Jun 21, 2010

It's the CLIMB~

Well, I've just completed the 4 days Transpeak expedition.. All I can say is, this was the toughest hike I've ever done so far. 4 days away from all the comforts of modern life, my physic and mental were both tested!






Morning~ Somewhere between Gayong and Yong Belar~ I think~ hehe



People often question "What do you find from all those tiring hike in the mountains?" and the question I dread the most would be "In what way does this hobby of yours contribute to the ummah, the society?"

I honestly don't have the answer but here is what I can say~

Hiking is not all about trickling sweats and aching muscles. The feeling from the embrace of nature is indescribable unless you feel it yourself. Every touch of gusting wind, every sound of streaming water, and every move of swaying trees seem to have its own message. The mesmeric scenery is no where to be found in the hustle bustle of the city. And trust me, when you set eyes on all the great view on the top of the mountain, there will be a jolt in your heart that tells you that this massive world of living things does not appear by itself but is made and fashioned by the hands of the Almighty. The expanse of the horizon will make you realize you're just a tiny itsy bitsy part of this universe




Sunset on the way to Kem Kuali



That is what nature has to offer~ Trust me, all the hardship and obstacle will get you into your nerve and at this point you'll probably see another side of you that may have not come into light in ordinary situations.. It might appear in the form of anger, despair or the feel like surrendering. But as you do more and more hiking and meet with this situations more, you'll learn to control and suppress that side of you.




Team Elite!!!


During the hike you also have loyal friends who'll stick with you in whatever situation. But the real question for you is 'will you be that loyal friend???' Are you willing to share all the ration you have in the midst of adversity? Are you willing to sacrifice that so limited water that you have to quench the thirst of others? It is the lesson of survival but not to survive alone, but to survive together and to finish the journey together in one piece


Hurm.. definitely will miss hiking days~

Jun 17, 2010

Langkawi Trip (29 June 2010)

Life has been exciting except for the fact that I'm running out of cash in supersonic speed these days. I went to Sg Petani Kedah to attend the National Gathering of Pharmacy Students (NoGaps) and then off I went to Jitra, Kedah to visit our dear friend Ray.





Ray's family hospitality was superb and we even had a low-budget one day trip to Langkawi. It cost us RM80 which include the ferry tickets, a driver and a van to go around the island. But since it was a day trip, we had to wisely pick the places we want to visit which of course should not cost us a penny upon entrance hehe so here goes the pics





Laman Padi.. No entrance fee.. Here, they plant padi over a rather huge piece of land. The unique thing is that each square actually contain padi in its different phase of... em... growth (ok that sounds so0o0o0 BIOLOGY) For someone who is unfamiliar with padi field, I found this place very exciting. They even display some traditional equipments used during the olden days for processing padi..




Langkawi Cable Car.. This place is a MUST-GO!!!! \(^^)/

Tickets:RM 15 for Malaysian

Left: Scenery from the top of the hill


Right: The skybridge. When you walk on it, you can actually feel the bridge vibrating and the feeling of the breeze sweeping over your face is just so refreshing!
Fizah said that the bridge is closed when it's too windy




Left: These are the stairs to the skybridge. It was quite an uphill climb on our way back to the last station. Shifaa and I decided to run to compensate for the Transpeak expedition's training that we've failed to do during NoGaps and was desperately gasping for air at the end of our struggle



Ok.. I don't remember the name of this place
We had our lunch here. The food was delicious and was sold at a reasonable price! And I really like that hut.







This is the pic taken before leaving Langkawi. While the rest were busy choosing tasty chocolates to bring home, I went sauntering around alone trying to find cheap souvenirs to bring home. Got some keychains and tshirts! NEAT! \(^^)/

Thanks for the lovely trip guys!!!

Jun 8, 2010

O0o0 World Cup!!!!!!!!!

When you're reading this I'll probably be deep in the jungle, trying to complete the 5 days gruelling hike to conquer three peaks. I'm not sure of the mountains' names but they are Gayong, Yong Belar and Korbu if I'm not mistaken~


Well.. It's very near to the World Cup for sure and my spirit is soaring and I'm putting high hopes that Germany is going to give brilliant performance in all their games and proceed to the final~

I won't be able to watch their first match on the 13th though~ huhu

World cup brings back the memories in form 4 when almost all of my batch have this tiny folded paper where we would write the scores of every games. I remember the guys were so eager teaching the girls how to calculate the scores and stuffs. And Brazil vs England match was concurrent with a talk held in the hall and my bff and I actually made ourselves look sick to avoid from going and watch the match instead hehe


World Cup 2006 was held during the taaruf week (orientation week) in IIUM and although we have to wake up early and attend a lot of programs during the day, Ray, Fizah and I never miss the matches hehe will miss you girls very much!

So here's the official theme song for 2010 World Cup.. Wavin' Flag by K'naan~ Nice lyrics! I love it!


Jun 3, 2010

Mavi marmara~ ~that dawn..

The news is now heaped with reports regarding the inhumane attack by Israeli commandos on the Mavi marmara ship which is filled with volunteers and loaded with humanitarian aids for Palestinians in Gaza... It's really heart wrenching to see how those Israeli are atrocious enough to even do that act of piracy and wreck all the stuffs shipped by other countries to help those in need in the Palestine.



I watched and read some of the news. The one that attract me most would be the statements made by the Malaysian journalist and a Malaysian doctor about their dreadful hours held hostage in the hands of the Israelis. The journalist described that they were ordered to squat for hours on the vessel's deck and had to suffer the deadly heat of the sun. They had guns pointed at them almost all the time. They were only served with cucumber, bread and plain water in prison.



At the end of the interview, the doctor asked a permission to say something to the audience. Well, as far as I remember, he mentioned that being safely home is not all that matters. What matters most is that the freedom flotilla's real mission was not accomplished. The aids were not delivered and even confiscated by the Israeli. This is something to be thought through and this incident really portray how devilish the Zionist power could be.






Hurm.. I think the world know for decades that the Zionist is the real living convict of all terrorism. If we ever have a chart for terrorism, Israel surely will secure its top place for decades or maybe even centuries. All this while, it has always been clear that the Zionist are continuously tormenting the Palestinians and do recall how they diabolically besiege Lebanon a few years ago.



I don't know whether it is related to religion or what that when any Islamic country is being attacked by Israel, all the big powers of the world seem to shut their eyes or look the other way and take no action against such barbaric act. But this time Israeli has done it again and even worst! This is a total disrespect towards humanity. This time there's no excuse for the big powers to not take action because this time the incident involve many countries and mind you, the ship was unarmed and was intended for a peace mission~


I am no lawyer, just a future pharmacist.. I don't know much about world crime or war crime or whatsoever but this Mavi marmara incident sure sounds like CRIME to me... SERIOUS CRIME~


Imagine... If they could simply attack those volunteers on that ship without mercy, it must be far FAR FAR worst back there in Gaza~

May 27, 2010

Veiled~ Not a problem at all (^^)

I was blog walking when I saw a post that definitely describe a distorted image of Islam.. I know there are like millions of such post scattered all over the internet but I usually refuse to read them but I don't know why this one really affect me so much that it gave me the urge to write this post. Maybe it's because this particular author touch so many parts regarding women's rights in Islam...

It was not rage that I felt from all the false accusations.. To some extend that particular post was an eye opener for me to reflect myself as a Muslim...
I wish I could tell the whole world that I don't feel oppressed at all as a Muslim~

Many perceived wearing veil as something that is oppressing since it prevents women from showing all the beautiful shapes and features of the body.. But then, ironically, as someone who is veiled I've never felt that way. And how could it be presumed as an oppression when actually most of us wear veil on our own will. My family for instance, none of the girls were ever instructed to veil themselves. We were taught that veil is one of Allah's commandment and then we decide on our own when to wear veil. No compulsion at all~

Apart from fulfilling the commandment to gain rewards, the veil actually protects us from the many sexual harassment that is so prevalent in today's world. I feel very lucky not to have all those lustful eyes crawling and creeping on every inch of my skin. And still the veil doesn't make anybody look uglier too. What's hidden and mysterious always have added value, don't you think??

I really like this part of Dawud Wharnsby song "the veil".. It simply illustrate what the veil really means to us Muslim women...

This hijab,
This mark of piety,
Is an act of faith, a symbol,
For all the world to see.
A simple cloth, to protect her dignity.
So lift the veil from your heart to see the heart of purity.

So veiled is NOT a problem at all (^^)



me trying my new Syria hijab hehe

May 22, 2010

A whole new world is ahead!!!!!!!!

There have been a little bit confusion when the letters regarding work arrived at some of the doorsteps of my friends' house. Me, who haven't received it was surprisingly calm but it was my parents who were all panicky and had bombarded me with many questions and they even listed all the things need to be done and need to be thought through. My mom even suggest to me to cancel some of my plans to enable me prepare for work and this is totally a NO NO to me~ I ended up making a lot of phone calls to resolve my parents' worries.

Honestly, I'm not ready for work yet. I still want to have some rest from all the 4 years of toiling and I still have so many things to accomplish before start working since I know there won't be time to do so later. As you know, I'm interested in hiking and all those recreational stuffs and some need days to be completed. For instance like Mount Tahan, the expedition takes 7 days~


I don't know how my friends are preparing for work back in their homes. But I personally do feel some insecurities deep within me.

The 'new world' that I'm about to enter is indeed will be much much different than the University world. New people, new characters to adapt with, politics within the office, some infringements that may get me into my nerves but can't do anything about it but I think the leading predicament of all is actually MYSELF~

It's not that I'm not happy with who I am but there are some flaws of mine that I really really want to work with to ensure that my working life is more efficient, meaningful, productive, consistent etc.
My major concern would be regarding money and time..



Time... In the past I used to be late for class but during the final year I sort of relinquish that habit because the faculty was moving to a new building and I don't favor it to walk under the deadly sun and get my skin burnt. So I woke up early so that I can go along with the rest of my friends which is by car hehe. In the working world there would be that machine that monitor at what time you arrive at work named PUNCH CARD.. Well, some places used fingerprint identification technology so I really need to make waking up early as a habit and also speed up my grooming capability~

Another is procrastination.. There's always procrastination in life. You procrastinate laundry, procrastinate an errand perhaps or maybe even procrastinate buying the present you've promised your neice. Well, I'm working very hard at this at home. These days I would just force myself to do all the stuffs and get things done on time, even if I'm too sleepy to do it.

Money.. Frugal was never in my life dictionary until about a month ago. Since I'm no longer studying and is staying at home, my allowance is tightly controlled these days. But the bright side of this is that I learn how to make the money given last for weeks and I also differentiate necessaties and wants better these days. I'd a short informal class pertaining to money management with my stepmom, Umie. She's very good at it, you know! She can buy everything in cash now from those years and years of money saving. She taught me how and where to invest and stuffs like that. Useful indeed!

I'll continue improvising my own function now.. People change, and I'm doing that to myself.. A constructive change.. HARD~ but worth it! Chaiyok!!!!!!!!!!!