Prosperous August: Aidilfitri 1434H

Assalamualaikum.

Harap masih belum terlambat untuk wish Selamat Hari Raya! Kan raya sebulan so ucapan ni harus valid till the last day of eid.

Ni gambar basi. Taken few days before the eid. Just like last year, Mrs Z jadi organizer get-together for the YS-iens. Acara buka puasa among ex-YSiens ni memang held every year. Yang berbeza, muka² yang joined. 

Last year kami tripping sungkai di hotel, this year sungkai di mall pula. Paling senang; menu lengkap semua ada...organizer pilih RiceChickenHouse. Kami yang memang malas mau fikir venue, ikut jak. Janji dapat duduk beramah mesra...and paling penting, ada juadah untuk sungkai. Dasar!

Muka² yang memang akan hadir tiap kali ada event gini. Selagi ndak da halangan, akan try datang. Biar sekejap asalkan dapat jumpa. Erat silaturrahim. 

Few days before the Eid, aku berchenta sama PosMalaysia. My fault juga sebab bijak bestari order baju raya through online last minute kan. Walau berpuluh lagi orang mengamuk claim parcel di pos haritu, I refused to joined. Sebab belum tahap mau buang tabiat. If ndak juga dapat parcel before raya, then I will just wear baju last year. Kecewa simpan tepi, mau marah pun ndak da hasil. But Alhamdulillah, I got my bajuS the day before raya. Tapi jubah terkurang saiz so aku pasrah & bagi sama cousin. Next year insha Allah sila jangan berdrama last minute lagi ah Bie.

This year, Bunda & I decided to passed the throne untuk masak² for the family on the first day of Eid. Sudah dua tahun berturutan buat acara makan di rumah after ziarah kubur, this year biarlah buat rumah Aunty pula. Since the Kolumpur clans pun stay di rumah baru diorang in Telipok, kami bagi excuse "Ndak cukup tangan mau berkuntau di dapur". Alhamdulillah, Aunty bought our words. Luka² macam papercuts di jari jemari Bunda belum baik, tulah Aunty pun ndak mau argue sangat. 

Kesayangan seluruh family buat masa ni. Our first anak buah; eldest grandchildren. Elnathan is a big boy already...end of this year insha Allah bakal jadi abang Long sudah. Oh yeah, dearest SIL is pregnant with her second child. She is due on the Dec. Sila jangan keluar time Ummi berjimba di over-the-sea ah baby darling.

Simple dishes made solely by Aunty dearest. Makanan made with pure love for the family memang sedap menjilat jari. I purposely skipped rice on the first day of Eid. Kelupis a.k.a Buras is just too tempting to ignore.

Lepas jamu perut, harus sesi bergambar took place. Bored with the usual senyum ayu pose, we went for the retarded pose this year. Cantik juga ni kena frame. Ndak lah formal macam selalu. Put aside pose duduk pengantin, duck face macam smart pula jadi family potrait.

Sesi gambar sepupu sepapat + anak buah nan seorang; memang perlu kah kecoh setiap tahun? Padahal baru 19 orang pun! Mau arrange who have to sit or stand up pun makan masa dekat sepuluh minit! 

Perlu banyak kali takes untuk dapat gambar esteady macam ni. Where all of us looked at the camera & smile. Banyak hasil blur or candid (which I like) sebab semua macam cacing kepanasan ndak pandai duduk diam. Especially the twins. Paling mencabar sabar mau atur diorang ni jak. Banyak fesyen.

On second day of Eid, we drove to Kinarut. Acara tiap tahun memang kena visit rumah ni.

Jimat masa & kos for sure. Open house sekali sama kenduri cukur jambul. Time macam ni jak family semua akan gathered together. Ambil kesempatan adalah perlu.

Semi perfect picture of us four. Ada yang super clear tapi mesti ada yang mata half-katup lah, mata tengok tempat lain lah...

Third Eid, acara makan² at our home. Kalau buat makan² on the first day mesti kelam kelibut. Malam tu, Bunda & I did all the preparations together. Masak ala kadar sekadar jamu perut close family jak. Ndak lah kami buat menu super grand. 

Rumah kecil tiang seribu. Cukup² saiz rumah untuk accommodate ahli family yang ndak seberapa ramai. Datang kena bergilir...kalau ndak, kesesakan memang ndak dapat dielak. 

Memang dishes paling simple. 

Good friend came. Last year she missed celebrating Eid at my house. Sedang berpantang gitu. This year, alhamdulillah she managed to come. Together with the little sumandak; Emma who wasn't in good mood that day. Baru bangun jadi mood lambat mau adjust as per the Mom said. 

Yang ni memang kedatangan ndak disangka. Ms K texted me early in the morning, asking about my whereabout. Soon after I replied I was home...laju dia bagitau she'll be coming over with her sisters. "3 family ni datang beraya ah Err". 

Macam tau² jaklah kan not long after tu Ms Z called. Telling me she's on her way to my home with her husband. Wooot paling jackpot! Two besties coming over to my house padahal si Err super segan mau menjemput. Perangai!

Ms K extended family.

Fourth Eid, berkumpul at Angah's new home in Telipok. Kenduri masuk rumah. The Kolumpur clan now has a place called home whenever they balik kampung. As the three siblings will be going back to Kolumpur the day after, Angah decided to held the kenduri earlier. As usual, akulah ultimate kitchen helper Angah. Maid sign mati.

Unfortunately, because I slept late the night before...and had to wake up early, my energy was totally drained out. I recharged myself during the kenduri. I hope that explains why I don't have any picture of the kenduri & those that attended. Hanyalah muka kami bergembira posing sana sini while preparing things for the kenduri. Which after habis kerja yang diamanahkan, aku terus membuta. I woke up when the guests had left. Memang fully recharged terus. 

After hari kenduri at Angah's...tibalah masa untuk kembali bekerja. Lucky me for the semester break hasn't over yet. Last Mon & Tues, kami gotong royong di cafe. The renovation works left the cafe super messy. Debris everywhere. Cafe began operating yesterday; students Asasi & the uni staffs are our customer for now. Tunggulah bila fully buka early September nanti...memang akan berkuntau sungguh! 

Perlu kerja keras for the upcoming trip. Kalau travel free kan best. Ngeks.

eryantierdabdulkarim

CutiCuti: South Korea Day 3 - Cheonggyecheon Stream

Assalamualaikum. 안녕!

Previous:

Day 1

Day 2

Nami Island
Petite France

It will take me forever to continue updating about this trip IF I kept procrastinating. Lucky I managed to forced the super lazy moi to get to the lappy, squeezed the brain & started scribbling. 

Fuh, I miss South Korea tremendously! Looking back at all the pictures makes the feeling even worst. I want to fly to that country like now. Can I just celebrate Eid there? Aigoo Bie, bersabar sila. Another 4 months pun. Reaction terlebih over tau kau ni.

Fine, lets just skip the drama queen thingy.

That evening, after dinner we went out to see Seoul at night. It has always been in my plan to see the grand palace; Gyeongbok Palace view at night. With the lights on. We missed the time when this palace is open to public until late evening. 

Gyeongbuk Palace is open to public from 630p to 10p in May every year; marking the Family Month. Unfortunately, this only occur for two days. Obviously, we were late for more than a month. Sampai Seoul pun on the 22² June! 

View of Gwanghwamun Square at night. Area ni memang bercahaya terang as it is located at one of the main district in Seoul. Royal administrative buildings or the Street of Six Ministries is among the historical significant along this square. Bangunan kiri kanan pun memang bangunan administration. 

I got to know about this place after watching the 2009 Kdrama series; Iris. From what I read in wiki; as part of the Government's plans to promote the city...this square was closed to public for nearly twelve hours. Semata untuk bagi laluan to Iris' filming. Ndak dapat imagine major traffic jammed masa tu as five lanes were closed. Sudahlah tengah bandar, laluan penting & kawasan pentadbiran lagi. 

And ehem! Few scenes in one of my favourite Kdrama; Queen In Hyun's Man were filmed here as well. Memang malam tu, aku verangan macam dalam drama. Ndak dapat jumpa artis; sudah jejak shooting location pun jadilah!

Ni memang familiar habis...sebab Running Man buat shooting sini more than once. RM lagi kan.

Skyscrapers in Seoul are mostly found here. Sakit leher jugalah balik² mendongak untuk baca nama building. Perlu tau; kalau aku. 

Pavilion in the middle of the city. Ni kira macam pondok wakaf lah kalau di Malaysia. Eh?

Jalan straight along the Gwanghwamun Square route leads us to Cheonggye Plaza. Akan jumpa landmark for the plaze; this siput sedut ni on ur left side. Benda ni punya unik & berlampu terang benderang, memang impossible lah orang overlooked. 

Siput Sedut tu bagi aku landmark untuk permulaan Cheonggyecheon Stream. Last year pegi sini, aku ndak tau langsung pasal stream ni. Padah kalau travel semata langsung ndak da homework or research done prior coming. Hence I made it a mission to come here when I visit South Korea again. This time datang dengan ilmu gitu. 

Stream ni adalah one of the city's effort to urban renewal. Ever since its opening in 2005, it has become one of the popular recreational area among the locals & also tourists. Memang salute sama disiplin orang South Korea ni. Bukti kukuh, ndak guna government pongpang buat development kalau rakyat sendiri ndak usaha untuk maintain. Kerjasama is the main point here. Both parties kena main peranan. Bukan sibuk si A blame si B...in the end, semua gigit jari. 

Note that ring encircled with green lights; where a couple is standing in front of it. Kununnya, if baling coin ke arah that ring & the coin jatuh right in the middle, bolehlah request something. To whom aku ndak tau. I don't think it has something to do with any religious beliefs. From my point of view, this kind of thing is more to something people do out of trend. 

Hanya sempat sampai till the second bridge. *nangis darah* Angan² untuk tawaf sampai Dongdaemun went down to the drain. Pendapat bersama perlu diambil kira kalau jalan ramai² ni. Walau dapat mandat untuk draft itinerary, views dari ahli rombongan lain mestilah mau tau juga. Kalau aku solo or ahli rombongan semua bersatu mau tawaf, maka bolehlah proceed misi. 

Hmmm betul lah cakap bloggers yang biasa travel in group...bukan senang mau dapat travel buddy yang sekepala ni. Silap langkah, kalau ikut angin moody each member memang boleh trigger perang dunia di tempat orang. Fortunately nothing close to war happened masa kami di sana. Toleransi adalah perlu, gitu. Eh?

Stepping stones to connect each sides of the stream. Yours Truly practice jadi mermaid sesat. Gemokmaid ada!

I read in many blogs, the water is crystal clear here. Siang baru nampak clear aku rasa. Ms G managed to captured my gimbaran. Sedang dalam proses transition tapi major failed. Kembali ke bentuk manusia akhirnya.

Ni bukan man-made stream ok. The water naturally flows from east to west of Downtown Seoul, meeting at Jungnangcheon; which then connects to Han River & later empties into Yellow Sea. (source wiki).

Jongno Tower spotted. Bangunan tu sangatlah famous di mata aku, asal nampak jak mesti aku ndak lupa untuk mentioned "That's Jongno Tower". Selalu nampak waktu siang, this was my first time seeing it illuminated with lights. Once again another angan² untuk lepak coffee shop yang berhambur along the street above the stream...went straight into the drain. Sudah penat sekalian teman berjalan dari pagi. Aku boleh jak stay & continue wandering...masalah problem ahli lain ndak tau jalan pulang. Ngeks.

God's willing, next time akan continue misi² yang terbengkalai. Ni definitely NOT my last trip to South Korea. Insha Allah, insha Allah. 

We ended the evening walk along the stream with photo geteks. Although I am a bit frustrated sebab only managed to covered two bridges, I enjoyed the walk still. At least menyempat compare to my last visit. Nanti mau buat lawatan di waktu siang. 

And we missed the laser light show a.k.a Digital Canvas as well! The show is held at the Gwanggyo Bridge; at the upper end of the stream. We took the pictures above near the show area. It is said that unlike other light show, Digital Canvas conveys various messages in its show. Hostel I booked for the Dec trip located just a block away from the stream...kalau terlepas lagi ndak tau lah kan.

Map of bridges, routes & exits along the stream is provided to facilitate visitors. Kalau rasa sesat, sila lah rajin baca map. 

Sangat membantu specially for first timers like us. Mau cepat sampai hostel, kena tau the nearest exit to the subway station.

For more information about this stream, refer here. Ni alkisah kemalasan untuk mengolah. Sekian.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Prosperous July: My Fourth Photobook

Assalamualaikum. 안녕!

Rest kejap dari update entri CutiCuti: South Korea series. 

My fourth photobook arrived last week. Hasil bertangguh aku, last minute baru siap. A day before the voucher expired. Memang terbaik kan gaya, lain kali buat gitu lagi Bie baru kau sana migraine mau kejar deadline segala. Deadline sangat! 

Entri pasal CutiCuti: HongKong/Macau/Shenzhen belum start lagi tapi sudah menayang photobook segala kan. How could I even start when the South Korea series pun belum habis. Aigoo perangai!  

Bunda commanded me to use the last remaining photobook voucher I had for the trips we have this year. I was planning to use it for the Summer Trip with the Ladies...tapi arahan tetap arahan. South Korea photobook has to be put on hold! Gotta wait for more deal from mydeal or Groupon. I normally got mine from mydeal.

 

An image-wrapped 8'x11' photobook. Baru 40 pages tapi sudah aku pening mau pilih gambar. Pening mau design layout. Yadda yadda. So much of desiring to be creative, huh.

Singapore - February

Hong Kong - June

Macau - July

Shenzhen - July. Impian untuk jejak Alhambra! Ambil feel dulu lawat yang replica. Kena menabung dengan gigih mula sekarang! Insha Allah, amin amin. 

I have this 'back cover design' for each of my photobooks. Kunun bertrip hak ekslusif. 

*giggles* Before I departed for the summer trip last June, the third photobook arrived at the office. But I only managed to get my hands on it after I got back from the holiday with Bunda. It's the 2^nd Volume of my Solo Adventure last year. Itu hasil redeem voucher from mydeal juga. And that I haven't blog about. Terus jumped to the fourth one kan. Great! 

A good friend previously bought two vouchers without noticing the album size & type offered for the deal. Since she didn't know what to do with the vouchers because she wanted to just order from Photobook Malaysia without redeeming any voucher, I asked her to sell it to me. Lucky me, she sold both vouchers much cheaper than she paid. Gembira perlu! Insha Allah, nanti aku update the third one.

p/s Gomawo Photobook Malaysia! I am one satisfied customer.

eryantierdabdulkarim