Halal Thai Can Food

Interesting dak title nih? OK, yang nih blog in Malay ler kot. Bukan nye omputeh tau apakebenda Halal tuh, well maybe some might know ler kot kan. Atas sebab I selalu ler bawak instant noddle yang tercinta (perisa Asam Laksa & Kari), si Anna ni kesian ler kan kawan dia sorang nih. Nak jadi kan cite, Anna nih regional job so, every alternate week kena gi Bangkok (ala ala 2nd home gitus). Hobby dia nih pulak makan makan dan makan lagi, maka selalu ler dia ke Central, Big C, Paragon etc tuh menyopping di supermarket diarang.

Hatta, satu hari tuh dia nak nyopping makanan tuh dia bawak ke Italy tuk holiday nye (ah ah I dak ikut sebab dah nah gi, tapi masih jealous gilosss ok!!!). Dia pun TERSEREMPAK ngan series of makan tin yang HALAL, DENGAN TERKEZUT nye dia sms, call, email berbagai ler tuk meng-hapdate kan kabaran ini. I pun apa lagi, stumpang sekaki ler tuh trip nih, suruh ler dia beli makanan supaya I tak yah makan maggi TIAP HARI.

Hasil nye? HAH!!!! Gambo ni ler.... yang atas nih Pad Thai - kot kot tak caya, tuh hah tanda HALAL (Anna siap tunjuk takut kawan dia yang in doubt kejujuran nye, ehhehehhe.... sampai gitu skali).

If you tengok instruction nye, direction itu & ini, si Wahidah kata "awat banyak sangat direction? Pad Thai nih nak pegi mana?" HAHAHHAHA..... lawak lawak....

Yang nih pulak, nasi dalam tin..... terror dak orang Thailand nih... SIAP BROWN RICE LAGI... HEALTHY tuh. Ada tanda HALAL gak, but malas nak pusing pusing tuk angle gambo... ehhehe... CHUP! Ada shrimp kering perisa cili tuh makan ngan roti or nasi. kiok kiok kiok....

Tak lupa juga, serunding sebab dia kata masih mood Raya, apa apa ler Anna oooiiii.... Serunding ikan lak tuh. Ish!

Kot ler ada orang yang KURENG pandai makan, HAH! tuh, siap ajar makan cam na.... ehheheh....

Ini hah, makanan ruji setiap trip... sejuk sejuk sup sup sure SODAP!!! Oh! Beli di Tesco Mesia.

My breakfast food, sebab I nih gastric tahap dewa tak ingat dunia nye.... tak makan nih, K.A.N.T.O.I!

Bende ni WAJIB WAJIB BAWAK..... sonang, malam guna tuk makan maggie, siang letak roti ngan serunding etc... sudu/garfu & pisau tuh 3in1 si Fatin beli masa gi Bangkok 2 months back.

Soooo.... dah leh get ready and goooooo....

JOM GREECE!

Healthy Travelholic Tips

Not sure whether you travelholics do this but I know I do.

I thought I'll share some tips that I do on my travels (am sure most of you does), ie how to stay healthy when traveling. Falling sick abroad is terrible as you have problem finding a pharmacy, clinics or hospital and it will cost a bomb. Thus below are what I advice my colleagues and friends.

1. First Aid Kit
Up to you what you guys want to put, it need not be like those sold at the pharmacies or in our offices. The must have would be plaster, cotton pad, Panadol etc. Very super basic.

2. Travel Airplane Kit
I find this is more useful and normally create one up. The tricks is..... put it in a clear pouch in the size airplane approves - senang leh bawak masuk airplane. What's in it? Panadol, Plaster, Vicks tooth brush/paste, ENO, Dettol sanitizer, dehydration salt & insect repellant. This is what I bring on board the my airplane in my backpack.

3. Back-up/Kiasu Kit
2 weeks trips - you don't want the risk of falling sick in foreign land right? Just to make sure I have it all covered :
- 5x dehydration salt [the weather, ferry and walk will dehydrate a person (1 every 2 days)]
- 6x ENO [due to weird food I will be eating, sure perut kembung (1 every 2 days)]
- 1x Redoxon [one vitamin a day, keep the doctor away (1 tablet a day)]
- 1x charcoal pil [gassy tummy due to off-time eating/time different]
- 1x Counterpaint/deep heat [for tired heels after all the walking, shoulder for carrying backpack or back ache]
- 1x sunblock [need for island trips)

Have you seen this? The last line.... "VERY WATER RESISTANT", hehehhehee..... macam bahasa cakap jek, awat tak letak "VERY WATER RESISTANT, you know!!!" kan lebih baguih ehhehhe..... I think they should put a number instead ie 80% Water Resistant or something.
What do you think?

Traveling Gadget

Am in deep s>%^* cause I might need to bring my office notebook instead. Even though I can clear my work timely, it looks like I need to be online on upcoming business schedule. Dang! dang! dang! Cam na nih leh jadi, I planned it sooooo well for sooo long (konon ler tuh! Memang nak blame Murphy Law. Arghhhh!!!).

Al-makna nye, I won't be bringing this red mini notebook but the bigger one instead that I know I will be complaining like crazy. BERAT!!!

These are the standard gadget that I will be bringing would be PSP... ini semesti nye else bosan!!!! And a spare camera, not because am kiasu but because another friend of mine kata tak da camera, tak sampai hati so am loaning my old Canon IXUS 870 IS. I love this camera as it have a scroller or a jogger for me to select the mode, I can do it with one hand while driving - but don't ler do this tau (did this alot in NZ trip sebab malas nak stop kete, kuang kuang kuang).

And what camera am I using? Jeng jeng jeng.... Canon S95, gonna bring this camera (it was giving problem recently, I think I dropped it). The functions are similar to my old one but it's not as flexible..... bengang! And NO! I don't own a DSLR as some might think, mahai woooooo.... mana ada duit. I envy giler orang yang ada DSLR but masalah I, I malas nak angkut berat berat; then mana nye notebook I, iPod, PSP.... isk isk isk.... tak kuasa.

I also plan to bring 2x 8gb, 2x4gb SD card, kiasu maximum kan kan kan.

My Big Fat Glee Soul (to Greece)

It's me again, this time am very punctual, every 2-3 days blog updates right! *proud moment here* ehheh.....

This is one of the key important preparation that I MUST MUST do prior to the trip (aside from checking my passport expiry date of course); especially on a loooooooooong vacation. Which is ....

.... iPod download & sync. Very crucial, hehehe.... main concern, being bored on plane and airport. OR at night after a long day of sightseeing. Need to copy the surahs and selawatheraphy as well.

Now, I need to wait for my sis to rip this and download, then I think I am almost done with the iPod work.

Next, Gossip Girls drama series, I haven't even have time to catch Season 3, this will be the best time. Copying the whole season to my Mini Notebook (also need to wait for sis, my driver rosak lar... seksa nye). Yes, you guessed it, am taking my Mini with me! I need it to blog real time mah...

The one I DEFINITELY must download, my KOREAN DRAMA!!!! Secret Garden is a must (love my HYUN BIN), then his old drama series which I haven't seen (can you see his dimple on the cover; comel kan, kiok kiok kiok). Then only the rest if; IF I have space! Any one of you a K-Pop follower? Jom pegi Korea, JOM LER!

Oh! Oh! Oh!.... this time am doing something different, am trying to learn on photography technique (konon konon ler, cam ler terror sesangat). I figure since am going to go to an island so scenic, a country that have so much history and people with such beautiful smile; then I better have some or at least minimal knowledge on photography. If gambar tak cantek jugak, tak tau apa nak cakap... isk isk isk....

I spent my Sunday (other then napping) downloading all these on my beloved red Mini Notebook, YUP! I have a HOT RED HP Mini Notebook - Vivienne Tam edition (I don't know who she is but I love the colour though :P )

Finalising Greece Itinerary

(courtesy of google/greeklandscapes.com)

YUP! It's finalised! Or.... 3/4 finalised.

Hemm..... well, we do it in this way so that we don't get tied down to agenda so much and be so restricted to do stuff on the spree. Thus, since the last 1-2 trips, we have days that are left "open" and "planned loosely". Personally I thought this was smart but am sure most of you guys have been doing this all these while (dalam hati you all mesti kata, ek elllaaaaa minah nih.... ehehhe....). In other words, I nih memang sahih sahih PERASAN, kuang kuang kuang..... Tak pa, I self-admit yek *wink wink*.

OK! My itinerary was done by darling friend Ms. Andrea - I mean give it to a finance analyst to be this detail (she did the costing as well - superb huh!). However, I have removed and erased some details due to safety reason. However, if you need the softcopy, do drop a reply to my blog. I will email to you once am back and clean up the sheet.

If you noticed, there's a 3 days of sightseeing with no costing stated at all... well.. what we have "planned" is that, during this 3 days we would optimise the Hop-On Hop-Off bus as it covers all the touristy places and it comes with audio tour guide. We have done this format in few other Europe countries (HOHO pic courtesy of Hop On/Hop Off) and we find that this is easier and cost effective (tak payah pikir banyak banyak). We probably take 2 days package and the 3rd day we just stroll in the city or visit flea market and do a little souvenir shopping while waiting for our other 2 friends to join us (they have asked us to buy for them as their schedule is tighter then ours, cam tuh pun boleh lak yek).

The Hop-On Hop Off can be booked from Greece tour agencies, I plan to book upon arrival (maybe, but online booking slightly cheaper though). Few details I found from few sites to help everyone and myself:

First... PRICE (as of todate surfed - click Greece Tours for detail)

Prices - including tax
Adult Telephone Rate : $32.36
Adult Internet Rate : $27.36
Savings : $5.00
Child Rate (ages 5-15): $12.13
Child - Free (under 5): $0.00

Length : 90 Minute (if you decide not to hop-OFF that is!)
Time : 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily (normal lar)
Duration : Every 30 minutes (I can wait for 30mins, ok what... hor...)
Departure : Attica - Athens - Syntagma - Syntagma Square at 9:00 (no hotel pick-ups ok!)
Validity : 24 hours (meaning if you buy today and noon, you can ride till tomorrow same time of purchased)
Commentary Pre-recorded : English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Greek. (caters for everyone - well, ALMOST [where's Chinese?!])

You must be wondering where are they stopping at, right...??? (courtesy of Greece Tour & Wikipedia). I've hyperlinked almost all the places for everyone's convenience. Baik dak?

1. SYNTAGMA SQUARE - Filellinon Street, Hard Rock Cafe
2. MELINA MERCOURI STATUE - Theatre of Dionysos
3. ACROPOLIS MUSEUM
4. ACROPOLIS & PARTHENON - The Odeon of Herodes Atticus
5. TEMPLE OF ZEUS - Hadrian Arch
6. NATIONAL GARDENS
7. BENAKI MUSEUM / MUSEUM OF CYCLADIC ART
8. PANATHANAIC (PANATHENEAN) STADIUM - Kallimarmaron
9. NATIONAL GARDENS - Greek Parliament, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
10. NATIONAL LIBRARY - Part of the Neoclassical Trilogy (Academy - University)
11. NATIONAL ARCHEALOGICAL MUSEUM
12. OMONIOA SQUARE - Hondos Centre
13. KARAISKAKI SQUARE - Theatre District
14. THESSION STATION - Temple of Hephaistos, Stoa of Attalos
15. KOTZIA SQUARE - City Hall

Some might also ask, why ler Santorini & Mykonos, well; given more time and MONEY, I would have gone to Rhodes & Cretes as those are the places where the ruins of 7 wonders of the world is (I think) BUT since I have none of those. I will settle to the nearest and famous.

For those who never heard of Santorini, just check out the pic below, SERIOUSLY; would you wanna visit here toooooooo???? Come one.... agree right? (image courtesy of google)

And Mykonos, the name least popular especially to Malaysian (or at least I think so, sesiapa yang tahu tuh, sorry for the assumption yek [image courtesy of mykonosradio])

As for Romania, let's do it on another entry, easier for filing purpose kan? ehehhhe.... be updating every 3-4 days on Greece till the date I depart, there after I will try to blog daily.

Do check my latest 2 entries on costing and Greece intro. I will also be blogging surviving Europe traveling as a Muslim traveler, not sure how much I can assist, but whatever I know; I shall share :)

Greece Costing

I have people asking me about the cost incurred so far for my trip, I said it kinda reasonable taking into consideration that am covering 2 countries - flying to/fro from Greece to Romania, flying to Santorini and taking fast ferry to Mykonos and Mykonos back to Athens. Aside from that the whole trip is around 12 days, minusing 2 days for traveling; meaning I have full 10 days for myself between Greece and Romania. But of course am only spending 3D2N in Romania. Talk about being detailed. Hahahha....

Basically, this session will not cover my itinerary (perhaps the next entry instead), instead we will go thru the cost and how I researched (macam real) this prices and options.

To be fair, I am NOT that rajin lar (hardworking am not!), hence what normally happens is this : chores split between Andrea & myself - either we split by country or by mode.

Example : During out Morocco & Spain trip, I cover Spain; and Andrea Morocco. New Zealand was split in a way that Andrea handles transportation and I accommodation. Thus, for this trip; we decided to do the same as the later; that I do the transportation and Andrea accommodation (hot swap the role).

And in terms of sightseeing places, we do it together and decide.

We normally surf AttitudeTravel where you can view ALL the low cost carrier airlines in the world. It has proven helpful for my few Europe trips. But this time around.... jeng jeng jeng

... we decided to go via Expedia, Kayak, Orbitz etc. But but but..... at the end, Expedia was the winner; base on the track record (our track record that is) - we managed to get RM2000 for 6D5N Hong Kong/Japan return flight plus accommodation. Hahhahah... thus, they're the clear winner.

I used Expedia for my flight from Athens to Santorini and Athens/Bucharest return (plus accommodation). After researching multiple ways, we realised leveraging on Expedia to search for flight + accommodation combo is much easier and cheaper.

As for the ferry, I just google and prays alot. Hahhahah.... Actually, you can book the ferry via Expedia as well. Once site fits all... tah dahh...

The only cost that we haven't included in is the Hop-On-Hop-Off and the entrance fee to all the sites. In fact, we haven't done any research on this part, once I managed to do over the weekend (like real I will); I shall be updating the blog.

So, if you guys have any suggestions, advice, tips or ideas, feel free to share... do share.... please share.... pretty pleaseeee..... coz we really appreciate it

;)

My Pre-Journey to Greece & Romania Begins

Been telling myself that I will do a blog on this 1 month prior to my journey, hence & obviously I hate fail SUCCESSFULLY with FLYING C.O.L.O.U.R.S. YUP! Just like the rainbow after the rain with a huge pot of gold at the other end, of course mine without the gold (nor the rainbow... ;P )

Anywaysssss, (mind my dabbling away with a bunch of nonsense [bad habit as some might know]); My so called beautiful plan is to SHARE a bucket full of related (AND unrelated) infos with travelholics and those who weirdly enjoyed my ranting (still wondering why, seriously!?!??!). Looking at the date -911- obviously am not that trustworthy now huh! Hahhaha.... Hey! I was busy doing... er.... erm.... er.... WELL!!!! Just plain BUSY! (running our of excuses here!).

Basically what I will be sharing will be as below in absolutely no particular order or logic or seriousness, which mostly be based on my mood swing (with or without PMS influencing), idea overload or mental block at that specific point of time *wink wink*.

C.O.S.T (so important that there's a period at every capital letter!!!! Wah larweii!!!)
Itinerary (daily visit will be loose but moving from place to place is FIRMED & FIXED)
Packing list (must be fashionable and thematic to the location, Baju Kurung is in the list too)
MUST have packing list (aside form clothing lar of course.... isk isk isk)
Souvenir list (who, whom and what - WAJIB nih)
GADGETS (this is the adding to the luggage weight)
Weblink & sites (to help those that might or will be going - sharing is caring mahh...)
Preparation - mentally & physically (Ohm.......)
AND lastly....
REALTIME BLOGGING if internet permits (hahhahah.... can't be blogging without the net hor...)
I however MUST caution you travelholics out there, my trip DOESN'T come THAAAAAAT CHEAP, but most of the time is cheaper then package trip. Why is that so; one might ask (sounded cam real real lak), this applies to an expensive/Europe country only ler kan...

Since I have been saving and will be traveling there (doubt I be making a trip to there ie "expensive/EU country" within the next 6-10 years), I might as well maximise the trip. This includes if I need to do island hopping just like upcoming Greece trip, or do extreme sport ie Microlight flight in Chiang Mai, or Milford Sound overnight cruise/Shotover Jet, or Interislander from South to North Island in New Zealand; then I will fork that extra dollars for it (missed the Fox Glacier though due to timing...sigh) OH! Or take the train to Marakech to experience Jamaa el Fna or even travel all the way to Andalucia to visit Al-Hambra; I WILL DEFINATELY DO IT. Cause I figure, the next time I'll be going "again" to that same country would probably be in the next 6-10 years or so; hence, might as well lor... ngam mou?!

When it comes to UNESCO sites & cultural shows yadda yadda... , I will try (very best) to fit it into my budget, as I said above; flight is already a one-time cost, to go again to these country means double the flight cost. MAXIMISE it in the first trip! LOGICAL?

Covering 1 country FULLY is better then magical trip ie 1-2 night per country (I've seen this in loadsa tour packages; in fact covering ONLY 1 CITY each country, aiyoyooo... ), no way you gonna remembers anything of that country UNLESS your main objective is for passport stamp or what my friends say passport chop-chop lar.... I did 3 weeks Italy and that kinda set the bench mark. The shortest would be 4D3N in 1 city - Stockholm (thus I must visit again - planning Scandinavian country for next year). Oh! I did Brussel for 1 day as it was a transit - kira tak aci ler...

Am no shopaholic but BIG TIME travelholic, soooo.... souvenir cost is high as I purchase by city and COUNTRY. And my problem? Tak pandai kedekut (I don't stinge) with my friends.... argh.... leh bankrupt nih. This is so true especially for fridge MAGNETS (especially FLUFFY MAGNETS). I can end up buying few in 1 city alone (and these are for myself muahhahaha *evil laugh*). More magnets pic HERE.

HARD ROCK CAFE - YUP! Am a collector of shotglasses and shirts. This does makes my cost go slightly overboard under my shopping list. (Opsy daisy!)

I am about to finish my laundry thus my blogging too. Well, right now, let's do first thing first ie buying catfood at Uptown. Hahhaha.... Here kitty kity...

Eid Fitr in Malaysia

Title gempak giler.... macam ler selama ni I dok Raya di perantauan. Hahhahahaaa....

A small caption from Wikipedia on 'what is Eid Fitr :

Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr (Arabic: ‎عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fiṭr), often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (sawm). Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast". The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan. The first day of Eid, therefore, falls on the first day of the month Shawwal.

For me; it is very simple, we go visiting to relatives' houses etc and do what we do best - EAT EAT EAT. Soooo..... all the 1 whole month of Ramadhan fasting gone to waste in just 3 Eid days. Hahhah.... It's ok, you know what they say > Raya skali setahun jek (Eid/Raya on celebrated once in a year - so indulge!).

On Eid day; first house visit is and always be Mummy's house (my aunt, my mother's elder sister), we visited her again on 2nd & 3rd (and every other day) reason being MALAS MASAK (LAZY TO COOK!), Well.... mummy have a maid and surely they have food daily ler kan... *cheeky grin*.

My sis and meself with new Baju Kurung Raya (Malaysian Malay traditional attire), cloth bought from Japan. Nak sangat original Japanese cotton kekonon.

Did you notice the print on my sis Baju Kurung? Cute right - the cat print. HEHEHHEEE...

Raya at Kak Za's house, this is the pond where Misha (the one on the left) fell of a chair. Her late dad jumped down to her rescue, and guess what; the pond is ankle high ONLY. HAHHAHAHHAHAA.....

Maira wanted durian, and then only I just learnt that durian IS her favourite fruit. I personally don't like durian.

For those that might not know of durian, below excerpt from Wikipedia.

The durian is the fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio and the Malvaceae family (although some taxonomists place Durio in a distinct family, Durionaceae). Widely known and revered in southeast Asia as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk.

The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as almonds, rotten onions, turpentine and gym socks. The odour has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in southeast Asia.

The durian, native to Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia, has been known to the Western world for about 600 years. The 19th-century British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace famously described its flesh as "a rich custard highly flavoured with almonds". The flesh can be consumed at various stages of ripeness, and it is used to flavour a wide variety of savoury and sweet edibles in Southeast Asian cuisines. The seeds can also be eaten when cooked.

What best to do and kill time during Open House - main batu serembat (5 stones). Sapa terror main nih, I tried; gosh..... mana lambung, mana tangkap, mana kaut... ish. DULU cam terror giler babs!

Daniel taking pics with Abul Aa'sz, the currently favourite toddler. Comei gilerrr...

I insisted that Mummy (my aunt) to take a pic with her nieces. Why? The solid coloured Baju Kurung (Malaysian Malay traditional attire).

Mamak Is guiding Abul Aa'sz on glma fashion, he claimed he is the best person to teach this. Siapa berani sangkal, meh sini!

My cousin bought some flowers for her open house the next day.

Hyperlink credit : Wikipedia