Here and there..

Going Places : Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise

Date of travel : 5 September 2009

Organized by : Us!...with Masa-san, our coordinator

This Sea Paradise in Hakkeijima, Yokohama is one of the largest water park which holds one of the largest aquariums in Japan. You can find out about this park more on its website, here. This place was one of the places that we managed to visit as part of our farewell tour in Japan. We could see thousands of marine creatures from hundreds of different kinds of species in its immensely big aquariums. We could also see a special scheduled show of dolphins and seals, and also enjoy ourselves in some of their game parks. My favourite ones..(and perhaps the scariest..huhu) were falling 107 meters down in the Blue Fall and riding the crazy surf coasters...just by the Yokohama Bay. Quite scary and crazy indeed, I couldn't even open my eyes more than half of the ride. And there were lots more. I also had my first ever merry-go-round ride in this place...(pity girl, eh?). Ha ha...

My coordinator and I, at the entrance

The dolphin aquarium

Yeah, we roughed the 'rapid'

The Blue Fall

A nice snoozing seal..er..walrus?

Waiting for the ferry

The thrilling coasters, try it if you dare..

Beautiful white dolphins performing a show

Anyway, other than the enjoyable and crazy time we had in this park, I had a rather pleasant experience here, showing the honesty and trustworthiness of the Japanese. At one time, I realized that I had lost my rings, probably forgotten to wear them back after taking the ablution at one of the restroom in the park. I went back to the restroom but couldn't find them. I was really worried and sad because those rings are precious to me. After telling my coordinator about it, he brought us to the information/help counter and relayed my problem to the lovely staff there. At first I felt rather hopeless to get them back, as they were just tiny things and were not even made from gold. The staff asked me to describe how they looked like, then out came the rings, properly kept and packed in a transparent plastic bag, exactly mine! Alhamdulillah, I felt jolly relieved! In a place that big, with lots of people visiting, I was lucky to get back my little treasures. Many thanks to the kind and honest soul who found them and brought them to the counter.

Lastly, but not the least, this place is quite awesome and a really nice place to spend the time. We had a great time here. ~The end~

Kau dan aku 2...

I am feeling like a train wreck because of a revelation. A life's experience is the true teacher to those who experienced it. I heard the words "redha", "hikmah" and "ketentuan Ilahi" a lot. I used them, a lot. I thought I knew the meaning. Literally, of course. But never I imagine the true meaning of those words and the powerful emotion they bring.

I have a friend who had her life journey so profoundly...life changing. People talking, they don't know anything. I, also don't know much. But knowing her, I knew that she knew what she had gotten herself into. Sometimes, explanation is unnecessary. Just faith, a strong conscious and integrity. And belief, believing that there are reasons for everything, and Allah swt knows it all. I never had an inkling of doubt of her, I never did. I am happy if she's happy. When she was tested, and God tested her hard, my heart went for her. I couldn't reach her, and she didn't want to be reached. But my heart is always with her, and so do my prayers.

Finally seeing her again, hearing what she said, the revelations were stunning, and it touched my heart and my soul. I feel sorry for what had happened, but...one thing led to another, and I had been thinking that her previous adventure, are forming the base where her feet could land now, in the present. Allah is Most Gracious, and will not test us if we are not up to it.

It seems difficult to define exactly where does this train wreck feeling come from. It is a mixed feelings of sadness, feeling down, and feel so little. I was thinking that if I had the same experience as her, how would I take it? Would I have the strength? Would I stay sane? Sincerely, I don't know. Her journey had made her see things differently, her insights are through her heart and mind, while mine is only the eyes.

While we have our own journey set in front of us, while we have our demons to battle, while we have the raging war inside us...we cannot stop ourselves from trying to understand what is meant for us to understand, to learn what is meant to learn. A day full of good deeds and improvements followed by a day of broken rules just cancel out each other. What a waste. This is my test. And this is my battle to be won.

A meeting of old friends turned into a heart-touching revelation. It felt suffocating a little, maybe I wasn't ready. But it had impacted me. Pulling myself together, is what I am doing. May I have the strength...

Salam Maal Hijrah..

Alhamdulillah, 1 Muharram 1432 H kini tiba. Setahun telah berlalu dan tahun baru menjelang dengan gemilang. Bila tahun baru hijrah menjelma, selalu kita dengar akan 'hijrah', 'pengorbanan', 'pembangunan ummah' dan sebagainya. Selalu kita diingatkan dengan kisah penghijrahan Nabi Muhammad SAW dan bermulanya zaman kegemilangan Islam. Selalu....selalu...tapi kita kadang-kadang mudah lupa. Selalu...lupa. Termasuklah saya, si tukang tulis. Saya tidak mampu untuk menulis tentang pengorbanan para nabi dan rasul, saya tidak mampu untuk berhujah dengan ayat-ayat Allah, saya tidak mampu....

Namun sebagai umat yang sentiasa mengharapkan keredhaanNya, kita mampu untuk menyoal kembali diri kita sendiri..

Apakah aku telah menjadi seorang bapa dan suami yang baik? Apakah aku telah menjalankan tanggungjawabku terhadap isteri dan anakku dengan sempurna? Apakah aku telah menghargai segala usaha isteriku menyediakan segala yang terbaik buatku dan anak-anak di rumah? Walaupun dia juga sibuk bekerja? Apakah telah aku ucapkan sayang dan cinta kepadanya bukan saja pada hari lahirnya atau ulangtahun perkahwinan kami, tetapi pada hari-hari biasa?

Apakah aku telah menjadi ibu dan isteri yang baik? Apakah aku redha dengan apa yang suamiku mampu sediakan buat kami sekeluarga? Apakah aku selama ini ikhlas memasak, menggosok baju, mengemas rumah dan sebagainya dengan rasa kasih dan puas hati dan bukannya diselangi rungutan? Apakah aku pernah menunjukkan 'tantrum' kepada suamiku hanya kerana kami tidak dapat balik kampung kerana suami dipanggil bekerja?

Apakah aku telah menjadi anak yang baik? Apakah aku sentiasa merindui untuk melihat wajah ibu dan ayahku dan sentiasa merancang untuk pulang ke kampung? Apakah aku telah untuk menggembirakan hati ibu dan ayahku dan bukannya merisaukan hati mereka? Apakah aku pernah ego dengan teguran mereka sehingga langsung tidak dapat menerima? Apakah aku pernah mendoakan kesejahteraan mereka?

Apakah aku seorang kakak, abang atau adik yang baik? Apakah aku selama kini menghormati adik-beradikku dan meluahkan kasih sayangku secukupnya? Apakah aku pernah mencemburui segala kelebihan mereka di mana sepatutnya aku bergembira? Apakah aku pernah mengabaikan mereka di mana mereka memerlukan pertolonganku? Apakah aku sentiasa menjadi support system di dalam hidup mereka?

Apakah aku telah menjadi kawan yang baik? Kawan yang sentiasa membantu, mendengar dan menghargai kawannya yang lain? Apakah aku telah menjadi kawan yang menegur perkara yang silap dan menyokong perkara yang benar? Apakah aku sentiasa menjaga hati kawanku dan tidak segan meminta maaf andainya tersilap? Apakah aku pernah menunjuk-nunjuk dengan kelebihanku dan merendah-rendahkan mereka yang kurang sempurna daripadaku?

Apakah aku pekerja yang baik? Apakah aku telah bekerja dengan hati seikhlas mungkin dan melakukan tugas dengan penuh rasa tanggungjawab? Apakah aku amanah dalam tugasku, bukan sahaja amanah dalam urusan wang tetapi juga dalam urusan masa?

Apakah aku manusia yang baik dan bertanggungjawab? Apakah aku telah menjaga persekitaranku? Apakah aku telah menjaga amanah Allah iaitu menjaga alam dan segala isi kandungannya dengan baik? Apakah aku pernah melemparkan sampah dari dalam kereta semasa sedang memandu? Apakah aku pernah membuang sampah dari tingkap apartmentku? Atau longgokkan sahaja sampah itu di mana-mana?Apakah aku telah memandu dengan berhemat lantas menjaga keselamatan diri sendiri dan pengguna jalanraya yang lain?

Apakah aku hamba Allah yang baik? Apakah aku bukan sahaja menjaga solat, malah menjaga segala rukun dan tertib lakunya? Apakah aku sentiasa redha dengan ketentuannya? Apakah aku sentiasa berusaha menambah ilmu pengetahuan dan memahami serta mematuhi segala suruhanNya? Apakah aku telah cukup bersabar dengan dugaan yang datang dalam pelbagai cara dan rupa? 

Pasti kita dapat menjawab segala persoalan tersebut...dan pasti ada jawapan yang perlu kita perbaiki.. ..Semoga dengan kedatangan tahun yang baru ini kita mendapat semangat baru untuk memperbaiki diri kita secara keseluruhannya. Kita tidak harus meminta supaya ditiadakan ujian dan dugaan, sebaliknya kita harus meminta kekuatan dan pedoman untuk menghadapinya. Semoga kita beroleh kekuatan itu. Amin.

Rapunzel: A Tangled Tale

Rapunzel is the best Disney movie ever!!!

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Okay.. a little bit over-reacting there..The rapunzel I meant is Rapunzel: A Tangled Tale, a new Disney movie showing in cinemas since November. Of course, we already knew of the original tale, but this one has a little bit of a twist, thus the 'tangled' theme. I really, really love the story. It was fun, witty, hilariously funny (klako giller!), the colour was brilliant, beautiful pictures and lovely, lovely songs. All in all, it was truly entertaining, the characters were all strong, and I love Max the horse and the chameleon! So cute! I just can't describe it better. Just enjoy it, because I did, immensely. I like it so much!

Movie : Dorian Gray

Would you like to stay young forever?...

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This post is about Dorian Gray, the central figure in Oscar Wilde's 1890 literature "The Picture of Dorian Gray", and its 2009 film adaptation simply titled "Dorian Gray". As I have never read the actual Wilde's literature, much of the storyline in this post came from my perspective and reading after watching the DVD of the 2009 film a few days ago. Dorian Gray was a young man, with charming good looks and youthfulness that everybody desired. He was innocent, he was good...until he met the cynic Lord Henry, who took quite an interest to the young Gray. Befriending Lord Henry, Gray was enthralled with his world views and looked up upon him. Henry preached his views and philosophy to Gray, yet his views and philosophy in life were laced with his fanciness to hedonism and slowly corrupted Gray's mind. Both men were friends with Basil, a fine artist who were inspired by Gray's beauty and painted his portrait. In a way, he was also fond of Gray. The painting became the central object of the story as Gray realized his good features and slowly succumb to the idea of conquering all life's pleasure by using his charm and exploring his senses. He broke a lot of hearts, he became heartless himself and cared for nothing except for his pleasures. Although being reminded by Basil not to believe Henry's words, Gray was already embracing the ideas and constantly motivated by Henry to use all his qualities to the maximum. The story took a different turn when Gray looked upon Basil's painting of him and saw that after every sin he committed, his painting changed. Gray in the painting became deformed and aged gradually after committing each hideous act, while Gray himself didn't change, hurt or age a little bit. Earlier on, in what I thought as a scene of playful remarks between Henry and Gray, they discussed the idea of bartering one's soul to the devil in exchange of something. And Gray said that he would agree to change it with eternal youth. Thereupon, the story reflected a Faustian theme. Gray hid the painting as the changes escalated. As Basil encounter him for the painting, Gray killed him and threw him into the river. Now that he thought himself as untouchable and invincible, he went away and travel the world, using his curse to seek pleasure. 25 years passed (18 in the literature), he came back to London, tired of his conquest. He reconnected with Henry and the others. Looking the same as he was 25 years ago, many were surprised to see him, including Henry. However, Gray now was tired of his life, he wanted to change. He wanted to be a good man. But he looked at his painting and it was still the same hideous thing. He wanted to be free from this curse. He fell in love with Henry's daughter (a vicar's daughter in the literature) and wanted to marry her. But his terrible past came to haunt him. The hearts he had broken, the souls he had killed, including Basil's and the girl who committed suicide because of him, all came upon him and torturing him. He blamed it all on Henry, he blamed it on the painting. In the tragic end, Gray died in the effort to redeem himself. In order to kill the curse, he stabbed the painting. In the literature, he was found dead stabbed in the heart. In the film version, he died in a blast while stabbing on the painting. The painting survived the fire, and changed its form back to its original look.

            I think this is one example of life trying to imitate art. The Faustian theme aside, this is a tragic example when a man is devoted to pleasure and when morality is degraded as a hindrance to happiness. Lord Henry relishes the kind of life he preached to Gray, yet he didn't live that life. Gray took everything Henry said like in a textbook and unable to control himself.
            One quote that I like in the film, from Basil, "Some things are more precious because they don't last". The other cynical quotes from Henry, which I didn't mean to like but I found it rather interesting and couldn't help chuckled at some. A rather entertaining story, with an interesting plot, although I thought it diversed from the original literature to a certain extent (anyway, which adaptations do not..?), it was a good watch. The end.  

MAHA 2010

Event : Malaysian Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism International Show 2010 (MAHA 2010)

Venue : Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS)

Event date : 26 November - 5 December 2010

What MAHA is all about? As I see it, MAHA is a large international event showcasing everything in the agriculture and farming domain. I've never been to this expo in the previous years, so I am glad to go there this year. Knowing about this event, I remembered something from the past. I have this vague memory of going to a similar kind of expo with my family when I was a little girl. An expo at the Stadium Sultan Muhammad IV in Kota Bharu if I am not mistaken but I didn't remember when and what was actually the event. I remembered seeing huge cows, bulls and goats....and as a young kid, it was fascinating to see the animals. So, one of the expectations that I had from this MAHA was seeing farm animals, other than seeing farming machineries and all the plants and trees. 

My main purpose was snapping photos and another secret mission...hmm, don't wanna tell here, hihi....So, armed with my camera, there I went. Going to a place where I wasn't familiar with, it took me quite a long time to arrive there, but the place itself wasn't so near. The thing with me in finding a place is that I have the potential of getting lost, but I always find what I want to find in the end. The key is having the confidence, with a little help of guidance and prior study of Google map. I would love to have that GPS thingy in my car but I am not quite sure if I can rely on that thing in this country. Anybody can confirm to me about it?

Anyway, back to MAHA story, the place was large! From the parking space, I joined many other visitors queuing for the tractor-tram thing (Pic 1) to go Laman Tiba 1, the main area. There are 4 halls and a large area of open bazaar selling many kinds of things and food. I head on to the Hall A and inside the hall, there are many booths from the ministry, agencies, departments, companies, universities, entrepreneurs which are related in the agriculture, fishery, horticulture etc. research and industries. I was seeing almost everything there that I nearly lost track of the time and realized that I haven't visited other sites yet.

Pic 1 Happy tram day

The other 3 halls are mainly booths and bazaar selling all kinds of things in the theme from local and international company and also a big food area. I don't have the budget to spend on things so I didn't linger long at the bazaar areas, avoiding the temptation, uhuh...I made up my mind that if I was going to spend, it should be on something that I won't get to see everyday. So, in the end, I bought something that could fill my stomach; a seaweed drink, a goat meat burger and a bird's nest drink, which were really good and satisfying. To go to other exhibition sites, there were buses and trams provided. My next site was the livestock and machinery showgrounds. As I had expected, there were big cows, goats and sheep. Big, plump and yummy...yeah, I was looking at them with the mindset of the wolves, lions and tigers. Aumm! Maybe that burger wasn't enough after all. There were also rabbit farms, cats and parrots. Next, i went to the machinery area. By this time, my camera batteries had run out, unfortunately I forgot to check whether they were fully charged before, uh! Had to use my phone camera.

It was a little later after 4pm, the sky was getting darker and darker and finally it rained. Heavily, just like the other days in this season. It was uncomfortable to walk around anymore. I initially wanted to visit the state pavilions but the weather wasn't permissible and scraped my mood. So, after waiting the rain to stop (and waiting for a long time for the tram to my parking area but they didn't appear!) I walked to my car with a pair of tired feet but feeling happy and contented. I've got what I wanted, though I couldn't see all things, I felt that it was enough...and mission accomplished. Going back, easier than coming, but still a long way, plus the evening traffic, nothing was more relieving than finally arriving home and resting my body. What a day...and it was a really nice event to go, and perhaps go there again next year. The end.

Pic 2 Fluffy and dewy-eyed, I like!

Pic 3 Pity kitty..don't poke me!

Pic 4 It took a while to figure its function

Pic 5 Fruits you don't get to see everyday

Pic 6 Orchids galore!

Pic 7 Yummy burger

Pic 8 Asam Kelubi...have heard but never seen or eaten

Pic 9 Trying seaweed garnished with garlic, vinegar and chilli

Pic 10 Facing extinction

Pic 11 Kuala Lipis bro..with nice Gaharu tea

Pic 12 Kids can play around with these bunnies