Ramadhan 2012

Ramadhan is back. Today mark the first day for all muslim in Malaysia to start fasting. Hari raya preparation  seems to start early this year, from decoration, cookies and traditional costumes. As for me, my kebaya nyonya was ready one month ago. Since there's no season or new design for kebaya nyonya its not a problem for me to get it earlier. I like to avoid crowd and hate to get everything last minute. 

(Orange last year & black for 2012)

Today's plan is to get baju melayu for Nico. I know its a bit early but we have to get everything done this weekend since he going back to France next Friday and only back to kl few days before raya. 

Since it will be his 1st time celebrating hari raya, he's a bit skeptical about the entire thing. I have to explain slowly about our culture, about religion and the connection between two. I didn't force him to try anything, not even fasting. Its warm my heart when he said he want to try it next year and get better understanding about ramadhan and hari raya first this year. I didn't expect much from him since this is entirely new experience for him as a non-muslim. 

When i first suggest to him to wear baju melayu, his reaction was skeptical. he said he doesnt want to spend so much money for something that he only going to wear once and he scared he going to look stupid. So, i take initiative, not so much, just google for some picture with matsalleh wearing baju melayu and i found this.

After seeing this, he said its look nice and willing to give it a try. So he started to ask me if we going to get the same color, do he really have to wear that songkok (hat) and is it possible to wear it with snickers. I answer all the questions like mother comforting an excited kids. Its funny, i know. Hope we going to find something at Ampang park later because i know its me who going to be fussy and not him. 

Selamat berpuasa to all muslim. 

My heart in pain

I've been single for so long and i think i didn't know how to be in love again. Funny how small thing can hurt so much. Maybe its me who give more in love and that's why its always hurt when the other party didn't love me as much as i am. When i am in love, i will do anything in my power to make him happy even his wildest dream. But when he cannot or refused to make me happy, make me wonder is he actually love me that much. I'm perfectly capable to do everything on my own, but sometimes its nice to know how far he will go to see me happy. If he cannot make me happy then i didn't know why i be with him at the first place. Maybe, i just being over sensitive, thinking to much....maybe. 

Why we shouldn't shout when we argue

"Why we shout in anger"

A hindu saint who was visiting river ganges to take bath found a group of family members on the banks, shouting in anger at each other. He turned to his disciples smiled and asked. 

"Why do people in anger shout at each other?"

Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, "Because we lose our calm, we shout."

"But why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? You can as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner."  asked the saint.

Disciples gave some other answer but none satisfied the other disciples. Finally the saint explained. 

"When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear other to cover that great distance."

"What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly,  because the hearts are very close. The distance between them is either nonexistent or very small..."

The saint continued, "When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other."

He looked at his disciple and said, 

"So when you argue, do not let your hearts get distant. Do not say words that distance each other more, or else there come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return"

Nico's Birthday Present ^_^ Nikon Coolpix AW100

Nico birthday is around the corner and i was really don't know what should i get for him. I asked him what he want and he said he doesn't want anything (i will also say the same if he ask me). I remember one time that he mention about buying waterproof camera since we always travel around to island and beaches. Being busy as he is, he couldn't find time to do research or check at the store. The idea of having waterproof camera died away and forgotten. So i took this opportunity, went to Nikon shop and get him Nikon Coolpix AW100. This camera rank at 3rd place after Panasonic Lumix TS3 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX10. Since i still have a week before his birthday, im thinking to play with it and checking out what AW100 can do besides completely waterproofed and come with world GPS.

Guess which one i choose? I was completely in love with orange color since its bright and doesn't look as boring as the other. Unfortunately, they only have one piece left which is on display. I believe no one like an open package and i definitely wont take it no matter how nice its color, so i end up taking blue. Black is super boring and camouflage doesn't seem to fit Nico personality. 

Smart Portrait 

~ If you love taking self picture, this function is good for you. All you have to do is smile and it will automatically snap your picture. Its quite fast so you need to be ready once you turn your camera around. They have the same mode for pets portrait but its not an easy job since my cat move all the time. You have an option either to take single or continuous picture which i believe will look nice if your pets knows how to pose. 

Mono Color 

~ You can switch to this mode to get single color display with its black and white background. 

Some underwater picture

For video, please go to my youtube channel tab. 

Nico birthday weekend @ langkawi

I was so glad that i had a chance to go back to Langkawi island. It was my third visit but first time for my boyfriend. We were pretty excited since its also Nico's birthday weekend. On saturday morning we start our activities with island hopping which involved a visit to 3 islands. Tasik Dayang Bunting aka Lake of Pregnant Maiden was the first one in the itinerary. As you can see from the picture, this lake looks like pregnant woman lying on her back. There's a myth saying that if a woman cant pregnant, they will if they drink the water from this lake. Is it true? No one knows :)

Our tour operator drop us at the jetty and we have to do 10 mins hiking on the stairs to get to the centre of the island. My boyfriend quite surprise to see not so many people take a swim but prefer to just sit around and chat. So i explain to him that most malaysian can't swim and thats the truth. 

We stay here for an hour so everybody get a chance to swim, kayaking or just relaxing. It is nice if you came with a group of friend and everybody just jump into the water which is 10m deep. 

(nice view from jetty)

Our next destination is Pulau Singa Besar. Here our boat stop for a while to see eagles. Yes, its eagle feeding place where they allure eagle to come close by feeding them. 

Third and final island for our island hopping tour is Beras Basah island. Stunning view, crystal clear water and white sandy beach. . There's a lot of monkey in this island. so be careful with your bag. Don't take plastic bag with you since they know that you carrying food. They even will dig in your bag if you leave it open and unattended. This is the place where we try for the 1st time Nikon Coolpix AW100. It is Nico's birthday present from me

We end our island tour around 1pm and heading back to hotel for shower before going for lunch. We plan to have lunch at hole in the wall restaurant which is a floating restaurant in a mangrove. On the way to lunch, we stop at Gunung Raya for its view. Gunung raya is the highest point in Langkawi. Its a long way to get up there and i still remember that maybe we only saw 3 or 4 cars on the way up and down. We went to observation tower which is part of the hotel to see the view. To go up we have to pay RM10 each and its include a welcome drink. The view is stunning, peaceful and quite. Its feel like everything is stop down there and you looking at a postcard. 

Next we go to hole in the wall floating restaurant. If you take mangrove tour they will take you to this restaurant for lunch. If not you can always go there by calling the restaurant. All you have to do is go to Kilim Jetty and check on the advertisement board for their number. They will send a boat to pick you up and send you back later for free. Since its a free ride, minimum spending in this restaurant is RM100. Hole in the wall serve malay cuisine and seafood. The food for me is average and i prefer to say that i pay for its view and surrounding. While waiting for your food to cook, you can go to the fish farm which is just next to the restaurant. They have giant grouper and string ray which have been kept for so many years. 

We end our saturday at one of Tanjung Rhu public beach. The beach wasn't as nice as i remember back in 2008. There's rubbish everywhere and the water not blue anymore. I hope its not permanent and only happened because of rains. Besides that, sunset is stunning here and it still picture perfect place. 

We woke up early on sunday since its our last day in Langkawi and we haven't go to cable car yet. We reach there around 10.30 in the morning, no hassle, no queue and not so much crowd. An hour later,its totally a different story. So try to be there early since they open at 9.30 to avoid long queue. Langkawi cable car offer equivalent view but fastest way to reach the top compare to gunung raya. If you scared of height like me this is one scary ride to the top. Their sky bridge was closed when we were there for monthly maintenance. 

Not far from cable car, maybe 5min drive you can go to Telaga Tujuh waterfalls. Don't be scared with its icy cold water. Just go take a dip and you will feel good once your body adjust to the temperature. Its clear and cold water is very refreshing. You wont believe how much fish you can find here, make me feels like swimming in an aquarium.