Land of Ong Bak - Arriving Don Mueang Airport, Bangkok from KLIA2, Sepang

Assalamualaikum. สวัสดี!

After a pretty long hiatus (?!?), suddenly I missed scribbling. Banyak cerita mau share tapi sekarang ni semangat mau update pasal my recent 'beli-tiket-ndak-fikir-panjang' trip to Thailand. My 'awesome-tangan-dibahu-mata-juling' trip to Brunei, aku simpan jadi pekasam dalam draft folder dulu.

The day before I departed to Bangkok, I did published an entry here. Saja, gatal; tripping mau kestau orang aku berjalanan. Ada orang cakap aku kecoh, baru pi Thailand pun mau update di blog. Pastu ada juga orang sentap, questioned why I didn't say much about this trip like I always did i.e trip balik 'kampung' yang memang selalu aku kasi liputan meluas.

Usually aku memang no comment when it comes to soalan cepumas tahap bingai tertinggi. Senyum jaklah. Aku bising salah, diam salah. Baik berdiri depan cermin, donned my KDress...pastu posing syok sendiri. Perlu praktis senyum sebab mau attend a good friend's Raya open house tomorrow. Surely akan ada super banyak sesi bergambar. Practice makes perfect; so they say.

Erk, motif sebut KDress? Hanyalah semata untuk tambah luap api jeles Mrs Smile. *lambai ratu*

Right, intro sudah ke laut keluar tajuk.

As I said before, tiket terbeli dalam keadaan separa waras. Promo. Murah. Cuti panjang. These three words synced quite well at that time. Lupa tengok kalendar apa kejadian on the dates that I chose to travel. Turned out, Ramadhan.

Mula² aku planned untuk terjah solo. Pastu Ms G yang kunun plan untuk travel with her cousin terpaksa travel solo juga sebab the cousin decided not to go. Cantik jak kena susun because suddenly Air Asia rescheduled most of their flights to Bangkok. They cancelled few flights & passengers were advised to either change the time or claim refund. Ms G's flight was affected. And so the rest is history. Ended up, aku punya teman bergerak di Thailand. Ada tukang gambar juga. Wooohooo!

Months before the trip, we were shocked by the news of Bangkok Shutdown. The condition there was a bit chaotic due to a number of life-threatening events happening in major cities; as the media reported. Bom sana sini katanya. Our government siap keluarkan surat pekeliling. People were advised to cancelled their trip. And my two friends JM & DJ; antara rela ndak rela, terpaksa cancelled their trips.

Aku yang hati batu ni pun mula² ada rasa risau; tons of things occupied my mind. But I followed what my heart says; macam biasa kepala-batu-hati-kunun-tegar. Ndak da kejadian ndak sedap hati or fikir dua kali whether to go or not to go. Ajal maut ketentuan Allah. Insha Allah, aku selamat. Gitu peringatan sama diri sendiri. I decided to just go. Macam kejadian aku pi Seoul, June last year. Time tu punyalah tegang keadaan di sana, siap ada ura² kunun North Korea mau lancar perang. Aku tawakal jak pigi. Alhamdulillah! Selamat pergi, selamat kembali.

Now back to my cuti² Thailand, we departed to Kolumpor a day before our flight to Bangkok. Stayed overnight at Angah's. Sahur pertama di sana. Our flight to Bangkok was late in the evening, makanya aku bersungkai dalam kapal. We safely arrived at Don Mueang Airport, Bangkok around 8pm.

29 June 2014

KLIA 2, Sepang

My first time departing from KLIA2...terus terbang ke Bangkok gitu. I fall in love with the new airport immediately after arriving from Kota Kinabalu. Lots of pastry shops! Bisa gila!

Dapat window seat. Bertabah jaklah. Tapi beruntung sebab view adalah superb. Senja di Bangkok. This was taken 20 minutes before landing. Gigih aku snapped sebab ada anak bulan Ramadhan. Walaupun kecil jak.

29 June 2014

Don Mueang Airport, Bangkok

We opted to just take the taxi to our hostel in Silom. Murah, cepat & selamat. Worry not, all taxi use meter. Because we asked the driver to take the highway route to avoid the traffic congestion, we had to pay for the tolls. But murah, still. 

Despite the long queue, we got to hop on our taxi in less than 10 minutes. Super awesomely fast service. 

Before datang Bangkok, punyalah berangan tinggi mak-enon to ride that pink taxi. Unfortunately, the green one stopped in front of our line. Paksarela hati untuk naik. Gitu!

Lub'd Silom

Ms G checking in at Lub'd Silom. Very cozy & affordable hostel. 

Map on the cement wall. Pretty smart. Nearest BTS Skytrain station is Chong Nonsi (Silom Line).

Read: Current situation. Ntahlah tegang macam mana keadaan before trip tu, but Alhamdulillah throughout our holiday there we didn't see any trace of demonstration. Be it in the city or in the rural areas. 

Penat belum habis, kena mendaki tangga to get to our dorm. Female dorms are located on the top floor. 

Didn't expect the dorm looks like this! Super like! I am a happy guest. High ceiling. Spacious dorm. Ignore yang berjuntai/bersangkutan di katil or on the couch. Itu harta milik guests lain. 

Mine was under her. Very comfy bed. Malam tu tidur terlajak. Sampai ndak ter-sahur! Lena sangat?!?!

Anyhow, Bangkok adalah super panas! Dry & hot to be precise. Petang tu masa beratur luar airport tunggu teksi, aku boleh rasa bahang masuk dalam kulit. In less than 2 minutes, I sweat like an oink. Ndak pernah kejadian si Err berpeluh sakan. Manik² peluh menghiasi muka. Manik ok, manik! Sebab ndak bertitisan jatuh. Lepas berehat di dorm, we went out hunting for food. Kedai makan di area Silom tutup awal. And that include the two Halal restaurants I intended to go. Lucky we found an Indian Vegetarian restaurant, maka di sanalah kami melantak malam tu. 

Aku cuma sungkai pastries dalam kapal, haruslah kelaparan saat tu. Perut sudah siap buat kolaborasi konsert dangdut & hip hop! Sikit masa jak lagi akan datang si Gastrik buat lawatan. Lepas makan, balik dorm. Mandi manda. Update itu ini (perlu!). Then tidur! Hooray! 

Perjalanan adalah a bit jauh the next day. And tiring for sure. Telan tenaga. Insha Allah, akan digagahi walau berpuasa. Rugilah kalau aktiviti ala kadar jak, bukan selalu datang Thailand. 

eryantierdabdulkarim

Wonderful Aug: Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Assalamualaikum.

Selamat Hari Raya semua! 

Kosongkosong.
Maaf andai ada ayat or cara aku bercakap/luahkan rasa, menyakitkan hati sesiapa.

Or rasa tersindir, terambil hati.

Maaf kalau terkasar serta terhalus bahasa.

Aku susun sepuluh jari, mohon maaf atas segalanya.

Sama ada sengaja or ndak sengaja. 

Sedar or ndak sedar.

Raya tahun ni rasa a bit hollow dalam family.

Uncle baru jak tinggalkan kami few days before Ramadhan haritu.

Memang terasa sebab selalu first day Raya kami semua akan kumpul.

Adik beradik Bunda memang rapat.

So as the first cousins.

Ndak da istilah berebut balik raya kampung siapa.

Sebab semua pun kahwin orang sekitar jak.

Tahun ni juga aku menjadi sedikit bijak.

Compare to previous years.

Selalu aku memang ndak ambil port part baju raya ni.

Aku jenis lagi seminggu mau raya, baru sibuk cari baju.

Pastu memang jenis rembat selagi sedap di mata, juga di poket.

But based on what happened for the past years, this year I decided to 'ambil peduli'.

Thus, aku beli baju raya months before. 

Last year aku terpacak di post office for few days sebab parcel lambat sampai.

Posmen kunun cakap ndak jumpa address aku. 

Pffft!

This year, semua sampai on time.

Aku siap sempat alter length. 

Almaklumlah kerendangan ndak dapat disangkal.

Cuma satu dress yang telah menjadi pujaan jiwa raga sekian lama.

Sampai few days before raya.

Tu pun aku ndak sangka akan dapat beli.

Considering baju tu laku macam pisang goreng panas.

Luckily my ever beloved bestie went to the shop.

Siap ada sale.

Alhamdulillah.

Termakbul lah impian.

Bestie main peranan besar to make it comes true.

Alhamdulillah.

Masih diberi peluang oleh Allah SWT untuk sambut Aidilfitri.

With families, with friends.

Syukur Ramadhan aku mampu lalui dengan 'sabar'.

Hopefully segala amalan di bulan mulia itu diterima, diredhai Allah SWT.

Mampu jadi kifarah dosa lalu.

Insha Allah, amin. 

Eid Day 1. Memang susah mau make sure everyone ready for the camera. Mau kena train lagi Aunty ni.

The Abdul Karim's.

The cousins. Plus 2 nephews.

Eid Day 3 with the girls in the family. Alhamdulillah...double celebration! A year wiser for Yours Truly.

Selamat Hari Raya once again! Maaf zahir & batin.

Drive safe especially to those yang bakal berjalan jauh. Biar lambat, asal selamat sampai ke destinasi.

eryantierdabdulkarim

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

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).

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