Important Dates 2020

 

R.I.P. Pusheen 😢

Last Raya Haji, Kak Ala brought back all three of her cats. She left two of them at kampung, Pusheen an Tiger. She only took Panda back to Putrajaya. The reason she left Pusheen and Tiger was because the twot cats are outdoor cats, they love to roam around. Unfortunately, one of Kak Ala's neighbour is not so fond with cats. The neighbour complained, saying Kak Ala's cats often peed/pooped at his house. But as far as we know, Pusheen and Tiger only peed and pooped in their litter box. So, Kak Ala kept those twos in cages and only let them out once in a while.

The dynamic duo, Pusheen (calico) and Tiger (orange)

At kampung, Pusheen and Tiger could finally have their freedom, only they are not allowed inside of the house since my mom doesn't like their fur shedding. But, my dad and I sometimes let them in the house when my mom wasn't around. Pusheen was the first cat that Kak Ala had. My niece found her (still a kitten) at her school and brought her home. While Tiger was found in front of Kak Ala's house with two other kittens, Whitey (RIP) and Midnight (sent to pet care shelter). Pusheen acted as a surrogate mother to the then three kittens. Panda was Midnight's son and he is certainly an inside cat.

So, my parents and I took care of Pusheen and Tiger. Honestly, my favourite was Pusheen. She was a very gentle and manja. She never failed to come when I called out her name. Same as Tiger. But this morning, during the cats' meal times, Pusheen was missing. They were only Tiger and Jepun (a white stray cat that we adopted unofficially). Usually the three cats just rushed in whenever I opened the door. I called Pusheen many times, still she didn't came. I'm not worried at first, thinking she's having an adventure somewhere. She never strayed far away from home. So, I figured she might come home soon. I even told her yesterday, that today she will have a bath. Come noon, Pusheen still couldn't be found so I bathed Tiger first. I called her name many times but with no avail.

This was taken just yesterday; Pusheen, Tiger and Jepun

Around 12 noon, my mom called me, telling me that Pusheen was already dead. My mom was looking for her and found her lying under one of my dad's banana plant. My father then took Pusheen home, the banana plant is only 10 meters from our house. Her body was already cold but not 'hardened' yet. Seems like she just die. My parents and I were devastated. My mom and I cried. Until now, I still couldn't believe that Pusheen is no longer around. I regretted not to spend more time with her yesterday. We told Kak Ala the sad news. Kak Ala asked me to show Pusheen to Tiger one last time so that Tiger knew that she was gone. My dad then buried Pusheen. To dear Pusheen, you brought joy to all of us with your presence. May you rest in peace and may we'll see each other again in jannah.

Final goodbye from Tiger

ps: I once had an argument with Miss A regarding the loss of pet. At that time, I didn't own any pet but Miss A has a lot of cats. I told her the loss of cat is nothing. You could just get another one easily. She disagreed with me, saying that it will not be the same. Now, I realized how wrong I was! Losing a pet that has been with you for a long times (Pusheen was seven years old) is not easy...😢

Thought of The Day

 

My thought of the day 💭:

TO MAINTAIN SOMETHING IS SO MUCH HARDER THAN TO ACHIEVE OR GAIN SOMETHING 

Example 1️⃣:

You finally shed the extra five kilos after months of strict diet. You are happy to get back the body shape you love. In your happiness, you forget about your diet and start eating like before.

It may start innocently like I just eat all I want today to celebrate my success. But turns out, you eat like that everyday and gained back the weights you lost just in a couple of days. Been there, done that.😅

Example 2️⃣:

You just started to further your study. It was your first semester. The joy and spirit of being a student once again accompanied you. Because of this, you are so focused on your study and manage a 4.0 CGPA.

Unfortunately, you began to lose your enthusiasm and this affects your result. You can longer maintain your 4 flat. Oh by the way, I'm giving this example from my own experience.

I know there are a lot of students out there that have the will to stay focus all through their study. Again, been there done that. Not proud of it. 🥴

Example 3️⃣:

You just got married (this example is certainly NOT from personal experience, merely from reading and observation). You and your spouse are all lovey dovey. ❤️ You call your husband, sayang and he calls you darling (bear with me here, haha..) Everything is all rainbows and sunshine.

But, as you thread through marriage, you realize that it was more than calling endearment to each other. It needs strength, energy, commitment, struggle and (feel free to add in anything you think important in a marriage, you guys are better and more expert than me in this topic 😆).

And according to this 2014 news article, there is one divorce in Malaysia every 10 minutes. It proves that a happy marriage, heck just marriage is hard to uphold.

Example 4️⃣:

You vowed to yourself that starting from today you will read at least two pages of Al-Quran. And alhamdulillah, you are able to do it for two long weeks. That one weekend, you had a fun holiday with your families or friends and that holiday made you skipped your daily Quran reading.

This time back to my personal experience. 😉. And that couple of days you skipped made you lazy to start back your recital routine. Really really not proud of this. That' why in Islam, it is more important and better to stay istiqamah doing small deeds than one big deed one time.

Example 5️⃣:

COVID-19, we manage to flatten the curve, and we stopped being cautious. We forget about the SOP (not blaming anyone here, just general saying) and look at the statistic today.

I hope after all this points, you guys will see why I think maintaining or keeping something is harder than achieving or gaining it.

🍀 Fun fact: It takes an average of 66 days before a new habit takes root in our brain.

#ThoughtsForToday

My Precious...

I lost this ring in the bathroom during Aidiladha. 💍It wasn't the first. I lost it before once in the same bathroom. Both times, I searched thoroughly but couldn't find it. This ring is very very precious to me because it was a gift from my parents.❤️

The first time, I found it on the next day. But for the second time, I just found it last Friday.😊 The thing is, I wasn't the only one searching for it. I received help from my family members. Even my sisters' maids, who cleaned the bathroom couldn't find it.

I was a little heartbroken, 💔 losing the ring. But I still have hope that I will find it again for I am very sure I lost it in the bathroom and not somewhere else. I pray and Allah answers my prayer.🤲

On that day, I was cleaning the bathroom and suddenly the ring materialise out of nowhere, seriously! I am very surprised and at the same time very grateful and happy. 😁 Finally, I am reunited with my precious (just like Gollum in LOTR but less creepy).

Few things I learn here are:

🍀Never give up hope no matter how bleak things might seem

🍀Always have faith in Allah. He is always there.

🍀Pray for everything, even when you think it is a small and trivial matter.

🍀Every good deeds you performed will benefit you in ways you couldn't imagine

🍀Love your parents!!!

#TrustInAllah

#LoveThyParents

#HaveFaith

Office Annual Dinner

For the first time, after almost five years I worked as Segamat Immigration Office, we hosted an annual dinner on September 3rd. Thank you for those people (my colleagues) that made it happened. I was in charge of wrapping all the gifts. The event is held at Bawwang Event and Space, Taman Yayasan.

 

Family Vacation (Kenyir Lake)

We finally managed to have a big family vacation! This idea was initiated by Kak Ala and she was the one the responsible for all the booking. This vacation is different from previous vacations because it was on a houseboat. It's like a simpler and cheaper version of cruise. We cruised the lake and docked at different attraction. The itinerary is as shown below;

2 AUG 2020 (SUNDAY)

❇️ Parked car at Pengkalan Lawit

❇️ Spent the night on houseboat

There were seven cars altogether. We all started from different places and planned to meet at Pengkalan Lawit where the houseboat is docked. My parents and I joined Kak Ala's family. We were the last to arrive since we stopped at several locations.

3 AUG 2020 (MONDAY)

❇️ Breakfast (Nasi Dagang)

❇️ Kenyir Elephant Conservation Village 🐘

❇️ Cruise to Saok Waterfall from Pengkalan Gawi

❇️ Swimming at the waterfall and lake

❇️ Boat docked at Saok Waterfall

The boat has a couple of crews and we also requested for catering service. By doing that, we didn't have to cook our own foods.

4 AUG 2020 (TUESDAY) 

❇️ Cruise to  Taman Herba from Saok Waterfall

❇️ After exploring Taman Herba, cruise to Lasir Waterfall

❇️ Water activities again

❇️ Boat docked at Lasir waterfall

❇️ BBQ

5 AUG 2020 (WEDNESDAY) 

❇️ Cruise to Santuari Kelah

❇️ Back to Pengkalan Lawit

❇️ Spend the night at Cherating

We did a lot of activities together and we really had a lot o fun!!! More pictures at my FB account.❤️❤️❤️

Father's Day 2020

We celebrated this year father's day at kampung. I bought cake from Baker's Cottage, actually I asked the niblings to buy the cake. And then we did a simple decoration. We celebrated three fathers; abah, abg ain and uncle D. By the way, here is a message for my beloved abah (if you ever stumble upon my blog);

Dearest Abah,

I may not be the perfect daughter,

but for me you are the perfect father.

You are always there for me

through all my ups and downs.

My life has been roller-coaster ride,

nevertheless you are here by my side.

You are my rock when things get tough,

your love for me is more than enough.

When I lose the will to live,

you tell me that I have more to give..

Believe in yourself, you said,

the journey in life must be carefully tread.

Because of you, I'm still here,

trying my hardest to be sincere,

in life, in love and everything dear.

Thank you for everything,

I love you always and forever!

Your daughter,

Eema

Aidilfitri 1441H/2020

Well, celebrating Aidilfitri with the new normal is certainly different compared to previous celebrations. We were only allowed to cross border on the first day of raya. And the number of people allowed per gathering is 20 persons max! Since most of my colleagues were unable to balik kampung, I invited them to my parents' house. I consider myself lucky for I am already at kampung with my beloved parents.

I helped my mom prepare the menu one day before raya. We prepared the usual; nasi impit (cube rice -  no ketupat this year since I'm incapable to anyam (weave) the coconut leave eventhough I did try to learn them, huhu..), beef rendang, chicken curry and lemang (bought). And this raya, for the first time ever I cooked kuah kacang all by myself following the recipe from Google and YouTube. Not bad for my first try! I also made some mac and cheese.

On raya morning, there are no congregation held for solat sunat raya at mosque. Instead we prayed by ourselves at our own home. The khutbah text was given by Islamic Religious Department via social media. And our family held a zoom meeting that morning. We still get to see each other. Each family made  raya wishes. Kak Sya's and Kak Ala's were at Putrajaya, Abg Ain's family was at Sungai Merab and Abg Ijan's family was at Bandar Bukit Raja.

Our zoom meeting

And around 10am, my colleagues started to come. My house was the first on their raya visit list. Next house is Zariq's and the last house would be Pn Heidi. We ate, talked, ate, talked until our stomachs couldn't take it anymore. 😂 This raya was certainly different but it was still a joyous and happy event where we were still able to get together!

My parents' house

Zariq's house

Ovaltine Cookies

Don't expect the cookies to retain their original shapes. This 'turn out' is consider a miracle! Usually, cookies just spread all over the pan with no shape AT ALL!!!

One of the MUST HAVE kuih raya in our house is Biskut Ovaltine. It has been handed down in the family, maybe from my grandmother. Everyone that came to our house during raya will ask for these biscuits. And the cookies will usually finished even before raya since the niblings love to munch them while watching TV. And we had to make a new batch again for raya. But, since we couldn't celebrate raya together this year because of the MCO, I actually posted the biscuits to all of my siblings! That means, I have to make five cookies batch! I included the recipe as well so they could make them themselves. Here are the recipe by the way;

INGREDIENTS

• 250 gm butter
• 1 cup condensed milk
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups corn starch
• 2 cups tapioca starch
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 4 cups Ovaltine

PREPARATION

1. Mixed butter, condensed milk and brown sugar together (electronic mixer)
2. Add all the flours little by little.
3. Add Ovaltine last (if the dough wasn't 'chocolate' enough, just keep on adding Ovaltine until it looks like picture above)
4. Bake for 20 minutes (180 C top bottom)

So, I send the jars of Ovaltine via ordinary domestic post service, not Poslaju. If I used Poslaju, I need to pay RM15++ for one jar. With the ordinary post service, I just need to pay RM7/jar. And it took almost two weeks (roughly) to reach the destination.

Welcoming Ramadan 2020/1441H with New Normal

This Ramadan will be different from previous Ramadans. We are allowed to perform tarawih prayer together at surau or mosque because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, we perform it by ourselves at our own home. There is no Ramadan bazaar where we could buy dishes to break our fast. Luckily enough, I'm living with my parents so my mom does all the cooking. Don't get me wrong though, I would love to cook for my parents but like I've mentioned before, their taste buds are so unfamiliar with my cooking and that would left the dishes untouched. So, it's better to leave the cooking to my mom, haha..

Recipes I've Tried During MCO

Steamed Chocolate Caramel Cake

Verdict: 60% success rate! I failed the two top layers! 😂 Maybe I used the wrong size pan. So, I couldn't distribute the caramel layer evenly all over the surface. The second layer didn't stick to the chocolate cake layer. It just slide and had to be eaten separately. The chocolate cake layer is the only layer that happened accordingly.

Batik Indulgence Cake

Verdict: 80% success rate. I only failed at the cream cheese layer. Well, not exactly fail, only in the sense of thickness. Again because I'm using the wrong size pan. The taste is marvelous.

Japanese Cheesecake

Verdict: 65% success rate. Since I've some leftover cream cheese from the Batik Indulgence Cake, I made this cake. In terms of baking, I failed miserably. According to the video, I only need to bake it for 20 minutes. But in my case, I had to add 40 minutes more for the cake to be totally baked. And, I didn't even bother using the water technique. I just baked it normally after the first 20 minutes failure. The taste is acceptable. The cake was supposed to be light, jiggly and airy but mine was dense (maybe because I didn't follow the water bath technique). Surprisingly, my mom loved it!

Easy Custard Corn Pudding

Verdict: 100% success rate!!! Finally, this recipe restore my confidence in my baking skill! 😆 The executions were perfect and so is the taste! WELL DONE, ME!! Haha..

Dalgona Coffee

Verdict: 100% success rate after the third attempt! The first two attempts weren't unsuccessful because I didn't follow the exact recipe. First try, too much water so it didn't thickened. Second try, too much coffee, eventhough it thickened, it sank!

No Bake Oreo Cheesecake

Verdict: 95% success rateThe balance 5% just because of the shape, mine is square (see picture below) instead of round. The execution and the taste are perfect. I finished the whole cake myself within a couple of days, huhu...

Surah Al-Hadid 57:22 - 23

22. No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being - indeed that, for Allah, is easy -

23. In order that you not despair over what has eluded you and not exult [in pride] over what He has given you. And Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful -

I stumbled upon these verses in Quran today. Maybe I've mentioned before that I'll try my best to recite at least two pages of Quran with the translations daily. And if I felt that I'm drawn to the verses, I would highlight them. Today, I actually reciting Surah Al-Imran. After finishing, I composed a question in my mind. The question is actually regarding whether I would find my jodoh in this life. And then, I want to randomly opened the Quran and it opened to the page containing these verses (which are already highlighted from my previous recitation).

I, sometimes do this thing. Asking random questions and opening the Quran to get answers. There is a saying that when you want to talk to Allah, you should perform solah  and recite dua and when you want Allah to talk to you, you should read the Quran. Amazingly, each times I did this, I always get the sentences that relevant to my questions. I know that I should not simply made conclusions based solely on my interpretations on them without the basic and knowledge of Quran's translation. It is even dangerous and sinful if I interpreted them wrongly. So, I usually compared them to scholarly detailed explanations and interpretations.

Okay, back to these verses from Surah Al-Hadid. Hadid means Iron. Reading the translations, I couldn't help to relate them with the pandemic we are currently facing, COVID-19. Allah says in Verse 22, 'No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being - indeed that, for Allah, is easy -' In Quran, Allah sometimes refer to Himself as We. We know that Allah is the ONLY ONE and TRUE GOD. So, why WE (plural)? This is a style of Arabic speech. It is a feature of literary style in Arabic that a person may refer to himself by the pronoun nahnu (we) for respect or glorification. He may also use the word ana (I), indicating one person, or the third person huwa (he). All three styles are used in the Quran, where Allah addresses the Arabs in their own tongue.

During the revelation this Surah, Muslims were facing attacks from the enemy, battles in quick succession, a state of constant siege, hardships caused by economic boycott by the disbelievers, persecution of the converts to Islam everywhere in Arabia. The disbelievers looked upon these as a proof of the Muslims having been forsaken and rejected, and the hypocrites took these as a confirmation of their own suspicions and doubts. As for the sincere Muslims, they were facing these bravely and resolutely, yet the excess of hardship and suffering would sometimes become trying even for them. So, the Muslims are being consoled by Verse 22. Whatever they are experiencing is according to the pre-ordained scheme of Allah and already recorded in the writ of destiny.

Right now, we are also in a stressful and trouble situation. Evethough, things seem tough and bleak, we must never lose hope. Everything happened for a reason. Allah knows best! For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease (Quran 94: 5 -6) May us face this difficult time together with patiently and strongly. Allah is always there with us. Never forget to pray to Allah. And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided (Quran 2:186)

REFERENCES:

1. The Noble Quran
2. Towards Understanding The Quran
3. Islam Question & Answer

[SONG] AIMYON - On This Day We Say Goodbye

Doromamire no kako ga

Matsuwari tsuku hibi da

Nibuku natta ashi de

Go-ru no nai yama o noboru

Everyday I wake up to see

a muddy past clinging tightly onto me

Weary legs are all I can afford

As I climb up this mountain aimlessly

Koikogareta koto

Yume ni okite mata yumemita koto

Kore made o kiritoru yōni

Atama no naka o meguru

Swimming round and round in my dreams

In my dreams of a time when I was so in love

Now I just wish to erase all these feelings

And awaken from this endless misery

Ashita ga kuru koto wa wakaru

Kinō ga modoranai no mo shitteru

Dekireba yarinaoshitai keredo

I know tomorrow will always arrive

And I know yesterday will never return

Even if I can redo all that has come before...

Kirisuteta nani ka de

ima ga aru nara mōichido" da nante

Sonna wagamama iwanaideoku kedo na

Soredemo doko ka de ima mo

motometeiru mono ga aru

Fumetsu no rokku suta-

Eien no kingu wa

Ashita o dō ikita darou ka

If who I am now can only be due, to all that I have given up

"I want to have another go"

What a wilful hope, I must abstain from these forbidden words

There are still answers I'm looking for, I wonder if I'll get any kind of reply

Immortal rock stars

And eternal kings

I wonder how they lived their tomorrows

Kizudarake no sora ga

Yakeni shimiteiku kyō

Nibuku natta ashi de

Kasenshiki o nazori aruku

Every inch of the sky today

is covered in deep burning scars

Weary legs are all I can afford

As I walk along the arid riverbed

Namida ga deru koto wa wakaru

Kimochi ga modoranai no mo shitteru

Sorenara yameteshimaitai keredo

I know my tears will continue to fall

And I know my feelings will never return

Even if I only feel like wanting to give in

Nokosareta nani ka de ima ga kawaru nara

" mōichido" da nante

Sonna nasake wa iwanaideoku kedo na

Soredemo doko ka de ima mo nozondeiru koto ga aru

Densetsu no puro bokusa-

Nazo ni michita aitsu wa

Ashita o dō norikoeta ka na

If all that has changed can only be due, to all that I have sacrificed

"I want to have another go"

Such embarrassing thoughts, I must abstain from these forbidden words

There are still desires I've yet to fulfil, somewhere out there that I have to get through

Legendary pro-boxers

Men of mystery

How did they overcome their tomorrows?

Fuku kaze ni makase

Me o tojite odore

Amai kakuterushoku no sora o aoge

Sonna koe ga kikoeru

Let the wind be your guide

As you close your eyes and dance

While gazing up at that sweet cocktail tinted sky

You can hear just such a voice

Kirisuteta nani ka o hiroi atsumete mo

Mō nidoto modoru koto wa nai to

Wakatteiru noni na

Even if I could slowly collect, everything I have sacrificed

They will never go back to the way that things used to be

I really should know better than this

Kirisuteta nani ka de ima ga aru nara

" mōichido" da nante

Sonna wagamama iwanaideoku kedo na

Soredemo doko ka de ima mo motometeiru mono ga aru

Fumetsu no rokku suta-

Eien no kingu wa

Ashita o dō ikita darou ka

If who I am now can only be due, to all that I have given up

"I want to have another go"

What a wilful hope, I must abstain from these forbidden words

There are still answers I'm looking for, I wonder if I'll get any kind of reply

Immortal rock stars

And eternal kings

I wonder how they lived their tomorrows

Densetsu no puro bokusa-

Nazo ni michita aitsu wa

Ashita o dō norikoeta ka na

Legendary professional boxers

Men of mystery

How did they overcome their tomorrows?

Lyrics from LyricsTranslate

Movement Control Order (18 Mac 2020 - 14 April 2020)

Source: KKM Twitter

Well, the world is currently facing a pandemic, COVID-19. It affects the whole world (here's the link for the live update). The government had issued MCO to all Malaysians to break the COVID-19 chain. In my opinion, the situation here in Malaysia is still under control. Big kudos to all the frontliners and government for taking a swift action. What I've been doing during this MCO? Mostly, I've binge watching and reading my TBR piles. I just finished books that I bought in 2011 and 2014:

1. Kiss Me at Midnight (Eloisa James)
2. When Beauty Tamed The Beast (Eloisa James)
3. The Duke is Mine (Eloisa James)
4. The Lady Most Likely... (Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Connie Brockway)
5. The Lady Most Willing... (Julia Quinn, Eloissa James, Connie Brockway)

I also read two Malays books I bought recently, Haura by Ramlee Awang Murshid and Cinta Yang Tertangguh by Zaza Qry. Funny thing is the main plot of the two books is the same. It is about couples that forgot their marriage due to amnesia (accident). Now, here a list of what I've been watching. To be fair, I've started watching some of the series before MCO:

1. Restaurant on The Edge (Netflix)
2. Love Is Blind (Netflix)
3. Detective Conan Movie 20: The Darkest Nightmare
4. Detective Conan Movie 21: Deep Red Love Letter
5. Detective Conan Movie 22: Zero's Executioner
6. Detective Conan Movie 23: The Fist of Blue Sapphire

Ooo, I've been reading manga online as well;

1. Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo R (Seimaru Amagi, Fumiya Satou)
2. Kindaichi 37-sai No Jikenbo (Seimaru Amagi)
3. Detective Conan/Case Closed (Gosho Aoyama)
4. Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (Masashi Kishimoto)
5. My Amazing Wechat (iCiyuan)

Other than that, i finally finished making the Taj Mahal nanoblocks (birthday gift from Kak Sya), did some colouring, online shopping (I've been buying telekung lately, I bought three new sets, huhu..) and the most two important activities are eating and sleeping. Beside #StayAtHome, I'm more to #StayInBed really during this MCO. And I find that making my bed every morning is a waste of time since I'm going to get into bed again soon. Still, I made my bed, huhu...

Ooo, I've tried a few new recipes as well; steamed chocolate moist cake and indulgence batik cake which I ate all by myself since my parents don't really dig cakes. I gave some to my aunties but they didn't quite like them because the smell/taste of the eggs (hanyir telur). It seems that as we get older, our sense of smell heightened and we couldn't accept smelly food. So, I'm scared to step on the weight scale after consuming all those cakes and my mom's cooking as well, haha.. I went to work once during this MCO, to prepare the passport statistics. I think that's all for now. Maybe, there will be quite a lot of new entries because of the MCO, maybe... Hopefully...

ps: I had to cancel our trip to Jeju. Already received the tour refund and still waiting for refund from AirAsia

Hafiz & Adira ~ Takdir Tercipta

Destination: Bangkok (17 - 21 December 2019)

this trip to bangkok is fully sponsored by by brother, abg ijan! he booked us (my parents amd i) the flight tickets and accommodations. so, we flew with thai airways! actually my sister in law, kak intan was invited to be a lecturer at NIDA college for a couple of months. furthermore, my nephew, izz (abg ijan's son) had a rugby tournament there. initially, only my parents would go but then the invitation was extended to me (i'm one lucky girl, right?! hehe..)

17 December 2019 (Tuesday)

our flight was around 8am from KLIA, we arrived at bangkok maybe around 10am. abg ijan picked us up with a car he rented for the day. ooo, before the trip, abg ijan told me to buy thai travel simcards and it really is convenient. the simcard only costs RM12, valid for 8 days with 19GB 4G data. bought them at lazada. so, on our first day, kak intan took us on boat taxi (public transportation) in bang ka pi area for NIDA college is situated there. later that evening, we went to the hotel abg ijan booked near bangkok. kak intan called grab. for me, the most convenient way to travel if you are in group is by grab. unfortunately, i forgot to activate my debit card (couldn't get the verification code because it was send to my malaysia's phone number) before going there, so i couldn't use grab.

18 December 2019 (Wednesday)

today, i joined a tour booked fat klook to ayutthaya. ayutthaya was capital of the Kingdom of Siam, and a prosperous international trading port, from 1350 until razed by the Burmese in 1767. it is located about 80km from bangkok. early that morning, i walked to the nearest bts station (about 20 min from the hotel). itinerary is as follow. i joined this tour alone since the others had other plan, beside my mother couldn't walk much since her feet are swollen. the real reason i chose this tour in the first place is because thai historical drama series, love destiny! i binge-watched the series at netflix and i kept rewatching my favourite scenes. there are maybe about 20 people in the tour, a mixed bunch, came from different part of the world. since, i'm travelling alone, i had to ask strangers to take my pictures. so, there are not a lot of picture of me. overall, the tour is great and i highly recommend it to all of you!

main casts of love destiny

Bang Pa-In Royal Palace

Wat Lokayasutharam

Wat Phra Si Sanphet

Ayutthaya Floating Market

Wat Mahathat

Sunset boat ride (Wat Chaiwatthanaram)

19 December 2019 (Thursday)

we took a tourist hop on/off boat along chao phraya river. we started at sathorn central pier and stopped at grand palace. here, i went to rent thai traditional cloth from sense of thai. another influence from love destiny. while i changed into the costume, my other family members already entered the grand palace. my mom had to use the wheelchair for her feet were getting worse. we met inside the grand palace. once we explored the grand palace, we went to see thai masked dance performance at Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre, it was included in the grand palace entrance ticket. the play was interesting and we got the chance to take picture with a couple of the performers

 after that, we split into two goups; my parents with abg ijan and kak intan, me with the boys, izz and areef. the nephews and i went to wat pho while the others went to mbk centre. the boys act as my photographer of the day, haha and they took beautiful pictures. thanks to them i got a lot of pictures wearing thai traditional cloth worth my rental money! then, we took grab to mbk centre where we had dinner. done with dinner, we went to asiatique with the car rented by abg ijan for the next day we planned to go to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market and Maeklong Railway Market.

tourist boat route

The Grand Palace

Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre

Wat Pho

souvenir shopping at Asiatique

20 December 2019 (Friday)

on this day, we went to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market which was about 2 hours drive from bangkok. we took the boat ride but we didn't buy anything much. still the boat ride was fun! we then had lunch at armeen halal restaurant.the restaurant owner didn't speak malay but she told us she received a lot of customers from malaysia. there was another malaysian family eating lunch there as well. if not mistaken, they are from bangi. once lunch is done, we stopped for a while, just to take pictures at maeklong railway market. since it was already late in the evening, not many stalls were opened. most of them were closed already.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Maeklong Railway Market

21 December 2019 (Saturday)

abg ijan called a grab for us to the airport early this morning. it was time to say goodbye to bangkok. maybe, inshaAllah i want to come here again to visit the temples or museums that i didn't get to see.. thank you abg ijan and kak intan for this wonderful trip! may Allah bless all of you, amin~