Random Things to do in New York

Sebenarnya nak sambung pasal cerita travel kat Delhi, tapi masih belum bersedia nak recall and recount balik the horror...so better cerita pasal benda-benda random yang saya buat di New York (selain dari bangun bila matahari dah tegak di atas kepala setiap hari).

1. Getting lost in the subways.

Some of the stations are really big, if you have to change lines at the station, it can take up to 10-15 minutes walk...and the air down there is not that clean either, but each stations have different kind of arts adorning the walkways in a kind of dark, dirty way....boleh jugak menjamu telinga listening to the buskers.. I'll give them a dollar if I really like the music. One thing about the subways is, if you ever get lost and wander off too far to the Bronx side, it gets creepier.

2. Ogle at the 'semi-pornographic' art at the museums

The Dreamer by Picasso

anatomy lessons :P

3. Watch an old movie and/or join a discussion group to discuss it

New York has a lot of museums and galleries (some of them are free)...they have free movie screenings where they screen old film or indie films and later there will be a discussion about it. I didn't join any of those discussions though but I watched one of Charlie Chaplin's movie, 'The Circus'. So nice, even though there are no dialogues to the movie, I can still feel the comedy and also sorrow that they're trying to portray. Cerita dia macam ni: 

The Tramp (Chaplin) is mistakenly suspected as a pickpocket and chased by the police. Running away, the Tramp stumbles into the middle of a circus performance and unknowingly becomes the hit of the show. He is hired by the circus ringmaster and becomes part of the group. His romantic attraction to Merna, the ringmaster's stepdaughter, is thwarted by Rex, a tightrope walker and rival suitor. This results in the Tramp's failure as a clown as well as a lover. In the end, the Tramp takes the initiative for the marriage of Merna and Rex and he leaves the group, though the new couple want him to remain as part of the circus.

4. Eat cupcakes outside a Wall Street building during lunch hour

The first time I had red velvet cake was in Houston and it was really good. So, my friends told me to go and have a red velvet cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery in New York. Magnolia Bakery was made famous because of Sex and the City and was mentioned in few other movies. I went to the one near Rockefeller Center and bought a cupcake and coffee. 

Then, I walked to Wall Street. It was lunchtime and I saw men in suits queueing at the roadside halal vendor to buy food. I think it's nasi bryani. I wasn't that hungry, so like other people, I just sit and enjoy my cupcake while taking in my surroundings. Here I am, in my jeans while other people are dressed to the nines....with my cupcakes and not a worry about work. Bliss.

sorry, I was so absorbed with eating the cupcake that by the time I took this photo, there is no more queue

yum yum!

5. Take a walk around Central Park and have failed attempt at self portraiture

see what I mean? It's the downside of traveling alone....but I wouldn't mind going to New York again. I didn't spend the whole week here as I spent 2 days going to Niagara Falls. Central Park yang cantik dan luas ni pun aku belum jalan habis. New York is easy to travel around because the transportation system is very good. There's a lot of things to do here like theatres, ballet, art galleries, museum, stand up comedy shows, clubs, walking the bridges, Coney Island, all the big impressive malls...semua tu aku tak sempat buat lagi. Hopefully ada rezeki and boleh pegi sini lagi. Nak kena kumpul duit ni....jangan ada pulak yang zass cakap pasal  macam takde hajat nak pegi umrah and haji pulak ye...insyaAllah aku dah ada target untuk itu.

Tu jelah. Hidung aku dah meragam.

Madame Cleo the Clairvoyant

Firstly, nak buat disclaimer dulu; I went to see a psychic for fun ye kawan-kawan, not that I believe in it or anything like that.....this was back in April 2010, masa tu we went to Dreamworld at Gold Coast..in between rides and the dizzy after-effects, we just walked around and found this place... we saw from the window a very impressive mystical looking lady tengah cakap-cakap dengan a client, so curiosity made us went into the shop..kat dalam kedai tu jual trinkets je sebenarnya...while the consultation is done in a separate private room

TC yang banyak duit paid AUD60 for a 40 minutes consultation with this lady while I kill off time window shopping at the souvenir shops.. 40 minutes later, I found an awestruck TC standing under a tree... blabbering about how spooked he felt during his session with Madame Cleo.. details of what she told TC is not mine to disclose la kan... but it managed to influence me to pay AUD30 for a 20 minutes session pulak.

Madame Cleo is a Peruvian lady...I don't know the details of how she get to Gold Coast, but she kept saying how difficult life is for common people in Peru)...she started with asking me my name and my age, since how old I am determines which hand she should read my palm from...but since I'm in my late twenties, she read both of my hands...

Erm....nak tau ke apa yang dia cakap? Well....she said that I'm creative, I will be very successful in my career, I will travel really a lot (she said she has never seen that much travel lines on other women's hands), I will get married before I am 30, I will have a caring and supportive husband who adored me not just because I'm pretty but also because I'm smart (hahaha)...she also said that I'm very fertile and I have to be careful (sebab kat Peru kalau fertile banyak anak then susah nak jaga), but since I'll get married in my late 20's, I'll only have 3 kids: 2 boys and a girl...ahhhh...how cute, I've even picked out names for them already ;) ..

After she finished with palm-reading, we moved over to reading tarot cards. Now this is a part that I know something about. Me and my friends play tarot cards for fun, and we like to read them for things regarding our current crush to when exactly will the pipes in my bathroom burst. I can even do this kind of reading using the normal deck of cards (daun terup biasa tu). Tapi, dah lama bersara coz it started to make me feels creepy. Madame Cleo told me to ask some questions so just for fun, I asked her about the guy that I had a crush on at that time. She told me to forget it coz he doesn't like me as much. I still hang out with that guy once in a while, and yeah she was right coz I don't have a crush on him anymore now that I knew him better. She also told me that I have a secret admirer in the office. Haha. Whatever la Madame Cleo.

Madame Cleo also told me that I have a lot of good lucks that I can rub off on people.. She asked me to get her something for good luck. Sanggup tu godek-godek drawer dia cari name card. This is the last name card that she has at that time, and she gave it to me, so I can contact her anytime. Of course I thought it's just her usual gimmick...but later when I asked TC, he said he didn't get any cards and his session went quite differently as well. My session lasted 15 minutes longer than it should and I didn't even have to pay extra. She wouldn't have known that we went to Dreamworld together either, coz when I came in to meet her, TC went off to ride the Tower of Terror.

So, kesimpulan dari cerita ni, sapa-sapa nak good luck, boleh la kasik I "pengeras" ye....I promise I won't rub off my not-so-good luck (in love, so far) to you...

Have a good CNY break y'all!!!

travel note that I wrote but didn't finish and now I forgot what had happened

hari ini, saya berpindah dari Columbus Circle ke Williamsburg di kawasan Brooklyn...kenapa? sebab saya nak merasa kawasan kejiranan yang berbeza dan juga untuk harga sama yang saya bayar bagi penginapan di kota Manhattan, saya mendapat tempat tinggal yang lebih selesa....di sini, walaupun tidak seriuh di TImes Square, tetapi tetap meriah di waktu malam kerana di sinilah tempat kebanyakan orang-orang muda kota New York tinggal..dan tempat makan di sini agak murah dan sedap.

 

saya pergi menaiki subway dengan luggage besar seberat 28 kilo, beg sandang di belakang yg rasanya adalah dalam 5-6 kilo dan sling bag yang tidak pernah lekang dari saya....berat jugakla...tapi perjalanan ini sepatutnya mudah, naik tren B atau D ke 14 St station, dan tukar ke tren L menuju Bedford Ave...perjalanan dari pintu hostel yang saya diami ke stesen Columbus Circle adalah dalam 5 minit sahaja berjalan kaki dan terdapat kemudahan lif yang boleh saya gunakan untuk mengangkut barang ke bawah... jadi, dari saya menaiki teksi dan membayar bayaran yang agak mahal kerana jaraknya agak jauh ditambah dengan kesesakan lalu lintas, apa salahnya saya menaiki subway kerana saya sudah ada pas mingguan untuk ini.

dari hostel di Columbus Circle ke stesen subway tidak ada masalah kecuali bagaimana saya hendak melalui palang yang kecil dengan beg -beg saya....tidak menjadi masalah...tapi yang menjadi masalahnya adalah bila terjadi rentetan peristiwa seperti ini:

my old blog on fotopages

In 2007, I started a blog...masa tu I was in the process of getting to know my ex, but I was away in Holland for a month. He asked me to post some pictures of places I've been to, tapi masa tu belum ada facebook lagi....so I upload la gambar-gambar and write some words on it...kalau rajin, pergila jenguk ye...typical lazy me, gambar-gambar yang saya upload kat situ semuanya tunggang terbalik. =P

amalia2007.fotopages.com

Delhi chatter #1

ok....let's start story-mory about my trip to Delhi....

Firstly, mesti ada yang tanya apasal la nak pergi Delhi of all the places of the world....there's a lot of not so nice perception about India in general and if you search the web, there's zillions of travel tips/stories about India. Bear in mind that  India is a big country with a billion population, and the experience that you're going to have there is directly proportional to the place you're going to and the size of your wallet. Since I've been traveling quite melampau this year, so my trip to India was on semi-backpacker's budget (I said semi coz I didn't dare to go on a backpacker's budget in India).

Actually, lama dah teringin nak pergi India....for the travel experience ye kawan-kawan, memang sedari awal my expectation bukannya nak pergi bercuti-cuti. The first time nak pegi, niat terpaksa dibatalkan pasal kisah pengganas kat Taj Hotel itu hari.....then hari tu AirAsiaX buat promotion new route to India. I chose Delhi because from there boleh pegi Agra tengok Taj Mahal. Pegi 5 hari je sebab tak cukup cuti dan tak berani nak duduk lama-lama sebab don't really know what to expect. The best thing is, we only had to pay RM161 for our return tickets which are taxes only, coz the base ticket price is only RM0.

The second best thing is for RM161 we got the premium tickets...ni kira business class la for AirAsiaX. Ada 12 seats je.

 I traveled with my brother this time around..

comfy reclining seats

 the price of the ticket (which is RM0 in our case) includes a bottle of water, and the use of the blanket and pillow....tapi takleh bawak balikla, kalau nak bawak balik kena beli....AA kan, biasala tu..

makan pun free jugak....vegetarian briyani ni sangat, sangatla sedap...

We had a really nice 5 hours' flight. Sampai-sampai je kat Indira Gandhi International Airport yang baru, New Delhi looks promising....yelah kan, airport baru ni diorang buat sempena Sukan Komanwel yang lalu kot....cantik jerr....dengan carpet segala.

the airport was a bit quiet though 

cantik kan deco nih....this is at the immigration counters.

Dekat luar arrival hall pun, takde manusia yang bersesak-sesak or taxi touts jerit2 nak dapatkan penumpang...before I went, my friend Rush Murad who went to Delhi in January warned me how to deal with  people at the taxi counters and the taxi itself....tapi rasanya tu kat airport lama kot....we found the driver from our hotel holding a placard with my name on it and off we went with the driver to the car......

Hehehe, ini baru cerita pasal tiba di New Delhi, nak tau macam mana rupa hotel kitorang...tunggu....

NZ: grab it while u can!!

Pssttt….I know that I said I’m not going to travel anywhere next year….2011 is for cost recovery year….but I can’t help it when TC told me that Air Asia is doing opening sales for their new route to Christchurch, New Zealand…..talk about peer pressure.

So guess what? I told him to book me one way ticket since if my little brother does well in his SPM, my other ***** brother told him that we’ll bring him to NZ…. My condition was if he got all 11A’s, but my other ***** brother (who’s going to pay for half of it) said 7A’s pun takpe…..pfffttt…..kalau akulah ada abang kakak macam ni dulu, mesti aku dah dapat 20A masa aku nye SPM. Downside of being a firstborn…

TC confirmed that he already booked my ticket in September….huhu….thinking of doing the whole country and go back via Auckland naik MAS or RBA. It’s time to revive contact with my Kiwi friend. Woot woot.

If korang interested, come la….sale tu baru start pukul 7.oo pagi tadi sampai 5 Dec for travel period within April – November 2011. Grab it while u can!

Delhi chatter

dah ramai dah orang tanya about my experiences in Delhi...penat la jugak nak re-live the misadventures over and over again kan....so, I'm thinking of writing it here and ask them to go and read it later.....so people watch this space....at the mean time, I want to share this article from www.hotelchatter.com :

p/s: I said Delhi instead of India, coz I think different parts of India the experience is definitely going to be different

No Room at the Inn in India

Where: India

November 27, 2006 at 9:53 AM | by Tim L. | 0 Comments

For a while now, there have been reports that the hotel scene in India is getting overheated. But are you ready to pony up $450 a night in New Delhi?

According to an AP article that ran over the weekend, demand for hotel rooms in India has gone from "heavy" to "sold out." This won't come as a shock to anyone who has traveled to underbuilt Bangalore in the past few years, but the problem is now extending to most large cities and tourist centers.

India "immediately needs another 100,000 rooms" -- more than double the current amount -- said Lalit Suri, the chairman and managing director of India's Bharat Hotels. He estimated that would require investment of up to $17.4 billion.

A total of 300 hotel projects have been approved by the government and are in varying stages of development.... Most are likely to be completed in the next three years and should increase capacity by about 75,000 rooms, he said.

Nearly half of the new projects are luxury hotels, and account for about $1.58 billion in investment....

So if you're heading to India expecting to find a bargain--which would normally be logical considering the average earnings here--think again. The average price of a 5-star hotel in India has climbed to $325 a night.

[Photo: Jochen in Singapore]

Delhi on the metro = frantic

I'll elaborate about what happened today next time.....not so keen in relieving the experience I had today....

memang tak putus-putus mulut berdoa tadi....

Hopefully esok semuanya berjalan lancar.

We're taking the A/C super luxury coach to Agra. Hopefully it will live up to its name....

nak naik train, confirm ramai orang....train kat sini pelik, even though ko dah beli tiket, kalau seat takde, they'll just refund your money....maka terkapai-kapaila ko cari jalan pulang sendiri....

kalau naik kereta (with driver), harga dia Rs11000 (almost RM800) untuk kitorang berdua.....after our experience today, I realize the value of comfort in this overpopulated place, but I don't have RM800, even though pagi tadi aku sudah berjaya keluarkan duit dari HSBC,,,huhu

so, bus it is.....please pray for my safe journey ya....

P/S: macam mana la agaknye kesesakan orang pada musim haji ek?

broke in Delhi

lintas langsung dari Pahar Ganj, New Delhi

a long story to tell...but right now I just nak cerita pasal kisah beli sari...

kain sari yang murah² takde yang berkenan di mata saya

kain sari cotton colour dia agak dull

saya rasa sangat bodoh semasa membeli kain itu....tak tau betul ke tidak...

and I don't buy things that I don't like for my loved ones...

resulting in overspending.....darn....

if the money transfer doesn't get through by tomorrow....kempunanla aku nak gi Agra tengok Taj Mahal

duduk diam² dalam bilik jelah jawabnya since me and my brother only have about USD120 between us to last until Sunday....

puh puh...harap² CIMB jangan lembab sangat...

Wordless Wednesday #1

tak mampu dah nak shopping, so...

kudos to myself for not shopping for almost 2 weeks now....huhu...apa taknye, bulan 9 dah belanja besar untuk hari raya, bulan 10 hari tu every weekend travel tak hengat, and this month pulak dah janji dengan my parents nak kongsi buat korban and I'm also going to India just before hari gaji.....aduii, perit kot nak travel hujung² bulan ni....tapi apa boleh buat, tiket pun dah beli and we already spent a lot of money on the India visa...untuk pengetahuan korang, India visa ni mahal and agak tak berbaloila bagi aku....it will cost you RM168 per (tourist) visa and it only lasts for 6 months (during which you can only enter India for 2 times)... compare to US visa which costs ~RM400 for 10 years and the hassle-free Australia visa (boleh apply online je) which costs ~RM60....aku tak tau pasal benda ni semua masa beli tiket AirAsiaX ke Delhi hari tu....kalaulah ku tahu memang aku akan berfikir 2 kali la...tapi, dah beli tiket punya pasal, pergi je la kan....

so, since I have to be on a strict budget, I tried to limit my time in the shopping mall...so far, so good la....even kat KL aritu pun, after work and dinner, saya akan terus balik bilik instead of merayau-rayau di KLCC, kalau nak balik lambat pun sebab tengok movie je. Kat Miri lagila senang, since malas giler nak drive ke Bintang Plaza, in the occasions where friends pick me up and we did go to Bintang, I left my ATM and credit cards at home....even all the discount cards pun aku tak bawak so that kalau masuk Popular Book Store adalah alasan untuk tak membeli sebab kad diskaun tertinggal di rumah, rugi kalau beli sekarang.

kalau gi shopping pun, biasanya it's gonna be books, shoes, clothes and skincare/makeup la....makeup memang tak luak sangat coz I don't really use much, and luckily my skincare products masih belum habis lagi, so no need to replenish (pheww), clothes boleh lagi resist temptation sebab leceh nak try bla bla bla....but my weakness kalau gi mall adalah books and shoes...so sekarang ni saya 'shopping' (pinjam) buku from Zuma je...since she likes to buy books and some of her collection are of a different genre than mine...yeay! lots of chic lits for me to read!

pasal shoes pulak, sekarang ni takde selera sangat nak membeli kasut....since I injured my back a few times already, have to be really selective in the types of footwear that I buy....well, in the events where I feel I can't live without a certain cute pair of shoes, I will still buy it and wear it once in a while....but most of the time now, these are what I wear:

my CROCsy love affair:

Mary-Jane in red: this is the very first Crocs that I bought in mid 2008...tapak dia dah haus sikit but otherwise still in good condition...dah lama tak pakai though..

Rx Silver Fox Medical in Burgundy/Cotton Candy: one of my most favorite shoes, only sold at selected Crocs outlet, this one I ordered directly from Pinang Medical Supplies, one of their outlets is in Sunway Pyramid, sangat selesa kasut ini..

Malindi in turqoise: a friend of mine had these in egg yolk yellow, and I wanted one too, but I got this colour instead, nice for jalan² di hujung minggu

Lily in Gold/Chocolate: this pair of flats is simple and demure....boleh pakai ngan jeans, slacks or baju kurung...pergi ofis pun boleh. perfect for those days that you want to take a break from heels and wedges

Rio in Black: the latest addition in my Crocs collection. Since I can't bring my whole shoe rack to KL, so this is now my official KL working shoes...it's super light and comfy...paling penting it gives me the extra 3 inches of confidence (nampak tinggi dan kurus sikit hehe)...I also like the yellow colour one...sweet.

ini pulak what's in my current wishlist:

Crocs Sassari in black: this is for my mum....kat Kuching cari the black colour tak jumpa, kat KL size pulak takde...even kat gambar ni pun takde..so tunggu dulu lah ye...

Crocs Melbourne: cantik kan? not sure if it's already available in our market or not.....but I think this can be the next addition....but it's the least priority at the moment of course!

Well, some of you might say that I can get an imitation Crocs for a fraction of the price that I paid....but I think it's only applicable for those with dainty feet yang kecik tirus tu....or yang tak berjalan sangat....kaki gabak kuat berjalan macam yours truly ni memang kena beli yang ori...I found that the original Crocs will expand as you wear it longer, making it more comfortable for you, but after you put it back on the shelve it will retain back its shape...where else the imitation one bila pakai lama-lama akan mencengkam kaki....because the material used is stiff and kaki kita pulak mengembang mengikut keadaan dan suhu..downside/upside dia is since Crocs ni tahan lama, berjanggutla ko nak menunggu before you justify yourself a new pair of shoes.

So, as for myself, time strict budget macam ni, baik takyah beli apa-apa. :)

Sa.wa.dee.ka

hari ni server down....so inilah hasilnye...tak sampai sejam pon so takdela makan gaji buta sangat....will be on leave starting tomorrow....yeehaaa....I think the drawing is self explanatory la kan....

*by the way, umur dah 28, azam masa birthday tahun lepas still continue

Take-A-Nap

Entry ini takde kaitan dengan penyakit mengantuk dan nak tertidur di bulan puasa....ni nak cerita pasal tadi masa lunch time me and my friend were browsing the net for our accomodation for the upcoming trip to Thailand...it took us quite a long time to decide where we want to stay in Krabi, so when it's time to decide where to stay in Bangkok, I decided to just stay at Take-A-Nap Hotel, according to NN's advice who was just there with Azim last month.

And to my delight, look at the rooms that they have!!

Central Park - inspired

bunga-bunga & warna-warni

u think jetsetting is fun? think again...

I was flipping through my old blog posts the other day and I came across an entry that I wrote sometime in early January. I was complaining about how I rarely spend the weekend in Miri since November. I also promised to myself that I'm going to slow down, give my body and soul a break they need, and to cut down all this traveling by 30-50%. Now, it's July already, the first half of the year has already been packed up in memories and let's see how good I have been in keeping my promise:

50% reduction? My ass. This is the list of AirAsia flights from March - November 2010. In January I flew back to Kuching 3 out of the 4 weekends (the other weekend that I didn't fly was spent for a camping trip in Similajau National Park), and 3 out of 4 weekends in February were spent outside of Miri as well, one of it for my sis' engagement day and another one for visiting Mila in Ipoh. This list also does not include all the Malaysia Airlines flights, recent purchases and business trips (which is roughly once a month, but with the new project that I've been assigned to, might be more frequent).

Just to give you a closer look, this is what a typical month looks like for me:

Notice the red scribbles at the right side of the calendar? Those are the weekends, I jotted down the flight that I have to take in case I forgot. Red scribble in the middle is for a business trip. I used to fill my weekends in Miri with activities like going to the beach, road trips, fooling around, etc with my friends, but nowadays, I spend the precious time at home, in front of the TV,and only come out when I'm very close to dying of starvation. I have suitcases and backpacks lying all around the house....I don't really bother to unpack anymore, coz I will end up packing again less than a week later....I just have different sizes of suitcase/backpack depending on the type and the length of the trip. I'm getting so good at packing I can pack in a matter of minutes for a few weeks' trip. Tapi unpack barang-barang tu boleh mengambil masa berbulan-bulan lah....standard orang malas.

Half of my trips, like the monthly balik kampung ones, are pre-planned...so I buy them whenever AirAsia has their promotional sale...but there's really no point of buying it now, as the flight timing has changed and unfavourable....I'm buying Malaysia Airlines' Get-the-Deal instead....okla jugak....as for the overseas trips, I had to plan it upfront and start saving/allocating budget for it...sebab inila jugak saya dah lama tak beli baju cantik.huhu. Actually in 2009, I was dreaming/planning to go to New Zealand or USA. Since the flight tickets to US is so damn expensive, and it's cheaper to fly to NZ, it was almost sure that we're going to backpack in NZ.....however, later in the year, my sister announced that she's planning to get married this year....so, I pulled out of the NZ plan (my friend decided to go ahead with the NZ plan alone though) so that I can use the money to help out with some aspects of the wedding preparation.

So, come 2010, guess what happened? In February, I learned that AirAsia suspended their operations to Abu Dhabi. It was 4 weeks before my long awaited trip (bought it 6 months before) to the UAE to visit my best friend. I was quite upset but decided not to dwell on it and wait for AA to contact us. When they did, we were given a choice to re-route to other AirAsiaX destinations (except London). Kitorang pun apa lagi, terus memilih Gold Coast as the alternative destination...coz it's soooooooooo hard to get cheap tickets to Gold Coast even during the promotion time, and we get it at no extra charge! So, even though I didn't get to go to NZ, I still get to travel down under (kira dekatla tu).

Then, my boss told me that my training request is approved, and the training is in Houston, USA. I get to travel to San Antonio, New York City and Niagara Falls in this trip. But it also kind of creepy to (almost) get both of the things that I wished for but had to let go earlier. Even though I'm happy to get the chance to go to these places, but it's also a threat to my purse strings, especially since the trips are within a month of each other. Somehow, I managed to figure out the finances....and though there's a lot more things that I wish I can do during the travel, it is good enough. At the moment, I'm still recovering from the trips and working hard to pay my credit card bills....huhuhu....so far, whenever I'm really broke, money will appear out of nowhere and help me to survive....not going to elaborate it here, but Alhamdulillah.

Itu baru cerita pasal duit....kalau travel sorang-sorang pun ada jugak yang tak bestnya...of course, you're free to chart your own activities, but there will be days when you feel depressed because there's no one familiar to talk to, you don't feel like talking to strangers, you got tired of taking your own self-portraits (lagi-lagi aku yang kalau ambik gambar camwhore je akan dikutuk oleh rakan-rakan) and you feel jealous looking at happy loving couples.....not to mention, with no traveling partner to share the accomodation costs with, your choice are limited to crampy hostels at a price of a 4-star hotel back home. You really have to be aware of your health, finances, time and safety. And to have to say 'no' to people yang nak kirim barang is equally hard too, especially for me who classify shopping as a "good to have, but not necessary" activity. Orang lain gi Gold Coast mesti gi factory outlet kat Harbour Town, I just knew about it a week after coming back to Malaysia. Boleh?

Even though it can be tiring and not to mention I don't know what is the effect of all those airport scans will have on my body, I don't know of any other ways to live my life. I guess I'll just have to let nature takes it course. Lagipun aku bukannya ada anak dan laki yang perlu dijaga makan minumnya. My parents have already come to terms with me and my passion for travel. I know deep down they're worried, hence I call them more often when I'm abroad just to let them know I'm doing fine.

For the second half of 2010, I still have trips to Singapore, Thailand and India, plus a family road trip to Sabah to look forward to. Also my balik kampung trips and business trips. And whatever it will be in between. I will still put the target to reduce travel by 30-50% for 2011. I think I have a good start since I haven't buy any flight tickets for next year (except for a family trip to Langkawi in April, hehe). We will see. Mana tau kot-kot I kahwin ke next year...kan, kan, kan?

what am I going to make of myself!

Aku rasa aku punya tahap calmness dah dekat nak mencapai tahap nirwana....when I was in New York, I was stuck inside the bathroom for almost 2 hours....but I didn't really feel the panic...instead i just laid a towel on the floor and made myself comfortable in case nobody hear me and my roommate balik lambat...I WAS READY TO SPEND THE NIGHT SLEEPING IN THE COLD BATHROOM FLOOR....and the bathroom is really tiny tau...as I was staying in a cheap NY hostel, but I chose a room for only 2 people with ensuite bathroom...likelihood for people to hear me is low, so I decided that instead of wasting my energy I rather just keep calm while thinking of what I have to do....so I was already sitting in the dark bathroom (I switched of the lights coz the wiring is connected to the ventilation fan which creates so much noise I won't be able to hear sounds from outside) for an hour when finally I heard some noise from downstairs. So, I just shouted from a small air opening and mentioned my room number. This guy (whoever he was) informed the front desk. It took 2 guys another 40 minutes to open the door (it's the KNOB that is spoilt, you see)....Thank God I brought a t-shirt into the bathroom so at least I was decent when they rescued me....My room mate came back around that time, and she's really amazed that I didn't freak out at all. Actually, it kind of scared me that I didn't feel scared at all....

You see, I've practised a lot of calming techniques, I really worked hard to pick up the bits and pieces of my life and be a happier person....I cleared my mind of negative thoughts, filling it with positive ones...reading the words of wise men like Paulo Coelho and whoever that writes self help books...while it might not be a perfect situation, it really made me feel a lot happier and positive and having this couldn't care less (or more) attitude....hehehehe....paham tak apa yg aku cuba nak cakap ni? Well, lepas apa yang aku lalui dan dalam mengutip cebisan-cebisan hati untuk kembali tersenyum, aku dah jadi orang yang tenang dan selamba gila....mementingkan diri sendiri pun ada, yelah sebab sebelum ni ko utamakan your other half, tapi untuk recover, kena tukar mindset sekejap yang diri sendiri lebih penting...anyway, sebab benda2 macam nilah aku dah tak kisah tau, kalau apa-apa benda jadik sekalipun, sebab aku rasa kalau fikir banyak-banyak pun serabut jugak, dan belum tentu benda tu baik atau buruk bagi kita....the best thing is, just go with it.

Lagipun, when you clear yourself of all the negativities, dah takde dah rasa nak dengki mendengki kat orang, rasa tak bersyukur, tak puas hati....hidup pun lebih tenang....yelah, cuba tengok sekeliling kita, orang yang tak bersyukur ni mesti asyik merungut je kerja dia dan tak puas dengan apa yang dah ada. Sedangkan, they should appreciate life for what they have, not what they don't. Lagi satu, orang yang suka dengki-mendengki ni memang tak tenang jiwanya. yelah...asyik nak fikir macam mana nak kenakan orang, macam mana nak dapat lebih dari orang....manala tak sakit kepala, sakit dada, sakit jiwa kan....cuba rileks tahap nirwana macam aku ni....muka senyum ke....orang kasik ko soalan menyakitkan hati, buat muka innoccent, comel dan senyum....tapi kalau mood aku tengah nak mengzass, atau orang tu dah melebihi quota 3 kali menyakitkan hati, sila ready untuk saya punya zass ok.....silap2, kisah laki ko kahwin lain kat sempadan pun aku cakap nanti....pembaca blog ni jangan risau ok...takde kaitan ngan korang or orang yg korang kenal....I've known about it for a few years and tak pernah bocor pun rahsia ni...what I did is I just avoid makcik ni, so that she doesn't have a chance to make me upset...or after she made her first remark, I will just keep quiet and make sure I don't bump into her again....and continue to remind myself that nothing good will come out if I don't think rationally....

hahahhahaha.....moral of the story? up to you guys what to make of it....I have a big family and a wide circle of friends....and not to forget, saya ni banyak berjalan and suka observe orang.....memangla banyak cerita merapu ni yang saya dapat kan....so, tenang-tenangkan jiwa anda dan penuhkan dengan positive thoughts... semoga berjaya mencapai tahap nirwana....hehehe

Carolina Grace dan Kejadian Ngeri

I'm in my room. Just finished packing. Tomorrow is the beginning of a new adventure. Traveling el-cheapo style. No Papa S***l paying for my meals and accomodation. No first class flights. Pay for my own checked luggage. How I'm going to lug my 20" luggage, backpack and my sling bag using the subways and walking, aku pun tak tau. But, of course it will not be a pretty sight. I have to plan so that I don't need to do it during the peak hours.....yelah kan, subway nye 1 week-pass is about $30, cab just to go for one stretch is $30....baik akak simpan duit akak untuk benda-benda yang lebih perlu....lepas tu start la komplen kat FB, sakit belakang...sakit kaki segala....sampai kena bising ngan my dad coz he actively checks my facebook page nowadays....huhu

It has been a good 2 weeks....I didn't expect it to be this good. I thought I'll be miserable because I'll be myself most of the time.....nasib baik la course ni mostly muda-mudi...and the Americans pun half of them are not from around Houston, so memang banyakla aktiviti kitorang malam-malam.....plan nak exercise and swim every day pun tak sempat nak buat coz after class je akan keluar and melepak sampai penat, lepas tu tido dalam kelas, kitorang semua pakat tak nak study....huhu, nasib baik boleh jawab soalan periksa....saya dapat 86 markah....tapi tak campur markah assignment lagi la....but okla kot nanti....takdela sampai fail kan....

hmmm...banyak gak la kenangan and karenah teman-teman....their attempt to Americanized me tak kesampaian this time around....try harder next time.....one positive thing I like about budaya orang putih ni, they use a lot of endearment masa bercakap...sweetie la, dear la, cracker la, so rasa best je cakap ngan diorang....and once they're committed, memang sayang giler kat wife/gf masing2....

ni Carolina Grace....mak dia duduk sebelah saya dalam bas menuju ke San Antonio.....serabut aku tengok minah tu....rambut kusut masai, dan ada bau rokok yang sangat kuat.....tapi, sebab aku ni suka memerhatikan orang, tak naklah jadi judgmental kan.....first2 tengok mata dia memang macam mata orang susahla....beberapa kali pinjam telefon aku untuk call orang yang dia nak jumpa kat SA....redha jela....walaupun aku pun guna phone card sebenarnya kalau nak buat call....hati akak ni memang cair sikit tengok budak beb....lepas tu bila cerita-cerita, rupanya umur baru 19 tahun....umur 16 dah jadi mak budak...currently engaged to bapak budak ni la..yang 8 tahun lagi tua dari dia....tahun depan baru kahwin, dan dia tengah mengandung 2 bulan....so, kisah selebihnya korang imagine la sendiri...macam tak biasa tengok movie kan.....gambar ni diambik masa tengah tunggu bas balik Houston...tak sangka jumpa balik...so I took her pictures untuk kenang-kenangan.....adorable kan?

kisah mimpi ngeri, 3 malam yang lepas, hujan lebat...I couldn't sleep well that night, it must be the curry yang kitorang makan kat London's Sizzler....kari kat sini lain dengan kari yg aku kenal....pelikla...so, maybe sebab kari tu aku susah nak tido kot....dekat pukul 3 baru aku tido....lepas tu aku terjaga sebab aku terasa ada "orang" kat sebelah...I could actually hear that person moving beside me...tapi buat bodoh jela sebab memang penat dan nak tido....lepas tu rasa macam kena tindih...dalam hati cakap, "daym, kat tempat omputih pun korang ikut aku jugak ke?" so, dengan irritated nya saya suruh "benda" tu lari sambil membaca ayat-ayat suci al-Quran....ok then, aku bangun dari katil dan nampak macam beg dan keadaan bilik agak bersepah....saya, kalau duduk hotel, jarang sepah-sepahkan barang....walaupun duduk untuk jangka panjang....so, macam pelik la bila tengok beg terbukak segala....my first reaction is to check out my handbag, sebab ada passport dan cash di situ...terbukak ....aduii....tiba-tiba dalam gelap tu mata saya menangkap ada plastik (iye ke plastik) hitam besar dekat dengan tempat saya letak beg tu dan sebelah meja tulis.....plastik tu gerak-gerak pulak tu...darn, saya senyap2 je ambik my bag dan berjalan ke pintu...bila dah dekat pintu tu, saya terus ready nak pasang langkah seribu....and that's when I woke up again....in the same room... but everything looks fine except for the fact that it's raining heavily outside (bunyi bising itu yang mengejutkan saya).daym, this is the first time I've had this experience.....mimpi dalam mimpi ke out of body experience? Anyway, saya tengok jam and I've not even slept for an hour!! So, saya sambung je tido and malas nak fikir bukan-bukan.

Esoknya, masa on the way pergi kelas, I told my classmate about it.....and he said, when he was in the hotel sometime ago, memang ada orang pernah masuk bilik dia masa tengah tido...and he just yelled at that person, dan orang tu pun lari...so, apa la kan pengalaman aku tu? It felt very, very real.

Hmmm, okla....I want to get 2-3 hours sleep before pegi airport esok...New York here I come!!!
Nanti saya update lagi ek....sorryy sebab gaya bahasa macam serabut....saya pun pening bila baca balik.
*****yaaawwwwnnnnnn****** see you, sweetie!

bila tengok blog orang lain, meriah je dengan gambar-gambar....best je tengok...anyways, being the super lazy that I am, jangan harapla blog ni nak penuh dengan gambar-gambar la kan..but i still like to write in here...for my own future reference jugak...

am in Houston for about a week now, tak pegi mana pun....pagi pegi kelas, petang balik kelas, malam pegi makan, borak-borak n balik....pegi tengok wayang pun baru sekali je...tengok Shrek...the cinemas here are big...walaupun kat suburbs je...tapi yang best nya banyak food selection la...so far here's what I eat (besides makanan hampeh kat cafe training center)...

1. Miyako Sushi : oohh, sedap sedap....we had california roll, unagi with avocado roll, salmon with crabmeat..and this prawn tempura sushi wrapped with mango and hot sauce....nyummm...had green tea ice cream for dessert, but this one agak manis dan kurang rasa green tea nya

2. Mia Luna: it's a tapas bar at Rice Village...I had some fried squid and salmon...sedap and murah

3. Shiva Indian restaurant: I ordered the Jhinga (prawn) Vindaloo...tak sedap sangatla, not worth it.better pergi kedai India lain...lagi mahal pun tapi lagi sedap, so takpe....

4. went to a Korean BBQ with my classmates...tapi aku tak makan bbq aka arirang tu....I ordered pajeon and bibimbap instead....pajeon dia lagi sedap kot yg aku buat sendiri....bibimbap pun biasa je...takleh lawan bibimbap yg aku makan masa on the way ke Gyeong-ju. Huhu...tapi mat-mat saleh tu sangat la suka and kagum dengan murahnye makanan kat situ.....makan punya la banyak plus beer and sake (them)....for 7 ppl...USD180 with tips....kira murahla by their standard....dan diorang jarang makan kat Chinatown...

5. tengahari went to Italian restaurant nearby learning centre sebab kitorang depressed tengok lunch yang diserve....tapi tak sempat nak makan habis lunch tu sebab dah kena balik kelas....

6. Went to Istanbul grill for some Turkish food coz I need some meat! Mat saleh kat kelas aku cakap sedap....meleleh-leleh air liur bila cerita pasal food and dessert kat situ...for me, biasa2 je la....I like the humus though...and the bread....dessert dia pulak (baklava) a bit sweet for my liking....so ambik sikit je

ok that's it so far....esok nak makan apa pulak ye?

few notes

- sangat penat naik flight, more than 30 hours travel time inclusive of airports layover....penat beb...
 walaupun naik biz class

- pramugara kat dalam flight to LA has the same name as my dad's...turned out that he lives in the same neighbourhood as mine, his dad is also a teacher...and he's the first cousin of my primary school friend... dan kami sudah add kat facebook...

- pramugari kat dalam Continental Airlines peluk aku masa aku keluar from plane LA-Houston....orang lain dia tak peluk pun....apsal friendly sangat ni? maybe, I look like I need a hug.

- this trip is not as miserable as I originally thought.....and being alone is not that bad either...ada sorang colleague from SSB tgh buat kerja kat sini....nasib baik aku tak pernah berlagak dengan dia masa kat offshore...sangat gentleman and sangat baik...pagi-pagi ambik aku and drive pegi kelas walaupun kitorang duduk hotel lain-lain, then balik sama-sama, and makan, etc. takdela bosan sangat....next week dia dah takde though, balik Miri sudah...pandai²la aku survive nanti...Monday next week public holiday kat sini, Tuesday might go for curry dinner with few guys from my class (orang putih kat sini gile makan kari you!)...

- gonna watch Shrek-3D malam ni...yeay!

- I was awestruck tadi bila aku dapat tahu ada sorang mat saleh ni cakap dia masuk Islam sejak tahun lepas....tak sangka beb...muka typical American...dari Lousiana, so agak tradisional....kalau korang selalu tengok cerita omputih...muka dia memang macam ulat buku...he was an agnostic before, lepas tu baca Quran independently and thinks that Islam is the truth....even sebut "masjid" dan bukan "mosque" OK....agak comel la jugak, pendek², nerd....siap ada company sendiri lagi 2 bijik...org lunch break, dia sibuk uruskan hal company dia....tapi, aku bangga la jugak sebab dia memang tak sentuh dah hatta daging ayam yang tak disembelih sekalipun selepas masuk Islam...

woot woot
update later.
kena buat exercise dalam kelas ni

-

bebelan seorang anak dara sunti di pagi hari

I'm at Miri Airport Golden Lounge (yang takde la grand pun....), waiting for my flight to KL....
semalam balik dari ofis pukul 8.30 malam....busy giler beb siapkan kerja and assignments for the course....
itupun aku balik sebab meremang dah bulu roma duduk kat ofis sorang²...ngeeeee....

balik tu singgah KFC je sebab dekat....ditemankan oleh Miss E...nasib baik aku dah gi makan lamb chop the night before, kalau tak...kempunan la jawabnya....dahla takleh makan daging for the next 3 weeks....hu hu

then, sampai rumah around 10pm, terhegeh-hegeh la pulak nak memasang post box baru kat pagar rumah kan......selama ni posmen main campak je surat or selit kat pagar, tapi skrg ni musim hujan...plus anjing suka berak merata ni....so, kenala jugak beli itu post box....

pastu jenuhla nak packing sambil berfikir.....siap dalam pukul 1.30 pagi....huhu....pastu tidor around 2 am, and bangun balik at 3.30 pagi....boleh?

huhuu...am so in Houston time right now.....walaupun belum sampai sana lagi...sampai KL ni nak melepak ngan Cik F sampai tengahari...flight ke LA pukul 3....di saat ni lagu New York si Alicia Keys tu berkumandangla pulak....amboi, macam tahu-tahu je

pagi tadi masa nak letak beg dalam kereta...sangat terasa beratnya...sebelum ni kalau beg biru kesayanganku tu sampai 30kg lebih pun aku boleh angkat....tapi tadi terasa berat.....tapi bila timbang, 15kg je pun....hmmmm, mungkin aku dah terbiasa travel light kot nowadays....or I'm just old!!!!

okla.....obviously the lack of sleep is making me incoherent and buat ayat tak berstruktur....doakan saya selamat pergi dan kembali ye kawan-kawan......Miri, I love you...hu hu...takde kes

Expedia is the word of the day

The thing about being a cheap flight hunter is you'll get so heartbroken when the best deal get out of your hands....even though the second best is still pretty damn good. In some circumstances, it might be the "penny wise, pound foolish" case. And it is really a risk game to play. Money is at stake here since most of the cheapies are non-refundable.

So, dear readers....I've already bought my Houston-New York flight tickets. Gonna fly Continental Airlines. What sucks is the fare was only $267 when I checked last night and this morning. If only I'm not that indecisive and terhegeh-hegeh, I wouldn't need to pay $337 for that. Dahla kena bayar for check-in luggage some more. Haish....

That's it la...if by some reasons, my course is canceled....I'm gonna be screwed. Dahla expenses from previous trip to Aussie belum clear sepenuhnya lagi.....insyaAllah, rezeki sentiasa ada. Will lelong some things on e-bay soon. Ha ha.