Traveller's life

As an avid traveller, I adapt to my surrounding pretty well and at a fast pace. I mix around with the local without problem (well, most of the time) and I am quick to learn about their culture. I guess because knowing and learning about other people's culture is after all my personal interest. I am always interested in human subject and observe their behavior which sometimes are explain by their surrounding.

Another aspect about traveling is the eating. I basically eat anything & I don't mind trying any food though it might look disgusting or unappetizing. After all, we all live once so might as well enjoy what ever that is out there. During our stay in Rotterdam, we stay in a hotel which is a little bit out of the town centre so traveling is a hassle since we don't drive. The weather doesn't help either with the constant rain and strong wind. The rain I don't mind but the wind..ahhh... I really hate it because it make the weather so freezing cold! So, since Kris always come back late from work in the evening, we always end up having dinner at McDonald.

Yes! This is our official kitchen for the past 1 week and I literally have tried every single menu that is available there! hahhaha...sometimes we dine in and sometimes we takeout. Well, what to do. McD is the nearest food outlet to our hotel and I do not want to eat in the hotel. First, I bet it's expensive & second, it definitely come with potato. I have been in Europe for more than 2mths now & I have eat nothing but anything with potato.Seriously, I think I do have potato coming out from my a**! So, the only solution to our dining problem is McDonald! It is only 5min walk from our hotel.

I can even see it from my hotel room! Thank God they have salad so I don't have to eat fries & burger all the time. But at the moment, I do feel that I should have a share in McD.Hahahha... I just can't wait to go home to Denmark & cook since we finally move into our own house now!

Cakes for special occasion

I love baking birthday cake for my husband & my friends as well. Whenever we had our girlfriend get together at my place & there is a birthday coming up or a belated one, I always surprise them with a cake. Baking is one of the way I can release my stress from my work besides working out. But if I bake, I need to do if from the heart. If I am force to bake, normally my cake does not turnout great. I have no idea what's the connection but I do believe it's because the 'secret' ingredient is not there.:)

So far, thank God that my cake all turnout awesome and I seldom have leftover, cause everyone 'tapau' it.Hheheh..Anyway, would like to share some of the cake that I have baked before. Enjoy & don't get hungry ya.ehhehe...Oh by the way, some of it was not made by me but the idea behind the design was mind. I had some of it custom made for the special occasion.

Bake this vanilla cupcakes for our Turkish's friend birthday when we were still in China. He is still new in China at that time & not use to the Chinese foods. Therefore,my cupcake become the best food he ever taste since came to China.Hahhaha...

Did this one, oreo chocolate cake ice cream for my husband 38th birthday in China.

This is red velvet with cream cheese frosting which I baked for a very dear friend on her birthday.

This is a Christmas cake, Moist Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Icing. I baked this for my hubby's friend company Christmas dinner. He love it so much!

One of our girlfriend is getting married and we were invited to her bachelorrete party so I decided to bake her this cake as a gift. Since most of them are vegetarian, I have to bake this cake without egg & butter. It is  a red velvet cake.

 Another birthday cake for a good friend of mine. This is oreo peppermint ice cream cake. Simply delicious & I am eating the last piece of it.:)

This is an exceptional one because I did not bake it but I order it from Mama's Min. But the idea is mine! This I especially ordered for our girlfriend's bachelorrete party at my house. We actually surprise her because we didn't even say that we want to throw her a party.Hehheh..

This is the last birthday cake I baked for 2011. Actually her birthday is a week later but I won't be around so I decided to organize a high tea at my place and surprise her with a cake. This is her favorite cake anyway, red velvet with cream cheese frosting.

This definitely not my making.hehehe..my skill has not reach this level yet but soon I hope.And when I can do this, that is when I will bake cake for business.Hahaha...I order this cake from my favorite baker & this cake is damn heavy.

I baked this for my hubby 37th birthday. It is White Chocolate Cake with Italian Meringue Icing. For those who do not like sweet stuff, this is not your cup of tea because it is SWEET!

On his 36th birthday, we were in Kuching so I called a dear friend and ask whether I can custom made a birthday cake just like his favorite car. Luck for me she know where to order it & finally, we got the cake! He was so amazed coz he didn't expect it too look almost exactly like his car.  

Min foedselsdag

It is the time of the year again to celebrate my birthday or min foedselsday in Danish. Just like the year before, I don't look for anything special because I am special! Guess that is enough for me to celebrate. But the bonus is that, I get to be with Kris for the celebration. On a normal birthday basis, we would get a cake or normally I bake for him and went out for a nice romantic dinner after (that is if we are near each other on our birthday). This year, he decide to bring me to Tivoli in Copenhagen (though actually he has something to attend there & decide to stop by at Tivoli).

Tivoli is Denmark biggest theme park and every summer the place is jam pack with human being from all over Denmark and also other part of the world. I was there the first time during the summer of 2009 or 2010 (can't recall). I don't really enjoy it because there is just too much of people to actually enjoy it. Furthermore, from my observation Tivoli has more eating joint that games! I went to another theme park in Copenhagen previously (which I forgot the name) & I found it is way better than Tivoli.

Anyway, it was raining on that day and we arrived at the park at 3pm. Since it's winter, the day get dark very early. What I really look forward for in this trip is I am excited to see the Christmas decoration which Tivoli has every year. This year Tivoli Christmas decoration will be base on the theme, 'Russian Christmas'.

Few hours walking in the park & do some small shopping, we are on our way back to Aalborg but need to make a stop at Herning to pick up our stuff as that is when Kris got the phone call asking him to fly to Rotterdam the next day. We didn't get to do the romantic dinner thingy as usual/tradition of our birthday celebration but what the heck. Nothing to complaint about coz we still have time to have that dinner before I fly back to M'sia.

 Loving this beautiful carousal.

 It's raining so luckily I have my hoody!

Holland

Here I am still stuck in Rotterdam with Kris because he still has something to do here and tomorrow, we'll be here for a week. I spend more of my day writing my thesis while he went off to work and when he come back, we search for dinner or foods. We always end up at McD which is just situated across the hotel because he always come home between 6-7pm, which literally mean, all the shop in town is close. Adding salt to the wound, we stay in a hotel which is out of town because it suppose to be nearer to the port where Kris need to be everyday. Taxi ride to town cost Euro20 for less than 20min ride & the train station is like 30min walk (not really a walk in the park when the temperature is below 5C) and the wind is so strong that I can feel that I am almost blown away (please remember that I am not model stick thin)..hehehe

But last weekend, we do manage to explore the city which is very nice and interesting. Rotterdam is know as the port city and it has the biggest port in Europe (Port of Rotterdam) although it used to be the biggest in the world before Singapore took over, and now Shanghai is dreaming to be the lead (they come 2nd). 

So,basically you see port every where in the city & of course you will see lots of water around here (the country is after all under sea level). 

First time we tour the city, we just asked the taxi driver to stop us at the Maritime Museum as I can see from the map, the main attraction in Rotterdam is just a walking distant from each other. We were lucky that the day is sunny although a bit chilly, and we manage to find all the places we wanted to go to.

As you tour around the city, you will realised (if you pay that much attention), that almost every where there is a mention of the word "Erasmus". For example, the picture below is the Erasmus Bridge, it symbolised the city of Rotterdam. Quite new as if I am not mistaken, it was build in 1996 and the bridge is connecting the Northern & Southern part of Rotterdam. The local give it a nickname, The Swan.

FYI, Erasmus is a Dutch humanist and theologian who was the leading Renaissance scholar of Northern Europe. His criticism of the Roman Catholic Church led to the Reformation but he opposed any act of violent and condemned Martin Luther (the theologian, not Martin Luther King). Anyway, toward the end of our city tour of the city we stumble upon a Saturday market but unfortunately, it was almost closing time when we found it.

As expected there are many fruits, vegetable, cheese and flowers stall. Wish we had found it earlier.It would be an interesting place to find something out of the ordinary and probably find some bulb for my bro.

We eat at a Thai Restaurant which cost us Euro54 for two (we ordered Tom Yum Gong, 6 small pieces spring roll, 5 stick of baby chicken satay, rice and coke). Could imagine how much I can eat with that amount of money in a Thai restaurant in Malaysia.Huhuhuh....


On our second day tour of Rotterdam, it doesn't turnout out good because we suppose to go somewhere but end up nowhere! Hahaha...So, we just wonder around the city centre & it look pretty deserted as it was Sunday & most shop are close on Sunday (I miss KL!).

But as we wonder around without any direction, well.. well...what do you know, we end up at the 'happening street'.Hahahha...there are absolutely everything & everyone there. All kind of shops and restaurant (why didn't we find this the day before..heheh). After a while, we both need to pee but we just can't seem to find a single public toilet. Actually, I never see any around the city so far. Wonder where these people do their 'business' when they need to. I guess the canal provide a good spot..:)

Finally, we end our weekend with buying some Chinese takeout for our dinner and some snack along the way. Kris decided that we took the taxi instead of the train which we used earlier because he really need to pee! Though it is expensive, I do enjoy the taxi ride because if not here, where would I got the change to get a ride in a Mercedes & Chrysler or BMW. But before that, decide to take a picture with Papa Santa!

Living abroad

Some 'people' are so gung ho about living abroad especially in the so call 'negera urg hibai' that they tends to compare it with Malaysia. Seriously?? Comparing Malaysia with let say German is like compare the skin of an Indian & a Chinese, and who has the fairer skin. Get it?? Technically, we are still lacking the technology, expertise, development & most important of all, their mentality. Honestly, when I hear someone comparing Malaysia with those Western countries, I would say these people are actually making stupid comparison. Yeah..yeah..so they visited it or even study abroad...so what, that does not make you so knowledgeable about the country. 


I have been living abroad on & off, and visited a lot of places for the past few years and as an observant person as I am, I like to take time and study about the country's system and the life of the people living there. Yes, of course I cannot deny they do have a better facilities and social system, and also working system compare to Malaysia but they also have the not so good story behind all those good one. When you are a tourist or student or on business trip, you don't see all those detail. What you see is just the surface in general & hell, it is good!


But besides the free medication, free public transportation (for certain age only that is), free education, allowance for single parent, allowance for handicapped or people who raise handicapped children or high salary (on average the salary is approx. more than RM10K per mth), 'these gung ho' people forget about the 40% income tax (approx.), Euro2 per 1L for petrol, 40% housing loan (that mean you need to have the down payment/deposit of 60%), on average people spend RM500-RM800 per mth for groceries for the whole family (it can be less if you choose to buy almost expired stuff or at a cheaper joint & have less than 2 kids), 200-300% tax on all new cars (varied depending on countries), for those who love massage well, on average Thai massage cost you RM200 per hr ( I can do twice the hr for this amount in KL) and many others 'good truth'. So, if 'these' people actually analyse the detail carefully 'urg hibai' country is damn expensive to live in.


Don't you 'guys' realise how they admire our country for being cheap??? Well honey, they really mean it when they say that & it is for a reason. And FYI, they do like to live in Malaysia & believe it is a nice country to live in except for the mentality of the people. So, it all goes down to the mentality...again. If we have a better mentality than we have now, I am sure we can go as near as these countries in term of development. I won't say we will be on par with them because I am being realistic. To be on par as them, believe me, we still have a very long way and journey ahead of us. 


Still think they are better? Well, please do live abroad & experience it before making any kind of brainless comparison. If you think living abroad is way better than living in Malaysia, well...what you waiting for, pack your bag and move. Don't just bitch around about it and you're still here. 


Every country has it ups and downs because we are all different. No point of comparing it & do nothing about it. If you think living in UK would be great, so move to UK. Or if you think living in the US would be fun, well what are you waiting for. I have to admit, Malaysia still has lots to catch up if we want to become like these countries but hey, it's still a great place to live! There is a beauty in everything if you look for it rather than saying in ugly before even search for its beauty or in some case, u just look for the ugly part.:)

Writing

Writing can be damn hard sometimes, especially when you are doing academic writing. I can easily write anything but when it come to academic writing, man that is hard. You can't simply use the normal English language that I normally use when writing my blog or email because it just has to be the right wording to actually represent my so call intellectual thought and provide a solid argument for my findings.

On good days, I can write 5-10 pages a day. Helloo...this is a thesis writing so that much is actually an accomplishment (at least to me as I write every single day). And when this happen, I am so happy & fill very productive. Unfortunately, I do experience bad day as well where I can only write a maximum of 5 pages!! When it happen, I really feel that I wasted too much time with very little results and very disappointed with myself although I knowing I had tried my best. Writing also depending on your mood swing which explain why most writer prefer to be isolated when they are writing a book. Now I know..

Some people won't understand what actually I do looking at the laptop for few hours everyday for every single day since I'm doing my PhD. Well, all I can say is that, you experience it first before making nasty comment about it. It is not easy that is for sure. You do get frustrated sometimes when the ideas are not there or when you have it in your head but the words just won't come out. I have to admit, sometimes when I am lack of idea or when my head just feel heavy with thought,  I swear that I'm about to go mental!

But I am taking my time now to complete my 2nd draft as the 1st one received a nasty comment so I vow to have this 2nd one better, and 100% improve. But I won't want to take my own sweet time as I plan to graduate next year (though it is 1 yrs later than I originally plan). But hey...at least this time I can feel that it's for real & I am producing a better thesis! Wish me luck fellow!

Suria Fm

One day, I decided to download Hitz FM on my iPod, and there it is, SURIA FM! I am a fan of retro music especially Malay songs that are in the 80s and 90s. From that day on, each time I do my work, I will switch on my iPod and listen to Suria FM. I miss hearing people talking in Malay language whenever I am away from home, especially when the mother tongue of the population is not English.

Furthermore, the songs that the Dj is playing is the songs that I use to hear and sing along when I was living in the boarding school. Those day were one of the best time of my life! I was surrounded by wonderful friends whose friendship still going strong up to today. Hearing all those nostalgic songs remind me of good old days with the gals. Anyway, I do believe that retro songs are ever green that even when you hear it today, it still sound damn good & entertaining unlike the new songs nowadays that you can't figure out whether it is a song or just a clanging sound of nonsense.:)

Kris, bought TV package which enable me to surf online while watching TV, something like what Telekom has called Unifi. So, listening to my favourite radio with a full blast sound system won't be a problem.:) When I miss home, at least I have something that can remind me of home especially during this cold winter night.:)

Moving time...

Finally today, after almost 2 months of renovating, cleaning, burning, waiting, arranging, drilling and cleaning again, at last we moved into our own house. Still some work to be done but it is enough to make it a home again and good enough to be live in. The condition of the house is way better than it has been. All the hard work we put to make it  a beautiful house with a welcoming feeling has been paid off finally. I am so relief that we finally living on our own. Today, we move out our last items from my in law's house which was great. We finally get the privacy that we always need when we come back here. Not that my in law is some kind of busy body but it's just great to be at your own place.

Tomorrow, I will want to bake the best chocolate cake ever to celebrate. I also miss baking and cooking at my own kitchen, so it'll be nice! When my family or friends coming over, at least they now have a place to stay over. There are a lot of plan that we want to do for our home here but that will have to wait for now. I hope it will come true for both of us & also, we can finally raise our children here, at our beautiful and blessed home.

Bali

Finally, we manage to go to Bali after postponing the trip twice & spend enornomous amount of money with the flight changes. We decided to stay in Ubud the whole trip because we wanted a quiet sanctuary and far away from the centre as possible. WE manage to get a place in Ubud. A very traditional wooden chalet among the paddy field. It was very quiet at night but unfortunately, the electricity always went off suddenly at night which left me sweating! But the morning was beautiful because you can hear the birds singing at the balcony and there are not much of children around so that is good. Do not want to have vacation with a bunch of yelling kids!

We had our breakfast here, serve every morning by the staff. Kris like the place so much that he wanted to built somethig like it one day for us to retired!!hahaha...



The chalet were build by a well known carver in Bali and he own it.He also has a popular cripsy duck restaurant in Ubud where we had our romantic dinner.

As you can see, there are rice paddy in front of our table.Heheh..very special and different indeed but it would not be a good place to hold a party with free flow of booze.hahaha....you have to really watch your steep of else, you end up in the paddy field. But seriously, these people are creative to have a restaurant here.

The place has a nice medium size pool which I almost drown in,heheh...luckily hubby saw me & came to the rescue. And that was the end of my pool time there. Oh..they also decorated the bed with roses as I told them we were there for our anniversary, plus they gave us an anniversary cake.

Overall, it was a great romantic time for both of us.Unfrtunately we were stuck within the hotel compound for one whole day because of Hari Nyepi.Nothing much we can do about that as no one are allow to move around town. Looking forward for our next romantic vacation for the 5th anniversary.:)

Unexpected statement..

I was having coffee time with my in laws and hubby one night when they were in a serious mode kindda converstion. Me, being myself, just couldn't bother to know what it was and it also does not help that they speak Danish (a language which I am yet to master). So, I just eat my pastry & drink my coffee when suddenly I heard my name being mentioned by my MIL.Hmmm...then my FIl smile and as I looked at him, he asked me, "Do you know what she just said?"...Nope. So, he explained that,

"She told Kristian, not to change you for another women because you're the best thing that ever happen to him."

Awwww....so sweet..:) Didn't expect her to say that so I am actually surprise and humble to know she think that I am the best thing that ever happen to the son. I believe, a lot of people will envy me because who won't want a MIL like that. I heard it many time from my hubby but to hear it from my MIL, it is something different but make you feel proud in a way.

Well, to explain why she said that is because they were having this conversation about these two couples that swap wife. Yup, literally swapping wife in real life, not a reality tv kindda thing.hehehe...Donno why they swap wife & I do not wan to know as long as I am not the one being swap.Hahah...Yup, this is a small town I'm going to call home.Whatever happen in your backyard will be someone else business. Everyone know everybody & everything!

Dinner

Last night we were invited for dinner by our good neighbor together with my parents in law and another couple, which, also our neighbor. You can say that we are having 'getting to know your neighbor' moment that night. Since we move back to Denmark last month we haven't got the time to meet with them because of our busy schedule renovating & repairing the house, and also because we live elsewhere during the weekday and only come back here for the weekend.


It was a great dinner, good foods and great company. Luckily, all of them speak English very well. But of course, once in a while they will converse in Danish. Sometimes, I do get what they say but if I don't, I'll just keep quiet, as usual. Heheheh..


The thing about Danish dinner is that they enjoy sitting for hours and hours at the dining table without moving an inch! Well, except for occasional toilet break or smoke break especially if the guest don't actually smoke and yesterday, they both don't smoke. So, for those who do, they will excuse themselves and go out for a quick smoke.You can't really stay too long outside and smoke because the wind is very strong & cold. My first experience having Danish dinner is way back to 6 years ago. I never expect anyone would sit for hours and hours at a dining table like they do because where I came from, we just do not do that. After finish our food, off we go!Hahahha...I was basically in agony because I am so eager to get up and lay down at the sofa & watch tv or read some story book but I do not wan't to be rude. So there I was sitting there, hearing them talking in Danish with occasionally change to English just to include me in the conversation and drinks one cup of coffee after another. By the time, dinner is over, my ass is basically feel 10x wider and my body is OD with caffeine! 


After a year of just follow the flow, I finally have the courage to excuse myself & doing my own stuff, and leave them continue on their dinner 'activity'. Haahah...It is interesting to experience how different culture spend their 'social' time or any other things which they do differently from the way we use to back at home. :)

Biological clock

Here I am at 6am in cold Danish autumn weather where everyone is literally still sleeping and me...typing this! I have always been what we call, early bird...not angry bird :)


Everyday, I woke up by 7am or even earlier without having to depend on the alarm clock. The latest that I woke up in the morning is 9am. Anything more than that would out of the question. I guess, I have a lifetime training to always wake up early even on weekend so I'm pretty use to it & have no problem with it. I do wish sometimes I will sleep more especially when I slept at 2am the day before but no....this eyes still want to wake up before 7am. 


So, do I envy those who have the ability to sleep until noon time? No & yes.No, because they irritate me. You see, growing up we are always being taught that waking up late in the morning is being lazy and a waste of time because you can obviously do a lot of work by waking up early, and there are always lots of work to do in the morning in my household back in those days. However, there is a little of jealousy I have for these 'creature' because they can sleep longer without feeling guilty and lethargy. I do find it bored when I woke up early during the holiday or weekend that everyone is still asleep and I am all alone with no one around though this never happen in my house hold in Kuching but here in Denmark, everyone is still sleeping!!!

Boring....

Boring...that is what people always say. But what is not boring? What is the definition of boring? For me, 'boring' is very subjective. What is bored to you, does not necessary bored to another person & vice versa. I am always being ask by some 'concern friends' whether don't I feel bored staying at home almost all the time or don't I feel bored staying at home while my hubby go to work. Well, you see when I am in Denmark or China (where we use to live), I spend most of my time at home, doing my work. What work???

Although I am a student but what people do not know is that being a PhD student, we do feel like doing a fulltime job. We spend lots of our time browsing the net (this is what we call outsourcing for information as regards to our research), we spend even lots of time reading (reading journal is a tiring work because we really need to understand every words & sometimes, the writing is so academical that by the end of the day, we are mentally tired even though it is only an article or two) and we spend lots of time doing our thesis writing too. I do not know about other people who doing what I am doing by I start my writing since the day I register for it. I feel that it is one way to stimulate your brain and once you stop writing or reading for a day, it will drag to few days, weeks, months and by the time u realized, you spend 1yrs doing none of those!!!


Do I feel bored doing all these?? No (we at least, 80% no)...hahaha...when I am at the 20%, well I have friends, real good friends to call & hang out with or do some outdoor activities with or we sometimes, travel together. Or I can go home to Kuching & take the time out & just spend more time with families & friends. You see, in life having really close & good friends is utmost important (at least to me). When people get married & have kids or when life get too busy, they always sacrifice their friendship & simply say...oh..too busy to meet up..well, that is the biggest mistake ever!!! And those work that I am doing is not boring to me because if it is, then I can tell you that I am in the wrong 'business'.

So conclusively, you only feel bored because you want to feel bored. The reason that you gives are reasons you created to help you to explain to people why you are bored. Some said, when I get married then I won't feel bored...(erkkk..say who???) ..when I have kids, then I would not be bored ..(erkk...think again)...when I have lots of money, then I won't be bored ..(erkkk..are you sure?)...your life is boring because you make it boring! That is the only explanation you need. So to those who keep asking me this question...are you sure you do care whether I am bored or you just want to find 'bored buddy' so you can bored each other with your boredom. Sorry sista...I would not be that buddy.

Moral of the story: Enjoy life as you might die tomorrow!

Moving

We're moving again & this time to the land of the viking! Starting from this month, we will make Denmark our new home (well, not so new for hubby, but new for me). We been living (well, literally living for me) in China for the past 4 years and I guess, it is time to go 'home'.    Such a huge change for me though I literally always spend my time here but this time, it be more permanent. Daunting and exciting change for me because this will be my home for the next 10 years (probably). I welcome the change as part of life but at the same time, wondering what would it be like to actually stay put here and what are in store for me here. I have dreaded for this moment to come although, personally this changes might be what my relationship need as we been living apart since we say the vow almost 5years ago. To finally live together in the same country and the same house is something hubby look very much forward to as I know he just can't live without me (ok..that maybe I exaggerate a bit just to make me feel important to him..ahhaha).


This month is all about renovating the farmhouse, which we rented out while we were away and as expected, the tenant couldn't care less to take care of it. But thank God that hubby does have the viking feature and scare the crap out of them so they did some damage control before we drag them to court. But there are stuff that still need to be repair, replace, renew, repaint etc. I personally love doing renovation and redecorating (just that I wish I have money like Donald Trump so budgeting won't be an issue)...sigh...Nevertheless, I still put my heart & soul in this house as it is our house and I want people to be mesmerized by it when they enter it. Then the glory will be mine..hahahah..


Ok.Now we need to of furniture hunting. Will be back soon. But first, I will want to continue with my current project of re-painting the dining wall. It was green when I saw it & it is such as excruciating sight! So, I decided to change the color to sandy brown and I just finish the double coating last night. Today I want to inspect where I need a third coating or not. Then apply the finish touch to it then I am done. See ya all..

Mahubay Philippines

Just came back from the Philippines today & I am so damn tired. I think because of the conference which took too much of my brain cell with all the thinking & evaluation & question the past few days. It doesn't help that the hotel where we stay is situated exactly at downtown Malate which make it so noisy. The first day alone, I can't sleep because naturally I have problem sleeping at a new place for the first night & the other reason is because there are a bunch of teenager staying there & they were very noisy. I think I manage to sleep for only 2hrs. Oh yeah...not forgetting to mention how noisy the air condition & the fridge is, contributing to my difficulty of sleeping. Gosh...


Nevertheless, the next day I wore my pink cheongsam & we all off to the University of Santo Tomas where the 3days conference will be held. Now this university just celebrated its 400th birthday!!! Can you believe it, 400??? That make it the oldest university in Asia & probably among the oldest in the world. The university was started during the Spanish occupation in Philippines. I like the surrounding because they maintain the old design of the building & it just so lively. It is such a nice campus actually & they even have their own high school within the same compound. I met a lot of new nice friends during the conference and it is nice to work & know people from different background. We are all intellectual & academician (well...at least some of us are 'will be academician like me for instant..'..hahah). The topic of discussion also very interesting & trigger my mind about my own research. After my presentation, I feel relieve & relax.


I didn't really get the chance to really see Manila but at least we manage to go to Intramuros & hear some history of the place & also about the country from our very funny tour guide. Poverty is everywhere in Manila & you can see beggars everywhere. You can see the slum area even from the airplane just right before you landed at the airport. But one thing about the Filipino that amaze me is that, no matter how bad life treat them, they always find a way to be happy & not letting the poverty taking control of their life. The whole of 5 days I am in Manila, I have to give huge credit to their warm hospitality and going to that extra length just to make sure you are well taken care of. The group of student volunteers that work with us during the conference is just superb. They do whatever it take to make sure you are happy staying in their beautiful country.


Do I want to come back again? For sure I will. There is a lot of places in other part of the Philippines that I really want to see especially the countryside. There are so much I want to see in the country. I hope one day, I will come back again but as for now, so long Manila!

Weather..

Man! It is hot today and also for the past few days. There has been no rain since Thursday and seriously...it need to rain! I never been a fan of sunny weather. Anything gloomy to rain is my favorite, at least in Malaysia. Hot weather just get to me all the time & I could get very irritated for no reason at all. Plus, hot weather give me a bad headache. I don't really enjoy going out under the sun & I would avoid it as much as possible except when I am off for a vacation. 


My favorite season will be winter of course. I enjoy seeing places turn into white when the snow cover the surface and I like the cool wind when I am standing outside the house. Well, you only freeze if you stand outside the house without proper cloths anyway. So when you're in the house, it be warm again. It is so cozy, drinking a mug of hot chocolate, sitting on the sofa, watching some movie and at the same time, watching the snow falling outside the window.


Ahh...lovely. Snow please!I wish there will be snowing in Malaysia now!! This weather is killing me.

Finally..

After searching for almost a year for the right people to design it, waiting for 4mths for it to reach Malaysian's shore all the way from Indonesia & almost 4 hrs of installation time, I finally have my much waited and anticipated room divider!!

Yes! It is damn huge. Made of teak wood, 2.4m in height & 2.5m in length. Purely design by me & my hubby. It is custom made by us! Two engineer working together for a project.Hehhe... I am so happy that it finally in our house though it was so troublesome to actually bring it into the house. They have to separate it into four part because obviously, no way they can carry it in one piece.

Full of memorabilia from all over the world or places that I have been to and not forgetting some wedding gifts which I finally have a place to display it. Now at least no one can see directly to the living room as they enter the house.

That is how it look like from behind or rather in front, depending on which angle you see it. Yup, my house have lots of teak wood stuff because I just love wood and the smell of it. Now that is done, I still have few more project to do.

It's 4 years!

Last month I celebrate my 4th wedding anniversary and yet it feel like we just got married yesterday! I vividly remember the day I walk down the aisle and meet him at the altar. Yes..the man whom I want to spend the rest of my life with and I know who will be there for me through everything. I could not ask for anything more than what I already have in him and I can truly say that I am happily married! All I wish for at this moment is that we will have more anniversaries in the future and continue to love, care and respect each other, till death do us part.


Happy Anniversary Honey! Love you with all my heart.

Romantic getaway

It is the time of the year again, to celebrate our love for each other, well not that we can't celebrate it everyday but on this day, I just want to make it special. It is a day to remind us the first day we become husband & wife and a reminder for us how much we love each other. Furthermore, not that both of us always have the time for a vacation together so whenever possible, we will have a romantic getaway, just the two of us. This year, we are headed to the East Coast , Terengganu. Our first time to Terengganu so we both excited to see what the place has to offer.

After checking into our room, we headed down to the beach. It was kind of dirty that day because the high tide did brought with it some 'souvenir'. I wish the resort assign some people to clean it every other day. But the water was warm and for those who dare to swim, it will be nice but not for me. I just watch from afar.Hehehe...

Our room is just in front of the beach where you can clearly hear the sound of the wave hitting the shore. We have a huge room with our own patio and a huge and comfy daybed which I enjoyed using. The resort send over evening snack daily to our room that consist of some traditional delicacies. We have sunken bath tub in between our shower stall & toilet, opposite the wardrobe. I love the bed because it's huge but not long enough for my hubby. Well, I have to admit it, it is not that easy to find a bed in Asia which can accommodate his height.

Me & my favorite daybed. It is very big & comfy for me to lay down and do my reading.

After our spa treatment the next day, we decided to see Kuala Terengganu, which is literally 40min away from our resort. The resort is very secluded which is why I choose the place because we both need the quietness and privacy and we want it to have some traditional touch to its architectural design. Honestly, KT has nothing to offer, well, at least for me. Hardly see any taxi moving around so thank God I ask for our taxi's driver' business card or we will be stuck there. On our last night there, we had a candle light dinner on the beach which I love so much.

 We having dinner at the beach club, literally on the beach. The weather was great that night & it was full moon. Had some mosquito bit but it was OK as I enjoyed the setting, foods & of course the company.

It is nice to have dinner at the beach once a while & looking over the darkness of the sea with a glimpse of light from the sky.

The resort provide us with our anniversary cake which is so cool but we didn't finish the cake as we were so damn full!

Really enjoy the short & quiet vacation we had & I really look forward for the next one. Happy 4th anniversary honey & I look forward for more anniversary together!Kisses..

Phuket

Finally, this year I manage to pay a visit to one of my favorite country, Land of Smile. Last year I didn't manage to go there because of my hectic schedule but this year, I am so determine that if I have the chance, I will come back. This time, I went to Phuket with one of my gf. She is a frequent visitor of Phuket but as for me, this is my first visit to the island. I didn't even know about the flood in the northern part of Thailand at that time until my hubby mentioned it to me. Was a bit worry in case 'Kak Su' (tsunami) will come while I am there  since there is a history of that happen and my natural fear of water (don't ask me why but I was born with the fear of drowning). But I refuse to let the news to dampen my spirit so I pack my back & headed to the airport at 4am!

We were greeted by heavy rain when we landed in Phuket airport & we both a bit worry that it will be raining the whole time we are there. The owner of the guest house where we stay, was already waiting for us at the arrival hall with a huge cardboard with my name on it.Hehehhe....Had a good chat with him along the way from Phket airport to Karon Beach, where we will stay for the first 3days.

After checking in & put our back in the room, we headed to the local town and also check out the beach. It was a cloudy evening in Karon that day but never stop anyone from hanging out at the beach and that include us!heheheh...for the next 3 days we just hanging out, did some shopping, did a serious eating all those spicy food & a damn serious spa activities.I did a lot of relaxation though during the first night there, I did manage to spend some time to finish some unfinished work of mine because I brought it with me. Well...that is just my life  for now because I just can't leave it at home and at the same time, I still want to travel. I guess, I just have to do both a a time.

 On the third day, we move to Patong but personally, I wish we stay on in Karon because it is much quieter and relax there. But at least I experience both area & know which one I will prefer the next time I go there (if ever). On our last day in Phuket, I did two of the activity that I always wanted to do for a very long time. Shooting...

and...an ATV ride! Yeahhhh..wish I can spend more time with both activity but it was definitely not within the budget as for now but there will be a next time. I left Phuket after 5 days and it was good to go away sometimes and relax a bit, away from my work (though not totally) and just hang out at the beach every single day! So I end up my day in Phuket, watching the sunset at the beach while listening to the sweet sound of the wave and the calm sea breeze on my face. Looking at the sun setting in while quietly sitting at the beach always give me the serenity & tranquility I always needed in this busy and hectic life of mine.