Holla!

Thought I would not make it to final exam but here i am just submitted my final exam answer sheet 30 minutes ago. And still alive! Now in the library to finish off my pending assignments.

My semester one journey is definitely not easy as these past few months is the busiest months in my life. Nak tidur pun tak tenang asyik pikir all those datelines to meet. Tiba-tiba rasa tak reti nak bahagikan masa dan tak tau which one is my priority.

Lost sekejap but then decided to just suck it up and do the best that I can.

Semoga tahun depan lebih baik

Belum habis lagi cerita Jepun. Sebab dah bulan Oktober, kita buat Halloween version la.



One of the main highlight of Japan trip is USJ! Sebab we all love amusement park. Niat asal memang nak singgah Tokyo sekali pergi Disneyland tapi since it is over our budget takpe la kita visit satu-satu. 


I bought entrance ticket dekat 11street from Travelog for RM269. Harga dia standard je sama dengan harga on their own website tapi 11street suka kasi coupon so boleh la jimat up to RM30. Passed the express ticket since we are on a budget trip tapi dah summarize our plan for each popular ride.



Before pergi, always check for their operating hours sebab tak tetap. Kalau tengah high seasons dia buka awal and tutup lambat sikit. Check juga weather forecast. On the day we went hujan dari tengah hari ke petang. Lupa pula bawa payung nasib baik tak lebat sangat jadi redah jelah.


Strategi untuk kurangkan waiting time is to always use the single rider lane. Lebih baik naik sendiri-sendiri dari kena habiskan masa menunggu lepas tu tak sempat enjoy benda lain. For food, there is no halal menu available in any of the restaurant inside the park. Boardwalk Snacks at Amity Village area and Studio Stars Restaurant at Hollywood area has some snacks and seafood pizza jangan risau boleh tanya je staff yang mostly peramah. We brought our own food biar senang tak payah penat pikir.
 
Untuk muslimah, takde prayer room tapi boleh solat dekat baby centre near entrance atau ask the staffs in guest service for a room to pray, they will direct you to a room that can be used to pray.


Hari tu kitorang lambat sikit senang je tunjuk printed tiket terus boleh lari masuk takde extra checking pun. Ingat dia nak check beg ke apa ke kan. To reach USJ by train, memang kena guna JR Sakurajima Line. Tak ada cara lain. Kalau pagi memang train tu sesak la semua orang turun kat Universal City station.



For hijabis, kalau naik roller coaster they mesti provide something like extra pin or jacket to secure your scarf. Mungkin risau kau punya tudung terbang ntah kemana bila kat atas tu. Padahal nak je kasi tau, "Don't worry miss, I already have minimum of 4 to 5 pins to secure my scarf" sebab memang dah tau nak naik rides mestilah dah ambil langkah berjaga siap-siap. Tapi rela jelah untuk tenangkan hati mereka kan.



 


For those yang teringin nak merasa kena kejar dengan zombie dekat amusement park boleh la datang USJ around September till November. They'll having halloween special.


Bayaran extra untuk sesiapa yang nak naik special ride or join some extra game je. Kalau takat nak tengok-tengok zombie berkeliaran jangan risau free of charge.


We are totally not aware of these at the first place. Pagi tu macam wow orang jepun ni semua memang suka cosplay eh takat nak pergi amusement park pun in character dengan make up special effect bagai. Rupanya they all are prepared for the night event.


Dah petang baru makin paham sebab ada notices penutupan certain areas for zombie attack. Zombie akan berkeliaran everywhere except for kawasan kanak-kanak. Kawasan kanak-kanak kira safe zone la nanti trauma seumur hidup pulak dorang terkejut tengok benda menakutkan ni. Tapi certain areas tu tempat berkumpul dorang so lagi banyak geng zombie la.


We all pun apa lagi excited habis la terus nak cepat habiskan semua ride before 6 sebab lepas tu zombie dah keluar and nak kitorang main kejar-kejar je. Maklum la tak pernah attend halloween party before.



Nak bagi seronok hantu ni semua kacau orang yang takut je, yang chill takde reaction dia pun malas nak layan. Paling confuse nak bezakan mana satu staff usj mana satu orang awam sebab masing-masing scaring each other.


It was a fun experience. Penat tapi totally worth it habiskan masa sehari suntuk kat sana.


Till then.

Here I am in the coffee shop waiting for my phone. I sent it to clinic to be fixed. While waiting, I suddenly remember I have not updated for quite awhile now.

Just finished reading ProudDuck blog. This post make me write here. I really admire Vivy as a blogger! Despite having a very busy life, she is still enjoy updating her blog. Seems like I am not dedicated enough.


But I have exciting news to share here . . .





Next week I will start my part time Master Degree Program in UTMKL.

Up to this date, I still am not so sure about what I really want in life. But I swear by this phrase 'tak ada ilmu yang sia-sia'. So I really do not mind learning about anything. I am sure that it will be useful at any point of my life.


I decided that now is a good time to start being a student again. I keep on making excuses before and it is about time that I ran out of it. That is why few months before I accepted the offer and will start classes in two weeks time. There are things that still have not settled but I received my time tables for this semester. Back to sleepless night finishing assignments and preparing for exam. 

Hope everything went well. Wish me luck, guys!

Macam dah lama tak share resepi kat sini kan.

Tiap kali saya kata nak bake something Mama mesti request brownies. Kadang-kadang nak jugak buat cheesecake ke cake lain ke mesti dia complain and insist to make her brownies.

Nasib baik lah selain kek batik, brownies senang je nak buat. Tak perlu effort yang banyak, guna satu mangkuk dan hand mixer. Ingredient list dia pun simple and you most likely already have in kitchen.

Resepi ni based on Gemma Stanford recipe tapi ubah sikit ikut kesesuaian tekak.

Bahan-bahan

Cara-cara

Kalau malas dan nak cepat boleh campak je semua benda dalam bekas sekali dan gaul sebati.

Kalau rajin sikit boleh la

1. Gaulkan butter, oil and both sugar.
2. Kemudian tambah telur, vanilla extract, garam. Pukul sebati sampai adunan kembang sikit.
3. Sift flour, cocoa and milo powder. Gently fold sampai semua wet and dry ingredient sebati. Fold in sekali half of chocolate chips.
4. Letak aduan dalam loyang dan tabur another half of chocolate chips kat atas.
5. Sedia untuk dibakar dalam 30 minit dengan suhu 170°C.

Then siap! See senang gila kan tu pasal la saya rajin buat kalau tetiba bosan ke teringin ke. Cubalah makan panas-panas dengan vanilla ice cream. Nikmat dia... pergh.

Macam dah lama tak share pasal makanan.


Hari tu teringin nak rasa ayam goreng korea dengan cheese kfry yang viral tu. Tapi dah petang confirm habis lagipun tak berapa rajin nak jalan sampai putrajaya tu. Jadi pilih tempat yang dekat sikit, Nanda Chicken.


This is a pork free korean restaurant yang offer authentic korean dishes. Selalu lalu je tak pernah nak masuk. Kali ni sebab craving kita sampai jugak sini. Boleh tahan ramai orang kat sini time dinner.






And for the main star


We chose Cheese Half + Fire Cheese Half that cost RM62+. Dia agak banyak boleh la makan untuk 3 ke 4 orang.

Rasa dia makin lama makin pedas and untuk yang suka pedas ada juga pilihan extra pedas.



Overall it is actually a good choice for a cheesy chicken. Tapi if you are looking for a normal fried chicken, i would say it is just average.


Location
11, Jalan Solaris 2,
Solaris Mont Kiara,
Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur

Everyday 11:00 - 00:00

I still prefer reading people experience on blog rather that other social media. I supposed to have a bloglist on the blog sidebar but somehow it got lost when I updated to a new template.

So here I am joining this cause she's making an updated bloglist!

Lepas ni guna bloglist siqah jelah untuk blogwalking heee.

Ahhh I just miss updating the blog. Dulu kasi alasan darling laptop condition and the lack of wifi turn me off each time ada rasa nak publish new entry. Now dah ada yang baru pun sama sebab the wifi still takde haha.

So now update cerita super lama jelah. Setahun lepas.



This is an impromptu trip. Orang dah ajak lepas tu kena pulak dengan masa and bajet kita, okay jom pergi. Kira ini adalah pertama kali lah saya pergi ke Cameron Highland.



Car ride dari rumah ke sana mengambil masa lebih kurang 3 jam (kot). Sampai around 1330 ke 1430 then terus la cari makan. Since tak boleh check in lagi, pergi jalan-jalan dulu lah. Mula-mula plan to singgah lavender farm sekali macam ramai orang so pergi tempat lain.






Singgah rose farm syok je layan bunga. Nak balik ke kereta yang dah terparking jauh tu sekali hujan pulak! Jenuh la lari-lari cari tempat teduh.




Pastu sempat la makan strawberry coklat masam masam manis ni.




Petang cuba nasib naik atas ni tapi tak sempat nak makan minum tea kat cafe, dah tutup.






Lepas maghrib singgah jap cari dinner kat pasar malam brinchang. Cameron malam-malam macam mati so relax-relax jelah dalam bilik.




Sebab dah lama sangat perap dalam draft, lain kali sambung cerita the next day.

Till then.

It is finally time for my Osaka trip story! Though it is a bit too late but I really need to document it here for my own future reference.

I spend days to weeks checking AirBnB app and website to find suitable place that suit our budget and have accessible location. I inquired few host, asking bunch of questions and finally found a home for us.

Unfortunately, I couldn't really find a good picture of the house so here just few I copied from the site.











There are 4 of us, and another 2 is coming a bit later. So I try dealing with Yuri, the host to get special price and fortunately she approved it.

What i love about this house?

1. A very responsive host. Yuri promptly reply my inquiry and explain it well so I love dealing with her. She also very attentive explaining all the rules and what we need to know when in town. Too bad I did not get to see her face to face. 
2. Location is great! It is only few stations away from Dotonburi and the house is easy to find. It is also only few minutes walking distance to the closest Subway and JR Train Station. You definitely won't suffer too long to reach home at the end of your long day.
3. Has a lot of rooms. There are 4 other rooms beside laundry room, dining room and living room. However there is only a shower room and a toilet so definitely need to take turns and managed time well if you are in a big group.
4. It has a complete home essential to cater your need. You can also cook just bring your own cooking ingredient.

Overall, my experience with this house is very pleasant and i'm highly recommended it to others.

Tips

• Always always check reviews of other tenants before booking. If the place is new or have no review, try chatting with the host to make sure that host is easy/comfortable to communicate with.
• Do check whether the house is equipped with all the necessary thing you need. Read the house descriptions carefully and don't hesitate to ask around. 
• You can save $27 in form of Airbnb credit when you sign up through this link HERE. It will automatic deducted from your total amount on the checkout page in the form of coupon. I used this and managed to save RM106.

UPDATES (APR'19)

The listing is no longer available in AirBnB. Yes, I'm disappointed too. 

UPDATES (SEPT'19)

The listing is back on AirBnB. Oh yeah go and book now if you are looking for place to stay in Osaka. The room is exactly as the picture provided. 


Till then.

Assalamualaikum, hi!



Lama sangat dah perap akhirnya jumpa juga kerajinan untuk share kat sini. Yang ini macam summary budget and itinerary je lah ya. Kalau nak details ntah nak kena tunggu tahun bila pula baru rajin.

Date :  17 September - 25 September 2017
Location : Osaka + Nara + Kobe + Kyoto, Japan
Accommodation : Yuri's AirBnB
Transportation / Passes : ICOCA Card, JR West Rail Pass (4DAYS), Kyoto City Bus All Day Pass, 1/2DAYS Osaka Amazing Pass (OAP)

ITINERARY

Day 1

• Collect pocket wifi Wiyo di KL1A2

• Touch down at Kansai International Airport around 3.30pm

• Buy all the passes needed at the airport

• Guna ICOCA naik train ke Airbnb

• Self check in and settle down, malam tu ada ribut sikit so keluar kejap je pergi mart around the neighbourhood cari bekalan makanan untuk seminggu.

Day 2

• Activate JR Pass

• Bergerak ke Hikone

• Rent bike at Hikone Station for free sebab ada JR Pass.

• Hikone Castle

• Bergerak ke Nara

• Naik bas from JR Nara Station to Nara Park sebab dah lambat takut tak sempat masuk temple and garden but still couldn't make it. So strolling around the park jelah.

Day 3

• Bergerak ke Kyoto

• Togetsukyo Bridge

• Bamboo Groves

• Sagano Scenic Railway

• Fushimi Inari Shrine

• Bergerak ke Kobe

• Masjid Kobe

• Kobe Port/Kobe Tower 

• Kobe Harbourland

Day 4

• Bergerak ke Kyoto

• Sampai Kyoto Station terus pergi beli one day bus pass. Naik bas strolling around kyoto

• Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion)

• Ginkakuji Temple

• Nishiki Market

• Kiyomizu Temple

• Starbucks Coffee Kyoto

• Gion Street

Day 5

• Bergerak ke Himeji

• Himeji Castle 

• Kokoen Garden

• Bergerak ke Osaka City

• Dotonburi

• End of JR Pass usage

Day 6

• Use ICOCA

• Universal Studio Japan

• We spend the whole day there tapi masih tak dapat naik every single ride.

• Rupanya USJ ada halloween special pada end of Sept to Oct so zombie keluar waktu malam, we get distracted and terus mengejar dan dikejar zombie je sampai tempat tu tutup.

• Japanese cosplay is no joke serious macam real and the best part is not only the special staff acting like a zombie and attacked us, the visitor also join dress up and in character. 

Day 7



Hari free and easy sebab I spent the whole day fangirling at SHINee concert. Tapi travelmate yang lain teruskan perjalanan mereka ikut itinerary simple yang saya dah susun awal-awal, share jelah kat sini walaupun I'm not exactly sure exact places they covered

• Activate OAP

• Kuromon Ichiba Market

• Hozenji Temple & Hozenji Yokocho

• Dotonbori - The famous glico man 

• Namba Grand Kagetsu 

• Doguyasuji Shopping Street

• Nipponbashi DENDEN Town

• Namba Parks Shopping Complex

• Tsūtenkaku Tower

• Tennoji Park

Day 8

• Osaka Castle dan Park

• Osaka Museum Of Housing and Living

• Tempozan ferris wheel

• Santa Maria Cruise

• Umeda Sky Building

• HEP5 Ferris Wheel

• Shopping

• End of OAP usage

Day 9

• Use ICOCA

• Check out and bergerak ke airport

• Drop pocket wifi di KL1A2

• Back to real life!

BUDGET

Currency semasa pergi tu sekitar 1000¥  = RM38.50  

Category	Price
Accommodation	RM498
Transportation
Return Flight Ticket	RM707
Luggage	RM91.5
In flight meal	RM20
Top up ICOCA	2000¥
JR Pass	6300¥
OAP	3300¥
Kyoto Bus	500¥
Entrance Fees
USJ	RM259
Himeji Castle & Kokoen Garden	1040¥
Sagano Scenic Railway	620¥
Kinkakuji Temple	400¥
Rent kimono	500¥
Miscellaneous
Pocket Wifi	RM27
Insurance	RM39
TOTAL COST	RM1641.5 + 14660¥ = RM2206 (approx)

Since we are on a very tight budget, we cook everyday. Bahan mostly dari Malaysia ehem Brahim emmm so we save alot. We just bought street food here and there to try. Seorang spend around RM200 je kot on food.

TIPS

1. Dari train station ke satu-satu tempat mostly kena menapak around 5 ke 20 minit. Prepare a good walking shoes. Gunalah khidmat Google Map untuk cari jalan.
2. Google Translate untuk translate any benda yang tak paham. We don't interact much dengan local people there sebab tak sesat teruk tapi guna for check ingredient makanan.
3. Hyperdia app ada info lengkap untuk all the train schedule/infomation.
4. Kalau nak guna JR Pass beli siap-siap kat negara masing-masing. Kalau dah sampai Japan baru beli harga dah jadi lain. Beza dalam 2000¥ kalau tak silap.
5. Sagano Scenic Railway kat Kyoto tu kalau rasa nak naik pergi lah waktu winter salji putih / spring cherry blossom / autumn leaves falling. Kalau time lain, gunung ganang dia hijau je tak impressive untuk rakyat Malaysia yang dah selalu jumpa hutan hujan tropika. 
6. Kalau bawak bekal senang je nak makan kat mana-mana taman selalu ada je meja kerusi boleh relax. Tak perlu buat aksi viral duduk makan di jalan tar. Yang penting keep enviroment clean. 
7. Kalau nak beli USJ ticket kat agen guna 11street ke lazada ke pastikan pilih trusted seller lepas tu korek la promo code yang offer discount paling banyak. Guna cara ni boleh la jimat around RM10-30 per ticket.

Kalau nak details itinerary ke tips lain ke job baru ke any questions, takde hal email je.


Semoga kerajinan untuk update details experience tu kat sini sampai satu hari nanti.


Till then.