Across the Land

After almost 2 weeks (14th Nov-26th Nov)  in Turkey, now I'm back at home. The plane landed at KLIA at 7.05 am after 10 hours 45 minutes in the air over 9,869 km . Alhamdulillah. An hour after that, we left KLIA in a car and a taxi. The taxi went to my son's house in Saujana Putra, reloaded all luggages and passengers into my son's car and headed home to Kuang. The trip was a success, at least to me. Having two types of travel methods was really good. The first part, 100% guided Istanbul-Canakkale-Troy-Pergamon-Kusadasi-Konya-Pamukkale-Cappadocia-Ankara-Istanbul (refer to the map below). We had to follow the schedules and the fast pace. Shopping and taking pictures were done fast and didn't need second thoughts. The second part, we were on our own exploring a few parts of this mega city in a slower pace and more time on walking around, shopping and sampling the local foods. The November weather was nicely cool, temperature ranging from 20 degree celsius to 5 degree...

We departed from KLIA at about 12.50 am and after a 10-hour flight , we arrived at Istanbul Ataturk Airport  at 6.30 am local time. The weather was 12 degree Celcius. After going through the immigration process, we performed our subuh prayer at the carosel area. Our bus was already waiting outside the airport to bring us to enjoy the cruise along the Bosphorus Strait. It was cold and my daughters were shivering as they didn't take out their jackets from the luggage. The luggage was tucked deep inside the bus luggage compartment.

"Istanbul Aku Datang", the title of a new Malay flick starring one Lisa Surihani, aptly describes our next trip. 3 more days and counting. Early this morning, we booked two triple-rooms at Ayasultan in Istanbul. My eyes were already tired from all the googling to find more info for our trip to Turkey.

"Pos laju yang tak laju". Parcel was sent from Sabah on Wednesday morning and was tracked at Shah Alam at 7 am the next day (Thursday). Then, it was sent to Rawang and stayed there until I called asking for its whereabout at 2pm Friday. They said it would be delivered before 6 pm. It was but I had to go out. They didn't call when they arrived or I would have told them to pass it to one of my neighbors. They left a notification telling us to collect it the next day at Rawang which was more than half-an-hour away. I was in a fix when I read it because..OMG, the contents would be already spoilt. I called Pos Laju and ordered them to deliver it that very night. When I got it, I know straight away, the large fried prawns and mackerel fish were already wasted. However, I was really relieved and happy that the most important content, the BURAS, were still not spoilt. I ate one and kept the rest frozen for 2 weeks till Eidul Adha and finished them to the last bite!

Yes, a promise fulfilled. A small non-eastern delights for my sisters' family.  Next, a Bugis soto menu at Selandar, Melaka, Insya Allah.

Eidul Adha was celebrated by the Muslims around the world at the end of the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca of Saudi Arabia on Friday. It is also known as the major Eid or Eidul Akbar, commemorating the sacrifice that Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) had willingly made in his devotion to Allah. Instead of sacrifising his own son, Ismail, Allah had replaced Ismail with a ram. This Eid celebration was quite low-key here at home as the holidays were not as long as the Eidul Fitr. The Day began with a prayer which was held at 8 am sharp at the 'surau' in front of my house, followed by short sermon. After that, my husband and son sat down to small feast of lemang and rendang before they changed into their old clothes to join in the slaughtering of 8 cows. The cows  were tied to a few trees on an empty land near the 'surau'  a few days before the Eid Day. A funny thing happened when one of the cows almost escaped when Wak untied it to graze on the grass growth nearby. Wak walked with...

This is a photo compilation of what people were doing at the Lake Garden on weekends. The Lake Garden serves as the green lung at the heart of the city and has attracted many ciy dwellers and tourists alike. There are so many things to see in the park: the deers, birds, butterflies, orchids, herbs, and other local and foreign plants. It's a great place to stroll and jog on weekend mornings because it is cool and calm. You all people living in KL or nearby, enjoy the nature and greenery of this park and what it has.     Many parts of the park are quiet during the weekend, especially early in the morning. It creates an  atmosphere which is cool, serene and beautiful. A suggestion, lay your pretty table spread on the park, spread out your breakfast and enjoy it with your loved ones! However, don't forget to keep the park clean after that. A dirty park is definitely an eyesore!