Ganjil

-Gadis melayu berniqab, ganjil?


-Gadis melayu menutup aurat sepenuhnya, ganjil?


-Gadis melayu melabuhkan tudung menutupi dada mereka, ganjil?


-Gadis melayu mengenakan pakaian longgar dan besar, ganjil?


-Gadis melayu malu untuk keluar bersama bukan mahram, ganjil?


-Gadis melayu pakai stoking kaki ke mana-mana walau mandi bersama kawan-kawan di laut, ganjil?


-Gadis melayu pakai stoking tangan walau dah mengenakan t-shirt lengan panjang, ganjil?


-Gadis melayu meninggalkan orang yang sedang gosip dan mengata orang lain walaupun yang sedang mengata itu kawan baiknya, ganjil?


-Gadis melayu tidak mengenakan mekap berlebihan, ganjil?


-Gadis melayu tidak memakai perfume kecuali sekadar sangat sedikit dan tidak terhidu orang lain, ganjil?


-Gadis melayu tak ‘couple’ sebelum nikah, ganjil?


-Gadis melayu tak materialistik dan memilih kehidupan untuk taat kepada agama, ganjil?


-Gadis melayu ganjil?

Sabda Rasulullah s.a.w: “Islam bermula sebagai sesuatu yang dianggap asing dan ganjil. Dan ia akan kembali sebagaimana permulaannya, dianggap asing dan ganjil. Maka, beruntunglah orang-orang yang ganjil”
(H.R. Muslim)

"Tak usah bersedih menjadi ghuraba',be proud of being different,"

The Journey

Begini ceritanya...

I left home at 9 something. After about 10 minutes of walking and waiting for the bus, I've decided to take the cab instead...and paid RM5 for a 5minutes journey.

After waiting nearly 15-20minutes at the KTM Segambut (and paid RM1), they announced that the next train is NOT gonna arrive in at least 40minutes. x-x" I can't wait that long.

In the hot nearly-midday, I walked across the highway  tryna catch a cab from the other side (don't ever do this! VERY DANGEROUS!). I saw a U7 bus coming . I have no idea what U7 meant, and where is it heading to, but seriously, it doesn't matter. =P Naik saja!

Went all the way to Sentul, Chow Kit, Sogo, Dataran Merdeka, and finally, Bangkok Bank (which what I now know, route U7 ). From there, walked a bit to LRT Masjid Jamek.

Wait, did I tell you where I'm going?
Ehehe..

I know the place that I want to go to is in Jalan Ampang, so I took the one heading for Ampang.

 The problem is;
How many lines are they and where are they heading to and what stations are there?!!

Why?
Because there's not a single map of the lines on the platform!

So, considering someone in a rush like me..

PLEASE PUT A MAP OF  THE LINES' STATION ON THE PLATFORM.
(Kelana Jaya's line seems to have this)

PLEASE SHOW OTHER LINE'S ROUTE AS WELL INSIDE THE TRAIN.

To those who thinks it's a common sense that someone should know all about these lines by now, well it's not. Don't assume that everyone is a frequent user of the trains here.

Since I am supposed to head to Ampang, I took the Ampang line because I couldn't find a BIG, PROPER ROUTE MAP even around the ticketing area. T-T" (Ada tu ada, tapi keciknya, kesian mokcik-mokcik nak carik stesen)

Sangat tak user friendly. (cries) hangpa yang buat sistem naik dak tren?

Anyway, going from Masjid Jamek, I realized that I am going far far away from KLCC(heading to Pudu dah!) and decided to go back to Masjid Jamek and figure out what OTHER LRT LINES there are - and where do they go to sebab its not written anywhere in the platform. Since the other side is going to Sultan Ismail.. I decided to get down from there (paid about RM2.50), walked about looonggg minutes of forever - and finally ended the crazy trip by taking a cab; to Wisma MCA Jalan Ampang (RM 6).

Dari kedekut nak naik cab dari rumah.. Inilah padahnya. [sebenarnya, saya sangat2 tak gemor naik cab NIH. Takut! cume memikirkan apa salahnya bagi pokcik2 teksi duit makan lebih]

11:30am. I am finally here. at the US Visa Collection Center, and I'm done  in less than 10. =$

12:00pm Off to Shah Alam by KTM.

Kerana bonda tak beli lagi baju raya dan kuih-muih raya, gagahkan jugaklah pergi sampai Shah Alam. N memang rasa nak  deman. My nose is running like a broken pipe; sakit kepala, and only had 15 minutes of sleep last night; gara2 nak mencari Lailatul Qadr, tapi sempat lagi pegi mamak kejap, tengok movie kat YouTube kejap.. X)

(complaints and ways to improve KTM will come in a different post. LoLs yeah, I do complaint a lot; since I won't settle down in a terrible fact of life)

A lady in KTM once told me,
"Things are terrible, but face the fact, you're not in Japan!"

and I replied, "Why must I face the terrible fact? I rather change it".

Ok-ok. Officially going to a fever state. Dah batuk-batuk and muntah-muntah. Hope it's not for long.  

Merdeka

Coming soon..

"Tanah Airku Bukan Disini".

Alhamdulillah

After being back in Kuala Lumpur for about a month and a half now, I can prolly say that events and incidents happened this time is pretty different from what I had in the previous years of summer vacation. It's my last vacation before I graduate. How time flies.

1.Projek Kalsom 17 (11-15 July 2011 )


Held in Malacca Fruit Farm, Melaka. I applied to be one of the facilitator for this program, and Alhamdulillah, it's a one unique experience that I shall treasure. Made a LOT of new friends, and insyaAllah I will be serving the next committee - Projek Kalsom 18, next year in Sarawak as a Publicity Manager.

"Projek Kalsom is a collaborative project between Kelab Kalsom and United Kingdom and Eire Council for Malaysian Students (UKEC). It is a motivational programme for Form 4 students who have excelled in their studies but come from less fortunate backgrounds. It is run by Malaysian students enrolled in universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland, but students from other universities are also welcomed to join as volunteers. The programme runs approximately one week." -

http://projek-kalsom.com/

"K stands for Kalsom"



2. KONSISTEN 2011 (10-14 August 2011)

My second time to attend the international student convention by Ikram. This is the only picture that I have, telling me that I went there. But there is not a single picture that can explain my feelings when I was there; because I took no picture and none of me. I see everyone in my heart. I feel their presence even though I have no idea who they are. Not even their name.

When we pray together side by side, I know I can rely on them. Even with a world-sized burden on my shoulder. This is the first (I hope there's a next next..) program that I just didn't fell asleep during any talk. MasyaAllah. But I fainted inside the masjid instead. xD

I see the family is getting bigger each year. With faces that I've seen 2-3-4 years ago, and go.. "I know you...!" and new faces, asking "Where are you from...?"to, "Oh.. you're the one who visited xxx (Jordan, Egypt, Jakarta etc..)"

 I wont be a 'mahasiswa' anymore next year, but I will insyaAllah be a part of this again.


3. KILAT 2011 (15-17 August 2011)

Kursus Intensif Lingkaran Asia Timur@ KILAT. A gathering of students who are studying in China, Korea and Japan. Saya hanya menjadi penyibuk menambah bilangan ahli majlis saja. ^-^"

------


Another 9 more days of Ramadhan. I feel like I am running as fast as I can, but I feel like there's a junction infront, or a roadblock, or just a small rock that I might stumble upon. By hook or by crook, I must get there. InsyaAllah. 

I am holding on to that rope, but I feel like it's getting loose. I can feel that you're letting go. 
Maybe I am holding on to the wrong rope.  Ya Allah, I will hold on. 

Ramadhan Mubarak.

Make Me Strong

I know I’m waiting
Waiting for something
Something to happen to me

But this waiting comes with
Trials and challenges
Nothing in life is free

I wish that somehow
You’d tell me out aloud
That on that day I’ll be ok

But we’ll never know cause
That’s not the way it works
Help me find my way

My Lord show me right from wrong
Give me light make me strong
I know the road is long
Make me strong

Sometimes it just gets too much
I feel that I’ve lost touch
I know the road is long
Make me strong

I know I’m waiting
Yearning for something
Something known only to me

This waiting comes with
Trials and challenges
Life is one mystery

I wish that somehow
You’d tell me out aloud
That on that day you’ll forgive me

But we’ll never know cause
That’s not the way it works
I beg for your mercy

My Lord show me right from wrong
Give me light make me strong
I know the road is long
Make me strong

Sometimes it just gets too much
I feel that I’ve lost touch
I know the road is long
Make me strong

Words, Music, Produced by Sami Yusuf

A diversion.

Do you wake up in the morning thinking if your day on this earth ends today and you're not ready for it?

Everyday, I wake up with a terrible  fear if I won't be able to repent and do good deeds for another day.
Everyday, I wake up being very afraid if I won't be granted Allah's blessing to enter paradise. 

...and cry all my heart out before I can start my day.

Because I will never know if it'll be my last. 
Going to bed every-night is a different story; if I never gonna wake up the next day.

A sister suddenly had this saying on her Facebook status,

"berbantallah dengan kematian bila kamu tidur dan jadikanlah kematian itu di depan matamu apabila kamu bangun"- by Uwais Al-Qarni

What a coincident eh?
 
Every time I'm out on a trip, I'll tell my mother, "If it's time for me to go, let me go, and I'll see you on the other side, InsyaAllah". That's how much I think about death. 

Be real.
Life is not even yours to even begin with.

No one. No living things on this earth can escape death. 

Even our beloved, Rasulullah s.a.w had a painful death. What makes you think you can escape it? Of all people in this world, he should have been given an easy death.(unless you die as a shahid which you'll only feel a pain nothing more than a pinch) But no, sakratul maut (terror of death) is there for everyone. 

Every second of the day I try to hide my fears, my uneasiness, my tears. Some people can just read me through, MasyaAllah. Some people just judge me by what they see of me, yet no one knows. You think you know it all. Even to those who think that I've told them, all about me. yet no one knows. 

I woke up still holding my Al-Mathurat open, as the plane was shaking hard nearly 40,000 feet in the air. It feels like forever. 

"Is this it? Is this it?"

Life's different when you think about death all the time. There's no point to hold on to the pain of the pasts, and the  uncertainties of the future. 

Last week, me and my mom were talking about the guy (a student who's studying in Japan) that was found dead in Pattaya. I heard the news in Twitter when a senior of mine said, "The guy who died in Pattaya is actually my junior". 

and that was it. 

just another news, 

of someone's death.

Imagine, if that was me. My time was up. I wonder if people around me would just see it as a piece of news that will only last in their mind for less than a minute. 

I don't think so, maybe.

When I heard of that news, I was thinking of how long do I still have? At least, when his time was up, he wouldn't be doing sins anymore ; if he were to live for another 20years. The longer I have, the more chance for me do good deeds, but at the same time; more sins, and I wonder if I have enough time to repent. 

Astaghfirullah al azim.   
Astaghfirullah al azim. 

Hell is for forever. For eternity. Bare with this world for a while, because home isn't here to those who believe in the Oneness of Allah. 

[Alhamdulillah, traveling has taught me a lot. I realized that I've never really feel belong even though I am back in Malaysia. I am back, but I don't want to settle down in comfort. I'd rather not. I need to be challenged by life.  This is the path that I've chosen, yet anything can happen that none of us is bound to know.] 

Weekend in The Land of Smiles II

Let me tell you why do they call it 'The Land of Smiles'.

at a sandal shop in Chatucak Weekend Market,

at a lamp decoration shop, also in Chatucak Weekend Market

I wasn't kidding when I tell you that people here smile A LOT. MasyaAllah, no wonder smile is sadaqah. We were walking through the market and no one call us to buy this and that. No one. You can try things on and just leave without buying, and they'll give you a BIG smile and say, ขอบคุณค่ะ kop khun kha ( thank you- for women).

When we were bargaining (which most of the time we failed to do so since its a fixed price), the guy (who was selling CDs just SMILE and said, "ten", and we said, "eight". He smiled again, and said, "ten", and we said "eight". Yes, we left, thinking that other stalls might sell it for "eight" to us. But no, all of the other stalls said, "ten", and smiled. So, we went back to the first guy, SMILE, give him 10(100Bh), he smiled, give us the CD, we smiled again and left. No frustration whatsoever.

Shopping never felt so relaxing. When you go to Pavillion or One Utama in KL, if you just leave, not buying anything, the shopkeeper would give you a "if you can't afford it, why bother coming in"- face.




I saw a pair of cute flip-flops, and I didn't know who to ask - for the price. There were so many people there, it was noisy, and I was mumbling...

"How much eh.."
and the young lady besides me said, "Which one do you like?".
In my head, "oh, the shopkeeper is too pretty and very nice-modestly dressed to be a shopkeeper", and I said "This pink one".
She called the other guy, asked him (in Thai language) how much is the pink one, and she asked me my size.
I said, "38-39?"
Later she said, "Do you want to try it on?", which I did, and she said, "The pink looks good".

It was a 150Bh slippers, and I realized that she was trying a pair as well.

We asked her mother (which we then realized that she was also a customer), how to get to MBK Mall, and they were very lovely indeed. Smileeeee all the way.

MasyaAllah.

Chatucak Weekend Market is a MUST GO in Bangkok.

We found this "Forget Me Not" Muslim cafe, and ordered 'Thai Ice Coffee' (left) and 'Thai Coffee plus Thai Tea' (the one on the right) and it tasted better than Coffee Beans or Starbucks.

 Seriously.

 It was THAT good.  The mix of Coffee and Tea in one drink somehow confuses me, but MasyaAllah.. it makes me think of how good things can be in the real paradise. 

Stalls like these goes along the street from BTS National Stadium station (in front of MBK Mall) till Siam Station.

We couldn't find any money changer that operates at 10pm, so shopping has to stop there. Didn't buy much, but spend exactly RM1000 for the weekend (including hotel, which was a great bargain as well ^-^).

We wanted to get on a Tuk Tuk like this dude. (Now we know why isit called a Tuk-Tuk. It horns, tuuukk-tuuukk!!)... But look at the traffic.. =(

I didn't feel like feeding myself with more carbon-monoxide if I were to take a Tuk Tuk back to the hotel. It's only one station away, 15Bh - where a Tuk Tuk costs 100Bh. yikes!

 Maybe, its because I haven't had any Malaysian fruits, all the fruits I had in this miracle city taste simple delicious. 

Managed to have Thai's dessert, 'Mango Sticky Rice' for 160Bh at the airport, 15minutes passed boarding time. x) 

(It was just nasi pulut and small sized mango yang sedap for 16 ringgit. Sedap punya pasal. Sedap. haha)

Alhamdulillah, this journey ends here in the 2nd album.

For now.

It's time for Ramadhan. 

But maybe, I'll be traveling as well.

We'll see.

Ramadhan Mubaarak everyone <3

Weekend in The Land of Smiles - Oh, Bangkok!

. . . 

I was amazed even before the airplane reaches the airport. Suvarnabhumi airport was beautiful. This is one country that beats my expectation to death.

. . .

Took the Express Sky Train to the city to Phaya Thai (150Bh for return tix -which I didn't even use because I took the taxi instead back to the airport) and change for BTS Train to Chitlom station for Bliston Suwan Park View Residence Bangkok.

One thing I am super amazed of this city is how much greenery I see around. Trees are everywhere! MasyaAllah.. Even in housing areas, they have as much trees as they can around every house, even Banana trees!

Parks like these can be seen almost everywhere. &&amazingly, in the city of Bangkok (as far as I'm concerned), I can barely see any rubbish around. What a clean city.

A view from our balcony. Huge trees..

(I wonder if it's because of their teachings that makes them protect these trees. If islam is being carried out the way it was supposed to, meaning that we can't even hurt animals and other living things such as trees, imagine what a wonderful world we'd live in; such greenery and calm)

Bangkok somehow reminds me of Japan (terubat sikit rindu). Feels traditional and laid back, yet quite modern for new technology, services and products.

 Their SevenEleven looks exactly like the ones in Japan, where they have bentos, pastries, lots(and lots) of Japanese brand products (plus they are cheap!) and you can pay all sorts of bills at the counter. & they even have slurpy, which Japan doesn't. A mix of my two favourite countries.

Lotte's Koara-no-Machi, Meiji's cultured drinks (caution!! SUPER DUPER SWEET - I think half of the drink was just SUGAR!), Calbee's Ebi-sen, and yes... bentosss!

Me and Mardhiah went for an aromatherapy Thai massage for 90 minutes, which cost us 850Bh.

 I picked lemongrass (mint for mekdi) for the massaging oil and it was just perfect. =)

- The infamous Pad Thai -

Since we only went there for about two days, there weren't much time for us to explore other parts of the city (and food as well). Mardhiah had Pad Thai twice, and I went with 'I-don't-know-what-do-they-call-it"(above) and Tom Yam Goong (below).

 with steamed Jasmine rice.

 and another Thai signature-dish, Som Tam. 

 That was just it, Alhamdulillah. The food was kinda expensive (at a 'proper' restaurant- 200Bh per dish) since we didn't have the guts to eat at the hawkers.

For the rest of the first album, click here.

I still got lots of things to share &brag &blab about. x)  

will continue soon!

Ramadhan Mubaarak everyone!

<3