Travelog: Me and our journey

Sebenarnya hasrat nak mengembara dengan campervan atau motorhome dah lama. Dari kali pertama di Geneva dulu pada tahun 2008-2010, nak cuba tapi asyik bertangguh. Trip kali ni memang agak teruja sebab ia satu pengalaman baharu, sebelum ini pengembaraan banyak dengan kereta atau kapal terbang. Jadi kami putuskan mengapa kali ni tak cuba mengembara dengan motorhome? Mengembara dengan motorhome kena buat perancangan rapi dan tempahan kena buat lebih awal terutamanya kalau mengembara pada musim panas sebab permintaan untuk kenderaan motorhome agak tinggi. Dalam bulan Mei sebelum cuti musim panas bulan Ogos, saya buat perancangan dengan mencari syarikat-syarikat sewa motorhome secara online, cari syarikat sewa motorhome yang berdekatan dengan Geneva supaya senang untuk ambil dan hantar motorhome kelak.  Perancangan kitaorang lebih kurang macam ni: Pertama : Dengan ahli keluarga seramai lima orang, saya bandingkan kos sewa hotel dengan sewa motorhome dan kos-kos lain. Kami dengan ahli kel...

A landlocked nation of Switzerland is known for its natural beauty, cheese, and chocolate. But there are some  unknown facts.  When we first arrived Geneva, Switzerland, we heard about some weird (sometimes weirdest) facts about Switzerland. We never experienced them all but here are the 16 weird and interesting facts about Switzerland: (1)   I t is illegal to keep just one guinea pig or hamster. You got to have them in pairs. (2)  A man may not relieve himself while standing up after 10 pm. Also, you are not supposed to flush the toilet after 10 pm if you live in an apartment. Keep it it until the morning! (3)  It is considered an offense to mow your lawn on a Sunday because it causes too much noise. (4)  Clothes may not be hung to dry on Sunday. No hanging on Sunday please! (5)  You may not wash your car on a Sunday or you cannot wash your car nearby your premise. Please use the DIY car wash facilities. It is illegal t...

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...

“You may think the grass is greener on the other side, but if you take the time to water your own grass it would be just as green.” (Unknown) We always think that living abroad would be enjoyable and full of good things.  But we tend to ignore that there is the other side of enjoyable and fun. We tend to envy other people for their supposed “fun” time abroad, we tend to wish that we are in their shoes enjoying good time abroad.  But, we tend to forget that all things are not so sweet.  Life is full of ups and downs, life has so many challenges and that these shape up people’s experience and make them stronger. Yes…We did cherish the good memories in Switzerland but we also cherished the unpleasantness of living there. It shaped our life, it groomed us to be stronger, it added characters to our life, it added new perspectives in viewing life and it tested our tolerance towards others. The unpleasantness can come in so many forms, from so many sources and in so man...

Spring now :: flowers blossom everywhere. But I want to recap our first winter experience here in Geneva. We arrived Geneva during the midst of winter around 6th January 2007. Most of the days were gloomy but there was no sign of snowing. Snow was not a new phenomenon for me.  In the States, the first year I've been there, I've experienced a major blizzard in Lehigh and Boston. As for the boys, this is quite a new experience for them. Ashraf used to experience winter in New Zealand and Istanbul but it did not snow there. Only deep coldness! Back at home in Malaysia, Ashraf always made imaginary snow with my talc powder, my facial tissue and even my flour! All because of Thomas the Tank Engine and its series. I remember one series in which Thomas entered into a tunnel and exited into huge snowbank... and Terence, the Caterpillar had to tow Thomas away... After that, tamat riwayat bedak.. I think the huge Anakku talc powder, 2 bottles... We had that bottles sin...

“Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” Robert Frost quotes (American poet, 1874-1963) Geneva or Genève in French or Genf in German or Ginevra in Italian will be our home for the next three years. It’s winter here and the cold blast was quite a shock to the kids. The best part was that they hibernated and become less active. Alhamdulillah! For the first week, we stayed at Royal Manotel , Rue de Lausanne in the heart of Geneva. Food was difficult but then since the room was equipped with kitchenette facility, we managed to cook some basic dish which mainly involved sardine and eggs! Initially, I was quite paranoid with the new place and only spent our time i n t he room while hubby went to work. It seemed quite daunting to walk in the col d winter weather with two hyperactive kids! We only managed to go out sightseeing whenever he’s back but by 5 pm, it...