All Hail The White Green Yonder

*Stay tuned, more pictures will be uploaded later*

Ah, third day already are we? Nearly half way then. Alhamdulillah.

At 8.32 am sharp, I alighted at Southampton Airport Parkway straight from London Waterloo. This means I didn’t slept last night (remember the previous night’s fiasco?) and head off to the railway station right after Fajr.

Once I got off , Naili, my wonderful, wonderful host, is already waiting for me beaming. I couldn’t help beam as well, since this is only the second time I met her in person. The first time was during the YTN’s pre-departure orientation and I’m pretty sure I don’t even remember her name back then. After numerous emails, calls and sms, ade rezeki jugak kite berjumpa ye?

Ni je ke yang awak bawak balik Malaysia? ( Are these the only things you’re going to bring back home to Malaysia?)

Haahla. Baju je kan?Apa yang awak bawak? ( Its only clothes, what else did you bring back?)

Oh did I mention that her husband, Najib, is a Sarawakian from Kuching? You should see her face when we started conversing in Sarawakian slang once we knew our roots, although mine was a bit rusty.

Sik mauk nya ngelakar Sarawak si Naili tuk. Susah nya madah. Tiap kali coba mek ngelakar dengannya, nya madah balit dalam bahasa, camnikah mok blajar nak? ( She doesn’t want to speak Sarawak, its hard she said. Every time I tried speaking to her, she replied back in normal bahasa, how is she supposed to learn?)

Heheh. True, wives have it harder, my mother never got around speaking Perak slang, but my father is a pro at Sarawakian slang.

We’re lucky that they borrowed a car to get to somewhere that day, so I boarded my first UK car ever to their abode in the peripherals of University of Southampton.( back to right hand side driving!)

Salisbury ( Stonehenge )

Today I got the first taste of how geographically rest of England look like : rolling hills, thick grasses, meadows , rocks with sheep, cows, horses and lambs grazing around. Sometimes there were some particular type of forest (New Forest??) and rivers running across the wide, grassy land.

People always said that Stonehenge was a bit of a letdown. After all, you’re paying to look at ancient rocks accompanied by commentary. I beg to differ on some parts. If you stop at Stonehenge and declare that the day is over, of course it is a big bummer. However, Salisbury as a town itself shouldn’t be overlooked. It screams ‘medieval’ in every nook and cranny. The names of the shops are also very English , for example a tagline for a normal chocolate shop: ‘Purveyors of fine confectionary’. The Salisbury farmers market was a criss-cross between our very own version of pasar malam and westen style farmer’s market. The pasar malam part was people shouting “ One pound any bowl!” and people selling fake watches, shoes , hardwares, and moving toys.

The surrounding areas of Salisbury was some sort of a novelty to me (natives might find it common) and I delight on the sight of more rolling hills and grassy lands. I am definitely a happy girl to see shepherd dogs chasing sheeps, Cessnas flying over the hills and polo matches played in the meadows, the stinky smell of horses can already be detected from miles away.

Stonehenge itself evoked some mysterious air to it. I thought it was a bit unfair because UK Tourism Board received money for something they didn’t even build. They are responsible for the upkeep and Stonehenge has been maintained to remain standing, ensuring potential visitation in the future (channel more money). However, if one would like to visit for free AND have a look at the Stonehenge at close range, you can definitely book a place by applying online. Professional photographers usually jumped on this opportunity because not only they can capture the sight of Stonehenge during sunrise

(the viewing times was during the wee hours in the morning), they could bring all their gizmos and utilize it without having to jostle with other digicam tourists ( the places are limited per day). I think the greatest blasphemy of ALL tourist attractions are the gift shops. See sometimes they sneakily divert us all to the gift shop each time a visit nearly come to an end?

By 6.30 pm ish, the effect of not sleeping finally kicked in. I slept all the way on the train journey back. Naili was not at home and thank god she gave me a spare key. I slept once I hit the bed and Naili woke me up for prayers—this is a recurring theme during my length of stay here. Even though I’m capable of waking myself up, she knocked just as well to check, Fajr and Isyak. Indeed, it is sort of like living with a mother because another recurring theme every time I head out and I got back was:

“ Farah lapar tak? Nak makan nasik tak? ( Farah, are you hungry? Wanna eat?)”

I love my host.

Coming up next on day 4: Debauchery and religion mixing together = ???, bumping to a Malaysian picnic.

P/s: Still condemning self for not taking my hosts picture.

*Stay tuned,more pictures will be uploaded later*

On my second day, there happened a fine example of plans still can go wrong no matter how intricate plans are fielded.

I thought it was a good idea to hit the city after Zuhr prayer times so as to avoid inconvenience finding a place to pray later during the day. It was indeed a brilliant strategy, but that day, all the occupants in the house had plans and left the house earlier than i was. In spite of this, I didn’t foresee one important thing. Any guesses?

Exactly. I forgot to ask about the house key. Without the house key, i couldn’t lock the door if i want to go out. There was simply no way i was going to leave the house unlocked, wouldn’t i? Hence, i had to wait until evening when somebody will come home.

Eventually, somebody did and Kak Farhana alarmingly remarked, ” Eh , you’re still here since morning?”. I just managed to smile sheepishly before dashing out. To tell you the truth, i wasn’t really frustrated because, mentally, i prepared myself for something like this to happen, it was only a matter of when.

Right then on, i visited to the Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in Highbury. It took some difficult inner courage to visit a rival team of Liverpool, what more behaving blasphemously by taking pictures of the Emirates. Also tried the very best to take some ugly looking shots and limiting the number of pictures snapped. Other than not allowing self picture being taken here, I also imposed strict timeline to be present within the vicinity for no more than half an hour. Needless to say, all objectives were achived with great success.

(Sidenote: Arsenal is only one tube stop away from place of stay.)

Farah Atiqah, this picture is for you , do you know how much conflicting emotions i went through for this????

Bluek.

Venturing around the Kensington and Knightsbridge are afterwards, one really witness the royal and regal part of London beholding the sights of Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and other regalias within the perimeters ( St James Park, Cabinet War Rooms, 10 Downing Street,Princess Diana Memorial,Victoria Memorial??). For a family of not more than 10, it is ridiculous that the Palace of that sheer size  where the Britain Royal Family should reside. Whats more ridiculous, are the number of guards watching the place. Queen Elizabeth doesnt live there right? Poor guy had to march all evening.

By 8.00 pm, the turn of events got bizarre.

Some enthuse that Oxford Street is a shopping paradise. I found it small. Even at nighttime, when all the shops closes except Selfridges & Co, the massive throng of crowds  dotting along the street is overwhelming. Is night window shopping an official leisure activity? Along this street, i met another lone traveler who got lost and unfortunately asked me for directions:

“I dont know, sorry i’m not local”

“Malaysian?( love this part, its first correct guess)”

” Yeah..”

” My dad’s Malaysian, im from Toronto”

“Gee, you must have heard about Montreal, i study there”

“Then we must take a walk together,”

A walk turns into dinner outing. Then a movie. It was quite a novelty at first meeting another sole traveler and discussing about it but later comes a time where you just need to escape. Especially when the clock reads 2.30 am in the wee hours and Kak farhana starts getting a little worried. To tell you the truth, I was complete worrywart as well that night. This girl started being buddyish and offered me her place for the night.Things start getting uncomfortable on my part. All alarms went off.  Compounding more to the gravity of situation was that i have absolutely no clue how to get back. The tube will be reopened only at 4.30 am and i had no intention to give her more motivation in persuading me to drop by her place. Relying on bus drivers’ direction, i managed to crawl back home, received a well deserved telling off from Kak Farhana( something about balik Subuh2 ), packed my bags, left a souvenir and a long thank you note on the desk, crept out of the house quietly ( didn’t dare wake up occupants who’re fast asleep) and boarded a train immediately from London Waterloo to Southampton by 6.00 am.

It was an experience to remember but i’d rather not go through it again. Not only it is dangerous ( mom said never talk to strangers), it is also disrespectful to your host ( bothering sleep at 3.00 am in the morning ). I express my deepest regret and apology to my friend here who’s been very patient with my reckless antiques.

Sorry ye kak, lain kali tak buat lagi.

P/s: Phew.

* Sorry, a little interruption from the travel themed posts*

Indeed it is a hot topic in our beloved homeland but i never knew it was New York Times hot.

My humble two cents is 55 percent in favour of the latest cancellation of PPMSI but not because of the deteriorating malay language rubbish. And i am stressing the rubbish part because honestly after much thinking i couldnt find anything that remotely relates the PPMSI to the deteriorating bit. Was it the terms? Dont be silly, math comprises mostly with numbers and bahasa did in fact borrow many scientific  terms ( eg= hidroksida–>hydroxide ). Was it because the class was conducted in English and hence English was fast emerging as the first language in national curriculum,trumpeting bahasa in its wake? Now, one must be careful with the first statement of the class was conducted in English. In its entirety,  judging of how ad-hoc the implementation, current teacher’s demographics and amount of training, i do not believe this fully holds true. Based on this, the PPMSI was probably the right move because the results yielded during its implementation doesn’t reconcile with the culture that Dr M envisions.

I will let other people argue about English being the language of knowledge while on my part I will say just this: Try Google in BM vs BI. You do the judging afterwards about the results.

The argument of the day based on the nature of language itself : It is an act of immersion. A training or two might work for a short while but proficiency in expressing thoughts and liberating arguments in another language needs work resembling a habit. A habit to think in the said language, to be comfortable reading in it, and to be confident of utilizing it in everyday work. This , ladies and gentlemen, takes years notable from self experience.  And i had encouragement along the way in form of passion to read and love of debates. English was never the language spoken at home, at school nor with friends although i was blessed with parents whom had no hard problems with English.

Knowing full too well our education system of passing exams being the top priority , i can fully imagine what is really going on in class: The teacher quote the terms in English, ask questions in English, did basic explanation in English but when complex and thought provoking part of the class comes in, it was conducted in bahasa.The side comments will be in bahasa. The informal banter and chit chat is undoubtedly bahasa. The English part is static,limited and not seamlessly used as a medium in class. I’m not blaming the teachers, they have no choice. The students doesnt understand the English part, the teacher doesn’t have enough confidence to liberate more in English, it was the most sensible thing to do to save time. Probably in the case where the teachers do, in fact confident enough expressing themselves in English but because kesian tgk budak-budak tak faham, maka begitulah jadinya. Perhaps there were even instances of students memorizing terms and not understanding whats going on since they were stuck at the meaning of ‘calibration’. It is far from what Dr M envisions: a class where English is not only read and used because the textbook is in English, but students ask questions among friends in English, the teachers never slip a single word in BM unless slang word irreplaceable in English and the whole academic exercise of the full two periods are dynamically English. In short, it is a language immersion act by force.

The most faulty part in the otherwise bold system are the teachers themselves. Public speaking is placed first in top things humans are afraid of.  Public speaking in a foreign language, is in another category altogether. I remember vividly my Chemistry teacher who’s been teaching from time immemorial when the news of the English implementation broke out. It was supposed to start from the batch after me. Quite amusingly,she started to insert some simple terms in English during class, i really admired her confidence and speedy willingness to change ( bless you Ms Roslyndawati). However, pedagogy is an art of taking up complex material, breaks it down to simplest terms in a concise, most  clear manner to achieve one objective: make students understand.I couldn’t imagine her teaching fully in English no offense of her ability but i have issues doubting my own capabilities to present in English and ensuring that the audience understands. Hence , i believe education imparting is most efficient when its done in the medium of conversation that is most understood by both parties, the master and the student. In the end of the day,the most important thing comes down to whether the material was fully grasped during class time. It is as simple as that. Think of students in the rural areas of Felda Palong, Gemas for example.

However, i can see how Dr M vision can be achieved: hiring foreign science and math teachers. This creates a forcing environment where the master doesn’t understand the language spoken by the student thus reducing the probably to revert to mother tongue towards zero. Expensive yes, but i trust that the English standard of pupils in our country is  not that bad, one just need some forcing function to initiate a full English class experience.

Memartabatkan Bahasa Melayu? Good things should be done in bahasa.  Bahasa novels should stop being boring. Faisal Tehrani should be everyone’s favourite writer. Merdeka celebrations in Sunway should be concucted in bahasa or dwi-bahasa ( nak sangat English). Malay TV programmes should fully converse in bahasa. Yasmin Ahmad should start making movies in full Bahasa Malaysia. Rap singers in Malaysia should follow Ahli Fiqir yang tertib tutur lirik rap-nya. Bring back the cool factor in nicely worded bahasa malaysia.

P/s: Still breathes a sigh of relief when the cancellation does not apply to Form Six  and pre university.

I come to London with a tight budget so the breakdown of cost for Day 1 is:

Travelday Card:  7.60 pounds. Chicken Burger: 2.99 pounds. Kak Farhana cooked masak lemak cili api and bread pudding: priceless (double thumbs up!)

London is everything that hippie, gay priding , live partying and tam-tam-ing Montreal is not. The only thing that Montreal may share with London is the rich in history Beaux-Arts buildings littering the city for common commercial and household use. However , much can still be said about it because London still uses its Beaux Arts buildings for businesses apt for its architecture instead of a weed and tattoo parlour.

London,  is in short , quintessentially British; where everything is prim, crisp, and classy. The men dressed nicely in fitted tailored suits. I saw a bow tie reception on the side of  Thames River and among them there was a guy in a pony-tailed suit propped on cane like Lucius Malfoy. It is absolutely true that the city takes after Your Majesty Queen Elizabeth on that quality. People use slangs of the form “bollocks!”‘brilliant!” and “f*** off! ( throw away that lame ‘cool’ or ‘awesome’ ones). After hours crowds herd into pubs not in jeans and t-shirt but still in suits and tie.  There was a touristy petanque demonstration and the women who volunteered is still in her red powersuit and her office identity tag still hanging around her neck.

Apparently after hour parties in London are in formal dress and includes petanque playing

Enroute, i made mental notes of what are the things that made me broke into a small smile — signs of amusement. First off , are the friendly blonde stewards on British Airways politely asking ” would you care for a breakfast miss?”  in incredibly sexy British accents. Yours truly here is used to blonde males with fringy indie  hairtsyle in tight fitting American Athletics V-neck t shirts and aviators, not the likes who asks about your beverage preferences.

Secondly, is the hands down fantastical public transport in terms of coverage, frequency, cleanliness and service. The only marks being cut off  are the rates. I was expecting something like New York subway but London Underground is a cut waay above else. Despite the high traffic,the train comes every one-two minutes max. It is easy to mistook the word  ‘Underground’ since it connotes various detestable adjectives such as dark, dreary, dingy and dirty. It describes aptly the New York subways but not here in London, no siree. I almost want to cry hallelujah when the extremely helpful attendants fixed my travelday card (the card refuse to open the clearings for me in every station )because i was reminded of the Latino attendant who wouldn’t even want to go out of his glass cubicle in New York and spoke through a microphone.

The tube map is hallmark of great ergonomic grid-like design. Most lines have been straightened out in the centre, but it is topological – it bears no relation to the distance between stations or their exact location. A famous trap is Queensway and Bayswater stations which are actually right next door to each other, but way apart on the tube map.

Truly an icon of clarity in complexity

Now, is London expensive?

Verily, if you choose to. This is a profound quality because one still have the option to NOT choose this route. The paid attractions that is worthy spending money on is not much ; Tower of London, St Pauls Cathedral and Madame Tussauds ( as for me, i already went to the one in NYC so i don’t really bother). All museums are free of charge and stay with a friend if you can. It doesn’t matter if the place is not at the heart of London, the excellent subway system can make up for that.I also find the hop on hop off bus service here very impressive but with a map, Travelday card or Oyster, careful planning and strong legs, everything is accessible by foot. DO NOT buy the London City Pass because its not worth the money you pay unless you can fit in 4 paid attractions in one day.

This day i arrived at Kak Farhana’s house near Holloway Road, Islington. Holloway Road is what i call halal glory on a road. Almost every shop and food joints along this road is brimming with halal-ness. I heart this a lot.

I hit the city starting with Trafalgar Square/Nelson’s Column/National Gallery near Piccadily Circus station moving towards Big Ben- Scotland Yard-Horse Guards Parade-Thames River in that particular order. It was over 4 o’ clock and the day looked like it was only 1.00 pm.Good thing about summer is that the day is considerably longer.

If one would walk along the Thames, you are covering nearly half of the London sights already. The Big Ben, London Eye, Westminster Abbey,Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, HMS Belfast, The Oxo Tower,  the lame London Bridge, and Hungerford Bridge. Strong legs are highly advised. Fret not if you’re tired, the subway is practically within walking distance everywhere. Just hop on one and off you go.

Walking along Thames might present you with this rare sight. Ship on the right is the HMS Belfast

By 8.00 pm ish, i was ready to wrap it all up but the day was still bright to straight away go home. So i looked at the tube map and…ahah! the Kings Cross station( always look at the tube map for inspiration heh). The premise of the idea was brilliant but lacks some practicality. The platform 9 3/4 was nowhere to be found. There was platform 9 and 10 but no 9 3/4.  I sprained my eyes looking for groups of people gathering near a wall if its any indication of tourist snapping pictures but there was none. The station is also much more modern than what was depicted in the movie. I went round and round and gave up when the day is dark. Sidenote: Later i went researching where it was located and i am supposed to go ONTO the platform to look at it. I was busy browsing around the station. Apparently it is suppposed to look like this:

The trolley was a nice touch. Source: wikipedia

Overall the first day experience was pleasant. There are many muslims in this area and salams are often received from kind strangers. It also the first place i didn’t have to correct people’s guess that I’m from Malaysia instead of Indonesia. I could isolate two unpleasant ones that doesnt involve me but a rather pathetic sight nonetheless. Twice today i encountered incidents of men jeering and leering at women who are walking alone in front of me. I had to grit my teeth because there is a difference between complimenting beauty and being a plain pervert. I have always thanked God for being covered but this makes me feel even more glad. Alhamdulillah ,i am protected from unwarranted attention and i hope to always seek protection from Him.

Chow!

Exit is called ‘way out’. Too cute.

P/s : The writer thinks that the lack of homeless population in London a fascinating juxtaposition of the evergreen urban problem.

Bismillah.

In the next 48 hours, i will embark on the most anticipated journey since the start of the semester : The Journey Home.

See, yours truly here haven’t seen her parents faces for almost two years. Literally. Most fault can be shifted on me because i never bothered skyping or setting up a webcam on my computer–a fault i wish to rectify once i get home.

Back then, i was thinking, now since i’m traveling home ,might as well consider a pit stop. Now, i still subscribe to this thought however not with the same excitement anymore.

Many factors weigh in, my traveling partner backed out the last minute due to her parents objections which lead us to——> the bird flu scare. We humans can only plan and only God determines.  I never anticipated a thing of this sort back in March. Not only it caused the Midwest Games to cancel ( and justifiably, since Illinois ranks with the highest cases in the US), my trusted side kick also backed out out of respect to elders. Most of all, i was overwhelmed with homesickness that constantly kicks my rear and made me fidget all the time.( “cepatlbalikcepatlabalikcepatlabaliiiikk”)

So i would say that this edition of summer mini-tour is filled with apprehension. My parents naturally voiced their concerns over me going all solo , and i share their sentiments as well.

I detest it .

It is quite lonely traversing alone although one might get more things done–i tend to be  in no nonsense mode when i’m alone with myself.

The best i could do now is ensure that i take my vitamins supply everyday, take care of my health, have a hand sanitizer in my pack and remind self to wash hands every four hours. Of course, a surgical mask too. All in day’s work of travelling in the swine flu era.

I look back at my itinerary and surprised myself at the reflection of my ambitiousness and truthfully, i did not conceal my disgust. Thank you ayah for pointing that out. Rasa macam orang tamak, astaghfirullah.  Why the rush? Exploration takes patience and they say reward will come rolling to those who wait. Travelling also means appreciating God’s creation and why would one want to rush that? After a bit of muhasabah , i question back my priorities of what am i trying to regain out of this, ( This is a very important question). I dont want to come out of this mini tour needing another vacation when this was supposed to be THE vacation.

So i set a new theme for this expedition:

‘ If you cant get the next thing done hanani, chill, you’ll have another time. Enjoy this one first.’

Originally, this was meant to be only a pit stop before heading home but somehow in classic farah hanani style , i turned it into a England-in-9-Days travel package. Please dont follow this example, its dangerous , overzealous and remember the kisah anjing dengan bayang-bayang if you are still not listening.(I have to add here, with impartiality, that it CAN be done with careful planning )

If i learnt anything during my California trip is that one can’t be too particular with your schedule, you should allow some ample flexibility. It reduces the level of frustration when things do go wrong  ( and they DO in frequent times). You can get over the messed up itinerary faster too rather than mope.

There are a couple of people whom i should thank profusely for assisting with my plans especially in the accommodation bit. I wont list them now, i will do a proper roll of honour when this experience is nicely wrapped up. But they include my senior, my high school friends and a  friend whom i only met once ( our most intimate correspondence are through emails) but is more than willing to offer me a place to crash. Thank you God  and please do me a great favour by blessing their generosity. Also to people whom i alluded my impending visitation plans and then welcome it with great enthusiasm,( well hello there, primary school friend )i certainly do appreciate the moral support and it is most saddening if i will not be able to visit your part of the country. Nonetheless, fear not that you’re always in my thoughts.

Please pray for my safe journey , good health and easiness to perform fundamental ibadah.

OK, deep breath and remember not to forget about that toothbrush.

P/s: The writer repacked her luggage since during the first round she forgot that the laundry system exists even in Great Britain.

Walk.

Walk to breath the supposedly fresher air. Although is it really the case when one is walking along a highway?

Walk to enjoy the sun to soak in Vitamin D . And try walk while holding hands or walk in synchronizing steps.

Walk to pretend you enjoy life, walk to have an excuse to wear sunnies. Walk to show off your flip flops and to parade around in tight short pants.

Walk when anger is consuming head,to clear it back, the blood needs to be diverted to the legs.

Walk extra fast when embarrassed, so when people ask “why is your face red?” one is able to whip out this reply, ” i walked for an hour to here so i am a bit flushed sorry”

Walk to finish an ice-cream, and walk some more when the 5 minute song isn’t over yet  but you’re already arrived at the destination.

Walk with people you like, if you can’t have real date,  a walking date is as close you can get.

Walk when you are down, trust me you’ll walk miles and miles and still your legs wont bow down.

Walk when you need to think, no, actually, walk  BECAUSE you want to think,’ reactivate your brain cells,’ they say . But hey, be careful not to walk into a pole or someone else’s head on the way.

Walk to see, to be amused and to grin sheepishly. Look at that pigeon, its secreating on someone’s car tehee he he. And oh my, why is the policemen in Montreal so hot? ( same goes to busdrivers). Stop in the middle of tracks for one moment, smile–that busker with the violin is winking at you.

Walk to have a better fashion sense, looking down on people shoes and wonder what brand they are wearing. Look a bit further up to look at legs and bit your lip in jealousy afterwards. Walk around during lunch hours and fantasize in delight to see corporate workers walk around fashionably in corporate clothes.

Walk to bump unexpectedly into friends and acquaintances , and to feel lucky upon seeing a professors spouse or  partner getting cozy.

Walk to have a reason to wake up early in the morning,as walking takes 20 minutes to reach school. Walking is indeed healthy, but you still do not want to be late for class.

Walk to delude others you’re taking the excercise regiment seriously, because you do not want to admit you dont have enough money for the bus fare.

Walk can turn into skips, or playful trots because you have 3 second left to cross the road before the light turns red.( Its already yellow now). Walk can broke into a run to stop that creepy hobo from following y–often enough, a figment of imagination when dark approaches.

Walk to have an imaginary race with the matsallehs, whose steps are much bigger than puny asian legs and whose strides much stronger than feeble legs of our counterparts.( how did THAT woman in 5-inch heels beat me???)

Walk to feel good about yourself, to monologue about ” this is a great start for the day!”

Walk to delight oneself of a mini wonder, eavesdropping conversations of people wether they spoke  in Quebecois french or in English. Walk a bit more later to deduce which area have more francophone over anglophones and scratch head on why the heck Korean is heard in Jeanne Mance St?

Walk untill you have blisters and untill you change the side of shoulder you hang your sling bag.( because its too heavy on the right)

Walk to get lost, and then to walk aorund in circles because you are lost. Walk to rejoice upon the discovery of a new route perhaps shorter or maybe prettier to look.

Walk to study , walk to learn lessons, walk to analyze demographics and apply anthropology at your own undertaking.

Walk the same route to the grocery store everyday, untill you can even memorize the way even in your sleep or even when blindfolded.

Next time when walking, count the staircase, pretend you’re a mathematician who actually care about the number of steps to the first floor. Impress friends later on other days , when walking up with them.

Walk extra slowly to kill time, when you dont want to get home just yet since you’ll do other boring things anyway.

Walk and be surprised and puzzled on why one yawn extra hard when walking. Walk pass building and landmarks and made mental notes of stuff that is interesting ( which will be forgotten in remarkable speed anyway)

Walk plenty and walk to feel a bit happy and to be distracted and to escape and to speak on the cellphone and to pick up coins and to avoid dog poop and to touch walls and to read graffiti and to reach home as quick as possible because prayer times are almost over or because you’re too hungry you want to fry eggs at home for lunch.

Walk by my house and i’ll offer you a drink 

P/s: Walking deserves to be overrated.

Who doesnt make a list of yummy food they want to eat upon arrival in Malaysia?  I bet all of us perantau do. Sadly to say, from friends anecdotal evidence , the excitement only last about two weeks and the novelty tires because we’re back into our comfort zone.

Now, my objective is to prevent that from happening. Hence , the birth of the strategy to create a more specific date and name of food that i must venture out there. I dont know about you people in Australia or United Kingdom who’s blessed with Malaysian restaurants but i havent touched a real ( non-frozen) roti canai in two years. Envisioning the probability of events when i step on beloved Motherland, is the repetition of food places i would most probably frequent. Why not try new place every week? That’ll be grand.  The quest can be summarized with these simple steps.

1. Choose a food/ restaurant

2. Find best vendor that sell the food.

3. Set a weekend date/ Friday night and time ( except pasar malam ventures)

4. Gather friends who would like to join.

6. Gluttony and dont forget to recite Bismillah and  tapau for mak ayah and adik beradik at home if needed.

* Due to Malaysian style timing, step no 4 should be moved to top.*

There are a few limitations to this and a set of thumb rules:

1. No pizza and pasta place please, i am sick to my stomach eating pizza and pasta.

2. Transportation is going to be the sticky part here, hence i would have to limit the food excursion area to places around Klang valley and *probably* Bangi area.

This is going to be a dynamic post. Hence, i welcome suggestions from people who would like to recommend a good place to eat. Right now, i am relying on floggers blogs since they give accurate description , recommend dishes , gave exact address and direction to a  particular place( some even provide GPS coordinates)

For starters, this list is what i have in mind( sorry for the logistical bias, mane dekat dgn rumah je lah kan?)

Type: Good old Ramly burger

Where: Ana Burger
Jalan L8
Taman Melawati
Phase 6A
Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 017-2670924

Whats so special? : Burger Kawen.( Mixture of beef and chicken patties, with eggs in one bun. Also, instead of cucumbers, they used sliced green apples. The few Ramly burger stalls that uses mustard apart from the usual fare of mayonnaise and chilli sauce)

Read reviews here.

2.  Jogoya/ Tenji sushi

Type : Japanese food buffet spread

Location: Starhill (Jogoya),Solaris Mont Kiara ( Tenji)

Jogoya sushi reviews here. Tenji buffet here

Specialty: Huuuge Japanese buffet spread. Biiiig oysters.Fresssshhhh Sashimis. Veeeerry expensive ( Rm100 perpax after tax) and cautionary warning must be given to those with little appetite. (Rule of thumb: If in any buffet experience you never exceeded three plates, forget it)

3. Type: Ayam Goreng Kampung

Location: Kampung Bharu, KL

Specialty: Their ayam goreng kampung panas and other nasi campur items.

Read reviews here.

I know, i know, why ayam goreng? It is so…lame. However, do you kow how hard it is to find halal ayam goreng here? And to cook for yourself is out of the question because the stove here is flat ( not suitable for a wok ) and if frying in a pan requires lots of oil ( unhealthy). Oh yeah, i also need a KFC fix.

4. Halal Dim Sum place.

This one is quite hard. Good dim sums can be found by the roadsides ( all over the place near LRT Wangsa Maju, that why so hard to park car there)  stalls however you’ll be hardpressed to find halal ones. The problem with halal ones is that they’re mostly expensive hotel offerings. The closest i can find is  at PNB Darby Park.

Location: MinMax Restaurant, PNB Darby Park ( next to Nikko Hotel and KLCC Park)

Specialty: Relatively cheaper ( compared to hotels ) halal dim sum.

Why dim sum? My roommate berated me for being a Malaysian and not eaten a proper dimsum meal before.

Read reviews here.

5.  Pasar malam style food

Location: Pasar malam Taman Melawati

Specialty: What else? Good old pasar malam fare.

That is it for now i guess. Obviously this list will grow from time to time. Hopefully friends in beloved homeland would contribute to this list since they know better. I am still looking for a cheap, good Korean BBQ place, Chinese place ( that has Peking Duck) and Halal Hainanese Chicken Rice ( NOT Chicken Rice Shop). If one would notice the blatant absence of Malay food ,fear not because that is a deliberate move. Reason: Why bother buying when my own mother can cook kick ass Malay fare?

An interesting article:  Halal Chinese food around my area ( Eda!! are you reading this, ask your boss to belanja you here instead)

With regard to article above, people living around area Melawati/Wangsa Maju have no excuses. Let us try something different from the usual mamak fare of NZ curry house,Restoran Maju Terus and the likes.

Itadakimas!

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank YOU.

thankyou.thankyou.thankyou.thankyouverymuch

Exhilarated for my first ever left hand drive experience in North America ( In a Dodge van, no less! Even my mother wont let me touch her Nissan Serena)

Thrilled over my first candle blowing birthday since , what? 5 years?

Touched over my housemates cooking effort.

Thankful over the impromptu pizza party from the boys.

Not to mention the gifts, my God, they really shouldn’t have.

The wishes! The calls! The smses! The offline messages! The ridiculous 104 notifications on facebook!

That email. That super long email, it was old school my dear and you know how i love old school.

The pre-celebration Vietnamese outing, from a thoughtful friend who knew she couldn’t be here on my day.

I have to single out one thing: To those who went all the trouble to cook for me , i am mostly , deeply touched. I think an effort to cook for someone is one of the most romantic things in the world.

Special credits

• Mother and Father, for your constant prayers.

• Thank you Ling Ni Boon, for the pre-celebration
• Kak Azidah, Farhana, FongYi, ChinYen- the BR cake is awesome and your spaghetti rocks Fong Yi
• Kak Rozalah and family, for the home cooked food, the hospitality and the warmth.
• Priya, oh dear, what has Hanim done to you? You actually cook?? Hanim, i love you for coming after much persuasion
• Veivern, Hadi,Azraf, Hazeeq,Khalis,- i liked the impromtu pizza party
• Atiqah Mokhtar. Wow. Loveliest email i have ever read.
• The gifts from friends, you know who you are. I’ll wear it in winter, use it every morning for coffee, read it until it is finished, eat it to my hearts content, and display it proudly on my study.  ( best not disclose as in not to put pressure one anyone for next year )
• To siblings for the Twitter messages.

I have no high ambitions for myself this year.Only that i hope ill face challenges better than the way i am handling it right now and not disappointing anyone who believes in me

Arigato Gozaimas!

Peace out.

Report of White Water Rafting Expedition In Ottawa

On the 17th of May 2009, a group of 12 awesome ladies hopped on a rented Dodge van and drove their way to Ottawa River, Beachburg, Ontario. Often enough,  people who guessed that they are on a quest of a picnic outing of some sort would have been correct because through the van, these women can be seen packing sandwiches, curry puffs and fish crackers.  However, this time, they could not have been more wrong.

These women are gearing up for a white water rafting expedition.

It was quite cold that day, and these dainty ladies, being feminine and soft naturally worried that the water would not treat their delicate skin too kindly. But, these fears quickly disappear when it was inquired upon them their own sizes for a wet full-body suit. It was quite an entertaining sight in the dressing room whereby all grown women were trying to fit in a tight, heavy , synthetically-like body suit. It took a great deal of 20 minutes to comfortable themselves in them, after much complaining about the size of burgeoning hips that each one has. As one particularly sighed, ” Oh dear, i never knew i have such big hips! ( the suits really amplify your body curve ), I shall pedal the raft with great enthusiasm to slim it down!”. One might wonder why it has never occurred to her that paddling uses the arms muscles not the legs.
The first rapids induce delightful screams and paddle-high fives (paddles held high up in the air and hitting another rafter paddles) , as all the other more dangerous and sinister looking rapids. An interesting piece of information from Lara ( the guide) was that in the late summer, the rapids become much more vicious than what they were subjected to experience on that day because of less water contained in the river. There was a stick measuring the water level and on that day it was on scale of 17. In the summer, it could go down to the -6. Somehow the ladies thought it was a shame that they came on that day ( so unbecoming of them?).

In the middle of the day, there was a barbecue lunch of hot chocolate,bread and jam, potato soup, chips, nuts, weiners,chicken breast and veggie patties with all the works. It was imperative to report this because it was a particularly cold day and we were freezing head to feet, and was extremely famished. It was to great relief as well that the organizers put up several campfires around the lunching area. It was to be notified as well that they are the only rafters that ate the veggie patties and this had made things particularly useful for Lara. From that point on, she dubbed them the ‘Veggie Burger Rafters’. It was a convenient nickname for them because when they heard a holler of   ‘Veggie Burgeerrrr Grouuuup!!!’, they know immediately  that Lara were addressing them. Which of course, she did.

On that day as well, the ladies were quite proud of themselves because their raft never capsized no matter how fast the current was. It was not the case for many other rafts that day. However, there’s a slight disappointment lingering in the air because people being tossed and tumbled into the water by the growling wave and whirlpools looks like a lot of fun. Instead, their raft become the saviors of many other swimming rafters where they swam to their boat. They pulled ’swimmers’ up from the cold, fast river current to the warmth of their won raft and its inhabitants. Although fleeting, they do feel like lifesavers pulling people up to safety. They were power ladies.

Power ladies can be a bit misguided when the day comes nearly to an end. The river water was mostly flat ( no current to push us on ) and hence , a bit of serious muscling strokes are required to move the raft. However, being tired and arms aching all over, the boat didn’t move that much. When the ladies looked over their shoulder, there was a line of rafters waiting for them to move faster. Some are even considerate enough to push their boat forward for more speed ( they genuinely thought at that minute ,their strokes suddenly became stronger when the raft moves faster so suddenly). Some guiders ( people of Lara’s stature) even hopped on to their raft to help power pedal the raft. The ladies were very thankful for their grace and understanding.

Upon arriving at the shore, the ladies were relieved to be greeted with an open fire to dry themselves with and a hot, steaming cup of apple cider.

The day finally ends with a hot shower, some considerable amount of effort to peel of the wetsuit and a hearty dinner at a buffet restaurant. The ladies reminisced among themselves about all the adrenaline pumping moments upon the showing of their video recorded action. All of their hands went flaccid, although considerably muscled.

Special thanks credited to the organizer, Azidah Abu Bakar for initiating the whole expedition.

Reported by,

FARAH HANANI SHAMSUDDIN,

Participant, White Water Rafting 2009 Expedition.

P/s: The writer would like to extend her thanks to Ottawa folks for their generous hospitality.

Problems are best handled face-on, with dignity and composure that can make Spock cry.

Rhetoric is easy  doesn’t it? No one is fond of being scared, and problems are scary to the core by nature.

Hence,  scheming to maneuver around the problem comes away as inevitable. And cowards resort to it because it is one of the most simple solution albeit temporary. The good news is, that simple solution is gobsmacking-ly trivial:  Avoid at all cost.

When the subject arise, plug your ears, close your eyes, keep mouth shut. Such undignified cowards, huh.

Sadly to say, i’m one of them. I’m waiting patiently for everything to blow up in epic proportions.

Natural born coward.

While waiting, lots of cooking was done and i am  proud to announce my first nasi lemak production that gained *ehem* rave reviews. I am proud of my friends Hanim, Ling and Priya who lend a hand as well. Exam month masterpiece was rendang and nasi himpit.  Any suggestions what next for next month? Im thinking of roti jala.

Also, i would like to welcome my new housemate, Helen Orvis,  who is Ling’s subletter for the summer months. A passionate organic food eater who posses a cool Canon DSLR camera, shes been terrific with us so far.

I also  found the Wolverine movie pretty fun, although i wouldn’t categorize it as fantastic. However, i am excited to watch the latest Star Trek premise as reviews till date are all nothing but euphoric.

Classes had already started and i will have my first quiz that count for 10 percent o Friday. Dont be sympathetic, i signed up for this.

I bought some accessories. Believe it. They were on sale. Makeup is next on my list.

I should start playing tennis and badminton for Midwest Games but i’m not. Sparring partner is still MIA.

I should call home. Its been 3 whole months and i want to wish mother a Happy Mother’s Day.

I should also pick up a book to read.

I am in love with Blind Pilot’s  3 Rounds and a Song. If i have a significant other, i can imagine slow dancing to this all night. The operative word is still if so don’t get too giddy. Note to Ateqs : I agree wholeheartedly to your MANGKUK  remark.

Did i mention i am also in love with my bike? I can imagine my father’s reaction if he sees it. ( “Ini ke? Macam basikal tua motong getah Atok kamu kat kampung je!” ).

Hello, tolong sikit. Bukan tua tapi Vintage okay?

I find myself being suddenly shy to talk to people i know in the UK if they’re willing to let me crash at their place for my Brit trip. I get uncomfortable easily when asking people for favours because i understand being in that kind of spot.  How do i explain myself that i will exercise the best of my ability to not bother them at all? Technically,  I just need a place to sleep and leave my things. All the touring will be done on my own,  they need not to worry at all for me wasting their time. Most importantly, i need an address to give at the immigration officer. Must have courage to ask i presume yeah?

I ponder on the plan London-Southampton-Edinburgh-Inverness-Dublin ( base camps ) and traversing around using BritRail whose passes are much cheaper than Amtrak. I wonder what are the Malaysian Hall rates per night?

Also, the current position as traveling partner is still open. Geographical locations doesn’t matter, even though you’re a UK resident interested in seeing your horizons, do get back to me. Apply in hordes si’l vou plait. I would be ecstatic if anybody would like to join me for this edition of travel excursion.

Cheers everyone and God bless InsyaAllah,

Don’t forget to watch Lost, House MD, Chuck, and Big Bang Theory to fill in that boring summer gaps.

P/s: Perhaps my most candid post just yet.

P/s/s: I bet you have forgotten the coward part. See how skillful i am in avoidance and indifference? Sublime.

P/s/s: Coward. I am ashamed to face myself and all of you.