Registered!

Registered! Finally. 

Now, what clothes should I wear under the doctoral gown? What shoes? Emmm, perlu ke beli baru Farina ooooi. Tak payah membazir okeh, tak payah membazir. 

Well,anyhoo, lets make a countdown now.. June 13th, here we go! *smiling*

 

Corelle? Handbags? Taking orders now.

Hello hello readers, I would like to inform all my beloved readers that Fescalados is closing down soon as I am going back for good. But.. but.. from now on, I will be taking orders for handbags, Corelle and stuff. So, please check out Fescalados FB page, click HERE. It will start officially on April 1st. But since most of my returning customers were actually originated from the readers who read this blog, I am making the announcement especially to you guys, my loyal and beloved readers. Thank you so much for the support all these years!

P/S: Zarith, remind akak pasal your Spanx ye.

 

The interview with Daim

Read the interview of Tun Daim Zainuddin with the NST. I am posting two of the questions right here because the answers are interesting.

Question: So, for you, being critical does not mean one is anti-establishment. Are you also saying that the pattern of voicing out may not necessarily cost Barisan Nasional votes?

Answer: Precisely. That is my central argument. I have always advocated a robust debate. Over the years, I personally do find certain policies objectionable, but I am still a supporter of the government as there are more good policies than bad.

For the rest of the nation, if you disagree with government policies, yes, go ahead and criticise, but constructively. I would fear more for the country if people gave up and didn't care. I believe that it is only when you care that you want things to be for the better, that you voice out. A passive passionless society will be a disaster for the country.

Question: Personally, do you want to see Najib win this election? 

Answer: If you ask me, between the two, Najib or Anwar, I would choose Najib. I will give Najib the chance. Give him the mandate and see whether he delivers because Anwar has had his chances, but he blew them. I want Najib to win because I don't think Anwar is the right candidate to be prime minister. I believe he will mess up the country by getting advice from the likes of the IMF (International Monetary Fund), World Bank and Wolfowitz (Paul Wolfowitz, former World Bank president). I will support Najib, but he must fight corruption and crime, strengthen the nation's security and review the education system. Make English compulsory in all national schools. Without English, we are dead, especially the Malays. The Malays must realise, without English they cannot compete. We must insist on English as a second language. It was not a mistake to change the medium of instruction from English to Bahasa Malaysia. It is the language of the nation and of unity. If we don't speak the same language, how do we understand one another? The mistake was in the policies which were to promote Bahasa Malaysia, it had to be at the expense of English. We should not have to kill English to make Bahasa Malaysia the lingua franca of the country. If possible, we should learn Arabic, because the rich Arab countries will be where the money comes from. On the nation's security, every day in the media and on television, there are news reports of murder and crime. You say our country is safe, but if people don't feel safe, they will not believe you regardless of the statistics. On corruption, tell the rakyat that the government is serious in wanting to get rid of it. But it cannot do it alone, it needs the rakyat's help. Raise the awareness of rakyat on the evils of corruption and get schools involved in it. Educate the students. If the government and rakyat work together, we can succeed. It is a two-way thing. The government alone cannot fight corruption. People must be clean and honest. Don't just blame the government. Tepuk sebelah tangan tak berbunyi. If people are honest and clean, the government, too, can be clean. The government must come down strongly on those who are corrupt.

Click at Part 1 and Part 2 to read more on the interview. 

Tun Daim is the former Finance Minister from 1984-1991 and he became Finance Minister twice. The second time was during our 1997 economic crisis when Tun Mahathir brought him back into the cabinet to assist him in saving Malaysia's economy. He is one of the richest man in the country but most of his assets I presumed are based overseas. His son just got married at Kensington Palace, mind you. Anyway, the point is I think his opinions are mainly due to his own, not influenced by money. Reading the interview, I can gather that his support for Najib is purely due to economic benefits of the country but I am glad that he does see what other people see as problems occuring in our country, the corruptions, security and safetyness among other things. On the other hand, I do think we have a stronger opposition compared to 15 years back which means the current government can no longer sit tight and do nothing. For eg: I observed a gradual decrease of car prices in Malaysia (the newer model) after the opposition launches their 'turunkan harga kereta' manifesto. Who would have imagined kan the government would do all this after years and years protecting Proton's car prices :p But I am glad they did cos I sure need to buy a new car this year. Haha. We need healthy competition people! Kalau tidak sampai bila lah tingkap kereta Proton asyik rosak aje kannn.

Well, I doubt I will be casting my vote this year, unless the election is after mid-June. (I'm coming back for good mid June, yeay!!). But those in Malaysia, pesanan khidmat masyarakat dari saya, don't forget to vote!

Words to ponder

My eldest brother is an introvert and reserved I must say. True what people say, don't underestimate this type of people. Specifically, the words came out from them. This response from my brother came from a chain of email among the siblings, discussing a recent event happening to one of my dad's companies. Not going to discuss it further since I do not know who is reading my blog, now or in the future. But, here it goes:

"Disini mungkin masanya untuk kita merenung kembali, siapa kita di dunia ni. Pemberi rezeki yang mutlak adalah ALLAH. Bantuan aku tak seberapa, bantuan acik e pun tak sebarapa, tapi mintalah pertolongan ALLAH tanpa segan silu dan jemu, insyallah kamu dan adik akan berjaya. Kamu ingat aku ni pandai sangat ke boleh buat master dan PhD. Kamu ingat aku ni pandai sangat ke dapat kerja jadi lecturer kat Universiti. Tak aku tak pandai, yang pandai dan maha bijaksana adalah ALLAH. Nak datang ke Australia ni pun, hari2 minta kat dia, 2 tahun berdoa baru dapat. Maka mintalah kat dia, Insyallah dia bagi, jangan tinggal solat walaupun sewaktu...Insyallah Dia akan sayang kamu.."

I cried reading his response. May Allah bless you abang for stating the ultimate truth. Amin.

*Mak insaf*

I am (almost) done!

"I'm done" mimicking Faliela's favorite sentence when she finishes up her food. 

It feels good to finally be done with writing the first draft of your dissertation. I still have the last chapter to write, which I intentionally put it on hold until I get all the other chapters corrected. With the numbers of flip-flopping I was receiving the past couple of months, it is wise to do so.

The last chapter of my dissertation will be a short chapter summarizing all other chapters and of course, what is next for my field. A piece of cake. Sap sap sui. (ayat tak menahan nyahsss)

I owed a big hug to my mom for managing the house while I was processing my thoughts and crafting sentences in the lab.

My deepest gratitude goes to Barbara, my thesis committee member who is FINALLY able to convince Liz, my supervisor that having more papers is important. Probably not in the US, but in other countries. Those who close to me know how many times I rambled about the flip-flop thrown by both my supervisor and co-supervisor. If I pulled one chunk of my hair every time they changed their mind on organizing my papers, I probably would turned bald by the time I finished. No kidding.

I don't want to sound so dramatic macam dah nak graduate, since I still have to do corrections, papers to submit and exit seminar. 

But yeah, right now, it feels good to say this....

I am done. Almost.

And, the spring is here!

Breath-holding spells

We had a trip to the emergency room today. It was such a terrifying moment.

Faliela has experienced countless episodes of head injury. Jatuh katil lah, kerusi lah, meja, terhantuk etc. So, when she fell down from our couch today, I let Jai picked her up while I went to the kitchen. FYI, everytime Faliela wanna start crying, she likes to hold her breath for a few sec , but this time she hold it much longer, prompted me to say ' Uiii, lamanya tahan nafas'.

Jai turned to her and saw she was lying flat and her eyes were not moving. He screamed 'Faliela pengsan!!' I ran to the living room and saw Jai starting to perform CPR (or at least what he thinks it is, hehe). I saw Faliela lips starting to turn blue and asked Jai to call 911. My mom rushed out from her room and sprinkled some water onto Faliela's face. She started crying and moving again. Jai hung up on 911 (luckily) and we decided to get Faliela checked out at the hospital anyway.

After waiting for 1.5 hrs, everything turned out to be okay since she actually did not lose consciousness and there's no signs of vomiting. In fact, she was happily eating her snacks while waiting for the doc who I think was overwhelmed with the number of emergency cases tonight. We did not get an explanation why she suddenly turned blue, other than it's normal for kids to have that after falling down.

So, I decided to google on "why my child turned blue when she's crying" and found a question posted by a mom who had an incident exactly like us.

When my 13th month old cries he turns blue(lips & face) and he stops breathing. Is this normal? We just had an incident a few minutes ago and it was very scary. My son was crying and he turned blue stopped breathing and his eyes were not moving. We were running to the car and he stopped and was fine. Can you help me understand why he does this? And is there anything we can do to make this stop? It is very scary

And the doctor's answer is  a term I have never encountered before :  

Breath-holding spells

What is breath-holding spells? (Taken from this website : http://kidshealth.schn.health.nsw.gov.au/fact-sheets/breath-holding-spells)

Breath-holding spells (or attacks) are not uncommon in toddlers and can sometimes occur in young babies. They occur in about one in twenty children. A breath-holding spell may happen after a child has an upset or sudden startle, such as a minor bump or a fright. The child opens their mouth as if to cry but nothing comes out. They then can look deathly pale or go blue around the lips. The child may become limp and fall to the ground. Convulsive movements of their limbs may then occur. The child may recover quickly or be unresponsive for a short period. Breath-holding spells often occur as part of toddler tantrums. The spell is a reflex reaction to an unpleasant stimulus, which the child can’t prevent. It is not a deliberate behaviour on the child’s part.

And this is taken from wiki:

Breath-holding spells occur in approximately 5% of the population with equal distribution between males and females. They are most common in children between 6 and 18 months and usually not present after 5 years of age. They are unusual before 6 months of age. A positive family history can be elicited in 25% of cases. They may be confused with a seizure disorder. They are sometimes observed in response to frustration during disciplinary conflict.

I thought I just wanna share with all the mommies out there in case if it happens to your child, you know it is normal (unless your child lose consciousness or the event holds for more than a few minute) and the child did not do it intentionally. It is part of their autonomous reflex.And... I think she inherited it from me. Hehe, don't tell Jai, or else I have to pay the hospital bill.

Merasa lah buh tag kat kaki cam mula2 lahir dulu kan Faliela

Tak sampai 2 minit duk dalam check-up room dah start nak lompat-lompat atas katil. Ya ampun anakku.

Well, I hope this spell will only occur one-time. I do not want to experience this terrifying moment once again. But I sure learned something new today.

   

The second farewell

Today, Faliela bids farewell to her caretakers, Mrs. Goda and her assistants-Bina, Naj and Aarati. I bet it was a wonderful 9 months for Faliela at Mrs. Goda's daycare. I am hating this term but we are actually part-time parents giving the fact that Faliela sees us for only 4 hours on weekdays. Be that as it may, her language development and social skills grown tremendously under the guidance of Mrs. Goda. She can sing, dance, speak many English words and understand simple instructions like throw trash, picks up her jackets and socks whenever we are ready to go out,tidying up the mess she did and etc. I'm sure this is part of the normal development of her age but I do think Mrs. Goda and her assistants did a very good job during the 8 hours/day she was with them. I am thankful for their kindness and TLC towards Faliela all this while.

I decided to snap a few pictures of her at daycare today.

As usual, she went into hiding when she saw us. Faliela suka buat cam kitorang nih jahat sebab tak nak balik dari daycare tau. Haha.

The alphabetical mat that helped her recite her ABC. She still at the Cs.

Her friends at daycare

Everyone were trying to act cute

With Bina whom Faliela developed a strong bond with. She is a very nice lady.

Faliela also bids her second farewell today to Dr. Vallero, her pediatrician. We refused to get her tested for TB and Hep A immunization during this check-up. Dah malas nak mengkayakan health practitioners in USA nih, cekik darah kot. Being a soon-to-be immunologist, I'm assuring Jai it will be okay to postpone her immunization and the testing is not necessary. Haip, berani lawan bini! Haha, JK.

On a different note, I am grateful to be blessed with a very understanding mom. Nine months ago, when we had trouble finding a daycare, she and my brother went all out to find someone in Malaysia that could come here and take care of Faliela. However, we found Mrs. Goda's wonderful daycare and the plan was put on hold until I am ready to write my thesis. Mom was then offering me to be the 'imported babysitter' if it will be after raya. Jai and I were very glad since we don't have to be an awkward situation living with a stranger.

So, my mom will be arriving this weekend and will be here for 6 months (or less) and insya-Allah for my graduation too *wink*. Of course, we do not take her offerings for granted lah. We are paying for her flight tickets and several things back home. Saya anak mengenang budi. But one thing for sure, I don't have to cook if I don't want to and still gets to eat, hehe. And also, I can pull an all-nighter whenever I need to and not worry about getting up early the next morning. Berjaga malam writing ek, bukan tengok Adam dan Hawa. Hopefully tak adalah perang dingin mommy-daughter meletus this time around, Jai has promised to become 'the buffer man' gituh.

And with mom around........

.....we are definitely ready to do this! In fact, she went 'pee-pee' when I asked her to sit for the first time on the potty chair today.

She was ready a couple of months ago but we were not ready since potty training needs time and undivided attention (and of course, patience). So, hopefully mom will be able to keep an eye on her most of time. 

Potty-training, here we go! Tips anyone?

Dilemma yang sukar difahami

I know getting a paper to be submitted and published is hard but I do not know it is THIS hard even from the beginning! 

We (Liz and I) are having a dilemma to which journal we should submit my papers, and whether we should do it as one paper. It will be a HUGE paper if we pool it into one so we decided to break it down into 2 papers. 

But..... but.... 

My dreams were shattered (literally) when my co-PI suggested we should just pool it into one and send it as a package with his paper. We had another meeting yesterday with one of my thesis committee members and she said I can pool it into one or break it down into 2 papers, but it is really up to us. Happy lah sekejap dengar statement dia but Liz was still indecisive. 

If I'm submitting it as one paper, Liz and I agreed it will go into J.Virology with the impact factor of 5.4 and we do not know whether Niels' paper will get into that. But if we are submitting it as 2 papers, it will go into a slightly lower impact factor journal which is around 2.9 and we can send it as a 3 papers package with Niels' paper. Now, I am still waiting for Liz's decision. 

I told her I don't care about impact factor, I want all the figures I made (yang aku buat siang malam pagi petang dalam tidur pun termimpi-mimpi) to be published and the more papers I get, the happier I will be. 

Until Liz makes a decision, kita pergi shopping dululah...... Hahahahaha. 

The origin of the thesis

Inspired and adapted from Jorge Cham's comic strip:

 " Look, let me tell you how this works. Doing your Ph.D. and working with a Professor is a lot like Marriage. The whole thing typically lasts 5-7 years, 50% of them end in bitter divorce and it all culminates in a big ceremony where you walk down the aisle wearing a fancy gown " 

And insya-Allah I will be wearing that fancy gown. Soon.
 

Bismillah. The madness has just started while the hibernating continues.

Welcome to the world, baby A!

My bestfriend, Oya has safely delivered another girl on Oct 23rd 2012. When I received a whatsapp message on that day, I knew it must be Oya. The labor process went pretty fast relatively to Emma, she was about 3-4 cm dilated when she sent me a message. Then, few hours later, she told me she was already 9cm dilated. Whoa. Cepatnya. Anak kedua lah katakan. Anyway, congratulations to my bestie and her husband. They kept the gender a secret and I lost a free dinner at Las Vacas. Haha. But here are the pics of her 2 lil girls. They are adorable,aren't they? Awwww!

They are still deciding the name, but macam ala2 Emma jugaklah only that it will start with A this time. Seronoknya dapat baby. Suka! Tapi jiwa dan raga ku belum bersedia ;p

I am not in your shoes. So I chose to be ignorant.

I can hardly understand why Air Asia X is following the same path as MAS. Seating next to a wailing baby is not one's ideal journey but giving the fact that Air Asia X does not have a business class to begin with- made this announcement .........  a joke.

RM35 for child-free zone, that's cheap man. Bubuhlah mahal sikit, susah payah kitorang besarkan anak so that people can discriminate us.


But reading one of the reader's comment made me wanna slap somebody's face.

Hands up to you Shima Onn. EamLai Lim must be living a lonely life.

My Big Announcement: The comeback of our USA online business page!

Hello readers,


As I promised in my previous post, I have a big news to share with you

Yes, you the shop-a-holic!

We are announcing the revamp of our online shop and the move of our business page from blog to Facebook!!

Please search for our page:  Fescalados and of course, click the 'LIKE' button and share it with your friends.
 


We have a wide variety of items ranging from kids clothes to breastpump and of course, COACH!!!!

We are still in the process of adding more stocks to the page so yes, by clicking the 'LIKE' button you will be among the first one to see our updates.


Your help and support is greatly appreciated!



Love,

Europe trip (Berlin-Leipzig-Prague-London)

**Warning: SUPER-long entry ahead **

I am back in the States! My supervisor is still on vacation, so I decided to take few days off this week managing everything on my own- dari kemas rumah, buat laundry, running groceries and stocking up halal meats since Jai had to start work the very next day after our vacation.

Our Europe trip was fun! Although I was extremely exhausted from staying up til the wee hours almost everyday prior to our vacation, I enjoyed every bit of the time we spent.

So, I decided to post details of my trip now rather than later. Nanti jadi macam East Coast trip, sampai sekarang tak buat dan memang dah malas nak buat dah pun.

First of all, my initial plan was to visit London, Paris, Netherlands and Switzerland. It was back in January when I told Liz my plan to visit Europe and if she knows any conferences that I could attend while visiting. She quickly suggested IFRRS conference which she attended regularly. Technically my research is not on Feline retrovirus but conferences that related exclusively to my research for all I know is non-existing and in IFRRS conference, there is one session which involves non-retroviral feline research. So, I took the chance to send my abstract to IFRRS as well as to another conference, EVIW in Edinburgh, Scotland.

I received a scholarship from IFRRS organizing committee that covered my registration fee and they sent out an acceptance letter way ahead of EVIW so I decided to withdraw from EVIW. I wish I could go to EVIW as well but I do not know my source of funding yet as of that time.


Back to my trip...



The first country we visited was Germany. I decided to purchase a ticket from Los Angeles to Berlin since it was a direct 11-hour flight and it was not ideal for us (with a young toddler) to do 3 connecting flights if we were to fly directly to Leipzig, host city of IFRRS conference. Oh boy, it was not a pleasant journey since Faliela is now in the 'terrible twos' stage. Tantrum je memanjang. Dah tak tau nak letak muka kat mana dah, asyik lah nak tekan butang call for assistance and kacau orang seat sebelah. I did a trick introduced by my dear sister, Kak Mon but knowing Faliela, she easily gets bored with toys, 5 minit je main terus buang.

Well, anyway we reached Berlin around 11am local time. We took a bus to Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the main central station in Berlin which is just next to our hotel. Mula2 nak amik taxi but it costs around Eur40, last2 amik bus Eur2.40 je. Tapau food from this Asia Gourmet store and walked to our first hotel, Motel One. Most of the hotels dekat seantero dunia nih only allow check-in after 3pm, nasib baik hotel nih kasik masuk awal. Sangat comfy hotelnya, clean, and nice deco.

The style of European hotel-- separate comforters. Best, tak yah berebut dengan Jai.

Sampai hotel makan, mandi dan tidur. We woke up around 4pm, get dressed and went out to explore Berlin. Tapi perut lapar, so pergi carik restaurant halal and found one Indonesian Restaurant about 1.5km walk from our hotel. The food was okay but the price was cheap. Two main dishes and drinks costed around Eur12. Kalau kat Cali, memang around $40.

I was occupied with my presentation and data analysis prior to our trip so I did not do extensive research on places we should be visiting, but luckily I bought Germany and Prague's travel guide which helped us in a way.

Reichstag

Bradenburg Gate

Berlin Hauptbahnhof. The train at the back was a regional train-means a lot of stoppings. We took an ICE train-the fastest train, sort of a bullet train to Leipzig.

Seats can be reserved with an additional charge of Eur8/reservation. Very canggih, siap tulis final destination kat each seats.

We took a stroll around the city since we could not check-in to the hotel yet. Leipzig city was dead because it was Sunday, most of the shops were closed. Well, Leipzig used to be home of Johann Sebastian Bach (the musician) and other famous musicians so the city was full of tourists when we were there.

Faliela was happy gaining a bit of freedom, not being strapped onto the stroller.

Found a halal Mediterranean restaurant just 5 min walk from our hotel. Hari2 memang Jai tapau kebab from this restaurant. Anyway, we stayed at Arcona Living Bach Apartment hotel. I did not stay at the conference hotel since I would like a kitchen, senang nak panaskan makanan Faliela. Sempatlah masak nasi goreng and sup ayam.

Their Institute of Virology was the one hosting the conference this year

The conference program starts from 9am-5pm everyday and in the evening, we have social functions. One of it was visiting Leipzig Zoo. I decided to bring Faliela as well, glad that she enjoyed it.

Gondwana Land is a part of the Leipzig zoo where they built tropical rainforest from different continent, Africa, Asia and South America in one giant enclosed area. It costs about 1.5 million euro to build them.

Inside Gondwana Land. Macam rumah Melayu dulu-dulu kan.

Later, we had dinner at Patakan Restaurant, owned by Leipzig Zoo. In the picture, Jai with Faruqu, a graduate student from UPM working with Dr. Suri. He attended the conference with his own pocket money because he was ineligible to apply for local funding since he is not a Malaysian. I think this policy has to be changed. Attending conferences are important in developing your career and skills in research and it is hard to find good conferences in Malaysia that gather researchers from different countries. UC Davis pun allow international students to apply, tak baik tau menyekat good opportunities.

The last day and the very last presenter. Presentation went well, Liz was saying I did an excellent job but still, I am a bit disappointed with myself answering some of the questions.

Right after the concluding speech, I rushed out from the conference room and met Jai halfway since we had to catch a train to Prague in less than 30 minutes. Memang dah macam Amazing Race, dengan bag segala bagai.  The journey via train took us 4 hours altogether and we had to switch train in Dresden. Sangat selesa parents-child compartment dia, boleh bagi Faliela main sesuka hati.

The scenery along the way from Leipzig to Prague was breathtaking.

Arrived at Prague central train station around 5pm. My first impression of Prague was not a nice one. I saw homeless people, urine-smelled sidewalk on our way to our hotel and the town itself was a bit dirty. They only managed the tourist attraction places but not other places.

 Miss Sophie's- an apartment hotel which was really nice. Too bad we had to check-out early because of Jai's spontaneous plan.

The kitchenette in our apartment. This time I did not cook at all since we spent all day sightseeing to fit our 1.5 day trip in Prague. Kalau tau, baik sewa hotel biasa je kan. 

Entrance to New Town- nearby Wenceslas Square. Wenceslas Square is the most happening place in Prague. Semua tempat2 shopping di situ.

Enjoying ice-cream in Prague. I don't know how many times I indulge on ice-cream when I was in Germany and Prague. Dorang banyak kedai ice-cream tepi jalan :D

Old Town

We took a trip up the Tower and it was a magical sight of Prague at night . Unfortunately, I did not capture a lot of pictures because we were distracted with an incident involving gunshot dekat bawah. Adegan kejar-mengejar dengan police segala. It is a bit dangerous to walk alone in Prague especially at Wenceslas Square sebab banyak prostitutes. In fact police will stop woman walking alone to check for their identification.

The next day, we went to visit Prague famous castle. One of my friends who stayed in Europe for few years was saying, you have to go to Europe yourself to compare the difference with the States. Indeed, the buildings architecture in Europe (which involves churches most of the time) was amazing and magnificent, considering that they built them during those ancient years.

St. Cathedral Church in Prague Castle

Prague is indeed a beautiful city, agreeing to a friend's recommendation.

Later, we took a tram to Charles Bridge, one of the famous landmarks in Prague. The entrance from Lesser Quarter

Sempat beli roti spiral-shaped manis at the river bank. Lupa dah nama dia ape.

Charles Bridge-overlooking Vltava. Ramai orang mencari rezeki atas jambatan nih- painters, selling accessories etc.

Ada lagi satu side that we all tak pergi in Prague which is Jewish quarters, Jai cakap tak nak pergi so we decided to go to Petrin Towers- the mini Eiffel tower in Prague.

On top of the tower. You can climb the stairs or take an elevator to the top. Confirmlah kitorang naik lift. Seriaulah aku tangkap gambar nih. Faliela excited terlebih kena angin, buat nye terlonjak jatuh kan.  10x aku remind Jai kuat sikit pegang anak tuh,

We sealed the day in Prague with dinner at McDonalds. Haha, hujan tetiba and malas nak mencarik kedai halal dah. We need to turn in early as well since we had to catch an early flight to.... London!


Initially, Jai and Faliela were not part of this conference trip but I had to force Jai to tag along because of Faliela. So, Jai did not want to take part of any planning of this trip until the very day we departed to Berlin, he asked me what are we doing after Prague? I only finalized our trip up until Prague since I was leaning towards visiting another city- Vienna, Austria from Prague or went back to Berlin. Since Jai did not want to take part on planning, it was difficult for me to make a decision so I leave the options open.


During our flight to Berlin, he uttered a suggestion to go to either London or Switzerland.  Jai has a friend back during college days who is now working in Geneva and offered us to stay in his vacant apartment. Finally, Jai decided that he could not go to another non-English speaking country so London it is. Well, I was happy that he finally got excited with this trip (sebelum tuh dah nampak rupa excited pun tapi cover kan). We booked flight tickets when we were in Leipzig, nasib baik ticket tak mahal sangat but rugi satu malam hotel di Prague sebab no refund.

Our flight was at 6 am, reached London Luton Airport at 7 am local time. Terus check-in at Ibis hotel near airport sebab tak larat nak mengangkut beg berat. Plan nya mau menumpang rumah Ayu tapi tak jadi memikirkan kena turun naik train with our bags. Checked-in, had breakfast (happy dapat makan baked beans no bacon :D), mandi and terus naik train to London city.

Obviously, I did not do any research on London so Jai took me to all the attraction places based on what he remembers 10 years back. 

Overlooking Big Ben's. I could not stop singing 'London Bridge is falling down' when we were here ;p

Trafalgar Square on my birthday. Oh, it was the paralympic games during our visit.

Buckingham Palace- ada tour tapi sebab tak plan, memang la tak sempat nak masuk. Tengoklah Faliela terlentok, she slept for 4 hours straight. Kesian, tak cukup rest.

London Victoria Station. We were looking for a wifi to find a Malaysian restaurant. Memula ingat nak gi Malaysian Hall, we called and no one picked up so we thought they were closed due to Merdeka. Rupa-rupanya bukak aje Ayu cakap. Last2 makan kat Rasa Sayang, Chee Cheong Fun dia sedap :DDDD Happiness gituh!

London Chinatown-where Rasa Sayang restaurant is

Shopped at Harrod's. Jangan terpedaya dengan beg plastik hijau itu.

Sangat trademark London. London Bus

Faliela excited tengok bus.

The next day, we rented a car to visit Oxford and Jai's former college in Cirencester. Got ourself an Audi- sangat jatuh cinta dengan kereta itu.

Found halal Nando's in Oxford. Overall, cravings satisfied!

Oxford town

At first, we wanted to singgah Bicester Village tapi takut tak sempat sebab nak kena pergi Cirencester and we had a dinner plan with Ayu. Takpelah, next time ye sayangku Jai. Jangan lupa bawak wife pergi shopping naaaa lenkali. Amboi, macam duit banyak je nak gi London lagi sekali kan.

Faliela and daddy at daddy's former college, Royal Agricultural College.

The main administration building. Comel jer college nya.

Jai's former hostel. Ada lagi gambar Jai and his friend berBBQ time summer kat sini.

Faliela was enjoying the greenery landscape of RAC

Jai was so happy to revisit and rekindle some of the memories at his former's college after 10 years. Banyak kenangan bersusah-payah di situ katanya.

Then, we drove to Ayu's place. Ayu is my colleague in UPM doing her Ph.D in Royal Veterinary College. Tergeliat jari nak menaip royal multiple times, hehe.

Faliela baca doa. Sedap aunty Ayu masak kan?

Anson Road with  Aunty Ayu

After Aunty Ayu's place, we went to HRC London -seperti biasa, I collected HRC shirts. Then we went back to the hotel, packed our stuffs for another early flight back to Berlin, this time at 7am. Letih cheq.


We stayed at another hotel in Berlin, this time near Kudamm, the shopping street in Berlin. We could not do early check-in so decided to take a bus tour around Berlin. By this time, we were all very exhausted so kitorang most of time tidur atas bas while enjoying Berlin air. Hahaha. Dah tak larat nak melancong dah, nak balik tido je.

Sempatla menyinggah Charlie's Checkpoint- historic place during WWII

Berlin Wall

Nih bangunan ape pun mak tak ingat dah. Main tangkap je gambar.

Sangatla little vacation kan, nih semua Jai punya 'spontaneous' idea. Haha. We had a blast of time and my dreams came true- to visit parts of Europe. Hopefully jika dipanjangkan umur dan dimurahkan rezeki, I would like to cover other parts of Europe. Overall, the Germans are least helpful and friendly compared to Londoners and Americans. The language-barrier made it a bit difficult to travel in Germany since most of them who knows how to speak English will only speak English if you asked them to speak English. I guess they are better than the French who avoid speaking English at all times. The Czechs were tolerable, I think because there are a lot of foreigners in Prague. Nevertheless, German topped it all in terms of cost of living :D

Our next plans are to visit Mekah al -Muqarammah and my brother who is doing his Ph.D in Australia. Insya-Allah. But most importantly, for now we need to save up some money to ship our car and stuffs back to Malaysia next year. March or June- still to be decided...