Zuki

Tetiba teringat kat Zuki. I always think of Zuki as my childhood friend but the truth is he is not. He was my classmate during 2 glorious years of matriculation sampai habis degree. Despite our differences, I adore him. He was not into sport at all, not into adventures the way I did, not lepaking or merambu sana sini, not selekeh, not kepoh, not menyakat and what not. But what makes us click?

I can still vividly remember the first time we met. class of 1.11, 1993. He was small compared to the other boys, even smaller than Addie and Mud. Modestly dressed, unlike Bad yang segak bergaya dengan jam Tag nya!. But the main reason you can’t hardly unnoticed him was his very very thick glasses! Macam b*nt*t botol! I’ve never seen such a thick and heavy (I think it was heavy) glasses!. His eyes seemed so small and sepet behind those glasses. Sure nerd mamat ni was my first impression.

Me and my mulut jahat: Kalau kau tak pakai spec tu cam mana?

Zuki : Tak nampak, nampak bayang saja.

Me : Waaa that bad huh?

*sambil dlm hati rasa nak pinjam and test camna rasanya pakai spec cam tu*

But I think those glasses made him special, made me want to know him more. Throughout our friendship, I like him for not being kedekut ilmu, for being patience towards my perangai, for being frank in giving advices, very polite (unlike budak2 lelaki lain), and the best part is he is VERY GOOD in programming!. Selain awal2 dah booked him as my group mate in whatever assignment, I usually tried to seat somewhere near or at least betul2 belakang him at the lab so that I can peak his monitor, copying his coding! Hahahahahaha. If we were not in the same group, I will always ask him to help and ngendeng2 to see his coding yang cangih-canggih. Oh, I miss those days.

But look at him now. Metrosexually handsome, traveling here and there. Those two pictures he send me through emails somewhere last year, telling me his wonderful life and all.

Top Left : Zuki di German? ye kot, lupa la, Hong Kong, Japan showing mount Fuji

And last May ketemu dia. During Samsung Challenge 2007, Pyramid Megalane. Masih cun, masih ramah, masih ketawa begitu, and masih bujang!

Iman kagum ngan handphone canggih Zuki

Satu ayat dia : Macam tak percaya kau dah ada anak Dd!

Ye la…knowing me dulu-dulu kan…

Kota Kinabalu 4-7Sept 2007– Different Approaches

I wont be blogging about this trip like Sarawak’s, hence explains the title. Been here before but this trip really gave me a different views of the city and the way I (we) travel.

The Hotel

Cost us only RM15.00 for airport cab to take us to Shangri-La Tg Aru. Love every bits of this hotel. Slalunya kalau sampai tmpt baru, letak je bag terus nak kuar jalan sana-sini tgk tmpt org. but kali ni mmg bersantaian sepanjang hari di hotel! Layan iman mandi manda, sauna, steam bath, the beach, the food and all. 1st day mmg tak kemana. Hotel penuh dgn mat salleh n Korean n Japanese sampai few hotel staff asked me ‘Madam, are you Filipinos? No? Indonesian?’ I was like “Helloooo…!” agaknya daku ala2 kelabu asap tu yg depa confius tu. Di sini juga Chenta terkasima dek melihat depa berb*g*llan dlm sauna. Ya, tanpa seurat benang!. Hahahahha.

Sexy Iman berlarian dipadang! - Shangri-La Tjg Aru

Hari kedua kami lari ke tengah Bandar – Kinabalu Daya Hotel? Errkkk...for RM140++/night dpt bilik sempit gilos, tak de bath tub, depan bilik tgh renovate, old carpet, old towel set, old bed sheet!. Plg teruk kat dinding siap ada conteng “Aku r*g*l Ani di sini. Aku = Rizal”, aci? Jadik terus decide to rent a car and jalan2 and hanya balik utk tidur. Maka akak dengan jayanya meninggalkan komen panjang lebar kat guest book! Hamek!

Hari Ketiga move to recommended hotel by abg chenta – Hyatt Regency. Hotel lama but surprisingly very very nice. Jalan kaki sahaja nak ke shopping mall/pasar basah/pasar Filipina and all. Kalau malas, naik cab will cost you Rm5.00 sajor. Kid’s pool kecik tp ada heater.

pool @ Hyatt

Tips: kalau nak duk tgh2 town plg seshuai duk kat Le Meridien, seberang jalan dah pasar Filipina, kiri kanan shopping complex baru. Meriah betul, tak payah nak amek2 cab, jimat! Tp kena booking awal, sbb very glamer nowadays. Most of the hotel ada free broadband. Daya yg hampeh pon ada!

The Food

from top left : sayap, nasi goreng special Tg Aru, seafood bakar, spiky durian

Seafood Kampung Air. taste - biasa sahaja. price – emm tidak murah. freshness – pilih sendiri yg masih berenang dlm tanki. Must try – deep fried soft shell crab.

Pasar malam belakang/sebelah pasar Filipina - Pelbagai jenis lauk pauk, kuih, seafood bakar
Must try – sayap, ketam/udang/ikan bakar + nasi putih + seaweed, kuih topi, cha koi with kaya. ABC, kuih tradisional Sabah. Price – boleh tawar menawar, as for the seafood mmg murah la. Taste – sedap!. Cleanness – standard pasar malam.

Tg Aru food court – tepi laut, sayap disini sungguh enak! Goreng2 ok, we tried pari bakar, tak best langsung!. Price – biasa sajer.

Durian Sabah – emm biasa saja, saja gatai berhenti tepi jalan layan durian. Durian kampung sini lagi sedap.

Small spiky durian – got it at pekan kundasang for RM3.00 sebiji. Taste like durian only less soft/sweet/smell like our durian.

Frozen seafood – dua tmpt kami pergi. Satu di tgh Bandar depan Hyatt – banyak pilihan, harga pon ok. But mana2 kami tanya semua suruh kami pergi yg kat stesen kretapi, better price katanya. Ropanya kat situ tak byk choice and harga tak de la murah mana pon. Hampa tak dapat beli lobster and scallops as kat ketapi tu out of stock! Gerammm sgt. Layan udang saja la. And satu lagi kedai kat airport. Ni harga airport la.

The Places

Kami melawat pekan2 kecil sekitar KK. Putatan lalu terus ke Monsopiad. Tuaran, Nabalu, Kundasang. Singgah mana2 tamu yg ada. Terasa seperti locals. Juga ke pantai Tg Aru, Harbour View, Karambunai. Masuk and pusing-pusing dalam UniSabah, hingga hujung pantai tmpt pejabat aqua marine. Ronda-ronda taman perumahan baru apa ntah tgk rumah besar harga much2 cheaper from kl padahal dekat giler ngan Bandar kk tu. Singgah juga melihat bangunan Sabah Foundation. Siap parking betul2 tepi bangunan sbb tak de guard kat gate. Chenta siap tumpang wee wee lagi.

From Tip Left : Tuaran town, Monsopiad, Kundasang War Memorial, North Borneo Railway Station, Kundasang, Tmn Kinabalu, Nabalu Market, Tg Aru Jetty, Habour View Beach

Shopping

Oh daku sungguh behave kali ini. Hanya beli pearl brooch utk kaum keluarga dan t-shirt utk anak2 buah sahaja!. Iman dapat gendang kecil dan abah dpt butang baju melayu. Itu sahaja!. Tidak gelang crystal…tidak kain pua..tidak…. itu semua dah lapuk..hahaha.

C&K and Bubble Gummers

and for being good I got eemmm…kasut? Hahaha…nak buat camna C&K tgh sale….tak tahan akak….since Chenta kata beli la…kang nyesal…akak pon beli la…….and, like mother like son…iman pon dpt kasut jugak! Sbb kasut fav croc-tipu-from-giant dia putus. Tak penah2 daku shopping kasut masa travel…sejarah betul…and it kind of sungguh best rasanya!.

Transportations

Biasala cheapo cheapo traveler cam kami ni naik la air asia beli, ticket awal thn masa sale, RM0.00. total tax and all, return, cuma RM300++ sahaja.

KK Airport with Abg Nasir - arrival

Sewa keta sehari kena RM120 ke 140 gitu, mahal la….tp sbb order on the spot cam tu la harganya kan…trough hotel lagi….tu la..akak dah suruh plan bebaik..kekonon mmg tak mo ke mana2….tak pe pengajaran tu….
The best part, kami naik bas dari KL central ke LCCT Sepang – RM9.00/head. Iman free, bas ala2 bas express, bersih, selesa, Iman excited giler…first time naik bas kan….bas ni setiap ½ jam satu. Direct + laju. Then masa balik naik bas jugak dari LCCT ke KLIA – Cuma RM1.50/head. Iman free jugak, yg ni lagi best sbb mcm bas rapid (cermin luas), Iman lagi la terkagum gitu… kenapa ke KLIA? Nak hantar anak buah Chenta nak fly to London ptg tu. Bagus la bus services ni…cepat, kerap and murah!. Akak likeeeyyyy!

KK Aiport nak balik

New me

• I wore flat full shoes! Daku kan allergy banget ngan kasut full! Ntah apa mimpi nak try. Sib baik flat murah itu sungguh lembut. Tapi akak lagi suka flip flop or comfortable sandal.

my flat sandal with Iman

• Akak membaca! Ya tak tipu…masa layan iman dlm bilik or kat taman or kat swimming pool, akak baca!.
• I didn’t eat that much. Entah..bukan tak sedap, bukan tak menarek…tapi akak makan ala kadar sajer. Pelik..pelik….and I hate it!
• Akak dah tak gila brg2 dlm pasar Filipina tu…and wonder kenapa dulu akak mcm suka sgt kat pasar tu.

overall : nice family trip. iman ok. good food. nice places. good adventures. mood pon baik. satisfied!

Shopaholic & Sister

I might be terlambat, as millions have posted their review about this book which have been on our bookstores ages ago! But who cares?! I’m a busy Mummy!

I must say, emm..not as I aspected, ceritanya simple, but very entertaining, easy reading, brilliant light hearted read! This is the fourth in the series. You don't have to have read the other 3 which I haven’t, but it would give you a sense of knowledge of the characters. I can easily relate my life to this book, a tiny shopping problem known as retail therapy!.

Becky is charmingly silly, in debt, kuat berangan, but at least she has a wealthy man to pay off her credit cards.*Life just isn't fair sometimes*. Coming back from 10-months-tour-around-the-world-honeymoon instead to surprise her family and friends, things go another way round. Her best friend Suze got a new best friend which she hates, found out that she actually got a step sister Jess! Can Jess replace Suze?. I wouldn’t tell the details, will let you find out what this Becky got to offer you. And oh, she is also in a mess, damages from honeymoon’s shopping!!

• I didn’t buy this book though, I borrowed it from the library. My office library, and why didn’t anyone ever tell me they have this kind of books before? Sebenarnya terpanggil untuk ke sana sebab Chenta already bought his materials for our Lepak Di KK. Dek jealous and tak sempat dah nak ke kedai buku, daku saja lah ke library kot2 ada yg menarik. (menghilangkan ngantuk tahap gaban sebenarnya waktu itu). Sempat menjeling counter ada sorang awek tgh pinjam buku…OMG…is it Shopaholic?. Terus daku ke penjuru kategori UMUM- ya fuan-fuan, buku2 selain buku T*X atau buku-buku ilmiah adalah buku umum. And it was my lucky day! So Zie, nampaknya shopping buku kita akan lebih kepada buku Iman or Abah or yg tak de di library sini…ahaks!. See, daku terus jadi mcm Jess! And I managed to finish it even before we go to KK!, I told you it was easy reading!. Daku yang membaca ala-ala baca dialog dgn intonasi yang betul sambil membayangkan tempat kejadian pon boleh habis cepat!. Eh, library tutup pukul berapa?

Malaysia International Fireworks Competition 2007

2 Sept, The Grand Finale

been there early, got a nice spot across the lake overlooked by the grand seri gemilang bridge. and i was aspecting something really grand but emm mcm biasa jek.... alright, ada la few yg huge and beautiful, maybe our nice spot was actually not a great angle from where they were shooting. and they said it will be choreographed to music, i didn't hear it like it was choreograph.. more like play a song and shoot.

overall, emm.. penat mengejar iman lari sana sini, lapar, tahan perut nak wee wee..penat diri lama + jeles banget tgk family lain dtg hampar tikar and buka mangkuk sia makan-makan!. but to see iman's expression upon seeing the first fireworks...hilang penat akak!

penat suruh dia toleh abah nak ambik gambor!

planning to buy tickets if ever we gonna have this competition next year. and oh, we didn't stuck in a massive traffic jam after that...gerak awal.....

Empress Orchid

I am most attracted to the way Anchee Min describes the details of Forbidden City. She delivers a fictional peek into the palace - the rituals and the grand celebrations and the powerful eunuchs and the manipulative concubines and the conspiracy and everything!. Terasa nak ke China gitu, ke muziumnya perhaps? nak tengok segala baju2, eksesori2, lukisan2 diraja..boleh?

And I especially love this poem,

To give it up is to accept your fate
To give it up is to create peace
To give it up is to gain upper hand, and
To give it up is to have it all

To rescue her family from poverty and avoid marrying her slope-shouldered cousin, 17teen yr old Orchid competes to be one of the Emperor’s wives. When she is chosen as a lower ranking concubine, she enters the erotically charged and ritualized Forbidden City. But beneath its immaculate façade lie whispers of murders and ghosts and the thousands of concubine will stoop to any lengths to bear the Emperor’s son. Orchid train herself in the art of pleasuring a man, bribes her way to the royal bed, and seduces the monarch, drawing attention of dangerous foes. Little does she know that China will collapse around her, and that she will be its last Empress. ** from the book**

and yet to buy the sambungan...out of stock i heard, zie?