Singapore Trip - Day 1 (Malaysia & Changi International Airport)

Getting ready at 7.30 am on an off-day. Excited. this is my 1st time going to Singapore! What's best, I only have to pay for my flight ticket (which I found out later that THAT also will be sponsored ��).

Accommodation is ready as I just chip into my brother's stay during his business trip! �� Had to go to airport at 11 am, as my dad need to go for Friday prayers. But as I just remembered to change currency & left a few things at home, we went out at 11.45 instead. Sorry Ayah! ��

My flight would be at 3.35 pm. I thought I would just survive, but after a while, starting to feel bored~ So after ensuring the exact gate that I should be boarding, I decided to have some french fries with hot honey lemon at Old Town White Coffee. There's a seat by the window that overlooks the airplanes. ��

There was a slight flight delay, so the flight took off at roughly 4 pm. I got a seat by the window, so I am fortunate to watch the airplane fly above the Malacca Straights. I think I saw Avillion Port Dickson too ��

On top of that, my seat is also behind the wings of the airplane. I don't know whether I'm weird, but I like too observe how things work, like how aircrafts use the air breaks at its wings to lower its speed once touched down. ��

The flight arrived at Changi airport at 5 pm. Queued up for custom clearance and waiting for my $9 shuttle that will take me straight to Ritz-Carlton hotel. This shuttle takes to hotels in the city, and can be found at Ground Transport Desk. While waiting, I had a tasty peanut butter waffle & hot honey barley at Chinta Manis Peranakan Cafe! ��

Day 2 - Arriving in London and around Walthamstow

I'm getting pretty slow at writing, aren't I? =) I arrived at Heathrow sometime at 6.45 am. Pretty much was an easy journey, but faced some obstacles at first. Firstly, my luggage combination lock refused to unlock. So there goes my first 5 Pound to buy a lock for my luggage. Then I started to transfer some items between bags and then went straight to the tube, just to remember that I left my gloves at the airport seat! And there goes the glove~ It's only my first 2 hours in the UK and I already felt like I'm having a bad day. I arrived at the Blackhorse Road station at about 9 am. I headed to the nearest bus stop, and stopped a black cab passing by. I was charged about 7 Pound, but hey, better than having to walk all the way. It was super cold~ Especially without gloves. Arrived at my brother's house in Mayfield Road at about 9.30 a.m. Though both he & my sis-in-law were working on that day, they made me feel very welcomed. Great Britain book with details on places to visit and maps highlighted (sorry bro, did not had the chance to visit the museum.. Was always distracted by other places on the way!), UK SIM card (Giffgaff which made sms between me, my bro & my sis free! And with 3G!) & not to forget the Oyster Card (pre-loaded, with a top up money given just in case it's not enough). Both of you made my stay ease & enjoyable. Thank you very much!

Day 2 - Transitting in Abu Dhabi

Ok, at the time i am writing this, I am actually in Day 4, particularly visiting an art museum in Rome. Although I saved in my iTouch first before publishing it when I got back to Malaysia. =p but nevertheless, I'll still be updating what I did day by day. =)

I stopped in my last post before I arrived to Abu Dhabi for transit. Let's start from there! =)

If I'm not mistaken, my time of arrival at Abu Dhabi International Airport was at 11.30 pm, Abu Dhabi time. My flight was suppose to be at 3 am, so I have plenty of time to look around.

I don't really stop at every store, but I did stopped at a particular store because I saw many books (yes, I'm a book freak). I was thinking of just reading then & there when suddenly 3 travel books caught my eye: 1) Berlitz pocket guide for London 2) Lonely Planet Rome Discovery 3) Italian Phrasebook.

And yes, knowing that I was an impulse buyer (especially books!), I spent a total of £30 on those 3 books. Sigh~ but yeah, it did help me to focus on what I want to do, especially in London.

Btw, FYI, for people who don't know me that well, I won't be visiting all that the book suggested. I choose some of it, combined with online or Trip Advisor sources, to get the best itinerary for me. I enjoy walking at slow pace, taking in the scenery, eventhough it's just a small park! I like to observe people, how they dress, what they eat, the way they do things, etc. Let's just say I'm a younger version of my dad. =)

Going back to the trip, I went to wait for my flight at the gate after buying the books. There was a coffee shop in front of the gate. Was thinking of buying whatever was famous from the shop, but then I realised that I had spent £30 on books. Time to save~ So I resort for a mineral water instead.

Flight was at 3 am. Nothing much to say about this flight as I decided to sleep all the way so that I'll be fresh when I arrived at London at 6.45 am.

We finally reach London at 7 am with outside temperature of minus 4 @_@.

Day 1 - Flying to Abu Dhabi

It's been a long day. Wake up very early in the morning, went to office to settle some works (Yes, on the day I was suppose to be on leave, voluntarily - unbelievable). Manage to finish the important, but of course, many of them is still there. I decided to listen to my friend's advice: work never finish.

So i got home pretty early. Reached home by 11 something. Had small talk with my parents & sis before I went for packing (yes, I just started to seriously pack a few hours before flight, and I'm packing for winter!). My dad told me to build some to-bring list, but I ended up googled it, and only read it halfway. =p

We left for the airport at almost 5. A bit jammed up, but better than we go any later. Reached the airport at about 6 pm, which is still early as my flight will be at 8.25. My dad was thinking of having some Teh Tarik at outside mamak, until we weighted our bags and my hand luggage seem to be far off. Transferring things happen, then we checked in & everything settled by 7. There goes Teh Tarik outside.

Since my dad is so against the RM6 teh tarik at a cafe near the gate, we ended up having some refreshments at the foodcourt instead. I was so hungry, but I was advised by a friend to save the stomach for the good Etihad food. And so I did.

My boarding time was 7.25, so we had very brief time at the foodcourt before I went for the gate. I reached my designated gate just in time to join the long que. Sigh~ but yeah, i killed time by whatsapping, facebooking & the likes. I just love technologies. They made my travel waiting time less boring, not like the old days. =)

Once I got to my sit, I was feeling highly excited for the trip. Can't wait to see Abu Dhabi's airport (although it's just for transit.. My last transit at Bahrain a few years ago was awesome, scenery wise - airport was really beside the sea!). But this time flight is at night, so I guess not much scenery when we land for transitting.

I think the plane was good. It has USB port, internet cable port (well, it looks like it) and most important, power point! I guess I'll be charging my phone after the transit. =D

Each seat has its own screen, so was pretty good compared to the one I boarded when I went to Beijing last time. I think it was MAS, but then maybe it was their old plane. I managed to watch 2 movies (Hotel Transylvania & ParaNorman =D) before my ears started to feel kinda uneasy. So i took a nap instead, which only lasted for a while. I don't usually sleep in travel time. So I decided to blog. =p

Food served was good. I had chicken tagine with vegetable briyani & roasted courgettes as the main course. I have no idea what those are, but they tasted good. And the best thing of all, they have tomato juice! Yeyy~

We'll be having another 1 hour 27 minutes to Abu Dhabi, so I guess I'll get myself a bit of nap. It'll be a few hours transit at Abu Dhabi. @_@

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013

It's been quite some time since I last blogged. Been busy with work, studies & life. But who doesn't?

I had my exams last month. It was better than last sitting, but still find it super tough. Hope I'll pass. Still have some other education targets to meet. Long way to go!

Back from my exams, life is even tougher. Juggling my time between settling works & guiding new people in the department. Good thing I was on a semester break & my students also have finished their exams. So I have free nights to spend settling office work! (i know, it sounds super pathetic)

Yeah, in my last posts, I know I wanted to use my semester break to do a lot of things: trying new recipes, learning languages & reading novels to name a few. Well, I spent my time mostly doing something else with my family. But I guess nothing is better than that, right? =)

I have also planned and work on preparations for my holiday, one at a time. I am eager to go! Yet there are a lot of things to settle 1st. Mostly work-related. The need for the flights & my stay there are almost settled. Think I should do some to-do list for my bro to review before I get too comfortable, though. He's the travel expert. =)

Oh, i need to go smoewhere. Will be posting soon!

Time Spent Doing Nothing is a Time Well Spent =)

Excited to get myself writing (or more towards afraid that my writing mood will fly away), I decide to write again, though nothing much to be shared today. The day started off with my head feeling dizzy, forcing myself to write essay for my P1 Governance, Risk & Ethics paper, only to find my niece come to me, and do drawings (or I should just say doodling) of her own 3 pages! Gag, there goes my essay, decided to doodle with her instead. And yesterday I did mention that my dad want to bring me for a walk early in the morning. Plan was changed, we went out at about 10 a.m., bringin my niece together to Taman Jaya. It has been a long time since I last went to any parks, so it feels good to be back to place with many trees. Brings back my memories when I was studying in Cyberjaya time. Infact, it feels good to actually have a nice stroll with my family. My niece, being so aggressive, was running all the way, without falling (and she's only 1 year 10 months! =) Doing these and spending my time home all day long today makes me think that, really, a time not-spent doing things is actually a time well-spent. I use my time today to have small talks with my dad, entertaining (or rather being entertained by) my niece, feeling relaxed and fresher towards the night. I decided that if I am to start studying again, it would be tomorrow onwards. I was thinking of starting "The Hobbit", but I decided to postpone it, as I know I have a novel-holic problem. Non-stop reading. Better start my studying first, then only I'll look into the novel. But am more than sure that it's going to be a very awesome story! =D

Birthday Resolution? =)

It has been a long time since I last blogged or keep journal. Busy-ness has always been the Number 1 excuse in every aspect of my life. Now I'm stuck with lack of exercise, unable to recall my foreign languages, declining flair of writing, and I suspect that my public speaking skills must've gone way down. Have I mentioned that I don't remember where I put my coins & notes albums? Oh, and my shelf is full of to-be-read books, and my list of to-watch movies keep expanding. Now, if I have give up all these for myself, don't you think I have given up time for my family and friends too?

I just had a conversation with my dad. He gave me a pretty good advice. Yes, my life has been so tight, with a full time job, part time job & part time studies. But that is not an excuse to have a balanced and relaxed life. He mentioned that if I don't find a way to make all these less stressful, I'll find myself getting sick & tired frequently, which I already have.

The 1st mission my dad is planningis to take a stroll with my dad tomorrow morning. Luckily my PMR student have finished his classes and I finally have a free Sunday morning. Yeyyy~ ^o^ I know my dad knows that I'm lack of stamina, so I think he'll slow down a bit tomorrow. =p

Next I was thinking to take up my reading habbit again. Yes, I do read all those serious ACCA notes everyday, but what I meant was taking something light for my reading. Taking up a novel, for instance. I think my last novel was The Hunger Games triology, which I read back in July. I've bought 2 more novels since, plus a few that I bought years back. Really looking forward at least to finish another by end of next month.

Also to keep this reading habbit, I'm thinking of joining a book club, or at least organise one. But considering my work commitment, tuition classes & ACCA studies, i think travelling can be very taxing to me. I might as well use my free time to hang out with my family, or mamak-ing with friends. A great stress-free activity! =D

So I was thinking to do 2 things instead: 1) to write blogs 2) to keep a journal, which meant to be more personal. Whoever knows me would know that I don't like to expose my personal life in public. I believe internet is where you should spread the positivities! =D

And then there's foreign language learning, which Spanish will be the 1st to be assessed by my brother (yikes, I told him I would start brushing up my Spanish again this week)! And of course, the casual Javanese conversed with my sister & dad once in a while. Am really excited to start back!

And yeah, I was thinking of reducing my side commitments next year, devoting more time for family, friends & my hobbies. Can't wait to try new recipes, trying DIY's arts & crafts I've been reading in magazines, and above all, going for holidays & travelling!

Hopefully all these plans will come true. Ameen~ =)

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