Khalis and I registered for Hajj sometime early this year. And we regret that we didn’t do it earlier. I mmg wanted to do it as soon as I have the minimum balance (and I’ve had it since 4 years ago) but I thought:-

1- I would need the passbook. I lost the passbook yearssssssss ago. If I want to get a new one, I would need to pay stamp duty. I bought the Hasil stamp from post office but tabung haji said they only accept the one ‘stamp-ed’ /crossed by LHDN, Land Office and another place I can’t remember. But no, no passbook is needed for Hajj registration.

2- I would need to register with Khalis because insyallah we’ll be performing Hajj together and it’s almost impossible for us to meet up during office hours. But it turned out that Khalis didn’t even have to be present. I just gave the clerk my IC and our Marriage card and its done.

3- That the queue would be long and my lunch hour wouldn’t be sufficient. When I went to the Hajj Registration counter (which was not located together with deposit/withdrawal counters – yang ni mmg selalu ramai org la kan) I was surprised to see that there’s no queuing at all. I was attended to immediately and the whole thing took less than 3 minutes.

We are scheduled to perform Hajj in the 2040s.. Had I done it earlier maybe I could be in 2030s’ list. However, I am positive that we wouldn’t have to wait until 2040s as almost everyone I know was called a few years earlier.

To register, you would need a minimum of RM1400++ in your Tabung Haji account and they will freeze the amount. If you don’t have RM1400 in your account, you can still register for Hajj using your EPF balance, so just bring your EPF statement and they will freeze RM1400 from your EPF account.

Our wedding anniversary is fast approaching and I still havent decided on our honeymoon destination. Work is unpredictable plus I'm pregnant so overseas trip or taking the flight is totally out of the question. I have a few resorts in mind (well actually just three because I only know three establisments in the Peninsular that have private pool) but I'm reluctant to make the reservation because none of them is known for good makan places. Food wouldnt bother me so much if I'm not pregnant, but now that I am I need to be somewhere with access to good and variety of food. When I think about it, when it comes to food, I only like Kelantan!! But unfortunately there is no good resort/hotel there!!

Making last minute plan can only mean disaster so I really need to make that reservation NOW.

KK Trip

I don’t usually write about my trips as it would require a great effort from my part (This, for example is a 2000++ -word entry). However, Khalis and I really enjoyed our recent trip to Kota Kinabalu and I feel that the trip deserves an entry in our blog. Khalis has been in KK a few times before for work but I never had the chance to go with him.

 

It was a budget vacation – we only paid RM24 for the flight and stayed in cheap hotels. However I’m determined that it won’t be the next time. (yes, we love KK so much and will definitely return!)

We didnt bring our good camera so the quality of the photos is only so so.

Day 1

We arrived in KK at 330pm and had to wait for 30 minutes at the airport for our rented Saga FL. Our rental guy apologized for being late and gave us about half tank of fuel for free. Paid the full rental rate+deposit and off we went to our hotel – Zara Boutique Hotel. The hotel was alright I guess but a bit far from the attractions. We rested for a while and went out for dinner at 6pm at Salut. It’s a bit far from the city but the traffic was good so we got there in approx 30 mints. … This restaurant served fresh seafood. We picked our fish and prawns right from the tanks. They had good variety of seafood, fish not so much and but they had wide selection of clams and snails. Minimum order was however 500gm (which is a LOT for 2) so we really had to choose carefully. We had kerapu asam manis, butter prawn and softshell crab goreng tepung. I’ve always wanted to try ‘big’ softshell crab (instead of the small ones in sushi restaurants). We thought the food was so-so, but expensive nonetheless! And it really broke my heart seeing the leftover. There’s nothing we could do, we’re stuffed to the max! The view from the restaurant was good and we got ourselves a good table too.

On our way back to the hotel, we made a quick stop for kelapa bakar and kelapa pudding. Kelapa bakar’s basically grilled old coconut and kelapa pudding’s very similar to kelapa jelly in the east coast except that the flesh is blended together with the juice so theres a hint of santan. We couldn’t appreciate the kelapa bakar, we gave up after like 2 sips but we loved, loved loved kelapa pudding.

Day 2

We had sub-standard breakfast at the hotel before we started our journey to Kundasang. Weather was great – it wasn’t really hot as the entire KK was covered by clouds - thick clouds that blocked satellite signal from reaching my GPS. We’ve heard people talking about bringing 3-4 GPS to KK, now we knew why.

We stopped at Pekan Nabalu enroute for its famous pineapple. It was the best pineapple I’ve had - super sweet and there was no stinging aftertaste.

We arrived at Kundasang around 1130 and it was too early to check in so we continued driving to Poring Hot Springs which was located 400m above sea level. We opted for enclosed bath which cost only RM15/ Hour. There were limited no of enclosed baths around the area, maybe about 20? The bath was better than we expected, it was clean and could fit a small family comfortably. Plus there’s a toilet with shower inside too.

There’re lotsa other things to do in Poring Hot springs. They have butterfly farm, Orchid Conservation Centre, the tropical garden, the canopy walkway, the Rafflesia flower site and a few waterfalls but we didn’t go to any.

We had lunch after the bath (not worth mentioning) at a restaurant outside the Hot Springs. We went back to Kundasang afterwards and checked in at our Hotel – Kinabalu Pines Resort. It was a really gorgeous hotel and had probably the best landscape in Kundasang.

In the evening, we went to Ranau again, just driving around aimlessly. It was only when we’re back from Ranau that we saw Mount Kinabalu. You see, when we arrived in Kundasang we kept asking each other – where is this Mount Kinabalu??. We’re surrounded by the Crocker Range but the Mount Kinabalu itself was nowhere to be seen. But at around 5pm, the clouds were all blown away and suddenly Mount Kinabalu was right in front of us. I thank God for this wonderful opportunity. It lasted only 2 hours, but it was my best 2 hours in KK. Mount Kinabalu from where we’re standing looked like Mordor. I don’t think I could ever describe the feeling. We also found out later that, weather permitting, we could actually see Mount Kinabalu from our balcony.

When we’re back in Kundasang, we stopped at the vegetable/fruit market (by the roadside) and bought some fruits. Turned out none was good.

We went out again at night for dinner. There were not many choices available so we went to like one of 3 restaurants there and we ordered bihun sup. We drove around a bit after lunch and stopped for grilled chicken wing.

Its soo cold at night and I didn’t sleep well.

Day 3

We checked out from the hotel and our first destination for the day was Kinabalu National Park (the HQ). From the entrance the park looked really nice and it was a lot nicer inside. We couldnt find an empty parking lot so we drove up up up and up not knowing what to expect. The furthest a car could climb was up to Timpohon Gate, 1866m above sea level. The summit trail begins here. There are two summit trail options, Timpohon is the easier one, so its the most popular too. Adventurous climbers might prefer Mesilau trail which starts at Mesilau Nature Resort. Besides Timpohon summit trail, there are walking trails too at HQ. It was drizzling lightly so we didnt get out of our car. We didnt spend a lot of time here but its a really beautiful place and I really wish we could explore one of the not so challenging walking trails.

We bid farewell to Kundasang but promised to return. The fog’s too thick up there so we didn’t get to see Mount Kinabalu for one last time before we left. 

On our way to KK, we stopped in Tuaran solely for Mee Tuaran. Mee Tuaran is actually egg noodles but without the alkaline water, made only in Tuaran. Theres Mee Tuaran in KK too but it’s extremely difficult to find an outlet serving Halal one. So we thought we tried our luck in Tuaran, the birthplace of the dish itself. In Tuaran we actually went on foot from one restaurant to another checking out the menu and looked for halal sign. We had actually given up (tired!!) when we reached Nasi Ayam Juara and Khalis decided it’s the place we’re gonna have our lunch at coz it looked decent and had quite a number of patrons. And guess what, it was a nice surprise seeing Mee Tuaran in the menu! And that’s exactly what I ordered. Khalis ordered nasi ayam as the Mee didn’t look very appetizing. He was right. However, I must say that the mee itself was good and its something I can eat raw. Had it been fried like mee goreng mamak, it would be a hit in the Peninsular and mee kuning producers would all close shop. In other non-halal restaurants however, Mee Tuaran is actually fried and prepared with roasted pork and egg rolls.

Another dish that I really wanted to try was Roti kahwin. Fook Yuen’s roti kahwin’s the most famous in the KK so that’s our next target. We were told that there’re 4 branches in KK and we decided to go to the one in Luyang. It was a total waste of time as the shop was closed. Disappointed, we headed to straight to our hotel and checked in at around 130pm. This time we stayed at Promenade Hotel. We chose Promenade because its really near to the Filipino Market and that’s where we’re gonna have our dinner tonight. 

The weather was nice in the afternoon, so we decided to take a walk around the area. We went to Filipino Market, checking out the local products and pearls. But those were the last thing on my mind. I only had Fook Yuen’s roti kahwin in my head. I somehow managed to convince Khalis to walk to Gaya Street - where another Fook Yuen's located. It was quite far, and I wouldn’t walk the distance in KL weather. Finding Fook Yuen was a challenge. We went up and down Gaya street and we didnt see it anywhere! I asked for directions from a few people, including a group of policemen and nobody knew where it was. We googled for the location and other bloggers said that its near the Sabah Tourism building, which we had passed by a number of times. The whole time we were actually walking on the other side of the street (Gaya street is a narrow street) and for the last time, we decided to walk on Sabah Tourism's side and thats when we saw it. It was right there all along. But it was easy to miss. Next to Fook Yuen was Oldtown so we actually thought Fook Yuen was Oldtown - they had the same concept and ambiance. There was a sign, but it was covered by the awning.

The kopitiam was huge and they had an OK selection of food too. Dim sum was cheap and in good size too. We ordered our food - 2 sets of roti kahwin, madras tea and sugarcane juice. The bread was good - it was super soft and tasted great.

We only spent like 15 minutes in the shop. When we got to our hotel, it was already 4pm! I couldnt quite believe that we had spent 2 hours walking to and from Fook Yuen. I dont remember walking this far under the sun. Oh wait, we walked A LOT in Hanoi and it in late 2011 - so that wasnt too long ago. But lets not talk about Hanoi. Its not a trip I'd like to remember.

We went out again at 630pm for cheap seafood dinner at Filipino Market. Khalis and I didnt waste our time at other sections of the market, we went straight to the ikan bakar section. There really was no point trying to figure out which was the best stall, the food all looked the same. I was still feeling full from breakfast, mee tuaran and roti kahwin so I only ordered a medium sized plaice (ikan sebelah) and a set of squid for the two of us despite Khalis trying to make me add a super huge prawn/lobster (Khalis doesnt really like prawn, so it was only for me. I really appreciated the thought). The fish and squid only cost us RM20. Cheap! I thought the fish and squid tasted ok although they were overcooked. The fish particularly was a bit hard and dry. I think it’s a good place for not so fussy eaters wanting affordable seafood.

Day 4

Our final day in KK. We started the day with sumptuous buffet breakfast at the hotel. The nasi lemak was good which was a nice surprise as good nasi lemak is hard to find - even in KL. We checked out after breakfast and the first place we went to was 1Borneo Mall. It was still early and shops were not open yet. There was nothing to do there.

Our next destination was the Viewpoint. The view was quite nice from here.

The viewpoint’s very near to Fook Yuen so we went there again just to kill time. This time around we had roti kahwin (again) and dim sum and took more photos. We walked to Fook Yuen yesterday because we thought parking was impossible but we discovered that we could park our car inside the building Fook Yuen’s located.

We went to the airport after Fook Yuen and that’s the end of our vacation in KK.

Khalis and I are still talking, reminiscing about time in KK until today. He even suggested that we make KK our annual destination.

When he gets home, khalis would rummage my bag for my phone. He then checks the battery level (and nothing else) and connects it to the charger. Isnt that very very very sweet?

Las Perlas

I flew to another place after coming back from Bandung last week and now I'm home! I went there alone for work so there's nothing much to talk about. At the airport however, I decided to buy my first strand of pearls (wait, that is not exactly true coz I have 3 pearl bracelets as souvenirs from Khalis.). Its a rope length, specifically 60-inch, white pearl necklace.

The kinda accessory that I like is necklace. Other things, not so much. I only had my wedding ring on once this year for a family event. I probably have more necklaces than work clothes. And just like my work clothes, there are a few which I have never used. I have always liked pearls but its only recently that I find myself longing for pearls so it took me only 15 secs to decide upon seeing that shop that I would go home with one today. Khalis said that I should buy it when we were in Kota Kinabalu not so long ago coz it would probably be cheaper but that time the craving was not so bad.

I'm so excited I got one and I'm already contemplating on the next shade(s) to buy.

On a separate note, I am anguished that TGNA was recently labelled as 'father of kafir' from a guy who is absolutely nobody in the Islamic world. Sometime last year I took a cab to go to my meeting. The driver's a Buddhist. He told met that he really wanted to meet TGNA and he just couldn't stop praising him. And my favourite which I've been telling my friends for years,  a Chinese in Kelantan once said - Puok2 mu ni kalu tok undi nik aziz kapir lebih pado aku lagi.

Lies lies lies

To say that I am enraged right now is an understatement. I just came back from Bandung so I couldnt write about this soon enough and it is now basi (old news) already.

Upon knowing Australian Senator Nick Xenophon, invited by Anwar to observe Bersih, commented that the Bersih protestors were well behaved, all state-controlled media were quick to publish all sort of articles to discredit him and paint him as anti-islam. NST went as far as replacing the word Scientology with Islam in one of his speeches in 2009 thus it was then read as "Islam is not a religious organisation. It is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs". NST however issued an apology the very next day.

This is fitnah (slander) and this is what our BN government is advocating. I am not at all surprised by this debacle. Kelantan after all has been on the receiving end of all sorts of fitnah for years (and counting). I dont watch RTM/TV3 news these days but during those days, especially when the General Election or By election were near, there would be a surge of negative coverage on Kelantan. And so far, no apologies issued.

This is only one small example of the kinda lies BN have been telling us. Thats lying.. how bout covering the truth? I dont think I have seen any mainstream newspaper publishing anything about the ongoing French judicial probe on the Submarine deal involving our beloved PM.

As a Muslim, this is not something I can approve of. I cant be supporting Umno (altho all of them are Malays and Muslims) knowing full well that they act like a bunch of munafiqun - one of the characteristics being "whenever he speaks, he tells a lie".

I dont necessarily want BN to die a quick death. I want them to learn from their mistakes and stop treating us like idiots. The leaders gotta stop acting like God and take criticism constructively.

I had a traumatizing experience at KLCC last year. (I usually take a half day off, midweek, once a month just to go to KLCC.)

During this particular trip it was very unfortunate that I had to use the WC during lunch hour - I could see the queue from miles away. Right in front of me was a group of foreigners (perhaps tourists but I’m more inclined to believe that they’re housemaids). It was finally my turn and I went into the stall that one of them just emptied and was shocked to see splashes of urine (I repeat, urine, not water) everywhere – on the toilet seat, floor. Gross!

The live-in cleaner went in to check seeing my reaction. She then proceeded to clean up the mess, using the same mop, (no rinsing in between) for both the floor and toilet.

I can never look at public toilet the same way again.

One of the many plus points of KLCC is that KLCC has the RM2 toilet. Not that significantly superior compared to the free one (as KLCC free toilet pn dah already good), I’d say. But at least the entrance fee would deter the uncultured from going in.

The Must Haves

I am now introducing my best products thus far.

1 – Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque.
Unlike majority of the population, I am not blessed with good skin. My skin is both oily and flaky dry and I also suffer from acne. I have tried many products over the years, not to mention numerous trips to dermatologists and it was only recently that I manage to have my acne problem under control.

This masque is one miracle worker. Victoria Beckham once called this her ‘ambulance in a tube’. I don’t know about its other benefits (people everywhere rave that it calms, nourishes and heals the skin) but this is the only one thing that really helps with my acne and it is really gentle to the skin. It is recommended to apply this masque twice a day, for 20 minutes but my skin is way more problematic than the masses so I apply it on every other day for as long as I like. Sometimes I even sleep with it although it does affect my sleep quality as I can feel it sitting on my face. Plus it stains the pillow. I am not completely cured but these days I’m off all topical acne creams.

Pimples, although the number has significantly gone down, still pop out whenever and wherever they want but they are less angry, clear up faster, mostly puss-free and the scarring too is not deep thus easier to lighten. I love this masque to the max but I can’t say the same about other Dermalogica products – I have tried their MediBac series and few others and they have no positive effect on my skin (some just aggravated it further!).

Price : RM241
Size: 75ml

2- Laneige Water Sleeping Pack EX
This is a bestseller from Laneige and I add this to my regimen to help with my dry skin. My skin is super super dry and on certain days I experience flakiness on the WHOLE face. This product doesn’t actually work wonders but it helps - in my case my skin goes from severe to medium/mild dry. I was told to sleep with this twice a week, but my skin dryness is so severe that I slather this on my face EVERY single night. On particularly bad days, I would apply it again before I go back to sleep after Subuh prayer.

What I like about this mask (other than the hydration) is 1) the smell is so good – although it doesn’t stay for long. 2) It doesn’t break me out and it feels soooooo light on the skin. Dry skin could be due to dehydration (means its lacking moisture) or dryness (not producing enough oils). This water sleeping pack is oil-free so I guess it is for the former. Perhaps oil-rich moisturizers would work a lot better for me but they tend to feel heavy on the face and I don’t like that sticky feeling.

This gel needs to be applied at least 15 minutes before bed time to allow it to be completely absorbed by the skin. Otherwise it is slightly uncomfortable to sleep with the face being so ‘wet’. Left overnight, I’d wake up with super smooth, plump skin – although the effect is only temporary. I can only comment on its effectiveness to hydrate the skin and not sure about its claims on skin brightening.

Price: RM 100 but it’s a lot cheaper at duty free area. Like in Changi – RM144 for 2 tubs.
Size: 80gm

3- Biore UV Perfect Face Milk SPF50+ PA+++
I don’t go out without sunscreen (face and body) and no matter how much I love the Dermalogica masque, this is one single product I can’t live without. This is the perfect sunscreen for those with hyperactive oil glands (ME! ME!). Not only it protects the skin from all sorts of harmful rays, it is also verryyyyyyyyy mattifying. I put this on in the morning and my skin stays matte until forever – if I go bare, my face would be slick with oil in 2 hours. Sometime I apply it on top of thinly applied Vit E cream (very thick and oily) and it still mattifies pretty well. Plus it also helps with large gaping pores.

The only problem is that I don’t think it is water and sweat proof (although I’m not sure myself). If it is then it would be perfect and I can stop looking, but we can’t have everything can we? I am not someone who sweats easily so I’ll survive just fine with this sunscreen for normal ‘city activities’ and I use other sunscreens when I, say, go to the beach. Another good mattifying sunscreen is Za Power Block UV SPF40 PA++. (I’d give 10/10 to Biore for its mattifying power and 9/10 for Za). But I prefer Biore because it gives higher protection and I prefer its watery texture (Za is creamy).

The thing with sunscreen is – ALWAYS use makeup remover at the end of the day. It will clog the pores thus creating the perfect breeding ground for acne. For the body I just whatever (at the moment its Banana Boat) and haven’t bought anything more than once.

Price: RM 30-ish (always on promotion at Watsons/ Guardian)
Size: 30ml

4 – Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser.
I have been using this gentle cleanser for 7 years now as I found that other cleansers are just too harsh for my skin. However, because it doesn’t foam or smell I am somehow deprived of that ‘clean’ feeling after washing the face so sometimes I have a slight doubt whether it actually does what it’s supposed to do i.e. clean. Since it doesn’t break me out I guess it must be working. Dermatologists everywhere would recommend gentle skin cleanser (naturally Cetaphil is top on their list) for acne – prone skin so yeah, I’m sticking with this for many many years to come.

Many sizes, price starts at RM15.

5 – Elgy Plus Cracked Heel Cream
10-star product. This is a famous product and I dont think it needs further introduction. Beats all other cracked heel creams hands down. I see results after just one application and my heels are cured in just two days. No more disgusting heels. A must have for those who drink less than 8 glasses of water a day.
Price: RM 20-ish (always on promotion at Watsons/ Guardian)
Size: 50gm

Cheezy cake

My first attempt at baking cheesecake. Cheesecake is a real pain. This is only halfway. I'm supposed to chill it for a few hours but I just x have the patience so I potong jgak cheesecake ni lpas baked before masuk fridge..

I was so worried that it would crack, but now happy la = no cracks at all.

I'm in Singapore and my suspicion is confirmed - that shopping is not my thing. My hotel is in Orchard, I'm surrounded by many, many shopping complexes in all directions, all within walking distance and I have no desire to shop. Its not just the location, I will also be getting some rezeki soon, so I really have no reason not to shop except that I dont really enjoy shopping (I might if I have unlimited supply of money). This is where Khalis and I differ. Khalis encourages me to shop - his fav words - we have to reward ourselves. But me, I get more satisfaction looking at my bank balance than new clothes, shoes etc.

Feelin Carnivorous

We bought Kobe Beef (sirloin) and I pon tried la buat steak. The result was OK, tasted better than Tony Roma's (where I had horrible wagyu and filet mignon steaks - I went there twice, I aint coming back. However, I must say that Khalis lovess their ribs.) The colour's dark due to the spices used tapi the meat mmg tender..

Imported from Pasir Mas.. Kat KL mana nk cari beb..

Mkn2..bile ntah

Every Ramadhan, my dad would unfailingly pesan..
Nak dapat Lailatul Qadr kene menghidupkan malam. Syarat minimum menghidupkan malam kene solat isya' dah subuh berjemaah dah terawih..
Itu sahaja. sekian.

On our way back to KL from Melaka last few weeks, Khalis and I stopped for lunch in Seremban with the in laws. We went to this famous restaurant in Seremban, Restoren Nelayan. They served authentic Nogori food and had gulai tempoyak. The highlight of the day was ikan kerai which I unfortunately couldnt try because of the tempoyak. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed my terubuk bakar..So much that I finished sepinggan nasik.

You see, terubuk bakar is very special to me. Its something that my dad loved to make on Fridays. I'm not sure if he still does. There are not that many ppl at home nowadays.

That time in Seremban was the first time in my whole life that I had terubuk bakar prepared by someone else other than my dad. There are two dishes that my dad could prepare better than anyone else. First would be ikan singgang and second would be terubuk bakar. He used to make ikan singgang a lot when I was small and not so much when I was in my teenage years. Nowadays I guess he doesnt cook at all. My dad's ikan singgang's not too sour and a lot sweeter than average. Same goes for terubuk bakar - his is sweeter.

Endoscopy

I went for an endoscopy sometime late May due to persistent heartburn.

My history with heartburn started when I was 14, in the middle of the night and I thought I was dying. Ever since then I 've been getting heartburn for like 3-4 times a year. In the two months b4 the endoscopy however, I experienced heartburn on daily basis. It was a series of mild ones but could not be cured by Gaviscon. When I told my doctor about it, I was referred to an upper GI surgeon right away.

I wasnt expecting an endoscopy, I tot it would be a usual consultation session. The doctor asked me a lotsa questions and he didnt seem concerned. So I was a lil bit surprised when he said that altho he thinks that that my condition is not serious, he still needs to see the extend of the damage himself (read: endoscopy) just to be sure. So I was immediately sent to the other wing of the hospital and was asked to change into a hospital gown.
The doctor asked me if I'd prefer to do it consciously or under anesthetic.. There's no question I chose the later. I'd imagine shoving something down my throat that deep would be pretty traumatising.

Khalis wanted to come when I told him bout it. But I told him not to as the doctor said the it would be really quick. The hospital's really near to KLCC but it would be over by the time he got there.

The nurses prepared me for the procedure. First they inserted the IV tube for the anesthetic into my right hand. It was slightly painful and they had to do it twice as the first time it was a lil bit crooked. Then I was wheeled to the operation theatre. The room was small but impressive enough for me. There were so many monitors! A male nurse sprayed my throat with something that tasted like antibiotics they gave you for flu.

They told me to lie on my side. The doctor took 3 syringes of anesthesia and started injected them one by one thru my IV tube. Then I was off. For what seemed like seconds later, the male nurse said - Ok, dah siap and the doctor was nowhere in sight. The whole thing lasted 15 mints. So thats what being under anesthetic felt like. I tot its was something seen on TV, like you knew you were dozing off and you count to 5.

I spent like another half an hour on bed, waiting for the anesthesia to wear off. Then I changed back to my clothes and was given

1-Lunch
2-Report on the procedure
3-Photos
4-CD
5-Pills

The result was - there's something. But not so serious. I quote the doctor - the bark is worse than its bite.

London 2005

These days I’m thinking a lot about the past. Today I shall write about the very first time I went to the UK. It happened 6 years ago on Sept 18th. My flight was during the day. My family, my uncle’s family, khalis and sister in law sent me to the airport. Khalis departed later in October. JPA grouped the first years together according to our unis. We Cardiff students were divided into 2 groups and my group (the first group) flew together with those accepted into UCL. JPA officers greeted us in KLIA, helped us with checked in, did a short briefing and off we went down the escalator to Immigration.

Khalis gave me a few anak tudungs in a plastic bag, told me to look at them once I was inside the plane. Why anak tudung you might ask. I was sick before the departure date and couldn’t get a lot of things done. And I only started wearing anak tudung so I didn’t have so many. While I was recovering at home, Khalis said he’d get those anak tudung for me. It made perfect sense to me, coz I couldn’t be bothered with all the small things – I was in my departure week, my visa was still pending, and I haven’t bought the major items (luggage bag, baju sejuk etc) So ok, I put those anak tudungs inside my laptop bag and remembered them a few hours into the flight so I opened the plastic bag because I promised Khalis I would. I wasn’t suspicious at all. I was genuinely surprised when I saw a small box with a ring inside and a love letter. The ring was too big for me and very often it just slipped off my finger. Khalis didn’t check what my size was and bought one that fitted his small finger. I no longer have the ring, I lost it long, long time ago but I still have the letter and the ring box.

I considered myself lucky coz I got a window seat. I think it couldn’t be any more perfect that I got a window seat for my first ever flight overseas. I didn’t sleep the whole 12 hours, I watched lotsa movies, played games and listened to Kelly Clarkson over and over again. We arrived in Heathrow in the morning. When we were getting off the plane, the flight attendants gave us lotsa big juice boxes. There were JPA officers in Heathrow waiting for us. They arranged for airport transfer for us, 3 students assigned to one MPV and we were housed in Malaysia Hall until our departure to Cardiff. In Malaysia Hall, JPA did a small welcoming party for us, ade speeches and makan2. Later we were brought upstairs and each of us was given a minute to call our parents informing them that we had safely arrived. I called Khalis later at night and he informed me that I was in Top In Malaysia List for A Level Accounting and I was the only one from my college. A lot of good things happened in one day. It was one of the happiest days in my life. I stayed in London for 3 nights - we had to wait for the second Cardiff group, but no one was complaining. The UCL students brought us around. I don’t remember well what we did in London. I was introduced to the Tube and double decker bus and we went to the Parks, ate kebab and went to UCL among other things.The only not so good memory was that certain parts of body got rashes. It was super itchy! But nothing serious, its gone when I got used to the weather. Its something that I always got, every year, when I came back in September.

We made our journey to Cardiff the next day after the second Cardiff group arrived. JPA chartered a coach for us, (for free) and they even sent their officers with us. In Cardiff, our Malaysian seniors were waiting for us and they sent us to our respective accommodation receptions. Mine was Student House. I was the only who got a House, the rest would be staying in the many, many Halls of Residence. There were 12 rooms inside my house, 5 of us were international students. We had 6 females and 6 males in the House. I got Room no 1. My room was small, on the ground floor but the furnishing was good. The House was just 5 minutes away from Business School and I usually woke up 10 mints before the first morning lecture. The Seniors were kind to us, they brought us Shopping (recommended what we should buy) and showed Cardiff to us. My House was really near to the City and was on one of the major roads in Cardiff. Cardiff’s a city university, so the uni buildings were all scattered in the City. I had more than a week to get to know Cardiff as classes would only start first week of October.

We were very lucky. We were the last batch that received such VIP treatment from JPA. Our juniors had to figure things out themselves. They were alone the moment they boarded the flights. Khalis too. He had to carik teksi to London and to Coventry and sorted out accommodation in London himself.

I only went to London 4 times the while I was studying. 1) First year - Arrival 2) First year – Summer break – departed from Heathrow 3) Third year - Careers Fair – spent a week in London, had 4 interviews and jalan2 4) Third year – departed from Heathrow, balik Malaysia for good

Food

I read this book by Dr D’Adamo, Eat Right For Your Type and now I am a total convert. So what is this book all about? Dr D’Adamo claims that ABO blood type is the most important factor in determining a healthy diet thus promotes distinct diets for people with O, A, B, and AB blood types. His premise is that human blood type is key to the body's ability to differentiate self from non-self. Lectins in foods, he asserts, react differently with each ABO blood type and to a lesser extent with an individual's secretor status. Lectins which interact with the different ABO type antigens are described as incompatible and harmful, therefore the selection of different foods for A, AB, B, and O types is important to minimize reactions with these lectins.

I have been on this diet for about 2 weeks now, too early to tell if it’s actually doing me any good. I’m losing a lil bit of weight (something between 1.5kg - 2kg), but I strongly believe that its due to portion control rather than the food itself. Weight loss however is only secondary, what I really aim for is healthy body. The Avoid List for my blood type isn’t so bad. Of course I have to give up a number of things that I love but I still have a wide variety of food that I can choose from. Unlike one particular blood type, I don’t have to be vegetarian, thank God.

Lets have a look at what I have to avoid shall we?

1)Chicken. A typical Malaysian, I eat lotsa chicken. I like chicken. But not eating chicken is not actually a super duper huge loss for me because a) I only eat chicken breast b) I prefer fish over chicken most of the time. The only problem is that it’s not really convenient having to avoid chicken because chicken is in pretty much everything. Like I can’t eat nasik goreng or mende2 masakan panas lain, and fast food (Bye bye Domino’s classified chicken). And very often, makanan sedap2 kat kedai is exclusive for chicken, like nasik ayam and ayam goreng McD.

2)Tomato. I never knew how much I love tomato until now. Tomato is in good food everywhere! Sambal belacan, sos cili, masak merah and that super yummy beef pie kat Dome (ok, x sure ade tomato ke x, but cam ade je).

3)Shellfish. So no more prawn, crab and spesis2 kerang and also anchovy. So I had to bid farewell to seafood soup(lobster bisque..sob sob) and nasik lemak. Also budu and belacan and cencalok. Good thing is I can still eat squid.

4)Wheat. I’m trying, but there is just no way I can avoid wheat. So I’m limiting my bread intake to like twice a week and each time, just a bun. And I also have to switch to spinach pasta.

5)Corn. I used to eat cornflakes for breakfast 5 days a week so I had to switch to something else.

6)Coconut. Coconut shake..wuwuwu..

7)Ice cream. (BR’s strawberry cheesecake..bye bye to you too)

8)Black and white pepper. So I now have very limited flavoring that I can use at home. To be exact, only kicap.

9) Vegetable oil. ALL types of vege oils except olive oil. This is impossible too. There's just no way I'm gonna give up eating out just to avoid vege oils. At home, I try to use olive oil whenever possible, termasuk goreng ikan.

The list is a lot longer, but mostly of food I won’t sorely miss. Like lentil, persimmon, sesame, quail, nuts etc.

So my daily meal plan is like this:-

Breakfast – Skimmed Milk +granola/ oats. Weekend - Bread

Lunch – Rice + Fish + Vege (I quote directly from Dr D’Adamo – vegetable world is your kingdom. So I can pretty much eat all vege. Except for tomato)

Dinner – Rice + Beef/Egg + Vege + Fruit ( I still don’t like beef very much, but telan je lah.. the reason I eat beef at night is bcoz I have to cook beef myself. Unless its steak, sup or masak biryani/rendang mcm kat knduri, I can’t really eat beef cooked by others. But some days, I skip dinner.

Weekend – I try to eat lamb. Beef is neutral to me. In the meat section, Lamb is highly beneficial to me.

Not so bad right??

Khalis is supportive of me following this diet. He understands that this is important for me. So nowadays he too tries to reduce his chicken intake to make things easier for me. Before this, we only bought chicken when we went grocery shopping but now we also add fish and beef into the cart.