VS 3

"We can do no great things, only small things with love" - Mother Teresa

It was a game day! since cuti skolah pon dh nak start, we didn't want to pressure the kids so much with all the academic thingy during school break kan. So we brought puzzle, we played origami, and I also brought my Pictureka and Uno Stacko.

Random games for everyone. they can play whatever they want. Pictureka was quite new to them. So macam ramai yg interested. They fought several times over the sand clock timer. Semua sibuk nak jaga the timer. But a few of them memang betul2 bersemangat gila nak main. Pictureka is about finding things on the 3x3 tiles. I bought it from US for my younger sister. Tapi bila dh besar die macam dh hafal pon tile boards tu haha. I am so glad to see the Pictureka became beneficial again.

Some of the kids joined the Origami group. I didn't have the chance to go to the other games sebab non stop layan diorg main Pictureka. But I saw the sampan, love shape, swan, rocket and other origami flying here and there. They're having much fun.

Pictureka pon bagus utk English vocab. sebab ade banyak jugak bnda yg diorg tak paham the meaning but now they remember sebab nak menang. Uno stacko maybe macam not really suitable for their ages kot. They ended up playing it as Lego. and the other volunteers also showed them the domino effect from the Uno stacko.

Overall, it was a quite relax day. Tapi we, the volunteers rasa macam we have to standardize all the games. Means that kalau sorang buat origami, semua kene main origami. Kalau tak the kids pon mcm tak stick to one game, nak try itu nak try ini and the classes looked like a mess.

So, our PM had planned a schedule until end of December for the Volunteer Session during School Break. And guess what? Every session ade 15 minutes "bedtime story session". The kakak2 kene tell them a story before the session ends. And and and and my name was there for one of the session. Ahhhhh nervous! a few more weeks until my turn T_T. help me help me.

VS 2

"Never underestimate your ability to make someone's else life better- even if you never know it" - Greg Louganis

The feeling before going to the second session was different than the first time. I didn't feel nervous anymore, the excitement was doubled. While driving, I started to recall their names and cute faces, imagined how welcoming they are when I stepped inside the house, lovely hugs from everyone.

The activity for the night was drawing and painting. Our PM brought a few boxes of BUNCHO colors and drawing papers for the kids. Of course they were happy. Well what is more happier than skipping mathematics books for an art class? Uhmm except for me coz I'm *#&(#@(% at art.  Tangan botol tahap maximaaaa. hehe

When the session started, I sat with KH and PU again, and TP. They needed to write their name at the back of the paper. So I tried to be as artistic as I can, I wrote their name in block letters. Tak cantik pon but they were so impressed. Puji2 banyak kali sampai rasa nak kasi hadiah kahkah. And they asked me a few times, "Kenapa kakak ingat nama saya?" " Macam mana kakak boleh tau nama saya?". Maybe that is one simple way to make them feel appreciated. So, I'll try my best to remember each of them. 

Anddd the drawing session started. Hands up and I surrender! I really can't draw. They asked me to draw hello kitty for them. Ok fine it was not that bad but I hardly imagined how hello kitty looks like. So me being ehem kakak yang moden dan bergadget bajet canggih, I googled Hello kitty on my phone to guide them. Tapi PU merengek2 suruh lukiskan jugak. Dia kata kalau die lukis mesti buruk. I didn't want to spoon-feed them, so I made a dotted shape of hello kitty and asked her to connect all the dot.

"Kakak kenapa hello kitty kakak buat kepala besar badan kecik?" Pffffttt even PU can judge how bad my drawing can be. Art-failed! 

Then, I helped them with the buncho colors. Hello Kitty is pink but too bad there is no pink in the buncho box. Berguna jugak ilmu seni zaman sekolah dulu so I mixed the red buncho with white to make pink color. and I also mixed a few more colors like blue and yellow to make green, just to make more variety colors. 

TP and PU drew Hello Kitty, but KH changed her mind a few minutes later, she wanted to draw a house. Bukan rumah bodoh2  tu, a 2 storey house which looks so much like RKK. Kan dah kata KH sangat sesuatu. She is different than the others. 

Tengah2 lukis tbe2 PU tanya "Kakak, kenapa kakak tu (pointing her finger to a volunteer yg bermakeup agak tebal) kulit die putih sangat? Dia kenapa?" I tried hard not to laugh, and thought of an appropriate answer. Ahh kidsss so innocenttt. Soklan macam tu pon nak tanya. huahuahua. So I said "Dia cantik sebab tu die putih" Yes, not very convincing but I can't think of more creative answer. haha

So presentinggggg.. my kids's drawingggg hehe. 

After the session, one of the volunteer shared his knowledge about drawing and personality from psychologist point of view. I never know the selection of colors, the type of drawing can show one's behavior. There was one drawing of a house with black as the background which is very rare. So that kid should be given more attention, maybe she had a bad history, or a problem that she kept inside. Well, It's our task to figure out. and I'm gonna find out why KH insisted to draw a house instead of hello kitty? It must be something...uhmm

Tak sabar nak next week!hehe

VS 1.1

"We rise by lifting others" - Robert Ingersoll

Her innocent voice slapped me in my face. I shouldn't be angry I should know how to control my voice I should be more patient I should treat them nicely. It's good such things happen at the beginning. It gave me times to reflect.

From that moment, I am being extra careful with my words. The PM asked them to finish at least 5 pages of the Mathematics exercise then they can choose a new novel to read during school holiday. PU had moved to another volunteer because she didn't get full attention from me as I also helped KH with her math. When doing the math exercise, I can see KH is smart but looked like she was hiding something, something to do with her emotion, from me, from the world. I told ya, KH ni sangat sesuatu. But, I haven't figured it out yet. Time buat math tu, die tunduk until her face nearly touch the floor. I tried to get her attention, asked about school, about what she likes, but her voice was so low  and I couldn't hear clearly what she was saying...until I realized, she was crying. Yes, tears rolled down her cheeks.

So I asked her to pause doing the math. I didn't think finishing the math book can make her happy. I knew asking her the reason why she cried was not a good idea in that condition. She must be so sensitive and my question can make things even worse.

Then another tinggg!! idea came out. Yeay! Thanks to zaman2 sekolah yang selalu main dalam kelas. So I draw a few 3x3 grids and we played tic tac toe! Guess what, I managed to change her mood quite instantly. She was so happy playing tic tac toe. And for the first time, I actually counted the marks and planned a strategy to make her win. Kakak yang baik sangat pls. But ehem! I just let her win by 1 point ONLY. kahkahkah nak jugekkk.

Then we continued with math until she finished all 5pages. Bila saya nampak je die macam nak sedih I tried to distract her by asking random questions macam dia suke main sports apa, cikgu kat sekolah garang ke tak, and sambung tic tac toe jugak. I found her more effective to pause a few times rather than pushing her to finish the math rushingly.

Then I checked her school bag to find her exam paper, and guess whatttt?? The only exam paper she had received was Bahasa Arab. Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Long pauseeeee... Silent mode. Urghhhh I read it a few times but the one thing I can captured was only the front page. I learnt arabic in primary school and takes 2 classes at Vandy. But why everything seemed so alien to me. Penyesalan. Nampak sangat belajar dulu semata2 utk pass exam je. sobs sobs. Dengan perasaan down tahap 7, terpaksa asked another volunteer to review that paper. Tskkk tskkkk masih menyesal.

After all, I really enjoyed the first session. Alhamdulillah. Can't wait for the next. Semoga sihat, berkelapangan dan berkesempatan to join the next session. Amin

VS 1

"Give your hands to serve and your hearts to love" - Mother Teresa

I reached at rumah anak yatim RKK early so thanks to the traffic. There were a few volunteers already there. Seeing all the cute faces came to me nak salam and hugs ahhhhh melting. Lupe terus pasal nervous. The session started a few minutes later, when our Project Manager (PM) arrived. Then, the kids were divided into groups according to age. There were about 20+ of them between 4 to 12, all girls! Semua pon malu2 taknak duduk dengan abang2, nak kakak nak kakak.

The plan for that night was to review their exam papers and check if they have any homework to do. But it was not so formal because most of them had done with final exams and had packed their books. So I began with two kids sat in front of me, KH and PU. KH is 8 years old and PU is 5 years old. PU sangat gigih buat homework, she had to write 1-100 in her mathematics book. PU is veryy outspoken and smart. At her age, I think she has a nice handwriting, buat kerja pon laju je. But, she needed extra attention.  Everytime she wrote one number, she will asked me the next one, eventho she knew the answer.
"Kakakk, lepas ni no berapa?"
"Kakakk tengok la saya tulis ni betul tak?"
"Kakakk, tolong la saya buat ni"

Whereas, KH is a bit passive, so pendiam and sangat sesuatu. Dia asik cakap die bosan. Otak saye pon ligat berpikir what to do. Dah la tak tau syllabus darjah 2 belajar apa. and thank God tiba2 ting!! I got an ideaa. To teach her Colors in English.
"Alaa kakak saya tak tau, saya cuma tau merah, red je"
So I asked her to list down all the colors she saw in that room. Then I taught her how to say it in English. That session lasts a few minutes until the PM distributed Mathematics books for everyone.

KH saw my Uno Stacko and kept checking my bag. First time saya tegur biasa "Eh, jangan kacau barang kerja kite tu", the second time pon biasa2, and the third time, tak berniat pon nak marah but maybe dah terbiasa suara kasar tiba2 she asked me with an innocent voice in a very low tone "Akak, akak marah saya ke?"

Ahhhh I didnt mean to. I mean ok I forgot that they're different. I played with kids a lot, I have a lot of little cousin, but I forgot that I can't treat these kids like how I treat my lil cousins. These kids are different. We never know what they keep inside. We never know what that tiny body had gone through in life.

I felt so guilty. Beyond words.

VS0

"Start where you are, Use what you have, Do what you can" - Arthur Ashe

Since I joined the VS facebook group, I had missed a few session because of my other plan that falls on the same day with the session. I was a bit frustrated. So when they changed the day from Sunday to Tuesday, I was sooo excited coz I know the chances of joining the session on weekdays are much higher than weekend. Biasa la weekend selalu je ade hal, tapi weekdays bukan setiap hari pon balik kerja lambat. and I tried so hard to be available on Tuesday night everyweek, to be with the kids.

My first week, was a bit hard. Even before I decided to go, I had plenty thoughts in mind. Because I don't know anyone from the team and I am a new comer so macam a bit awkward coz they already know each other kan. I don't know what to expect from the kids. I don't know what to prepare and what to bring. Macam dah lama tak rasa nervous like this except for work-related. It's true when some people say getting out from your comfort zone is a satisfaction. It was really fun!

My first session was on Tuesday from 8pm to 10pm. So after reading from the facebook group posts and texting another volunteer who also joined, I prepared myself with A4 paper and a box of pencil. They said we will teach the kids mathematics and review their exam papers since it is towards the end of the  year so most of them have done with final exams. I also brought uno stacko and a board game Pictureka which I have at home just in case we got extra time to play.

I drove off from home after maghrib. I've studied the map a few times and I'm sure it's gonna take me about 10 minutes to get there. Along the way, banyak sangat benda nak pikir, dah la tak penah mengajar, dah lama xbelajar jugak. nervous gila pls and I even thought of youtubing "how to teach kids mathematics", "the right way of teaching" and everything along the line. Nak jumpa volunteers2 lain pon macam nervous jugak. lupa dah macam mana nak bersocial dengan strangers. semua pon nervous first time kot pfffttt.

I will share my very first experience later in VS1. And you know what? It went so well :) I think I did good. Alhamdulillah. hihi

Passion - VS

"We make a living by what we get, But we make a life by what we give" - Winston Churchill

I've always wanted to do something that is off from the routine. Something which has nothing to do with work, money, regular hang-outs, gadgets and shopping. Something which makes me happy and fulfilled in a different way.  Before deciding what to do, I figured out my passion. I know I can never do sewing, cooking, baking, kalau ada pon just for the sake of trying one recipe or one thing. Then the spirit is gone. I wanted to teach, I wanted to be a tuition teacher but I'm very sure my current job doesn't allow me to give such commitment. I might end up teaching different day every week sebab asik balik kerja lambat and cancel class if outstation. I wanted to go hiking every weekend. But my mom doesn't allow me sometimes depending on the location, group of friends, weather condition blablabla and the list goes on. I wanted to do online business seeing the instagram shopping bak cendawan tumbuh lepas hujan. But I know it's gonna be hangat2 tahi ayam because I enjoy shopping more than selling hihi

But Alhamdulillah I finally found an awesome thing to do.  I've been googling "volunteering work in KL", "rumah anak yatim KL", "rumah orang tua2 KL" and so on since forever. Tapi mcm every results lead me nowhere, ade je halangan or masalah which made me close all the tabs everytime. But Allah made it easy for me finally. I found an activity which I can commit with Insyallah at a place near to my house. Volunteering work at Rumah Anak Yatim it is. I am so glad to be part of the team. I am happy to share my experiences coz I know it's gonna be real funn. I love kids I love volunteering and who knows this could be my real passion :P a long lost passion hehe

p/s: VS=Volunteer Session (saja buat nama mysterious macam victoria secret, so who is victoria? :P ) My next next post with VS title will all be related with this topic.

Warning Pagi Raya

Hi selamat berpuasa semua!  dah nak sampai penghujung pon but this is the most important phase in Ramadhan, the last 10 nights. Whatever you do, just remember, this might be the last Ramadhan for you, and for me.  

Well, raya is coming in a week! Excited lebih sikit because it's finally Full house again!! Ayah is back for good. this is my third raya in Malaysia after graduated. Tak rindu lansung pon raya dekat US. kahkahkah. 

Just wanted to share one incident happened on the first day raya a few years ago. It was so funny that I would just replay this story every year. And because of it, I am being extra careful every time I wanted to give angpow to people (padahal last year baru skali je kasi duit raya. huahuahua)

Sometimes we received different angpow during raya, CIMB, Maybank, RHB blablablabla. Semua lain2 color beraneka rupa. So some people prefer to use different angpow to fill in with different amount of money. Konon2 mcm senang nak differentiate kan. oh well that's the main purpose pon letak angpow lain2. So my opah put the Type A angpow with RM1 and Type B angpow with RM5. 

Pagi raya, before solat raya, bersalaman maafan semua lepas tu dapat la duit raya. YAY! sape cucu belum kerja semua dapat la. Tapi kita kan dri kecik dah di ajar "Jangan bukak angpow depan orang, simpan dlu, jgn komen banyak ke sikit ke terima aje so on and so forth". So all the cucus pon simpan angpow dan pergi solat raya. 

Lepas tu mcm biase rumah pon serang oleh kanak2 yang nak datang makan kuih raya. Kononnyaaaaaaaa. Padahallll.........hihi Lepas tu opah pon kasi la angpow jugak. Tbe2 banyak pulak rombongan kanak2 datang lagi, and we overheard one of the kids cakap "Cube check dapat RM5 jugak tak?" And we suspected something. 

Guess whattt?? Opah tertukarrrrr angpowww. The Type B which meant for cucus dah terbagi dekat kanak kanak tetamu. Meanwhile, the Type A yang patutnya bagi dekat mereka dh terbagi dekat cucus. kahkahkahkah. Maka, jadi la hari ini dalam sejarah, Opah kasi duit raya paling sikit kepada cucu dan lebih sikit dari tetamu lain. Opah confused la gamaknya. 

Rupenye ade cucus yang dh sedar tapi oleh kerana didikan yang bagus "Jangan komen terima ajeee" makaaaaa. hihihi So beware people and selamat beribadah!

Universal Studio Singapore

USS trip was sooooo much fun! With the never ending drama, we finally made it! We planned this trip about 2 weeks earlier. I wanted to bring Adik as her birthday gift and a reward for her Matriculation result. Tapi banyak betul masalah pening2. Lepas adik dh siap2 buat passport, one of my friend just realized that she lost hers. Kalau hilang passport before expired date memang sangat leceh and take longer time to process. And a few days before the trip, hutan pulak terbakar. grrrrrrrr. why now whyyy. haze here and there, Singapore and Johor were among the highly affected area.

I kept track the PSI reading in Singapore for 2 days. Refresh the environmental page every hour okkk. Rase macam main saham, I really wanted to cry when the reading reached 401 at 12pm on Thursday. So hopeless. Tapi sebab dah excited beyond wordsss, we didn't cancel the trip. I really wanted to do something that gives me adrenaline rush. Rase dah lama gila tak nervous peluh2 main rides. hihi

And here we go. Universal Studio Singapore 

We drove from KL to Johor Bharu and stayed one night at Seri Malaysia Johor Bharu which is the closest hotel to Larkin Bus Station. About 10 mins walk. RM170/night for family room. Since one of my friend had  training until 5pm on Saturday, so sampai Johor memang dah malam, sempat dinner and tido je. Kalau gerak awal pgi boleh singgah JPO, but our ultimate goal was USS ONLY, maka tak kesah pon tak pergi JPO. hihi

On Sunday morning, we walked to Larkin Bus station and surveyed the USS package. When we reached there the 9am bus had just left. So terpaksa naik bas 10am. We purchased the package at one of the bas counter, macam banyak je USS package and the cheaper we got was RM178/person for Larkin-USS bus ticket (round trip), USS one day pass, 5$ shopping voucher at any USS shop and halal lunch meal voucher. Bas balik from USS to Larkin boleh pilih 7.30pm, 8.30pm and 9.30pm. It took about 1 hour + from Larkin to Sentosa island including the immigration. And lunch pon ok la mineral water drink, rice with fried chicken and sayur. I think it was quite a nice deal because if I buy online the USS ticket itself costs me 80sgd (around RM180). 

Surprisingly, haze in Singapore was so much better on that day. I didn't see anyone wearing mask at USS. We can see the blue blue skyyy clearly. hihi Because of the haze, not so many people wanted to risk themselves with outdoor activities. Kalau usual weekend, I bet some of the ride's queue must have been reached 1hour or more.  Buttt we're so luckkkyyy the longest queue was 20mins, for Transformer ride. 

The main attraction  was Battlestar Galactica rides. There are 2 main rides, Human (Red) and Cylon (Blue). If you have to choose either one, try the Cylon first sebab tu best gilaaa and scary sikit. It was like the most extreme ride at USS la. Kitorang try both because we had so much time and the queue was only 10mins okkk. Tak sempat nak cuak cuak nervous peluh, beratur kejap je terus smpi turn. If you survive the Cylon ride, ride yang lain macam kacang peas je la. kahkah.

Transformer ride pon best but it's indoor. sangat cool sebab pakai speck 3D so it feels so real. I think the concept was just the same like Jurrasic Park ride at Universal Studio Florida. Cume storyline lain la. And the Mummy pon is another indoor ride yang OK la. Not as cool as Transformer.

Jurrasic Park ade outdoor raft along the river yang most likely you'll get really wet. haha Sama macam the Popeye rides at Florida. I still remember dekat Florida, kitorang naik Popeye 3kaliii sebab memang nak basahhh kahkahkah. Try la Jurrasic Park, not much of Adrenaline rush tapi it was fun. 

 Madagscarrrr 

 Sesame Street at Hollywood

In front of the Mummy's entrance

Overall trip to USS is really worth it despite the sleepless nights I had thinking about the haze. And the overall budget including Gas, Toll, Hotel, USS ticket,Bus ticket -RM250 per person (Myvi with 5people). And takpayah convert duit SGD banyak pon. Just for souvenirs and snacks.

Please go people! pleaseeee haha

Krabi Review Part 3

Elephant Trekking and Water Rafting

I would recommend this tour for Thailand first-timer or if you stay there too long that you just don't know what to do.  but elephant is too mainstream in Thailand. you could see everything is designed in elephant motif. Either they are too proud of it or too obsess. haha. The elephant trekking was OK, I felt like sitting on a super high moving bench. And the elephant and monkey show was included in the package as well.

The Water Rafting was eerrrrr.......enjoyable but just for the sake of paying my big bucks on it. I had fun but it was far less than my expectation. It wasn't rain for a few days so the river was dry. Of course there was water in it but they actually open the dam to let the water flow into the river before you embark your raft. not even close to the adventurous white water rafting like what I experienced in the US. dan semua orang embark the raft at the same time, like more than 30 rafts at one time. It was more to water fighting I should say. langgar2 raft orang lain, baling2 air, and there were times where we had to wait for a while, to let others go first because it was too crowded and the water drained too fast and had to wait for the dam to be opened again.

 Personally if I could turn back the time, I would choose Four Island tour instead of this package. Coz I just wanna enjoy the sea water and nice view more than anything else in Krabi.

FOOD

Makanan besttttttt sgt especially if you enjoy street food like me. hehe kalau jenis choosy sket yang makan kat restaurant je agak bosan la because not much choices and kalau ade pon a bit expensive. So please la try the street food.

Tolong makan Thai Pancake yang very additive. Texture sama macam roti canai and maybe a bit thinner, then you can choose the fill including all types of fruit, nut, peanutbutter, choc etc. My favorite is Mango pancake dengan topping susu pekat. sedap gilaaaaaa hihi

Tomyam Kung, Green curry, tomyam santan, padthai dan segala jenis thai food were very easy to get. Streetfood is  walking distance from hotel and open until 11pm. Jadi jangan risau anda takkan kebuluran. andd don't worry banyak kedai yang halal. hehehe

Krabi Review Part 2

Like seriously, Im taking 3months to finally continue writing about Krabi. sooo bad I know. Kalau orang yang beli tiket pon dah balik dah, review I xsiap2 kekekeke. Oh well, it's better late than never kan.

Things to do in Krabi. ONE important activity, SNORKELING! I would recommend to stay in Krabi at least 4 days 3 nights. Becauseee, most of the activities will start as early as 8am and finish around 5/6pm depending on the activities you chose. The travel day is pretty much wasted. So, you only have 2 whole days to be occupied with 2 activities for 4 days and 3 nights stay.

When we arrived, after checked in and settled down, we went to the shop lot along the beach. First thing to do, survey the price for all the packages. A few packages I would like to recommend:
1) Phi phi Island
2) Four Island tour
3) Elephant Trekking and Water Rafting.
There were sooo many tour agencies along the beach. Kalau survey seharian pon tak abes la rasenya. haha. But we're lucky enough to meet someone who can speak Malay hihi. One important tip, to get a much cheaper price on anything, just bargain and dont stop, keep bargain until you get the price you think is reasonable. You'll be surprised to see how much they can offer you and how much you just saved! and for me bargain is  just out of my skill. hahaha. We chose 2 packages for 2 days, Phi phi Island (90$) and Elephant Trekking (110$). The featured price was 180$ and 200$. I guess we got quite a nice deal kannn? after bargain and bargain. and dont worry about the transport, because once you bought the package, the transport from and to hotel, and lunch (halal) are provided. yeay!

Recommended tour agent: Speak Kelantanese Malay fluently.  Carikla sampai dapat, kedai die kat tengah2 sket and the tour agent is Kak Min. 

Phi Phi Island

It was so much fun! They picked us up at the hotel around 8am and gathered at the beach. Then, we're assigned to the boat. Phi phi island tour is one of the famous tour. Less time for snorkeling but more scenery and breathtaking view from the boat. We visited several islands but too bad I cant remember any names. haha. hope pictures could help hehe

First Stop: Bamboo Island. Dulu2 blaja time skolah word crystal clear. But I never know air laut can be as crystal clear as this. hahaha memang macam dalam swimming pool.  Pulau yang still virgin, haha no hotel to stay no shops no anything. Just a restroom for important business. 

Cave X (X refer to the cave name that I have forgotten. haha. tapi time kitorang datang it was closed due to construction. So tengok dari luar je la, patutnya we can drop by and visit the cave. maybe next time)

Phi Phi Island. Tempat stop for lunch and rehat before snorkeling. A well developed island, ade banyak rumah, pejabat polis, bomba semua ada. 

Maya Bay. A small island with a very beautiful view, and famous too.  But too crowded with tourist. Featured on " The beach" movie (Leonardo Dicaprio) and "Kaho Na Pyar Hai" (Hrithik Roshan)- sebab tu bajet feeling hindustan sketttt. kekekekeke

Monkey Island: khas utk snorkeling! Banyak corals and ikan nemo. It was a veryy great experience! I know this picture doesn't really help. But trust me, this is the best I have. hahahaha. One of my friend bought the waterproof camera. Tapi sangat frustrating. Not blaming the camera. But blaming us for being such a noob. hahaha. You know when you have too many things to deal with? You just can't focus well. Dengan goggle snorkel lagi, dengan pikir how to breath, dengan pegang camera berhati2 takut jatuh, plus the pressure to get the best pictures of human with the natural creatures, small fishes, coral and all and to get the best timing to click SNAP... end uppppp.... semua gambar mensakai. hahahaha some of it, I could only see the goggles and the cloud, no corals, no sea creatures. Some of it, ade kaki je with the corals. and some of it ade corals je without the people. hahahaha.

Four Island

We didnt take this package. but we met a group of Malaysian who went to the Four Island trip a day before. From what they suggested, if you take four island tour, you'll get more time for snorkeling and be in the water than Phi Phi Island. Agak menyesal disitu. Again, maybe next time :P and it was very cheap about 50$  jeeee but worth every penny kata mereka. So I would suggest people to take these 2 packages to get the best out of Krabi. 

p/s: The currency in this post is $ in RM. 

p/s: I think I need another post for another activity and the food review. which I don't know will take maybe a few more months. ahahahaha

LRT

I am a regular LRT user since 2 years ago. But what I experienced yesterday was something different. Everyday, I board the train at Damai station, about 15 minutes away from Pasar Seni where my office is located. and the next station after Damai is Ampang Park.

So yesterday, I boarded the train as usual, train was so-so, not too pack and not too empty. There was this one pakcik, I guessed he was around 60+ yo, standing in the middle of the coach, leaning against the train handrail with a quite big backpack. Just after the train departed from Damai, tibe2 pakcik ni macam lemah lutut. Almost fell on us, yes including me because I was standing just a few steps from him. Tapi we pushed him back, I assumed he fell  asleep while standing, so macam mamai2 terjatuh, then he stood back. Then, it happened again, twice within one minute until he totally collapsed on the floor just a few seconds after I realized he was really sick, not mamai.

It happened so fast that I only managed to move a bit to give him space and see him collapsed with his eyes wide opened. I was trying to help tapi macam tak sempat and he was quite big I dont think I can help him alone. Semua orang macam terkejut and aaaa aaa, omg, shock sound was in play. Luckily we reached Ampang Park station just in time, as soon as the train stopped, I ran out, shouted at the Rapid people for help. But only one Rapid guy was there,so memang tak larat la die nak angkat pakcik tu. I quickly moved around to get help from more people but too bad Ampang Park memang tak ramai orang sangat.

I walked back to the door where I stepped out, where the pakcik was collapsed, but it was so shocking to see the door closed, and the pakcik was still there, inside the train, laying on the floor. I was so panic that I didnt even board the train. Abang Rapid immediately called the next station, KLCC using walkie talkie  to inform the situation and asked them to be prepared to help the pakcik. So, I waited for another train...didn't know what happen to the pakcik, and feeling upset.

Deep inside, I was so pissed off of 2 things. But before that, thank you abg Rapid for your quick action, I really hope the KLCC team managed to help the pakcik. and I salute you for being so responsible.

Maybe because it was the RAPID guy responsibility, other train users boleh buat bodoh je tengok that pakcik collapsed and tengok abg Rapid sorang2 tak mampu angkat. Why dont you lend a hand? I dont expect them to send the pakcik to hospital, or buy him drinks, I know the Rapid people is responsible for that, tapi kenapaaa tak tolong angkatt pakcik tu sekejap before the door closed? Seriously u have to wait until the RAPID guy came? And I am so sure that there were a lot of guys yang muda2 in that coach, sebab pagi2 semua orang pergi keje kottt, and LRT doesnt even have a pink coach, ok? I still can't brain  why they didn't help. why oh why...

And another thing.. kalau dah tau pakcik tu tua even he didnt collapse pon please la bagi seat, tak malu ke yang muda2 ni nak duduk dekat priority "red seat" kalau nampak pakcik tua tu berdiri. Same goes to pregnant woman, kadang2 it's so obvious that the lady is pregnant, tapi boleh buat2 tak nampak??

Common sense might not be "common" for some people.  I am so sick of these selfish people in Malaysia. Not to generalize, but hello, jadi gentle sikit boleh?  Imagine if you pregnant one day, and remember everyone grows older anywayyy. Pakai baju se cantik2 se hensem2 yang mampu, muka nak nampak lawa nak tough tapi duduk kat seat and let the oldies and the pregnant ladies standing? .....excuse me, where are you come from again??

Krabi Review 1

I went to Krabi a few weeks ago. I can't remember when exactly I booked the flight ticket, but I'm sure it was around 1st quarter of 2012. Lamaaa gilaaa kan? because there was a promo free seat to Krabi. So we grab that really nice deal, about RM100 for round ticket KL-Krabi.

(source: bukan google eh ni real punya hihi. berlagak sket)

Krabi is one of the budget places you should go. I'll share some tips on how to make it a super fun budget trip. (But mine was not really a budget one, sebab banyak spend on things yang mengada-ngada.ngeh3). First thing you need to know is the season, Krabi peak season starts from January to April and the low season starts from May-Dec. So, before making a plan, make sure it is on peak season. Eventho the hotel price will be slightly higher, and you should expect more people in Krabi, but seriously you'll miss big part of Krabi if it's on raining season.

Krabi is for people who like beaches, sun, sand, green, snokerling and things along the line.. I don't like sun, so I brought the sunblock all the time hihi. People who don't like that kind of thing, Krabi is not the right place for you. kahkahkah. Mesti bosan gila, homesick, malaysiasick and all the sickss and nak balik Malaysia cpt. wasted.

For Hotel, I really suggest people to take the cheapest you can get. Hotel is one of the mengada thing yang I should be regret on :p Because of the mengada and since no one ever told us about this (or maybe ade but we just igonored. haha), we book a kinda nice/grand hotel. Sangat wasted ok because you would not have  time to really enjoy and menikmati that spacious room, unlesssssss, if you go there for honeymoon. Room is just for shower, change and sleep. That's it. You'll be so busy with the activities, No time for tergolek2, no time for feeling orang kaya duduk hotel mahal. Arghh. wasted wasted. Find hotel at Aonang area, NOT Krabi town. and carik yang as close to the beach as possible. At AoNang, most hotel yg close to the beach is cheaper because they value the "privacy" more than the distance.

Transport is easy peasy, from the airport, we took a cab 15$ per pax and about 45minutes drive to Aonang area.  I saw a lot of people rented scooter to get around Aonang, but since all of us lansung tak tau how to ride scooter, we just walked and kalau malas we took tuktuk 2$ per ride per pax.Mudah kan? hehehe. Many Malaysians drive to Krabi because it's not too far. They said it takes 4hours drive from Bkt Kayu Itam. You can drive or take the van (like bus) 40$ per pax for one way. Since we can get a super cheap flight ticket with AirAsia, I don't think drive is a good idea. ahahahaha. unless if you stay in the North area. Kalau dari KL macam penat gila nak pengsan je? hahaha.

Things to brings, when I googled before going to Krabi, macam2 la orang suruh bawak. Waterproof bag la, waterproof casing phone la, tapi macam not really necessary la. One important thing is, for people who like beach but dislike the sun, pls bring Sunblock kahkahkah. Waterproof bag tu tak payah la beli dekat mudah.my yang mahal and beria-ria as in you wanna throw all your belongings to the sea. hahaha. I just bring my gym bag senang boleh sumbat2 pastu cekik je kah3.

                                       

This is just a general thing about Krabi, bila ade freetime I'll post about my experiences there and all the actitvites you must DO in Krabi. Anyway, AirAsia will be having a zero fare to some destinations including Krabi starting from today until Feb 24. So just check it out in case you can get a great deal to Krabi hihi 

No, AirAsia didn't pay me for advertising this. kahkahkah. But I just got excited and wanted to share the excitement. hehe.

p/s: The currency in this post is $ in RM. 

miscommunication.

kawan mama was in a meeting. lepas meeting check fon ade miscall from mama. so she sms mama asking why

mama reply "sorry. akak tertekan"

and her friend was so worried, rushed back and came to our house. sampai rumah, tengok mama tengah relax2 tengok tv and her friend was bermonolog dalaman " ok bile la kak zam nak cerita masalah die yg stress tu. ni nampak tenang je"

and finally she asked, "kak zam, i kene balik cepat ade hal, ape yg akak tertekan tadi?cerita la"

mama pon terkejut.. "hah? tertekan? bile mase pulak akak tertekan. takde stress pon" ...

"tadi ade dalam sms"

and they took a few minutes to figure it out.


"hahahhahahahhahahahahhahaha laaa akak tertekan tu maksudnya akak tercall tak sengaja. pastu terus cancel.bukan tertekan yang stress tu"

KAHKAHKAH this really made my day.

on a side note, in life we really need a friendship like this. be there when you need hehehhe. be it the miscommunication or real :p

TripCase

I used to create itinerary of my trip with Google spreadsheet. Because it's easy access and can be shared among the tripmates. The interface is simple, just like the Excel spreadsheet on Microsoft with all the basic tools. At that time, we were more attached to laptop than mobile phone. time belajar2 kan ngadap laptop je sepanjang masa. I miss internet connection in Vandy. Oh vummiv T_T. Semua org online like 24/7 and ade yang tak shut down laptop berminggu2 kekeke.

But now, we are more connected via mobilephone. Viewing and editing google docs on smartphone doesn't seem legit anymore. Not practical and not flexible. So I tried a few app on iphone under "travel" category and finally, I've found this one app yang best!

With TripCase I don't have to worry about my flight confirmation number, flight schedule, hotel booking number etc. All in one app. Now I can keep all the travel info in this app and automatically create a complete itinerary! One thing that I really like about TripCase is that it's connected to all airline companies and most of the hotels in the world. and you also can share your itinerary with your friends!

So, for flight ticket, I just need to put in the Flight # and the date, It'll automatically fill in the departure and arrival time. Same goes to Hotel, just search the City, then TripCase will show you a list of hotels and you can view the map and any other info. There is a field to put the Booking # and confirmation # in there. So, I don't have to take pictures of everything anymore. haha previously, I just took pictures/screenshots of the important details to make sure I have everything with me in case I dont have access to email later.. haha so old school I know.

This is the menu page. You can add item like Flight, Lodging, Car Rental, Activity, Attraction, Cruise, Ferry, Food& Drinks, Ground Transportation, and Rail. You can also view the weather at your destination, save important phone numbers and etc. 

A screenshot from my Krabi trip on TripCase. Just add the flight, lodging, activities etc, it will create a simple schedule like this. Best kan? And just click on each activity to view all the important infos you have filled in. 

And TripCase called this as an "Action View". Basically, each item that you add on your itinerary will have an individual page like this. You can view the weather, the map and even call the airline/hotel.

I'm so impressed when I checked this. They could even tell you if the flight is delayed by 1minute! Wow so efficient. 

One thing you need to know, creating the Trip and all the amendments can only be done with internet connection. But I don't think it's a big deal because normally we will plan a trip at least a few days before kan. So still got connection, but no worries, if you're working offline at your destination, you can still view all the infos, cuma tak boleh buat modification je. Good enough. Normally, dah sampai destination nak edit apa lgi pon kan?

Selamat Mencuba! hehehehe

Krabi Reality

I dont need google anymore, to imagine how beautiful the island is. Here we go, Bamboo Island, Krabi.

Krabi

Expectation. 

(source: google)

vs. Reality

The most awaited vacation ever. (because I booked the flight tix a year ago. Such a long wait). Will be back with the Reality, soon ;)

May Allah Bless our journey. InsyaAllah.

2013

"Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page."

 -Henry Ward Beecher

Happy New Year people! hihi  nak wish pon dh 16days delay. Zaman2 sekarang dah tak mampu dah nak buat resolution every year. Because most of them will end up, bringforward to next year! haha.  last year's resolution pon brape percent je yang accomplished.

I am now trying to adapt with my new life. Not that I'm moving anywhere, but.. Ok I forgot to mention that my youngest sister got 5A's in her UPSR last year. So yay! But no yay. We decided to send her to hostel just like 3 of us. After UPSR semua duduk asrama. With ayah being far far away, and another sister at KMM, and the married couple is quite occupied with their activities, left me and mama alone T_T

You see the flow? Anak bongsu di hantar ke asrama, it was not just adik yang selalu homesick, mama pon get the sick-sick syndrome all the times. Husband-sick and anakbongsu-sick. Well just imagine, all this while memang my youngest sister yang ade with mama all the times, pergi sekolah anta, balik ambik, tidur sekatil, kekekee.  And now, I took over everthing! haha from the bed, bathroom, all the gadgets, remote control, couch and etc. and as usual trying to be silly badut to entertain mama after work. hehe. But after 6pm, baru la ade orang dekat rumah. I can't imagine how bored mama is, staying at home alone without Awin.

So yea, that is basically how my year started. Adapting adapting adapting. This month is my anniversary with BV. It has been a year. One freaking yearrrr. It doesn't sound long at all. But what I've gone through, fuh *lap lap peluh* I feel like athousandyearssssss. haha Ok tipu je. Dah lama tak rase exaggerate over2 :P

I miss celebrating new year at Disneyworld. I just need something more than watching the fireworks from inside the house, and the laziness to open the grill made it worse. Feel like being in the prison and watching the fireworks alone from the cell. I need my favorite people. I need to get out from the normal routine. Miss. Miss.

Anyhowww, Hello fresh page. Hoping that I can get a super nice drawing at the end of the year. hehehehe.