Have you ever try to match certain English idioms or phrases with your own native language? I always do that. Sometimes it's very obvious but at other time, it's just plain mind boggling. In here, I want to share with you the Malay idioms or phrases and it's English correspondence, or maybe I should say the other way round.

1. Jump out of the frying pan into the fire

This idiom means to go from a bad situation to even worst situation. In Malay, we have a similar idiom; 'Keluar dari mulut buaya masuk ke mulut naga' which can be loosely translated as 'Jump out from a crocodile mouth into the grasp of a dragon jaw'. I think this Malay idiom is self explanatory. Between the two ferocious animals, maybe it's better to be chewed by a crocodile. At least you won't be barbecued by the fire of a dragon. LOL

2. One bad apple spoils the barrel

This idiom means that a bad person whom influences everyone that come into the contact with him or her. Over here we have something similar; 'Kerana nila setitik, rosak susu sebelanga'. This Malay saying can be loosely translated as 'Because a small drop of indigo, the whole pot of milk is destroyed'. Indigo is very common over here and it's normally being used to give an extra shine to a dull white material. But you definitely don't want it to spoil the milk.

3. Pass the buck

Pass the buck means to shift the responsibility or blame someone else. In here, we say 'Tak tahu menari, dikatakan lantai jongkang-jongket'. Oh my! This one is a little bit hard to explain. This Malay idiom can be literally translated as 'Don't know how to dance, said the floor was wobbly'. I think it's another self explanatory phrase. Over here, the floor of traditional house/building was built with wood panels. So wobbly floor was common. Therefore, this Malay idiom shows how some people blamed the wobbly floor for their inability to dance (in this case their inefficiency) rather than admitting it's their own doing.

These are some of the interesting English idioms that I was able to match with some Malay idioms. I wonder what are the corresponding idioms in your own native language? Do share.

About a month ago, my sister in law gave birth to her second son. The birth marked the 24th nephews and nieces that I have. (Phewwww! I have to count them twice just to make sure the number was correct). As you can gauged already, I come from a big family. Well, eight other siblings to be exact.

My sister in law decided not to give birth at her hometown, thus she had to be on her own during the confinement. When I had to recuperate after my surgery, my sister in law, even in her late stage of pregnancy, took care of me. Thus, I decided with my limited knowledge of pregnancy or confinement, I will try to assist her. 

Coming from a big family, I always admire and appreciate my Mom patience and tenacious ability to deal with rumbustious children. However, until recently, my appreciation seemed to be just at the surface value. Maybe I was too young and too far away at that time to appreciate her more.

Taking care of my sister made me look at my Mom a bit differently. I wonder how she had the patience to endure the pain of giving birth to nine children. I wonder how she had the self restrain to eat bland food after giving birth. I wonder how she had not lost her voice and even her sanity trying to discipline nine rumbustious children.

Like I mentioned before, I came from a big family. So maybe many people will assume that I want to have a big family too. I hate to burst their bubbles, but from early on, I decided family life is not for me. I know I don't have the natural instinct to be a good mother. 

I was content with my decision. Being surrounded by so many nephews and nieces sometimes made me go bananas. But when I had to undergo a surgery and basically the doctor told me that I will never have a child, ever, made me look at my life a bit differently. Making my own decision was different from hearing someone else telling you that it's no longer your choice. It may sounds crazy because the result is still the same. Though nowadays, I always say at least I have one thing in common with Angelina Jolie. LOL

The pain I had to endure after the surgery made me respect all mothers more, especially for mothers that had to do caesarean to give birth. I guess what I want to say in this rambling of mine, I know the sacrifices that all mothers had to go through, all the pain that they had to endure, all the sleepless night that they had to go through, all those insane moments that they sometimes had, just to bring a child. I salute you, all mothers.

Not everyone can endure all those things. I'm certainly not one.

It's been a while since I wrote anything in here. Consciously or otherwise, I've distanced myself from MyEC for a while now. I guess what made me left MyEC more than five years ago had reared its ugly head once again. Back in March, when I came back from a short hiatus due to my health, I logged into MyEC chat room and felt like once again a complete stranger among strangers. It felt like I had nothing much to say, nothing in common with them. The 'mind games' such as trolling and changing of nicks some members were playing became tiring. I felt weary. 

However, I guess I love MyEC too much to take the final plunge and leave for good. Furthermore, it's the only outlet where I can practice my English writing, and not within the confine of business writing. 

So to all my virtual friends, this is not an adieu. This is just a healthy hiatus from MyEC. Take care. Be good, do good. I will see you guys, shortly. In the meantime, to all my friends, thank you for all your support. To Lady Anne, Expector Smith, Mr. Bob, and Tara, thank you for all you patience in trying to make me see the light at the end of my tunnel of English journey. I really appreciate it.

Adieu for now.

This is my second part about the weirdness of Malaysians. 

1. The Warmth Of Chicken Poop

Malaysians are really weird that sometimes we measure things by the 'warmth of chicken poop'. Haha! Well, before you puke or anything, let me explain. We say when 'insincere invitation' or 'halfhearted attempt' as the 'warmth of chicken poop'. For an example, you are going to a party, and suddenly your annoying friend asks you where you want to go. So, reluctantly you have to tell her and invite her to join you. That invitation, over here, what we call; 'Hangat-hangat tahi ayam' which literally translated as 'The warmth of chicken poop'. Hahaha!

Another situation is when you're doing something halfheartedly and just half way. For an example, Noas is always have many ideas to start e-business. But she always do it halfheartedly and will abandon the idea half way through. This is also what we call over here; 'Hangat-hangat tahi ayam'. (Hangat = warmth, tahi = poop, ayam = chicken'. Don't ask me how our ancestors measured the warmth of chicken poop, or why on earth they wanted to touch the chicken poop in the first place. LOL.

I wonder, do you have something as weird as this expression in your language?

2. The Flower Of Chicken Poop

Hahahaha ... you think you've had enough of that disgusting chicken poop. You're not so lucky! There's one beautiful flower over here that its scent really can put you off. So, we call it 'Bunga Tahi Ayam' (Bunga =flower). Poor flower. It's not its fault to be called such awful name. LOL. By the way, its scientific name is 'Lantana Camara L'. Photo is taken from www.flickr.com

3. The Flower Of Cock's Crown

Ok! Ok! No more chicken poop. There's another beautiful flower that we call 'Bunga Balung Ayam' or literally translated as 'The Flower Of Cock's Crown'. Basically the shape of this flower is like the crown of a cock. So obviously, those funny ancestors had to name it as as such. LOL. Photo is taken www.drrahmatorlummc.com  

I wonder, do you have anything as funny as those two names. I guess if your ancestors were not as weird and as funny as Malaysians' ancestors, the names of your flowers will remain sedate. 

My previous blog about Malaysia and weird Malaysians;

1. Malaysians Are Weird - Part I, 2. Only In Malaysia, 3. You Know You've Met A Malaysian When .., 4. Festivals In Malaysia, 5. Amazing Places In Malaysia - Part I, 6. Amazing Places In Malaysia - Part II

Even though I've been involved with Formula One Malaysia in various capacities; organisation or even volunteering; since its inception in Malaysia in 1999, I've never had the chance to watch it as a spectator. Last year, due to hectic work schedule, I didn't join my friend as a volunteer. This year, due to my poor health, once again, I didn't join my friend as a volunteer. Thus, I decided there's no better time to be a spectator than now.

So, I asked my friend whether she has some free tickets. And I was lucky she had some. 

On the race day, after an early lunch, my brother, my sister, my nephew and I drove to the circuit. We had to go there as early as possible to avoid getting stuck in the jam and to get parking as near to the venue as possible. We were lucky that it was still early and managed to get the parking as nearest to the venue as possible. Thus, it was not a long walk. However, by the time we reached the ticketing office, I had to take my tickets there, I was sweating like a pig. And let me tell you, it was not a good sight.

After a few minutes, the tickets arrangement was sorted out and finally we can enter the Grandstand area. By this time, people were already trickling into the area. There were a few site entertainment such as a hunted house, merry-go-round, merchandising and F&B outlets. 

As I said earlier, we reached the circuit a bit early, so we had to wait for a while before the race proper started. However, it was not a boring situation because I just love 'people watching'. All kinds of people with all kinds of antics became some sort of amusement to me. When the double decker bus carrying all the drivers arrived at the spectators areas, all the spectators stood on their feet and roared, clapped and waved at the drivers.

When the mechanics started to enter the track, it signified the start of the race. The atmosphere became tense. The sound of various equipment became deafening. Then, the drivers started to exit from their pits and made one final round test to their cars before they entered again to their pits.

After another minute, once again, they exited from their pits and made another round. However, instead of entering the pits once again, they were queued up at their respective positions on the track. By this time, you can feel the deafening sound and the excitement at its peak. Everyone was waiting in anticipation for the green lights to be on, to signify the start of the race.

I think I couldn't even hear myself thinking when the race started. The roar from the spectators and the sound from the cars were totally awesome. It's hard to describe. It's like you can touch the excitement of the people.

But I had to admit, after that initial excitement, I was a bit bored. It was just cars going round and round and round the track. It was hard to follow the positions of the drivers because some of them had to enter the pit and such. I even had to stifle my yawning a few times. LOL.

The race went smoothly. No major accident happened except in the early stage when someone spun out of control. Two laps before the end of the race, once again the excitement was building up. Most of the spectators near my seating area were Ferrari's fans. But at the same time, because they were also cheering for two Petronas drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, because Petronas is the local brand and sponsor of the event.

The race was finally won by Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari followed by Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Right after the checked flag, and the track marshals ended their guard at a few areas, some of the spectators climbed over the seating fences and rushed over to the track and stood in front of the podium. It was really overwhelming to see the sea of people ran from various spots and clapped and cheered on the winners.

Finally, after so many years, I can feel the excitement of being a spectator, rather than the excitement of being part of the organisation team. 

Note:-

My previous blogs about Formula One.

1. Working With Formula One; 2. My Formula One Diary; 3. My Formula One Diary - Day Two; 4. My Formula One Diary - Day Three; 5.My Formula One Diary - Race Day;

Someone asked me to write traveling tips since I always travel, whether because of works or just for leisure. I'm not an expert, far from it. But this is what I always do when I have to travel.

1. Packing

I always roll my clothes. Try to avoid folding your clothes. That way it uses a lot of space. Instead, roll them. Put the bigger rolls first. Then put the smaller rolls or clothes such as underwear in between empty spaces. That way you will maximise every inch of your precious bag's space.

2. Liquid, Aerosol and Gel Restrictions

Air travel rules and restrictions changes quite often. It's best to know the rules and restrictions of country of origin and country of destination. Most airports will impose rules and restrictions on quantity of liquids, aerosol and gel (LAGs) that can be put in a hand carry. To avoid unnecessary hassle, I always put my LAGs items in my check-in bag(s). If I have to hand carry them, I just put them in resealable plastic bag. Some airports, like Schiphol Airport will ask you to take out the resealable plastic bag to be scanned separately. If you don't put them in resealable plastic bags, your LAGs maybe will be confiscated.

3. Selecting Seat

I'm not particular about the seating arrangement, thus I never reserved my seat. But someone once said that he was particular about the seat and will always chose seats at the emergency door because it gave him bigger leg-room. Actually, if you are tall and needs bigger leg-room, choose the first seat after the business class section. I'm not sure the number of those seats, because it all depend on the type of the aircraft and how big the business section is. So if you're very particular about your seat, and wanted to reserve your seat, study the aircraft type and maybe check with the airlines the details first before booking your seat.

4. Chewing

Do you ever wonder why airlines always give you peanuts? Chewing some kind of food will prevent your eardrum from being irritated/hummed. Humming on the ears really painful, so I always eat those peanuts. People say, eating sweets also help, but I don't know about that since I don't like sweets.

5. Books/Reading Materials

When I have to travel, I always bring along at least one book. It sure beat the boredom of having nothing to do in the boarding room while waiting for the flight. At the same time, it helps you from having to talk to the person sitting next to you. 

6. Spare Clothes In Your Hand Luggage

Always make a habit of having spare clothes in your hand luggage. This is just in case, touch wood, that your luggage is strayed or loss or whatever. 

At the moment, that's all travelling tips that I can think of. Please do share your own travelling tips in here.

I was eating one of my favourite fruits, persimmons, when it struck me that Malaysians always giving weird names to things/fruits/vegetables. The thing is that, those names didn't reflect anything about those things/fruits/vegetables that they want to describe. In here, I want to share with all of you some of those weird names that we are giving to normal things/fruits/vegetables.

1. Persimmons

Persimmons is also known as the 'fruits of God'. In Malay, we call it 'pisang kaki'. 'Pisang' means banana, and 'kaki' means feet. I don't know why on earth we Malaysians call it 'pisang kaki' because honestly, it doesn't look like a banana nor a feet. 

I wonder, what did you call persimmons in your mother's tongue? Is it as weird as what we call it over here, or is it weirder? LOL

Tell me.

2. Slipper

We love our slipper especially plastic/rubber slippers. It's convenient and cheap. I go every where wearing one, even to a restaurant. LOL. Do you know that we call this kind of slippers as 'selipar Jepun'. 'Selipar' is slipper and 'Jepun' is Japan. So a plastic/rubber slipper is basically translated as 'Japanese slipper'. I guess it was called such a way because Japanese used to wear similar slipper in the past. However, this kind of plastic/rubber slippers are not made in Japan though.

Do you have similar kind of slippers? What do you call it? 

3. Soaking Hippo/Bathing Princess

Do you ever eat a soaking hippo or bathing princess before? LOL. We Malays love them. Do not fret! It's just our traditional dessert. This traditional dessert is called either 'badak berendam' or 'puteri mandi'. 'Badak berendam' is literally translated as 'soaking hippo'. 'Badak' is hippo, and 'berendam' is soaking, whereas 'puteri mandi' means 'bathing princes'. 'Puteri' is princess and 'mandi' is bathing. 

Basically it's a dessert made from glutinous flour, filled with shredded coconut flesh cooked with palm sugar and with coconut milk as the gravy. Photos were taken from http://imgarcade.com/1/badak-berendam/ and http://imgarcade.com/1/puteri-berendam/.

Do you have weird name(s) for your dessert(s)?

I think it's enough at the moment that I've shocked your sensitive souls with all these weird names. Please share with me and the rest if you can top up with weirder names than the three things I've mentioned here. 

My previous blogs about Malaysia and weird Malaysians :-

1. Only In Malaysia, 2. You Know You've Met A Malaysian When .., 3. Festivals In Malaysia, 4. Amazing Places In Malaysia - Part I, 5. Amazing Places In Malaysia - Part II

I remembered a year ago, I woke up to the same sunny morning as today. The birds were chirping happily. But unlike that day a year ago, today I woke up knowing the unknown, unsolved issue of the disappearance of MH370. A year ago, even though the day was sunny, but my heart was filled with much sorrow. I cried a river. The whole day I was glued to the tv. I browsed through the net, and read anything and everything. Nothing was the same anymore. A year on, we are yet to find the closure. 

How hard it must be for the family members to face today. How hard it must be to go on as any other normal day. No words can express what I and I'm sure the rest of Malaysians feel about today. 

To all affected by the disappearance of MH370, may Allah give you courage to face the days ahead. Just to tell you that MH370 will always be remembered.

I told EC main chat room that if I ever want to write about 'weather chat', I want to write a dialogue with an Eskimo. Well, it's not a conversation with an Eskimo, but rather inspired by a certain man with the name of Prince Harry and his adventures in the "Walking With The Wounded Expedition" to the South Pole.

Me : Hello H1N1! How are you? It's been ages since we talk. How's the weather in Stockholm?

H1N1 : Hi Noa. Yeah. It's been a while. I am a bit busy with my training. What can I say about the weather over here? It's cold, colder and then it's just blizzard. LOL

Me : Oh my God! Are you telling me that you are going ahead with your plan to apply and join Prince Harry's Walking With The Wounded Expedition? And you already started your training even in winter?

H1N1 : Well. You always told me to stop whining for being bored. So, I was thinking of challenging myself even further. Since the South Pole would be as cold as ice in December, I think this is the perfect time to start my training.

Me : So what's the average temperature over there nowadays?

H1N1 : Well, it is not that cold. At the moment, on average it's just about 2 Celsius. 

Me : Oh my! 2 Celsius! And you're saying that is not cold. Even my teeth could be frozen in that temperature. Burr!

H1N1 : Don't be too dramatic. That's just a mild winter temperature. In February the temperature is expected to be colder. On average to be of -2 to -6 Celsius. What about the temperature over there?

Me : You know, I always say that over here we only have three seasons, hot, hotter and hottest. Even during last month Monsoon season, the temperature can reached as high as 34 Celsius. However, nowadays, it is a bit colder. On average it is just about 24 to 25 Celsius. But even though it maybe colder nowadays, the humidity still can reach up to 89%. You can even sweat while breathing the air.

H1N1 : I've read about the devastating news that the rainy season brought to your country last month. Is it true that it was the worst flood that ever hit your country in more than 30 years?

Me : Yes. It was the worst flood disaster in more than 30 years. But thank God, nowadays it is just intermittent rain in the evening in a few parts of the country, with some sporadic flash floods in few places. But it's enough about me. Tell me about your training. How hard it is to train in winter?

H1N1 : Well, like I said it's just a mild winter as compared to last year's weather at this month of which reached as low as  -7 Celsius. Because this is the first phase of my training, I just run for a distance of 10 to 15 km every morning, even if it's blizzard. This is because I need to accustom myself with the temperature and weather of South Pole. Even as we speak now, the temperature over there can go as low as -36 Celsius. 

Me : OHMY! As low as -36 Celsius? Are you sure you know what you're up against? 

H1N1 : Yes! I've read articles and watched the videos of the previous expedition. I know it's going to be very tough. That's why I need to intensify my training, but the current condition is not too conducive for my training because most of the time it is just flurries, rather than heavy snow. But I'm lucky because I managed to join a group of people who are also training for various expeditions. So, we support and encourage each other.

Me : Sounds like you know what you are doing and going into. Anyway, my Smirking Boss is giving me evil eyes already. I need to resume pretending that I'm working. Good luck in your training, and I do hope you will succeed in joining the expedition.

H1N1 : Thanks Noa. Yeah, with intense training, I think I have a good chance of joining the team. Talk to you later. Bye.

(Source of the weather : www.acuweather.com). 

Note :

Even though the 'Walking With The Wounded' was indeed had made the South Pole Expedition in 2013, the above conversations are just my imagination. I don't know what kind of training does it need to make the trek to such place with such extreme weather conditions. In addition, in 2015, the team's expedition is going to be the 'Walk of Britain' rather than another expedition to South Pole.

This is the final instalment of my blogs of the same title.

1. My Bangkok Excursion - Day 1

2. My Bangkok Excursion - Day 2

3. My Bangkok Excursion - Day 3

The next day, we went to the famous Chatuchak Weekend Market. The market is only opened on weekends. It's a popular area for tourists and locals alike. It's a bit far from the Bangkok City Centre. We had to take the MRT and then a subway to reach there. The market is really big. If you don't really take note of your surrounding, you will find yourself walking round and round and round.

In the market you can find anything and everything. The kiosks and shops are very small, and the alleys are smaller. You'll bump shoulders to shoulders with strangers, and anyone who is claustrophobic should be very careful. I had to admit that a few times my friend and I got a bit lost and ended up back to the Clock Tower, the landmark of the market. You see, every time we thought we were lost, we will ask any shop owners for direction. And we will always end up being guided back to the Clock Tower.

Anyway, my friend and I bought a few souvenirs for our friends and families back home. We lost track of time to be truthful. After deciding enough is enough, we stopped for a while and enjoyed durian ice creams at one of the kiosks. We tried to have our lunch at one of the kiosks, but unfortunately there were too many people and no empty table.

As usual, we had our lunch back at yesterday's restaurant near our hotel. Then we decided to go back to Platinum Mall to find several items that we couldn't find in the Chatuchak Market. You see, even though it seemed there were anything and everything in the Chatuchak Market, because of the huge crowd, small alleys and big areas, we didn't manage to find certain things that we wanted to buy.

As expected, we were caught in another famous Bangkok jam on our way to Platinum Mall. Our shopping excursion this time was less time consuming because we already know what and where we were looking for, more or less. 

As it was the last day of our stay in Bangkok, I decided to once again take a walk along the Rama Road I in the evening. A funny incident happened when I was just walking a few blocks from my hotel. I was minding my own business when out of the blue, a Thai security guard at one of the commercial buildings called me by gesturing to me with his hand. With him were two foreigners. Apparently the foreigners were a bit lost and asking him for assistance. So I became some sort of translator to the foreigners and basically showed them the place where they wanted to go at the map. In my own country, I'm used to being mistaken as a Chinese lady, or a Filipino lady, now it seemed I may looked like a Thai lady. LOL. 

After my walk, I decided to buy a box of sticky rice with mango and freshly cut papaya at one of the street kiosks as my dinner.

The next day we checked out from the hotel quite early and took a taxi to the airport by 9.00 am because we don't want to be caught in the infamous Bangkok jam. Thankfully the ride was smooth, but we were caught in the long queue of security and immigration clearances. Thank God our flight was on schedule and I reached my home safe and sound.

I didn't visit many interesting places in Bangkok because it was just a short trip. In addition, since it was a big place, you need to take the public transportation to move around. And honestly, the jam really put me off to go to further areas.

Anyway, it was still nice to be back to Bangkok after so many years since I was there. The smell and feels of it were still the same.

I love eating, but will drag my feet, and hand, and every organs in my body to do any cooking. Sometimes, I do wonder how do I survived having eaten some of my so called 'home cooked' dishes. Anyway, I tried my hardest to search, well more like rummage, through my very limited knowledge of dishes and came up with this recipe.

It's a very simple recipe, and unfortunately not limited to holiday season. I chose this recipe because it's simple, and the ingredients, I hope easily available to everyone. Most of our holiday season's recipes need local ingredients of which may not easily available.

However, I have to warn you guys, if you want to attempt this recipe, do it at your own risk, and pray a lot. LOL. My dish is called 'Buah Melaka' or literally translated as 'Malacca Fruit'. I don't know why it's called such a name since it's not a fruit nor it was originated from Malacca (a state in Malaysia).

Ingredients: Please refer to some of the photos for the ingredients

1. 2 cups of glutinous flour (I believed it's easily available in any Asian food store. It's also known as sticky rice flour)

2. Palm sugar (If you can't get it from any Asian food store, you're basically doomed. LOL)

3. Shredded coconut flesh (Over here, we use fresh shredded coconut flesh, but I'm sure you can get the dried version in the same Asian food store, otherwise you're double doomed)

4. Pandan leaves. (I'm sure you don't have pandan leaves over there, so, use green food colouring, but you won't get the same wonderful smell of pandan leaves. Just add a dash of vanilla flavour to replace the sweet smell of pandan)

5.2 tea spoon of wheat flour.

6. Dash of salt. (If you can't buy any salt, that's it! Forget about the whole idea. LOL)

7. 1 cup of lukewarm water. (Remember! Lukewarm water and not boiling hot water. I won't be responsible if you accidentally injured your fingers when preparing this dish)

How to prepare.

1. Boil half a pot of water in a pot.

2. Dice the palm sugar into small cubes, roughly to the size of 1/2 cm x 1/2 cm. Don't worry if it's not of the same size or the palm sugar crumbles when you are dicing it.

3. Blend the pandan leaves with the lukewarm water. Filter the pandan juice properly. You don't want to accidentally eat some of the pandan leaves fibre.

4. Add a dash of salt into a mixture of wheat flour and glutinous flour.

5. Add pandan juice little by little. Make sure the flour mixture turn into nice dough like. Make sure it's not too hard. If you don't have pandan leaves, just add a drop of green food colouring into the lukewarm water.

6. Take a small portion of the big dough with your fingers. Come on! Don't be a sissy. That's what fingers are for. Make a small marble like shape, preferably about the size of a fish ball.

7. Make a small dent in the centre of the ball. Put the diced palm sugar into the ball. Cover it. And roll it back with your palm to make the perfect ball.

8. Put the balls into the boiling water. When they float, it means they are fully cooked.

9. Take out the balls. Toss the excessive water in a sieve. Then sprinkle shredded coconut flesh onto the ball, or you can just roll those balls into the shredded coconut flesh. Do it while they are still hot to make sure that the shredded coconut flesh can stick to the balls. Don't use a kitchen tissue to wipe the excessive water because it will stick to the ball.

10. Eat them. Enjoy your fruits of hard work.

I hope you may try my simple recipe. And if any of you did try it, share your experience and the result in here. Good luck! If I, the person who can burn boiled water can do it, I'm sure you can do it too. And believe me, the dish is delicious, rather than not so yummy looking in my photo. LOL

On 14 January 2015, once again I had to travel to Sandakan to attend a meeting. Since there was only one direct flight to Sandakan, as usual, it was going to be a 2-day trip. I reached Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) with an ample time to spare since I had checked-in through my mobile. 

As you may have known, it's a monsoon season in Malaysia, so it's always raining, though lately it was not that bad. The flight was 2 and 1/2 hour, and there was no in-flight entertainment. So I spent my time reading book. Thank God I brought along two books with me because I just realised I accidentally brought along a book that I had finished reading when I was in Thailand. Hmmm.

When we near our destination, suddenly the co-pilot made an announcement that due to severe weather condition in Sandakan, we were unable to land at the moment. So, we had to be on air for a bit longer, maybe 15 - 30 minutes depending on the clearance from the Sandakan Airtraffic Control. Ok! with so many negatives news recently, I felt it's better to be late than sorry. Thank God, I arranged for the meeting to be held at 3:00 pm, so I still have the time to meet with my colleagues in Sandakan before convene for the meeting.

Due to various issues, the meeting took longer time than what I've had anticipated. So it ended around 5.30 pm. When I reached my hotel, it was already dark, and it was still drizzling. So I didn't go anywhere that evening except to go to a nearby restaurant to have my dinner. 

The next day, the rain didn't let up. It was very wet and windy day. So, again I can't go anywhere. Thus, I arranged for a transport to the airport a bit early. I didn't want to face of long drive just in case a few of the roads to the airport were inaccessible of which had happened yesterday.

When I reached the airport, basically I just loitered around the airport and doing nothing much. When it was time to enter the boarding room, I think I was one of the first to do so. I was waiting eagerly for the announcement that it's time to board the flight, instead, the ground crew informed everyone on the boarding room that the flight was delayed for 15 minutes. Hmmm! 15 minutes. It's ok! I can take that since it just stop raining, so maybe it was delayed because of the weather.

But after about 20 minutes, the ground crew made another announcement saying that due to technical reason, the flight was going to be delayed for another 1 hour. We were allowed to go out from the boarding room, and to be back in one hour. Everyone started to be talking to each other, and started to go out from the boarding room. 

After about one hour, we were allowed to board to aircraft. But I noticed it was a bit warm. The Chief Stewards made an apology for the delay and informed us that we will be taking off shortly. After securing the seat belt and everything, we waited and waited and waited for the aircraft to take off. Instead, the pilot made the announcement that due to technical reason, the flight had to be cancelled. He asked everyone to disembark from the aircraft and to contact the ground crew for further arrangement.

I had no other choice but to disembark. It was already more than 2 hours from the scheduled take off. Once disembarked, I just sat at the airport seats waiting for the flurry of activities by other people trying to make alternate plans with the ground crew. It's no use to jostle with all other people because the limited numbers of ground crews that able to handle the situation.

After about 15 more minutes of waiting, I went to the ground crew and asked for alternate solution. I was given two options; 1. To go to Kota Kinabalu with the last flight at 7:15 pm and will reach Kota Kinabalu around 8 :30 pm. Then I can connect to Kuala Lumpur with the last flight from Kota Kinabalu at 11:30 pm and reach KLIA at around 2:00 am. Or I can stay in Sandakan and get tomorrow's flight.

Both options were not agreeable by me since there was no way I want to drive back to my house at 2:00 am after a tiring day, and I don't want to wait another full day in Sandakan. Thus, I asked if it was possible for me to stay in Kota Kinabalu and take a morning flight from Kota Kinabalu to KLIA. I was glad that the ground crew agreed with my request, and informed me that the hotel arrangement and ground transfer will be handled by their ground crew in Kota Kinabalu airport.

Thank God everything went according to schedule the next day. I reached KLIA around 12:00 noon. However, when I reached my car, I noticed one of the tyres was flat. Apparently it hit a nail. Gosh! I went back to the car park counter and asked for help to change the tyre. I reached my home at around 1:40 pm.

It's true that when it rains, it pours. That what had happened to me last week. 

Note: 

The phrase "When it rains, it pours" means when something good or bad occurs, it usually occurs more than once and often within a short period of time. 

My family loves cats. As far as I can remember, we always have cats in the house. No matter how annoying they can be sometimes, but they always chose our house to be their sanctuary. I guess we are just born lucky to be picked by them.

So it really bums me when I noticed that I'm allergic to cats, well to all furry animals actually (and I always say in the main chat room, to all furry animals and hairy men). But that doesn't stop me from admiring and loving cats in general.

So when I came back to EC somewhere in October 2012, it's like the most logical thing to do of using cat's photo as avatar. From there onwards, I've been using cat's as my avatar, be it from the net or from my photos' collections. And of course nowadays, they are from my own collection.

It's really fun when reading people's reaction, that they assumed I must have loads of cats as pets, but in actual fact I'm allergic to cats, and I don't have cats as pets. Their reactions were priceless. It was like; "You're allergic to cats, and yet you have a cat as your profile picture".

Sometimes it leads to interesting conversations. It's hard to explain that it's just to represent an antithesis of me. It's just like an oxymoron. Total opposite. LOL. Anyway, like I said, it doesn't stop me from loving cats, even from afar. And it doesn't stop me from stalking them and taking their photos. Because, honestly, cats are just too cute. In here, I want to share some of my photos' collection of the cats. They belong to my family members.

1. My First Profile Photo

Meet 'Comot' or can be loosely translated as 'Messy'. It belonged to my brother, but unfortunately, it had died. Its snore could wake up the dead.

2. The Fantastic Terrible Four

These terrible (it's an affectionate term) four belong to my brother. They are from the same litter, though they really have different personalities from each other. I'm not sure of their names, but their antics really made me laugh when I went back to my hometown. I love stalking them and taking their photos.

3. Playful Yet Sleepy

My brother likes to play with the cats. One of the examples was when he put a chick onto the back of his cat. It was basically basking on the morning sunlight and doing what it does best, sleeping, when my brother disturbed its peaceful snooze. However, because it's just too sleepy, or maybe just too lazy, it didn't bother him at all. 

4. Meet Junior, The Most Pampered Stray Cat

Well, he's no longer a stray cat. One day Junior wandered into my sister's house. It was a stray cat and skinny to the bone. It decided to adopt the entire family as his servant and he became their master. Now the couch is his bed, and the hood of the car is his lazy chair.

5. Printer The Perfect Mongrel

Finally, I want to introduce the latest addition to the family, Printer. He (I assumed it is a he), is the perfect mongrel and hence the name Printer. I asked my sister why the name 'Printer' and she told me because it's fur is basically dotted with 'unfinished' colour, like a printer that has no more ink and thus left him with spotted of colours. LOL. That's very logical explanation. He loves to chase Junior around the house, and basically he bosses Junior around.

So now you've met some of my extended and most pampered family members. What do you think? Maybe you can introduce to us your extended family members too. :D :D

This is the continuation of my previous blogs of the same title.

1. My Bangkok Excursion - Day 1

2. My Bangkok Excursion - Day 2

My second day, well technically my third day, started very early. My friend had no choice but to be up very early because we had to be at the hotel lobby at 7.00 am for the trip to the Floating Market. We were told that the trip to the Floating Market was going to take only about 1 and 1/2 hour, but, honestly, I believed it was more than than.

It was an interesting road trip. Once, not far from what I believed was the King's Palace, we had to give way to hundreds of cyclists. It seemed forever, but I guessed it was only about 30 minutes. We only stopped twice, once for the travel agent to give us some briefing, and another time because the driver needed to re-fuel. The trip was uneventful, but it was nice to see the suburb areas of Bangkok. I don't see much of industrial areas but rather agricultural areas. 

Anyway, it was a relief to finally reached our destination. After another briefing by the travel agent, I had to admit it was very hard to understand her English, once I had to translate what she had said to a few of the people in the group, we were allowed to enjoy the time on our own. My friend and I decided to take the boat trip to enjoy the atmosphere and view of the Floating Market. The situation at the starting main market was a controlled chaos. Traders' boats were coming from every direction, but everyone was patient. Sometimes you had to wait for the other boats to pass you before proceeding with your journey.

Once in a while, the traders will stop our boat and offer us their wares. I didn't buy anything because most of the traders didn't put the prices on their wares, rather they were asking for us to put the prices. Since I'm not familiar with their wares, I don't know what prices to put, and I don't want to be cheated. Too bad. They should regulate the traders and insisted that they put the prices on their wares.

After the boat ride, we were bundled together for another boat ride. But this time it was speedier boat ride. We went through some canals, farms and local villages. I was nearly laughing all the way through the ride when my friend put her hands to her face, something like when you were watching horror movies. But for her, it may be a horror boat ride. You see, because of the speed of the boat, the water from the canal from time to time will sprinkle to your face. The water from the canal was really muddy, smelly and at other time slimy. It left you feeling itchy. 

I felt relieved when we reached our destination. Once the tour agent sorted out our arrangement, we went back to Bangkok. Another 1 and 1/2 hour ride. When we reached our hotel room, the first thing I did was to take a short shower. I don't want to feel itchy for the rest of the day.

We went back to yesterday's restaurant for our late lunch. This time, I ordered the famous green Thai curry. I was prepared to be hit with unmentionable hot spice, but fortunately it was not. Instead it was kind of sweet.

After that we went to Shilom Road. It was hard to hail a taxi that afternoon. First, Bangkok didn't have dedicated taxi stands, and second, some of the taxi drivers refused to take us to the Shilom Road. My friend and I wanted to buy the famous Thai silk. We took a taxi, and even though it's Saturday evening, the Bangkok jam never let up. When we reached the silk store, we were shopping crazy. I think I spent a small fortune, maybe worth a small country GDP, in that silk store.

I feel really exhausted after that morning excursion and the afternoon shopping crazy so that I decided just to relax in our hotel room.

~~~~~ To be continued Day 4 ~~~~~

This is the continuance of my previous blog; My Bangkok Excursion - Day 1. This blog is dedicated to Mr. Bob for whom always encouraging me and other EC members to write blogs. Thank you for the encouragement, Mr. Bob. I really appreciate it.

The next morning, I was thankful that the day was bright. After convincing my friend that it was not too early to wake up and had our breakfast, our day in Bangkok finally really started. We had our breakfast in the hotel since it was included in the hotel price. The first order of the day we decided to go to Platinum Mall. It's located near Pratunam and famous for its fashion and accessories. It's specialising in wholesale so haggling is to be expected.

In the hotel lobby before we went to the Platinum Mall, we managed to book a tour to the Floating Market for the next day. We took a taxi to the Platinum Mall, but as usual, Bangkok was jammed. After some time caught in the jam, our taxi driver told us it was faster to walk to the Platinum Mall and it was not that far anymore. After paying our taxi fare, we took the decision to walk for the rest of the way to the mall. At least I managed to enjoy the atmosphere of the surrounding area where some temples were located in front of buildings, kiosks scattered along the pedestrian walks and the traders were selling various items from goods to food and drinks.

Platinum Mall is really a nice shopping complex. Don't ask me what did I buy, because I can't remember. LOL. And I don't even remember how long we were there. Hmm... Anyway, after quite considerable time in the mall, my friend suggested that we to have our lunch in this nice Muslim Thai restaurant. So, with the help of a map, we tried to walk to the restaurant which was in another famous shopping complex. That map really didn't tell us that what looked like a short distance walk, was actually very very very far. After walking quite a distance, finally we decided to take a tuktuk, a unique taxi in Bangkok. It was faster to take a tuktuk in Bangkok to beat the jam, but at the same time you need to have a sense of adventure to take the ride because you see, it has no safety measures at all. No seat belts, no side glasses to protect you from any elements, nothing.

Our lunch was perfect. We had seafood tomyam and everything else. LOL. After that scrumptious lunch we walked back to our hotel to rest a bit. It's hard to walk with full stomach. LOL. Anyway, after a short break, we walked to Siam Paragon. Basically it was connected with a few buildings, Siam Discovery and Siam Centre.

You need to have endless pocket to shop in these malls because all those lovely high brands are in there. So we ended up only window shopping, and bought local snacks. Then we spent quiet considerable time in the coffee shop and just relaxing and people watching.

After we went back to the hotel, my friend told me that she was not going anywhere that night, and just wanted to relax on the bed. After freshen up a bit, I went down and walked alone along the road of Rama I. The dusk in Bangkok descended a bit early as compared to Malaysia. At about 5.30 pm it's already dusk, and at 6.00 pm it's completely dark.

When I walked along the road, the traders of the night market were busy preparing for  small 'kiosks'. I didn't buy anything because whatever they were selling, the products were similar to what being sold in the Platinum Mall. I was just enjoying the walk and atmosphere.

My first day in Bangkok ended after I spent about one hour or more walking along the road.

~~~~ To be continued to Day 3 ~~~~

This blog is dedicated to Afro, who asked me whether I'm going to write a blog about my visit to Bangkok. And to Crocodil3, just because. LOL.

Finally, after tossing ideas back and forth, and after so much conversations and text messages, my friend and I decided to go to Bangkok. We decided it's going to be a short trip, from 11 - 15 December 2014. I've been to Bangkok before, but that was centuries ago. So, though it's not something totally alien to be, but I know there would major changes. I know it's going to be something familiar and yet new.

My flight on the 11th was in the late evening. I was fortunate that day was a public holiday.  In the morning, I had to go to the city to exchange my money to Thai's Baht and do some errant, because of the day before I had to travel to another city due to work and my flight was delayed.

We reached the airport quite early. So we had the time to spend relaxing at the airport and just catching up with each other.

As any other days, it was raining that day. Lo and behold, my flight was delayed. Again! So, I decided to watch the in-flight entertainment, rather than reading a book as I normally do. While watching "X Men : Days of Future Past', you guys know how I don't like watching movies, the Captain made an announcement and told us that our flight would be delayed but not to worry because we were already in the queue and our number is 12th. 12th! OHMY! I was bumped, but at the end of his announcement, he said, "And to all Malaysians, at half time, we are leading Vietnam 4-1". There were spontaneous eruption of shout and claps. We forgotten about the delay for a while. My friend and I were grinning from ears to ears. The people in the flight were buzzed with the news. We felt optimistic that Malaysia will go to the final of AFF Suzuki Cup.

After one of the longest delay in my mind, finally we took off. After about 1 and half hour later, the Captain made another announcement that we were going to land shortly. Ah! Finally! Amidst all that, I managed to watch the movie from the start to finish, without falling asleep even once. WOW!

For anyone going to Thailand and through Bangkok Airport, or popularly known as Suvarnabhumi International Airport, be prepared for long queues at its Custom and Immigration Counters. After taking our luggage, we managed to get our taxi in the shortest possible time, for a change. We didn't say anything in the taxi except informing our taxi driver the name of our hotel. We reached our hotel late in the night. Thankfully we had made our hotel reservation through on-line, so there was no hassle in registration. It was nearly 11.30 pm when we finally reached our room. We were a bit tired because Thailand has different time zone than Malaysia. Our mind and body were adjusting to the time since in Malaysia, it was already 12.30 am.

After refreshing ourselves, we said goodnight to each other, with my friend warning me not to wake her up too early. You see, I'm an early riser, well as compared to her, and always eager to explore new places as compared to my friend. We always traveled together, so she already knew my style. I promised her that I won't wake her up too early. Our first day, maybe I would say first night, in Bangkok was rather non-eventful. But I was looking forward to our full day in Bangkok tomorrow.

I'm sorry if you guys were expecting something more interesting than this one. LOL

~~~~ To be continued to Day 2 ~~~~

In a few hours, well I am being too lateral, it is more like 1 day and a few hours more, I am going to say goodbye to 2014, for some of you, it maybe for another 2 days. I will be looking back my year 2014 with some bitter sweet memories. Some maybe will haunt me for years to come.

My 2014 started with a bang. I celebrated the new year in Perth, Australia. It was an awesome experience, which will forever engrained into my memories. But after that my life basically somewhat like in a Zombieland. Not the horror kind of Zombie, but I felt I was a Zombie. For the next few months, works consumed me. Due to a deadline, my colleagues and I were not allowed to take any leave. Sometimes we even had to come in the weekends. Sometimes we had to be at the office in as late as 2.00 am. While some people were sleeping, we had to be in the office and once or twice had a shouting match with a few people.

In the middle of those chaotic dateline, I woke up on a wonderful Saturday morning at 8th March with a devastating news. Our national carrier flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing was lost. The whole nation was stunned. I cried a river the whole weekend. I think I never prayed so hard as I was praying on that day onwards.

But the deadline was looming. Even in our sadness, life had to go on. Finally, in May my colleagues and I were able to sigh with relief. We achieved our deadline without any untoward incidents. The celebration was a bit muted because we still didn't find our missing flight  MH370.

In June, finally I took a week long holiday. I went to the Northern parts of Malaysia with my brother and his family. I felt refreshed. I was eager to come back to the office and face new challenges with my new office colleagues and boss. After all the hectic work schedule, my new office routine seemed very mundane and sedate.

Fortunately, Ramadhan came, and the office was less frantic. Everyone was looking forward to celebrating Eid Mubarak. Invitations from friends and business associates for Iftar came nearly every other day. On the day of July 17, I attended such Iftar with my friends. They were my colleagues from my previous company. We seldom were able to meet with each other. We laughed, we ate until we can't eat anymore and we shared stories. When I reached home, I was shocked when I received various WhatsApp messages informing that MH17 was shot down somewhere in Ukraine.

Another devastating tragedy had hit Malaysians. I was numbed. The office was in sombre mood the next day. We couldn't hide our tears. Amidst all that, we celebrated our Eid Mubarak. For the first time in my life, I refused to buy for myself new dresses. It seemed too trivial. Don't get me wrong. I still enjoyed my Eid with my family members and friends.

Life goes on seemed too cliche. But indeed life need to go on. Slowly but surely, we moved on. Finally we mourned the innocent lost lives of MH17 when the first 20 bodies were repatriated on the bright morning of August 22. Somewhat, it was the first step of healing and also a closure for MH17.

We celebrated our Independence Day on August 31 with mixture feelings. Proud that we had achieved so much, and yet with a tint of sadness because of the two major tragedies. Amidst all that, finally I met with my EC good friend, Grape. Though it was only for a day, but it was a sweet day.

My life seemed to be back to normal. My melancholy mood was a thing in the past. Suddenly I had to travel to a few cities because of my work. I had the chance to travel to Sandakan, a city that I never been before. I even had the chance to bring my mom to visit my brother in Labuan. My friend and I even managed to agree to visit Bangkok on December 11 until 15.

Then a few days ago, Malaysians were hit with the worst flooding in more than 3 decades. More than 250,000 people were displaced and evacuated to relief centres. My hometown was flooded too. On Friday morning, with his voice chocking with tears, my brother told me that our beloved house was partly submerged in the flood.

I felt helpless but at the same time thankful that my mom was in another state with my eldest brother and his family. My youngest brother told me that he will try to brave the weather and send some relief supplies that I just bought even though basically my hometown had been turned into an island in the middle of Malaysia. We can't do anything much for our youngest sister who was trapped in another state that was worst hit with the flood.

My family members were keeping in touch with each other through messages and phone calls. We tried to keep our spirit high. But when my brother and my sister that were trapped in the flood had to preserved their batteries because electricity supplies were cut off, we watched the news anxiously.

Then on Sunday 28 December, while I was chatting, an EC member told me another devastating news. A plane which was under Malaysian brand had lost contact. Oh no! Not again. When the news was confirmed, I, like all Malaysians were devastated. It was like a double whammy. We are still facing the worst flooding situation, and now we are facing another tragedy.

Today, we received somewhat good news. The flood in certain parts of Malaysia is receding. The search and rescue team also had identified the crashed site and in the process of recovering the crash victims. My youngest sister told us that she finally able to be back to her rented house and the electricity supply was back. My brother sent us photos of our house. Though the flood water had partly submerged our house, it seemed we are still luckier than some. The house is seemed to be intact, so maybe the damage is just minimal.

After all said and done, 2014 is an eventful year. Though some tragedies hit Malaysians, maybe it was a way to remind Malaysians, and definitely me, to feel grateful for all things that we had and continue to enjoy. For the peace and harmony that sometimes we take for granted. For the achievement that we had and continue to gain.

May 2015 makes Malaysians and me especially stronger in facing adversities. May it brings joy and happiness.

Happy new year to all.

This blog is dedicated to a good virtual friend who knocked my head with some senses and made me see that 'pity party' was lonely. Thank you Crocodil3 for giving me back the kick I deserved with that 5 inches high heels boots. I owe you one good kick back.

When I was chatting with an EC member a few days ago, I talked about my new hobby. He said why didn't I write a blog about it. So, here we go! This blog is dedicated to Crocodil3 who asked me to write about it. To Allen with whom I spent many chat hours talking about my new hobby.

I never thought that I would be obsessed with roses, though I have to admit that they are really wonderful flowers. You see, I thought caring for them are hard. Roses look like fragile flowers which need to be cuddled and talked to in order for them to be flourished. Whereas I am the anti-thesis of anything hard working.

After many years of leaving my front yard barren from anything except some wild weeds and unkempt grass, I decided to plant some China roses, or also known as 10 am flowers. China roses are very easy to plant and need no tender loving care to grow beautifully. I started to collect and plant various colours of the China roses and felt so happy when they started to flower.

From there onwards I started to plant a few types of flowers until one day I went to a nursery and on impulse bought a rose plant. I don't even know what colour it's going to be since I didn't ask anything about that rose.

A few weeks after replanting it into a pot, I noticed that it's growing beautifully, though yet to flower. Then, one day when I was buying my groceries, again, I decided to buy two pots of rose plants. I was lucky because it's the rainy season and the cooler weather made my roses flourished beautifully.

Then my rose plants started to flower. OHMY! It's really an awesome sight and amazing experience to see all these roses when I wanted to go out from my home. And they were like greeting me when I came back in the evening. Those roses really brighten up my days and lighten up my tired mind.

In here, I want to share some wonderful photos of my roses. Don't ask me their names because I don't know. But who cares about names, when they are just too beautiful to be named.

This is my first rose. I don't know exactly which red colour is it being called, but who cares, right? It has the biggest petals and size. So far it was only flowering once, so I guess it's being selective. And I think it wants to show who's the Boss among all my roses.

Like perfect twins, one is velvety red and the other is velvety cream. They bloomed simultaneously, and the contrasting colours were just like the Ying and Yang.

I like to think this is an electric pink colour, but I could be wrong. At first I thought this is going to be a blood-red rose, but when it bloomed fully, it turned out to be a different shade of red.

Pink is never my favourite colour, but this pink rose is really awesome. Now I'm a pink convert.

I thought I won't have any favourite between my roses. But I had to admit this yellow rose can be my favourite one. I can't help from smiling when I look at this rose. Yellow rose can really brighten up your day.

This is my latest rose. I like to call this colour as 'satin pink'. It's really a soothing colour. As compared to my other brightly coloured roses, this one was somewhat like a shy lady. However, her beauty shines through, so there's no way it's going to be just a 'wallflower'.

Though this hobby of mine is just in its infancy, I think it's going to last. I don't know about you guys, but I think this new hobby of mine is really rewarding. Looking at those colourful roses would brighten up my mood, and relax my tired body and mind after long day in the office.

I'm re-posting this blog because I finally managed to up-load some more photos. Phew! Finally!

A few weeks back, I took my Mom to Labuan to visit my brother and his family who are staying there currently. My brother and his family lives in Labuan and will be moving back to West Malaysia at the end of the year. Thus, it's like killing two birds with one stone. I've been to Labuan, a few century ago, but never really had the opportunity to explore the island.

Labuan is also known as The Pearl of Borneo. It's located about 8 km east coast of Sabah and derived from the Malay world 'pelabuhan' or 'port'. It's a duty free island and popularly known for its offshore financial activities and offshore support hub for oil and gas activities. It takes about 2 and 1/2 hour direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Labuan. 

After a long flight, it's really nice to see my brother waiting for my Mom and I at the airport. Since my brother's wife is still working in the Air Force, they are staying in the apartment provided, just next to the airport. The airport is about 20 minute drive to the Labuan township. During my whole holidays, I will be bunking at my brother's house, rather than a hotel. Even though that would restrict my movement a bit, that's a good arrangement because my Mom wanted to spend her time with him and his family.

The first day was spent relaxing and basically doing nothing. The next day, my brother brought my Mom and I driving around the island. Our first stop was the Chimney Museum, in Tanjung Kubong. It exhibits the history of coal mining of Labuan and also a Chimney Tower. The tower is well over a century old and the historical symbol of pride to the people of Labuan. 

Next we went to the Surrender Point. Surrender Point is a memorial park situated in the Peace Park. It's called the Surrender Point because this is the place where the Japanese officially surrendered Labuan to the Australian which marked the end of World War II in Borneo. The walk through the Peace Park was very solemn.

After that we went to the City Centre and visit it's famous wet market. The visit was not too long because my Mom fragile health. But it was a good visit.

The next day my brother dropped me off to the City Centre because he has to work. I just walked around the town and somewhat enjoyed the views. In the afternoon, we went to a nearby beach. I had a blast day with my naughty nephews frolicking on the beach. 

The next day, I took my brother's car and went back to the City Centre. This time, I bought some souvenirs for my friends and families. Because it would be our last night in Labuan, in the evening, we went to a famous seafood restaurant and had a wonderful dinner. 

On my last day in Labuan, I went to the Labuan War Memorial Park. A few soldiers from various branches such as the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Military were preparing for the Remembrance Day. Reading various plaques laid on the field was really a sombre occasion. 

Labuan is offering much more than what I've written in here. So, if you found yourself drifted away, you will want to be marooned in Labuan. 

Once again I'm dedicating this blog to Luci, whom I made a promise to write about my visit to Labuan. Unfortunately, my net is not too good, and it takes ages to upload some photos. So, I guess I will try to up-load them later.

This story was first written as a comment to Charos' photo; 'Pond hardly noticed by anyone'. I was fascinated with her photos' collection and decided to write a short story based on them. You may click on the links of the photos to check the beautiful photos. I've edited a bit from my first original story.

1. Toqi Zargaron

2. Kettle-like souvenir

3. Dagger

4. A small quaint cafe with willow tree

5. Khoja Gaukushon Ensemble

6. Pond hardly noticed by anyone

7. Safe haven

Her feet were killing her. She was thankful that at least the weather was cool, rather than the normal scorching summer hot. She needed to take a little break after all those non-stop walking in the ancient bazaar - Toqi Zargaron. Even though she was a bit tired, she was happy. She bought a few souvenirs for Mom and Dad. She bought a kettle-like gift for her Mom and a menacing looking dagger for her Dad. She also can't help from picking up a smaller dagger for herself.

Suddenly, she saw a quaint small cafe near the corner. The willow tree near the cafe caught her eyes. Deciding that there was no better time than that moment to take a break, she walked briskly towards the cafe. However, she can't help feeling that she was still being followed.

Fortunately for her, an empty table right underneath the willow tree just had been vacated by a couple. She decided to take that table. After ordering some local cake and orange juice, she took a deep breath and enjoyed the view and people. The city seemed to be familiar amidst all things strange. Once in a while she would caress her pendant and smile.

She wished she could stay much longer in this ancient city, but this stop was not part of her schedule. She made an impulse decision to stop here for a couple of days after reading so much about Bukhara. Grandma's stories about her beloved ancient city made it more poignant to be here. But ever since she reached this town, the feelings of being followed had been intensified. She tried to identify anyone that might be following her, but it was hopeless since everyone was a stranger. Her grand parents had migrated from this beautiful city after the World War II. The only connection she had with Bukhara was Grandma's stories and the pendant given to her by her Grandma.

After enjoying her afternoon tea, she decided to go to Khoja Gaukuson Esemble, another historic place. The place was so quiet that she could hear the echoes of her every steps. Suddenly, while near the hidden pond, she could see a shadow lurking. Her heart beat faster. She looked around, but seemed no one was nearby. Gripping the small dagger that she just bought, she decided to walk towards the shadow. 

Even though she was prepared, it still surprised her when a man jumped at her. She fought with all her might and caught the man by surprised with her fight back. She used the small dagger in her hand and sliced wildly at the assailant. The man howled when she managed to slice his hand. Taking the advantage of the surprised element, she pushed the man into the pond. She didn't dare to look what happened to the man, but just ran.

She ran and ran and ran. She didn't know where to go. People were gaping though no one seemed trying to help. The city was not familiar to her, but when she saw an old mosque in the heart of the city, she knew she found a safe haven.

The End.

This short story is dedicated to Charos who owned and posted those amazing photos of Bukhara. I don't know much about Bukhara, but looking at all those photos, you know it's really amazing and beautiful city. I hope Charos don't mind that I re-produce the short story and posted it in here.