Chapter 271 - Peace Ya'll

Selesai la sudah demam Maharaja Lawak Mega (MLM). Selepas edisi Maharaja Lawak yg berjaya menarik peminat seantero Malaysia awal 2011 lepas, giliran MLM pulak yg menggegar Astro Warna setiap Jumaat 10 malam. Ramai yg dah tahu, pemenang MLM adalah Osbon. Just like I expected, Boboi (consists of Afdlin & Harun Salim Bachik) will turn out to be like Jozan. Appealing and charming, yet lost at the final. Anyway, Osbon deserves to win. Their comedy varies for young to old demographic viewers. Abon really brought the best for his team.

Bak kata pepatah, rumah siap pahat berbunyi. Begitulah yg ingin diperkatakan disini. Beberapa pelawak yg kurang lawak dan tersingkir agak kritikal kepada salah seorang juri tetap. The man is one and only, Chef Wan. Orang kata mulutnya begitu puaka bila memberi komen dan waktu bukan dia memberi komen, dia turut sama enterframe bagi komen. Perang FB antaranya dan beberapa pelawak mewarnai sekejap industri seni.

Well, to be frankly honest, I do understand what both ends' feel. Let me underline it for easy reading:

1- Ego; They are already a well-known comedians. For someone who is not a comedian (a chef) to tell them that they are not funny and at time sucks is just an ego-reaping.
On behalf of the jury: What chef said were exactly what most of us had in mind. If I say it is not funny, then it is not funny. If I say it is pathetic, then it is pathetic indeed. I yelled that in fromt of the TV. No need to sugarcoat.

2- Shame; same with my point the above. They are expecting the jury to be more lenient and friendly, and save their face in front of the national 'paid' TV.
On behalf of the jury: This is a competition. Winner is taking RM350k back home. Runner up netting RM250k and 3rd place getting RM150k. This is a competition! The jury are suppose to treat them as a contestant. This is not a charity event. I can expect leniency from the jury if that is the case.

Glad that all over and as I heard, Chef Wan already closed his FB fanpage due to massive abuse from the comedians. He stated his opinion. He's already achieved something which is none of Malaysian achieved. And he got my vote over this.

Chapter 270 - Tweet Her

See the newly added button to your right. That's right, I got my own twitter account. I already past 1000th tweets recently, and honestly, I'm quite surprise with the milestone. Rambling mostly on football, I sometimes talked about politics and stuff I'm at. I tweet more than FB. So, please excuse my inadequate status update and response at FB. Follow at your will.

Ada apa dengan Times New Roman? Just changed the layout and font. TNR is lame. I fancy font named 'Ubuntu', but does not listed in blogspot. Anyway, enjoy the multiple posts. Semangat layout baru*

What else?

Thundercats 1985

Yes, after Avatar (cartoon, not the movie), I'm looking for decent cartoon to enjoy. Tried Transformers Animated, but just not working for me. I then found the remake of classic Thundercats. One of my favorites when I was little; Along with Voltron, Captain Tsubasa, Kesatria Baja hitam and Gaban. Thundercats was created on 1985 and on mid-2011, they re-make it. Storyline focused on the origin of the Thundercats which means the prequel to the 1985's Thundercats. I've learnt on how the members of the awesome Thundercats were assembled. Lionel Ritchie Lion-O is not that hairy yet in this series, Panthro looked more kick-ass, Cheetara looked less hag, Snarf as usual, WilyKats are the same cheekiness and Tygra looked less gay.

Thundercats 2011

I just hope below's version doesn't make it to the screen. They all looked wrong in all sort of aspects; Dimension, originality, purpose of living and sexual orientation. Just who the F the dude in white beard supposed to be?

Chapter 269 - Professionally Evolving Soccering 12

Ini kisah orang gelojoh.

Ada orang tu, beli PES 2012 via online. To be exact, via lelong.com.my. Setelah di'propa oleh kawan, dia pon test beli. Siap register bagai dalam website lelong, call member dia tanya macam mana nk order. Akhirnya, dapat jugak dia beli game ni dengan harga yg agak murah dari kedai2 dan store2 di Malaysia. He asked around, and he won't get this game at the price of RM170. Second hand maybe, but this guy, or as he checked on the delivery slip, 'Impulse Internet Cafe' is selling new PS3 games at very low low price. Go check and search for 'pbbcasio' from lelong.com.my and visit his store. He is not getting a dime for this recommendation.

Dia beli tengahari 22 Dec. Payment via Maybank2u. Petang 22 Dec, package dihantar ke SkyNet. Kawan dia cakap, delivery biasanya dalam 24 hours since dalam peninsular yang sama. Malam tu dia bukak youtube nak study gameplay dan skill2 mengelecek handalan. Dengan harapan dapat lipat CPU level regular dengan mudah. Esok pagi2, dia bukak website SkyNet nak track delivery. Package dah pon sampai di Kuala Lumpur dan sudah pon dalam van penghantaran. Senyum lebar.

Tengahari 23 Dec, van SkyNet tak sampai2 lagi. Tunggu la kejap lagi. Senyum tawar sikit.

4 petang 23 Dec dah tak senyum lagi sebab package tak sampai lagi.

5 petang 23 Dec dia telefon SkyNet. Rupanya, SkyNet tak boleh nk deliver haritu sebab nak cope dengan delivery2 Krismas. Package akan dihantar Selasa 27 Dec. Sabtu SkyNet kerja setengah hari dan tak buat delivery. Muka kelat dah. Dia kata dalam hati, "No, No, No!". Dia tanya pasal self-pickup, SkyNet jawab sebelum pukul 6. Ada satu jam lagi. Dia start enjin kereta, pecut ke gudang SkyNet di Batu Caves. Approximately, the place is about 20 km from where he is. Regardles the usual obnoxious traffic jam on Friday's evening, he sped up in and out of highway to Batu Caves. He relied on his GPS since he'd never been to the SkyNet. 10 minutes to 6, he managed to be somewhere in Taman Industri Batu Caves. He asked around for SkyNet and off drove like crazy. 6 sharp, he was in the SkyNet office. Package safely retrieved. All smile again.

Gelojoh tak dia ni?

Chapter 268 - EOY

Welcome December. So many wonderful experience from 2011, now we are to bid farewell. I can very much feel 2012 is not going to be good to me. Made new friends over new work place, and lost old friends from former work place. Haha. It is hard to play catch-up with myself, what's more with people around me. I stopped balling quite some time now. Hardly get myself on futsal pitch. I missed those days, easily had time to spend with friends, colleagues or peers. Friends follow me on twitter, then unfollow. Befriend via FB, then unfriend. That's is normal. Quote Chef Wan, "Ada I kesah?".


I was in blues for few weeks. It was weeks ago. That was when Man Utd lost to Man City by 6 goals. Horrendous! Next couple of games were not convincing as well. Won by small margin, failed to qualify for the best 16 in Europe and mounting injury crisis. But now, seems like are over the hill. Won by 4 goals over Wolves and 5 over Fulham; I am very optimist on United's hosting Wigan tomorrow. Winning on 26th and 31st will bring United back on top at the beginning of 2012. At least for few hours.

As I heard, FIFA is going to suspend FA Switzerland for reason they failed to take action on Sion. Sion fielded 5 ineligible players on their win against Celtic in Europa League; Causing Sion losing their place in Europe League despite winning the grouping stage. What will this means? If FA Swiss suspended, FC Basel will be expelled from Champions League, hence Man Utd as 3rd position in the grouping stage will overtake FC Basel 2nd place, hence will be on their way to the knock-out stage. Sorry Man City, it is only you relegated. Sorry SAF, you'll not going to get the only medal you don't have.

Chapter 267 - A Second Longer

Tertarik dengan kes baru2 ni melibatkan Yuna terpaksa memulangkan trofi Lagu terbaik AIM 18. So much fussed made over this. Penyokong2 Yuna seperti dirasuk menghentam AIM. Pada aku small matter. Kenapa ada recount? Sebab logik x kalau lagu yang sama dipertandingkan dalam kategori pop dimenangi oleh Anuar Zain Sedetik lebih, tetiba la pulak juara keseluruhan Yuna Penakut menang? Ni bukannya macam bolasepak yg mana sesebuah pasukan tu boleh menang Champions League, walaupon dia bukannya top dalam grouping stage. Prestasi pemain mungkin berubah2 dan menjadi lebih baik. Tapi lagu tu sama je sejak belom kira undi sampai la abis kira undi.

Katanya, industri ini dipolitikkan bilamana org kuat AIM iaitu Norman KRU ni abang kepada pencipta lagu Sedetik lebih iaitu Edry KRU. Not a strong case for me. Yang kira undi tu pon external audit from Ernst & Young. bukan calang2 company tu. International OKay. Tapi still salah kira. Or maybe ada orang dari E&Y yg nk Yuna menang? Never think bout that?

Lebih tiau bile Pengarah harapan FFM yg lepas dimenangi oleh Jurey. Sape dia ni? One of the komiti dalam FFM itu sendiri. Wicked right? Macam kau buat pertandingan tapi kau bertanding sama.

Kembali kepada Kes Yuna, aku siap stream lagi lagu dia. Legend sgt ke smpai layak menang AIM? Bila dengar tu, Oooookay la. Xde la sampai rasa nk dengar 2-3 kali. Tapi kalau Sedetik Lebih, memang xyah cakap la.. Aku rasa Yuna pon feeling2 pink dengar lagi tu. Jangan nk tipu la kata tidak. Melodi Penakut tu memang typical Yuna; penyampaian santai dan meleret, teringat pula pada Norah Jones. Sedetik Lebih lebih kepada fantasikal love story dengan accompanying instrument yang baik.

Bila melihat pada lirik, aku tetap pilih Sedetik Lebih. Mudah; sebuah puisi yg mengekspresikan cinta. In the other hand, people seldom said songs are best self expressed and that what Yuna did. He managed to put his frustration and doubt in words. Sad songs are the best because they truly come from heart and most of us understand how that feels like. However, i prefer love than hate this time.

PENAKUT

Tak semua kau rancang akan berlaku
Mungkin nasib tak menyebelahi aku
Entah mengapa engkau yang aku cinta
Mungkin lebih baik kau ku lepas saja

Chorus
Ini tidak adil tidak adil baginya
Ini tidak adil tidak adil bagiku
Ini tidak adil
Untuk engkau bertanya jika ku mencintaimu juga
Tidak adil tidak adil baginya

Kau tak pernah cuba memahami aku
Cinta kau ucap tak pernah engkau tunjuk
Dan bila tiba saat ku kehilangan
Beban yang tak pernah cuba kau ringankan

Ulang Chorus

Kau bukan milikku

Dan aku memang penakut
Mengakui cinta kepadamu
Seribu kali ku cuba ucapkan
Bila bersamamu
Kau bukan milikku
Dan engkau pun tahu
Kau bukan milikku

SEDETIK LEBIH

Setiap nafas yang dihembus
Setiap degupan jantung
Aku selalu memikirkanmu

Dalam sedar dibuai angan
Dalam tidur dan khayalan
Aku selalu memikirkanmu

Ternyata ku perlukan cinta dari dirimu sayang
Barulah terasa ku bernyawa

Kasihku ku amat mencintai kamu
Kerana kau beri erti hidup
Ku kan terus mencinta sedetik lebih selepas selamanya

Di kala penuh ketakutan dengan badai kehidupan
Ku bersyukur adanya kamu

Biarlah kehilangan semua yang dimiliki di dunia
Asal masih adanya kamu

Yg best tu siap special mention dek Boboi dalam Maharaja Lawak Mega minggu 5. Vid below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEs27wkNh7U

I dont like Sharipah Amani, the way she commented the issue making her looked stupid. Read and analyze the situation b*tch!

Chapter 266 - Baby.. Baby.. Baby Oooo

Tsk Tsk Tsk... Bukannya lagu Justin Bibir yg nk aku kisahkan, tapi rezki yg dikurniakan Allah pada aku dan keluarga. Alhamdulillah, pada 17 Oct yg lepas mak ayah aku dapat cucunya yang ke 5, keluarga mertuaku menyambut cucu yang pertama dan seharusnya aku dan isteri menyambut putera kami yg pertama. Scan seawal bulan keempat dah boleh menunjukkan jantina fetus dalam perut ibu. Although there are cases which doctor mis-looked the umbilical cord as a penis, but in our case, the doctor showed us the umbilical cord which was attached to the placenta, then slide downward to get the bottom view, and EUREKA! there's the fetus's penis. Rezki Allah, xpeduli la yg diminta itu perempuan atau lelaki, bila dah tau jantinanya, lupa semua itu. My honest opinion, better pergi ke klinik swasta atau specialist rather than Govt. Bukan nak condemn, tapi consistent-speaking, private clinic is better. Ada kes kawan yg jenuh ultrasound di govt clinic, tapi jantina baby xnampak2. Berkali2 pergi, hasilnya sama saja. Bukan nak kata tau jantina itu penting, tapi teknologi disebalik ultrasound itu sendri. Kalau dah doktor sendri xnampak result ultrasound tu, imagine kebarangkalian doktor akan terlepas pandang benda yg lebih penting, seperti kedudukan placenta, kedudukan fetus, volume air ketuban ataupun ketumbuhan! Clinic yang aku pergi tu, mesinnya boleh view 3D lagi. Bulan keenam dah nampak rupa budak tu. Dalam 9 bulan ni aku perasan 3 mesin Ultrasound yg berbeza. Each time, bertambah canggih mesinnya!

Until 9th month, we were religiously visits the Gynae on monthly basis. We chose Damansara Speacialist Hospital atas faktor rekemendasi dari keluarga dan juga testimonial mereka yg dah pergi. Rata2 derang ni keluarga juga. Cuma risau aku satu, yakni KOS. Ternyata lepas survey, DSH merupakan hospital yg mengenakan kos perubatan yg tertinggi di lembah pantai.

Gila load bos2 KPJ ni

1. KPJ DSH

2. KPJ Bangsar

3. Tropicana

4. KPJ Ampang

Usah bubuh Glenmarie dalam list, sbb survey2, xde sape kot beranak kat situ kecuali kerabat diRaja. Sama juga dengan Prince Court. Konfem mahal xhingat. Baik beranak dalam court badminton saje.

Our usual visit costing us averaging RM200. Mesti ada file charge sebanyak RM5. Paling murah tanpa ubat adalah RM 135. Doktor yg aku 'subscribe' ni usually charge RM80 utk consultation. Procedure seperti ultrasound kena charge around RM50. Tapi kalau ada blood test tu harga utk lab agak mahal. RM 300 kalau tak silap. Selama 9 bulan, 14 kali appointments, 1 blood test, 1 extended ultrasound. Kalau ada hati nk ke situ, sila la prepare wallet anda utk koyak sikit.

Cerita tentang kos lahir, harga berbeza utk 3 jenis kelahiran.

1. Normal delivery

2. Induced delivery

3. C-Sect

1. Normal delivery

Deposit dalam RM 3k dan kos akhirnya usually dalam RM 4k - 5k.

2. Induced delivery

Deposit dalam RM 5k dan kos akhirnya usually dalam RM 6k - 7k.

3. C-Sect

Deposit dalam RM 8k dan kos akhirnya usually dalam RM 8k -9k.

Selama kami pergi regular checkup, semua best. Posisi plasenta, posisi anak, air ketuban.. Semua sihat walafiat. Masuk je 3 minggu before due date, doktor perasan blood pressure tinggi sikit. Semua ni bagi aku mostly contributed dari anxious dan saspen. Even small2 thing can increase the pressure. Since that checkup, kami visit doctor selang 2 hari. Macam2 dah cuba, MC satu minggu x jalan, minum belimbing x jalan, jaga makan pon x jalan.. Masuk kali ke-3 appointment, doctor advised esoknya admit hospital, lusanya induced.

Proses induced ni merupakan stimulation kepada uterus untuk contraction. Sebiji tablet akan dimasukkan kedalam serviks dan within 2 hours, contraction semakin kuat. Tujuannya untuk mempercepatkan kelahiran bila contraction semakin kuat dan menolak bayi untuk engage dan seterusnya turun ke pelvic station yg sesuai utk labor. Bila bayi dah sampai ke pelvic station -4, boleh kata bayi dah nak keluar sangat.

Unfortunately, 2 kali induced utk bini aku, pintu rahim xbukak2. Pressure makin tinggi dan doctor advised utk C-Sect. Tengahari 17 Oct, wife masuk OT, anestetik bagi epidural utk kebaskan waist-down. Doctor buat horizontal incision just below belly button, and 10 minutes later, bayi aku pon keluar. Nurse immediately buat initial test, ntah apa yg dia cucuk, bayi pon menangis.. That was a magical moment. No parent will forget that. Selesai test semua, nurse bagi bayi kat aku utk diazankan. Lelaki keras macam mana pon pasti akan menitiskan air mata jantannya. Alhamdulillah.. Doktor pon kata xde complication, bayi pon OK, perut wife pon sudah dijahit, bayi dihantar ke nursery untuk further checkup sementara derang siap2 wife aku utk dihantar ke bilik wad. Opah dan atuk dah menunggu luar pintu OT trus sambut dan usung bayi ke nursery. Lupa lak kat anak kat dalam OT tu. Haha..

Since C-sect, pesakit usually akan tinggal sehari lebih di ward supaya doktor boleh check luka jahitan. Kosnya pon lebih la sedikit. Tapi kami stay 2 hari lebih dari sepatutnya sebab doktor diagnose bayi kami kekuningan. Tak banyak, lebih sikit je dari 10 point; 10.6 point to be exact. Usually doktor bagi balik kalau kuning < 10. Xpelah, janji anak sihat.

Selama 5 hari di DSH, servis mmg tiptop, walau kadang2 tu ada lambat sikit. Tapi nurse xkekok, cekap dan easy to communicate with. Worth every single dime? For me, if my baby is healthy and fine, it worth all my wealth (even though im not that wealthy).

Tido macam daddy

Alhamdulillah.

Chapter 265 - Two Became Three

Hola.

Keji kan aku update 2-3 bulan sekali. Banyak yang aku nk update, tapi selagi aku xcover holiday aku ke Korea aku rasa xflow pulak. Sudah tentu aku kehilangan banyak pembaca tegar (mmg dah sikit pon to start off), tapi aku coba lebih komited utk update blog. Lebih dan kurang sejak Mac yg lepas, aku x update apa2, that means satu lobang yg besar untuk di isi. 8 bulan tu baiii... Life aku seperti biasa. Kehidupan berumah tangga. Commit pada isteri, keluarga in-laws dan keluarga sendiri. Isteri aku yang baru 2 bulan pregnant masa ke Korea tu dah selamat melahirkan anak lelaki pada 17 Oct. Last update baby dalam perut sampai baby dah kluar! Hmm.. ada entry khas utk kelahiran anak lelaki aku kelak..

Byk yg berlaku dalam 8 bulan ni baik di dalam atau di luar negara. Bersih 2.0 rally, Utoya Island massacre, Uprising in middle east, death of Muammar Gadaffi, Serbuan JAIS di majlis murtad DUMC, pass away of Ahmad Jais, Ekonomi Dunia merudum, Silvio Berlusconi resigned, Palestine accepted into UNICEF, Doktor MJ found guilty dan yg terbaru, Seksuality Merdeka..

Aku? Aku dah tukar kerja. Dah tak lagi dengan HedgePee.. Skrg ni dengan ETienTi. Ngee.. masyuk sket walaupon sama jauh dengan tmpt kerja lama. Yg penting ada kerja, boleh tanggung anak bini.. Jauh ke dekat ke, telan je la..

Ciao~

Chapter 264 - Fly to Seoul Part VI

Last Day

It's our last day in Seoul. Sad, but we bit miss our home. We head to Myeongdong for a stroll as we're looking for infant's clothes. walking around at the underground bazaar, we ended up at Namdaemun. The other side of Namdaemun, the side whereas tourists have less urge to shop, as the place is more like Petaling Street. Short word, thugs. We however stumbled upon a small mall selling only children's clothing. Lucky us. We felt like buying everything, but we're not millionaire. We bought necessarily and head away to Myeongdong again. Since we didn't get to climb Seoul Tower, which was a bummer! I took a picture of it only.

Since I arranged a late checkout, we just spent our time mostly in Myeongdong. Back to the hotel, we packed and I arranged for the 1st class trip back to KL. It was on promotion by the way. Adding only 200 each, i think that was a good bargain.

Arriving at the Airport, we vouch back the balance in our T-card, a quick tour of the airport, checking in and restless wait for the flight. The 1st class arrangement was a bit delayed due to the system, but we managed to see it through. It was worth the wait and pay. Though we slept over the journey, that was the indication of how comfy the seats are.

Saying goodbye to the great city is hard. I really enjoyed our time there even though my wife was having hard time coping with the weather and the geography. Saying that though, we still looking for our future chances to visit the beautiful city.

End.

Chapter 263 - Fly to Seoul Part V

Day 7

Morning was planned for kimchi making class. We booked a class on how to make kimchi via Internet. Lucky us the place is nearby and no need for us to grab the subway. Checking in at the Kimchi World, we were assigned with James. This dude used to study in Malaysia for couple of years. Couple of Malay words were exchanged, yet I found that he need to stay longer for better pronunciation. The class was great except that they maintained the secrecy of the kimchi sauce. We only learned on how to wrap and spreading the sauce over the cabbage. 2 cases of fresh kimchi are heading back to home. But kimchi best eaten marinaded or stored for months.

On the way back, we dropped by the Hotel to stored the kimchi as well as changing room. Yeah, we hated the room with Jacuzzi. Luckily, they got another room available, and furthermore, this room is without jacuzzi. More space for the bags. Rested a bit, then we head to Dongdaemun. A friend of mine recommended the place to get souvenir, and lie u not, the souvenirs there are cheaper. We did some serious shopping there, getting my wife a dress and evening hot choco. We then head to Yeouido. Forgive the spelling, too many vowels!

It's a scenic view. Located on the lower half of the Han river, it is overlooking the skycrapers of downtown. Purely scenic! unlucky us, the flowers yet to bloom. I bought a fish burger from McD at the subway station, and had a little picnic there. Windy and scenic.. so lovely.

Right before dusk, we head back to the hotel. Spent the night in Insadong for left-over souvenirs and the nightlife.

Chapter 262 - Fly to Seoul Part IV

Day 6

Today I planned for a visit to a Bukchon Traditional Village, but due to logistic conflict, we went to the Hanok village instead. It is north to the InsaDong. This village offers something unique. An untouched traditional housing area in the middle of the skycrapers. U might want to look for 12 photoscenic locations spread throughout the place. Of course you need a map for it. Look for one at the nearest information booth there. Unfortunately, my wife complaint over the hill-like road we were strolling at. Being in 1st trimester not helping the sightseeing afterall. She started feeling pain in tummy and i started hailing cab to get us back to the hotel.

After resting a bit, we moved out for another run of sightseeing. We went to the nearest palace in Insadong. The palace was built for the Emperor's father. I think he just hate his parent hanging around the palace so he built one for them. Anyway, the place is pleasant. Serene and refreshing. I just wish I can be there again on a different season. Fall would be nice.

Afterwards, we decided to check out the COEX Aquarium. We've been to Aquria KLCC, and we enjoyed looking at the fishes. So, i guessed that this visit is a must. One foul this was 'the walk'. The moment we hop out from the subway at the COEX (which is located in Gangnam), we had to walk for about 30 minutes. The aquarium is located deep inside the mall. or maybe at the outer edge of the big-ass mall. I just prayed the aquarium is open, otherwise, my wife will turn the mall upside-down. As expected, the aquarium is worth visiting. Just the walk.. Juuuust the walk..

Getting back from COEX, we stopped by Myeongdong for the Seafood fried rice. Halal? We only confirmed the place does not serve pork or lard. The taste still lingered. We then head back for a good night sleep.

Chapter 261 - Fly to Seoul Part IV

Day 5

Honestly, im struggling to get a good night sleep over heated floor. turn out the heat is unbearable over the hours. I changed place quite a lot. Finally, I dragged the futon just to the front of TV. That's the only place with less heat. After breakfast we made our way to tour the island. The place is beautiful indeed. Just like you saw in winter sonata. I wish we're 1 month later, as the flowers will be full bloom. Since the tourist usually coming in at 11, we had the whole island for ourselves. We found a restaurant with Halal symbol at last. Though it was just fried rice + gimchi, it was the best we had.

We walked, we rode bicycle, we took lots of pix and we bought souvenir. Then we head back to bustling Seoul. We arrived back nearly 3 pm. Next task at hand is to locate the hotel. The name is CATS hotel. yeah, sound cheesy and cheap, however that is after considering the price and location. After helps from locals and 7E girl, we managed to reach the hotel. Located near the Insadong, we only need to walk 3 minutes to reach Insadong and 15 minutes from the main palaces. Unlucky for us, we got a room with a jacuzzi in it. What the use? So space consuming and irrelevant. We rested a bit and nearing dusk, we head out to check out insadong. So many souvenirs indeed, but i learnt form my pal, instead of buying it there, better to buy at Dongdaemun. We walked around, bought few souvenirs, then head to our hotel to hit the hays.

TBC.

Chapter 260 - Fly to Seoul Part III

Sigh.. I'm such a bad blogger. I know.. Been busy though.. Anyway, I tried my best to finish what I started.

Day 3

I planned for a tour on couple of famous palaces, but weather and time forbid we only went to one. Cheongbok Palace was the main ruling and administration palace in the dynasty era. It was burnt down twice during the Japan invasion and Korean war. However, there are couple of areas which were saved from the burning, plus the rebuilt based on the original structures has been done everytime they got burnt. It is such a huge place with museums in place. For those who planned for visiting this palace, I believe 2 hours is not sufficient. At least half a day there should cover everything. My wife and I enjoyed the stroll from the past so much. They built this area replicating the lots in the 50's. So nice!

Past noon, we went back to the hostel for lunch and resting. Then towards late afternoon, I managed to contact my friend, Ojai and set up a meeting in the evening. We then strolled down past Myeongdong just to kill time before the dinner date with Ojai. We met her and friends at Myeongdong station and she brought us to this restaurant. They just got back from visiting Yeuido. Finally, we got to eat a fulfilling meal even it is only a seafood fried rice. It is normal for Korean to stop by after dinner and before heading home. She then brought us for hot choco before we departed. We packed a bit before sleep as tomorrow, we'll head for Nami Island.

Day 4

After breakfast, we went to shop a bit in Namdaemun and Myeongdong underground bazaar. Just before noon, we checked out and head straight to meet Ojai. After lunch at the mall, we departs way and off to Nami Island for us. Nami island is famous for KBS drama Winter Sonata. The island is not big though, more like a small land on the Han River. But since the island received so much attention due to the drama, they develop it well while preserving the nature. Believe or not, the island have its own currency and flag. Just like a country. To reach the island, one need to take a ferry and the ride takes about 5 minutes. Upon arrival, we called for the hotel to pick us up. The Nami Hotel is located at the tip of the island which is about 15 minutes walking. We chose to stay in a traditional room instead. They provided us with futons on a heated floor. We fell in love with the hotel immediately for its built and serenity. Tired from walking, we slept till dawn. The island is not lighted during the night, so, no night activity can be done. Continue sleeping then.

TBC.

Chapter 259 - Fly to Seoul Part II

The journey to the center of Seoul took about 1 hour. Not so scenic along the way. Well, not yet. Maybe in spring or autumn it will be better. Once arrived at Seoul Station, we head straight to the subway. We need to check in to the hotel the soonest in order to follow my itinerary. Seoul station reminded me of our KL Central. Pretty similar in term of the size and the bustling. We saw a lot of military service guys crowding a big LCD TV. It is baseball season. Baseball should be the 2nd popular sport after football in Korea. Thanks to the ample signboard, we managed to get ourselves subway to the Myeongdong since the hotel name is Myeongdong Hotel. Well, I was wrong. Once arrived at the station, I checked on the map, yet to found anything that indicates our hotel. I asked direction to the info booth guy, but he also not sure of the place. I then noticed a malay girl. should be obvious since she was wearing a tudung. I asked my wife to stay there and have a chat a bit with her while I look for the Hotel. Her name is Siti and she was on her last day in Seoul. She's been there twice already driven by the obsession to the Korean celebs. My search was to no avail. Lucky us, Siti offered to look for the hotel. Just outside of the subway station, we met a group of fan. High schooler maybe. I'm not sure on what is their agenda by hanging out there and handing passerby with momento of their fav celeb. However, those girls are friendly and they went all the way looking for it from their phone Internet. But found nothing. We returned to Siti's hotel which was around 50 meters from the subway and asked the hotel guy.

Finally we found it. But it was all the way on the opposite direction to that hotel. Sigh. Meaning that we need to walk further across the Myeongdong district with large luggages at hand. It was Saturday, meaning that we need to navigate across hundreds of people. On the positive side, at least we get to know the place we're going later. The hotel was quite easy to find. It was pointed by the tourist guide located within the Myeongdong district. These guys usually walking in pair and wearing a full red attire will offer help to any lost or looking-like-lost tourist. Furthermore, they can speak english better. Once we confirms the hotel, we bid farewell to Siti and exchanged contact info. After unpacked, we rested a bit. The room was way on the 5th floor, while the pantry, Internet room and lobby are on 1st floor. No elevator. It's hard for my wife since she is 2 months pregnant. I very much tried not to strain her, but what to do..

We went to check on the Cheoyanggi Stream first. It was well renovated for tourism purposes. The stream length is about 1 km. There is a wall marked with history on past kings. Some speaker with annoying sound which turned to be their traditional instrument. And at the end of the stream is a monument that looks like a snail. A big colorful snail. We crossed over the huge junction next to the snail and bought us tickets for Night bus tour. While waiting for the bus, we head over to snap couple of pictures in front of the Admiral's statue and got ourselves a hot choco. Starve starts to kick-in. Afterall, we only had roti cecah rendang ayam before went out. Cold weather do cause tummy to hungry faster. My wife called home and asked if we can have fries on the nearest KFC. She remembered when she was in UK, they had fries at McD. It is halal since they use separate oil to cook. So, i ordered a fries, coleslaw and a hot tea. That kept us kenyang a bit. The bus tour is a snore. Literally snore. I slept 3/4 of the tour. So did my wife. We were obviously tired and we didn't sign-up the tour just to see bridges on Han River. I slept after the 3rd bridge. Hahaha.. The bus stopped just next to the snail and we walked back to the hotel. It is just a 5-10 minutes walking from there.

Time to sleep.

TBC.

Chapter 258 - Fly to Seoul Part I

What a wonderful trip. South Korea is magnificent! I wish to visit it again some other time. Maybe next time, I'll be going with my wife and kid ^o^

But Im not sure whether the wife want to visit there again. It was a slight nightmare for her as Seoul is an adventurous terrain. A lot of hills, subway stairs and scarcity of Halal food. I've been there for 7 days and throughout it, no meat consumed. It weakens the body a bit. Apart from that, it is a beautiful place. Unfortunately, I was there during the season shift. So it was neither spring nor winter. Flowers still in their buds. Slight chill from the winter still lingering in the air.

My flight is at 1355. Going from Kota Damansara to the LCCT is so much easier these days as there is a shuttle service from OU. Tickets were purchased somewhere in last August, and I booked for the economic seat. Well, it is either economic or premium for AirAsia, right? Lucky for us, the flight was good. Bit of airpocket, but not too serious. Arrived in Incheon at 2115, and as per mentioned by the captain, "the weather is good with temperature of 3 degree celcius". It is a 3 friggin celcius!! Upon arrival, we fetched our luggage and head straight to the Info booth. I showed the hotel booking slip, and the info lady called the hotel for us. I spoke to the hotel dude and we arranged to meet somewhere in the airport within 10 minutes. Though these people speaks english, but it is still hard for us to understand them. Their slangs and grammar pretty much need to be deciphered. Well, it didnt went well. We waited at arrival floor, while he was at departure. It is pretty a common sense that we were at arrival, since we just arrived. No harm done, we still excited just being there.. waiting. Haha. The dude was actually nice and friendly. The drive took about 5 minutes and while on it, we chatted. He told us that it was snowing the day before and it is very rare to snow past winter. We stayed at Incheon Airport Guest House. The guest house is an apartment actually. It was a pleasant stay indeed. View of Incheon Airport from the room, complete amenities provided and so much clean. I went down to buy some juice as we only took out mineral water from the plane. There were frozen icicles on the streets from the snow yesterday and better to watch where Im stepping on.

Arriving at the Airport

Pasangan Nike

Thirst quencher

Remains of the snow

Me looking for WiFi at the Guest House

We had a good night sleep and woke early. Anxious to meet Seoul, but our shuttle to the airport is scheduled at 1045. So, me and wife went to strolled on the streets. The sun and the chill just hit the spot. There is actually nothing to see and visit around the guest house. We just walked for about 15-20 minutes and went back to the room after we bought a bread loaf and Nestle Choco 3 in 1. Breakfast was roti cecah choco. We packed our bag and head to the parking lot for the shuttle. We shared the MPV with 2 other local tourists. Arriving at the airport, we straight went to the Airport Railroad. We got 2 free T-Money card from the Info booth and just reloaded some money in it at the 7E. T-Money serves just like Touch n' Go or Octopus Card. There are 2 kind of trains to pick for. 1st is a direct train to Seoul Station, and 2nd making couple of stops until Seoul Station. The 1st one is more expensive than the latter. No rush needed, so we took the latter train.

TBC~

Chapter 257 - Fly Me to the Moon

Haih.. Lambat lagi ke 25 mac 2011 nih? Ada apa dengan 25 Mac? Itulah honeymoon aku yang tertangguh sekian lama. Dah xde maknanya honeymoon. kekeke..

Pergi mana? S-O-U-T-H-K-O-R-E-A. Yeszaa...

Anyonghaseyo people in Seoul!

Aku dah plan dari Ogos lepas. Alhamdulillah, dapat tiket murah. Itupon selepas bersekang mata depan laptop, tunggu network traffic reda sket, baru dapat masuk dengan aman. Pada asalnya aku nak amik trip dalam bulan April. Xkesah la berapa haribulan April. Tapi sebab wife aku punya colleague dah plan nk pegi Macau untuk berjudi bulan April tu, so saje je la aku amik hujung2 March tatkala cuaca masih lagi dingin dan bunga mula berkembang. Ye lah, keja tu nk kena ada at least sorang in charge. Kalau dua2 xde, tunggang terbalik la tempat kerja tu. Alih2 colleague wife aku dah transfer pejabat dan ganti dengan orang lain a.k.a Bitchy Kim (Cerita tu akan menyusul nanti). Macam haram. Kalau pegi April, at least bunga dah keluar. Last time aku ke Beijing awal2 April, bunga segan2 je nak keluar. So aku risau kalau aku pergi ni nanti, bunga x keluar lagi.. Apa boleh buat..? Sekadar mengharap nasib yang baik nnt.

Nape x pilih autumn? Sebab masa tempah tiket tu aku dah gersang, xtahan nk tunggu sampai Sept utk honeymoon. kekeke. Xkose aku nk tunggu setahun lebih utk pegi jalan2. Duit tiket dah abih bayar, tapi lambat lagi nk terbang. Xyah nk feeling2 winter sonata kat sana, pegi je la musim Spring.

Total return ticket untuk seorang hanya RM441 sahaja (inclusive insurance, pick a seat, pick a nose, meal, luggage dan segala hidden terms & regulations dari UdaraAsia yang aku main check saje). 6 malam dan 6 hari. What make things easier is the information about korea. Just type 'visit korea' dalam google, korang akan stumble dengan website travel korea. Sangat Awesome! Semua info ada. Dari travel location, info on weather, food, culture, suggested itineraries, cara2 nak pergi ke satu2 lokasi, theme on travel, accommodation info.. pendek kata sangat2 lengkap.

Selepas diperkenalkan dengan Agoda.com, aku dah book tempat tinggal dari malam pertama sampai malam terakhir. Cuma ada satu malam tu aku dan wife akan tinggal di Nami Island a.k.a Pulau Winter Sonata. Hotel tu x di listkan dalam Agoda, so kena book secara email. Sekarang ni aku baru selesai draft trip yang sangat loose tapi dalam masa yang sama agak padat. Hopefully aku dan wife berjaya catch up dengan tentatif tu nanti. Do not underestimate the city of Seoul. Kawasan yg berbukit dan subway atas dan bawah tanah; sememangnya banyak tangga untuk dipanjat. Kasut kena sedap, badan kena fit sket. Itu pesan kawan aku yg dah ada kat sana.

Sekarang ni ETA dalam 4 hari lagi. Winter apparel x beli lagi. Kenapa winter apparel? Sebab aku dan wife xtahan sejuk. Cuaca range dari 0 < x < 12 celcius. Amacam? Ada beran? XDE!! Lagi perkara dalam senarai aku adalah power adapter, transformer, travel pack (yang ada bantal leher + sleeping patch) dan stoking yg mencukupi.

Petang tadi baru je convert duit. Xberani nk tunggu rate turun, sbb maybe rate akan naik lagi sebab akan byk pelancong masuk akibat divert dari pergi ke Jepun. As per today, the rate is W1000 = RM2.82.

Haih.. Meh kita Fly to Seoul. Boom boom Yeah..

Chapter 256 - In Health and Sickness

Hola.

Green Hornet best. Aku nak pergi tonton lagi. Lepas tu aku nk download. Lepas tu aku nk tengok sampai aku hafal skrip dia.

No pun intended. Citer tu mmg best. Nak tau apa lagi best? Aku!

Tahun 2011 ni byk lineup citer2 yg sgt dinanti2kan. The ending of Harry Potter. Transformer 3. Kung Fu Panda 2. Hangover 2. Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, Adaptation from DC, Marvel dan segala mak nenek komik kat sana macam Captain America, Thor, True Grit, etc..

Yes. Above all, nk tgk visually voldermort mati. Selama ni aku dok visualize dalam kepala je bila baca.

Ah.. kenapa post ni pendek sangat? Sebab tgh tunggu bini balik keja. Malam ni mau layan "sini ada hantu". Xbest kalau, aku bakar panggung.

Chapter 255 - GOLLLLLLL

Syabas Malaysia for their win over HK. 3 ranks below us. Time bolasepak M'sia nak memancut hebat, sayangnya xde sokongan yg padu. Tapi rata2 10k manusia muncul di Stadium S.Alam smlm. Kenapa baru pagi ni aku tahu? Aku xbaca paper kah? Bila ada mende2 camni, media kena kaw2 kasitau rakyat. Aku kalau tau semalam dah usung perut ni gi sana nk tgk (nak usung bini, dia xminat bola).. Pasnni kalau ada lagi meh pakat member2 kita gi..Sekali lagi, tahniah Msia!!

Safee Sali ke Pelita Jaya. Bukan top club di liga Indon, tapi sebuah top decision oleh beliau. Ramai yg memperkatakan kenapa dia gi sana padahal main kat Indon je..? club corot je..? Pedulik sama mereka. Ada player tu dapat trial club German pon, pastu homesick giler babi, tak guna gak beb!! At least Indon, fan kasi gegar stadium dan cewek2 sana manis2 dong. Tolonglah FAM meningkatkan insfra bola Malaysia. Stadium, training ground, youth system, root support, etc. Supporters? Hal ni mesti juga diselaraskan dengan pengangkutan awam yang UMPHH... Bab ni yang kerajaan Malaysia fail sket. Kalau derang UP public transport, confirm selesai masalah. Rakyat pon sayang nanti. Percayalah. Boleh je perabihkan 50juta utk bawak balik anak2 peneroka, anak2 ustaz, lebai, tok siak, anak2 penggaji awam baikpun swasta dari Kaherah... mak bapak budak2 tu tetap gak kutuk, benci dan menyampah dgn kerajaan (apa kena ntah melayu nih?). Ni lak ada suara sumbang celaka mana ntah yg menyatakan rakyat Msia ni xseberani rakyat mesir dalam menentang kerajaan. FUCK U BITCH! Apa kerajaan kita bersekongkol dengan Israel? Ada rakyat kita yang hidup dalam darurat selama 30 tahun? Ada hak pendidikan kita ditolak? Ada pemimpin kita tapau duit rakyat sampai 70billion USD? Bitch tu pon belajar dari kecik sampai dapat degree pon atas dasar dan implementasi idealisma kerajaan. Ahh.. lari tajuk la pulak..

Hmm.. Pe kata try salurkan 50juta tu utk UPkan insfra sukan bola kita dan juga kemudahan pengangkutan awam? Hati aku pon senang nak pegi stadium tgk Msia menang.

Malaysia Boleh!! Auummm (bunyi rimau)..

Ciao.

Chapter 254 - Work and No Play

Have your life changed after married? A bit of no and more a yes.. It's exciting and challenging. Taking care of yourself now become taking care of you and spouse. I could not imagine the life if i'm still working with the old company and my wife is not working. Heck.. it's hard to imagine if I still work there and my wife do working as she is now. Calculative as I am, even now I am not eligible to apply for the damn Maybank 2 Cards. Minimum annual salary is 60k maa.. that is 5k per month for you! When can I achieve that? I strongly believed that I have all it takes to be successful and rich.. yet i did not opt for that route. Any husband want to be the alpha dog in the family. I'm not saying that I'm not, but I would like to be a super alpha dog.. haha.. Me and my wife equally receive the same size of paycheck every month. I am blessed that I can provide her the needs she supposed to get. I just wish that I can have more so that she do not need to work. I kesian her as her work sucks! Poor colleagues and poor clients. Miskin duit xde hal beb.. miskin adab mmg xdapek jack nak tolong.. So, xde la aku nk mintak gaji macam bos SYABAS, at least macam gaji engineer minyak offshore pon jadi la..

What must i do to slowly achieve that? Job hopping? This is not the age to frequently hopping. Silap2 xde keje nnt.. Wait la, I send resume to you guys.. haha..

aloha.