita melalui tulisan or maybe dah terbiasa tulis karangan masa sekolah kot…hehehe!.

Ok, untuk memulakan cerita, actually my computer has been down since Ramadhan haritu. Bukan taknak repair tapi at the same time, our official car pulak meragam...Dugaan!. So, disebabkan malas untuk memikirkan masalah2 ni, I keep myelf busy with my small business in Amcorp Mall, PJ. Started a few months back, I'm selling new and used books, music (cd, cassette and soon, vinyl’s), movies (which is “old but gold” collections) and other stuffs. Open from 10.00am till 6.00pm every Sunday (insyaAllah, soon on Saturday too..), I operate my stall under my alter ego name “It’s Not Junk”..

So, whoever is looking out for me since my departure from “the glorious” Bazaar@Maeps in Serdang (apa dah jadi dengan tempat ni ya…?), can now come to Amcorp Mall Flea Market in PJ.

B,...cukup pasal kerja. After Anna's trip with her "girlfriends", right before Ramadhan Faizal and I made a short trip to Jakarta. Not for holiday (he..he..boleh percaya ke?) Trust me, this time around more; to find stuff for Faizal's stall and for me, apalagi shopping kain, blouses which has been sold out in 2 days..! Cayalah! Maybe sebabkan nak raya kot...

We took Lion Air this time because it was the cheapest plus 20kg included. We stayed at this new hotel, MaxOne which is located in Sabang, Jalan Agus Salim. Actually not that far from our favourite hotel, Ibis Arcadia. It's very modern and creatively designed. Since I'm a kind of working with creative things, I really appreciate this kind of hotel.

Macam biasalah,semua kedai-kedai CD Faizal masuk..including Gramedia (famous bookstore in Jakarta). We spent 4days3nights just to find stuff and sampaikan makan pun tak ingat lah...This time around we challenged ourselves with street food and suprisingly, We Survived! Cuma pastikan we drink from can or bottled drink.

Now, I have new favourite place;Tanah Abang, tak boleh cerita lebih2, kena pergi baru syok! Bak kata kereta MyVi lah "Lagi Best". Seperkara lagi yang membuatkan Faizal "excited" semasa disana ialah peluang untuk menonton kesinambungan terbaharu filem "Catatan Harian Si Boy". He's been following all 5 part of "Catatan Si Boy" movie installment (starring Ongky Alexander, Didi Petet, Meriam Bellina, Paramitha Rusady & Sophia Latjuba) dari zaman sekolah lagi. Masa tu sewa video tape (VHS)...hehe!. Btw, really love the ending of the new movie...

Alhamdulillah sepanjang Ramadhan kami seisi keluarga semua sihat...cuma di kawasan perumahan kami; kita lebih banyak berbuka puasa di surau...yang mana I think it's good because this is the only time for you to get closer with neighbours and friends. We take our turns to provide food for Iftar. I hope they'll do it again next year...Looking forward...InsyaAllah...

As for Syawal, ...which we are still celebrating (tulah...orang kita...memang juara beraya, nasib baik Syawal tu sebulan kalau 2 bulan, memang pecah perut..Open house tak berhenti) We celebrated Raya kat Rawang then 3rd raya kat Teluk Batik. We had family gathering known as Family Day...I always enjoy having this Family Day, you know why? Because my late mum's family is very big, in order to go to each and every house memang tak cukup sebulan. Jadinya my uncle had this idea to gather all of us during Syawal we meet, we eat, we play, we bagi duit raya...all there! Selain menjimatkan masa, kos dan lain-lain, we can meet all our relatives in one go...Memang best!

Last week, we had Open House at our place; memang ramai and I am very thankful that friends, neighbours and family members came and spent their precious time with us! Especially my 2 aunts from UK. Thank you very much indeed, Aunty Maton and Chik Ain!

As I am writing this today, I would like to wish all Malaysians including us, Happy Belated Merdeka and Happy Malaysia Day!

Girls, Just Wanna Fun!

2011-07-25T22:55:00.000+08:00

Hello...Hello...

Pejam celik pejam celik, tak lama lagi dah nak masuk bulan puasa lepas tu bulan raya lepas tu tahun baru. Hmm...apa la agaknya kita semua dah buat sepanjang separuh tahun ni? Tak kisah lah apa pun...Janji sesiapa yang kaki jalan teruskan, yang kaki makan...teruskan...tapi pandai-pandai lah control..kan?

Anyway, masa Faizal sibuk membanting tulang masa Garage Sale kat Shah Alam tu, saya dan rakan-rakan perempuan saya bersuka-ria di Ho Chi Minh City..He..he..Sorry Sayang, this time you kena tinggal! Bukan apa, saje jer nak "bershopping sakan" dengan kawan2. Walaupun trip tak lama, tapi shopping bagai nak rak lah...sampai beberapa minit nak ke Airport pun sempat lah tempah baju kat sana...

Kami ke sana pagi Sabtu dengan AirAsia(masa ni tiket AirAsia dan MAS sama harga, boleh?). Sampai jer di sana, kami naik teksi yang hanya USD8 untuk lima orang. Ok kan? Perjalanan dari airport ke hotel memakan masa lebih kurang 45minit. Punya lah macet bak kata orang Indonesia...dengan kepadatan penduduk seramai 15juta yang hanya di HCMC ni sahaja. Boleh bayangkan? Bagi sesiapa yang dah biasa ke sini, tak de hal lah!

Hotel Boss 2 (USD33per night incl. bfast) yang kami menginap tu tak jauh dari pasar Ben Thanh yang tersangatlah popular di kalangan orang Melayu kita ni...Dari kain ela, baju kurung yang dah siap, telekung, handbag semuanya ada kat sini...Hmm..tempat ni boleh jadi saingan sengit Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman...Harga? Tak boleh cerita lebih-lebih, takut pulak kacau periuk nasi orang berniaga...He..he..memang murah. Berbaloi-baloi!

Malam tu sempat jugak kami ke Hard Rock Cafe, macam biasa Ana kan sibuk dengan membeli pinnya...Tapi tak banyak pulak pilihan...

Keesokkannya selepas morning shopping, kami pun chartered satu teksi ke Chu Chi Tunnel, untuk melawat kawasan peninggalan sejarah perang. Untuk ke situ, kalau tiada pakej macam kami, bolehlah ambik teksi (Vinasun atau Malinh)untuk kesana..lebih kurang USD50-USD60 return untuk teksi 7orang. Perjalanan memakan masa 2jam, pusing2 dalam tu lebih kurang 2jam jugak...so separuh hari boleh habis lah kalau ke sini..Kalau tak datang sini, rugi tau...sebabnya bukan selalu boleh jenguk bawah tanah! He..he..

Sampai je kami ke hotel, sambung balik shopping..memang lupa diri betul diaorang nie...Kat sini untuk mendapatkan makanan halal taklah susah sangat cuma agak pricey sikit...Tempat makan yang kami kunjungi sepanjang di sini, VN Halal, Lion City Restaurant & Kedai Samsuddin(ini agak jauh dari hotel). Kalau ke sini, harus cuba kopi ais Vietnam memang KAWWWWWW! Memandangkan sebelah hotel kami ada spa, sebelum mengakhiri malam kedua kami, sempat jugaklah memanjakan diri...

Esoknya, macam biasa sambung lagi shopping dan mengambil tempahan baju2 kami. Kat sini kalau nak tempah baju sehari dah boleh siap. Kebetulan semasa kami disana, sepupu Ana sempat jugak bawa kami ke Pasar An Dong, kat sini barang makanan kering lagi murah...Tapi di sini lebih untuk "traders"...Rasa-rasa dah boleh bayang tak HCMC ni?

Secara kesimpulannya;kat sini shopping murah, hotel affordable, spa ok ok...Transport pun tak mahal sangat cuma tips: Kalau shopping kena pandai bargain especially kat pasar malam, silap2 70% diskaun pun dapat...Masalah kat sini: Komunikasi, payah betul nak bercakap; tapi kalau nak kemana-mana tunjuk address baru diaorang tau nak bawa kita kemana...

Rasanya kena pergi lagi ni, next time bawak Faizal dan more to sightseeing like we used to...

Sorry gambar tak banyak; tak bawak kamera sebab nak fokus shopping la kata kan...he..he..Gambar-gambar courtesy of my friends. Thank you, Girls!

Ada apa di Anggerik Mall, Shah Alam?

2011-07-01T02:51:00.007+08:00

Nampaknya demam Garage Sale ini masih belum lagi reda. Selepas konsep ini berjaya dalam penganjurannya di Presint 16, Putrajaya, kali ini wabaknya telah menular ke Anggerik Mall Shah Alam pula.

Mungkin ramai yang tertanya mengapa dibuat di Anggerik Mall? Ramai yang menganggap tempat ini seperti sudah mati malah kedudukannya yang terletak hanya dibelakang SACC Mall ini seperti disisihkan oleh pengunjung untuk ke sana.

Hal ini mungkin akan berubah pada 2hb dan 3hb Julai 2011 ini. Mulai dari jam 10.00 pagi hingga 4.00 ptg selama dua hari, para penggemar barangan lama, collectibles, 2nd hand stuff dan pre-owned dijemput untuk memeriahkan “Garage Sale” yg pertama kali dibuat secara terbuka di Shah Alam ini. Datang dan alamilah sendiri pengalaman ini..

Pada sesiapa yang mengunjungi Pesta Buku Selangor di SACC Mall hujung minggu ini, andai ada kelapangan bolehlah singgah sebentar ke Anggerik Mall kerana lokasinya sangat berdekatan. (10minit berjalan kaki sahaja…).

Tidak lupa juga buat anak-anak muda yang ingin ke “Pekan Frinjan” di Laman Budaya Shah Alam pada 2hb Julai ini, apakata anda “hangout” dulu di Anggerik Mall sebelum event itu bermula pada pukul 5 petang.

Akhir kata, Happy hunting and see you guys there!

Saat 'Bodoh' ku di Jakarta...

2011-06-10T16:11:00.002+08:00

Salam semua,

Alhamdulillah, Garage Sale last week dah selamat dengan meriahnya! Terima kasih daun keladi...kepada semua peniaga dan juga pengunjung Garage Sale pada kali ini...Kalau boleh datang lah lagi. A week before the Garage Sale I was in Jakarta for 4days. Not to shop or backpack(as usual) but to Work! That's unusual for me, but it was unbelieveable experience and a great time for me and my team.

We were there to shoot some of Indonesian actors and actresses. Don't get so excited yet! Among them were Ungu, Nirina Zubir, Baim Wong, Dude Harlino, Kirana and two my favourite upcoming actors, Oki Setiana Dewi and Kholidi Asadil Alam. I'm sure not all of us really know them, but to be there and work with them it was really a big break for me!

Walaupun Malaysia pernah digemparkan dengan serangan kumpulan Bendera yang tak berapa "suka" kita but it was totally opposite when we were there. The warm and kind hospitality has changed the whole perception. Okay lah...not to membebel banyak sangat...I posted some of the photos taken while I was there. Enjoy!

Let's go to Putrajaya Garage Sale this Sunday...!

2011-05-24T11:33:00.000+08:00

Hi semua, if you guys still remember on our last post we did mention about "something Big and Different coming to Putrajaya on 29/5/2011. Akhirnya, hari yang dinanti-nantikan telah tiba. (macam announcement nak raya la pulak...hehe!)

Atas sambutan yang begitu menggalakkan pada penganjuran pertamanya, maka pada hari Ahad ini bersamaan 29 Mei 2011, Persatuan Penduduk “Superlink” Presint 16, Putrajaya dengan kerjasama Perbadanan Putrajaya akan mengadakan buat kali ke 2 - Garage Sale di Ruang Legar Kompleks Pusat Kejiranan Presint 16 (berdekatan Alamanda dan di belakang Petronas Presint 16) dari jam 8.30pagi hingga 5.00petang. (Faizal is involved in this project, tu sebab blog sekarang ni jarang2 update. Sorry guys!)

Biarpun pada hari yang sama akan diadakan Perhimpunan Sejuta Belia dan beberapa event lain di Putrajaya, this garage sale is totally different experience in Putrajaya. Why we keep on saying that this event is different? Eventhough Putrajaya has organize a few weekend market here, the things that been offer is more the less the same like any other markets.

Cuba untuk menonjolkan sisi lain aktiviti di Putrajaya, This garage sale offers a “Pasar Karat meets Flea Market” concept, where traders digalakkan menjual their used, pre-owned, 2nd hand stuff, household plus collectibles items like stamps, coke and etc. New stuff is also available but plays minor roles at this event. (Get the idea? Just imagine places like Amcorp Mall, Lorong Kulit Penang, Pasar Ipoh Loken and Stadium Shah Alam).

So,checkout the pictures from previous event (courtesy of Kak Liza from Kedai Ipoh Loken) and see u guys this Sunday (29/5/2011) from 8.30am till 5.00pm di Ruang Legar Kompleks Pusat Kejiranan Presint 16, Putrajaya. Happy hunting guys..!

Fasten your seatbelt; we're going for a ride...

2011-05-04T16:41:00.000+08:00

What a good day to be lazy...(hmm.. rasa cam kucing Garfield jer), tambahan pulak extra cuti sempena "Hari Pekerja" jatuh pada hari Isnin. Bertambahlah seronok.. What both of us did on this long weekend? Hmm...attending birthday party, doa selamat, kemas rumah, punggah barang, baking cakes, watching (...dalam Botol) on Astro First (mendalam cerita ni..!) and strumming my guitar yang dah naik berhabuk tu.

Well, it’s been 2 weeks from our last post on Brunei and that is how fast time flies nowadays. (Sungguh kami tak perasan sampai lupa nak update blog). The long awaited post that has been postponed for quite sometime, (our trip to Universal Studio Singapore) has finally been drafted. Guess this post will give you rough ideas for your next school holiday family outing trip.

Actually, we went to Universal Studio Singapore last Mac during school holidays. Together with our cousin Syakirah, we went for 4 days 3 nights trip and stayed at New Changi Hotel in Changi Road. The hotel is very convienence and easy access to the main road and public transportion like MRT, taxi and bus. Yang paling menarik sekali ia berdekatan dengan the famous Geylang Serai food court. Jadi pasal bab nak cari makan ni tak jadi hal la... (Anna sampai sekarang tak boleh lupa rasa putu piring kat Mr. Teh Tarik Eating House tu... thumbs up!).

Universal Studio Singapore is located at Resorts World Sentosa in Sentosa Island. This movie based themed park opens from 10.00am till 7.00pm everyday and the ticket price is 66SGD for adult. Prices maybe different on peak sessions (e.g.school holidays) and can be bought from their ticketing booth or official website. (To avoid disappointment and crushed our cousin's dream, we booked our tickets online).

We came as early as 9.30am and already lots of people were queing to get into the park. Eagerly faces can been seen everywhere especially from the kids. Actually, Faizal and Syakirah pun tak sabar jugak sebab nak kejar naik rides. (They managed to cover all the rides from The Mummy, Jurassic Park and both Battlestar Galactica Red and Blue ride). Seriously, Universal Studio never fail to dazzled their vistors with "bringing silver screen to life" experience. Suasana di kota New York dan Hollywood diterjemahkan dalam bentuk seiras mungkin. Watak-watak seperti Charlie Chaplin, Batman, Kungfu Panda yang sentiasa berlegar-legar menbuatkan sentiasa adanya barisan panjang untuk mengambil gambar bersama mereka.

Eventhou Singapore's Universal Studio is not as big as their other franchise, it manages to give you an introduction on what this themed park is all about that made them so famous. So, to summarize up our experience, we leave you guys with some of the photos taken during our visit. Enjoy...!

Antara tarikan lain di Sentosa Island adalah Hard Rock Cafe Sentosa, Hard Rock Hotel Singapore, Butterfly Park, Pantai Siloso, Cable Car dan macam-macam lagi. Boleh dikatakan tempat ini sesuai dikunjungi oleh pelbagai peringkat umur tak kira tua ataupun muda. So guys, go and book your holiday now cause Malaysian Airline (MAS) is having a ticket offer starting 3rd May..

*Something BIG and Exciting is coming to Putrajaya this 29th May 2011... Tunggu ya!

It's Family Time in Brunei

2011-04-14T02:08:00.000+08:00

Salam semua, thought of blogging on Singapore, but then most of us dah tau banyak pasal Singapore. So, since we just came back from Brunei last week, masih fresh lagi kenangan tu, so lets get started.

Kali ini percutian kami agak berbeza, bezanya main reason we went to Brunei because of kenduri kahwin. Dengan band member yang seramai tujuh orang kami berlepas ke Bandar Seri Begawan pada pukul 6.50pagi. Kesian pulak tengok anak-anak buah kena bangun seawal 3pagi. Tapi syukur depa tak kisah langsung...Cayalah!

Sampai je di BSB kami disambut oleh tuanrumah, Hj. Yaakub, kami dibawanya terus ke hotel, Times Hotel yang konsepnya lebih kurang macam Times Square kat KL. Atas hotel bawah shopping mall. Tapi di Brunei hotel-hotelnya agak pricey jugak lah...Tapi kami sangat bertuah, segala penginapan, makan minum kami serta "entertainment" kami semuanya di bereskan oleh Hj. Yaakub sekeluarga...Terima kasih banyak-banyak, semoga Allah murahkan rezeki buat Hj sekeluarga...Hotel yang kami menginap tu semalam lebih kurang BD148 (RM300)semalam, including breakfast.

Sementara menunggu majlis kenduri pada malam hari, kami dibawa bersiar-siar sekitar bandar BSB. Bak kata Hj. Yaakub, separuh hari jer dah boleh cover the whole city...Tak besar tapi agak different from our city centre. Dibandingkan kekayaan negara Brunei dan negara kita, patutnya Brunei lebih banyak pembangunan, tapi tak... Bangunannya tidak boleh dibina lebih tinggi dari kubah masjid. Ditambah pulak masjid utamanya, kubah2nya diperbuat dari emas tulen 24karat. Seumur hidup tak payah lap kubah tu agaknya..he..he..

Di Brunei ni, masjid2nya sangat banyak dan besar, yang paling popular ialah Masjid Jame' Asri Hassanal Bolkiah. Sempat jugak menunaikan solat disini. Lain-lain tarikan di sini adalah Perkampungan Air, Seria (Oil Town), Jerudong Park dan Istana Nurul Iman. Sempat juga kami ke Empire Hotel, hotel 6bintang yang dikunjungi oleh ramai orang terkenal seperti Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Tina Turner, NSync dan ramai lagi lah...Dulu bukan sembarangan orang boleh masuk hotel ni, sebabnya kerabat diraja Brunei selalu lepak kat sini, tapi sekarang dah open to public tapi still dikunjungi oleh kerabat raja Brunei. Sempat terserempak dengan one of them driving Ferrari...boleh?!

Lagi satu yang menariknya di sini budaya perkahwinan orang Melayu Brunei. Contohnya, kami datang untuk meraikan perkahwinan sebelah lelaki; tetapi pengantin perempuan dan lelaki tidak disatukan dahulu. Maknanya sebelah lelaki dan perempuan mengadakan majlis kenduri sebelah masing-masing dahulu tanpa pasangan. Kemudian selepas sebelah lelaki selesai kenduri maka barulah rombongan pengantin lelaki bertemu sebelah perempuan pada malam yang sama...Nasib baik yang kami pergi ni, antara perempuan dan lelaki tak jauh kalau tak...pukul 2pagi kut baru habis...he..he..

Lagi satu cara duduk di majlis kenduri. Meja makan di tengah-tengah kemudian kerusi di keliling meja dan masing-masing makan tanpa menggunakan meja makan. Meja makan hanya untuk lauk pauk. Jenuh jugak nak makan ayam tuh...

Seronok jugak sekali sekala bercuti dengan menghadiri kenduri kahwin nih. Sekurang-kurangnya dapat jugak mengenali budaya dan adat tempat orang. Keeseokan harinya, hari kedua kami di Brunei, on the way to Seria, we stopped at this restaurant that has this traditional dish, Ambuyat. Kalau tengok je rupa memang rasa susah nak makan tapi bila dah di "demo" boleh lah telan tapi kalau tanya how does it taste? Memang clueless...

Perjalanan ke Kuala Belait iaitu daerah Brunei yang paling hujung itu memakan masa lebih kurang 1jam. Memang kiri kanan di bandar Seria penuh dengan "noding donkey" that what they called. Alat yang mengorek minyak yang tak pernah habis2 tu...Di sini ada sebuah monumen yang dipanggil One Billionth Barrel Monument, bayangkan that One Billionth tu dicapai pada Julai 1991. Kalau dikira hampir 20tahun, ntah berapa billion agaknya sekarang...

Terdapat 4 daerah di Brunei, Muara, Tutong, Kuala Belait dan Temburong yang menempatkan 400,000 rakyat Brunei. Sikit jer...Agaknya kalau kita di Cheras jer dah cover kut... Balik dari Seria kami berehat sebentar di kedai kopi yang paling terkenal di BSB, tapi lupa lak namanya...ala-ala kopitiam kat Malaysia tapi more variety for bread and buns. Terkenal jugak dengan mee koloknya...

Lepas tu kami ke Perkampungan Air untuk boat cruise. Kat sini kalau nak naik kena bargain dulu, biasanya BD5 per person untuk lebih kurang 1/2 jam cruise. Dalam perkampungan air ni macam-macam ada, sekolah, balai polis, bomba, restoran, masjid dan macam2 lah, tapi populasinya dah makin berkurangan. Seronok jugak dapat lihat dari dekat macamana orang duduk di sini.

Selepas makan malam di Jerudong Park Food Court (makan2 di Brunei boleh tahan sedapnya!) kami masuk ke Taman Permainan Jerudong Park, ala-ala Genting tapi smaller scale. Nak masuk dan tengok je, lepak2 tak payah bayar kalau nak naik ride baru bayar, price starts from SB8.Dulu masa baru dibuka ianya percuma tapi lama mana boleh tahan...Nothing is free in this world...actually.

Hampir pukul 12tengah malam kami di sana, anak-anak buah pun dah lembik, kitaorang pun balik ke hotel terus. Esoknya bangun lambat, packed our things, shopping sikit kat mall kat bawah, after lunch kat Gadong kami ke airport. Walaupun sekejap tapi informasi pasal Brunei memang banyak yang kami baru tahu, maklumlah orang yang bawa kami jalan2 tu orang tempatan Brunei. Macam-macam cerita la keluar dari orang biasa ke kerabat diraja, semuanya diceritakan...Pasal Azrinaz pun ada..he..he..tak boleh cerita kat blog nanti sensasi jadinya.

Kalau sesiapa nak berkunjung ke Brunei, eloklah duduk di kawasan city centre sebabnya public transport is not popular here...eventhough they have buses and taxis. Cubalah ke sini, lain tapi tak kurang menariknya...

Happy Belated 9th Anniversary to us.

2011-03-31T14:28:00.000+08:00

Diam tak diam dah masuk 9 tahun usia perkahwinan kami. Cepat rasanya masa berlalu. To celebrate this occasion, we had simple “Dominos Pizza” dinner as Anna had to make cupcakes for order. Apalagi, lepas dinner jer, terus both of us turun padang. Basically Faizal done the basic washing, preparing stuff and food testing. Anna selalu takut nak rasa cake dia sendiri, so Faizal la yang jadi tukang rasa…hehe!

Looking back all these years, pelbagai ujian dan dugaan yang telah kami hadapi dan lalui sepanjang usia perkahwinan ini. Alhamdulillah, biarpun masih belum rezeki kami untuk mendapat “baby” tetapi tidak sedikit pun ianya meluakkan rasa kasih dan sayang buat kami berdua. Sesungguhnya kami bersyukur kehadrat Ilahi atas rasa cinta ini. Not forgetting, a very BIG thank you to our families, friends and our four beloved nieces and nephews, Fateeheh, Razeeman, Sayfullah and Zarrah for the support and unconditional love that you guys pour into our life. Love you all...

Leaving the Soul of Asia...

2011-03-23T00:38:00.000+08:00

Firstly, we would like to send our condolence and sympathy to the Japanese Tsunami victims for what happened on 11th March 2011. Hope this situation will strengthen the courage and love among people in this world.

Memang lama betul kitaorang tak bercerita, cerita tentang Seoul ni pun belum habis lagi. Ok last part of our Seoul story. Nope! The journey not ended yet. Just moving out to the different hostel (not hotel ya…). Before we checked out from our luxurious hotel to our hostel, me and Faizal sempat jalan2 sekitar hotel dan visit this one famous spot, Seolleung Park Royal Tombs which is 15 minute walk from the hotel. This place is a burial ground of King Seongjong and his second wife, Queen Jeonghyeon Wanghu. His second son, King JeongJong also been buried here.

King Seongjong adalah raja yang ke sembilan dalam era pemerintahan Dinasti Joseon. Menurut sejarah, beliaulah yang mencipta huruf Hangul yang digunapakai oleh orang Korea sehingga sekarang. Dia juga seorang raja yang sangat bertimbang rasa dan baik kerana dia memastikan banduan di dalam penjara mendapat makanan dan perlindungan ynag secukupnya terutama di musim sejuk. Dia juga memerintahkan pekerja-pekerja wanita istana mengambil cuti bersalin selama 90hari. Beliau merupakan salah seorang raja yang sangat disenangi semasa pemerintahannya.

Lebih kurang pukul 1.00ptg, kami berangkat ke hostel "mewah" kami iaitu Bangrang Hostel yang terletak di Chungjeongno. Memang best! biarpun biliknya yang agak kecil (RM150 per room per night), yang pentingnya toilet ada dalam bilik. Letak je beg, apalagi terus gerak menuju ke War Memorial & Museum (Samgakji Station). Yang paling bestnya hostel ni terletak beberapa tapak je dari Chungjeongno Station.

Banyak yang kami pelajari dalam lawatan ke War Memorial ni. Peperangan di antara Korea Selatan dan Korea Utara juga dikenali sebagai Forgotten War atau Korean War. Jika anda ke sini, pasti takkan terlepas dari terpandang sebuah statue yang dinamakan Statue of Two Brothers. Yang mana Faizal cakap, kalau tengok dari salah angle "jadi lain macam la pulak"..Adaka patut? Ianya berkisar tentang dua beradik yang terpaksa berpisah semasa perang (seorang ke Korea Utara dan seorang ke Korea Selatan) dan terperangkap didalam konflik yang memaksa mereka berperang sesama sendiri. (Teringat lagu "War" by Edwin Starr - antara bait liriknya "War! What is it good for. Absolutely Nothing!). Kami sempat juga membeli DVD yang berdasarkan dari kisah peristiwa dua beradik ni, Taekgugi arahan Kang Je-gyu.

Memang leka betul melawat tempat ni, selain daripada deretan kapal dan jet pejuang, kereta kebal, kapal laut dan peluru berpandu juga dipamerkan. Sempat jugak lah kami buat pelbagai aksi-aksi perang versi kami...He..he.. While on our way out from the War Memorial, we passed by The Peace Clock Tower monument. It's a very symbolic monument where one clock is stopped at time of the beginning of The Korean War and the other clock is counting the time North and South Korea has been separated. On the ground, is another clock that safe kept inside the glass box which bring hope if one day both North and South reunited, this clock will be replaced the clock during the Korean War. Kat sini juga ada beberapa kedai cenderamata untuk pengunjung. Selain harganya yang agak ok pilihannya pun agak banyak jugak. Apalagi tak lepas peluang la...

After we had our dinner at Mr. Pizza, we continued our jalan-jalan malam at Cheonggyecheon Stream. Ahh!!, Such a good place to feel romantic after a long day traveling. Seriously we're amazed on how they restore this long stream into an urban recreation space with such relaxing and beautiful scenery, especially at night. No wonder you can see a lot of young couples here (terus ter"imagine" scene drama Korea..hehe!)..

Next morning, we headed to Han River, sungai yang memisahkan bandar Seoul kepada dua bahagian. Sememangnya Faizal begitu teruja untuk kesini. Sebabnya, bagi sesiapa yang pernah menonton filem, The Host arahan Bong Joon-Ho (not Twilight:The Host ya!), kat sini lah penggambarannya dijalankan. Memang kalau tengok dari dekat, mak aii! Memang luas tak hengat sungai ni...Seram pun ada, takut-takut la jambatan runtuh ke, raksaksa ke... He..he..Kat sini kalau ada banyak masa bolehlah naik cruise ataupun berbasikal sepanjang sungai ni.

Lepas tu kami ke Namdemun Market, bak kata orang Malaysia: I'm in heaven...apa taknye Wholesaler semua ada kat sini especially untuk aksesori wanita. Brooch yang banyak terjual kat Malaysia semuanya ada kat sini. Tapi kena careful jugak; kalau kita as tourist harga lain, kalau trader harga lain..hmmm...hampeh! Tapi nasib baik cantik2 beli la jugak walau taklah murah sangat...

Ada lagi tempat yang kita orang window shopping ialah kat Myeongdong, Honggik University dan Itaewon. Actually kalau nak shopping kat Seoul ni memang best, sebab setiap tempat ada keistimewaan masing2. Especially kat Itaewon yang memang dah ramai Malaysian kat situ, salah satu sebabnya Malaysian Embassy kat sini, ada masjid, tempat makan yang halal banyak dan kalau nak shopping souvenir pun murah.

Kalau ke Seoul ni, tak sah kalau tak visit their traditional houses, called Hanok Village. Rumah-rumah tradisional ini terletak di kawasan yang berumur lebih 600 tahun yang kebanyakkannya dah diubahsuai dan dijadikan kediaman mewah. Actually rumah-rumah ini kediaman keluarga diraja dan pegawai tertinggi pada zaman Joseon. Kini, mereka mengekalkan rupa luar yang asal tapi dalam dah dimodenkan. Terdapat beberapa kawasan untuk dilawati, antara yang sempat kami lawati ialah Bukchon Hanok Village. Memang cantik kawasannya, agak2 Kampung Baru boleh jadi macam ni tak?

Ada satu lagi satu hobi pelik kitaorang ni iaitu suka melawat bekas penjara. Penjara yang kami lawati ni berbeza sikit, Seodaemun Prison sebabnya penjara ni lebih untuk aktivis semasa jajahan Jepun dulu. Baru kitaorang tahu yang Jepun menjajah Korea lagi lama dari kita lebih kurang 35tahun...Peh! Giler tuh! Pada tahun 1995, tempat ni dibangunkan untuk menjadi tapak sejarah untuk dikunjungi. Seram sejuk juga masuk beberapa bilik yang menempatkan banduan yang diseksa. Memang kejam betul orang Jepun ni... Adakah ini dikatakan karma? Kalau you guys ke sini, cuba-cuba lah datang ke sini, admission fee: 1500won seorang. Basically, prison is not for everyone.

There is a lot of palace in Seoul and Changdeokgung Palace is one of the "Five Grand Palaces" that were built during the era of Joeseon Dynasty. The palace was heavily damaged during the Japanese occupation and took many years to rebuilt it. This is due to the restoration process that tried to maintain it's original structure and design. In 1997, the palace was added to the Unesco World Heritage Site for it's outstanding example of Far Eastern palace architecture and garden design.

Eventhough we had such a wonderful time there, ada satu tempat yang Ana really wanted to go tapi tak dapat, DMZ tour where you get a chance to see North Korea from south. Nampak gayanya kena pergi lagi la ni...Hmmm bila la agaknya...memandangkan keadaan dunia yang tak menentu. Sepanjang hampir 10hari kami disini, kesimpulannya Seoul adalah sebuah bandar yang menarik untuk di"explore" dan bukan hanya sekadar "Winter Sonata". Sememangnya Seoul adalah Soul of Asia. Untuk budget this time, you guys have to figure it out yourself. He..he..bukan apa 70% company dah tanggung. Thank you, boss!

Thank you for staying with us all this while. We'll update on our last weekend's short trip to Universal Studios Singapore! Stay tuned...

And the Seoul searching continues...

2011-02-22T12:54:00.000+08:00

Annyeong haseyo,

Hope you guys satisfied with the first part of our Seoul story and thank you so much for your support. After more than 2 years sharing our backpacking experiences, we mark our 100th followers yesterday and sememangnya ia sesuatu yang tak sangka. Now we continue with our second part of the journey in Seoul... Apalagi, Cerciter..cerciter.. (petikan dialog dari filem “Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah).

If Malaysia is famous for its late night dinners/suppers and uptown/downtown market, I guess Seoul is not much different from us. Late night shopping is another attraction in Seoul. After Anna finished her Reception Dinner around 9pm, we decided to head down to Dongdaemun Market. Took a subway at Samseong Station straight to Dongdaemun Station, this market is very much alive regardless of the cold weather outside (-15c). Maybe the power of shopping kot yang buatkan diaorang ni semua kebal sejuk…hehehe!. Sememangnya anda akan rambang mata melihat seleksi barangan yang dijual disini. Migliore Mall and Am-Pm Mall are among the shopping malls that we managed to browse into. Everything from clothing, shoes, bag, fabrics, accessories, local designers brand is selling here (retail and wholesale) and be divided by floor sections. Even if some shops have their price tag, give your bargain skill a test. Who knows you might get a cheaper price. (Me myself doing the bargain, macam ayam dengan itik..hehe!). Dongdaemun Market open as early as 8.00am and close around 6.00am everyday. For those who shop till late, taxi charges are double after midnight. So, I guess it’s better to shop till you drop than paying the taxi charges ya…hehe!.

8.00 am, Friday morning and like any other days, the sun was shinning bright through our hotel window. But not today and that’s a bit weird. When the curtain is widely open, both of us scream excitedly. “Ya Allah.. Salji turun…!” Call me “Jakun” but seriously, in my 37 years of life this is my first time to see and touch a real snow. After breakfast and before Anna’s conference started, we took lots of photo with the snow and make some snowball (macam dalam cerita orang putih tu). Oh ya! You got to have proper shoes when you walk on a melting snow. It’s slippery and can be dangerous if you're not careful. Best to wear rubber shoes like sneakers and boots.

After the snow stopped, I continued my journey to Itaewon were expatriates, foreigners and embassies are largely reside here. The presence of US Army personnel can regularly be seen in Itaewon as The US Military base is located nearby. (mula2 tu risau juga, almaklumlah masa tu tengah kecoh pasal North and South Korea…hehe!). Suasana disini juga agak berbeza jika dibandingkan dengan beberapa kawasan lain yang saya lawati di Seoul. Here you can easily find lots of international restaurant and cuisine serving Middle East, India, Thailand and Chinese food. Pendek kata, halal food is not an issue here. There are also English bookshop, entertainment places like bar/club/café, market and a mosque; I guessed that makes Itaewon very popular among tourist. (Terselisih juga dengan beberapa grup pelancong Malaysia, tapi diaorang buat macam “tak perasan” jer).

For those who love collecting Hard Rock Café stuff, you’ll be disappointed as the remaining building is no longer serving as the popular café but instead turn into a clothing shop. Damn..! (Anna was so frustrated..).

Since it was Friday, I took a chance Friday prayers in Seoul Central Masjid, the first masjid to open in Korea. Established in 1976, it comprises the Islamic Center, which offers an Islamic based education and also halal butchers shops, groceries, restaurants and a bookshop that can be found around this area. After a simple lamb kebab lunch, my journey was cut short as snow started to fall again.

Back at the hotel and while waiting for Anna to finish her conference, I watched an interesting Korean thriller movie titled “The Housemaid”. (sound fishy ya.!). Directed by Im Sang Soo, the movie is a remake of 1960 classic Korean movie with the same title. It’s about a struggling woman who takes a job as a housemaid for the wealthy upper class family and later fall into the trap of destructible love triangle.

“Malam ni kita makan kat mana?..” That was always the question every time we decided to eat. Last kali, we end up eating at the same place, Coex Mall food court..he!he!. So, before we're leaving our luxurious hotel on Sunday, we decided to have our special dinner together at Buchesta. Everything on the menu looks tempting, tapi macam biasalah kena cari yang veggie and fish based.

Saturday morning and before Anna wrapped up her last day of conference, I headed to Hongdae. Still using Seoul Subway that I find very convenient, I stopped at Hongik University the leading Art & Design University in Korea. It’s a different ambiance here with lots of artsy young people & students around, boutique, craft market, club, bar, wall graffiti and music. Talk about music, there is two music shops that I find interesting. Purple Record (mix, rock & indie) & Record Forum (jazz scene). For you information, Hongdae is also famous for it’s indie music scene. Go check it out guys!..

Later in the afternoon, I met Anna at Gyeongbokgung Palace. Built in 1395 during the era of Joseon Dynasty by KingTaejo, the palace is the grandest among the Five Grand Palaces. In 1592, the palace was nearly destroyed during the Japanese invasions. Not until 1865, when Daewongun, the father of King Gojong started to rebuild it again. Many obstacles happened during the process and when Korea was under Japan colonial rule, most of the palace was torn down and destroyed. Now the first phase project to restore the palaces that begin in 1990 has finally finished. Another attractions in Gyeongbokgung Palace are the National Palace Museum and the National Folk Musuem.

On the way back to hotel, we stopped at Itaweon to have our Middle East dinner. Sejuk-sejuk ni cepat betul lapar…yum!yum!. (Agak2 bila la Malaysian nak buka halal restoren kat tempat-tempat macam ni?). Lepas makan, cepat-cepat balik ke Coex because Anna had to attend one more show before the whole conference ended.

Last but not least, experiencing snow for the first time was totally a dream came true for both of us...
We’ll continue the last part of our Seoul story on the next post.. Stay tune ya!
Gamsa hamnida.

Search your Seoul..!

2011-02-06T22:26:00.002+08:00

Hi all,

Hope it's not too late to wish all our friends and readers "Happy Chinese New Year", may The Rabbit rules this year! It's about time to tell our story on Seoul, Korea.

Maybe it was a coincidence? That’s the first thing I told Anna when she got a chance to attend a conference in Seoul, Korea. Arwah Mak once told us that she's planning to go there this year (2011) because of his nephew got transfered to Seoul. Tapi sesungguhnya "Kita hanya mampu merancang, Allah yang menentukan segala-galanya". It's a mixed feelling actually, when we're preparing ourselves for this journey. Apa-apapun, this time we're bringing "mak's" dream together with us.

This is our first working trip, and traveling with the entire itinerary been prepared seems a bit odd for us. Rasa macam manja la sikit sebab tickets and accommodation tak payah susah2 cari...hehe!. Kalau ada pun cuma hostel booking for our extended nights sahaja. (Oh yeah, I did a surprise to Ana as I quietly bought the ticket to keep her company..).

It’s a 7 hours flight from KLIA to Incheon International Airport and since we took a night flight, apalagi lepas makan tidur la… Alhamdulillah, everything was smooth and when we landed, the airport really amazed us. It’s huge and spacious while the interior design looks very modern and hi-tech. Not easy to get lost as there are direction and signages in English plus interpreters to assist you. (Incheon Intl Airport is a runner-up for Best Airport in 2010 for Sleeping In Airport website).

We took a shuttle bus just outside the airport terminal that provides the hotel drop off service. Purchase your ticket (W15000) from the counter before you take the busride and stand at the right queue to where your destination is. It took about an hour from the airport to our hotel in Gangnam. For 5 nights, we stayed at COEX Inter-Continental Hotel, the luxurious 5 star hotel located right in the middle of the top entertainment and shopping attraction and also business district like Coex Mall, Convention Centre, The Lucky Seven casino and World Trade Centre. (Shopping!… Opps! kerja..kerja..kerja…)

What we like about this hotel is the connecting underground mall that connects places like Coex Mall, Coex Aquarium, Kim Chi Field Musuem, Samseong Subway Station and the Convention Centre (a 10min walk for Anna to attend the conferences), Just remember from which entrance you use and everything we’ll be fine.

Makanan halal agak susah untuk didapati disini (most of the menu in Korean..), so we had lots of vegetarian base food like pizza, bread, Kimchi fried rice and soup. (Kimchi is a traditional fermented Korean dish, made of vegetables such as cabbage, radish, green onion, cucumber or anchovies with a mix of garlic and red chili seasonings). One of the interesting place to eat in Coex Mall is Kraze Burger. Berintikan tofu yang dibentuk seperti daging burger, rasanya agak pelik tapi menarik. (Love the packaging though). Apa-apa pun, Maggi Hot Cup and biscuit are always on standby kalau2 lapar..hehe! What we discovered here, Korean like their food “pedas” and no wonder they love to come to Malaysia and our food…

This time, Faizal did most of the wandering around because Anna’s conferences normally finished late. “Not fair!” kan, but Anna told me “the show must go on”. Lagipun takkan nak duduk kat bilik jer. Boring jugak..

Transportation is not a problem in Seoul. You can choose to take bus, taxi or subway, whichever way you feel comfortable. As long as you don’t hop on the tourist group bus dahlah..hehe!. For me, I prefer to take a subway. It’s an easy way to move around the city plus the service is good, efficient and safe even if you travel late night. It won’t take long for you to understand the connecting lines compared to Japan. For smooth and hassle free trip especially during the rush hours, I bought a T-Money Card that cost W3000. The card give you a W100 discount on every trip too and useable for buses and taxies.

The weather was cold (-11c). Even though outside the sun is shining bright, it’s not an excuse for not wearing the winter jackets. Sejuk beb!... My first day venture is to City Hall, downtown Seoul. Since Christmas was on the way, some workers were busy preparing the big ice-skating ring and a gigantic Christmas tree in the Seoul Square area. (Seoul Square is the oval shape grass field square that holds many activities and events). Just across the road is Deoksugung palace, one of few palaces that you can visit in Seoul. Actually, some of the places you can go by walking, what you have to do is bring a good map with you. Since, this is my first time going solo travelling, I took a very slow and steady approach. But after Ana finished her first day's conference, we went to Namdaemun Market but it was third quarter closed. The market is open from 4.30am till 7.00pm. Tapi kitaorang sempat jugaklah beli souvenir kat sini. (Orang Malaysia pun ramai disini). Tempat ni memang sesuai kalau nak beli souvenir atau barang2 wholesale. Disebabkan sejuk, perut memang cepat lapar, so went to this kebab place somewhere there, called Sunshine Kebabs. Not bad sedap! Atau memang tak hengat lapar...He..he.. Makan quite expensive here tapi makan untuk hidup apa salahnya kan?

The next day after felt more confident reading the map, i made my move earlier. My first stop was Olympic Stadium which is part of Jamsil Sport Complex. Just a walk away from the hotel, the stadium has been used for 1988 Olympic Seoul and venue for concerts such as Metallica, Michael Jackson and their phenomenal K-Pop Stars. (Lebih kurang macam Stadium Bukit Jalil la...). Biarpun sejuk, it's a very nice weather to walk and paling menarik after puas membelek map to find this place, rupa-rupanya tempat tu betul2 depan hotel. Damn!!.. Surrounded by Seoul high rises building and fast development (Tu sebab tak perasan..), Bongenusa is among one of the Buddhist temple that play a major role in Seoul. Other attractions here is the 23 meter Buddha statue and Temple Stay experience that offer you a chance to live a monk life.

Since the temple just across Coex Mall, i had my lunch at Coex Mall Food Court, Kimchi Fried Rice + fried egg (boleh tahan sedap!). Lepas alas perut, I went to Seoul Folk Flea Market, "my unexpected discovery" in Seoul. Unlike Namdaemun and Dongdaemun Market, Seoul Folk Flea Market is seriously an Amazing place where you can find anything from junk, collectibles and anything that you can think of, all under one "BIG" roof. Sememangnya tempat yang kitaorang suka cari everytime we travel. Located inside the 2-story warehouse building, hundred of shops were divided into sections like antiques, clothes and food court. Open from 10.00am till 7.00pm everyday except on every 2nd and 4th Tuesday.

Malam tu, Ana had to attend Reception Dinner at Ramada Seoul Hotel. So, to kill my time, I just strolling down the Coex underground mall again with the K-POP sound ringing my ear... (still terngiang-ngiang lagu Girls' Generation - Hoot). To tell you the truth, even though we stayed there for 6 days, I don't think we had been to all the shops, it is damn Gigantic!

*Stay tuned as our story in Seoul will be continue on the next post!... If you guys happened to buy yesterday KOSMO! newspaper (5 Feb 2011), their travel section (Horizon-Percutianku) menampilkan cerita pengalaman kami semasa di Iceland (written by Anna). And to those who missed it, boleh pinjam dari kawan or jiran sebelah or read it online by click this link. Selamat membaca.

On this Sunday Morning...

2011-01-27T13:59:00.000+08:00

Apa khabar to all our readers and followers. Pasti ada yang menantikan posting kami about Seoul or maybe ada yang tertanya-tanya, betul ke diaorang ni pergi Seoul? Takde update pun…hehe!. Memang, lately ni kami agak sepi dari meng”update” blog ini. Both of us kinda like sorting things out… Faizal is getting back with his flea market (collecting and selling 2nd hand stuff & collectibles) and freelancing things while Anna in the middle of struggling with her work in the office. InsyaAllah, we'll be updating the Seoul story soon...

By the way, if you guys tend to be in Putrajaya this Sunday morning (30/1/2011), please dropby at our first "BIG Garage Sale" in Pusat Kejiranan Presint 16. This event is organize by Persatuan Penduduk “Superlink” Presint 16 dengan kerjasama Perbadanan Putrajaya and start from 8.30am till 1.00pm. Finally, our idea and dream to bring something different in Putrajaya has been reckoned. Thank you people & dont forget to come this Sunday…! See you there...!

All You Need Is Love...

2010-12-31T17:21:00.010+08:00

Happy Holiday everyone in Malaysia...What a perfect ending for all of us, Malaysians! We won the AFF Cup plus an extra gift, Today is the Public Holiday! Pejam celik - pejam celik dah nak masuk tahun 2011. So far, what have all of us done, achieved, travelled, learned and not done yet? As for us, The Year of 2010 has been the most meaningful and shocking year...of all time.

We started our 2010 with traveled to Jakarta and ended up with Seoul. In between two places we have been to Singapore, that was the last with arwah mak. Then we went to Hong Kong and Macau, but in between that we had the most shocking lost, my mom. She was my inspiration to travel far and see the world. She always remind me not to be afraid to take new challenge and live life to the fullest! Eventhough she's not well educated but for me, she had a vision that sometimes PhD holder couldn't think of. She and my dad have given me and my brother a life that full of challenges and obstacles. Maybe some of you might think, kenapa perlu hidup susah? That's the beauty of it...Bila kita biasa susah kena boleh hidup dua zaman, tapi kalau kita biasa senang, bila susah kita menggelabah... Mak selalu pesan buat baik dengan orang, selalu bersedekah tak kira sikit atau banyak...Jangan prejudis, jangan sibuk hal orang...Dan kalau kita buat tu semua, hidup kita sebenarnya tak akan luak walau sikit pun...Malah kita akan dapat balasan di kemudian hari nanti...

It's been 6 months my life without arwah mak, but every single day of my life now, i go thru with her courage and determination. Recently we've been to UK and Iceland, as you can read on our earlier post, but this time we spent half of our time with family and friends around UK.

Just before Liverpool and Iceland, we actually spent time with our families and friends in London, Luton and Derby. In London, I'm sure most of you guys have heard and know about London, mana lagi tempat kegemaran orang Malaysia kalau bukan London? Kebetulan masa kitaorang kat sana, they had this special exhibition about Jimi Hendrix, marking the 40th anniversary of his death. The exhibition was held for 2 weeks in this old building called Handel House Museum, where Jimi Hendrix used to stay when he was in London. The most expensive exhibit was his Gibson Flying V guitar (worth milions in pound) but we couldn't show it because camera was not allowed. But there's one thing I just knew about him is he can draw, I mean he sketch and scribble at the same time. Whenever he writes song he will sketch or scribble, I scribble too but not draw especially bila dah tak de idea..he..he..

If you asked us, what is the most beautiful place to visit in central London? I guess it must be Hyde Park. Being one of world largest urban park in the world, Hyde Park is the relaxation and recreation park for Londoners. Fill with activites like Speaker's Corner, cycling, jogging, football and etc, it's a never dull moment here. Even if you're just sitting or looking at their beautiful landscape and lake.

In London, you don't have to worry about food because halal food is everywhere, especially in Edgware Road going to Marble Arch, Bayswater (Taza Kebab is my favorite, just next to Queensway Tube Station). Kalau dah mengidam makanan Malaysia, apalagi Malaysia Hall la di Queensborough Terrace, ataupun di Corus Hotel, Hyde Park (kuetiaw goreng diaorang sedap!) Ada lagi kalau ke London during weekend, head to Portobello Road, there are two cafes(halal) that owned by Malaysian. One is Makan cafe and The Grain Shop, where Notting Hill movie was shot here on this street. From the Travel BookShop, the market and the house, all here on this area! So go and have a look!. As usual, music will be Faizal center of attraction wherever he goes. Rough Trade Records is one of the "not to be missed" spot for music lovers. This famous independent record label started in 1978 and known as a label who signed The Smiths. If you're looking for music instrument such as guitar, saxaphone and etc.., Denmark Street is a place worth to look at.

One thing for sure, London is the shoppers paradise where all the brands from low to high class you can find here, especially in Oxford Street, Picadilly Circus and the latest is Westfield in Shepherd Bush. (Woodlane's tube station). Besides that, there are so many attractions in London that you can explore. If you hop on the Sightseeing bus, we can even explore more. We've been on that bus before..(I think 6 years ago, so we didn't bother to go again).

But 6 years ago, this is the one place that we missed out. It's Hard Rock Cafe at Old Park Lane. (Camna boleh lupa kan...) As usual, Anna was at the pin section while Faizal was browsing thru the shop memorabilia. One thing special in HRC London is "The Vault", the rock museum fill with rare collection of rock n roll memorabilia. Both of us tak lepas peluang checking it out and sempat berposing ala2 "rockers kangkang"... Biarpun kena 10 pound (official pic) but the experience -"priceless"..

Our next stop was Luton, this area is not meant for tourist but people come here for its airport which links to all over places in Europe. Tapi yang bestnya small town like this, the price more cheaper and less hassle compared to London. At the same time we celebrated one of my aunties' birthday in Milton Keynes. I was so happy because all my aunties, uncles and cousins were there!

After Luton, we headed to Derby towards north so it was getting colder, but the view was getting nicer. While we were in Derby, we had a chance to go to Bakewell,Derbyshire history place for pudding(?) Pada tahun 1820 (lebih kurang la...), ada si orang kaya ni yang menyuruh tukang masaknya buat jem tat, tapi dah tersalah buat tapi jadi sedap dan popular since then. Tapi kalau tengok rupa memang kureng tapi rasa memang tak hengat sedap!

Kat sini jugaklah Ana boleh tertinggal handbag dia, bayangkan duit, passport, tiket semua ada dalam beg. Dalam punya panik yang memang ultimate tu, there was an angel who found and kept it for her. I was so thankful and speechless at the same time...I thought the world is running out of good people..I was wrong...After almost 3 hours I've got back my handbag without a penny lost! Tak nak cerita lebih, traumatize lagi...

Kat Derby ni pun ada Westfield jugak but smaller than London tapi cukuplah nak koyakkan poket! Kat sini yang bestnya all over England, they have many secondhand shops cum Charity shop like Oxfam, British Heart Foundation, Salvation Army dan macam2 lagi la...Kitaorang memang suka masuk kedai2 macam tu. Oh ya!, if you guys are English Premier League fanatics, Derby also famous for their football team, known as Derby County FC. Their home ground is at Pride Park Stadium and currently their club captain is Robbie Savage (ex-Blackburn Rovers).

Walaupun separuh daripada 18 hari kami kali ni dipenuhi dengan melawat ahli keluarga kami tapi keseronokkannya tetap sama bak kata pepatah..."Air Dicincang Takkan Putus" Dengan siapa lagi tempat bermanja kalau bukan dengan mereka, Betul tak?

Oklah, untuk keseluruhan bajet kami selama 18 hari di sana, RM8000 seorang. Tapi ini semua all in termasuk shopping sekali! (tapi this time half of accomodation free! He..he..itu yang shopping lebih sikit tu!) For those who has plan to go, Plan Early and Book Early!

So... as for us, this year alone to be able to travel to 7 countries was an amazing gift and experince!. We have travelled,learned,lost,cried,laughed and gained back our life, in this 2010! A Year that will be remembered forever!

Don't be afraid to have a Dream and Live Life to the Fullest! Happy New Year Everyone!

The Ballad of Faizal & Anna in Liverpool.

2010-12-20T22:24:00.006+08:00

Hi all,

Apa khabar semua? As we promised before, kalau tak ada aral, we'll be posting the story from Seoul. So, here you go...Before Iceland, we went for 3 days 2 nights trip to Liverpool from Derby. You can easily get cheap train or coach to Liverpool. One of the websites that we used is thetrainline.com But the trick is you have to check the prices daily because it changes every day.

On that day itself, we almost missed our train because of sibuk sangat borak with my auntie sampai terlupa time train berlepas. It took us almost 2 hours to get to Liverpool Lime Street plus 1 stop at Crewe. In Liverpool, you can choose to stop at Lime Street Station or Liverpool Central, but I think Lime Street is more convience because it is centrally located.

From Lime Street to our hotel, Premier Inn, Albert Dock (best hotel ni!) its 10mins by taxi (5pound) or half an hour by foot. Don't get us wrong, we chose to stay in the hotel because the price of the hotel almost the same as hostel. Why not? Backpacking is not all about hostel, it's all about cheap and convience! Right? It was 60pound per night, but for non peak season it can drop to 30pound a night! The night we stayed, there was a match between Liverpool & Napoli, luckily Liverpool won with Gerard kicking hattrick! But we only watched it in our hotel room because we couldn't get the ticket. Actually it wasn't in our plan, anyway!

Tapi the best part was, the hotel is very well located just next to The Beatles Story Exhibition and underneath our hotel room is the Fab 4 merchandise store! Giler, beb shopping merchandise! Tapi harga memang tak dapat diungkapkan mahal tapi dah sampai apalagi pejam mata sebelah la... Sebelah petang around 2.30pm after check-in, we joined The Magical Mystery Tour (14pound), you can't imagine how excited Faizal is because in Liverpool it's all about him! The Beatles and Liverpool Football Club (he's a fan of both ya..). Unfortunately, during the tour it was rainning and drizzling but who cares! Redah jugak!

Eventhough I'm not a big fan of The Beatles but I could feel and see why they were being admired by the whole world. The tour started with their childhood homes, schools, hangout places and journey to fame! Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields were among the songs title that we visited. Similiar to Elvis Presley, The Beatles created their own phenomenon, The Beatlemania. The tour takes around 3hours depend on the traffic. Eventhough the tour couldn't tell you the whole story but it makes you feel and imagine how would they strived and created madness that spread to whole world! Amazing!

The tour ended at Mathew Street, where the famous Cavern Club is located. I'm sure you have heard about this club before. Lots of famous act have played here like The Rolling Stones, The Yardbird, Artic Monkeys, Oasis and even our Malaysian band Search for their 2010 UK Tour. Memang teruja especially when you have to walk all the way down the step to officially enter the club stage area. (Btw, oppsite this club is their sister company called Cavern Pub). After 53years in business with lots of up and down, Cavern Club still survived and remain as one of the "must visit" club in UK. Thanks to The Beatles, i guessed? Why? because the fans always remember it as the place where all the magic begin and be inspired, especially when Brian Epstein (their manager) first saw The Beatles performing here. The rest is history...

From Mathew Street we walked futher up to Liverpool One, the largest shopping area in the heart of Liverpool City Centre. This newly developed state of the art building consists a total of 160 shops that includes everything from shopping, entertaiment, food to the bus station and a park. (Apalagi we all jadi rambang mata la kejap!). Sedar tak sedar, it's almost game time. Both Napoli & Liverpool fans started to rush to the stadium. Like we mentioned it earlier, we only catch the game in our hotel room but before that we managed to grab our dinner at McDonalds (Filet O Fish la...). Suddenly Faizal said "Wow! rasa macam mimpi.. I'm watching a Liverpool game in Liverpool."

The next morning, while waiting for the Beatles Story Exibition to open, we walked around the Albert Dock's area. This “brick” building was built in 1846 and has been used as warehouse, a dock and a base (during 2nd world war) for ships and boats. After its been re-developed, by keeping the structural and architecture of the original building, Albert Dock is now one of Liverpool tourist attractions. With its stunning view as a background, Albert Dock has other attractions like Tate Liverpool, International Slavery Museum, The Pumphouse, Echo Wheel and Hotels. Now we understand the feeling of Otis Redding song "Sittin on the Dock of the Bay".

Admission fee for The Beatles Story Exhibition is 14pound per person but it covers two exhibitions, 1). at Albert Dock and 2). Pier Head. Both offers different kind of exhibition. We spent more than 2 hours inside and Faizal was really excited and satisfied with the exhibits. Kebetulan, this year is John Lennon 70th Birthday (if he's still alive) so there is a lot of special tribute and event to remember him. I won't tell you much but you can see some of the exhibits inside.

After check out we went to our next hostel (not hotel..!) at Mount Pleasant, not far from Lime Street Station and also well located. Its more to students area and easy to get Halal Food. There are two restaurant/cafes nearby our hostel, where became our saviour plus Tesco also close to our hostel, Hatters.

Since it was Friday night, the room cost 57pound almost the same as the hotel. (See?) but they have breakfast! We took a bus from Liverpool One station to Anfield Stadium. Here in Liverpool advisable to buy a day pass (3.10pound) if you are travelling a lot, otherwise one way will cost you 1.80pound.

Eventhough it was raining, Faizal and I tak kisah redah jer. Dapat jugaklah Faizal penuhi impian dia nak pergi Anfield Stadium. Tapi actually kat sini kalau tak ada game rasanya macam ghost town je, dekat dengan housing area, tak perasan pun dah sampai. Sama dengan Everton@Godisson Park. Walaupun Liverpool dah tak berapa tinggi raking dalam EPL tapi orang tak putus-putus datang melawat dan shopping merchandise, padahal tak murah pun cuma yang confirmnya "Original". He..he..Tapi kalau datang during autumn/winter cepat sangat gelapnya, baru nak happy2 dah gelap padahal baru pukul 5.00petang. Tu yang kureng sikit tu. Macam biasa, lepas balik dari stadium kitaorang ronda2 lagi kat Liverpool One area, memang best la tempat ni! Sempat jugak pergi satu lagi exhibition The Beatles kat Pier Head.

Kalau you all nak tau, hari last kitaorang kat Liverpool baru lah cuaca best! Dari pagi sampai kitaorang nak naik train balik ke London cuaca memang superb! Apalagi pagi2 dah ronda, dapat jugak tengok historical buildings and my favourite place is St. George Garden. Mula2 ingatkan garden, rupa-rupa memorial park padahal posing dah tak hengat! Tapi tak rasa seram pun agaknya dah lebih 100 tahun dah diaorang pergi. Disebabkan tak tau bila nak datang lagi, kitaorang pergi sekali lagi kat The Cavern Club, kali ni cantik sikit nak ambil gambar!

Lebih kurang pukul 2.30petang, kitaorang ambil bag kat hostel tu and headed to Lime Street Atation waiting for our 4.30pm train to London. Perjalanan yang non-stop lebih kurang 2 jam tu membuat kitaorang teringat-ingat jer pengalaman kat Liverpool tu. Rasanya kalau ada rezeki, boleh datang lagi tu, kali ni Faizal akan pastikan dia dapat tengok game Liverpool. Kalau ikutkan budget di Liverpool ni, tak berapa mahal dan taklah berapa murah tapi bolehla...

Train to London : 38pound (one-way) per 2 person

Hotel : 2night 117pound (ini yang mahal sikit ni)

Makan + bus + admission fee + tour: 3 hari (120pound)

Total : Lebih kurang 275pound untuk dua orang (Itupun tiket train from Derby to Liverpool, ada orang sponsor..he..he..Thank You, Chik Ain & Uncle Glenn)

Rasanya kalau pergi time tak ada musim bola akan lebih murah kot, tapi Life is too short! Kalau berkira sangat2 tak jalan pulak rasanya... Anyway tepuk dada tanya selera!

Harap Maaf, Siaran Tergendala Sebentar..!

2010-12-17T19:14:00.000+08:00

Hai semua,

Mesti tertanya-tanya, kenapa pulak ni. Actually we are in Seoul, right now. To tell you the truth, before we came here we're about to post our latest story. Tapi we're in a rush to pack our things, so we haven't got a chance to post it! Sorry guys for the delay and we'll try to do it from here, if we can...

By the way, It's snowing and -11 in Seoul!

Hversu mikið kostar það? - How much does it cost?

2010-12-01T23:56:00.000+08:00

Hi all,

So macamana our story on Iceland? Anybody interested to go? If there is, let us share some tips and our budget for this unbelieveable trip. There are 2 main airlines that we know fly to Iceland: 1). Icelandair (their national carrier) operates from London Heathrow, Glasgow and Manchester. 2). Iceland Express (their budget airline) flies from London Stansted. Do check their promotions from time to time. If you wanna try different experience, opt for July, where there's going to be 24hr daylight (pukul brape pulak nak tidur ni?)

As for us, fly to London with Qatar Airways costs : RM2700 per person

From London to Reykjavik : 350 pound = RM1750 (includes flight, 4 days 3 nights accomodation at 4 Star Hotel, trust us this is the cheapest deal we could get!, Golden Circle Tour, 24hr Welcome Card & Airport Transfer both ways) Not bad, kan?!

If you counted, it's going to be RM4450 per person if you want to go straight to Iceland, but hey once you're in London there are so many other places or countries you can go. So take the opportunity to go to other countries in Europe too!

Tips: Bring your own food! Find a hotel/hostels in the middle of the city, so can save on transportation. Or any hotels that have free shuttle.

Since our story is not finish yet, so I couldn't tell you now how much this whole 18days trip had cost us!

Stay tuned for more! Takk fyrir

Ég tala ekki íslensku - I don't speak Icelandic

2010-11-27T01:22:00.000+08:00

Hello all,

if you have read from our last post before we went off backpacking, we left you with a clip by Sigur Ros which was the clue for one of our destinations. Any guesses and ideas?

Yes! The song has been used in many promos, soundtracks and movie trailers. But when Anna’s friend, Hafiz showed her the DVD of the band home coming concert, “Heima”- everything changed!. The music never felt so beautiful and it’s breathtaking panoramic view really makes us feel like falling in love again for a very first time. Thank you Hafiz. It’s official, music really inspires us to travel…

Oh ya…! “Heima” means “At Home” and the whole concert were recorded at Sigur Ros birth place, that is Iceland. And that’s where we were heading…

This time around, start with the last one which was the main spot, Iceland. Can't wait to show you guys the photos that we've captured. We flew to Reykjavik on our 11th day in UK. The journey by Icelandair took us about 3 hours to get there, Keflavik, Iceland's international airport. The immigration was smooth, no questions asked! Malaysians, we don't need visa! Wooohoo! Since we have already booked everything from home, we just hop-on the shuttle bus to our hotel. Reykjavik Excursions is the top travel agency in Reykjavik, they have almost everything that you're looking for. We arrived at the hotel, Loftleider around 6.00pm in the evening. Nothing much we could do except adjusting ourselves with cold weather(-3C)

That night, we had dinner at the hotel's restaurant. Gosh! It was expensive but perut dah lapar sangat, mahal pun mahal lah! For 1 main course, 1 salad & 1 Coffee (sounds like sorang je makan, actually share tu...) about 5200kr = 30pound = rm150 utk proper meal per person. Tapi normal la for hotel kan?!

After a good night rest, the next day we woke up very early BUT found out 9.00am was like 6.30am in Malaysia. Gelap lagi tu...But by 8.30am, tour bus already picked us up for Golden Circle Tour. What I Like about the tour, it's like reading a history book. The tour guide, Inga has explained quite a lot about what we should know about Iceland. Eventhough Iceland is as big as England, but the population is only 313,000. About 70% staying around Reykjavik, the rest scatter around Iceland also known as island. Sometimes the population can be up to 500,000 due to incoming tourists.

Our Golden Circle Tour (Southwestern Iceland) consists of 3 main stops. First stop was, Pingvellir National Park. The valley is covered in overgrown lavafield, Pingvallahraun. The most important part of this place is the world's great geological boundaries, where North American dan Eurasian continental plates are physically tearing apart. It's like being in the two continents at the same time. This place is also used to be a place for General Assembly or in Icelandic Alping. In 1789, Alping has been replaced by national court and parliament at Reykjavik. Since the population is so small, half of the population turned up to hear declaration of independence from Denmark and formation of the Icelandic Republic on June 17, 1944. It also known as the youngest country in the world because the land was found 1100 years ago compared to other mainlands which were more than 5000 years ago.

Eventhough we only spent about an hour at this place but the cold was unbearable. I think it was -1 or more, the worst part was the wind. But hey, not everyday you're going to be here, right? The view was amazing and breathtaking; I don't think I can forget this picture for rest of my life. One thing that I just discovered, Islanders believe in elves. They even built houses for them and understandable not to disturb those houses. Besides that, they also have many summer homes to be rented and those houses have thermal jacuzzi or tub.

About 45 mins from Pingvellir, our next stop was Gullfoss, Golden Falls hardly fail to impress. Because of the wind was so strong, we didn't go down near the waterfall because we weren't prepared. It was so slippery till one of our fellow travellers almost tergelincir, kalau jatuh tuh tak jumpa dah...Lebih kurang 7km ke bawah...

Nak ambik gambar pun terketar-ketar la...tapi best!!! Kat sini sempat jugak pekena hot chocolate, punya lah yummmmyyy! Buat alas perut. Lepas tu we stop at the Geysir, the famous attraction for Iceland. This area has been active for thousands of years, but the positions have shifted due to earthquake. But why it erupts?, still subject to speculation. Bayangkan bawah bumi suhunya 125C, bila keluar 80-100C tapi tempat kitaorang pijak tu ada ais! No wonder they call Iceland, the Land of Fire and Ice. The active one at that time is nearby Strokkur, normally it erupts every few minutes. Kalau tak ada angin, lagi tinggi pancutannya.

Kat sini, we break for lunch. Tak puas rasanya, keliling surrounded by snow capped mountains. Padahal setengah tu masih aktif. On the way back, we stopped at Skaholt. As early as 1056AD, this cathedral was the largest settlement in Iceland. After the earthquake in late 18th century, the bishop subsequently shifted to Reykjavik. It was restored and reconsecrated in 1963. Ehh, kitaorang pulak bertukar jadi history book..he..he..

Lepas tu, ada satu lagi waterfall yang kitaorang singgah, tapi terlupa pulak namanya...dah lah susah nak sebut mengeja lagi la...Atas permintaan ramai, our fellow travellers nak singgah tengok Icelandic horses, memang jinak...Baru turun je dari bas kuda2 tu dah datang ke arah kami. Anna memang penakut sikit, kuda nak dekat dia pulak elak...Ada ka patut?!

On the way back around 4.30pm, the bus driver took us on different route, so we could see the famous mount Hekla and the recent eruption, Eyjafjallajokull (peh! Harap2 betul ejaannya). Actually they thought Hekla will erupt, ended up the other one!(malas nak eja)

Sepanjang perjalanan balik on the Ring Road, the only highway that we could see, we were fascinated by the view and wondering when could we see a place like this ever again. We arrived at the hotel around 6.00pm and went out again to get dinner. Couldn't afford to have dinner at the hotel again. The best part is our hotel has shuttle service to town every hour, so we really make used of it.

Around 8,30pm, another bus picked us up at the hotel for Northern Light Tour or also known as Aurora Borealis. It took around an hour to see the light, but the places to see this must be very dark, otherwise it will not appear. Unfortunately, we couldn't see anything, waited around an hour in the more than -5C weather. Even chances are very low but it's still a must see tour. If you couldn't see for the fisrt time you can repeat the next day without any charges. Cool!

The next day, our town strolling excursion. After late night tour last night (around 2am, baru tidur) we decided to go slower pace. Started off with the cheapest breakfast we could get, 780kr = 5pound. What I Like about the town is they are very quite and relaxing. It's like nothing to rush for. If any of you guys wanna come here, Laugavegur is the street you have to come and experience. Along this street, you'll see their own label for clothing, cafe, supermarkets, merchandise shop and also many tourist information counters. One of their sources of income is tourism so the city iself is so tourist friendly regardless of the language. Most of Islanders can understand and speak English.

There is a lake called, Tjornin where early in the morning it turns to ice so you can walk on it, but gradually melted during afternoon. Towards the northern end of Tjornin is where Reykjavik City Hall or Radhusid located. At a glance, it looks like the City Hall is floating on Tjornin. Here also a meeting place and you can feed the birds if you want to. We couldn't go to all the museums except for The Settlement. Don't miss to get close to Hallgrimskirkja church, where the only church that we know has a viewing platform. We didn't get it in and we're sure it's a great spot for photo taking.

One thing that we observed, there are a lot of sculptures around the city. The one that I like is Solfar (Sun Voyager) macam Viking ship. If you want to save a few kronur, you can purchase 24hr, 48hr or 72hr welcome card that entitles for museums, buses, thermal pools around city and some other things. But the problem is you won't take buses that often because in the city itself everywhere is walking distance.

For music lovers, Icelandic music scene is something to talk about. It's becoming the country musical export since Bjork and Sigur Ros getting an internationally recognition. Lots of event and festival have been held here, being the Iceland Airwaves Festival as one of the premier annually events since 1999. Kedai-kedai music disini juga begitu banyak mempromosikan keunikan music mereka. Antaranya ialah 12 Tonar which is a small record shop and at the same time a record label for Icelandic indie band. Love the ambiance of this shop, it's very relaxing and you can have a pick of album to listen before you buy them. Not forgetting, they even offer you a special brewed espresso to keep you company. Sempat jugaklah Faizal shopping beberapa "title".

For our lunch and dinner, we had one huge pizza that cost us, 2800kr = 16pound. So next time, bring your own food, biscuits or maggi or whatever you can think of. The reason why we didn't bring because of not sure the custom's regulations! Lagi satu yang agak mahal tapi worth it ialah merchandise macam magnets, keychains, sebabnya kalau tak beli susah nak kirim kat orang untuk beli. Bukan selalu orang datang sini, kan?

On our last day, sempat tengok Videy Island dari jauh, kat situ ada Imagine Peace Tower by Yoko Ono for John Lennon. We were very lucky because the light from the island is specially relight for the memory of John Lennon from 9th Oct till his dying day 8th Dec. Tempat ni malam je boleh pergi (giler sejuk!) atau during weekends. Tapi paling Faizal teruja dapat singgah kat KaffiBarrin, a part owned bar & cafe by Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz. Disebabkan our flight back to London at 4.30pm, after check out terus tunggu Fly Bus ke airport. Dalam perjalanan ke airport pun tak lepas mata memandang, pemandangan yang rasanya sampai bila-bila pun takkan lupa!

Rasanya kalau ada orang ajak ni, mau nak pergi lagi ni. Next time can go different part of Iceland, especially, Northwest Iceland, Akureyri. The most amazing about Iceland is not only about volcanoes, glaciers, waterfalls, music, language but their Prime Minister's name is on the phone book! How cool is that?! Hello, Mrs. Prime Minister! Johanna Sigurdardottir, means Johanna is the daughter to Sigurdar. Bless! Takk fyrir!

Flying without Wings

2010-10-27T15:50:00.000+08:00

Hello,

As i promised before, I'll reveal our trip on this post. Yeap, tomorrow... me, Faizal and my dad will be flying to London. For the next 18days we'll be going to various places including Derby, Luton, Liverpool and ...( this one is a very special place which soon I'll give you guys a clue).

This time around, we chose Qatar Airways because of its cheap flight and to try different airline. Eventhough we are excited to go but deep down in our hearts we're still missing one person who're always be there to see us pack our bags.

For my dad, this is his first time packing without my mom, I know it's quite tough for him but seeing him fighting is even tougher. Life goes on for all of us here and I'm very grateful to have a very understanding husband whom is always be my shoulder to cry on. For you, B... I am madly deeply in love with you! And again Happy 37th Birthday! And also Happy Birthday to my lovely niece & nephew, Nur Zarrah and Sayfullah who're celebrating together with their Pak Cak.

*Here's the clue for our special destination.

*As usual I'll post the budget details when we come back. Trying to update our trip on facebook as well...

P.Pinang - Jalan Ampas - Kuala Lumpur

2010-10-22T11:07:00.000+08:00

Hi all,

Wow! Such a long time not to update the blog. Not to find another excuses, I would like to share our thoughts before our big trip. (Trip?Where?) Let's hold that thought.

After I watched ending credit of Gran Torino, last acting role for Clint Eastwood. Suddenly came across my mind, how P. Ramlee wanted so much to become director & producer at the same time. Unfortunately it was just a dream for him. Don't we miss a very talented & gifted human being passed away with his big dreams, do we?

It is true, life is too short for everyone, knowing that we had a chance to visit his house in Penang recently. This time we did it differently, we stayed at Tabung Haji Bayan Lepas. Not bad for those who're travel by plane because Penang Airport just 2km away from here. We attended a wedding in the same building the next day so on the day we arrived, we took a ride by bus to town.

To tell the truth, to travel domestic is actually very adventerous. But anyway, we survived to get to town after almost 2hours ride from the hotel. (Plus bad traffic & long route) Penang never fails to impress us with the food. We had lunch at the Chowrasta Market (our favourite spot for makan), I had tauhu goreng & cucur udang plus cendol from "Air Dinding"(is what my dad calls that place). Air Dinding has been there for more than 50 years, and now is run by the third(maybe) generation.The best part is the TASTE is still the same.

Don't you ever take taxi in Penang unless you have to. It's ridicilious and cekik darah! That is our Biggest problem in Malaysia. We never had any ...any....any...solutions for that. I wonder how? why? Since we're in a rush, we had to take taxi from Penang Road to Jalan P.Ramlee just to get in time for Rumah P.Ramlee. Tak sampai 5 minit, tempat tu dah nak tutup. Yelah kitaorang pun sampai dah lambat. Sempat lah..posing ambil gambar.

So far, dari Studio Jalan Ampas, Singapore ke Rumah P.Ramlee in KL and Rumah Kelahiran P.Ramlee in Penang, we feel P.Ramlee will always be remembered forever. Just wondering why can we have "him" totally. We still have to depend on Shaw Brothers for his "right". Don't forget to catch "Exclusive" interview with P.Ramlee on History Channel, 31 Oct 9.00pm. You won't regret it!

Looking at Clint Eastwood, do you think P.Ramlee will be like him if he's still alive? Like people say, "Only the goods die young" Stay with us again as we will reveal our destinations for our next trip which just around the corner.

Bye for now!

Mensyukuri Syawal...

2010-09-23T00:51:00.003+08:00

Pejam celik pejam celik tau-tau dah masuk 14 Syawal kita berhari raya. Ketiadaan mak sedikit sebanyak membuatkan sambutan hari raya tahun ini agak berbeza buat kami. Segala persiapan dari mengemas dan menghias rumah serta penyediaan kuah kacang, ketupat palas, lontong, rendang, kini digalas oleh kami sepenuhnya. Tiada lagi seorang insan yg dipanggil mak untuk memberi komen. We miss you so much mak… Al-Fatihah.

Tahun ini juga kami menyambut hari raya di kampung halaman arwah mak iaitu di Kg Pulau Pisang, Malim Nawar, Perak. Disini kami mengadakan majlis sambutan hari raya dan tahlil bersama seluruh ahli keluarga arwah mak. Kami rasa begitu seronok dan teruja kerana sudah agak lama, keluarga besar ini tidak berkumpul seperti ini. Lagipun Faizal kata dah lama dia tak beraya dalam suasana kampung sebegini. Bestnya…!!!

Oh ya, remember on our last post pasal Faizal punya van jadi star. The day has finally come as the telemovie is shown on Astro this raya. You guys can see the van in action on "Odisi MJ Raya Lagi"… actually kitaorang pun tak tengok lagi, tengah tunggu Astro rerun. Hehehe...

What's on our next plan? Yep! after 3 month arwah mak passed away, we've been busy adapting our new routine, gainning back our strengh and confidence. It's not as easy as it may seen but InsyaAllah, we'll be back again one step at a time. (*Currently sketching the list...)

*Last but not least...Selamat Hari Raya to all our family, friends and most importantly our blog readers/followers and Flickr contacts.

By the way... Happy "Belated" Birthday to my lovely wife Anna. Muahhh...!!!