who makes the first move?
...In the Name of ALLAH...

In creating a relationship, who should make the first move? Guys...or girls? It's a norm to see guys to initiate, but quite uncommon to see girls. Orang Melayu kata, eish perigi mencari timba...malu! But, it shouldn't be an embarrassment for a woman to take the first step for a good future with a promising partner. 


I stumbled upon an article in facebook discussing this topic few days ago. Unfortunately I forgot the link :-( But I'm sure the story of Khadija bint Khuwaylid, the beloved wife of Prophet Rasulullah s.a.w., is known by most. She proposed to Muhammad s.a.w. regardless their age difference by 15 years. From the information from her maid, she was mesmerized to learn his good nature and values in doing business and how well he carried himself. He is indeed the most perfect human being ever created. Not for long, she didn't let the chance slip away and quickly made the proposal be known to Muhammad s.a.w. And we know the rest of the story, right? ;-)


If one of the greatest women in the history of Islam had proved that a woman could make the first move, why should now we hesitate? It's not shameful, nor it's something against the religion. Adat pun adat lah, as long as we can grab the opportunity of having the best life partner, gather the courage and tell him/her quick! 


I hope I won't hesitate anymore, and my first step would lead to a deeper, meaningful and blessed relationship, Ameen...

11:26 PM | Category: | 0 cookies for me!

a new chapter in life
...In the name of Allah...

Alhamdulillah, I'm no longer rotting at home, doing nothing. I'm now working as a temporary RA at UKM, Bangi, but my desk is in Msia Genome Institute (MGI), a few miles away from UKM main campus. My job requires me dealing with Master and Ph.D theses and manuscripts, and re-writing them into journal format for publication. I have to translate some works written in Malay into English too, since it is a UKM policy for citizen students to write in Malay. So far I have translated 1 Master thesis, and more is coming in my way. Gulp (o__O)


Thanks for this job, now I got my best buddies closer with me. There are Tira, Pao, Zyha, Asmaa. Also, Mior and Joe are around as well. I miss my good moments with RIT buddies so much! I wish the others can show up and meet together soon (Calling for Muni, Dila, Jiji, Manche, Ecah kentang, Ecahmo, Erin, Hawa, etc!). These guys/girls are my escapade into a totally new world (^___^) Tira, my ex-housemate-in-RIT-but-is-now-my-roommate has helped me a lot in adapting to MGI environment and colleagues. I owe you girl :)


Today, I went to Shah Alam's new library in Section 9, just opened in December 2011, with Pao and Zyha. The interior design is something worth of a compliment, but still lacking of lotsa interesting books. But it's nice to realize, people were buzzing coming in and out. Library is once again a place for everyone at all ages to gather together, for the sake of knowledge and fun. Then we met Joe, Erin, and Nanith at Plaza Sh.Alam for a short talk while eating takoyaki and okonimiyaki (Yum!). Erin has gotten thinner! I'm proud of your achievement girl! Keep it up ;)


After Asar, three of us met KN and drove to UIUC alumni's regular volleyball games at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa. We got lost twice - don't blame us, the GPS was probably not in her good mood - but we did arrive. Yeah, 10min later than KN. It's a good thing that I agreed to come, a lot of ATU friends I've been missing for years were there. Including some unexpected people - such a pleasant surprise (wink!) Honestly, I was really glad to meet them all again. 


Now, I demand for a gathering of RIT buddies! Come on, let's plan and play!

11:18 PM | Category: | 0 cookies for me!

A Roadtrip
Asmaa came over to my house for a weekend, so it's a wonderful excuse for my family to go around for a short roadtrip. We decided to entertain her wish to see Jerantut, her dad's hometown, years after her last visit. In addition, we wanted to go to the Jerantut's pekan sehari (pasar pagi). None of us had ever go there, so it's nice to see new places sometimes.The journey took about 40 min drive. As expected, that pekan sehari was a lot bigger than the one at my village, and occupied with more stuff. I hadn't been to a pekan sehari since I returned home; it's refreshing to see the lively happening surrounding me. I bought kuih cakoi, kek batik, and buah salak for myself. And I got to eat nasi kerabu for breakfast! Oh my cravings are now satisfied... Asmaa got herself tempoyak and buah labu to be brought home that evening. My parents, on the other hand, were more concentrated in finding anak pokok lada to be planted in our veggie garden. 


On the way back to Kerdau, my dad took a turn to the new bridge crossing over Sg. Pahang, connecting Kuala Krau, Jerantut and Rumpun Makmur, Seberang Temerloh. Many small villages in the area came into view, one by one, every few miles. Asmaa told me, it's been a while since she was in kampung. Unexpectedly, my parents suggested a brief visit to Gunung Senyum, a limestone mountain offering a number of breathtaking caves. My family used to go camping at this site; I went there twice in 1990's. I could barely remember the details of the caves. But as we came close to the park entrance, bits of memories rushed through my mind. There's a quite a number of activities offered at the park. Flying fox, abseiling, coursing through the caves. I wish I could go there again, maybe with family or friends. Anyone interested???


Let me share the history of the name origin. Alkisahnya, a Raja Ahmad came to Kuala Krau and saw a high mountain towering over the forest. He asked what was it called, but none answered, instead they just  smiled sheepishly to each other. So, that's where the mountain got its name. Cute, huh? After Zuhr, we went to Bentong for a kenduri kawin sedara jauh, at the same time, sending Asmaa to her uncle's house in the same area. It's so hard to say goodbye after such an awesome weekend. Thank you Asmaa for coming over! 

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Pulau Besar Summer Getaway
After 2 months back home, finally the long-awaited 3-days 2-nights Pulau Besar Summer Getaway is here! Seronok sungguh rasa di hati, untuk bertemu kembali rakan-rakan seperjuangan RIT dalam suasana yang relax dan menyegarkan, iaitu di Mirage Resort di Pulau Besar! This is my 2nd time going to the island resort; my 1st time was in summer 2008. 

Day 1
Beautiful Mirage Resort
On Friday morning, I joined the road trip in Adam's car, together with Pao, Bari, and Zul, from Bangi to Mersing. Joe, Jiji, and Manche also joined us in the convoy, but they were late! We had to wait for them at RnR Seremban for almost 1 hour. Grrrr...seriously korang? Baru nak gerak from Shah Alam pukul 7:30 pagi? Sigh... Papepun, kami selamat tiba di Mersing at 12:30pm waktu tempatan. Kelihatannya speed boat pukul 12:30 telah bergerak meninggalkan jeti, membawa Muni dan Akmal yang telah tiba terlebih awal. Kami berlapan lunch dan bersolat dulu di jeti, sambil menunggu bot 2:30pm. Aishah yang baru sampai dari rumahnya (10min from jetty) and her brother, Sulaiman a.k.a. Leman, also joined us.


Compared to my previous trip in 2008, the speed boat trip was a lot smoother, except for the stronger breeze. Luckily, my new hat got a strip to keep it in place. Our arrival was welcomed by resort staff and Aishah’s ‘twin’ cousin, Joshua. Apart from our group, there were other parties of mat/minah saleh and Chinese couple staying at the resort. Interestingly, the Chinese couple was just married and they were having their wedding photograph taken around the resort. So sweet, awwh I really should go to an island like Bora-bora for my own honeymoon (^___^)


Anyway… *clears throat* the guys couldn’t wait to play beach volleyball and go swimming right away. I didn’t join the swimming session, instead just took pleasure in taking their pictures and recorded their antics in water. I could see that they really used this opportunity to keep away from stress at work; they played happily and loudly like little children just got candies. Joe offered to be buried in the sand, and became a weird ’sand mermaid’ with a fish tail and tangan bulat Doraemon. All the while, the guys also started off some ‘perverted’ acts; I just have to accept the fact that they are undeniably MY friends *shakes head 1000x*

After a splendid dinner, some played pool and some started a gossip table. But in the end, there wasn’t really a lot of new stuff to talk about. I didn’t get to dig deeper into new crushes or scandals; as usual some people *cough cough* were keeping their Pandora Boxes shut very well…

Day 2
Snorkeling time!
Fangirling jap :D
Asmaa and Mior finally arrived at the resort! We immediately went for island hopping to go snorkeling. It was my 1st time snorkeling! 1st stop: Pulau Mensirip. The coral reefs were sooo pretty! I got to see many colorful fish played peek-a-boo amidst the reefs. I don’t know how to swim properly. So, setiap kali berenang, I bumped into someone around me, no matter where they were. I actually kicked someone in the face! Haha sorry dude!!  All of us kept running away from spots yang banyak sea urchin. Funny thing, sampaikan menjerit2 semua orang supaya jangan dekat dengan sea urchin. Despite our loudness, Bari still terkena serangan seketul sea urchin. Mungkin dia tersepak yang paling atas kot. Sigh...lol jugak la. We moved to Pulau Tengah and Pulau Hujung afterwards. Pao decided to stay in the boat for the rest of the session. I swam a little, hampir2 terlemas, naik ke atas bot to take a breather, then berenang semula. Since I brought along my camera, I had to take pictures of the others. Or else, no pictures la kan? *Glares to pemilik camera hebat cough- Bari and Jiji-cough* Jeles tengok semua orang hebat berenang…

After we returned, had lunch, and got changed, I chose to sit in a hammock hung from 2 palm trees while listening to my iPod. I guessed I fell asleep there for a while. In the meantime, the others lepak kat restaurant, gossip2 or whatever. Menjelang petang, we made a sand castle. No, scratch that. A sand empire! We used a big black trash bin and a pail to make the structures. Then, masing2 started to decorate dengan style masing2. Puan decorator, Cik Muni, bersungguh2 membentuk puncak menara. Jiji, Zul, Joe sibuk dengan sistem ‘kumbahan’ mereka. Manche pulak, at first he was busy texting *he he he* but then dia buat naga Tasik Chini uihhh…siap pakaikan cermin mata lagi. Glamour u’olz~

We had a BBQ dinner that night. Ada ayam bakar, ikan bakar, sotong bakar…dah namanya BBQ, mestilah semuanya dibakar kan? Daging kambing pun ada! Nasi goreng, mee goreng, salad, fruits dah siap terhidang upstairs. Sedapppp ngaaa~ I love this one sambal cili yang sedap dimakan with almost everything. Then, we played games, like pool, Uno cards, and tongue twisters (susah giloooooo nk sebut!! berbelit lidah den) using a Korean game style. Meriah aktiviti kitorang malam tu. Also, some of us lepak2 kat tepi pantai. Luckily, we found a cute hermit crab, and decided to ‘torture’ it haha. The way it’s walking is too cute! Macam kesan tayar basikal. Comel lah binatang2 kenit ni…

Day 3
:)
Finally, the last day. I woke up early to join Manche and other guys jogging along the beach. I managed to actually run for 100m, then tak larat, terus berjalan jer menyusuri pantai. Penatlah berlari atas pasir pantai. Tabik to those who really jogged that morning! After breakfast, we decided to play sukaneka together. Muni and Akmal didn’t join because they didn’t feel too well. In fact, several of us had gotten kinda severe sunburn after the snorkeling. Kesian diorang. For sukaneka, the 1st event: isi air laut dalam botol. Macam2 style kitorang buat to make sure air selamat masuk botol. And….Group 1 won. The 2nd event: lari berdua ikat kaki. Good efforts to the runners! And this time, Group 2 won! The 3rd and the last event: lari pegang buah kelapa atas kepala dan kepit bola celah kaki. LOL, the funniest thing ever! Nak gelak tergolek2 tengok masing2 lari. HAHAHAHA! And so…Group 2 was the winner of the event and the overall sukaneka! 

After that, everyone berlari masuk laut. Mior pun ambil kesempatan to be buried, this time, as a tree. Mior memang manusia pokok sejati. Gigah lah si Manche and Aishah membina akar bergumpal2 kat kaki Mior. I was in-charge of the upper body, so I collected seaweed floating in the sea and gathered them all around his head as leaves. So fun! Next thing we knew, we had to pack and get ready for the return boat trip. Awwww…it almost came to an end? After a lot of shots here and there, we got into the boat with saddening feeling. At the jetty, everyone went separate ways to return home…thus ending our dream summer getaway, and getting back to reality.

I want to re-do this all over again. Next time, with the people who didn’t get to join us in this trip – Dila, Athirah, Hawa, and so on. If I could, I would want to invite all awesome RIT-ians!! Come back soon, dear juniors! Special thanks to Aishah’s family for organizing this amazing trip. And here goes my thankful hugs and kisses to my wonderful friends who came: Aishah, Asmaa, Pao, Muni, Akmal, Joe, Jiji, Mior, Manche, Bari, Zul, Adam. Love you all!


My awesome friends <33

12:52 PM | Category: | 2 cookies for me!

Here goes nothing...
I'm over your lies
and I'm over your games

I'm over you asking me, when you know I'm not okay
You call me at night,and I pick up the phone
And though you've been telling me,I know you're not alone

That's why (your eyes) I'm over it
(your smile)I'm over it (realize)I'm over it
I'm over it
I'm over..

Wanting you,to be wanting me
No, that ain't no way to be
How I feel, read my lips, because I'm so over..
Moving on, it's my time,
you never were a friend of mine
Hurt at first, a little bit, but now I'm so over
I'm so over it..

I'm over your hands,and I'm over your mouth
Trying to drag me down,and fill me with self-doubt

That's why (your words) I'm over it
(so sure)I'm over it (I'm not your girl)I'm over it
I'm over it
I'm over...

Don't call, don't come by
ain't no use, don't ask me why
you'll never change, there'll be no more crying in the rain

12:36 AM | Category: | 0 cookies for me!

Travel in Japan '10 [TOKYO & FINALE]
Tuesday, August 3, 2010

1st location: Harajuku Street
We went to Takeshita Street with a great desire to shop! It was a weekday, but the crowd never died down. I got to taste fruit crepes for brunch. After a not-so-quick survey, all three of us bought ourselves several outfits. We also made a purikura strip! The best part of the day was that I managed to discover the Bossa Nova jewelry store! I couldn’t contain my excitement seeing that I was in the exact shop where Jaejoong-oppa was a few months prior, crouching down at the exact same shelves, and touched the necklace with the same exact design as his. Yehhh, I know my fangirling side is showing right now, but just bear with me for a while! ~(^__^)~

2nd location: Shibuya
Again, we took pictures in the middle of the busy main street. This time, the shots came out prettier than our 1st visit. I also discovered the statue of Hachiko, a loyal dog with a great story, in front of the Shibuya Station. Even after the death of its owner, Hachiko waited patiently for Prof Ueno to return home from work for 10 years, before it met its own death. Sob sob…

3rd location: Tokyo Dome
When we arrived at the stadium, people were swarming out after a big baseball game. I regretted that I didn’t get to go to any Japanese baseball game; the ticket was very expensive! In front of the arena, I felt melancholic to realize that tomorrow would be the last day in Japan, and that I didn’t get to attend JYJ’s concert at that very stadium in June. While I was ‘pouring my heart out’ in a video recording, a drunken old man approached us, offering us money, and asked for a ‘night service’. What the heck!?? Quickly, we ran away from the spot and took a detour around the stadium, in case he stalked us down. Seriously, ojiisan??

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

It was our final day in Japan. I shed some tears during the train journey to the Narita airport; I didn’t want to leave Japan, not yet. I have yet so many places to see, exotic food to eat, so much more!! I hope I can come again for another awesome travel experience, insha-Allah.
 
Thank you Allah, thank you Japan, thank you for everything. We almost missed our flight due to a long line, but we managed to board with help of a very considerate ANA staff, Alhamdulillah. We safely arrived in Rochester exactly 14hours later. This whole trip will remain as a priceless experience in my lifetime.




~(^___^)~

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Travel in Japan '10 [TOKYO Part 2]
Sunday, August 1, 2010

Lehud had to return to his college today, so we would be staying with Diya’s high-school friend, Nur Sakinah, a student at a preparatory college in Tokyo before entering Todai University. Before returning back, Lehud brought us to Mare-chan, a Malaysian restaurant somewhere in Akihabara. The best thing was that the restaurant serves HALAL meals! The chef is an Indonesian Muslim, and we had a great time there. Thanks Lehud!

Sakinah led us to her small apartment somewhere in the Tokyo outskirt. We didn’t go anywhere that night. Therefore, I got to enjoy the whole night resting my body after 9 days of traveling.
 
Monday, August 2, 2010

1st location: BANDAI Museum
This musem is basically the display of popular characters (Dragonball, Doraemon, Ultraman, Kamen Rider, Gundam, Digimon, etc.). We originally thought that this was the store where we can buy the merchandises. This was the last chance for me to fulfill the request from Mohd Fuad Ismail a.k.a. Wak to get him a Gundam set. Poor Wak, I’m sorry I couldn’t grant your request. Gomen! 
2nd location: Asakusa
Asakusa is another location very famous among tourists for its Nakamise Shopping street, a massive main gate, a five-storied pagoda, and the currently-built Asakusa Tower. Sakinah said that the souvenirs here were overpriced since it was a tourist attraction. I only bought some keychains and taiyaki (ala2 fish-shaped bahulu).



Night spot: Tokyo Tower
I could finally visit the Tokyo Tower – one of my life-long dreams! It was very tall and pretty; I couldn’t take my eyes off the tower ever since I landed my step there. On the main observation deck, there was a live broadcast of a radio station, featuring a famous and handsome performer. He smiled to my camera, and even made a ‘peace’ sign! Awwwhh… *dropped to the floor* There was also lookdown glass windows, but the darkness of the night prevented us to get clear view down there.

After the Tokyo Tower tour, Sakinah and Diya planned a small reunion for their high-school friends from universities around Tokyo. Dang, I might have felt being casted out if not because of their amiability. Just imagine, four ex-classmates met together after years, and then add me into the equation. Suddenly I missed my friends... 

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Travel in Japan '10 [TOKYO Part 1]
Friday, July 30, 2010

We left Osaka today. Even though we were heading to Tokyo, I didn’t have the heart to leave this beautiful city, its friendly people, and its delicious food! Believe me when I say, Osaka is sooo much better than Tokyo. Tokyo people won’t really greet or even look at you in the eyes; meanwhile Osaka people can treat strangers like friends after moments knowing each other.

The Shinkansen trip from Osaka-Tokyo only took less than 3 hours. I didn’t get to see Mt. Fuji due to thick clouds in the mountainous area. As soon as we arrived, we met my high-school friend, Lehud, now studying at a university at Tochigi.

Day spot: Tokyo Imperial Palace and Akihabara area
According to Lehud, people can enter the imperial palace during special days (national holiday, royal birthday celebration, etc). I had my shares of castles in Osaka and Kyoto already, so no more castle visit!

Akihabara is famous with electrical gadgets and appliances in latest style at affordable prices. If only I have a lot of money, I would’ve bought a new camera or video camera there. Lehud told us, there used to be a popular spot of Cosplay performance almost every day, but was stopped after a crazy truck driver trashed the street, killing several performers or audience about 3 years ago. Stupid lunatic!

Night spot: Ginza
Ginza is a popular spot for avid shoppers. There were many high-branded stores. Just name any brand, you might find it there. I had fun just watching the merchandises; since my money has almost ran out, my desire to shop also decreased (T__T)
We stayed at the Malaysian Student House; the Japanese traditional house is actually reserved for Malaysian students studying in Japan under JPA scholarship, or Malaysian government officials visiting Japan. But we just crashed in by pretending to be students from Kanazawa XDDD


Saturday, July 31, 2010 

Day spot: Shinjuku and Harajuku Street
We came across a big parade for Summer Festival somewhere in Shinjuku. Many roads were currently closed, so we decided to stay and watch the whole parade. There were drum performances, traditional dances, etc. After that, we just walked around the district. I saw the huge baseball-shaped Subaru Tower, Shinjuku LOVE structure, Takashimaya Times Square, and Shinjuku Tower.

We also visited Takeshita St. which is the landmark of Harajuku. People were crowding the street, so we just briefly stopped by. Then we walked to Omotesando Hills area, and took a short rest at a nearby park garden.

Night spot: Shibuya and Roppongi Hills
We had a long walk from Harajuku to Shibuya district. At HMV Shibuya, I was happy to find a special section for TVXQ/ Tohoshinki although the group wasn’t really exist anymore back then. As memories, I bought few DVDs of them at the store. Shibuya is always busy with local residents and tourists; in fact, we can take pictures in the middle of the main street during the walk sign is on. I could see the Shibuya 109 Tower, where the gigantic poster of Tohoshinki’s Best Selection 2010 album was supposedly hung several weeks prior.
 
We walked again to Roppongi Hills arena, and enjoyed the night view of Tokyo city from the tower deck. I could clearly see the famous Tokyo Tower not far away! Also, we paid for a tour in the Mori Art Museum – there was a contemporary art display at that time.


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Travel in Japan '10 [OSAKA Part 3]
Author’s Note: Ohhh my brain is almost fried after typing the last entries! So, I’m gonna do easier way – just put pictures and short explanations. Too much to write (T___T)

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

We took a short break from Osaka city today. Instead, we were going to Kyoto and Nara!! Two traditional cities in Japan, with a lot of actual remains and old castles.

1st location: Golden Pavilion
A very famous castle – its entire wall on the 2nd and 3rd floors is covered with gold dust. I’ve been dreaming of wanting to go to this castle since childhood – my dream has finally come true!

2nd location: Nijo Castle
I learnt about this castle in my Art of China/Japan/Korea class last winter. One of the oldest castles in Japan, and we can actually enter the castle to see its interior! Unlike Golden Pavilion which is forbidden from visitor’s entry. 

3rd location: Nara National Park
Actually, we got lost before we arrived at this park. We couldn’t find the exit to the bus stop from the JR Nara Station, even with careful instruction from local workers. Apparently, the station was being renovated, so detours were everywhere! We wasted more than half an hour!

The Nara National Park is well-known as a preserved habitat for thousands of wild deer. We encountered a group of them, hanging around at the park entrance. They seemed friendly enough, so I patted one of them on its head. In fact, visitors can feed these deer in this park. Unfortunately, I forgot I was holding a plastic bag of Mister Donut, so the buck grabbed the package and tried to chew it! I got my food back, but I was scared if the buck would try to bite my hand instead, therefore I quickly walked away. Diya recorded that incident, and she just laughed it off. Danggg girl, you won’t be laughing if your hand was bitten that day!! Actually, these deer can be pretty vicious if you aren’t careful.

Anyway, these deer here were also intelligent. They can follow rules on the road very well – they waited patiently for the walk sign to turn green, before they cross the street. Very cute, huh? Unlike impatient humans whom just go against laws for their sake.  
 

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Main spot: Osaka-jo (Osaka Castle)
The garden in the castle park was very impressive in terms of size and beauty. I wanted to roll over on the forest ground and play with the friendly birds. The Osaka-jo was actually a replica, now turned into a museum. The original structure was badly damaged due to a big fire. Still, the replica amazed me so much.

Night spot: Osaka Shin Saibashi
On the way to the shopping area, we found American Park, a street of American-influenced style. A lot of Black people and dangerous-looking men at the street – we heard about some terrible cases happened there – so we didn’t hang around too long. I also came across Johnny’s store, but it was already its closing time! Ugh, too bad!

This time, we went for real shopping! After rows and rows of shops, finally I found a nice bag, and it’s very cheap too! I was so grateful for the price because we just had a very expensive dinner at a luxurious restaurant right before the hunting began. But I was satisfied with the food – rice with grilled eel and strawberry-flavored shaved ice! Gulp, even now I can still vividly taste them on my tongue, yummm…


Thursday, July 29, 2010

Day spot: Yodobashi Umeda
We spent the day by looking around the Yodobashi Umeda shopping complex. There were 8 floors, and we spent most time at toys’ department. I bought some Dragonball stuff here.

Night spot: Malaysia Boleh restaurant
Since we were leaving the oh-so-awesome Osaka, we went to this restaurant again. This time, we went all out by ordering anything we had been craving for. Seafood tomyam, fried rice ala2 kampung, pineapple fried rice, pisang goreng wrapped in popia skin, and mango juice. The owner still remembered us from our last visit, and he was kind enough to offer us the drinks on the house! We even took pictures with him, and I promised to keep in touch with him. 


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Travel in Japan '10 [OSAKA Part 2]
Sunday, July 25, 2010

It was our official first day at Osaka! Yesterday didn’t really count because we slept most of the time. At 11am, we met Mako-kun and decided to have a lunch first. Mako suggested a Malaysian restaurant, Malaysia Boleh, and we immediately agreed. Actually, we almost got lost on the way because Mako took us to the wrong turn. The shop was only several streets away from the Osaka-eki, and just opposite of the Umeda Floating Observatory Tower. The owners were actually Japanese whom had visited Malaysia several years prior, and fell in love with the awesome Malaysian food. I am truly amazed with their cooking talent because the food was simply incredible! Mako whom had his first try on Malaysian cuisine also heartily commended on his scrumptious order of lamb curry. In addition, we were lucky to meet a couple of Malays whom are working in the area. I felt like at home (^__^)
1st location: Kaiyukan (Osaka Aquarium)
While walking to the aquarium, we bought shaved ice (ABC-like) served with choices of fruit sauce. Mine was the mango flavor. To our delight, we met Justin whom just finished his tour at the aquarium. I hoped to get to meet Tim, Matt, or James while we were in Osaka.

Kaiyukan was one of the biggest aquariums in Japan, and it was beside the Tempozan Giant Ferris wheel. The main attraction in the aquarium was the whale-shark: a shark species with very big and long body, and has white spots all over its body. Along the route to the center tank, penguins, river otters, sea lions, and dolphins greeted the visitors. I especially liked the stingray show in the same tank as the whale-shark. The rays seemed to be racing against the gigantic whale-sharks to steal our attention. I have been to many aquariums before, and none has failed to amaze me with their unique species. So cliché, huh? Tee hee~ We also did a little shopping at the Studio Ghibli store nearby. I bought a Kodama keychain for AishahRahman, and a Totoro for myself! ~(*^__^*)~
 

2nd location: Kyocera Dome Osaka Stadium
Next stop was the Kyocera Dome Osaka, well-known for baseball games and big concerts. In fact, JYJ held their first Japanese concert in that very place. Ahhh, fangirling moment again. Anyway, the shape of the stadium is very interesting – it reminded me of a gigantic beetle.

3rd location: Osaka Tower
As the day was getting darker, we visited the Osaka Tower at Shinsekai street. The tower was not very tall, but its lightshow was pretty. I found a wooden statue of Billiken – a very creepy-looking boy – at the view deck. Mako-kun said that it was the deity whom can grant wishes. There were a lot of tablets, written with visitors’ wishes, hung around the statue. 

Night spot: Hanabi (firework) watching
Since the Summer Festival started today, we found out that the hanabi show would start at 10pm at various spots around the city. It was almost 9pm when we left the tower. Mako-kun brought us to a location beside a famous river (I forgot its name) to watch the hanabi. Booths selling food, toys, and clothes were set up along the river, and beautiful parade boats were floating on the water. I think there were tens of thousands of people in that area, waiting for the hanabi. Seriously, couldn’t today become hotter than this? We had to go through the crowd to get a convenient view spot. It was a very hot night; everyone was sweating like crazy. Some Japanese girls even pulled down their yukata in the public! (O__o) Too bad my own yukata hadn’t arrived at the hotel yet; I could’ve worn mine that night. The hanabi started off at several spots at the same time. Ahhh, hanabi was the best! It was an awesome day! Thanks to Mako-kun, our tour guide of the day ;)  

Monday, July 26, 2010

Apparently, we could walk to Osaka-eki and save ¥300 for one-way ride to the station. The weather was really good, so we walked to the station happily. Today, we planned to go around the city with Tim Hsu. We met at Osaka-eki and went to the Kaiyukan area once again, because Tim hadn’t visited it yet. So, Diya and I looked around the shopping complex next to the aquarium while waiting for Tim. A lot of pretty things were sold there. After Tim finished his tour in Kaiyukan, we decided to get on Tempozan Ferris wheel together. It was facing the waterfront, and I could see the Universal Studio of Osaka from our cable car. Also, a giant Winnie the Pooh toy was sitting at the corner of the car. I didn’t understand why it was there in the first place.

Next location: Osaka Shin Saibashi
This place is fascinating – it is a 3-km roofed-shopping street, also interconnected with other streets, with various shops selling anything you would want to buy. We didn’t walk through the whole street, it was too long! I felt like I want to walk and look into shops for hours, or until I finally drop on my feet. We had takoyaki for a light lunch and Baskin Robbins ice-cream as dessert. At first, we wanted to hunt for new suitcases for extra baggage, but none seemed suitable enough. So, we decided for another day to shop. Tim was lucky that he didn’t have to deal with two girls with crazy shopping mood XDD


Night spot: Umeda Floating Observatory Tower
If I wasn’t mistaken, the tower was one of the tallest buildings in Japan. We could go up to its observation deck at the rooftop via glass-roofed escalator. The view from the rooftop was beyond description. I could see almost the whole main city, painted with beautiful lights and twinkling stars up above. The full moon also magnified the beauty of the night. The floor of the observatory platform was embroidered with glow-in-the-dark marbles – the light effects made us feel like we were floating in the outer space.  Suited the tower’s name well, right?

That day, was the last time I saw Tim. He’s very funny, friendly, and cool as well! Too bad I wasn’t closer with him during the program. Hope to meet you again someday, Tim!
 

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