Road Trip Part 2-Bonnie 'ol Scotland

I was looking forward to visiting Scotland again...the last time I went up to Scotland was when I graduated five years ago.

Scotland will always have a special place in my heart because it was where I spent most of my formative years as a teenager. We drove up from Lake District and crossed the Scottish borders heading towards Stirling. Driving through the Cumbrian borders across to Scotland was absolutely breathtaking and enjoyable at the same time....It was like being in Top Gear where they run practice demos on a new car driving up winding roads...in between mountains...up and down the hills...really good fun! I felt overwhelmed driving in my lil car with mountains on either side of me. As Fad commented, at times we were even speechless looking at the amazing views. I think at times we are so caught up with city life that we forget to appreciate these places in the countryside.
After enjoying the scenic route to Scotland our first stop was Stirling. Stirling is famous for William Wallace Monument- He was a Scottish patriot of the 14th century who fought against the English and was a Scottish hero. One thing I love about the Scots are their patriotism who are proud of their heritage. We visited the William Wallace monument and there was a replica statue of Mel Gibson from his movie the Braveheart.I love the line from the movie- "You may take our lives but you will never take our freedom!.. ".


After a long drive we headed to Kinross where we we were going to spend the night. With a few hours of rest we decided to take a drive up to St Andrews-the home of Golf. St Andrews has always been windy but it's a nice 'lil quaint town. We walked around the clubhouse and visited the Old Course -one of the prestigious golf courses in the world.


All of us were knackered after a whole day driving but the night would not be complete without our usual card games. Fad brought UNO cards which I haven't played since primary school but it was definitely good fun! We played late into the night and made so much noise that we got a warning to keep the noise down by the hotel reception! oops! but it was all good in the end....... hehe


On our final day we went up to Loch Leven in Kinross to visit the Loch Leven castle. The castle is best known to be the prison where Mary Queen of Scots was held. The castle is located on a small island and reached only by ferry.. We took our time walking around the remains of the castle. I love this shot of Ezro and I breaking out of the castle and doing our own scene of prison break!. We even befriended the ferry driver's dog who was called Maggie. She insisted in playing with us...Bobby & Ezro managed to train Maggie to sit and fetch the stick without touching Maggie. It was amazing that after 30mins Maggie was listening to most of our commands..such a clever creature!

Our last destination for the weekend was Edinburgh. We went to visit Fettes college where I did my A-Levels all those years ago....It was weird driving back to the school. There was the feeling of familiarity and reminiscing the fond memories I had with people back there when I took the guys around my college and the schoolgrounds. The schoolkids were on holiday so the school was empty but I managed to see my old College East House.

Unfortunately I found out from the caretaker that my Housemistress Ms Pippa had passed away from cancer last December. Ms Pippa taught English and she loved the classics like Jane Austen novels which she shared with all of us in the House. My fondest memories of her was when I first arrived at Fettes. I was feeling very homesick leaving the family for the first time and being the only Malaysian girl in the school.. I felt like an outcast but she was so welcoming and always at hand whenever I needed her. It's amazing that after a difficult first term I enjoyed the rest of my boarding school experience. Attending boarding school was a character building experience for me and I will always have fond memories of the college. May Ms Pippa rest in peace



We also went to Edinburgh city centre and walked along the Royal mile which is the old part of Edinburgh. We walked towards Edinburgh Castle which is currently being transformed in time for the Edinburgh Military Tatoo which will take place in the summer. We were looking for a nice restaurant to have a typical Scottish lunch but we arrived late and most restaurants closed at 3 and won't open until 5.30pm. It was a blessing in disguise because we found a nice vegetarian baked potato shop. Fad & I shared a vegetarian haggis baked potato which was delicious! Even though I can't compare it with the normal haggis the vegetarian one was good enough for us!!

We left Edinburgh at 5pm and didn't reach London until 11pm. It was a tiring trip but really enjoyable....I do enjoy visiting Scotland because of the beautiful scenery and friendly people who always look on the bright side of life. One would have to have that attitude since Scotland does not normally have the best of the weather..but we were lucky that the good weather followed us for most part of the trip. Scotland will always have a special place in my heart...

Thanks to Bobby for providing us with walkie-talkies which helped us driving in our convoy and kept us entertained with our random ramblings on the walkie talkies, Aunty Yok & Aunty Tun for providing us with yummy food for the trip, Ezro for becoming my 2nd co-pilot cum navigator and Fad for providing us with the Uno cards and entertaining us with her antics!

Woman In Black

Ivy, Chris & I went to the Women in Black play recently at the Fortune Theatre in the West End. This is one of the longest running plays in the West End and has been one of my wish list as one of the "must see" plays in London.

The screenplay is based on the chilling ghost story novel by Susan Hill. It tells the story of Arthur Kipps a young solicitor who has been sent to Eel Marsh House to wind up the estate of the late deceased Mrs Drablow. No one in the village was willing to help Mr Kipps with his work because they believed the Eel Marsh house was cursed. When he arrives at the house he sees a mysterious women in black....

The play focuses on Arthur Kipps telling his story to an actor who he hoped can help him overcome his experience in the house by reenacting the events to his family & friends.

The play has very simple props and set in a very small theatre. This added to the chiling atmosphere of the play. We were sat two rows from the front stage and I have never been so scared in a play in all my life! Although I knew at the back of my mind this was a fictional play the acting was so brilliant that the audience (myself) included were drawn into the play.
It was my first time where I've heard audiences scream with fright (again myself included!!) and it wasn't just girls screaming ..there were guys screaming tooo!

I'm glad I wasn't spending the night in a country house that night because I would not have had a good night's sleep that night thinking about the play.

Full credit has to be given to the screenplay because without the brilliant screenwriting and acting .. the play would not have been so successful and long running as it is now...I am not surprised that this play has been running for at least 20 years and I am sure it will continue to run for another few more years yet......

Definitely go and watch it if you are prepared to get the fright of your life!

Rule the world!!! :)

You are The Empress

Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, luxury, dissipation.

The Empress is associated with Venus, the feminine planet, so it represents,
beauty, charm, pleasure, luxury, and delight. You may be good at home
decorating, art or anything to do with making things beautiful.

The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born. This is why her symbol is Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more Demeter, goddess of abundance, then sensual Venus. She is the giver of Earthly gifts, yet at the same time, she can, in anger withhold, as Demeter did when her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped. In fury and grief, she kept the Earth barren till her child was returned to her.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Road Trip

Last bank holiday weekend, I took a drive to Kent County with Ezro & Chip. I have never been to this beautiful part of England: Kent is known to be one of the "Gardens of England" located on the South East of England.

We set out in the morning and took the road along the coast and stopped over to enjoy the seaside view and fresh sea breeze along Herne Bay and Margate. Herne Bay was a pebble beach and popular for various water sports activities....it was cool to see those jet skis in action..something I would love to try!

Margate had a sandy beach which I love....the beach was filled with families and kids having fun making sandcastles and just chilling on the beach.
We also spotted the Vespa scooter club gang...it's amazing to see the people riding on these scooters range from the young and the old and the scooters came in various designs and modifications.. I love Vespa cuz it reminds me of my trip to Italy!
It's fun to see these motoring groups making day weekend trips riding up and down the country..I hope to join the MINI motoring club when I go home ..it'll be fun!!

We then drove down to Canterbury. The main town is located in a four cornered monument wall. Within the monument is a pedestrianised shopping centre with its pebble-stoned roads and a mix between the traditional Tudor buildings and the modern shop buildings.
Canterbury Cathedral is not as magnificient as the cathedrals we see in mainland Europe but it still has that English charm to it. The cathedral held their weekly Sunday service so we could hear the angelic voices of the boys choir. We walked around the cathedral and enjoyed the ambiance of the place.

It was a good day trip which ended with a BBQ back in London. Next road trip will be in the next May bank holiday weekend driving up to Lake District and Edinburgh. I haven't been back to Scotland for nearly five years now so going up there will hopefully bring back fond memories. :)

Missing you like crazy....

My sis in law recently uploaded pics of my 'lil nephews who are all grown up now...these pics are adorable!!! :)
Counting the days until I go home.........

Do we all have a wicked side??

Can we ever be pure good or pure evil and how do people turn from being evil or to being good? How can you define good from evil?

These are some of the questions beneath the glossy exterior and songs from the Wicked Musical currently being shown at the Apollo Victoria theatre which I went to see with my friend Omar last Thursday.

Both of us didn't really know what to expect from the musical except that it had received good reviews and voted one of the best new musicals recently.

We got good circle seats which was a good view. We were lucky considering we bought the tickets on the day.

Wicked is based on the Gregory Maguire novel which focuses on the life of Elphaba and how she became the Wicked Witch of the West in the land of Oz. It is considered to some to be the prequel to the Wizard of Oz.

The musical portrays the story of the misunderstood girl known as Elphaba: her childhood, her friendship with Galinda (who became the Good Witch in the Land of Oz), and how she became the Wicked Witch.

It was an interesting musical and cleverly portrayed in terms of how the characters we meet from Elphaba's life became the familiar characters we are used to seeing in the Wizard of Oz. It's also quite heartening to see how a misunderstood girl is mistreated just for being different and having her own views on life.

The only minor negative point I have about the musical is that the music wasn't that memorable but I don't think it really mattered because the story is strong enough to make the musical a success. The star of the night was without a doubt Elphaba who acted and sang magnificiently.

I would recommend everyone to watch it. Thanks for the treat dude! The musical has even prompted me to buy the novel which I am reading at the moment. :)

Paolo Nutini-Upcoming artist

Apologies for disappearing for a while from this blog..I have recently been occupied with other commitments but I am back (well for a while at least!)

Last week, I went to the long awaited Paolo Nutini gig at Brixton Academy. Paolo is on his first World Tour. It is quite a challenge performing non stop as he's only turning 19 or 20(??!!). I just hope he doesn't get burnout by the end of it all. He is more of a singer than an entertainer but I think that will come with experience..

He performed the crowd favourites like Last Request, Rewind, Funky cigarettes. I love his Scottish accent although there were times where I have to admit (sadly!) I was struggling to understand him when he spoke (and I have lived in Glasgow/Edinburgh for 7 years!!)
But it all doesnt matter cuz when he sings with his guitar..I am just blown away! ;)That is why for me he is one of THE breakthrough artists of 2006


Here is him singing one of my fav songs "Rewind" from his debut album "These Streets" at the gig.

*Smile*

Anyone watching American Idol at the moment??? There was a classic song which I loved in the show...*Smile-Music written by Charlie Chaplin* Sadly, the girl who sang it in the show got eliminated but nevertheless I wanna share the song with u guys...
It's one of those "pick-me-up songs" whenever u're feeling down .....

"Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though its breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through for you

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear maybe ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying?
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile........."

A week of fine dining and searching for my ideal home

I have recently met up with the LSE crew...

There aren't many LSE'ans from my batch left in London but it's not quantity but quality that counts kan...heheheh

If I had to choose whether I preferred school life or uni life I would definitely choose uni life...(apart from the end of year exams & the early morning lectures)
Since I was 6 years old I have constantly moved from school to school within Malaysia and out of Malaysia. So I have never really kept in contact with my primary and secondary school friends.

It was only when I started uni and moved down to London, I met Malaysians from different types of background and some of them I would consider as friends for life. One of those groups are my uni mates.......there are frens who I was close during uni but there are also uni mates who I was not close with during uni but we've kept in close contact after graduation.

We had a mini LSE reunion on Wed night at Awana restaurant in South Kensington taking advantage of the 50% offer valid until the end of the month.
Finally we have found a fine dining Malaysian restaurant that we can promote to non Malaysians who want to try a taste of Malaysia in a fine dining setting.
The service was great, food was amazing...I loved the satay which was the best satay I've ever tasted..so tender!
There were also unique desserts like lemongrass and chilli sorbet, jackfruit & ginger sorbet(my favourite) and others too many to mention.
The owner Mr Lim was kind enough to let us try other dessert dishes...lovely person!
If u ever have the chance please check it out!

On Thurs, Bobby & I checked out the Ideal Home Show exhibition in Earls Court. I love looking at homeware stuff....gave me ideas of what I want when I get my place back home in KL.
The exhibition is huge...ranging from furniture, to garden decor to health & beauty to house entertainment technology.... You would need at least a full day just to cover the whole area!

We met this Indian manufacturer who came to the exhibition from Northern India bringing small furniture ornaments which were exquisitely crafted. He said it is a dying trade because not enough young people want to learn and take up the trade. It's a sad thought when you can see that the crftsmanship is so beautiful. I bought an incense holder and incense sticks from the stall which I absolutely loved. Keeps me going when I'm studying.

My fav people

With some of my fav people, thanks for being there for me through the good and the bad times.... all of you have a special place in my heart...

February has come and gone....

I woke up this morning and looked at my phone....it was 1st March 2007. Where has the time gone??!!!

February has flown by....I guess it's time I update this blog...I should really be studying but after a long day at work the last thing I want to look at is writing up sections of a case study paper...so I just need to take a few minutes to chill out and gather my thoughts.....

The month of February is often associated with Valentine's day...I've never celebrated Valentine's day even when I was attached.

This year Valentine's day was spent with Meem, Bobby, Fadzli and Abang Nas. We all got dressed up in red for dinner at Wagamama's except for Abang Nas who was too busy to get changed..heheh...We were a bit surprised that it was busy considering Wagamama's isn't exactly the most romantic place for couples. We all had a good laugh that night and not forgetting the good food..yummy!!
I also visited Len & Marigold in Guildford this month..they invited me to try out a fusion-type Malaysian restaurant called Matahari. I was pleasantly surprised with the food..simple but tasty..'ala kampung style' ...only thing i missed was the kangkung masak sambal belacan...my first dish which I always have the moment I land in Malaysia.....
It was my first time visiting Marigold's flat. It's a quaint 'lil flat with so much character located up on a hill. She renovated the attic upstairs where you can see the view of the whole of Guildford town.
I went to see Guildford Castle which looks more like a small fort. From what Marigold told me...it was built by the Romans as they made their way through England during the Roman Empire. Near the castle is a small park which is perfect during the summer to have picnics and where jazz bands would perform...imagine being able to watch a mini concert performance from your own home...best kan!!

This month is also my first trip to Ikea in Wembley for the first time...Absolutely wicked!!!!
As soon as we stepped into the Ikea shop I was absolutely hooked at all the gadgets and various homeware stuff.. I love shopping for homeware...if only my place was large enough to fit them all. What I love about Ikea is the ingenuity in utilising space which is important especially where I'm living now. And not forgetting the cool cafe restaurant and the free hot chocolate refills!!!! Definitely a cool place to hang out!

I managed to buy my shoe rack which I wanted for sooooo long! Kak rahayu also loved the same shoe rack so both our place is like an IKEA studio now....:) Thanks to Bob the builder for putting it up for us ..in return we treated him to dinner at Jakarta Indon restaurant with our usual ikan balado, kuzy chicken and ayam goreng tepung with bawang putih followed by the yummy desserts!

Last week Meem, Chip and I went to Copenhagen, Denmark for a weekend break......From the weather forecast it was going to be extremely cold but I didn't quite expect it to be soooo cold and snowing heavily. I wasn't fully dressed for snow weather but I survived anyways....
In my opinion, Copenhagen is a young city in comparison to other European cities so I guess you can't compare it to cities like Rome, Barcelona, Amsterdam. Since we visited Copenhagen during the off peak season some of the places like the Tivoli Gardens were closed but we made the best out of our trip.


We stayed in a boat hotel which was an interesting experience...it was a cabin type room but I think we must have been the loudest people there since we put on the radio at full blast at times.....and it wasn't exactly soundproof cabins.!
I loved the snow......but my feet were soaking cuz i didn't bring my walking boots but it was fun playing with the snow. The last time I played with the snow was when I was living in Glasgow as a schoolkid.


The highlight of the trip was discovering Baresso coffee house .....and the melted hot chocolate!!!!! A perfect end to a day after walking in the snow and freezing weather!!!
If anyone knows of a cafe in London which prepares melted hot chocolate drink please let me know!!

This week, visited Oriental City for the first time...I've never been there before..(gasp! yes i know considering that I have been in London for a while...it's shocking I haven't yet visited the place). To me..Oriental City reminded me of the small shopping centre like in Sitiawan. The food court was cool..it's a shame not all the stalls are halal...we went a bit crazy with ordering food.....
I loved the mee mamak but the murtabak is the best! Definitely wanna go there again......

Plus there's a big Asda supermarket beside it...( I'm quite sad kan..excited about a supermarket...heheh) but Asda is the best ..we ended up having a shopping spree in there...lots of bargains!

And so the weekend is here....insya-allah hoping to get this case study paper done...wish me luck!!!

Listen...

I love this.....beautiful lyrics.......

Listen,
To the song here in my heart
A melody I start
But can't complete

Listen, to the sound from deep within
It's only beginning
To find release

Oh,
the time has come
for my dreams to be heard
They will not be pushed aside and turned
Into your own
all cause you won't
Listen....

Listen,
I am alone at a crossroads
I'm not at home, in my own home
And I've tried and tried
To say whats on my mind
You should have known
Oh,
Now I'm done believin you
You don't know what I'm feelin
I'm more than what, you made of me
I followed the voice
you gave to me
But now I gotta find, my own..

You should have listened
There is someone here inside
Someone I'd thought had died
Sooo long ago

Ohh I'm free now and my dreams 'll be heard
They will not be pushed aside or turned
Into your own
All cause you won't
Listen...

I don't know where I belong
But i'll be movin on
If you don't....
If you won't....

Listen...
To the song here in my heart
A melody I start
But I will complete

Oh,
Now i'm done believin you
You dont know what I'm feelin
I'm more than what, you made of me
I followed the voice, you think you gave to me
But now I gotta find, my own..
my own...

Lyrics as sung by-BK-

Auditors

This made me laugh...... :p

Auditor
From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia.
Auditor, noun: an accountant with a grudge.
Contents

1 Life Cycle of an Auditor


2 Evolution of Auditors


3 Characteristics of Auditors


4 Auditors and Reproduction


5 Becoming an Auditor

1 Life Cycle of an Auditor

Auditors are a species of nomadic mammals, who came to Earth from the planet Debitor in the
1960s. Auditors are paperivores, and hunt in packs, known as audit teams. Each audit team is part
of a bigger tribe. There is much tribal rivalry and situations are subject to change as large tribes
seek to exterminate one another, but at the time of going to press, the ruling tribe in the audit world
was PWC (Pricks with Calculators).
An audit team typically changes its hunting ground every couple of weeks. Hunting grounds
normally take the form of offices, but may also include factories, shops, schools and hyperspace.
Any place of work is a potential source of nourishment to the paper-hungry auditor. All audit teams
have a leader, who runs ahead of the pack in search of an audit trail. Should he find something
suspicious, for example a file that has not been organized in alphabetical order, he will begin baying
to attract the attention of the rest of the pack. Once the pack has a sniff of the scent, they are
released upon the unsuspecting company, and tear around the offices of the internal accounts
department, hunting out similar transgressions. When they find another offending item, they will let
out a characteristic whoop of delight, and fall upon the filing cabinet, tearing the paperwork to
shreds with their bare teeth in their eagerness to devour it.
Audit packs have their own dens, known as home offices. The pack visits the office on average
once a month, in order to refuel on stationery. Auditors can survive several days and nights without
water, sex or sunlight but are liable to fall seriously ill if deprived of paper clips and yellow post-its.
These, along with Tippex, are considered special delicacies. Tippex is particularly high in nutrients,
and swallowing a small bottle of correction fluid before breakfast is widely believed to have
beneficial effects on an auditor's digestive system.

2 Evolution of Auditors
Among laypeople there is a common perception that auditors and accountants are the same thing.
Until 4 January 1972, this may or may not have been true. Before this time accountants and auditors
had rested secure in the knowledge that debit was the side nearest the window. This is the first
commandment of auditing, as given by Journalus Creditus and is believed by all auditors with a
deep religious devotion. On this fateful day, however, Pricks with Calculators opened a brand
spanking new den in the centre of London. Due to a tragic misunderstanding with the architect, a
terrible mistake occurred; namely, that the building was constructed on a corner. The result was that
the office now had windows on two walls. The accounting world was thrown into a dark and
terrible confusion and a dreadful schism occurred. One group believed debit was the side nearest the
window overlooking the high street, whilst the other could not be shaken from the conviction that it
was the window overlooking the multistorey carpark. The matter was referred to an independent
government committee, who eventually ruled that it was indeed the high street facing window.
Those accountants who had believed in the multi-storey carpark were distraught and flew into a
violent frenzy with much wailing and shredding of papers. They felt so embittered that they vowed
never to perform any constructive book-keeping tasks again. Instead they swore to roam the earth in
search of other people’s book-keeping mistakes, in an attempt to dull the pain of their own
unforgivable error. Initially they were content just to detail the errors in Audit Reports. The
recession of the 1980s, however, meant times soon became lean and it was then that the custom of
consuming erroneous paperwork was born.

3 Characteristics of Auditors
Whilst auditors come in both genders, males outnumber females in a ratio of 2:1. There is a good
evolutional reason for this since the first thing a trainee auditor must master is the art of doubleentry.
It is customary for large tribes of auditors such as Pricks With Calculators to send their new
recruits on month-long residential courses to practice this useful skill. For obvious reasons of
practicality, only one female auditor is required for every two men.
In general, the best time to spot an auditor is during the so-called Audit Season which runs from
January to April. Auditors with their distinctive pin-stripe plumage will be present in large numbers
in all major offices, factories and places of work. If you think you have seen an auditor, approach
with caution. Avoid making eye contact, as this may be viewed as antagonistic. Should the auditor
begin to behave aggressively towards you, asking what proportion of your contingent liabilities you
consider probable, the best advice is to shout "Enron!" and run very fast in the opposite direction.
This will make the auditor in question shrivel up and die.

4 Auditors and Reproduction
Stocktaking is a strange version of foreplay peculiar to auditors. The audit pack will arrive at an
industrial site at 6am in the morning and demand to know how many widgets they have. The
auditors will then spend many happy hours counting the widgets and comparing their results to the
figures on the company stock system. The more unexpected discrepancies that they find, the more
sexually aroused they become. If at the end of the day they conclude that the company has been
overstating their widgets, they will spontaneously orgasm en masse and begin to practice their
double-entry by way of celebration. It doesn’t have to be widgets; it could be grains of sand. So
long as its something which there is absolutely no value in counting, it will do the trick.

5 Becoming an Auditor
In order to become an auditor, it is necessary to pass the initiation rites of the ICAEW. There is a
common misconception amongst laypeople that these initials stand for the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of England and Wales. In fact, they represent the Institute of Calculator Addicts and
Excel Worshippers. Trainee auditors spend many years at auditing colleges, where they study
diverse subjects including BF (Better Filing), BM (Being Miserable) and FR (Finding Romance). In
order to become officially qualified it is necessary to achieve a high pass in BF and BM combined
with a bad fail in FR.
If reading this article has made you feel you would like to become an auditor, you are advised to
seek immediate psychiatric help.
Retrieved from "http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Auditor"

Italy trip 2007 part 3

Pompeii

For those who read the Qur'an,the Pompeii has been mentioned in the Qur'an. It was a city which had crossed over all types of sins e.g. the numerous brothels existed around the city. The people of Pompeii were defiant in their ways and were not willing to change. Allah decided to destroy the city by sending a volcanic eruption from Mount Vesuvius which destroyed the whole city in an instant.

Some of the people were too stuck in their ways that they didn't even have the chance to flee and were buried in the hot, burning lava from the volcano.

I wanted to visit Pompeii to see for myself what this city looked like. It is a massive area..and as I was doing a day trip I was not able to cover the whole area. It was interesting to see all the artefacts and there is still ongoing excavation work going on as more artefacts and buildings are found related to this once lost city.......
I've updated my photo album so click on the link to see more of the pics from Italy :)

Italy Trip 2007 part 2

Firenze trip

My cousin and I went for a day trip to Firenze (Florence) which is famous for its leather goods.
It was quite cold but I didn't mind because of the clear skies and the magnificient views.

We visited the Twin Dome church which I found the mosaic architecture fascinating. Firenze is quite a small town so it was easily accessible by foot. We walked around the town..it may not have as much museums or ancient sites to visit but it is definitely one of the most beautiful and picturesque cities I've been. We visited the jewellery shops which were amazing..very tempting to buy... ;p Also visited the leather market....I got some really nice souvenirs and some for moi too...hehehe...





It was also my first time experiencing drinking coffee Italian-style standing up at the counter at the coffee bars...it was pretty cool followed by gelati (yoghurt ice cream which was just yummy!)
Tips:
Communication is a slight problem if you can't speak italian. Luckily I had my cousin with me..but I would recommend that if you ever want to book rail tickets..either buy it from the fast ticket machines which is in English or book online in advance.
The journey takes about 1.5hrs by Eurostar and 3.5hrs by the normal Trenitalia trains..in order to utilise the full day trip in Firenze I'd recommend spending a bit extra on the Eurostar or staying overnight in order to fully enjoy the atmosphere in Firenze..it's such a beautiful place especially along the river......

Italy Trip 2007 part 1

The year 2006 has been a turbulent year for me with its fair share of ups and downs. I had decided a few months ago since I wasn't going back to Malaysia during the Xmas break, I wanted to get away for a break outside London. Since my Uncle and Aunty in Italy kindly offered me to come and visit Italy ..I thought to myself ...why not??!!

So last month I had booked myself a flight to Rome....In my previous travelling trips I have always had friends/family travelling with me so this was my first time travelling on my own to a foreign country...felt weird not having someone to travel with but it was kinda exciting at the same time. This trip was an opportunity for me to have some time to think about myself and think about the way forward for me in the year ahead ..I guess you could say it was a "trip for reflection".

On my first day in Rome, the sun was shining ..perfect start to the break. On the first day my Aunty showed me the main attractions around Rome which I had later revisited later on in the week.

Highlights in Rome: Since there was just too many places to write about I'll highlight the places which I found most fascinating on the trip.

a) Vatican City



I went to the Vatican Museum on New Year's Eve.. as it was the last Sunday of the month the queues were even longer than usual. I arrived at Vatican City at 9am and by then the queue to the Museum had stretched all the way to St Peter's Basilica. I didn't get into the Museum until 12.30pm but it was definitely worth the wait. This museum is one of the most breathtaking places I have ever seen.

The paintings were breathtaking..my personal favourite room was the "Maps room"- the artwork on the ceiling were absolutely amazing as you walk into the room. Although the maps may not have the exact dimensions and area of various areas around Italy totally accurate the details and colours of the artwork were so beautiful..the exact calculations and dimensions didn't really matter.

The tour around the Museum ended with a visit to the Sistine Chapel: which focused on Jesus's Resurrection. There were too many people enclosed in the Sistine chapel area at one point in time which made it difficult to fully appreciate the magnitude and size of the paintings in the chapel.










b)St Peter's Basilica

I wanted to go in the St Peters Basilica to climb up the stairs in order to see the view from the top but St Peter's Basilica was closed for the public on New Year's Eve in order to prepare for the Sunday night mass.

I managed however to take some pics of the square at night which was amazing.






























c) Colloseum

Due to time constraints, I didn't go inside the Colloseum but the view of the Colloseum as dusk approached was a perfect setting to take pics as parts of the Colloseum had the sun shining on it.
I wanted to have a look at the Roman ruins beside the Colloseum but we arrived too late to enter the area as it closed early due to the winter time.

d) Villa Borghese

This is my favourite place in Rome.....the park was originally owned by one of the high class families in Italy called the Borghese family. Due to financial problems the park was given back to the Italian State which allowed the general public access to the park.

The park is absolutely massive, I think it might be double the size of Hyde Park ..if not more....
Even though it was wintertime there was still plenty to see..with the high rise trees, the changing colour of the leaves, the various sculptures spread all around the park and just being able to just take a few moments to reflect.


As I reached the top end of the park you can see a view of Piazza de Popolo from above.

















Useful tips:
1. If you're gonna be touring round Rome I'd recommend having a good pair of walking shoes and a good street map because there is a lot to cover and everything is easily accessible by foot.
You can also buy a daily travelcard which costs 4 EUROS or a metrobus ticket (biglietti) for 1 EURO allows you to travel on buses and 1 metro trip valid for 75 minutes.

2. Unfortunately there aren't many public toilets available in the city ..so be prepared!
There are certain public toilets in the main rail station Roma Termini, most of the fast food chains like McDonalds and the coffee bars but be prepared for the long queues...

3. When walking around Rome beware crossing the roads cuz sometimes vehicles don't tend to stop for us pedestrians at the crossing.

Part 2 will continue in my next post........... :)

Year 2007..here we go!!!!

'Ello peeps...
Came back from Italy last night so haven't had a chance to update my blog just yet..
I wanna share this message my friend sent me to celebrate the year 2007...:)


"This is a toast to us, gorgeous ladies for 2007!
For the men who have us
The losers who had us
And the lucky guys who have yet to meet us... :p
Have a wonderful year ahead babes and stay gorgeous"

Happy New Year everyone!!


I'll update my trip to italy soon.....

Discovering new spots everyday

Last Sunday morning, met up with a fren for brunch at Nahar and we took a walk afterwards through Hyde Park to High St Kensington.

It was such a lovely winter's day...the clear blue skies, the crisp winter air and the sun shining down on us...

I love the parks in London, I think the best season to go would be between autumn and winter when the colours of the leaves are changing..if only I was a good enough photographer...can capture the changing colours of the leaves from green to auburn to brown...really nice.. :)

I discovered two cool new places in High St Kensington, my fren introduced me to Ben's Cookies...sedap giler....can beat Millie's cookies any day..Thanks dude! :)
The cookies are freshly baked everyday and each cookie is different and you pay according to the weight of the cookie instead of the type of cookie so memang VFM!
Check out http://www.benscookies.com

We also checked out this cool place ideal for chocolate lovers out there- "Hotel Chocolat"
I'm not a big chocolate fan but I like looking at the chocolate designs.
They have a wide selection for all types of people...ade chocolates suitable for vegetarians and also ade selection of non alcoholic chocs which is ideal for gifts to family and friends...
I've discovered you can even buy the chocs online
If interested got to http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk.

So even though I have been living in London for a while, it's nice that London still continues to surprise me with new places to visit and see.... ;)

The Holiday

In line with the upcoming holiday season, this movie is a "must see" for everyone.
The Holiday is about two women (Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz) who have been unlucky in love and in search for a break from their current lives. They did a house swap exchange and meet the guys (Jude Law and Jack Black) that they duly deserve during their holidays.



It is set in two different locations: Surrey, London and LA, America. It is a lovely romantic comedy movie...I will not outline the whole story for you but it's such a heartwarming , romantic comedy that will make you have that warm , fuzzy feeling. I even felt teary in a few of the scenes....The views in the Surrey location were beautiful..I just love the movie : the storyline, the locations and the acting. :)



You can tell this movie was directed by a woman director because the script and the whole essence of the movie captures what a woman's thoughts are like especially when it comes to relationships. But I'm not discouraging guys to watch it..I would recommend it to everyone..You won't regret it...heheheh

Movie week

Last week was movie week.....I don't think I've ever watched so many movies in one week......

I went to watch Jack Black's new movie Tenacious D-Pick of Destiny last Monday...if ur a fan of Jack Black and his guitar playing moves then this is the movie for u...but if u don't like rock music or Jack Black then it is probably best to leave this movie out of your "movies to see" list.

There wasn't really much of a plot to the movie but you will be entertained by Jack Black's antics and Tenacious D's music.

The movie,however, can't beat my favourite Jack Black movie which is the "School of Rock" though...the combination of Jack Black's singing and comedy combined with the cute school kids who are all talented kids.....

Tues night was our regular Prison Break night..I thought season 2 was going to end but the series is stopping for a bit for Xmas so the episode we watched was going to be our last episode for a while.
Schofield was still at his best and the episode ended up with another cliffhanger......will Schofield and his bro ever escape???!!!
can't wait for the next episode to come out in January!!!!!

On Wed I went to watch yet another movie Pans of Labyrinth...I wasn't intending to watch it but I was temaning a friend who was raving about the movie.
I didn't really know much about the movie but I was pleasantly surprised. It is a Spanish movie and was one of the movies listed in the Cannes Film Festival. It is set in post war repression and the story evolves around a little girl Ofelia who is fascinated by fairytale stories. She had to face living with her stepdad and looked after her mother who was pregnant with her stepfather's child. We see her facing up to the monsters of her daily life as well as her fantasy life and the adventures she leads in her travels.......

When you think of fairytale stories you might think lovely cute cuddly creatures but this movie was different. The creatures are more geared to reality (if there is such a thing) and the scenes reminded me of Alice in Wonderland but less of the Hollywood gimmicks. I would highly recommend people to see it..despite having to read the subtitles throughout the movie. :)

Fri night was dvd horror night at Meem's, we rented out horror dvds and watched Japanese movie "Pulse" which turned out not to be that scary (but I still shrieked at some parts). The story didn't have much logic to it...it was about these ghosts who are in a different realm. The ghosts had no more spaces in their own realm so needed to go to our realm and used the internet as their way into our world. The ending was confusing and left all of us feeling puzzled and slightly disturbed.

We continued with the horror theme by watching "Ring 2"- I've never watched Ring-(Japanese version) but I've seen the American version which scared me. I was told the Japanese version is scarier so I ended up staying over at the Macready house cuz takut sangat nak balik to my flat alone!!!

Ring 2 was more about explaining what was the history behind Sadako's past...a lot of screaming went on.....(mainly from Meem and me!) during the scene where we see Sadako's mum and Sadako in the room with the mirror( which we see in the video) as well as the scene where we see Sadako trying to catch up with the Professor's student and the little kid up the well. Definitely not for the faint hearted....

On Sunday took a break from the movies.....we went to Liverpool Street Market...did a spot of bargain shopping....got some really good deals with tops and jumpers and spent less that 20 pounds but managed to get a few outfits which was definitely good value for money.

We all then went to the driving range for a spot of golf...the last time I went was before puasa so I thought I probably would have forgotten most of the technique already. I was pleasantly surprised that I managed to hit more of the balls this time. Some of them actually went straight compared to before which I either missed, didn't travel very far or totally went off target.

We ended the day by having dinner at Dosa....tried a different menu this time..went for the mutton parotta.with the famous falouda.....! Yummy!!

But tonight I have to burn off all those calories by going to the gym....

Have a good week guys! :)

Holidays are near...

Last Sunday , I had my first "mini" Raya open house in my flat in London....

There was a different feeling this year in the open house compared to last year....
Firstly, my lil sis is not here this year and secondly we had more space in our place in Slough last year....
This year was limited in space but with Kak Rahayu interior design help we managed to accomodate everyone hehehehe....
Thanks to everyone who came..... :)

So now raya is finally over and everyone in UK are looking forward to the Xmas period...
I will be spending the Xmas hols and New Year's in Roma and visiting Naples this year...booked tickets online with Ryanair for 45GBP return...bargain!!!!

Last time I went to Italy was with my family about ten years ago when we did a Europe road trip...so it's been a while....
And this will be my first holiday for three years since holidays have been taken up by study leave and exams thse last few years....*sigh*
So I'm really looking forward to this Italy break....especially since I'm dreading my exam results coming out before Xmas so at least this is something to look forward to drown my sorrows and disappointments...(Apologies for the depressing tone guys)....

This week is pay day so Viv, K Rahayu and I are going on a shopping trip to Bicester this weekend.....
I'm hoping to get some good bargains....... :)


Laters......

Sport updates......

This week's blog has a sports theme to it...

Last Sat, I went to my first Notts Games...throughout my whole uni life I've never actually been to the Notts games. So it was a bit strange to go when most of the people there are at least 5 years younger than me...
I was supporting the Seven Kings crew from London....the weather was good and met people I haven't seen in a while......unfortunately the team didn't do so well..hard luck guys...better luck next year!



Last Wednesday I went to my first English football game. I'm a Liverpool fan but since Liverpool is too far away and difficult to get tickets......went to the Carling Cup Chelsea vs Aston Villa game at Stamford Bridge.
I left straight from work travelling from up north in Elstree so was tired but excited to see a live match....we got seats facing the middle pitch so it was a good spot to see all the players.
My fav Chelsea players are Shevchenko ( so comel! ), Lampard and Joe Cole.
Chelsea played well...Aston Villa were outclassed that night...the final score was 4-0 so Chelsea have cruised through the last 16..So have Liverpool! Yeay!!!

I would love to go to a Liverpool match so if there are any spare tickets out there contact me kay! :)

Lastly, the Ashes series is coming in a week's time...I hope English team can reproduce their performance from the Summer Ashes series last year......
I want Sky Sports so I can follow the cricket...but I think I will have to make do with Channel 5's daily cricket summary updates.

I have also updated my pics thanks to my photographer Ms Shameem ..hehehehe....click on the My Photo Albums link. :)

Waiting game

Exam is over and the waiting game starts..not feeling too confident with the final case study. People who have gone through the ICAS case study will know that the key to passing it is luck on the day, enough time off to spend time to practice case study techniques and hoping the examination marker is kind and lenient when marking your paper.
I don't think I have either of these but I can only hope now... I have another two attempts at this...but after three years of slaving away in audit work I can only wonder how long I can cope with it...
Might have to rethink a change of career but who knows.......


I have four weeks until results come out so thinking of ways to keep my mind off it. I was intending to go to Rome but I had to postpone it cuz I left booking tickets too late...might go in December instead.

I'm intending to go back home in July...my two good uni mates will be getting married..so I have two weddings to attend to....looking forward to it... :)
It's a weird feeling that friends back home are gradually settling down...I think when we're in London we're all sorta of in a time warp whereby time kinda stops...it's only when u go home that u realise people are moving on to settling down, starting a family etc etc....I'm hoping my time will come soon!!! Insya-allah.... :)

On to other things...I asked my bro to pass me his dvd prison break season 1 dvd set and started watching it last month and been addicted since.......
For those who haven't seen it....i ask u why not???!!! It's wicked....genius script and Michael Schofield is sooo cute!!!! The series is a bit of action, mystery and romance...
Season 2 is halfway through so I'm waiting for the next dvd set... yeay!!!!
If anyone dah copy let me know yah!!!!!

One week to raya..2 weeks to exam

Yeay yeay raya is near........I've just come off the phone with my family who were about to buka puasa and having the "raya blues syndrome".....:(

Ramadhan is nearly over.....this month has flown by...the first week of puasa I was on an outstation job..luckily my colleague was also fasting so we could buka puasa together.

Last weekend, went for a weekend trip with Meem and Bobby to Leeds and stayed at Abang Nas's family house. We wanted to check out Cheshire Oaks factory outlet store near Manchester.
I'm not a big shopper but I do like a good bargain when I see one. Cheshire Oaks is cool! It's one of the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet stores which you can find all over UK but Cheshire Oaks branch is one of the biggest ones I've seen. It's mostly high street shops ranging from Gap, Oasis, La Senza , Nike , Puma , TM Lewin, FCUK, NEXT and many others......
All of us managed to do some bargain shopping......as it was Sunday the shops closed early at five.. so we didn't get to cover all of the shops...may have to do a return trip...need to start saving some more shopping cash hehehe

We decided to buka puasa in Manchester. I haven't been to Manchester before so didnt really know what to expect. We decided to check out this Malaysian restaurant called Jati...it was like Malaysian hall but it turned out to be quite disappointing.....
Service was slow and food was disappointing considering the price we had to pay.......I think if they had better management the place would be a profitable place.....

It is now the third week of puasa......and my exam is in two weeks ..aaarghhh a week after raya! I have been revising for it but this case study paper is different from any other exam paper I've come across....it's not a highly technical paper so the only way u can revise is by getting ur planning technique right. I haven't been able to get time off from work before the exam but insya-allah a few days before the exam will help get me focused.

I still can't believe it will be raya end of next week...It's another raya for me in London..I wish I could be back home for raya but it's not meant to be...So those of u who are back home spare a thought for us in London who are celebrating yet another raya di rantau orang.....


Wishing all of u Selamat Hari Raya & Maaf Zahir Batin if ade tersilap cakap or any wrongdoings I may have caused u............

Bulan Ramadhan di London

Alhamdulillah....at long last I finally have internet at the flat. It's amazing how reliant we have become to technology.

It is now the second week of Ramadhan, weather in London is getting colder and it's getting gloomier each day......I hate this time of the year when the weather is gloomy like this. I would not be surprised if Oct/Nov would have the highest suicide rates in the UK.

But let's not have unhappy thoughts right......

So this year is yet another year spending ramadhan in London..I've lost count of how many times I've celebrated Ramadhan in the UK. The best part of Ramadhan is going to tarawih and this month helps us get that much closer with Allah. It's also a chance for families to buka puasa together. Nowadays, modern families don't create enough time to sit down and have a proper meal together as everyone is busy with their everyday lives. Ramadhan can help strengthen family ties by breaking iftar and going to tarawih together.

I miss being back home this time of the year but this is all dugaan kan. Only by being away from home does one realise how lucky one is.

This year, it's been fun having friends over to break iftar together. Last Saturday we went to the Indonesian embassy to break iftar and it was an experience how other countries celebrate. Once a week the Indonesian embassy buat buka puasa session and it felt like being in a kenduri. Everyone sat down and the older folks dishing out food for us..it had that 'kampung feel to it' which was nice.

This week, we went to Qatar mosque for tarawih. I could only do four raka'at and continued witir at home though because I came down with a flu and wasn't feeling too well. Nevertheless it was an interesting experience. I hope to be able to check out how other cultures experience tarawih by the end of this month.

Ok well better start preparing for iftar..........

Internetless

Hi peeps,

Haven't been updating this blog for ages!! There is a good reason behind this. I moved back into London last month and signed up for a new internet provider. For those of you who are in the UK, I signed up with the service provider Talk Talk. The offer sounded too good to be true...i sign up for the Talk talk call plan and get unlimited broadband for free.
But in the real world nothing comes for free.....due to the high demand there is a delay in getting my broadband..I signed up at the beginning of August and I'm not due to get my broadband until end of September. So no internet for me at home for a while :( aarghhhh...

Other than that, been going to body combat classes....it's such a good fun workout. I love the music and there's a different routine each month plus it's good exercise..all at the same time!
I've even tried golf..well I've been to the driving range once...unfortunately I was pretty rubbish hehehe..i think i'll need a bit more practice before I can actually hit the ball properly off the tee and actually make it go further.

The reason I'm trying to be more healthy is I've been feeling a bit lethargic recently with work so the aim is to try to be fitter so that I have more energy to study.
So let's hope it works and also I can burn off some extra calories...hehehe