Saje jenguk sat.

Dah berapa kali I'm back... bosan orang baca, bila tengok the last posting only then I realized lamanya tak menjenguk blog sendiri yg dah bersawang. Rasanya bukan diri ni jer but ramai teman2 berpindah ke buku baru apa lagi kalau tak bermukabuku. (facebooking). The fact is fb lebih cepat n lebih responsive dan lebih dangerous!!!

The last one I was still preggie with Ahmad Ihsan craving for ikan sembilang. now Ihsan dah nak masuk 6 bulan. Mcm baru semalam I stopped blogging temporarily rupanya dah almost 7-8 bulan. Having fb that requires me to write simple, brief status has somehow made me not good anymore blogging. cehhhh alasannnn... Time to stop kot na?

Just a short note today is our darling Iman's birthday. Sekejap je our little darling has turned 8. Time flies so fast, it was like yesterday we had our long awaited gift from Allah in our hands, now dah 8 thn. Rezeki pun dah bertambah, dah 4, we feel so blesssed, we could ask for no more. Too much asking and so much GIven, ALHAMDULILLAH, ALHAMDULILLAH, ALHAMDULILLAH.

Bekwoh Farewell PP

PP (centre) clad in red shirt suurounded by the loved ones.

It is so heart breaking learning more and more friends are leaving from this 'so-maha-mahal-land', some went back to Malaya for good, looking for better options or future. Some are expanding their horizons to other continents or neighbouring countries for better offers.

We could still remember the first time we were in Dubai, at first we felt so alienated, so foreign and bonded closely just among the five of us. No personal contacts here, the only one we knew was this couple Sedi and wife who happened to be a brother to my cousin's wife. Everything seeemed so new, back to square one. We knew that we need to make our own initiative to make acquaintances, to reach our Malaysians community here hence we went to our 1st Malaysians-get-together in Uptown Mirdif in Apr 2008- and the story our friendships begins.

Alhamdullillah, We reach out to offer our friendships by offering a potential friend caring, listening, talking, sharing, accepting, and affirming. It takes time though and effort to build the friendships. They are built slowly, slowly and slowly... we are comfortable with the small circle of our families here, giving and taking with much tolerence, really feel at home. To those who are close to our hearts will be very much missed when distance take charge. To those who have break our hearts, u are dearly missed too in a different way. ahaks! Lets forgive and forget.

The recent one, another good friend of ours and most people, will be leaving for a better home in a place near to the Holy city. Our Presidents of My UAE-Pro, Yang Berusaha Pak Payne is showered with a farewell bekwoh kenduri by everyone as a token of appreciation (hosted by Tn Hj FND and Sue in Ajman). This time the main dish 'gulai kawah' is cooked by the daddies, babahs and ayahs led by Pok Nik. Mommies and mamas 'santai-santai', potong-potong buah and kueh and cakes' jerrrr. As usual there are always plenty of mouth -watering Malaysian cuisines home-made by mommies. Mama really loves this kind of event - always satisfies my craving for traditional kuehs. ermmm anymore potluck events???

More story on Bekwoh ' -FAREWELL

To PP ; U will dearly missed by everyone and Good luck in ur new life in Jeddah. InsyaAllah ada rezeki... kita jumpa di sana. Ameen.

One Year Older

Happy Birthday to me...

Mesti orang tanya yang ke berapa, tengok title macam in denial takmo tulis angka keramat tu. Well many people said it is only numbers. but... 37 sounds alot jugak (Alhamdulillah), mcm tak caya jer. Spoken to mak last week wishing her 43rd wedding anniversary (10th April)n she recalled my soon-to-be birthdate, and even dia pun cakap "dah banyak umur awak yek". She still believes and regards, I am still her youngest baby who has mature without her wanna to admit. I will always be you baby!!! Babah jangan marah -" I'm ur babe forever ...lah".

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Just hope many happy returns for me, always happy with my loved ones and panjang umur, murah rezeki. Semoga makin kurang sifat mazmumah and more mahmuddah dan Alllah permudahkan segala urusan kami. Ameen.

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Me too in nostalgic mood. " Terkenang-kenang..." That was 21 years ago. On my sweet 16th birthday, Babah dated me the first time ajak balik Seremban sama-sama. That was the 1st time rasa balik Sremban naik SKS cepat sangat sampai, ... then cerita Imeirda pun bermula. The rest biar kitorang dua orang simpan jer. Kawan2 seangkatan sure ingat banyak lagu2 jiwang during that time, the children now mesti ketawa bagai nak rak kalau dengar lagu2 'sketsa sebuah cinta', 'more than words' etc etc. Yg umur2 sekufu sure ada list lain. Till then...

To all April babes and dudes - Happy birthday (Hope we get wiser and better)

To Mak - Happy Birthday yang ke 59 , with lots of love from Iman, Ilham Irdina

To my Rose Darling - Happy Birthday to U. U are not 37, u are sixteen with twenty one years full of experience!!! me too.

Sembilang oh Sembilang

These few days, I craved for asam pedas ikan sembilang laut (catfish alike). Tekak ni memang kalau preggie tak pernah teringin benda lain, asam pedas ikan sembilang is a MUST. All these while dok kat Malaysia memang takde masalah for my dad yang memang suka makan ikan sembilang would always beli the fresh ones and we would cook and belasah gila-gila. Maybe masa my mom ngandungkan I dulu, ayah memang craved for this ikan sebab mak ada 'kureng' sikit dgn ikan ni sebab dia geli kalau nak clean the 'snake' alike fish, so ayah would always cleaned and mak would cook the best Johorian asam pedas. As for me jangan orang letak belut sudah!!! yang tu betul macam u**r. eeeiiiii.

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Photo dr blog mat gebu - mohon izin ye!

Yesterday, I dok blog walking to other bloggers, suka masuk bloggers yang kaki masak and in this one entry by abang mat gebu , ada asam pedas ikan sembilang. Perghhh.... the red vibrant asam pedas siap ada bunga kantan is been proudly featured in his entry. Oh MY!!! there and then, ayaq lioq dok tersekat kat tekak ni and rasa macam kecur giler. Kalau orang jawa sebut 'NGENCHES"...

Wish, wish, wish mak dapat antar ikan sembilang kat sini. So I posted in the fb "teringin ..." and a fren in Abu Dhabi Kak Hana kata dia ada jumpa ikan sembilang kat market Abu Dhabi. Biar betullll! tapi abang Aji (hubby Kak Hana) is an angler takkan tak kenai ikan kot. Kot babah lainlah... babah kalau bab-bab nak kenal ikan ni memang fail. Kalau betul ada! confirm will heret babah to Abu Dhabi nak carik.

Many frenz commented in fb, 'buat sendirik lah", improvise ke dgn ikan dory, ikan pari or ikan apa2lah but tekak preggie ni nak ikan sembilang gakkkkkk. Nak masak asam pedas is not a problem but hope betullah ada sembilang kat Abu Dhabi ... huhuhu. Anyone kat DBX pernah jumpa kat any market here???

Island Escapade UAQ 2009

6 March 2009

ermmm lambat mama update blog ni. Masa ada mood aritu, internet disconnected pulak. Babahnya terlupa 'update' bill, sudahnya tak leh access to internet. Bill settled takleh access gak, password recognized pulak called Etisalat sampai 2 days baru settled. Then Baby 'tua' kat umah ni down with fever, teruk benar nampaknya 3 days MC, jaga anak2 dia demam pun tak teruk camni, menjeng semacam nak attention!

so report on Island Escapade aritu.

On the 5th Thursday, at 5.00 off we head to Ummu Al Quwain, checkin to our chalet, nice and cozy overlooking the beach. CG was our neighbour with PP-Kka Aishah dok chalet atas.

Lapar, bukak periuk makan nasi lemak. Mama cooked nasi lemak with sambal ikan bilis n sambal sotong - baba mmg lapar joined by PP n family, Haza n family, CG n family. Later joined the rest at riri-linda-Zue's banglo buat BBQ. Plenty of food - food fiesta, kalau dok sesama Malaysian ni memang tak pernah lapar - Alhamdulillah.

6th Mac- Morning take the boat to the island.

ERMMMMM... dah banyak ari tried to upload gambaq tapi takleh, dia kata dah overloaded, exceeded the photo limit quota. Mama pun tak sure naper; possible blogspot has its limit or mama got to bayor for the xtra storage. Well, I'm not a computer savvy , so tak brapa paham. The fact is, lepas tukar this new notebook n guna VISTA memang problematic, lembab giler... compared masa pakai XP. Could that be the problem??? So sebab mama tak dpt upload gambaq, tgk je lah

dr

LensaSham

LensaRusdi

atau dari blog Bakpo.

Tambah pulak lepas babah baik sikit dari demam, mama pulak kena. Dengan membuyung ni, kepala berat alahai. Tak habis mama sihat, Ilham malam tadi start muntah and temperature shoot up to 39C. Kesian bila tgk anak tak sihat ni. Hopefully, Iman and Dina sihat and tak berjangkit. (Rasa2nya nak kena pencen blogginglah.)

Island Escapade 09

Apa ni? Cuti-Cuti Dubai lagi? Bloggers in Dubai or specifically, many Malaysians yg kat UAE baik di Abu Dhabi, Sharjah ke, Ajman , Ras Al Khaimah n others mostly tahu My UAE Pro with many helps froms generous sponsors is organizing a grand Malaysians-meet-Malaysians gathering in a private island off Umm Al Quwain. Kat mana? mama n babah pun tak pernah pergi lagi, but not that far actually. Time to explore UAE...

The children are looking forward nak gi Island ni, meeting frenz and new frenz, mama waiting nak leisurely enjoy meeting and brok brek brok brek ngan frenz mama as Kak Ieam dah ada Kak Alfiyah tolong kejar. Kak Dina mama bribe dgn makanan dia akan dok diam-diam yum yum yum! Kak Iman as usual will be missing with many frenz of hers.

Yang belum maklum and those yg belum register, jom join ramai2. See u there!

Well, cerita and gambar menyusul kemudian kay!

I'm back Part II

Ermmm punyalah lama tak update blog ni, the last one was 19th of January, almost one and a half month. Not only that mama tak buka blog sendirik but mama tak larat nak go thru/blog walking others. This time penangan M besar ni (malasss la tu) teruk betul.

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But today i really feel energentic, fully energized I guess lama dok diam2 baru terasa nak menulis. Even camera pun dah lama tak pegang, in fact tak tahu kat mana. Even tadi nak restart writing this blog terkial2 carik mana nak customize, just like a starter. As masa computer rosak aritu, many of the photos uploaded into the old harddisc, lagilah malas nak carik gambar2 lama.

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Anyway there is a reason actually why I felt like I hv gained back my energy. Sebab tonite and starting tomorrow mama dah ada PA. Babah tolong importkan, at least now mama will have her own time monitor jer with all the tedious housework. Serious!!! now I found doing the housechores alone is so time comsuming and so hectic. Especially kejar n dok kerjakan Kak Ieam and Kak Dina. By mid of the day dah rasa kaputt.

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Actually kesian kat babah sebenarnya, he has to help me a lot, dahlah penat keje, but so far cooking is not a problem. but the after cooking/makan/dining chores.... MasyaAllah memang tak larat. Well age factor kan, preggie at this age??? Nothing to complain benonya, amat bersyukur... Alhamdulillah, mohon Allah permudahkan segalanya. Amin. Alhamdulillah again.

Well till next entry, InsyaAllah akan terus menulis lagi.

p/s = Thanks to mama Riri and mommy dia tolong permudahkan segalanya. Thanks alot ya (really from the bottom of our heart!!!)

I'm back

Salam semua...

After a long break and hiastu mama is now back, dah keluar dari cave and ready to continue my sedentary lifestyle, spending time blogging, facebooking and Instant Messanging with friends and families.

Actually one good thing takde notebook ni I have more quality time with the little ones. Mama manage to divert my attention (full attention) attending them compared to when mama sibuk with this IT agendas, Ilham was reprimanded for scrolling and typing on the the keyboard. Tu belum lagi Dina merengek2 mintak tu, ini n sometimes mama kept on asking for time delaying/procrastinating their requests (huh!!! bab! bad! bad! habit). Really need to slow down a bit on these activities as mama need time for herself as life incubator now, with fluctuations of emotions and the hormones are to be blame??? The hormonal changes really affect the levels of neurotransmitters which this time made me malassss giler. Besides, i feel like I have lost control over my body... ermmm the emotions is on a roller coaster ride. but thanks to the little ones, they have been kind to their mama.

Many things happened during the break but not goin to backdated everything except ;

10th January 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to IMAN

Our first apple of the eyes; Intan Nur Iman celebrated her 7th birthday. (10012002). First time ever, there is no birthday bash for her. (We just took her for a dinner treat). She has voluntarily gave up her savings for the children in Gaza. She even made some stationeries/story books n colouring goodies packs packed for the unfortunate Palestinian children with little note

"Assalamualaikum,

Marhaba!

My name in Nur Iman, I am 7 years old.

I am a Malaysian and now I live in Dubai.

" I would like to share something with u and hope u will like it.

May Allah swt saves u and Palestine. We pray for your safety.

Be strong.

Love Iman"

It was touching this little girl has grown to be responsible girl understanding there will be no celebration for her. She has started to know/comprehend there more other people need something that could make them feel better or happier. The celebration allocation is channelled for a better cause. At least that is the least she could contribute. Hope the goodies packs reached the children; HOPE that would made a difference to some children in Gaza. Ameen. W are proud of our Iman.

Komputer Masuk Hospital

Salam Semua,



Insya'Allah in the next few days, The Terminal will be back. In the mean time, MAMA is taking her own time to hibernate herself during winter.



Regards,
Imran

Malasssss... apa nak jadi???

Anak-anak dah selamat sampai di Malaysia, We sent them to the airport on Friday evening for 6.55pm MAS Flight. As expected Iman and Intan buat scene kat airport... both of them cried their heart out loud. My heart wept heavily seeing Intan cried and me too could not hold back my tears and just let them out. It is so sad letting them go!!!

Ada took few picture tapi tak sempat upload, will do later. Entah kenapa, penyakit MALAS bertandang lagi. Kali ni Malassss betul, selain rasa nak hibernate lama-lama dengan dok diam-diam incubating memang taknak buat benda lain. Nak blame the weather memang tak patut coz dah tak berapa sejuk, nice weather actually but takde mood langsung. possibly the news/e-mails about what happened in Tebing Gaza affected gak...seeing parents losing children, seeing anak2 hilang mak bapak, watching the Moslem/Paletinians being brutalized/victimized ...bla bla bla, tak sampai hatilah!!!!!

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"Israeli ground troops have started to enter the Gaza Strip, Israeli military officials have confirmed, a week after the offensive against Hamas began." Whilst we sit at home munching on our favourite snacks, sleeping in our cosy beds, with the heating on, under a protective roof; our brothers and sisters are being crushed under the rubbles in Palestine as we speak. "Witnesses said more than 200 people had been inside the Ibrahim al-Maqadna mosque for evening prayers when it was struck." Make dua for your brothers and sisters all over the globe in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kashmir, Chechnya, wherever they face oppression. Are we doing enough?----------------

Tak abis-abis Yahudi ni. And we as Moslem...Are we doing enuf? It is not about being a palestinian or Arabs but as a Moslem apa yang kitadah buat, takat du'a, sembahyang hajat derma/sedekat seratus dua ratus??????. Mana orang2 Malaysia yang diwarwarkan kaya-raya. Thinking of that, kalau congak2 bodo-bodo pun, kalu those filthy rich Malaysians contribute 1% dari wealth diorang supaya boleh salurkan untuk medical purposes, MasyaAllah.... banyak dah tu! Tak payah nak pledge kat e-mails/ kat newspaper ker. etc. (ermmm my 2 kupang worth opinion jer. Eh melalut panjang lakkkkk. and to Ms Livni... GOOOD LUCK, Allah is watching u...

Ermmm esok, kakak Iman restart school after looong school holiday so mama kena start a new episode of routines preparing very early morning breakfast for babah and Iman...

Iman!!! no more happy hours for ur tv show, back to serious matters. Too much rewards given before mama n babah being rewarded. Happy Schooling OK dear and Happy cooking to mama!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

Another new year... ingatkan malam tadi nak bawak the children gi Jumeirah Beach Resort to observe the fireworks tapi all celebrations were cancelled.

Mohammad orders cancellation of New Year celebrations
WAMPublished: December 30, 2008, 20:37
Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has ordered the cancellation of all New Year celebrations in Dubai on Wednesday as an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
In support of the Palestinians in Gaza, who are enduring all kinds of killing, destruction and displacement by the Israeli military machinery, Shaikh Mohammad instructed all concerned authorities in Dubai to put this order in place and take necessary procedures to circulate the decision to all concerned parties.

and in fact New Year celebrations in most parts of Arab world cancelled.

Anything new about us?... ermmm banyak buat one thing for sure 2008 was a smooth sailing, everything seemed to be in order except for few hiccups in friendships, in some of our unsure desicions but Alhamdulillah... hope for better 2009. Hope or another year of wisdom. Azam baru??? I haven’t made any resolutions this time around, I resolved to make... ermmm I just wanna be better person lah to everyone n enjoy life with the loved ones selagi Allah kurniakan kesihatan yg baik Ameen.

Esok, anak2, A'an and Intan balik Malaysia, gonna miss them esp Kakak Ieam yg melekat with abang. Again another time to say GOOD BYE... uhks

Beautiful Istanbul Finale

Lets khatam this Istanbul episode... Taknak cerita panjang2 tgk gambar jelah ye.

Day 6 (14122008)

At the park next to Topkapi Palace (just like Hyde Park adjacent to Buckingham Palace) ... strolling and enjoying the breathtaking view.

The children nak naik horse carriage so.... daddies joined them (infront of Haghia Sophia). Mommies jaga babies.

Mamas shopping time!

By 3.00 after lunch at the Mac Donald sent the children to the hotel, rest and take a short nap coz malam mamas and daddies nak dating berempat jer. We went to the Sufi Music Concert and Whirling Dervishes Ceremony Dances at the Sirkeci Old Railway Station, performed by the Sufi Group of Istanbul Galata Mevlevi Lodge . Later pergi makan2 n lepak at one of the restaurants at SultanAhmet.

Nite : Sufi /Whirling Dances. Ermmm meremang bulu roma dgn the enchanted choir (like gospel) enchanting Kalimah Allah - the nasyid like melody.

Day 7 (15122008)
Aud Lang Syne.

Time to say Good Bye. Morning Mamas n babah sempat lagi gi Grand Bazaar (10mins walk), last minutes shopping, balik hotel finalized everything and checked out. The man in blue shirt is our humble hotel owner, Prof. Dr Dogen Sumangen. Really impressed with the hospitality and his high level of patience dealing with our little munchkins (Riri described them as a little circus), macam2 ragam. Really!!! ADA hotel is highly recommended for so many reasons. In short, PERFECT and PUAS ATI!

Bayar!bayar! Bayar Time!

Checked out and Suad took us for City Tour (Gallata Tower, Pierre Lotti Hill) killing the time, our flight was scheduled at 11.50 at nite. Badan dah penat, just ingat rumah jer , missed Dubai already.

Gallata Tower, it was so windy and darnnnn COLD

Pieere Lotti Top Hill View and in the restaurant sipping apple tea, with Suad, our driver. Irdina with Mama Riri enjoying Apple coated with sugar glaze , sweet yummy... The fantastic views of the Golden Horn are best admired from the hilltop of Pierre Lotti Cafe.

All exhausted, Ali and Iman has started to catch fever.

Bye-Bye Istanbul. Alhamdulillah.

Beautiful Istanbul pt III

Still on Istanbul... jangan jemu ye, just wanna share and for atuk2 n nenek2 depa kat KL n Perlis nak tgk cucu depa pi jln2.

The nite before, waktu malam tu bawak budak2 naik tram ke Thaksim n then ke satu shopping mall. Nothing much diff, macam Dubai jer so budak2 just excited dapat naik tram jer.

Day 5

Spice Bazaar/Bosphorus Cruise/Dolmabahche Palace

The few days we were in Istanbul was terrific, cuaca tho sejuk tapi terang and very sunny. For sure gambar amik cantek-cantek. Really hoping for another sunny day as nak cruising along the Bosphorus and click2 crazy... but langit nampak cloudy, u see the real winter looked cold and mundane. But since dah planned and we took a travel agent to arrange the trip. They took us from hotel and first we headed to the Spice Bazaar.

Spice Bazaar - another bazaar yg lebih kurang sama macam Grand Bazaar and sell souvenirs and Istanbul stuff yg serupa but cheaper. Sebelum masuk Spice Bazaar, there is a mosque and budak2 excited nampak pigeons. there are 4-5 booths jual dedak app 0.50YTL satu pinggan. Anak2 ni dah makcik tu hulur satu satu pingan, masing2 amik macam ingat nenek tu sedekah. Sedar tak sedar dia kumpul pinggan tu bukan main tinggi lagi. Pastu senyum jer mintak duit... kenyang pigeons tu makan 10 lira babahnye kena bayar. Sabor jelah makcik tu! Takpelah niat sedekah jelah.

Then the driver took us to the dock amik boat for cruising, tak ramai sangat... the day was so cold dengan angin dr atas deck lagi. MasyaAllah. Baby Dina was dozing comfortably and soundly and dok senyap2 dlm stroller siap bungkus lagi. The children were excited sekejap tapi bila dah sejuk sangat masing2 turun bawah order apple tea.

Frankly speaking, view aritu tu tak berapa cantik; not as we expected ... langit quite cloudy and it was drizzling. As masa nampak Marmara Sea dari Topkapi on the previous day, the view was beautiful... laut and langit membiru. Tgk picture jelah ye!

Then they took us for lunch for Turkish cuisine in one of the restaurants dekat dgn Hagia Sophia. Nampak very cozy and the starter was already served on the table. Ermmmm... initially tgk makanan tu mmg rasa tak leh pi. Ada scramble eggs plus soggy kus-kus and savoury brinjals (mcm terung belado). Terung tu je yg akak boleh makan. Tgk Riri pun camtu gak... anak2 pun bising takleh habiskan. Then dia antar main course, chicken grilled with fries and macam nasik but rasanyer baked barleys. OKlah boleh tahanlah. Dessert dia... very sweet and pun ramai yg takleh abiskan. Rasanyer, chef and towkeh restaurant tu kecik ati ngan kami... the fact is mmg tekak Malaysia ni tak sekufu ngan Turkish cuisine.

Tgk mama Riri sambil makan tumpang dagu, macam kena paksa makan. hehehe

Habis lunch we went to Dolmacache Sarayi (Palace)

The palace is beautiful. Bebudak tu excited nak amik gambar depan soldier yg dok keras depan palace tu. Macam kat depan Istana Buckingham or Istana Negara. Click2 gambar... masuk dlm met Petronas staff from Sudan with family. Kawan Noris gak. Masuk dlm waited for the English group tour. Everyone has to cover the shoes with plastic cover (slipper) provided and advised remain silence. Alahai... bolehke anak2 kami ni quiet (esp Ilham and Andri), the two babies behaved quite well but the 1 1/2 hr tour rasa mcm panjang sgt sebab dok kepung budak 2 org tu n nak reduce 'hiruk pikuk depa'. Alhamdulillah... bila abis, babah dia tobat suruh mamas gi masuk Harem sendirik, the daddies took care of the children.

This is only 5-10% of the whole view of the interior.

Back to the tour story... one has to observe and experience urselves on the grandeur of this palace. Tiang tangga dia ajer pakai crystal and most of the ceiling are coated with gold lining... pendek kata memang grand... The best part was at the grand hall, cantik sangat2. the chandelier especially, so exquisite.

The Harem again actually tpt concubines tinggal but later The last president... Kamal Atartuk stayed there and died there. Most of the clock strucked 9.05 (time of his death). Siapa Kamal Atartuk????.... if u don't know start googling ya.

Finally, thought it was already over but they took us to the on of the hill but tak ingat nama dia.... to observe aerial view of Istanbul. When we reached this place dah tak larat sebenarnyer and it was so cold + windy. Tak larat nak jln so tgh sibuk2 tgk Pengantin Turkey; something happened. MasyaAllah, Haris was almost hit by a car (actually dah kena gak but fortunately Mahadi sempat peluk dia. The was a 'bang', rasanyer the car hit tangan Mahadi. Rasa macam gugur jantung sebab both dah terduduk kat atas jalan. The driver pucat kluar kreta and checked, ramai attended even some policemen. Tapi kita org Malaysia ni tak suka kecoh2 just cut it short and ask the driver to leave. Someone siap bawak air putih bagi anak tu minum to ease the panic. Mama Riri pun tak tercakap apa... terkejut. Memang ada guardian Angel lah jaga anak sorang tu. Syukur Alhamdulillah dia selamat.

OK then till next entry, the finale.

Beautiful Istanbul Pt II

Day 4 (12122008)
We came back late from Bursa pukul 12.00midnite baru sampai, punyalah letih n terpaksa heret anak2 naik hotel. So on the fourth day the children were exhausted and tak nak ikut pergi mana2. And it was our intention to leave them since mommies nak pergi explore Haghia Sophia... We took our best munckins along, Riri bawak Andry and mama took Ilham for kalau anak2 dua orang ni with us... life kat hotel tu tak kecoh sangat. Irdina tinggal dgn Kak Sutik yang amat sanggup nak jaga Dak Dina Debot. The facts is ARYAN n DINA were the BEST supporting tourists we took to Istanbul

On the way to Hagia Sophia we detoured to Basillica Underground Cistern. It is actually a reservoir/water storage plant built by Byzantine Emperor. Turun ke underground tu MasyaAllah the place is beautiful under the dim lite, undescribable. It is well restored by the government and the visitors melt into disappearance when they are in the cistern to see the Medusa head accompany with the soothing music.

Llength of cistern is 140m, width of it is 70m and it is a giant rectangular stracture. In the cistern where you can godownstairs yhrough 52 stone stairs, there are 336 columns of which height is 9m. these marbles compose of 12 rows, nemely 28 columns in each and there is 4.8m between each and every one of the marbles



On the way to Haghia Sophia, we met many Medical Students from Egypt. Ada dekat 20-25 students jugak on their holiday in Istanbul. Asked them how much they spent for the trip and surprisingly taklah mahal sangat about RM 2000.00 for one week (hotel in Thaksim) inclusive trip to Bursa. Pretty reasonable.

Haghia Sophia

Later we proceed to Haghia Sophia. alam 150meter from the Cistern. Entry fee dalam 20YTL per person. It was once a catholic church then converted to a mosque and later to a musuem.

The exterior of Haghia Sophia.

The Islamic elements are still restored

As well as the Christian virtues are well restored too.

Then off we walk to the Grand Bazaar. Apa lagi shopping time... but when u entered the place it is is so colourful, so were mesmerized and hypnotized. Finally, beli fridge magnet, Turkey tea sets and few small souvenirs. Mama and auntie Riri bought a porcelain plate and a porcelain bowland also a jug, hand made ... beautiful and after a hard bargain we got it for quite a reasonable price. Unfortunately, angry Andri ngamuk and baling mama dia punya barang and crack. So another mama thought dia punya selamat but similarly the staffof that Turkish air main baling that bags. so mama Zaida punya pun crack gak Cuma jug selamat because had carried!!!!! Sigh!. Takdak rezeki...

Colours of Istanbul!!!!!

Top right, the pinggan mangkuk kami yg hancusss.

Till next entry ...

08122008 (backdated)

Intan, Yasmeen and Harris' Birthdays.

Happy Birthdays to Yasmeen, Intan and Harris.

Alahai! punyalah mama excited tulis pasal Istanbul terlupa nak update pasal birthday anak dara sorang ni. On Eidul Adha (8.12.2008), Moi n Norris invited us for beraya with them. As the following Subuh kami nak berangkat ke Istanbul, mama tak prepare apa2 pun. Infact pagi raya tu Firdaus and family tetiba datang beraya. Ermmm adhoc plan nak serve apa ye?... hohoho dapat buat cekodok udang jelah (mintak mahap banyak2)

Birthday Yasmeen and Intan coincides the same date (the actual date is 10 December 2008). They are at the same age - 9 years. So kira buat sekalilah, senang and seems Harris pun tak celebrate his birthday on the 4th of Dec... semua mommies tapau sekali buat birthdays aritu. Besides there are many children to celebrate. Ala budak2 ni dapat tiup lilin cake, nyanyi2 birthday song, rasa puas hati dah. Birthday present babah dah bookkan tiket ke Istanbul... hahaha. So both children; A'an and Intan actually celebrated both birthdays in Dubai with mama n babah.

note ; Thank u ye Ibu Moi and Ayah Norris, readykan party siap food utk Intan.

Beautiful Istanbul

Salaam...

It has been quite awhile, Lama tak berblogging. We were away for a short break to Istanbul. A day after Aidul Adha we took the Turkish flight; 5 Adults with 9 children. Ramai kan????

Istanbul was once called Byzantium then Constinopale is one of the world great cities. Anyone could not deny on her very own beauty and unique history and the only place where Europe meets Asia.

Day 1. (09122008)

ADA Hotel SultanAhmet Street

Arrival - arrived at the Atarturk Airport at 10.45 local time and were fetch and chauffered driven to ADA Hotel at Sultahahmet Street. Greeted and welcomed personally by the owner of the hotel ; Prof. Dr Dogen Sumangen. ADA hotel is strategic and very economical, COZYis the right word to describe, so close (walking distance) to the attractions merely few hundred metres to Blue Mosque, Haghia Sphia and Topkapi, Grand Bazaar etc. Checked in and cleared the luggages and off we go to our first attraction; Blue Mosque.

ADA Hotel, just arrived.... from LensaRiri

Blue Mosque. - Sultan Ahmet 1's great mosque ; one of the world's most famous religious building ' "blue" on account to the delicately patterned Iznik tiles which adorn the interior. Beautiful architecture!!! Tourists could enjoy the tour in the mosque for FREE.

Exterior - Ilham Made friend with Bosnian girl.

The interior design in Blue Mosque - from LensaRiri

This is Haghia Sophia, next to Blue Mosque. It was already evening and cold plus hungry. The children dah bising lapar so just took pictures. Note the orange color of Haghia Sophia. That is the real effect reflections of the sunset. Cantik kan!

Day 2 (10122008)

Topkapi Sarayi (Palace).

We spent half of the day at the garden area. Strolling leisurely in the compound, the garden is enourmous and beautiful.It resembles the Forbidden City in Beijing. The etrance fee is 20YTL/per person (60dirham) but it worth the money spent. The palace is located on top of the hill by the seaside, overlooking the Marmara Sea and Bosphoros. The view is amazing and so breathtaking. Apa taknyer! u were in Europe but u could see the other Asian continent on the other side. So near and not that far. Besides the day was beautiful bright sunny chilling cold day. Perfectttt!!!!

We managed to cover most of the places as the children boleh lari2 dlm garden tu and mommies masuk dadies tolong jaga anak2. Depa memang sporting.

Day 3. (11122008)

Bursa - Uludag Ski Resort

We planned on our own and asked Suad to take us there. The journeys is approximately 2 1/2 hours plus ferry ride to the other side of Eorope - The Asia. The scenery alongway to Bursa was splendid and so panoramic. Boleh nampak kebun olive and the reason to Bursa is the children nak main snow.

On the ferry on the way to Bursa

Ermmm cuak jugak for along the way tak nampak salji langsung and exhausted for the children kept on asking 'Salji tak/where is the snow, 'tak nampak punnnn', etc etc. Then finally sampai kat Uludag, it was a long queue for the teleferry ride (cablecar aka gondolas) but the dadies sanggup beratur. Thank u babah and Ayah!!!!

In the teleferry (cable car-climbing up to 1164m from sea level)

Sampai dekat first stage we sawthe hills were all white and the frost was quite thick, phewwww!!!! lega - what a relief!. We can see the children were elated. Alhamdulillah.

Dak Dina Debot and Kak Iman enjoying snow But one thing the unforgettable moment was when we dine in the one of the restaurants there. The restaurant was so inviting, cozy and unique. U just chooese the marinated beef, lambs or whatever u desires, weight them and u cook on your own as u desired. The food were delicious and very reasonable price and the best dinner we had in Istanbul except for all the Mac donald's stuff Pizzas etcAyah Madi memang great chef... babah Imran too!! magnificent!



To be continued...

Salam Eidul Adha

Labbaik Allah humma labbaik, Labbaik la sharika laka labbaik,Innal hamdaWan-ni'mata, Laka walmulkLaa sharika lak.
O my Lord, here I am at Your service, here I am.There is no partner with You,here I am.Truly the praiseand the provisions are Yours,and so is the dominion and sovereignty.There is no partner with You.

Bismillah al rahman al rahim...
"In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate".

May we, take this opportunity to wish Mak, Ayah, Mak Dah, and Abah, you, your family, friends in Dubai and Malaysia, and who knew us personally A Happy, Blessed and Peaceful Eid-ul Adha. Wishing everyone a very Happy Eid Mubarak.

May Almighty Allah SWT showers His choicest blessing on us all.

May Allah SWT accept our supplications, and grant us Tawfiq and Hidayah to serve Him and to forgive us for our shortcomings. Ameen

May the blessings of Allah always be with us you and your family Ameen

Our du'a for all muslims around the world and

For friends and families performing Hajj, we pray for your Mabrur Hajj. Ameen

JazakAllah hu Khairan.

Imran, Zaida, Iman, Ilham, Irdina

Jommm Sukan

2nd December 2008

UAE 37th National Day.

Selamat Hari Merdeka Untuk semua Emiratis

Self-explanatory report on the biggest community event jointly organized by SMG and MyUAE . It is a sport event(football and captain ball for ladies) joined/played by expats from asean countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philipines and also a group from Europe.

Quote unquote from PP the MyUAE pro President : "Ini merupakan acara terbesar yang d anjur oleh myUAE-PRO, bersama SMG. Kita ingin berkongsi sama dengan masyarakat dan komuniti ASEAN dperantauan. Ianya acara famili. Datang beramai-ramai sempena cuti umum Hari Kebangsaan UAE", tambahnya.

Ketika d tanya penyertaan pasukan Malaysia, beliau menjawab,"Kita menghantar sebanyak 14 pasukan dalam kategori Terbuka, 2 pasukan dalam kategori bawah 12 tahun, veteran dan acara wanita. Oleh itu, sokongan rakyat Malaysia amat d perlukan bagi melihat pasukan Malaysia menempa kejayaan dalam edisi kedua ini".

Pasukan Malaysia merupakan juara bertahan dalam kategori wanita (Captain's Ball).Konsul Besar Malaysia d UAE, Syed Mohd Hasrin akan melakukan sepak mula tepat jam 9 pagi. Kejohanan ini berlansung dari jam 9 pagi pada Disember 2, 2008 d Kelab Al Ahli (Dubai) - bersebelahan Lulu Hypermarket Ghusais. "

Babah and Abang A'an joined main bola, Babah masuk geng veteran (uhuks - dah falls under veteran group) sudah tua meh!. First game kena lawan ngan geng2 Mat Saleh dr Europe... ermmmm last minute kalah. Later then baru warm up nak doin OK. But kudos to all players, the organizers and all the supporters who are being very supportive and sporting.

Our heartiest empathy to Abang Suhaime who had a minor heart attack after the first game. He was rushed to the hospital to the ICU but remained cool boleh buat lawak lagi (he is a jovial person anyway). Wishing him a fast recovery. Babah and friends ada pergi visit dia at the hospital. (latest update) Abang Suhaimi is recuperating well. Alhamdulillah. photo ehsan dr abe Nik Ericson

The ladies had fun playing captain ball. The game is just like netball game except we have 'human being goal post' (the keeper has to stand on a chair to catch ur own ball to gain a point- anchor kena kuat and good in balancing urself, otherwise one would toppled while catching the ball.) Mama tak main, takut pancit and actually biasalah anak2 takde orang jaga eventhough ramai yang tolong jaga -hehehe. Alasan!!!! but... mama jadik tukang sorakkk.

Tapi paling best Malaysians ni, dalam apa keadaan sekalipun makanan perkara utama. Be it sports, majlis keraian... semuanya makanan so kat tepi padang tu Malaysian jugaklah yang berpiknik... makan dan makan ... brok-brek. Mama tak banyak snap gambar this time since professional photographer ramai betul, semua dengan outstanding camera canggih-canggih muncung panjang. ermmmm babah, boleh mintak upgrade tak?

Abang and the junior team were jubilant with their victories on 1st to 3rd games tho tak ke final.


Pancit - semua muka penat, dah veteran babe! CG and babah in action M'sia vs Europe group.

nice photos can be found from LensaHalim, Lensa PP, LensaFND. (Mohon izin ye abang-abang photographer.)

Cuti-Cuti Dubai 4

Monday 241128

It is been quite a while (hibernating sat), being busy and malasss but just wanna to blog about our recent activity, Cuti2 Dubai with anak-anak from Malaysia plus a visit from a good buddy of mine. Rozi and Hubby transitted Dubai enrouted Rome, Italy. Fetched them at the airport and balik Uptown dah malam so just bawak depa makan at the food court there and belanja Abang A'an punya Birthday ( "happy birthday a'An" ) and strolling within the vicinity. Nice weather, quite chilling and nyamannnn.



Tuesday 25112008

Love this photo. This is the only photo the whole 7 of us.

We rented a Kia Carnival MPV to accomodate all for a city tour. Started with Jumeirah Beach and Burj Arab. Snapping photos and we headed to the Atlantis (The Most Expansive Hotel) at the moment. Dubai as usual, claiming to have the world's tallest building, biggest airport and most expensive hotel, Dubai is a city of superlatives. An there are so many others for us to explore here. One shouls tgk on the opening ceremony. OMG they are so lavish... MEMBAZIR!!! In the economics turmoil and many were rentrenched, the money spent for that nite would suffice for so many family expanses. At a cost of $20million (Dh73 million) the lavish party will play host to around 2,500 celebrity and royal guests and a number of VIPs from the UAE for one grand nite event. Many were ie, Oprah, Kylie Minogue, Lindsay Lohan and other Hollywood /Bollywood superstars. Pak-Pak Arab kaya berlaga-laga pipi sambil tasbih kat tangan; hehehe ... do ur own googgling ya!!!

Atlantis in BIG numbers. (Hotel of madness)

The cost: £750m
The size: 114 acres – or 64 Wembley football pitches
The rooms: 1,539, with prices starting at £228 per night for a standard double and rising to £15,000 for the Bridge Suite
The water: 60m litres, including the rides and aquariums – enough to fill 24 Olympic-size pools
The rides: 8, including the 1½mile river ride
The restaurants: 17, three from Michelin-starred chefs
The fish: 65,000 specimens, twice as many as the London Aquarium

Then Abang Aizar wanted to get some Hard Rock Cafe Shirts for souvenirs and his own collection. He and babah are ardent Hard Rock Shirts collectors. FYI, the Dubai Hard Rock Cafe is closing by end of the year, bet depa jual shirts discount giler2 lepas ni so saper2 HRC fans, check it out.

Later we proceed to the Biggest/laegest Mall in the World (ye ke?) and the biggest aquarium in the worlg gak. Beautiful!!! Everyone could observe the big screen of the aquarium for FREE but if nak get a better view the entrance is not that much approx; 25dhs for adults n 15 for children. We managed to watch the shark feeding event. This is another not to miss place to go if u were to be in Dubai. Tengah ralit and fascinated with the fish, sharks and all aquamarine life, saw a Malaysian couple and we switched Salaam. Introducing ourselves... and had adejavu macam kenal Puan Faezah ni..... aha she was our lecturer (Rozi and me) who taught us Reading and Vocab subject. ermmm, what a small world kan????

with Puan Faezah, our former lecturer during our matriculation years in PPP/ITM, Shah Alam. After 18 years finally jumpa kat Dubai, (the hubby works here) n she came for holiday.



Global Village- A cultural landmark in Dubai

Around Maghrib we reached Global Village, kaki dah lenguh sebenarnya, badan dah rasa nat kaputt but the children were so energetic. But we got to take Rozi and Aizar here as the village is open only during winter for 3 months. Got to take the chance.


Many have said that the village attracts an outstanding increase in the numbers of visitors and countries participating. Every countries participating withspecial sets of pavilions with their own theme on the location, the village is still by far the most exotic attraction of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF). But with time constraints we did not really manage to explore the whole globe. The only time that they enjoyed was having fun with Mr Barney. Enjoy the pictures.

Babah and children really had a great fun with Mr Barney, Photo session; they gave them to take photos but later kena bayar depa 40dhs, hahaha!!! Anyway Ilham os Barney die-hard fan, still berbaloi!!!

26th Nov 2008 Rozi and Aizar left for Italy. Babah sent them to the airport at 6.30am. Hope they enjoy the stay here.

Update.


Hahaha, naper lak ada monkey ni. Ha tu ler, ada 2 orang kirim monkeys ni as awards they love the blogs. Thank u ya Fida and ????. Rules nyer kena tag 7 orang dan acknolwledge them but... but... but... kawan2 semua!!! kawan2 blog ni ramai yg dah dapat award ni, so mama tak tag orang lah ye. mama simpan jer monkey comel ni kat blog mama. Jangan kecit ati ye. Love the monkey!!!