Unusual Jaunt - Pieces of Our Minds (2024)

Indonesia has always been an easy and a cheap refuge for me whenever I feel cramped living in a small city like KL. Indonesia offers an array of exciting alternatives to city life. Jogjakarta provides a chaotic artistry, but yet serene atmosphere. Hiding in the shadows of Gunung Merapi, which erupted just recently and almost got me stranded amongst the many Malaysians and other tourists wrapped in white soot, I look at it as the soul of the Javanese culture. In contrast, Bandung has been made known for its cheap branded items, mainly from export over-runs, where people from neighboring countries come to visit and exploit the almost-free labor that the low-income-earning Indonesians have to offer to the world. In contrast, Jakarta’s busy and buzzing metropolitan is a reflection of the wide gap between the rich and the poor, the haves and have-nots. Its metaphoric representation of the distinct diversity of classes in the Indonesian society is a dismay while seeing those who can afford are shopping in the confines of the palatial Plaza Senayan while those who can’t are on, literally, the other side of the road stretching whatever little penny they have left on what they call comfort food. Nevertheless, Jakarta is worth a try, but definitely not my cup of tea.

However, there is one place that is a splendor on its own; the crowning glory of the Indonesian archipelago – Bali. Even though it is way overrated, Bali is not an acquired taste. Everyone who has been there would definitely nod their heads instantaneously when I say that Bali is one place I would always love to go back to. It’s not the beaches that I am referring to; there are definitely much better beaches in other parts of Indonesia and Philippines. It’s not the temples as there are so many of them that they all seem to look alike. But there is something in there that definitely pulls you back – the people, and the environment they have created over time.

The Balinese possesses you with such a connection that you cannot say ‘No!’ and they can touch you from within that only you can feel. It engraves memories deep into your heart that nowhere else can compare. There’s always a feeling of magic in every strike of their stiff fingers whenever they dance in the tune of non-lyrical, yet harmonious concert of their traditional songs. (…)

Times Square

Some people ask me, “Azrin, which state do you recommend me to go if I were to visit the US”. Among the states I have been to like California, Florida, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire; I still recommend New York City. Why New York City? New York City is probably one of the liveliest cities I’ve been to next to Barcelona, Spain. Nightlife over in New York City is pretty crazy. During my trip there, having dinner at 9pm was a norm. Walking along the streets of Times Square at 12am was normal. Visiting the Apple Store at 2am? Even normal. Going for drink at the pub at 4am? You can say that the Americans are only getting started!

Planking

You can say that I pretty much did most or maybe all of the things I mention above. There was one night in New York City where I could not sleep due to anxiety (too much hot dogs and beer). So I was on my bed and wondered of the things I can do other than lying down on my bed and stare at the television. Ideas soon struck my mind. One by one and by the time I realize, I had put my shoes on, and I was already on the streets. Bought a hot dog and a drink and off I walk to Times Square. For those of you who were wondering, Times Square was about 5 blocks walk from my hotel and I was only in boxers and a shirt. I spend my night staring at billboards, colorful neon lights and talking to people from various walks of life about New York City.

Ground Zero

In the morning there are tons of things to do. If it is a weekend, you can sleep it and go for a brunch or if it is a weekday, you could go for breakfast and walk over to central park for some fresh air. Being a foreigner, I decided to live my life as a New York-er for 3 days and all I can say it’s pretty intense with all the walking from one block to the other. No one takes the cab so the other alternative is the subway, which is filled with hobos, smell of urine, graffiti on walls and gum in benches; typical New York City experience.

During the day, if you are up for window-shopping, hitting 5th Avenue would be a great choice as you can see most of the luxury brands stores waiting to assist you. For those adventurous people, going to Rockefeller center for the NBC studio tour, visiting Ground Zero, statue of liberty or if you are up to no good, you can just have a slice of cake with coffee at the nearby café for some people watching.

Central Park

In New York City, time doesn’t wait for you. For 4 days there, I have been chasing time and always hoped that more time was given. I went for a baseball game at the Yankees stadium on a Saturday over at Bronx, north of New York and it was incredible. Sitting on the bench with my brother eating garlic cheese fries and hot dogs with a couple of beer for 6 hours was pretty easy. By the time we knew, it was almost dawn. However sitting in on a lecture for 6 hours in college can be a dread for most of us. I definitely enjoy my life as a 4-day New York-er. New York City is one of those cities that is meant for all types of people.

Penang, my hometown, the best place to be in. No matter what I still prefer Penang over any place in the world. The main reason why I love Penang it’s because of the wide range of Food. From Chinese food to Malay food, Indian food, typical Penang hawker food (the best of all) and many many, many, MANY MORE!!!!! The Penang hawker food is the BEST. I live in the mainland (not the Penang Island). If you don’t know where is it just Google it or Wikipedia. I can literally drive to the Penang Island crossing the famous Penang Bridge just for the hawker food. Here is a picture of the famous Duck Egg Char Koay Teow (stir-fried ricecake strips). Thats my last meal before i came to Subang :(

This is one of my favourite Penang hawker food, And it only cost Rm3.50 per plate. the portion is quite big actually. Comparing to a normal one in SS15 and it cost RM5.00, so expensive :O.

Nightlife :D

Not as nice as Zouk KL, but better than nothing. Situated near the E&O Hotel, Upper Penang Road (or UPR as short form) where the whole stretch of road you see bars and club.

First off- MOIS Dance Club

This is the place for the younger crowd. MOIS Dance Club is touted as the best clubs in Penang.

Now to a club in Batu Ferringhi. Sixty9Nine Mansion Penang is a club situated just by the beach in Batu Ferringhi. There is a pool inside the club ( bikini girls WEEE!). Yup you heard me bikini babes in the POOL! WOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

See that pool? You can swim in the pool while party hard :D ( and maybe get some chicks number). Heheheheheh :D
Overrall, Penang is the best place. I love my hometown more than any place in the world. Nothing beats Penang (maybe for New York :O) Thats all I have to say. Peace Out.

P.S: This is for Vittal…they have Sex on The Beach :D

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http://theurbanrendezvous.blogspot.com/2010/05/24-at-sixty9ine-mansion-and-pizza-hut.html

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My second home ever since January , it's been 7 months and I haven't had a thought of regret , stepping foot in the center since . I withdrew from Taekwon-Do when I was 12 , after practising the art for one and a half years I had to stop . This was due to timing constrains and my Taekwon-Do Master making changes to the weekly schedule .

I was lost , ever since then I kind of lost a part of me . You could say that I wasn't the same person . Somehow rather , I made it through secondary school without getting into any fights . Although , I scraped through two altercations using reasoning rather than my fist or legs (extremely thankful) . Fighting was never my forte' . I was never an individual that sought out fights . More likely I was the guy who avoided fighting at all cost .

In form four however , a few of my friends started going to the Xtreme center .

An easily noticeable sign board

I was lucky my friend & fellow fighter James Robinson (far right in the photo below) discovered Xtreme . Without him , I wouldn't have been apart of an amazing group of fighters & a group that I now proudly call my family

I stepped in the door of Xtreme on the ninth of January 2011 . It was a Saturday & one of those days that I'll never forget . My first time , once again being in a foreign place . Only knowing a few individuals at the center which usually catered to twenty plus people . I was awkward , nervous & scared . Fortunately , this is when my Master , AVS Bathi Allimuthu (far left in the photo above) started to make me feel at comfortable as though I was at home . You see , my Master is the kind of person that makes everyone feel at ease . With his humour & demeanour everyone feels relaxed at the center . We don't judge anyone based on their racial background , religious background nor physical ability . No matter what , their reason is to be there , we accept them for who they are .

Within two months , I earned my yellow belt . With a grading assessment held every three months , applying to those who are interested in a more formal martial arts education. Little did I know that in those very two months our Master was preparing us for a Taekwon-Do competition held at Subang Avenue . Here are the photo albums http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150112681455957.282469.514050956 , http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150113172335957.282641.514050956 , http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150113198215957.282650.514050956 . Enjoy them if you have the time to see them ;)

Those of us who participated at the competition

Since then we've participated in one more TKD competition , held two karaoke sessions , a millon mamak sessions , a handful of movie preview screenings , an overnight trip to Pengerang , Johor for a kickboxing demonstration , celebrated five birthdays , two farewells & even had a drinking session . I know them as my Xtreme family & I love every one of them. So to all my course mates , if you're ever interested in joining the Xtreme family , do let me know ! Anyone is welcomed .

I love travelling..well, the idea of travelling….. and the actual travelling of course. Going to foreign countries, experiencing the different types of cultures and meeting new people. The thought of travelling just fills me with such glee! And travelling are one of the reasons why I choose this course. The opportunity to travel to different parts of the world because of your job. But, I have not yet experience the thrill of going to a foreign country that is outside of Asia. Not to say i'm like a frog under a coconut shell or something. I did travel around Malaysia and outside like Indonesia. I've been to the beautiful beaches of Redang Island, where the sea is as clear as glass, seen the temples and traditions of Bali and visited Kuantan River. But I have yet to experience the seasons, like winter ( in all my life, I have not once felt snow before….or how to ride a bike without training wheels…but that's for another time), or spring. Of course, it mostly depends on the person whether they are willing to go abroad for either education or leisure.

Yes, I’ve been to Redang, but after reading everyone’s entry, mine doesn’t seem so epic. Well, I’ll just write it down anyway. Soo, lets see… It was around a year or 2; my uncle invited me to go with his family for a trip to Redang. Now, I was still getting to know my uncle’s family since he just got married to them and all, so I was kind of reluctant to go, but he insisted I go so I could get to know them. So I thought to myself “Why not?” I packed my bags, books (Darren SHAN!!!) and gameboy (found out I didn’t even need it) and went with my uncle’s family to Redang.

My Bags were packed and I got on my uncle’s car. We went at night so that we could reach to the ferry at Terengganu by morning. The road trip to the ferry was a looong and silent drive, I sat in the back with the youngest member of the family, a boy a year younger than me by the name of Nabil, and just kept to myself, texting my friends and listening to the radio. BUT this part is boring, so I’ll just skip to the end of the trip.

We reached the ferry at 5am, parked the car and make our way to the ferry. It was a 20 minute ride to Redang, so there isn’t much I can say in this part. It was when I reached Redang, my trip began.

The sight was breathtaking! The crystal-like waters, the blue sky, the sand (no adjective necessary), it was just too much to say about it, but all in all, I couldn’t help but feel glad I was there.

We reached the port and got down with the help of the workers there. While my uncle made his way to the counter, I stayed back looking at my surroundings, still could not believe I was there. My uncle called me out and I followed him to the cabin where we would be staying for the next 3 days. The cabin looked homely and inside there 2 beds and a stair that lead to another part of the cabin. We put down our bags and went for breakfast at the buffet where they served us scrambled eggs and toast. After filling our stomachs, we all decided to change to our swimming attire and pretty spent our days on beach.

Ok, that wasn’t all we did. My memory of that trip is a bit hazy, but you get the point. We did however walked around the island during night times, went to a club (where I danced my butt off) and got ourselves spray-ink tattoos (spent most of my money on those). But to summarize the trip, it was a great experience for me.

The trip to Redang was a great experience for me, but there are still places I wish to go. Like Italy, Ireland, UK and probably Russia. But the place I really wanted to go to is Japan. The sights, the culture, the food and the girls (I’m joking…. Well, a bit). I would kill to be there. There are so many places I wish to visit and I’m hoping to one day be able to visit them all!

THE FOOL SIGNING OFF!!

People used to call it by various names. Incline Clock, Slanting Tower, Oblique Hours etc. But for the local citizens, it is known as The Leaning Tower of…Perak. The Leaning Tower of Perak is located in one of the well-known town in Perak called Teluk Intan. So basically people would call it Menara Condong of Teluk Intan. The reason why I choose this destination to be a part of my assignment is because I was born and raised in this particular place. In my personal opinion, this is one of Malaysia most precious possession because of the history it kept since before Merdeka! There are many secrets lies in it and so many stories that are yet to be told.

Teluk Intan was known as Teluk Mak Intan. The name came after a female trader called Mak Intan. During those days when Malaysia was ruled by British, Major-General Sir Archibald Edward Harbord Anson changed the name of this town to Teluk Anson as an honored to his name. Soon after we reached independence, the name changed again to Teluk Intan for good. The Leaning Tower was built right at the centre of the town. It looked like a Pagoda-shaped building because the structure itself was greatly built by the influence of the Chinese architecture which is the majority population of Teluk Intan.

The Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan

Welcome To Teluk Intan, Perak :)

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Long before, the tower was used as a water tank to supply a sufficient amount of water to the local citizens especially during the drought season. Then, the British pinned a huge clock at the top of the tower mainly to encourage the local to manage their time neatly. As for now, the tower is no longer use as a water tank. It is now kept as a museum to attract tourists since the tower is still in a great condition and being fully conserved by the government. Most of the events and programs organized by the local government was held in here. A few international celebrities used to perform in this sacred tower.

Moving on to the food that they have in here. Well one thing that you MUST try whenever you stepped your feet in this town is the Mee Rebus Mastan Ghani (Steamed Noodles). This particular food you’ll only found best in Teluk Intan. It’s the tastiest delicacy preferred by all the locals. The founder of this restaurant was the late Abdullah Mastan. This original recipe of this delightful food is still kept as a family secret. You won’t believe the price of this golden food. They only sells it for only RM2.50 per plate! You should also try the indulgent ABC (scrapped ice with toppings) drinks to savor the taste of the noodles.

The Not-So-Secret Ingredients :)

Bon Appétit le Mee Rebus

It will quench your taste bud!

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http://www.bigboysoven.com/2008/08/mee-rebus-rojak-abdullah-mastan-ghani-teluk-intan-2/

Corollary, Teluk Intan has what we say ‘one of everything.’ From the interesting place to visit to the food and a place to shop. I am grateful enough to born and raised in here. Although it’s not as thrived as Kuala Lumpur, but the culture that we have in here is very well-preserved. You could also found few locals going down town by using a tricycle instead of a car. I really think Teluk Intan is one of the best place to be here in Malaysia. Who knows it could be the next The Seven Wonders of the World after The Leaning Tower of Pisa collapsed. With that, I rest my case.

It’s not the best place that I’ve been to or anything. No, it’s just because there’s something about that place that makes me feel like I want to go there again. The place which I’m referring to is Sentosa, Singapore. It’s basically the main tourist attraction in Singapore. The resorts, the beach, the atmosphere, the people and so on. We (my family and I), checked in Hard Rock Hotel, I remembered it was already night time so I couldn’t go for a little sightseeing. We went straight to our rooms, settled ourselves in. That night we did nothing out of the ordinary. Just went out to have dinner, walked around and finally off to bed. Woke up the next morning, I practically jumped out of bed and quickly gotten ready for a big day out! Where to? Universal Studios.

Went inside Universal Studios, and the sight was really something else! It was.. Stunning to say the least. And there were a lot of people there, lots of them weren’t from Singapore. They’re also tourists who were ‘magnetized’ to come to this place. I walked hastily to the first ride there. It was “Steven spielberg’s Light! Camera! Action!” It’s where he ‘talks’ to us (the audiences) from inside a TV. He shows how all of the movies are made. The waves were monstrous, the house collapsing, and there was a typhoon outside. It was an exciting experience for me. After a few more rides, we decided to take a break and had lunch.

(Sorry dad, had to do it! Hahaha!)

After that, I saw the most beautiful, most astonishing (now THAT’s sugarcoating it..Hehe.) Rollercoaster ever! It was no doubt the biggest attraction in Universal Studios. And as always, as the biggest attraction in the place, there were tons of people waiting in line to ride the roller coaster. I didn’t care, in my mind there was nothing that could stop me from riding that thing, NOTHING! So I queued up and waited for my turn. About half an hour passed, then.. It’s my turn! I’m skipping to night time because the other rides were pretty normal, some were fun but most were normal. So, Sentosa at night! Should be fun huh? Outside the Universal Studios was a monorail. Now what was the name again.. Sentosa Express! which has a direct way out from our place to VIVO City.. Sounds pretty cool huh?

It has a harbor front, a large food court and of course, a shopping mall. The only problem was, it was hard to find a ‘halal’ restaurant. It was hard because Singapore isn’t like Malaysia which is guaranteed Halal in every restaurants because of the ‘halal’ label. We looked for a nice place to eat. After a few minutes of searching finally we found a place. We ate then after that we went back to the hotel and slept. The next day we checked out and returned home.

So Sentosa is a place that I would love to visit again. The leisure, the excitement, the sightseeing, and most of all, the Rollercoaster in Universal Studios!

Pangkor, what more can I say. It’s like Bali, even better actually, well at least in my point of view. I’ve never been to Bali but looking at pictures of friends and family who have been there, it’s pretty much an exact copy of Bali or maybe almost. Which whatever way it is, the place itself stands in the middle of the sea; situated in Perak, just off the west coast of peninsular Malaysia, not far from Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. A great place for a quick beach escapes from the hectic city of Kuala Lumpur for those beach bums and those who just want to have fun out in the waters…. Like me. My mates and I always go to Pangkor to take our stress of the shoulders.

Pangkor has been a famous hotspot among fisherman, sailors, merchant and pirates since the 17th century. Even the westerners before would sail the seven seas set out to conquer the island itself for its land rich with tin. The historical landmark and the remnants that the conquers left behind are kept still in the island to add to its beauty. Such remnants are the Batu Bersurat and the shipping port. Google it now. Many years after that, the island is no longer flooded with pirates but tourist from in and out of the country, not for its sources, but for its beauty it has all wrapped in one land.

Pangkor has got everything other beaches have got to offer. It has got the white sandy beaches, warm crystal clear waters, its salty, fishes; all colorful and different shapes and sizes roam the sea shores as if it’s their playground, dodging through swimmers and in between your legs. If you’re lucky enough, you can see baby sharks coming by for some fishes. You can even feed them. Don’t worry, they are just babies, but they still bite though. Been there, done that. You can even take a speed boat around the island with the locals or even the one who is in charge. The island is all round beautiful. The last but not least, the sunset from the island is just beautiful. Go there experience it and I assure you, you want that sunset to last forever.

Anyway, the island itself is easy going. No traffic, no men in a corporate outfit, not many vehicles roaming around; just peoples on motorbike and bicycles. You can already tell that the air here is squeaky clean. You see the people here in Pangkor takes chilling seriously. As if the art of chilling is in their blood. There’s no need of chill pills here. They would cycle around the island, the oldies would smoke till their last breath and do a campfire out in the beach at night. Not a moment you see a frown on their faces. Well at least not until you tell them to stop chilling; that’s a real turn off. Note that! They are also very friendly. Be good with them, they’ll treat you better. You treat them like crap, they still be good to you. Once my mates and I helped a man with his boat riding stalls getting customers. I got a few for him. As a treat, he takes us out for a boat ride for free. Yes, for free.

For me, to really appreciate another man’s land, is to try all of the food. The island’s local itself is full of diversity. So you can’t really expect anything new, not until you go look for something utterly new. You have to explore the island for something unique like my mates and I did. We have a passion for food, mostly when we’re hungry. Back when we were in Pangkor, we would drive our rented motorbike all around the island at night for supper, 8pm supper. We are just that hungry! The quest for food ended when we smelled something just around the corner of the road. Our noses can be really powerful during a hunt. A mini stall with a big banner that state, “MEE KERANG!” What the heck is kerang? Its co*ckles. We looked at how the chef did his thing. He’d soaked the yellow noodles into a hot pot of water, takes it out after a second or two and then pour it with style into the bowl full of freshly extracted of the shells co*ckles. He then opens up another pot. As soon as he opens the pot, the smell that made us stop by the stall is unleashed and filled our lungs. The smell of spicyness and herbs that can make you drool out of control. He pour the red color soup fill with seafoods and other things which makes it delicious. Viola! The Mee Kerang is served. What more can I say, the only thing that’s undeniably true is that my mouth had sex while eating that. Just saying.

What is an island without its nightlife? The nightlife in Pangkor is okay for say. It is not like how you see in the movies where people get drunk and wasted, partying by the beach and all. Well there are some but not much. Though I am not a party rock kind of person, I do enjoy a night out with friends by the local city nearby. They’ve got bars, clubs and restaurants where you can get wasted and have fun through the night.

To wrap it all off, you don’t really have to go far to go on your “Best Vacation” list, you just have to know what’s hot in your country. People all over the world loves to go to Malaysia. They appreciate the beauty of our country and we should too. Therefore, Pangkor is one of the many best places to go in Malaysia so far.

Travelling is a privilege I wasn’t lucky enough to enjoy. I’ve been to local places like Pulau Langkawi, Penang, Melaka… but those were on school trips and they were terrible, to be brutally honest. I have just visited phu*ket two months ago and while I thought it was an above decent trip, the weather was so hot that I am convinced to never return. I visited Singapore and gone as far as Hong Kong but other than spending money I know I shouldn’t, those places were also just “so-so” for me.

But if there was one place I’d give anything, do anything just to be able to experience it once, it would be Anfield. Home to Liverpool Football Club.

Anfield is an association football stadium with a seating capacity of 45, 276 and is located in Merseyside, Liverpool in the United Kingdom. Anfield once housed Everton FC since it opened in 1884 but became the home of Liverpool FC when it was formed in 1892 (Everton moved to Goodison Park in 1892). Anfield has four stands, namely The Kop, the Main Stand, Centenary Stand and Anfield Road. Two great features that makes Anfield what it is would be the Shankly Gates (as show in image below) and Paisley Gates, named after two of Liverpool’s best managers in the 1960s and 1970s.

However, the one thing that makes me want to go and witness/experience a football game at Anfield would be the brilliant atmosphere the Liverpool fans, also fondly known as “Kopites” and/or “Reds”, never fails to produce. The feeling of warmth and excitement when seeing them cheer and listening to them chant and sing songs about the Liverpool players on television are far from what one would feel standing in The Kop and singing along. I’ve heard the crowd sing the club’s anthem, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (as well as “Fields of Anfield Road”) more times than I can keep track but it has never failed to enchant me and have always got me singing along and crying in awe (seriously). Some people wouldn’t understand but for those who have always been passionate about the sport and loves a club like its part of their lives, then they’d comprehend exactly what I mean.

“The very word Anfield means more to me than I can describe.” – Bill Shankly.

When 96 Liverpool supporters attended an FA Cup semi-final in Hillsborough and never came home in 1989, Anfield became a place, a home for Liverpool fans all over the city to come together in what was a very difficult time in the history of football and the club itself. Fans who were numbed by the tragedy all flocked to Anfield the day after it happened to mourn and pay their condolences and tributes to the families who were deeply affected.

(Above is a picture of the Shankly Gates adorned with tributes on one of the Hillsborough anniversaries. Picture provided by Kevin White with personal permission.)

While many found it hard to attend another football game after that tragic day at Hillsborough, still people attended games at Anfield as a sort of attempt to return to normalcy. Anfield would still buzz with excitement when it hosted Merseyside derbies (against Everton FC) and on European nights. Anfield never changed.

"The Kop's exclusive, an institution, and if you're a member of the Kop you feel you're a member of a society, you've got thousands of friends around you and they're united and loyal." - Bill Shankly.

Anfield also houses the collection of trophies and honours that Liverpool FC has picked up over the century. Arguably the most prized one would be that Champions League trophy won in 2005 in Istanbul, Turkey. “Big Ole’ Ears” was its nickname.

"There's no noise like the Anfield noise and I love it!" - Ian St John.

I’d do more research on Anfield but I think I’ll keep some space for curiosity. While I have learned so much about this club in the past year, I am positive there are still things I don’t know and still need to learn in order to “get it”. Nevertheless, should I ever visit Anfield one day, it will be a priceless experience I will take to my grave.

Simply put though, I’d go to Anfield just to stand in the Kop and cheer for Liverpool FC, the football club I’ve come to love unconditionally (and as it seems have already declared their love back at me).

"I would just love to have gone and stood in the Kop." - Kenny Dalglish.

Quotes were taken from http://liverpoolfc.tv and "The Little Book of Liverpool" (second edition) (edited) by Geoff Tibbals.

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I remember two years ago, when my dad said you are going to a boarding school I could feel myself gasping for air as I keep on thinking how horrible my life could have been being in a place called A BOARDING SCHOOL. I can’t go out I had to stay in school twenty four seven. Seriously that moment I knew my life is going to change. No more the capital F `FREEDOM’. Well, for a few months I hated that school, they have a system we have to do our prep at certain times do our laundry by ourselves and eat at certain times and if you are late to go to the dining hall you have to starve yourself, evil isn’t it? Yeah I call it a Jail and I had to go through what they call it homesick. It was the worst few months of my life but as months goes by I fall in love with that place, that place called Kolej Tuanku Jaafar.

I called it a Jolly Lovely Place because I’ve learn a lot of things there for the past two years. I learn to be independent, to not depend on others , I learn to do my laundry and I learn to share stuff with others and the best thing that I have learn while I’m in that jolly lovely place is the true meaning of friendship. I develop a really interesting bond of friendship there. There are twenty-one of us in a class that took SPM. You must be wondering, what? 21 students? Well, it’s an international school, so there is more international student than local students but it only takes twenty one minds and hearts to give such a wonderful experience in a place called school. That school has taught me how to not be shy and to speak up when it’s necessary. I have joined a lot of speaking competition while I’m there such as Choral Speaking, Public Speaking and Story-Telling Competition. It was an awesome experience. Also, it taught me how to play netball and because of that Jolly Place that I use to call a Jail i compete in an international netball competition against Hong-Kong, Singapore, Australia and France. Other than that being in a swimming competition for two years in a row really build up my confidence and the athletics side of me.

Kolej Tuanku Jaafar , is not just a place where the teachers come to class and we sat down there and listen to them talking. The teachers there made learning fun. They make us want to learn. I will always remember how wonderful learning is when I was in KTJ. Every term the school will have a house-sports means each house will compete. The house sports usually are Netball for girls, Football for boys , Basketball for both , Hockey, Swimming , Athletics or Rugby and every house who won will get a trophy and the sprits that all the KTJ-IANS have during that day blow my mind. The bond that we make in that school blew my mind now, then and forever. The experience the awesomeness the wonderful things I had develop during the years will always be in my mind and heart. Kolej Tuanku Jaafar has built me to be the person I am today. Kolej Tuanku Jaafar is the best place i have gone so far.

The night before SPM

Graduation

The View of KTJ

Chemistry Class, I sure dont like the subject but i love the people in it

Our Cool Proctor :)

Here is a video made by my friends in KTJ, its called the RUN :)
[http://youtu.be/OFv1r0ZwhuI]]

Unusual Jaunt? Well mine was when I went to Paris, France. I went there 2 years ago, but it was only for 3days. Let me explain to you from the start, why did I went there for 3days? Well actually me and my family were visiting my brother. He's taking Aeronautical Engineering at Bristol College, United Kingdom. It was my brother's first time studying abroad. And he was 18 at that time.

How was the flight? IT WAS DREADFUL. You have to sit there for 18hours doing absolutely nothing, I was bored out of my mind. But I had to suck it up and bare with it. When we finally reached Heathrow Airport, I literally kissed the airport's walls and shouted "FINALLY". All the passengers was looking at me as if I'm crazy. But I didn't care, finally I was there in UK. The first thing I thought when I step out off the airplane was "hmm it's the end of summer, I guess it's going to be hot?". I was dead wrong. It was cold as ice! I can see snow on the airport's windows. And the best part is that I was wearing a thin leather jacket. My body shivered. First we took a bus from Heathrow to Bristol, it was about 7pounds. And it took us 1hours to reach there. Then at the bus station we took a cab to my brother's house. It was 3 in the morning and we were on the way, we saw a lot of drunken people. For me it was kind of a culture shocked. The taxi driver said , on a Friday it was usual that people get wasted and such. Thanked god the driver intoxicated or anything. We reached at the house and the first thing we do was we hugged him.

Let's skip the boring part. Oh I almost forgot to tell you guys, the next day when I got to UK was Raya. I celebrated there. The first day of Raya was kind of fun. My brother invited the family to follow him to go to this house where Malaysian's celebrate Hari Raya there. But my parents had to run some errands. So I went there with my brother and his room mates. It was only a 20minutes walk.

As you can see, they had "Solat Sunat Raya Hari" that morning and the food they prepared was all kampung style's food like Rendang, Ayam Golek, Ketupat, and lots more. There was even Belacan. The food was delicious. It was a great experience.

Okay , let's skip to the day where the whole family went to Paris. It was the weekend and my brother has no classes. That morning my father suddenly walked into the living room where all of the family was and said "Okay, I feel like going to Paris today. Let's go guys!". I thought it was a joke, but when he told me to pack just a few clothes I was like "come on, stop kidding around pa". My dad replied "I was joking". Okay, who wouldn't be excited going to Paris?! I ran upstairs and it took me 5minutes to pack and get ready. We hopped into the car and drove to Dover. From Dover we took a ferry to cross over to France.

The first day when we reached Paris, we checked into a hotel because it was already late. On the second day, I thought we were just going to visit the Eifel Tower or other historical buildings but surprisingly he said "Pergi Disneyland harini nak?". My jaw dropped. My dad was full of surprises. When we got there, it was full of people. 1. Because we went there on a Sunday, 2. They have a new awesome ride that people wanted to try, and 3. well because they wanted to enjoy themselves too.

We had the time of our lives. We spent the whole day in Disneyland. We went back to our hotel at 2o'clock in the morning feeling exhausted but very happy at the same time.

The next morning, we woke up pretty early. On our last day we're finally going to visit The Eifel Tower. We were on a rush because we had a train to catch to. We're going back to UK at 5pm, so we had a few hours to spare. We packed everything, and make out way there. It was spectacular. You know that feeling you'll get when you see something amazing? Yea , I was in that moment.

But sadly we were there for just an hour and had to rush back to catch the train. We didn't have the chance to visit Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, or even Basilique du Sacre Coeur. These places we told to be breathtaking. On our way back, I told my father that I wanted to come here back again. And he said "Sure!…use your own money". Haha and I was like "seriously" *sigh.

Someday I'll come back Paris. Just you wait.

I would have to say that Bali is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to in my life. Why? Because it has an amazing beach that comes along with a beautiful sunset, the culture is different and very interesting, and lastly, the shopping there is awesomely cheap!

I am proud to say that in my whole life, I have been to Bali for more than 8 times. My family usually makes a trip down to Bali almost every year during the Raya holidays. So I guess you can say that I’m quite familiar with the place.

Two years ago, me and my family made a trip down to Bali and we stayed in a villa in Seminyak and I have to say it was so luxurious. Everything was modern with a touch of Balinese decorations and not to mention the amount of open space that has been given.

The villa came with it’s own Chef, for breakfast, lunch and dinner, its own cleaners and everything else. It really made us feel like home. But obviously, we only stayed in for breakfast because me and my family usually would go out for lunch and dinner.

Usually when me and my family went to Bali, it was compulsory to pay a visit to Kuta, not only cause it’s filled with loads of excitement, but also because the shopping there is really good. We can even find some shops that are not even opened in Malaysia.

The beach, how and where do I even start? The waves are superb! The sand (depending on which beach you go to.) is undeniably soft and really fun to make sandcastles and what not. The last time I went to a beach in Bali, there were all sorts of people there. There was usually this guy who would go around to people and ask if they want a fake tattoo, hand painted and let’s just say that he can make it look as if it’s a real tattoo! Awesomeness.

But there was one thing that was kind of slacking over there, and that is.. how hard it is to find a halal restaurant. There are so many nice restaurants in Bali but as you know, my family is quite strict about food due to the fact that it’s halal or not. So the list of restaurants have decreased in our book.

Here are some photos I took while I was in Bali back in 2009.

Some beach, I forgot what it's called.

In Kuta.

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I really love this photo because the boat(which is actually a kite) on the right looks like it's an actual boat flying.

HEEHEE!

Talk about best place to go, hmm.. actually whenever i went for travelling every where was so interesting. But if i had to choose one…….. BALI!!! Yap! Located in Indonesia (which is my lovely country). Last March, i went for trip to Bali with my best friends from Jakarta, they are Tyara, Galang, Putra and Ferista. I feel so excited!
Few days before we left, we’ve contact the car rental service. So that when we reach there we become easily and don’t have to worry about the transportation matters as well. Here we go,

DAY 1

We stay at my aunty house which is located in Krobokan’s area and it’s about 12km from Ngurah Rai International Airport. But because we’re not so familiar with this area we had lost about 2 hours more (OMG!! Can you imagine how tiring been seated in a car for hours).

Okay, touch down my aunty house, FINALLY! Yeaaay!

It was still early so we went for dinner and hang around Kuta. But that day the weather isn’t so friendly because it was gloomy and drizzle. The funny thing is, suddenly five of us have the urgent tendencies to p**. With all confident we enter a five stars hotel around there, and pretend as the guest. Then we rush headed to the swimming pool. After that, my friend Putra, i don’t know why he laughed to himself. Obviously he just took some toilet paper, and he said..
“it’s okay laaaah guys! In case of something.. HA HA HA” (what a stupid)

Then, we spent our night grabbed some beers in beachside. Chit chat and full of jokes till lost in time and the sun is about to rise. We decided to go back, but UNFORTUNATELY…….. moment when we park the car outside the home yard (because my aunty don’t have a quite large garage) suddenly, heavy rain pour! Very heavy! Okay…. we choose to stay and sleep in the car.

(skip this part)

DAY 2

We just go out to hang out at night. We headed to Legian, and the rain flushed Bali (again). Huh.. okay. But we still park the car near a restaurant, then we went in to the Sky Garden Club (ha ha ha). It was long night.

DAY 3

We’re not yet touch the bed or even pillow. And because both of my boy friend is still hangover. I was sleep on the back seat at that time as well (lol). My friend Tyara took over the steering wheel, she took us to Sukowati Market. It was a traditional market, they sell some clothing food and so on, of course with a cheap price. I was little bit shock, when i woke up, i find out i was on market car park.

Briefly,

The 4th and 5th day, we’re really take an advantage of time there. We visit the tourist spot like Garuda Wisnu Kencana there was a huge statue of Lord Wisnu, statue of Garuda, and statue of Lord Wisnu’s Hands.

Tanah Lot temple it was on west side Denpasar.

Dreamland beach, Sanur beach, Nusa Dua beach, and of course culinary tour! YUMMY!

I’m missing those moment. And for me, travelling to Bali with friends it was COMPLETELY have a different feeling than travelling with parent :p

And…

Guys! You should visit Bali the Island of Gods! Feel the euphoria and the fantastic atmosphere 

Redang is one of the beautiful islands in Malaysia. Usually we call it Pulau Redang. Pulau is a Malay word which means island. This island is part of Terengganu which is located at north side of Malaysia. When we reach Terengganu, we have to take the ferry to the island. It is because the island is located ‘at the middle of the sea’. (lol……) This island is really beautiful. I’ve been there when I was young. At first, the rooms were really old. Most of the furniture was made up of wood. To me, all the things were fine except the BATH ROOM (looks more like a scary room). The wall in the bath room was full of dirt. The bath room looked really scary and creepy because the lights are really deemed. After 10 years, I went to Pulau Redang again. Indeed, the island changed a lot. There were new resorts which are cleaner, more comfortable and more beautiful.

There are the white sandy beaches, crystal blue sea and brilliant underwater world. There were 40 of us from my family went to the Redang Island. In the late afternoon, the elderly rest themselves while the youngsters (like us) played volleyball at the white sandy beach. Volleyball is just a game for us (you can consider it as an exercise if you want). The main activities there are snorkelling and scuba diving. There are various types of marvellous fishes and coral reefs in the sea. It is the best place for snorkelling and scuba-diving. The underwater world is brilliant. It is really hard to explain how beautiful it is with my mouth. There are many types of beautiful fishes and dead corals. The corals are beautiful even they died. The corals are as hard as a rock. If you knocked it accidentally, the feeling was like you knocked a rock.

The new resorts:)

We took a nap here in the afternoon when we are free. It's really nice when the wind blow from the sea.

scuba diving…..

snorkelling…..

The dead corals….

The first night, I walked around with my fellow cousins and we found a place for free internet. Then, a few of us went for karaoke room (and of course we have to pay for it). Instead of singing the songs, we shout. It was really fun. At the second night, they arranged barbeque for us for dinner (seafood, chicken, beef and sooooo on). We ate our barbeque dinner by the sea side feeling the wind and listening to the sound of waves from the sea. The feeling was….pretty good. The dinner was really awesome and delicious. All of us enjoy the dinner. After our dinner, we waited for the party time. They sang songs for visitors (like us). Some visitors dance along with the songs and some enjoying to the songs with their drinks (like soft drinks, juices or alcohol drinks). Most of the people enjoy it so much.

Not only the beach’s picturesque view, the swimming pool is beautiful too. I really enjoy the trip to Pulau Redang. I wish I can go Pulau Redang again. It is really beautiful……..

Traveling… Actually travelling is my thing as in I just love visiting new places because by moving to different places you get exposure to the world and you also gain knowledge about a certain country where by it could be about their culture, custom or their life style even there economy; You could compare their economy and yours but anyway as for me I don’t take too much attention on the economy stuff but I’d only look at it when I happen to visit the least developed countries that’s when I’ll notice their economy.
Apart from that, fashion is on the glimpse of my eyes and peoples life style and the weather of course. Places like Dubai for example; it’s a splendid city, yeah! The Flora and Fauna is beautiful, the infrastructure is off the hook, this is because Dubai is an industrialized that’s why it develops every year, and the place is just escalating with development that’s just pretty great. I like it there but just one problem is that it’s just too hot. When I go there I normally stay at this beautiful hotel called Hyatt regency and there’s also a Grand Hyatt it’s so marvelous. They even offer tourist tour to the Burj Dubai” and to a big shopping mall where there are varieties of interesting activities like swimming with Dolphins that was my best. So Dubai is wonderful. Some other places like China in Guangzhou, well there are a lot of corn artists there; I remember when we last went there with my mama, these Chinese ladies came to us to buy $100 bucks so my mom did the exchange with them and guess what we were about to buy something from a store and the sales man was flabbergasted, we were shocked by his reaction so he was like you….bad people using fake money” we couldn’t believe it so when we turned to looked for the ladies who gave us the ``fakes” we couldn’t identify them coz they all look alike. But we learnt a lesson. So if I were to give advice to people who want to go there just be careful when you go there coz people are soooo very cheeky and treaky.
Others..Like Reno (Nevada) at the states Its known as being one of the smallest cities in the world coz it’s like a village but its so organized, clean and perfect and the only tallest building is Atlantic hotel the rest of the buildings are small and you can see clear landscapes of mountains…in short the place is just nice. Used to go with my dad every year to attend the SCI (safari club International) coz my paps happens to be a Professional Hunter.

But all in all Tanzania in Eastern part of Africa is considered to be the Global Hub for tourists…Why?! Well this is because of the geographical location, climatic condition being perfect not so cold and not so hot but cool, hiking at the mount Kilimanjaro most people fail to reach to the top though.

There are many places around the world where you can find beautiful sceneries, great food, fascinating cultures, different kinds of people and well, you get my point. Too be honest, I have not been to many places and with that reason, I do not know exactly where the best places are in the world. However, this won’t be my excuse for me to not write. Reason wise is because different people have different preferences of places. As for me, I chose the land of Cambodia.

Cambodia is a land that is quite similar to where we are currently living now, Malaysia, but not as humid. Though the country isn’t as modern nor fancy as Kuala Lumpur. I just somehow love it there. Despite the fact that I really do not places which are really hot.

I was in Cambodia about a year ago. I was sent there by my church to conduct some work for charity. And I pretty much enjoy everything there. From the food all the way to the people to the Russian market.

Now, allow me to tell you more. The capital city of Cambodia would be Phnom Penh. Though it is a capital city, it is not much different to the ‘kampungs’ we have here. This is due to the economy. I won’t go into much detail on that.
Like I said before, the food is absolutely amazing. You can find French loafs everywhere together with sweet and delicious pineapple, yummy noodles, beef stew and most of all, my favorite, deep fried spiders! As disgusting as it sounds, it is very delicious.

Moving on, the people are extremely kind and also aggressive. Why aggressive? It’s because they often try to sell you items that you might be interested in. There was this one time when my team and I were heading to our destination after we arrived to Phnom Penh airport. While in a van, we decided to be really “nice” and start waving at random people who are on the streets or motorcyclists on the road. To my surprise, they weren’t surprised at all and they we’re so happy. They even smiled and waved back! Which really did make foreigners such as us feel very welcome. This is also one of the reasons why Cambodia has a lot of tourists from around the world.

As for those who just love to see sunsets and sunrise, Cambodia is the right place to see it. You can hop on a boat in the Phnom Penh river to see the sunset while having dinner or you can travel to villages such as Baray to see the glorious sunrise in the morning in a paddy field. It is absolutely beautiful.

I wish to say more but that would ruin the fun for those of you who are reading this and plan on visiting there once. And it is definitely a great place. If anyone wants to go there then you are indeed encouraged to go. The flight is cheap, the hotels are cheap and the food too. So, as for me, Cambodia would be the best place to visit.

"Anywhere can be a place of interest to anyone but it may not be the best everywhere carries the same experiences."

BAHRAIN

My first thoughts were, what’s there to offer in this place I’ve never even heard of? Sand? Camels? I didn’t know where Bahrain was or even what to expect the first time I went. I honestly thought the place would be all sand and like huts, as houses.
The moment the plane landed I wasn’t really that pleased, coz all I saw was sand and trees that didn’t really look like they were still alive to me because they were covered in too much of sand. There was a massive sandstorm, and apparently it’s a normal thing in the Middle East. My dad drove me and my siblings around Bahrain first and then he brought me to this place called Seef Mall. The mall was so small it only had like 2 levels in it. All I saw were Arabs in their Abayyah’s and Thobe’s, every time I passed by those Arabic perfume stores, my head would hurt so bad because the smell was way too strong for me to stand. You see dates everywhere in boutiques as if it’s so rare.

I find Arab drivers really impatient when it comes to driving imagine the traffic light turning yellow and all of a sudden people honk their cars like mad. The Middle East is so different. The people, the food, the signboards, everything actually. One of the things I love most there is the food, my favourite would definitely be shawarma. There are so many food franchises there which aren’t available in Malaysia. After school I would always walk to this ice cream joint called Marble Slab.

Eventually after a few visits, I had to move there. It wasn’t easy making friends there, about 85% of the students in my school were Arabs, and most of them aren’t really that friendly. Learning in Arab country was a one in a million experience for me. All my teachers were American except for 1. Every day in school, there would always be arabs fighting in the hallway, cafeteria or even in the classrooms. They would actually throw tables to the teachers. The teachers there were very helpful, they’re 100% committed into helping all their students. I learned so much there, the school was helped us to prepare for college life, like we had to submit out assignments online and stuff like that. My school was using the American System, our grades depends on our attendance, homework’s and stuff like that. I made friends with only some Bahraini’s, because most of them were very racist towards Asians. My friends thought me tons of basic Arabic words. The school had tons of activities, one of my favourite would have to be Twin Day, we all got to dress up like twins for a day.

During Ramadhan, no one is allowed to eat in school. No restaurants are open during fasting hours. Mcdonald’s, Kfc, Subway, nothing. They don’t have food bazaar’s like we do here which was really disappointing for me. I was so upset because it was my first Ramadhan being away from all the Malay food. Most of the stores in the mall are closed during fasting hours. They continue to operate usually from 8pm until 1 or 2am. It was really nice because you get to go shopping after you finish break fast and actually have time to shop unlike the malls in Malaysia which usually close around 10pm or so. Syawal, also known as Eid in Bahrain is somewhat different and same at the same time. Like kids receive money during Eid. People coming over to your house to eat and all. As for us Malaysian’s we visit about 5-8 houses. I only received 2bd ( Bahrain Dinars ) during Eid last year which is equivalent to RM20.. During Awal Muharram, Muslim’s who are Sunni’s like us aren’t allowed to go out for about 3-7 days. The Arab’s, Shia’s that is, they physically hurt themselves and believe that they’re allowed to kill Sunni’s during these days. You see blood on the streets everywhere you go and also kids hitting themselves with ‘parang’. I wanted to post up pictures for you guys to see, but unfortunately my friend made the album private on facebook.

In Bahrain we have summer and also winter. During summer the temperature could go up to 60 degrees. I love winter although they don’t have snow, winter there is so much fun because we have places in some parts of the desserts where you could rent campsites during the whole of winter. The campsites varies, they have one with ATV’s, television, projectors, karaoke machine, and even pool tables. Their view is camping is way different from how we camp in Malaysia.

Living there has changed me a lot. I love experiencing different cultures and learning languages because I find it very interesting. The best part is I get to go there every year.

Kuala Lumpur is definitely the best place to visit. I've been to UK, Dubai, Singapore and etc but for some weird reason, KL always tops my list. I think the fact that after 12 years of living here, I now actually consider it home. It is the place where I had my first heartbreak, it is the place where I made my first best friend and it is the place where I spent my childhood running through the fountains at the Orchid Garden. There's a lot of sorrow and happiness for me here, and new experiences everyday keep adding to those feelings.

Why is KL so special? What makes it stand out even more than Geordie town, Newcastle? It's the people. True, most KL-ites nowadays tend to be stuck up, but quite often enough you'll find random people smiling at you and locals helping tourists with their maps. It's a warm and sunny place (both literally and figuratively) and has an amazing mix of people, not just different races but different dress styles. There is no crime on the streets in broad daylight as compared to the UK. KL is so peaceful but at the same time so loud.

There's so many things to do in KL, it's impossible to get bored. There are movie theatres at nearly every shopping mall, art galleries, zoos, swimming pools. Adventurous people could head off to the Mad Monkeyz rock climbing gym or do some bungee jumping at Sunway Pyramid. If you're a fashion junkie and a sucker for all the high class brands, Pavilion is the place for you. It has two floors dedicated to couture alone. Stroll along there and Marc Jacobs is on your left, Coach on your right and Yves Saint Laurent straight ahead and one floor down. Along the same row as Pavilion is Bukit Bintang, which contains all the knock-offs of the original stuff in Pavilion. Bukit Bintang is a haven for rare finds such as original Audrey Hepburn posters and cheap movie memorabilia. For the party hard types, head over to Changkat which houses beautiful pre-war buildings, all converted into upmarket bars or clubs. The street becomes a vibrant pulse of nightlife and music after 10pm.

Pasar Seni is home to quaint collections of posters and a lot of handmade art. You can have your portrait drawn or if that isn't your cup of tea, the cultural market sells some beautiful silk products from China. However, walking through Pasar Seni really draws a line between the rich and the poor. The streets are littered with beggars and homeless people. Seeing people begging for money with their children in their arms is quite upsetting and disturbing, so I normally avoid Pasar Seni.

However, the creme de la creme of Kuala Lumpur is definitely the mamaks. Cheap but good food, oily delights that will probably clog your arteries and make your cholesterol go through the roof but by jove is it worth it, iced drinks and the feeling of being surrounded by fellow Malaysians, both friends and strangers, while everyone focuses their attention on the flat screen televisions debating over the Arsenal vs Manchester United match. There is nothing quite like it, the spirit of camaraderie that comes with people from all races coming together at one place without any confrontation, without any fights. Just peace and the mutual intention to hang out and just relax.

I could travel to all corners of the earth and at the end of the day still be longing for the smell of fresh roti canai and the hustle and bustle of the city centre. There will never be any place that even remotely holds up to it. KL is beautiful and vibrant, and she will always be home.

The trip took me to the Taiwan , such a wonderful and beautiful place ! I went there 2 years ago , for 21 days ! Can you imagine that ? I leave home for 3 weeks without parents ! I almost went all of the famous places at Taiwan . I enjoyed every minutes of it.
Since there was only 300 people of Malaysia can joined the trip , i am so glad that i was one of the 300 peoples. I'm feel so glad and quite appreciate this opportunity . I met a lots of friends . And gain many knowledge from the trip .=)

Taipei 101 ..( first day)

The view from Taipei 101 is really awesome .. =)

In this 21 days.. i learn a lot of things.. and met different kind of people.
This is my first time leaved my cutie family , and lovely parents and go such a far place from home. In the journey , i learned culture of Taiwan and i learned how to be independence.

we do many meaningful things in this three weeks.We go and visit old practice and dance in front the old man .

In this 3 weeks , we met earthquake , such a terrible experience i had been there.. Luckily , most of us practice dancing at the outdoor . not that much people get hurt. We all so scared , many of us cried. It is so touch when everyone keep hugging and caring about each others.

Because of 5.6 lvl of earthquake . There is no line and energy . we all stuck in dark . I will never forget such a good experience in my life. It's so hard to forget thru . That's so bad because of rushing and scaring of peoples , they become rude , unfortunately my friend fall down from stair and his leg get hurt . He couldn't joined us in the next few days .

I met a bunch of good friends at there. We still contact sometimes although we are in different states . Since i came back from trip already two years. I still miss that moment very much~

I still remember that ,last day in Taiwan my mood was like sooo down at all. I keep crying on the flight , hahaha=='' It was funny , but i really not bear . I miss the moment very much . We just like eat , play , enjoy , shopping and sleep. No stress ,no homework, no exam . XD

Lots of entertainment at Taiwan , and there are a lots of special food too.
Taiwan is best place for play and enjoy as well. The sight of beach is so beautiful . If got chance , i want to visit again . =)

As a local boy, I can't say that I've been to many interesting locales abroad. Born and bred in the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur, my excursions are almost made up exclusively of little jaunts around the confines of our lovely city. Of course, that is not to say that my experiences were any less fun in comparison. One would be surprised at just how fulfilling and thrifty (yes, I'm a bit of a scrooge) it can be to do a little research to find some places of interest that much closer to home.

One such place that has caught my interest of late turns out to be a particular fine dining establishment that goes by the name of Tamarind Springs. Nestled in the deeper regions of Taman TAR, it has the priviledge of being surrounded by lush greenery in an all natural outdoor environment, away from the sound of traffic and pollution of the city. I would have never stumbled across this hidden jem of a place on my own if not for an adventurous friend in the passenger seat who didn't mind getting lost in the back roads of Kuala Lumpur.

The walk leading into the main dining area was an experience on its own. A pebbled candle lit path surrounded by beautiful landscaped garden promises to set the mood just right before you're even seated. If it was a quiet night, you could hear the sound of crickets adding to the natural ambience.

Once inside, one just can help but be impressed by its rustic deco reminiscent of traditional Thai cultures of a not so distant era. The open air concept encourages guests to dress casually and eases diners into a relaxed mood. From the several occasions that I've been there, service was friendly and prompt, adding to the fine dining experience.

The selection of food has always been an adventurous endevour. Thai, Italian, Indo-Asian fusion is on the menu. Couple that with a decent selection of wine and you're often spoiled for choice as to what to order.

Of course, I can go on and on writing about the wonderful times I had dining there. But a place like this is best discovered for yourself because a pageful of words does not accurately describe the simplistic beauty of Tamarind Spring's ambient dining experience. So do give it a search on Google and drop by to see for yourself. I've heard they recently opened a sister establishment called Tamarind Hill's that is even more beautiful. Can't wait to visit!

-Tambisan Island

My dad decided to go for a short trip to his hometown that is Tambisan Island. He said it’s been more than 9 years he haven’t paid a visit. Tambisan is located off the coast of the Sandakan division in Sabah. I was really looking forward to go there because in my 18 years of living, it’s my first time actually. So I’m quiet intrigue how the island look like and how small it is. Besides that, my dad plans to visit the cemetery there where my grandma lies. (peace be upon to her)

It was a long journey to get there. First we bought tickets to Lahad Datu then we drove the car to get there. The road to get there is full of dirt and dust. Addition to it, there's a lot of oil palm trees there. I don’t really remember the name of the road but this is where they mass produce and extract oil palm trees. The feeling that I had that time was unexplainable. Maybe I was just too excited to get there. When we've halfway there, the car was already filled with dust. Pretty cool I might say, I started to play around with the dust using my finger. You know?As a kid or now, you make an art with that. Anyway let’s cut to the chase, we need to ride the boat to get to Tambisan Island. You can actually see the island from the jetty here. It is pretty small and there I thought I can actually explore the whole island in just 2 days.Yeah right.

Here comes the fun part. The sea is so blue. It is blue as the sky. I’m pretty amazed how they took care of the environment there. It is so clean that I felt like I really wanted to dive right into the sea even though I can’t swim. Sad but true. As soon as we’re arrive, there’s a welcome sign at the jetty on Tambisan Island. The scenery put a smile on my face. This is where my dad was born and lived his childhood for years there. Now that he is successful, I know for sure he misses all of the great moments he had there. It’ll be nostalgia for him and it is my first time seeing my dad smile like never before. The people there is really friendly. It cannot be compared to city friendly. It’s so different and it felt more pure to me. Not to say city people is bad or somewhat but that’s how village people is. We borrowed the motorcycles there owned by my dad’s relative to get to the cemetery. It is located 7km away from the main village or rather it is isolated to be exact. On the way there, the place is full with palm trees and the sun shines through it. It is so beautiful and breathtaking. That’s where I realize how amazing god’s will to show us something like this.

-The Welcome Sign

At the cemetery. Everything went quiet all of sudden. The sound of the motorcycles stopped. Only the wind and the sound of trees, bushes and leaves remains there. My dad walked and was looking for his mom’s grave. I somehow felt the sadness around him that time. I can't really imagine how my dad went through his life without a mom and just a loving a dad that took care of him until he succeed in his life. There he began to pray and azan (Islamic call to prayer) onced he found the grave. Usually a tombstone used for someones grave but instead it is built by wood. Here’s a picture of that wooden tomb :

There's actually a meaning for that 3 sharp edges at the top of the wooden tomb. It is the sign of the Suluk(race) culture. Another interesting fact that my dad told me is that there was suppose to be engraving underneath the wooden tomb. It was '1963'(the year my grandma passed away). I tried to look for it but it was long gone.

Afterwards, we went to the school there. That’s where my dad finished his primary school. My dad said the school was very small back in his time. It is the size of a Hummer car. I’m kidding. Can’t really imagine how small it is. Took several pictures of the students there. Cute kids and humoured me the way they act when they saw my camera. They smiled widely towards the lens. My dad told me that he was very discipline during his school years. He didn't skip any classes and finished all of his homeworks that the teacher gave. Found it hard to believe but if you try to think about it..comparing kids these days with kids my dad's generation, most of them are much more hardworking than kids these days because during back in time there was no television.There is but it's too expensive that time. No games, No Internet, No PC and to put it simple they don't have the luxury stuff that we have today. Well that pretty much explains it on why there are so many people before the 70's are successful people. I envy my dad's success and I'm going to make sure I myself will be the same level as him.

-The School Sign Board

-The School Building

-Cute Kids (I'm not a pedophile)

Here are some pictures that I took when I was on the boat :

-The Boat At The Jetty

-The Blue Sea

That pretty much explains the short trip that i went through 2 months ago. I was able to see my dad's hometown and his other side of character he was before in his village. Maybe if I was given another chance to go back there or to make things interesting, to be able to get back in time and see my dad in that era, I be terribly Happy to see how it goes.

Egypt. Rich in culture, amazing pyramids, interesting Egyptian stories(I'll tell you one of the stories), friendliest people ever and lots of good food. I can go on and on about this amazing country. I was lucky enough to visit Egypt specifically Cairo during the end of the year holidays last year. After watching countless of movies shot in Egypt you can say that I was pretty excited to visit Cairo. It was around 5.30pm local time when I touched down on Cairo International Airport. The sun was blazing but it was cold. The temperature there was around 10-15 degrees. First thing I noticed was that the girls there were very beautiful! It’s sad to say that Egypt is a poor country. There the rich get richer and poor get poorer. The thing that amazes me most is that even though the people there are poor they never fail to smile and be friendly to the tourists and local people there. The most famous local food there is called Falafel. Basically its grounded chickpeas made into a patty or ball and deep fried. This is the only vegetarian dish that I liked.

The very next day I visited The Pyramid of Giza. The signature spot for most of the tourists there. Seeing one of the wonders of the world personally was a once in a lifetime experience. You cant stop thinking how amazing this pyramid is. It was a sight to behold. At that time the pyramid was under maintenance so I didn’t get to enter it. The next place I went right after that was the very spot where Michael Bay filmed the climax and final scene of Transformer 2. Sadly cameras were not allowed there.

The Great Pyramid of Giza

Now,the story that I'm about tell has a lot of controversies. I'm not gonna sugar coat it, its a dirty story. During the ancient egyptian times,legend says that there was a boy age 17 years old who lives in a village. His name is Min. He was the youngest boy in the village while the other mens were soldiers. One day,the king and all the soldiers went for war and Min was told to take care of the women's there. There was approximately 7000 females in the village. A year later after the war,the king and the others came back to find all 7000 women there were either pregnant or carrying a baby. The king confronted Min and Min was found guilty of making all 7000 women pregnant in a span of one year. For his punishment, Min's left hand and left leg was amputated and he was left to bled to his death in the middle of the dessert. From then on, Min was called the God of Fertility in egyptian time.

Carving of Min, The God of Fertility in one the pyramids in Egypt

The picture above was taken at a temple called Abu Simbel. It was carved out of a mountainside to acknowledge the victory of Pharaoh Ramses II and his wife Nefertari in the war and to intimidate his enemies.

Other side of Abu Simbel temple.

Inside Abu Simbel

One thing about Egypt is that there is no shopping complex! As I said before, its a poor country. There are mostly shop lots where they sell clothes and other stuffs.

Camel ride that I went on for about 45 minutes.

Another temple which I visited but I can't remember the name

The hieroglyphs there is confusing. The only symbol I know is the key of life.

Cannot fetch Flickr photo (id: 60). The photo either does not exist, or is private

King Tut's gold mask.

The trip to Egypt was an unforgettable experience and spectacular journey for me. During my stay there I realized that the local people there are poor and I am grateful for being born in a country where everything is available and peaceful. There is no actual mummies in Egypt as all of them were taken by the Americans.

The country that i have traveled that i personaly choose to talk about is nepal.This country with is knowed for their remarkable scenic view and huge gigantic mountains.The preparation for this trip has to be early,due to the fact that this trip requires winter clothing.Ya but its not like you need a scarf,long john or anything like that.All we needed was a something that will keep you warm.Now when we arrive at the capital city that is kathamandu.The weather was cold and i thankfully was wearing my jacket,it puts a smile on your face when we are greeted with the locals their being so friendly.The guide was well informed explaining the people culture and lifestyle.Let me tell you there was certain similarities about them and us.When we arrived at the hotel the item that caught my attention was this stamp.Ya the stamp has the picture of the mountain it looks great.I was like what will it be the actual mountain itself.We than went to the streets to view the entire city and you know malaysians shopping was to be done.The streets was crowded i would tell you that anybody who was an automabile uses the horn as much as they can that was funniest thing there.The cleaniess was shown at kathamandu you wouldnt fine much rubbish anywhere.The trip became more fun when we all went to this place that called pokara.The scenic view,hills were green,flowers was colourful the entire city was huge differences between kathmandu.This place was cold and vapor was evident there.Among all that there was nothing that can compare to the mount everest.The enormous mountain was so marvelous,we all snap pictures from where we are.This was realy worth it going to nepal.Than the moment came when all have to say goodbye.For us this was a hello to a new journey and a experince.When we were there we learn that traveling is something realy fun

Mount Everest

This the picture of the city called pokara

I’m not going to introduce any place that I went or any place I interested. Yes, I visited several places that I really fall in love with them! But I don’t think I can explain their beauty and fantasy well as what I want. Since few days ago, I tried to have a better idea but I can’t. So, I think that the place where keep on flashing on my mind will be the BEST place for me to go. I would like to share a secret that I never told anyone here.

Before I come KL for my college life, I will be there at least 3 times per days. It’s FREE OF CHARGE! That’s why I love it so much! Laugh Out Loud!!

That’s a totally a private place. No one can disturb you and people will difficult to find you out there. It’s really a peaceful place. I had my enjoyable and sufferable time there. It can be warm or cold, depends on yourself. There is a place without government; you can wear any you like, even naked! Sometimes, it’s wet; sometimes, it’s dry. It’s clean and fragrant.

After every gathering with family or friends, I will go to the place and every sweet moment will flash back again. I will settle down and start viewing those pictures which take on the gathering then smiling. I will look at myself and say “I am the lucky girl, Thanks God!” I will filter every word from the conservation with friends or family members here. I don’t know why but I like to do so. Or anything good happened, I will them remind naturally. For example, a handsome boy asked for a piece of tissue. I “save” all my happiness there. Saving is a good habit, my dear.

People are not perfect as a full circle. Another side of the happiness, there are lots of tears and bitter. I cried there, but after that I feel better. Don’t get any wrong. It’s the best place, it never make me cry. I learned stop myself to suffer and smile again. Even it’s sad, but I had confident to cheer up myself again there. I find out answers and ways to settle problem there easier. There is a place to silence people’s mind and calm people down. There is a small place filled with my memories.

The BEST place for me to go is ….

Believe your eyes!! It’s toilet!! (My toilet is not like the picture above.)

Are you BOOM-ed? I really feel it’s a very good idea! Agree with me? I don’t have a personal room because I have share room with my sister but I do have a personal toilet. I seldom close the toilet door. Shocked? No worry… I will make sure my room locked always. I sat on the toilet bowl and watch out the window. The view is really amazing especially when it’s raining. My parent always asked “What can you doing inside the small little tiny space?” but I never answer. Or they will worry about me if I stay inside there for a longer time. So, please keep it from my parents.

Best places I’ve been too? There are many places I’ve been to but one of my favourites is where my home country is. Libya. Anyway where do I start? Why Libya? I’ve been to Libya 3 times in my whole life and all bring back good memories. I was born there and I stayed there for 7 years .then I came to malysia.until this day I still remember some amazing moments that I had there.

There was even one time I was admitted to the hospital. Me and my cousin were playing kick the wall cause that what young people do that time. Or maybe it was just me. Anyway my cousin did an awesome move where he double kick the wall. When it was my turn I tried doing the double kick so I ran in to the wall but without the kick. Hit head first and fainted second. Next thing I knew I was in the hospital bed. Yeah good times.

About 3 years ago I was in Libya for 3 months. I went to Libya with my whole family. When I first arrived there I had a very nice cousin. He brought me to a place called the Madinah. This place was the top tourist attraction in Libya. Mostly because of all the amazing food that they have. It’s like the bukit bintang in Libya. On the way I saw the beach right next to me. Surprisingly the beach was 10 minutes away from the house I was living in. so we finally arrived and he treated me to a meal and gave me a tour of the place. Anyway I went to many prehistoric places in Libya. I’m not going to go into details is pretty much boring but I will post picture for you to see c: one thing great about Libya is how cheap the bread is here. Bread here is like rice in Malaysia. How cheap? 8 long pieces is 1 ringgit Malaysia. And another great thing is that if you are homeless is very unlikely of you to be starving. I can’t speak too soon and say there are no starving people in Libya but from what I saw over there is someone is hungry there will be people buying food for him or her . Mostly bread.

I was there last year again for 1 month because it was my uncle wedding. He was considered the fun uncle in the family. Wedding there is very traditional. It can last up to 2 weeks. Depending on your budget. The one I was in lasted up to 1 week. It was one of the best weddings I’ve been two. Food was awesome and it was free. So that’s basically the best combo you can have. And it’s been going on for a week of free food. Yup got very fat over there. I can’t give all the credit to Libya. Egypt was wonderful too. The pyramids were amazing to see and I got to see a dead person that was dead for thousands of years.

So overall Libya is a great place to go for a vacation but honestly I’m happy with were I’m staying now. It’s not that I love the place and I want to stay there but honestly Libya is one of the best places I’ve been for vacation. In future I hope to travel and see much more amazing countries. Mostly America. After seeing Bob picture I got jealous .anyway to whoever is reading thanks.

I don’t get to travel as much as id love to. so many places id dream to visit. Africa,Cambodia,Machu puchu,Croatia. places filled with so much raw wild adventure.Unfortunately i haven’t had any funds to get around for these trips.Never the less iv had my share of great adventures.
To me the best places to visit are places filled with adventure,a little life and death risks,a little adrenaline and raw nature.Meaning to say that,i wouldn’t find swimming in a high class hotel pool to be as exciting as swimming in a natural river.

Several months ago a friend of mine had planned a trip to a waterfall which was not too far away to travel from the city. it was only an hours drive.we went in a pack of 20 to say the least.We trailed one another’s cars to our destination.we had made several stops as some of us had gotten lost but the journey there was already so exciting.As i sat in the backseat,i would turn around only to see 10 cars of all different classes trailing us in one line.That sight alone gave me butterflies.As we got closer to the remote village and mountains of where the waterfall was,the speed of all the cars slowed down in awe.The view was amazing.

After finally arriving at the area and parking our cars,there was a fair amount of walking to be done to reach this little hut.Where we registered our names and identity card numbers and the time we entered.All for safety precautions.Though this area seemed deserted and placed in the middle of a jungle,the hut was maintained by a local villager.So we began another journey to hike our way through the jungle to reach the waterfall.To kick off our journey into the wild nature,there was a barely stable wooden bridge that had to be crossed,only allowing four people to be crossing at a time.all of us thankfully managed to walk through that wooden bridge,some felt as though the hardest obstacle was now over.Little did they know so much more adventure was awaiting in the jungle.The path we had to trail was very unpredictable,it would be steep and then it would be muddy,it would be a flat straight path then it would turn into a curving maze.We had 5 rivers to cross,as each of us trailed,we joked about crossing the rivers as we would pass small shallow river streams in our path.Constantly asking one another “was that the river?that wasn’t so bad,4 more to go!’ but none of those shallow streams were the rivers we were suppose to be crossing.As we got to a sudden slow down,the ones behind were wondering what the hassle was all about.As we peeped away from our little organized line,we finally realized,none of our proclaimed river crossing was the actual river crossing.

The first river to be crossed was a waist deep.This didn’t sound so dangerous until we actually got into the river,the current of the river was fairly strong,one slip on your foot steps and you would be flushed away by the rapids.The sight of the depth of the river was very deceiving.It would seem very shallow,but in reality it was deeper than expected.Some parts would be much deeper than the rest.The amount of hard and large rocks in the river was invisible to our eyes.So its fair to say almost everyone stumped their toes into the rocks.I had even slipped and almost swept away by the rapids.Luckily a friend grabbed on to me.As the boys crossed the rivers first,the strong ones placed themselves in between the rivers acting as tankers,giving a hand to the rest crossing the rivers.It was a nice sight,to see everyone helping one another,hand in hand.literally.The rivers however got deeper as we crossed them,one was almost chest deep but my lack of height could have been the cause of that.

After an hour of hiking we finally reached the waterfall,and so began our air flipping into the strong currents of the river,making splash bombs as we jumped in.The cool freshness of the river felt amazing.A group of us had planted ourselves onto a rock that was placed in the middle of the river.As each of us floated,allowing the current to flush us away,the ones on the rock would make a human chain pulling us out of the rapid before we would slide too far away from the area. It was like a river slide if you would say.The adventure and fun seemed endless.We even decided to take a gamble to hike up to the top of the waterfall even though a local ranger had warned us earlier that it might rain.Though the hike was quite excruciating as it was very steep,the path itself was so exciting.It was very small and filled with huge tree roots.At some points we had to walk side ways,facing our backs to the trunks.Standing on the edge,trying to flatten ourselves against the tree trunks.Just like in the movies when the good guys try to escape while walking the edge of a window of the high rise buildings.The risks and danger involved was high,but that made it all the more fun.somehow knowing that as dangerous as it is,your going to be alright.

As warned by the ranger,it started to rain.So we rushed with all our packing and began our hike.Trailing back,the depth of the rivers and strength of the rapids were doubled.This was no doubt caused by the rain.But that being said,the heavy rain and deep rivers doubled the excitement and fun as well.Like i said,the adventure seemed endless.I got home in tact with so much stories to tell my mum,only regretting i had gotten home from my adventure. This place no doubt a beautiful place to visit,but what makes it so much more alluring is the adventure that comes with it.So i urge all of you to go Kota Kubu Baharu.The name of the waterfall was called “Chilling”.The name itself does not do the place justice with all the fun it
provides.

I've actually been to the Phillipines and Australia,and i would have choosen to write about either 1 of those beautiful countries, but, since my netbook dosent have any of the pictures that i took then, i decided to write about another amazing and fun place i went to…Hong Kong!!…

I went there last year, with my family and I celebrated my 17th birthday there. It was an enjoyable time for me and I really enjoyed it there.
The weather was great, it wasn’t too hot nor too cold, it was just chilly, the perfect temperature for a nice stroll outdoors.

People say that when you travel to Hong Kong, you absolutely HAVE to go to Macau, eat all the delicious HK food, and enjoy the shopping. Prices there are actually not that bad, since things there are cheap when converted into ringgit.
It was really very fun and an enjoyable trip. First of all, we left our house at 3am,to catch our flight in Singapore at 6am, then straight to Hong Kong! So,everything went according to plan, and we arrived in Hong Kong at around 11am. It was so awesome to watch the sunrise from the aeroplane window, but, i was sitting near the wing of the aeroplane,unfortunately.Haha.

My mum signed us up with a tour group,so when we arrived at the airport, we waited for the tour guide, then we got on the tour bus and we were brought to all the destinations written on our itenary. i cant remember the sequence of where we went first, but i remember where we went. We went to Disneyland. My first time going to Disneyland!! It was soo much fun!!!

I saw Mr and Mrs Mickey Mouse.Haha, and the rest of the Disney Cast. It was so much fun, i got to see Cinderella's Castle as well,and there were a display of fireworks at night around the Castle and it was really amazing!

We were also brought to the beach and it was sooooo chilly and windy!! Our tour guide even told us that from the beach, we could see Jackie Chan's apartment! Haha. but,no,i didnt get to see him.Haha. Later on in the night, we were taken to some place high up in the hills,where there was Madame Tussaude's, the wax musuem. It really is a very interesting place to visit. The wax figurines looked sooo weirdly real.Haha. It was actually kind of scary too.haha.

And, on the 18th of March, i woke up to the loving voices of my parents and my sister, wishing me happy birthday, and my handphone was overloading with messages from my friends back home who were texting me to wish me on my birthday.I felt soo very touched. And it was such a coincidence that that night,on my birthday, was the day we were leaving HK, we had dinner at Burger King and the bill came up to HK183..hahaha.It's the digits of my birthday!!Haha.
So,i celebrated my 18th birthday in Hong Kong and it was really an awesome birthday!Everything was soo nice there,and i will try to go to HK once again!
~Michelle

My unusual jaunt would be Turkey even though I have been there before but it is still the place I wouldn’t mind going again.Why Turkey?because Turkey is filled with history,great food and friendly people.Turkey is a place filled with ancient artifacts,you can find Muhammad’s staff and things he once owned all there in a museum.The food there is really different from what you can get in Malaysia but all I can remember having was kebabs because thats basiclly what I stuffed myself with when I was there going from places to places trying to find for the best kebabs and they were all really good!

Many might think that Istanbul is the capital of Turkey but it’s not,it used to be but the capital of Turkey now is Ankara even though Istanbul has more populations than Ankara but Ankara.It is like the New york and Washington D.C of the states.Istanbul being the more popular one and Ankara being the political one.In Istanbul one of the main places you have to visit is the Blue Mosque which is beautiful inside and out.Next up in Istanbul is the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul,The place everyone and I mean everyone goes to buy stuff from silk to the famous food or snacks found in Turkey like Dried apricots,Dried figs or even Turkish Delight a very popular delight in Turkey.You can find everyone in the bazaar has over 4,000 shops and there is never a fix price in the bazaar.Everything can be bargained and everyone will be bargaining in there.

If everyone watched the movie Troy then you would know that Troy the ancient city was in Turkey.It was famous for the tall walls that surrounded the city that the greeks could not penetrate.But the walls were finally destroyed by earthquakes.Turkey has many interesting places to go and one of the most interesting place I visited was Cappadocia the houses and churches there are carved out of rocks and the churches have drawings all over the walls.Cappadocia is a popular tourism spot and it has hot air balloon rides every morning that would take you around the city for the amazing views of the houses.That is all I have to say for this weeks topic.

Bosphorus Bridge.The bridge that connects Asia and Europe together.
The people I love the most :)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Bosphorus_Bridge_13.jpg

All right , I must say that , Diving is the most exciting sport I had tried before . When I’m diving , I felt that I was living in the other world , universe?? Can say so . Under the water , equipped full set armed of dive , fins , mask , oxygen tank , snorkel , wetsuit , BCD ( buoyancy control device) and other small accessories I had already forgotten what it is called . But after u equipped all of them , you would felt that kind of sensation ( Hmm , I’m really cool indeed xD )
First , we have to learn hand signal under water , how to communicate with other . After that , we started learn how to decline , ascent , someone most important is buoyancy control . For me , I’m only a general swimmer , not that kind good swimmer , so I take quite long time to control buoyancy , at last , I got it !!
Pulau Redang , that one most famous island in Malaysia , I get my certificate over there. I enjoy a lot during my holidays .
I still can remember the first boat dive , I felt “damn” nervous at that time , it is deep , we plan to dive under 18 meters deep . But since I was under there , I felt that it worth that I pay that much to taking this license . You know , when you were dive under the water , fishes were been with you , those fishes won’t be afraid of you . I tried tried tried and tried to catch fish under water , but , I fail at last . Even I was wearing fins , I still feel not comfortable in the sea . Fishes belong to ocean , we are just visitors . Into the ocean , I felt that human was so tiny , even technology developed .
All right , I almost digress . Pulau Redang is just my first dive , I will keep planned to manage my dive journey . Maybe the holidays of October , I will be in Pulau Bali or Tioman :DD
I’m looking forward it !!
Let's Rock !!

I'm a certified DIVER now :D

I've never really been as privileged as to travel often, The only places i've ever really been to would be Hong Kong and Thailand. But being only but a kid when i visited my memory is truly very foggy on the experience there.However it never stops me from dreaming. There a bunch of places i've always wanted to visit. The United States and Japan to say the least. However if i really had to pick? I Think i'd still pick to pay a visit to the land of the rising sun.

Even though Japan had recently undergo some very tragic events , I still believe there is still much of its natural and cultural beauty to be found as they were kept in prayers. I've always been fascinated by the culture there , as a kid it used to be the animes and what not , as a teenager it was the music. JRock has caught my attention for a couple of years during my high school years , but now as a young adult , What would really interest me is the automotive scene and the actual scenery of japan.

We've always heard stories of how beautiful Cherry blossoms actually are during the different times of the year.

Either that really how amazing they look or as we learn in all our different mass communication classes, Its how the media portrays them. Only one way to really find out for sure. And that's to visit.

Aside from that there's always so much more to see and experience , the mountains , the natural hot springs and the list goes on. However , before i get criticized on , I really am no expert in the culture of geography in Japan and someone in my class would probably know more but all i know is that Japan has always been a country that has caught the best of my interest.

Now on to the other reason why i'd love to visit , growing up in high school with car enthusiasts , we never had a shortcoming on the topics of cars that hail from Japan. It has it own unique style of styling cars that you probably won't see replicated as well any other place in the world.

One of the styles of car modification is called Bosozuku. Cars falling under these category are probably the craziest styled cars and the wackiest looking thing you'll ever see grace their roads. The style is somewhat cartoonish , As if the designs were drawn up by someone who had these car designs as a kid and just never gave up on that dream. But ill let the pictures do the talking.

Rest assured , you probably aren't the only person who would be weirded out by the cars above nor will you be the only person to find them interesting. However there also are pretty well done up cars over in Japan which have inspired people over here locally or even over in the United States of America.

A Nissan Silvia S13
A Honda Nsx
And a Nissan Skyline Or as its known as by the enthusiasts : " Hakosuka"

Me and family really have not been one to travel , but here's to hoping for a wind of change and that one day , hopefully soon. I'd be over there in Japan blogging about a life experience and not just about what i picture happening in my head.

The best place to go is definitely Japan . I went to Japan 1 years ago . Japan have many fun stuff that we Malaysian have not experience before . The people in Japan are well known for their attitude as well .They are kind , friendly , polite , optimistic and many more . I have heard that there are many people said that Japanese people dislike Chinese people and will treat them roughly when the Japanese people saw Chinese people, but that prove to be wrong when I go to Japan . They treat me even better than my grandparent did . They give us , me and my family a group of traveler a very warm welcome to their homeland . Japan is a very nice place . it had scenery that no other place have . For example like mount Fuji . it was say that mount Fuji has the most perfect shape of a mountain there ever have and there are different station in mount Fuji there. If I had not remember it wrong there are like 7 station in mount Fuji . and the highest you go the bigger the number is .when you reach station7 and you take a look at the scenery , it blows you away you will feel that everything you had in mind had disappear . I will never ever forget that feeling . It was like WOW .

Ah, I forget to mention that I even celebrated Christmas in Japan . It was a white Christmas ,why I said is a white Christmas ,that is because when it snow in Japan at Christmas day it was called a white Christmas .That day it was so cold even when I have my sweater on .When I went out on that day , it shocked me to see that all the house had a Christmas tree outside in their garden and they were all celebrating and most of the shop were close on that day . But still I saw many couple out dating on the street , all of them has a smile on their face and were very happy , suddenly I was thinking that why Malaysia can’t be like this .In Malaysia even on Christmas day it can’t be as harmony and as wonderful as in Japan . Here it was so peaceful ,harmony and everyone have the feeling that they were very happy to be in Japan . You can’t miss out something like this ,Trust me.
In japan the food was very cheap , and most important is that the electronic stuff in japan was like the cheapest you can ever find .Believe or not a PS3 in japan is even CHEAPER than a coat sold in Japan . I went to see the man’s section and saw a coat that is wakao it was like 30 thousand yen in Japan it was like RM1000 and after that I went to see some electronic stuff and I saw PS3 sold in Japan was like 18 or 20 thousand yen only it was like cheap man .You can’t get this price in Malaysia forever it was like only RM700 only . And that is when I got my PS3 . I think is enough for me to talk about Japan already but trust me on this guys you will not regret once you have step into JAPAN and I will definitely go back again .DEFINITELY.!!

The world is a glorious place , with many wondrous and breathtaking sights to offer . The romantic Eiffel Tower in France to the expansive Taj Mahal in exotic India all the way to the Greatness that is the Great Wall of China , in China obviously. All these places are well known and tourists from around the globe flock to these wonderments . Some of these masterpieces are heavily reliant on History , such as the Roman Colosseum while others tend to be more lively and flashy such as the glitzy Las Vegas in U.S.A. I have travelled to many of these aforementioned countries , and indeed I was shocked to silence by the utter elegance of these places ( except for Las Vegas… I havent been there…). But the place , or rather the country I would love to visit and hope to study there soon is the United Kingdom.
Also known informally as the U.K., it is surprisingly a country that is not very high on the tourist lists despite the deep and sometimes even torturous history that delves in its past . From pirates reigning the seven seas , to the prim and proper dukes and dutchesses , this country has a lot to offer and I , for one am glad to accept . Anyway , enough with the boring stuff…
To be brash and straighforward , I find the U.K. a place that would definitly be at the top of my ' MUST VISIT ' list. A lot of people , especially adults always enquire about my weird taste in countries , claiming that I am young and should travel the world…. But , think about it… You need to get settled into one country before you can become a globe trekker . It may be a fun and exciting job at first , but we are human and so we always want to come back to a safe haven that we can call home.
I would like to make U.K. that haven , and although many people discourage me from the idea , I reply them by saying out loud that it's my life and i'm the one living it not them . Moving on , England has got many phantasmagorial sceneries that are usually found on Hallmark cards and living your life in an environment like that is always calming. NOT THINKING ABOUT THE RECENT RIOTS… As I was saying , calming.. hahaha XD
There are definitly other places I would like to visit but for now , for me I want to go visit England…
Don't Judge Me…XD

Taiwan here we come! Haha, my family and I went to Taiwan for the school holiday trip at year 2009. We stayed at Taiwan for 5 days 4 nights. Here are some photo that what we did and what we eat in Taiwan. Enjoy ! =D

九份老街 Jiu fen old street, very very hot weather but still, there is a lot of people there! woooo

All dress up to attract customer to buy Taiwan sausage from her. LOL especially squid ink sausage and wasabi sausage. =D

This is a very special restaurant design by a famous artist. The decoration inside the restaurant is very artistic! cool!

OH Yeah! I almost die that day, lol. just kidding. haha =P

This is the most famous building in Taiwan called "101". There is One Hundred and one floor in this building!

And this food is call " O AH JIAN". Very nice to eat and famous too!

Lastly, this is my tour guide and he is a professional magician too. he is a friendly person and he came to Malaysia before just to visit my family. =)

Taiwan is a very nice place. I will come to Taiwan again in my future!

I have a cousin she migrates to Hong Kong. So I and my sis go there for holiday. This is not the first time we came to HK, everytime to HK we will stay at my cousin house. This time we stay at my cousin home about 1 week. Because if we stay at hotel it will be very expensive, everyone knows that hotel of HK is quite expensive. And it’s also because my cousin so passion and welcome us to stay at her home… But honestly, actually I and my sis feel a bit uncomfortable to stay at her home because she, her family and friend are too passion. We had activity everyday, they plan plenty of activity for us. They bring us to shopping, temple, Ocean Park….
Although we are not willing to stay at there, but we still stay there for 1 week. I told my cousin that I wanna stay at hotel for the second week. She not agree that I and my sis stay at hotel, she said that will be dangerous. After argument, I win =D… My cousin helps us to find a hotel that near by her house, and then she said she will pay for us.
After check in, I and my sis have a nap at room. I dream a person (I can not differentiate whether He or She is), the person talks to me… it seem like a best friend chatting… That day we decided to call room service for dinner, we stay inside the room whole day… I and my sis doesn’t feel any wrong… =) The next day morning we went out with my cousin until midnight. I open the door, suddenly I saw a black shadow float in front of me… I can’t really believe my eye… only 1 or 2 second the black shadow appear…then I ask my sis whether she got saw something or not… but she said that is nothing happen just now…I think maybe I’m too tired. That day night again I dream the person, the person said about the something’s… After wake up I sweat… The 3rd day night, 4th day night …I also dream the same person, and told the something’s to me…I never told my sis and my cousin about this… The 5th day, I really unbearable to stay at this hotel…. I cry…T.T
We move back to my cousin house. I never tell the real reason to my sis, and cousin why I don’t want to stay at hotel… After that experience, I swear I won’t back to that hotel anymore… It’s the first time I encounter to this kind of problem, I really don’t know how to handle it. But I hope, don’t let me encounter it again… Because I don’t what I will do by then… maybe… don’t know…=)

United States of America, ahhhh… where all the famous Hollywood blockbuster movie took place and where Politics conquer the headlines of the news paper. I was there with my family for almost 2 weeks and I don’t want to mention the flight! It was 28 hours of torture where we took off from KLIA and then to Taiwan for transit, then from Taiwan to Los Angeles, we spend our whole day in the aircraft.
But once we landed in LAX ,it was amazing ,totally different from Malaysia! Of course right.. it’s the states, well let’s start with the awesome part! As we landed in Los Angeles Airport ,there was a freaking limo waiting for us outside of the airport, haha ,cool huh? We were treated as royalty there, and then we spend the days there in the Hilton presidential suite which is mind blowing. TOPSSS!!! So what did we do to spend our days in Los Angeles? DISNEYLAND baby! It was like 15 minutes walking distance from our hotel..superb! The entrance fee was 70$ USD but it was worth more than that ,but we came in the afternoon ,which we have wasted half of the day! The whole theme park was packed and it was so huge till we don’t know where to start ,and the rides there was crazy! Haha..well I had to go back to the hotel early cause I had my PMS. But my family enjoyed the rest of the day and I missed the fun part! But it was still worth it.

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Well since we did not have much to do on the second day and we were in the Hollywood land! We decided to go to Beverly Hills and the Walk of Fame … But getting there was the scary part, my dad rent a car! And I wanted the experience so bad he made me drive ,imagine all this while driving on the right side and out of desire I drove on the left side!!!!!!!! BOOMMMM! Was not cool at all, the road there was different and I made a lot of wrong turns and got honk by trucks ,cars and buses.. geezz we were like monkeys from the jungle running around crazy on the highway! But I made it !! we arrived in the wrong part of LA,DOWNTOWN!! Stupid GPS took us there, Where all the crazy people we see in the movies are! Really guys they do exist! We were freaked out! There were this homeless guy following our family! Nuts!! But I asked people around there they told us that we were at the wrong place! Haha..So we took the car and drove to the right place now! This time dad drove! And GPS came clean.. Haha ,I don’t want to be risking my life over some stupid road I’m not use to! But I have gain the experience that’s all matters! We went for a Hop In ride in Sunset Blvd! they took us to see all the Hollywood Stars mansion! Wicked!! And we saw all M.Jackson ,Madonna, Simon Cowell and more stars mansion ..So the day was tiring but fun..and we had a morning flight to Utah, we had to go back to the hotel and pack our stuff and have a good rest!

Flight to Utah was about 2 hours…. Still …..i slept the whole journey because I was so sleepy and as we landed ,another limo came to pick us up! Haha insane! We stayed at a friend of my dad’s place there and as I got down from the limo I was so amazed with the view of mountains and there was snow on it! Beautiful creation of god which I just cant get my eyes of, it was like a freaking wallpaper! I was in disbelief! So we had lunch and somehow rather my dad’s friend has this “toy” he called! It was a freaking BMW M6 convertible and he took me and my sister in it, well basically in America you can only fit 4 people in a car like that, so my brother joined just to fit in the 4, it was a slow drive up to the mountains and the wind was so calming and cold! Rather amazing..well I am nature person basically so I prefer things like that and I can feel the wind passing through my body and I feel so calm..and the music on the radio fits the ride! As we reached the top! SNOWWWW!!!yeahh! oh yeah I forgot to mention! We were bare foot! All of us! Hahah, it was because Utah is really small state, population of people.. little .. the people there normally do as I took a few step on the snow and make a few snow balls but I couldn’t stand it,ice cold! and stayed inside the car! Haha well it really was an experience..
We also went to the Mormon Temple just to understand what was the it about ,because in Utah most of the people there are Mormon.. so just to have some input bout this people we went there and one of the sister was from MALAYSIA!! Wooohoooo , orang kita! So she became our guide and explain to us ,she was there as a volunteer and mentioning she is a Mormon herself! Cooliess!
To sum up now! It was a lifetime experience! And I just cant wait to go there again!! And meet cute Mormon boys..hehe..Just a little bit info and correction! American’s are amazing! Unlike what they told us in the paper or what.. haha.

Cheers peps!!
Bella.S

Every time when I reminisce about the places I’ve been to, nothing ever gives me more of a nostalgic feeling than the first time I stepped foot on Bangkok. It was approximately 10 years ago that I first came to this country and the adrenaline just started flow through my blood as I glared at the vast abundance of buildings and populace that engulfed the area around me. Thailand dwells on many arts and after I started to explore the country’s roots I realized there was also a platform to cater its multi-cultural society, a fact which unbeknownst to me at that time opened my eyes to the true reality of its beauty.

My family and I were hasty and exhausted so we immediately checked into our pre-booked hotel Mike’s Place, a nice little heart of the city it wasn’t all that extravagant but somehow we managed to grow into it overtime. As the morning came our adventures took effect my sister, brother, my mom and my dad hopped into cab and visited one of the most recognizable shopping malls in the city “Robinson”. This large departmental store had everything your everyday guy desired, from food to kitchen-ware to cleaning utensils to clothes, furniture and electronics the latter which supplied me the Play station game console I’ve been pestering my Dad to buy me for over a year. After it was time to leave I resisted as I just wanted to strike one last look at this glorious establishment, just one last thrill but I couldn’t. The next day we had a change of scenery, my Dad suggested something a bit more open, a little more ‘natural’ he said so we took a trip down to the zoo. The zoo we arrived at was quite large it was called Crocodile Farm Zoo and most of the foreigners that were visiting chose this as their ideal outdoor sightseeing spot.

I didn’t waste anytime, I was ecstatic because this was the first time a zoo allowed the tourists to touch and interact with the animals that were caged as opposed to the zoo in my country that had a strict “no-touching” policy. I passed by animals ranging from co*ckatoos, snakes, apes and elephants but the animal that I was most eager to see were the tigers stationed and sitting outdoors on a wooden platform with a photo booth situated near the zookeepers. I was shivering, but at the same time excited because I finally got to test my courage with a Royal Bengal Tiger. I went to it, the keepers dispersed as I wanted to take a single photo, my Dad was nervous but supported and in a few minutes the photographer came out of the booth and flashed a photo that created a timeless memory for me to cherish for the rest of my life.

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Our last stop of fun and enjoyment came in the form of another outdoors location, this time it was the Beach. Quite frankly I don’t remember its name or have any recollection of where it was situated but I can tell you this: the feeling was absolutely surreal! Like sex on wheels: D. The cool air gliding over the ocean, the parachutes flying with the speedboats, the people in their frantic spirits building sand castles and taking dips into the whirlpools with others snorkeling far off the coastal front. As the sun was starting to set I laid my head down on the beach and wandered if Paradise had a second meaning.

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To sum it up and like I was mumbling to myself on the plane ride home, Bangkok had been an unforgettable experience. A subtlety that left so many marks on my soul, a picture being painted on the same canvas over and over again and a reminder how sweet life sometimes can be .

I’m back for my 2nd week of posting here…

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This house may seem like a simple yet dull place to some,but it was a place that housed laughters of many.This photo was taken back in 2008 at Port Dickson when a group of us attended a leadership camp that lasted 3days 2 nights.Yes! Port Dickson remains one of the closes place to KL to go for a short gateway if you want a fun fill day at the beach.
The group of us writing down our wishes for the coming months and years and letting it fly

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One of the best resorts to stay here in Port Dickson would be at Avillion, a resort that is built on stilts and has a modern yet unique design.Avillion host a wide range of activities for tourist and locals with it’s fun filled packages to fit all you needs.Examples are such as the beach buggies,banana boat rides,flying fish or even snorkeling if you would like.There are also beach activities along the coast of Port Dickson as you could go jungle trekking,camping or simply building a bon fire and baking marshmallows. Now doesn’t that sound like a fun?

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Oh i remember a near miss of mine with the jet skies as well.Well i was out with a couple of friends just riding the waves here at the beach with our surf boards when two of use got knocked of our boards by a incoming jet ski.Yes it was a torrid time for us as my friend fractured his leg and luckily i escaped with a bruised shoulder.Scary but here i am today =)
A must visit venue at Port Dickson would be the Shell Petroleum Refinery.At the refinery visitors are given a short tour of place and are shown the many different stages how petroleum is process right as it come out from the oil rig. Visitors get to experience how diesel and petroleum are categorize and extracted from it’s core.Personally i felt that it was a good experience because all i knew before this was vehicles in general uses diesel and petrol without the knowledge of how it is produced.Would love to share some photos of the place but cameras are strictly a no no.
Another wonderful place i visited and reckon nobody should miss is got to be Blue Lagoon.Located about 15km from Port Dickson town lies the Blue Lagoon which offers a breathtaking view of the surrounding greenery and the blue open sea. The lagoon is an ideal spot for swimming, boating, wind surfing and water skiing. This is where the action is when it comes to having fun in the sun. Accommodation is easily obtainable as a number of hotels and motels are located here.

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A favourite among tourist and the locals here also is the lighthouse at Cape Rachardo built by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The beacon guided sailing ships to Malacca, the most important port in South East Asia. The lighthouse is still functioning today. Ascend the narrow spiral staircase and see the magnificent view of the coastline of Sumatra, 38km across the Straits. The cape is also the stopover point for migratory birds. From September to March, flocks of sparrows, honey buzzards and swifts can be seen here together with hawks and eagles. Walk down the 63 steps beside the lighthouse and follow the jungle trek to a secluded beach. The footprint embedded in a boulder, about 50 metre to

the right of the track, is said to be that of Hang Tuah, the legendary Malay warrior of the 15th century. Legend has it that upon acquiring innate strength and knowledge, Hang Tuah chose to meditate here. The footprint marks the spot where he first landed at Tanjung Tuan. A nearby well whose icy cool water is a boon for the tired and thirsty, is also said to have been dug by him. Local devotees have known to pay their homage at this spot.

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See You Soon!! =)

There are many places that I’ve been to. Some of the countries that I have travelled to are the UK, US, Australia, Milan, Paris and loads more. Visiting different countries is great. You get to to experience different culture and different people and not to forget the variety food. All of these places that I’ve been to are all wonderful places to visit.

Since I travel to the UK a lot, I shall probably talk about it. The reason I travel there a lot is because my sister leaves there. HAHA! She is currently leaving in Newcastle which is north of the UK. There are many other places I’d like to talk about but now let’s just focus here.
Well, for starters I like the UK because of its cold wheather :D

London back in 2006

There are a lot of old castles in the UK.I've visited a few and they are really interesting to see.Each castles have their own stories.I've been to this castle located in Newcastle itself.Its called the 'Alnwick Castle'.It's really cool being there as they had a tour around the castle grounds.It is also one of the castles that they shot the movie 'Harry Potter'.

Mum and Dad. Hehe :p

The Milennium bridge.Pretty awesome.The bridge can be closed so that boats can pass.Besides that,a lot of people use the bride to get across the river to get to the other side.I have loads more pictures but unfortunately I don't know where I kept it.Lost somewhere in my computer. :D

Millenium Bridge in Newcastle

I'M NOT FINISH YET!

Wish I could write more,but this is as much that you can get when u do last minute assignments.HAHA!

*Man,I should really stop doing assignments last minute. :p

Holidays! A time everyone gets hyped up over, parents planning activities for the family to spend quality time with is always the best. Well, hello waking up late, celebrating, and best of all, an awesome vacation! In my case, a holiday I would never forget is a fruitful one I experienced 3 years ago, where my family and I spent 4days in the land of K-pop and ‘kimchi’-Korea! It was a free trip that my dad won though, from some lucky draw at a private event that i don't really recall of.

Anyways, we visited Seoul! Seoul is the capital as well as the largest city of South Korea located in the north west of the country. The city is the hub of Korean politics, culture, education, and entertainment. Seoul has gained international reputation since the 1988 Olympics. Having an interesting combination of traditional past and cosmopolitan lifestyle, Seoul is a great city to visit and to live in. The city is also great for shopping specially in Tongdaemun (east gate) and Namdaemun (south gate). Another interesting place is the Insadon-gil, a street in north Seoul, which features folk crafts, antiques, art galleries, and some fine restaurant.

My family n I arrived in beautiful Seoul,Korea. Stepping out of the plane, we could feel the chilly weather to our bones. Never have been experiencing that kind of weather here in Malaysia, my siblings and I were totally excited! We passed through the immigrations and baggage claim, we talked animatedly about our new surroundings. Since we had a tour guide to guide us around, we knew that we were in good hands.

It was a bit past lunch time when we had arrived, and got done with checking in to our hotel. No doubt, everybody’s stomachs were grumbling. Thank god after checking in, we went to have our lunch and also did a bit of sightseeing. While waiting for my parents outside the hotel, my siblings and I walked around nearby. There were rows of vending machines that sold various snacks and beverages, including Haagen Dazs ice-cream, and instant noodles. I had a sudden craving for ice lemon tea, so I spent my first Korean money on that!

At the restaurant, a delicious meal was already spread out for us. That was the first time we all tried kimchi, a spicy and sour vegetable side dish. I did not think it was horrible, but I preferred the fish kimchi much better. We all ate using chopsticks, so that was kind of awkward for me and my siblings, as we are not skilled at using them yet. Being Malaysians, we were used to rice, so it was a good thing that the Korean meal included rice and a few other side dish, eaten from a Bento box. It was weird though, the rice was stickier compared to the rice we eat back at home, mainly to make it easier to eat using chopsticks. There was also hot and scrumptious miso soup together with the meal. Since my sister and my brother did not like it much, I finished up theirs. I gulped the warm soup down my throat as it was a nice contrast from the shivering weather outside.

One of the highlights of our activities that we did in Korea was skiing. Everybody was looking forward to it. Since it wasn’t fully snowing yet, the hill was covered with artificial snow. We grabbed our ski gear and we listened to a briefing by the instructor. He was very helpful, especially with us as it was our first time. Feeling jumpy and hyperactive, me and my sister made our way to the cables cars and we successfully skied down the slope. When we came to see how our parents and brother were doing, my brother started to throw snowballs towards me and my sister. It hit me, and we starting having a small snowball fight of our own, just like in the movies! When we arrived at the hotel after skiing, we were all drained out and starving. Instant noodles saved the day! We all ate curry-flavoured Maggi together, savouring the momentary pleasure. We also dozed off quite early that night, right after going for a walk to enjoy the amazing night view of the mountains, and breathing the cool, fresh winter air that we never could get in Malaysia.

Shopping in Korea was also different compared to Malaysia. Its malls were packed with small shops or stalls on every single floor. Big boutiques were not seen as much as the quaint kiosks. Nevertheless, I found shopping at their markets more enjoyable, especially because you could haggle the price. Their specialities were crystals, fabrics, and outerwear. Apart from that, we also visited the wet market. The wet market were very clean and they did not have that fishy smell. There was also a treasure trove among the stalls of the wet market, a tiny shop that served grilled seafood. My family n I stepped into the shop and ordered some grilled fish and co*ckles. The seafood was the best I had ever eaten, as you could taste the freshness. Or maybe I was just hungry after a full day of activities. We also visited the main attractions in Seoul, Nam San Tower, Kyongbok Palace, National, Chogysea Temple, Folklore Museum, Lotte World and the War Memorial Museum within the 4days that we had spend there.

If it was up to me, there were so many things to write on my memorable trip to Korea. Not only we got to spend quality time together as a family, but we also learnt countless new things. My father always said, we should travel with an open mind and an open heart. This is when you get to see your capability to adapt to changes. I had a good time in Korea and I hope to visit again

Hello people! Do you know how many places are there for people around the world to be visited? Of course, you will have no idea how to add this sum up as it's countless. Well, despite of places out of the Peninsular Malaysia, there are quite a few comfortable and adventuring places to be experienced and visited too! As for me, I will highly recommend a place in Raub, Pahang called Casabrina Villa. For a more familiar navigation in the maps to most of you, it is located very near to the popular Fraser Hill.

Based on the name of that place, you people would have thought it must be a villa. And yeah you are right it is a villa. *Laughs* I supposed there won't be any of us stubborn enough to actually deny that it isn't a villa while seeing there's already a word 'Villa' at the name there. Alright let's just go straight to the point okay? (Trying to warm you all up before I proceed into sharing the amazing experience I had in Casabrina Villa. But don't worry I know I failed badly, intentionally and, sincerely) Most of you would have wondered, what is so nice about a Villa? Well that is the point here, to tell you what, why and how. :)

First of all, you will have to register into the villa. There are several houses you can occupy, and you can choose at your own free will. Each of them are unique, that is all I can say. So you can choose one that meets your preferable demands and is your favourably sense of design for both exterior and interior. The exterior is not much of to be fascinated but it is actually the interior designs. It is a home with classic furnitures and designs, but contrasted with modern concepts with it's unique abstract characters, providing you a feeling of extraordinary comfort, brand new, and a light amusem*nt.

Besides the beauty and concept of the houses that it has created and introduced, the environment around it is simply fantastic too! As it is located on the way to Fraser Hill, it is already at the midway of high ground, so it has a very soothing and cold weather. It is not very cold but just nice, perfect for a vacation or stay in. There are jungles and big trees all around, it is very nature friendly over there. It makes you feel closer to nature, and also you get to grow more comfortable with it.

Adding on, there can be sceneries viewed from different angles and at different hours at different days. The fog due to the cold air gives the places a mysterious yet soothe feeling. There are already telescopes built inside the houses. Those telescopes allow you to look further into the distance up the faraway hills, and more interestingly you can view the starry skies at night as the skies and stars there are very clear at night. Matching along with the romantic glows of the lamps and lights located around the villa, it just adds up to the harmonious delightment. The effect is priceless.

Also one very special thing about the villa is you have your own crew of chefs, kitchen workers, servers and maids. They are there to serve your every meal. The food they serve are mouth-watering and simply delicous. They come in different varieties and it is totally a complete course for each meal they serve. Dishes that you would never expect will be served right in front of you at the dining table. Their service is highly qualitative and efficient. Regardless of the huge size of the houses, they still keep the cleanliness at satisfying conditions.

Generally, the place is a very likeable place to stay over at. My aunt's husband is actually one of the owner there that is why we got some extra privilege. But you will never regret staying there just for a few nights enjoying a paradise of your own. What I would suggest is you should bring along your relatives and a big group of people and occupy as many houses there, additionally it will be more worth it too. That's all for the post this week! Have a good new week people! :D

Since I was a kid, I’ve always been a humungous fan of bitc…I mean BEACHES. If I have the chance, I’d choose to spend my savings to go for a vacation at beautiful sea sides/beaches compared to any other places. To me, nothing can be more calm and relaxing than chilling and hanging around mother nature, i sound so…..loving. LOL. Few months back, I received an e-mail from a friend of mine regarding the world best beaches and just by looking at the pictures, I got totally mesmerized, like totally, I then spent hours just researching about this place I now call “Heaven on Earth”..

Bora-bora island :D

Bora-bora island is probably one of the most beautiful places in the world. People say picture lies but yeah, I’ve read dozens of articles about Bora-bora and also read posts written by people who actually went there and experienced it themselves, each and everyone of them described Bora-bora island in an unbelievable way. I was hooked and I really really really realllllllly hope that I’ll have a chance to go there myself one day. Bora-bora island is located in French Polynesia which is a part of France. It’s literally in the middle of nowhere. Look at this picture.

According to them, as you arrive in Bora-bora by air, this is the magnificent view you’ll get from above. The island is surrounded by a lagoon and barrier reef. Pristine white sand, crystal clear water around Mt. Otemanu. What can I say?

Over there, you can stay on these awesome overwater bungalows. Just look at it. The best part of these overwater bungalows are the living rooms that has a glass floor, making it possible to see the fish in the clear blue water below. And imagine, you can just snorkel at the dork of your room and just jump into the water with beautiful corals and fishes surrounding you, whenever you want to.

Bora-bora island is also called as a heaven of marine sports as they have various types of interesting activities that can be done there like snorkelling, scuba diving, wind surfing, water ski, and tonnes more. People call Bora-bora the premier and ideal place for snorkelling or scuba diving as the marine life there is unbelievably amazing. As they said, the coral reef there are in colours we’ve never seen before and just the amount and types of aquatic animals you can find there will make you go crazy. Exaggerating? Well, we'll never know till we go there ourselves. But from the realistic pictures taken by a couple of visitors themselves, I just couldn’t deny. It’s a place I believe everybody would hope to go.

What else? Ohhhh ya, the best part, what really caught my attention as I did my research was the sharks and manta ray feeding. Believe it or not, you can stand around dozens of ADULT sharks and rays up to few metres long and even hand feed them. The sharks and rays there won’t attack human as they are technically tame. Super cool.

Will this dream vacation be just a….dream? I really hope that i'll have this very chance one day to experience Bora-bora's breathtaking beauty myself, with my bare eyes. Perhaps, i shall marry a rich husband and go there for our honeymoon *evil grins*

*all the pictures above are from google images*

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We Asians are very fortunate in that we have easy acess to many tropical beach resorts. Whereas Europeans, Americans and Australians have to travel thousands of miles, for us is at the most 2 hour flight away. Places like phu*ket, Koh Samui, Pattaya and Bali are increasingly popular destinations. Two years ago I made a trip to Bali, I was quite impress by the exotic, laidback and relaxing ambience of its culture, architecture,religion and way of life. Unlike some parts of the Indonesia , there are no slums in bali as most of the people live in their traditonal Bali houses with their Balinese garden and the famous Balinese half moon gate.

My father was so impressed that he upon coming back , he tried to put some Balinese influence into his garden though not on such a big scale as a former Menteri Besar’s Balinese garden. Even in Kuala Lumpur we find interest in Balinese architecture in homes, hotels and espeacially the spas . I also impressed by the many temples and also their Kecak Dance, which was based on the story of Ramayana. We also visited Paddys Café where the 2002 Bali bomb blast took place.

However my advice is not to go around December as the heat can be quite unbearable , especially as the sidewalks of Kuta or Denpasar are quite narrow and does not provide much shade when walking around . I also noticed that power failures are quite common and many of the small shops have their own standby generators . Bali does not have the girlie bars that seem to be everywhere in phu*ket or Pattaya . This makes it a suitable place to bring families . Im looking forward to another visit soon!.

When I was told that I was going to a place called Gibraltar, I didn’t know how to react to that because honestly, I have never heard about this country and what is interesting about it. So on the 10th of August, 2011, I arrived at Gibraltar and trust me when I say, “I was shocked!”

Gibraltar is an overseas territory of Britain. While most of the countries around it are using the Euro (€) currency, Gibraltar uses Sterling Pounds (£) as their currency. Gibraltar is actually located at the south of Spain near Andalusia, Spain. Gibraltar is actually very small it covers only 6.843 square kilometres of land. The airport runway is from one end to another end of Gibraltar! That is how small Gibraltar is.

The Rock of Gibraltar is the main landmark at Gibraltar. The Pillar of Hercules is located on the Rock of Gibraltar. What is The Pillars of Hercules? Well, it is written on the pillar, “To the ancient world Gibraltar was known as Mons Calpe one of the legendary pillars created by Hercules as a religious shrine and as an entrance to Hades. To many it signified the “Non Plus Ultra” the end to the then known world.”

Yup! A lot of monkeys at The Rock of Gibraltar!

Then there is the St. Michael’s Cave located in the heart of the rock. What’s cool about this cave is, they hold events like operas and concerts in the cave itself!

The cave was also used as a military base during times of war. Some parts of the base are still used today by the current military force while the others are used as a museum. They use wax figures and sound effects to re-live the times of war.

Gibraltar is also the home of some huge, magnificent and traditional churches. With the majority of the population of Gibraltar are Christians, there are a total of 8 churches around the small country.

Overall, it was an unexpectedly interesting and knowledgeable trip for me. I get to learn about the history of Gibraltar and enjoy the breath-taking sights around the country. I would love to go back to Gibraltar mainly because of the cooling weather and the friendly citizens of Gibraltar. It is also very easy to get around Gibraltar because of the very convenient public transport provided. \m/

I cannot believe that I have been to four different countries around the world which are Namibia, South Africa, Switzerland and France. But not reaching my dad whom had been in more than 80 countries like China, USA, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Dubai, Switzerland, and France, to name the few.
Amongst all four countries I have been to, there is only one which kept a huge sparkle into my two eyes that is Switzerland. Wooooooow! I can just see it’s all coming back to me now the picture when I just arrived to the city of GENEVA. I went there with my brother in-law’s sister to visit my sister and her family. In Switzerland, they are using 4 different languages depending which side of Switzerland you are staying. There is French, Germany, Italian and Portuguese. When I was there, I had to brush up my French. I did french in my secondary education.
Now what can I say about GENEVA? GENEVA is an anomaly, truly international city. But Geneva is little more than town-sized. From its demographic 38 per cent of the population are foreigners, you would imagine how streets filled with the nationalities of the world. It’s in the most beautiful of locations, centred on the point where the River Rhône flows out of Lake Geneva flanked on one side by the Jura ridges and on the other by the first peaks of the Savoy Alps. It’s a spending city covered up with Geographical, Politics, Economy, Demographics and Culture. Geneva currency money is Swiss Francs (CHF).

My first week was somehow difficult because of the weather. We went in the bad season so it was near winter time. So I had to cover myself so well to avoid the cold. Later I got used to the weather.

Forestland in Divonne-les-Bains

We went to FRANCE, it is not so far just took us 3 hours by driving. We went to the top of the mountain it was fun but due to bad weather, we had to leave.

From top of Mount Saleve (the mountain which is in France), you can view Geneva and lake Geneva.

MERCI, rest of my stay, surely I enjoyed as I managed to adopt with the weather. We would walk around town taking photos as tourists. We really had fun.

I was told that 95% of people in Geneva own dogs. The dogs will be dressed with very interesting outfits. And the owners will carry designer bags to carry their dogs when they get tired of walking.

After three months in GENEVA were over, I went back to my mother country TANZANIA.
I also love my country so much. As I could advise the tourist to come to visit TANZANIA where Mother Nature are been found. Many tourist come from different part of continent to explore.