New Definition of Awaited 2020~

Assalamua'laikum wbt. & good day,

The first quarter of 2020 had passed and yes, we had left with another three quarters. Sometimes, I do question myself on what have I achieved so far and how much have I prepared myself for the next stage of life in the hereafter. Like it or not, while each of us acknowledged the facts that we will be leaving this world, we tend to overlook on the preparations needed as talking about death always make us feel stress, afraid and rarely excited.

The whole world had been hit badly by COVID-19, a pandemic caused by Coronavirus. Malaysia is not exempted, and we are currently under Movement Control Order (MCO) since 18 March 2020. The MCO is now in the third stage; and this stage is expected to end by 28 April 2020. Our Prime Minister will do another press conference to announce the needs to either extend or end the current MCO towards end of this stage.

Early of this month, I had officially moved to another business unit within my company, in which I supposed to physically move elsewhere, but end up I just virtually report duty through digital means to my new department. I never thought that my wish to silently moving out after almost 8 years in the same environment is granted this way HAHAHA. It is perhaps a good time to reflect on the needs to be more careful in praying for my wish. :D

Sunset at Kapas Island, Terengganu, Malaysia.

Looking back on the old days that I have gone through since I was young, I never thought that Vision 2020 or "Wawasan 2020" which had been something I look forward to will take me to somewhere back to basic, which is staying at home. Not only that, the MCO announcement made by current Prime Minister TSMY had triggered panic buying of daily necessities among the citizens which in the end bring everyone back to realization that our basic needs in life is so simple and others are just our wants. On top of this, this pandemic had exposed many glamour and famous people to their real self in which I will not share the details here. Being a strong ISTJ person and previously an INTJ, I do take a lot of my time to silently judge and evaluate others. But yes, I know that I am being evaluated and judged by others too, HAHAHA. As long as we keep the sensitive things to ourselves, I do not think judging others is wrong, just that we had wasted our time unnecessarily. :P #silainsaf

I am supposedly going to Japan yesterday and all the arrangements are basically done. However, due to this pandemic, this trip is cancelled and I somehow start to realize the importance of believing in guts. I have not purchase the ticket to KL since I am currently in Sarawak for this trip because I was thinking to just redeem my airline loyalty points since some of it will be expiring this year. Luckily, following my instinct had benefited me financially as I am not going for this trip anyway and therefore, I have not lose anything be it in terms of my money as well as my points. Alhamdulillah.

I cannot deny the feeling of bored during this period as I am staying alone and not able to visit my parents who are staying one hour flight away. Just for info, the Air Asia inter-district flight in my state is all cancelled throughout this MCO but the good thing is they provide refund although the processing time is quite lengthy.  Looking on the bright side, this situation had provided me ample time to pack for my items prior to move to other city upon this MCO is uplift. I also have the opportunity to declutter all my stuffs, enhancing my cooking skill as well as trying my best to do skipping at least 300 times a day. Until today, I managed to do skipping for almost 500 times a day and I am targeting to do skipping at least 1000 times a day. HEHE :P This is also a golden opportunity for me to reflect, rearrange my priority on top of continue reading the books that I have in spite of I still do not have any ideas on where to put  or who to give the books that I have read.

Sunset at Kuala Perlis, Perlis, Malaysia.

After more than 20 days at home, I realized that the following five facts are irrefutable:

• Sometimes, we have to beware of what we wish for. I never thought that my wish to not transfer before Eid is granted this way. Although I am fully aware that Allah must be either protecting or preparing me for something, I am just impressed the way He granted my wish. It is far beyond my imagination.

• A blessed sustenance is far better than a lot of sustenance. This thing is very subtle to be deliberated, but the outcome of a blessed sustenance mostly come in a way we spend the sustenance for the right purpose or giving it to the right parties.

• It is basically easy to know where we are in other’s list of priority. As we are also a normal human, we definitely will make time for things or person that matters to us. Do not trust in other’s justification to ignore us.

• Every person in this earth is given the will to strive for a better life. Factors that differentiate us in having this better life are our determination, thinking skill, thinking scale and our network.

• While both quantity and quality of effort matters a lot, consistency is always the key to success. I would say that I am a total believer of slowly but surely :)

It has been quite some time I have not write. I hope the current MCO will give me more time and determination to continuously write because I believe, writing can enhance ones capability in articulating their ideas and express their emotions in a very positive way.

Till then, have a nice day. Wassalam~

Chapter 22: Pontianak & Singkawang, Indonesia

Assalamua'laikum wbt. & good day,

Hi! I am writing again after a long hiatus, probably because I am not used to take the flight back to this place at this time, since I usually take the evening flight that will touch down during sunset. The fare difference was quite huge since today is a public holiday replacement day. But then, this could be the best decision as well since I will be away again tomorrow for another business trip, so at least I have some time to pack for my stuff.

Life is quite good at this moment, with more and more people come into my life as well as go away from it. I have no more concern on this as I realized the fact that some people are meant to be part of the chapter of my life, and we can choose to remember the moments as sweet memories or lessons to be learnt. 

I just completed my #chapter22 of my abroad vacation, after #chapter21 during last year's Christmas. Going to the age of thirty years old this year, I choose not to do a very thorough planning and just to be flexible in spite of the fact that I may fail to achieve my target of been to 30 countries by age of 30. At this point of time, I have been to 26 countries and based on current leaves available, it is quite impossible for me to take even any short break in order to enable me to hit at least 27 countries. Nevertheless, the target is set by me and hence, I should forgive myself for unable to meet it. Life is still a long way to go, InshaAllah.

View along Kapuas River, Pontianak.

I went to Pontianak via Air Asia's direct flight from Kuching. It tooks me 45 minutes to arrive Supadio International Airport. The weather is quite hot as my nose was bleeding and that is the reason why my first day in PNK was mainly resting in my room and tour around Tanjungpura University at night. The temperature was around 33-35 degree C and I think Borneo soon will have its own summer too! 

I toured around Pontianak City on the second day by visiting Tugu Khatulistiwa, Aloe Vera Centre, Rumah Radakng, Tugu Digulis and Taman Arboretum Sylba Untan using both Grab and by walk. If you ask my honest opinion, the place is so average but at least I can indirectly learn about PNK through these places and from the people that I met. I paid 15000 IDR for Kapuas River Cruise (not that standard cruise like the one that I took while in Kotor or Bhosporus Strait) during sunset and Subhanallah, it was one of the best decisions that I took for this trip! The view was majestic and I managed to make one friend who is also love to travel and capturing moments.

Tugu Khatulistiwa/ Equator Monument, Pontianak

It took me 3 hours by car to Singkawang on the next day. I made the deal with one of the Grab drivers that I ride on previous day. Although the journey is quite long, the view along the journey was all villages and local houses. I passed by Mempawah and Tanjung Pinyuh on my way to Singkawang and tried the signature bakso at Singkawang for late lunch. The overall journey inclusive all the pit stops at some of the attractions such as Rindu Alam Peak, Singka Zoo, Tanjung Bajau Resort & Pasir Panjang Beach was almost 11 hours. It was quite exhaustive as the road was all single lane and it is quite challenging for the driver to over take. 

Tanjung Bajau Beach, Singkawang

This 4 days 3 nights short vacation to PNK is quite meaningful for me as I realized and becoming more convinced that managing a big countries with thousands islands is very challenging. The Singka Zoo for example, is quite a good place but due to low visitors and high maintaining cost, the place is so disorganize but luckily the fantastic view at Rindu Alam Peak cured my disappointment. Just like Kampung Terih in Batam, this place is manage personally without any assistance from their government. Personally,  I would suggest Taman Safari Bogor if you want to visit place of nature for its visitor friendliness among provinces of Indonesia that I have been to - Jakarta, Bogor, Bandung, Padang, Bukittinggi, Batam and PNK. 

After all, I am focusing more on exploring local this year after I realized that it is quite impossible to achieve my dream of been to 30 countries by 30 years old. :(

Where to next? :P

Till then, have a nice day. Wassalam.

Post New Government of Malaysia. Eh?

Assalamua'laikum wbt & Good Day,

I hope it is still not too late to wish all Muslims Eid Mubarak! Taqabbalallahu Minna Wa Minka & lets continue for 6 days of fasting in Syawal. :) We have another 6 days remaining in the second quarter of 2018 and in just a blink of eyes, we already in July and I will need to be fully prepared for the next stage of Kuiz Agama at Borneo Level.

A lot of things had happened since my last entry back in April 2018. As much as I want to write, there are lots of other things that need to be prioritized over writing inclusive of itinerary planning for my next travel in July and September. And few minutes ago, I just bought another one flight, just for your info. Hehe~

Since April, I had went to a short trip to Jakarta & Bandung and there are few lessons that I wish to share. If it was not because of Lion Air last minute promotion, I would spent my Labour Day holiday just within Malaysia. After all, everyone is unique and have their own comfort zone and sitting in a plane is mine :)

Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia

A month plus after my Chapter 18th travelogue, a big change happened in Malaysia. For the first time, the 60 years ruling party was defeated badly in Malaysia 14th General Election and today, we are govern by new party called Pakatan Harapan. And we also got our 4th Prime Minister had been sworn in again as 7th Prime Minister, but this time he was representing different party. 

There are lots of funny and weird things happened around these days and some of it really makes me agreed with one of my previous desk mates when she said that, "I just shocked to see some of our friends are still stuck at fifteens in spite of majority of us will reach our thirties next year!". HAHA. It was the most legend statement that I read this year but somehow indirectly taught me that some people are not worth our energy and removing them permanently from our circle is crucial to maintain our positive energy. 

However, this does not means that we put the door permanently close for any good things later. This kind of incident sometimes can be good lessons learnt in ensuring the things that we do is always right & kind. Some people can be overly sensitive, some are actually holding their envy for a long time, and some are sincerely honest in giving their feedback for our own betterment. And if it is were not because this kind of incident, the true color of human will rarely prevail and for this, Alhamdulillah - all the praise is to Allah alone. :)

I am currently in the middle of marathon in replacing the missing days of Ramadhan fasting of mine. As usual, I always try my best to ensure all the missing days are fully replaced before any long haul flight trip as we may not know what will happen. But this year, the challenge is real. I have to celebrate Ramadhan a bit later and Eid a bit earlier. Can you understand that? HAHA~ *facepalm* 

Miniaturk, Istanbul, Turkey

Back to my recent travel which is not so recent anymore, one thing that I start to realize is we cannot leave the responsibility to plan for our journey solely to other person. However, in spite I was so frustrated with the trip, I figure out that blessing in disguise will always happen once we put full hope and faith for Allah to ease our journey. It strengthen my belief that there are more kind people in this world as compared to the bad one, and in spite I strongly believe in this, being careful is still essential. 

I also met one Malaysian who is more hardcore than me in her traveling and I just impressed with her determination in low budget travel. This lady really taught me that we can always achieve our dream once we have a strong desire in spite all the obstacles that exist along the way. 

Basically, Bandung is a very cool city in spite the traffic is not that good, just like Jakarta. The best thing about Indonesia which makes me return for the third time is the food diversity on top of the price which I think is very reasonable. After all, Malay is always a Malay in term of food preference and for me, there is nothing wrong with that. 

I wish Malaysia will continue to prosper with this newly appointed governing party in spite the media freedom that they are trying to exercise have started to show the bad side of it. I still remember on the election date, I have to continuously look at my Twitter in spite I have not been using it unless to question the service provider that I have paid whenever their services are bad. It was such a trembling moment as the full results are only released few minutes before Fajr prayer time in the city where I am currently work. That is how bad it was! Huh~ 

Lodge Maribaya, Bandung, Indonesia

Major things that I have learned these few months basically can be summarized as follow:-

1. Reading is the key to knowledge and intelligence. Even acts of kindness is the reflection of knowledge that we had through reading.

2. Busy people tend to have more things get done.

3. Planning is very essential. Failing to plan is basically planning to fail; and this is ultimately true.

4. The most difficult choice is to choose between being right versus being kind. Don't you agree?

5. Everyone is unique and that will determine the way they arrange their priority. You just don't be busy body unless their choice will make your life suffer like borrowing your money. HAHA. 

Till then, have a nice day. Wassalam~

P/S: Please pray for the smooth journey for my upcoming Chapter 19 & 20 travelogue.

Hola Casablanca!

Assalamua'laikum wbt & Good Day,

Hola from Bahamas! HAHA

Sometimes, dream high is good; especially when you need to activate the positive vibes within yourself. So yes, I will be in Bahamas, very very soon! Oh my~ Again, I am still in denial. :(

It has been quite sometimes I did not share my travel experience. In fact, I have yet to share my experience while traveling to Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Spain, Portugal, Morocco & Mauritius. I do not know either I am currently justifying or I am really busy.

Morocco has been one of my wishlists upon hearing on its uniqueness from one of my colleagues. Morocco is situated in North Africa, and most of the citizens master French language more than English. As far as I know, there is no direct flight from Malaysia to Casablanca & during my trip there last September, we have to transit in Jeddah for about 7 hours and that has made our total flight duration almost 23 hours. 

Chicken Tajin served with bread. Chicken is hidden underneath the fries :')

Malaysian who wished to visit Morocco have to apply for visa via Morocco Embassy situated in Ampang. During my trip, our visa cost was 104 MYR because we applied for double entries visa since our arrival and departure points to & fro Kuala Lumpur was Casablanca. We went to Spain & Portugal in the midst of our Morocco trip since we got quite a good deal after we bought our ticket to Morocco via Saudi Airlines. 

Honestly, Casablanca in September was quite hot, just like the city where I am currently living while waiting to my next transfer. There are lots of nice food; and my favourite was Chicken Tajin & 2 Dirham Donut. 

I have been in Morocco for 6 nights, whereby I spent the first two and the last night in Casablanca while the rest was spent in Marrakech. The other 7 nights was spent in Spain & Portugal. All in all, the overall duration of my September trip was 14 days and it is the most meaningful trip as I have visited Al Hambra Palace, one of the best history that really touch my heart :'( However, I will only shared on my trip to Morocco in this entry.

Ain Dhiab, Casablanca

We stayed in Hotel Ibis City Centre, located just opposite Casa Port Train Station that is equivalent to KL Sentral in Malaysia. There are lots of food shop nearby with reasonable price. And for this, I am thankful that we just brought 2 Maggie Cups and 2 packets of butter biscuits. Shall we do the opposite, we might end up bringing back the foods to Malaysia. HAHA :)

I took 3 hours of sleep upon arrived at hotel to minimize the jet lag impact and we just walked around the Old Medina area that day. Since we were not into shopping that much, we just tour around to get ourselves familiar with the city tram as preparation for the next day.

The next day, we went to Ain Dhiab and Hassan II Great Mosque. The view was so majestic and we were both excited in spite of the hot weather. We went to Ain Dhiab via the city tram and local bus to Hassan II Great Mosque. The bus was so packed that I need to sit at the bus dashboard since there is so minimum space even just to stand up. That's the reason why we decided to just walk on our way back from the mosque to our hotel by thinking positively that it is part of exercise. HAHA

Hassan II Great Mosque, Casablanca

On the next day, we took a 3 hours train to Marrakech. We have to cancelled our booking at Ait Ben Heddou since the taxi is quite expensive and we have mistakenly underestimated the Eid Adha factor while planning on our stay in Marrakech. Fortunately, Riyad Kenzo, the hotel that we planned to stay after Ait Ben Heddou is available for one night earlier check-in. 

I will share on my experience while I'm in Marrakech in next entry, inshaAllah. 

For the last night in Casablanca before we returned back to Malaysia, we were basically entering from Lisbon. There was some friction while dealing with the immigration there since they doubt that we will be leaving the country on the next day. However, it is resolved after a thorough explanation.

Another side of Hassan II Great Mosque, Casablanca

We basically have underestimated the beauty of Morocco and we should spend more time there and went to Fes and Meknes as well. But then, there is always next time. Perhaps with my own family later, inshaAllah. Eh? #sistetiba

Wassalam.

Trip to Sri Lanka (Overview)

Assalamua'laikum wbt and Good Day,

Alhamdulillah, done with my 9th trip and this was the 12th countries I've visited. Singlehood KPI almost achieved! *yeay*

View of Colombo Harbour at dusk.

After visiting Taiwan last December, one thought comes to my mind; if I have visited Chinese majority country, I must visit Indian majority country too! And I started searched about Southern Asean countries.

Knowing myself, I start to search about India but based on few reviews, I can feel India does not suit my characters. However, upon heard from my Quebec's friend who have visited Sri Lanka, I think this country could be the right choice.

I bought the ticket with less than 400 MYR for returns trip from Kuala Lumpur. To be frank, I never know that Malaysians require visa to visit Sri Lanka. Just few months before the trip and upon checking with few websites, it was confirmed that I need to apply for visa prior to arrive at Sri Lanka. 

View of Colombo from the sky prior to landing.

The visa cost me 35 USD. Although I am not that sincere to pay for the cost, I just proceed since the ticket is already bought. In addition, there's a lot of uncertainties and this trip may change my perspective about life right? 

Below is the summary of my 9th trip:

1) Beware of the tuk tuk driver. They may charge you too much for a very short distance. Not all are dishonest, but there is. 

2) The accommodation price in Sri Lanka is very expensive. That is why I opted for AirBnb instead of hotel. Unless you don't mind to pay for 4 stars price with a standard of 1 star, then please proceed.

3) Back to point #1, the charge for every kilometer using tuk tuk should be 40 LKR. However, please expect the price is high for tourist. *I hate this*

4) Halal food is easily available in Sri Lanka with a very reasonable price. I have been to Colombo, Kandy, Galle and Negombo; and Kandy is very expensive. Please expect to pay for Arab Rice price for Chicken Rice.

5) During my visit, 1 MYR is equivalent to 35 LKR.

6) Although the visa cost for kids is 0 USD, we still have to apply. Please check the website on the age range of kids.

7) Communication is easy as most of Sri Lankans can converse in English very well.

On the way to Colombo City from Bandaranaike International Airport.

I will share more on my Sri Lanka trips in next entry; if I still have the courage to write :P

Have a nice day :)

Wassalam.

Tips: Selecting Accommodation

Assalamua'laikum wbt & Good Day,

It's been a while I haven't drafted any post within a week. Whenever I feel blurr on what to write, I know that it's time to read more. In fact, it is so true at least to myself; you will not be able to give what you does not have. In this case, it could be an idea, new vocabulary and anything that may inspire me to write.

One of the books on my bookshelf captured my eyes when I just look into all the books collection that I have. I have completed read this book more than a year back; when I underwent my intensive one year induction program at Kuala Terengganu. Somehow, my instinct told me to reread this book.

"Cinta di Rumah Hasan Al Banna" 

A book with beautiful contents whereby it shows me how a busy man can be such a good husband, wonderful father and loyal friend to his wife and kids. This book shows me that if we really plan our time wisely, we actually can do more for the sake of better ummah and better world. 

 

Krabi, Thailand

 

 

As on the day this post was drafted, I will be travel again in a month time to one country in South East Asia. Actually, when I first plan on my travel for this year, this country never crossed my mind; but considering that there is a direct flight from the city where I am currently reside to this country, I just proceed. 

Yes, sometimes, in order to travel, we just have to buy the flight ticket first; as long as the price is within our budget. Waiting for cheapest price is somehow ridiculous as we never know how much the flight price can go down. 

Since I have started touch about my travel, let me share few tips on ways to book our accommodation when we travel especially when we travel abroad.

 Krabi, Thailand

 

1. Sign up for membership in our preferred booking website. Who knows we might collect the points based on our booking and we can redeem the points later?

2. Check for the price and any special terms. When I was in Manila, the hotel where I reside strictly not allowed more than 2 adults in a room and they did check the passport one by one.

3. Check the distance of the hotel from train station (if that place got LRT/ MRT). This would ease the movement later as we do not have to fully rely on bus or cab.

4. Do check previous travelers review on that hotel and do not rely on one website. We have many options nowadays; Agoda, Booking, TripAdvisor, etc.

After all, although I always travel on tight budget, I still concern on my comfort especially on accommodation :)

Somehow, we still can stay in a comfy place if we do a thorough selection and planning prior to travel.

Have a nice day :)

Wassalam.

Trip to Taiwan: Day 2

Assalamua'laikum wbt & Good Day,

We are still in southern part of Taiwan on the second day. The hotel where we reside do provide free breakfast in spite of its cheap price which is RM 255.29 for two nights. It is quite hard for us to have some insight on the food status, but luckily we met Vincent, a man wearing University of Taipei jacket that can speak English and he is the one who assist us on which food that we can consume and which one is not allowed. He also did communicated with the hotel's so called chief lady on food that we can and can't consume and that lady do help us in choosing the food that we can eat on the next day.

We begin our journey post performing our Dhuhr and Asr prayers. We visited Lotus Pond; a place where Dragon Tiger Pagoda is and have frozen banana coated with melted chocolate there. It costs us about 45 TWD. I also bought two pieces of fridge magnet with a cost of 300 TWD. Personally, I think it is quite expensive as compared to other places that I've been to.

Dragon Tiger Pagoda, Lotus Lake, Kaohsiung

We then proceed to Love River, a beautiful park in Kaohsiung with flowing river prior to visit Pier 2 Art Centre. We ended our second day in Taiwan by visiting Liuhe Night Market, located just within 10 minutes walking distance from our hotel. Overall, our second day's journey doesn't need us to hire any taxi and all places doesn't required any entrance fee.

I would suggest those who planned to visit Taiwan to spend more time in Kaohsiung as this city is very peaceful, relax and slow pace as compared to Taipei. Although only few people are able to communicate in English there, but they are willing to provide the assistance that we need. The public transport is very reliable too.

Just one tip, if you plan to use the public bus, make sure you have small coins as the bus driver won't give you any balance shall you paid them more than the required fee.

Have a nice day:)

Wassalam.

Trip to Cappadocia & Istanbul, Turkey (Overview) - Part 2

Assalamua'laikum wbt & Good Day,

 

Our second day in Cappadocia started with hot air balloon. We booked for it since we were in Malaysia via website and it costs us 531.30 MYR per head. The hot air balloon package includes pick-up to and fro hotel, breakfast, hot air balloon itself and refreshment. We were on air for about 90 minutes.

 

We spent our evening by visiting Goreme Open Air museum and ATV rides for 3 hours until dusk. We did not knew at first that the end point for that ATV ride will be in Cavusin but luckily we've got replacement to ride our ATV back to its starting point. We just walked to our hotel upon seeing sunset from the top point of Cavusin. On the next day, we booked a ground tour from our hotel that costs us 100 Turkish Lira per person.

 

Hot Air Balloon, Cappadocia, Turkey

We flown to Istanbul on our third night in Cappadocia via Turkish Airlines.

 

We started our first day in Istanbul by visiting Galata Tower in the evening. We went to Istanbul Hard Rock Café at night and on the next day, we proudly went touring in Sultanahmet area by wearing jubah. We bought Museum Kart for 85 Turkish Lira and it valid for 5 days. We went to Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. It was such indescribable feeling when visiting these places! It is a dream that comes true. *cry*

 



Goreme Open Air Museum, Goreme, Turkey



On the following day, we went to Dolmabahce Sarayi and Maiden Tower by wearing our own country's national costume, Baju Kurung. We also went for Bhosporus Boat Tour that costs us only 15 Turkish Lira. We can clearly see the demographic difference between the Asean and Europe side of Turkey along the strait.  

 

It is only on the next day we wear the normal casual attire after two days became Malaysia ambassadors :P

 

Cavusin, Cappadocia, Turkey

 

We've visited Topkapi Palace, Archeology Museum and Grand Bazaar to buy some stuffs and souvenirs. By comparison, Spice Bazaar offered cheaper price for many items as compared to Grand Bazaar but I went to Spice Bazaar on the next day which is after Grand Bazaar. We did paid a visit to Miniaturk by using bus and for those who did not managed to visit the whole Turkey, this place is highly recommended as we can see the all the miniatures of Turkey attractions in this park.

 

After all, my trip to Turkey costs me 7117.69 MYR for 11 days 10 nights.

 

Have a nice day :)

 

Wassalam.

 

 

Trip to Cappadocia & Istanbul, Turkey (Overview) - Part 1

Assalamua'laikum wbt & Good Day,



After the current Turkey's President, Mr Erdogan made a holistic drastic change in Turkey especially in eliminating all the bad cultures inherited from Kamal Attartuk, it seems like Istanbul is calling me. In addition, I was once read a book written by Abdul Latip Talip entitled Sultan Muhammad Al-Fateh: Penakluk Konstantinopel and found that book is very inspiring. The way Al-Fateh's was been taught and raised up do impressed me and no wonder he can brought back the glory to Islam by conquering Constantinople; today's known as Istanbul.

 

View from London Heathrow Airport Golden Lounge

 

It is my personal rule of travel that minimum 10 days is required if I am going to any places that needs me to fly for more than 5 hours. Upon checking my company's calendar, September seems to be the best month although that was the time of season transition in Turkey, especially the Europe side of Turkey. On top of that, September is somehow critical because that was the time when all of us need to submit our annual performance appraisal but upon further analysis, I need to go as well as I do not know when the next opportunity will come. On top of that, by the time I bought the ticket, Malaysia Airlines still offering the direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Istanbul and I just need to top up around 2100 MYR when I redeemed 30, 000 of my Enrich points.

 

One of the souvenirs shop in Cavusin Koyu 2, Cappadocia, Turkey

 

It was about a month to go when we were being informed by Malaysia Airlines that the direct flight to Istanbul from Kuala Lumpur will be ceased; just 10 days before our planned departure. Hence, they allowed us to advise them on the best date to fly and which airport we preferred to transit. Upon discussion, we choose to transit at London Heathrow during departure although it seems like we are adding up 6 hours into our flying hours in total and at Doha for return flight. It is somehow a good experience in spite of my bad experience in London Heathrow Airport and it makes me take out London from my travel buckets, at least for 5 years.

 

Initially, we shall transit at London Heathrow Airport for only 4 hours prior to board the connecting flight to Istanbul via British Airways. However, due to some technical problem, we have to disembarked from that plane and wait for another few hours for other connecting flight. We were quite nervous as we have bought a flight from Istanbul to Kayseri via Turkish Airlines since we planned to visit Cappadocia and spent about 3 days 2 nights there. And Alhamdulillah, everything went well. Just for your information, we have to walks for almost 20 minutes from Istanbul International Arrival Hall to Istanbul Domestic Departure Hall although it is in the same building.

 



One of the cave hotels in Cavusin Koyu 2, Cappadocia, Turkey



We stayed at  Pandora Cave Hotel in Cavusin Koyu 2, almost one hour from Kayseri Airport and around 15 minutes from Goreme city center. Since we arrived Kayseri at almost 0200 hours, we slept inside the prayer room while waiting for Fajr. We only headed to our hotel at 0800 hours. Upon arrival, we just rest and have few hours sleep before toured around Cavusin area. This area basically offered a lot of cave hotels and you should never missed the opportunity to experience it!

 

To be continued~

 

Have a nice day :)

 

Wassalam.

 

 

 

Travel Planning

Assalamua'laikum wbt & Good Day,

I wished to share simple tips on travel planning.

We just have to simply answer based on 4 Ws and 1 H honestly; because only we are the one who truly understand ourselves.

Eh?

Here we go~!

1. What?

What is my real intention that makes me want to travel?

What is my goals and aims while traveling?

What do I expect to learn while traveling?

What is the best mean of transportation to travel from one place to another?

Freemantle, Perth, Australia

2. Where?

Where should I go to travel?

Where can I find the most suitable accommodation based on budget that I have?

Where can I get extra info regarding this place?

3. When?

When is the most suitable time to go to this place?

When is the most suitable time for me to take the leave and got high possibility of leave being approved?

When shall I start to look for accommodation and flight/ transportation?

When is the best time to book?

Intramuros, Manila, Philippines

4. Who?

Who shall I bring to accompany me while traveling?

Who shall I contact to get more info regarding this package or this place?

Who have been traveled to this place before?

5. How?

How can I travel there with the most optimum way based on the resources (time and money) that I have?

How can I minimized the risks of being caught in scam while traveling?

Hindi Ocean, Padang, Indonesia

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I sincerely hope these questions will help those who plan to embark their life adventure.

Travel while we still young.

Travel while we still can.

Because life is short, make it memorable. :)

Have a nice day :)

Wassalam :)

Trip to Taiwan: Day 1

Assalamua'laikum wbt & Good Day,

Alhamdulillah, we safely arrived Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1 as per schedule after 3.5 hours on board from Kota Kinabalu. The weather was fine; just a little turbulence while on board and I believed it happened while we fly across Philippines' air. Thank you Air Asia for the safe flight. We will return back to Kota Kinabalu using Malaysia Airlines.

Fried bird's eggs at Liuhe Night Market.
Delicious, MashaAllah! :)

Taiwanese are good, although they rarely smile at you. In spite of their difficulty in understanding our query in English, we can feel that they are trying their best in assisting us. Whenever my face obviously blur while analyzing their High Speed Rail (HSR) and Multi Ride Train (MRT) route, there will always a Taiwanese asking me where do I want to go.

Ecological District MRT Station, Kaohsiung.

Below are the notes that summarized our first day trip to Taiwan:

1) Arrived at Taoyuan International Airport T1 and went to the Tourism Centre at the arrival floor to activate our Wi-Fi.

2) Take a shuttle bus to HSR station that costs us 30 TWD per person.

3) Take a high speed train to Zuoying from HSR station that costs us 1290 TWD per person.

4) Take MRT from Zuoying to Formosa Boulevard station that costs us 25 TWD per person. We were staying at Centre Hotel; 3 minutes walk from Formosa Boulevard station.

5) Since we arrived  hotel at 4pm and Maghrib prayer is about to commence in 1.25 hours time, we are quite rushing as the room is not yet ready by the time we checked-in. Plus, the communication is very hard as the receptionist can't understand English very well.

6) We planned to visit Liuhe Night Market located less than 10 minutes walk from our hotel after taking few hours nap after we performed Isya' prayer, but it turns out that we only woke up during Fajr prayer on the next day.

Love River Bridge, Kaohsiung.

During this post is drafted, 1 MYR is equivalent to 7.4 TWD.

Have a nice day :)

Wassalam.