Lagi Lagi Tumasik (A Candylicious Trip)

Well, this is not my first trip to Singapore, unfortunately due to work, I visits Singapore yearly (plus personal trip). Been doing that since I was a kid as my dad travels KL-Singapore frequent back in those days.

Singapore since then has changed. It was a long gap between my tweenager life till I REVISITED Singapore, almost 10 years or so. Singapore moderanisation overtook Malaysia by few years I must say. Anyways..... back to my trip...

Been outside of USS (Universal Studio Singapore) a couple of times, and inside USS twice todate, goodness knows why ler kan. This shop caught my eyes few times so I figure I shall take a pic and blog an entry about it.

Candies are everywhere... I am more fascinated with the colours then the candy itself actually. Hahhahah.... it's such a cheerful decor and colours. Cam leh happy sentiasa selamanye kat sini!

Should I buy or should I not? Hemmm....

MORE choices???? NO!!!!!!!!!

Jeng jeng jeng...... Another one, this shop is located outside the entrance of Universal Studio Singapore (USS) as well.

Didn't get any here, as it was wayyyy to confusing to choose.... I hate options as you can see!

The car can't be eaten okay! Do take note on this! Mana ler tau kot kot orang ingat since nih kedai cekelat, semua leh ngap!

Ambek ko, teddy bear Hershey's tak HINGAT dunia.

THE SMELL!!!! YA Allah, sedap and harum nye, I practically FLOAT into this shop! Can you get high on popcorn smell.... I mean... seriously! HEAVEN!!!

They have few flavours, I can't remember them all.... I know they have cheese and caramel etc etc...

If cameras can capture smell, you would know I am NOT LYING!

I bump into this flea market near Bugis Street (my fav) and just have to stop and check it out. A stall caught my attention.... any girls attention I bet. Hehheh.... Ended up buying one, the stone necklace, what so cool is that the stone will change colour when it is out in the sun. COOL HUH!

I thought I just have to own it!

Why lar I didn't get the charm bracelet ..... sigh... Chomeiii

At the end, I bought one as earlier mentioned, but now kinda regretted not buying even more. She told us that her goods are either hand-made or hand-picked from Japan. Hence, the quality supposedly better lar.... and I kinda like the design as well, not the normal ones like those I saw in blogs.

Choices choices choices.... argh.... fening!

Tah dahh.... the owner.... she gave me her blog name but I successfully lost the paper.... doink ler you Lily!

PS : Raya nanti I blog pasal Raya lak...okies.

Air Supply Concert (kinda revealing your age wor...)

OK! First thing first!

Before I went to this concert with Andrea Gail, I told Anna that I have purchased a concert ticket to AIR SUPPLY concert (with a sense of proudness and joy). Guess what was Anna reply...? GUESS? GUESS NOW???? GUESS LAAR.... It's not that hard...!??!? Hahhahah... Find I tell you! Sigh....

Lily (with heavy pretentious sigh...drama queen!!)...., you better not announce that you going to this concert to people... (here I'm wondering - WHY NOT??? DUH!). People will discover your real age!?!??! Doink Lily!!! They be saying, you that old, most people are listening to Rihanna or Boyonce (even this is so yester-years). She burst out laughing.... I have to laugh too. DAMN! She's right (am I in denial of my age? Argh.....! Sensitip tok pompuan wor...).

Anna continued this silliness and obviously I added spices & herbs & all to it. "Anna, I think you are right, I should tell people; my mom passed me her ticket since she can't make it". Anna just have to add "Don't sing nor hum to their song, say out loud that you never heard of their song before ESPECIALLY if there's a cool handsome man sitting next to you!" Hhahahahha..... what a joke my friend is.

Well, I told Andrea this, and she said "That would be interesting to see how you going to pretend through out the concert". Sure I can't maah, I was singing and humming old the way....(Seriously, they are not my era, my late dad have their album and listen during the car ride, you believe me riiiight).

And GUESS WHAT.... there were TEENAGERS sitting at the row behind us.... THE WHOLE ROW FULL OF TEENAGERS, singing and humming through out the concert. And I only knew selected songs...(shy & relieved) HEY! This ain't THAAAAAAT bad. Hahhahah....

I guess Air Supply songs cuts through all ages, eras, races, religions, countries, continents like all other music does. MUSIC is a COMMON language to all :)

He also asked the crowd to come to the front... this is like standing concert (we already standing at our seat as it is).

Annnnnnnd.... the crowd bigger, perhaps he should just do standard concert, I would have saved more money this way. Hahhahah.... cheaper-er maah....

Seriously, they are only small time star... like thiiiiiis SMALL. Hahhahhahah......

Khan el-Khalili Bazaar & Tour Member's Death

This is obviously the last day for my Egypt trip back in 2002, finally I decided to take a pic at my god knows how many strat but am not complaining since the full board package is so darn cheap right. You know what they say, beggar cannot be chooser riiiiight. Hahaahhha.....

I forgot to include the sad part, there was this elderly man whom we call Pak Cik (Uncle), he joined the tour with his beloved wife. He was so happy to be able to visit Egypt or Mesir (in Malay), according to his wife; it was his dream to step foot in this country. I recalled on the last night, during the dinner cruise on the Nile River, which he thoroughly enjoyed and even boogyed with the belly dancer.

Once dinner completed, we went back to the hotel cheerfully and as expected - chattily. Everything was normal as normal can be. Right after midnight, I received a call from the fornt desk, saying a person in Room XXX just passed away, I didn't know who obviously. My brother and myself got up and went to Room XXX, it was that Pak Cik (the chatty & cheerful Pak Cik). We were soooo shocked of the sad news.

The hotel went to all the Muslim member tour member and put our phone on loud speaker, we were wondering why; then they played Yassin through out the night till the next morning. WOW!!!

The next morning, the Malays student from University Al-Azhar came to help with the 'pengkebumian' (burial process) by mid morning all completed, burial ground in Egypt (they did not want to bring the body to Malaysia). We asked around, one of the tour member said that their kids flying in from Malaysia that morning and it's consensus that their late date to be burried in Egypt.

This was the most awesome and yet sad trip I ever had, a weird experience certainly.

We left the hotel after everything settle with the Pak Cik, we detour for little bit of shopping in their ever so famous bazaar. On the way there, we passed by few nice buildings that I WISH we stop just to take pics and look around but those in the trip was too geared up for souvenirs shopping.

I saw this beautiful building which am sure it was the famous The Saladin Citadel of Cairo which is the medieval Islamic fortification in Cairo, Egypt. Located on Mokattam, apparently it was famous for its magnificent views of the Cairo (no way for me to verify this right, arghhh...). Now, they preserved it for historic site, with mosques and museums etc. That's it, I MUST MUST MUST visit Cairo AGAIN.

We reached the Khan el-Khalili bazaar, I believe it's the biggest bazaar or souk in Cairo. You wouldn't believe the amount of souvenirs I bought for everyone and myself. My brother wanted to buy the Nefertiti bust, the Egyptian cat ornament etc; and I got myself plenty of fridge magnets, plates, cups, shirts, jewelry box & PERFUME!!!! Kinda regretted not buying the perfumes, their perfume apparently is very concentrated and all you need is just a little dab into your bath tub, you will smell all very sweet & lovely and your hair will be super soft. Either that or I just fell so in love with the Egypt that nothing can go wrong... HAHHAHAH.....

Last day and last stop and last picture for keeps for my 2002 Egypt trip, can't remember where I took this picture, but I know for sure; I am coming back AGAIN and hopefully SOON too!

Anyone wanna join me? Or don't mind me joining you guys?


JOM!!!

Hyperlink credit : Wikipedia

Great Sphinx, Pyramid & Dinner Cruise on Nile River

First destination on the 2nd day - Egyptian Museum ie is our focus in the morning.

Let me put into perspective about this fantastic museum by cutting and pasting from Wikipedia.

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms.

HUGE huh!

Apparently if we want to learn and understand even the bare minimum, you require at least 2-3 days, and we did it within half a day focusing on specific areas only. Even that was tooooo overwhelming to us.... phew... Mind you, we have to absorb 7000 years of histories in half a day. It ain't easy babe! That much I can tell you. Personally I feel, one whom like to cover Egypt should take at least 2 weeks and not to rush it; else it's pointless. This is one trip you need to digest, comprehend & appreciate, after all; it's the history of the beginning of civilization. Just my thoughts.

I can't remember the 2 mummy coffin (can I say this?) covered in gold but I can surely remember 1 of the area we went in (the above said area in the museum need additional entrance fee and it is all locked up and grilled up).

But one thing that caught me and stuck in my memory till this date is 3rd entrance fee that we paid to take a look is Ramses II. He was mummified and lay in a glass controlled temperature coffin, the one story about him was that ...

Ramses II has been identified with at least two figures in the Bible, including Shishaq and the pharaoh of Exodus. Some suggest Ramses II is the pharaoh that ruled during the time of the Biblical Exodus story. The story is about the Israelites that are forced to work for the Pharaoh. The Hebrew god Yahweh helps them by imposing the Ten Plagues upon ancient Egypt, after which the Israelites manage to escape the Egyptian army at the Crossing of the Red Sea. However, these claims are controversial at best.

Another story was that...

This Egyptian King in the era of Prophet Moses (pbuh). Its age is approximately 3000 years old and it was found by the Red Sea.

Whatever it is, I was in awe of what this museum held.

Next stop of what we all be waiting for..... Don't thing introduction is required here. But I will still include an intro...

The Great Pyramid of Giza (also called the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact. The Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years.

Need I say more..... speechless huh.

In 2002, the tourist buses is already that many.... now? Probably DESERT of BUSES.

Desert shopping.

Check out the ratio. Remember! This was built without any technology or machinery! This is a wondrous feat.

Of all the stuff we here, I guess the one that intrigue us most will be on the curse of the pharaohs to those who found or dig or stole (from) his tomb.

The first of the "mysterious" deaths was that of Lord Carnarvon. He had been bitten by a mosquito, and later slashed the bite accidentally while shaving. It became infected and blood poisoning resulted.

This might be coincident of course but.... it's more fun with mysteries like this huh. Spicing it up a notch.

What is Egypt trip if I did not cover The Great Sphinx of Giza? Right?!?!??!

A sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head. It is the largest monolith statue in the world, standing 73.5 metres (241 ft) long, 6 metres (20 ft) wide, and 20.22 m (66.34 ft) high. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture, and is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of the pharaoh Khafra (c. 2558–2532 BC).

As usual, and this is the part I hated most, all travel agents tend to take us to some local shop where by they will force us to buy and the agents will get commission. Sigh.... ANNOYING!!!

This time, he took us to papyrus outlet, the history is kinda fascinating though, so I don't mind do much. One thing caught me off-guard is the nature of this papyrus tree. Below is a pic... And I always thought it as big as normal tree. Sigh.... doink Lily!

Before we call it a day, the tour agent asked anyone of us whether we would like to have dinner on The Nile River cruise which of course cost additional money needed, and I thought to myself; when else am I coming back here right? So why not? I went checked with my brother and he is okay with it (obviously since am paying for his whole trip!!!)

This was just before I boarded the cruise, nice cruise ship huh!

The top floor was allocated for meal package with culture show - Dervish dancer, but all of us opted for..... JENG JENG JENG.....

BELLY DANCER package. Hahhahaha....

My brother gotten himself high after peeping on the Dervish dancer whirling.... yup! We were allowed to peek for while into the top deck :)


Planning Egypt as your next destination?

Hyperlink credit : Wikiedia

Is our England bad ah?

I was reading Bold Talk blog (one of my favourite blog) this morning, the title was "Why is our English bad?".

Hemmm.... I think this is kinda true and I do agree that alot of our Uni student's English aren't that great. Not to say that my English is thaaaaaaaat good, but boleh hidup and cari makan lar..... Anyway, why I am drawn to write this entry is because of this story I heard and I felt that must share.

Recently I went on a trip with my aunt and her friends to Pekan Baru in Indonesia seeking Malay history, culture, customs and origin. It was an eye opening trip, reason being:

1. I met up with Tenas Effendi

2. Went to Siak AND

3. Got acquainted with learned people

Despite that this folks are learned people (I won't mention their background here - KONON!!), one of the Aunty told me her story.

During her teaching in local prestige university, she asked the room on their family background, so on and so forth. Their English was fair but nothing impressive (but her English was good okay), then .... when it reaches this one male student...

Student : My dad is a container teacher

Aunty : Huh? Container teacher?

Student : Yes, container teacher

Aunty : Puzzled and confused.... (her first thought was the Kontena Nasional company)

Student : Sat down, looking weirdly at Aunty

Then it struck her....

Bekas (Bahasa Melayu) = Container (English)
Bekas guru (ex school teacher) = Container teacher

Hahhahahha.... I rest my case.

TGIF - tomorrow!

My Egyptian Trail 2002

I visited Egypt in 2002 hence this entry is looooong over due. In fact, it wasn't a planned trip, you see.... I have this relative of mine base in Seremban whom have a travel agency called Proxima. Knowing my passion for traveling, she called me one fine day to inform me that she got an info from a travel agent friend of an Egypt package available.

It was a 6D4N full board trip that cost me RM1,600 ie USD520!!! YUP!!!! We were booked into a 3 star hotel near the Giza but I don't mind as I always feel that travelers spends the daylight hour outside and the hotel is for changing and resting ONLY.
AGREE?

It was a worthwhile trip as it took us to Cairo/Kaherah and Alexandria/Iskandariah.... well... I ain't complaining for the amount I am paying. We checked-in the hotel on the day we arrived and the next day we zoomed to Alexandria.

It was an interesting journey from the beginning cause I decided to book the trip 2 weeks before departure. Then upon feeling the ground of Egypt - was overwhelming to describe the least, not to forget the journey to Alexandria.... breathtaking.

I took this pic during the 2-3 hours journey from Cairo to Alexandria; I was very unique, I couldn't understand why the table set was arranged in this manner so far apart from each other but hey.... it look good in the pics mah.

El-Mursi Abul-Abbas Mosque is a famous mosque in Alexandria, Egypt. It is dedicated to the 13th century Alexandrine Sufi saint el-Mursi Abul Abbas whose tomb it contains. Here's the best part, I walked pass these kids outside the mosque; one thing I noticed which was very very VERY HEALTHY is that they are very friendly. Very chatty in fact, I too was wondering why; well..... I managed to find the answer - they wanted to polish their English. Impressive huh!

One must visit this place, it took my breath away in every way. 1st was the Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was the largest and most significant great library of the ancient world. and where it is located, I too would go to library every single day.

Why I say this, the library is situated facing Mediterranean Sea... you have to see it to feel it. Just promise me you guys go and see this for yourselves.

And we have the BESTEST tour guide ever, apparently he studied in an International School hence he have this American accent, yeay to us! Superbly friendly and knowledgeable, reason being he took a degree in Egyptology, I mean.... I didn't even know such course is available. And he told us that Egypt history goes as way back as 7000 years. NO ways he can cover within 4-5 days. He even reads Egyptian hieroglyphs. Fascinating huh!

Where we had our lunch? Facing the Mediterranean Sea... how cool is that huh!

Remember I said how friendly they are.... there you go.

Hyperlink credit : Wikipedia