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| Wednesday, 8-Aug-2007 13:26 |
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Chilling at Regent's Park
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This week we have decided to chilling at d park... Penat berjalan seminggu tak hilang lagi.. 
At first we wanted to go to Hyde Park, tapi fikir2 balik, asyik ke sana jer.. So, this week tukar venue lain, lepak kat Regent's Park pula  Gosh, d weather panas giler ok...
Nie aksi2 Qistinna nak buat kawan 
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| Sunday, 5-Aug-2007 12:13 |
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Holland-Belgium Odyssey (Final Part)
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the attic stairs..i had a good workout going up and down
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see what i mean??
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our accomodation for the last week
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Thursday 26 July 2007 - The day was just beautiful for another outing, sun was shining and it wasn't windy at all. Today we're heading out to Rotterdam, the port city of Holland  . Our first stop was the Cube House (Kijk-Kubus). An architectural marvel whereby the houses built were in a shape of cubes. The design and layout was quite interesting, from outside the interior of the houses looked akwardly slanting at a 45 degree angle  . The stairs of the house was quite steep and we had a hard time climbing up with Qistinna and the prem  . Suprisingly the house was quite spacious and the interior was quite contemporary  . Just couldn't imagine the movers bringing up the fridge  .
After the tour of the house we headed to the famous Erasmus a.k.a Swan bridge. Mainly it was because it is shaped like an origami swan  .
Then we headed back to an area near the cube house to see one of the few buildings to have survived the Nazi bombing during the World War II.
Wiite Huis
After a short tour we headed back to Den Haag to finish the tour there. As we arrived at Den Haag, the sky had become dark again so we had some doubts whether going to the beach was a good idea  . Then we figured what the heck since we're here we might as well go. Off to Scheveningen Bad we go!!.... 
As we got to the beach, I went inside the souvenir shop while baba and Qistinna took a walk around the pier. It was really windy and some rain had begun to trickle down . After some souvenir shopping we went to the beach with our pizza that baba had bought. As we got to the beach, baba ate first before it was my turn to eat the pizza. I had placed the pizza on top of the prem so that I could watch Qistinna play by the beach. Hardly a few metres from where we set up our stuff, a gust of wind knocked down our prem and the pizza that we bought  . Luckily we only bought 2 slices, so I still managed to taste Baba's pizza. If we had bought a whole box it would have been a waste, as the winds were blowing sands into our face . Qistinna played on the beach and almost ate a whole handful of sands for memories of Den Haag beach . After about an hour by the beach, we headed back to Auntie Nani's place.
Friday 27 July 2007 - Well after an adventurous 6 days here in Holland, its time for us to bid farewell to land of the Dutchladies, clog, cheese, windmills, and enormous turbines.  . Nonetheless the adventures that we had as a family was extremely valuable. From getting on the wrong train upon our arrival  , to gusting wind blowing my pizza down to the beach, it was absolutely fantastic just being there and experiencing it . As they say its not the destination that's important, its the journey that you go through to get there  . New culture, new language, new people not only has enriched our life experiences but also on how you look at things I guess. Two of the most memorable experience in Holland would probably be that bicycle lanes are meant for bicycles because we had a few close encounters of crashing into the cyclists and that always look right when crossing the road because the cars are left hand drive  . Also we're deeply grateful for Auntie Nani & Co's hospitality for making our stay in Holland memorable, hot food and a warm bed to come home to is always nice  .
My Uncle Mursyidi
My Auntie Nani - she's the Malaysia's Trade Commisioner in Holland
The people that we came across in Holland and Belgium were from different backgrounds and colors. Indonesians, Surinams, Belgians and of course the Dutch people. Not 1 person that we ask for help turned us away and there's always a feel good factor about them  . Though some of them are not on the same lingusitic wave length as us, yet they would try to help you out as much as they can, even if its just hand gestures  . Even at the airport, the security guys were friendly although they looked serious, the heartwarming responses they made by looking at Qistinna made them looked human after all . Thus we bid farewell to the people that build Holland, oh there's saying that God built the world, the Dutch built Holland, because a lot of the land was non existent and they tambak the land . Most of the land in Holland is below sea level and its all flat, no hills and mountains. Our experience here have taught us the world is small, cultures and languages so diverse that its a shame that we don't go out and experience it, money permitting of course. We're lucky that my husband got a job here in London. If we're still in Malaysia, memang dengar cerita orang sahaja la. He kept his promise made in 2004 that he'll take me to Holland someday. We can't wait for our next big adventure, next stop, Paris!!.  Well Nederland, Dag (goodbye) for now and we hope that we'll visit you again in the near future.
As we reached Gatwick airport, reality sets back in, Baba has to go work again, and I've got a whole week of laundry to do   !!
At the airport.. while waiting for our flight..
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| Thursday, 2-Aug-2007 12:41 |
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Holland-Belgium Odyssey (Part 2)
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wey bila nak padamkan api nie??
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aisey buku pun nak habis baca dah...
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finally...train dah jalan balik
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Tuesday 24 July 2007 - Took the 10.58am train to Koog Zaandijk, our next destination where we were to visit Zaanse Schans (pronounced as Zans Skaans). Arrived at Schipol at 11.30am, the stop before Amsterdam Sloterijk where we're suppose to change to trains to go to Koog Zaandijk. Train was delayed for about 1 1/2 hour due to a fire in the tunnel . We almost gave up and decided to take a cab to the station, before finally the train started moving again . Once we arrived at Koog Zaandijk we had to walk about 10 minutes before arriving at Zaanse Schans. The moment we got there we were greeted by the sight of 4 huge windmills and a small tourist spot where they had from clock museum to cheese making factory. The scenery of the village was beautiful and everything was green . Not forgetting to mention that it was very windy. Luckily we wore 3 layer of tops. Sejuuukk..
Had lunch where we were accompanied by a few ducks who looked deprived of food as they were lingering around our spot waiting for us to throw away our food!!
After lunch we went into the cheese making factory where we saw how the cheese are made (obviously!!). Bought some souvenirs and a roll of cheese, which tasted delicious by the way . Then we tried the home made ice cream sundaes, caramel and chocolate. Nyum..nyum.. . It was windy outside when we were enjoying our ice cream sundaes, so windy that when baba tried to feed the ice cream to qistinna, it literally flew off the spoon!!. We were also accompanied by some "friends" who looked like they wanted our ice cream sundaes than their normal grass.. hahaha  . After some good grub we headed back to the train station to go to Amsterdam to finish off our tour there.
From what people have been telling us is that, if you don't go to the Red Light District, it means that you have not been to Amsterdam. So off we went to see the Red Light District to see what was all the fuss about. Took us quite a while to find it as there's no signboard on how to get there  . Once we found the Red Light District, and started walking around, now we know what was all the fuss about. There were practically a brothel for every bar established there, and the girls were displaying their "goods" behind a glass panel  . They seemed happy flaunting their assets to passing by customers hoping to earn money. Some of them were attractive , tapi ada jugak rupa macam pecah rumah . Sex museum was also in abundance and each museum claimed that they are unique, though I can't really tell the difference as each museum main parody was sex  . Don't worry Qistinna was fast asleep during our tour of the Red Light District. It seems odd though that we were the only couple walking around pushing a baby prem  . After watching debauchery on display, we decided to head home to cleanse our mind .
Check out d shops at d back....
Wednesday 25 July 2007 - Today we woke up earlier than usual to catch our 8.06am train to Brussels. The train ride was about 2 1/2 hours from Den Haag and luckily for us Qistinna did not create a scene in the train. We arrived there at 10.30am and were greeted by the sight of an old somewhat dodgy looking train station . We weren't quite sure if it was really Brussels Central Station. As we walked out into the main station hall, we realise that it was the right station . The moment we stepped outside of the station we immediately got on the "Hop On Hop Off" bus  .
Our ride...
The bus stopped at a few attactions. One of it was the Royal Palace. But we didn't get off, since it was not part of our itenary.
Took some pictures of 'The Triumphal Arch (Arc De Triomphe)'. This arch was built to serve as a monument to illustrate the glorious past of Brussels. It also was to serve as a new entrance gate to the center for people entering from the eastern side of Brussels.
Our first stop was the Mini Europe that I had been craving for to see . It is basically a replica of all the major european cities. We tried to let go off Qistinna within the park but it seems that she want it to climb over the barriers and play with the models . So, we ended up putting her back in the stroller . It was good fun seeing miniature size of Big Ben, Eiffel Tower and The Leaning Tower of Pisa. You can have a tour around Europe in just a few hours . After a walkabout of around 1 1/2 hours, we had lunch out of side of the park.
ma..qistinna nak main ngan toys tue bleh??
Plaza De Toros, Spain
Took some pictures of the Atomium. It was huge!! It is a model of a crystalline metal molecule. The structure is 103 meters tall.
Next stop was the Grand Place. It is known as one of the most beautiful town squares in Europe, perhaps in the world. There we ate the famous Gauffre (Belgian Waffels) and toured around the area.
Gauffre.. Nyum..nyum.. delicious!!
After that we walked off to see the famous Manneken Pis. The statue represented a boy who save Brussels from the brink of extinction by pissing into a fire started by an unknown source (there were a few versions of the story, but at the end of it, it was basically about a boy taking a piss) . Before we realise it, it is time for us to headed back to Den Haag and catch the 4.44pm train .
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| Monday, 30-Jul-2007 20:37 |
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Holland-Belgium Odyssey (Part 1)
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Sunday 22 July 2007-The moment we've been waiting for since we bought our plane tickets back in April (bought them the moment joe got his credit card...hehehe)...our 1st family holiday/honeymoon . All of us got up at 4am to leave for the airport, the cab arrived 5am sharp and we arrived at London Victoria station at 5.35 am. With all of the security scare that has been happening lately in London, we had been advised to arrive there early due to the stringent security checks. When we arrived at Gatwick at 6.15am, we thought there wouldn't be alot of people. Boy were we wrong, there were throngs of people at the check in counter and it took nearly an hour to check in . We took off at 8.25am from Gatwick airport, and arrived safely at Schipol airport at 10.10am local time .
Bought tickets to Den Haag (pronounced as The Hague) where we stayed with my auntie, it should have taken us only 1/2 hour, but baba in his infinite wisdom got us on the wrong train and the journey turned out to be an extra 1/2 hour as we had to change trains at Leiden Centraal . Luckily the train conductor was kind enough to tell us that we got on the wrong train and told us where to change trains. Yet his departing words with full of sarcasm before leaving us were "Didn't you read the signboard?" ..  ...nice going baba.
@ Leiden Centraal... waiting for our train..
Finally after arriving at Den Haag Centraal Station, Auntie Nani picked us up and took us to her house. We had lunch, then a 1/2 hour break before Auntie Nani took us to a fishing village called Volendam. It was about 1 1/2 hour drive from Den Haag. Originally Volendam wasn't part of our original itineary as there's no available public transportation to go there. Since it was a Sunday and Auntie Nani didn't have any plans, she took us there along with our second cousin, Nasrah. I was so happy as I've wanted to go there anyway . The view and scenery of the village was calm and beautiful. There were alot people hanging out at the bar by the beach as the sun was out.
We got back to Den Haag at 6.30pm and had dinner, where we were greeted with plethora of food ranging from grilled chicken, daging cicah to sayur campur . In a nutshell it was the best of home cooked food that we've had since mama and abah left for KL...
Monday-23 July 2007. We woke up around 8.30am, pengsan the whole nite as we were too tired from the previous day excursions. Auntie Nani advised us to leave for Amsterdam after the rush hour as it can get pretty packed. Left the house at 10am after breakfast and took a tram to the Den Haag Centraal Station. The tram ride was quite interesting as well as we got to see Den Haag city centre. The train ride from Den Haag to Amsterdam took us about 45-50 minutes, and this time no glitches as we took the right train...hehehe . As we arrived at Amsterdam, we bought the "hop on hop off" 1 day canal bus pass. In other countries you'll get to tour the cities on a bus, but here in Amsterdam, you'll get on a boat and they'll take you around to all of the attractions.
Our first stop was the Rijksmuseum, basically its a museum which houses the Dutch heritage and artifacts since its independence from Spain in the 17th century. A fact that I didn't know till we got into the museum. A lot of the collections in the museum were mainly paintings. The most famous painting stored there is the "The Night Watch" painted by Rembrandt (2nd most famous artist in Holland besides Vincent Van Gogh). The painting is large and is measured by 10 x 15 feet(I think..it was quite huge and it took up a large portion of the wall). The painting depicts all of the bosses of the militia companies in Holland around that time preparing for battle against the Spaniard (I hope I get my facts right). As everyone else watched and admired the paintings quietly, there was this 1 bubbly little girl by the name of Qistinna who was making so much noise that everyone looked at her with the expression "please be quiet" or "ahh she's so cute" Once we finished toured the museum we had lunch at a nearby park. Walked over to the Van Gogh museum next door and took some more pictures. We wanted to go in but the queue was long so we decided to skip the museum tour.
@ Rijksmuseum
The Night Watch painted by Rembrandt
Baba with Van Gogh
Then we took off and headed for Leidseplin, where we stopped by Hard Rock Cafe, bought 2 t-shirts for baba and myself
Walked around the area and took some pictures of 2 guys playing chess. The playing mantles however were not the usual size that you would normally see. The pieces were about 1 metre in height and the chessboards were painted on the floor. After watching the guys playing, it had started to rain so we decided to go back to Centraal Station and headback to Den Haag.
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| Thursday, 19-Jul-2007 12:08 |
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:: Changing of the Guard, Buckingham Palace ::
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Finally, last saturday we've got d chance to see d Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. We have planned to see it since d past 3 weeks... First 2 weeks we couldn't go due to bad weather.. Last week pula sbb pegi Bicester Village.. Luckily, last saturday d weather was sunny (actually according to weather forecast; partly cloudy, partly sunny)... So, dapatlah pegi tengok...
The ceremony starts at 11.30am... We were 15mins late (ada techinal failure with d tube)...
OMG.. There were so many people there... and d place was sooo crowded...
Tak dapat spot yang best, coz d event tue dalam gated area.... So, kena berhimpit2 kat tepi gate tue utk snap d pictures... Dah la sampai lambat, tak dapat spot best lak tue... Tension btul... 
But nway, we did enjoy watching d ceremony, although dapat tgk sipi2 jer..
Qistinna pun enjoy gak dpt tgk d marching band... She was smiling & laughing when she heard d band playing..
After penat redah orang ramai, we all lepak kat Green Park, oppossite Buckingham Palace...
Lepak there for almost 2 hrs.. Lepaskan Qistinna main...
At first she was active.. running everywhere... Lepas tue kepenatan kot, so she just lepak with us.. Play with everything that she can find on d ground (i.e. sticks, leaves, bottle cap...)
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| Wednesday, 11-Jul-2007 21:41 |
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* Qistinna @ 18 months *
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As at today, Qistinna is already 18 months old...
Time flies very fast, huh!!
And in 6 months time, we'll be celebrating her 2 years bday...
Look at her face expressions... Muka budak nakal.. 
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| Saturday, 7-Jul-2007 21:11 |
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Bicester Village ~ Summer 2007
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Yeay... it's shopping time!!!
We spent like 2 hrs there...
Baba bought himself and Qistinna a pair of shoes each...
And he bought for me a handbag... Love u soo much.. Thank u...
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| Tuesday, 3-Jul-2007 16:56 |
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<< Hanging out with friends >>
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Ex-KPMG Malaysia ~ Audit 6.... All now working in London (PWC & KPMG), except for Joey who came all d way from PWC Bermuda for holiday...
Me & Zam <---- A friend of mine from Malaysia.. Sempat jumpa for 2 hrs jer...
Btw, thank you for d 'barang' u bought for my hubby... Stock dia sudah abiss....
Relaxing @ Hyde Park... Baba coaching Qistinna how to play football....
Before that we went to Nahar Restaurant.. Rai teringin nak makan nasi ayam kat situ.. They have special menu 'Nasi Ayam' during weekends... Btw, Rai & Arif stayed at our place from Saturday till Monday...
At d playground... Qistinna making some new friends...
Qistinna with Uncle Rai & Uncle Arif...
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| Friday, 15-Jun-2007 16:17 |
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*** Gonna miss both of you ***
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After 2 months Abah and Mama stayed with us, its time for them to return home now.. I wish both of them could stay longer here, but its unfair for my sis and bros in malaysia. I'm sure they all pun rindu kat Abah Mama.
A few days gak me and Qistinna moody and sedih... And a few times gak
Terasa rumah sunyi... Its fun having them around though...
Hope Abah and Mama will visit us again soon...
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| Wednesday, 13-Jun-2007 23:08 |
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~ where d cousin visits ~
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Her new ride...
Qistinna wif her 3rd cousins, Yana and Zafir....
Lonely again <-- after d cousins went home
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.InsyaAllah akan sampai juga sblm balik 
