be grateful

Salam.


Remember,

Other people's challenges and problems are way bigger than yours.
Difficulties faced by Muslims in Gaza,
tragedies of MH17 and MH370.
those surely remind how lucky and blessed you are.
stop (minimize) complaining. be more grateful.
be more husnudzon.
be more pious (habluminallah).

it's Ramadhan. the last phase.
let's make the best of it!

p/s: #notetoself

dear self

Salam.


Jika ingin yang terbaik,
Usaha juga untuk jadi yang terbaik. : )

p/s: Nota untuk diri

Pre Ramadhan.

Salam

Lately, i feel like things hv gone here and there.
I feel like my productivity graph has gone down to the bottom.
I lost the momentum.
i slowed down too much after hours and days of speeding.
It is now gonna be quite hard to change into higher gears.
Blame the driver! Haha.

And oh..
The holy month of ramadhan is approaching.. in less than 3 days.
I like ramadhan. It is a month full of barakah and rahmah.
A month that doas would be mustajab.
A month where i would eat dates more. :p
However, i feel like i am not fully (spiritually) ready for it.
I feel like there are many lackings in myself especially in terms of being a good and pious servant to ALLAH SWT.

Hopefully.. Ramadhan could mould me to be a notch higher, in terms of being a good muslimah.
Teach me to be grateful and improve myself (and being istiqamah on that).

I hope that my energy and positivity level would not go down.
And..
May Allah grant my duas and help me, and all of us achieve good things in life and hereafter.

p/s: i cant wait for the weekend. Tomorrow is sport's day :)

too busy.. too preoccupied..

Salam.

from google

TRUE enough :)

p/s: WORDS without ACTIONS are very much doubtful.

ACTIONS without WORDS are pretty much confusing.

Synchronization is a must. Ambiguity is not.

Mekong River Sampan Tour

Salam.

p/s: im craving for cream puff. but too 'rajin' to make one! huhu

Day 1 : Ho Chi Minh

Salam.

hi.. this is just like a diary for me to remember what actually happened etc.

ok, 3rd june... i went to ho chi minh with my 3 girl friends and beloved colleagues.
im not going to write much i think..ive given wordy tips and tricks in previous entry.
here and next entries, perhaps pictures would explain better..  :)

DAY 1 (3rd June 2014, Tuesday)

-it was my first time travelling for hours (1am-5am) by bus at night.
my first time spending my beauty sleep in a bus. uncomfortable as i couldnt straighten my legs. huhu
but........ i survived. Alhamdulillah. hehe.

-flight was at 9 am by MAS.

KLIA airport

looking fresh kannn.. True,,, fresh from bus and sleep. hehe :p

 always ready for photos

our cheapskate breakfast. gagaga

Arrived at Ho Chi Minh around 1030 am

 we opted for the front seat..sebelah driver yang suka hon and ketawa. ahaha

many motorcycles. Cars were expensive. hence.. motorbikes are the best option! 

btw, i love seeing the motocyclists 'fashion'. Unique!

another amazing thing bout Vietnam. the cabels. i saw their electrician repairing the cabels. 

i felt like giving him an applause! :p

oh, thanx TNB and TELEKOM Malaysia! hehe

Lunch at Nha Do Red House. 

Note: Red House restaurant : Halal (with certificate), food 3 stars, service 4 stars (friendly waiters who can speak Malay), clean and comfy + Wifi! :D

Saigon Cathedral 

                           the cathedral has French influence. Materials were brought from there too.

French was there for missionary purposes.

The Post Office 

was designed by the famous guy who designed Eiffel Tower, Gustave Eiffel 

War Remnants Museum 

Thanh Truong Hotel

Hotel nampak je lokasi tak cantik, sempit and tinggi.

but dalam dia ok. 

service pun ok. 

refer to tips and tricks entry for more details! hehe

my room was small (they offered many types of  rooms..but i got this! huhu).

 but it was ok. i could sleep well. ahaha.  

View from the 3rd floor  

Small toilet but would do for 3 nights. Water hose, checked! hehe

Banana Leaf Halal Restaurant

this was where we met Ust Kazim Elias! hehe.. kat perak tak jumpa pun..

kat Vietnam pula kita ketemu kann..hehe

So the restaurant...  Halal, food 3 stars, service 3 stars, clean but quite stuffy (small place) 

has wifi! :D

Night Market 

-It was very near to the hotel. within walking distance

-start at 6-7 pm until 11 pm plus. 

-price was quite the same as Ben Thanh market.

-RM is accepted. 

-interesting thing: they have this Dewan Bandaraya thing too; who would check for motorbike's sellers/ street sellers yg xd permit berniaga. So.. whenever they came to inspect, a lil bit of 'chaos' would happen. 

few motorcyclists would signal the sellers "wowowowowooo" sth like that. 

and in a blink of eyes, street sellers grabbed their stuff and brought em to the nearest shop/ walkway.

clearrr abes..

then tak sampai 5 minutes, open table balik...hehehe

so just careful masa diorang sibuk bagi signal and kemas barang. takut ada yang ambil kesempatan, 

ragut sesuatu masa orang kelam kabut.  

-BUT...this one is very serious...

 be careful ..really careful of pickpocket, snatch thefts and being cheated!

My friends (2 guys) lost their Note 3 and Smart phone at the night market.

i think they were eyed prior to that incident.

So they were preoccupied with phones on their palms..walking while eyes on the phones.

First victim's smart phone was snatched, he yelled to his friend (he was shocked).

then, his friend pulak yg kene snatched. 

they walked together actually.

and the thefts, MIA.

but...hehe

that incident was somehow made our trip more fun and merry. 

with no phones, they talked and communicated more especially in the bus!

(victims were jokers and hilarious guys!)

hence, more jokes and laughter! hehe.

still, be careful of your belongings k! :D 

tips: always attach your phone or camera strings to your hand.

do not take out phones or cameras unless you want to use em. keep em safe.

Keep your wallet, purse or handbag safe too. for handbags, hold em strong, ladies! hehe

p/s: next entry would be our next trip to Delta Mekong and Shopping! :)

tips and tricks to Ho Chi Minh ! :)

Salam.

hi peeps.
im going to share some tips and pics from my trip to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam last 3-6th june 14.
i went there with my colleagues, under travel agent. So tix, accom, food and fares were included.

so people. here are some tips that i could think of and share with u prior and during the trip.

things you have to prepare/ pack :

1) valid passport
(expiry date must not be less than 6 months)

2) medicine that u need

3) food (instant noodle, 3in1 drinks, etc)

4) a big empty (or with only needed clothes) luggage - so you could put ur shopping stuff in it!
i travel light though my luggage was big. haha.

5) international adapter (vietnam plug is quite different) - but most rooms have one international plug host.

6) clothes- you have 2 options- to buy them there and wear OR to bring urs. bring sth that does not need to be ironed. ironing would cost you (room service charge).

7) wear comfy shoes and clothes (june; quite hot) . you could also bring shades (i didnt)

8) power bank ; travelling a lot from morning til night would consume ur phone's battery. especially if you use it to snap pics, etc. so Power bank is a must!

9) Vietnam Dong - would be better if you change the money in vietnam (not the airport though- unless you need to use public transports/ buy drinks there). rate is higher at the town. and rate is higher in vietnam as compared to Malaysia. my exchange rate at Vietnam, that time was; RM1=6300D. while in malaysia; RM1=6006D.

and of course......

CAMERA..hihi.


Safety (and other) TIPS: 

1) Food and Drinks:

there are a lot of HALAL food restaurants. Near the hotels and Ben Thanh Market.
they would display the halal certificate. So you could check!

*i would share some of the halal restaurant names and pics in other entries!.

-most of the restaurants also have wifi! just ask for the password if it is not displayed. hehe :p

Drinks:
At the hotel, I boiled water using bottled water / mineral water. I didnt use the tap water to make hot drinks. Tap water could not be directly drink (like in NZ, etc). their plumbing system is old and it is not quite safe to drink it directly. Plus, it smelt lil bit like rust. hence, to be safe, i boiled the drinking water to make milo, etc! hehe. oh, 500ml drinking water would cost around 10 000 D (approx RM 1.50).


2) Money:

-When you change you money at HCM money changer, make sure you count it right, in front of the person (my friend was not given 100 000 D at the money changer. so it became quite an issue coz they thought she kinda cheated. lol).

-under travel agent (coz food and fares were covered), you dont really need to change a lot of Dongs. for 4days and 3 nights, i just changed RM150 into Dong. more than enough. i just need Dong for food (drinks, etc), luggage wrapping at the airport (100 000 D), shopping at mall and yeah.. i think that's it.

-When you got ur balance from shopping, etc, make sure you count and check the money! dont be cheated coz we are definitely not familiar with its money and currency. so check! ( my friend was cheated coz she didnt check. she was supposed to get 30 000D of balance. instead, was given 3000D; worth for a trip to toilet only! ;p)

-Paper money (1000D and 3000D) and coins are not really worthy. so try to avoid having/ keeping these type of money. they worth cents only. huhu.

3) Shopping

-most shopping places (the markets) accept Dong, RM and USD. it is easier to use RM as u could directly compare the prices etc. you could also pay by paying half Dong and RM (especially if you still have a lot of Dong).

-paying using Dong is quite more expensive compared to RM.

-Saigon Square does not accept RM (only Dong and USD)

-Always ask for their calculators before paying. easier for you to calculate/ compare and bargain. just show the number you desire to them.

-Some sellers would make body contact with you, like holding your arms or clothes to attract you to go to their shops. Just say NO if you dont want to. Say "dont touch me" with serious face and look at his/ her hand.

-DO NOT show that u r interested or down for a bargain if you are actually not interested at all. DO NOT say "later" or "tomorrow" if u dont want to buy, especially at street sellers. They would follow you and tomorrow, you magically gonna see em again. hehe. some of em would bring their cute baby (yes, cute!). but it is up to u to buy or not (not the baby of course. ahaha). Still, i am amazed with street sellers' perseverance and hard work!

*interesting and cheap places for shopping would be discussed in next entry! tips and tricks for shopping too! :D

4) night market and other places

-CAREFUL.... of snatch thefts!!! they eyed for your phones, cameras and wallets! (i will tell what happened to my friends!- in next entries! hehe)

5) Traffic

-Super amazing. ahahaha. here there left right...motorbikes!!

-cross the road confidently. OR cross with the locals/ in groups OR zebra crossing OR use ur hand to signal them to slow down OR ask the man with green uniform (if there are there) to help u cross. hihi

6) Weather

-June was quite hot. I think i got tanned after the trip. huhu
So drink a lot of water, wear sunblock and perhaps, shades. hehe.
-baju tebal2 tu..lupakan ya kanda!

7) Hotel

-most would provide wifi (good and fast!)
and also weighing scale (yang besar macam timbang daging tu). so you could check ur luggage weight before leaving. hehe

-for kiblat, you could ask the bellboy (some might know)

-bellboys were really helpful. they carry your luggage to your room, etc. and also heavy luggage from hotel to car/ bus. give them tips please... berpeluh kot klo angkat sorang. hehe

8) Time Difference

-it is an hour difference. Eg: Malaysia 9pm..Vietnam= 8pm
*hence for Muslims, you could download prayer time in advance!

-flight journey would take around 1hour and 40 mins.

9) keeping in touch with loved ones in Malaysia

-alright.. now, if u r using line, activate roaming from malaysia (if you want to).

-if you are using prepaid.. u could contact / text ur fam in malaysia..but it would cost more.

-if you answer calls from Malaysia, duit you pun akan jatuh jugak T__T.

-another option is to buy Vietnam Prepaid and make whatever important calls / message that u need. You could ask help from the bellboy (they are really helpful. haha) or hotel receptionist. they would buy it for you. they accept RM too.

-But the BEST option is to utilize free and fast WIFI at hotel and restaurants! ahahah :p

10) ATM

-in case you go broke coz of shopping or any mishaps, you could draw money from ATM using ur bank card. BUT.. you need to activate it at MAlaysia prior ur trip. This could be done through ATM machine or phone call. buat kat Malaysia ye.. Just state that you want to activate from when until when.


11) Luggage weight limit

-some of you might already aware of this but upon leaving (especially from vietnam), if you are flying by MAS, make sure your luggage does not exceed 30 kilos. if you are willing to pay for extra kilos, you may. but use a second luggage.

Do not pack everything into one luggage and exceed 30kg. you might be asked to unpack at the airport then. so pack the extra kilos into your second luggage ya. (i will share a story that happened to my friend too. hehe)


i guess this would be really helpful for those who are planning to go to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
:D


p/s: i will share my experience  and pics i took at various places of interest.
 i would also slip some tips and stories there! :D