Travelog: Me and our journey

Bulan Disember ::   musim sejuk :: negatif  7  darjah celcius.   Kami melawat rakan dan suaminya dalam kini sedang melanjutkan pelajaran   sarjana   di sebuah universiti di Lugano, Switzerland. Amat jarang rakyat Malaysia melanjutkan pelajaran di Switzerland, apatah lagi   bandar   di Switzerland seperti Lugano. Bandar cantik dengan jumlah populasi kira-kira 70,000  yang terletak kira-kira 400km dari   Canton   Geneva, Switzerland yang bersempadan dengan Itali, kira-kira 80km dari kota fesyen Milan. Mereka berdua sahaja pelajar Malaysia di situ. Mungkin bandar asing bagi mereka. Mungkin. Menyingkap sebulan sebelum itu, saya masih ingat saya menerima panggilan dari rakan saya ini, Siti Juriani dan suaminya yang menghadapi kesukaran untuk mendapatkan rumah sewa di Lugano. Ketika itu mereka sudah tiba di Lugano. Bukan tiada rumah sewa tetapi disebabkan deposit yang diminta sangat tinggi oleh agen. Deposit unt...

This is my re-produced version of my facebook note posted way back in October 2009.  I think this is a very interesting topic to discuss. I received few questions about digital cameras (dSLR) - what camera should I buy? Which one is the most important, the lens or the camera?. These are the most difficult questions to advice on. But there are certain guides out there. It would be most helpful by referring to the basic questions firs t: "What is your budget?"  I must say that all the advanced features in a dSLR will come at cost. It seems that dSLR technology doesn't ever stop to breathe because every year manufacturers are coming up with another new version of dSLR to attract potential customers. "What are your needs? Once you have decided how much you want (or can afford), ask yourself the following questions: (i) What do I want to photograph? You should also think about what kind of subjects you will be photographing. Are you just taking snapshots, pictures of f...

Musim luruh :: Kawan photographer (Akula Matiau) mengajak outing singkat ke St Cergue, sebuah tanah tinggi di banjaran Jura. St Cergue tidaklah jauh, hanya kira-kira 20km dari bandar Geneva. Matlamatnya hanya untuk mengambil gambar murim luruh--daun kekuningan yang berguguran. Itulah musim luruhkan. Beberapa sudut lensa Air mengalir sejuk pada musim luruh Pemandangan Alps dari banjaran Jura Akula Matiau dengan banjaran Alps. copyright: rashidisaid Akula Matiau. copyright: rashidisaid

Geneva dapat jemputan dari Kedutaan Malaysia di Bern, Switzerland untuk sambutan hari raya 2009. Perjalanan sejauh 160 km dari Geneva.   Berhenti sebentar di R&R        Di kediaaman rasmi Duta Malaysia ke Switzerland

I am not sure about 40 or 50 years ago but 30 years is enough to say that our society has very much changed and 30 years is good enough to be the benchmark. Don't complicate life but look around us and ask yourourselves!! I still remember when I was a little kid (suprisingly I still remember!..kehkeh) me and my friends really enjoyed each day of ramadhan and for sem bahyang terawih, not to forget the moreh . I went (sometimes 'we' - me and friends) to a surau alone located about 2 km away from home without the need to be accompanied by my parents. I prefered to go with friends. My perents didn't worry I will be kidnapped, missing or hit by a lorry or a car. When 1st Shawal came, I think I was the happiest person on earth. I could just knock door-to-door for kueh raya or ketupat or else ask for a 10 cent duit raya (no such thing as 'green angpow' at that time) until my two baju melayu 's pockets full with coins. Those houses that gave us 20 cents, w...

First day back in the office after 2 weeks away, I saw a piece of post-card o n my desk which written 'Viking Laws' - a post card that my boss bought in Norway and the messages he wanted to share with us. The card says: VIKING LAWS Be Brave and Aggressive Be direct Grab all opportunities Use varying methods of attack Be versatile and agile Attack one target at a time Don't plan everything in detail Use top quality weapons Be Prepared Keep weapons in good condition Keep in shape Find good battle comrades Agree on important points Choose one chief Be a Good Merchant Find out what the market needs Don't promise what you can't keep Don't demand overpayment Arrange things so that you can return Keep the Camp in Order Keep things tidy and organised Arrange enjoyable activities which strengthen the group Make sure everybody does useful work Consult all members of the group for advice

This morning as usual, I woke up and read the i-google with The Star and NST on frontpage. One, a talented storyteller and film director, Yasmen Ahmad passed away. I personally like Yasmen's films - "Rabun" 2003, "Sepet" (2004), "Gubra" (2006), "Mukhsin" (2006), "Muallaf" (2008) and Talentime (2009) - all with the openness in addressing social issues. A week before 'hari raya' we could see her creativity in many Petronas's commercials. REST IN PEACE AND AL-FATIHAH Second, our beloved friend Mohd Afendi Tajudin passed away on July 25, 2009 as he was involved in a car-motorcycle accident while he was on his way to one's frien d wedding. REST IN PEACE AND AL-FATIHAH

Pastikan peralatan dalam keadaan baik Musim Panas :: Newark-Notthinghamshire. Persiapan telah dibuat untuk perjalanan ke Edinburgh--peta; "Travel guide book" Scotland dan Edinburgh; kamera; dan lens dalam keadaan baik.  Di kemuncak Arthur's Seat Dari rumah Khairizan @Soul di Newark, kami memulakan perjalanan ke utara UK. Tempat yang dituju adalah kota Edinburgh, ibu negeri Scotland. Bertolak pada awal pagi dalam jam 9.00. Perjalanan yang mengambil masa kira-kira 6 jam sejauh 430km yang melalui bandar-bandar kecil. Edinburgh adalah bandar yang kami paling gemari di UK! It is a must visit place. Bandar yang cantik dan seakan boleh rasa damainya. Rasa macam tidak mahu balik! Kalau balik hendak datang lagi. Dalam hati "kalau sambung belajar di sini pun seronok juga--University of Edinburgh", "kalau pejabat di sini tidak di tutup dulu kan seronok". Jiwa penuh dengan angan-angan yang cukup jauh. Begitulah rasanya sambil menghirup udara segar Ar...

Newark My friend Khairizan @Soul is her nickname in a biking forum. I knew her through superbiking interest. We told our Soul that we are going to arrive at her place between 7.00 and 8 p.m. The landmarks were very simple..the kubur and traffic lights. I found the kubur and traffic lights but not the house so called '911' for help. Thanks to her for providing temp at berteduh for 2 nights...thanks Soul for your great hospitality! and and not to forget, the dinners...:-) From Soul's house, next morning we depart for Drayton Manor Park which is 100 km from Newark. That's because we wanted to bring our kids to enjoy Thomas Land, the place of Thomas and his friends - James, Gordon, Hendry, Emelli, Fat Controller etc etc etc. Kids should know them better! When we arrived there we saw people already queuing up but the lines were moving quite fast. We waited for less than 15 minutes and finally we got our tickets. The kids first saw the big-Gordon. R.A.S.H.I.D.I.SAI...

Easter holiday :: Cambridge. Regardless of how the world around it changes, the Europe maintains its traditional summer close-down – for a month! For me, it means no meetings I have to attend. It also means this is the best time for me to take a long break... hola ! We had our final check of the important things during our two-week on the road trip – Euros and Pounds of course!, ferry and hotel bookings and routes to take. We booked our ferry operated by P&O from Calais-Dover-Calais totalled Euro90.00. It may sound cheap BUT that's OK if you are willing to take the 3.15 a.m's ferry. Our two-week tour covers Ashford -Cambridge-Newark- Thamworth -Edinburgh-Glasgow-Northern Wales-Walton on Thames-London-Paris. Ashford Reached Ashford at 8.00am. All seemed quiet. The major attraction in Ashford is the McArthur and Glen Outlet. Frankly, that was our second time to the outlet. Pretty much the same thing except on the middle part of outlet, they had already built a ...