One Year, Seriously?

PS: There are a couple more posts for today right before this entry - today so rajin updating my blog so came up with a few entries :P

Hai.

Sempena ulangtahun yg pertama perkahwinan saya ni, saya nak tulih la tentang beberapa perkara yang berkaitan dengan perkara2 yang terjadi sebelum, semasa dan selepas hari bersejarah tu.

Sebenaqnya dah lama saya nak tulih pasal benda2 ni (sejak bulan Disember tahun lepaih lagi) tapi asyik tertangguh saja, ni pun dah nak dekat anniversary jadi pikiaq2, baik la tunggu bulan Disember 2010 sempena ulangtahun yang pertama ni. Baik saya tulih cepat sebelum nanti lama2 terlupa dah :(

Semalam lepak rumah pakcik & makcik tgk X Factor (mcm Msia punya Akademi Fantasia, tapi versi org British), makcik pesan suruh bawak laptop sebab dia nak tgk wedding belah Penang, last yr dia dtg all the way dari Manchester sebab nak attend wedding belah KL. Sejak duduk Manchester ni semakin rapat dgn dia, so dia mintak nak tgk gambaq2 kawin time kat Png dulu.

Makin terasa dekatnya ulangtahun perkahwinan yg pertama bila tgk balik semua2 gambaq kawin dgn makcik, sambil explain2 pasal benda2 dan org2 kat dlm gambaq2 tu.

Semua orang nak perkahwinan yang sempurna, dan indah. Kalau ada duit berkepuk, mmg la semua bulih jadi kan. Kalau bulih nak putaq masa, byk benda yg rasa nak perbetui...tapi pikiaq2 balik, benda2 yg tak sempurna mcm ni la yang buat wedding kita ni menjadi satu sweet memory. Betui dak?

Sebelum tu, saya nak bg amaran, entry ni mungkin agak panjang sikit la...kalau boring tu takyah la baca sampai habih, ni sekadar catatan untuk saya baca nanti bila dah tua2...mcm saya kata tadi, lama2 nnt takut terlupa habih...Ni pun dah terlupa sikit2.

OK, saya cerita kisah dari lebih kurang 2 minggu dari wedding saya OK. Tulih dalam point form la senang. Mcm Tun Dr M. Hehe.

1. Baju sanding saya sebenarnya saya uruskan sendiri, maksudnya tak serah bulat2 kat butik untuk buatkan (konon nak independent dan jimat kos). Kain semua saya beli sendiri. Kain lace beli dekat Gulati's kat Wangsa Maju, chiffon dan satin lining beli kat Kamdar. Nak cari tailor kat Png ni susah jugak yg reti nak buat baju dress moden ni. Tailor Melayu tak kenai sgt, so cuma approach tailor2 Chinese ja. Pi kat Komtar, Datuk Keramat, semua pi. Harga pulak lain2, ada yg quote RM2k, ada yg quote RM200. Last2 hantaq kat sorang Chinese tailor ni kat Datuk Keramat. Tgk cara dia cakap dia mcm biasa buat baju2 mcm ni. Tp mostly dia buat baju2 kurung, kebaya la. Penuh baju2 yg duk gantung kat kedai dia. Sama ada dia popular sebab org byk hantaq upah kat dia, takpun dia jahit tak lawa sebab tu org tak mai amik baju2 yg depa hantaq kat dia dulu. Hahaha. Tp dia ckp mcm confident bulih buat, pastu saya pun mcm terdesak, takdak org dah bulih buat baju kawin ni, harga dia pun murah, so bagi ja la.

2. Dari masa ke masa saya call dan pi kedai dia tanya pasal progress baju tu. Tailor ni mcm bebai sikit bila saya pi kedai dia, mungkin dia pressure kot. Anyway lebih kurang sebulan sebelum wedding dia call suruh pi fitting. So pi la kedai dia untuk pi fitting...(fyi kedai dia takdak fitting room so paham2 la camna saya buat fitting na). Pakai baju semua OK, takdak apa nak alter dah, cuma nak suruh dia jahit manik ja. Sebab kain lace tu takda manik. Memandangkan saya org Penang dan kawin kat Penang, merelit merelap itu satu kemestian. So OK la, tailor tu kata dia akan hantaq jahit manik dalam masa sehari dua lagi, lagi 2 minggu mai amik baju. Fuh...lega dengaq...baju ni kan penting, sama penting dgn makeup. Sebab org kan nak tgk kita. Pedulikan pelamin semua tu.

3. Lagi 2 minggu saya pun pi la balik butik tu nak tanya dia pasal status dress saya tu...nampak la baju tu duk tergantung bersama2 baju2 kurung dan kebaya yang lain. Wah...dah siap!! Seronoknya....saya pikiaq dlm hati. Sekali bila tanya tailor tu...dia kata tak hantaq pi jahit manik lagi! $^)&)$#@ dia kata "Saya ingat you kawin hujung bulan 12". Lebih kurang mcm tu kot. Saya pun jawab la balik, 20hb la saya kawin. Habih mcm mana ni, sempat ka mau siap. Tailor tu pun cakap OK la dia hantar secepat mungkin kat tukang jahit manik. Sebab bukan dia yg jahit manik tu sendiri, dia outsource kat org lain.

4. Rasanya kerap jugak la call tailor ni nak peringat dia, dan duk tanya pasal status. Last2 dia kata hari Khamis, 3 hari sebelum wedding bulih mai amik. Lega rasanya, at least tak la last minute sgt2.

5. Hari Khamis call tailor tu - dia suruh mai keesokan hari pulak dah! Hari Jumaat. Takpa...masih sabaq lagi.

6. Hari Jumaat tu keluaq jalan2 dgn Mama dan adik2, ingat lagi pi makan nasik ayam Monrod kat Komtar (sedap ooo - iklan sat). Masa otw nak balik rumah singgah kat kedai tailor ni - kedai dia tutup!!! Tu dia habih gabra dah semua orang...dlm hati punya dok sumpah seranah maknya ni...mcm nak nangih pun ada. $%)(^)#* masa tu dah pukul 12 lebih kut nak pukul 1 dah kot. Selalu pukul 10 mmg dia dah bukak kedai. Gabra tak gabra?

7. Kami pun balik la rumah. Tak tau nak cakap macam mana dah perasaan ni. Sat2 call kedai tailor ni, kalau dia jawab phone maksudnya dia ada kat kedai la kan. Last2 dia ada angkat kut, dan dia suruh mai amik. Jadi cepat2 drive pi kedai amik dress tu. Excited tau!

8. Bila sampai kat kedai dia, tailor tu mcm dah siap bubuh dlm beg kot dress tu. Then dia bagitau...tukang manik tu tak boleh nak jahit semua manik kat kat baju tu (ha?) sebab dia nak pi KL (haa?) so dia just jahit kat belah atas dan dekat bunga sikit2 (haaaaa?). What the??!! Apa hg cakap ni...wedding aku lagi 1 hari ja lagi :(( Maknya tu mcm kurang ajaq sikit la, dia kata ala ni pun dah cantik lagipun tak nampak sgt. Ni pun nasib baik tukang manik tu dapat jahit kalau tak langsung tak dak manik. By de way I give you diskaun, bayar RM100 ja. #(%)$_@#!! Aku takkan jejak kaki kat kedai hang dah!!

9. Lagi sehari nak kawin, apa boleh buat? Terima ja la. Masa ni ada jugak rasa menyesal sebab pandai2 nak gamble baju kawin sendiri. Pujuk diri sendiri kata takpa la, simple is always the best. Berkilat2 sgt buat apa...cuba ambik contoh dress Mat Saleh kan simple2 ja.

Itu lah cerita baju dress saya :)

10. Byk org kata sebelum kahwin kena pi mandi bunga kat spa. Saya pun book la appointment kat satu spa kat Bayan Baru. Kakak kat situ kata baik mandi bunga selewat mungkin, misalnya sehari sebelum nak kahwin. Sebab kalau nanti mandi awal2 takut terlangkah apa2 (??) dan tak berkesan la jampi2 masa mandi bunga tu. OK la kak, apa2 ja la.

11. OK hari Sabtu. Sehari sebelum. Tak berapa ingat sgt apa saya buat kat spa tu. Mula2 massage kut. Tapi rasanya massage tu yg paling lousy. Tah budak sekolah mana dia suruh urut. Takat picit2 mcm tak makan seminggu ja. Lepas tu jacuzzi kut, duduk dalam bath tub dengan benda mcm waddle board yg keluar bubble2 tu. Dalam 30minit jugak la.

12. Selepas tu baru mandi bunga. Sorang kakak mai bawak baldi, dlm tu ada la kelopak2 bunga byk2, kakak tu kata ayaq tu dah siap jampi dah. So simbah la kat satu badan, sambil menggosok2 badan dengan bunga2 tu.

13. Lepas tu tak dak apa dah kot, siap pakai baju semua, turun bawah, kakak tuan punya kedai tu tanya nak makan sirih tak. Tak pasti la apa fungsi sirih tapi just for the kick of it, makan ja la. Pertama kali makan sirih ni. Pahit dan pedas dan kelat! Bulih ja nak luah lepas gigit, tapi saya telan. Punya la nak adventure kan.

14. Terus terang saya cakap - buang duit aku ja pi spa2 ni. Mungkin kalau spa lain yg lagi bagus, lain cerita la.

15. Lepas balik spa, singgah rumah florist pi amik sirih junjung. Saya suruh sorang Chinese guy ni buat sirih junjung, dia mmg pandai buat gubah2 bunga ni. Tambah dia baik dan tak mahai, dia kata you bagi budget, I buat setakat mengikut budget you.

16. Sementara tu dok sibuk dengan telefon - call dan SMS dari kawan2 yg dah sampai ke Penang. Masing2 call tanya khabaq, tak kurang jugak call tanya direction nak pi tempat2 makan yg sedap kat Png ni.

17. Balik rumah terus sibuk dgn hantaran. Saya juga buat hantaran sendiri. Ala, setakat bubuh2 ja atas tray tu. Tapi, sebenarnya bubuh2 ja tak menjadi. Tu pengajaran yg saya dpt. Tambah2 last minute ni, byk benda lain nak kena buat, nak susun2 brg atas tray tu amik masa jugak. Dan nak pastikan benda2 tu tak jatuh, amik masa nak secure benda2 tu atas tray. Nasib baik ada kawan baik yg telefon nak mai rumah walaupun saya cakap tak payah.

18. Malam tu jugak sibuk nak hantar brg2 e.g. doorgift, poster dan stand, bunting, bunga pahar ke dewan. Sebab esok pagi2 dah nak nikah kat Masjid Negeri, mmg tak sempat. Tengah hari dah jamuan majlis. Hantaran dah lebih kurang siap, kami sekeluarga pun pi dewan tu, tinjau2 keadaan. Meja2 dan kerusi2 semua dah siap susun, barang2 kami bubuh kat VIP Room kat sebelah dewan. Lega at least tak payah risau pasal dewan.

19. Teringat yg petunjuk jalan tak pasang lagi. Total ada 4 kut. Kat traffic light turun flyover Batu Uban satu, kat traffic light atas sikit dari Pak Husin Tomyam satu, traffic light nak masuk Setia Pearl satu dan last dekat otw nak naik Setia Pearl. Suruh adik2 pi pasang malam tu jugak.

20. Balik rumah, plan nak pakai inai. Inai pun saya nak pakai sendiri, sebab takmau corak2. Dah beli sekotak inai serbuk kat Little India, testing kat jari kelingking dgn ibu jari beberapa minggu lepas, warna dia OK tak gelap sgt. So pakai la, dibantu oleh kawan baik tu. Masa tu dah nak dekat pukul 11 kut. Abang dia pun dah mai nak amik dia, tinggai la saya pakai inai sorang2. Masa tu la bakal suami dok call2, tanya alamat masjid, dewan etc sebab nak masuk dalam GPS, sat call nak confirm pasal rukun2 dalam Islam takut Tok Kadi nak test esok. Adik balik rumah, dia tlg pakaikan inai sat, pastu dia pun masuk tidoq.

21. Sambil2 tu adik dan tunang dia berlatih skrip untuk berucap esok. Adik lagi sorang jadi Miss DJ. So far OK. Formal sangat pun tak best sgt.

22. Dah pakai inai takkan nak basuh terus kan. Tunggu jugak la dalam sejam lebih. Masa tu rasanya dah 1 pagi kut. Basuh2 inai tu, rupa2nya dia tak merah. Dia oren2 ja :( Takkan nak pakai lg sekali, dah lewat dah. Jadi redha ja la. Peringatan buat sapa2 yg nak kahwin tu, buat ja la inai dekat yg profesional. At least tak yah nak panik tgh2 malam sehari sebelum nak kawin.

23. Pastu teringat pulak nak kena buat To-Do List untuk adik2. Keluarga saya tak ramai saudara mara, yg ada pun tak rapat sgt dan ramai yg kat KL, dan akan attend kenduri belah KL. Memandangkan majlis belah Png ni agak kecil, jadi kami sekeluarga dan beberapa org saudara mara ja la yg in-charge. Pulaknya ni kali pertama nak handle majlis yg berskala agak besar mcm ni, sebelum ni setakat buat kenduri doa selamat dan kenduri arwah ja. Oh ya, dan kenduri hari pertunangan saya.

24. Lama jugak buat To-Do List ni, dan sort lagu2 untuk dimainkan sepanjang hari esok. Sampai pukul 3 pagi kut baru siap semua list2 dan reminder untuk adik2 esok.

25. Pastu teringat pulak baju nikah tak iron lagi! Bergegas pi iron baju nikah. Kain dia jenis susah nak iron, dia tetap keronyot jugak. Dah la takda ironing-water tu. Renjis jugak air, OK sikit tapi tak licin habis la. Ah lantak la, mintak2 org tak nampak.

26. OK dah habis. Keluarkan baju2 luaq dan dalam yg nak pakai esok. Tidoq. Masa tu dah 4 pagi :( Konon nak tidoq awai la kan.

27. Pagi2 bangun dalam pukul 6 lebih sebab nak kena pi butik nak makeup, janji pukul 7 pagi. Bergegas bawak baju2, tudung, etc pi butik. Tunggu2 pak andam tak sampai pun, pukul 7.20am baru dia sampai. Cepat2 makeup. Sebenarnya saya sepatutnya makeup kat org lain. Tp oleh kerana pengaruh pengantin2 utara yg lain yg kata makeup oleh mamat ni lagi OK, saya pun tukaq ke mamat ni. Lagi satu yg saya berat hati mak andam yg asal tu dia kata saya kena makeup 2 kali. First untuk nikah (pagi) dan lepas akad nikah kena cuci semua makeup dan start fresh untuk majlis sanding waktu tengahari. Saya takut tak sempat sebab akad nikah pukul 9 pagi, majlis sanding mula pukul 12.30 tgh, tak mau la gamble.

28. Berbalik kepada sesi makeup kat butik tadi, dah siap makeup semua, tgk cermin. I. Effin. Hate. My. Makeup. Saya rasa muka mcm buruk sgt. Mcm nampak lg tua, tak natural. Silap sebab patutnya bawak gambaq sample. Tunjuk kat dia, "Saya nak mcm ni jugak2. Jgn buat mcm lain". Tapi, nak buat mcm mana? Masa tu dah nak dekat 8.30am. Nak nikah lagi 30minit. Nak kena sampai masjid awal sikit.

29. Apa2 la. Org kata dlm gambar nnt nampak OK. Tgk real mmg la makeup nampak sgt heavy. Fine.

30. Call adik suruh mai amik. Depa lambat la pulak, dah tu tersesat2 pulak. Bakal suami dah call, depa semua dah sampai kat masjid. Oh no.

31. Sampai kat masjid lagi 5 minit pukul 9 pagi kot. Atur2 org nak pegang hantaran, then masuk masjid. Amik posisi. Duduk tunggu Tok Kadi. So nervous tgk ramai nya org. Bakal suami, keluarga dan saudara-mara dia yg ramai, kawan2 saya yg ramai, saudara-mara saya.

32. Tok Kadi bagi ceramah, lama betui. Cepat la, panas tau dlm masjid tu. Berpeluh2 habis. Then nak akad nikah. Abah injak amik tempat Tok Kadi. Eh tak tau pulak Abah nak tlg nikahkan. Baguih la. Alhamdulillah, sekali lafaz, saya dah kawin. Hehe.

33. Tak ingat turutan - terima mas kawin, sarung cincin, salam cium tgn. Salam2 dgn saudara mara belah suami. Mak dan Abah sibuk suruh tetamu pi ke luaq ada makan2 sikit. Saya, suami, kawan2 sibuk amik gambaq. Teringat yg tak salam pun Mak dgn Abah :( Tapi kita mana nak ingat semua benda. Everything is a blur to me. Tang ni la makcik2 yg lebih senior memainkan peranan penting untuk ingatkan pengantin, suruh depa salam mak bapak.

34. Teringat, tak dan pun nak amik gambaq dgn ahli keluarga sendiri mahupun ahli keluarga belah suami. Semua sibuk makan, dan kami sendiri kena rush balik rumah tukar baju nak pi butik. Kat sini rasanya photographer mainkan peranan penting untuk panggil ahli keluarga dan saudara-mara untuk amik gambaq.

35. Kat rumah tukar baju sat, makan sikit (sebab lapaq tak makan lagi dari tadi), terus pi butik. Sampai kat butik org ramai betui. Bakal2 pengantin yg lain pun dok bersiap tang tu jugak. Tu la kawin time cuti sekolah. Bukan kita sorang ja yg kawin time tu.

36. Suruh adik pi amik hand bouquet kat butik yg buatkan pelamin dan sepatutnya jadi mak andam saya tadi. Saya ingat, mmg order bunga ros warna champagne. Tapi kakak tu call pagi2 kata dia dah tersalah bagi bunga saya kat org lain, dan yg tinggai bunga org tu iaitu bunga ros warna BIRU (!!!!) dan daisy warna PURPLE (!!!!!!). Tapi, dia jugak ada sediakan bunga PALSU warna pink lembut. Tapi Kak, warna tema saya putih, gold dan peach! Mungkin dia tak sengaja tapi saya rasa dia diam2 sabotaj saya sebab saya tak pi makeup kat dia :(

37. Kat butik, pak andam pun of cos la busy jugak dgn org lain. Lain la kalau kita bayaq dia lebih dan book dia untuk satu hari tu. Suruh dia mai dewan dan bersiap kat dewan. Menyesal jugak, tapi tak guna nyesal time tu.

38. Suruh pak andam tu tone down makeup saya. Bagi nampak lagi natural. Rambt pun, sekadar bagi contoh nak mcm rambut sekian2 artis. Tak bawak gambar pun. Silap lagi...repair2 sikit, nampak macam OK. Off I go. Sementara tunggu adik ipar saya, posing2 amik gambaq kat depan butik. Kawan baik, pengapit2 pun ada kat situ. So nervous!

39. Gamble jugak suruh adik ipar mai, pasai dia pun tak berapa pasti area butik tu. Butik ni masalah dia, mmg nampak dari jalan besaq tapi nak masuk butik tu susah. Jalan sibuk tapi kecik dan takda traffic light. Kat Png mmg payah la, org2 kat sini semua pemandu "kreatif". Kena pandai2 sendiri. Dah la kat blkg ada berderet2 lagi kereta saudara-mara belah suami nak berkonvoi pi dewan. Mmg susah nak keep up dgn keadaan traffic mcm tu.

40. Otw nak pi dewan, adik yg tlg jadi "event manager" dah siap call2, suruh bg cue bila dah nak sampai sebab nak announce, get ready lagu, etc. Kawan2 pun dah msg tanya hang pi mana awat tak sampai2 semua org dah ada tunggu hg ni manager2, director, partner semua ada kami dah nak balik dah ni bye.

41. Sampai dewan, turun kereta. Nampak kawan2 yg baru sampai dan yg dh nak balik. Nervous! Rambut OK tak? Makeup? Baju?

42. Buat entrance melalui tangga, sebab lift yg ada guests guna untuk turun naik ke dewan (dewan kat lower ground).

43. The rest is history - berarak, bersanding, makan beradab (time ni lawak sebab takda sapa nak tlg potong ayam golek tu so self-service kuti ayam, pastu baru caterer tu offer nak pi potong2 ayam tu) - potong kek - amik gambaq dgn tetamu - terima byk angpow - sembang2 dgn tetamu.

44. Dah nak dekat2 habis majlis baru adik2 kata depa tak bubuh VIP doorgifts kat meja pengantin, just bubuh kat meja2 VIP ja! Grr!!! Kesian kat in laws, saudara2 belah lelaki yg duduk dgn pengantin tak dapat hadiah.

45. Lepas habis 4 jam (sewa dewan 4 jam ja) amik gambaq kat area2 dewan, lepas tu pi area Teluk Kumbaq tepi pantai amik gambaq outdoor. Masa ni dah penat sgt. Makeup dah rasa comot sgt (tak touch up lepas keluaq butik), bulu mata palsu mcm nak tercabut (dah cabut masa dalam kereta). Mmg nmpak takda mood dalam gambaq2. Haha.

46. Kesimpulannya, mcm2 drama jugak sebelum hari perkahwinan saya ni. Byk benda yg rasa kalau bulih nak perbaiki lagi, tapi benda dah jadi. At least nnt boleh jadi peringatan kat org lain, esp adik2 saya yg miang nak kawin tahun depan ni. Haha. Cuma pendapat saya, yg mana bulih mintak org buat, pi la outsource kat org. Dlm kes saya ni - baju, hantaran, inai.

47. Yg sedapkan hati, kawan2 yg mai semua ckp majlis sgt relax, laid-back. Ppl can chit chat & hang out, have a piece (or more) of the wedding cake, several helpigs of the food, nice choice of music (ehem). Ada ramai jugak yg suka baju kawin aku yg tak siap tu hehehe.

48. Sapa yg tak dapat mai tu - too bad you miss it, saya tau hampa semua mmg nak mai tapi ada perkara lain yg lebih memerlukan komitmen anda. Yg mai tu, terutama yg dari jauh - Ipoh, KL, Kuantan, Johor, etc - terima kasih byk2. Terharu sgt. Love you ols!

49. Hadiah2 sgt best dan thoughtful, yg bagi angpow pun bulih tahan hehe. Lepaih la belanja sikit2.

50. Sat ja dah setahun...rasa mcm baru beberapa bulan lepaih :(

Robbed!

Last weekend, my parents and brother-in-law got robbed, back in Malaysia. We are talking about a parang-wielding robbers here. It happened when they were outside a relatives house, waiting to go in. It was during the waiting that the incident happened.

There were 4 of them on 2 motorcycles, only 2 of them got off and threatened the poor victims. Realizing their lives are at stake - they surrendered everything that they had on them. Things could have gone worse if they had retaliated. There were similar cases at a nearby area where 2 people got hurt, as the robbers attacked them with the parang.

It happened in Taman Permata in Keramat. Later they found out (while doing a police report) that they were the 3rd victim on that day itself (blardy robbers!!). The rest of the incidents happened in the adjacent area; AU2, AU3, all Keramat areas. By the way, the robbers are all Malays (makes me sick all over).

Thank God no one got hurt. If it had happened to me...I am sure to hand in all my belongings as well. But I would be pissed off afterwards - having to go thru the pains to recover all the lost identifications, bank cards, etc.

What can we do to avoid such incidents from happening?

1. If you're visiting someone, advisable to give the person a call that you are outside the house, to minimise the time from your car to inside the house compound.

2. Always be alert to your surroundings.

3. If there are not many people in your house, lock up the doors and windows. Because if you got robbed, there are chances of these people aiming at your house since they could trace your address from your lost identifications.

4. Don't panic, of course. Try to remember as much details as you can about them.

5. Better if you don't fight. This may sound cliche but, harta benda boleh dicari, nyawa melayang kalu??

6. Try to carry as little cash as possible to cushion for your loss. Ever heard of debit cards? It really is a wise thing to sign up for. And maybe, we can store our identifications (e.g. IC, driving license, kad nikah, etc) separately? Then put the identifications away in the car, rather than in your bag. In that case, you can leave the house because you have your identifications by your side. But you don't have it in your bag when the robbers got hold of it. Get it? Only take the IDs out if you need them somewhere, e.g. post office. I don't know, do you think it's a wise thing to do? It's such a hassle having to re-apply for those IDs seriously.

Anyway guys, take care OK? The world is really not a safe place for us to live in anymore...

Autumn Roadtrip

Hi guys...I thought of sharing the pictures that I took while me and a visiting friend from Malaysia went on a short UK roadtrip across the UK exactly 1 month ago...not sure of the geographical location of the places though...but we started from the North-West, Manchester, of course, down to Cotswolds-Oxford-London-Amesbury (Wiltshire)-Bath-London.

It was fun, and challenging of course. None of us had the experience of driving in the UK. But ya ya ya we all heard the old tales of UK drivers being gracious and polite, a far cry from Malaysian's finger-shaking, rude and oh, everything bad, really.

Well honestly...those who said that maybe had the experience driving in the UK decades ago. I think UK drivers are more or less hot-blooded and impatient as do M'sian drivers, well maybe short of the sign languages. They honk and hi-beam at you if they think you are slow (like hello, we are in the slow lane, pls!) and they drive like, really fast (drivers - all same only *pfft*). But I observe one good thing about them is that they really obey the traffic-lights. Yellow means stop. No it doesn't mean speeding 100km/p from 150m far when you see the light turns yellow ahead.
Anyway, back to the roadtrip. It was quite easy for us because of the SatNav (fyi this is my first experience driving listening to the SatNav). True, the SatNav may take us down the ridiculous routes ever - furthest, through the crazy jams, village roads, etc. But in our case, we were like, whatever, especially when the SatNav woman directed us to dunno la some jalan kampung lalu tepi2 rumah orang and kandang2 khinzir semua, to us it was an adventure!

Reminds me of scenes out of Enid Blyton's books...enjoy the pics!

A narrow jalan kampung...one lane only...ya people took over our car all the time!

Vast vast fields...with lots of sheeps but somehow the sheeps disappear from the pic

This is the car that we drove in! Haha :P

Our 1st stop- Cotswolds' Motor Museum

Beautiful Cotswolds - its known for small pretty little cottages like these

Cute shops in Cotswolds...cute kan nama kedai "Bits and Bobs" and "Small Talk Tea Room"

Mini or "Model" Village, the whole town was captured in this mini village, even the kedai Bits and Bobs and Small Talk Tea Room tadi (see below)

Ni ha - nampak tak?

After that we went to Oxford but by the time we arrived - thanks to SatNav yang bawak masuk jalan kampung dan tak masuk highway, it was already dark in Oxford. Wanted to go to the church where they filmed the Harry Potter movie, but of course, it was closed. That's what you get if you travel during autumn or winter...it gets dark by 3pm! You really had to maximise your daylight, so proper planning is advised. Hmm our case? Go with the flow ja laaa...huhu.

Then we head towards London - we are staying few nights at Lynn's house. Gosh, a sudden rush of adrenaline went through me when we are nearing London...can't believe I'm back, after 4 years...have always adore London...sungguh tak percaya, macam nak nangis pun ada...huhu...eh hello drama queen, pi main jauh2!!!

Anyway so good to see Lynn and the family yet again! Their house is nice and spacious...lama tak naik rumah yang bertangga2 ni...huhu...dan best jugak sebab makan mmg sedap :P

OK more pics! Next day's destination is Stonehenge and Bath! Sempat ke tak...mari kita lihat!

The magical Stonehenge. It was first built prolly 3100 BC. Is it like, arnd 5000 years ago? FYI the area surrounding this is vast vast field of land...sejauh mata memandang...so isn't it amazing how ppl 5000 yrs ago can actually transport stones of these sizes? And it was a hilly area - all the more make it more astonishing. Transporting these stones was an enormously impressive achievement, as most of the stones weighed more than 4 tonnes each.

There are debates of what is the purpose of the building of the Stonehenge. Some says it is for the astronomical observation, as there are solar and lunar alignments to be found in the final arrangement of the stones. Like if you visit the Stonehenge at a certain time of the year, you can the kedudukan of the sun or moon or something like that la. Terrer betul orang purbakala ni no.

Anyway most concluded that it is more of a multipurpose ceremonial centre, relating to fertility, death and rebirth. There are remains of quite a few cremations and other burials nearby and inside the circle. Believe it or not, I only know of these facts while Googling to help me with this blog entry...masa kat sana sibuk amik gambar tak heran pun pasal the history behind! :P

What do you feel about a short lesson on History? OK...enough babbling!

It was cold! And shortly after - it rained and we were drenched :( (inside pic is Shammy - the friend who visited from Msia)

Next destination - Bath:

We only managed to cover 1 local attraction - The Roman Baths. Well basically it is a public bathing area, the water comes from a hot spring with a temperatre of 46 degree Celcius. The hot spring was discovered in the 836 BC and gradually the complex was built surrounding the area in the later years.

To me the place was quite eerie, like somehow you can feel the presence of the people in those centuries who used to walk on the steps...well you know la those times where witches and wizards exist...in the museum you can even read some letters written by these people to God, complaining about stolen items etc together with curses for the thieves, complaints about a certain witch and many more. You have to be there to feel the eerie-ness.

"The Great Bath" - the bigger bathing area - pic Googled

More pics of The Great Bath - pic Googled

Macam ni agaknya orang dulu2 yg mai mandi kat sini - pic Googled

The town of Bath. I think the town itself is quaint and somewhat creepy...

Then we headed back to London. Had dinner at Tayyab's located in Farringdon, London. It was Thursday night but omg the crowd!! The was a long2 queue, mostly the people inside were Mat Salih...British ppl nowadays are more acceptive towards Asian food, e.g. curries. Read somewhere this Restaurant served the second best curry - the first, of course Mr Gordon Ramsay himself. Haha.

While I was in London managed to eat 3 kinds of food that I have been wanting to eat...crepe from that popular crepe stall in Hamsptead, the red velvet cake at the Hummingbird Bakery, Notting Hill and of course, Taza kebab in Bayswater!!

-The crepe sedap gila! Too bad no pics from my camera :( (ada tp dlm camera Shammy)

-Taza kebab, toksah cakap la memang sedap habis...

-And the cake too! You'll go to heaven on the first bite!

* Slurp*

Sorry la to bore you guys with a long and boring entry...huhu bye!

Wake Me Up When It's December

What's in the month of December??

Our 1st wedding anniversary! Time flies!

Above pic is the parcel the MIL sent over, inside were cili kering, udang kering, ikan bilis, daun pandan, daun kunyit, serbuk kunyit, belacan (!!!) and of course, MILO!!! Some of the things here can't find in the UK - belacan and Milo (ada Milo dari Nigeria tapi rasa lain macam sikit). The rest of the stuffs we can get from the Chinatown, but blardy expensive!! Actually, considering the postage cost here (RM108) better off to buy here in the UK...Those stuffs only cost MIL RM30 je...

Comel ja note dalam kotak tu...one-of-a-kind anniversary gift~!

Snowy Mowy

Finally it snowed in Manchester!! People say that it is a rare event for snow to fall in this North-West part of the UK...cos Manchester is actually is a valley and sebelum snow sempat sampai here dia dah turun kat the mountains dulu...betul ka...wallahu'alam...

Apa pun I am very excited by the snow...one night I was sleeping and hubby happily woke me up and said snow is falling...uhh...groggy2 pun sempat bangun ke tingkap and yelped yay...

This is my first encounter with real snow...that's why I sounded jakun and peghak...pardon me la OK...cheq mai dari Penang...Penang takdak snow...when I was in London it never snowed when I was there! Always snowed when I was back home in Malaysia...

Anyway here are some pics...

Can you see the snow falling? It's this morning abt 10am...view from the living room window

This is taken about 2 weeks ago, nice view of the lake and the ducks

Exact spot..now lake all froze up and covered with snow...kesian ducks...can't swim

I wanted to built a snowman earlier at the park...siap bawak carrot to put as a nose...but hubby mcm malu2 kat org2 sekeliling...apa la...bukan depa kenai kita pun...so penat la buat snowman sorang2...nak angkut2 snow...maybe we will wait in a couple of days if the snow thickens...then it is easier *praying that more snow will fall soon*

Little home project

Thought I might share some of the things I did ever since I moved into our new house in Manchester.

We are not blessed with a furnished house, that's right, the house was bare when we moved in. We had to scout for furniture ourselves, and we can't afford expensive furniture, really. I mean, even if we could, why would we, spend on something of a temporary basis? Too huge to lug them back in the bag with us later on!

First thing I bought was a small 4-seater dining table. Got it off a charity shop for GBP30. In the picture on the website it looked good but when I went to check out the item, gosh! Can see the pure creamy off-white colour that it used to be, under those years of stains me myself hate to figure out what. Geli! Anyway, considering the place and the price, it's a sinful of me to complain. Plus the guy at the shop suggested of a way to make it look almost brand new.

So I took his suggestion.

*Eee sapa laa tak reti nak minum/makan betui2 nih*

Almost new!

I used a super glue and a cheap fabric bought off Ikea for only GBP2.07 for 1.5m

Raya Haji 2010

Salam Aidiladha people!

We in the UK celebrate Raya a day earlier, i.e. on 16th November. Barely 2 months here, and comes the challenge of celebrating Raya without beloved families and friends!! And hubby has classes on the Raya day as well - can it be much worse?!!

Initially me and hubby planned to solat raya at this school in Cheetham Hill. The solat raya there will be conducted by the Malay community, for there are a lot of Malaysians in that area. But in the end we scrapped the idea as we are not familiar with the area, and it's a bit far from our place. Hubby went for solat raya with his uncle at a nearby mosque in Whalley Range where were live, but he said it was a whole new experience as the khutbah was in Urdu (the only words he understood were insaan & doonya). There was no takbir raya as well! Ohhh tak sah Raya without takbir raya ok!! Cara solat pun lain, and due to the health and safety issues/ regulations, korban activities were not done out in the open...don't know where. Maybe some pusat penyembelihan...

Since I am now a housewife(!!), I planned to cook some food and invite people over. Not that we know a lot of people here in Manchester though. Haha. So we invited a friend, Shaheeda with her husband and 2 adorable kids, and hubby's uncle and aunt.

And I cooked:

Nasi tomato

Ayam masak cabai hidup

Homemade popiah

Considering this is my first time whipping up these dishes, and the lack of the ingredients in my house - no bunga cengkih, bunga lawang, jintan manis etc, the taste is not too bad (quoting the visitors! Not me trying to be perasan! Haha)

A wise friend once told me, if you are in a foreign country, you can't depend on others to make you happy or create life experiences for you. You yourself have to create the mood for any occasions. In Malaysia you have the TV to air the takbir raya for you and your mom to cook ketupat and rendang. Kita just goyang kaki je tunggu tetamu mai rumah.

Here, I can choose to snuggle in my duvet and sleep well into the afternoon. No takbir, no Raya dishes. But then, what will I learn by doing that?

Even though this Raya is not as joyous and happening as back in Malaysia, I have never been this tired by preparing dishes, never.

Tired, but satisfied. Now where's the takbir raya mp3?