My taichi story

It has been 4 months since I am actively involved in my Taichi class.

It started off with so many of us, until it became only two Malay ladies in the class. I was, as always the youngest.

My Master, of course was so excited to introduce me here and there. Wanted to bring me to the Grandmaster who came all the way from China, proudly saying that Taichi in Malaysia is multi racial and even attracted the youngsters. My physique obviously made me looked younger. I'm 30, Sifu.. not that young anymore (T_T).

But to be, honest.. I'm not that proud of my Taichi.

I have been in sooo many classes before. I excelled in my Aerobic class, doing okay in my Yoga class, so-so in my Tae-Kwan-Do, BUT Taichi is not something I'm proud of yet.

Taichi differs a lot from other classes I've been into. It is so detailed, and gentle and requires a lot of memorization.

The Introductory class, there were 16 steps. 16 complicated steps to memorize. Just when I thought I am doing okay with the 16 steps, I went to Taichi 103.

What is Taichi 103?

"Ohh.. it is just the extension of the 16 steps," my Sifu said.

Right....

Except that the extension means you add 87 more steps, hence Taichi 103.

16 steps + 87 steps = 103 steps = Taichi 103.

I don't even consider it as extension okay!! It's a whole new thing. *cries*

"How do I memorize all the three steps?" I asked my Taichi class monitor after my last session ended.

"It's like a lab session, you know.." He answered. And his following reply made me cursed myself for asking that stups question. "When we want to test the students on psychomotor, we ask them to do the prelab first. Practice is like doing the prelab. Then only you can master the session."

Okay. I deserved that punch *sigh*

Need more practice after this. Like my Sifu always told me..

"Do not cheat Taichi, or else Taichi will cheat you."

Whatever that means..

Vietnam with a toddler and baby...

...and not using travel agency is crazy.

Lucky we went to Ho Chi Minh for only three days.

Flight from KL to Ho Chi Minh is around 2 hours. We left via KLIA2, my first. Was amazed with so many shopsssss!! Must come early and lepak first.

Time difference is around an hour. 1pm Malaysia = 12 noon Ho Chi Minh.

RM1 = 6000 dhong. You can use RM as well in Ben Tanh market. And if you change RM to Dhong in Vietnam (we changed it in their airport) you'll get more compared to exchange rate in Malaysia.

They are using 2 flat pins plug like this, so converter is needed.

Travelling with a toddler and a baby, what you need?

1. A small portable stroller mainly for baby Aisha, or for Toddler Khaira if K fell asleep. Which left A to use..

2. A carrier. We love our Pognae so much.

3. Diaper bag with only diaper pants. Ho Chi Minh is not at all baby friendly. Don't expect to find any nursing room. Diaper pants are much easier option.

4. Formula milk for the toddler and baby food for the baby. First day I brought frozen food for A (which I reheat by submerging the tupperware in hot water). Since Baby A is not a colicky baby, we just gave her instant cereal for the other 2 days.

5. Light clothing, comfy shoes.

6. No jewellery please. I'll talk about it soon.

7. Snacks while travelling for the toddler.

Our first happy day.

Flight to Ho Chi Minh was smooth sailing, Alhamdulillah as both my girls were born traveller. We had a peaceful time in the flight while they were playing happily.

We arrived at Ho Chi Minh at 12 noon local time. We purposely did not take the first flight like we usually did so that by the time we settle down, hotel was ready for us to check in.

Stayed in Hoang Lien hotel with one queen size bed for all of us girls and one single size bed for Love. The bathroom was equipped with a bathtub so the kids love it. Comfy to bath the baby as well.

Funny though.. you need to leave your passport at the reception of the hotel or otherwise you need to pay a deposit of 100 usd.

We had our lunch in the hotel. Knowing it was hard to find halal food in our area as we did not stay in Ben Tanh area, I bought extra food from AirAsia. Each guest is entitled for 2 meals, so I bought 5 meals altogether for our lunch and dinner. We had a very heavy breakfast at the airport before.

After lunch, I called the hotel reception to buy us 3 tickets to water puppet show later at 6.30pm with the price of 150k dhong per person with extra 50k dhong for the hotel's sercive.

Then, all of us took a nap so the girls would not be cranky. Then we took a bath and off we went.

We walked to the water puppet show. Around 10 minutes walk that felt like forever. The traffic in Ho Chi Minh was crazy, I tell you! Motorcycles outnumbered the cars here. They move like a swamp of bees. Zebra crossing not working here, don't bother wait for traffic lights. They don't comply with the system AT ALL. Just brave yourself to cross the road, and the motorcyclists will find a way to avoid you somehow. It's like they don't need a system to work because they are soooo in tune with each other, it just works you know. They texted while biking and honking like alll the time but, not a single accident we saw. Total opposite of Japan but perhaps too systematic causes us to lose our common sense.

Water puppet show was amazinggggg!! The girls love it very much surprisingly. Must watch. It was a 50 minutes show in their native language.. but you don't need to understand the story to appreciate their tradition. I'm still amazed as of how the water puppet works. And K still refers Ho Chi Minh as "the place with puppets".

After the show, we had the time of our life in Trung Nguyen coffee shop. The coffee was amazing, never found a coffee this beautiful and strong. Then, we went back to sleep. Took me 2 hours to sleep, damn you caffeine!

But at least, I slept that night happily; loving the Vietnamese and the coffee.

Second day sucks big time

Woke up early and went to War Remnant Museum, 15 minutes walking. Was so so. Entry fee is 10k dhong. Opens daily from 8.00 to 11.45am and 1.30 to 4.45pm. I still wonder why so many Japanese in the museum.

Play area

Had Trung Nguyen coffee and shopped for some souvenirs, then we took a cab to Ben Tanh market.

A metered XE taxi driver looked kind enough and drove us to so called Ben Tanh market. Meter went out soo fast.. It was only 15 mins away, he charged us RM100. Even worse, he brought us to Bin Thay market, not Ben Tanh.. Ugh! But we shopped for Vietnamese cotton there. 10 pairs of them and other fabrics as well.. Vietnamese cotton was only RM 22 for 4 metres. Can get cheaper if you know how to nego.

Asked the salesperson how much does it cost for taxi from Bin Thay to Ben Tanh for validation, she said around RM25. So we saw a taxi driver with Vinasun's (the reliable taxi) clothing and cap, we asked how much, he said around RM25. But as we got to the taxi, it was not Vinasun, it was XE taxi again. But since he carried all our stuff already, off we went to Ben Tanh. As we arrived, he said we need to pay RM80 because RM25 times the number of people in the cab. We tried to nego and guess guess.. he grabbed Aisha's golden anklet ok!

I officially hate Vietnam after that! I hate Vietnamese so much, we felt insecure there.

Felt insecure to the trishaw drivers that pushed us to use their services. Felt insecure with so many people polishing Love's fabric shoes without permission. Insecure with people walking too close to the girls.

Had our lunch at Muslim shop near Ben Tanh and tapau for dinner as well. The Vietnamese salesperson spoke Malay fluently. The price tag of some items in the shops also in RM. Funny.

For me, Ben Tanh is messier that Philippine market. Price is so overrated. A tshirt for RM45, negotiable to RM8. Merepek tak? I don't like to nego, so I just walked away until I found honest salesperson that put the cheapest price.

Ben Tanh is not suitable for baby or stroller. Sempit, panas, kotor.

Then we took a Vinasun cab which charged us appropriately and got back safely to the hotel. At night, we lepak at a different Trung Nguyen shop and shopped for coffee to bring back home. Trung Nguyen coffee is quite pricey but for the premium taste, I must say it is worth it.

Can't wait to go home: Day 3

After breakfast, we went to Tao Dahn Park near our hotel. It was fun. Khaira went crazy.

Back to the hotel, packed, checked out (don't forget your passport) and straight to airport. Had lunch at Domino's; vege pizza. It was delicious.

Then, home sweet home!

Not missing Vietnam. Not coming back, hopefully, in shaa Allah.

I'm sorry, girls. No more places like these without travel agent. Even if we go after this, we'll stay in a place where we can have fun for you, girls k.

Alhamdulillah, Malaysia, I love you.

Seminar Kuasai Potensi Diri 2015 - A review

"Is it ok if I wear this shorts?" Love asked, pointing at his funky Dockers I bought not long ago.

"Ala.. pakai je, it's not an islamic talk pon," I replied casually.

...

"We're not gonna be separated, are we?" He asked as we were about to reach SACC.

"I don't think so," I replied.

...

As we walked to the hall, I knew I could not be any more wrong. Love was the only one with shorts (Sorry, Sayang!) Anddd.. the seats were separated between boys and girls.

"They're not gonna make us do lame things, are they? Hand clapping, saying stuff, no?" This time around I asked insecurely. He knows how much I hate those craps.

"I'm not in the mood to meet a new people or to make new friends," He replied. On very rare occasions, he would be like this. Most of the times, he make new friends like magic. "So, it's your call. It's ok if you want to leave."

I peeked inside with lightings like a night club and people wore lots of glitters, I almost ran away. Contemplating for about 15 mins, and I said, "let's give him a chance. An hour say, then we leave".

So we stayed. For 3 hours for a talk of 5 hours duration. You rate, how good he was to us. I would stay until the end.. IF I was seated next to Love, yeah we're clingy like that, I mean come on.. it was weekend, the kids were with mom, we deserved to be next to each other at least. Haha.

Anyhow, yes, he made us do lame things. But, both Love and I found a way to entertain ourselves, so we managed to go through that stage of hand clapping, anda-kaya-dan-berjaya by looking at the people who were doing it. Entertaining, I tell you.. Until now, I don't even understand the standing-up-on-their-chair-thingy and the dancing excitedly women. Had so much fun looking at them.

I was of course busy whatsapping with Love (clingy kann..) when DAO explained how the talk worked, so I was lost when people waved and said "hi" every now and then.

"Siapa nak jadi kaya dan berjaya?"

"Hi" and wave.

"Siapa nak bahagia?"

"Hi" and wave.

At that point, I was too scared to ask.

Right after the talk, Love said it was not "Hi" and wave. It was "I" and raised up your hand. Ok, that makes sense.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Put your phone down!

Jokes aside. Let's talk about the talk.

I'm especially interested in what he called as the wheel of life. And I'm gonna share just that in my post here. The rest.. lemme promote his talk at the end of my sharing here.

Basically DAO asked us to divide our 2015 planning into 6 categories:

1. Career
2. Financial
3. Family
4. Religion
5. Health
6. Emotional

Then, in a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself, how satisfy are you with these criteria (during 2014); number 10 being the best. Let's play with me. This is how I rate myself:

1. Career: 8
2. Financial: 9
3. Family: 6
4. Faith/religion: 5
5. Health: 8
6. Emotional: 5

Next step, compare it with your partner and go likeee.. "Are you kidding me? Confident gileeee!!" (Love rated himself all 8 and above, cheh.) Or went like, "Are you serious, family 6? You spent more time with the girls kots. Emotional 5?" (Love thought I did better, so I took it as a compliment).

Ok kidding again. DAO did not ask to compare.. but come on.. who didn't???

Then, take the bottom three and list 5 things on how you plan to improve yourself on that criteria.

Insaff..

Some of the things I plan to do in 2015..
1. No phone 7.30 to 9.30 (family time)
2. Recite quran everyday
3. Dhuha everyday
4. Hypnotized myself.. so I calm as I reach home
5. More patient with the kids

The rest of the talks are on positive thinking, back to the higer power, the usual.. go if you're not familiar with this. Go if you're familiar cuz you need constant reminder.

My verdict: Go! This guy is doing a beautiful job here (free if you come in a group of 3) to help his own race. Stop giving excuses and don't wear shorts ok. Hehe.

P/S: Love made a friend there who offered him a job verbally. So much of not feeling like making a new friend.. Seriously, how did guys do this?

The magic of mothers and daughters - A review

2 years ago, during my birthday, I received this book from a new colleague and her boyfriend.

With PhD, then the aftermath, then books in queue (up to date, I would estimate I have 30 more books in queue and I'm still buying new ones, I really should stop buying, shouldn't I?), I only managed to read it recently.

I would rate this 2.5 over 5.

So disappointing.

I guess the biggest mistake is letting writers write these stories, they tried to make the stories too fancy, it lacks of soul. I would prefer to have normal people with interesting stories to share, it becomes more genuine.15% of the stories are just plain whining and selfish for me. A grandmother whining of having autism grandchild, sad. Parents who chased away their daughter and refused to take her back when she begged just because they were scared she would give bad influence towards the son, haunting. A woman, who thought it's best to choose her daughter over her dying mother, tragic.

"The best thing you can do is to serve your mother, then your mother, then your mother, and then you father, then your relatives."

What we learned in Islam.

"What you give up (to your parents), must be the same than what you give down (to your children)", a speaker once advised us.

I have nothing nice to say because these three stories I mentioned above haunt me throughout.

My story of having this book is, at least for me, more interesting.

Shortly after this colleague gave me the book, she broke up with his boyfriend, which was part of the reason I refused to read it. Kind of inappropriate, I was thinking.

But right when I started reading the book, they got back together and now they live happily ever after. The end.

Our KK trip!

We booked our flight ticket to KK about a year ago during zero fare Air Asia. It wasn't because the deal was super crazy, but to find a time everyone was around nowadays was not as easy as it used to. I let them commit.

So on Friday morning, my whole family and I parked our car at Putrajaya erl and left to lcct via the ever convenient bus and train. I believe it's a much cheaper options than limo. Limo, return would cost us RM 300. Train + bus + parking fees at erl for two cars; 7 of us including 1 child cost only RM94. Plus, it is the only time Khaira gets the feel of travelling via public transport.

The flight was around 2.5 hours and we reached KK around 12 noon. Upon arrival, I booked an Alza for RM180 per day at the airport. And we headed to Kundasang straight away which took us another 2.5 hours driving with super beautiful view.

Day 1

We arrived at Kundasang at 4pm, right after ribut. We headed straight to Kinabalu National Park, which costs RM3 per adult with MyKad. But nothing much to see there. The view after raining is like in this picture..

Because of the tiring journey and the weather, we decided to just rest in our 2 floor chalet, Strawberry Garden Hotel at Kundasang that I booked throuh Agoda. It costs us RM350 per night and it is so worth it. I rate this 4.5 over 5.

At night, we had dinner at Nabalau cafe. Food in Kundasang is very pricey and the taste is so-so. Then, we slept as early as 9pm, which looks already like midnight in KL.

No nightlife whatsoever, but the sky was clear that night. I witnessed hundreds of stars above me. Just breath taking. And that evening, we watched the biggest rainbow in our life. Both I did not manage to capture using my camera. Sangaatttt cantik, subhanallah.

Day 2

We started the day super early. 5am already so bright in Kundasang. So we made a move at 6.30 am, and found ourselves the best spot to watch the Kinabalu mountain which was hiding the whole evening yesterday among the clouds. We were very lucky because at 8am, it hid again until evening.

After taking lots and lots of pics in several spots, we drove further up to Ranau, around 30 mins slow drive. We dropped by to this place called Kampung Luanti. Per adult costs you RM 5. It opens at 830 am.

Look at all the Kelah and catfish! They are very friendly, you can feed them, massage your feet and even hold them in your hand.

Then, Khaira had her first mandi sungai experience.  Imagine swimming with lots of fish around you. Seronok!

Then, otw back to hotel, we came across a signboard on Rafflesia. When I just arrived in Kundasang, I read a pamphlet saying that Rafflesia blooms every 15 months and that it blooms only for 7 days. Worth mentioning, last year it didn't bloom at all. Making it 30 months to bloom and it blooms right during our trip.

I've always wanted to watch Rafflesia since I was little. So I insisted Love to drive all the way there, 500 m of very challenging road, a car in front of us made a turn back. Then we paid RM 10 per adult. The tour guide made us hiked a very steep cliff. Imagine a 5 months pregnant lady hiking with a slipper. It was so worth it.

Without a doubt, my best selfie ever.

Then, we headed back to our chalet. Half an hour to pack and so we went to Desa Cattle where it feels like New Zealand here. Very breath taking view. You can feed and milk the cows and goats here. Entry is RM 4.

Then, another 2.5 hours drive to KK. And we checked in at KK Marina's court which again, I booked through Agoda. Cost us RM 320 per night for a 3 bedroom apartment. I rate this 5 over 5.

We settled down for a couple of hours. Then, we had our dinner at Philippines market which was 10 mins walk from our apartment. Had ourselves a lobster, crab, squids, butter prawns, jenahak, pari, chicken wings, air kelapa, all for RM 300. No pics in my camera. Crazy hungry at that time!

Did a little souvenir shopping and went back to rest. Such a lonnggggg day.

Day 3

Woke up early for a little swimming because the apartment has an irresistible swimming pool!

Then, we headed to Philippines market one more time. In the morning, there are more souvenirs. So we shopped a little bit. Too hot ok KK, I miss Kundasang already.

They sell pearls, brooch, kain batik, ikan masin, some Sabahan kuihs. I really couldn't enlighten you much, I'm not into shopping when travelling.

Before we knew it, we had to check out, had our lunch and waited for our flight home.

It felt sad to leave. Kundasang has been one of the best vacation I've been to. It'll be 11 months until my next vacation because I can no longer fly in a couple more weeks, then I'm gonna give birth, then confinement, then I have to wait until the baby is at least 6 months.

Sigh.. I already miss Kundasang.

How I met your mother and what it taught me.

After 9 years, without any episodes I've missed.. it comes to an end, this one.

Sad? No.. not really, the ending is not as dramatic as Friends. So I'm okay with it. Plus there is still The Big Bang Theory, Bazinga!

And I'm okay with the ending as well. *Spoiler alert* For me, it's the ONLY logical explanation why there is so little story about the mother and sooooo much about Aunt Robin along the way. It only makes sense and the stories tally along the way, so I'm okay with it.

But don't get me wrong. I said the ending makes sense. It doesn't mean I like the way it ends. I mean, Robin is one complicated woman. If someone as complex as Barney couldn't hold on to her, what makes you think Ted can? Robin and Barney just have that chemistry. Sorry, Ted!

Anyhow, I've learned a lot from the ending of HIMYM. Among them are that (1)  if it is meant to be, it is meant to be. And (2) for love to happen, it needs to also come at the right time.

Recently, I attended the engagement of two of my close friends.

Ok, Khaira.. comellah tu spoilkan picture cam tu!!

One of them is engaged to somebody she just knew, in a very ironic way. She reminded me that, (1) if it is meant to be, it is meant to be. It doesn't take a light year for you to really know that someone to get married. Sometimes you have been together for years, but if it's not meant to be, it doesn't matter how inside out you know that somebody. In the end, it is how much both of you are willing to mold yourself to meet each other half way.

The other ended up with her long term boyfriend, and boy was I super excited that they finally ended up together!! :) So, number (2) applies, no matter how long you have been together, it happens only at the right time. Allah SWT has planned it all for us. Just have faith.

Fun in Tokyo

That Saturday, I moved from Tsukuba to Akihabara alone. Tsukuba and Akihabara are two different prefactures (in Malaysia, we have states, Japan divides the area by prefactures). Tsukuba is in Ibaraki prefacture, and Akihabara is in Tokyo prefacture, an hour away by train.

Love arrived at 11 pm and MIL around 11.30 pm. So I picked them up at Haneda airport alone. Gamble je naik train, first time had to switch from one train to the other. Alhamdulillah.. I survived the complicated Japan train.

View in Haneda airport, Christmas spirit is on

We managed to catch the last train at 1210 am to Apa hotel, Akihabara. Otherwise it would cost us around 8000 yen (rm250) by taxi. The hotel price in Tokyo over the weekend hikes up to 2.5 times than usual. Crazy.

That Sunday morning, we went to Odaiba. Had lunch with our cousin which happened to be there for a 3 month training as well..

Odaiba is an island filled with shopping malls and other attractions like legoland, madame tussauds, park, etc.

After lunch, we strolled along the beach, overlooking the rainbow bridge. They called it rainbow bridge because at night, the lights change the bridge to rainbow colours :)

There's a replica of the statue of liberty here.

And a real size Gundam that moves during show time.

With Lil Ezra,  imagine if we have 2 kids! 

That night we shopped around Akihabara,  got the feel of the worst earthquake during our stay (not so bad, Alhamdulillah), packed up because the next day, I'm leaving to Chiba prefacture for work.

Our trip to Cameron Highland!!!

My family and I went to Cameron last weekend, our first since a very loonggg time ago.

We booked an apartment called Tringkap apartment via Agoda, which costs us RM 300 per night including tax. We were absolutely happy with the super spacious and clean apartment. It has five queen size bedrooms with two toilets equipped with heater.

The location of the apartment was probably the best. Near to the attractions, but quite a distance from Tanah Rata, so we can avoid the traffic. It has two Muslim restaurants nearby which was quite convenient for us.

Friends suggested to use Simpang Pulai rather than Tapah, so it took us 4 hours (plus stopping for a break and prayer at the RnR) to reach our apartment.

I'm gonna leave you with the photos..

Day 1.

We first stopped by at Lavender Garden, RM4 per adult. Sooo cantik!!!

The cafe was super expensive; selling strawberry cheese cakes, scones, strawberry tea and coffee. However they are not to our likings.

The view from its cafe

Abi: Beautiful!! Who made all these, Khaira?
Khaira: Allah!!!

Then, we went to Bharat Tea Walk. Entrance is free. Buy your Bharat tea here. Tempat lain semua mahal, though they claimed they were the cheapest. Tipu itu semua, I kena tipu!

Mom and Dad!

 Double rainbow, look look!!

View from our apartment

At night, we drove through the heavy traffic to Tanah Rata for a steamboat dinner for what seems like the most decent and the only halal signboard restaurant we found; Glory 78 Steamboat Snack Corner, next to De La Ferns Hotel. Price is RM 23 per adult.

Then, we dropped by for souvenirs shopping at the night market!!! Night market was super awesome, bigger than the ones in Batu Feringghi.


Day 2

Started our day with the Bee Museum..

Then we went for lunch at Tanah Rata. Parents went for bonsai hunting, Love and I went for shoulder and foot massage, a must do!

After that, we went to Butterfly park, ok best gileeee sangatttt!! RM 5 per adult. So worth it!!

She made this face most of time; whenever she touched the insects, the flowers, adoiii..

Vandalisme at its worst

Dropped by at the strawberry farm, nothing much to see. And ended our journey with the chocolate factory!! So cantiklahhh this chocolate place, must visit!! And the foods from the cafe were delicious!!

Next trip: Pangkorrrrrrrr!!! Next month jee.. :)

What I've been up to :)

Since I'm done with PhD, which makes me suddenly realized how light my head is, I started doing all the things that I wanted to do all these while.

One of them is cooking new things.

I cooked new things almost every week now.

Among them are sushi, puff and pizza. Can you believe it? :)

As what my friends told me and what I'm gonna tell you now, if I can do it, so can anybody else.

I am yet to master my cooking. I gave up on Pavlova after my fourth attempts that ended up pretty much looking like a crepe :( So, I'm gonna share these simple recipe with you guys, because it is sooooo simple!

Sushi rice

3 cups of rice
Quarter cup of vinegar or apple cider (or rice wine)
3 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt

Pour all the ingredients in the rice cooker and cook

Puff

Roti paratha instant (my fav is kawanku)
Sardine, tuna, or whatever you like to put inside puff, my fav is chicken and cheese

Cut the paratha into 3slices
Put in sardine/tuna/chicken inside
Bake it at 220 degree Celsius for 20 minutes

The pizza crust (per serving)

2 cups high protein flour
1 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 cup warm water

Combine everything and mix to a soft dough.
Then leave it for half an hour under warm towel so it can rise.
Knead gently for 1 minute.
Put topping on top. I used tomato puree, some cooked sausage+chicken+pepper+egg, mixed herbs and grated parmesan cheese.

Love is super happy with the cooking. Khaira loves the pizza. My colleagues too. So, it's a happy cycle yay!