Missing me...

I can hear thoughts in my head... all crying to be let out... but I can't write right now for it will all be incorrectly expressed. Cluttered mind is not good for writing...

I'm missing the writer part of me... but, first thing first... work has to be completed. After 2nd milestone achieved, I can take sometime to unwind... to write. Hopefully my brain not too idle or frozen during the unwinding period... heheheeee...

So, hope to summarized a lot of things soon. Hope to meet that other part of me somewhere towards the end of this year :)

Not to forget, Happy Eidul Adha to all muslims!

Rascal Flatts - Stand

Loving this...
*****

You feel like a candle in a hurricane
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless
Like you've lost your fight
But you'll be alright, you'll be alright

Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough

You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off

Then you stand...
Then you stand...

Life's like a novel
With the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon
With only one way down
Take what you're given before its gone

Start holding on...
Keep holding on

Everytime you get up
And get back in the race
One more small piece of you
Starts to fall into place

My favourite advertisements...

Have you seen TM advertisement on 'Everyone Connects'? I love the advertisement so much... it's so cute and memorable... hihihiii... I love it. Unlike the P1WIMAX advertisement. The advertisement is funny I have to admit, but a bit 'obscene'... I think...

and... I don't get any reason why I should switch to their service.

Anyway, today I want to share a few advertisements that are my all time favourite. Heheheeee... there are a few more, but I just upload these three...

Petronas's Deepavali advertisement is the best one! Pathiiiii...

Petronas

TM

Proton

Those working in advertising must have so much fun coming out with crazy ideas...

Enjoy!

Falling in Love with Laksamana Sunan

He's a fiction, he doesn't exist, he's not real...

But, I fell in love with him. It's impossible not to.

Saifuddin, respectfully known as 'Laksamana Sunan' is a great man. He's only a character in Ramlee Awang Murshid's 'Bagaikan Puteri' trilogy. I'm aware of the fact that he's only alive in those stories and wishing that he's real is like 'in your dreams'. Well... I'll be very happy to see him in my dreams if I did :) He's gentle, he's kind & sweet, he's 'alim', he's patient, he's strong, he has a tough & good heart, he's a romantic and he's good looking... in one word, 'perfect'... senang cerita *wink*

Above all... he's a man... he's the man... huhuhuuuuu...

Anyway... snapping out of fantasy world... what I really want to write is about Ramlee Awang Murshid's trilogy. They call it 'Bagaikan Puteri' trilogy, but I'd rather call it 'Laksamana Sunan' trilogy because it's a story about this great man.

I love these books so much that I finished reading all three within 3 weeks. I managed to find reading times in between my busy schedule, on a crowded train, on my flight to Korea, during my alone time in Seoul, before bedtime... all the timeeeeee... I finished reading 'Cinta Sang Ratu' in one weekend... I love the 2nd book so much!

To be honest, I hardly read books written by Malay novelist. Mostly because it's hard for me to find a good book or the good ones are too much of a literature for me. Everytime I go to the Malay novel racks at the bookstore, I wish to find storybooks that are as entertaining as 'Up & Down in the Dales' by Gervase Phinn, or twisted like 'Kane & Abel' by Jeffrey Archer, or puzzling like 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown or sweet and innocent like my all time favorite 'Anne of Green Gables' by L.M Montgomery. I can't remember any Malay storybook that I really love except... Nisah Haron's short stories when I was in secondary school. She rocked with 'Atlantis, Duniaku DuniaMu', 'Disebalik Wajahmu Aries', 'Annyss Sophilea' & one more that I can't remember the title.
 
But, Ramlee Awang Murshid has proven to me that Malay novelist can level with western novelists. Browsing through book racks full of Malay romance novels, I really felt discouraged. I need to slip away from the real world, to find ideas, something different, something 'outside of the box' and entertaining... I'm glad I found this trilogy. Although, I don't really like the 3rd book. But the 2nd one... so good... huhuhuhuuuuu... I should have picked up these books when I started seeing them the first time.
 
What I like about this story? Laksamana Sunan of course... and Sang Ratu. The novels flow smoothly even though it jumps from one century to another, each time changing the storyline, but still connected. It is so cool. Ramlee Awang Murshid must have a very clear idea of what he wanted to write when he wrote these novels. These novels are full of time travels, demons and devils, werewolves, rotten-hearted humans and of course... love. But not a mushy mushy kind of love. A real love... logical, practical... loyal...
 
The best thing is, these novels keep on reminding the readers that there is no power greater than ALLAH, that everything happened with a 'hikmah' behind it... it keeps reminding the readers to be patience, tawakal and always keep a good heart. 'Laksamana Sunan' and 'Sang Ratu' characters remind me to become a better muslim...
 
What a good way of da'wah...
 
So, if you haven't read this trilogy... you better :) This trilogy is a good piece of work and officially makes me a big fan of Ramlee Awang Murshid.

'Sebagai manusia, aku sayang kepadamu...'

I love you too Laksamana Sunan...

Aloooo... wake upppppp...

Ooppppssss sorry... it's bedtime now... off to dream world... hoping to meet Laksamana Sunan (hahahaaaa... I wish!)

Sweet dreams everyone!

Braving Seoul - Wrap up

What I learned during my trip to Seoul?

A lot of things...

The most important thing that I learned was, people appreciate it when we showed appreciation for their culture and language. So, when travel to a country where English is not their first language, learn a few words in their languade. When conversing, use those words that you have learned. It might seems simple and easy, or sometimes inaccurately pronounced but I think it will still be appreciated. I got a very big smile from a taxi driver when I said 'Kamsahamnida' instead of 'Thank you'. He even warmed up to me :)

So, let's learn a few Korean phrases (that I used most during my visit there):

• Good morning, Good afternoon, Good evening --> Anyeonghaseyo?
• Yes --> Ye/ Ne.
• No --> Aniyo.
• Thank you --> Kamsahamnida.
• I am sorry --> Mianhamnida.

Walking around Seoul was safe. The people are nice to strangers :) But still, pick the right person when you want to ask something... and same advice again... for ladies travelling alone, please be very careful and prepared. Know where you want to go, how to get there... don't wander around.

Enjoy your travel and be safe ok!

Braving Seoul - Episode 2

On my second day, I woke up early because I need to start early. Mostly because I need to come back early... the next day was my working day.

After breakfast, I made my way to the Namsagol Hanok Village. This cultural village located at about 20 minutes walking time from the hotel.

The morning was comfortably cold and my walk was pleasant :)

For me, there was nothing much to see at the village. Maybe because I've seen Korean traditional architecture from the day before. What I noticed at the village... there were a few groups of primary school children with their teachers. They were discussing something and looked like they were having a good time there.

I wonder whether schools in Malaysia do the same thing. Outdoor learning is very refreshing and stimulating, don't you think?

Namsagol Hanok Village

In Hanok Village, you can see different types of Korean traditional houses and architectures. During my visit, there was a demonstration of traditional Korean basket weaving. If your timing is right, you can catch the
performance of Korean drama and dances.

To read more on Hanok Village, you can visit this website:
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/travel2/seoul/110/

I only spent about 1 hour at the Hanok Village. After that, I started my journey to Itaewon. Today, I travelled mostly by walking and the subway.

Itaewon

There were nothing much for me to see in Itaewon either. Or maybe I'm already tired and can't stop thinking about the need to do final round of preparation for the next day. I had no other plan coming to Itaewon except to check out the muslim community there.

I took a taxi to get to Masjid Prince Sultan because I'm not really sure the way and I was not prepared for climbing the streets there. That morning, there were not many people at the masjid. But there was an Islamic class going on for children.

At the entrance of the masjid, I was stopped by two Korean students. They were doing a research about cross culture in Korea for their school assignment and wanted to take my picture to include in their project. Well, of course we have to help children who wants to learn right? So, I posed... hehehehheeeee...

Masjid @ Itaewon

There were a lot of halal restaurants around Itaewon. You just stand at the entrance of the masjid, look in front, to the right, to the left... you can see all the restaurants there. There were Indian's, Pakistan's, Turkish, Indonesian and Korean restaurants. There was also a halal meat shop, a bakery and a couple of grocery shops.

Muslim center, marts & halal restaurants around Itaewon

There was also a 'US Armed Forces Help Center - Itaewon Self Regulating Anti-Crime Unit' booth at Itaewon town. This is the first time I saw this kind of booth during my travel in Seoul. So, I'm thinking... hmmmmm?

But, whatever... I tried to keep a positive mind.

I didn't buy anything at Itaewon except for a couple of pizza breads at the bakery just now. After Itaewon, I took the subway to Gangnam because according to the travel magazine Gangnam is like a 'Paris in Seoul'. Wow! I have got to see that! I can shoot more romantic sceneries...

When I see the place... hmmmm... definitely not like Paris *sigh*

Maybe I was at the wrong street. At that time, I started to feel tired and I didn't want to search for the right street. Plus, I saw a few nice, funky and cheap clothes that I could buy... So, I need to go shopping... hihihihiiii...

After Gangnam, I took the subway to Dongdaemun Market. I just want to see the place. I didn't have anything to buy. When I saw Dongdaemun Market, I'm reminded of 'Pasar Minggu' in Malaysia. So many people, so many shops, so many things, soooo busy... even though a lot of shops close on Sunday.

Dongdaemun Market

What impressed me the most was the row of shops that sell books. So many books... old and new. I was tempted to buy the old copies of NatGeo magazines because I saw some interesting titles. But then I think, it'll be heavy to carry... and I'm already feeling tired and hungry.

That was when I decided to head back to the hotel. My little adventure today was not as interesting as yesterday but I managed to cover a big area of Seoul in just 2 days. What an achievement :)

Next time when I visited Seoul, I can go visit some place outside the city.

Mount Seoraksan maybe...

Wishful thinking signing out *wink*

Braving Seoul - Episode 1

Anyeonghaseyo!

The highlight of my day @ Gyeongbukgung Palace.

Able to shoot one good picture out of a hundred shots is very satisfying...

I really, really love the colours of autumn...

It was an exciting weekend for me and I'm pretty sure it was a worrying one for my mother. Hihihihi... my mom is so adorable :)

Well, excited as I was, I didn't wake up early for my adventure day. I was still so tired from the day before. So I woke up at around 9.00am, finished getting ready at about 9.45am, went down for breakfast and done with it at around 10.30am... I was really taking it slow that day.

I kept on wishing that I had a friend to walk around with me and kept on wondering whether I'll be able to enjoy myself travelling alone...

Turned out I did enjoy myself travelling alone around Seoul that day... yihaaaaa!

I started my day with a trip to Namdaemun Market. I took a taxi there. From the Grand Ambassador Hotel, it cost me 4,400KRW. Why did I take a trip to the market first? Well, obviously because I need to do an initial survey on what to buy of course! heheheeeee...

Namdaemun Market

The market was not too big, but I still spent about 1 hour there. There were so many things...

Souvenirs, clothes, fashionable hats, stylish winter clothings, luggage bags, handbags, ginseng tea, ginseng, seaweed, restaurants,
household appliances, jewellery, colorful & trendy socks and a lot more that I think I missed.

I bought a lovely sweater for my mom and a few bracelets for my cousins. I started to shop for some more before I finally realized that I still need to walk around and carrying a heavy load was something that I can do without. So, I snapped out of my shopping mode and quickly find the nearest exit out of the market.

My guide for that day, was a colourful illustration of Seoul map. A cute map with cartoon icons. But, it was not so hard to find my next destination, the 'Deoksugung Palace'. From the Namdaemun Market, I walked towards the City Hall because according to the map, that palace should be at around there. So, I started walking.

Along the way, I passed by a fountain that I saw everyday on my way to work. So, I decided to stop to take some pictures. I didn't know what the statues represent, but I figured it might have something to do with freedom or liberation or something because the statues looked happy & content :)

In the middle of Seoul city, some statues, Bank of Korea Museum


After walking about half an hour, I reached the 'Deoksugung Palace'. I missed changing of the guards at the palace by a few minutes. I only managed to see the end of the ceremony from across the road.

Deoksugong Palace

Deoksugung is just a small palace.

But there were a few halls for the king, queen, the royals

and servants inside the palace compound.

The architecture were of course traditional Korean.

The gardens were small, but looked very peaceful.

To read more on Deoksugung Palace, you can visit this website:

http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/seoul/65

After Deoksugung Palace, I made my way towards the Gyeongbukgong Palace. It took me about 45 minutes walking time, with sightseeing to reach this palace. Along the way, I came across this statue... he stood there looking strong and macho. The one picture I took using the wrong exposure made it looked like he was floating in the air... which I like... heheheeee... There were also a lot of fresh flowers on the bench there which strike to me as weird... it's autumn... these flowers shouldn't blooming right?

On the way to Gyeongbukgung Palace

Finding my way in Seoul was not hard. Just when I started to doubt whether I'm going in the right direction, there stood a 'Tourist Information' booth. It was such a convenience. The booths were not only fully utilized by tourists, but also by locals. The officers on duty were also very friendly and helpful.

Gyeongbukgung Palace

This is my favourite palace. Mostly because it has this big and beautiful garden.
I didn't really go inside the palace building because it looked the same as the Deoksugung Palace.
The sun was shining, the sky was blue and it was windy. I also got to see The Royal Banquet ceremony...

To read more on Gyeongbukgung Palace, you can visit this website:
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/travel2/seoul/66/

Two most interesting thing happened during my visit to Gyeongbukgung.

First, I was interviewed by a TV station (I think... I didn't get the TV station name). If you happened to see me on TV (hopefully on National Geographic or Discovery Channel), please let me know whether I looked ok or not. I suspected that my 'tudung' must looked a bit funny that day because the wind was blowing hard.

Second, I managed to shoot one very, very satisfying photo. I love it so much. That photo is the one that I put at the start of this entry.

After I finished my tour around Gyeongbukgung Palace, I went into The National Folk Museum, which is just next door.

The National Folk Museum of Korea

This museum displays the evolution of Korean life and culture.
The thing that interest me most was picture number 3.
That was a 'Parent's 60th Birthday Celebration'.
Once, it was a big deal to reach the age 60. So 60th birthday was a big celebration.
A lot of sweets served on that day as good wishes for the parents.

To read more on The National Folk Museum of Korea , you can visit this website:
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/travel2/seoul/80/

Actually, there was one more palace that I wanted to visit. The Changgyeongguk Palace. But the information center told me the palace already closed because it was already 5.30pm. *sigh* So, I took a taxi to Myeongdong Market. I wanted to take the subway, but I couldn't find it. The taxi fare for the ride was 12,000KRW because of traffic jam. Huhuhuhuuuuu... the taxi driver apologize to me even though it was not his mistake...

Myeongdong Market

Myeongdong Market sold different stuffs from Namdaemun Market.

There were more clothing here...

Was it hard to shop in Seoul? Not really... some of them can speak some English. But if you happened to shop where the salesperson cannot speak English, know this... spoken words is not the only mean of communication. There are also gestures, facial expression and of course, calculator... hihihihiiiii...
When I travel to some place, it is very important for me to try the public transportations there. It makes me feel like I'm really tasting the place. So, I tried Seoul subway. But, I didn't try the bus. Maybe next time...

From Myeongdong Market, I had to take Line 3 & 4 to get to my hotel. I thought I'll get lost when I first looked at the subway map, but NO. Apparently, I have a bit of sense of direction... hihihihiiii... but, it's not that hard to find your way. Just follow the direction on the boards.

Seoul subway is not as simple as KL's LRT system. Subway in Seoul have a few levels... you can see from the evacuation chart. At some stations that I've been to, there were gas masks... for emergencies. You go to the vending machine to buy the ticket and there's always a 500KRW deposit which you can get back later at the deposit return machine. I didn't take the photos of the machines... maluuu... hehheheeeee...
How I know how to use the machines?

By observation of course :)

Seoul subway - Line 3 & 4

That's the end of my day... It actually ended with an uphill walk from the subway station to the hotel. I was so tired but very happy with my little adventure today :)

Kamsahamnida!