19 July 2014

Allahu Akbar...

Assalamualaikum.

Totally a devastating news to all of us especially Malaysian. Oh Allah, this are just too heavy a trial. One after another these tragedy befallen our country. I pray for Your Mercy. 

Oh Allah, grant us patience & strength to endure the test You bestowed upon us. 


My deepest condolences to the families affected by this awful tragedy. May we gained lesson from what had happened. 

To the people of Malaysia, this is the time for us to be united. Let the authority handle this. I beg u, please stop sharing unconfirmed news. Imagine how saddening it is for the families to read all that. Remember, this could have happened to us. We could have been one of the passengers or the family involved.

If u want to seek for attention, do it somewhere not on someone's loss.

eryantierdabdulkarim

8 July 2014

CutiCuti: Hong Kong, Macau & Shenzhen - Budget

Assalamualaikum.

Haritu 'ter'berjanji sama kawan untuk bentang budget cuti2 Hong Kong. Mati lah kan janji tinggal janji, aku kelupaan & pembentangan pun ke laut. Sekali aku published budget pi Jepang (previous entry), suddenly kawan tu pun teringat balik janji manisku. Haruslah laju dia menagih aku untuk tunaikan. Sebabnya kawan tu dalam planning untuk menjejak Hong Kong. Pastu mau merayap till Shenzen juga. Hi Aima! I'm sure Ms G has been waiting for this as well.

Unlike my recent trip to Japan; yang masih fresh dalam kepala. Kertas aku guna untuk record segala macam benda still ada dalam simpanan...my Hong Kong trip has long ended. I went there end of June to early of July last year! Exactly a year sudah! Pengsanlah mengurik balik info lama. Bagus juga lah macam ni sebab last few days ada kawan yang mau bawa meredah Hong Kong lagi sekali. Suggestion sedang dipertimbangkan sebab sekarang ni lambaian Khmer Rouge lagi kentara. Sob.

Untuk entries about those trips, boleh baca sini (Hong Kong), sini (Macau) & sini (Shenzhen).

6 July 2014

Chasing Sakura - Budget & Summary

Assalamualaikum. Konnichiwa.

Alhamdulillah habis entry Japan; Land of the Rising Sun.

Tapi aku mau tempek juga few pictures taken on our last day there. Kami checked out awal sebab ndak mau rushing. Walau awal, tetaplah macam berlarian juga di airport. Queue super long at the check-in counter. Luckily aku sempat beli Kit Kat limited edition yang aku idam2kan. Main ambil & bayar sebab kejar masa. Ndak da lah kaedah belek2 fikir2. Mana yang tercapai, terus bawa kaunter & bayar. Tapi Yen tetap berbaki; bawa balik KK. 
Because we bought the return Haruka Express ticket when we first arrived KIX, hence we have to take the train from JR Shinimamiya Station to Shin Osaka. JR Pass has expired the day before. Kalau masih valid, kami boleh naik Limited Express Train from Shinimamiya direct to Kansai Airport. 
Last view. Goodbye cherry blossom. Till we meet again one day. Insha Allah.
Orang lain wrapped bag, aku pun sibuk juga mau wrap sekali. Ndak pernah dibuat.

Pasni boleh sudah start mengarang cerita2 yang outdated. Banyak betul bertangguh, semua pun haruslah cerita throwback.

For my previous trips, memang selalu jak buat budget. Lagipun aku yang arranged trips tu semua so belanja itu ini memang kerja aku. Estimate cost. For my previous trips, aku record daily expenses. Tapi bila tiba masa untuk share di blog, ntah mana jak aku letak benda tu. Itinerary pun boleh hilang dalam laptop. Cuai!

This trip, aku berjaya retrieved most of the data. Walau ada yang aku terlupa record especially part souvenirs / postcards. Ndak pa, tu benda2 kecil boleh main anggar.

Aduhai! Tujuan adalah untuk share budget tapi sudah melalut terlebih had. As usual, minah ceceh.

Date of travel: 4 April 2014 to 12 April 2014
Durations of travel : 9D8N 
Places visited: Osaka, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto & Kobe
  • Return flight KKIA - LCCT (Air Asia) : RM 132.00 (no meal/baggage/insurance)
  • Return flight KLIA - KIX (MAS) : RM 903.00
  • JR Pass (7 days) : RM 890.00
  • Wifi Modem (9 days) : RM 73.00 per person 
  • Accommodations (8 nights) : RM 910.00
    • for list of places that we crashed throughout the trip, u can check them here.
Total : RM 2,908.00

Day 1
  • Haruka Pass (Icoca Card & Return Haruka Express) : 4,200 Yen
  • Kyoto Bus Pass : 500 Yen
  • Drink/Crackers : 600 Yen
Subtotal : 5,300 Yen

Day 2
  • Disneyland Ticket : 6,400 Yen
  • Trick Art Museum : 900 Yen
  • Drink : 600 Yen
Subtotal : 7,900 Yen

Day 3
  • Icoca Top Up : 1,000 Yen
  • Drink : 800 Yen
  • Misc : 3,620 Yen
  • HRC Tshirt : 3,100 Yen
  • Sky Tree : 2,060 Yen
  • Kebab : 400 Yen
Subtotal : 10,980 Yen

Day 4
  • Misc : 1,200 Yen
  • Kebab : 500 Yen
Subtotal : 1,700 Yen (RM 53.70)

Day 5
  • Sushi at Tsukiji Market : 800 Yen
  • Street Car : 320 Yen
  • Misc : 900 Yen
  • Drinks : 400 Yen
Subtotal : 2,420 Yen 

Day 6 
  • Misc : 800 Yen
  • Sagano Scenic Train : 620 Yen
  • Subway : 130 Yen
Subtotal : 1,550 Yen

Day 7
  • Subway : 130 Yen
  • Food: 850 Yen
  • HRC Tshirt : 3,100 Yen
Subtotal : 4,080 Yen 

Day 8
  • Drink : 600 Yen
  • Misc : 9,000 Yen
  • Ferris wheel : 620 Yen
  • Sushi at Shinsaibashi-suji : 800 Yen
Subtotal : 11,020 Yen

Day 9
  • Luggage wrapped : 600 Yen
  • Misc : 4,900 Yen
Subtotal : 5,500 Yen

Total : 50,450 Yen x 0.0316 = RM 1,594.00

Note I : Exchange rate 100 Yen = RM 0.0316
Note II: Misc - segala jenis makneka souvenirs/postcards/stamps

TOTAL DAMAGE : RM 2,908.00 + RM 1,597.00 = RM 4,502.00

Expenses ni semua depend on individual sebenarnya. Ndak semestinya total damage aku akan sama dengan orang lain. Ikut selera masing2 lah kan. Yang mana shopping-mhopping, semestinya lebih besar damage dari aku. Sambil melirik manja mereka yang sama2 pi Jepang dengan aku baru2 ni. Grrrr! 

Ni as 'guidelines' untuk sesiapa yang bakal pi Jepang. Few girlfriends been bugging about my budget for this trip, pasal tu gigih aku membentang. Demi tau, demi! Ni pun boleh jadi reference diri sendiri juga, manatau akan repeat trip ke Jepang kan. Lagipun sudah ada orang mentioned Hokkaido & Nagasaki sama aku recently. Ngeh. Plus, aku sudah jatuh chenta sama Jepang. From the people to its accommodating facilities. Not to forget, segala benda canggih-manggih this country has!

Hope this will help u in estimating/allocating ur budget. I repeat; ini hanyalah anggaran kasar expenses aku haritu. Lain orang lain cara diorang belanja. Sekian.

And ouh!! Harus juga diingat, si Err tinggalnya nun di Kota Kinabalu. Therefore, extra RM terpaksa dikorbankan demi  misi jalan2 tengok negara orang ni. Transit oh transit! Kenapa lah perlu ada hobi yang membakar poket ni. Pffft.

eryantierdabdulkarim

5 July 2014

Chasing Sakura Day 8 - Kobe Mosque / Shinsaibashi-suji, Osaka

Assalamualaikum. Konnichiwa.

Note: This entry was supposed to be published the day I left Malaysia for Bangkok. Tapi sebab aku pintar, instead of hitting the publish tab I hit the save tab. Bingai berganda.

Selamat berpuasa!

Punyalah kan sampai masuk Ramadhan. Cerita Jepang ni pun sudah dragged for almost 2 months. Ndak apalah, slow2 update. Janji dapat share experiences aku di sana. 

Ini cerita last day kami di negara matahari terbit. Kiranya second last entry aku untuk trip Chasing Sakura ni. Last entry aku akan bentang budget. Next month ada few friends bakal menjejak pi sana, diorang sudah 'menyanyi' tanya pasal budget. Haritu buzzing sebab aku lambat update cerita, ni kali part budget pula. Aigoo!

Sambungan cerita dari sini

Lepas sesi mengoyakkan poket di Harborland, we proceeded to our next destination. Ok juga route ni, sebab kami start dari central Kobe. So from Kobe Station kami naik train & alighted at Sannomiya Station. Dari station ni sudah dekat untuk pi Osaka.

I decided to just walk to the mosque. Kami sampai pun sudah dekat jam 4pm. Rugi kalau mau naik Kobe City Loop Bus lagi. Sebab tu jak tempat yang kami akan singgah before balik Osaka. Memang ndak kan sempat untuk pi HAT. Apalagi mau realisasikan angan2 untuk masuk Earthquake Museum tu. Jadinya, cuci mata & hati jaklah baca entry si DJ (here). Dalam train, aku simpan kemas Kobe Welcome Coupon yang aku sudah print before sampai Jepang haritu. Coupon tu boleh entitle kita untuk dapat discount at certain tourist attractions in Kobe. Sebab kami cuma pi masjid, jadinya memang ndak kan berguna pun coupon tu. 
Lepas jak scan/tunjuk ticket, turn right. Pastu akan jumpa map di bawah ni, depan pintu Central Gate.
Direction to Kobe Mosque from Sannomiya Station; if u wish to walk. Memang ndak jauh. Merely 5 minutes walking. 
First thing mesti buat soon after keluar dari station, jalan straight ke depan & cross the road. Kami haritu memang blur gila. Walhal map sikit punya besar terpampang depan mata. We took a rather complicated route. Nasib baik rajin bertanya, walau bahasa ayam itik. Magically we understood what each other tried to conveyed.
#2 - Upon seeing the Tokyu Hands, take the right junction.
#3 - Another temple in the heart of Kobe but we didn't enter.
#4 - Elevated parking! Selalu teruja nampak benda alah ni. Cross the road, walk straight & turn left on the second junction.
Alhamdulillah. We made it to the mosque without much hassle. Ndak bazir duit naik bas as it is really just a walking distance from Sannomiya Station.
Mosque's main entrance.
Also known as the Muslim Mosque. Apart from being the first mosque built in Japan, what made this trip even more memorable is the fact that this mosque was among the few buildings that survived the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995. Though I didn't get to visit the earthquake memorial museum, setting foot upon this mosque made me grateful still. 
It is built based on traditional Indian style. 
And sempat juga solat jama' di sini. I entered the mosque via the door at the Islamic Culture Centre building attached on the left side of the mosque. 
I didn't see this sign when I wandered around the entrance. Luckily ada seorang lelaki Arab baru sampai & pointed me to the women section. Mata macam bulan yet sign besar gini aku ndak nampak. 
The ablution area. Siap ada heater for each taps. Except the toilet. I still remember vividly my experience taking ablution in Busan during winter early this year. Without heater it was. Imagine segala anggota badan numbed. Part paling best kena mendaki tangga as the women section is on the second floor. Dugaan!
Just as I was about to go down, dengar orang bang Azan. Rupanya baru masuk waktu Asar. Akibat ndak tengok jam, boleh jak solat Zohor dulu & later jadi jemaah untuk Asar. Kan sudah rugi.
Yang lain lepak depan kedai ni while tunggu aku habis solat. Siap dapat grape from the lady boss lagi. A Japanese Muslim. 
Aku masuk untuk tanya kalau ada kedai makan nearby. On the way to the mosque memang nampak few shops tapi macam semua pun tutup. The lady boss' answer akhirnya menjawab rasa pelik aku. Turned out most of the kedai makan open for breakfast until 10am & will resumed their business at 5pm until 7pm for dinner. 
Frust ndak dapat makan di Kobe, kami pun berjalan balik pi Sannomiya Station. Balik Osaka lah kita, ada agenda last malam ni. The most talked 'street' in Osaka. From the mosque, we followed a different path. Instead of crossing the road, we took the left turn. 
And crossed the road here. Masuk Higashimon Street. Yang ni jalan patut kami ikut as suggested by googlemap. Tapi upon sampai tu aku blur ndak tau mana mau ikut. Mau lagi pas nampak map depan station. Bingung-s!
Based on my observation, street ni hanya akan meriah & 'hidup' di petang hari. Masa kami lalu ni, kedai baru start buka, pekerja sibuk pasang bunting. Tengok bunting tu semua, memang mostly kedai night clubs. Most cari cheap hotel area ni memang banyak.
Betapa lebar jalan depan station ni, no wonder masa mula sampai tu aku automatically masuk fasa bingung. Nasib ndak payah cari tourism center sebab sampai pun sudah lewat, else lagi bersesat kali. 
Ahjussi pakai coat lain dari yang lain. Our teka-teki pun bermula. Kerja apa pakcik ni. 
One thing perlu salute, Japanese memang ndak suka bazir masa. Dalam train, memang budaya membaca ni selalu aku nampak. Unlike Koreans who prefer layan handphones, diorang ni kill time by reading. Novel ka komik, janji budaya membaca tu is literally something kita patut contohi. Sambil cakap depan cermin, pointing to myself. Sigh.
Umeda Station adalah sangat besar. And luas. Sakit kaki mau berjalan semata tukar train jak. From JR Train to subway train.
At first, ingatkan boleh balun habiskan Yen di area ni. Little did we know that area Shinsaibashi-suji ni adalah more to kedai ber-airconditioned. Ingatkan stok macam area Jalan TAR tu. Akibat ndak buat research pasal tempat ni, padanlah muka.
Hanyalah aktiviti jalan2 cuci mata malam tu. Aku habiskan Yen untuk beli Kit Kat limited edition at the airport the next day.
Pun mau sibuk selca berbackgroundkan Shinsaibashi-suji sign. 
Yeah jumpa the famous Glico Man. Dalam map Osaka pun ada mention street ni so kemungkinan untuk sesat adalah zero. Gitu.
Dinner at a restaurant suggested by DJ. She went here twice during her visit, so aku pun harus gedik mau try juga. 'Landmark' famous restaurant ni is its big aquarium outside. It is situated next to a shop named Hikari.
Muka kelaparan. The last meal I had was during breakfast awal pagi tu. Sob.
My humble dinner. Cough. Last kopek of raw sushi before balik Malaysia the next day.
Akhirnya habis cerita Jepang. Lepas ni boleh continue sama cerita Brunei yang sudah berbulan tertangguh juga. 

Now perlu bersiap. In an hour kena ada di KL Sentral. Yeah, buat entry ni di Kolumpur. My first sahur adalah di rumah Angah here in Cheras. Nanti berbuka tempat lain, merasa lah kan jadi perantau walau cuma untuk seminggu. 

Hopefully keadaan di tempat dituju ni sudah beransur ok. Pray for my safe journey guys. Makaseh!

eryantierdabdulkarim